Chapter Five: Battle at Berk
Zekir, Ugo, Darien, Bruvos, and Auger were all standing on the deck of Darien's ship, looking out at the gray horizon. The slowly rising dawn was revealing the end of their journey, a single silhouette of an island. Berk.
"Doesn't seem that big…" Auger commented, narrowing his eyes as he gazed at it in the distance. "How has this island withstood so many assaults?"
"They're very resilient." Ugo replied. "Apart from their dragons, the people of Berk are no strangers to fighting against odds. Hence why Strogg almost died while fighting them."
Bruvos then spoke up, making everyone turn to face him. "So, Chief Zekir. What is your brilliant strategy that will give the edge over these…devils? Devils that survived more than a few wars and fights. I assume you have one."
"We push through. You're ships will lead the fleet, given they're more resilient than mine. We'll deal with the landing; your job is to keep the catapults and dragons off of us while we land. Darien's two ships will go in between our fleets, focusing entirely on dragons."
"That's your plan?!" Auger roared in anger. "To charge through? To kick down their door?! Why not wait until night then? When we're a little less visible!"
"And give them a complete advantage over us?" Zekir replied in an annoyed tone. "Hiccup Haddock rides a Night Fury, remember? This gives us the ability to see them come at us, instead of guessing where they are."
Bruvos then spoke up, also visibly angry with the plan. "Regardless, we're sailing into a death trap! That's why you wanted us to come! To take your hit!"
"To ensure victory!" Zekir growled. "I assure you, we will make Berk fall. They just have to be distracted and overwhelmed."
"That's all?" Auger huffed sarcastically.
"Aside from wanting to win, must I remind you that you don't have a choice?" He continued to say with a smirk growing on his face. "I'm sure Lydia's safety will make you give up your own."
Bruvos and Auger glared at him with curled fists. Even if they knew of his plan earlier, they were still in the same predicament.
"Then let's finish this, so we can sail back." Bruvos hissed, turning to walk to the gangway connecting his ship to Darien's. "Auger…help me prepare the men…"
Auger glared at Zekir, to which he whispered "Be warned, Zekir. After this is through, I will challenge you. You've done enough to ransom our lives. I'll be damned if I let you continue to abuse my family and our people!"
Reaching up and grabbing the hilt of his longsword, Zekir whispered back. "I was already counting on it…"
Unable to say anything else, Auger whirled around and marched after his dad.
Watching the gangway get pulled over, and seeing Bruvos' ship head to the rest of his fleet, Zekir whispered to Ugo. "Make sure we have a healthy distance between us and them. I want them torn apart by the dragons."
"Aye, Chief. I'll make sure of it." Ugo replied, walking over to where the Water Breaker was moored.
"Darien, with your few men and two ships, stay with us. We can protect each other as we advance."
"My ballistas and catapults are ready to fire. Even my men are armed with enough dragon root arrows to clear an entire island of dragons."
"Hopefully we won't need to use that many arrows." He replied with a wry smile. Looking ahead, he watched as Bruvos' fleet organized together and began to sail ahead. Drawing his longsword, he simply let the tip rest on the deck of the ship. "Here I am…The Black Heart. I already did something my father couldn't, and now I'm going to do another. Let this be an example to any tribe that defies me and Thariin! Especially you, Matthew Haddock, the Dragon Boarder…"
"I told you! I told you I saw them on my patrol!" Snotlout shouted, seeing Hiccup gaze at the fleet in the distance. "And you guys didn't believe me at first!"
"Considering you 'saw' them every day for the last three days, at least understand the reason why we didn't quite believe you." Matt groaned, rolling his eyes as he stared at the dots in the horizon.
"Hmm…it looks like they're breaking off into two fleets. A smaller one up front, and then the larger one in the back." Hiccup announced, peering through his spyglass.
"I can see the value in that." Stoick commented, stroking his beard as he chewed on the information. "It's like a shield. Though it may be consumed, the real strength and threat is behind it."
"What're you thinking, dad?" Hiccup asked, handing the spyglass to Astrid.
