Well, our heroes now find out the truth behind the Dragon Fang…
And what plan will they come up with to stop Alvin and Pitch?
Note: I DON'T own ROTG or HTTYD
Chapter 21
The firelight cast shadows on the walls and ceilings of the Haddock house as everyone sat down and Angrid began to explain.
"There's this old legend in our family. Long ago, a dragon lived on Dragon Island. This dragon was said to be bigger and more powerful than the Red Death." The eldest Hofferson then made a shadow puppet of a fierce dragon, making the dragons slightly cringe.
"Whoa…So it was like way cool?" Tuffnut asked in awe. "What I'd give to meet one of those…I'd even give Tuffnut!" Ruffnut said excitedly.
"Uh…You two don't get it. A dragon bigger and stronger than a Red Death could be extremely dangerous if it ever went on a rampage." Fishlegs informed them. "Then that makes it even cooler!" Snotlout exclaimed.
"Can we please get back to the legend?" Hiccup piped up, a little annoyed.
Astrid then joined her sister. "Wait…Angrid are you talking about the Legend of Agnar and the Dragon Fang?" her sister nodded.
"The legend says that this dragon had two sides to its personality-good and bad. And it was influenced by whoever it acknowledged. Our ancestor, Agnar Hofferson was one of the two people who had been acknowledged by the dragon. Since he was pure of heart, the dragon was good." Angrid said.
"But Agnar had a rival who knew about the dragon. He wanted that dragon. And he managed to get it to acknowledge him. But…something happened." Astrid continued before trailing off.
"What exactly happened?" Gobber inquired.
To illustrate her point, Astrid created a shadow puppet of an even more ferocious dragon.
"Because Agnar's rival wasn't pure of heart, the dragon mirrored his heart and turned evil. It went on a rampage, turning whole villages into ashes and killing thousands of innocent people." She said quietly.
"Agnar didn't have a choice. He had to kill the dragon. When he had slayed the beast, a single fang was embedded in his shoulder." That part of the tale made everyone wince slightly.
"Did he die because of it?" Tooth asked, horrified that a tooth might have killed a man. Angrid shook her head, making the Guardian of Memories and Baby Tooth sigh in relief.
"But when Agnar pulled it out of him, the fang split in half. The two halves were what were left of the dragon. It had one good half and one bad half. Agnar then decided to hide the bad half here in our world. As for the other half, the good half, he prayed to the gods that it be taken somewhere far away. Because Agnar believed that if the two halves were joined together, the dragon would rise again and if the person who managed to get the fang was bad, the dragon will once again become evil." When Angrid finished the tale, everyone was silent.
Then Jack pointed to the fang he and Sapphire had set on the table they were all gathered around. "So this is the good half?" he asked apprehensively.
Angrid nodded.
"And that means…Alvin and Pitch have the bad half!" Sapphire exclaimed. "Wait so you 2 weren't just talking in your sleep?" Bunny asked them shock.
"We saw him at the cavern! When the fangs touched and there was this flash of light, Sapphire and I saw Pitch's shadow! He possessed Alvin!" Jack exclaimed, much to everyone's surprise.
"We know what we saw guys…Pitch and Alvin really are the same now…And it's our fault…" Sapphire mumbled, looking at Jack before they both guiltily looked down.
"Nonsense! You two didn't know Pitch was here." North reasoned with them.
"But we should have seen the signs! That nightmare we had a few days before you guys found out about our secret was a warning-and we didn't heed it!" Sapphire exclaimed in exasperation.
Sandy's eyes widened as he formed a giant question mark and exclamation point over his head while Baby Tooth chirped in alarm.
"You two had nightmares and didn't tell us about it?" Bunny asked in shock. "Actually the four of us had the same nightmare." Hiccup gestured to Astrid and himself.
"Our greatest enemy and their greatest enemy are now one and the same. If they've been working together to enslave all the other Viking tribes, then we have to stop them. Besides, we all know who Pitch is after-me and Sapphire." Jack told the rest of the Guardians.
