This is the second to last chapter of the story! Prepare for the thrills and suspense. A word of caution: Have a box of tissues with you just in case the feels are too great.
Note: All rights for HTTYD and ROTG go to DreamWorks Animation.
Chapter 27
Alternating with their natural abilities and Viking weaponry, Jack and Sapphire took down Nightmare after Nightmare and their dragons blasted hot water and ice all over the place.
"Good to see you guys back with us!" Angrid hollered as she got Magnus to fire a stream of fire and torched a couple of Nightmares.
"We could use the help!" Ruffnut yanked on Barf again.
"All the help we can get!" Tuffnut sparked it up and created a fire line.
"I analyzed the Pitch Black Beast in the air!" Fishlegs panted as he joined them.
"What'd you find out?!" Snotlout yelled amidst the shrieks of Nightmares and the roaring of his own Monstrous Nightmare.
"No blind spot, no shot limit, and no physical weak spot on the outside! It's like the Red Death only bigger and meaner!" the blond Viking boy exclaimed, already going into panic mode.
"Then we'll have to take it down by shooting the fang into the mouth after all!" Sapphire shouted before two frantic roars were heard through the air.
Jamie, Layla, Sophie and Donnie arrived on the scene riding Aim, Fire, Summer and Winter with Sniper and Terri flapping alongside them.
"Hiccup and Astrid are in trouble!" Sophie shouted to them. "A whole gang of Nightmares are swarming them!" Donnie said frantically.
"Then let's help! You kids come with us! We might need a few hands!" Jack ordered.
"Got it!" Jamie nodded.
"Don, Soph you two better hang on tight!" Layla yelled before urging their Snaptrapper to follow Blitz and Tridacna.
That's when Angrid noticed something fall out of Tridacna's back and caught it in the nick of time.
It was the fang!
"You guys keep fending them off!" the strawberry blonde Hofferson commanded the other Viking teens before she and Magnus raced to catch up with the two Guardians.
Far ahead, Toothless and Stormfly were firing shot after shot until they were down to their last few ones.
"Hold those last blasts in, bud!" Hiccup commanded his Night Fury as he slashed a Nightmare dragon's wings off. "We're gonna need those last few fireballs, Stormfly!" Astrid whacked her axe at a horse, cutting its head off.
Then an unpleasant surprise greeted them.
A pair of Nightmare dragons swooped down from out of nowhere and plucked the two Viking teens off their dragons' backs! Astrid and Hiccup yelped, frantically struggling to get to their dragons. Without Hiccup to control his tail fin, Toothless began to drop out of the sky! Stormfly squawked and flew down after him.
"Jamie, Layla we're gonna need you two to help them!" Jack yelled when he saw the two dragons plummet.
"Okay!" Jamie yelled. "Wish us luck!" Layla hollered as their Snaptrapper got closer to the Night Fury and Deadly Nadder.
Taking a deep breath, both kids jumped off their dragon's heads and prayed that they'd make it…
And thank Manny and the gods, they did.
Jamie landed on Toothless and managed to work the stirrup in order to make the tail fin work while Layla landed on Stormfly's back and calmed her down.
Jack and Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief but were redirected to Hiccup and Astrid.
After they had gotten snatched off their dragons, the two Viking teens were furiously squirming and wriggling about until they decided to use their weapons. Hiccup sliced his dragon Nightmare's feet off with his bear knife while Astrid lopped hers off with her platinum axe.
Unfortunately, they forgot they were hundreds of feet in the air and began to freefall!
Screaming, they wildly flailed their arms and legs about. Good thing Jack and Sapphire caught them by thrusting out their staffs to them.
"That was a close one…" Hiccup breathed out in relief. "Way too close if you ask me." Astrid agreed with him.
"Nice save, little bro." Jack grinned to Jamie who flew over to them on Toothless. "Great maneuvering skills out there, sis." Sapphire smiled at her 13 year old sister who was riding on Stormfly.
The two pre-teens smiled, feeling proud of them selves. Then Donnie and Sophie appeared with their Terrible Terrors and their Snaptrapper. Hiccup and Astrid quickly got back on Toothless and Stormfly so Jamie and Layla could jump onto Blitz and Tridacna before returning to their Snaptrapper.
But not before high-fiving with the two teenage Guardians and wishing them good luck.
Quickly flying to a safe zone, they landed on a warship manned by Anglo.
"They'll be okay, right?" Sophie asked nervously.
"Right?" Donnie added, gulping worriedly.
Jamie tightly squeezed his baby sister's hand. "Of course they'll be okay." He said confidently.
"They're Guardians and our big brother and sister." Layla added with confidence.
But deep down inside, they were hoping that everything will be okay…
The four teens were just celebrating their small accomplishment when the Pitch Black Beast's enraged roars brought them back to reality.
