Chapter Twenty
Strogg stared at the island coming into view. There it was. Berk.
Unimpressed with the sight, he began to walk to where Malke was standing. He himself, wore two armor plates over his shoulders, bearing a long, black cape that lightly dusted the deck of the ship. He had a wool shirt, colored black and yellow, giving him a royal look to him. A massive two handed axe was strapped to his waist in between him and the cape. "Any sign of Ugo?" Strogg asked, arriving to Malke who was peering through a telescope.
"No, my chief." Malke replied, steadying the telescope "Not even a reply back with the bird I sent last night."
Strogg growled, venting his frustration. With Ugo remaining silent, and no visible battle taking place on Berk, he had to assume the worst. He was dead. "What do you see on the island? What do their defenses look like?"
Malke strained to make out details. Frowning, he began to explain "A few catapults along the cliffs and overlooking the beaches. Their fleet is nearby the docks. Not many, maybe ten warships."
"Stoick shouldn't have many left." Strogg whispered "Most of his fleet was destroyed a few months ago when his son defeated the Red Death."
Malke let out a sudden gasp of horror, his face visibly paling.
"What? What is it?!" Strogg demanded.
"Dragons!" Malke began to say, only to be interrupted.
"I know they have dragons! We already knew that before we left Thariin!" Strogg roared, grabbing Malke by his decorated armor.
"No, my chief! They're riding the dragons!" Malke cried out, his face still registering shock.
Strogg let go of Malke, grabbing the telescope from him. Running to the front of the ship, he peered into the hole and looked for what Malke was talking about. There, hovering over the Berk fleet, three dragons stood as sentries. All of them had riders on them! A Zippleback had a person on each head, while a larger rider sat on a Gronckle. Then the sight that amazed him the most. A Monstrous Nightmare, with a rider sitting on its neck and holding onto its horns like he owned the beast. "Thor's beard…" He whispered, pulling the telescope away from him.
"Now what?" Malke asked, turning to face his chief.
"This doesn't change anything! You're one of my champions, remember?! You can kill the dragons, rider or not!" Strogg roared, glaring at Malke "Take five ships and test their defenses. As our original plan. Make sure your men are equipped to take down dragons. Got it?"
"Yes, my chief." Malke replied, glancing nervously between his chief and the island. Knowing that invading the island had at least some chance of surviving, he turned and made way to his ship.
Strogg growled to vent the frustration inside. He wished he sent Malke instead of Ugo to try and hit Berk from behind. Ugo was smart, as that's his strength he used to kill the dragons he faced. And Harze. He was proud, which led to his death, but he was strong and cunning. Why did he have to die?
Shaking his head, he turned and watched five ships leave the fleet and heading towards the catapult plagued cliffs and docks. Then a thought hit him. Regardless of what kind of strategy they came up with, they'd always be at a disadvantage. A familiar feeling began to swell over him, one he hadn't experienced in a long time. It was a blood lust he hadn't felt this strong since…well since he last plundered a village. Crev. The sea, the men, the feeling of battle; it was a sweet memory. Smiling, he then thought "If it worked against the Crevites, it'd work against the Berkians."
Turning to the captain of the ship, he shouted "Captain!"
"Strogg the Stone!" The captain hailed back.
"Signal all ships to sail forward! We'll overwhelm their defenses!" Strogg roared, laughing happily.
Shocked, the captain didn't do anything at first. Then seeing the insane light in his leader's eyes, and realizing that Strogg was fully expecting him to issue the order, he shouted "Set the sail! Let the winds carry us onto their shores!"
Immediately, all the ships were shouting and letting the sails out. The entire fleet began to sail head way towards the island.
Laughing, Strogg drew his massive axe and waved it into the air. "Here I come, Stoick! I hope you're willing to die protecting one of those murderer's!"
"They're charging head on!" Gobber cried out, seeing the ships create a wake behind them.