"You two aren't going to face this alone. Remember we are a team and a family." Mother Nature reminded the two teens.
"Just remember, this isn't your fight, it's our fight." Tooth smiled at them.
"Aye and we'll help. It's high time we get rid of Alvin and the Outcasts." Stoick nodded in agreement. Sapphire and Jack looked at their fellow Guardians and their Viking friends before finally smiling.
Then Jack yawned, "Man am I beat!" to which Millennium churred in amusement, "But you two have been sleeping for hours!"
"Aw, give us a break Millennium. We're exhausted!" Sapphire whined.
Father Time then stood up. "Well we'd best be off. We'll come back again tomorrow and figure out a way to help." He said.
The Guardians of Fun and Equality whipped their heads to look at him. "So we can keep them?!" they pointed to Blitz and Tridacna, their eyes wide.
The Guardians looked at each other and shrugged. They were part of the war now and well, the two teens have grown attached to them.
"YES!" Jack and Sapphire whooped before clutching their heads and cried out, "Owww!"
Apparently they were still reeling from their injuries.
Going outside they climbed into the sleigh and opened a portal and left.
But not before giving their dragons a good-night pat and saying good night to their Viking friends.
"Well…This day's been pretty wild." Hiccup remarked.
"Oh yeah…" "Uh-huh…" "Tell me about it…" his friends agreed with him.
North woke up to the sound of weapons clashing.
Fearing that there was an attack, the Guardian of Wonder rushed out of his room, still wearing his night cap and rushed to where the sounds were coming from. Opening the doors, North was surprised to see Jack engaged in a swordfight with Phil. The boy was expertly parrying a long sword as he and the Yeti exchanged blows.
Phil himself was wielding a sword but was having a hard time keeping up until, 'clang!' Jack disarmed him and his weapon skidded across the floor.
"Bwarda Gufta…" Phil mumbled in Yettish. Jack grinned. "Thanks! You can take a break now, Phil." The Yeti promptly left as Jack sheathed his sword and got a grip on his staff.
"Let's see…How did I turn this into a bludgeon again…?" the winter spirit mumbled, thinking hard before icicles suddenly shot out of his staff's head, coating it completely!
"Oh! There it is…" Jack said in surprise.
North silently chuckled as he watched Jack go over to a catapult like contraption and pulled a lever. Shield targets were instantly flung at the Guardian of Fun.
Quickly swinging his staff around, Jack smashed each target to bits. He caught sight of North watching him from the doorway as well as eyeing the catapult in the room.
"Hiccup helped me make it. He said it could help in target practice." Jack explained before he destroyed another shield.
Meanwhile at the Palace of Beginnings' courtyard Sapphire along with Marina and Millennium's help had set up targets all over the place and was now shooting arrow after arrow, hitting the bull's eye everytime. She could even hit some targets with her eyes closed!
"How did she get so good…?" Millennium asked the Guardian of Equality's feathered friend in amazement. Marina smiled coyly. "Well in the world of Vikings, learning how to use weapons is as necessary as breathing." She replied as Sapphire scored another bull's eye.
"Okay archery practice done! Now to the falls! I need to practice new water techniques." The Guardian of Equality then marched out of the courtyard and saw Mother Nature and Father Time observing her.
She smiled and waved at them. "Morning Mom, morning Dad!" she chirped. The two great beings looked at each other and then at their foster daughter in surprise.
"Yes, I consider you two to be like my birth parents. Better get used to that." Sapphire giggled before she left, Marina and Millennium close at her heels.
Later in the morning, all the Guardians met up at the Seasonal Gardens to get the portal to Berk opened.
"Whose turn is it again?" Jack pulled the fang out and looked at it skeptically. "I believe it's your turn, Jack. I was holding onto it yesterday." Sapphire told him.
The winter spirit's eyebrows shot up in surprise before he remembered yesterday's events.
"Oh yeah…Forgot about that." He said, slightly embarrassed.
"Are you two sure you can handle going back? The two of you got pretty banged up yesterday…" Tooth said worriedly.
