"GET BACK!"
Hiccup immediately yelled out to the others as soon as they saw the incoming ball of rock and fire falling towards them, and the group and their dragons swiftly ran back as fast as they could before it could hit them.
To their luck, the vikings all managed to get out of range from the exploding impact, and surprisingly, all that the meteorite managed to make was a dent in the ground as it shattered to pieces.
Along with that, the explosion was not as large as Hiccup anticipated.
He looked up with a mocking smirk at Drago, who still stood atop the cliff. "Is that all you've got!? I expected more!"
Drago merely laughed at the lad, not buying his taunt. "You fool! The fight is only beginning," he replied as his head then turned to where the flaming boulder fell. "Rise up, minion! Rise up, and deal with these pathetic mortals!"
And that was when the realization really hit them.
The rocks from the shattered meteorite quickly levitated into the air and began to form together into a large, rocky, hulking figure, with its head resembling that of a skull. The amalgamation's eyes, mouth, and hands glowed green with chaos fire as its rocky body began to crack with the same foul magic.
If anything, it was larger than a troll, and appeared more dangerous.
"What the Hel is that…" said Ruffnut.
Drago once again laughed in amusement. "Impressive, isn't it? It is a golem summoned from beyond Midgard's skies, infused with chaos magic! Of course, this is but a small example of the Dark Master's might; but when he rises once more, I will bask in his power!"
"...Alas though, I have more work to do. Now, destroy them, minion!"
With a slam of his bullhook, Drago teleported away in a burst of chaos fire, leaving the large golem to deal with Hiccup and his allies.
The amalgamation rose it's arms up, and with a crash it slammed it's green fiery hands into the ground, roaring fiercely at the group.
"Everyone back up!" ordered Hiccup. "We can't take that thing on! Let our dragons handle it!"
"Are you sure?" asked Arn, holding his sword out defensively. "We could just mount up and blast this thing to bits from the air!"
Astrid shook her head. "No! We might risk ourselves by getting smacked down by it, and if we fly too high, the orcs might notice us and turn their attention away from Stoick!"
"If you say so…" nodded Arn. "What are we waiting for? Let's destroy it!"
The riders all hastily ran to their dragons' sides, and in total unison, they yelled out in command for their dragons to attack as the golem swiftly began its advance on them.
"Plasma blast, bud!"
"Stormfly, spine shot!"
"Spew!"
"Gas- Spark!"
In a combined effort, the four dragons fired their flaming attacks at the golem, directly towards its chest, and just like so, the golem exploded into dozens of bits.
At the sight of the golem's smoldering remains, the group let out a cheer… however, their celebration was short lived.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, chaos magic swirled around the fallen rocks as they rose back into the air and put themselves back together, reforming the large golem.
Fishlegs gasped. "What the- why didn't it work!?"
"I- I don't know," stuttered Hiccup, eyeing the amalgamation as it slowly advanced on them. "The magic holding it together must be protected. Our dragons can't break it!"
"Uhh, if we can't break it, WHAT DO WE DO THEN?!" yelled Ruffnut impatiently.
"Stay calm! We'll take it on like we did last time with the troll and figure out its weakness! As long as we-"
"LOOK OUT, HICCUP!"
Astrid's voice called out to him, and as Hiccup turned his head he saw that the golem was directly on top of him and about to bring its rocky and green fiery hands down. It would have been too late for him were it not for Toothless.
The Night Fury rammed his head into Hiccup, pushing him back as they both stormed out of the way of the golem's attack, causing it to miss; simultaneously, the rest of the group separated.
Hiccup looked back at Toothless with a nod. "Thanks, bud!"
"You can thank me later," Toothless growled in Dragonese, glaring down the golem. "We have a fight to- gragh!"
The last word to Hiccup came out unclear, mayhaps because of his focus on the battle. Regardless however, the lad continued to keep up.
Knowing well that only their dragons could deal some form of damage - at the very least slow it down, Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, the Twins, and Arn focused on distracting it, knowing that the golem viewed them more of a vulnerable target than their dragons. As such, Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch gave it all they had.