"Steady the catapults! Fire as soon as their ships enter range!" Stoick ordered, readying his hammer "Position our ships in front of the docks! Do not let them get a foothold!"
"What's he doing Stoick?" Gobber asked, staring at his friend in confusion "He's going to lose a lot of men doing this!"
"He doesn't care, Gobber!" Stoick replied loudly "He's going to try and take this island, even if it costs him every single man he has."
"Sweet breath of Odin…he is insane!" Gobber muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Nay, he's thirsty Gobber, he's blood thirsty…" Stoick growled, narrowing his eyes as the fleet came closer and closer. Looking up at the riders, he shouted "Riders! Protect our ships from being boarded!"
"Alright guys, here we go!" Fishlegs shouted, letting Meatlug fly forward.
"Alright! Blow up time!" Ruffnut shouted, smiling from ear to ear.
"Look at all those ships…" Tuffnut whispered, his eyes looking like they were starting to cry "All there to burn…to sink…to destroy…"
"Focus guys!" Fishlegs shouted "Bring the front runner ships down! Twins, lay a blanket of fire over them! Snotlout, fly through their sails while Hookfang's on fire! I'll focus on catching their catapulted rocks. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just shout my name when you need me!" Snotlout yelled, eyeing the lead ship "Alright Hookster, let's show 'em what a real Berk warrior can do!"
Malke was at the bow of his ship as the dragons began to fly towards them. Grabbing a pair of bolas, he began to twirl them around. He stared at the approaching Nightmare, aiming at the left wing. Muttering to himself, he counted down. As the numbers went down, a haunting scream started to sound. Realizing what it was, he stopped swinging the bolas and spun around.
Boom! A blue explosion erupted in the middle of the fleet. A black blur flew over, followed by a whistling sound.
"Night Fury!" A soldier screamed, seeing the black blur bank widely to the left.
Then, another whistling sound began to emit. Facing the direction it was coming from, Malke stared as a brown blur fired an orange blast, right in the center of a ship. The blur disappeared, diving into the water, and leaving a column of water in its place.
"They're everywhere!" A soldier shouted, aiming a crossbow where the dragon vanished.
Before Malke could scold the soldier, he felt himself tackled to the ground. Shaking off the disorientation, he turned to see that another soldier pushed him out of the way from a hail of spikes, which caught a few unlucky men. A Deadly Nadder flew overhead, rolling to dodge two bolas that were thrown at it. On it was a blonde haired rider holding a large axe in one hand; it was the same blonde haired little thunder he faced off in the arena.
"What the…" He whispered, staring at the Nadder in disbelief. He was so mesmerized by the sudden events, he didn't even notice the sail of his ship burning away, left from the Monstrous Nightmare flying through it and leaving his ship powerless in the water.
Splash! Another column of water erupted right next to him. The brown and black dragon flew out of the water and over his ship, shooting another blast at the ship next to him. The blast released a small sand storm, causing him to shield his eyes. The sand felt hot, and was burning his exposed skin. It seemed as if all the fury the Gods had been, and was being unleashed on their fleet.
Boom! Another blue explosion engulfed another ship, again in the middle of the fleet.
"Malke! Malke, shoot down the dragons!" Strogg's voice shouted, obviously strained.
"I can't!" He roared back, seeing a ship cruise by, engulfed in a raging inferno.
"All ships! Head to the beach!" Strogg ordered, knowing they would be torn apart if they tried to hit the dock and beaches at the same time. If they got a foothold on the beach, they'd be able to at least set up some kind of defense against the dragons.
The fleet responded, leaving the burning or sinking ships behind. The cluster veered from the Berk fleet, and went straight for the beach head under the cliffs.
Ukiah finished strafing a ship that drifted a little too far from the fleet, letting the burning sand catch the wood and sail on fire. About to follow up, he heard his name called out: "Ukiah! Start hitting the lead ships!" Hiccup shouted, flying by while banking over the ships. Toothless was flying so fast, that most bolas thrown at him often tailed behind embarrassingly. "I'm going to keep hitting the center. That'll slow the rear ships from advancing!"
