"Dragon's speaking"
'telepathical speaking'
Thinking
Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk
Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly with their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.
Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.
This takes place about three weeks after Thawfest so Aniu's wing is no longer injured.
Please read and Review!
Chapter 13: When Lightning Strikes
A green Monstrous Nightmare flew over Berk Village and landed on a rooftop beside a purple and blue Gronckle who was resting on another rooftop.
"Living with dragons has its ups and its downs."
The rooftop under the Stoker Class dragon suddenly collapsed. The same thing happened to the rooftop under the Boulder Class dragon.
"You need to stay calm, keep a clear head, not always easy with Vikings."
Seeing how many rooftops were accidently being destroyed each day by dragons looking for a place to perch, Hiccup and Aniu came up with a solution. Together, they drew up a blueprint of giant perches big and strong enough for dragons to perch on with Gobber. "More supports?" Hiccup asked his mentor. "Uh, well. They are dragons." Gobber shrugged.
"In our own way, we're very reasonable."
After the plans and blueprints were finished, construction began. The dragons helped lift the main part of the perches as the Vikings hammered the stands into the ground. The perches were placed in every part of the village. When the time came to test the perches stability, Astrid, Stormfly and Arrow volunteered to be the test subjects. The two Deadly Nadders hovered above the perches. "It's okay, you two. Just take it easy." Astrid calmed Stormfly and Arrow down when they squawked nervously.
Hesitantly, Stormfly and Arrow landed on the metal perches and gripped the metal with their talons. Seconds passed and the metal perches were still standing and hadn't moved a millimetre. "They're safe!" Stormfly chirped. "Yes, they work!" Hiccup and Aniu hollered. "Way to go!" Gobber whooped. Snotlout let out a cheer, immensely relieved he didn't have to fix his roof every other day anymore. "Nice work!" Nava yelled. Fishlegs gave Astrid and her Nadders a thumbs-up.
But two certain Thorston twins weren't as happy as the others. "So we built these things so stuff wouldn't break." Tuffnut asked incredulously. "Well, yeah. That's the whole point of these perches. Instead of perching on the roofs and breaking them, the dragons can perch on these perches without breaking anything." Aniu said. "I don't understand you people." Ruffnut grumbled. "And they tricked us into helping them build these perches. I feel so used...and sweaty." Tuffnut muttered, going home with his sister.
"But when a problem is caused by something Vikings don't understand, they lose all sense of reason. And that can become very dangerous."
To celebrate the success of the dragon perches, Hiccup and Stoick invited Aniu, Nava, Fengo, Namara and Gobber over to their house for dinner. Toothless ate some fresh fish from a basket beside the table."Perches for dragons. Some of your best work, you two." Stoick praised Hiccup and Aniu then looked at the contents of his cup. "We'll have to move the one over the well."
"And the perches are just the beginning. We could build landing areas for them, maybe even stables in the caves underneath the village." Hiccup said, sounding excited. "Oh, what about feeding stations for the dragons who don't have someone to feed them. Bath stations where dirty dragons can get a bath and be groomed." Aniu said. "Fire prevention sounds like a good idea because there is still some dragons who accidently keep setting things on fire, mainly rooftops." Nava added his own idea.
"I wish there was a Health Clinic or hospital where sick and injured dragons and Vikings can go. Gothi often has trouble keeping up with the list of injuries and illnesses." Namara remarked. "All of your ideas sound brilliant and I believe places like the blacksmith's could use some renovations and improvements." Fengo said. "Easy, you five. Remember, Berk is still for the people." Stoick chuckled. "Vikings before dragons." Gobber said. "Hey." Toothless snapped, throwing Gobber a look. "Yeah, I said it. Deal with it." Gobber laughed.
Suddenly, a loud rumble of thunder was heard. Everyone ran outside and saw lightning bolts striking the metal perches. "The lightning is hitting everywhere." Hiccup observed. "You're right about that." Aniu nearly whimpered. Nava remembered how Aniu used to be scared of thunder and lightning storms and wrapped an arm and a wing around her. "Thanks, Nava." Aniu whispered, snuggling into him. "It doesn't usually strike here in the village." Stoick said in a troubled voice.
