27 Double or Nothing

General Karoc and the last seventeen of his men had been pushed all the way up to the forecastle of the battleship and were fighting for their lives with their backs to the bowsprit. The Vikings and their allies now had almost complete control and had managed to steer away from the Mighty Ivar which now ran alongside less than twenty feet away. Looking across the water, Karoc could see the gaping hole his ship had made in the enemy vessel five feet above the waterline and could only imagine what the bow of his ship must look like; he also saw dragon after dragon climbing, jumping and flying out of the hatch in the main deck and he began to suspect that all was lost; that was until he turned around and looked towards shore. They were still a long way off, but the sheer number of ships in the approaching fleet filled him with hope. All he had to do was to survive a little longer and recapture a few dragons for his Emperor; the battle wasn't lost yet.

"Hold this ship till the fleet arrives" he ordered his men before disappearing down the forward hatch.

Hiccup looked up with joy as the captive dragons poured out of the hold of the Mighty Ivar and took to the sky; stage one of the rescue was almost over. As he assessed the situation around him, Hiccup noticed the large number of the enemy splashing desperately behind the ships and he knew his conscience would not allow him to just leave them there.

"KARA" he called across the water "TOSS ALL THE BOATS OVER THE STERN."

Looking back, she noticed the reason for the order and waved an acknowledgment; Ack also heard what Hiccup had said, so he grabbed a few sailors and started to do the same on the Mighty Ivar.

"Merciful to the end" Astrid smiled.

Hiccup turned, delighted to see Astrid at last and without a word, grabbed her roughly and just held her tight for a moment.

"I'm so glad you're alright" he declared "how are the others?"

"Well... Ruff and Legs are okay but..."

Hiccups mind raced "y-you mean one of the dragons..."

"No..." she whispered "it's... Fotherington... they were going to kill us... he stopped them."

Hiccup took a long deep breath; he began to see that these spies, whom he had not trusted in the past, were not the men he had assumed them to be.

"Is he hurt badly?"

"He's dead Hiccup."

The Dragon Masters head dropped as he contemplated this turn of events.

"So I owe him a debt that I can never repay."

"We'll see about that" Astrid sighed.

"Listen here" Starkard noted "I know a post battle cuddle is very romantic, but I think you should both have a quick look forward off the port bow."

Hiccup and Astrid took their friends advice and saw the approaching fleet drawing nearer. It was plain to see that the ships they stood on would never be able to stand against such a force, so the time had come to alter their tactics.

"Looks like it's time we departed" Astrid declared.

"Yes... we should head straight to..." Hiccup paused as he realised something important.

"What is it Babe?"

"Those ships will be filled with soldiers, right?" Hiccup began.

"And there's a great reason to leave" Astrid nodded.

"But if we do, they'll just turn around and head back to shore."

"And we'll be flying to the Capital; what's your point?" she pondered.

"You've been in the palace Astrid; you know how big the city is... and how well defended it is. I hope we'll be in and out with the prisoners quickly but if we get bogged down, we don't want those soldiers arriving in the middle of it all to help re-enforce the City Guard."

"True... so what do we do about it Hiccup?"

The Dragon Masters head turned from left to right and back again as he desperately looked for inspiration.

"Okay" he said at last "Astrid; you and Ruffnut get your dragons and go over to the other ship. Tell Kara to get rid of the last of the New Loran soldiers and then get everyone else off and onto dragons, but you two stay with Stormfly and Barf & Belch. Starkard, you do the same here; I want everyone gone five minutes ago... oh, and take care of Victor and Fotherington too."

"I will" he replied before hurrying off.

"Fishlegs, now that the dragons are free, I need you to find Boomer for me and send him back here" Hiccup continued.

"Right" Fishlegs nodded as he climbed onto Meatlug.

"Hang on Babe" Astrid asked with concern "Boomer? You're not planning to... you are, aren't you?"

"It's the best way I can think of to slow them down" he kissed Astrids cheek "Good luck."

"Hey... what about me?" Ruffnut asked as Hiccup ran off towards the wheel deck.

"GOOD LUCK RUFFNUT" he called back.

"I meant where is my kiss?"

"Here" Astrid said as she pecked Ruffnut's cheek.

