A/N: Here it is! The epic climax! I really hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Fourteen

United

Hiccup was tiring rapidly, but it seemed that his plan – if he could really call his spur-of-the-moment action such – was actually working so far.

Step One: confront angry Monstrous Nightmare and pretend he had no idea how to calm him. Check. In fact, make that double check. Not only was the Nightmare incredibly angry, but Hiccup knew that, even if he hadn't been pretending, there would have been no calming the dragon while he was in this state.

Step Two: slowly but steadily make his way back to the beach where Toothless was being held captive. Check. Through all his running and dodging and general trying to stay alive, he'd returned to the spot where he'd been captured, the furious Nightmare following his every step with the clear intent of roasting him alive.

Step Three: get clear of the Nightmare long enough to free Toothless and get off Dragon Island, hopefully without the Murderous chief or his soldiers catching on to what he was up to until it was too late for them to stop him.

Right.

He wiped sweat from his brow and tried to ignore the stinging of a minor burn he'd received on his right arm. The Nightmare was charging again, his jaws open wide. At least his scales weren't ablaze anymore: he seemed to be saving his fire for a more opportune time…

…such as an attack on the pesky little Viking who was really starting to get on his nerves.

Hiccup threw himself out of harm's way as a jet of red-hot flame shot from the dragon's mouth, setting a nearby tree alight. I've got to speed this up, he thought. I'm running out of time. That was a little too close for comfort.

Luckily, Toothless was a mere ten feet away. So when the Nightmare attacked again, Hiccup lunged for his dragon, whipping out his dagger and hurriedly cutting the bola holding the Night Fury's mouth shut.

He hadn't even gotten Toothless' snout free when there was a sword thrust under his nose.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Gumboil sneered.

Hiccup glanced over at the Murderous chief and his assistant, both of whom were looking at him with identical expressions of calm bemusement. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Play it cool, he told himself. You've got this. A few more seconds and you're home free.

"Well, clearly I can't conquer this dragon," he said, gesturing toward the Monstrous Nightmare. The fiery dragon was currently distracted by some Murderous guards and, for the moment, was paying him no mind. "So I'm assuming that, as we agreed, you're going to let me go. Obviously I'm not the Dragon Conqueror you were hoping for, so I should be going and leaving you all to your business."

He held his breath.

Madguts grunted, and Gumboil said, "Very well. You may go."

Hiccup's heart leapt. He'd done it! He'd worked his way out of a very dangerous situation with only one minor burn. All in all, he was pretty lucky. He'd have to remind his father of this the next time he doubted his son's ability to defend himself…

He nodded once to the Murderous chief and turned, intent on continuing cutting the ropes binding Toothless. But, to his confusion, he once again found the Murderous guard's sword in his face, forcing him back.

"Uh…" He looked over his shoulder at Madguts. "You wanna call off your guys so I can free my dragon?"

Madguts raised his eyebrows, and Gumboil said, "Your dragon? He is not your dragon any longer, boy."

Hiccup blinked. Then his brow furrowed in anger. "Are you going back on our deal, Madguts?"

"Not at all," Gumboil replied, grinning wickedly. "The deal was that you would be free to leave if you were unable to conquer a dragon, and Chief Murderous is letting you go free as promised, parting on amicable terms, as you put it. But you said nothing about the Night Fury going with you. He wasn't a part of the bargain."

Hiccup forgot how to breathe for a moment.

"I…" He thought quickly. "I have no means to leave without a dragon."

"We'll lend you a ship," Gumboil said. "We have some to spare. Now be off with you. You're starting to overstay your welcome."

Hiccup didn't move. He looked from Gumboil, who was grinning toothily at him, to Madguts, who stood as silent as ever, and then to Toothless, who snarled and growled in rage. His mind was racing, but he couldn't think of a single thing to do or say.

Madguts grunted, and Gumboil translated, "Did you really think your little charade deceived us for a moment, boy? Do you think us fools? Chief Murderous knew from the start that you were trying to wriggle your way out of coming with us, knew that you'd attempt some stupid little plan like this. He knew that your attempts to 'conquer' the Nightmare were only a ploy, a trick to convince us to release you. But it didn't work, boy. Now…" He chuckled darkly. "Either you leave this island now, without your dragon, or show us your true skills." He gestured back at the Monstrous Nightmare, who chose that moment to spout a jet of flame into the sky. "Make your choice and make it fast. Chief Murderous does not like to be kept waiting."

