Eret, Heather and the twins finally reached the escort ship and threw the remaining Marines overboard.
"Sorry boys, but me and the Dragon Riders will be taking this boat," said Eret. "Gotta escape somehow, you know." He then turned and looked around the ship. "Had a clean house a bit, but what was wanted escort ship is now our escape ship."
"Handy," said Heather.
"I guess this is what you would call poetic justice," said Ruffnut. "The very shit they were going to use to escort Heather Marine headquarters is, in fact, going to be used to get her to safety."
"I can only imagine the look on their faces when they see us sailing away on their very own ship," said Tuffnut patting the ship.
"Now we wait," said Eret. "Once the others get here, we'll split."
Heather then saw something emerging from the water, and Eret, the twins, could hear something too.
"I think I see something," said Tuffnut.
"What is it?" Ruffnut frowned.
Then suddenly shooting out of the water was Coco, much to their shock. However, instead of a pair of legs, she had a tail with red scales and wore a bra made of seashells. It was clear that she had been using her shirt to drag the Dragon Riders through the current.
"Everyone breathe!" she yelled. "Don't you die on me!"
Eret and the twins immediately screamed though they had no idea whether it was out of shock and horror.
The battleships were still bombarding the main island with cannon fire.
"Sir!" said a Marine captain approaching Vice-Admiral Magnus, who was tall with a long moustache. "Battleships 6, 7 and 8 have identified and reported a large number of pirates located in front of the main gate."
Magnus just stood there without saying a single word.
Coco and managed to bring everyone onto the deck of the ship, but all of them were still unconscious. Then to their confusion, Coco's tale reverted back to a pair of legs, though her toes were still webbed.
"Hey, all of you!" Coco yelled at the unconscious pirates on the deck. "Wake up, come on!"
"Say something!" Eret yelled.
"Please don't be dead," said Ruffnut.
"Yeah, you're too tough to die," said Tuffnut.
Soon all of them spat out water from their mouths, and they quickly all gasped for breath.
"They made it," said Eret, relieved. "They're all still alive. It's a miracle; I can't believe it. They must have seen something down at the put them in a state of shock. Whatever it was, it saved their lives. If they hadn't passed out, they would have sold enough water to kill them."
"Well, either way, they are still alive," Coco chuckled. "Though it does make you wonder what they could have seen down there that spooked them so much."
"I bet it was you," said Eret.
"It was certainly a shock for us," said Ruffnut.
Coco then turned towards Heather. "Well, looky there. You're the one that pirate guy wanted to rescue bad, aren't you? Yeah, I remember now we met at the ship station. You Dragon Riders are something else; back then, I never would have thought you could have pulled off a stunt like this."
"If you don't hurry up and put some damn clothes on, I'll gouge my eyes out," said Eret turning away as Coco was putting her trousers on.
"I will never get that image out of my mind," said Tuffnut.
Coco ignored them and continued. "When he said that he was going to be King of the Pirates, I've got to admit I laughed. But now everything that's happened, I bet he could actually do it."
All the Dragon Riders then began regaining consciousness gasping for air.
"All right, who's not dead?" Ragnar coughed.
"As lively as ever, you guys are tough," said Eret.
"Welcome to the land of the leading," said Coco.
It was then that they all instantly remembered Coco's transformation.
"It was a nightmare!" Snotlout yelled. "Mermaid really don't exist!"
"She's probably an old mermaid," said Ragnar.
"You wannabe specific I'm an ice fish mermaid," said Coco.
"I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that you're able to stand on dry land," said Toothless.
"Really, that's your only concern!" Snotlout yelled, looking cheated. "Mermaid should be what all the sailors say, a slender sexy body, beautiful skin, long flowing hair, graceful and gorgeous. It's just not fair!"
"Just to educate you boys, when we mermaids get about to be 30 years old, are tailfin forks in two, and we can walk on land like a regular old human," said Coco as she put her hat back on. "If you ever make it out of Fishman Island, you'll see what I'm talking about."
"Got to say that a new one on me," said Ragnar.
"Where are your manners? Didn't I just save your lives?" Coco scolded.
