Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the slightly changed plotline.
Ruffnut could say that she had been having a perfectly good day; she threw her brother out of bed, she fed her family's pet sheep, she got to tease Hiccup about him and Astrid, then she was gonna get to watch her best friend kill her first dragon.
Yeah, a perfectly good day. Then the gods decided to send everything to the underworld.
Astrid had been talking to a dragon. Talking to it. And then, if that wasn't surprising enough, Hiccup jumped in to save her.
And then a freakin' Night Fury showed up. And then Hiccup and Astrid defended it.
Ruffnut, for once, had been paying attention to everything. Only the gods knew why she was paying attention; maybe it was the shock. She readily believes that she was the only one who noticed the saddle on the Night Fury's back.
She was the only one who noticed how desperate it was to protect Hiccup.
Ruffnut wanted to punch herself in the face. She wasn't supposed to feel sympathetic! But, that sad, pathetic noise the black dragon had let out made her insides turn. It made her think back to the looks on Hiccup and Astrid's faces; how afraid they were for their... friend.
Ruffnut groaned to herself as she backed away from the rest of the recruits, who were at the back of the crowd of Vikings staring up at the Great Hall, waiting for Stoick to come out.
She quietly made her way across the bridge and up to the arena stands. She looked into the ring; two Vikings were stationed at the entrance, probably guarding the dragons in fear that the traitors would come and free them. She glanced around, seeing nothing in the arena aside from the destroyed weapon stand, which was nothing more than a large pile of wood.
She glanced at the two Vikings and, seeing that their backs were to her, quickly jumped into the arena from the stands, landing right next to the cage the Night Fury was kept in.
She glanced at the Vikings again before grabbing the slot used to feed the dragons. She pulled it aside, peaking in; large green eyes met hers, and an odd noise that was a mix of a growl and a warble left the dragon.
"I'm starting to believe you're more trouble than you're worth," Ruffnut muttered before grabbing the release lever, pushing it down and unbarring the gates. She immediately sprinted toward the destroyed weapons stand, crawling under the pile of wood just as the unbarred gate burst open.
She could hear startled shouts, yelling, growling, barking, and a familiar high pitched whistle.
"NIGHT FURY!"
"GET DOWN!"
There was the sound of a small tousle before everything went quiet, aside from some quiet muttering. Suddenly, she heard Gobber's familiar bellow shout out.
"What in Thor's name is goin' on here!?"
"The, the Night Fury..."
"It escaped..."
Ruffnut couldn't hold back her smirk.
"What do you mean it escaped?" Stoick hissed, "We need that dragon to find the Nest."
"Well, it's not happenin', Stoick. The beast ran straight for the woods. There's no way we're goin'a find it."
"Then what do you propose we do, Gobber?"
"We don't need the Night Fury, Stoick," Gobber said, a worried look on his face, "If any dragon'll do, then we just take one from the ring. No biggy."
Stoick let out a gruff sigh before nodding, and he and Gobber began descending the stairs of the Great Hall, Stoick bellowing out orders to the Vikings as they went.
They never noticed the Great Hall's doors crack open, or Hiccup's head peak out slightly, a glare that was a mixture of anger, resignation, and determination in his eyes.
An hour later, the dark blue Deadly Nadder had been taken from the ring, collared, chained, muzzled so it couldn't breathe fire, and its tail was strapped down so it couldn't throw its spikes. Stoick tore his eyes away from the trapped Nadder to look back at Berk and caught sight of something.
Hiccup was standing on one of the boardwalks, the other recruits directly behind him. The spot of blood on the corner of his mouth was still there, dried up, and his face was surprisingly blank. He had told himself that he wasn't going to be angry with his father. After all, he and Astrid were, effectively, traitors to their tribe. His father had every right to, at the very least, kill them on the spot, and, at the very worst, have them Blood Eagled. [1]
He supposes he should be thankful.
He locked eyes with his fath-, no, with Stoick; he wasn't his son anymore - before slowly shaking his head, giving one final warning.
Stoick turned away.
"Set sail! We head for Helheim's Gate!"
He glared down at the dark blue Nadder, "Lead us home. Devil."
And then they were off.
Once again, Berk was completely emptied out, with the exception of the elderly, the young children, and the recruits.
Today, the Hairy Hooligans will be extinct.
"Told you, you were a loser."