Hiccup stared blankly at him for several seconds, his feet rooted to the ground. Dad was right, he thought dismally. I wasn't prepared for this. This man is like nothing I've ever faced before. What in Thor's name am I going to do?!

"Well?" Gumboil barked impatiently.

Hiccup took a deep breath. Whatever happened, he couldn't just leave Toothless to the Murderous chief. "All right," he said quietly. "I will try to tame this dragon."

And pray that I can come up with a better plan while I'm doing it, he added silently.

Madguts smiled coldly, and Gumboil said, "A wise answer. But just to make sure…" He snapped his fingers, and at once Hiccup was shoved to the ground. Before he could articulate a single word, a soldier ripped his prosthetic away from his leg. His heart missed a beat.

"Hey!" he yelped as the soldier pulled him roughly back to his feet…or foot. "How am I supposed to train a dragon with only one leg?! I can't run away if I need to!"

"That's the point," Gumboil explained with a laugh. "You can't escape should you get it in your head to try another harebrained scheme."

"But he'll kill me!" Hiccup protested, eyeing the angry Nightmare worriedly.

Gumboil shrugged. "You should have thought of that before you tried to cheat Chief Murderous," he said. "Now enough talk! Get to work!"

Hiccup turned to face the Nightmare and took a deep, shuddering breath. What was he going to do? What could he do? This dragon was far beyond being consoled. He was angry, angry that he'd failed to catch the little runt who'd been running from him, angry that he was surrounded on all sides by noisy, smelly humans, angry that they weren't retreating away from him as all inferior beings should. He wasn't going to listen or heed any kind of training tactics, gentle or forceful.

Hiccup sent a silent prayer up to the gods and said, "I can't. There's no way to train this dragon, not while he's in this state."

Madguts narrowed his eyes, and Gumboil growled, "You're just trying to escape again."

"No, I'm not!" Hiccup snapped. "Look at that dragon! He's too aggressive, too enraged and confused about what's going on around him! He's bewildered and confused and he's channeling that into a fury that I can't counter! There is no calming him, no soothing him, no conquering him while he's in this state. It probably doesn't help that you all are seething with cruelty and I'm scared out of my mind. He's picking up on that, and it's only making the whole thing worse!"

Gumboil made no reply to this. He merely snapped his fingers again. Hiccup looked sharply around in time to see the nearest soldier raise his sword, pressing the tip of the blade under Toothless' throat.

"No!" Hiccup cried.

"Tame the Nightmare," Gumboil called. "Or the Night Fury dies."

Hiccup was breathing rapidly and couldn't stop himself. He looked over at Toothless, whose eyes were narrowed into furious slits, but bound as he was he had no hope of escaping should the guard decide to run him through with the sword. He then turned again toward the Nightmare, who snapped at a nearby soldier with a warning shriek.

There was nothing to be done.

He hopped forward, and the Nightmare's eyes snapped over to him, narrowing in a wordless threat. The meaning was clear: take one more step and I'll fry you alive.

Hiccup looked into the dragon's eyes, silently begging him to calm down, trying to assure him that he meant no harm. But it wasn't helping. The Nightmare opened his mouth, and Hiccup could see the fire forming in the back of his throat. He sucked in a breath, preparing himself for his fate…

There was a concussive explosion, and Hiccup flinched, scrunching his eyes closed as he prepared to be engulfed in a cocoon of flame. But nothing happened, and after a second he opened his eyes again. He blinked, nonplussed. The Nightmare was staggering backward, his head weaving in pain as he recoiled from the blast that had struck him in the chest. He roared in anger and fear and took off, flying away without a backward glance. Confused, Hiccup turned his gaze skyward.

"Yeah! Great shot, Hookfang!"

Hiccup's jaw dropped as four dragons descended from above, each carrying one or two riders. He recognized them at once: Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch, and on their backs Astrid, Heather, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Stoick, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Gobber. He'd never been happier to see them in his whole life.

At almost the same instant, a great cry went up from the forest, and from the trees emerged a horde of Vikings all brandishing weapons, their faces set in identical expressions of enraged determination. And at the front of the charge was Mogadon, chief of the Meatheads.

The Murderous soldiers all stood dumbfounded, unable to piece together what was happening around them. Even Madguts and Gumboil looked as though they'd entered a bizarre and horrible dream. Before they had a chance to react, Stoick and Gobber jumped down from their perches. Gobber ran toward the nearest Murderous soldier while Stoick darted straight for his son.