But the golem merely continued reforming any chunks that were blasted off back together. The situation as a whole seemed dire.
Hiccup and Astrid at one point even tried to strike at the legs of the golem, but their weapons failed to make even a single dent in it. If anything, the attacks merely dented their own weapons, and thus caused small shards of metal to fly off.
"Guys," said Arn. "I wouldn't do that if I were you-"
But the worst came to Hiccup as he attempted to another attack, but not before the sound of a metallic CRACK caught his ears as Inferno fell apart into two. Hiccup, in response, gave off a growling sigh.
"Why did I even do that…?" he asked himself irritatedly.
Even the Twins attempted to strike their weapons against the golem, but they merely ended up with the same result as Hiccup and Astrid, if not worse.
Fishlegs, out of desperation and a lack of thinking, of which was much unlike him, bashed his shield into the golem's leg as a means to attract its attention. The distraction worked, but the shield in turn shattered into burning splinters.
"Uh oh."
He looked up at the golem who looked right back down at him, and he immediately ran off in the other direction screaming loudly, "HELP!"
Meatlug reacted in time as the golem began to chase after Fishlegs. From her gaping maw she spewed out molten flame, blasting it directly at the golem's chest and knocking it off balance.
The amalgamation, for a mere moment, fell down onto its back, but quickly stood back to its fiery feet as it continued the fight. Wherever its fists struck, the impact let out a geyser of chaos fire.
As a whole, the fight appeared hopeless.
...Yet amidst the chaos, an idea started forming at the top of Arn's mind as he ran around, trying to theorize a possible weakness to the golem. If it was that physical strength and weapons could not harm the monster, then perhaps...
"Hiccup!" he suddenly called out, catching the attention of the young viking who was in the midst of being chased by the large amalgamation, all while dodging its attacks.
"Not now, Arn! I'm a... bit busy right now!" he replied.
"As busy as you are, I think I figured out a weakness for the golem!" he replied.
Hiccup's gaze caught onto Arn, his attention diverted onto him. With this, Toothless simultaneously hurled a plasma blast towards the golem, causing the beast to turn its attention towards the Night Fury as it then began chasing him around.
Hiccup sighed, gladdened that he was given a moment of relief.
"Alright… what is your plan?" he breathily asked Arn as he approached him exhaustedly.
Arn spoke hastily, all the while his eyes remained on the golem. "From what I've seen so far, our attacks, whether it be weapons, fire, or otherwise, have done nothing to take down the golem! So if we can't take it down through brute strength, then maybe we'll need to get a little more mystical about this!"
"...Mystical...?" asked Hiccup. "What the Hel are you suggesting? That we use magic to destroy it-?"
The lad came to a stop as he suddenly splurted out the answer into the wind; magic. That was what was needed. Yet even then, a part of him hesitated at the thought of this...
"...You can't be serious," he suddenly spoke. "None of us here know magic! We can't use it!"
"Not unless we try!" replied Arn. "Remember the runic word I told you about; the one that means to light aflame?"
"Fúre?" he replied, to which Arn nodded.
"If you think none of us can use magic, then how about you try forgetting about those expectations of yours?" asked the blonde viking. "Just forget about it all for one, damn, moment! Get rid of your hesitation and-"
"ARN, IT'S HEADED YOUR WAY!" called out Fishlegs.
The young viking had no time to finish as he swiftly ran off with the golem chasing after him in tow. Something had to be done now.
"HURRY UP HICCUP! DO IT!" called out Arn.
"What!?" he answered back. "But what am I supposed to do!? How am I-"
"I DON'T KNOW! ...GET ANGRY, MAYBE?!"
'...Angry like fire...' thought Hiccup.
By then, there was no other option. Standing where he was, Hiccup tightened his hands into fists, and pinned his feet to the ground. The lad closed his eyes, and imagined seeing himself surrounded by a torrent of fire, similar to what he saw when he touched the runestone back on Berk. Indeed, the only thing he could describe upon gazing at the imaginary the fire was... anger. Pure anger that burned like a raging inferno that was out of control, or like a meteor falling towards Midgard from Muspelheim. Yet the longer he stared at the fire in his head, the less he realized that his hands began to make movements of their own, mimicking the dancing of the flames before him...
