Chapter 2: The Attack
Hiccup and the other riders flew at a slow pace and flew lazy circles around their forces' ships. Hiccup was anxious. Apart of him wanted to just fly ahead with the other riders and start the attack. But the slight chance that Dagur could slip away amidst the chaos kept him from taking such rash action. Instead he tried to focus on the steady wing beats of his loyal friend. Hiccup always marveled at the strength that Toothless possessed. Toothless wasn't the largest of the dragons species and yet he could be one of the fiercest. His unrivaled speed, accuracy, and power of his plasma blast were devastating, and his great intelligence made him a match for nearly any foe. Yes he had lost count of how many times Toothless had saved him from peril and he considered himself extremely lucky to have such a loyal companion. Once we end this war Toothless will be safe. We won't have to worry about that lunatic anymore. With that thought his mind drifted back to Dagur. His arch enemy. A small flame of hate burned inside Hiccup as he thought of that accursed human being.
Hiccup had never really hated anyone before. Even back when he was bullied and ostracized by his entire tribe he just couldn't bring himself to hate any one of them. Even when his idiot cousin Snotlout did and said terrible things to him as kids he just let it go. Even when said cousin continued to flirt with his girlfriend he just sighed in annoyance and shrugged it off. But Dagur was a different story. He truly and utterly hated Dagur. The man was just insane. There was absolutely no reasoning with him. Hiccup had never done anything that he could see to truly warrant Dagur's obsessive desire to destroy him and obtain Toothless. Whatever the reason, Hiccup didn't care beacuse no force would ever separate him and Toothless.
"Hiccup!" A voice called that snapped Hiccup from his thoughts. Gazing to the left he saw Astrid pull Stormfly alongside Toothless. "Blackraven Island is in sight." She said motioning with her head to the island becoming visible in the distance. "It's almost time to start the operation. You ready?" She asked with a determined look in her eyes as she locked eyes with Hiccup through his leather riding mask.
Hiccup shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had to push aside his hate of Dagur for now. He needed focus he needed his actions to be guided by reason and not emotion. Turning his gaze back to the shieldmaiden he nodded in confirmation. Then he directed Toothless to dive. He swooped down and leveled out alongside the ship where his father was.
Stoick was standing at the bow of the ship. Hands at his sides he stared at the island the ship was slowly approaching. His mind was focused on the task at hand. He knew his part and trusted his son and his friends to carry out theirs.
"Dad!" The voice of his son made him turn to starboard to see Hiccup and his dragon flying alongside the ship. "Blackraven Island is in sight. Are we a go?" Stoick took a breath to steady his nerves and locked eyes with his son.
"Yes son. Commence the operation," Stoick reponded. Hiccup nodded and was about to adjust the tailfin to direct Toothless to gain altitude when he quickly added, "And good luck son."
Hiccup looked at his father and smiled underneath his riding helmet. "Thanks dad." He gave a nod before adjusting the tailfin and gaining altitude on Toothless.
Rejoining the riders in the sky he made a hand signal directing them all to climb to height of the clouds and head toward the island. The riders all nodded and directed their dragon upwards. Past the cloud cover they all increased their speed till they were above the island. On the west side of the island from which they were approaching they saw the Berserker ships. Five of them all pulled ashore. Hiccup could also make out a small campfire and what looked like tents. Upon reaching the island Hiccup directed the riders to remain above the clouds in order to hide. It was night time and while Toothless couldn't be spotted in the dark the other dragons could be. Especially when one of the dragons was a massive red Typhoomerang being flown by Amma. Hiccup and the riders began circling the island as they awaited the signal to begin the attack. The signal was to be a fire made by a ship that would take a position at the rear most position of the island. Then the other ship would light signal fires to show that they were in position. Then the other ships would continue this pattern until the island was surrounded by a circle of torch fire. The riders would attack when the first ship lit its fire. In the dark he could barely make the ships as they slowly approached the island. Slowly the ships began to separate and approximately half went to circle around the left side of the island while the rest went to circle the right side.
After what seemed like hours of circling above the island and keeping his eye on the back of the island Hiccup saw the faint light of a signal torch. Looking to all the riders to ensure that they also saw the torch he was met with 10 faces all looking at him and giving an affirmative nod. Locking eyes with Snotlout he point straight to him and then down to the camp. Snotlout gave a wicked smile before directing Hookfang into a dive.