"Thor must be angry. The only other time I can remember lightning ever striking Berk..." Gobber began. "Barnstat," He and Stoick said together. "Barn-who?" Hiccup, Aniu, Fengo, Namara and Nava asked. "Jurgen Barnstat, drifter, sailed into town. He was stealing from widows and old people." Stoick explained. "To punish him, Thor gave him a lightning bolt right to his helmet when he was fixing the mast of his ship to make his escape." Gobber told them. "By the time Thor was finished with him, our whole fleet was on fire." Stoick said. "We shipped him off the island and Thor hasn't hit the village since." Gobber said.
"Threw him off the island. That's pretty harsh." Hiccup said. "That's sounds like a pretty heavy punishment for stealing." Nava remarked. "Wouldn't it have been better if you just put him in jail?" Aniu asked. People started screaming when bolts of lightning redirected off the metal perches and set houses on fire. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara ran down to help the fire brigade.
A Terrible Terror was caught in the midst of the chaos and called for help. Firesnow flew down and rescued it. A lightning struck nearby and frightened Toothless, causing him to run away. "Toothless!" Hiccup, Aniu and Nava yelled. Stoick picked up a trough of water and threw it at a burning house, extinguishing most of the flames.
Fengo and Namara used water magic to put out more fires. Dragons grabbed buckets full of water and used them to help the fire brigade. "We gotta find Toothless." Aniu said, shielding herself with her wing. "Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about." Tuffnut said, surveying the destruction with his sister. Boomer-Banger were lying between Ruffnut and Tuffnut with a head on both twin's laps. "I always liked Thor." Ruffnut smirked.
"Oh, I always loved these storms. When it rains, I run through the village and throw buckets of water at people." Snotlout said. "We know. The village has had meetings about it." Fishlegs replied, having been on the receiving of the water buckets quite a few times. Stormfly landed beside Hiccup, Aniu and Nava with Astrid on her back. "I need your help. I need to find Toothless." Hiccup told his girlfriend. "I just saw him by the Great Hall." Astrid said, helping Hiccup onto Stormfly's back. "He was looking pretty scared." The sky blue Deadly Nadder said.
Stormfly, Aniu and Nava flew up to the Great Hall where villagers had started evacuating to. "Don't worry, men. You're going to be alright." Stoick said, laying two men who had been struck by lightning on the ground. Namara started tending to them. "The lightning's striking throughout the entire village. It's like we're under siege." Mulch said. "I never seen Thor this angry." Bucket whimpered. Fengo turned to him. "Bucket, did your bucket start tightening up before all this started happening?" He asked. "No." Bucket answered. "Then, this storm is not a natural storm. The sky was only slightly cloudy today." Fengo summarised.
Stormfly, Aniu and Nava landed on the ground beside the Great Hall and saw (along with Hiccup and Astrid) Toothless on a perch. Then a bolt of lightning struck the perch, forcing Toothless to jump to another perch but the same thing happened over and over again. A certain old man noticed this. He wanted to get every dragon banished off the island and he found a perfect opportunity that he could manipulate to his own advantage to get what he wanted. "Did you all see that?" Mildew asked, gesturing with his staff at Toothless as the Night Fury continuously jumped from perch to perch whenever lightning struck.
Some other Vikings were watching the scene. "Look, the lightning is following him." Mulch said. Toothless glided over to his friends and let Hiccup and Aniu hug him. "Don't you all understand? Thor is mad at all of us and I'll tell you why: because of him." Mildew yelled, pointing at Toothless accusingly. "What?" Aniu yelped in shock. "As you all know: the Night Fury is the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself." Mildew continued. "So-called!" Nava shouted.
"We let him live among us and now we'll all pay the price." Mildew said. "Well, it did seem as though the lightning struck right at the dragon." Mulch added. "Yes, right at the dragon. And a lightning storm the likes of which we never had. There is but one thing for us to do: banish the Night Fury! It's the only way." Mildew exclaimed, mentally laughing in triumph. "No!" Hiccup, Aniu and Nava yelled. "Why, Mildew. You filthy, stinking, old, selfish, arrogant man. I oughtta..." Namara hissed, advancing on Mildew with her fist raised and wings flaring out, ready to beat the old coot up but Fengo held her back even though he was as angry as his wife.
