Author's Note
Hey readers! Sorry for the late upload, I've just had a tough time writing this chapter for various reasons. I'm on a family vacation at the moment, but I have wifi at the rental house so that isn't too big of a problem.
Writing this chapter has been tough, because for this whole sequence of events, I know what I want to happen, but I'm having a tough time executing it. Massive battle scenes with so much going on are tough to write, because I don't want to ignore things that happen, but at the same time I don't want to go to much into detail, when it should be rolling by quick. In the heat of battle you can't exactly stop to think about things, but with smaller action sequences like a lightsaber duel for example, I can do that very well.
So I've decided to compromise, and split this whole scene into two chapters. This one will focus more on Jarik, Ahsoka and Mara's battle against the Hssiss dragons, and the next will happen during the same time, but will focus more on the actual movie scenes.
I hope my writing doesn't seem too poor in this chapter, and hopefully its enjoyable for you guys with this compromise idea! :D
Ahsoka POV...
The Hssiss dragon leaped through the air, claws outstretched, straight for me. Raising an arm, I used the Force to shove it back, slamming it into the rocks. It roars in anger, but otherwise has no reaction of pain. It rolled to its feet and looked up in time to see me running straight for it. I slammed its face with a Force-enhanced kick, causing it to yelp in surprise. By this time, the rest of the dragons had charged forwards, the Vikings going to meet them. Stoick slammed one heavily with his hammer, and it gave a squawk of pain and rage.
I turned my attention back to the pack leader in surprise as it tackled me to the ground. I grunt in pain, holding its head back as it growled viciously. I then noticed it raise its front leg, sharp claws gleaming with the intent of slashing me to bits. Thinking fast, I quickly brought the Force to my disposal and threw the dragon off of me, back towards the cave entrance.
Getting to my feet, I could see that the amount of Vikings were managing to keep the Hssiss dragons at bay, and they fought very well. Unfortunately, their chaotic nature meant that the dragons didn't care and just kept charging recklessly in rage at the Vikings, a few managing to slash them, with their claws. I had no idea if there were any deaths because of all the chaos, but I could sense the pain from several of the Vikings, indicating they were slashed or bitten. Some of the more experienced Vikings were putting up a good fight, and I could already see one Hssiss dragon dead, a few marks indicating axe swings and the bash of a hammer to the face. Courtesy of Stoick most likely.
I returned my focus to the pack leader, which clawed to its feet with a ferocious snarl, glaring down at me with beady eyes. Out of nowhere, it suddenly let out a high pitched shriek, and I cried out in pain, holding my montrals as they ringed painfully from the shriek, falling to my knees. The dragon then rushed down from the cave with the intent to kill, but the ringing in my montrals was still to painful for me to do anything, and I scrambled backwards sluggishly in an attempt to recover before it reached me.
"HEADS UP!"
The sudden sound of Jarik's voice yelling over the rocky beach made me sigh in relief and happiness. I glanced behind me, the dragon leader stopping for a moment with a confused and furious snarl, gnashing its teeth. What I saw was the most bizarre thing I could've imagined, and I widened my eyes in shock at the sight of it. Zooming just barely over the heads of the Vikings was Jarik and Mara on the landspeeder. The Vikings all yelled in surprise, quickly ducking to avoid being hit, but he was headed straight in my direction. Moments later, he and Mara both jumped out of the speeder, and I got the message as well, rolling to the side, albeit sluggishly.
The Hssiss pack leader only had time to squawk in surprise before the entirety of the landspeeder slammed into it at top speed. The force of the impact sent both the speeder and the dragon crashing back into the cave, followed by a massive explosion resulting in the speeder's destruction. Flames spurted out of the cave, the ground shaking a little, and those near it quickly scrambled to get out of the way of explosion. It blew me off of my feet, and I went flying several feet, sliding across the rocks. I looked back up to see the rock surrounding the cave entrance more blackened now, with a few flames still flickering inside.
