A/N: Despite getting totally distracted by Soul of a Dragon (which I will only be posting on Pat reon) I finished the final chapters of Feral Hiccup!
I was skittish about writing this chapter because I knew how the final scenes needed to go, but I wasn't totally sure on how to have it happen. Well, then I realized I'd forgotten a detail a couple chapters ago, and the final scenes work perfectly now!
Response to Random Fan: Poor Hiccup is trying so hard! Not in the slightest. Heather's trying, too. XD Yep, Raggedwing's getting caught in the middle again! And more K.O's to come!
"Humans! Attack!"
Toothless could hear the cry clearly. He wanted to rush to the aid of the distressed dragon, but he didn't dare.
Hiccup was staring at him, confused and betrayed, as if Toothless had stolen him from his flock. How could he explain Hiccup's "flock" was the other Riders?
Barf and Belch roared in unison, "Hiccup flock here!"
Hiccup turned his confusion to the two-headed dragon. Belch nodded seriously, while Barf nudged Hiccup.
"Toothless. Astrid. Stormfly. BarfandBelch. RuffnutandTuffnut. Fishlegs. Meatlug. Snotlout. Hookfang. Hiccup. Flock!"
"Flock?" Hiccup repeated uncertainly.
Toothless roared in confidence. "Flock!"
Hiccup unexpectedly chirred. "Weird flock."
Toothless chirred back. "Yes."
Hiccup crooned and calmed down. With him satisfied, Toothless turned his focus on the dragon in danger.
Except, Raggedwing had gone silent.
Maybe he had given up or moved elsewhere? Or, had he picked up Hiccup's scent? What would they do if another dragon tried to claim Hiccup?
"Rider down! Hunters!"
Toothless' ears shot straight up at Stormfly's cry. He, Barf, and Belch's heads whipped toward the cry as Stormfly's signal flare shoots into the sky and explodes. The flare caught the humans' attention.
Ruffnut stared at the dissipating sparks. "I thought only Thorstons could get into trouble that fast."
"Normally, I'd agree," Tuffnut said seriously. "But it's been a rather off day for everyone."
"No talk!" Toothless roared. "BarfandBelch, go!"
The two-headed dragon roared and spread his wings. The twins quickly clambered into their saddles before Barf and Belch took off without them.
Hiccup spun to follow their route. "What?"
"Rider down," Toothless rumbled. He lifted his head to launch his own flare, a signal for Meatlug and Hookfang to return. "Hunters."
Hiccup whimpered and pressed his belly to the ground.
Astrid was going to have a chat with Heather the next time they saw each other. Specifically about her spur-of-the-moment plans. Because, seriously. Ouch.
Add in that she was laying on wood, and Astrid decided Heather had taken her "prisoner." Which meant she would be rescuing herself, because nobody else knew she'd been captured.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Astrid laid perfectly still until they were right over her. Then, bracing her hands against the deck, she kicked straight up. Her foot connected, causing a cry of pain and the person to stumble back.
As Astrid's foot came down, she pushed herself up and tucked her feet under her. She bounced up to her feet, eyes snapping open and ready to fight-
"Stormfly?"
Her dragon crooned and leaned forward when Astrid wavered. She squinted and pressed a hand to her head.
"What happened?" Astrid asked Stormfly.
"What happened," Ruffnut said, stepping into Astrid's sight, "Is you attacked my brother."
Astrid blinked at the twin, then looked down. She winced. "Sorry, Tuffnut."
"I'm hurt," Tuffnut, curled into a ball at Astrid's feet, groaned. "Very much hurt!"
Astrid looked around for the first time. She was back at the Edge, on the walkway to her hut. Behind Ruffnut, Hiccup was sitting on Toothless' head to watch.
"What happened?" Astrid asked.
"You tell us," Ruffnut said. "Stormfly sent her warning flare, so Tuff and I went to help. Stormfly met us halfway, carrying you like a hatchling."
"The Hunters are on the island," Astrid said. "I found them going after an Edge Nadder, but Heather and Windshear ambushed me. I don't know what happened next."
"The Hunters?" Tuffnut repeated. He stood, rubbing his chin. "Didn't we chase those guys off yesterday?"
