Hey everyone. Here's the fifth and final chapter of this story. Before we end this I want to take some time to give a special shoutout to my man Gojirafan1954, for pointing out a special reference that I put in during the previous chapter. I also wanna give a special shoutout to Cpt. Leo, Bia1230, and OMAC001 for actually taking time to review this story. I also wanna thank all those who stuck by and followed the story up until the very end. Alright folks, enjoy.
The shadows grew long as the setting sun kissed the western horizon in the world of Amphibia. Casting a ghostly glow over our two heroes as they continued to travel across the ocean to look for a place to lay low. It has been many hours since their escape from King Andrias's castle, and they have not stopped for anything. The fear of being trailed by one of his henchmen prompted the two of them into putting as much distance from them and the flying castle as possible. Though overtime, Marcy started to notice that her new fearless companion was getting tired. Which meant that they had to make a stop soon.
Luckily for them though, the alpha's keen eyesight spotted a deserted island somewhere in the middle of the ocean. For such an island, it seemed to be pretty average. From a distance they could see the surface of it blanketed with trees, and there was a huge volcano at the center of it. Shoot, Toothless figured that an entire flock of dragons could occupy this island if they wanted to.
Upon reaching it, they decided to land on a beach side to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves. The sand was soft and warm. And ocean water glimmered at the setting sun. The waves were at low tide and the air was a bit cool.
Palm trees covered the jungle's edges and there was a great line of fauna that covered the treeline. They got a good look at their surroundings before Marcy decided that it would be the perfect time to dismount Toothless. And even so, the Night Fury had a strange feeling about the place just by looking into within the thickness of the trees.
An investigation was in order before they could make the decision to stay here for the night. Marcy knew this. She could see it in the Alpha's uneasy expressions within his eyes, and could feel the tension in the very muscles of his shoulder.
"Why don't you go on ahead," Marcy insisted, patting the side of the dragon's neck. "I'm just gonna take a minute."
Hearing the girl's reassurance took a little bit of stress off of Toothless's mind. Or at least enough to check out what was in the jungle himself. He slowly went into towards it until he reached the jungle's edge. From there, he stopped and turned his head back towards Marcy. Asking her one last time for reassurance. In which she nodded a reply.
The Night Fury looked at the ground and then back at her. He did not like leaving her out there alone out of his watch. Especially since they were now being hunted. But he trusted her enough to leave her there without anything bad happening while he's gone.
And with that, he turned back into the jungle and dashed right into it. Disappearing right before Marcy's very eyes. As he moved through the trees, Toothless sounded off his echolocation to navigate his way inside the jungle. His senses detected small life forms. Some of which appeared to be harmless. There was an occasional singing of bird, and he could also hear the sounds of monkeys moving through the trees above him. If they had any hope of staying here, he had to find a suitable place that could hide him and his friend from any possible danger that could be lurking on the island that he was unaware of.
Which probably meant finding a cave. After moving through the last of the underbrush he stumbled upon a beautiful pond. Above the pond was a small waterfall, with a cave just on top of it. As he approached the entrance of the cave, the night fury let out echoed roar to sense the presence of any other creatures that may still be lurking within the cave. And so far there were no signs of life inside of it. And with that, he moved further into the cave. Going so far inside that if anyone were to come in from behind him, they wouldn't be able to see him. His roars echoes across the cave and traveled deep into the caverns. At the same time, he used his sense of smell as another way to detect any other creatures.
And so far there was still nothing. Not a soul in sight. And if there was anyone else within it, he would've smelt them by now. By then the night fury came to the conclusion that this would be a good place to spend the night. He rushed outside and made a b-line for the beach to inform the human girl of his findings. But as he reached the edge of the forest, he stopped dead in his tracks. Something felt off. He could smell it in the air.
He crept within the bushes quietly in case if something unexpected was happening on the beach just ahead of him. After another couple feet, he poked his head out of the bushes. And what he saw next was something that he was not expecting, but was also something that he was not too surprised with too. And that turned out to be Marcy with her back turned opposite of him and faced the setting sun. She sat on her bottom with her arms wrapped around her legs. Her eyes were glued to the sun, and her shadow seemed to darken a bit.
