Side Quest 3: The Discovery Channel Phenomenon
Epilogue Chapter
Lt. Astrid's Imagination, 1925hrs
It's a beautiful evening. The view is as breathtaking as ever, since I first took in the bird's-eye view of this magnificent scene. It's a perfectly romantic ambience, as Jack and I enjoy a relaxing flight together.
"Never gets old, huh?" Jack is the first to break the silence.
"Nope."
"It kinda make you want to…"
"Break into song?" I finish the sentence for him.
"Yep." Smiling at me, he lets me start the ball rolling. Out of nowhere, a calm, piano accompaniment starts playing. Is that Jack's on-dragon stereo system?
[A/N – Have this (youtube . com /watch?v=at_f98qOGY0 - take out the spaces) playing in the background as you read the following chunk of random woohoo. It should help.]
Taking turns, we just go with the flow.
"I love the desert."
"I love the twilight skies."
"I love large weapons."
"I love when dragons fly."
Suddenly, Snotlout pops up behind us on his Nightmare, "I love the whole world."
The rest of our original platoon appears out of nowhere as well, all on their dragons, singing along, "And all its sights and sounds!"
All at once,
"Boom de ya da,
Boom de ya da,
Boom de ya da,"
Some crazy neo-Taleban soldier appears from within his hiding place among the sand dunes, waving his AK-47 at us and yelling, "BOOM DE YA DA!"
I start again, "I love the ocean."
Jack, "I love rebuilding things."
Speeding off on their Zippleback as fast as they can, the Twins join in on the fun, "We love to go FAST!"
"I love reading 'bout things…" Shy as ever, Fishlegs tries his luck.
From a lone group of Afghanis heading towards a mosque, "We love the whole world;"
"And all its craziness," the General was at the camp bar, enjoying a beer while observing amusedly the little drunken brawls between his soldiers.
"Boom de ya da, Boom de ya da," Somehow, the rest of Odin Squadron had caught up with us, singing along enthusiastically.
"Boom de ya da, BOOM de ya da!" Sgt. Gobber was at the range, test-firing the new automatic grenade launchers acquired from the Russian army, and enjoying it very much.
The lines were coming from all over now, "I love the sand storms!"
"I love myself at night!"
"I love my scorpions!"
"I love it when we fight!"
"We love the whole world; It's such a brilliant place!" By now, the entire base and all its personnel are singing joyously, echoing after us.
"Boom de ya da, boom de ya da;
Boom de ya da, boom de ya da;"
The refrain continues on and on, casting the entire desert in chorus, making the world a fluffy, happy place. Flowers sprout where it was once too arid for anything to grow, and rainbows splash across the bright pink sky.
"Boom de ya da, boom de ya da;
Boom de ya da, boom de ya da;"
Ah… I feel so happy… Leaping off Lightning, I tackle Jack off Toothless, and we tumble down onto the blooming meadows. Laughing and giggling in ecstasy, we roll around, enjoying the scent of tulips and daffodils.
"Boom de ya da, boom de ya da…"
When we come to a stop, I'm on top of him, looking down at his chiselled face, hand in his neat brown locks. Slowly, I lean in, breathing heavily.
"Astrid…" Sh… relax… let me do this… I can feel his breath on me; is he nervous as well?
"Astrid… Hey, Astrid? You there?"
What?
Reality, 1925hrs
"Astrid? Earth to Astrid, come in!"
"Wha… what?" I find myself sitting on Lightning, staring blankly into space. A small drop of drool is rolling off the side of my mouth; I wipe it off, hoping Jack didn't see it.
"Did you say something?" He looks at me, bewildered, completely caught off guard by my temporary loss of sanity.
Coughing awkwardly to hide my embarrassment, I wave it off, "No… nothing, just… just ignore me; random thoughts."
Returning my thoughts to focus on steering Lightning, I try to clear my mind. Stupid song just won't get out of my head…
A/N – I'm sorry. I just had to do this. The song is just too catchy, and I had to get this out of my system. Forgive me for this mind-numbing chapter; I promise something better the next time round.
I Love The World © Discovery Channel