"Ha! Genius!" Jarik exclaimed, he and Mara suddenly right next to me, exhilarated grins on their faces.
Gobber then hobbled over to us with a shocked expression. "You're insane!" he cried out incredulously.
"Did you really have to blow up the speeder?!" I asked in exasperation.
Before either of them could reply, a shriek came out of the cavern, followed by a clawed foot pulling itself over the lip of the cave. The Hssiss pack leader struggled to his feet, heavily injured with severe burns, but still going, and I could sense it now as being more furious than ever. The rest of the Hssiss dragons suddenly backed off from attacking the Vikings, slinking away, confusing everyone.
"What are they doing?" Gobber asked.
The pack leader then raised its head and let out a series of calls, the rest of the dragons following suit. Jarik pulled something out of his cloak and handed it to me, which I realized with a start were my lightsabers. I accepted them with a nod, and the Vikings all readied their weapons, Stoick striding to the front.
"Let's finish these beasts!" he yelled out, everyone answering with an approving yell. In the heat of the battle I suppose they had yet to realize that Jarik and Mara were both here, having freed themselves. Eh, they'll figure it out. They all began approaching the Hssiss pack, who were still making their calls, which I narrowed my eyes at in confusion. What were they doing...?
"Something's not right..." Jarik muttered, sharing the same line of thought.
Our suspicions were then proven when the Hssiss dragon calls were actually answered. just as Stoick had gotten halfway up the pile of rocks towards the dragons, a massive, earth-shattering roar streamed out of the cave, actually blowing a few Vikings back from the force of it, and I covered my montrals to block out the noise. The Hssiss dragons all glared down at us, before scampering off away from us and the cave opening. The earth then began to shake, and a massive presence in the Force began to rise from beneath the mountain.
"Go. Go!" Jarik exclaimed, shoving me and Mara back.
"GET CLEAR!" Stoick yelled, jumping back down. The Vikings closest to him all let out a few screams of shock and fear, and the whole cave collapsed in on itself, a massive, gargantuan dragon head shoving its way out of the stone, roaring in rage. Stoick and Gobber looked back at the huge dragon, eyes wide in terror, and Mara let out a frightful gasp, having never seen anything so massive or terrifying in her life. To me it felt like another Zillo Beast.
"Beard of Thor, what is that?!" Gobber yelled incredulously.
"Odin help us..." Stoick said numbly, his voice shaking slightly in fear, the first time he's ever shown any hint of it.
The dragon let out another earth shattering roar, pushing itself out of its cave, and then I realize an important fact.
"Where's Jarik?" I demand in a panic, looking around quickly.
"What?!" Stoick says, whipping his head to look around, eyes widening at the sight of Mara. "You- you're supposed to be in prison!" he exclaims in bewilderment.
"Did you really think you'd keep us in there?!" Mara yells back angrily.
He growls in annoyance but doesn't respond, the more immediate threat in front of us. I then hear a dragon roar off to the side, and look over to see Jarik facing off a Hssiss dragon running straight for him.
Jarik POV...
I shoved Ahsoka and Mara back as this, monstrosity rose from underneath the mountain, breaking apart the cave entrance and causing an avalanche of rocks. Stoick jumped back down from the entrance, waving his arm for all of the Vikings to scatter.
"GET CLEAR!" he yelled, everyone running away from the entrance as fast as they could with screams of fear. I glanced behind me to see the Queen's head shoving through the mountain, massive boulders cracking apart and falling to the ground with an avalanche.
In my distraction with the Queen, I never noticed the Hssiss dragon charging at me. With a roar, it slammed into me, and I let out a cry of surprise as it tackled me to the ground. It opened its jaws with the intent on biting my head off, so I raised my left arm, giving it the metal prosthetic to chew on instead. Luckily, the arm was strong enough to not get seriously damaged by the dragon, and it continued to chew on it. Pulling out my lightsaber, I activated the blue blade and prepared to swing it, but the dragon quickly switched tactics upon noticing it and yanked me off the ground, throwing me several feet away.