Many villagers began murmuring in agreement. This is not looking good. Stoick thought. Hiccup, Aniu and Nava could only hug Toothless nervously and hope that nothing worse would happen.
Pretty soon, a crowd had formed and was listening to Mildew. "Thor is angry at us because of the Night Fury. You all saw it." The old man said. Vikings began talking amongst each other in agreement. "What? No! This is ridiculous." Hiccup exclaimed. "What Mildew is saying is wrong!" Aniu tried to convince the crowd."If we don't act now, well, do I need to remind you of Barnstat?" Mildew asked. Vikings gasped in alarm, remembering the terrible lightning storms all those years ago.
Stoick decided enough was enough and stepped in. "You're right, all of you. Thor is angry. But I don't believe he's angry at Toothless." He said. "That's right. Have you all forgotten what Toothless has done for this village?" Hiccup asked. "Well then, who do you suppose Thor is angry at?" Mildew asked. "I don't presume to know Thor's mind, Mildew. But we will find a way to soothe his anger." Stoick said.
Mildew scowled at him before catching sight of Aniu, Nava, Fengo and Namara's wings and pointed ears. "And what are we going to do about these winged freaks?" He asked, pointing at the guardians with his staff. Everyone gasped at Mildew's audacity. "Perhaps Thor is angry at them as well because of their magical powers" Mildew sneered at the last two words. "For all we know, they could be planning to enslave or even kill us. And they're always flaunting around and showing off their powers so why shouldn't we banish them off the island forever?"
"But the guardians have never anything bad to us and if they wanted to, they would've done it by now." Phlegma the Fierce shouted. But there was a small amount of people who followed Mildew and they didn't like the guardians and dragons either. Seeing how little of the villagers supported him, Mildew left. "Are you four okay?" Stoick asked Aniu, Nava, Fengo and Namara. "We're fine. Mildew's always willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants. Why should today be any different?" Aniu said. Her parents and boyfriend nodded in agreement.
The next morning, the storm had had mostly gone away but thunder and lightning was still heard and seen. The dragon riders and guardians had gathered in the village plaza. "Another storm is coming." Hiccup said worriedly, staring up at the sky. "Thor tore a hole in the Great Hall. Maybe he's hungry, I know I am." Tuffnut remarked. "We need to make Thor happy. But what do you get for the god of thunder and lightning?" Hiccup asked.
"I don't really know. I think Thor has already everything he wants and needs up in Asgard." Aniu remarked before noticing some villagers passing by. One of them pointed at her and Nava and whispered something that made his companions cast suspicious looks at the two guardians. Aniu stared at her yellow boots while Nava pretended he didn't notice.
"Don't worry, you two. We are going to protect you two and Toothless at all costs even if I have to use my axe. Because no one threatens us or our dragons." Astrid reassured. "If Mildew or his cronies want to get near you three, they'll have to go through all of us." Stormfly said. "Thanks, Astrid and Stormfly." Aniu and Nava said, smiling at the Hofferson girl and her dragon. "In the past, I know Thor's enjoyed a sacrifice or two." Fishlegs said, returning the subject to what they were previously talking about.
"Let's sacrifice Tuffnut." Ruffnut said. "Okay. What time should I be there? There better be fire involved." Tuffnut muttered. "Nobody's gonna be sacrificed." Hiccup said firmly. "Not yet anyway." Snotlout snickered. "I had an aunt who was cursed by Odin once. She has to pay tribute to him by sailing the end of the earth." Astrid said. "Did it work?" Fishlegs asked. "I don't know. I guess she couldn't find it because she kept showing up from the opposite direction." Astrid answered.
"That's because the earth is round. It's shaped like a ball, basically the shape of a catapult boulder." Nava said. "A guardian from long ago named Brangwen was responsible for learning that fact when he tried to find the edge of the world." Aniu said. "The gods have never been mad at anyone from my family. Knock on wood, hop on one foot, slap a Jorgenson." Fishlegs said, doing an example but when he reached Snotlout, he poked him instead of hitting him and Snotlout shoved him away.