...And then it happened.
Hiccup felt a rising heat fill the veins in his arms, and with a spark, fire began to manifest in his palms. To that, the lad opened his eyes, and looked down at his hands, now burning brightly with orange flames like the irises in his eyes.
Everyone's gaze now fell onto Hiccup; especially Astrid's, who exclaimed in shock, "What the-"
Even the golem, for a brief moment, became distracted by this change. Yet that did not stop it completely, for with a bellowing roar, it began to charge the lad once more.
With that, Hiccup raised out both of his hands towards the raging monster, and shouted out one word;
"FÚRE!"
All of a sudden, the flames in his hands merged together into a magical ball of fire, and like lightning, it went hurling towards the golem. Then, with a sundering boom, the amalgamation exploded into hundreds of fragments, before incinerating into blackened ashes.
Hiccup took a breath, his eyes expressing disbelief. He glanced down at his hands, now devoid of the magical flames, and then glanded back at his friends, who were, understandably, shocked to the core by this twist of events; the dragons equally so.
"Did that actually happen?" asked Toothless.
"Hiccup," said Fishlegs. "How the…?"
"I don't know," he immediately replied. "We'll... talk about this later. But until I give my saying about this, I want you guys to tell nobody about this, got it?"
The others nodded in reply.
"Now," continued Hiccup. "Perhaps we should focus on finding a way for our forces to cross this chasm. From what I can see, they're rallying towards us."
The group raised their brows in question, but upon gazing back at the burning city, their eyes caught sight of the Berkian vikings cutting through the enemy's defense, now reduced to a mere several dozen orcs, as they finally began their advance through the city; though down by a few hundred warriors, their numbers still remained strong, and their strength stronger.
"...Any ideas?" asked Astrid.
"Hmm… why don't we just use the dragons to blast that cliff-wall down?" asked Ruffnut, pointing at the cliff off to their left.
"Nonono!" interrupted Tuffnut. "How about, we use the dragons to blast that cliff-wall down."
Hiccup smirked, nearly chuckling. "Well, I knew sooner or later you guys would come in handy. Ruff, Tuff, I'll leave the honors to you and your dragon."
"Hah!" laughed Tuffnut. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
…
With just a few blasts of fire from the dragons, the side of the cliff which Drago previously stood upon came crashing down, creating a bridge of boulders and rocks for them to cross which proved to be effective enough for the Berkian troops passing over it.
And soon enough, after all of the vikings had marched over the chasm, they finally stood before the front of the fortress; its size immense and intimidating, yet its defenses oddly unmanned.
Hiccup looked around, minding where they stood, for the area was enough for a large army.
On both flanks, black rocky cliffs overlooked them, whilst from above, the clouds stood at their darkest, giving off an uneasy presence as green lightning crackled the skies. All that kept them together was the sight of their chieftain, standing at the front of their army with not a shred of dread in his eyes.
To Stoick, he assumed victory was theirs.
Looking to his right and left, he gave the group a nod, as both them and their dragons made their way forward, the sight of the fortress looming before them.
Then, after several steps, they came to a stop.
"We're ready, dad," said Hiccup.
Stoick, without making another move, called out for the wicked warlord.
"BLUDVIST!" he bellowed. "YOUR REIGN IS OVER! COME OUT OF YOUR FORTRESS, AND SURRENDER THE ISLAND OF TOMORROW! THERE IS NOWHERE TO HIDE FROM THE MIGHT OF BERK!"
A moment of silence followed as the ranks of vikings behind them looked towards the black metal gates of the fortress in anticipation, wondering if Drago would truly come out.
But then the gates began to creak, slowly grinding and opening until the figure of a large corrupted viking warlord with glowing green eyes came into view.
Drago walked forward towards the vikings that stood before him in what they assumed was their valiant victory, yet they did not know what the warlord was up to.
It took him a bit, but soon Drago stopped more than a dozen yards away from Stoick and the others, and gave a grin.