Clearly she was upset about something. Probably something Toothless should already know about. But what surprised him the most was that he could literally see her with every bone in her body resisting the urge to break down. As if she was holding back all her emotions. Which wasn't the healthiest option if Toothless could ask. Out of instinct, the Night Fury slowly came out of the underbrush and slowly walked towards her. He managed to get a few feet before he saw her turned her head slightly to the left and looked at him. Barely noticing the dragon approaching her from the corner of her eye.
The Night Fury in return lowered his head. Silently asking her permission to approach her. Marcy in response turned back to the sunset and granted him that permission. To which Toothless did and decided to settle down to the young girl's left. Slumping down onto his belly and curling his tail around the female protectively as he too begun to stare at the setting sun.
Minutes passed by and they were still silent with one another, to which Toothless did not mind as he noticed Marcy sharing the same feelings as him. Somehow they both shared the same mutual feeling of dwelling in utter silence as they listened to the waves rushing towards the edge of the beast. Though one of them would not stay silent for long.
"I lost everything," Marcy spoke, finally having mustered some courage to kill the long sullen silence that has been going around. "My home, my family...and my friends."
Toothless then took the liberty to listen to her finally open up to him about her story. Seeing it as a gesture of good will, and an opportunity to learn more about his potential new friend.
"I know what I did was super dumb," she said in between sniffles. "But I was so scared."
The Night Fury was puzzled. What was she so scared about?
"I thought that by bringing my friends into this world," she explained. "That we would never grow apart and that we would be friends forever. But I ended up making things go from bad to worse."
As far as the Night Fury could tell, Marcy looked terrible. Compared to when he lasted saw her five minutes ago. It looked like she did some serious thinking while he was gone. Her face was pale, with a few bruises and scratches and being noticeable from her nose and chin. Streams of tears flowed unevenly on both sides of her soft cheeks. Her hair was messy and unequal compared to when he first found her in the tank. Her composure was completely shattered. And she really did look like she was on the bridge of breaking down right here and now.
For a moment, they both locked eyes, and from what Toothless could see, she looked completely broken. He couldn't blame her considering everything that monster Andrias put her through. But as he looked deeper her short, round pupils, he could also see another thing she was feeling. And that turned out to be guilt. Not of what happened or of what she said to that fat snake, but guilt in herself. Of past things that she had done.
It was then that Toothless remembered the projection and seeing a glimpse of her worse fear. Which turned out to be not being forgiven by her friends, whom have accused her of betraying them. For wronging them in some way that he did not know of. Ultimately, the Night Fury knew that she was really remorseful about it. Even admitting that whatever she did to them was super dumb. He could also tell that she never had a chance to tell them this. Cause if she was thinking about this now, then that meant that she never told them how sorry she was. Which Toothless could emphasize with. When he accidentally killed Stoick, he too wasn't given an opportunity to apologize to Hiccup about it.
Yet the difference was that Hiccup knew this. And thus was able to forgive him easily. He did not know these girls at all. Let alone the situation that they and Marcy were in for them to be like that to her. But what he did know that she was remorseful. Yet was finding it hard to forgive herself. She's been through so much and hasn't been able to find peace. Andrias did a terrible thing to her. And half of the things that he was planning on doing to her, the Night Fury knew she did not deserve. As a matter of fact, she didn't deserve any of this. In which made Toothless feel sorry for her even more.
"And now they're gone..." she whimpered as she looked down, eyes glued to the sand bellow her. "Because of me..."
She then covered her face with her hands and started to cry. On the edge of breaking down again. Even though there was a hint of regret in the tone of her voice, Toothless could totally tell that she was in remorse. For all the choice she made in the past that led to her now. And in that moment, Toothless finally understood. This beautiful innocent girl has gone through her own personal torment as both betrayer and betrayed.
And the only problem that she was having now, was not to in her ability to forgive those that she wronged. But also her ability to forgive herself for all that she did. Though it was hard, considering that her friends were not here at this very moment. She just needs someone to comfort her. Someone to tell her that everything was going to be okay.
Upon realizing this, he slowly rose up to his feet and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a hug in the process. He didn't expect her to understand. But he wanted her to know that he was there for her if she wanted to let her feelings out. And it was at that moment, when he pulled her into a comfortable embrace did she finally lose control. She wrapped her arms around the Night Fury's huge neck as she then broke into an uncontrollable sobbing. In which Toothless responded by tightening his embrace. Small tears slowly trinkled down his own eyes. Normally dragons don't get emotional, but this was so bittersweet that he couldn't control himself.