"If I was Thor, I would want a giant statue of myself. Snotlout as Thor." Snotlout said, standing on Hookfang's head. "You do know we're trying to make him happy?" Astrid asked. "Exactly." Snotlout said. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." Hiccup said. "What do you mean, Hiccup?" Astrid asked her boyfriend. "I mean the statue and it's not Snotlout." Hiccup said. "We're going to make a statue of Thor." Aniu realized.
"Hm, Berk has never given Thor a statue." Fishlegs said thoughtfully. "Well then, it's high time we did." Hiccup said. And with those words, construction began on Thor's statue in the forge.
Snotlout melted pieces of metal with Hookfang providing the firepower. The Thorston twins were given the job to build the upper legs. They were using Barf-Belch's necks as anvils. At one point, Ruffnut bonked her hammer on her brother's helmet, causing him to yelp and her to giggle. Tuffnut retaliated and it became a bonking contest which was broken up by Aniu. "All right, break it up, you two. We need to get this finished first then you can bonk each other silly." She told them. Then, Mildew passed by.
"Hooligans! Winged freaks!" He yelled at Aniu and Nava who did their best to ignore him. "Technically, we're all hooligans, Mildew! It's the name of our tribe, remember!" Ruffnut shouted. "Call Aniu and Nava winged freaks again and we'll throw a whole bunch of hammers at you!" Tuffnut yelled. Mildew growled and left. Once the old man was gone, the twins grinned at Aniu and Nava. "We got yah back just like Hiccup and Astrid." Ruffnut and Tuffnut chirped. "Thanks, guys." Both guardians smiled gratefully.
Astrid and Stormfly were crafting the cape. Stormfly stuck together iron plates using her tail spines. Astrid smiled and fed her Deadly Nadder some chicken. Snotlout and Hookfang were working on Thor's knees. But there was something wrong with them. "Great job. Uh, one issue. Thor's knee bends the other way. You know, like a knee on a person." Hiccup said. Snotlout checked his knee and realized his mistake.
Fishlegs was hammering together Thor's lower body with Meatlug using her chin to serve as the mould. But she kept tipping from side to side, forcing Fishlegs to keep pushing her back upright. "What are you doing?" Nava asked. "I'm making Thor's lower body. I hope the statue works. I don't wanna deal with these lightning storms any longer." Fishlegs said. "Yeah, I don't want to deal with them any more as well." Nava muttered, before Fishlegs yelled "DUCK!" as one of Mildew's followers threw a fist-sized rock at him. Nava ducked, raised his hand and fired a lightning bolt at the rock, breaking it into pieces. "Okay, that's it. I had enough of these people trying to hurt my friends!" Snotlout yelled, ordering Hookfang to chase the guy away. For once, Hookfang obeyed, set himself on fire and chased the Mildew-follower away. "Thanks, Hookfang and Snotlout." Nava sighed in relief as Hookfang returned.
"No problem."/ "Anytime." The Monstrous Nightmare and his rider said. "Okay guys. We better start welding these pieces together." Hiccup said, staring at the dark clouds filling the sky. "Yeah, I really think Thor's going to like this." Aniu said. 5
Once the statue was completed, the dragon riders and guardians covered it with a tarp and positioned it outside the Great Hall. A crowd had formed, wanting to see what was going to be unveiled. "Attention, everyone." Hiccup called. "Okay, I know we're not exactly Thor's favourite people right now but I am confident that this beautiful statue will go a long way toward getting us back into his good graces. So, without further ado..." With those words, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless pulled the tarp off and revealed the statue in all its glory.
The crowd let out 'oohs' and 'aahs' as they took in the sight. "Well done. Thor will appreciate this tribute and will smile upon us once again." Stoick congratulated. Everyone cheered and applauded but Mildew wasn't happy.
"Do you really think this is enough to appease the mighty Thor while you allow a Night Fury and four winged freaks in your midst? You're fools! All of you!" He shouted.
