Chapter Fourteen: The Heart's Decision
In the seas that lay in the horizon from Berk, a passing merchants' ship suddenly shot beneath the waves. The water was boiling in a way unseen or heard of before and it wasn't long before scattered remains of the ship and its cargo rose to the surface. No bodies ever emerged from the boiling sea – the scorn of the dragons that lay below the waves had meant they would have had no chance of ever seeing the skies again.
The Weedsnakes knew that Hiccup had been close to killing his sister whilst at the mercy of his dragon instincts, just as planned, and had been enraged when they discovered that somehow he'd been snapped out of this state of mind and was now closer to regaining his humanity than ever before. To make matters worse for them, the Darkwing had paid them a visit to ask why the Dragon Shifter still existed.
"You were certain that wretched necklace would do the trick!" a Weedsnake roared at the head of the meeting. "You gave us your word that it would cause him to give in completely so that he would rid us of that blasted girl!"
"I said it would work – which it did," the elder Weedsnake hissed back. It was Wavewing – he knew that the necklace had been quite possibly their last shot at getting Hiccup to fulfil the warning of the dragons. The warning of the Gods' War. Now that Hiccup was back to his senses and more human than dragon, there was no way he'd trust Wavewing anymore –after all, he'd been the one to give him the necklace under the pretence of helping him rather that leading the Weedsnakes operations. "I did not, however, foresee that the others would have been able to overpower him." He growled in disdain. "The humans' gods are smarter than we previously realised. They found a way for the Limbless to regain his original form without fulfilling the conditions of the curse." A snarl sounded nearby.
"Those pitiful gods..." It was the Darkwing. "Thinking they can interfere with our business..."
"You make a fair point, Your Excellence," Wavewing noted respectfully, bowing his head to the Darkwing. "But is there not still hope of your power keeping hold of the boy? As long as there is even the smallest amount of dragon in him, he will still have the same instincts as us." The Darkwing nodded his understanding.
"You are right," he growled. "But his human mind is now dominant – it will be hard to get his dragon mind to comply." The Weedsnakes cackled in response. As long as Hiccup's dragon instinct was what was leading him to kill his sister, it didn't matter if his human mind knew what he was doing. It would be the dragon part of him, not the human part, completing the deed, allowing Lohikäärme to be reborn and the Gods' War to start anew, hopefully ending with the dragons prevailing and the human world being wiped off the face of the earth.
"Even so, we have full confidence in your powers...Ivor," Wavewing sneered. The Darkwing's eyes closed at the memory – it had been this beast that the God of Spirit, Ivor, had turned into as a result of his blind rage towards his sister. For too long he'd been trapped in this form. For too long he'd searched for the Dragon Shifter and brother who could fulfil his wishes. For too long he had awaited for the right time and opportunity for his sister to return.
"And I have full confidence in your loyalty, Wavewing," he replied, darkly and well as sincerely. "However, don't think I will let this incident go unnoticed. You lost the boy's trust today – there will be no other way to bring about the dragons' dominance of this world no without force." He paused. "They will fight. These Vikings on Berk – they are unlike any I've ever seen before. Their spirit is...uncannily strong."
"But their hearts remain weak!" a young Weedsnake hissed gleefully. "And their gods' powers can hardly hope to exceed your own, Your Reverence. They barely stand a chance." The Darkwing...Ivor...smiled evilly at the young one's faith in him. It had been something that had drawn him to ally with the Weedsnakes in the first Gods' War and it was what had kept them by his side for centuries.
"The boy may be close to cheating my curse..." he snarled. "But I'll make sure that it is only broken by the means in which I set it."
/\
"AH!" Hiccup cried, falling out of bed as he woke with a start. Toothless trotted over and helped the guy to his feet but Hiccup was damp with cold sweat. He'd had a dream – one of the Weedsnakes and the Darkwing. They'd planned to use him to kill Kyra from the start – even Wavewing, the one Weedsnake he'd trusted until a couple of days ago, was in on the act. Apparently if he killed Kyra it would bring the dragons' Goddess back rather than continue the cycle of the Dragon Shifter (how he wasn't sure, he'd ask Kyra later) and also reignite something called the Gods' War. Hiccup remembered Kyra mentioning it before after she'd gotten back from the library. If what he'd seen in his nightmare was true, Lohikäärme's return would not only restart the war but wipe out the human world.