"My reign? Over?" he chuckled. "Me? Surrender to you? Foolish old man, you have no idea what you are challenging. I have no doubt that your son enjoyed facing off against my golem?"
Stoick rose a brow. "A what?"
""A monster made of rocks and boulders," said Hiccup. "Drago summoned it himself... It seems he knows how to use magic, and that makes things far worse."
Drago once again chuckled. "Heh, and they say your boy is the smart one," he said sarcastically. "My powers go far beyond just that, you know. My very body and soul courses with chaotic magics... all thanks to the master's power."
"Tell us then," said Hiccup, taking a few steps forward. "How is it you're still alive? I saw you die... We ALL saw you die! You drowned!"
"Hmph, but I didn't," the warlord smirked. "When my pet Bewilderbeast betrayed me and swam off, I felt my final seconds approaching... but then a dark voice whispered to me. In that moment, chaotic energies surrounded me, and before I knew it, I found myself before the eyes of a god. He showed me the truth; he showed me the end of your world, and told me that he was a truegod, unlike your false pantheon… He even showed me my future, where I would rule this world by his side after destroying it of your filth. And thus, without much consideration, I took his offer for power, and rose to become his right hand. The right hand of Midgard's Dark Master..."
"I mean, why command thousands of mindless dragons and squabbling vikings, when you can command legions that fight without question? My dream of ruling Midgard will soon become a reality, and I will gladly destroy it first if that's what it will take to make it happen."
Hiccup could not believe what he was hearing. Drago had given up his freedom in exchange for power, yet he gladly accepted it and took his place as the right hand of a so called dark god? He truly was insane; no longer did he want to merely conquer Midgard, for now, he wanted to destroy it as well.
"You'll never be able to destroy Midgard, Drago," responded Hiccup. "What you and this Dark Master are trying to do goes against the prophecy of Ragnarök! You can't-"
Drago slammed his foot into the ground. "Bah! Ragnarök is but a mere make-believe! A false prophecy foreseen by a false god; your so-called Allfather. He does nothing but sit atop his throne of gold, drinking wine as he wastes his time away thinking."
"I could say the same about your own "god," heretic," spoke Arn, joining in. "I have fought the orcs and the Dark Legions for years, and though I don't know who this Dark Master is, I can tell you that he won't be happy once we meet him and-"
"Meet him?" laughed Drago. "You and your Alsworn are nothing; and nor are its allies! Even with this pathetic tribe at your side, you're useless without the Wings of Midgard. They may have defeated my master in the past, but they cannot help you now. Know this, and know this well; your Wings of Midgard are dead... and they have been dead for a thousand years!"
The dread quickly began to kick in, especially for Arn; he who had sailed south, and made a great effort in an attempt to look for the Wings of Midgard. Yet hearing the warlord's words, he wondered... were his efforts all for not? In that moment, the blonde viking's began beating rapidly.
'This cannot be true,' he thought to himself.
Drago let out a sigh as a wicked chuckle escaped his lips. "...I think I have wasted enough time. I will see to it that you and this pathetic excuse of an army are destroyed."
Stoick grunted. "Hah! And you and what army? You stand alone, Drago."
"Dad, wait-"
Drago, first chuckled, and then laughed as he rose his bullhook up and glared down at Stoick. Soon Hiccup realized too late that what they walked into was not their way to victory, but into a trap.
"This army," the warlord said wickedly.
As the base of his bullhook hit the ground, two explosions of chaos fire and lightning erupted from afar behind Drago. Then, out of nowhere, two large portals tore opened, and from them, dozens of orcs came forth, marching out by the second...
...And yet, there were more. Up on the cliffs on both sides, more orcs came marching into view, carrying bows and crossbows as they rolled large catapults into position, loaded and ready to fire.
...But it was then that Hiccup saw them.
From the portals, they came through; trolls, golems, goblins, corrupted dwarves and vikings, chaos infused giants, large black wolves, and finally, a dragon, with scales and horns as black as night, a stature as large as a Titan Wing, and eyes that glowed green with evil. Hiccup could only assume that the beast was Drago's personal pet... or perhaps one of.