He could feel Marcy's tears running down his scales as she buried her face into his shoulder. Letting out a wave of pent-up emotions and days worth of sorrow. For a moment they stood there quietly, holding each other in their arms with neither of them saying a word. The sounds of the wind and the waves rushing were like music to their ears. And even though he couldn't offer any words, Toothless did his best to help Marcy through her own pain. Finally, Toothless dropped back down onto all fours and croons a soft, soothing tune. Hoping it would make the young girl feel any better.
And after another moment, Marcy loosened her grin on the Night Fury's chest and looked right at him. Seeing herself mirroring onto his big round eyes. A pleasant reminder that this was no vicious beast that stood before her. But an intelligent, gentle creature, whose soul reflected her own. Whose courage and bravery won them both their freedom. And given her hope. A chance to start over again. And perhaps so much more.
"Thank you," she said softly in gratitude. "You're the only good thing that has happened to me so far."
Afterwards, she grabbed both sides of the Night Fury's head and brought it closer to hers. They closed their eyes and their foreheads touched in great harmony. Seconds passed before finally separating. Continuing to gaze into each other's pupils. And in that moment, as she stared into the dragons big green and black eyes, Marcy started to grow curious about her new companion. Maybe it was the fact that she had never seen a dragon like the one in front of him, or maybe it was the because of the fact that she never really got a chance to learn more about him. She pondered herself with questions before coming to the decision of asking her knight in shining armor one.
"You know something, she spoke. "I've read a lot about dragons in the Newtopian Archives, but I've never seen anything like you before.
Toothless then looked at her. Intrigued by her curiosity though was not sure of what to make of it.
"Judging from the color of your scales and the shape of your head," she explained. "You were born in a barbaric region right?"
The Night Fury stood in shock. Not knowing what to say. How did she know that? More importantly, how could she tell just by looking at him. Though he could only tilt his head and response in a questioning manner. He knew that she was attempting at making conversation with him, but he didn't have the ability to speak to her due to them being two entirely different species.
Though when Marcy looked, she kinda got the picture.
"You can...understand what I'm saying?" she asked, slightly surprised at his ability to understand her language.
The Night Fury nodded his head in response, using basic gestures rather than words. He hoped that it wasn't too hard for Marcy to understand them. It kinda reminded him of his first encounter with Hiccup. At first the young lad didn't understand anything about him. His moods, his feelings, everything. Yet it took him no less than a year to finally communicate with him properly.
Yet he hoped that it would take less than that for his new human friend so that he did not have to go through months of figuring out how to properly communicate with her. Fortunately, it occurred to him that the girl was able to find some common ground for him to actually work with. Hopefully they'd be able to make something out of this.
"Judging from the size of your cranium," she commented. "I can definitely tell you're smart. Let me try something-"
For the next minute or so Toothless watched Marcy trying to figure out a solution to her current dilemma. She was too deep in thought to notice Toothless drop back onto his belly, his right ear extended as he listened to her mutter to herself.
Suddenly, Marcy rose up to her feet and made a gestured her hand to herself. Locking eyes with the Night Fury and moving her palm to her chest twice as an emphasis for something. The Night Fury guessed what it was for.
"I'm Marcy," she spoke before repeating her gesture and tapped her chest again, saying it a second time. "Maaarcyy Wuuu."
Toothless chucked. Finding the exaggerating a little amusing. Of course he knew her name. But respected her wish to introduce herself properly.
"You got that, right?" she questioned, still gesturing herself while not trying to repeat herself. "I'm Marcy Wu."
The Night Fury nodded. Acknowledging that he got the memo. As well as getting the fact that her name is Marcy Wu.
"So wait...you understood that?"
Which the dragon responded the same, nodding her head once more with an accompanying croon. Not sure if he actually did understand, Marcy tested it again, gesturing her name a third time.
"I'm Marcy."
At that time Toothless lightly nudged her stomach lightly. Earning a giggle from the girl. He felt slightly annoyed at the fact that she had to keep repeating herself, yet couldn't help but feel more amusement once she realized it.
"Sorry," she apologized. "Just...wasn't sure that it would work."
Toothless saw the girl's expression shift back to a pondering one. The dragon now knows her name. But what about his? Or more importantly, she questioned herself on what to call him. Since most of the dragons she read about already had names of their own.