"Are you okay?" Toothless grumbled worriedly.
"I'm fine," Hiccup muttered less than convincingly. Toothless nudged him, pressing for the truth. "What do you know about the Gods' War?" Hiccup asked slowly. Toothless cringed and growled in distaste.
"It happened millennia ago," he replied hatefully. "Long before I was a hatchling. But I do know the warning that came from it."
"That your Goddess' return to her divine form will restart it?" Hiccup quizzed. Toothless assumed Kyra had told him so let it go.
"Yes – but it will also mean the end of either your world or mine," he replied mournfully. "That's why many dragons left Ivor's side after he sought to revive his sister. The balance between our worlds was his to protect and now he seeks to destroy it once again...all to get his sister back," he explained sadly. Hiccup frowned.
"Why would they take such a risk?" he wondered aloud. "Why would they put everything to chance?" Toothless asked him what he meant. "Those Weedsnakes – they're in cohorts with...him," he explained.
"Ivor?"
"Yeah – he's...he's the High Diving Darkwing," Hiccup added, shock still plastering his face. Toothless' eye widened and his pupils narrowed in surprise.
"That thing?" he spluttered in Dragonese. "Okay, I knew his hatred had turned him into a monster but...that thing?"
"Looks like it," Hiccup grimaced. "Anyway, it sounded like they were using me from the start. They wanted me to..." he couldn't bring himself to say it. Toothless nodded his understanding. "...all so that they could bring Lohikäärme back and restart the Gods' War." He paused for a moment, scratching at an irritating scale that still stuck to his skin. "They want to get rid of us..." he mumbled. Toothless' eyes went even wider if that was possible.
"How could they...?" he muttered. The conversation was interrupted when Stoick called from downstairs. "I'll wait outside – you go see what your dad wants." Hiccup nodded as his best friend jumped out of the window to wait for him outside. In the meantime, Hiccup grabbed his boot, pulled it onto his right foot and trudged downstairs where his father was pacing up and down in worry.
"Morning exercise?" Hiccup joked nervously. "Don't you usually head out with Thornado at this time?" Stoick looked at his son, clearly not in the mood for jokes. It was then that Hiccup noticed something. "Say, where's Kyra? She go out early or something?"
"That's what I was hoping you would know, son," Stoick replied. Hiccup frowned. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't seen Kyra since she'd left the Great Hall the previous evening with Artair. "She's been missing all night and Mugdug and I were hoping to make the engagement official for her and Artair today." Hiccup realised where the problem arose.
"And you can't do so without both betrothed being present," he remembered from his chief training. "Have the search parties been sent out?" he asked.
"I sent them out about an hour ago," Stoick answered. "But you know your sister better than anyone – who knows where she is?" Hiccup bit his lip.
"Do you want me to head out with Toothless?" he offered. "She might be with Windwalker and given that she and Toothless are mates now I reckon we'd have a better chance of finding them with him." Stoick nodded in agreement.
"Alright – then I want you to head out with Toothless immediately. Search the entire island and check the surrounding islands if needed, even Dragon Island if necessary. Just make sure you find her." Hiccup nodded and headed outside, wincing as his tail accidentally caught the fish basket, causing it to topple over.
/\
Hiccup circled all of Berk on Toothless, half searching for Kyra and half simply enjoying being able to fly Toothless again. He'd checked almost everywhere – the Cove, the Whispering Death tunnels (Kyra was more than capable of lifting those boulders even without her powers), Raven's Point...there was only one place on the island that he hadn't been yet: Thor's Beach. Directing Toothless towards the secluded beach, he could just about see Windwalker curled up by the cave he'd hid in before – he reckoned they'd found their runaway Dragon Shifter. Hiccup gently landed Toothless nearby and attracted the Star Backed Night Fury's attention.