"Hiccup!" he cried. "Thank Thor!" He punched the guard holding the fake leg and snatched it away, hurriedly handing it over to Hiccup. "Quick, free Toothless and get in the air!" he barked. "Lead the assault from there. Gobber, the Meatheads, and I will head the ground attack."

A thousand things to say went through Hiccup's mind in those few seconds in which his and Stoick's eyes met, but not one of them made it to his lips. All he managed was a weak nod as he fastened his prosthetic in place. Then he rushed over to Toothless and started cutting the cords that bound him. Moments later, the Night Fury spread his wings and roared in rage, pausing only so that his human could climb into the saddle and latch his metal foot into the stirrup. Then they were airborne.

All right, he thought grimly. Time to turn the tables.

"Dragon riders!" Hiccup barked as he joined the other teens in the air. "V formation!"

As practiced, the other riders all arranged in a V shape with Hiccup and Toothless in the lead. "Attack!" Hiccup yelled, and as one the group swooped overhead, bombarding the Murderous soldiers with all the firepower their dragons could muster.

They could only do this maneuver once, however, for as soon as they were finished the Meatheads engaged the Murderous in battle, and it became impossible to determine friend from foe from their positions in the sky. So Hiccup ordered, "Diamond formation!" and the riders arranged their dragons in a diamond shape, with Fishlegs and Meatlug taking the bottommost point. From this somewhat lower vantage point, he was able to determine who was a Meathead and who was a Murderous, and he ordered his Gronckle to fire lava blasts at any enemies that presented themselves. When they reached the edge of the beach, they turned and came back for another attack. Fishlegs directed Meatlug to the top of the diamond, allowing the dragon previously above him – Barf and Belch – to take their place. Now Ruffnut and Tuffnut took the bottom corner of the diamond and had their turn at the Murderous soldiers. "Yeah!" they crowed as Barf released his cloud of green mist and Belch ignited it, sending a series of fireballs at the men below.

Oh my gods, Hiccup thought as he glanced down at the battle unfolding below them. I can't believe this is happening! We're working as a team again! How long has it been since we've been like this?

Too long, he realized. He couldn't even remember the last time they'd been able to fly like this, perfectly in sync with each other with a common goal in mind. There was no squabbling, no bickering, no showing off, just six friends united against their enemy. In that one moment, it was as if nothing had ever happened to drive Hiccup away from the other dragon riders, as if the last four months were nothing more than a very bad dream.

Down on the ground, Stoick and Gobber were going up against Madguts and Gumboil.

"You fool, Stoick," Gumboil hissed as he raised his sword at Gobber. "You are a fool, coming here to fight us."

Stoick remained calm and faced Madguts, ignoring his mouthpiece entirely. "I know I'm a fool, Madguts. In more ways than you can imagine. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stand back and let you kidnap my son." He swung his hammer, and Madguts raised his sword to block it.

"You will…ow!…regret this!" Gumboil called, recoiling as Gobber's hammer attachment struck him on the arm.

"I doubt it," Stoick replied. "I regret a lot of things, Madguts. But I cannot regret coming to my son's aid when he needs it."

Hiccup, who was passing over them as they spoke, heard his father's words, and for a moment he felt a strange sensation in his chest. He couldn't recognize it at first, but…

It was Astrid's turn to be on the bottom of the diamond. "All right, Stormfly," she said, leaning forward. Behind her, Heather tightened her grip on her friend's waist in preparation. "Let's cook some Murderous goons!"

Stormfly squawked and shot a white-hot stream of fire from her open mouth. Below, men yelled and screamed and leapt out of the way as the Nadder's flame consumed all that stood in its way, igniting trees and scorching sand. But by now, the Murderous soldiers had figured out the diamond formation's patterns, and one of them wound his arm back and hurled a well-aimed bola.

Astrid gasped and Heather let out a strangled scream as Stormfly was suddenly ensnared in the trap, plummeting to the ground like a stone. "Astrid!" Hiccup cried. "Heather!"

Stormfly hit the ground hard. Astrid, who by some miracle hadn't been caught in the bola's ropes, leapt to her feet almost at once, pulling her axe from its holster on her back and brandishing it at the approaching Murderous soldiers. Heather wasn't so lucky. She struggled and writhed against the bola, but she could not get free.

