Chapter Twelve – War of The Kraken: To Face Your Foe

Part One – Old Friends

Great Hall of Berk; midafternoon,

Once Hiccup, Astrid and Heather had rejoined the others at their table, and Windshear had curled up near the other dragons, Hiccup began to make the introductions.
When he got to Valka, Hiccup preempted Heather's question by saying, "It's a long story; we'll tell you about it later." Heather nodded, and Hiccup continued his explanation, summarizing the events of the past few weeks.

Just as Hiccup was finishing, a Terrible- Terror swooped between the doors of the Great Hall. He landed on the table, in front of Hiccup, and informed them that the search of Berks' beaches, and waters, came back all- clear; and the perimeter- patrols, though ongoing, reported the same so far.
Hiccup nodded, and, as one, he and Toothless got to their feet. "We need to check-up on our preparations; it shouldn't take long."

Forty-five minutes later,

When Hiccup and Toothless reentered the Great Hall, they learned that Valka had taken the opportunity to tell her story; the night she found Hiccup, then one- year- old, playing with Cloudjumper, as the former lay in his cradle. And how Cloudjumper had carried Valka away, into the night, having mistaken Stoick's attempt to protect them as an attack.
Valka was the first to spot them, "And there they are, now!"

The others turned to watch, as Hiccup and Toothless moved to join them. "Most dragons do have a strong instinct to protect," Hiccup agreed. "On a more pressing note: everything's ready to go, almost." He grinned, "All we need are leaders for the retrieval- teams. Heather?"

Heather, who was now standing, blinked. "You mean it?"

Hiccup nodded, "The crews of the hostage- ships shouldn't be a problem, but if any do manage to dodge the initial sweep…" He raised an eyebrow; "You did bring that double- bladed battle- axe of yours, right?"

Heather grinned and nodded, "Freshly sharpened."

Hiccup nodded, and turned to Astrid, "The second team's with you." Astrid grinned, and nodded. Then Hiccup turned to Valka, "You know how you've been wanting to meet Torch?"

Valka smiled, "The Typhoomerang youngling you found, a years ago? How is he?"

"He's doing great; he's grown a lot, since we first met him!" Hiccup replied. As he spoke, he unrolled the map he'd brought with him, and weighed down the corners.
The first thing to catch their eye: twelve small circles, forming a 'dotted' line, extending to east and west, about eight miles south of the Shivering Shores. From each circle, a line extended, angling to the east, or west, respectively. Six miles further south, and a mile and a half to the east, the twelve lines converged.

Hiccup pointed to an island; about a mile to the north, and two miles to the east; of the position held by the Stony Shores Tribe. "Torch, his brother, sister, and mother are here; along with a detachment of the Berk Guard." He nodded to Valka; "I need you and Cloudjumper to meet them there; they've agreed to ferry the hostages from the boats, back to that island; they just need the location, and that part would be easier to do by daylight. Tomorrow, at first light, lead them the rest of the way there."
As he spoke, Hiccup traced the route to the island to the ships, and back. "It will take a few trips, judging by the numbers; but once they're there, it'll be easy to bring them the rest of the way here."

"Consider it done," Valka said, nodding.

Hiccup nodded, and turned to Astrid and Heather. "Once you reach the boats; wait until the Speed- Stingers have made their sweep, before moving in. Then, before you do anything else, gather the crews together: so you'll know if, and when, the paralysis starts to wear off. Then get the keys, and unlock the cells; get the hostages out, and the Kraken- warriors in."

Tanya looked confused, "Why wait to let the others out, though… Why not free them, and then worry about the crews?"

Hiccup turned to her, "Because we need to hold those boats for the full night, so that the Typhoomerangs can get there to complete the extraction. If even one of the crewmen unfreezes, and they send a message to their fleet, things could get… 'Complicated'. Each of your teams," he nodded to Astrid and Heather, "will include several rider- dragon pairs from the Berk- Guard, but," he turned back to Tanya, "they won't have the numbers to fight a battle… Too much activity in the area could attract unwanted attention."
Tanya nodded, to show that she understood.

