Hello, lovelies! What a doozy of a last chappie! I'd just like to remind all of you to please please pretty please do not expose Valkyrie's identity in the reviews. I love getting reviews, I read all of them the second I get them and they all make me happier beyond belief. I just know there are some sneaky readers that read ahead in the reviews to see what happens (because I have a nasty habit of nasty cliffhangers). But after keeping all of you amazing supporters waiting for so long, it's only fair that newcomers have to wait, too. :)
If you already posted a review about Valkyrie, if FF allows it, feel free to edit it or remove it if you would be so kind. Again, this isn't because I'm mad or anything! It's just to keep the secret safe!
Chapter Forty-Six: The Defiler
Astrid gasped for air as the Mother Dragon beneath her scaled the pit, crawling into openness. Past the smoke and into the fresh, frigid air of day for the first time in what felt like forever, Astrid gulped in another breath. She gripped the short-sword desperately, dangling under the protection of the Mother's wing as she climbed out of the Underground and into the field next to it.
Alvin stared up at it in wonder, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. Cauli gawked at it, too. Blood covered her cheek under a gash, made by the tip of Alvin's sword just a moment before, but everyone was frozen in place as the Mother's crystal crown, followed by her crystal spine spikes fanned into the sky, filling the horizon with jagged edges and glittering lights.
"Do – do we deal with that?" Cauli asked quickly, genuinely. Alvin furrowed his brow, staring up at it.
"I… I don't know – I mean… wait!"
He returned to himself, raising his sword to strike Cauli down as she remained mesmerized by the beast ahead.
"Alvin, stop!"
Alvin stopped his blade midair, his eyes flicking up to the voice. Cloudjumper swooped down and landed between him and Cauli, shoving him back with his feet. Cloudjumper fanned out his crown, his eyes in slits, his head twitching as Alvin scrambled back. Valka jumped down, holding her hands out to him. Her arm was bleeding and her face was pale. She took a shaky breath as Alvin crawled to his feet, scowling.
"You – you betrayed me!" he yelled.
Valka pursed her lips and took a deep breath. "You tried to kill my children."
"You gave me your word!"
"You tried to kill my children!" Valka screamed. Alvin sneered and raised his sword again, but Cloudjumper shrieked. He cringed and faltered as Valka rushed him, pulling her spear from her back – from a sheathe Hiccup had given her – and smacked his wrist. He dropped his sword and Valka thrust the iron tip of her weapon under his chin.
"You're gonna kill me now, is that it?" Alvin laughed.
"As much as I'd like to, no," Valka spat. "I'm here to ask for your help."
Alvin laughed even harder. "Really? You have the gall to ask for that?!"
"I do," she replied sternly. "After what you put me through, I think it's a decent thing you could do for me, all things considered."
"And why should I help, huh? You'd just sick Stoick on me. Or Hiccup. Or someone, to finish your job."
"Don't flatter yourself, if I wanted you dead, I would have set you on fire by now," Valka said bluntly, her tongue flicking like a snake as she spoke her words. "You protected me for fourteen – fifteen – years of my life and for that, I don't think I can really get away with killing you, no matter how much I feel it will make me happy."
Alvin glared. "What do you want, then?"
"You see that dragon up there?" Valka asked.
Cauli scoffed, almost dropping her sword in sheer arrogance. Alvin dropped his expression, his twisted, grumpy mouth curling into another scowl.
"You mean the big one that just destroyed my island? Yeah, I think so."
"It's not your island, it's hers," Valka replied, swallowing nervously, still holding her spear under Alvin's jaw. "And I think it would be wise for us to leave."
"Well, your dragon is blocking my way, so –"
Cloudjumper hissed again, and Valka glared. "Where are the prisoners? Still in the compound?"
Alvin faltered, blinking as he thought about the answer. "They tried to rush the docks, but… we closed the gate."
Valka hissed, thrusting the spear against Alvin's skin. "What?"
"I thought they'd get in the way!"
"You selfish, no good –" Valka swung her spear around and cracked Alvin upside the head. He staggered over, shaking his head. "They'll burn in there!"
"So what?!" Alvin slurred.
Valka's jaw dropped. "They are your people!" she gasped. "After all these years, does that mean nothing to you?!"
"They all flocked to run to Hiccup!"
"They all ran to escape their deaths!" Cauli screamed.
Suddenly, a flash of white light, unlike the explosion, hit the metal tip of Valka's spear. It blew apart and threw shrapnel in her face. She cried out and fell back into Cloudjumper, holding her face, which bled through her fingers.