"Not far enough," Astrid said. "They must have circled back while we were looking for Hiccup."
Hiccup perked up at the mention of his name. He crooned to Toothless, who rumbled back. Hiccup's cheerful expression dropped as he turned his head to the side. Stormfly squawked and followed his gaze.
"Have Fishlegs and Snotlout come back yet?" Astrid asked.
"They should be soon," Ruffnut said. "Both Stormfly and Toothless sent a flare."
"Thanks, girl," Astrid said, rubbing Stormfly's muzzle.
Stormfly crooned, but her gaze remained distant.
"We can't waste any time," Astrid said, mounting Stormfly. "Who knows how many Nadders the Hunters have caught by now? Ruffnut, Tuffnut, we'll head right out. Toothless, stay here with Hiccup."
Hiccup chirped to Toothless. The Night Fury growled, prompting Hiccup to look up with a scowl. He gave a short, angry roar. Toothless rumbled and spread his wings, staring at Astrid.
Astrid got the sense that Toothless was playing translator.
"Okay, fine, you two can come." Astrid glanced in the direction Fishlegs and Snotlout had gone. "The others will have to catch up."
"Is that really a good idea?" Tuffnut said, mounting Belch.
"We've already lost too much time," Astrid said, wondering how long she'd been out.
The dragons and Hiccup suddenly turned their head to the side and growled. Astrid tensed, having heard the cause this time: the frantic roars of dragons.
"We have to go. Now," Astrid said. "Come on, Stormfly!"
Stormfly squawked and took off. While Toothless usually flew in front, Astrid was glad to see him follow at the back of the group. She hoped Hiccup could stay out of the fight, but something told her that was too much to wish for.
"Astrid?" Ruffnut called. "Do we have, like, a plan or anything?"
"Free the dragons, feel free to blow up as many ships as you want," Astrid said. Her head was hurting too much to think, and she was particularly ticked at the Hunters just then.
"That's my favorite kind of plan!" Tuffnut yelled happily.
"They'll know we're coming, so we'll just have to come in fast and hope they aren't ready yet," Astrid went on.
"Bola!" somebody suddenly yelled.
Astrid automatically jerked to the left, urging Stormfly to veer to the side. A bola whistled past, inches from Stormfly's wing. Astrid looked down and spotted a small catapult on the ground.
The Hunter at the catapult spun and ran off. A second later, a ball of fire exploded against it.
Astrid turned her head in the direction from which the warning call had come. Meatlug and Hookfang were quickly approaching.
"Fishlegs? Snotlout?" Astrid said. "How did you get here so fast?"
"Fishface had a theory," Snotlout said grumpily.
"And I was right," Fishlegs added. Addressing Astrid, he went on, "We found ship wreckage near the Edge, way too close since the current should have washed them far out to sea by now. The wreckage leads north, and it only got worse. We were getting ready to head back for back-up when we saw Stormfly and Toothless' flares."
"Hunters are here," Astrid confirmed. "I found a group of them going after an Edge Nadder."
"And?" Fishlegs said expectantly.
"And Heather got the drop on me," Astrid said, rubbing her head.
"So, they know that we know," Snotlout said. "So much for the element of surprise!"
"Oh, there's the element of surprise alright," Tuffnut said. "Just, their surprise on us."
"Yes, very helpful," Astrid said sarcastically. "We'll just have to come in fast and take out their offenses as quickly as we can."
"What if I came in first from above?" Fishlegs suggested. "The Hunters' arrows won't affect Meatlug, and we'll distract them so the rest of you can come in from behind."
"We'll do that," Astrid agreed quickly. "Snotlout, focus on the ships. We can't let them think they can just come back as soon as we run them off. Ruff, Tuff, free any dragons that have already been captured. Leave Heather to me."
"What about Hiccup?" Tuffnut asked.
"I have no idea how Hiccup will 'help,' but I'm leaving that up to Toothless," Astrid said. She wondered how Toothless would act without Hiccup's guidance in the fight.
"No, I mean, what's up with Hiccup?" Tuffnut clarified.
Everyone turned to look at their leader.
Hiccup was crouched on the saddle, scowling and baring his teeth. When Astrid focused on him, she could hear a long growl coming from him.
