Hey awesome people! :D So, second to last chapter here! :D Unfortunately, no shout-outs this chapter, BUT THERE WILL BE THE NEXT CHAPTER, BECAUSE AFTER THE NEXT CHAPTER, SEASON 2B WILL BE DONE AND I NEED TO GIVE EVERYONE A SHOUT-OUT. :D
Seriously. I hope you guys enjoy chapter 7. :D
And for those of you who were wondering: the next season of RttE will probably not be posted until late June or early July (that's my speculation, anyways, as we're getting thirteen episode approximately every six months), and in which case, I won't be able to continue on to Season 3B until I see the third season.
BUT, I might manage to get a few RttE Season 1B episodes out to you guys before then, depending on how it all works out. I'm still trying to figure it out.
SERIOUSLY, I DON'T KNOW HOW IN THE WORLD I'M GOING TO GET THE EPISODE TITLES RIGHT! Because as you can see, I've been putting "episode 1, 2, 3" and so on before the title of each fanfiction, BUT IF I START POSTING SEASON 1B, THE FIRST THING WILL BE "EPISODE 1" AND EVERYTHING WILL GET REALLY CONFUSING.
So I think what I'm going to do is this:
Before the title of each episode, instead of writing "Episode 13", for instance, I'm going to write 2/13, for "Season 2B, Episode 13." What do you guys think? PLEASE TELL ME! :D LOVE YOU! SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER! :D
Heather, Windshear, the Changewings, and the Arrow Furies sprang from behind boulders, instantly knocking down the dragon hunter and Berserker archers and taking out any spies Viggo had positioned around the mountaintop. Astrid, seeing her chance, pulled back her arm and elbowed Ryker in the face; instantly, Ryker released her, and she grabbed his dagger from his belt, cut away her own bonds, and instantly turned to help her friends out of their own.
"Yeah!" shouted Ruffnut in triumph. "FREEDOM!"
Viggo looked up at Hiccup, for the first time, face covered in unmasked fury. Viggo drew his sword and ran forward.
Hiccup instantly grabbed the cylinder-contraption from his leg, clicked a switch, and held it out in front of him; instantly, a long, silver blade grew from the hilt, and Viggo parried against it.
Viggo grinned threateningly, face right in Hiccup's, their swords pressed against each other. "Your pathetic sword is nothing against me, Hiccup Haddock the Third," he snarled.
Hiccup smiled, somewhat hysterically. "Well, luckily for me it's not just a sword," said Hiccup, and he flicked another switch on the hilt of his cylinder contraption.
The blade of his sword lit on fire.
Viggo sprang back; he had been much too close to the blade, and the heat of the fire, along with the smoke, rose up into his eyes, and for a few moments, he couldn't see. Hiccup used this to his advantage, raising his sword and swinging it against his opponent, and Viggo parried his blow.
"So, what do you think, Viggo?" Hiccup asked. "How do you like my little Inferno contraption here? Pretty cool, isn't it?"
"You beat me," said Viggo plainly, and he swung his sword against Hiccup's weapon again. Sparks flew from Hiccup's flaming sword.
"Yes, I did," said Hiccup.
"We have the Dragon Eye," said Viggo right in his face. "You may have won the battle, Hiccup Haddock the Third, but you haven't won the war."
"Hey, I'm just glad I'm alive," said Hiccup, and he swung his sword again; sparks flew, and Viggo parried him just in time.
Behind them, Toothless and the Changewings worked together to take out the remaining archers, batting them away with tails or plasma blasts or, in the case of the Changewings, acid. One of the Changewings even hypnotised a hunter to attack his fellow hunters, which would have been hilarious if the situation hadn't been so dire.
Snotlout, Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins pulled the muzzles off their dragons' snouts, and then cut away the binding chains. Then, with their dragons free, they mounted them and took them to battle.
Windshear and Heather soared overhead. "There, Windshear!" Heather commanded, pointing down. "Spine shot! Fire at will!"
Windshear obeyed. Silver spines like spearheads shot through the sky and impaled the ground; nearby hunters yelped and lost their balance, making them easy targets for Snotlout and Hookfang, who swooped in overhead and knocked them unconscious.
