I could not wait to make and post this chapter, so I decided to make it in a quicker amount of time than usual, and thus here we are!
Although this chapter is slightly shorter than what I would usually post, I will say that you guys are in for quite a treat.
Also just as a side note, if anyone who receives notifications for this story sees that they got a notification twice for this chapter, it is because yesterday from today that this is posted I tried to upload it - but the story would not update nor show this chapter, so I removed it and reposted it today.
Anyways, please enjoy!
"So, this is the aftermath of the battle with Ivar?" Hiccup asked, staring down at the ruined field from atop the plateau's cliffs.
Astrid gave a nod, running her eyes across the scarred battle-torn area. "The Red Death and the Great Army left much in ruin. The fields they burnt are beyond healing, and the bodies that littered the area are just bones now. As for the Dragons we fought, they all eventually regained their consciousness and flew off in random directions - freed from the Red Death."
"Well, at least they're alive, so that's good to know."
"Yeah." she replied, looking back at him. "Still, even with our victory, the war is not yet over. Kattegat is the final obstacle between us and Ivar, not to mention that we'll have to go through two thousand Vikings to reach him."
"I could try flying over the city with Toothless to get to him." said Hiccup, glancing back at the Dragon who sat near them looking over the horizon. "Though then again, I would be spotted by every warrior and guard in Kattegat. Even without their Devastators, they would do whatever it would take to shoot me down."
"Then we'll have to break into the city first before you can reach him. They'll be focused on us rather than you."
"If only it were that simple." Hiccup chuckled as his look became more serious. "From what my Dad and Magnus told me, Ivar has turned Kattegat into a fortress. Their walls were fortified and reinforced since the day I left, so the only way we could possibly get in is by breaking down the front gate and making a breach in the wall."
"As for Ubba, Hvitserk, and Sigurd..." he continued. "Their warriors should have no problem against Ivar's forces at the rear gate. They fought alongside him in the past, so they should know his strategies."
"Alright." Astrid said, lightly sighing. "Seems good to me. But what about you and Toothless?"
"We'll stick together for the whole battle." he said, once more looking back at Toothless. "Ain't that right, Bud?"
Toothless stared back at Hiccup, warbling as he let out a light huff of air from his nostrils. Clearly he was eager and willing to follow his rider - no matter where he went, and to this Hiccup grinned.
"That's the spirit, Toothless." he chuckled.
"Hiccup."
A voice from behind suddenly caught Hiccup's attention which caused him to nearly jump, but as he turned around he saw his father and Gobber approach him.
"Gods, Dad!" gasped Hiccup. "You nearly scared the Hel out of me."
"My bad." said Stoick. "Gobber and I only came here because we want to show you something that you might like... Also, Gobber made it for both you and Toothless, so it's his work."
"Really?"
"Aye." replied Gobber. "Ye will need it fer tha final battle, but I'm certain tha' ye'll like it."
Hiccup looked back at Astrid with anticipation, but she gave a nod and lightly nudged him to go on ahead. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
…
The three Vikings along with Toothless walked underneath the Blacksmithing tent, and as Hiccup glanced around his attention immediately turned to Gobber who held something with both his arms behind his back.
"What is it?" he asked.
Gobber glanced at Stoick, giving a slightly embarrassed gaze. "Eh… why don't ye tell 'em? I'm bad when it comes ta speeches."
Stoick nodded, clearing his throat as he turned his head back to Hiccup. "Son… As you know, after the battle with the Red Death - you lost not only your foot, but also the prosthetic that allowed you and Toothless to fly together. During the time of your coma, Gobber has been working hard on getting both you and Toothless back on your feet and wings. So…"
He then motioned with his hand to Gobber, and as the blonde Viking slowly reached his arms out from behind his back both Hiccup and Toothless gave surprised but delightful looks as he revealed what he was holding.
It was a new prosthetic tail fin for Toothless.
Hiccup's eyes gazed down at the red and white colored flap, nearly jaw dropped from how well sewn and made it was. Along with that, the structure of the base and pedal of the prosthetic was improved, though Hiccup saw that he could clearly make a few of his own tweaks to make it a bit more better.
"I hope ye're satisfied. I worked really hard on this ta get it as close ta tha original as possible. Do ya think it'll do?"
"It's more than I could have imagined, Gobber." smiled Hiccup as he gratefully grabbed ahold of it. "Honestly- just… thank you."