"I'm going to help them!" Hiccup yelled to the others. "You all stay in the air and cause as much damage as you can!"

"Really?" Tuffnut's eyes gleamed. "Awesome!"

"Yeah!" his twin cried. "Let's get started!"

"Wait," Tuff said, frowning. "Hiccup never lets us be destructive." He looked over at their leader and asked, "Who are you and what have you done with Hiccup?"

Hiccup couldn't help but smile faintly. "That's an excellent question, Tuff." Then he urged Toothless to the ground.

"If it was so excellent, then why didn't he answer it?" Tuffnut wondered aloud. The only answer he got was a shrug from Ruffnut.

Toothless landed and Hiccup leapt from the saddle, pulling his dagger free and setting to work on the ropes binding Stormfly and Heather. "Don't worry," he said to the black-haired girl as he sawed away at the cords. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

Heather didn't reply, but she smiled at him gratefully as he cut one rope, then two. As he began to work on a third, however, her eyes widened and she cried, "Hiccup, look out!"

Hiccup turned and sucked in a breath. There was a Murderous soldier standing a few yards away, aiming a crossbow directly at him.

There was no time to duck, no time to step aside, no time to raise any kind of defense. He had no shield, no armor, no means of defending himself. He could do no more than simply stand there in dumb silence as the soldier pressed the trigger. Time seemed to slow down as the arrow launched from the weapon, shooting straight through the air that separated the warrior and the teenage dragon trainer, closing the gap between them in no more than a single second, the time it took to draw a breath, the span of a heartbeat…

"No!"

And then Hiccup's view of the arrow was blocked by something that came between them, a slight, lean figure that dove in front of the projectile's path.

Astrid took the arrow, which embedded itself into her chest, just below the right shoulder.

She jerked backward with the impact and collapsed at Hiccup's feet, her eyes closed, her face contorted in pain, blood seeping from the wound…

Hiccup gaped down at her for a moment in utter shock. For that single second that seemed to stretch on into eternity, his mind refused to register what he'd just seen. No, it wasn't possible. Astrid couldn't have possibly been wounded. She was Astrid Hofferson, the fiercest warrior in the whole Archipelago. She didn't get wounded. She was the one who did all the wounding. The very idea that she'd been hurt was totally alien to him.

And then it hit him.

"Astrid!"

He knelt down beside her, totally forgetting that a battle was being waged around them, and gathered her gently into his arms. "Astrid, oh gods, Astrid…!" He shook his head in denial, not noticing the Murderous soldier reloading his crossbow for another attack. "Look at me! Astrid, look at me!"

Astrid opened her eyes and turned them up toward him. She smiled weakly. "Hi, Hiccup," she said. "That…went a lot better in my head."

Hiccup groaned. "Why would you do that?" he demanded. "What in Thor's name possessed you to do something so stupid?"

Astrid shrugged and promptly winced as the motion sent a bolt of pain through her injured shoulder. Hiccup eyed the arrow but didn't dare remove it. "He would have killed you," she mumbled. "I…I couldn't let him do that."

Hiccup didn't know how to reply, so he merely held her closer, forgetting that he was angry at her, forgetting that she had hurt him, forgetting that he didn't know what his feelings toward her were…

…forgetting there was a soldier about to fire another arrow at him.

"Heads up!"

Hiccup looked around and promptly ducked as Hookfang shot over his head, his mouth open to reveal rows of lethally sharp teeth. The dragon flew straight toward the soldier with the crossbow, who backpedaled quickly, stumbled, and fell. His crossbow fired, but the arrow went astray and hit nothing.

"No one tries to shoot my cousin!" Snotlout shouted. "Hookfang, fire!"

The Nightmare (for once) did as his rider commanded, spurting red flames at the offending soldier. The guard shrieked and scrambled out of harm's way.

"Hiccup," Astrid said softly, and he looked quickly back at her. "Free Heather and Stormfly. Then go do your thing. You and Toothless are an unstoppable team. We need you fighting. Go on."

Hiccup hesitated for a second. Then he nodded and lowered her onto the ground, rising and turning back to the captive Nadder and girl. He soon cut the cords holding them, and Stormfly ruffled her wings in relief. "Heather," Hiccup said, "please take care of Astrid. Do what you can for her."

Heather nodded. "I will."

Hiccup returned to Toothless and practically leapt into the saddle. The moment his metal foot latched into the stirrup, he urged the dragon skyward, scanning the battle below for one man, the one who had threatened him and his best friend, the one who even now was leading the forces that sought to enslave him and kill those he loved.