"I think we're going to be getting a lot of help from Hiccup," Fishlegs guessed.
Astrid sighed. "I get the feeling that you're right. Whether we like it or not."
Hiccup was furious. And confused.
"Heather bad?"
Stormfly shook her head, repeating, "No. Pretend."
"Why?!"
"Help Riders. Trick Hunters," Stormfly tried to explain.
"Why?"
"Weird human plan," Hookfang huffed.
"Find Hunter leader. Trick Hunters, help Riders," Meatlug added.
Hiccup stared at them in shock. But, Stormfly had said that Heather and Windshear were capturing dragons! How did that help the Riders?
Toothless chirred. Hiccup grumbled at the amusement of the other dragons. Obviously, he was missing something in the explanation.
Before he could ask for further details, the dragons tensed and became serious. Meatlug rose above the others, Hookfang and Stormfly veered off in separate directions. Toothless followed Barf and Belch lower to weave through the treetops.
"Sneak," Toothless growled lowly. "Free flock."
Hiccup nodded and eagerly bared his teeth. He flattened himself on Toothless' back, so he wouldn't accidentally get brushed off the Nightwing's back by branches.
Soon, Toothless landed on the ground. Barf and Belch landed nearby. The dragons creeped closer to where the trees opened up.
Hiccup wanted to growl when he saw half of his former flockmates trapped in small dens. Many Hunters were moving around them, proud and swaggering at their catches.
He did growl when he spotted Swiftwing and Nightrise hunched protectively over their hatchlings. Their sides were marked with bleeding cuts, which came from the Hunters anytime the humans got close and the mother dragons growled.
"Wait," Toothless rumbled.
Hiccup scowled and hunkered back down. He turned his gaze toward the sky, right in time for a fireball to fly overhead. Hiccup tracked the fireball as it arced to the center of the Hunters' resting spot, striking one of their wooden objects and exploding.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then, Meatlug flew into the open, spewing fireballs left and right. Hunters scrambled to fight back, then Hookfang lit on fire and landed on one of their floating dens. Stormfly rushed in from the other side, flinging spikes to cut off Hunters running for weapons.
"Now!" Toothless snarled, leaping into the chaos.
Toothless raced unhindered through the fighting, using his muzzle to knock aside anyone who got in the way. He didn't stop until he reached the den holding Nightrise and her hatchlings.
"Hiccup?!" Nightrise squawked.
Hiccup nodded. "Free soon."
Nightrise's call was noticed by the other Spike-Flingers, who roared and stomped upon noticing their former flockmate.
"Quiet," Hiccup chirred.
Hiccup slid off Toothless' back and went to the den. He felt the sticks, wondering once again how Heather had opened the dens back on the floating den. He looked at Toothless for help.
Toothless stared at the small dens, then spun and leaped into the middle of the battle. Hiccup squawked in fear, but Toothless returned soon after. He went to Hiccup and dropped a bunch of small, shiny sticks.
"Keys," Toothless explained. "Open cage."
Hiccup picked up the keys and went to where Toothless pointed as the front of the cage. He located a small hole in the sticks, where Toothless told him to poke a key. Hiccup did as Toothless instructed, but nothing happened.
Toothless grumbled. "Different key."
Hiccup tried a second key, to the same result. He was starting to get nervous as he poked in a third key, then this key went further in with a click.
"Twist!" Toothless roared triumphantly.
Hiccup twisted his paw. The key stuck, then jerked into place with a thunk. Immediately, Hiccup felt the cage wall give. He braced his paws and scrabbled backward, dragging the cage wall along with him.
Nightrise squawked happily as the cage was opened for her. She nudged her hatchlings onto her back, then ran out. She growled at the other cages holding flockmates.
"Go!" Hiccup roared. He waved a paw, giddy with success. "Hiccup free flock!"
Nightrise bobbed her head, then darted through the battle to the forest.
Hiccup leaped onto Toothless back, holding the keys carefully in his paw. He scanned the area, spotting Raggedwing in the nearest cage.
"There!" Hiccup pointed out.
Toothless roared and blasted away Hunters headed their way, then ran.