"Aye, but tha's not all I have ta show ye." he said, pointing his prosthetic towards the corner of the tent. "There's one last thing tha' ye have ta see. It's fer ye."
Hiccup arched a brow, placing the fin aside and following his eyes from where Gobber pointed. In the corner of the tent was a table with a brown woolen fabric covering the item that laid underneath it. Although he was curious, he still made his way across the room of the tent until he was standing before the covers. Immediately he pulled them off, and as he stared down at what laid before him he was beyond surprised. Rather, he was nearly speechless.
On the table laid not just his blade which was recovered after the battle, but as well as a new set of black armor with brown leathering that was more professionally designed. What was especially more noticeable was the red skull on the right shoulder pad.
"W- Wow." Hiccup said, running his hand across the newly made armor. "This looks amazing… Gobber, how did you-?"
"Pfft, don't thank me laddie." replied Gobber. "Tha' armor is a gift from Magnus. He made it fer ye since yer other set was wrecked after tha battle. This time he made it more professional than tha' last, but he believes ye can make adjustments ta it. After all, it is yers."
"Aye, Magnus is quite the crafty one." Hiccup complimented, still grinning at the sight of the new armor. "I also think it matches well with Toothless and his tail fin… Honestly though, I don't know what to say to Magnus. I should go and thank him."
"Or you can thank me right now. At least, that's if you want to." Magnus chuckled.
Hiccup turned around upon hearing his voice, looking back at Magnus as he walked into the tent with a smile on his face. Clearly he was not just proud of the work he put into the armor, but he was also delighted to see that Hiccup was liking it.
The older Viking approached Hiccup, placing a hand on the lad's shoulder as he gave him a pat. "I wanted to give you something that would help you for the final fight to come." he said. "Seeing that your old armor was wrecked, I salvaged what I could from it and made a new set for you along with different material. This armor is more professional. It has better durability, flexibility, and it's also lighter."
"Wow." grinned Hiccup. "I mean just- thanks, Magnus... When do you think I'll be able to test it out in battle?"
"That's your decision." answered Stoick.
Hiccup looked up at him, arching a brow. "Hm? What exactly do you mean by that?"
"I'm saying that you decide when we should march out and begin sailing to Kattegat. If you didn't know, the Chieftains and I have already agreed that we should start tomorrow, but only if you approve of it. Though seeing as you still need to recover, maybe we should hold it off until you're-"
"Let it be tomorrow, then." Hiccup said, turning back towards his armor. "If everyone else is eager and willing to march out to deal with Ivar once and for all, then I say we should do it. My decisions may come first, but our people's wishes are priority."
"Hiccup, are you sure about this?" asked Magnus.
"I'm certain, Magnus… Now if you can, please help me get into this armor. Dad, Gobber, please help Toothless with his prosthetic. I need to address the Riders so that they know what's about to happen. We have a long night of preparing ahead of us…"
…
Two days later...
"That's the only message he sent to us, my God-King." the Völsung commander before him said. "We've tried getting into contact with him a dozen times now, but there hasn't been any response from him."
Ivar sat on his throne in the Great Hall, hearing out his commander who had information regarding Drago.
"And you are certain that Drago Bludvist himself cut off all contact with us?" he asked her. "And that he himself sent a message saying, "You have already lost"?"
The shield maiden gave a nod. "That's what the letter read. After talking with the other commanders, we've come to believe that Drago has betrayed us, my lord Ivar. He has abandoned us and left us on our own."
Ivar nearly froze as he heard those words. Betrayed and abandoned. His hands began to tighten up into fists, and as he stood from his throne he turned around and out of anger violently punched the wall behind him, roaring and shouting in anger before turning around and looking down.
"DAMN YOU, DRAGO!" he bellowed. "Were it not for him... I could have won this war A LONG TIME AGO! HE TOOK MY ATTENTION AWAY FROM NORWAY SO THAT HICCUP COULD DESTROY MY GREAT ARMY! THAT SON OF A-"
Ivar immediately cut himself off. He looked back at the commander who stared up at him, shocked and almost frightened by his reaction. The Viking King let out a wavy and breathy sigh as he straightened himself out.
"Inform the other commanders to prepare our ships..." he said. "We're going to pillage the Archipelago down to the last coin, and kill any who stand in our path, even if we encounter Drago! No prisoners this time!"