"I finally caught up with you two!" Angrid suddenly flew out of a cloud bank, Magnus slightly out of breath. She tossed Sapphire the fang saying in a knowing tone, "You're gonna need this if you wanna stop that monster."
Sapphire then looked at Jack. The winter spirit smiled.
Good thing they'd already come up with a plan!
"Up for a game of 'Dragon in the Middle'?" Jack asked coyly.
"Oh yeah." Sapphire said gamely.
"Let's show that beast that you should never mess with the Vikings, Dragons and Guardians!" Astrid waved her axe in the air.
"Let's go!" Hiccup yelled, pushing on the special stirrup and fully opening Toothless' tail fin.
As a team, Hiccup, Astrid, Jack and Sapphire flew off to face the Pitch Black Beast.
The Pitch Black Beast was furiously shooting out fire when Jack flew up to one of its eyes, a mischievous smirk on his pale face.
"Hey Pitch! Lookin' for this?" he taunted before pulling the fang out of his pocket.
The dragon's eyes widened in shock but it still snarled at the winter spirit.
"You want it? Then come and get me!" With a laugh, Jack and Blitz turned around and flew away, luring the beast into chasing them.
Doing their famous upside-down flight maneuvers, Jack and Blitz zigzagged about, crossing paths with Sapphire and Tridacna who were shooting out water blasts to hopefully cause some damage. Finally the Pitch Black Beast had cornered the Guardian of Fun and Blitz.
But to its confusion and anger, Jack casually opened both hands to reveal that the fang was no longer with him!
"Whoops…Looks like I don't have it." He said innocently.
It turns out that Jack had passed the fang to Sapphire, who now fired a shot of water to distract the Pitch Black Beast before it attacked Jack.
"Okay…! Astrid, go long!" Sapphire shrieked as the dragon began to chase her and managed to use her bow to fire the bow toward Astrid who had gotten into position.
"We gotta get up higher!" Astrid hollered, narrowly dodging the black dragon's flames and tossing the fang to Hiccup.
"I'm on it!" Hiccup hollered as he and Toothless flew up higher into the air with the others following him suit.
They continued executing their plan, distracting the beast long enough to throw the fang back and forth to each other.
And all the while, everyone else down below was anxiously watching the battle in the sky.
As the four dragons continued divebombing and firing at the Pitch Black Beast, their Riders were hoping that they could pull the plan off without risking anyone getting injured or worse.
Finally Toothless and Stormfly were down to their last shots while Blitz and Tridacna still had some left.
"We're down to our last ones, Hiccup!" Astrid hollered to her boyfriend. "Jack, Sapphire!" Hiccup looked to the two Guardians.
"Alright let's do it!" Jack yelled.
"You and Astrid go down first!" Sapphire ordered.
Nodding the two Viking teens began to powerdive first.
"Hey, Ugly!" Sapphire taunted, fire a water jet at the Pitch Black Beast's face.
The dragon roared in anger, reaching the end of its patience.
It was going to kill them now for real!
"Catch us if you can, you overweight newt!" Jack gave it one last insult before he and Sapphire went down as well.
Luckily the Pitch Black Beast took the bait and followed them. Flying downward in an upside down V formation, the four teens were readying themselves for the final blow. Jack and Sapphire were side by side while Hiccup and Astrid flanked them on either side.
"Just a bit more…" Hiccup chanted desparately as the ground of the small islet they were headed for began to become visible through a layer of clouds as they were still several feet up in the air. "Come on… Come on…" Jack gripped the edges of Blitz's saddle tightly, hoping that the plan will work.
Finally the ground was rushing up to meet them!
"Here's our chance!" Astrid yelled. "NOW!" Sapphire then loaded the fang into her bow and pointed it at the Pitch Black Beast just as it opened its gaping mouth and let it loose.
At the same time, Toothless, Stormfly, Blitz and Tridacna jackknifed in the air and fired at the same time!
The fang entered the Pitch Black Beast's mouth followed by two fireballs, one ice blast and one hot water blast. The fearsome black dragon roared in outrage as the gas inside it began to ignite inside its body. It uttered one final screech mixed with Pitch's outraged cry of "NOOOO!" before it hit the ground as the four dragons pulled up to escape the massive explosion.
BOOOOOM!
The Pitch Black Beast exploded like the end of the world.
Flying frantically to escape the blast, Toothless and Stormfly managed to get to higher altitude first with Blitz and Tridacna close behind.
That's when Jack and Sapphire noticed two large fragments of the Pitch Black Beast's body hurtling straight for Hiccup and Astrid!
"HICCUP! ASTRID!" Jack yelled.
"LOOK OUT!" Sapphire shrieked.