Toothless took a step forward, 'Twenty of my kin will be going with you, as well; to deal with the boats guarding the hostage- ships, and to keep watch for those flying feather- balls they use to carry messages.' He snorted, 'Ridiculous creatures.'

Astrid, who'd been listening carefully, frowned. She turned to Hiccup, "And… where will you and Toothless be, while we're taking the hostage- ships?"

"Toothless, myself, and twelve Night- Furies, will be paying a 'visit' to the Kraken- Lords' Command Ship, once my scouts get back with the location." Hiccup's eyes glinted, "It's about time we … 'introduced ourselves', properly." He nodded to Arianna and Tanya, "And we have another extraction to complete."

As the others processed Hiccup's words, they noticed, for the first time, a change in the light, filtering through the doors of the Great Hall.
Glancing in that direction, they saw, much to their surprise, that the sun was starting to set. A moment later, three dragons marched, triumphantly, through those doors, and into the hall. Hiccup recognized them, immediately, as the dragons he'd sent to follow Lord Bane to the Kraken Lords' Command Ship.
And, curled up on the head of the lead dragon; sat Astrid's Terrible- Terror, Sneaky. The moment she saw them, Sneaky took to the air. A moment later, she landed on Astrid's shoulder, curling her tail across her human- friend's back, for balance.

'Lord Bane must be half- blind,' she purred, smugly. 'I was practically on- top of him, and he just sat there; plotting the route to their rendezvous- point!'

'We've already confirmed what she overheard,' added the Monstrous- Nightmare male whose head Sneaky had been curled up on. 'We have them.'

"So you decided to join the tracking- party," Hiccup chuckled. "And showed up in the right place at the right time!" He winked at Astrid, "Reminds me of someone else I know… Two 'someone's, if truth be told!"
Astrid grinned, proud of her Terrible- Terror; and Stormfly uttered a low, purr- like growl. Sneaky smiled, and told the humans, and the dragons with them, what they'd discovered.

A few minutes later, they heard the rumble of distant voices, drawing closer: the villagers of Berk, gathering for supper.
Turning towards the center of the hall, where the main fire pit rose up from the floor, they saw cooks at work: stirring one of two massive stew pots, that simmered in the fire; and stacking loaves of freshly baked bread. – And, every few minutes, glancing in their direction; and muttering, excitedly, to one another.

One hour later,

As the meal was beginning to draw to a close, Hiccup turned to Leanne, Lara, Thom, Arianna, and Tanya "Come with us; there's someone I'd like you to meet." Then he rose to his feet, and, speaking so all would hear, he called, "Extraction Teams; to the beach! It's Showtime!"
The members of the extraction- teams rose to their feet, and began making their way towards the entrance. The remaining occupants of the uttered bellows, and roars, of approval; then they returned to their food, and their enthusiastic conversations.

Ten minutes later, down at the beach,

'There!' Toothless said; his eyes fixed on a point in the distance, far out to sea.

Hiccup looked in the direction Toothless had indicated, and, after a moment, spotted what his Night- Fury partner had. He smiled, "Right on time!"

Five minutes later,

The shapes were closer, now; racing across the waves like… well: like Speed- Stingers, only they weren't on land.
A moment later; something shot past them, and Snotlout; who'd come to 'see them off', let out a yelp; "Hey! Deere – rill – effinal-y – gri-gri-per-cudgels for-tis!" By the time the others turned around, Snotlout was fully immobilized.

Then a Speed- Stinger was standing before them. He uttered a short, growly, chuckle, then said, 'Sorry; couldn't resist!'

Hiccup chuckled, "Whiplash; I see your venom has reached its full potency… That's great!" Whiplash stood up a little taller, clearly pleased with himself.

"Y-Ahh," Snotlout mumbled, grumpily. "Cong-Wha-dew-wations." Everyone on the beach, humans and dragons, both, chuckled, at this.

Hiccup shook his head, a smile visible on his face. "Come on, Snotlout; look on the bright side: At least your thumb's not stuck in your mouth, this time." This drew outright laughter.