"Thank you, Granny Coco, we appreciate it," they said with very little enthusiasm.
"Don't mention it," Coco laughed.
Ragnar then spotted Heather and smiled. "Guess we finally found you."
Heather smiled back. "I guess you did."
Chopper then finally regained consciousness. "What happened? Where am I?"
Astrid then quickly hugged Heather. "Heather! I'm so glad that we made it in time; you're not hurt you?"
"Don't you ever scare off like that again," said Fishlegs.
Heather smiled at them. "I'm fine, thanks all of you. Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it," said Astrid, practically crying in her shoulder.
"Granny, you're amazing," said Chimney. "I never knew you were a mermaid. I always did think that it was weird that you had fins and scales. Now I know why."
"How many clues does it take?" Eret grunted.
Fishlegs then noted that Chopper and moved a muscle. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Are you all right?" Heather asked, looking deeply concerned.
"I-I can't move my body," he said.
"I'm not surprised," said Toothless looking back at him. "Don't worry about it; I'll explain everything later, okay."
He then began climbing the steps towards the Bridge of Hesitation.
"Hey, Toothless!" said Snotlout and then quickly followed him.
He caught up with Toothless just as he reached the top of the stairs.
"What's up?" Snotlout asked.
"Just take a look," said Toothless.
Snotlout's eyes widened as he looked at the main island, which was nothing more than a sea of flames now. There was so much smoke coming from the burning buildings that it darkened the sun.
"Hard to believe that was the same island we were not long ago," said Toothless.
"What's going on?" Snotlout stared. "What's up with this attack? It's like a sea of flames out there."
"I notice something else," said Eret as he joined them. "It seems like they're kinda avoiding fire anywhere where Heather Owson is at."
"Of course they are," said Astrid, who had followed Eret. "Their entire mission was to bring her life to Navy headquarters. Until they're told otherwise, they won't dare lay a finger on her."
"Guess that explains why the bridge has been blown to bits," said Snotlout.
"If they don't want to kill her, then they still intend on getting her back," said Toothless.
"After the Marines are done attacking Enies Lobby, they'll probably come after us with some hand-to-hand combat to the claim her," said Eret.
"I don't like the sound of that," said Snotlout. "We're at our limit here, and Chopper can't even move. On top of that, those battleships are bound to have some pretty powerful guys on board. Where is Hiccup right now?"
"From where I last saw him and was left standing, I'd say he's there on the first howl on that bridge," Eret pointed. "He's fighting Lael Robson."
"That's close by; we should go and help him," said Snotlout.
"Don't bother; that Lael guy Hiccup is fighting is no ordinary man," said Toothless gravely. "No good can come at it if we get caught up in that mess; who knows what will happen."
"I agree," said Astrid. "We would only get in Hiccup's way; we have to have faith that he can handle this alone."
"Those battleships could turn any time," said Toothless noting all the battleships. "We need to make sure we still have an escape route."
"To that end, we have to hold the line and protect the ship until Hiccup arrives; it's the best we can do," said Astrid and then looked out towards the sea. "Storm is just beginning."
"Understood," said Snotlout.
Hiccup was now able to transform again, but he was still very much exhausted from the constant fighting. There again, judging from Lael's stumble, he was in any better condition than him.
"It would seem my last attack messed up your legs, didn't it?" Hiccup smiled.
"I see," said Lael. "So that ridiculous fighting style of yours isn't just fun and games as it appears to be. But do not underestimate the strength and resistance of a Six Powers Master. For one too, in order to execute judge power for techniques, their body must be powerful enough to sustain them."
"And you shouldn't underestimate a man, who was whisking everything to save his friends," said Hiccup.
Hiccup then quickly launched himself at Lael and swung his fist, but Lael blocked it with his foot and then quickly kicked him hard in the chest.
"Tempest Kick: Victory Burn!" he yelled, quickly swinging his leg.
Hiccup crashed into the wall and rolled out of the way before the slashing attack could cut him in half.
Back on the Bridge of Hesitation, Ragnar soon joined the others and looked at Eret.
"Hey, Eret, you think your friends are okay?" he asked.