Hiccup whipped his head around, turning to face the rest of the recruits crowded around him. They were all staring at him with looks of confusion and uneasiness, aside from Ruffnut, who looked rather disgruntled, keeping her gaze on the ground.
"Man," Tuffnut muttered, "I've never seen anything like that before. What were you thinking?"
Hiccup gave a shrug.
"So, does this make you and Astrid, like... banished or something?" Fishlegs asked a bit hesitantly, and Hiccup gave a silent nod. He knew the laws; he was disowned, and he needed to be off the island by sunrise tomorrow or he could be killed as a trespasser.
"Oh, he's banished, alright," Snotlout shrugged, crossing his arms; his eyes, however, held a look of worry.
"Look," Hiccup finally said, "It wasn't Astrid's fault. And it wasn't my fault. You need to trust me; dragons aren't what we think they are."
"Great," Snotlout muttered, "Now you sound like Ast-whooaah!"
There was a splash when Snotlout hit the water after Hiccup kicked him in; he resurfaced, sputtering and coughing, and everyone looked up at Hiccup, who frowned.
"Listen to me," He said, "We don't have to fight dragons. You have to admit, Astrid did some things in the ring that no Viking has every done before." Everyone glanced between themselves before giving reluctant nods as Snotlout pulled himself out of the water. "Things need to change. Toothless, dragons; none of them are bad, and we need to help our people."
"How are we going to do that?" Fishlegs asked, looking as unconvinced as the rest of them.
Hiccup let a thoughtful look cross his face. "Well, they said that Toothless escaped-"
"Yeah," Ruffnut suddenly grunted, her face looking annoyed, "And you should thank me for that."
Hiccup, along with the others, blinked in surprise. "You... freed Toothless?"
Ruffnut scoffed, crossing her arms and turning away from them. "Yeah. He just... you know, seemed important to you two."
Hiccup grinned a little, seeing a bit of embarrassment on her face at her sympathy. "Thank you, Ruffnut," He said sincerely, and she scoffed again.
"Yeah. Whatever. So, how're we gonna help?"
Hiccup glanced around, freezing when he caught sight of something. Astrid was sitting on one of the high bridges, her face buried in her knees, and an idea struck him.
"You know how we're gonna help?" He grinned, "We're gonna fight the system."
"Alright!" Tuffnut cheered, sharing a fist-bump with his sister, "We're gonna trash stuff!"
"No!" Hiccup said sternly, "Look. Just meet me in the ring in thirty minutes, alright?"
Everyone watched him as he quickly turned on his heel, sprinting toward the wooden stairs of the boardwalk before sharing another look between themselves and shrugging.
Hiccup slowed his jog into a walk when he reached Astrid before stopping by her side. He waited, and she lifted her head from her knees before letting out a single sniff and wiping her eyes and standing. She glanced back at him, and he pursed his lips a little, though there was a small grin trying to form on his face.
"Why couldn't I have killed her when I found her in the woods?" She murmured, "Wouldn't it be better for everybody?"
"Yup," Hiccup shrugged, "The rest of us probably would've done it. So why didn't you?"
She shot him a look. "Why didn't you kill Toothless?"
"I asked first."
"I don't-" She cut herself off, letting out a sharp sigh, "I don't know. I couldn't."
"Couldn't or wouldn't?"
"Why do you keep saying that?" She snapped, thinking about the time he said 'Can't or Won't?' What does that even mean?
"Can't is hesitance. Won't is bravery; you chose not to kill her."
Astrid furrowed her brows, stuttering a little. "I... I don't know. She just, she looked so scared. If dragons were really the monsters we thought they were, they wouldn't be able to show fear, let alone feel it."
"Right," Hiccup nodded a little, finally letting the grin creep up a little.
Astrid let out a tiny laugh of disbelief, "Three hundred years, and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon."
"First to train one, though," Hiccup grinned.
Astrid let a small smile appear on her face. "And you're the first to ride one."
Hiccup's grin widened a little. "Astrid the Dragon Trainer, and Hiccup the Dragon Rider. I like that."
Astrid chuckled a little before letting it die out, looking up at him. "Why wouldn't you kill Toothless? You said you gave him sleep medicine; you had the perfect chance."
"Because," Hiccup smiled a little, "He had the perfect moment to kill me, too, but he didn't. And what kind of person would I be if had turned around and killed the one who spared me when he was weak?"