"Birdsong!" Alvin cried.
"Sorry to break up the reunion," Dagur cackled above them as Alvin knelt next to Valka. Alvin glared up as Thorvane's wings erupted into lightning bolts. He flew away, laughing as Alvin tried to pull Valka's hand from her eyes.
"Birdsong?"
"I'm alright, I'm alright," she said shakily. She pulled her hand away, revealing a flowing gash on her forehead. Cauli knelt next to her, and Alvin's and Cauli's fighters alike were lost as to what to do.
"Damn that Dagur," Alvin growled as Cauli pressed a dressing to Valka's forehead, wrapping around it tightly.
"He's going after Hiccup," she struggled to say, trying to get up.
"He'll be fine," Alvin muttered. Valka shoved his arm away, scowling.
"You don't get it! Dagur has never been on your side! This isn't about you and him anymore – if you didn't take his wife, this wouldn't have happened."
"I gave us Outcasts a chance –"
"By killing innocent people who stopped pursuing you years ago?" Valka asked sadly. "You may have found solace by ruling over a bunch of hostages, but Dagur? He kept killing and killing and killing and you refused to do anything about it!"
"He gave us the Underground."
"And look what came with it!" Valka yelled, throwing a hand up to the lumbering Mother Dragon. "Now all those people you paid to feed and clothe and protect are going to die because of his selfishness, his trickery."
She stumbled to her feet and jumped back onto Cloudjumper's back. "We have to get those people out of there, before the roof caves in. And I know how much you don't want to, but I know there is a soft-side to you. And I know you hold a strange notion of honour. Redeem yourself. Or I will not stop Stoick from ripping your head clean from your body."
Cloudjumper jumped into the air again, flying straight into the port. Cauli glared at Alvin, who watched Valka go, his eyes following her.
Hiccup and Rose barely caught Cloudjumper's tail disappear into the port. They dove, rushing to follow her. A scream infiltrated their minds, throwing them off-course as they cringed and cried out.
"Hiccup!" Rose screamed.
Hiccup looked up just in time to avoid Thorvane's razor-sharp talon as it swiped for his neck. Toothless spun and Hiccup threw his head back to avoid the claw. They soared into the air, climbing as high as they could as Hiccup looked down over his shoulder. His eyes widened as Thorvane chased after him, his mouth full of lightning bolts.
"He's alive?!" he cried.
I guess that trick doesn't work on Skrills, Toothless grunted. Hiccup looked to the Mother Dragon, who pulled her tail from the Underground's remains, a tail covered in gems and more crystal spikes. She looked to be bigger than Berk itself, and she towered higher than any peak Hiccup had dared scale. They swerved and flew towards her. Hiccup looked behind him again, horrified to see Thorvane twisting around to follow them.
The Mother reared her head, staring at Hiccup with large, extraordinary eyes.
Saviour… Defiler…
"I really hope that's not another name for me," Hiccup mentioned as they flew straight towards her.
It's Dagur's dragon name, Toothless replied.
"Fitting."
The Mother roared again, opening her gigantic mouth and shaking Hiccup's bones. She fanned out her wings and covered the horizon again as Toothless and Hiccup flew into her crown of spikes, weaving through them in an attempt to find cover. Dagur glared and the Skrill shot lightning towards her eyes. She shook her head, roaring again.
"Why doesn't she roast him?" Hiccup asked, frustrated.
I cannot harm my children, the Mother replied sourly. It's not the dragon I want to kill, it's the man who poisoned him.
"Poison?" Dagur asked as he tore after Hiccup, darting over the Mother's head. "I think the word you're looking for is 'tame'."
Fool!
The Mother tried to follow Dagur, but her body was too big, too cumbersome. It was not meant for killing, nor fast movements. Her wings, as massive as they were, could not lift her body into the air. She was nothing more than a rock, but provided Hiccup with enough cover to try to lose Dagur. Ducking under crystals and spikes of minerals and metal, Toothless and Hiccup flew down the length of the Mother. Lightning hit the Mother's spikes instead of Toothless' tail, and Dagur grew exceedingly frustrated with him.
"We have to separate them," Hiccup grunted as they dove under the Mother's belly.