Then the two Guardians did something both heroic and insanely stupid.
Quickly they rammed Hiccup's Night Fury and Astrid's Deadly Nadder out of the two dangerous projectiles' path, only to get themselves knocked off their Himalayan Fury and Scauldron into the inferno blazing below!
"NO!" Astrid screamed in horror as she watched Jack and Sapphire fall. "JACK! SAPPHIRE!" Hiccup was also shouting in fear.
Then before anyone could stop them, Blitz and Tridacna screeched and dove after their Riders!
No way, absolutely, no way were they going to lose them…
Toothless, Hiccup, Stormfly and Astrid tried to stop them but another blast of energy forced them back. They had no choice but to retreat.
Ashes fell like snow all around the Vikings as they clambered onto the shores of the islet where they had seen the terrifying beast had crashed. The remaining teens, Guardians and kids were among the first to arrive and were hoping that their friends had made it.
Then Hiccup and Astrid landed in front of them, looking exhausted and worried.
"Thank the gods you two are alive!" Angrid exclaimed, relieved beyond words.
"But wait…! Where're…?" Marina looked around and saw that Jack and Sapphire were nowhere to be found.
"They…They saved us from the blast…" Astrid stammered. "But they...they weren't so lucky…They got knocked off their dragons and they dove down to catch them…" Hiccup gasped out.
"We need to find them!" Jamie tried to run out into the smoky landscape with Layla, Sophie and Donnie but the Guardians stopped them.
"Let us go!" Sophie squirmed in Bunny's grip.
"We gotta find them!" Donnie flailed his arms and legs uselessly in Sandy's arms.
"It's too dangerous for you four!" Tooth attempted to calm them down. "What if another dragon comes out of nowhere and attacks?!" North tried to reason with them.
"This is our big brother and big sister! We have to find them, please!" Layla begged, tears in her eyes.
"We'll let the dragons, Millennium and Marina scout the area first." Father Time then waved Terri, Sniper, Marina and his loyal Whiskered Screech off to go and begin the search.
"Leave no stone unturned!" Millennium barked as they flew out of sight.
"Please let them be alive…" Mother Nature felt her hair turn limp with worry.
"They have to be alive. They just have to." Fishlegs murmured.
"They're immortal right?" Snotlout asked Bunny, slightly worried.
"As in they can never die, right?" the Twins asked Sandy at the same time. Sandy nodded but formed a sand image of a dagger piercing a heart.
"They should be…But after what happened last year…" Bunny mumbled, face paling as he and the rest of the Guardians recalled what had happened to Jack before…
Minutes turned into hours and still no report…
"Alright that's it, we're heading out there." Stoick got on Thornado and the rest of the Riders mounted their dragons.
Suddenly Marina, Millennium and two Terrible Terrors flew back to them.
"Any luck?" Gobber said hopefully before he noticed that Marina was crying.
Millennium just hooted sadly and motioned to the others to follow them.
They landed near a crater where the bones and ashes of the Pitch Black Beast were scattered about. As soon as they spotted the bodies of two dragons nearby, the group of dragons and Riders froze in their tracks.
"Th-They can't be…" Donnie stuttered as they got nearer to Blitz and Tridacna's motionless bodies. "D-d-d-dead?" Sophie squeaked as Hiccup and Astrid gently lifted one of each of the two dragons' eyelids.
They placed their hands on their chests, hoping against hope to feel a heartbeat…
But all they got was stony silence.
"They're gone…" Hiccup shook his head sadly.
Jamie and Layla ran to Blitz and Tridacna's bodies and hugged them tightly as tears flowed down their cheeks. Everyone else either began to sob quietly or bow their heads down in respect.
If Blitz and Tridacna were dead…so were Jack and Sapphire.
Astrid sadly looked at the two dead dragons…and noticed something odd.
Their bodies were lying down on the ground in a position that somehow resembled Toothless' when he had Hiccup wrapped safely in his wings after the battle with the Red Death…
Cautiously she went over to the two dead bodies and tentatively pressed her ear to Sapphire's Scauldron's folded wings. Bunny got curious as well and did the same thing on Blitz. With his highly tuned sense of hearing, the Guardian of Hope was able to hear a weak moan coming from inside Blitz's cocoon positioned body.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered to Astrid who was still trying to listen. The blonde shield maiden didn't hear anything at first but after a few more seconds, she heard a faint groan coming from inside Tridacna's wings.
"Guys we need a little help." She said urgently to the others.
Gobber, Tooth, Stoick and Angrid came over to assist Astrid & Bunny. Carefully they unfolded the dead dragons' wings. Relief washed over them and everyone else when they saw two teens pressed to the dragons' bodies. Quickly they got Jack and Sapphire out into North and Mother Nature's arms.