Heather and Windshear hadn't made an appearance yet, and that had Astrid on edge. She hadn't seen Dagur yet, either, and he was always in the middle of a fight. She hoped they were just looking for more dragons in the forest, not laying in wait or heading to take over the Edge… what had she been thinking, leaving the Edge undefended, anyway?
"Now!"
Astrid mentally groaned at Dagur's yell, even as she instinctively turned Stormfly away from the ship she'd been targeting. A scream from Snotlout told Astrid she needn't have bothered. She turned.
At the opposite end of docked ships, a net-enveloped Hookfang crashed to the sand. Snotlout, thrown from the saddle, was now stuck on Hookfang's nose in the tight net.
Hookfang tried to flame up to burn himself free, but Snotlout immediately started yelling. Hookfang growled and resorted to thrashing in the net to prevent Hunters from getting close. Meatlug left the ships to hover over Hookfang, batting away boulders from the suddenly active catapults.
Astrid moved Stormfly to help, but the Nadder had to stop abruptly when Windshear shot into the sky right in front of her muzzle. Astrid spotted arrows from Hunters concealed in the ships' cabins, and warned Stormfly just in time for her to dodge.
Beyond them, it wasn't much better. At Dagur's command, more Hunters had rushed out of hiding. Barf and Belch was busy trying to keep Hunters from his Riders while Ruffnut and Tuffnut fought with locks and panicking Edge Nadders.
Hiccup and Toothless, the furthest from the ships, were relatively safe for the moment. But while Toothless roared and blasted approaching Hunters, all of Hiccup's attention was on the groggy Edge Nadder he was coaxing from a cage.
"We have to get out of here, girl," Astrid said.
Stormfly squawked, then shot up to avoid another volley of arrows. When she leveled off, Astrid found herself facing Heather and Dagur.
Astrid was briefly glad to see both Berserker siblings on Windshear's back. With Hiccup on the ground, Astrid preferred to keep Dagur in sight. Then she realized that left dealing with both siblings to her, and she tried to not groan.
"Did you really think you could sneak up on us?" Heather asked, tone harsh despite the almost concerned way she eyed Astrid.
"It worked," Astrid said, gesturing to a slowly sinking ship. "Release the dragons, and we'll let you go with the rest of your ships."
And maybe she could get back to the Edge and lay down. What had Heather hit her with?
"Never!" Dagur yelled, causing both young women to flinch. "We leave with the dragons or not at all! Fire, men, fire!"
Astrid pushed Stormfly into a dive, avoiding yet another stream of arrows. As Stormfly barrel-rolled out of the dive to evade a net, Astrid spotting Windshear following. Stormfly growled at the pursuit.
"Not yet, girl," Astrid said, focusing ahead. She pointed. "Spine shot, now!"
Stormfly flicked her tail, spikes severing several ropes holding Hookfang. Stormfly turned skyward, but Astrid twisted to look back.
Hookfang shook his head free, dislodging Snotlout from his nose. The Nightmare flamed up and violently shook his wings, struggling to fully free himself while spewing flames at the surrounding Hunters.
"Fishlegs!" Astrid yelled as Stormfly shot by Meatlug. "Help the twins!"
Fishlegs nodded, then his expression turned panicked. "Astrid, look-"
Whump!
Stormfly shrieked, and something slammed into Astrid. The next thing Astrid knew, Stormfly was falling, she was halfway out the saddle, and her shoulder hurt.
"Stormfly!"
Astrid pulled herself upright, spotting the net tangled around her dragon's tail and left wing. Ignoring her throbbing shoulder, Astrid grabbed the weight laying across the saddle and threw it hard.
Luckily, Stormfly was able to jerk her wing free. Her wings spread wide, barely slowing her fall before she crashed into the sand. Astrid closed her eyes on impact, then opened them to find herself on her back on the sand with Stormfly standing over her.
She couldn't remember falling from the saddle.
Windshear flew over the fallen pair, prompting Astrid to sit up a little too quickly. Her vision spun, and she fell back to the sand. A high, piercing sound filled her ears, making Astrid wonder before a familiar flash of purple exploded against Windshear. Then, her vision was obscured by Hiccup leaning over her.