A moment later, four more Speed- Stingers materialized, next to the first. Then six more; than eight… Then, at last, the Pack- Alpha appeared; slightly taller, longer from the tip of his nose to the tip of his stinger; and with a brilliant red crest rising from his head, he stood out from the other members of his pack.
The Speed- Stinger approached Hiccup, and trilled something; Hiccup answered, seeming to echo part of what the Speed- Stinger Alpha had said. Than the Alpha- Stinger raised his 'hands' in front of him, palm up but angling towards himself, and flicked his clawed- fingers down against his palm.
Hiccup mirrored the gesture; bringing the four fingers of each hand together to form two 'claws', than flicking them towards his palms.

Astrid frowned, "Hiccup… what are you doing?"

'He is acknowledging one of our customs,' the Alpha- Stinger answered. 'At times, our packs fight one another; just as human- packs sometimes do. On the occasions when we cooperate, it is only official when both pack- alphas do as we just did.'
He turned to Hiccup, 'And now, to business; night has fallen, and my pack is hungry.'

Hiccup nodded, and unrolled his map. Holding it so the Alpha- Stinger could see; Hiccup spoke in the language of dragons, gesturing at the map, and than off towards the south.

The Alpha- Stinger nodded, 'I see, now, why you suggested we get an early start… We can make the journey in good time; and there is an island near enough for us to take shelter, before daylight. Though it would be best to depart promptly.'

Hiccup nodded, "Mount up!" Turning to Astrid, he lowered his voice and added, "Be careful, Astrid; and good luck – not that you need luck."

Astrid smiled, and kissed him, "A little extra luck never hurts!" Lowering her voice, she added, "Thanks for letting me do this, Hiccup… We'll see you tomorrow, on 'Rendezvous Island'." – Hiccup smiled at this.
Astrid clambered onto Stormfly's back, than Stormfly joined the Night- Furies, and the other dragons, in the sky.

Before the Speed- Stinger Alpha assembled his pack to depart, Hiccup called, "Whiplash; could I have a quick word?" – Whiplash moved to join him, and Hiccup lowered his voice. From where she stood, about five feet away, Lara just barely heard Hiccup say, "… just in case." When he finished, Whiplash nodded, and trilled a reply.

Then the Alpha- Stinger gathered his pack into formation, and led the way: off of the island of Berk, and south, towards their destination.

Part Two – Defeat and Delays

Several miles south of Berk, Lord Bane;

"Just break off a tree branch and give it to me, blast it!" Lord Bane said, forcing the words out, while struggling to hold back a howl of pain.
For the past hour and a half, their journey to rendezvous with his fellow Kraken- Lords had been uneventful. After the half dozen dragons pursuing them had finally turned back.
He'd ordered his warriors to man the catapults, and fire at will, than he began pacing the deck: trying to decide how to explain this mess to High- Lord Malchior. Then, as the nearest catapult was about to fire, one of those accursed Deadly- Nadders had launched a volley of spines at in. What, exactly, had happened, he didn't know; but one of the beams fell backward, onto his foot.
He didn't know how badly he was injured, but one thing was blindingly obvious: his leg would no longer support his full weight, until it healed.

The catapult was far from being the only damage they'd sustained. Even from atop his 'throne' of supply crates, he could tell that they needed to stop to make repairs.
The mast, on one boat, looked as though it might come crashing to the deck at any moment; another boat needed its tiller replaced… The list went on.

As the last of the dragons had vanished from view, Lord Bane gritted his teeth, and gave the orders to make for shore.
It would take the rest of the day to complete their repairs, and most of the night to reach the rendezvous point. Assuming nothing else went wrong, they'd arrive early the following morning, though the circumstances of his return would be far from ideal, even for a defeat.

Once they'd pulled their boats ashore, on a deserted stretch of beach, he sent groups of men to cut down trees to replace the damaged masts, and search the area for anything else they could use.
On one occasion, he thought he glimpsed a flicker of … not 'movement', exactly: it was as though a patch of air had, somehow, briefly reflected sunlight. It appeared only once, on the periphery of his vision, and then it was gone.

In an effort to distract himself from the pain in his leg, he gathered his navigators, and they began to plot their route to the rendezvous point… They might as well be ready to sail, so they could leave as soon as they were able to.