"Well, we can't ignore the first fleet. Perhaps if we use our own ships to contend with them, we can let you and the A-team to start working on the second fleet. That way we're wearing down on both of them."
"Can you handle the first fleet, Stoick?" Ukiah asked, walking up with an anxious looking Lydia. "That's still a pretty large fleet."
"We can make it work. Between our catapults and ships, we can keep them off our shores." Stoick replied adamantly.
Lydia quickly jogged up to Astrid, beckoning for the spyglass. Seeing her anxious face, she handed it to her and tried to calm her. "Don't worry, we'll try to avoid your kingdom's ships."
Not really hearing her, she peered through the spyglass. Seeing exactly what was going on, she shouted. "My father's fleet is in front! They're the ones leading the charge!"
"What? Are you sure?" Stoick asked, looking down at her with concern.
"Positive! That's our crest!" She cried. "Zekir is using my father and his men as a buffer! That's why he wanted us to help him fight!" Pulling the eyeglass away from her eyes, she growled to herself "I wish I could end that…coward!"
"Dad! I have an idea!" Hiccup called out, his mind racing a hundred miles an hour. "We can keep the fighting off of Berk!"
"Go on." He ushered, turning to listen to his son.
"We'll go start razing Zekir's fleet. With you and your ships following. Ukiah can take Lydia to her dad and have him switch sides in the middle of the fight!" Turning to Lydia, he explained "The only reason why he's helping Zekir, is because he thinks Lydia is in danger. When he realizes that we helped her- er, that Ukiah helped her, I don't see why he wouldn't help us turn on Zekir!"
"It might work…" Lydia whispered as her head spinning at the idea. "Since Zekir is distancing himself from my dad, we won't have to worry about hurting my people!"
"Between both Berk's ships, and Bruvos' fleet, we can hit him twice as hard! Never mind we'll be already setting them on fire!
Nodding in agreement, Stoick turned to Ukiah, who stood ready for whatever was decided. "Will you take Lydia to her dad?"
"Yes. After which I'll be joining Hiccup." He replied resolutely. "I'm not going to sit out this fight. Arm or not, I can't be idle while I have a chance at Zekir. Or at least hurting his fleet."
Knowing that trying to keep him out of the fight would be impossible, Stoick nodded in agreement. "Just make sure that this King Bruvos knows we're to be allies. If he doesn't see reason in that, I'm afraid that we'll have to use Lydia against them."
Lydia's head snapped at Stoick, shocked to hear him say that. Understanding that he was ensuring his people's safety, she quickly claimed "I'll get him to know you're not enemies. I promise you. After all you've done for me, it's the least I can do."
Nodding, Stoick then announced "Get going, Hiccup! The sooner you leave, the sooner we can end this war!"
"Riders, on me!" Hiccup announced, leaping onto Toothless. "Matt, I need you to-"
"Already on it, Hiccup! I'll be the catch all!" He announced, strapping his feet to Wasatch. "Anything that slips past you guys, I'll stop."
"Heather, can you fly with us?" Hiccup continued to say. "We could use you and Windshear!"
"Already planning on it!" She called out, gripping her handles on her saddle.
Stoick was already issuing orders, running to where he left Skull Crusher. All the while, Ukiah had climbed on Lasher and was helping Lydia on behind him. Arrow was prancing around Lasher, frenzied that he couldn't climb on.
"Stay, Arrow." Ukiah whispered, looking down at his dragon. "I can't risk you getting killed."
Arrow let out a screech of anger, not really understanding orders quite yet.
"Thank you…" Lydia whispered, wrapping her arms around Ukiah.
"Well, just make sure your dad knows we're friends." He replied, letting Lasher walk next to Toothless.
"Don't worry. He'll know that you're all friends after he sees me."
"Ready?" Hiccup asked turning to see everyone behind him.
"The A-team is already in the air." Astrid announced, pointing to the group of Dragon Riders.
"Whenever you want to go, Hiccup." Matt shouted, pulling his goggles over his eyes. "Been awhile since I've rode with these!"