"No worries, we're alright!" Sapphire chirped.
"In fact you guys should worry about yourselves. Berk's got dragons all over the place." Jack smiled, shooting Bunny a deliberate cheeky look.
The Guardian of Hope's ears twitched nervously but he managed to hide it with a smug smirk. "I ain't afraid of some fire breathers, mate." He said confidently.
Sandy rolled his eyes. "You said it, Sandy." Marina giggled. "What about the time you freaked out when you thought Jack was supposedly getting 'eaten alive'?" Millennium churred which earned snickers from the rest of the Guardians.
"Well what're we waiting for? To Berk!" North boomed.
"To Berk!" Mother Nature and Father Time said in agreement.
Sapphire and Jack smiled at each other.
Today was going to be one heck of a day!
Berk was still moving on with life normally but since news about the Outcasts attacking neighboring tribes arrived, weapons were being forged and sharpened for the upcoming war. Twenty warships had already been sent off along with a battalion of dragons to assist the Shivering Shores and some smaller armies were already dispatched to the other neighboring islands.
Stoick, Gobber and the Viking teens were already waiting for them at the Dragon Training Academy along with the dragons. Blitz and Tridacna purred and went over to their Riders and nuzzled them gently.
"Hey there, buddy." Jack laughed and gave the Himalayan Fury a pat.
"You ready for today, girl?" Sapphire scratched Tridacna just above her horn, much to the Scauldron's delight.
"So what're you guys planning? Since well, both of our archenemies are working together, literally." Hiccup asked them.
Jack and Sapphire looked at each other knowingly.
They didn't really discuss about this, but both of them and Marina knew what needed to be done.
"Okay, you guys might think this is completely insane…" Jack turned to his fellow Guardians, a little apprehensive. "But this could very well be the only way we can stop Alvin and Pitch from taking over all the Viking tribes as well as the threat of the two of them going to our world and wreaking havoc." Sapphire said, looking at them seriously.
"What are they planning?" Tuffnut whispered, confused. "I have no idea." Ruffnut whispered back.
"Just quit with the serious vibes and tell us already!" Snotlout exclaimed impatiently before getting elbowed in the ribs by Astrid. "They're getting to it!" Astrid hissed.
Angrid stepped forward. "Since our enemies' are using Nightmares in the form of dragons, it's only natural that we should fight back with dragons." She said as a matter of factly.
Sapphire grinned.
"Exactly the point, Angrid. Well, you guys know now, right?" she turned to the other Guardians, who gave her and Jack blank looks.
Jack sighed, "If we want to stand a chance against Pitch, all of you have to train dragons of your own too. It can't just be me and Sapphire, got it?" he looked at each of his fellow Guardians expectantly.
Mother Nature and Father Time looked willing while Millennium hooted, "A chance to ride on a flying reptile…That is rather enticing."
"As long as there's no competition…" Tooth shrugged, recalling last afternoon's incident.
Sandy gave a thumbs-up indicating that he was onboard.
"An excellent plan! Don't you agree, Bunny?" North then turned to face his old friend, only to find a pretty spring flower sticking out of the spot where the rabbit had been standing.
"Oh Bunny…" Tooth sighed as she caught sight of the Guardian of Hope hopping out of a hole not far from the Academy and making a run for it.
The other Guardians just looked at their fleeing friend in pity.
"Where's he off to?" Gobber frowned, confused. "My guess is somewhere far away and where no dragons are in sight." Marina shook her head hopelessly.
"He really needs to get over his flying fear. It's not healthy for him to keep running away like that." Sapphire sighed. "A man needs to fear something but not keep running away from it, that's what my father used to say. Looks like Bunnymund never heard of that piece of advice before." Stoick remarked.
Jack glanced at Hiccup and questioned, "Should we get him?" To which the auburn headed Viking teen shrugged. "Dragon Training for them will be a lot easier if they all find their own dragons at the same time." He gestured to the others.