Hiccup smirked at his cousin's enthusiasm. He knew Snotlout would be eager to draw first blood. Then he steeled himself before adjusting the tailfin and sending Toothless after him. The other riders in tow they quickly approached the ground and readied themselves for battle.
The operation had begun.
Dagur the Deranged was inside his tent staring at the drawn image of a Night Fury on a table. His face was an angry scowl as he continued to stare at the accursed beast of his obsession. On one hand Dagur wanted the Night Fury more than he wanted anything in his life. On the other hand that damn beast was ridden by the weak and pathetic excuse of a Viking Hiccup. Hiccup. Dagur thoughts of the young man only served to worsen his already foul mood. Dagur hated Hiccup more than anything. He hated how scrawny Hiccup was. He hated how short Hiccup was. He hated how much he embodied exactly what a Viking was not supposed to be. Yet what Dagur hated most about Hiccup was how despite all those shortcomings and weaknesses, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III had managed to do something as great as tame a dragon. A Night Fury at that, THE unholy offspring of lighting and death. A dragon so powerful and deadly legends warned that hiding and praying for divine intervention was the only course of action for survival.
His hatred of Hiccup had only grown over the years. At every attempt to capture the Fury Hiccup had managed to best him. When Hiccup had hit his growth spurt Dagur's hatred skyrocketed all the way to Valhalla. For now he had to admit that he found Hiccup just the least bit intimidating. Hiccup actually came off as a threat, an equal, and Dagur hated how much he couldn't deny it to himself. Even worse was that after declaring war on the Hooligan tribe Hiccup had managed to rally an alliance with the Outcasts. Together their forces were able to push back his massive tribe and it was all thanks to Hiccup. Even now Dagur was on this Odin damned island in order to hide. Him. Dagur the Deranged hiding. Though he knew he had no choice and that hiding was the best course of action so that he could regroup and come up with a strategy I didn't mean he liked it.
Suddenly a shout drew his attention from his internal festering. And what one of his men screamed made his blood run cold.
"DRAGONS!"
Dagur put on his helmet and strapped on his sword and battle axe before exiting the tent. Looking around he saw that many of their tents had been set ablaze and the men were scrambling to put out fires and grab their weapons and armor.
"SNOTLOUT! SNOTLOUT! OY! OY! OY!" Came a shout from the sky that drew his attention away from his burning camp and panicked men.
From the sky came a red and orange dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare, which dove and passed over the camp while spewing fire from its mouth that set more of the tents ablaze. On its back he could make out a figure riding on the dragon and recognized him as one of Hiccup's friends.
"It's the Hooligans! Run!" One of his men shouted.
Dagur quickly regained control of himself before issuing an order to counterattack. "BERSERKERS! To the ships use the catapults on the ships to knock them out of the sky." Dagur shouted. He and his men quickly began running to the ships.
Hiccup who saw the Berserks beginning to move towards the ships began to give orders himself. "OK! Twins, Gustav, and Amma you guys take out their ships. The rest of you attack the camp and locate Dagur. GO!"
"On it," Ruffnut responded with a smile. "Oh this is gonna be so much fun!" She squealed in delight.
Dagur and his men were almost at the ships when a roar caught his attention and he saw a Zippleback pass over the ships while spewing that fog like flammable gas. Suddenly the gas was ignited and the ships were all badly burned and scorched save for two. It only got worse when a huge red dragon, even bigger than a Nightmare, grabbed one of the undamaged ship's masts in its talons and lifted it off the ground.
Dagur could only watch, slack jawed, as the ship rose higher and higher before the dragon carried it off toward the center of the island to do Thor knows what to it. On the last remaining ship he saw a yellow and purple Monstrous Nightmare land before setting itself ablaze and tearing the ship apart with its claws. Dagur could not believe it. None of his men had been able to reach a single one of their ships. There had to be at least 10 dragons in the sky still burning his camp to the ground. There was no means of escape and fighting was pointless.
"Sir what shall we do!?" Dagur heard one of his men shout at him from a distance. Dagur only stood there paralyzed with fear. Even as one of his men ran up to him and repeated his question Dagur only stood there numb to all surrounding.
Suddenly a flapping sound caused him to look up and he felt his stomach sink to his feet. A black beast was looking straight at him with a snarl and on its back a Viking clad in leather armor seemed to be looking into his very soul with his green eyes. Dagur suddenly felt more afraid of the beast and its rider than he had ever been in his life. Dagur shrieked in terror before shoving his man aside and sprinting full speed towards the forest surrounding the camp. Utterly abandoning his men.