"What about you?" she asked. "Do you have a name?
Upon hearing that, the Night Fury froze. His eyes widened a bit. Almost as if he was alarmed by her statement. He looked down and thought about it for a moment. Coming to realize that it has been too long since he knew his real name. Ever since the time of the vikings. Perhaps it's because he's been away from them for a long while. And what was worse was that he had no way of telling her. She knew this upon looking at the downed expression on his face.
"Oh, okay," she responded, finding it most unfortunate to not learn his name. But before she could ponder about something else, she thought of an idea. "Oh, I know. How about I give you one? Surely we both can think of something for you."
The dragon nodded its head in agreement. Which made Marcy giggle a bit.
"Now, let's see...um...How about...Midnight?"
The black silhouette's eyes shrunk for a moment, and then he nodded his head in a no type of way. Mainly because it was like a name for female dragons. Not something that best suited his style. Even for the status that he carried with him.
"No," she said. "Okay, um...how about Nightclaw?"
The dragon's face now froze for a second. It wasn't a bad name to him, even for his size and appearance. But as he thought about it a little bit more, he realized it seemed to be a bit too powerful for him. And he shook his head no again.
"Deathwing?"
He shook his head again.
"Hookfang?"
After she said that name, the dragon started baring his teeth and growled at her. Almost if he was familiar with that name and must have really hated it. And Marcy clearly could see that. And even though she wasn't offended, she still thought that naming a dragon would not be easy. Even though she really wanted to.
"Well," she said. "I'm clearly out of ideas. What about you? Do you have any in mind?"
The noble creature thought for a moment. Asking himself if it was a good idea. He did not know much of dragon names. But if Marcy was counting on it, then he could not disappoint her. So he had to think for a bit. His ears laid back, and his eyes looked in another direction. For figuring out a good name for her to call him was really hard. Especially since he could barely even think of one.
So he tried thinking of his past. Seeing if there could be anything that could help him find a name for him. Yet, there wasn't a lot to think about. Since his past was really long. But that's when his thoughts led him into thinking of Hiccup. The first human friend he had in his life. And he had everything that a good friend should have. Nobility, strength, courage and wisdom.
He surely was something to him. But as he thought about him, something popped in his head. His ears flung up and his eyes widened. He finally found something. It was a name. A name that his partner gave him while he was in the hospitality of the vikings. And he was sure that it would work. No one has ever called him by the name that was given to him by his partner.
Yet, he thought if his new human friend could understand it. He needed to find a way to prove to her that the name had any use. And he thought of it. He warbled something to her. Which caught her attention. Then, he opened his maw out. Showing every tooth he had at her. And she was gonna ask him why he would do this, until suddenly, she saw his teeth retract into the upper parts of his mouth. Showing only gummy parts of his mouth.
At that time, Marcy squinted. Leaning forward to see if she would get it. And after a few more seconds, she guessed what it meant.
"Toothless?"
The dragon shook his head in response. Reassuring her that this was the name he wanted her to call him. In the honor of his rider.
"That's your name?" she asked again, getting conformation from the Night Fury.
Marcy thought about the name for a second. She could definitely tell why he would want that name. Given to his gummy mouth that served some purpose in the name. Yet, she wondered why he would be named that. Considering the fact that from what she saw in him, he was a force to be reckoned with. To choose such an odd name felt a bit weird. But now that she thought about it, she has met a lot of people in this world that had very odd names. So there was no real reason to say otherwise.
"Hmm...," she thought with her hand beneath her chin. "I kinda like it. Toothless it is."
The two of them then laughed about it before Marcy returned to sitting beside him and resumed their usual staring. Another minute or so passed as more long sullen silence filled the deserted island. Before it was once again broken by the young girl.
"So I guess neither of us are going home," Marcy acknowledged.
Toothless lifted his head up and looked at her. Gesturing the question of what she meant by that.
"Well for starters," she explained. "The only way to get back home is through the Calamity Box. And Andrias has the Calamity box. And even if we tried to go back,we'll probably be hunted down by his army of robots. Meaning we don't stand a chance."
The Night Fury then looked back at the sea. As much as he wanted to deny it, Marcy did have a point. Upon their departure, he did see an army of robots surrounding the castle. And if there were more, than there was no way they could go through the front door without meeting heavy resistance. And besides, it wouldn't even matter if they tried to go back, considering that Marcy stated that they would be hunted down before they could even plan it. Yet Toothless remained persistent. He was not going to stick around and wait for them to come for them.