The Force then gave me a warning, and I twisted around in the air to see an approaching rock. Enveloping my left arm with the Force, I reached back and punched through the rock, obliterating it completely, however I was unable to land properly, and hit the ground with a pained grunt.
Looking up, I see the Hssiss dragon running straight for me with a roar. I rolled to my feet with my lightsaber up, but before it could get any closer the Queen's foot stepped on it, killing it instantly with a sickening crunch. I looked up in surprise, but it wasn't focused on me, rather on the Vikings catapults, which were firing their payload. Unfortunately, the boulders barely scratched its skin, only annoying it. The Queen lets out a massive roar of anger, and then starts chomping down on the catapults, stepping over them as well.
"Get to the ships!" somebody yelled.
"No! NO!" Stoick exclaimed, trying to stop them, but it was too late.
The Queen inhaled, mouth glowing orange, and I widened my eyes in horror as it unleashed a massive torrent of flames all over the ships. I could sense a few lives being snuffed out in an instant from the fire, those Vikings attempting to set sail, but meeting their ends. Then I sensed Toothless in a panic, still trapped on the ship.
I set out to go rescue him, but another Hssiss dragon came charging out of nowhere, once again blindsiding me before I could sense it. Reacting quickly, I swung my lightsaber, leaving a massive gash on its face and causing it to roar in pain just as it rolled over me. I got to my feet and blew it away with the Force, the dragon slamming into the rocks. Two more however reappeared and crawled over the rock it slammed into, stalking forwards with a snarl. I raised my lightsaber, ready to fend them off.
"Jarik!" Ahsoka called out.
The sound of a lightsaber slashing, as well as a pained screech from a Hssiss dragon makes me realize that one was attempting to sneak up on me. I whip around and slash my own lightsaber at it, striking it full in the face. Mara jumps in with the finishing blow, jumping on its back and stabbing her blade through its head. Shrieks of outrage sound all around us, and before we realized it we were surrounded by Hssiss dragons, all snarling at us. The dragon that I crashed into with the landspeeder stalks forwards, burns covering its body and walking with a limp, but determined to kill us. Doesn't seem they care to much for pain, rather they do whatever they can to kill.
"Well this looks like fun," I deadpanned.
"This is stupid! Why do they hate us!?" Mara complains.
The pack leader gives out a ferocious war cry and charges forwards, the other dragons following its lead. Mara blasts one away with the Force, and swings her lightsaber to ward off another. Ahsoka rolls underneath the bite of another dragon and stabs upwards, grazing its head with her shoto blade. The leader swipes its claws at me, and I backpedal, slashing with my lightsaber while blocking the bite of another with my arm, calling on the Force to keep a third at bay. Unfortunately my swipe misses, and the dragon leers at me, going for a bite, the other one keeping me in place with my arm. Luckily, Ahsoka blew it back with the Force, and I stabbed the one biting my arm with my lightsaber, killing it.
I share an idea with Ahsoka over our bond, and she quickly agrees. Whipping around to Mara, I tell her the plan. "Mara! Massive burst into the ground, now!"
She widens her eyes but gets the picture, and at the same time, the three of us spin around and shove our hands against the ground, combining our energy to unleash a massive force push. It blows the surrounding dragons several feet away, giving us some breathing room.
"We can't let ourselves get surrounded!" Ahsoka warns us, readying both lightsabers as they begin to get back up.
"No kidding!" Mara says, eyes wide. "That was terrifying!"
Gobber's voice yelling over the air then gets our attention. "Come on! Fight me!"
"NO! ME!" Stoick yells right after, and we look over to see the Queen raising her head over him, mouth inhaling gas. We realize all at the same time that he was about to be killed, and there was nothing we could do about it. The Hssiss dragons all hissed in delight, noticing the scene. Despite her anger at him, Mara gave a horrified gasp.
"No!" she exclaims.