"Alright, we've got a rabbit to catch so let's mount up!" Astrid commanded.
The teens got on their dragons while the other Guardians used their own mode of transportation. Mother Nature and Father Time flew on Marina alongside Millennium and Tooth while Sandy piloted a sand airplane. North on the other hand, was allowed to ride Thornado with Stoick while Gobber left to take care of some things in the forge.
"I must say, Chief. Now this is the kind of dragon I would like to meet one day." North marveled at how strong the Thunderdrum was as they flew around Berk.
But two hours passed and still no sign of Bunny.
"You guys go ahead. We'll keep looking." Hiccup sighed.
"Why is Bunny so afraid of riding a dragon?" Astrid wondered out loud. "He's incredibly terrified of heights, His reason why, we have no clue." Sapphire shrugged.
"Well it is kind of natural. I mean rabbits usually spend their life either above or below the ground. Putting them up in the sky goes against their natural comfort zone." Fishlegs reasoned. "You have a point, Fishlegs. But you forget Bunny's no ordinary rabbit. He's not supposed to be scared of flying that much." Jack pointed out.
He had to admit that the Ingerman boy was right and that he had a small degree of pity for the Guardian of Hope. But running away was a pretty extreme reaction to the proposal of dragon training.
Suddenly a rabbit hole opened up and Bunny jumped out of it. "Can we go home now?" he pleaded. Apparently he'd been attacked by a pack of Terrible Terrors as his belt was chewed up and tufts of his fur had been bitten off.
Jack face palmed but opened a portal anyway. "We'll try again later." Sapphire whispered to the others before they left.
They tried again indeed. This time with the kids to help show Bunny that there was nothing to be afraid of. But Bunny was completely adamant of refusing to ride a dragon and let alone go near one. He ran away as soon as Sophie shoved Terri into his face and spent almost an entire hour hiding from everyone.
He even hid under Hiccup's bed!
"Seriously? You're willing to stoop to Pitch's level just to avoid this?" Layla said in exasperation when she and Hiccup found him. "I ain't getting on any of those lizards and that's that!" Bunny yelped as he made a break for it-again.
This went on for a few more times until Jack found the rabbit again. This time, Bunny had impossibly managed to stuff himself into a closet.
"You're not coming out of there, are ya?" Jack deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "Nope." Bunny shook his head, wincing as he did so. He had to be honest that the closet was kind of cramped and uncomfortable due to his 6"1 size.
Then to his confusion, a sly grin crept across Jack's face.
"What're you smiling about, Frostbite?" he asked warily, just as Layla arrived on the scene. "I guess my theory was right." Jack said calmly with a small smirk.
"Theory? What theory?" Layla raised an eyebrow. Jack turned to her and smiled. "My theory was that the Easter Kangaroo is also an Easter Chicken." His answer made Layla stare at him in confusion.
Bunny on the other hand, looked like he was about to explode.
"What did you say?" he asked angrily.
Jack faced him again and grinned. "You heard me right, Kangaroo. Only a complete chicken would pass up on the chance to ride the most amazing previously thought to be mythical creature to ever rule the skies. In fact, I bet you wouldn't be able to bond with a dragon of your own by the end of the day, goes to show you that you are a chicken." He said haughtily.
To make his point more obvious, Jack started making chicken noises. "Bok! Bok! Bokbokbok!" he clucked as he strutted around.
Layla clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughs as she watched Bunny's face scrunch up in rage. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and jumped out of the closet and grabbed the Guardian of Fun by the collar of his jacket.
"Oh just you wait, mate! I'm getting on that lizard, whether I like it or not!" he spat before dropping Jack on the floor and storming off.
As soon as he was out, Jack grinned. "Reverse psychology with a little bit of taunting-works everytime." He laughed as Layla helped him up.
"You learned that from me, didn't you?" the 13 year old girl folded her arms across her chest. "Well I learn from the best." The winter spirit smiled before they hurried to catch up with Bunny.
By the time all the Guardians had assembled at the Academy, Hiccup and the rest of the Viking teens had gathered a bunch of different dragons for them to choose.
