Khor knew that Elene was upset. He had seen her grow from the wet-nosed girl of seven, to the headstrong shield maiden who put her duties above everything else. So when Khor was safely within the borders of Nott, he shot upward, heading for the ledges where the other dragons perched. He chose a ledge that was empty, knowing that his rider was not in the best of moods.
The moment her dragon's feet touched the ground, Elene dismounted. She put her arms around him tightly and rested her head upon his great neck. She did not cry. They stayed that way for a while, and then she let go.
A sudden gust of wind told the partners that they were no longer alone.
"Elene! How's the first exploration?" Two big black eyes stared back at Elene, who averted her gaze and stepped to the edge. "Anything good?"
Elene looked down on the entire village of Nott below them; its people bustling in the forum, lounging in the baths, or else training at the arena. The occasional dark shape of a Night Fury darted here and there. It was her home, and it was her duty to protect it. In the future, it will be her duty to lead it with her twin brother.
Berk's new at the dragon training thing, but this guy's got it good!
Elene scowled. Great. Now her twin's voice was stuck in her head. She forced it out of her mind and said, "Peachy. Nothing happened. Isn't it your turn to patrol the southwest boundaries?"
"Huh. You smell funny," Diana said, who had joined Elene at the edge of their perch. "You're supposed to check the situation on the Berserkers. Why do you smell like you've been with the Outcasts? And where's your twin?"
It's a home to dragons too!
As Evander's voice echoed in her head, her mind's eye replayed a scene long ago, where she and her brother sat around a man in the scaled armor and a purple cape. She was bored to death just by listening to this man prattle on about the law. She did not understand why there was a need to know how everything works in Nott when they could see it for themselves outside their classes. And so she asked. The man had told her something she would never forget.
The Code of Nott is there to protect, to keep the dragons safe. And it's there to keep you and your brother safe too.
"I'll get him, but I'm making sure you get to your post first," Elene answered shortly.
Diana saluted. "Yes, commander."
With Diana and her Night Fury, Elene and Khor flew over the sea, which was startlingly peaceful, unlike the whirlpool that was Elene's mind. Diana led her dragon to the west, while Elene continued south.
The dragon cast her a brief searching look. Her brooding expression was reflected in the dragon's eyes, much to Elene's surprise.
Don't you see? I have no idea who said this. She remembered her twin beseeching her. He had asked her to believe in him, that he was doing something right which meant throwing all they had learned down the abyss and betraying the legion.
Elene gasped, and shook her head. No, she told herself. She was not betraying the legion. Technically, she had assigned herself a retrieval mission. She was doing this because she needed her brother in overseeing the elite team, and eventually, Nott. It would be their duty to protect their people, and the Night Fury nest.
"Khor?"
Her scowl turned into a resigned frown as she ran a hand through her short, windswept hair in frustration. Her fingers felt the circlet around her head that marked her as the successor to her parents, and it felt heavier than ever. Underneath her, Khor let out a deep rumble.
"I know. We'll have to make sure he doesn't hurt himself," Elene said through gritted teeth.
…
Tension filled the village of Berk. Wooden spikes were strewn in strategic locations to bottleneck any oncoming foe from the harbour. The fish trays were once again filled with timber, and ready to be lit. The catapults were oiled and loaded. Swords, axes, hatchets, spears and daggers were sharpened.
Dragons did not like sharp metals. It scared them. Those had claimed the life of thousands of their kind, and they weren't at all inclined to like it. Had they gone too far in treating Berk as a nest, that the Vikings were now driving them away? But those who had bonded with humans were still welcome, and their riders were treating them well. Why were their humans taking up arms again?
The long earthquake last night was the last straw. Berk was no longer safe as a nest. Led by one of Hookfang's kin, the other non-bonded dragons took to the skies. As they flew, they saw ships sailing in loose formation towards Berk, and they all agreed that leaving the village was all for the best. The seafarers were armed to the teeth, and the dragons had no desire to be on the receiving end of their painful blows.
…
"It's like dragon raids are here again," Fishlegs heard one of the children tell Gothi during dinner. It was agreed that the children were to be left under Gothi's supervision, and they were prepared to be evacuated at a moment's notice with the help of Mulch and Bucket. Fishlegs had no qualms with this, except for that one time when Bucket unknowingly led the Outcasts to capture the children.
In the sullen great hall, Fishlegs caught Astrid's eye; she waved at him from her table, where Snotlout sat across from her.