Everyone then turned their eyes towards Eret, who turned and smiled.
"Are you serious?" he asked. "Nothing can stop the Eret Family. Don't you worry, I'm sure they got away."
They then turned their eyes back to the burning island.
The Eret Family and Galley Law were currently facing down the bowels of three battleships.
"Dammit all," Teeny cursed.
"All ships… prepared to fire," said the Vice-Admiral.
Palmer then noticed something on the ground. "Is that a—?"
Then, completely about warning, he pulled out his robe and began slitting down towards the ground.
"Hey, Palmer! What are you doing?" Teeny yelled.
Palmer ran to the base of the stairs and grabbed a transponder snail that was lying there.
"A transponder snail?" Teeny stared in bewilderment. "What the hell are you going to do with that?"
"We need to find out how the Dragon Riders are holding up!" Palmer yelled back.
The battleships then fired their cannons.
"They're firing!"
"Big Bro!" Palmer yelled.
The cannon fire then hit them and it completely demolished the front gate, leaving no trace of either the Eret Family or Galley Law.
The Dragon Riders were completely unaware of this, and Fishlegs had just finished prepping the ship.
"Okay, she's ready!" Fishlegs yelled. "We can leave anytime! As soon as Hiccup gets here, we'll set sail immediately!"
"Sounds good," said Toothless.
"Since no one else is saying it, I will," said Ragnar. "Right now, there are about as many battleships as there are us. No matter when we leave, escaping from this place is going to be virtually impossible."
"Fortunately, doing the impossible is what we do best," Astrid smiled.
"A report on the main island front gate," said a Marine on the speakers. "All personnel of Enies Lobby have been collected and accounted for. We have also identified about 50 pirates as well as the mutinous giants attempting to escape from the island through the main island front gate here at the North West."
Everyone's eyes immediately lit up when they heard this.
"It's them," said Snotlout.
"Teeny and the others, what did I tell you?" Eret smiled. "It sounds like they're home free. No need to worry about that bunch; even with thousands of Marines after then, they still won't die. I'm telling you, this one time those guys—"
"They were blasted with a full range of cannon fire; they have been eliminated," said the Marine. "All targets are currently presumed dead."
Eret's smile immediately disappeared.
"In the island's current condition, the chances of survival are impossible. Repeat, the number of survivors of Enies Lobby is zero."
"This is a report from battleship two. Currently, the courthouse and Tower of Law located in the southeast corner of the island, as well as the underground passageway connecting the main island to the Bridge of Hesitation, have all been destroyed. The only remaining target is the Bridge of Hesitation."
Hearing the announcement and everyone blood cold, even Toothless, who was a reptile.
"Eret," said Snotlout softly.
"They killed all of them," said Ragnar.
"The Eret Family…" said Toothless.
"…and though shipwrights from Galley Law," Astrid added.
"Gabor… Kadir…" said Snotlout breathlessly.
"And Magni," Coco added. "I'm sure he was there right beside them."
"And what about David and Goliath," Chopper cried. "They're dead too?"
"He talked about this like it was nothing," said Fishlegs clenching his fists. "How can they kill people so easily?"
"Aren't these guys supposed to be the good guys?" said Ruffnut.
"Yeah, and they call us criminals at least where honest about it," said Tuffnut.
"I don't think of it that way," said Heather. "They don't see any people; to them, it's just a tiny island on a map. A place they have been sent to erase from the world without any emotion. That is what a Buster Call is."
Everyone just looked at Eret as he stood there clearly; the loss of his friends was very hard on him.
"Hurry up, Dragon; your friends are all here!" Eret yelled. "They're waiting for ya! Come on, you hear may? You better not die; I won't accept it!"
"Eret," said Snotlout.
In the first column, Hiccup and Lael was still battling it out. Hiccup knew he had to transform again just to keep up with Lael.
"This is going to be the last time," said Hiccup as he put everything he had his transformation. "I won't stop until I bring you down, you hear me?"
"Your body can't take this; you'll kill yourself," Lael pointed out.
"Maybe," said Hiccup as he began transforming into his Broadwing Form. "I guess there's only one way to find out. Broadwing Form!"