Hey, would ya look at that, an update. Looks like this is alive after all. I had to readjust myself to the story again...kinda forgot where I was going with this, but I think I'm back on track. So if it looks a bit off or something seems a bit weird, I apologize.
They all stood for a few long moments, hearing the sounds of battle being played out in front of them. The sound was all too familiar, echoing inside their minds creating a whirlpool of colliding thoughts and emotions. Nothing seemed to ever remain quiet for too long before they're all thrown into the fray time and time again. The world would crash and bang all around them, but now, they're fulling realizing the implications of what those sounds were. These last few months, these last few years have been nothing but a musical myriad of sounds that would ultimately prepare them for the world that was to come. Here they stood, already having embraced the world long ago. Now, it was time for them to create a better sound from the jumbled noises of its predecessor. Together, they wished to create the new sound of Berk.
They stood once more in the shadow of battle. Beneath their feet, the devastating influence of war had taken its fancy to the villagers of Berk, turning them against one another. Brother against brother, sister against sister. Bonds were being forged and destroyed in the streets where the sweat and blood of Berk villagers flowed. It was here that a new Berk would arise.
"How do we stop this," Hiccup said out loud to all who would hear. He garnered no response from those who were with him. The night fury to his left, the young viking girl with a small dragon clinging to her were to his right, and beyond her, the Nadder who accompanied her. He did not feel helpless with his friends as he once did those many months ago, rather, he felt compelled to continue forward with a new strength. He wouldn't cower. He wouldn't avoid confrontation. He wouldn't let somebody save him. He wouldn't let Berk collapse around him again. He knew he was stronger and he sure as hell wouldn't let Berk fall, not while he was still breathing.
"Think, think, think, think," Hiccup said out loud, scratching at the ground absentmindedly, creating a decent sized hole in front of him. The others didn't watch on in confusion, instead, they did as their friend did. They stopped and they thought. With every new thought the dragon had, however, a new dead end was created to stop him in his tracks.
"Why don't we make something else for them to fight?" Toothless blurted out, staring into the surrounding woods, "Why don't we start a fire, one so vast they'll have to stop and put it out?" Hiccup and the others stared at the Night Fury, weighing the possibility of the plan.
"That's incredibly dangerous," Hiccup said softly, staring into the small hole he had created, "and risky. Who knows if they'll even care if the forest is burning. For all we know, they'll keep fighting while the fire continues, or even worse, we'll get them to stop but the fire will be too much for us to handle." The young night fury stared at his companions, scanning each one carefully, hoping for a better plan to pop into his head.
"From what I can tell, this is all we've got," Stormfly said, glancing out towards the bustling streets, watching as one viking knocked out another with a swift blow to the face, "and from the looks of it we need to act fast so let's go buttercup, let's get this moving." Hiccup stared at the dragon and shook his head softly, looking between the village and the forests surrounding the village. If it works, they could hopefully subside the fighting for at least a few hours longer to come up with a better plan. If it doesn't, Berk burns.
"Astrid and Stormfly, go round up the group," Hiccup said quickly, "Get anyone you can, Snotlout, the twins, Johan, Fishlegs, anyone who can help you get water prepared. We need to have plenty on standby just in case something goes terribly wrong alright? Now, Toothless and I will do a quick sweep of the area to check the forest and try to warn some of the dragons. We can't fly too close to the village or else someone might try and shoot us down, so don't expect us to come swooping in at the last minute. When you can, report to Stoick as soon as you can, don't put it off. He needs to be informed, and when the fire does start, get the word through Berk as quickly as possible. We need this fire to last, but to be put out in a timely fashion. We literally only have on shot at this, so we can't mess this up guys." He looked around, watching as the dragons and the young viking nodded their heads, listening to every word he said. He felt a small sense of pride, confidence, and achievement seeing them put so much faith in him. He started to feel like he wasn't that much of a disappointment to his father after all. Maybe one day he'll be a great leader like Sto-
"Hiccup! Seriously, you just gave a speech and you're zoned out again?" He heard Astrid voice yell in annoyance, "Move your ass dragon boy!" With that, the young rider and her dragon disappeared into the house once more, leaving the two Night Furies alone. Looking towards the forest and the village once more, Hiccup nodded towards his mate to head towards the skies. Carefully and stealthily, the two dragons lifted themselves into the air and disappeared into the skies above the large expanse of forest.