"What is it?" she asked cautiously. Hiccup glanced at the cave behind her.
"Is Kyra in there?" he asked. "The entire village has been looking for her all morning." Windwalker cast a careful glance behind her.
"She's not in the mood to talk right now," she explained simply. "She'll come out when she..." Windwalker was cut off by a whimpered sentence in Dragonese coming from within the cave.
"Who is it?" it said. Hiccup knew it was Kyra – he recognised that voice no matter what language she was using.
"It's your brother," Windwalker replied gently. "Should I...?"
"No, it's okay. Let him in."
Windwalker complied and let Hiccup past. He made his way into the cave where Kyra was curled up, still in her garb from the night before. She looked sad, confused and even worried. Hiccup sat down opposite her.
"You alright?" he asked carefully. "You don't usually come here unless you're really upset." Kyra sighed.
"I don't know if I can go through with this," she mumbled. Hiccup knew what she was talking about. "I don't think I'm ready..."
"What did he say when you left the Great Hall yesterday?" Hiccup quizzed. Kyra recalled her conversation with Artair. "Well, he can hardly expect to know all of your secrets, can he? I get that there's the whole believe about how couples shouldn't keep secrets from each other but there are definitely exceptions."
"It's not that, Hiccup," Kyra moaned. "Artair knows it's his duty to do this...so do I...but..." she stopped for a second. "I mean, I thought it could work – we were getting along so well. I just don't think I'm ready."
"Kyra," Hiccup comforted, holding his sister's hand. "There are loads of things which we don't think we're ready for. Personally, I really don't think I'm ready for chief-hood..." he grimaced. "But I've still gotta go with it. You never know if you're ready unless you..."
"What?" Kyra sniffed scornfully. "Try? Marriage isn't something you can try, Hiccup." Hiccup winced – okay, maybe that wasn't the best way to put it.
"I'm just saying that you might just be convincing yourself that you're not ready," he tried again. "Listen – you like Artair, don't you?" Kyra nodded slowly. "You think it might work?" Kyra hesitated but nodded again. "See? That's a start if anything." Kyra remained silent for a minute of two.
"Maybe," she sighed. "I just wish there'd been more time." Hiccup knew how she felt – there'd been plenty of occasions where he'd wished there had been more time. For instance, he'd wished he'd had enough time to show everyone what dragons were like during the final round of Dragon Training before Stoick had startled Hookfang.
"Why don't you at least come back to the village?" he suggested. "Talk to Dad – maybe he can put it off for a while if that's what you want." Kyra stared at him. "I'll vouch for you." Kyra smiled slightly and accepted her brother's help. Taking his hand, she rose to her feet and brushed the sand off her dress before heading back towards the village with Hiccup and the dragons. On the way, she turned to face her brother.
"This last test that you need to do – Heart, wasn't it?" she remembered. Hiccup bit his lip – he still had no idea how that one was going to turn out. "Any ideas?"
"Absolutely nothing," Hiccup groaned. "Right now though I think these stupid scales are giving me more trouble than that," he huffed, scratching at a scale that was still embedded in the back of his neck.
"Leave them alone!" Kyra snapped gently. "That won't help unless you want a scar for the rest of your life." Hiccup reluctantly ceased scratching – he didn't really want any more scars, regardless of anything Astrid said. Before long they arrived back in the village where Stoick was waiting with Mugdug and Artair, who looked as if he'd had better days. Kyra dismounted Windwalker and avoided eye contact with him.
"There you are!" Stoick greeted in relief as Kyra walked over. "I was beginning to worry."
"Sorry, Dad," Kyra muttered blankly. She faced Hiccup and mentioned for him to leave her to it – she'd call if she needed him – before facing her father again. Hiccup didn't want to leave his sister alone when he knew how upset she was but he respected her wishes and headed back to the plaza where Astrid was waiting.
"Hey," she greeted. Hiccup jogged over, tripping over his tail just before he reached Astrid. "How close are you to getting rid of that thing?" she smirked.