"Considering you were flying for Viggo for a bit, it makes sense. Just don't lose them." Heather teased, smirking at him.
"What are those things?" Lydia asked, being her first time seeing them.
"How about I tell you after the fight?" He replied with a smile. "Part of that story I said I'd explain later."
"Fair enough."
"Wooh! More ships to blow up!" Ruffnut shouted, pumping her fists in excitement. "How many are there?!"
"Not enough sister…" Tuffnut replied with a strangely solemn expression. "This will have to make up for the ships we weren't able to sink back at the Edge."
"If you twidiots are done, care to go?" Snotlout growled, launching Hookfang into the air.
Looking around, they were shocked to see everyone was gone and in the air, leaving them rambling to themselves.
"Agh! You guys better not sink the first ship!" Tuffnut roared, glaring at the party leaving them.
"Here they come! Dragons!" Auger roared, seeing the beasts flying straight at them. Grabbing a standard bow and quiver, he slung the arrows around his armor. "Draw your bows! Pick your targets and never let up!"
"Brace yourselves! Sailors! Keep the ship straight and dowse any fires! Soldiers! Focus on killing the dragons!" Bruvos shouted while drawing his sword and watching in agonizing suspense as the dragons got closer and closer.
"You two, on me!" Auger ordered, jogging up to the bow of the ship. The ships nearby also had a group of men do the same, all armed with bows and arrows. The two men next to him drew back their bows, aiming at the lead dragon, being black as midnight. Breathing deeply, Auger drew back his bow, pulling back an extra inch to give him maximum speed and distance for the arrow.
"Sir…what are they doing?" One of the men asked, aiming up as the dragons refused to lower themselves. "They're flying right over!"
"Fire!" Auger shouted, letting loose his arrow.
All the men followed suit, released their arrows which tailed embarrassingly behind their targets. Even the other ships let loose their missiles, all missing and proving to not threaten the passing dragons.
The dragons and Riders then dove down behind them, skimming just above the water and right towards Zekir's fleet. Except a purple one, which simply went higher in the air.
"What are they doing, sir?" A sailor asked Bruvos, staring in disbelief that the dragons passed by them as if they were invisible.
"I…I don't know!" He replied, watching a Zippleback and its riders engulf a ship in green gas.
"My King! Another dragon! Heading straight for us!"
Auger instantly drew back another arrow. Whirling around, he saw the dragon. Gliding slowly towards them, he couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't flying faster; or at least why it was putting itself in a position to be so easily shot down. Waiting for it to just enter within his range, he was shocked to see it stop to a hover. Turning its side, it revealed its passengers.
"Wait…my Liege! Is…is that Princess Lydia?!" One of his men gasped, slowly releasing his arrow.
"By the gods…I…it's impossible!" Auger cried out, recognizing the blonde hair and blue tunic, though the armor seemed to be shinier.
"…Auger! Dad!" Lydia shouted as loud as she could and waving her arms at them.
"Stand down!" Bruvos ordered, walking up next to Auger. "Is…is it really her?"
"I don't know! How did she escape? How did she get here?!" Auger replied, shaking his head in disbelief.
Lydia then turned and said something to the Rider she was with. Slowly, the dragon began to make its way to the ship. The men quickly drew back their bows the closer the beast got to them, to which Auger roared "Drop your weapons now! It's clear this thing is not a threat!"
Reluctantly, the men did as they were ordered. All slowly released their arrows and dropped their bows on the deck, though some reached for their swords just in case.
"Dad? Dad!" Lydia shouted, getting closer. Unable to wait for Lasher to land, she leaped off and crashed on the deck in front of them.
"Lydia?! Wh-what-is that you?" Bruvos cried out, grabbing her and picking her up.
Crying tears of joy, she instantly grabbed him in a hug. Unable to say anything, she just gripped him like it was the last time they were to see each other.
Auger stared at his sister in disbelief. Turning, he saw the Dragon Rider finally touch down on the deck. Unsure if he should approach the stranger, he noted his appearance. Draped in a tattered, black cloak; the chainmail he wore was…sharp looking, though it was rather plain. It made him feel like he was wearing inferior armor compared to the strangers. Still hesitant, he simply waited for their guest to make the first move.
