Evander's smirk matched the draconian version Scatty was sporting. Hiccup had asked them to cause a diversion long enough to distract the Outcasts, so that he could snoop around. Evander and Scatty had been through combat training before, but they would never have thought that they'd find themselves using their training for something like… this. Evander was never the flamboyant twin, and preferred quiet surgical strikes to bombastic attacks. But there's always a first time for everyone.
"Are you ready, Scatty?" The Night Fury rumbled excitedly. "Let's go."
Scatty dived, charging up her flame as she went.
"NIGHT FURY!"
"GET DOWN!"
The shot of plasma exploded close to where a group of Outcasts were gathered. It set a guard post on fire, and the sentries fled from the burning structure.
"Muahahaha! Run, disorganized wimps, run!" Evander knew it was unbecoming for a trained Nottlander like him to take out frustration on the bad guys in that way, but the boy found it strangely relieving. He was also silently thankful that he was the only Nottlander around, and no one was there to hit him for being seen. Or so he thought.
"Catapults! Fire at will!"
Evander pulled up, and Scatty expertly weaved in and out of the paths of the projectiles aimed at them. Soon, they disappeared among the clouds. "Okay, so some of them kept their heads on. No dragons so far. Scatty, disarming tactics."
Scatty darted from the clouds and aimed for the catapults. Zigzagging among the flying rocks headed her way, she hit a few of the offending catapults. Evander ducked as a rock flew past where his head had been.
"Whoops! You missed. How come we don't get this much fun at Nott, Scatty?" He grinned mischievously at the Outcasts below. Evander was thoroughly amused that a single dragon and rider could wreak havoc on ground troops, until he remembered that some of these Vikings were headed to Berk riding dragons. He thought of how these Outcasts would storm Nott, and he did not like the idea, as much as Nott villagers were experienced dragon riders.
No, he would not let these people destroy a village just to claim it for their own!
Uttering a loud battle cry, he and Scatty flew and blasted some more.
…
BOOM.
Hiccup and Toothless had swooped low, and Toothless chose to land near the dungeons at the other side of the island. Both of them heard the shouts and cries of Outcasts, but no dragon roars.
"Think they're doing all right, bud?"
Toothless snorted. He had supreme confidence in the abilities of his kin. They weren't about to be captured. He ran towards the entrance and blasted the doors. The guards were knocked out, and one who did not fall into unconsciousness suddenly found something hard and leathery in his face.
Hiccup tried to recall what he remembered in his brief stay in the island. Once he found the mass lobby of dungeons, Hiccup found his bearings. Toothless hissed angrily, apparently recalling how he had been chained in one of the cells not too long ago.
"I know. Okay, we're going, we're going," Hiccup reassured his Night Fury. He navigated the tunnels with a bit more certainty, trying to avoid any Outcasts that came their way. There weren't many, due to the diversion Scatty was causing. Anyone who did met the wrath of Toothless' tail, or worse, fire. Toothless had to admit, it felt good.
They turned a corner, and Hiccup heard voices. Among the voices was the deep baritone of Alvin the Treacherous. Hiccup warned his dragon partner, and they inched slowly and silently as they could towards the entrance of what seemed like a cavernous room. As they neared it, the voices grew louder. Hiccup saw a set of stairs leading down to a meeting room. He dismounted from Toothless and hid against the wall.
Hiccup risked a peek. There were seven men seated around a rectangular table, and behind each man was a dragon.
'There's a Whispering Death in there!' He thought, and his spirits dropped to rock bottom. The other dragons included a Scauldron, two Monstrous Nightmares, and four Deadly Nadders.
"Most of the fleet has been dispatched in that route you suggested. With the head start they've made, they will arrive soon."
"Good." The huge ugly one with a scruffy brown beard smiled humorlessly. "With Stoick at Greengrass Island, Berk will never know what hit them."
The ugly one turned to the Whispering Death behind him. "And we'll be having our own surprise for that Night Fury and his precious rider, will we?"
The Whispering Death roared. The other dragons followed his lead, and their riders followed through with their sinister evil laugh. Cliché, Hiccup thought, rolling his eyes. Deep inside, Hiccup wondered grimly what that 'surprise' was. Behind him, Toothless rumbled indignantly, and the Whispering Death below suddenly tensed.
