"Thank the gods." Hiccup said as he flew with Astrid on Striker's back.
"I knew she'd rescue us." Astrid said and kissed him on the cheek.
"But… where is she?" Striker gave a soft, sad warble in reply. "I don't like that answer. We should go to the nest to check on her."
"I agree." So, they flew to the nest in silence. When they got there, Hiccup got off the skrill and helped Astrid down, giving her a kiss.
Then, he was tackled by Toothless, who violently licked him. "Gaah. You know that doesn't wash out." Hiccup said as Astrid giggled. Stormfly upon smelling her rider being taken by a skrill flew to the nest as well and nuzzled her.
"I missed you too girl." Astrid pet her snout.
Hiccup then remembered what he was worried about. "Toothless, where's Pache. We want to see her and make sure she's alright." Toothless's eyes went wide and he looked toward Striker who seemed to shrink down.
"Striker, where's my niece?" Toothless asked, a slight tone of harshness in his voice.
"W-we tried to get help to save Alpha Hiccup, b-but the people turned on us and we were captured. She let me escape so you and your rider could save her." She lowered her head submissively, expecting some form of punishment.
The Red Death still left it's mark on the dragons, who'd every now and then been frightened of their ruler. To a dragon's life span the two Alphas hadn't been around long, and the nest's subjects had barely seen kindness in rulers. But, they had continuous reminders of their saviors' compassion.
Toothless growled, then looked at Hiccup and his wife. "Who were they?"
Striker looked at him and said, "Outcasts."
Toothless roared. "OF ALL THE PEOPLE!"
"I'm sorry." she said.
He sighed and began to claw at the dirt, making the shape of the outcast symbol. Over the years he'd gotten better at drawing.
Hiccup's eyes widened and he looked at Astrid. "Outcasts."
Immediately, Astrid got on Stormfly. "Well, I'm not going to stand around while my daughter is on the boat with a bunch of fat ninnies. Let's go save her." Hiccup gave her a smile.
"After all, we kind of owe her." So, he got on Toothless and they flew off, Striker following close behind.
"Toothless, we're heading towards Berk." Hiccup said.
"Nooo, I didn't notice." All Hiccup heard was a rumble, but he noticed the sarcasm.
"Toothless, now's not the time for sarcasm. Why are we heading there, we just escaped." Toothless nudged Hiccup's foot where a small leather tassel Pache made was hanging. He was using that to track her. "Oh. She's there. Then… that means that the outcasts are there too. Crap." He yelled and toothless and him stopped, Astrid nearly bumping into them and Striker into them.
"Why have we stopped?" Astrid shouted over the howling wind.
"I think we're going to need reinforcements. He said, smiling. Toothless's head lit up blue and he roared as loud as he could into the sky. Only a few minutes later did a response came.
The nest coming too, and the outcasts would be sorry for taking their princess.
BOOM
"Archers, FIRE!" Alvin shouted at his men. The attack on Berk had started ten minutes ago, and it was a whirlwind of arrows, blades, limbs, and blood. Alvin and Stoick were barking orders like madmen.
After the Dragon master and Astrid's escape, the arena was in shock. Some out of realization that the Death Rider and Hiccup, Hiccup, were the same, and some out of shock that they escaped like that. The inhuman strength of breaking the chains, and how they'd mocked every viking in their presence by leaving small wooden dragons as remnants.
But most of all how their chief had tears rolling down his cheeks.
A loud crash was heard in the distance and the attack on Berk had begun. Everyone was fighting, even some of the children. Around every corner there seemed to be an ambush, or a boulder being fired.
"How are we holding?" Stoick asked a scout.
"We have lost over 13 buildings, including two watchtowers, five homes, two farmhouses, the butcher shop, and three storage places."
Stoick was surprised, but didn't show it. "Any deaths?"
"Not so far, but many are wounded."
"How many have we taken out?"
"We've taken out seven of their sixteen ships, and many of their men have fallen."
"Good."The battle wasn't looking good for Berk, and it looked even worse for the Outcasts. However, it all depended on taking out Alvin, which Stoick could definitely do.
After about five more minutes of running and injuring Outcasts on the way, Stoick finally made it to the docks to take out Alvin.
"Stoick, just the man I was looking for." A raspy voice said, and the battle stopped for a second as everyone looked to watch the battle between chiefs.
"And why would that be Alvin? We've beaten you before, why wouldn't we do it again?"
"Because Stoick, this time I have an advantage. Bring her out." He said to one of his men, who took five others with him, just in case.
Everyone stood there for a moment, in suspense wondering why most of Alvin's men were smiling. They soon found out as a little five year old girl with chains on her ankles and wrists was carried toward Alvin.
"Wha…" Stoick said, but then saw the little girl's face and recognized her as the one who was holding the terrible terror.
Astrid and the Death Rider's son.
His granddaughter.