Yet even then, it was a sight that sent chills of horror down the spines of every viking who stood there, and with that, Hiccup and the group began to back towards their warriors. They now realized why Drago had invited them to battle on the Island of Tomorrow. It was nothing more than a grand trap.
As thousands of warriors and monsters of the Dark Legions rallied behind Drago, Hiccup looked back up towards the cliffs one more time, only to see thousands more marching into view as they rallied alongside the orcs and their catapults, ready to slaughter the Berkians like sheep. This was a fight they could not win.
Drago began chuckling. "Do you see now, chief of Berk? We cannot be stopped. You are but few who think of us as pawns and fools. Now you see, it is you who are the fools, standing in the way of something bigger that you cannot hope to beat..."
"...And with that, you will fall. In the name of the Dark Master, in the name Maldragor, SLAUGHTER THEM!"
Thousands of roars bellowed from the many races of the large dark army surrounding them, and from the cliffs above, arrows and bolts came crashing down upon the Berkians, followed by volleys of fiery boulders from the enemy catapults.
Behind Stoick, his men began falling by the dozens, even as they tried raising their shields. But the orcs' projectiles were merely too much to handle, and the catapults that the orcs had stationed above them were wrecking their lines.
In a desperate attempt, the dragons tried to fight back, but their efforts were for naught, for the heavy firing was just too much to dodge or counter.
One by one, Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch were shot down, to the point where they could no longer fight. Their strength began to fail, and as both they and their riders eyed Drago's forces marching towards them, fear started to take over entirely.
This was no battle. This was a massacre.
Hiccup immediately ran to Toothless's side, covering the dragon as he helped him back towards the protection of their ranks, and yet their numbers continued kept dropping. In that moment, Hiccup noticed purple blood seeping from Toothless's wounds; the blood of a Night Fury.
"TOOTHLESS!" screamed Hiccup.
"We can't stay here!" called out Astrid shakingly, as she and her injured Dragon made their way closer to Hiccup. "We- we need to retreat! We're getting slaughtered!"
"Dad! What do we do!?" the lad asked desperately, looking up at his father who stood there, intimidated and bewildered. Yet only one loud word escaped from Stoick's mouth.
"RUN!"
…
The retreat back to the beach was a mess. Not only were the orcs and their allies right behind them, but much of the Berkian force was also scattered, and thus left exposed as Drago's pet dragon flew above them in a fiery rage, burning them in chaos fire.
Yet all Hiccup and his friends could do was run; run, reach the ships, and get off the island. It was clear to them that the accursed isle was beyond saving, and there was nothing they could do.
Eventually, the remaining Berkians soon spotted the masts of their longships, and upon reaching the shore, they took but a very brief moment to settle down and catch their breath, for the enemy was still pursuing them.
"Their army…" Gobber breathed heavily. "How did Drago summon a large army in seconds!? That power should be impossible! Not even Gothi-"
Valka shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. They are closing in on us! We have to get off this island, or else we'll all die here!"
"Dad," spoke Hiccup, holding his arms around Toothless's neck, who was on the verge of passing out. "Mom's right. We can't stay here. We've lost! There's no way we can defeat Drago like this!"
Stoick silently grunted. He desperately wanted to finish off Drago, and yet at the same time, his son was right. Thousands upon thousands of orcs and other brutes and monsters now advanced towards them, and the only way forward was back. Even now, he could hear the sound of marching in the distance, and it was quickly closing in.
The chieftain looked back at both his son and wife, and then his wounded dragon. "...Get everyone to the ships, and prepare to sail. Our dragons won't be able to fly in this state."
"EVERYONE! FALL BACK!" bellowed Gobber to their troops.
Hiccup in response gave a nod of approval to his friends. "You heard him, guys."
Everyone did as they were told. They all made way to the longships which were still docked and ported. Being in a rush however, it took quite a bit for the group to get both themselves and their dragons onto their longship. Evermore still, they could hear the distant marching of the Dark Legions right behind them.
...But after finally getting the dragons aboard their longship through great effort, the riders, along with Stoick, Valka, and Gobber wasted no time and immediately climbed on, ready to sail off with the wind.