Thinking the other dragon had sensed Toothless, Hiccup scrambled back into the corridor. He tripped over a rock and would have fallen if Toothless hadn't caught him. Hiccup gasped audibly, and at the same moment an Outcast burst through the threshold opposite the one Hiccup had peeked through. His armor was sooty, and he looked positively wild.
"Night Fury attack on Loki's bay!" the Outcast announced. "Our defenses are being overwhelmed!"
All the other officers were silenced. They all stared at their commander, who glowered at them all. The Outcast to the right of the commander broke the silence. "Well? Who was it? Who's the spy?"
The ugly one —Alvin— stood up. "We'll be having a change of plans. Let the Night Fury and Stoick's excuse for a Viking son wreck this island. We're going to claim Berk!"
"But sir," piped up one of the Outcasts. "What about the prisoners?"
Alvin hesitated for a moment. "Leave them be. We have no use for that mute girl and her wild Night Fury."
He raised a fist and uttered a loud battle cry. His followers echoed it. All of them, dragons included, hurried out of the meeting hall, and left a horrified Berk Viking and his Night Fury in their wake.
…
Toothless rumbled, which seemed to snap Hiccup out of his reverie.
"Yeah, bud, we should go," Hiccup said, taking off at a run. When they reached a fork road, Toothless turned left, Hiccup turned right. "Toothless, come here!"
Toothless roared again, urging Hiccup to follow him, and continued on his way. Hiccup sighed and hurried after his dragon. They found themselves at the heart of the dungeons again, and Hiccup was wondering why Toothless led him here.
"What are you up to, bud? We have to get out of here, Evander and Scatty are alone outside," Hiccup reminded his Night Fury. Toothless had other ideas. He sniffed the air tentatively.
"The prisoners!" Hiccup realized.
Locating the scent, Toothless led Hiccup into one of the tunnels.
…
Scatty, who evaded being caught in a net by a few centimeters, sent a round of plasma at the rocks, which came tumbling over the burned net-throwing catapults and wooden spikes. The Outcasts yelled and ran for cover.
"What do you know? Still no dragons," Evander observed, as he and Scatty zoomed across the rocky bay fort. Or rather, what was left of it. Most of the Outcasts had already retreated to the inner encampment. Only a select few were vigilantly combing the skies for a sign of the Night Fury. They were lightly armed, and were holding spears and knives at ready. "I think we've caused enough of a diversion here. There's not much to distract. Take us up, girl!"
Scathach ascended, and disappeared into the clouds. Evander flinched as he heard a collection of dragon roars from the other side of the island, where Hiccup was supposed to do his spy work.
"Hiccup!"
And Scatty flew as fast as she could. High above the island but well below the clouds, Evander could just make out a small group of dragons flying in the opposite direction. A worm-like dragon led them, and upon it was a big bearded man who looked like the leader. After the dragons passed by, Scatty descended from the clouds and circled a rock fort.
"Was that the dragon army?" Evander wondered out loud.
Just then, he heard a scream.
…
Hiccup ran after his dragon, and was unceremoniously thrown off his feet at the force of Toothless' plasma blast. When he reached the cell Toothless had destroyed, Hiccup found another Night Fury in there. A leather clamp held its mouth shut, and cuffs held together its fore legs and hind legs, the latter of which was also fastened to its tail. Hiccup was painfully reminded of Toothless being in the same predicament. He had to shake his head several times to rid himself of the memory.
By the time Hiccup had erased the disturbing images from his head, Toothless had already melted off the foreleg cuffs, so Hiccup ran over to help. Hiccup pulled off the leather mouth belt as Toothless worked on the hind leg cuffs. Soon, the other Night Fury was able to stretch out his limbs and wings to enjoy his freedom. He roared at Toothless in gratitude. But when he glowered at Hiccup, Toothless dived in between the other dragon and his rider before the tiny human could get hurt. Toothless didn't care if this was one of his kin, or if the other Night Fury was larger than he was. He was prepared to defend Hiccup, no matter what.
The other Night Fury gave them one last skeptical look, before disappearing into the hallway.
"It's gone to find its rider!" Hiccup cried out, mounting Toothless, who then sped off after the other dragon. The other Night Fury led the way to the grounds, where the last of the Outcasts dragon riders disappeared over the side of the mountain.