"Lydia. I'm glad you're back with your family…" He spoke up with a frown. "But we're in the middle of a battle. Would you mind telling him what we need?"
"What you need?" Auger growled skeptically.
"Auger, no. He's right." Lydia replied, pulling away from her dad. Grabbing Auger's hand she pulled him back. "The Riders and Berk aren't the enemies! It's Zekir! That's why the others flew over our ships! They know you're only here because you're forced too!"
Bruvos turned to see the dragons strafing the outside ships of Zekir's fleet, staying away from the two Hunter ships and Zekir's main craft. She was right, the Riders completely ignored him and his men.
"Chief Stoick is sending his fleet to fight Zekir! If we join him, we can end this fight with them!"
Bruvos then tore his eyes from the battle behind. Seeing Berks ships sailing towards them, he then growled. "Do you trust them, Lydia?"
"With my life!" She quickly replied "They could have easily taken it hundreds of times! They would have used me against you if they had other intentions towards us!" Gesturing to the Rider that brought her over, she added "Ukiah here originally saved me from that crew that had me. If he didn't do anything to me then, he won't now!"
Auger was about to question Ukiah just as Bruvos shouted. "Hard to port! Turn our ships around! This is our chance to rid the chains over us!"
Captains and soldiers immediately began to scramble; issuing orders and repositioning the sails.
Ukiah watched as the fleet began to turn itself around, grateful he wasn't going to need to be creative to snatch Lydia if he had to. Hearing someone walk towards him, he turned to see Bruvos slowly make his way closer; still being hesitant with the dragon on his ship.
"Dad, this is Ukiah Legna…he's the one that freed me." Lydia began to introduce.
"Ukiah…thank you-" Bruvos began to say, only to be cut off.
"Listen, I understand what it means to you to have your daughter back; and more importantly, safe." He growled, grabbing his crossbow. "But right now, my friends are endangering their lives for you. Help us fight, and then we'll be able to talk. I promise."
Bruvos nodded in understanding. "Auger! Get the men ready to board some ships!" He ordered, marching to shout orders to another ship nearby.
"You heard the King! Get the grappling hooks ready! Get the torches lit!" Auger began to shout, running to where their gear was stored.
Lydia just stood there, unsure of what to do. Looking at Ukiah she silently asked him what he wanted her to do.
"Stay here. It'll be safer than riding with me." Ukiah answered for her. At that, Lasher launched off into the air and towards the battle behind.
Running to where she could see it more clearly, she watched the smoke rise in the sky, with the fires looking like they were magically dancing on the water. Silently praying that her new-found friends would be protected, she could only watch the battle rage as her ship slowly made its way to the fight.
"My chief! Our outside ships are being ripped apart!" A soldier cried out, gaping at a Monstrous Nightmare that set fire to supply ship like it was a dry tinderbox.
Zekir gritted his teeth angrily. Even though his ship was protected by his strongest ones, and two Dragon Hunter vessels, the rest of his fleet was being as the soldier described, being ripped to shreds!
Boom!
Gaping in anger, he watched as a lightning bolt splintered a nearby ship's mast, leaving it dead in the water. Looking up, he felt his blood run cold as he watched Matt and his Skrill circle high above the battle; firing large, precision lightning bolts well out of range of any weapon they had! Even Darien's anti-dragon weapons.
"My Chief! Why did they pass over Bruvos' fleet?!" Ugo shouted, watching helplessly as ships slowly began to sink. With the exception of the ones attacked by a Zippleback. Each explosion from that dragon and Riders seemed to disintegrate the wood!
"I don't know…" He growled, looking to see what was happening to Bruvos' fleet. To his horror, he watched them slowly turn around, revealing Berk's fleet as well! They were sailing with each other! Side by side!