"No clue," Hiccup winced, getting back onto his feet and untangling himself from his wings which were also more of a bother than anything else. The skin on his tail fins and wings were no longer dark turquoise and thick enough to fly but had gone back to their original translucent pearl-green state as they had been when Hiccup had first transformed. "Can't be too far now – I mean, these things changing within the day has to be good progress if anything."
"Sure is," Astrid agreed. "Still wish you coulda told me, though."
"Astrid, I've told you a hundred times – you had to appreciate me for who I was!" Hiccup repeated. "Not who I said I was. Would you've believed me?"
"Well, I had a hunch it was you, didn't I?" Astrid pointed out smugly. "You might be taller and less scrawny than before but there's still the element of you." Hiccup knew she had a point. "The wings, scales and tail didn't help though."
"Yeah, I can guess that they wouldn't," Hiccup nodded. He glanced over at the Meatheads, Stoick and Kyra. "She really doesn't know if she wants this..." he muttered. Astrid set her gaze of the gathering as well.
"But they seemed so good for each other," she frowned. "I wonder what happened." Hiccup kept his mouth shut – it was Kyra's decision if she wanted to tell Astrid and given that she'd kept his secret for so long, it was the least he could do to return the favour. "But, seriously – a Spring wedding?" Astrid changed the subject, aiming the comment at Hiccup.
"Oh, come on!" he huffed. "I thought I've kept you waiting long enough!"
"You have!" Astrid snapped. "Only that Spring is only a few months away."
"We still got Winter and Devastating Winter to get through, you know," Hiccup pointed out. Astrid punched him in the arm.
"And that allows us to prepare how?" she retorted. "You know we get cooped up in the Great Hall until Devastating Winter's passed – how the heck are we supposed to get anything ready?"
"I'm sure Kyra will think of something," Hiccup winced, rubbed his arm where Astrid had accidentally caught a scale under his sleeve. Astrid shrugged – it was true that Kyra was excellent at organising things with short notice and given the organisation of their engagement party, she knew she shouldn't doubt her best human friend.
"Still worried about the Trust Ceremony?" she asked teasingly, watching Stormfly chase her mate around the plaza. Hiccup didn't answer. "Hiccup? Did you hear what I just said?" she frowned, turning to face him. Her frown deepened when she saw that Hiccup was clutching his head as if he'd come down with a sudden migraine. "Hiccup?"
"Astrid..." Hiccup muttered through gritted teeth. "Get the others ready." Astrid's eyes widened – Hiccup's expression matched Kyra's the night the Darkwing had first shown itself perfectly.
"What's going on?" she asked worriedly. Hiccup screamed in what seemed to be pain, wrenching himself away from Astrid. After a few short seconds his condition seemed to improve but it had still attracted Kyra's attention as she came running over.
"Hiccup?" she breathed. "Astrid – what's happening?" she asked nervously. Hiccup shook his head clear and his emerald gaze fixated upon the bay. Kyra glanced over and spotted the boiling sea – even without her magic she could sense the power radiating from the waters. She understood immediately. "I'll get the others." She jogged off, leaving Astrid with her fiancée.
"Hiccup – what is it?" Astrid pressed, her teeth grinding against each other in fear. Hiccup, with a hand still clasped to his head, face her with fear written all over his freckled face.
"They're coming."
/\
Wavewing had tried to reach Hiccup through his still existing dragon mind but the boy was stronger than he thought. The distance was too great for this to occur from afar so Wavewing led the Weedsnakes closer to Berk, their twilight blue scales shimmering in the shallower water and the constant movement of scores of sea dragons causing the sea above them to boil. As they neared the bay, Ivor – the Darkwing – slipped silently through the waves alongside them, taking up the lead position alongside Wavewing, ready for the battle to come.
/\
On land the Defenders of Berk sat perched on their dragons, crossbows at the ready, whilst the villagers had gotten the catapults and other weapons in the arsenal ready. Hiccup had insisted on remaining with the others despite Stoick's orders for him to get to some place safe. He wanted to get his own back at the Weedsnakes for what they'd done to him, especially Wavewing, a dragon he'd trusted with helping him.