"I know where the human prisoners are, bud," Hiccup said, and together they took off. Toothless roared at the other Night Fury, who followed them after a moment's hesitation.
Toothless was mildly irritated. Were Night Furies really that stubborn?
…
"Evandeeeeer!"
"Elene?"
Startled by the scream that drained the color from Evander's face, Scatty searched frantically for the source, and her eyes locked in on an Outcast holding a sword at the girl's throat. Oh, how her blood boiled. The Night Fury landed on the rocky shore. The Viking still had her rider's twin hostage, and Scatty hated that one of her friends was being threatened.
"I need you down from that Night Fury. Now."
Scatty bared her teeth at the offender when she felt Evander dismount. Her rider stepped forward, hands raised as a sign of peace. She knew her rider was livid right now, even if the boy was wearing a serene smile on his face that didn't match his bright dark eyes. That meant he had a plan.
"That's it. Good. Drop your weapons."
Evander clasped his hands to his chest and spread his arms wide. Scatty's eyes widened with recognition and started to move. Evander turned around flamboyantly and covered a respectful distance; he effectively caught the Outcast's full attention. Evander shot his sister's captor a strange look. "I don't have any on me."
As Scathach inched silently out of the captor's line of sight, she held in the urge to pounce on the Outcast and throw him in the sea, or maybe one of the volcanoes she passed by earlier. Not yet. She had to wait for his signal.
"Lies!"
Evander gasped when the sword was pressed on Elene's throat. The girl, on her part, looked determined not to be frightened by her captor. Evander fought his panic to regain composure. He needed to execute the plan perfectly, or he might become an only child. Just a bit more…
"You'd know if you had a Night Fury. They don't like people riding them carrying weapons!" Evander snapped, walking casually in a semi-circle. The Outcast kept him in his line of sight, oddly enough. "But no, the ugly Outcast wants to stay on the ground troops! He'd rather take on a helpless lassie than tame a dragon, because that's all he can do."
"Take that back!"
A curious smile crept its way to the boy's impish face. "You're not scared of heights, are you?"
Outraged, the Outcast pressed the sword tighter on Elene's throat.
"Then," Evander said simply, "I hope you won't mind going for a little spin right about..."
The captive seriously doubted her brother now. Behind her, the Outcast seriously doubted the boy's sanity. "What are you talking about?"
The boy pointed to the sky. "…now."
The Outcast gasped and shrieked as the cold comfortable ground dropped from below him.
A sword whistled through the air as the Outcast lost his hold on it. Evander managed not to get impaled by it, so now he stood alone by the beach as he waited for Scatty to return. Looking up, he saw a Night Fury circle above him, and after determining it didn't have a red tail fin, he whooped with joy.
"Evander!" Hiccup called just as he and Toothless landed next to him. He indicated the Night Fury circling overhead. "I found that one."
Toothless whacked him with an ear flap. Hiccup cracked a sheepish grin. "Well, Toothless did."
"You guys found Khor!" Evander exclaimed, beside himself with elation.
Khor dropped low and landed regally beside Evander. He subjected Evander into his intense questioning stare. The Nottlander had just opened his mouth to answer when they heard a long sustained scream, followed by a splash. Evander grinned. "She's with Scatty."
…
Scathach returned Elene in one piece and very much dry. The girl shrieked with delight when she saw her dragon, and the dragon looked equally happy to see her. Elene dismounted Scatty and leapt onto Khor's welcome back.
"Khor and I are ready to race!" She declared, fastening her harness on her belt. Elene's eyes flashed, challenging her brother, who had mounted Scatty. "I hope you're ready to lose."
"Yeah, thank you for saving my hide from that ugly Outcast, Evander," her twin said, mimicking Elene's feminine voice. He raised a hand, and added in his own voice, "Don't mention it, my lovely sister who put dragon nip in my goblet the other day."
Elene rolled her eyes. "And I ended up doing all your work, Vee-vee!"
Vee-vee? Hiccup chuckled despite himself, and then he decided it was time to go. "Hey, guys, I hate to interrupt your sibling reunion, but we've done all we can here, and we need to go get my father now."
Evander was about to take off with Scatty when he saw Elene stare at Hiccup with widened eyes, then at him.