"It's not the same" Ruffnut sighed as she climbed onto her dragon.

The Elydonian sailors that held the wheel deck greeted Hiccup with broad smiles as he climbed the steps from the main deck; they were all very pleased with their success in getting their ship back, but they would not feel that way if they only knew what Hiccup had in mind.

"We're done here" he informed them "grab a lift from the Dragon Riders and get off the ship."

"Err... yes sir; if you say so" their leader agreed as they left.

Hiccup took the helm and kept the ship on course toward the naval port and the ships approaching him. All around him, as well as on the enemy battleship, dragons were sweeping in and out and removing Vikings and Elydonians from the nearly deserted ships while in a long line behind him, enemy soldiers clung for their lives to the lifeboats bobbing up and down in the water.

"Here he is Hiccup" Fishlegs called as Boomer the Zippleback touched down nearby "do you need anything else?"

"Yes... tell Starkard and Kara to stay clear of those ships ahead; there are too many of them to take on, and they're too well armed."

"Will do" Fishlegs nodded.

"But tell them to slow the ships down with a little dragon fire; Sails and rudders, understand?"

"Sails and rudders; understood."

"DON'T FORGET... KEEP YOUR DISTANCE."

"RIGHT" Fishlegs agreed as he flew off.

Hiccup contemplated the damaged ship that stretched out in front of him; he had so looked forward to using it and exploring the world.

"Oh well" he sighed "we can always build another one."

"I always said he was crazy" Ruffnut snorted as she landed her dragon on the enemy ship.

"Ah yes" Astrid agreed "but just like you, I like crazy."

"No... you LOVE crazy."

"Ohhh yes" Astrid agreed again as she waved to Hiccup from the helm of the Generals ship, indicating her readiness.

The Imperial Coach had been moved to the dockside so the Emperor could observe the arrival of his new fire breathing pets. A hundred or more dock workers stood by ready to cheer when so ordered, and fifty elite guards kept them all a safe distance from the Emperor.

"It won't be long now" Emperor Scias declared from the roof of his coach as the dragon ships drew nearer and his powerful fleet surrounded them.

"No Your Highness" Borges agreed.

"Those Dragon Riders thought they could save their friends, but look; they can't get anywhere near my ships and I can see three... no... four dragons still on the decks. I WILL HAVE DRAGONS TODAY!" he shivered with excitement.

"Err... shouldn't they be lowering their sails and slowing down by now?" Borges asked confused.

"Karoc is plainly in a hurry to get the captives ashore so he can concentrate on taking down those accursed Vikings and securing me more dragons."

"No doubt Highness" Borges agreed while looking around for the best escape route.

The flying Dragon Riders had done a reasonable job slowing down the attacking ships before they could get close enough to board the Mighty Ivar and the Battleship; the sea near the coast was heavy with the smoke from burning sails and smouldering sterns. Hiccup was right not to order a full on attack as arrows, bolts and catapulted rocks flew up from the deck of every ship; the dragons would have been slaughtered had they gotten too close. Scias was still certain that his vastly superior numbers would win the day; his fleet may be having some trouble, but they were surrounding the captured ships and would soon swarm all over them.

Down under the forecastle of his battleship, General Karoc peered out of the hole in the bow created when the two vessels collided. He was the last one of his countrymen alive on either ship, now that the enemy had finished fighting and throwing overboard all survivors into the sea.

"Any minute now" he grinned as the port drew nearer.

As soon as the ships struck the dock, the soldiers on shore would begin to board the ship and Karoc planned to climb out of the hatch and lead them to victory in front of the Emperor, but something was wrong; the air began to feel heavy and Karoc was finding it difficult to breathe. He had no choice; he had to get out now before he suffocated.

Not far away on the dock, Emperor Scias was beginning to wonder if everything was still going as well as he hoped.

"LOOK AT THOSE" he cried out excitedly as both Zippleback dragons flew off the sterns of the ships "they've got two heads each... but where are they going?"

"Time to go Bud" Hiccup declared as he lashed off the helm.

Over on the other vessel, Astrid was busily engaged in the same task before she leapt onto Stormfly.

"MY DRAGONS" the Emperor raged "THEY'RE TAKING MY DRAGONS!"