Bunny had long figured out that Jack had tricked him and was now panicking and trying to get away. Unluckily for him, North and Father Time were holding him by the feet.
"Okay now that all of you guys are here, we can start picking dragons." Hiccup gestured to the wide assortment of dragons looking at the Guardians warily.
"Just walk up to the dragon you guys decide to choose then calmly extend your hand. We'll be right behind you in case anything goes wrong." Astrid instructed as she got behind Tooth.
Fishlegs took his position behind Sandy, Snotlout and Angrid were with Bunny, the Twins with Mother Nature and Father Time while Hiccup stood behind North.
Jack, Sapphire, Marina and the kids anxiously waited for the Guardians to choose.
North then made his way to a violet colored Thunderdrum. The fierce Tidal Class dragon let out a roar that made the Russian's eardrums vibrate. Yet North was unfazed and calmly held out his hand and let the Thunderdrum sniff his palm. Finally, the Thunderdrum relaxed and pressed its snout into the Guardian of Wonder's hand. It was a male Thunderdrum and looked pretty spunky and spirited.
"That's a good Nutcracker." North chuckled, naming his dragon immediately.
Sandy was next and with a little guidance from Fishlegs, was petting a male golden brown Gronckle.
"An excellent choice, sir. What're you planning to name him?" the husky blond Viking inquired as Sandy scratched his dragon in his sweet spot and he promptly fell asleep. Sandy smiled and formed a few zzz's over his head, indicating that his Gronckle's name was Snooze.
Mother Nature and Father Time decided surprisingly, on a Changewing.
"Watch out for the acid." Tuffnut said as the female dragon camoflauged on the Academy's walls spat out a glob near their feet. "Better be careful. The acid can melt anything." Ruffnut cautioned as the two great beings went nearer.
"It's okay girl…" Mother Nature murmured comfortingly.
"We come in peace. It's alright…" Father Time said soothingly.
The Changewing regarded them skeptically before revealing herself and allowed them to pet her.
"What should we name her, love?" Father Time asked. Mother Nature pondered on the matter as a fern grew out of her hair.
"How about Blendr? It suits her species." Millennium suggested. The couple looked at their dragon who seemed to approve and smiled.
Tooth on the other hand, was cautiously moving backwards to a female pink and green hued Deadly Nadder with Astrid.
"That's it…Just show her she's not a threat and she'll let you smooth her spikes down…" Astrid instructed as the Nadder began to get used to Tooth's presence and allowed the fairy to smoothen her tail spikes down.
"She's got pretty good teeth. I hope she doesn't mind if I call her Molar." Tooth smiled softly as her dragon nuzzled her.
Now only Bunny was left.
"Come on, man! You gotta choose now!" Snotlout exclaimed impatiently. "Give him time, Snotlout. It's his first time." Angrid said gently.
Bunny's ears were twitching nervously as he looked at the dragons one-by-one. Finally his gaze landed on a sooty gray colored male Monstrous Nightmare with yellow eyes and a placid expression. Hesitatingly he went over to it and tentatively placed his paw on his snout. The Nightmare yawned as if he had been bored by the whole selection process and gently licked the Guardian of Hope.
"Um…Hello there, Yolk…" he said nervously. Yeah not exactly a great name but hey, he had a dragon now.
"It's a miracle…Bunny with a dragon…" Jamie said in awe. "That's going to take some getting used to." Sapphire remarked shooting her boyfriend a knowing look.
Jack blushed a little before he saw the Guardians try to get on their dragons.
"W-Wait, they're not yet…!" he managed to say before the dragons bucked them off and attacked. The Guardians fell to the floor in a heap while Bunny ran to a water trough to extinguish his burning tail.
"They're not yet ready for you to ride them…" he finished and face palmed.
"This is going to take while…" Sapphire sighed, shaking her head. Donnie, Sophie and Marina could only nod in agreement.
The Guardians training their own dragons…this ought to be interesting :D