"Retreat! Turn around and sail away!" He roared, seeing that it was hopeless. If it was just one of the fleets, he'd have no problem fighting with it. But with the dragons harassing his ships, there was no way he could actually fight two of them! He wanted to end Bruvos and Auger, but he was no fool like his father before him. He wouldn't sacrifice his men just to accomplish one thing that would matter little in regards to defending his village and land.
He sprinted to the side of his ship, the Water Breaker, to where he shouted to Dairen. "Darien! Pull back! We can't fight them all!"
Darien was already ahead of him. She saw the fleets merge together and knew that even with her limited resources, Zekir wouldn't have a fighting chance against them. "Turik! Start turning around! Signal our other ship to follow!"
As if everyone was waiting for the signal, the Thariin fleet began to turn, trying to out run their pursuers.
Then, out of nowhere, a light blue explosion ripped across the deck of the second Hunter ship. Whirling around, Zekir saw who it was. A silver dragon and a black haired girl! The black haired girl he bought as a slave! "Heather!" He roared, realizing that the dragons were now moving towards the center of the fleet.
Heather didn't hear him. Letting Windshear take a wide turn she lined herself up with Stormfly, who had just finished strafing a ship herself. "Are they turning around?" She asked out loud, seeing the ships slowly change their route.
"Slowly, but it won't be enough to save them!" Astrid shouted, hugging her saddle as they continued to bank around. "Looks like Lydia did her job with convincing her dad to help us! We out number them two to one!"
Heather then dove Windshear down with Stormfly, skimming above the water and right towards another ship. Seeing a hail of arrows fly their way, they both barrel rolled away from each other in opposite directions. Firing a long blast, Stormfly set the stern of the ship ablaze, while Windshear blasted a hole in the bow. Pulling up and flying out of arrow range, they turned to see the ship already started to sink into the water.
"Eh, I give it a six out of ten."
The two looked up to see Matt coast in-between them, smirking his usual smile.
"Oh? Well, care to show us what you would call a ten?" Astrid growled with narrowed eyes.
"Of course! Wasatch, see that ship?" He called out, pointing at one of the two Hunter ships. "Let's put a hole in it."
Wasatch screeched with a violent sounding roar, making sure every single ship below heard him. Letting chaotic bursts of lightning emit from his mouth, he reared his head back and then fired a pillar of lightning. The beam instantly punctured a hole through the deck of the Hunter ship, cutting through it and launching splinters everywhere and forcing the Hunters to dive for cover.
"There. That's a ten!" He laughed, seeing the ship slowly start to lag behind the fleet and lower itself into the ocean.
Astrid rolled her eyes as she put Stormfly into a dive. Heather followed, though she let her usual smile.
Matt watched as he searched for another target, either with helping Stoick's fleet or Lydia's, or covering any of the other Riders. The Thariin fleet had completely turned tail, though that meant very little to the pursuing fleet. Slowly, the combined fleet caught up to ships tailing behind, either setting them ablaze with Nightmare Gel canisters, bombing them with catapults, or simply hooking them with grappling hooks!
"Come on, bud. Let's help slow down the lead ships…" He growled, crouching and putting Wasatch into a dive. His job of over watch was done, now he could really get down and dirty with the rest of the riders!
Surging above the Berk fleet, as well as Lydia's fleet, Wasatch screeched as he showered a Thariin ship with lightning bolts, setting the wood ablaze and ripping up the mast.
To his right, he noticed Ukiah and Lasher landing on the deck of a smaller ship. The Triple Stryke, let loose a blast of fire, clearing any enemies that would have otherwise been in the way. Ukiah used the momentum from the stop to run off of the back of his dragon, sending a bolt into a soldier that was trying to draw his bow back. Dropping his crossbow as he landed, he drew his newly acquired sword as he somersaulted on the deck. Leaping into the air with the sword high above his head, he crashed the sword into a shield of a defending sailor. With his momentum stopped, he swept his leg under the sailor, tripping him onto his back. Plunging his sword into the fallen sailors chest, he watched out of the corner of his eye as Lasher struck two soldier rushing at him. The soldiers screamed as they were launched over the side of the ship. Pulling the sword out, he growled angrily at the gathering of the rest of the men. Berk's ships were already passing by, resuming the chase to the rest of the invading fleet.
