Hey guys! Merry Christmas! Here is my gift to you! Finally, the climax. Which is still short. I wanted it to be a lot more, and a lot more complex. But honestly, nothing about this story is that complex... so yeah. I decided to keep it simple. But you get the point. BUT YEAH.

Don't read the end notes unless you want to spoil the chapter. Just saying.

-Ash

Chapter 17

When we pushed over the double doors, we expected an ambush, but instead we were greeted with silence. I blinked in confusion before glancing back at my father. He gave a shrug and shook his head. "This is bad. This means Alvin has something planned."

I chewed my lip in thought before gathering an idea. "You need to go free every dragon that you can. Just trust me on this, okay? I'm going to take Toothless through the building."

He nodded in understanding as Astrid's eyes widened and she stormed in from the balcony leaving Franklin to manage both dragons. "What if you find Alvin? He tried to kill you earlier."

"I'll be fine. I have Toothless with me," I reassured as I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She shook her head. "Hiccup, I can't lose you."

I smiled at her. "You won't have to. Please, trust me."

Astrid grabbed my cheeks and pulled my lips to hers. It was a quick peck. Nothing much to it. But the meaning behind it was very clear. It was just in case that this was goodbye. The thought made my heart roar in my ears. I couldn't let this be goodbye. Not at all.

"I do trust you," she whispered against my lips.

I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tight. "I promise, I'll be back."

"Go."

My father cleared his throat and we both yanked apart from one another. "We have work to do," he said.

I nodded. "Astrid, you and Franklin patrol around the center. When Dad lets these dragons loose, they're going to go wild. I need you guys herd them, got it?"

Franklin gave a mock salute. "Aye, aye, Captain!"

Riding on the back of Toothless, I searched the halls for Alvin. Or anyone for that matter. The center was suddenly a ghost town, and the entire situation made me uneasy. I had a feeling there was a trap somewhere that I was not expecting. Knowing this wasn't going to end well, I tried to push the negative thoughts from my mind.

Ropes were tied around and attached to Toothless' harness as make-shift reins. I clenched my fists around the material with nervousness. I told Astrid I would be back, and I had planned on keeping that promise. The feeling that I had in that moment, though, wasn't a good one. It was a feeling of dread. A sensation that sat on my shoulders, making me feel heavier than ever. Toothless must've sensed my discomfort. He crooned and glanced up at me.

"It's okay, bud. It's gonna be fine," I murmured as I patted him on the neck. The words were more for my comfort than my dragon's.

We strode past empty testing rooms. The only sound ringing through my ears was Toothless' claws scratching against the tile floors. A pin could drop and I would have certainly heard it. The silence didn't help the aching paranoia that was churning inside my stomach.

Toothless turned the corner and standing at the end of the dead-end hallway was Alvin. He sneered at me. The grin made my skin crawl and the hairs stand on my neck. This wasn't going to end well.

"There you are, dragon boy. Why so pale?" he taunted.

I held my hands up in defense. "Look, we don't want any trouble, okay? We're just going to set the dragons free. That's all we want."

His smirked didn't fade. "Hand over the Night Fury."

I leaned down over Toothless instinctively. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Hand over the Night Fury, dragon boy."

"No."

The large man stepped towards me. "Think about this, Harold. I know you must be curious. What makes these creatures tick? What makes them what they are? We can find out here. Don't you want to know?"

I shook my head. "I've learned plenty by just spending time with one. I didn't have to torture a dragon to learn about them."

"But, what about internally? You can't find out where the fire is produced from the outside, now can you?"

"You're sick," I grimaced.

"Not sick, just curious. Curiosity makes humans learn, Harold. Isn't that how you found the Night Fury? Curiosity? Well, this project fulfills my curiosity. We've found creatures that were said not to exist. But yet, here we are. You're sitting on the back of a mythical creature. You don't want more?"