That evening, the storms had only gotten worse. "Unbelievable. Even more lightning than the last storm." Hiccup commented. "Oh, great." Aniu sighed. "Maybe we should've built the perches and the statue out of wood and stone." Nava said, reading a book. "I don't understand. We gave Thor a giant statue." Gobber exclaimed. "It was a gallant effort but it looks as though this is not what Thor wanted." Stoick said. "I think you Vikings put too much stock into your gods." Namara commented. "Yeah, Mum. There has to be a logical explanation for this." Aniu said. "Those storms don't seem to be magical." Nava said. "It probably has something to do with science." Fengo said.
Hearing another rumble of thunder, Gobber took a step away from Toothless. "Gobber, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. "Uh, I love Toothless. I'm just erring on the side of caution." Gobber said. "As much as I hate to admit this but I'm scared." Toothless admitted. "Toothless just said he's scared." Aniu told Hiccup who knelt down to comfort his Night Fury. "Hey, don't worry, bud. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. No matter what some people think." Hiccup said. Gobber looked sheepishly at the ground.
In Fishlegs's house, Meatlug had left the den she shared with Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie and went into Fishlegs's room to comfort her rider. Sniffing around, she found him hiding underneath his bed. "I know you're scared, girl. But if you want to hold me, that's what I'm here for." Fishlegs said, crawling out from underneath his bed and embracing his Gronckle.
However, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were sitting on the roof of their house and cracking nuts on each other's helmets to eat while watching the storm. "Whoa, look at all that damage and destruction." Ruffnut whispered in awe, cracking a nut open on her brother's helmet and eating the insides. "I know, it's so beautiful." Tuffnut murmured. Then a lightning bolt set a house on fire. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ruffnut exclaimed. "Whoa, no one blows stuff up like Thor." Tuffnut said, cracking a nut open on his sister's helmet and eating the insides.
Villagers stared expectedly at the Statue of Thor and cried out in alarm when lightning bolts redirected off the metal and set houses on fire. Mildew was ready to get the villagers on his side. "You see? That's what Thor thinks of the statue! I told you what he wants and we haven't given it to him! Until we rid this island of that Night Fury, Thor's fire will continue to rain down upon all of us!" Mildew shouted. "What about the guardians?" A Viking asked. "If the storms haven't gone by the time the Night Fury is off this island, then we'll ship those winged freaks off as well." Mildew yelled.
The storm was still raging on and Aniu was lying down beside Toothless in her wolf form. "You don't really Thor is angry because of Toothless, do you?" Hiccup asked while he petted Toothless on the head and stroked Aniu's fur. "I course I don't." Stoick said. Then someone knocked at the door. "Open up, Stoick. We've come for the Night Fury!" Mildew's voice yelled.
"But I'm afraid they do. Hiccup, Aniu, get Toothless to a safe place. I'll try to reason with them" Stoick hissed. Hiccup ran forward and grabbed his father's arm. "But..." He started to protest. "Just go." Stoick told him. Fengo, Namara and Nava gave Aniu quick hugs. "Safe travels, old friend." Gobber told Toothless, petting the Night Fury on the head then Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless ran upstairs and jumped out of Hiccup and Toothless's bedroom window. But before they left, the trio peeked around the house and saw Mildew at the front door with a whole bunch of people behind him. All of them were yelling and shouting.
"Come on, guys." Hiccup whispered and he, Aniu and Toothless ran into the woods. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and Nava went outside the face the crowd. "Give up the dragon, Stoick! Look at your people, we had enough!" Mildew yelled. "You're too late. He's gone." Stoick said. "Stoick has already sent him off the island." Gobber lied. "Thor says over wise. The dragon must still be on the island. Find the Night Fury!" Mildew yelled and left with the mob following him. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and Nava glanced at each other nervously. This wasn't looking good.
Astrid and Stormfly had caught up with Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu. "We can hide Toothless in the cove for now." Astrid said. "They'll just find him. No, we'll have to leave." Hiccup said. "We?" Astrid asked. "Toothless can't fly by himself. He'll need someone to control his prosthetic tailfin. Hiccup is the only one who can do that properly and I'm going with them." Aniu said. "But you three will come back, right?" Astrid asked hopefully. "Yeah, eventually. When they all realize this didn't happen because of Toothless." Hiccup said. Astrid heard voices approaching and said "You three better go." But before they left, Astrid gave Hiccup a quick kiss on the lips. Hiccup smiled and ran off with Aniu and Toothless following him.