"Lasher, let's go!" He ordered, sheathing his sword and running to where he left his crossbow.
Lasher roared in a fury, shooting another fire blast at the gathered soldiers. Just as he did so, an arrow flew from the fire and struck the Triple Stryke in the shoulder, staggering the dragon.
"Lasher!" Ukiah shouted, sprinting to his dragon. Inspecting the shaft, he knew he couldn't pull it out right then, and with Lasher still standing and roaring at the where the soldiers were, he guessed it wasn't covered in Dragon Root. "Thank the gods…" He whispered, climbing on while being careful with the arrow. "Are you alright, friend?"
Lasher roared, fueled with anger and adrenaline. Not even checking if Ukiah was on, he launched into the air, ready to take down another ship.
The Thariin fleet was in shambles! Aside from the dragons harassing the outer ships; well all except Matt, who was busy trying to stop the front of the fleet, it was otherwise splitting up and and forced to separate thanks to the Berk fleet and Bruvos' fleet driving their ships in between them and forcing them apart. Only Zekir's flagship as well as the last remaining Hunter ship was ahead.
"Ukiah!" Hiccup shouted, flying Toothless next to Lasher. "We're going after the fleeing ships! All the riders are!"
"I'm with you Hiccup!" He shouted back, feeling a cold feeling wash over him. This was it. He was going to end the killer that took a piece of himself and his life away.
"Everyone, ready?" Hiccup shouted, gliding up to pick up Heather and Astrid. "Matt's already harassing them!"
"Let's go!" Snotlout shouted "The days' not getting longer!"
"Hiccup! Leave Zekir to me!" Ukiah shouted, pulling back on the crossbow's mechanism to reload it. "He's mine…"
Worried for his friend, but also knowing that it really wasn't up for debate, Hiccup nodded. "Be careful, Ukiah."
"Careful isn't an option. I'm here to finish this!" He roared, letting Lasher surge ahead.
With that, everyone followed, ready to finally put the nightmare of Thariin waging war with Berk to a close.
"Zekir! We can't out run them!" Ugo shouted, flinging an arrow towards Matt, though it was helplessly too short the cover the distance.
"We can…we just need something to keep their attention." He growled, seeing the other riders make way towards his ship.
"Zekir!" Darien's voice cut in, making him look up at her ship nearby. "Set your sails as much as you can! I'll buy you your time!"
"No! You're still recov-"
"I'll be killed if I don't try! We all will!" She roared, disappearing from the edge she was standing on. "Take whatever ships you can with you, mine included. I'll buy us some time and keep them focused on what they got!" At that, a blue bolt launched into the air, heading straight for Hiccup and the other riders.
"Darien!" Zekir shouted, watching her fly straight at them. Curling his fists, he then shouted "You heard her! Get us out of here! Anyone that can't keep up is going to be left behind!"
Ugo instantly began to help set the sails, issuing other orders to try and keep Matt at bay.
Zekir watched the apparent Dragon Boarder surge into the sky, trying to give chase to Darien and her Flightmare, Banshee. "Be careful Darien. I came here to get revenge on him…not for him to kill you…"
"Hiccup! Its-"
"Darien! I know! Everyone, split up! Don't let her hit you!"
At that, they did just that. Astrid and Heather went up, while the twins went left, and Hiccup and Snotlout went right. Ukiah dropped lower, weaving back and forth between ships masts and columns of smoke.
Darien instantly banked to chase the twin, ignoring the others. The Zippleback did its best to try and lose the pursuing Flightmare.
"Come on!" Ruffnut shouted, turning around and glaring at Darien boarding on Banshee right behind them. "One dragon boarder is annoying enough! Besides! You're not even flying a dragon that can make us explod-"
She was instantly cut off as a comet of blue mist drilled into her and the Barf, forcing the Zippleback to spiral out of control.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Tuffnut shouted, gripping Belch's head with a death grip.
