Okay. Hey guys! I'm updating a little late because I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm going to Peru for a Mission's Trip with my church and won't be back until July, so I don't know how long it'll be until the next chapter is uploaded. So, that's that.
Also, I've seen HTTYD 2 twice now AND I'M TELLING YOU IT WAS AMAZING! I've been listening to the soundtrack while writing this, and let me tell you John Powell is a genius. (But I already knew that from the first soundtrack.)
So, yeah.
Reviewers!
Phoenixofmyth: It is now! And thanks!
Forever Me: Happy late birthday, then! Here's your next chapter!
star7k: They probably tried it and didn't like it. Just a guess.
faisyah865: I'm going to be organizing a lot of funerals, aren't I?
Jo: Yayyyy! A review! Yayyyy! You're alive!
Book girl fan: I'm a full-time superwholockian, so you probably know how that goes. And I agree with you about Toothless.
AND NOW! Boys, girls, dragon riders, consulting detectives, and time lords, I GIVE YOU... (dramatic music) CHAPTER 12!
Chapter 12
What started out as a simple plan soon became extremely complex. There were four different opinions on how to do everything. Snotlout was all for using dragons to break in and save Toothless, but none of the others were too keen on storming the fortress; they wanted to use stealth to sneak in. Fishlegs wanted to tunnel underground and Astrid thought it best to create distractions. Guess who would be the bait! It definitely wasn't going to be her or Hiccup. Speaking of Hiccup, he started talking about all these complicated machines of which just the idea made Snotlout's head hurt.
"Wait," he interrupted as Hiccup introduced his latest theory. "We're gonna do what to a what now?"
"We'll launch a catapult to make a loud noise and distract some of the Outcasts," he explained. "Then, I know if this plant that makes you really sleepy if you sniff it, so..."
"How in the name of Thor would you be able to find plants in this place?" Snotlout asked skeptically. Hiccup frowned.
"We have to do something," he said, exasperation evident in his voice. Snotlout sighed and Astrid crossed her arms.
"Hiccup," Fishlegs said, "We'll get Toothless back, one way or another." Hiccup nodded.
"If it's the last thing we do," Astrid added. Snotlout couldn't help feeling a bit nervous at this statement. It sounded too much like foreshadowing.
"We need to be ready for anything," he said.
"He's right," Hiccup said. "For all we know, there are Outcasts just around that corner."
Everyone peeked around the corner, just to make sure. Nothing.
"That's satisfying," Astrid said sarcastically. Snotlout shot her a glance.
"I still don't see why we can't just storm the place," Snotlout said. When Astrid rolled her eyes, he added, "No, I'm serious! Most of the Outcasts will be too busy holding off the chief and the others, and there'll be at least a few search parties out looking for Hiccup." Everyone looked thoughtful.
"This actually could work," Hiccup said, excitement forming in his eyes.
And so the plan-making began.
~Page Break~
Excessive amounts of exercise can take its toll on those who aren't really up for it. Take running, for example. It's healthy to run daily, but after a while, you begin to get tired and your feet become sore. Still pressing on after that, your stomach may begin to cramp and you feel like you're going to pass out. One doesn't even want to imagine what it would be like to keep on after that. So, when you're running directly behind an enormous chief in desperate search of his son, you tend to become a little overworked.
"Stoick," Gobber called, panting and trying to keep up with his best friend. "Don't you think we should slow down? At least take a break?"
"I'll slow down when we find Hiccup," the chief yelled in response, his eyes narrowed. Gobber glanced uncertainly back at the other Vikings of Berk. They were in sight, but just so. Many had stopped to take a breather, and others had collapsed due to exhaustion. Raising his eyebrow, the blacksmith slowed his pace ever so slightly.
"We've been running for who knows how long," he replied. "I don't think we're going to have much of an army to raid Alvin with if we keep this up for much longer." Gobber thanked the gods as Stoick slowed down and turned his head. His eyes quickly processed what he was seeing. The leader of Berk obviously knew that he was right.
"Okay," he said. "We'll rest for a half an hour. Then, we'll continue onward." Gobber let out a sigh of relief. This was better than nothing.
"Wake me up when we're ready," he said, collapsing onto the rocky surface of the ground. He slowly closed his eyes, wanting to savor every ounce of sleep he could. Gobber wanted to find Hiccup nearly as much as Stoick did, but he knew that he wouldn't be of use to anyone if he was asleep on his feet. As the world around his slid into darkness, he could have sworn he heard a low growl coming from somewhere. Now he was most certainly hearing things. At least that's what he thought until he heard his chief call out.