"We're ready to sail off," said Arn as he held onto the ship's steering oar. "By your command, chief."
Stoick nodded. "Get us out of here."
Immediately the sail dropped, and the longship slowly began to turn as the wind quickly to picked up. The other ships around them soon followed as well, dropping their sails and turning from the shore of the island. The only thing the surviving warriors could think of was returning home to Berk, and to live to fight another day.
Hiccup looked back at Toothless who laid on the deck of the ship, injured. "It's alright, bud," he said, kneeling down to him. "Everything's going to be fine. We're going to get out of here and get you patched up. We will-"
"We have company!"
Astrid's voice spoke up, catching everyone's attention back towards the shore where they saw rank upon ranks of orcs and brutes flood the beach. With them were both Drago, standing at the back of his ranks, and his blackened beast of a dragon, which swooped down and landed at his side.
Hiccup stood to his feet, walking towards the edge of the ship and eyeing both Drago and his dragon questioningly. "What is he up to?"
His answer was immediately given. Drago laughed, raising his bullhook up into the air, and with a mere point of his weapon, the black dragon made its way to the front, taking a deep breath in as its mouth lit up in green flames. With that, it let forth a great ball of chaos fire.
"Oh no…" gasped Hiccup.
The dragon shot its first blast, aimed at a nearby ship from where Hiccup and the others were. The crew took a direct hit, and like so, both them and their vessel were blown into smithereens.
Hiccup looked back at the others. "Can't we sail any faster!?"
"We're at full sail, Hiccup, there's nothing we can do!" replied Arn.
"But that means we're exposed..." replied Hiccup with widened eyes. "We're going to die!"
"Th- This can't be how it ends," stuttered Fishlegs. "I- I still have a whole life ahead of me!"
"I guess the gods had this fate planned for us…" silently replied Astrid as she sank closer to Stormfly, who laid injured near the other dragons. "Is it really the end?"
"It was good to have known you, sis," sighed Tuffnut, before Ruffnut sniffled with, "You too, brother."
For the first time since they were teenagers, the riders felt frightened. Around them, their allies were being torn apart by chaos fire as their ships bursted into pieces. They had not even made it out of the coast entirely. Was this really the end for them?
Stoick on the other hand stood in silence and hesitation as the dragon continued firing at them. His armor, though heavy, and his arms and legs, though exhausted, did not stop the urge of wanting to silence the chaotic dragon.
Hiccup looked back at his father. "Dad, what do we do!? ...Dad!?"
It took a moment for Hiccup's voice to reach Stoick, and by the time he looked back at his son, his mind was already made up.
He sighed deeply as he approached him, laying his hands on his son's shoulders. "...Look after your mother for me... This is something I must handle."
Hiccup arched a brow. "What…?"
"Stoick!?" both Gobber and Valka said in unison, shocked.
The chieftain did not respond. He then approached his dragon Skullcrusher, kneeling down to his level as he pat him. "Stay strong, Skullcrusher. Protect my family if anything goes wrong."
"Stoick… what are... you doing...?" crooned the dragon in Dragonese.
Hiccup's eyes remained widened with bewilderment. "I- I don't understand! Wh- What are you talking about, Dad?! What are you doing!?"
"...What a chief must do; protect his own."
And with that, Stoick lunged towards the edge of the longship and jumped into the shallow waters. He unsheathed his axe and began rushing towards the black dragon. Though the distance was great, the speed he ran at was as fast as a Stinger.
"DAD, NO!"
Seeing his father abandon the ship, Hiccup attempted to chase after him, but before he could make any sort of attempt, he felt a pair of arms grab ahold of him.
Astrid held him back. "There's nothing you can do, Hiccup! Leave him! He's doing it for us!"
As Stoick continued his charge, the black dragon soon set its gaze onto the chieftain, and as such, the beast ceased it's fire onto the escaping longships and began aiming towards the oncoming viking.
However, Stoick refused to let that stop him... With renewed strength, he dashed out of the way of the volleys of chaos fire, running in a motion that somehow defied the force of the water that flowed beneath his feet. Upon reaching the beach, he gave the dragon what was coming to it...