"Got it!" Ukiah shouted, putting Arrow into a dive. Flattening himself on the saddle, he let Arrow cut through the water. Almost immediately, Arrow began to swim towards the head of the fleet. Ukiah forced his eyes open in the salt water, as the Sand Wraith kept on going. Starting to feel his lungs burn a little bit, Arrow broke the surface and flew upwards. Gulping in the rich air, Ukiah then roared "Come on Arrow! Slow 'em down!" Arrow responded by simply shooting a sand blast at the lead ship. The blast expanded as it collided to the deck, spreading the hot sand all over the ship and setting it ablaze.
Stoick and Gobber watched in awe as the dragons and riders battled the fleet. "Welp. Glad we didn't listen to Murky and keep them out of the fight." Gobber replied, awed at the spectactle.
Stoick nodded in agreement, seeing his son do a quick barrel roll and letting Toothless blast away at a central ship. Turning to Gobber, he then ordered "Have the catapults start firing! It looks like they're heading straight for the beach!"
"What of our ships? Should we use it to help defend the beach head?" Gobber asked, turning to run up a wooden pathway.
"Leave them here! We still need to protect the docks!" Stoick yelled, running towards the beach "Spitelout! Grab the most of the men and follow me! We'll wait for them before they set foot on our island!"
"Hiccup! We can't stop them!" Astrid shouted, banking alongside him. The fleet just kept on plowing ahead, smashing into half sunk ships and pushing away any burning remains. They were down to ten or so ships, but they also sealed their push to make it to the beach. Catapult boulders were flying, trying to sway the unflinching ships.
"Fall back! Let the catapults start whittling them down!" Hiccup shouted, looking at all the dragon riders circling around "We'll help hold them off at the beach! They have no cover there!"
Ukiah nodded, rolling with Arrow who promptly turned to fly towards the beach. Fishlegs was flying alongside, while Meatlug was crunching on a massive boulder. Snotlout and Hookfang were above him, and the twins reluctantly following the group.
Arriving at the beach, Ukiah swiftly dismounted before Arrow even stopped. Jogging to keep himself from falling forward, he ran up to where Hiccup and Astrid landed their dragons. "They have half their fleet left, some of which are damaged or burning a little."
"I saw on my last run." Hiccup replied, smiling at Ukiah. Turning to watch the catapults continue to rain boulders on the fleet, he shouted "Ruff, Tuff! Lay a blanket of gas along the shoreline. As soon as the ships enter, light it up! We'll create a wall of fire for them to come through! The wrecked ships will force them to land farther away from the beach."
"Yeah! More blowing up stuff!" Ruffnut shouted, throwing both hands up in the air in excitement.
"That's the second most beautiful thing I heard today…" Tuffnut whispered, holding back tears for a second time.
"The first being?" Astrid asked, looking up at him with curiosity.
"The explosions." Tuffnut replied, closing his eyes to relish in the memory.
"Get going!" Hiccup groaned, rolling his eyes and shaking his head "We have only a few minutes before they start landing!"
The twins instantly launched into the air, smiling from ear to ear.
Ukiah was about to comment on the twins love of destruction, when a wave of sand hit him from behind. Whirling around, he saw Arrow burrowing into the sand. "What're you doing Arrow?" He asked, walking up to where the dragon buried itself.
Popping his head out, Arrow smiled to show his mouth full of sand.
"Amazing…" Hiccup whispered, astounded as he stared at Arrow "Sand Wraiths are like Gronckles! They get their shots by eating sand!"
"Hiccup! Stop thinking about dragons and get ready to hold the line!" Stoick shouted as he led the men of Berk towards the remaining dragon riders "Can you keep strafing the ships as they start unloading their men?"
"Of course! Toothless and I are ready to go!" Hiccup shouted, sitting up straight in his saddle.