Beside him stood Astrid and Kyra who apparently had spoken to her father about the problems she was facing with the arranged marriage but seemed calmer now – Hiccup decided to ask her about it later. The Defenders of Berk waited nearby as the Hooligan and the Meathead tribe stood waiting for the foe to surface.
"You sure it's them?" Kyra asked Hiccup calmly. Hiccup nodded slowly.
"I don't think there're any other dragons out there looking for me," he muttered angrily. He turned to face Snotlout. "You guys get the oak bolts like I said?"
"Sure," Snotlout nodded, holding up his crossbow which was loaded with iron-tipped oak bolts. "But why do we need those?"
"Just aim for the mouth when they open them," Hiccup ordered. "Trust me." He looked at Fishlegs. "You sure it'll be enough?" he asked.
"I hope so – if one doesn't work then I guess we just unload all the bolts we can," Fishlegs replied nervously. Hiccup gulped – oak bolts were really their only chance at winning this thing. Unless the villagers managed to get some oak stakes or something the tiny customised crossbow bolts would have to do.
"Permission to shoot first ask questions later?" Ruffnut grinned.
"Permission to skip the questions?" Tuffnut cut in. Hiccup grinned slyly back.
"Permission granted," he smirked. "Feel free to blow up any Weedsnake you want." The twins high-fived. It had been the first time in a while that they'd actually be given permission to do anything destructive so they were taking advantage of it. Hiccup turned back to face the bay as the Darkwing...no, Ivor...burst from the waves and glared down at the village, his blood-red eye (the other one having been scared by Hiccup's attack three years previously) burning down upon the Vikings. He was shortly followed by the school of Weedsnakes at the head of which was Wavewing. Hiccup's face twisted into one of hate but he kept his anger under control.
"So those are Weedsnakes," Astrid muttered. The creatures looked surprisingly majestic, with their twilight blue scales and serpentine appearance – there was something about them that made her understand why Hiccup had trusted them. She suddenly found herself reluctant to fight them but she snapped herself out of it when she reminded herself of what they did to Hiccup. She shifted her gaze to Hiccup whose face had set into an expression of stern focus – she could tell there was a conversation going on so she waited.
/\
"Why did you fight back, Little One?" Wavewing coaxed. "Might I remind you the conditions of the curse set upon you? 'Fly by your own strength until the imposter is removed'?" he recited word for word. Hiccup bristled.
"I'd rather die than hurt Kyra," he growled back. He'd let himself slip into the telepathic communication mind-stream for a moment. He had to know what Wavewing really wanted.
"Even so – you were better off with us, were you not?" Wavewing asked. Hiccup hissed audibly. "Think of what you had to do to be accepted in your village. Think of how they treated you before you befriended that black lizard of yours." Toothless was listening in and grumbled a curse in Dragonese. "You sacrificed so much just to get their approval. You never had to do any of that with us."
"Oh, except for the fact the others called me a Halfling among other names," Hiccup pointed out disdainfully. "Don't even think I'll consider going back to you – I'm not your puppet." Wavewing and Ivor both growled with a noise that rivalled Thor's thunder. "I'll repeat what Kyra said before – if we're going down we're dragging you to Helheim with us." Kyra sagged next to him – she'd prefer not to.
"Very well," Wavewing hissed. "If that is going to be the case so be it. It's a shame – you made such a good dragon, Hiccup." With that, he and the Weedsnakes vanished beneath the waves again although the Darkwing remained blocking the village's view of the horizon. Hiccup closed off his telepathic mind-stream and faced his dad.
"I don't know when they're gonna make the first move," he grimaced. "But I'd say keep an eye...ARGH!" he suddenly yelped, his hands shooting to his temple. Kyra's eyes widened in fear – something clearly wasn't right. She looked at the Darkwing and saw that his gaze was fixated on Hiccup.
"Hiccup!" Astrid cried, leaping off Stormfly to help but Hiccup pushed everyone who came close back. Kyra could see the pearl-green scales gradually spreading but most that did seemed to fall off seconds later. "What's happening?" Astrid asked.