"Hiccup! The twins!" Astrid shouted, gasping as she watched them crash into the ocean.
"Everyone! Go help them!" Hiccup shouted, banking Toothless to fly alongside Stormfly. "Keep Darien and any other ships away from them!"
"Look! It's Stoick!" Heather shouted, pointing at a large dragon surging after Darien.
Hiccup gaped in horror as he watched his dad give chase to Darien and Banshee. Putting Toothless into a dive, he shouted "Come on! Cover the twins! I got to keep her off of him! She's faster and more maneuverable!"
The group that was able to get together, instantly followed him. They watched as the glowing, blue blur, danced in the smoke-filled sky against Skull Crusher. Though Skull Crusher was surprisingly agile, he was getting out maneuvered with Darien's turns; given that she was standing on him and could shift her weight a lot more easily than Stoick ever could.
"Fishlegs! Heather! Help the twins! I'll go help my dad!" Hiccup roared, urging Toothless to go faster.
Heather and Fishlegs instantly banked left, with Heather leaping off of Windshear to hold Ruffnut above the surface. Meatlug herself had grabbed Barf and Belch, lifting them out of the water; all while leaving Tuffnut shouting angrily as he treaded water.
Astrid and Snotlout tailed behind Toothless, with Matt rocketing high above them. Hiccup watched in horror as Darien rolled over a fireball that Skull Crusher fired, placing herself directly behind his dad!
Looking behind her, seeing Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout giving chase; she smiled as she focused back on Stoick. "Good-bye, Stoick!" She shouted.
Hiccup roared in a panic "No!"
Banshee fired a stream of mist right in front of Skull Crusher's path, just as he tried to bank out of the way. "Arrggghh!" Stoick shouted angrily, feeling both himself and his dragon lock up. Plummeting to the ocean below, he crashed away from the fleets and disappeared in a white explosion of water.
"Well, Hiccup…what'll it be? Your dad? Or me…" Darien sneered at him, turning and facing him with a smirk. Pointing above her, she then let Banshee freefall into a dive. "I know what Matt's choosing!"
Just as she said that, a lightning bolt surged right next to her. Matt and Wasatch screamed past Hiccup and the others, leaving a trail of lightning.
"Kill her!" Matt roared, not giving any attention to Hiccup or the others. He could only see her. Darien. The one on who he spent most of his time chasing and trying to kill.
"Astrid, Snotlout! Go get my dad!" Hiccup began to order. He knew he had to go with Matt. Not for vengeance sake, but for Matt's.
They didn't even reply or acknowledge the order, as they were already diving to where they watched their chief and Skull Crusher crash.
Gritting his teeth, Hiccup let Toothless go into a dive, chasing after Matt and Darien. "Come on, bud…she made this a lot more personal!
Toothless growled angrily, letting his eyes narrow. Seeing Darien weave between ship's masts, darting in and out of the smoke, with Matt chasing her closely; he fired a plasma blast at her, in an attempt to slow her down.
Banshee responded with a simple air brake and jerk to the right, letting the plasma blast erupt on a sinking ship, being one of Bruvos'. Even Matt and Wasatch overshot her, to which they used their speed to climb higher into the air.
"Come on, bud! They can't even compare to us!" Hiccup shouted, banking Toothless to be right behind her and Banshee.
Banshee then surged forward, heading towards where Zekir's fleet was finally pulling away from the carnage and leaving Bruvos' and Berk's fleets in their wake.
Narrowing his eyes, he lined up Toothless perfectly with Banshee, ready to take a shot.
"Alright, bud…not that big of a shot…we want her alive."
Toothless roared, letting a purple light grow in his mouth. Just as he was about to fire, Banshee spontaneously rolled, shook, and shifted himself; leaving a lingering mist behind him and right in front of Toothless!
"Look out-Aggh!" Hiccup roared, realizing too late of what just happened. The familiar feeling of being froze locked his body up, as Toothless as well! Time slowed as he watched Darien turn to smirk at him, just as he began to plummet into the ocean. Unable to express his anger and frustration, he simply crashed into the water, fighting everything to try and free himself.