"Hey, Fishlegs! Did Meatlug give you the cold shoulder?" Snotlout sneered at Fishlegs when the latter wandered over and sat beside Snotlout.
"I thought Berk would have, you know, enjoyed a bit more time of peace after the dragon war ended," Fishlegs said mournfully.
"That takes all the fun out of being a Viking," Snotlout protested.
"Except maybe dragon training," Fishlegs added glumly before wolfing down his roasted chicken.
Astrid banged her mug on the table, causing the two boys to look at her. "Guys, we're Vikings! We're rough and tough!"
Ruff and Tuff scrambled to their table, and took the seats beside Astrid.
Tuff leaned with one elbow on the table. "Somebody call us?"
"Some earthquake we went through last night," Ruff said. "No wonder the other dragons flew off."
"Yeah," her twin agreed. "What's up with that?"
"We don't know." Astrid sighed. She eyed each of her friends, lingering on each pair of eyes for a few moments. "We'll get through this. Together, like Hiccup said."
If Astrid had intended to lift up the spirits of her friends, she failed. At the mention of their absentee leader who was away to warn the chief, a looming silence fell over the group. Even Fishlegs put down his chicken. Slowly, one by one, they stood up and left the hall to go home.
"Shouldn't he be back with the chief by now?" Ruff wondered. She and Astrid led the way down the steps. Two Nadders flew in the distance; Astrid had assigned shifts to the other riders to patrol the island day and night. It was Snotlout's and Fishlegs' duty last night, and their dragons enjoyed a fitful sleep that day, so only Stormfly, Barf and Belch were outside to greet them at the bottom of the steps.
Snotlout punched his fist, as his hair was swept by a sudden burst of wind. It was cold, but Snotlout didn't flinch from the cold. You didn't survive into your teen years on Berk without developing hypothermic endurance. "I knew it! That good for nothing Dragon nip wimp has kidnapped Hiccup! I'm going to throw him in a pit of Fireworms—"
An indignant rumble came from behind him, followed by, "Throw me in a pit of what?"
Snotlout spread his arms wide and put on a toothy smile. "Dragon nip boy! I knew you'd come back!"
…
A warm stew and a barrage of questions later, Evander found himself reassuring the rest of Hiccup's friends that the chief and his son were both well on their way home, and that Berk should prepare to defend itself as needed until the chief arrived. Snotlout relayed this to his father, Spitelout, who was Stoick's second-in-command.
"There's something else you're not telling us," Astrid said, eyeing Evander from across the table. "Isn't there?"
"Yeah, what happened? Why didn't Hiccup go back with you?" Fishlegs added.
"In a dragon's egg? (1) We went to Outcast Island—"
"You went to Outcast Island?!" The twins blurted out.
Evander held up his hands in defense. "We both agreed to it. And for good reason. The enemy ships are arriving earlier, and this Alvin guy somehow bonded with a Whispering Death. Hiccup figured that we should split up so we can both warn the chief and the village. Toothless tracked Stoick, and Scatty flew here in record time because Scatty's the fastest Night Fury I've ever met."
Scatty shot a tiny ball of plasma into the air and rumbled in satisfaction. It detonated several feet above their heads, lighting up the sullen room in one brief flash of fire. Evander shot her a grin, and tossed her his fish, which went straight down her throat.
"So," Fishlegs said. "When you said 'earlier,' when do you think the Outcasts are arriving?"
As if on cue, one of the patrol riders burst into the Great Hall. She looked quite winded, and soot covered one side of her body. "The Outcasts are here!"
Spitelout took charge. "All Vikings, to your stations! Grab your sword and shield! Man the catapults! We won't let them take our land!"
"But what about the chief?" A Viking asked.
Spitelout gave everyone in the room a hardened look. "We'll hold the village 'til he gets here. Now, go!"
The older fighters stormed outside the Great Hall. Astrid and the others stood to follow them, but Evander held them back. "Wait! Before we scatter ourselves, Hiccup needs you guys to do something."
"We don't take orders from you!" Snotlout protested, folding his arms.
Astrid swatted him. "Ignore him, and let's hear it."