"Good, now everyone, ready up!" Stoick ordered, raising his hammer and shield.
The masts of the ships were peering over the Zippleback gas that created a thick, green fog. Hiccup and Toothless launched into the air, followed by the others. Ukiah turned to find Arrow, but lost him. He was nowhere to be seen!
"Arrow!" He shouted, angry his dragon had disappeared during a battle. Boom! A thunder like explosion went off, creating a concussion that seemed to take his breath away. The twins lit their trap, which promptly caused a few of the masts to collapse in the inferno. Coughing, Ukiah shielded his eyes as ashes and embers began to rain down. The battlefield turned dark with the smoke, and the live embers made it look like they were orange and red lightning bugs dancing in the blackened air. Then, he saw them. Thariin soldiers wading and coughing through the debris filled water.
"EeeerrrraaaaAAAAGGGHHHHHHH!" Stoick shouted, leading the charge.
The air filled with war cries and shouts. Ukiah, caught up in the moment, slung his crossbow around and charged with Berk's warriors. Running into the shallow water, he quickly found a soldier raising his shield towards a charging warrior. Aiming his crossbow, he aimed and fired the bolt. Scthunk! The bolt flew and caught the soldier in the side, causing him to collapse in the shallow water.
Ukiah instantly reloaded the crossbow. Running onto the charred deck of a burned ship, he went straight at the other side of it and found a group of four soldiers wading in-between the ship he was on, and another one that was still burning away. Ukiah didn't hesitate as he fired a bolt into the lead soldier, who fell forward into the water. One of the other soldiers then thrust their spear at him, pushing him away from the edge.
Ukiah leaped backwards, pulling another bolt from his quiver. His foot then stumbled, having broken through the deck; being weakened by the blaze earlier. Staring at the hole, Ukiah then had an idea. Pulling his foot out, he sprinted at the railing of the ship that looked like it suffered the most from the explosion. Roaring, he leaped up in the air, and planted both feet solidly into it.
Crack! The wooden side buckled under the sudden force. A large section of the railing fell over, causing a few shocked cries to sound from under it.
"Agh! Jorgen! Help!" One cried out.
Ukiah wasted no time rolling onto his feet. Sprinting to the hole in the railing, he quickly found a soldier trying to help two that were pinned under the section Ukiah kicked away. Sending the bolt into the soldier, he let the other two struggle against the weight pushing them down in the water. Just as he was reloading, a force grabbed him from behind and by the vest, catapulting him forward and over the edge of the ship. Crashing into the shallow water, he rolled over to see that a soldier had climbed on behind him and thrown him off.
Jumping after Ukiah, the soldier planted his foot into Ukiah's chest, pushing him down under the surface. "No!" Ukiah cried out in the water, bubbles flowing out of his mouth. Gritting his teeth as he struggled to get his head to break the surface. Letting go of his crossbow, he tried to push the foot off of him. No matter how much he struggled, the metal clad boot wouldn't budge!
Panic began to set in, realizing he was starting to feel his body plead for a breath of air. Then, as if something came over him, he felt a calming feeling rush over. He knew what to do. Using his right hand, he drew his dagger over his chest. Placing the blade behind the ankle and armor, he slashed the foot.
"Yeagh!" The soldier cried in pain, stumbling backwards to try and keep himself from falling down. Unable to stand, he simply fell to his knees.
Ukiah's head promptly shot out from the water, gasping for breath. Sucking in huge breaths of air, Ukiah ignored the water running down his eyes as he scrambled to his feet. Gripping his dagger, he jogged to the kneeling soldier; and without saying a single word, raised the dagger and then brought it down into the exposed back.
"Ugghhhnnn…" The soldier groaned, falling forward into the water. Blood began to spread in the salt water as the soldier lay motionless.
Coughing, Ukiah stumbled to where he dropped his crossbow. Sheathing his dagger, and seeing the crossbow still loaded, he turned to see the other two soldiers had successfully pushed the broken railing off of themselves. One wielding a hatchet, and the other a maul, they eyed Ukiah angrily, having watched him kill three of their comrades.