Astrid and Stormfly watched Toothless (with Hiccup on his back) and Aniu fly up into the sky. They had only just vanished from sight when Mildew and his mob saw her. "Where's the boy and his guardian friend? And more importantly, where's the dragon?" Mildew asked. "I don't know, Mildew. But you got your wish. Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless are gone." Astrid hissed angrily. Stormfly stood behind her rider and snarled, flaring her wings. Mildew stared at Astrid before saying "Oh, bah! Find the Night Fury!" and left with the mob.
Once they were gone, Nava landed beside her and together, he, Astrid and Stormfly stared up at the stormy sky.
Toothless and Aniu landed in the forest and saw a mob walking through the trees with torches held in their hands. "This is reminding me of the witch hunts I read about." Aniu said softly. Hiccup and Toothless nodded and before long, they were back up in the sky.
Toothless and Aniu flew in silence until lightning bolts struck around them. One lucky lightning bolt struck Toothless's prosthetic tailfin, burning the leather fabric away. With his fake tailfin gone, Toothless plummeted back to earth. "Toothless!" Hiccup screamed and Aniu turned into her dragon form and tried to grab the Night Fury but missed. Mildew saw them and shouted "There they are!"
Hiccup and Toothless crash-landed through a tree and landed painfully on the ground. Aniu turned back into her human form and helped Hiccup up. "You okay, bud?" Hiccup asked. Toothless glanced at his destroyed prosthetic tailfin. Only the metal skeleton of it remained. "That's where the lightning hit." Hiccup said, then he stood up and stared at the lightning bolts striking the metal perches and Thor's statue.
Aniu suddenly gasped, causing Hiccup and Toothless to stare at her. "I know why these lightning storms are happening! It's because of the metal perches and statue we put up. Thor isn't responsible for this at all! Back on Guardian Island where I used to live with my parents and Nava, we had classes about different things and one thing we learned in science class is that lightning is attracted to many types of metal because of metal's magnetic properties. If we want perches for the dragons and no unnatural lightning storms, then we need to get rid of the metal perches and statue and replace the metal with wood and stone." Aniu realized. "Aniu, you are a complete, utter genius!" Hiccup exclaimed. "I completely agree." Toothless exclaimed.
"We need to tell everyone right away." Aniu said urgently. Hiccup and Toothless nodded but before they could move, Toothless was ensnared by bolas. "Secure the dragon!" Mildew ordered as he and his mob arrived on the scene. "Toothless!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed but two men grabbed them and dragged the two teens over to Mildew. "Don't try and stop us. You'll only make it worse for your precious dragon," Mildew sneered. The other Vikings had managed to restrain Toothless and loaded him onto a cart, chaining the Night Fury up in the same way Toothless had been chained up on Stoick's ship before the Battle of the Red Death.
"Say your goodbyes." Mildew sneered as the Vikings grabbed Toothless away. "Toothless!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed, running up to the cart but tripped and fell down. "Well, that takes care of that." Mildew said triumphantly. Hiccup and Aniu glared at him, their emerald green eyes burning with hatred and fury.
At the docks, Mildew and his mob were about to load Toothless onto a ship when Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara pushed their way past. "I know you are afraid but this isn't how we do things on Berk." Stoick said. "These dragons are not the beasts you once thought they were. They are a part of us now." Fengo said. "Not this one. Not anymore." Mildew hissed, pointing at Toothless with his staff. "Release the dragon, Mildew." Stoick ordered.
"Open your eyes, Stoick. It's the only solution and you know it. It worked with Barnstat and it'll work with Toothless." Mildew said.
Hiccup and Aniu frantically searched through the forge, looking for a suitable metal object they could use. They found a metal spear leaning against a wall and Hiccup picked it up. Then, Astrid, Nava, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran into the forge."Hiccup, Aniu, they've got Toothless." Astrid panted. "They're about to float him out to sea." Nava gasped out.