"Hiccup," Astrid said, struggling to sit up. "We have to get out of here!"
Hiccup roared and pushed his head against Astrid's shoulder. He growled at the sky, then squawked at Stormfly. The Nadder roared back, then spread her spikes and flared her wings defensively. Hiccup looked at Astrid and roared.
"We have to go, Hiccup," Astrid insisted, though she was still unable to sit up.
Hiccup roared. Toothless bounded to his side, and Hiccup hopped onto his back. He made an assortment of noises at Astrid, who could only stare. Hiccup made the same sounds a couple of times. Astrid was certain he was doing it on purpose now.
Hiccup put out his hand and pointed firmly at the ground, saying in a gruff, almost dragon-ish voice, "Stay."
Then Toothless launched, leaving Astrid in Stormfly's care. And if Astrid was laughing a bit, she was putting it to one too many hits to the head.
Most of the Spike-Flinger flock was still trapped, but Hiccup knew they'd have to clear out the Hunters before they all could be freed. Most of the flock was half-asleep, so they couldn't escape or help defend the Riders freeing the others.
Hiccup growled at the number of Hunters. Was there any end to them?
Human yelling drew Hiccup's attention to the Hunter leader riding Windshear with Heather.
"Toothless. Stop Hunter leader?" Hiccup suggested.
Toothless grumbled. "Hold."
Hiccup tightened his grip on Toothless as the Nightwing swiftly changed course. He roared, catching Windshear's attention.
"Play!"
Windshear roared in agreement. She snapped her tail at Toothless, flinging spikes that he easily evaded. In return, he shot a couple power blasts to herd her away from the fight.
The two larger dragons twisted and spun through the air, coming within clawlengths of each other and sometimes lightly striking the other. Hiccup roared happily as Toothless spiraled over Windshear.
The play fighting slowly moved away from the Hunters and Riders. The dragons ended up over the forest, adding to the challenge by slipping in and out of the trees.
"Up!" Hiccup roared.
Toothless chirred and shot straight up. Windshear followed his lead and soon both dragons were high above the forest and trading swipes with their tails and gentle claws.
The playfulness abruptly ended when the Hunter leader jerked, distracting Windshear. She slammed into Toothless, prompting an angry roar and throwing her riders off-balance.
Toothless shot a small blast at her as he flapped further away. The blast hit Windshear, throwing her sideways. Heather yelped and tumbled off Windshear's back!
Hiccup roared in panic, then cooed in relief when Heather snagged Windshear's hind paw. Windshear floundered mid-air, distracted with her humans. Toothless' mouth opened, a power blast building.
"Done!" Windshear squawked.
Toothless gave a fierce growl, though Hiccup suspected it was just for show. Windshear made as if to head back to the floating dens, then the Hunter leader yelled and threw something.
The object hit Toothless in the face. He roared in pain and shock, wingbeats briefly faltering.
Hiccup snarled at the Hunter who'd hurt and trapped the Spike-Flinger flock and the Riders, and forced Heather and Windshear to attack their own friends. Now, he'd hurt Toothless!
The solution to all their problems was quite clear to Hiccup: get the Hunter leader away from Windshear and Heather and leave him far away from his Hunters.
While Toothless and Windshear steadied themselves, Hiccup crouched. He spread his wings, intending to knock the leader from Windshear's back. It would make for a hard landing -the human was about Hiccup's size and Hiccup could only glide- but he had to free Windshear and Heather! Hiccup leaped.
And shrieked, having just noticed something very important.
Apparently, in changing scales, Hiccup had now lost his wings.
Heather had seen plenty of last-ditch plans. She'd been involved in or concocted her own fair share of them, too. But nothing compared to Hiccup throwing himself off Toothless' back, aiming for Dagur if his narrow-eyed gaze was any indication.
A second later, Hiccup apparently realized how poorly thought out his plan was. He roared as he fell short of Dagur, headed right for…
Heather had a second to curse Hiccup's poor planning abilities, then his forehead struck hers and it suddenly wasn't her problem anymore.
A/N: Good luck convincing me that the other dragons don't know about Windshear and Heather pretending to work for the enemy.
My only regret is that Advil doesn't exist in Viking times, because there's about three concussions going on now.