A sudden blast against its skull causes the Queen to roar in pain or annoyance, and a pack of familiar looking dragons come soaring past its head. Hiccup and the teens had arrived, which was great. It also reminded me about Toothless being trapped on the boat.
"LOOK AT US WE'RE ON DRAGONS! WE'RE ON DRAGONS! ALL OF US!" Tuffnut yelled as loud as he could, the Vikings staring in shock and bewilderment. I grinned proudly in amusement.
"Well, just in time!" Mara said happily in relief.
The Hssiss dragons shrieked in rage, some of them glaring at the sky with beady eyes before turning their focus back to us, with the intent to kill.
"Mara, go find Toothless. We'll keep them busy," I told her firmly.
She gaped at me. "What?! But there's too many-"
"We'll be fine, go! Toothless doesn't have much time!" Ahsoka added.
She looked at us reluctantly but nodded, and took off running, leaping over the Hssiss dragon that tried to stop her with a swipe of its claws. It attempted to follow, but Ahsoka reached out with the Force, stopping it in its tracks. "Oh no you don't!" she said.
I pulled out my second lightsaber, facing the pack leader with a determined stare, the green and blue clashing brilliantly with each other. It snarled, three others backing it up as it stalked forwards furiously. Seeing the other six dragons trying to surround us, I quickly backed off to the side before they could close the circle.
"I've got the leader. Think you can handle the others?" I asked her over the bond.
"I'll be fine. The leader is the smartest of the bunch," she warned me.
I backed several feet away, keeping the four dragons focus on me, while Ahsoka dealt with the other six, throwing the dragon she held with the Force into another one. While she dealt with them, the pack leader opened its mouth, a red colored glow coming from within, and shot out a burst of red lightning, similar to the Son's attack straight at me. I crossed both sabers in front of me to block it, my blades absorbing the lightning, although with some difficulty. When it stopped, confusion swept through their gazes for a brief moment before they shook it off, and all four of them suddenly surged with the dark side, unleashing a high pitched shriek.
I flinched in pain with a yelp, quickly covering my ears at the painful sound, the dark side also pressing against my mind along with the shriek. Guess this is what Hiccup felt when he and Astrid encountered one yesterday. Gritting my teeth, I pushed back against their chaotic presence, shoving a Light Side mind attack back in their directions. Their shrieks turned into pained cries, and they clawed desperately at their heads, while I began to advance, lightsaber at the ready.
Unfortunately, the Queen had suddenly thrown one of the Viking's ships from her jaws, the impact shattering the ship into bits and raining down all over us. I rolled out of the way quickly to avoid getting hit, but the Hssiss dragons tough skin prevented them from getting any injuries. With furious roars, they took advantage of my distraction and all charged at me, unleashing blasts of lightning in quick succession, like a Night Fury's rate of fire. I swung my lightsaber around, blocking the lightning by absorbing it into the blade, and jumped over the first dragon. It barreled underneath me, and I landed on my feet, side-stepping the second dragon, but the pack leader anticipated my movement, tackling me to the ground, biting my left arm and throwing me into the dirt a couple feet away.
I groaned in pain, widening my eyes before rolling to the side as the fourth bit the ground where I just was. The pack leader charged again, and I swung my lightsaber straight for its head. However to my great shock, poison began to drip from its jaws in massive droplets, and it caught my lightsaber with its mouth, the blade sizzling against the poison that coated it.
"Oh no," I said with dread.
With a ferocious snarl, the dragon yanked my lightsaber from my grasp and tossed it away, roaring at me again. I backpedaled quickly to avoid its swiping claws, the others coming at me from all sides, and swung my green lightsaber, this time aimed lower and away from its mouth. Unfortunately its claws were also being coated with the poison it excretes, and it slapped the blade away, snapping with its jaws, a few drips of poison flying. I quickly jumped into the air, letting the three charging dragons crash into each other, but the leader crawled over them without a care, pushing off the ground and leaping after me. It swiped its claws again, but I blocked it with Ahsoka's blade, landing with a backflip.