Evander cleared his throat. "Here's what Hiccup and I suggest…"
…
Astrid had divided the dragon riders of Berk into respective groups of three, and assigned them at strategic points in the village to provide air support to the ground troops. The oncoming Outcasts would have to face two Zipplebacks that were at the harbour and ready to intoxicate the oncoming attackers with poisonous gas. If they weren't dizzy enough after that, they'll be greeted by the Monstrous Nightmares that now settled on the cliff face and by the catapults. Most of the Nadders and Gronckles were at the village proper. They perched on empty houses and prepared to take on those who would make it past the front lines.
'This is a battle. A real battle!' Astrid reminded herself. Astrid took one look at their small advance group, designed to scatter the oncoming forces and staunch the flow of opponents that reached Berk. She was not alone. 'Keep your cool, and stick to the plan.'
Seeing the fleet of Outcast ships arranged in four groups of five, Astrid had to shake off her second thoughts on keeping the most of the riders on Berk. She told herself that in case the advance team went down, at least Berk would still have a handful of skilled riders to help defend the island.
She saw Evander raise a fist and direct it to the sea below them.
"No turning back," she muttered.
…
Stormfly, Hookfang and Scatty dived towards the leftmost flank with Scatty at the center. The Outcasts opened fire with stone catapults in an attempt to shoot them down. Stormfly dodged one rock, looped over another, and sent a volley of poisonous spines to pin several crew members to the wooden floor. Hookfang veered off course, then dove into the water twenty feet away from the group. Scatty loosed a blast before shooting upwards again. It hit the water at the center of the group, splashing water over all the ships, and setting those nearest ablaze. Hookfang broke the surface of the sea at the center of the group of ships, and let out a stream of fire.
When the three dragons and their riders were done, all the Outcasts from that fleet were swimming frantically to the neighboring ships.
Barf, Belch, and Meatlug weren't so lucky.
Spreading green gas all around, Barf and Belch circled the rightmost flank. The ships were assembled more tightly, and Meatlug had trouble shooting the masts of the ships at the center. The Outcasts opened fire at them. Meatlug was enjoying the rock projectiles the Outcasts were throwing at her. Granite. Not her favorite these days, but it sure tickled her taste buds!
Belch opened his mouth to ignite the flame, but was forced to dodge a jet of water from the sea. Barf and Belch screeched at the Scauldron that rose threateningly out of the water. It moved between them and the ships, and hissed at the Zippleback angrily. The Scauldron and the Zippleback screeched loudly at each other, fangs dripping with venom.
Barf and Belch gave one final hiss and flew off. Another jet of water later and Meatlug followed suit.
…
"What happened to you guys?" Evander asked when they and their dragons met high above the remaining ships that had drifted to Berk, where the Hooligans were more than ready for them. He knew they wouldn't have enough time to deal with all the Outcast ships, but he preferred less to more when it came to opponents.
"Barf and Belch had a row with a Scauldron," Ruffnut told the group. She and Tuffnut grinned at Evander. "It was awesome!"
"Er… You wouldn't have any Blue Oleanders now, would you?" Evander asked, suddenly finding his flight suit interesting. He tried not to be deterred by Astrid's ominous glare as she and Stormfly flew beside him; she looked like she wanted to make an axe-throwing target out of him. He had the nerve to look sorry, but for Astrid, this wasn't cutting it.
Over the battle cries that carried over from the island and the ships, Astrid yelled, "You didn't say anything about a Scauldron! You only said Alvin would be riding a Whispering Death!"
"Where is he?" Snotlout ground his teeth as he set his eyes on the ships. "I want to bash Alvin's ugly face for all he's done to Berk. Now he's not brave enough to show himself and his worm of a dragon?"
"I wouldn't be surprised that he's not up and about yet," Fishlegs said matter-of-factly. Meatlug buzzed beside Evander, Astrid, Stormfly and Scatty. "The Dragon Manual says that a Whispering Death is rarely seen in broad daylight, and that it likes to burrow underground causing earth…."
"Has Berk experienced any sort of tremor recently?" Evander asked.
Fishlegs' face fell. "Uh-oh."
"That's a yes," Evander said, feeling like his spirit was plunged into the cold, dark depths of Tartarus. (2)
"Everybody back to Berk!" Astrid called out. As the others obliged, Astrid led Stormfly to fly close to Evander and Scatty. The Night Fury rumbled indignantly, but didn't fly off. "I have my eyes on you, Nottlander. You better not mess with our defenses. I'll make sure you're sorry if you do."