"We know. We were there when they captured him." Aniu said. "Why do you think I have this?" Hiccup asked, holding up the spear. "Ooh, tough one. How many guesses do we get? Five?" Tuffnut asked, thinking they were playing a game. "Okay, Astrid. Fly me to the docks." Hiccup said, grabbing Astrid's hand and leading her to Stormfly. Once Hiccup and Astrid were on Stormfly's back, the Deadly Nadder, Aniu and Nava flew to the docks where the situation was getting tense...
...because the Vikings were getting desperate and were slowly advancing on Toothless. "If you want to that dragon..." Namara yelled. "...you're gonna have to go through us!" Fengo finished his wife's sentence. Bucket and Mulch pushed their way through the mob and stood beside their chief and his friends. 'Thank you, lads." Stoick said gratefully. "If we're choosing sides, Mulch, there's more over there. Lots more." Bucket said nervously. "We stand with the chief, Bucket." Mulch said firmly.
"Stop!" Two familiar voices yelled. Everyone looked up and saw Hiccup and Astrid flying in on Stormfly with Aniu and Nava flying beside the Deadly Nadder. Stormfly landed, allowing Hiccup to dismount. "You could get rid of Toothless, you could throw him off the edge of the world, you could banish Aniu and her fellow guardians but it's not going to stop this lightning from destroying Berk." Hiccup said.
"What's he saying?"/ "I don't believe it." Some Vikings said. "It's the metal." Hiccup said, holding up the spear and cringing as another lightning bolt lit up the sky. "The lightning is hitting the metal. Just think about it. We never had a lightning storm like this until we put up those perches. And that statue! And they are all made of metal." Hiccup finished. "Oh, bah! Have you ever heard of something so insane?" Mildew asked. "It's not insane, it's science which you don't even understand at all!" Aniu yelled.
Hiccup ran over to Toothless and held up his dragon's tail, showing the crowd the destroyed prosthetic tailfin. "You see, this is where the lightning struck Toothless on this metal connecting rod. If you don't believe me, I can prove it." He said then ran over to Stormfly and mounted her. "Fly me up." He told Astrid. Stormfly flew upwards and Hiccup jumped off her back onto a ship's mast. Aniu and Nava hovered nearby anxiously. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Astrid asked anxiously.
"'Sure'. Uh, that's a strong word. It's really more off a hunch. I'll be fine, go." Hiccup said. Reluctantly, Astrid had Stormfly fly her down to the docks and land. "Oh, boy, here he goes again." Gobber muttered. "I hope he doesn't get hurt." Namara whispered in concern. "He doesn't make it easy. Hiccup!" Stoick yelled. You'll all see for yourselves. When I attach this metal rod to the top of this mast, the lightning will be drawn to..." Hiccup started to say but a lightning bolt struck the spear, electrocuting him in the process.
"Hiccup!" Stoick, Aniu, Nava, Astrid, Fengo and Namara screamed as Hiccup's body lit up from electricity. To everyone's horror, Hiccup lost consciousness and started to fall from the mast. Aniu regained her senses, flew up and grabbed Hiccup before he could fall into the water. Toothless had managed to break free from his chains when Hiccup had been electrocuted and waited for Aniu to gently place Hiccup's motionless body on the dock.
Stoick, Nava, Astrid, Fengo and Namara knelt beside Hiccup and Aniu while the latter tried to wake Hiccup up. Toothless desperately nudged his rider's body only to receive no response. Stoick checked his son's heartbeat but could not feel or hear anything. "His heart's not beating!" Stoick exclaimed in terror. He already lost Valka, he could not bear to lose his son and only child.
Just then, Aniu remembered something. "Wait! I read somewhere that one lightning bolt can stop a heart, but a second lightning bolt can restart it. I may be the only way to save him." She exclaimed. Stoick nodded and let Aniu place her hands on Hiccup's chest. Dear God, Draco, Glaux, Lupus and all the gods and goddesses of Asgard, please, let this work. Aniu mentally prayed and summoning her magic to electrify Hiccup with a small lightning bolt. One, two... Aniu counted down and on three, her hands glowed violet and Hiccup's body writhed and spasmed as electricity raced through it.