Hiccup had enough experience with Ruff and Tuff to know that a sibling fight would commence. His instincts were right, and it was worse when he realized that 'he' was the subject of the fight. Elene glared accusingly at him, as if he'd done bloody murder. "Who is this fishbone's excuse for a Night Fury rider?"
"Hey!"
Toothless growled angrily at Elene, to which Khor reacted with a snort and a haughty swish of his tail.
"Easy on the insults, sis! Elene, meet Khor's liberator, Hiccup and Toothless of Berk," Evander said with an uneasy smile. He gestured an arm towards the Berk rider and his dragon. "Berk's new at the dragon training thing, but this guy's got it good—"
But Elene's eyes went wild again. "Oh. No. You. Didn't!"
Evander's smile melted. "Elene, I can explain—"
"You broke the oath!"
"I didn't mean— I was dop—"
"How could you?!"
"Stop interrupting me!"
"Settle down, you guys," Hiccup tried to amend, raising his hands palms down in a peace gesture. The twins ignored him. It was like trying to calm down a Zippleback fighting with itself. "Okay, this is really helping!"
"You haven't seen Berk, sis," Evander argued. "It's a home to dragons too, and your captors, those crazy Outcasts, want to destroy it! Don't you see? "
It was all Evander could say to try and ease his twin. But Elene shook her head disbelievingly, and her dragon partner seemed to agree with her. "Khor, let's go! Don't let the traitor follow!"
"Elene, wait!"
Scatty and Toothless surged after them, but both had to swerve out of the way in order to evade Khor's deadly blast of plasma. And when Scatty and Toothless managed to recover, Elene and Khor had disappeared into the clouds.
…
They had no problem retracing the path towards Stoick. Scatty and Toothless were riding the winds serenely, and both enjoyed the extended flying session. As far as they were concerned, the only thing that would make the trip better was if their riders enjoyed it too.
But Hiccup felt guilty that Evander had chosen to tag along with their 'warn-the-chief' mission right after the Nottlander was deserted by his own twin. After all the trouble they'd been through to rescue them, he and Evander ended up losing her.
"You should go after her," Hiccup told his companion for the umpteenth time.
Elene's words had a profound stinging effect on Evander. His shoulders were hunched, and when he replied, his voice was dry and cracked. "She's right. I am a traitor."
Toothless and Scathach exchanged sad looks, but Hiccup was determined. "Oh, no. I know where this is going. You're thinking, yes, I found my sister, but now she's turned her back on me and would probably set the whole village against me too—"
"Thank you for summing that up!" Evander said sarcastically, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"—but don't let that get to you! Don't you turn your back on them, Evander, and don't ever stop doing the right thing!"
"Oh yeah? And that would be what?"
Hiccup met Evander's eyes with an intensity that burned as bright as a Night Fury's plasma blast at night. "Going after your sister."
Evander averted his eyes. He reached down, patting Scatty gently. The Night Fury crooned. The boy released a breath he'd been holding, and said, "You're awfully sure I'm going to choose the right thing."
"Listen to me!" Hiccup said. "You had the chance to end your fiasco when you sneaked up on me and Toothless. But you didn't."
"I didn't angle Scatty properly!" Evander argued, but he knew it wasn't the reason. So did Scatty, who growled. She didn't like shooting another dragon for the kill, and she and her rider vowed never to do so again.
"I don't believe that!" Hiccup shot back. Night Furies never miss a locked-on target. At least, not on purpose. "The reason I'm still here flying with Toothless is because you chose not to kill another Night Fury and its rider. Not because you can't, but because you won't.
"That's why I want to tell you that you're free to follow her. Toothless and I will manage to find my father by ourselves."
Toothless grunted in agreement. Evander responded to this by staring out into the open sea. He had to hand it to Hiccup; this Berk guy was selfless. Evander felt Hiccup's scrutinizing stare on him, and after a few minutes of soaring through the cold northern air at top Night Fury speed, Evander finally had the guts to meet Hiccup's gaze.
"You're right, Hiccup. I tend to choose the right thing," he told the Berk teen solemnly, who grinned at him bracingly. To Hiccup's surprise, Evander returned a matching grin. "I know we're pressed for time, and those Outcasts do have a thing for Berk, don't they? I won't let them miss me further."