"He's fighting it," Kyra realised. The Darkwing was trying to unleash Hiccup's dragon instincts but Hiccup was using every ounce of strength that he had to fight back. She struggled to break into the telepathic communication mind-set but she eventually broke through the interference and could just about catch what the Darkwing was saying, albeit it was still fuzzy.
"Give in!" it hissed. "The human heart...weak...shall never..."
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Hiccup shrieked but Kyra could tell he was struggling. Hiccup painfully forced himself to look at Kyra – he couldn't fight back much longer. "Kyra – run."
Kyra didn't need telling twice as she took off through the village as Hiccup finally lost the struggle to stop the Darkwing form unlocking his instincts. Astrid instantly side-charged him but she was confused to find that it was a lot easier this time – Hiccup wasn't putting up much of a physical fight. Even so, he gathered the strength to break through the lock Astrid held him in and take after Kyra but not before Astrid had spotted something – his eyes weren't blood red as they had been before. Instead they were still a vivid forest green, merely lined with red.
He was still battling for control.
"He's still fighting back!" she yelled at the villagers. "Don't hurt him!"
Kyra was still pelting through the village but the Weedsnakes had chosen that particular moment to start the battle, distracting the villagers from helping her and making her escape far more challenging. She rounded a corner by the Academy and ran straight into one – without thinking, she held up her crossbow and shot a bolt straight into the thing's mouth. She ran on before she saw anything else but the shrieks informed her she wanted to do anything but look.
Another Weedsnake caught her by surprise and she was knocked to the ground as Windwalker leapt in to protect her rider. However, it gave Hiccup a chance to catch up but Kyra noticed something odd – unlike last time, where Hiccup let nothing stand in his way of getting to Kyra and had no idea what he was doing, the boy appeared to be wrestling with himself. Every step looked as if it was being forced and Hiccup was even trying to hold his own hand back. His human side was struggling for control with his dragon side – although the human part had been largely dominant for the last few days, the dragon part of Hiccup was still strong under the control of the Darkwing.
"Kyra! Keep running!" Hiccup yelled, although the words sounded forced out as if he was struggling to string two words together. Even so, Kyra obeyed and made a beeline for Windwalker – Hiccup couldn't follow her into the sky with his wings in the form they were in now so she would be safer up there than she was on the ground. Dodging a barrage of Weedsnake attacks, she leapt onto Windwalker's back and took to the sky, heading straight for the Darkwing. If she could at least distract him Hiccup might stand a chance.
"Hey! One-Eye!" she yelled, clasping her silver dagger in her right hand. The Darkwing turned in her direction, although its focus was still very much on Hiccup and maintaining control of the dragon instincts he had left. "How about I get your face more symmetrical?" she jeered, swiping up at the dragon's other eye. It screeched in pain and for a moment Kyra thought she had it but glancing back at the ground Hiccup was still trying to find a way to get up into the air and still struggling with himself. The Darkwing cackled and sneered in Dragonese.
"You think you can escape your fate?" it jeered at her. "You think you can cheat the curse I laid upon you millennia ago?" Realisation hit Kyra – her suspicions had been right.
"You're..." she stammered.
"Yes. I am what is left of Ivor, the God of Spirits and rightful ruler of the dragon world!" Ivor roared, taking a snap at Kyra who deftly flew Windwalker out of the way before they got hurt. "And you, dear sister, had better say your prayers." He glanced at the village. "It's a pitiful shame, really – that you should have been reduced to walk among such creatures."
"THAT'S MY FAMILY YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Kyra shrieked, as Windwalker blasted Ivor's neck with a bright blue fireball. "And if you hadn't lost it none of this would ever have happened!"
"Indeed. You would have been taken by the Outcasts when you were a child," Ivor growled threateningly. Kyra stopped in her tracks.
"What?" she gasped.
"The Dragon Shifter may always be doomed to share my sister's fate," Ivor hissed, with a hint of remorse echoing in his voice. "But I wasn't about to let you fall into the hands of mortals even worse than these!" Kyra was barely listening. Hiccup had told her about his nightmares about the night she vanished. Her marks had started glowing and before anyone knew it she was gone. All this time she'd thought it had been a Dragon Shifter defence mechanism...