He didn't notice Astrid as he flew past her, and she didn't notice him. Her eyes were closed tight, her ears once again ruptured from the second explosion, her entire body covered in horrific burns. She struggled to keep her feet planted on the scale below her. Her hand slipped from the hilt, but she managed to keep her fingers around it. She peeled open her eyes and looked over her shoulder. She saw the Mother's wing across from her, a row of crystal protrusions just out of reach. She gritted her teeth, trying to control her breath, her belly cramping again.
She swung her feet up and planted them under her. She grunted and pushed back, freeing the sword from the Mother's side, as she leapt for one of the spikes. She landed on her chest and felt the air fly out of her lungs.
The dreamland rumbled and Valkyrie held onto the tree, trying to concentrate on keeping her physical body still.
The sword fell from Astrid's grasp and she scrambled to hold onto the crystal with her burned arms, pain making her cough and wheeze. She swung her leg up and over the spike, hoisting herself up. She coughed again and gasped, holding onto the wing spike as the wing unfurled and furled again. She shivered as she wrapped her legs and arms around the spike. Her skin began to close again, but another contraction knocked the air out of her. Clutching her belly, she cursed and tried to breathe through it.
Valkyrie watched a wall of the cove cave in and gritted her teeth.
The pain lulled and Astrid pushed herself up. Her clothes had almost burned right through. Her shirt hung off her by singed strings. She tore it off herself and dropped it, leaving her in nothing but her lose pants and a couple rolls of fabric around her breasts. She didn't care, she was grateful to have her arms free as she scaled the wing, trying to climb to the Mother's body.
Leaping from spike to spike, cutting her feet on the sharp edges of the Mother's semi-precious stone hide, Astrid pushed herself forward. She slipped and stumbled on the flat edge of a clear quartz, her bloody feet making things difficult. She threw her arms out, trying to rebalance herself as she looked down to the ground below her. She couldn't help but feel the vertigo as she swayed back and forth. But she closed her eyes and looked forward, running again.
She jumped off the quartz and flailed her arms about. She landed on a cluster and rolled, tumbling onto her side. The stones scraped and battered her, but she endured, still running for the body of the dragon. She was getting closer and closer, almost at the shoulder. She couldn't help but think of how it would be easier if the Mother's wing wasn't the length of Berk, but Astrid gritted her teeth, held a hand over her stomach, and raced forth.
Valka and Cloudjumper landed outside the gates keeping the prisoners in – a sick idea imposed by Alvin in case there was a revolt. She jumped off the Stormcutter and ran to the gates. Prisoners held out their arms, screaming and crying to her as they pressed their weight against the structure. When people recognized her for Birdsong, some scowled at first. But she ran to the wheel controlling the gears and pulled against it, trying to lift the gate up. She struggled, and the wheel refused to budge. She let go and tried pushing it.
"The fire, it's spreading up the hall!" someone shrieked. Everyone began screaming, banging the iron gate as Valka tried to throw her weight into the wheel, growling and grunting.
"Move!"
Alvin shoved Valka to the side. He gave her a look, a look of regret and reluctance, but he gripped one half of the wheel with his scarred hands. Valka gave him a small, grateful smile and she grabbed the other side. The wheel lurched and scraped against the gears, and the gate lifted from the ground. They cranked it over until people could scramble under it.
"I'll hold it open," Alvin grunted. "Get them on my ships."
Valka swallowed and nodded, a smile still on her lips. "Thank you."
"Stop wastin' time, go before the Berserkers blow the port down around us," Alvin muttered. Valka hesitated for a moment, but she left, running back to the docks with the crowd, looking over her shoulder once as Alvin looked after her, his throat tight.
Toothless and Hiccup spun under the Mother's wing as Toothless filled his mouth with another plasma shot. They looked back and forth for Dagur, wondering where he flew to, wondering where he was.
Suddenly, Dagur was above them, and he leapt from the Skrill on top of Hiccup. Hiccup screamed as the pair of them fell over Toothless' back. His leg, locked into place at Toothless' side, tore from the rest of Hiccup's body as Dagur threw him onto the back of the Mother. Toothless spun out of control, landing among a cluster of tall spikes out of sight, and out of reach.
The two men rolled until Dagur was on top of Hiccup. He punched Hiccup across the jaw and grabbed his throat. Hiccup grabbed Dagur's hands, trying to pull them away from his throat as Dagur lifted him.
