Chapter Twenty: How to Survive in Battle
Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless landed at the plaza. Every viking that didn't have Inyitis stepped out of their homes. Hiccup's eyes narrowed at the ships that were slowly approaching. They didn't have much time until the ships hit the coast and the men launched their attack. Astrid gripped her axe and turned to Hiccup.
"We need to defend ourselves," said Astrid. "Not just us out here but the people back at the Great Hall. Who knows what Ingvar would do to us if he found us this vulnerable."
"You're right," Hiccup said. He turned to the vikings that were standing behind him and said, "Get every weapon that you can find! We need to prepare for what's about to come!"
The vikings nodded and went out to search for whatever weapon that may be useful in battle. Even the dragons came out ready for battle. Astrid borrowed Hiccup's spyglass and kept an eye out on the ships that were approaching while Hiccup prepared the Berkians for battle.
"Every child and elder will have to hide in Raven's Point. Head to the Cove and don't come out until I give the word," said Hiccup firmly. The two men he was talking to nodded and they went off to gather every child and elder and led them to the Cove. Hiccup watched as people began to line up for battle. He made sure to tell Gobber to make sure the doors to the Great Hall were locked shut and barricaded so if Ingvar's men did make it to the Great Hall, it would be harder to break in.
Toothless warbled Hiccup out of his thoughts and looked out to sea. The ships were only half an hour away and everything was almost set, but Hiccup still couldn't stop the feeling of worry in his chest. Astrid handed him the spyglass and she laid both of her hands on his shoulders.
"Hey, we can do this," said Astrid encouragingly. Hiccup loved how the Hofferson was always so optimistic, even in the most perilous of situations. She was the best pep talk giver that he knew, and Hiccup was grateful for it.
"We'll kick Ingvar's butt and make sure that he doesn't come back," continued Astrid.
"I sure hope so," said Hiccup, still unsure.
"We will.I know that for sure," said Astrid. She gave him a kiss and then unsheathed her axe and looked out to sea. "So, rerun me through the plan again?"
Hiccup smiled. The plan was simple, but effective. It was one of the oldest tricks in the book meaning that Ingvar probably wouldn't know about it. Hiccup was glad that he had spent the time last night and read through the chiefing book. It included details of techniques in battle, something that Hiccup never thought he would touch on until now.
"Once everyone starts fighting, the dragons are going to destroy their defenses," said Hiccup. "Ingvar likes attacking head on, which should give us an advantage when we launch the secret plan." He patted Toothless' head.
"Secret plan?" repeated Astrid with a playful smile. "And what might the secret weapon be?"
"You'll see," said Hiccup. Astrid wouldn't be happy about what he was planning on doing. Once the defenses were destroyed, Ingvar and his men would have to fall back. Hiccup was planning on swooping in to face Ingvar head on when the man was left alone, something that Astrid wouldn't be okay with. But Hiccup wanted to do it. He needed to put an end to all of this.
Astrid nodded. "Okay. But...just don't die. Okay?"
"Astrid, I have a habit of not dying when I'm supposed to," Hiccup said reassuringly. "I'll be fine. I promise."
Astrid nodded again and the grip on her axe tightened. "The Great Hall is barricaded.
"Yep," said Hiccup.
"The people are ready for battle."
"Yep."
"The kiddos and elders are hiding in the Cove."
"Yep.
"And everyone knows the plan."
"Yep," said Hiccup.
Astrid smiled. "You're going to be an amazing chief, Hiccup."
Hiccup shrugged. "I guess the whole chiefing thing is just...in me."
The war horn sounded once again and Astrid mounted Stormfly. Hiccup mounted Toothless and the two flew down toward the plaza and Hiccup reran everyone through the plan once again before they all went to the coast to face Ingvar and his men. Hiccup put on a brave expression, but the young viking was absolutely freaking out on the inside. Hiccup drew in a breath and breathed out slowly.
Okay, Hiccup. This is it, he thought. Hiccup watched as the first ship touched the sandy coast and his grip on his sword tightened. Toothless growled by his side and he could hear the shring of Astrid unsheathing her axe beside him.
Wait for it...Wait for it…
As Hiccup had predicted, the men ran in full force. Hiccup closed his eyes and knew that his father was wishing him well. Hiccup's green eyes snapped open and the young viking let out a battle cry along with everyone else behind him and charged.
…
The battle was intense. Swords clashed against swords. Axe against axe. Mace against mace. Ingvar's men had even brought their darts and began to shoot them at both the dragons and people. No one had gotten hit by them yet, but Hiccup had a feeling that these darts weren't just going to put them to sleep for a while.
"Dodge the darts the best you can!" shouted Hiccup. While no one gave him a response—-they were fighting, which made that extremely difficult—-Hiccup saw that people made a better effort to dodge the darts. Astrid somersaulted out of the way when a bright green dart nearly hit her. The Hofferson girl charged at two of Ingvar's men and kicked them both, then bashed them on the head with the butt of her axe. Hiccup smiled. She was amazing.
Hiccup snapped out of his thoughts and parried with a man who slashed at him with his axe. Thanks to Astrid and the many battles that they had fought back on the Edge and beyond, Hiccup had improved in sword fighting, but wouldn't consider himself a master yet. Still thought, Hiccup managed to parry every blow, dodge every dart, and knock out every man that approached him. Hiccup never knew battle could feel so thrilling yet so scary at the same time.
Hiccup found himself by Astrid's side once again. They fought together, side by side and were almost in perfect sync with each other.
"Watch out!" cried Astrid. She whacked her axe against the armored man, knocking him out cold.