Astrid nodded a little before turning her attention to the ocean. The ships had completely vanished from sight, and she knew that they were long gone by now.
"The tribe's off to commit suicide," Hiccup muttered before letting a small grin emerge on his face, "What're you gonna do about it?"
"I dunno," Astrid shrugged, "Probably something stupid."
"Okay, but you've already done that," Hiccup grinned, "So how about we do something crazy?"
The armada sailed toward a heavy fog, hung like drapes from a low hanging, ominous sky. The ships entered one by one, and visibility dropped immediately. The armada disappeared, drawn into the blinding mist. There was a complete whiteout, nothing remaining but the eerie creaking of wood on water.
Stoick tapped his fingers on the gunwale, glancing back at the Nadder impatiently. Weighted down with chains, it seemed unresponsive.
"Sound your positions!" Stoick ordered, "Stay within earshot!"
"Here!"
"On the length to your stern!"
"On your starboard flank!"
"Three widths to port!"
"Ahead, at your bow!"
"Haven't a clue."
Stoick strained to see passed the fog, massive sea stacks emerging, threatening to tear the ships apart. Gobber pushed through the men manning the boat, Cnut and Thora on either side of him.
"Listen, Stoick," Gobber said, "I was overhearing some of the men just now, and, and, well, you know, some of them were wondering what it is we are up to here? Not, not me, of course. I, I know you're always the man with the plan, but some, not me, are, are wondering if, in fact, there is a plan at all, and what it might be?"
"Find the Nest and take it."
"Oh. Great," Thora muttered irritantly, "So no plan at all."
"Well, it could just be the old Viking throw back," Cnut added.
"Yup," Gobber said, "Send them running."
"Shh," Stoick suddenly commanded, noticing the way the Nadder perked up a little. It began looking around the mist, its head constantly cocking like a bird.
"Step aside," Stoick ordered, taking over the wheel. He began steering, turning the boat in the directions the Nadder pointed its head toward.
Astrid hopped off of Stormfly when the dragon landed inside the ring, smoothing down her spikes. Hiccup had run off to the ravine to go get Toothless; it would take him a little longer, as the ravine was much farther away than the cove. She glanced over at the sound of muttering, giving Stormfly a small pat before sprinting toward the arena entrance.
The recruits brightened up a little at the sight of Astrid when she greeted them at the entrance.
"So, what's the plan?" Ruffnut asked eagerly, "How're even gonna get to the island?"
Tuffnut suddenly got in her face. "You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadliest weapon," He grinned, and, just in case she didn't get it, "It's me."
"I love this plan," Snotlout said, pushing him out of the way, "You're crazy, and I like that."
Astrid furrowed her brows in annoyance. So, it's one of his flirting days, is it?
"I think I know what Hiccup has in mind," Fishlegs said as they entered the arena, freezing at the sight of the Nadder in front of them. All the recruits, aside from Astrid, immediately backed away a little.
A black shadow flew overhead, and they looked up, hearing the trademark whirring of a-
"NIGHT FURY!" Tuffnut shouted.
"GET DOWN!" Snotlout added, and they all ducked, but Astrid simply rolled her eyes.
"Calm down. It's Toothless," She said.
"Okay, that is so not toothless," Fishlegs said.
"Whatever," Astrid muttered, running forward to meet them as the dragon and his rider landed. The Night fury nuzzled Astrid with a welcoming croon, and Astrid smiled, letting her head rest against his large one for a moment. "Hey, Toothless."
When she lifted her head, her eyes landed on the slack-jawed recruits.
Hiccup raised a single brow as he hopped off of Toothless, giving them a small smirk.
Astrid shook her head a little before walking toward one of the cages. "Alright, listen up, guys," She said, resting her hand on the lever, "We're gonna be flying to the island."
She unbarred the cage, and the others huddled together with surprised shouts when the cage sprang open to reveal a very surprised Monstrous Nightmare. It blinked in confusion for a brief moment before it snarled, and Toothless and Stormfly let out growls of their own, spreading their wings for intimidation; one of Toothless' wings ended up blocking Hiccup from the Nightmare's line of sight.
Toothless and Stormfly let out annoyed grunts when the other recruits immediately flocked behind Hiccup, and Snotlout grabbed his cousins shoulders, ducking behind him. Hiccup rolled his eyes, patting their scales to calm them down, watching as Astrid circled the arena, unbarring the rest of the cages.