"It's just you and me," Dagur laughed as he slammed Hiccup's head back into the Mother's rock-hard hide. Hiccup coughed and choked as he tried to push Dagur away, his face turning a scary shade of red as Dagur squeezed the life out of him. He squeezed his eyes shut as spittle coughed from his lips, and he reached down to his leg. He grabbed his sword – the retractable sword Gobber had made fun of him for building – and pressed the spring button. The sword's blade sprung forth, burying itself into Dagur's side. Dagur let go of Hiccup, howling. Hiccup pulled the sword free and rolled to the side, gasping for breath.
Dagur held his side, shivering as the wound closed over as fast as Hiccup had made it. Hiccup slid back on his backside, holding his sword between himself and Dagur. Dagur laughed at him. "You really think that little thing is gonna stop me?"
Hiccup clenched his jaw and pressed another button. A spark ignited the Monstrous Nightmare saliva coating the blade along with Dagur's blood. It burst into flame and Dagur raised his eyebrows. He scoffed, letting his hand fall to his side. The wound was gone, leaving behind nothing but the remaining blood that had trickled down his side and into the waistline of his pants.
"Cute knife," he laughed.
"Dagur, I don't want to fight," Hiccup rasped quickly, pushing himself back with his good foot as he held his sword up.
"Then this will be a lot easier."
Just hold on, I'm coming, Toothless told Hiccup in his mind. Dagur laughed again.
"I can hear your pet, too," Dagur noted. "He's too far away, he won't get to you before I do."
Hiccup looked down to his leg, to the stump where his prosthetic should have been. He heard Toothless scream as he tried to run to him, trying to navigate around the spikes. He looked back up as Dagur kicked the sword out of the way. He grabbed Hiccup by his riding suit and hoisted him up over his head. He threw Hiccup into a thick boulder. Hiccup ribs snapped like twigs, but he rolled over onto his hands and knees, trying to get up, his sword skittering away from his hands.
Dagur threw his foot back and kicked Hiccup in the stomach.
"This is so much fun," Dagur growled happily as Hiccup slumped into the ground. He held himself, wincing and trying to muster his strength. Dagur kicked him again, this time in the cheek. His head snapped back and his body crumpled again, stars dancing in Hiccup's eyes.
HICCUP! Toothless screamed. DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM!
Dagur laughed again. "You taught your dragon how to swear?" he asked Hiccup. He picked him up again and shoved his back into the boulder. Hiccup's head swayed back and forth.
HICCUP!
"He won't make it in time," Dagur chuckled as he drew his sword. "Poor, poor little Night Fury, trying to scramble to his little Hiccup. It's almost as sad as your wife."
Dagur kneed Hiccup in the gut. Hiccup doubled over and Dagur pushed him back up, grabbing his throat again, pushing him up the side of his boulder with the one hand.
"You should have seen her," Dagur growled as Hiccup opened one of his eyes, grimacing. "How her body exploded into a thousand pieces when she blew up the Underground. Thinking she'd be the hero of the day."
Hiccup's eyes fluttered as blood dripped from his cheek down his clenched jaw. He tried to breathe but Dagur squeezed harder, grinning slyly as he pulled his sword back, ready to impale Hiccup's head with his blade.
HICCUP! NO!
Dagur thrust his hand forward, about to shove the weapon into Hiccup's mouth, before something crashed into him.
"GET OFF HIM!" Astrid shrieked. Hiccup's fire-sword in hand, she slammed the blade straight through Dagur, shoving him back by the impact. Hiccup slumped to the ground, face-down, collapsing among the stones. Dagur gasped and staggered back. The blade was buried in his stomach and Astrid shoved it up and down, side to side, screaming over and over again. Dagur dropped his sword as Astrid shoved him back, his face contorted into agony and disbelief.
"You – you –" Dagur choked and blood spattered through his teeth. "You burned!"
Astrid twisted the blade, holding it inside Dagur so he couldn't heal.
"Three moons ago, and today," she spat.
Dagur smiled. "I'll just heal. No matter what you do."
"We'll see how you do after you break every bone in your fucking body."
She let go of the sword and kicked him back. He stumbled, tripping over the uneven surface and tumbling over the edge. He screamed as he fell down, down, and down, eventually hitting the rocks below with a sickening crunch.
Astrid stared at the sky in front of her for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Her womb ached again, and she winced, her knees shaking. She gasped and spun around, stumbling for Hiccup's motionless body.
She fell to her knees, cutting them on the stone, and she crawled the final distance to him. Fear ensnared her heart as she hovered a hand over Hiccup's back. Her fingers trembled and tears filled her eyes.