"Jack? Jack?" "Wake up…" Jamie and Sophie tugged at the winter spirit's sleeve worriedly. "Come on Sapphire…Snap out of it!" Layla gently shook her big sister's shoulder. "Wake up, Saph! Please…" Donnie pleaded, holding back tears.
Father Time handed his wife and North two reviver potions. The two of them carefully emptied the contents of the two vials into the two teen spirits' mouths, gently rubbing their necks to make them swallow. The reviver kicked in after a few minutes. Both Sapphire and Jack began coughing and their eyes opened.
"W-We're alive…?" Sapphire rasped as her dazed eyes tried to refocus on her blurry stepmother's face.
"Are we dead?" Jack coughed out hoarsely looking up at North feebly.
"Yes." Mother Nature softly laughed.
"And no." North chuckled as they helped them up to their feet.
Jack used his staff to steady himself. "For once, I'd like to have an adventure that doesn't involve me nearly getting killed." He said smiling weakly. "Same here…How'd we even survive that fall anyway?" Sapphire wondered out loud.
Everyone went silent.
Confused, Jack and Sapphire looked at Hiccup and Astrid. Astrid sighed deeply and pointed at Blitz and Tridacna behind them. The two Guardians immediately rushed over to their dragons.
"Just like what Toothless did for me…They saved you guys." Hiccup said sadly as he patted Toothless' head.
Jack was gently rubbing his hand on Blitz's snout. "That fall must've knocked them out. Come on buddy, rise and shine!" he said gently.
"Wake up, Tridacna! We won!" Sapphire said brightly as she tried to wake up the Scauldron with a small spray of water.
When their dragons didn't stir, that's when the two teenage Guardians began to get worried.
"Blitz, come on…Quit fooling around." Jack tried to shake the Himalayan Fury awake but to no avail. "Tridacna, knock it off. This isn't funny." Sapphire said nervously.
Astrid and Hiccup went over to them. "Something's wrong." Sapphire told them, panic evident in her tone. "Very wrong. They're not waking up." Jack added, his icy blue eyes filled with fear.
Astrid bit her lip but managed to get the words out. "Your dragons saved you two…But they…they weren't able to survive the impact when they crashed guys, I'm sorry."
Those words made Jack and Sapphire's hearts stop.
"No…You're lying…Th-That can't be true!" Jack tried to sound defiant but tears were threatening to well up in his eyes.
Sapphire turned to Hiccup. "I'm begging you! Please tell me this isn't happening!" she pleaded, voice quavering with every syllable.
But Hiccup sadly shook his head.
The truth hit Jack and Sapphire like a rock wall.
…Blitz and Tridacna were dead…
Both of them hugged their dragons and began to cry. Gobber and Stoick carefully removed the saddles from the two dragons' bodies as the other Vikings began to head back to the ships.
"It's time…" Hiccup told the two teenage Guardians softly.
"We need to go…" Astrid said quietly.
Turning away from their dragons' bodies, Jack and Sapphire nodded, dried their eyes and followed everyone. But when the Guardians looked at them, tears once again began to well up in their eyes.
Sapphire began to sob again as Mother Nature and Father Time put their arms around her in a comforting embrace, her body shaking with every sob.
North on the other hand, felt like he was looking at a puppy that had been kicked and left out in the rain. Jack leaned his head against the Guardian of Wonder's belly and softly cried while North gently patted the winter spirit's back.
The other Guardians wanted so badly to comfort them, tell them that everything was gonna be okay…
But for now, nothing could stop Jack and Sapphire's grief…
Boarding the boat with heavy hearts, the Guardians of Fun and Equality watched as the islet that served as their dragons' final resting place slowly faded out of sight.
"Bye Blitz…" Jack whispered to the cold wind that blew through the ocean.
"Good-bye Tridacna…" Sapphire murmured as one last tear trickled down her cheek.
As they sailed away, the two teens stayed away from everyone and avoided the dragons. It was just too painful for them to celebrate their victory that had suddenly become so hollow. And everyone understood and thankfully kept out of their way.
If they had just stayed a little bit longer, the other people could have seen the faint twitching of Blitz and Tridacna's legs.
After several hours, the two dragons opened their eyes and woozily stood up. Looking around, they realized that their Riders were nowhere to be seen.
"Jaaaccckkk? Jaaaaccckkk?" Blitz called while Tridacna hissed, a sound that usually sent Sapphire running for her.
When their Riders didn't come, the male Himalayan Fury and female Scauldron figured that perhaps their friends were back at the Shivering Shores, celebrating their victory against the Pitch Black Beast. The two of them decided that since they were both exhausted from the battle, they would sleep here tonight and set out tomorrow morning.
Curling up as comfortably as they could, Blitz and Tridacna fell asleep.