"I'd explain the situation better hence your...well, stoic expression but I don't think I need to." he smiled and pulled hard on the Pache's chains, making her fall with a grunt. Now that she was on her stomach everyone could see the wounds more clearly. Her back was covered in blood from whip marks, and the bottom of her hair was red, and messy from it.
"Who'd do that to a little girl?" A voice, recognized as Mrs. Hofferson, asked.
Alvin the Treacherous, that's who. He'd torture children, make your worst nightmares come true. And he'd enjoy it.
Playing dumb, Stoick said, "Why does she make a difference. You know who her parents are. Traitors who have disgraced the viking name. Why do you think I care?"
"Because Stoick, you're not heartless. All you have to do is look in her face and see your wife. I see it too. You of all people should see it the best, and know that if you decline my offer this child will be tortured and killed right in front of you." He smiled, and the blood in his mustache gave him a horrific look.
"Just like I did with your father." He laughed and smacked Pache's face and she squealed. Stoick ran up and punched him, but it was blocked. The two chief's fighting had begun, and it was gruesome. Stoick didn't have the usual mercy he would have at the end when he let the Outcasts go. His face was of pure fury. Alvin was enjoying every second of the battle, enjoying the hate radiating off his rival, and seeming to feed off it.
Their swords clashed and green eyes met brown. "I remember it like it was yesterday. All I wanted was a change in the leader, and all you had to do was hand over your right to chiefdom to me. But you couldn't and your father paid the price. I can smell his blood on you still. It reeks with disappointment." Alvin smirked and began to overpower Stoick in strength. He kicked the sword out of his hands and was about to make the last strike when suddenly lightning hit his sword and jerked him backwards.
Behind him you could see a little girl, her hand extended with lightning circling around it, seeping through her fingers and causing the shackles to fall off when it laced through the keyhole.
A giant roar was heard in the distance and somebody recognized it as a,"NIGHT FURY!"
"GET DOWN!" a blue plasma blast hit one of the outcast ships, causing water to burst in through the sides. But, not far behind them was a whole army of dragons. One by one, they blasted the ships, and landed to fight the Outcasts. The people of Berk were astonished at how the dragons were helping them, and sooner rather than later joined the battle which took a turn for the best.
Now, back to the little girl who just shot a lightning bolt from her hand. Alvin and Stoick were looking at her, gaping as she brought all her strength and stood up. Her eyes were thin slits, and they seemed to almost glow green and blue, like the ocean. She was muttering under her breath a language the two chief's couldn't understand, and lightning was circling around her feet and arms.
"Let the wind carry us to the clouds, hurry up..."
"Wha...how're you…"
"We can travel as far as our eyes can see…"
Alvin was petrified, his face a pale white. How can a little girl he'd severely beaten have the strength to stand up, nevertheless shoot a lightning bolt? How can a little girl have oceanic eyes and speak a different language?
Dragons. That's why. They're the most amazing creatures ever, able to teach a human anything whether it's strength or wisdom.
"We go where no one goes…"
"Shut up girl!" he said and ran up to hit her, but was knocked back by a bolt of electricity.
"We slow for no one…" She was singing her favorite lullaby her father would sing to her every night, with the exception of the other night. It gave her comfort and made her feel original because not only was it a part of her father, but her mother as well. Pache when she first learned to write wrote a letter to her mother. The letters were all messy and the grammar was horrible, but she got a reply.
It was lyrics to a song, a lullaby. But with it came a warning that said that it was dangerous for her to send letters, so she didn't send anymore. She still kept that letter hidden in a chest under a rock in her room. Her father discovered it though after Toothless sniffed out the scent of vikings. It was faint, but there nonetheless, so Hiccup sang her the lyrics remembering it from deep in his memory when his father sang it before his mother died.
"Get out of our way." She was having many visions at once. About Toothless and her father first meeting, about her mother falling in love with her father, and about her grandmother's blurry image playing with a newborn baby.
For once in her life she had good visions, but there was one intrusion. Alvin. Her last vision was of him killing her great grandfather in front of her father. He was the thorn in her side, the evil in her goodness, and the nightmare in her world of dreams, and Pache wanted it to STOP. She wanted him to get out of her way. He would pay for what he had done to her family, in the past and the present.
And she'd make sure he wouldn't be there to make anything wrong in the future.
Walking over to him slowly she sang her lullaby for strength. In the eyes of her allies she looked like an angel in the midst of battle. But, to her enemy she looked like a demon straight from the gates of hell. Pache whistled for her dragon who came almost immediately after, and as soon as contact was made with Striker the skrill became in the same trance- like state as her rider, and both of their scars on their eyes lit up. A giant lightning bolt appeared through the air and glowed so white that many people in battle had to avert their eyes from the scene.
It hovered right above Alvin. He looked up and his face looked like it was struck with true terror. He tried to move, but as soon as he twitched dragon and rider roared and the bolt shot down, striking the Outcast chief straight in the chest.