But Scias's advisor had already scampered down the steps by the coach driver's bench and was looking for cover as the ships drew closer and closer. General Karoc exited the forward hatch coughing and spluttering just in time to see a Deadly Nadder whisk her rider away from the doomed ship while the heavy air swirled around his feet.

"Now?" Astrid asked.

"Now" Hiccup nodded.

"What is that green smoke coming out of the ships?" Scias inquired of no one in particular, just as shots of magnesium and plasma fell down from the dragons flying above.

Karoc watched the approaching fire balls intently, so he did not see the rapidly approaching dock behind him. The General was thrown heavily onto his back as the ships bows rose up when they struck land; splintering wood, ropes and sails twisted through the air while soldiers and dock workers backed up in awe. King Joric took advantage of the distraction and threw himself under the Imperial Coach before the guards could react.

"I'LL KILL EVERYONE OF THOSE FILTHY..." were General Karoc's last words as the fireballs struck each ship, igniting the Zippleback gas.

Two massive plumes of fire expanded across the dock and the sea, as the Imperial Battleship and the Mighty Ivar were instantly turned into flying fiery debris. Four of the still pursuing ships were engulfed while everyone on shore fled for their lives before the destruction of the growing blast.

"That's the second biggest explosion I've ever seen" Ruffnut declared.

"Really?" Hiccup was surprised "It's the biggest one I've ever seen."

"Hiccup my sweet, you and Toothless were inside the biggest explosion we'd ever seen" Astrid informed him.

"Tuffnut's not going to be happy when he hears that he missed this" Hiccup noted.

"Maybe we shouldn't tell him" Astrid offered.

"Oh I'm telling him alright" Ruffnut grinned an evil grin.

Down on the dock, people continued to run for their lives. The Emperor's coach had been blown backwards over twenty yards and now lay smouldering on its side. Joric checked his wounds and was pleased to find they were mostly superficial thanks to the protection afforded to him by the coach, but some of his guards were not so fortunate; most were fleeing with horrid injuries but four lay dead several feet away from where they had stood. Although he did feel slightly guilty about his actions, the King of Elydonia began to search the dead men; he quickly found a knife that he put under his belt, and a gold hilted sword of the Imperial Guard. The second body yielded a key that unlocked his chains so, now free but still surrounded by fire and destruction, Joric made for a warehouse one hundred and fifty yards away; the southern end of its roof was on fire so he hoped to find a little solitude there to work out his next move.

"Well that takes care of that" Mulch nodded adamantly as the Dragon Riders began to gather together high over the burning dock "So what do we do now Hiccup?"

"We rescue everyone else" he staunchly declared "Are all the dragons from the ship okay?"

"ALL PRESENT AND IN GREAT CONDITION" shouted a very happy Snotlout from the back of Hookfang.

"Snotlout; you've got your dragon back" Hiccup smiled "but where's Ghost?"

The cry of a Changewing behind him answered Hiccups question.

"How about our people; did we lose anyone?"

The Vikings spent a moment looking around before they realised that there was no one missing.

"They didn't stand a chance against us with our dragons" Ack declared to a rousing cheer from the others.

"And Joric's sailors?" Hiccup asked.

"We're all here sir" one called back "you Vikings bore the brunt of the fighting; we just helped a bit."

"Ya can't keep a Viking at the back when there's a battle to be fought" Kara stated to another cheer.

"Fotherington was our only casualty then" Hiccup sighed at the thought.

"So do we fly on to the city?" Snotlout asked.

"Not quite" Hiccup corrected "Astrid will lead you all to an abandoned farm we once used and we'll regroup there; where's Victor?"

"HERE!" he cried out from the behind Starkard.

"I want you to come with me to check out the capital."

"Be careful Babe" Astrid implored as Victor swapped dragons.

"Don't worry... I've got him."

"That's not what I meant" she mumbled as they flew off.

There is something I just don't understand; according to the Traffic Stats, 39 people read chaper 25, while 47 people read chapter 26. Did 8 people just skip a chapter? Weird huh?

Down at the other end of the story I am just finishing off chapter 37 so it looks like this one should come in at under 40... but we will see as I have made predictions like that before and been very wrong. I was so looking forward to starting my own novel after this, but now I've got two more HTTYD story ideas so who knows.