"I don't know. Must be an occupational hazard," Hiccup answered reflexively, then he backtracked. "Did you just—?"
Evander continued to grin, but his eyes told Hiccup, 'Don't make me regret this.'
…
Both village chieftains were in a tense discussion during that negotiation day. The Greengrass chief expected a singular boat filled with several men, including Spitelout, one of his good friends. But no, he was sadly mistaken. The Berk chief was all by himself. And he rode a dragon; a Thunderdrum, no less! Everyone had to gape for a moment before one of the readier minds shouted to call for a defense. They had been ready to subdue the dragon, but no one was too ready to attack a dragon with the Berk chief on it. So the Greengrass chief gave Stoick a chance to speak for himself, and now they found themselves sitting in one of the bigger rooms to allow the Thunderdrum in.
"Let me get this straight," the Greengrass chief said. "You showed up on a dragon, asked me to set aside the safety of my village, and now you want to negotiate peace terms with me?"
"Right you are," Stoick rumbled. "Hope you don't feel threatened by Thornado."
"I feel threatened by the very presence of that dragon, Stoick!" The Greengrass chief pointed accusingly at Thornado. The dragon paid him no heed, dismissing the knobbly man as no immediate threat to his and his rider's strength. The armed guards however, made the Thunderdrum more than anxious.
"Berk will never plan on endangering this village!" Stoick boomed. Thornado felt pleased that the guards quivered at his rider's voice. He had chosen splendidly.
"NIGHT FURY!"
"RUN FOR COVER!"
Hearing the yells and shouts from the outside, the Greengrass chief rounded on Chief Stoick. "Explain yourself, Chief of Berk!"
Stoick ran to the nearest window. Zooming towards Greengrass Island was a dark shape he knew so well. He stormed outside with the chief and guards, who kept away from Thornado as much as possible. "That's my son! Let him land."
"Your son tamed a Night Fury?!" The other chief spluttered in surprise. He visualized the scrawny young lad that he saw the last time he was on Berk. To see that boy with the creature of legend was ironic; almost funny.
…
Stoick managed to have the human's spiky weapons lowered. Good.
Thornado knew he could protect his rider well enough on his own. However, it felt relieving to have another dragon on the island with him, even if the dragon was the most irritating dragon he'd ever had to share an island with. He had first met Toothless as a wild dragon, and back then he had most embarrassingly had a metal clamp on his mouth. Such travesty to a Thunderdum! And he was seen by a Night Fury no less!
When he had bonded with Stoick, Thornado found out that the Night Fury's rider was his rider's hatchling. Being the mighty but compassionate Thunderdrum that he was, Thornado resigned himself to tolerating those two upstarts, especially when he realized how much his rider cared for the young human. With that young hatchling upon his saddled back, Toothless greeted him with an almighty roar that scared off a couple of armed Greengrass Vikings. Thornado felt he could double that number. No, scratch that. Triple. But did he need to prove that? No. So Thornado settled for a low rumble of acknowledgement and idled beside Stoick the Vast.
He heard Toothless' human stammer. How his rider could produce an offspring with a nasally voice like that was a mystery to Thornado, so he chose to focus on the tone his rider's son was using. He also caught some familiar words: 'Outcast' and 'Berk.' Berk. his rider's nest. An Outcast. An enemy of his rider.
Thornado glanced at his human, whose prominent angry scowl grew even more pronounced in response to the Night Fury rider's urgent tone. Even as he felt the chiefly aura his human was radiating, he figured out that an Outcast was planning to do something horrible to his nest. No. Thornado will not let that happen!
Thornado roared, sending a sonic wave to the skies. He locked eyes with the Night Fury, and saw in those big yellow-green eyes that Toothless agreed with him. Perhaps not about tripling the number of fleeing Vikings, but about defending the nest, and that was good enough for Thornado.
Soon, he and Toothless flew side-by-side in all swiftness to the island they both considered home. It needed defending.
…
A.N.: Once again, the beta work was done by Cke1st. What do you think of Elene? How did you find the chapter? Like it? Hate it? Tell me why in a review! ConCrit is always welcome.
In the next chapter, we'll see how well Berk performs under a siege, and how dragons will fare in it.