"Hiccup?" she asked in a tiny voice. Was she too late? She choked back a whistling breath as she reached across him, grabbing his shoulder and hauling him over. She struggled to pull his limp body onto her lap. She wriggled her arm under Hiccup's head and the other one grabbed his hand. She rocked him back and forth, tears dripping off her face and onto his. "Hiccup? No… no, please…"
She shook his head with her arm, hoping to see any trace of life. She was finally holding him, and he wasn't moving. Astrid lifted him up, grunting and crying out as she did so, pulling his face to hers. She pressed her cheek to Hiccup's, squeezing her eyes shut. "Don't do this to me!" she wept. "Come on, please don't do this!"
She shook Hiccup's head again, brushing back his hair with a burned and blood-covered hand. "You can't – I need you!" she sobbed, rocking back and forth. "Wake up! Hiccup!"
Toothless bounded around the boulder and froze. He stared down at Hiccup's pale body with wide eyes. He tried to connect with him, tried to find his mind, something to latch onto. But there was nothing. Astrid looked up at the Night Fury and a sob tore out of her. She let her head fall into Hiccup's chest as she cried heart-wrenching tears, saying his name over and over again.
A Changewing landed next to Toothless, and Rose jumped from her back, racing for Hiccup and Astrid. When she noticed Hiccup's body as Astrid screamed out in anguish, she froze, too. She caught her breath, staggering to a halt, her green eyes wild and her cheeks draining of any colour.
"Hiccup, please –" she choked again. She lifted her face and pressed her forehead against his, swallowing loudly. "Remember our wedding?" she asked shakily through her sobs. "Re-remember? 'You are the wonder of my world.' You still are, you can't leave yet – we – we're having – Hiccup –"
She sobbed again and grabbed Hiccup's hand. She pressed it against her belly, spreading her fingers over her quivering flesh. "We-we're gonna have a baby."
Holding his hand to her, sobbing uncontrollably, with Toothless looking down at her, Astrid felt her hope drain from her soul. Rose covered her mouth with both hands and fell to her knees, a tiny hiccup flying through her fingers. She was too late.
Astrid kissed his mouth, squeezing his hand so hard she thought she would break it. She kissed him once, twice, and once more, praying that it would bring him back, knowing it wouldn't. Her shoulders sank. She held his hand against her even harder, convulsing as she cried.
His fingers twitched against her belly. Astrid shot her head up, staring down at him with eyes bigger than the Mother's as Hiccup's fingers dug into Astrid's skin. Hiccup's eyes fluttered as the gash in his cheek closed slowly under Astrid's thumb.
"Hiccup?!" she asked loudly. Toothless crouched down, feeling Hiccup come to. Rose gasped and crawled to him, helping Astrid hold his head up. "Can you hear me?"
Hiccup could hear a voice calling to him, but he couldn't open his eyes. His insides wriggled around as they healed to normalcy, a groan escaping his lips. His ribs crackled as they popped back into place and air returned to his damaged throat. He coughed again, rough and loud, and he felt someone give him a small shake. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking again and again, sucking in another breath as his organs moved and sewed themselves back together, his back arching off Astrid's lap for a moment. He looked up to a shadow above him, a shadow that repeated itself over and over again, calling his name desperately. The shadow began to sharpen, and Hiccup stared up into a pair of beautiful blue eyes, familiar and lovely.
Astrid rested her head against his forehead as he stared up at her, gasping for air, his body sinking back down. Rose covered her mouth again, relief filling her like water.
"A-Astrid –"
"I'm here," Astrid wept. His voice, his wonderfully strange voice, caressed her fragile ears.
He reached up and hovered his hand by her face before touching her cheek with his fingertips. Wiping a tear with his calloused thumb, his own eyes watered. A tear fell from the outer corner of his eye and streamed over his temple towards his ear.
"You're here," Hiccup murmured, looking back and forth between Astrid's eyes.
Astrid smiled and sniffed, holding Hiccup's hand against her face. Astrid didn't dare take her eyes from his as a smile stretched over his pale lips. A sob and a sigh flew out of his lungs. He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her to him, kissing her as hard as he could. Their faces fit together perfectly, even though Astrid's face was thinner and Hiccup's was rougher. She kissed him back passionately, the taste of his lips – his real lips – sending her into another bout of blubbering. Rose smiled under her fingers, watching the two of them embrace.
They were together. After all this time, they were finally together, sobbing among a forest of crystals and gems and glittering metals, holding each other tightly, refusing to let go.