I stared the evil man down, straightening my back as I did so. "I don't want what you do, Alvin. It doesn't matter if they're legend or not. They're still animals. Still living beings with feelings and emotions. If what you are doing was happening to any other type of animal it would be abuse. But right now, no one sees it. I will help them. I will make them see. These aren't vicious creatures. They can be tamed like any other animal. You'll see. Please, just let me free the dragons and go. That's all I want."

Alvin grinned and held up a remote. The remote had a large red button at its center. "Give me the Night Fury, or the entire building will go."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"This building has a self-destruct button, isn't it lovely? Hand me your pet or else everyone here dies."

"You're bluffing," I growled. "All of your men are out. This entire place is empty."

His thumb hovered over the button. "Yes, but what about all of those dragons? And your father? Oh, and the girl… what's her name? Astrid?"

He didn't know. He didn't know that Astrid was outside on a dragon. The only problem was I didn't know if my dad was out yet either. I could let Alvin destroy the building and, I could leave on Toothless… if Toothless could fly. But he couldn't. So what was I to do?

I held a hand up. "Please, no. Don't."

"Hand over the Night Fury."

With a sigh, I climbed off of my dragon's back. I bent down to Toothless. "I'm sorry, bud. You know what we have to do." I guided Toothless towards him as he held out a hand to take the ropes.

I lunged.

Snatching his arm, I reached for the remote. The man flung my small body wildly as I clung to his bicep. He flailed in an attempt to remove me. I got my hands on the remote and tugged. The remote flew from his fingertips. I scampered after it, but Alvin followed closely behind. We both slid across the tiles to reach the remote. I barely touched it when Alvin was close enough to snatch it from me and throw it. The remote slid again and smacked against the wall, hitting the red button as it did.

My heart dropped. Oh no.

Sirens blared throughout the building.

"Self-destruct initiated. You have 30 seconds."

I pounced off the ground, ready to sprint back towards Toothless when a hand snatched my ankle. Alvin grinned up at me. "Where do you think you're going?"

Pulling against him proved futile when it caused me to fall straight on my ass. He tugged me towards him. "You're not going anywhere. This is how we both will end. Right here. Together. You're coming with me."

"No!" I cried as I slammed my other boot into his face. His grip didn't loosen, however. I rolled on my stomach and tried to grip at the slick tiles. I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. "No…" I whimpered.

Suddenly, I heard a growl and a flash of light burst past me. I recognized it as one of Toothless' plasma blasts immediately. Did he…? The grip on my ankle loosened. I knew what Toothless did. I didn't want to look as I pulled my foot away from the, now limp, hand that held it.

I wrapped my hands around the ropes and pulled myself back onto his back. My eyes closed tightly as Toothless ran back through the halls.

"You have 10 seconds."

My heartbeat quickened. "What do we do, bud? What do we do!?"

Toothless roared a cry and ran us through the halls. The building began shaking as ruble fell around us. I wrapped my arms around Toothless' neck. "No. No! I promised. I promised her!"

There was a loud pop! And I slung my head to look behind us. Part of the building had caught on fire already.

"Five."

"Toothless! I love you, bud. I'm so sorry," I cried.

"Four."

The building was growing hot. Pieces of ceiling fell down around us. I slid off of Toothless and lay next to him. "This is it, bud."

"Three."

Toothless crooned and nudged me, trying to get me up. I shook my head. "There's nothing we can do. I'm so glad I found you."

"Two."

I placed a hand on my dragon's snout. "You have taught me everything. Thank you for being my best friend."

Toothless' eyes widened.

"One."

The explosion roared throughout the building. Toothless leapt on top of me, wrapping his wings around me. Loud sounds made my ears ring. My body grew hotter and hotter.

The fire engulfed us.

So, I know Alvin getting blasted by Toothless is a little savage, but it's better than what happened in HTTYD 2... right? I dunno. I was originally gonna have Alvin die in the explosion, but that just didn't seem satisfying. I felt that Toothless being willing to kill for Hiccup seemed a lot more... real? Having Toothless being Alvin's demise just seemed more justified. I mean, I've tried to make Alvin out to be the biggest douche possible, ya know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also. Yeahhh. I changed the kiss. Sue me.