AN: Here again! New chapter, enjoy!
Song: The Final Countdown
Disclaimer: I don't own httyd
"Meet the Terrible Terror!"
Our Dragon Training group was standing in front of the most armoured door in the ring, with our regular weapons at the ready. Jack, seeing the need for something bigger than a shank, had recently purchased a light sword. It didn't hit hard, but it was quick and weightless. He held it in his right hand firmly.
The door that opened was not what we expected at all. Instead of the massive door, there was a tiny hatch in the bottom of the door that swung open, and a tiny dragon fit through it, standing before us.
It was green, and its big, bulbous eyes darted between different things very rapidly, like a hyper person on caffeine. If I hadn't remembered that this is a freaking dragon we're talking about here, I might have walked up and petted him.
"Ha, he's like the size of my…" Tuffnut's laughter were abruptly interrupted by the Terrible Terror jumping onto his face, biting and clawing all over Tuffnut. "Oh, I am hurt, I am very much hurt! Get it off, get it off! AUGH!" His iconic catchphrase was spiked by a bit of actual pain in his voice this time. Suddenly, a light appeared on the floor, and the Terrible Terror noticed it as well. Jumping off of Tuffnut's face, it began to pace around the light, following the light as it moved across the floor. 'Just like a cat,' I thought amusedly. Looking up, I finally realized the source of the light. Hiccup was using the blade of his battleaxe like a mirror, reflecting the light. As the light reached the door, I ran up and closed it behind the Terror, trapping it back in its pen.
Everyone else was still staring at Hiccup as I turned around, with the subject of so many stares beginning to get quite uncomfortable. He started to walk out of the arena at a brisk pace, before turning around as he reached the top of the ramp, with the rest of our group walking ahead of him before realized that he had stopped. As we turned around to face him, he pointed his thumb back in the direction of the arena. "Oh, sorry, I think I left my axe in the arena."
He then turned around and proceeded to run back into the arena, all of the rest of us noticing the excuse for what it was, but not questioning it. Jack and I proceeded to head back home, eating a light lunch before setting off for the cove once more.
The next few days went by in much the same way. Dragon Training days came and went quickly, with Hiccup finding some way to beat the dragon without actually harming it in any way. One day, he took some grass, which he had discovered and then affectionately named "dragonip", to completely placate an angry Gronkle. In another match, he scratched right behind the ear of a Nadder, rendering it harmless. Every win seemed to be a fluke, yet I knew better. He was using little tricks learned during his time with Toothless.
Finally, we came to the final fight of Dragon Training. Snotlout and twins were eliminated due to their stupidity, and Fishlegs was out due to his scamperish nature. Now, it was Astrid, Ripper, Hiccup, and the two time travellers. We were the only ones with any sense of being able to stay alive. Our opponent was the Nadder from a few fights ago, stalking around the arena that we now stood in, which was covered with small wooden walls, like small foxholes to hide in. Astrid was looking furious, as she had been getting shown up quite a lot recently. Everyone in the village was present, including Stoick, who had, according to Hiccup, had just returned from another trip to find the dragon's lair, which seemed to be the bane of the Berkians' existance on this crazy little island. I, honestly, had not even noticed he was gone, nor did I really care.
But, all of this aside, I knew two things. 1: I couldn't get caught by the Nadder, as it would waste me with its spikes, and 2: If I shot, it had to be up close, because I couldn't afford to waste bullets. So, I resorted to the one tactic that thousands of people across the world have used.
I hid like a little bitch.
My amazingly well thought-out tactic paid quick dividends, as the Nadder instead saw Ripper, who was the only one out of all of us not cowering behind a wall. Instead, he was eager to show his skills to the village, although he was hoping that he wouldn't win. After all, he was the one that had to guard our secret the most, being close to the talk of the town right now, Hiccup. He taunted the Nadder, making it shoot plenty of fire his way. But, instead of becoming fried Ripper, he did something quite epic.
Third Person-ish View
Sprinting across a small portion of open floor, he quickly ran into a small wooden cover spot. But, instead of simply dodging out of the way of it, he suddenly ran onto it. Tightrope-running across it, he jumped as he reached the end, lunging for the next cover, just a few steps away. However, he had timed his jump improperly, and he fell a foot or two short. He tried to scrabble across the stones for the wall, but it was too late. The flames were already coming his way. He cringed slightly, closing his eyes and waiting for the sensation he knew would come…
Except it didn't.