"GO HOOKFANG!" cheered Snotlout, throwing his hands over his head. "SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT, OY, OY, OY!"
The Monstrous Nightmare lit himself on fire and dive-bombed towards his opponents, who turned, screaming, and ran away in fear.
Fishlegs and Meatlug swooped low to the ground, and Meatlug, using her tail like a giant bludgeon, bashed soldier after soldier upside the head, taking them out easily. Some of them ducked out of the way and took aim with crossbows, only to be tackled to the ground by nearby Changewings.
Ember and the other Arrow Furies shot through the air; their plasma blasts did as much damage as a Night Fury, and with their plasma, they not only took out crossbows and weapons, but also warships and catapults.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut weren't doing bad, either. They backed up the Arrow Furies like hawks swooping in on their prey; the dragon hunters and Berserkers scrambled. They were losing the battle, and they knew it.
Astrid and Stormfly soared over the battlefield, and when Stormfly swooped particularly low, Astrid managed to knock a soldier unconscious with the flat of her axe. He dropped to the ground, and Stormfly tore into the air again.
Heather sat on Windshear's back, looking down at the battlefield. "Come on, where are you…?" she whispered furiously, and then, when she saw who she was looking for, she directed Windshear downwards.
The Razorwhip landed directly in front of Dagur the Deranged, who spun around, axe raised, thinking she was a dragon rider, and then, he stopped when he saw his sister mounted on the silver dragon's back.
"Heather!" said Dagur, grinning. "There you are! Have you come to join the battle?"
Heather swallowed. "I'm already in it, Dagur," she said, sliding off Windshear's back and approaching her mentally insane family member. "Dagur, Viggo set me up with a dangerous task, and he threatened your life with it."
Dagur turned to stare at her. "What are you talking about?" he said, sounding every bit as confused as Heather expected him to be.
"Viggo made me go to the dragon rider base and attempt to trick them," said Heather, "but Viggo said that if I ever told you, or if for some reason I failed, he would kill you as punishment. Dagur, Viggo is dangerous. You can't trust him."
"I don't trust him," said Dagur. "I'm only keeping him around because I need his help, sort of, to take down the dragon riders. As soon as they're out of the picture, I'll get rid of Viggo."
Heather swallowed. She didn't exactly know what to say to that.
"Dagur," she said, "you're my brother, and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, but you have to understand, if you try and hurt my friends, I'm going to protect them...even if it means going against you."
"And you have to know, in that case," said Dagur, "that if you try and protect Hiccup and his dragon riders, I'm going to go against you."
Heather sighed. "I wish it could be different, Dagur," she said.
Dagur nodded. "So do I," he said. "But I guess we have to agree to disagree in this case. I'll watch my back with Viggo, as long as you watch your back with whoever you come up against."
"I promise," said Heather. "And no matter what happens, I'll always be your sister, and I'll always help you, if you strive to do the right thing."
"And I'll always be your brother," said Dagur. "Well, take care of yourself, Heather."
"You too, brother," said Heather, and she mounted Windshear and took to the sky again.
The dragon hunters were beginning to retreat. Ryker, Dragon Eye in hand, hailed to the men, and they turned, racing back down the other side of the mountain, towards their ships. With them followed Dagur and the many of his Berserkers, retreating in horror of the dragon riders above them.
"RETREAT!" shouted Dagur, motioning to the ships. "RETREAT OR DIE!"
Dagur could be very persuasive, so the remaining Berserkers - those who hadn't listened the first time - turned and raced after their Chief.
"COWARDS!" shouted Viggo, swinging his sword to parry with Hiccup's flaming one; sparks flew, and small pieces of brush caught on fire. Around them, the Changewings smashed crossbows beneath their talons. A few of the remaining dragon hunters, pathetically trying to shoot at the dragons, turned and ran for their lives.
"Viggo, you've lost!" Hiccup shouted, pulling back his sword and chancing a blow at Viggo's shoulder. Viggo pulled away a second too late, and the leather armor on his shoulder was lit aflame. While Viggo patted out the fire, Hiccup stepped backwards, out of reach.