"I'm not going to," Evander said. She and Evander flew in a straight line towards Berk, but as they neared the ships—
Their formation was blasted apart by a stream of scorching water from below. Stormfly screeched and flew away, but Scatty zoomed in for a closer inspection. Scatty descended; she stayed just out of the Scauldron's reach, but within sight of the other dragon. She taunted the Scauldron and flew in fancy curves, dives and spins. The Night Fury growled and grunted, sending the Scauldron to a frenzy.
"What is wrong with you?!" one of the Outcasts yelled. The Scauldron continued to spout poisonous venom and send out rounds of hot water at the annoying Night Fury. "You stupid dragon! We're here to claim Berk, not chat with other dragons! You're supposed to guard the ships! AGH!"
A volley of spines incapacitated the rest of the crew. One more ship down.
"You want to claim Berk?" Astrid had pulled her Nadder back into the fray. She and Stormfly zoomed past the ship, and dodged flaming projectiles aimed for them. "You'll have to go through us!"
Stormfly dove on the group of warships, and shot a hole through the hull of a longship. The nearby Outcast ship came to the rescue, and Astrid heard the 'thwang' of bowstrings.
Arrows whistled past Astrid. One bounced off Stormfly's hide, and another grazed Astrid's arm. The wound stung, and Astrid hoped the arrowheads weren't poisoned. Stormfly heard her rider's gasp, and sensed her rider's pain. The Deadly Nadder let out a concerned squawk, earning a quick pat from Astrid. "I'll be okay, girl! Let's go higher."
Stormfly worked her wings and flew high above the ships where no flying rocks or arrows could hit them. She circled over the wreckage, giving Astrid a dragon's eye view of the battle erupting below them. She saw her tribe meeting their opponents head-on. She heard the war cries from both sides, and the clashing of metal. The battle had begun.
…
The rest of the team had barely touched town on Berk when the first ship's crews were starting on the first line of defense. The ship catapults were now opening fire, and the flaming projectiles set several houses on fire. One of the burning stones destroyed the wooden spikes used by Berk to funnel the oncoming Outcasts, and the enemies of Berk spilled into the village where defenders welcomed them with swords, axes, shields, and the occasional fire-breathing dragon.
"Fire!" Snoutlout yelled. Hookfang reared.
"Wait! We can't just fire!" Fishlegs told his team mates. He indicated the other riders diving in on their enemies, and the rest of the Berk Vikings. "We might hit our allies!"
Snotlout scowled. "Then what do we do? Watch our friends get skewered and grilled?"
Ruff and Tuff grinned at each other. As Barf and Belch took off again, Tuff called out to the others, "We have a plan. ATTACK!"
"Sounds good to me!" Snotlout agreed, and Hookfang followed the Zippleback into the air to join the rest of the dragon riders in defending Berk.
"Umm…. I'd rather not take you fighting, Meatlug," Fishlegs admitted, and his Gronckle rumbled. Meatlug turned sharply, or as sharp as a Gronckle could, and dodged an oncoming net. It hit one of Fishlegs' Gronckle buddies and allowing a number of attackers to close in. "WHOA!"
Fishlegs would have taken Meatlug to help the other Gronckle, but his attackers weren't done with him just yet.
"Get that Gronckle!" the leader of the group of Outcasts yelled. His minions quickly readied another net and readied to throw it on Meatlug.
Fishlegs started. Was he scared? A little bit. No, more than a little bit. Did he want to fight? He grew up as a Viking, and he certainly knew how to fight. He had been raised for warfare, and only recently did he realize that people fight when there is conflict, but people defend when there is something or someone to protect. Only now did Fishlegs embrace the true meaning of protection. He knew that Meatlug would trust him with her life, and he would do the same.
Fishlegs narrowed his eyes. No one was going to hurt him or his dragon.
…
Evander thought that Scatty was doing great in distracting the Scauldron. With that out of the way, Astrid and Stormfly would have a clearer shot at the Outcast ships. He was worried that the Scauldron's trainer would call for its attention; Scatty wasn't. Annoying other Night Furies, especially those larger than her, was one of her talents, and the unwilling Khor was her recurring test subject. Although Scatty's goal was not to irritate a certain water dragon, the match had completely taken the Scauldron's attention. Scatty made sure she hovered between Berk and the Scauldron when she hissed and spat out small warning shots of plasma.
He saw Astrid and Stormfly rise from the group of ships.