A distant howl echoed through the choppy waters. Gobber glanced around nervously. Cnut and Thora glanced around, taking in the sight. Stoick hadn't moved a muscle.
A longboat suddenly appeared from the mist, caught up on one of the rock formations, the mast torn, huge holes on the side of the boat. Stoick didn't bat an eyelash, but the other Vikings were looking concerned.
"Oh," Gobber tried to add some humor into the situation, "I was wondering where that went."
There was a sudden crunch as the boat hit land, and a twisted smile formed on Stoick's face. "We're here."
The Vikings glanced around. A loud humming noise was echoing around the island. A small red tail hanging off of one of the ledges of the mountain sudden pulled back and disappeared from sight.
Stoick leaped onto the grey beach. The second his feet touched the stones, the humming stopped, and an eerie, uneasy silence hung in the air.
Stoick straightened up, worry finally crossing his features.
Astrid lead the Monstrous Nightmare out of its cage, a hand inches above its snout, and its nostrils flared, purring lazily, its eyes lidded, and everyone let out surprised yelps when the protective wings of Toothless and Stormfly suddenly snapped closed; they were finally able to see Astrid at work.
Admiring gasps escaped Fishlegs and the twins, and Hiccup grinned, flicking his head to remove some hair from his eyes. Snotlout, however, looked around nervously. He tried to reach down to grab a spear next to his feet, but Hiccup smacked his shoulder with the back of his hand, giving him a stern look, while Toothless growled in warning.
"Uh-uh."
Astrid lead the Nightmare to Snotlout and grabbed his arm, leading his hand toward the dragon.
Snotlout tried to jerk his hand free, "Wait! What're you-"
"Relax," Astrid said, tightening her hold on his arm, "It's okay. It's okay."
She placed his hand on the Nightmare's snout. The dragon blinked slowly, letting out another purr. Snotlout let out a laugh of shock and awe, amazed that he was actually petting a dragon.
Astrid began to walk away, and he immediately stopped laughing.
"Where're you going!?"
"You're going to want something to help you hang on," Astrid said, digging into the supply box and pulling out circlets of rope.
The class blinked before glancing over, looking at the rest of the freed dragons, who cocked their heads, looking at the kids expectantly.
Stoick made his way across the beach, stopping at the tunnels mouth and staring into the blackness. He made signal, and one of the Vikings launched another boulder, this one set aflame, and it flew through the tunnel.
The light revealed, hundreds... thousands of dragons inside the tunnel.
With a war cry, Stoick and the other Vikings ran toward the tunnel, and the dragons began to fly out, looking like bats escaping from a cave, and Stoick swung his hammer in all directions, missing each time. The dragons all flew off, over the sea, and the battle was suddenly over in less than five minutes.
"Is that it?" Gobber asked, looking incredulous. He shrugged.
"WE DONE IT!" Spitelout cheered, and all the Vikings joined him.
Stoick grinned a little before catching sight of the dark blue Nadder still trapped on one of the ships. The Nadder was jerking around, squawking in a panic, attempting to escape.
"This isn't over!" Stoick exclaimed, silencing the cheers, "Form your ranks! Hold together!"
He faced the cave, his hammer at the ready.
Suddenly, the ground and the cave began to shake, and a loud screech bellowed from the darkness, the force blowing a wind through the Vikings' clothes, and even pushing some of their boats back.
"GET CLEAR!" Stoick bellowed, jumping from the rocks as the shaking became more and more violent, and something began to emerge from the darkness.
The Vikings ran in a panic, and the mountainside suddenly exploded open, and a gigantic, monstrous dragon head appeared, snapping its jaws furiously.
"Beard of Thor, what is that?" Gobber gasped.
Stoick watched as the monster emerged. "Odin help us," He said quietly.
The monster shook the rocks off its hide and lifted its head to the sky, releasing a bone-chilling roar.
Oh no, the Red Death!
1) The blood eagle was a method of execution by torture that is sometimes mentioned in Nordic saga legends. It was performed by cutting the ribs of the victim by the spine, breaking the ribs so they resembled blood-stained wings, and pulling the lungs out through the wounds in the victim's back. Salt was sprinkled in the wounds.
I'm thinking about uploading another chapter today, so watch out just in case. See, I'm alone all weekend, and I can't really go out because of my leg, so I have nothing better to do :)