"You've lost, Viggo," said Hiccup, repeating an earlier statement that Viggo hadn't yet grasped. "What was that you told me, Viggo, when you defeated me? 'Defeat is the hardest, but most necessary aspect of competition'? Is that what it was? Oh, I can't remember. It's been so long since I've lost to you."
Viggo straightened up, sword still raised. "Hiccup Haddock," he said, "you do not realize what you have done, making me your enemy. I have an army of dragon hunters at my command, and Dagur and his Berserkers will follow me, as long as I keep them occupied with the task of driving you and your dragon riders into oblivion."
"Dagur's brain is an oblivion," said Hiccup. "How can you expect to keep him as an ally? He doesn't follow orders well, Viggo, you know he doesn't. He prefers to live in the moment. I've faced off against Dagur for years. I know what I'm talking about. If anything, having Dagur working with you makes it easier for us to beat you. Dagur's a loose canon, Viggo. He won't follow you if you don't let him lead."
This only proved to make Viggo more angry. "You talk like you know everything," he spat. "You speak as though you haven't made mistakes, as though you're perfect…"
"Well, you know something, Viggo?" said Hiccup. "I'm not perfect. I've made so many mistakes, I can't keep count. I act without thinking, or think without acting. Half of the time, my plans blow up in my face. I've put my friends in danger, my family in danger, and even myself in danger countless times. And I know I make mistakes. I know I'm not perfect. But the real question is, Viggo, do you recognize your mistakes?"
Viggo seemed unable to speak for a moment, and when he did speak, he swung his sword out in front of him, glaring menacingly. "You will not win, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," he growled. "You may have won this battle, but the war has only just begun."
"If you want to think that, Viggo," said Hiccup.
"We have the Dragon Eye," said Viggo, trying to regain his composure, which looked like hard work. "You failed. We succeeded. Our goal was to take the Dragon Eye, and we succeeded."
"But you failed in killing me," said Hiccup, "which was also one of your brilliant plans. Sure, I might have failed to protect the Dragon Eye, but that was never my true intention. I'd give up the Dragon Eye a thousand times more if it means protecting my friends. That's what a true leader does, Viggo. And you, are no true leader."
Viggo glared harshly.
And then, he turned and swept away, down the side of the mountain. Toothless, Ember, and the other Arrow Furies, along with the Changewings, sprang out of nowhere and bared their teeth, watching the dragon hunter and Berserker ships until they were out of sight.
Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf, and Belch landed around Hiccup, and Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins dismounted, charging over. Hiccup sheathed Inferno and strapped it at his leg again.
"Hiccup!" said Tuffnut excitedly. "That was so cool! A flaming sword! Can you make one for me? Oh please! Please! I want a flaming sword!"
"It was just a prototype, Tuffnut," said Hiccup. "Maybe someday, but...I don't know."
"Hey! We should celebrate!" said Snotlout, throwing his fist into the air. "We just beat the dragon hunters, and we're alive, aren't we?"
"I say we go back to Dragon's Edge, and share in the victory celebrations!" said Ruffnut excitedly. "As long as we're alive, we have something to celebrate!" She and Tuffnut mounted their dragons and took to the sky, followed by Snotlout and Fishlegs.
Hiccup and Astrid lingered a moment longer. The Arrow Furies and Changewings looked at the two riders and their dragons.
"Well, Ember," said Hiccup, "I guess it's time for you to go home with your family."
Ember, his mother, and father nodded in unison and made to shoot into the sky, but at the last second, Eyelicker roared at them, and the Arrow Furies paused.
"What are they doing?" said Astrid.
"I don't know," said Hiccup. "But...I think the Changewings want to go with the Arrow Furies."
They watched for a moment, and then, it became plain. Eyelicker stepped towards Hiccup, and Hiccup raised his hand, setting it on Eyelicker's snout.
"Well, we'll miss you guys," Hiccup said. "Thanks for everything."
Eyelicker nodded, pulled back his head, and he, the Changewings, and the Arrow Furies took to the sky, silhouetted against the moon briefly, and soared towards Arrow's Crevice.
"Come on, Astrid," said Hiccup. "We should be getting home, too."
Astrid nodded, they mounted their dragons, and took off in the opposite direction, towards Dragon's Edge.