"Scatty, escape pattern Romulus," Evander called. The Scauldron spouted another jet of hot water that missed him by a head. "SCATTY, DO IT NOW!"
Scatty dove, her wings whistling through the air as she weaved through the rocks that came her way. She fired; it exploded right at the center of the long ship carrying the nasty-looking catapult. She perched on the stern of another long ship, and roared to make her presence known. The Outcasts turned on them with the spears and axes ready for the throw.
"Steady, girl," Evander told Scatty. His eyes swept their surroundings and took in their situation. In his peripheral vision, he saw the Scauldron darting towards them from behind his dragon. Its long serpentine neck was poised high in the air, and it readied to strike Evander and Scatty with its venomous fangs. On deck, the Outcasts were leering at them with all the menace they could muster, to which Evander responded with a cheeky grin. "Don't mind us. We're just passing by."
It happened so quickly. Evander pulled back on the handle, the Scauldron struck, the Outcasts attacked. The water dragon clamped its jaws shut over thin air, where the Night Fury was perched mere seconds before, and right on the Outcasts' target. Weaving through arrows, spears and rocks, Scatty flapped her wings hard in a vertical ascent and left the Scauldron crying in pain as it sank back into the sea with several axes and spears piercing its neck.
When Scatty levelled and circled well beyond the Scauldron's reach and the aim of the warriors below, they saw that it had receded into the sea, but stayed in the shallow waters. They could see its blue-green bulk lurking just beneath the ships.
"Evander!" Astrid and Stormfly flew beside them. "These ships won't be going anywhere now."
"Neither will our Scauldron friend." Evander grinned. "You and Stormfly did great with the whole spine shot thing and the dive attack! I thought you guys were new in dragon riding?"
Astrid grinned back at him. "We're not complete rookies, you know."
A loud explosion put their thoughts back into battle. Barf and Belch rose out of the smoke that smothered the port.
"We have to get back to the village. Now," Astrid decided, wiping sweat from her brow. She did not feel good at all, but the battle wasn't over yet.
"You're right," Evander said, surveying the wreckage. "We've done what we can here."
But when Scatty and Stormfly turned towards the island, they saw the village crumble before their eyes.
"Mighty Pluto," Evander breathed out.
…
When Snotlout heard the rumbling noise, he had been locked in combat with an Outcast whose companions had knocked him off Hookfang. The ground shook, throwing Snotlout off balance. The Outcast brought down his spear on Snotlout, who had managed to put his shield in front of him for protection.
"What's the matter?" The Outcast leered at him. "Scared of an Outcast?"
Snotlout saw something big, long and red swipe the offending Outcast off him and into a stack of barrels which collapsed upon impact. With the spear still embedded in his shield, Snotlout got up to see Hookfang being restrained by three other Outcasts with a set of ropes that bound the Monstrous Nightmare's wings. The sudden binding hurt Hookfang, and grounded him. Out of instinct, Snotlout ran at one of the rope handlers, and barrelled right into him. They crashed and rolled down the hill, just as Hookfang's hide blazed.
In the confusion that ensued, Snotlout was surprised he survived with a few cuts and grazes… and an Outcast in his private space. Disgusted, he made to shove his quarry off of him before the Outcast could do him harm.
A long scarlet jaw plucked the Outcast off Snotlout and tossed it to a net that was about to capture a Nadder and its rider. The Outcast sailed towards the cluster of other Outcasts, scattering them and allowing the group of Berk riders to round them up and keep them trapped in the net.
"Yeah, Hookfang!" Snotlout cheered, punching the air with a fist. Hookfang bumped his nose to his rider's fist.
The ground shook again, more violently this time. Snotlout hopped onto Hookfang's neck, and reached for the comfort of the dragon's horns. Hookfang took off. "What was that?!"
Snotlout ducked; a rock soared past his head. When he looked back at Berk, the village was in ruins.
A.N.: Whew. Two more chapters left in story arc 1! What do you think of this chapter? Like it? Hate it? Tell me why in a review! ConCrit is very much appreciated. Beta work by Cke1st.
In the next chapter, Hiccup and Stoick arrive in time to help the Hairy Hooligans rise out of the ruins in 'Rivalry.'
(1) In a dragon's egg – the Nottlander version of the idiom, 'in a nutshell'
(2) Tartarus – in Roman and Greek mythology, the deepest and darkest abyss in the Underworld/Hades where the Titans are said to be kept prisoners