In a final effort, the large beast attempted to shoot Stoick down at point-blank range, but the large viking was able to react quicker than anticipated. With his axe gripped tightly in both hands, he hurled himself into the air with a great leap, raising his weapon above his head, and with one mighty cleave towards the head of the black dragon, it was instantly brought low. No roar came out as it released its dying breath.
Upon pulling his axe out from the wound, the body of the black dragon plummeted down onto its side as a lifeless husk, and like a river, green blood flowed out from it. Yet even then, the fight was not over for Stoick…
His eyes fell upon Drago, who now stood at the front of his forces, grinning wickedly at him.
"What are you waiting for!?" the dark warlord called out. "Come and kill me, if you truly believe you have what it takes!"
Stoick grunted as his brows lowered into a glare, but after making a single step forward, Drago pointed his bullhook out, causing the tip of the weapon to glow as the chieftain felt a strange force of magic attune onto him. In that moment, he realized that he could no longer move.
Drago chuckled as he watched the mighty chieftain of Berk struggle, for he was unable to do anything...
"I told you, Haddock... you, have, already, LOST!"
With a mere swing of his weapon, Stoick was forced up into the air and towards Drago. One thing led to another however, and before he knew it…
The sharp tip of Drago's bullhook stabbed straight through Stoick's chest. A muffled grunt escaped the viking's lips as the grip on his axe weakened, and like so, his weapon dropped down to the blackened ground.
With no other way forward, Stoick knew that it was the end of the line for him...
As Drago pulled back his weapon, he pushed the fallen chieftain down to his knees. In that moment, Stoick expected a quick and sudden end, so that the valkyries could come and carry him up... yet the warlord had other plans for him.
From beneath his blackened cloak, he brought forth the most unexpecting thing; his left arm, seemingly reformed from scratch, with veins glowing green with chaos magic.
With a snap of his fingers, he engulfed his hand with chaos fire. "I have killed many kings and chieftains for as long as I've lived, and all have been forgotten by the sands of time. However, you will be remembered as the chieftain who threw his life away for nothing; a dying cause, even..."
Stoick scoffed weakly, before looking up at Drago as he gathered what air he could, and yelled two words in his face.
"TO VALHALLAAAA!"
Drago merely shook his head as he let out a laugh. With his fiery left hand, he quickly grabbed hold of Stoick's neck, and began pouring the chaotic fire into his body, and began burning him from the inside-out.
Through his grunts, the viking made a great effort to hold in his scream... but it was all too much to handle. His eyes, mouth, and veins now burned with chaos fire, and the pain soon turned into an agonizing torture...
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Stoick finally screamed, no longer able to hold it in. To this, Drago began cackling wickedly, and with a strong swing of his bullhook, the green flames within the viking erupted outwards in a fiery explosion that lit up the beach... Soon after that, the chieftain of Berk was left as nothing more than a pile of blackened ashes.
Stoick the Vast, father to Hiccup, and husband to Valka, was gone…
From afar, Hiccup bore witness to the green explosion. At first, he knew not what it was that had happened, but after a moment of silence, it struck him; the dark realization dawned upon him that his father was no more. He could feel it deep down in his heart as it seemingly cracked open like a walnut, and then after that, the tears came falling down...
"N- No…" he spoke shakingly. "No!"
At that moment, he lightly stumbled back, falling to the deck of the longship as he covered his face with his right palm, and broke down, for he was shattered. Never had he felt such pain in his life, for he had now lost one of the only people who meant a single thing to him.
Yet as he violently sobbed, a pair of familiar arms hugged around him as Astrid knelt down to his level and tightly embraced him in an attempt to comfort him. Even his mother, Valka, through her own tears sat by his side, trying to soothe her son as she ran one of her hands across his shoulder, gently stroking it. She too felt the same pain as he did. Their family was torn apart.
No other words were said on the voyage back to Berk. The vikings went home that disastrous day with only three hundred out of the thousand they brought, and it would be that day which would go on forever in the history of Berk, and even Midgard, as a day of tragedy.
It was that day that Stoick the Vast fell before a terrible evil...
To be continued...