Part Three – The Black Rider

The following morning; shortly after Lord Bane's return,

"… One… has … Rider!" The messenger's words seemed to hang in the air, long after they should have faded to silence.

Lord Emric's eyes bulged, "H–He has found us!"

"That's impossible; he–" Lord Bane's eyes widened, "Get back on deck, and tell the other sentries to keep eyes on the Rider at all times! The riding outfit Emric mentioned; it contains the mechanism for a glider! An aerial- assault could just be a diversion to–"

Before Lord Bane could finish, High- Lord Malchior boomed, "GO!" Immediately, the messenger spun around, and charged back the way he'd come. Then the High- Kraken turned his gaze landed on Sabrina; his eyes narrowed, and he gave a second command.

Five minutes later,

The thick boards over their heads blocked most of the sound; but the wailing shriek, heard through legends and stories, and now in real life, still reached their ears … Night- Furies.
Then came a muffled explosion; and then came the sound of running feet, and shouting.
"CROSSBOWS; FIRE AT WILL!" And, a moment later, "GODS HAVE MERCY; THE ARROWS JUST BOUNCE OFF THEM!"
Then, from further away came "ABANDON SHIP!" – An instant later, came the sound of a second explosion; louder than the first; and accompanied by the sounds of timber breaking, and a chorus of unintelligible shouts.

Than another voice, slightly closer than the one before, bellowed, "TWO MORE COMING IN AT THREE- O'CLOCK … GET–" Then came another explosion, much like the one before.
"THEY'RE PICKING US OF! THEY'RE ****ING PICKING US–" The sentence ended with a wordless shout of shock and fear.

"THE COMMAND- SHIP! THEY'VE CLEARED THE DECK OF THE COMMAND SHIP! THE RIDER–" The rest of the sentence was drowned out by several loud thuds; as though several large creatures had landed on the deck, above them.

A moment later; there came another, lighter, thud; and sounds that were, unmistakably, footsteps. A voice spoke from above them, thought they couldn't make out the words. Then the sound of movement, as the new- arrivals made for the entryway to the lower levels.
High Lord Malchior nodded to the man who held Sabrina; the wife of Chief Abram Grimm, and mother of Arianna and Tanya; by the arm. "Get into position, and be ready to act."

Two minutes later,

Several minutes passed in tense silence. Sabrina now stood in the middle of the hall; the man standing behind her held a dagger to her throat, while his free hand kept a firm grip on her shoulder.
Then there was movement by the entrance to the 'hall'; which, now that one thought about it, was large enough to accommodate a 'reasonably' sized…
The head of the first dragon came into view; then its neck, and the main part of its body; then, at last, the tip of its tail. Its scales were as black as pitch, and its eyes were a greenish- yellow. The Night- Fury considered the scene, uttered a low growl, and moved to the left.

The second Night- Fury entered, and moved to the right of the doors. The other serving- girls; who stood clustered together along one wall; shifted, nervously.
Then a third Night- Fury entered the hall; unlike the others, it wore a saddle. And, seated in the saddle, sat a human; clad from head to toe in black scale- armor, and wearing a helmet shaped in the likeness of a Night- Fury's head; the faceplate of which was down.
Hiccup took a moment to take in the scene: the benches, the men seated there; the Kraken Lords, seated at the head- table; and the serving girls, standing off to one side.
Then he turned to look at Sabrina; and the man standing behind her, with the dagger at her throat. When he spoke; his voice reverberated from beneath his Night- Fury helm, "And who… Ah, yes: I see the resemblance; Sabrina."

Sabrina gasped, "My daughters; Arianna and Tanya; are they safe? Are they on Berk?"

"They were on Berk," Hiccup inclined his head, slightly, "but I had them sent on, to their father, yesterday evening. I've received confirmation that they arrived safely."

Sabrina's shoulders slumped with relief, "Then forget about me; help them!" She nodded to the other hostages, where they stood, clustered together.

Before Hiccup respond, the man holding the dagger growled, "You try anything, I swear; I swear, I'll give her a 'red- smile'."