"But my God-King, do we even have the men to-"
"Their warriors are amateur to us!" interrupted Ivar, grabbing ahold of his bullhook that laid against his throne. "There is nothing they can do while I am leading the charge. I will capture every island until the whole bloody Archipelago is under my dominion! I will-!"
It was then that the doors to the Great Hall suddenly bursted opened as Ivar's commanders along with ten Jomsvikings came rushing in with tense and shocked expressions on their faces, almost as if they had seen something horrible.
"Ah, my commanders!" Ivar announced, making his way forward to them. "You came here just in time! I want you all to spread the order to our warriors to prepare our fleet and make ready to sail out. We are going to-"
"We can't, my God-King!" one of them spoke. "The river is blocked!"
Ivar's expression immediately changed as his jaw slightly dropped in confusion. "What?" he asked. "C- Can you explain what you mean by that? WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT IS BLOCKED!?"
"There are over a hundred longships sailing to Kattegat, my lord Ivar! All carrying the colors of the Archipelago Tribes!" replied another commander. "Along with that, we spotted the banners of the Grey Raven and Battleborn Clans marching towards the Eastern wall, both being led by your brothers! We're completely surrounded, my lord!"
"Hiccup…"
The name instinctively and suddenly muttered under his breath as he looked at his commanders with a surprised expression of realization. It was clear to him that Hiccup was still alive despite his beliefs of him being dead, and to this, he felt his stomach sink and churn whilst thinking of him.
"Prepare the Eastern and Western walls. Gather our warriors, and get them ready for a siege! I will NOT be defeated today!"
…
Hiccup gripped his gauntlets, tightening them as he stretched himself out in his new black armor, ready and waiting for the fight ahead all while he, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Heather, and the Twins stared towards their destination from their longship.
As they were sailing, the sun above them shined and beamed onto them all whilst the skies gave off an almost golden-like color as if Odin, the mighty Allfather himself, recognized who the victor of the final battle was going to be.
It was a sight they had not seen in months ever since they left Berk.
Hiccup tilted his head up, looking towards the sky with the wind blowing in his face as he muttered "May the Allfather watch over us…" before turning around to face the rest of the fleet that followed behind him, along with the remaining Dragon riders of Berk that flew above them.
The Tribes all stood silent, waiting for something to happen as they continued sailing towards Kattegat which laid ahead of them. The city by now was aware of their presence, and thus the battle horns around the fortified town were loudly blowing and being sounded.
As Hiccup gazed over the army of Archipelago Vikings, his eyes instinctively wandered down towards the group that stood with him. Stoick, Magnus, Eira, Gobber, Astrid, and the Riders all looked up at him, awaiting what he had to say.
Even Toothless, Stormfly, Thorwind and the rest of the Dragons were waiting for something to happen as they stared at him.
Stoick approached his son, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It's time, Hiccup." he said with a nod. "Let them hear what you have to say."
Hiccup turned to face the front of the longship, gesturing for Toothless to follow before walking towards the front end of the deck until he was in sight for everyone to see. They all looked at him in anticipation, curious of what he had to say.
The young lad let out a light breath of air before looking back at them. And then he began to speak.
"WARRIORS!" he announced. "VIKINGS! Tribes of the Archipelago! After all of the struggles that we have gone through - all of the hardships and challenges, our combined efforts have at last led to this one final moment! Our nemesis, that maniac Ivar, lays held up in Kattegat behind his walls like a coward! However, today is the day that we will put an end to him and his tyranny! And although it won't be easy…"
"...It's still worth giving our lives if that's what it takes to stop him! To free not just ourselves, but as well as those who suffered as result of this war, which has gone on for long enough! I say no more of this! NO MORE running! NO MORE hiding! NO MORE cowering! NO, MORE! TODAY, WE FIGHT!"
Hiccup took ahold his fiery sword from it's sheath, raising it up high. Toothless responded by letting out a roar which made the other Dragons roar as well, and what followed was loud cheering that immediately bellowed all around Hiccup as the Vikings of the Archipelago bellowed out their battle cries and unsheathed their weapons in unison.
They made ready for the inevitable, and the stakes could not be higher.
Even Astrid and the Riders were cheering, ready to give Ivar what he deserved.
Hiccup looked back at Stoick and Magnus, giving them a nod as they both nodded back at him.
He then turned around to face back towards Kattegat, raising his sword up even higher for all to see.
"ALL SHIPS, FULL SAIL! WE END THIS WAR TODAY! NO MORE!"
The final battle begins next chapter...