When Ripper slowly opened his eyes again, he saw something amazing. A shield had wedged itself in between the wall and the floor, covering Ripper from the fire, saving his life. He turned around quickly to see Brandon, his arm still extended in a discus-throwing position. He smirked at Ripper, giving him a cocky grin and a salute. Ripper returned both in kind before ripping the shield back out of the wall, with both now being severely blackened. He quickly moved towards the back of the arena, not eager to do his little stunt again.
Brandon's POV
After saving Ripper's life, I turned back to the task at hand. Jack and I had both found each other, and regrouped. We rolled out again, with one thing in mind: get close enough to shoot. Oh, and not get blasted and/or impaled. Now, with our priorities straightened out again, we would soon find out that we failed one of those, as the Nadder noticed us quickly. Before we could even blink, it sent a wall of spikes our way. Most of them fanned out too much in the cone that the Nadder had created while flicking its tail to actually do anything, but there was one that was flying straight at me. I knew I couldn't dodge it, it was too fast. So I tried to put my hands up, shielding my more vital organs, and bracing myself for feeling my hand being pierced by a spike. But, unlike Ripper, my eyes were open, so I saw what happened next.
Almost as fast as Clint Eastwood, Jack drew his gun from his holster, immediately bringing it up to his face and holding it with two hands. After a split-second of aiming, he fired. The bullet roared from its chamber, splitting the air with a whoosh. It flew through the arena quietly, like a silent assassin. Alas, its target this time was not living, as it impacted the spike that had a vendetta against me. Splitting in two, the halves of the once lethal projective now rolled uselessly at my feet. I just sat there, my arms lowered again, staring at the object that had made my life flash before my eyes.
"How…" I began, before Jack looked at me quickly.
"Heat of the moment," was the quick reply, and I left it at that, my mind still trying to get the metaphorical wrench that Jack had just thrown into the gears of my brain out. So, the only people that hadn't done anything epic were Astrid and Hiccup. The two of them were under different barriers, both getting awfully close to the Nadder, which was sniffing at something. If I had a guess, I'd say it was probably the Viking's body odor.
While I was busy dissing an entire civilisation, Astrid and Hiccup finally sprang into action, with the former letting out a war whoop before vaulting the barrier she was hiding behind, drawing the Nadder's attention to her. Hiccup, knowing that Astrid's fury would probably result in a dead or very injured Nadder, decided to intervene. Running out from behind his cover, he made a wild dash for the Nadder. As soon as he got there, he scratched it beneath its chin, sending it to the floor. Astrid was only greeted with her nemesis in triumph, and her prey already down.
Needless to say, she got pissed off.
"NO! NO! YOU SON OF A HALF-TROLL RAT-EATING MUNGE BUCKET!"
While it was admittedly entertaining watching Astrid finally launch off her rocker, I knew it had to stop. I went up behind her, putting my hand on her shoulder. She, on the other hand, whipped around and raised her axe, a murderous glare in her eyes.
On second though, maybe having to dodge her axe as it split into the ground was a bad idea.
However, Astrid's tantrum would have to wait, as Gobber dragged Hiccup back into the arena after he attempted to leave, and herded us all into a line facing one very old woman. "Quiet! The elder has made her decision!" Stoick bellowed, immediately silencing the crowd that had clustered around the arena. The elder simply sat and waited while Gobber put his meaty hand over Astrid's head. The elder shook her head no, eliciting a wave of murmurs from the crowd. These were soon quieted when Gobber moved his hand to the next person in line, Hiccup. The crowd was even more shocked when Hiccup also got a no. Looking surprised, Gobber moved to the next in line: me. 'Oh please, no. Don't do it!' I thought desperately. The elder hesitated for a second, making it even more tense. Finally she gave her decision.
No.
My shoulders slumped in relief as Gobber moved on to Jack, who also got a no, and finally Ripper, getting the same result as all of us. Now, however, we were all confused, including Gobber, who stared at the elder with a quizzical expression. Who would fight the dragon, if none of us got chosen? The elder, however, suddenly moved her arm. She laid it flat in the air, from her fingers to her elbow. Gobber, taking a hint, did the same thing, putting not just his hand, but the upper half of his arm over the four of us boys. The elder nodded.
While the crowd was happy, the four of us, as a quick glance at my partners-in-crime confirmed, were sinking quickly into despair. The Vikings that had been watching, slowly stuck his entire arm over the four boys.
The elder nodded. The crowd went wild. This had never happened before in the history of Berk. But, while the crowd was happy, Astrid was angry and the four boys felt a pervading sense of despair. While the Vikings that had made it into the arena began to parade Hiccup and Ripper on their shoulders, I caught one last thing that he said before he was out of sight.
"We are so…
AN: There it is! Sadly, though, school's about to start for me, so expect the frequency of updates to drop a bit. Being a freshie in high school is hard!