"No!" Matt screamed hysterically, seeing Hiccup disappear under the ocean.
"Listen, Matt. I know you can beat me." Darien shouted, seeing him stop over where Hiccup and Toothless crashed. "I won't go after your precious ancestor, and you won't chase us. Got it?"
Matt glared at her, about to let Wasatch take a shot at her.
Knowing what he was going to try to do, she let Banshee roll over the spot where Hiccup went missing. "I will kill them before you could even get a shot off. Think about it; me, or Hiccup."
Gritting his teeth, Matt turned his head and cussed to himself. "Get out of here, slut."
"Ah, you've always been one with words." She teased, smiling at him. "We'll meet again, Matt. But I will be a better rider. I will not lose to you again." At that, she and Banshee rocketed to the fleeing fleet, leaving Matt and Wasatch alone.
Cursing again, he unbuckled the bindings that strapped him down, pulled his goggles to hang from his neck, and leaped below feet first. Crashing into the water, he let his eyes get some bearing, he desperately searched for Toothless and Hiccup. Seeing them float motionless ten feet under him, he kicked his legs and reached for them. "Come on, Wasatch…could use your help with Toothless!" He thought to himself. Reaching for Hiccup, he pulled him off the saddle and began to kick up to the surface. If anything, he could guide Wasatch to Toothless as he could hold his breath longer than Hiccup ever could.
Trying to drag him up to the surface, he was shocked to see something rocket into the water in front of him! It was Lasher! With Ukiah gripping the saddle! Lasher instantly wrapped his three tails around Toothless; one by the neck, another around his chest, and the last at the tail. Flapping his wings, he then began to tow Toothless up.
As Matt finally broke the surface, he gasped for breath but focused on keeping Hiccup's head above water. Unable to see with the water running over his eyes, he could only hear Lasher beating his wings against the water, slowly rising up.
At that, he felt something grab his shoulders and hoist him up as well. Getting dragged against something, he felt Hiccup get pulled out of his hands. "What? No!" He shouted, trying to grab Hiccup again.
"Easy, lad. You're both safe." A voice boomed over him.
Shaking his head, he looked up to see a different face looking down at him. The man had a trimmed beard and looked aged. He was wearing simple looking armor, though it was lightly trimmed with gold. The stranger never brought him any comfort though, as it was the face next to him that he recognized. "Lydia?"
"We saw that Hiccup crashed, and then you dove in after him. So I asked my dad to come help you out." She explained, walking over and helping him stand up.
Sighing in relief, he turned to see a couple of men trying to help Hiccup, who remained motionless. Toothless was already set down by Lasher and even Ukiah had already dismounted. Wasatch was hovering over them, watching what Bruvos' men were doing; ensuring nothing bad would happen to his friends and rider.
Ukiah was silent. Walking past all the men, he then stood at the stern of the ship. The remnants of Zekir's fleet was well out of way. And with most of the Dragon Riders out of commission, including their leader and their chief, it was pretty obvious the battle was over.
Lydia then jogged over to Hiccup, seeing if she couldn't be of some help for him. Matt, not taking his eyes off Ukiah, walked towards him.
Watching the specks of ships slowly disappear, Ukiah shook his head. "I tried. I tried to get to him…but I couldn't leave you guys. Especially in the water." Shaking his head, he looked down and quietly added "Guess I'll be leaving on another trip to hunt down the Black Heart."
"We. We'll be leaving on another trip." Matt seconded, making Ukiah look at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're not the only one trying to stop someone from hurting others. I got to go after Darien. Otherwise…" At that, he turned to face where Hiccup and Toothless lay. "Otherwise I'll never be able to rest easy."
Realizing what he was saying, Ukiah slowly nodded in agreement. "Then let's make sure we succeed this time. Both of us."
"Both of us."
Whooo! So many changes in perspective in this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! And I hope you don't mind the inconsistencies in regards to posting chapters as they come. I'll post when I'm able, which could be days or weeks from each other. Again, hope some people liked it!