The leader landed in front of me, the other three backing it up once again, snarling viciously. Looking over for a moment, I saw that Ahsoka had already defeated three of her dragons, the other three attempting to charge her. She was right, the pack leader was a lot smarter than the rest, able to even adapt fighting a lightsaber of all things. But I should still be stronger in the Force. Calling the Light Side to me, I unleashed another mental assault on the dragons, and they all gave out shrieks of pain and rage, before leaping at me at the same time. I yelped in alarm and jumped backwards, although the tail of one smacked me away.
I rolled across the ground painfully, groaning as I struggled to get to my feet, watching them approach. They absolutely loathed the Light Side of the Force, I realized. To these dragons it was their natural enemy, and their chaotic nature made seek to destroy it viciously. That's why they hated us so much, and were focused only on us. Contemplating with myself, I had a inner battle against whether or not I should change tactics and go with a... darker approach.
Their roars signaling their preparation to charge again, I made up my mind and then stood up, taking a deep breath before calling on the dark side. I fueled it with my pain received from these dragons, my hidden but controlled anger at Stoick and the Vikings for treating Hiccup so horribly, my fury from the Jedi Council so long ago, and unleashed it against their minds. They stopped their approach, snarling and growling in confusion. My eyes had a golden tint to them, and I raised a hand towards the dragons, seeking to overcome them. It was tough, because not only did I have to try and dominate their minds, I had to control my anger as well, so I wouldn't lose myself.
Thinking about Revan and Bastila's familiarity with the darkness, and me and my family's natural affinity for balance in the Force, I managed to gain control of the dark side, if only briefly, and dominated the minds of the Hssiss dragons. I backed up, and they followed me, although continuously snapping their mouths in my direction, heavy instincts still giving them the need to tear me apart. I stretched my power over to the three dragons Ahsoka was still fighting as well, and they looked over with a growl in my direction. Ahsoka noticed my state and looked at me in concern, however she knew what I was attempting to do. Still, she kept herself ready over the bond, ready to flush me with Light incase I lost myself.
Glaring up at the Queen, I saw as it watched Astrid fly by on the Deadly Nadder, and then suck in a massive amount of air, pulling the pair closer. Shoving my anger at them, I directed them to attack the Queen, although surprisingly without much effort. seems like they wanted to overthrow the Queen as well for Bogan. Well, all the better for me. With shrieks of rage they complied, all seven dragons charging for the Queen's foot. Once their goal was set, I immediately drop my hold on the dark side, collapsing to me knees in exhaustion as Ahsoka rushes up to me, filling me through the bond with the Light Side. She helps me to my feet, slinging my arm around her shoulders as she supports me. I may be able to natural harness the dark side, but it's still exhausting.
"You're crazy," she scolds, but neither of us are in the mood to talk about it, worried for Astrid and her Nadder. The remaining Hssiss dragons all start to scratch and bite at the Queen, some starting to climb up her leg, but they're still too small to make any real difference. I don't know if Astrid is going to make it...
Luckily, the screeching of a Night Fury got our attention, and a smile came to both of our faces as we notice the black speck that was Toothless approaching at alarming speeds, unleashing a massive plasma blast against the Queen's face.
Hiccup and Toothless were now ready for action.
So that's the Jedi vs Hssiss dragon side of the battle, and now it's Hiccup's time to shine! Next chapter will cover that as well as the Queen's wrath from the Vikings point of view, as well as Mara helping in some bit with that.
To better explain what Jarik did with the dragons, I'll tell it this way. I'm sure many of you know how a Jedi can influence weak-minded people or animals with the Force to some degree. This is like that, but on a Hssiss dragon it can only be affected that way through the dark side, which Jarik used. He naturally has the talent to call upon it when necessary, but as one who stays tied to the Light, it easily drains him when using it, especially for mental purposes.
Hope this chapter was good enough for you guys! Writing it, especially at the start when there was so much going on was tough, but I think I did alright. :D