Hiccup saw Dagur flee towards the woods before shouting down at Astrid who sat atop Stormfly as the dragon batted away Berserkers with it head and tail. "Astrid! Dagur is making a run for it. I'm going after him!"
The blonde looked up at him before shouting "Go! We got this. Get Dagur" and then turning her attention back to oncoming Berserkers and giving Stormfly commands to attack.
"Alright bud let's get him," Hiccup said to Toothless who nodded and swooped towards the woods and after Dagur.
Dagur pelted through the woods as fast as he could go. Not focusing on direction and just running as if death itself was on his heels. Suddenly a shadow passed overhead and he knew that Hiccup and his dragon we closing in on him.
"Give up Dagur! Its over!" Shouted a familiar voice from the sky.
Dagur knew he couldn't outrun Hiccup and his dragon. Not while the damned thing could fly. But how could he stop it from flying? Then an idea struck him and he looked towards the mountain. The mountain had a cave system that he had discovered upon surveying the island. One of its entrances was way too small for the Night Fury to pass through. So with his plan set in mind Dagur began running towards the mountain at full speed.
Hiccup followed Dagur from the sky as he waited for Dagur to eventually tire himself out from all the running he was doing. Normally he could just swoop down and have Toothless grab Dagur and carry him off but the trees were just thick enough for Toothless to not be able to maneuver through. Finally Dagur broke through the forest line and began ascending the rocky slope that led to the base of the mountain. With this much open space Toothless could now grab Dagur so he gave Toothless the command and began descending.
Feet by feet Dagur was getting close to the opening of the mountain that would be his safety. But he could also hear the Night Fury's wings as it was gaining on him. This is gonna be close. Were Dagur's thoughts.
Then 20 feet. Then 10 feet. He could practically feel the Night Fury flapping in his ear. Then five feet. He could see its shadow on the wall in front of him. Three feet and then he leapt through the entrance that was just big enough for him to get through.
"WOAH!" Hiccup shouted in surprise as he pulled Toothless up and away from the mountain they were about to ram into.
Circling back around he directed Toothless to land a few feet of the small hole that Dagur had leapt through moments before. He examined the hole carefully. It wasn't very big. It a surprise Dagur had been able to get though. It was also pitch black inside. He couldn't make out anything.
"OHHHH BROTHER! How about you come in and play," came Dagur's voice from the hole.
He knew Dagur was trying to bait him. But he wouldn't fall for it.
"Unless that is, you're a COWARD!" he heard Dagur spit from somewhere inside.
That got Hiccup a little. It made his blood boil. I'm not the one who just abandoned his men and ran into the forest like a little girl. Hiccup thought.
"You're nothing without your dragon Hiccup…NOTHING." Came Dagur's jab from inside the hole.
Hiccup clenched his fist at his sides and stared into the blackness of the hole with fury. He had to admit that barbs like that always got to him. Partly because somewhere deep inside he felt that it was true. After all, where would he be without Toothless?
"If you're a REAL Viking Hiccup come and fight me. Man to man...If you can even can even call yourself a man that is," came Dagur's taunt followed by his trademark laugh. "So Hiccup? Are you Viking enough?"
Hiccup reached into Toothless's saddlebag and pulled out a torch. He held it out toward Toothless for him to ignite which Toothless obliged.
"Let's find out," Hiccup said to himself quietly.
Just as he was about to squeeze through the hole after Dagur a sudden tug on his arm yanked him back. He looked over to see Toothless holding his harm gently between his teeth.
"Come on bud I gotta do this."
Toothless released his hold on Hiccup's are before growling in response. Obviously not liking the idea of Hiccup going in by himself.
"I know bud but we can't let him get away. Look I'll go in after him here and you find a bigger opening and try to find him and then we'll corner him. Sound good?"
Toothless growled a little more in annoyance, then grumbled to himself before nodding. Hiccup raised his left arm and extended his palm out toward Toothless snout in a gesture a trust. Toothless met his palm halfway with closed eyes and purred into the hand. Toothless opened his eyes and gazed into the eyes of his friend. "Good hunting bud," Hiccup said before turning back to the hole. Taking a deep breath he squeezed himself through and made his way after Dagur.
Toothless watched his friend disappear though the hole and stared at it concern. He hoped his friend would be ok. Then getting back to the task at hand Toothless began to circle the base of the mountain on all fours to find a bigger opening for himself.