Personally, Hiccup hated the idea. He loved the forest. This is where he could escape from his abusive village life when it got to be too much. Being the town's laughing stock had put so much strain on Hiccup's mental health. The forest was quiet and it would listen to what Hiccup had to say. The trees would sit in silence, consoling the young boy as he dealt with the almost constant teasing and bullying. It was here that he contemplated ending it all. It was here he found the dragon he shot down. It was here he forged an amazing friendship and romance. It was here he stared at his reflection in the lake, seeing what he had become. Now, it was time to burn away those memories. It will be here that he will make new memories to cherish.
The dragons scanned the forest floor beneath them, looking through the dense foliage, catching glimpses of dragons as they tended to their own lives. It was at this time Hiccup began to realize the implications of burning the forest even more. He would be taking the home of countless dragons and animals and that was if it all goes according to plan. How could he convince all of these dragons to just up and leave so suddenly?
Just as these thoughts began to boil inside his head, Hiccup watched as Toothless dropped down quickly into the forest floor before emerging a minute or two later, shooting quickly back into the sky, followed by several dragons who soon dispersed into other parts of the massive island. The dragon watched for a few moments expecting an explanation from his mate, but receiving nothing.
"What did you do?" Hiccup asked loudly, seeing his mate fly with a concerned look on his face. The other night fury shot him a glance and managed a brief smile, sticking out his tongue playfully.
"Don't worry about it," Toothless said, dropping down lower to scan the forest better who was quickly tailed by Hiccup.
"Now I am worried about it! What did you do or say to them?" Hiccup said asked loudly, his voice echoing into the distance. Toothless shot Hiccup a quick glance, smiling his usual smile.
"I just came crashing through the trees, yelling about how their was a big fight going on and that the forest was gonna be burned at any moment," Toothless said, shrugging playfully, "Then they up and left just like that. They'll believe anything apparently." Hiccup shook his head, not quite believing the story, but refused to ask anymore questions, knowing that they should start burning this part of the forest as it had hopefully been cleared.
"We can always find another way," Toothless said, flying closer to the smaller dragon, staring with sad eyes, "I know how much these trees mean to you. I saw how you looked at them and I know what kind of memories they hold for you and me." He saw as Hiccup looked down into the forest once more, those eyes bleeding with the sense of nostalgia and sorrow. Then he looked up and over at his mate, trying to smile his brightest.
"This is all we've got and their isn't much time to create something better," Hiccup said with a strong voice, "I hate it as much as you, but we have to do it. Besides, something new will grow in its place, and hopefully, the cove will be spared for the most part." With one final farewell, Hiccup closed his eyes and fired a dispersed blast of plasma. The fire quickly plummeted to the ground, almost instantly engulfing several trees in it's merciless grasp, chipping away at the life the ancient beings held onto for many generations. Within a few moments of firing, the dragons managed to engulf a good portion of the trees in fire. Not a fantastic amount, but nothing too small either. It was the size Hiccup knew the villagers could handle. Now, they had to return and wait and think. With a bit of luck, they might just pull it off.
The two stared down at their horrifying artwork, regretting the amount of energy they used to create this terrifying and damaging masterpiece. Looking away, Hiccup flew quickly back towards the village, leaving his mate to quickly catch up.
"Hiccup! Slow down!" Toothless yelled up towards the dragon, managing to catch the dragon's attention. Hiccup glanced back at the Night Fury, slowing down a bit to let the dragon slowly catch up to him. Then he heard a familiar whistling quickly heading his direction. Looking towards the sound, the young dragon watched as an arrow flew directly towards his chest, a perfect shot to his heart. The dragon froze for a moment, closing his eyes, fearing what was to come next. It was faster than him, too close for him to do anything. Then he opened his eyes and the arrow was falling directly below him as if it had ricocheted off of something and changed its trajectory towards the burning trees below. He didn't have time to question the strange event as another arrow flew past his head, narrowly missing his cheek. Looking down, the Night Fury could see a viking in a small clearing, aiming his bow directly at the dragon. Suddenly, the viking keeled over, falling to the ground in a dramatic display of pain and suffering. It was quick and silent.
Suddenly, he was thrust downwards, heading towards the trees below them not yet engulfed in the fire. Two strong paws were holding him tightly before loosening their grip, allowing the young dragon to fly on his own as the pair quickly dropped onto the forest floor. The smell of ash immediately greeted them as they hit the soft grass below. They could hear the immense roaring pouring out from behind them and drowning them in a thicket of smoke. The two ran quickly, escaping the influence of the smoke and getting much needed fresh air.
"Pretty sure we needed to run the rest of the way," Toothless said between pants as he bolted through the trees, his mate closely following him.