"Will you, now?" Hiccup asked, he sounded amused. "I think the Terrible- Terror, sitting on your helmet, might have something to say about that." As he spoke, Hiccup slid off of Toothless's saddle, and eased himself to the floor.
As the meaning of his words sank in, everyone in the hall turned their attention to the man's helmet; most did a double- take.

A split second later, Sneaky's head whipped into the man's field of view; and she bit him on the nose. The startled warrior yelped, dropped his dagger; and staggered backwards, raising his hands to defend himself.
Without a moments' hesitation, Sabrina shot forward: putting some extra distance between her and the other Kraken- warriors. Off to one side, several of the Kraken Lords' hostages began to edge their way towards the end of the hall opposite the high- table.

Before they'd gone more than a few feet, a second Kraken- warrior, hefting a two- handed great-sword, charged the Chief of Berk.
Hiccup made no move to evade, or draw his own sword; a moment later, the blade came down; a few inches from the right side of Hiccup's neck … The moment the strike connected with the armor; there was a flash of blue light, and the blade of the sword shattered. A few seconds later, the last of the pieces clattered to the floor.

Only then did Hiccup drew his black sword, and slash at his 'attacker'. The blade cut through the man's armor as though it were made of cheese; passed through muscle, and bone as easily as if it were empty air.
He wiped the black- blade off on the man's vest, and returned it to its sheath. A moment later, a line of red seemed to trace itself down the middle of the man's head, his chest, and on. Then he fell to the floor: first the right side, than the left.

Hiccup turned to the right end of the high- table, "Have you told them nothing, 'Lord' … Blame … Brane?" He shrugged, "Ahh… You know who you are."

Lord Bane didn't seem to hear; his eyes were bulging, "That… That shouldn't even be possible!"

High- Lord Malchior had other concerns, "Lord Bane; what is he talking about? What haven't you said?"

"There… There wasn't time, before." Lord Bane muttered, his expression wary. He took several shaky breaths, and began an account of his 'attack' on Berk. For a full five minutes, he talked; and, when he finished, the silence went unbroken for several minutes.

"Wha–What is that made of?" Lord Ralden asked, his voice hoarse. "The armor; the sword?"

"An ore the likes of which this world, has never seen before, and will never see again," Hiccup replied. He lifted the faceplate of his helmet; revealing a narrow face, framed with dark brown hair; and continued, "As Night- Furies grow, their scales thicken into a sort of armor; once fully grown," he gestured to the dragons with him, "swords and axes barely scratch them. For six centuries, up until a few years ago; when a Night- Fury sensed his, or her, life was near its end; they would plunge into a very particular pool of molten- magma, located deep below the caverns of their ancestral home. It was a sort of ritualistic- end… Over the centuries, the scales of those Night- Furies mixed with the elements of the earth, and formed the ore I mentioned, a moment ago."

For a long moment, no one spoke. High- Lord Malchior was the first to overcome his shock, "But… Why would they do this thing?"

Hiccup turned in the direction of the voice. For a moment, he considered the man who'd spoken. Finally, he said, "High- Lord Malchior, is it?"

The man seated in the middle of the high- table had light brown hair, and a closely trimmed beard. He appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties; and was, perhaps, a little overweight. His expression was stern, his manner cool, but his eyes widened when Hiccup addressed him by name. "How do you...?"

But Hiccup had moved on, "Then the man to your left would be 'lord' Roland." The man to Malchior's left, who looked to be a year or two older, and an inch shorter, cringed. "And next to him, 'lords' Ralden, Tarbek, I've already 'met' Emric…" Emric cringed; Hiccup appeared not to notice. "The empty chair is Blackthorn's, I believe; and, last on that end, Tristan." Then, in the same casual tone, he named the Kraken- Lords to Malchior's right: "Locke; Malcolm; Ammon; Malik's empty chair; Melbourne, and… the one I'm always forgetting: your excuse for a strategist."

High- Lord Malchior took a deep breath, to regain his composure. "Do not think to unsettle us; you know our names, no more … I asked you a question: Why would the Night- Furies do what you claim?"