"Behind you!" said Hiccup suddenly, and the young viking kicked the man that was about to slice at Astrid with his prosthetic leg. The man howled in pain and limped away. Astrid smiled at Hiccup.
"Not bad," she said. "Although you may want to work on your angle."
Hiccup rolled his eyes but smiled. "Strict much?"
Astrid punched his shoulder and ran off to help two other vikings who were fighting three men. Hiccup spotted Toothless, who was using his wings and tail as a weapon to knock out every man that underestimated the power of a Night Fury, and ran up to him. Hiccup parried with a man who was about to pierce Toothless and Toothless knocked him out with his prosthetic tail.
"Two for prosthetics, zero for Ingvar's men," said Hiccup. Toothless warbled and Hiccup mounted his dragon quickly. The dragons that were firing above had almost cleared out all of Ingvar's defenses. Only one catapult remained.
"Come on, Bud. Let's finish this," said Hiccup. Toothless roared and took to the grey, cloudy skies. Hiccup and Toothless spun in the air and dived straight for the catapult that was launching nets. The whistling of air filled Hiccup ears as he and Toothless whooshed down toward the catapult, and Hiccup could hear the sound of a plasma blast building up in the back of Toothless' throat. This was it. Berk was going to win. Nothing could stop them.
But then something did stop them.
The catapult was suddenly moved out of the way, revealing Ingvar, who was holding a dart shooter in his hands. The dart was bright red, and Hiccup never found himself so shocked at the sight of his favorite color. The dart whistled through the air and time seemed to slow as the dart made its way toward Toothless' leg. Toothless flipped out of the way, dodging the dart just in time, but the small, red-tassled object was just a diversion for the real trap.
The catapult launched a net straight for Hiccup and Toothless and the netting wrapped around both the dragon and viking instantly. Hiccup cried out and Toothless screeched as the two fell toward the deck of Ingvar's ship. They hit with a loud thud and Hiccup quickly sliced at the netting to get them free. Once he did, Hiccup and Toothless both stood up to face the man who had started the Inyitis outbreak.
"Well, well, well, look who we have here, Bud," said Hiccup, glaring daggers at the man in front of him. "Another germ we need to get rid of."
Toothless roared in agreement and Ingvar pulled out his axe. "Hiccup, I believe you have something that belongs to me."
Hiccup tapped his chin and then his eyes brightened. "Oh! You mean the ingredients that you stole from us? Yeah, I'm sorry, but all of that is currently being digested by half of the people that caught Inyitis here. Sorry!"
Ingvar growled and lunged for Hiccup, but the young viking dodged expertly and parried with Ingvar's blow. Toothless swiped at Ingvar's feet, causing the man to tumble backwards, but he quickly recovered and sliced at Hiccup again. Ingvar was a fierce fighter, and Hiccup had too many close calls with the man's axe than he would've liked. Sweat beaded at Hiccup's brow as he parried with Ingvar once again. The young viking was getting tired, but he tried his best not to show it. He had to stay strong, not just for himself, but for all of Berk.
Ingvar lunged again, and this time, Hiccup wasn't so lucky. He screamed as hot searing pain erupted from his arm. Hiccup could feel the wetness of blood seeping through his red sleeve. And what was worse was that Ingvar had wounded his left hand. His dominant hand.
Hiccup switched hands and held the sword in his right hand. He really wished he was ambidextrous. Hiccup's parries were sloppier, and the pain from his arm made it even harder to focus. Toothless did most of the fighting while Hiccup did more of the defending. Hiccup didn't know how much longer he could last.
After what seemed like forever, Ingvar finally stopped fighting. Hiccup kept his defensive position, and Toothless was panting beside him. Hiccup could feel sweat dripping from his brow.
"So that's it? We're done?" asked Hiccup.
Ingvar laughed wickedly. "Not yet." He drew out his dart shooter and placed a bright green dart inside. Hiccup was about to retort but suddenly felt the dart lodge its way into his leg. Hiccup yanked it out and Toothless pounced on Ingvar. The man didn't even fight back. Hiccup stood tall and called over a few men to take him to the dungeons.
Once Ingvar was gone, it wasn't long until the rest of his men forfeit. Several of Ingvar's men managed to escape, but the majority of them were put in the dungeons. Hiccup watched as the last group of men were taken away and Astrid ran up to him.
"I saw you fighting Ingvar," she said. "Was that the secret plan?"
"Ehh...pretty much," said Hiccup. Astrid frowned and was about to punch his arm when she realized it was bleeding.
"Oh, gods, Hiccup, that's a deep cut!" exclaimed Astrid.
Hiccup laughed, but it wasn't a humour one. "Yeah...super deep."
Astrid examined his arm. "We need to get you to Gothi."
"Astrid, I'll just wrap it up in gauze. Gothi is busy at the Great Hall and….and…" Hiccup trailed off when he suddenly felt really dizzy. He brought up a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. He stumbled backward.
Astrid held him steady. "Whoa, whoa. Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah...I'm...fine…" Hiccup's voice was feeble. "Just fine. Perfectly fine. Just…"
"Just NOT fine," finished Astrid. "You look like you're about to...HICCUP!"
Hiccup's forest green eyes slipped into the back of his head and the young viking kept going in and out of unconsciousness. He could feel himself being picked up and placed on Toothless' back and rushed over to the Great Hall. He heard the worried voice of Astrid and Hiccup was surprised that her voice was actually cracking. He felt himself being laid on a soft, comfortable cot and his arm being wrapped. He briefly cracked his eyes open to see Gothi dumping something down his throat.
And that's when everything went black.
Author's Note: Another cliffhanger! XD
Until the next story!
-BeyondTheMoon1203