Ukiah gave no warning as he raised his crossbow with one hand and pulled the trigger. The bolt flew and caught the soldier wielding the hatchet in the stomach.
"No! I'll make you pay with your blood!" The soldier on the left shouted, charging as he raised his maul over his head.
Ukiah raised his crossbow up, blocking the strike with the body of the crossbow. The soldier was unimpressed with the block, as he then swung his free hand into Ukiah's stomach coupling him over. The water slowed his feet, making him unable to stabilize himself. Falling back into the water, he watched helplessly as the soldier raised his maul a second time, glaring at Ukiah in anger.
Splash! The water erupted behind the soldier, causing him to whirl around to see what was going on. Arrow leaped out of the shallow water, baring his teeth at the soldier. Sinking them into the shoulder of the soldier, he then pinned him in the water and began to thrash around.
Ukiah pulled himself away from the torrential splashes and onto the beach. He stared as Arrow relentlessly tore into the soldier, biting him and digging his claws into the exposed parts of the soldier's armor. Seeing that Arrow wasn't letting up, Ukiah closed his eyes to try and drown out the screaming and roaring. He could hear the battle rage all around him. Swords clanging against each other, hammers smashing into shields, shouts and cries from victorious and defeated men. If Ukiah was to picture what Helheim or Niflheim sounded like, this was it.
A soft nudge forced him to open his eyes. Relieved to see Arrow's piercing eyes digging into his. "Thank you friend…you never left me did you?" Ukiah whispered, raising his hand and gently stroking a spike along Arrow's neck.
Arrow softly growled, biting Ukiah's vest and pulling him up onto his feet. Making sure Ukiah was standing on his own, he then nuzzled his face against the worn out vest.
"Come on, I forgot to do something." Ukiah whispered, walking over to the burning ship.
Confused, Arrow followed him, watching what he was doing.
Without saying a word, he grabbed a large piece of charcoal and began to break it in his hand. Covering his hand in the soot, he rubbed a diagonal line from high left and low right on his face. Smiling, Ukiah then reloaded his crossbow, and said "That's better. Let's go see where we're needed the most. Come on, Arrow!"
Arrow roared, running alongside his friend and rider. The two charged into a fray that Gobber was part of. Ukiah instantly shot a soldier that was standing over a pushed over Berk warrior, causing him to collapse without a groan.
"Thank you, Crevite!" The warrior called out, jumping to his feet and picking up his weapon.
Ukiah only nodded, reloading his crossbow again. Seeing a soldier start to sneak up behind Gobber, he let out a cry of anger and charged the sneaky man. Letting the bolt loose, he caught him in the shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain and drop his sword. Gobber, hearing someone was behind him, whirled around and slammed his hammer of a hand right into the side of the soldier's head.
Staring at the dead soldier, Gobber then smiled as Ukiah approached him "Good to see ya' still fighting with that shoulder of yours."
"Wouldn't keep me from protecting my friends!" Ukiah replied back with a smile of his own "Besides, haven't felt it once since the fight started!" Reloading his crossbow, his facial expression hardened as he asked "Where do you need me? In the air? On the ground?"
"Right side of the beach!" Gobber replied, using his hammer to point in the direction "The men are starting to get overrun! That's where the fleet's strongest! We'll finish up this fight and be right behind you!"
"Got it!" Ukiah shouted, running past Gobber "Come on, Arrow!"
The Sand Wraith sprinted after Ukiah, ignoring Gobber and the others who were busy pushing back a group of soldiers that were trying to rally past them. Diving into the sand, he buried himself a second time.
Ukiah reloaded his crossbow on the go, running as hard as he could. Breaking through a wall of smoke, he saw exactly why Gobber wanted him on that side. Most of the ships were still intact, and a lot of Thariin soldiers were already on the beach.