They had to make a stand. They had to fight. If not for themselves then for their homes and families. Toothless knew that Andrias had plans for the calamity box. Plans that would mean the total annihilation of many worlds. One of them could be his. And he couldn't let that happen. Yet without a plan this would be difficult. He just wished that he didn't have to fight this battle alone.
Though, now that he thought about it, he technically wasn't alone. Then before he knew it, an idea came into mind. His antenna's perked up and it slightly lifted its head. And the next thing Marcy knew, she saw the dragon stand up before motioning something to her. Making simple gestures that she could understand. Once she got the message, she froze in place. Her eyes widened as she lightly gasped. She initially stood up on her feet and covered her mouth in the process.
"You wanna team up?" she asked, still in shock. "With me?"
The Night Fury nodded his head in response. Gesturing to her that they have gotten so far with just the two of them. He also reminded her of her previous statement, of how they made a pretty good team. And if they work together, than can take the fight to that monster Andrias, and they can both go home. Though before he could get his hopes up, the Night Fury sensed a little hesitation from her.
"Umm...," she dithered. "I don't know-"
The Night Fury then implored her to think about it. He reminded her of her statement that Andrias's robots would be after both of them. So either way, they would be looking for the both of them. And that working together was the only thing that they could do if they wanted to survive. Yet he could sense her holding back, looking around nervously as her hands fidgeted. In response Toothless dropped his head down and closed his eyes in shame. This was a stupid idea. Though he was sure that it would work. But before he could get ahead of himself, she spoke.
"Well, I guess it would be a possibility," her answer was. "But only if you want to. I don't want to force you not...not like how I force my friends into this world."
It was then that he realized the purpose of her hesitation. Him purposing that the idea reminding her of her own personal failure. Of how she forced her friends into this world where they would be together forever. Yet he wasn't like them. They didn't want this, and he did. He had to assure her this. And then it hit him. He knew what he had to do to convince her that he could help her. And that this is the right call.
Then Toothless took the liberty of lowering his head and wings. Bringing back one forearm as he offered his service to her. Pledging both his honor and his status to her cause. To be her shield whenever she needed one. To guard her with his own life. To fight by her side now and always on the battlefield. And that his life was hers in victory and defeat from this day till his last day. And then asked what say her? She did not respond in return. Completely blown away by the Night Fury's proposal.
At the same time, a light breeze from the wind blew around. Causing the long locks from the ravened haired female to dance light through the air, like the small waves that passed on the beach. For a moment she thought about it, the choice that laid before her touched her mind like glass. She knew that if she made this decision, there was no going back. Many things could happen, and everything could go completely wrong. Yet at the same time, she also had to think about their current situation. Even without him, Andrias would find her. And even if she found her friends, if they were even still in Amphibia, she did not know if they would ever accept her. Not after what she did.
So really there was nothing left for her here. Her friends were gone and she has no way of getting home. Well...not any way. Maybe there was a way. Yet she needed a partner to do so. Seeing this, it would be a fool's errand for her to refuse. She saw merely a fraction of what Toothless was capable of. There is so much more that she could learn from him. And the fact that he was going this far to be with her, made her grateful to have him.
She then looked up and smiled. Feeling a wave of determination rush through her emotions. And then, she gave him her answer.
"Okay," she spoke with pride. "Let's do it."
The sound of the waves crashing against the surface rang like a bell as Marcy climbed on top of her new friend. Who then reared up on his hind legs, spread his wings, and let out a roar in declaration to their new partnership. And from that day forward, they would make their journey all across Amphibia. Determined to put an end to Andrias's tyranny and find a way home. Thus marking the beginning of the legend of Marcy and the Black Knight.
The End
And that's it! One glorious end to one glorious story. In my opinion at least. Again, I wanna give a personal thank you for everyone reading this and hope that you enjoyed every second of it. I also wanna remind everyone that this story was dedicated after watching the recent episode of Amphibia "Olivia and Yunan". For all those Amphibia fans out there, consider this justice served to you on a silver platter. And one more reminder, if anyone has any questions, comments, concerns, please review in the review box bellow. Maybe even take a vote on a sequel if that's what you guys want. Alright guys, this is Gunslinger245 signing out!