Madguts the Murderous was still in combat with Stoick, and it was hard to tell which man had the upper hand. They both fought fiercely and sported several cuts and slashes that bleed freely. Both were still going strong, but it was impossible to tell how much longer this would go on.

"Dad!" Hiccup yelled. "Duck!"

Stoick didn't question the command. Without even looking around at his son, he bent his head down so that Toothless' plasma blast missed him and struck the Murderous chief squarely in the chest. He was thrown backward and landed heavily in the brush, grimacing. It had been a small blast, though, nothing that would keep him down for long.

Toothless landed, and Hiccup glanced over at his father. Their eyes met, and a great deal was communicated between them completely without words. In that never-ending second that their gazes locked, Stoick saw what the boy intended to do, and even though every fatherly instinct in him was screaming to stop the lad from going through with it, he nodded and took a step back.

Then Hiccup faced Madguts, who rose to his feet, glaring hatefully at the boy he'd once hoped to capture.

"That was a mistake," Gumboil called. He was sitting on a nearby rock, his hands and feet bound tight by Gobber, whose hook attachment was poised perilously close to his throat. "Chief Murderous is very angry."

"Good," Hiccup retorted coldly. "Because so am I."

Toothless shot another plasma blast. Madguts ducked, but not quick enough to avoid having his hair singed. He scowled and raised his sword, advancing, but Toothless fired again. This blast of blue fire knocked the weapon from his hand. The sword clattered to the ground, and Madguts blinked. For the first time, he actually looked a little uncertain and…was it possible?…even afraid.

Toothless stepped toward the Murderous chief and roared at the top of his lungs. Madguts flinched, eliciting a gasp from Gumboil, who had never seen his boss show fear before. Hiccup slid down from the saddle and picked up the fallen sword, raising it to shoulder height. "Stand down," he ordered.

Madguts' eyes narrowed and he snarled. Hiccup didn't need a translation from Gumboil to understand what that meant. But rather than back away in fear, he took another step toward the furious chief, the point of the sword directed at his throat. "I said, stand down," he repeated.

Madguts raised his hands, but Hiccup never found out what he planned to do, for Toothless, tensed for the slightest sign of an attack against his human friend, fired yet another shot, which sent Madguts sprawling again.

Before he could rise, Hiccup had the sharp point of the sword pressed to his throat. If Madguts raised his head so much as an inch, it would impale him. Hiccup watched as his face paled and took a little savage satisfaction from it. But his face was still composed into a calm, cold mask when he hissed, "I'll only say it one more time. Stand. Down."

There was a beat. The entire island seemed to go quiet as it waited to see what would happen next.

Madguts looked over at Gumboil, being careful not to move too much, and grunted once.

Gumboil's eyes widened, but he called out, "Retreat!"

A moment of absolute silence followed the order, a silence filled with shock and disbelief. And then as one the Murderous soldiers turned and fled the scene, running off into the forest toward the spot where their ships were docked.

Hiccup stepped back, allowing Madguts to rise to his feet. Was he imagining it, or was the Murderous chief actually trembling a little?

"Never return to Berk," Hiccup said, and even Stoick was impressed with the decisive, authoritative note in his voice. It was the voice of a chief. "Do you understand me? Never. Step one foot on Berk and you will pay with your life. That goes for you and all of your men. Are we clear?"

Madguts looked Hiccup up and down, apparently trying to decide whether or not to take this threat seriously. Then he grunted, and Gumboil translated, "You have impressed Chief Murderous. We agree to your conditions."

Hiccup nodded. "Good. Glad we understand each other."

Madguts nodded too. And then, to everyone's surprise, he inclined his head in what was probably intended as a bow. A collective gasp went up among the Meatheads and dragon riders, for no one had ever seen Madguts submit to anyone before. There weren't even stories.

Then Madguts turned and walked away. Gumboil, freed from his bindings, followed close behind. They vanished into the woods and disappeared from sight, leaving only their rotten stench behind.

A/N: So…I actually don't like writing battle scenes. I'm not totally convinced that this chapter is great. But I know I'm often too hard on myself, so I'll leave that for you to decide.

One chapter left, and then the making-of bonus! I'm almost done! Hooray! I hope you're still enjoying the story and will like the way it all wraps up. Thanks again for all your support, reviews, and patience. :)