Boom! A blue explosion went off in the center of a group of soldiers, followed by the whistling sound of a passing Night Fury.
"There ya' go Hiccup!" Ukiah shouted, running at a group of soldiers that were surrounding some of the defenders. Raising his crossbow, he sent the loaded bolt into the back of a soldier, causing him to fall flat on his face.
"You two! Deal with the boy!" One of the soldiers shouted, seeing Ukiah run at them.
Two soldiers immediately turned and charged him as he reloaded his crossbow. Under one of the men, the sand erupted, revealing Arrow and his razor like teeth. Biting the leg of the unfortunate soldier, he then rolled along the beach to disorient his prey, dragging the screaming soldier across the sand.
The second soldier ignored his comrade. Glaring at Ukiah, he raised his shield and charged Ukiah. He kept his sword low and at his side.
Ukiah fired the bolt, which the soldier easily deflected with his shield.
"Die now!" The soldier yelled, swinging the sword in an upwards slash.
Using the crossbow arms, he struck at the sword. Successfully pushing it away, he then shoulder checked his attacker. The two of them toppled over, which Ukiah quickly rolled to his feet, as he was expecting to fall over. About to bring the butt-end of the crossbow down on the soldiers head, he felt his feet get swept out from under him.
"Gah!" he shouted, crashing onto the sand. Not caring what his opponent was doing, he rolled away from him and pushed himself back up. The soldier was already on his feet, his shield raised and his sword ready to strike. Ukiah dropped his crossbow and drew his dagger. Fighting defensively, he felt that was the best way to fight this soldier, as he was obviously experienced with a shield.
The two circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Ukiah then decided to lash out first, stuttering his steps as he attacked. The soldier wasn't shaken by the sudden jittery attack. Standing his ground, he shoved the shield ahead of him, catching Ukiah's dagger. Feeling the dagger hit his shield, the soldier then lunged forwards, catching Ukiah off guard. Pushed backwards, he lost his footing as the soldier kept on pushing him back relentlessly. Crashing on his back, Ukiah reacted by kicking his legs out, entangling them in with the soldier's. Tripped up, he fell forward and over Ukiah. Wasting no time, Ukiah swung his dagger around and right into the side of the fallen opponent.
"Gaggghhhh!" The soldier screamed in agony and rolling off of Ukiah. Turning his head, he glared at Ukiah as he stood himself up. Waiting for him to finish him, the soldier pretended to accept his defeat. He wasn't going down with taking this kid with him. As Ukiah stood in front of him to deal the final blow, he lunged forward with his remaining energy and took out Ukiah's legs.
"Waaahhh-oof!" Ukiah coughed out, feeling the soldier lay on top of him. Dazed from the sudden change in situation, he was shocked to see the soldier kneel over him with blood dripping out of the corners of his mouth. His eyes were dark and full of hate. Rasing his shield high, he was about to crash it into Ukiah's head, when a single spike flew out of nowhere and into the other side of the soldier.
Ukiah gasped as he felt the weight be thrown off of him. Looking in the direction that he saw the spike, he was relieved to see Astrid riding Stormfly, gently landing next to him.
"Stop hesitating!" She shouted, glaring at him "You soaking in your victory almost cost you your life!"
Rolling onto his feet, Ukiah could only huff out "Thanks…"
Astrid just shook her head, still angry with him. "Come on! We lost this part of the beach! We need to rally with the others before we push back!"
Ukiah turned to see a large group of soldiers already constructing barriers, while others stood guard with spears and bolas. Also seeing the remaining Berk warriors retreating, Ukiah nodded in agreement. "Let's go then…" He groaned, jogging alongside Stormfly.
Arrow then roared, running from where he dragged the soldier into the ocean. Blood stained the side of his face, telling exactly how gruesome of a kill it turned into.
"Where's Hiccup?" Ukiah asked, looking up at Astrid.
"He's making sure everyone else is getting away." Astrid replied "That's why I found you fighting that one soldier."