"Toothless?" Gobber's eyes popped open and he got right back to his feet.
"Toothless!" he called. Stoick slapped him on the arm.
"Ow! What?"
"Don't make so much noise! The Outcasts could be anywhere. If they hear us, they might find Toothless and Hiccup."
"Oh. Sorry," Gobber whispered. The other Vikings began to climb from their resting positions, also. They slowly crept in the direction of the roar. Of course, that would be different directions.
"Gobber? What are you doing? It came from this way!" Stoick said, shooting a glance at him
"No, I'm pretty sure it was this way," Gobber said, motioning toward the crevice he was headed for. Neither of them had time to continue their argument, however, because at that very moment, something very big and very black came bursting out of the bushes.
"Night fury!" someone cried.
"Get down!" another shouted. Gobber had heard these words said many times, but he'd never been so glad for them before now.
"Toothless!" he said, smiling at Hiccup's best friend. A deep purr came from the dragon's throat, indicating relief.
"Where's Hiccup?" Stoick asked. Toothless rumbled in response. He held himself with strong determination.
"Everyone back up," he shouted. The few Vikings that groaned were soon silenced with a hard glare from Gobber.
They were going to find Hiccup, and they were going to find him alive and unscathed if the blacksmith had anything to say about it.
~Page Break~
"Not only could you not catch the Dragon Conqueror, you couldn't even catch the night fury?!" yelled Alvin the Treacherous, fuming with fury. Savage winced. All the Outcasts had been following their leader and chasing after both the boy and the reptile when, suddenly, both had disappeared! Vanished into thin air! With orders from Alvin, they'd climbed to the highest points of the island and looked for any sign of the escapees, but there was nothing. This did not make him very happy.
"Did you check under every rock? Every crevice of every cave? It seems like you didn't even try!" Savage looked down at the ground. He hated making Alvin angry. Partly because Alvin was the Outcast leader, but mostly because his life hung in the balance as second in command.
"There's a slight possibility that they weren't with each other, so one might come to us." Alvin continued. "We'll go back to the arena to wait. Stoick and his army might even show up!" Savage glanced up. That's what he'd said after the failed search attempt! Yet another one of his ideas passed off as his leader's. He glanced back. A lot of the Outcasts were glaring at Savage, as if everything was his fault! What could he have done? He didn't have a Hiccup-and-Toothless-Tracking Device! There wasn't any way to track the two down. He glanced back at the angry faces.
Great Thor, he was going to be the one to catch them if he had to die trying.
~Page Break~
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"How about now?"
"No."
"Now?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"Snotlout!"
Astrid and Snotlout shot angry glances at each other. Don't get her wrong, she was glad that he wasn't dead, but he was getting on her nerves. And by 'getting on her nerves', she meant irritating her almost to the point of insanity. Looking around, she could see that Hiccup and Fishlegs felt the same. Fishlegs would try closing his eyes, but have to open them every few seconds just to make sure he didn't trip over anything. Hiccup was staring a little too intently at the space in front of him, as if trying to concentrate on anything but the voices behind him. All of a sudden, he stopped.
"Hiccup?" Astrid questioned.
"We're here," he replied. "You might want to get down." In response, the rest of them got on their knees. While peeking over a ledge, the Outcast camp could be seen. The bad news: It was swarming with Outcasts and they couldn't see Toothless. The good news: There was no more bad news.
"I thought you said there wouldn't be that many," Astrid said, casting an accusing glance at Snotlout. She knew that his idea hadn't been half bad, but he was the one she was most annoyed with right now, and she needed someone to be angry with.
"They must have come back while we were still planning," Hiccup said, the sadness barely detectable in his voice.
"Hey," Astrid said, adjusting her position so that she could look at him, "We'll find Toothless and get him out of there."
"I hope so," he said. The look on his face changed from desperation to determination.
"We'll need someone on the inside," he said. "I can't go. They'd recognize me in an instant."
"Well, it shouldn't be too hard," Snotlout said, glancing over the ledge. "We already have some." Confused, the others looked for what he was talking about.
"Oh no," Hiccup said. Astrid just slapped her forehead.
"Is that Ruffnut and Tuffnut," Fishlegs asked. He sounded like he didn't really want an answer.
"Yeah."
Silence.
"Well, this just got a little more complicated."
There ya go! Avoid the bagels! Have a nice day!
-Shadow