"You...sent me to the other world?" she blinked. Ivor growled irritably. "You were watching out for me?" A glimmer of hope rose in Kyra's chest – if Ivor had cared enough about her to save from the Outcasts when she was just a baby, maybe he wasn't the mindless monster he'd been rumoured to be.
"Save your revelations for later!" Ivor roared, taking a swipe at Windwalker. He barely missed but the down draft caused by the attack was enough to send Kyra and Windwalker tumbling to the ground where her dagger fell out of her hands and into Hiccup's reach. "Finish this, boy!" Ivor bellowed. Hiccup was still fighting and tried to stop himself from picking up the blade – his hesitation gave Kyra time to run (Windwalker had twisted her wing upon landing and could no longer fly) and she pelted towards the forest – there, at least, if Weedsnakes followed her she had a chance of tricking them into biting an oak tree. However, she was caught up before was able to get there by the largest Weedsnake.
"Wavewing," Kyra realised, adopting a fighting stance even though she'd long lost her crossbow and her dagger was in Hiccup's hands. Wavewing appeared to examine her for a moment before speaking.
"He spoke so highly of you," he commented cruelly. "Such a terrible twist of fate that the warning set by the dragons should come to light with you two."
"He would never," Kyra insisted. "You tried once and you failed. Give it up already!"
"I shall not answer to such a weakling!" Wavewing hissed. "I answer to my gods and my gods alone!" With that declaration his tail shot forwards and struck Kyra in the side, winding her and sending her flying into the side of her house. Wavewing then proceeded to grab Hiccup and placed him within five feet of the out of breath Kyra whilst Ivor forced him to raise the silver dagger above his head. Hiccup was still aware of what was going on and used his other hand to prevent the one holding the knife from coming down. Wavewing created a wall around the pair, cutting off Kyra's escape routes and stopping anyone else from helping her. Kyra shook herself back into focus and shuffled as far back against the wall of her home as she could when she saw Hiccup towering over her, his face scrunched in concentration as he tried not to give in.
"Hiccup..." she mumbled fearfully.
"Kyra...I can't...they're too strong..." Hiccup grumbled back, his teeth audibly grinding together as he wrestled with himself. Kyra knew she had one shot of helping Hiccup – she had to try.
"But your heart is stronger!" she reminded him. Hiccup's gaze locked with hers. "I know...because you're you." She closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow.
/\
Hiccup couldn't fight for much longer. Pretty soon he would have to bring the knife down – everything he'd tried to do would be for nothing.
"That's it, Little One," Wavewing snarled. "Give it up."
"Let go," Ivor taunted from the bay. "How was she ever going to help you?" Hiccup remembered Odin's words – Kyra had been the only one he could turn to before and the reason Odin had given him was that it was because she was technically not a mortal like the others. But he had a feeling that there was another reason for it. He'd been the only one Kyra could turn to when she was stuck in the other world, even if it wasn't in person. He and his world, were the only comforts she had in a place where she could never hope to be accepted.
He knew the answer to Ivor's question – Kyra was going to help him by simply being there for him, just as he'd always been there for her once his story became known to her old world. Hiccup had made his decision and closed his other hand around the hilt of the dagger.
"There we go," Wavewing hissed. "You see? There was never any point fighting. After all, isn't the human heart too weak to stand up against the power you could have?" Hiccup forced his forest green gaze to meet the amber one that he had once trusted. No words passed between the pair but Hiccup's hateful glare spoke louder than any shout. He tore his face away from Wavewing's and looked at his sister with her eyes screwed shut in fear – she knew her fate. Hiccup could no longer fight the urge to strike – the Darkwing's control over the cursed instincts within him was far too strong. He brought the knife down.
Kyra's screams could be heard from the other side of Berk.
AN: I'm going to try to do updates three chapters at a time from now so that I can get this finished before school starts. Hopefully that will be possible. Once again, hope you guys have enjoyed How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse so far - please review and I'm open to constructive criticism but no flames.