AN: I was looking at Chapter Nine, and like, 20/20 hindsight and all, thought 'Dang, son, that's a freaking evil cliffie. But if I'd actually uploaded the character art like I meant to, no-one would have freaked at all. (His leather jerkin is really thick, like Valka's breastplate thing.) This chapter's pretty short; sorry if it's TOO short. But there's an epilogue to be uploaded, then Dragonheart is done. Party with me; I actually finished it! Like, I finished the story without a three-year interval while I lost interest in it! And even better- I'M WRITING A SEQUEL! You probably don't give a crappa di cack cack, but I am so delighted that I actually managed to complete the story. The sequel is set three years later. I hope you enjoy it; I've decided that I will end up giving Toffa some Angela quotes (You'd be surprised how many sorcerers have died after being bitten by mad rabbits!) because she really does seem to be quite the character. I'm thinking Toffa will have a slightly more influential part in the sequel; but I might change my mind entirely between now and then. The sequel, by the way, will be called Firesoul. Anyway, I hope I didn't disappoint with the ending! If I did, feel free to tell me how much of a blockhead I am, how badly my blockheadedness has affected the story and what kind of ancestry I must have had to be such a monumental blockhead.

Chapter Ten

So Say We All

Astrid's cry of horror tore from her lungs, emerging as an animalistic howl of grief. Stoick's face mirrored her feelings; he felled the last enemy Viking and shouted Hiccup's name to the skies. The boy crashed into the snowy ground, and lay there limply.

And sat up a moment later.

"That," he said, pulling the bull hook free, "was dirty. But next time, try not to hit the only spot where your target's wearing armour,"

He stood up, and Astrid noted how his right arm seemed to be dislocated. Toothless swooped towards his rider, and Hiccup turned to look at Drago. Then the Bewilderbeast let out another roar and a jet of ice, and Astrid screamed in horror as Hiccup and Toothless were both enveloped in the glacier. Stoick let out an inhuman bellow of rage and grief, and hurled his hammer at Drago with such force that it actually made it to the man on the titanic spar of ivory without falling back to earth. Drago beat it aside carelessly and strode to the end of the tusk, shouting to the crowded Berkians, who were frozen in horror.

"See how easily your hero fell!" Bludvist yelled to the Vikings. Valka stumbled forwards and placed her hands on the ice, peering into the almost opaque blue. Astrid joined her and looked hopelessly. She could barely see Toothless' dark outline, highlighted by… light? She looked closer. Down his back, Toothless was glowing like the sun. She could faintly hear a whistling noise.

Comprehension hit like a hammer.

"Get down!" she hollered and hit the snow. Just in time; the ice exploded outwards with the force of a lightning strike. Toothless spread his wings majestically to reveal Hiccup, still standing strong. Toothless leaped agilely up onto an ice spire and roared furiously.

"Thor almighty," Valka said, getting back to her feet and taking off her mask.

Hiccup looked astonished. He too removed his flying mask. "He's challenging the Alpha!"

"To protect you!" Valka finished. Her face was alight with joy. Stoick stumbled over and watched as Toothless let out a blast of fire like none Astrid had ever seen. It exploded with the force of Thor's hammer and the Bewilderbeast howled. Toothless fired again, not giving the huge Alpha the chance to recover. Then a few of the hundreds of dragons gathered behind it seemed to come back to themselves. They joined Toothless, Stormfly among them, and added their flames to the barrage assaulting the Bewilderbeast. The more they blasted the dragon with flame, the more it seemed to lose control of its subjects. Soon all of the dragons were flying behind Toothless. Hiccup ran forward and slid into the saddle.

"THIS is what it means to earn a dragon's loyalty!" he yelled. There was the high-pitched whistling sound, and a final bolt of plasma flew at the Bewilderbeast. It screeched as its left tusk was blown clean off, and the huge ivory length crashed into the waves below. The Bewilderbeast paused and moved its titanic foot to its breastbone, almost like… a surrender? Then it turned and dove into the ocean, Drago still clinging to the remaining tusk. For a moment there was a shocked silence, then a roar of triumph from the surrounding Vikings. Hiccup turned back to the crowds and Toothless jumped from the ice spire to the ground. Stoick elbowed his way forwards and placed a trembling hand on Toothless' snout.

"Thank you for saving my son," he quavered. Hiccup slid off of the saddle and was instantly swamped by his father's enormous arms. When he was released, Astrid darted forward and kissed him.

"You won," she whispered blissfully to him. He smiled back.

Valka and Stoick looked at each other and shrugged, as if to say, 'Well, they seem to love each other, so…'

Astrid would have blushed, but there were too many people watching. Then Cloudjumper stepped forwards in front of Toothless and bowed his huge scaly head. The other dragons followed his lead, and Toothless raised his head proudly and, Astrid thought, a little smugly.

"He's just like you," Astrid told Hiccup. He looked at her.

"Well, hopefully I won't become chief for a few years yet," he responded, placing an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his curved shoulder plate. Then she accidentally elbowed his injured arm and he gasped in pain.

"Sorry," Astrid said, and gently prodded his shoulder, inspecting it. "You've dislocated it," she said. "I can put it back in, but it might hurt,"

"Do it now while I'm still numb from the freezing cold ice," he told her. She nodded, wrapping her fingers around his to form a fist and twisting his arm outwards. He sucked in his breath sharply and let out a pained word in the strange language, which Astrid ignored.

"Sorry," she said, leaning gently on him and thanking the gods he was alive. The terrifying image in her head dissipated and she blew the last wisps of it away.

"No time for messing around," Stoick said suddenly. "We have a lot of cleaning up to do."

"But first…" Valka started. Stoick nodded, and the woman stepped forwards and planted her staff in the ground, then grabbed Hiccup's hand and held it high.

"HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD, HERO OF BERK!" she bellowed proudly. Hiccup blushed a little as the Vikings cheered wildly.

"So you say," he said shyly. The whole island suddenly yelled the response.

"SO SAY WE ALL!"