Aniu stopped the flow of magic and cast a healing spell on Hiccup to make sure he didn't have any injuries then put her pointed ear on Hiccup's chest. Hiccup suddenly coughed and gasped for air."His heart's beating and he's breathing again!" Aniu exclaimed in pure joy and relief. Everyone (except for Mildew) cheered and Stoick, Aniu and Astrid actually began crying. Toothless pounced on Aniu and bombarded her with licks of gratitude saying "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" over and over again.
Astrid half-strangled Aniu to death (not intentionally of course) in a big bear hug. "Thank you so much for saving my boyfriend." The Hofferson girl whispered into Aniu's pointed ears. Stormfly roared in joy and once Astrid had let Aniu go, Nava embraced his girlfriend lovingly. "I was so scared we were going to lose him." He whispered in her ears. "Hiccup needs to be taken home. What he needs is rest." Namara said after casting a diagnostic charm on Hiccup.
Stoick nodded happily, picked his son up, called Thornado and mounted his dragon. The Thunderdrum flapped his wings and flew to the Haddock house where Stoick put Hiccup down to rest.
The very next morning, Hiccup woke up in his bed. The first thing he was aware of was Toothless staring at his now-awake rider while trying to control his emotions. "Toothless, what happened, bud?" He asked, stroking his Night Fury's head then he checked his foot. "At least I didn't lose my other foot." Hiccup said, letting Toothless nuzzle him.
Then, Stoick and Gobber walked up the stairs into his room. "My boy. You're alright. You took a lightning bolt to the head." Stoick said joyfully, picking Hiccup up and giving him a hug. "Just like Barnstat, except we won't be throwing you off the island." Gobber added. "So, everyone knows Thor wasn't mad at Toothless?" Hiccup asked hopefully. "They do now." Stoick answered. "Until we figure out why Thor was angry at the metal, we're all walking on eggshells." Gobber chimed in.
"There's a scientific explanation behind that. You better talk to Aniu about it." Hiccup said before a certain guardian charged up the stairs and hugged him with her arms and wings. "Hiccup! You have no idea how much you scared us when that lightning bolt struck you and your heart stopped." Aniu said, trying to keep her emotions under control.
"Wait, my heart stopped?" Hiccup asked as Fengo and Namara came upstairs. "Yes, your heart stopped when the lightning struck you." Fengo said gently. "And Aniu restarted your heart by electrocuting you." Namara said. "While a lightning bolt can stop a heart, a second bolt can restart it." Aniu said. Hiccup smiled at his surrogate sister and hugged her back.
Once things had settled down, they headed outside to see the metal perches and statue in the process of being taken down. "Ah, we worked so hard on that statue, it's kind of a shame to scrape it for parts." Hiccup sighed in disappointment. "Well, maybe we don't have to. Why don't you take it to one of the high points on the island and leave it there." Stoick suggested.
"Good idea, chief. I would've thought of it myself but I'm not the chief." Tuffnut said. "Oh, we'll handle it for you." Snotlout said happily. "I think I know where you are going with this and I like this idea." Aniu smirked, ready to get some revenge.
In his house, Mildew was eating a small meal when he heard a loud thud. Grumbling to himself, he got up, tripped over Fungus and opened his door. He found the statue of Thor standing right outside his door. A rope dropped onto and Mildew saw the dragon riders and guardians flying away. "You'll pay for this!" He screamed up at them.
"I'm not sure that's what my dad had in mind, guys." Hiccup said. "Hey, that's the way I understood it." Snotlout protested.
"No matter how much things change around here, Vikings are still Vikings. They're not afraid to admit when they are wrong."
In the Haddock house, Hiccup and Aniu heard a knock at the door, opened it and saw a bunch of villagers standing outside, each one holding baskets of bread, fish, chicken, cloth, etc. They let the villagers in and one little girl gave Toothless a fish. The Night Fury happily accepted it and let the girl stroke his scales.
"And when they do, watch out. Because you'll be up to your ears in pie and smoked fish."
Once the villagers put their baskets down and gave their apologies, they left. But where Mildew lived, the old man was screaming in terror as lightning redirected off the statue and into his house. Fungus watched from the safety of outside and bleated. Eh, Mildew will be fine, probably.
Snotlout kissing his arms (dry-heaves) is just disgusting.
This chapter was eleven pages long on Microsoft Office.
Updated: 17.12.2015 Australian Time.