"Did you see what happened?" Hiccup asked, "Not just the guy shooting an arrow at me, but what happened to the arrow?" Toothless glanced back, clearly not knowing what it was Hiccup was going on about. The young dragon shrugged off the question and focused more on the task at hand. If someone was already in the forest, hopefully that meant villagers would quickly see the flames and the smoke heading their direction.
Entering the outskirts of the village, the dragons witnessed many vikings dropping their swords, their axes, whatever they were using to fight, and rushed towards the forest. Within seconds, many more come onto the scene with buckets of water while still more dragon riders flew above, heading towards the source of the giant columns of smoke. With a bit of luck, they managed to pull off the distraction.
"This better last," Hiccup muttered under his breath, taking one long look at the forest before following Toothless back to the chief's home.
The pair quickly made their way to the building, noticing the quickly emptying streets as they all quickly filed to the forest. The plan was working, but the real question was whether this momentary peace would last. A common cause to unite a people, but how long before those cracks began reappearing?
Hiccup pushed open the door, and was greeted by several vikings all moving about, yelling at each other, quickly scrawling down notes and making preparations. It seemed to be a committee hastily put together to put out the fire and quickly bond the two warring sides whilst the larger threat loomed just beyond the village. He looked around, noticing the familiar faces of many, some of which he saw in the fields just a bit ago. They were all suddenly cooperating for the greater good of the island, momentarily putting aside their differences to keep the island alive. There was Spitelout, and there was Alvin, and there was Gobber, and Johan, and many others. They were all there in one place.
The Night Furies quickly made their way up to the second floor and found Stoick staring out of the window, watching the streets below as he allowed himself to be treated by Svelta. Noticing the dragons, he excused himself from Svelta and waved the boys over quickly, motioning for them to take a seat. Once the pair were situated, the chief looked at them. He had a stern look on his face, one that was created from anger, frustration, and betrayal.
"I need you both to listen to me very carefully," He began softly, "Mildew and Alvin were fighting for Berk the entire time. Any time they invaded in the past, it was because they needed to relay large quantities of information without being suspected by other tribes. Perfect cover. Now, you two need to move past whatever grudge you have against him." He flexed his hands and cracked his knuckles a few times, letting out a few soft sighs, letting his body limber up some.
"You might've thought it was Alvin who engineered this whole operation, this whole civil war, but it wasn't. Something this big and complex, I wouldn't suspect anyone else but Alvin, but I know it wasn't him," Stoick said, regaining the confidence in his voice as he stared out the window, watching as the black pillars of smoke fell on the homes of Berk. Hiccup took a step closer, glancing out the window and back at his father.
"How do you know it wasn't him? How do you know we can trust him?" Hiccup said softly, wanting a clear and definitive answer from his father. The chef laughed softly and just stared out the window for a few more seconds. He watched as village would fade from view then slowly return as the winds tore apart he clouds of smoke. He sniffed the air and smelled the burning trees, the burning leaves, and the burning life so near the forest. The burning of the past to make room for the future. He rested his hands on the window sill, watching the blood red ocean slowly turn to a vibrant blue as the sun rose farther and farther into the sky, illuminating the darkest reaches of the island, bringing out the innermost secrets. The chief saw everything clearly through this unfiltered lens.
"Alvin didn't engineer this," He started off quietly," While it may seem like the perfect plan, he didn't construct it. He didn't send the boy to us, he didn't foresee the village burning, he didn't expect us to start splitting, he didn't know his own island would be demolished, and he didn't want to see Berk split in two. While he is clever, while he is manipulative and harsh, he didn't create this brilliant plan. No, it was all a series of events strung together by one person or persons. They were there from the start and playing with us the entire time behind the scenes. They pushed us in different directions. They weighed the outcomes and went along with the flow, subtly steering us in different directions. They were the ones doing it. They attacked me out of the blue, tried to kill me while I had my guard down. They needed a new home, and they knew those dragons wouldn't be back. They manipulated us all. That kid, that kid who came here and his family. Tatsuo."
The two stared at the chief, not quite knowing what to do or say. It as information they had considered and were ready to face if it were true, but they didn't expect him to have done so much while saying and being seen so little. He played them, he played them all right from the very start. It seemed like he was just a few steps ahead, taking advantage of every mistake they made along the way. He wasn't Dagur who planned and executed, no, he didn't plan, he had an idea and a map and steered us in different directions, going along with whatever was happening. He took advantage of every opportunity he got.
"He took advantage of every opportunity he had..," Hiccup said softly, feeling his body get unnaturally warm suddenly. He glanced out the window and noticed the warping of wooden frames around the housing. He smelled the smoke and he heard the sounds of the building crackling underneath their feet.
The house of the chief of Berk was slowly being engulfed in flames.