"Good thing you did…" He huffed, arriving at a group of men, who were all ready to charge.
"Ukiah, are you alright?" Stoick asked, walking through the crowd.
"Fine, a little roughed up, but still kicking." Ukiah replied, relaxing for a moment.
Nodding, Stoick turned to Astrid, also asking "You too, Astrid?"
"I can keep going all day!" Astrid replied, grinning at her chief.
Stoick, again, only nodded. Turning to face the men, he shouted "Form up! Hold together! They can't stop all of us at once!"
Ukiah reloaded his crossbow, making sure it was locked and ready to go. Satisfied, he slung over his back and climbed on top of Arrow. Walking alongside Astrid, he then said "We'll be with you two."
"Just try to keep up!" Astrid teased, smirking at him.
Smiling, Ukiah turned to face the Thariin soldiers all preparing for the assault. Narrowing his eyes, he found his target. Standing in the middle of his men, Strogg easily stood out. He was at least six inches higher than even his biggest soldier, and the giant was glaring at Ukiah. Taking a deep breath, he whispered "You're mine, Strogg. You're mine."
Strogg glared at Ukiah. He watched him fight on the sandy beach, and knew he was adapting to fighting. Growling, he knew that his men stood little chance against a direct assault. Especially if the dragons kept up their relentless strikes. If it had been any other tribe, they would have easily fallen due to the sheer numbers of his army. But this was Berk, and they had dragon riders. His fleet wasn't ready for an assault they were hit with. He had to find a way to stop the onslaught, and give his men a rest. He needed to even the battlefield.
A high pitch scream then sounded to his right, causing him and some of his men to turn and look. Hiccup, riding the Night Fury, were taking a long banking turn, lining up for a shot. There it was. His opportunity. Growling, Strogg grabbed a pair of bolas out of a soldier's hand. Twirling them around, he began to mutter some numbers out loud. His men spread away from him, not wanting to be hit with the swinging bolas.
"Come on…a little closer…" He growled, watching Hiccup line up for a shot, and heading straight at him.
Then, just as he expected, the Night Fury fired his blue blast right into the front lines. His eyesight clouded by the explosion, he didn't need to see Hiccup to throw the bolas; he knew where he was going to be. Throwing them over his head and right at the direction expected Hiccup to be at, he simply waited for his reward.
Hiccup, finished his strafe, flying through the smoke that Toothless created. His vision clearing up, he stared in horror as a pair of bolas flew and hit Toothless in the wing.
"No!" He shouted, feeling Toothless plummet to the ground. Toothless roared in anger and shock, unable to pull up.
The two crashed onto the beach, rolling in the sand and throwing Hiccup off the saddle. When he finally stopped rolling, he crawled to his hands and knees. His world was rocked, and he was trying to shake off the disorientation. Struggling to stand up, he slowly made his way to Toothless, who was tangled up in the bolas. "Hold on bud, I gotcha…" Hiccup whispered, stumbling as he approached his dragon. Suddenly, he felt himself hefted backwards. Trying to fight the firm grip on him, he looked up to Strogg and Malke looking down at him.
"No…we got you." Strogg growled, turning and dragging Hiccup along. Turning to Malke, he ordered "Keep the dragon pinned. I'll be right back."
"Gah! Let go!" Hiccup shouted, unable to fight the strength of the behemoth. "Toothless!" He continued to shout, pulling against Strogg's grip.
"Shut up." Strogg growled, pushing aside his men to make a pathway "If you want to keep your other foot, stop struggling."
Hiccup refused to let up, though it didn't really make a difference. Arriving at the front lines, he was then shoved onto his knees in front of him. He looked up at Strogg with anger on his face, which disappeared as he saw him hold a massive axe over him. Turning to where the Berkians were lined up, he saw his dad, Gobber, Astrid and Ukiah stare at him in horror. This was really bad.
"Stoick!" Strogg called out, keeping the axe hanging over Hiccup "You charge us and he's dead!"