"I heard you; that does not mean I have to answer," Hiccup said, calmly. "Unless, of course, I choose to; though, in this case, I think I will." The Chief of Berk fell silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "For centuries, time out of mind, the dragons have passed down a legend; one that tells of a dragon and a human joining forces; bridging the gap between, and uniting, the two races. Some believed it, others did not; but five years ago, a series of events brought the two of us together … When we made eye- contact, the first time, a connection opened between us; Toothless, here, used this connection to learn our language; and I the language of the dragons. We, on Berk, have been building and strengthening that peace ever since."

Lord Tarbek snorted, "Do you honestly expect us to believe–"

The corner of Hiccup's lip twitched; he turned to the man on the floor, who was still struggling with the Terrible- Terror. "Grrr-rah-rah; reet-reet-cree: Grr-rah-Grrr; scrah reet-gralph." – The Terrible- Terror extricated herself from the man's grip; spread her wings, and leapt into the air. A moment later, she landed on Hiccup's shoulder, and he gave her an affectionate rub on the lower jaw.

"And you think that gives you the right to insult whomever you please?" Lord Bane said, through gritted teeth. "You dare call me 'an excuse for a strategist'?"

Hiccup turned to him; one eyebrow raised, "You brought a force of fifty ships against my island; knowing, full well; that we had destroyed a force nearly four- times that size: half a year ago, and with far less warning … I see no trace of competence in your actions, much less strategic- mastery." The silence that followed went unbroken, for several long minutes.

It was Hiccup who broke the silence. "I saw through your; I'm sorry: your grandfather's 'conquest method'; mere minutes after receiving my letter calling for a Council of Chiefs, in fact. And I sent Night- Fury patrols, to monitor the other villages for abduction- attempts, that very night … One of those patrols witnessed Blackthorn's little 'covert- op'; one Night- Fury brought word to me, while the others followed Blackthorn's boats to his 'secure location'." Hiccup chuckled, "Once Chief Thommen learned his family was safe, he was more than willing to give you the twelve locations I'd chosen to use as reference points."

"'Reference points'…" rasped Lord Melbourne. "Reference points for what?"

Hiccup grinned, "Why ask what you already know."

Lord Melbourne's eyes widened, "The hostage- ships!" – Hiccup nodded.

"What exactly do you want?" High- Lord Malchior asked, "Everyone has their price!"

Hiccup expression grew serious, "What do I want? I want 'justice'… Justice for the Northern Chieftains Drago burned alive, when he first came north; justice for my father, who died intercepting an attack that was meant for me, when Drago decided I was a danger to him … I understand I have you Kraken- Lords to 'thank' for Drago … I think you know what I want."
At this, the room went very still.

"We are not of The North, though!" High- Lord Malchior announced, smugly. "We are–"

"'Of the south; beyond the reach of our judgment', so on and so forth," Hiccup interjected, rolling his eyes. "Yes, yes; Malik already tried that one; though it won't do you much good. When our Council reconvenes, I'll move that you 'kraken- lords' be turned- over to the Southern- Tribes, at wars' end: We can't pass judgment on you, but their Chieftains can. All we need; now; are envoys, to help establish contact…" He turned to the 'serving girls'; who were staring him, open- mouthed; and gave a short, but respectful, nod.
When he turned back to the high- table; saw the wide-eyed kraken- lords, and grinned. "Now… What else: there was something else … Ah, yes." He turned to the Night- Furies, "Seize 'lords' Blaine…"

"LordBane!" Lord Bane corrected, before he'd registered the context of Hiccup's sentence. Then his eyes widened, "Wait, what?"

"And Malcolm," Hiccup finished. "As for the rest of you: We'll be seeing you soon enough, if you survive." The two Night- Furies lunged: returning, moments later, gripping Lords Bane and Malcolm, in their claws.
Hiccup turned to the former- hostages, "Unless there's anything pressing you need to take care of, we should be leaving; those of you who had family on the boats, you'll find them at our rendezvous point."
None of them needed convincing: they all- but- ran for the entrance. Hiccup and Toothless followed, and the two Night- Furies brought up the rear.

To Be Continued…