I Own Nothing
All Rights Reserved
Please Read and Review!
Chapter 16
The Trade
The day of the trade arrived. As they flew closer to the volcano, the foul stench of rotten eggs filled the air. The clouds over the mountain were black and getting larger, and they frequently heard what sounded like thunder.
"That thing's getting ready to blow," Hookfang said nervously, "is this really a smart idea?"
"Heather said it was safe since the Eruptodon lives there," Windshear said,
"They eat lava," Stormfly retorted, "that doesn't mean they can stop eruptions—or prevent rocks from rolling down and crushing us,"
"We'll make this quick," Hiccup assured them. He had already spotted Mala standing partway on the shore. There was not really a beach on this island, at least in the conventional sense. Rather, there was a point where the mountain met the ocean. She was standing roughly 100 meters from this. On the north side of the island were numerous ships, most likely belonging to the Defenders. The mountain itself was fairly tall, black, and craggy. Steam was rising from cracks all over the place, and the air was hazy. Some of the company began complaining of breathing difficulties. Hiccup promised himself they would indeed make this quick, because Stormfly was right: an Eruptodon could not stop eruptions entirely.
Visibility took a brief turn for the worst, and they landed a little ways away from Mala instead of right in front of her. To give the dragons some rest they walked the rest of the way. Thankfully the air was not so bad at ground level.
There was one Defender besides Mala, whose face was concealed. Mala greeted them with a curt nod. "So, you have made it."
"Nice to see you too, lady," Snotlout said.
"I see the journey has not improved your manners." She turned to the one next to her, "Well, Serene, is he the culprit?"
The hooded Defender shook their head without making a sound.
"This was Serene, the one who first accused you of stealing the Eye," Mala said shortly, "Now that she sees you in person, she knows she was mistaken."
"Thank you for your consideration." Hiccup said dryly, looking anxiously at the clouds and the rumbling mountain. "Astrid?"
Astrid came forward with the box. Mala, showing no anxiety about the volcano she was standing on, took it and opened it. They watched her examine everything and close lid. "Then our business is concluded successfully. Heather, set the Razorwhip free and come with me."
"That's it?" Snotlout exclaimed. Astrid gave him a stern look.
"We will talk later, after I get the Dragon Eye to a safe place," Mala said firmly. "Heather, come,"
"Can't we at least say goodbye?" Fishlegs asked.
Mala glanced at them and at the volcano, and finally nodded. "But make it quick,"
"You guys go ahead," Hiccup told them, "I want a few words with you, Mala—in private,"
So Mala and Hiccup moved over to one of the craggy cliff walls. The silent Defender moved up the mountain a little ways.
Everyone looked at Heather uncertainly. Heather looked at them uncertainly.
"So, I guess this is goodbye, then?" Astrid asked at last.
"I suppose so," Heather mumbled. Suddenly the prospect of becoming a Full Defender did not seem so important to her.
"But we'll keep in touch, right?" Fishlegs asked anxiously.
"Yeah, and you can come and visit!" Snotlout agreed.
"I…I don't know how often Mala will allow it," she looked at her dragon, "And I don't think she wants you to come, Windshear,"
"I don't care what she says! I'm coming with you!" Windshear snapped. Fishlegs translated for them.
Heather felt like she was being torn apart.
"Well?" Mala said to Hiccup.
"What happens to the Eye now?" he asked coldly.
"That's not your concern any longer."
"It darn well is my concern, Mala. You made it my concern when you accused me of taking it and again when you asked me to find it for you! Now I've heard enough people tell me how dangerous it is in the wrong hands, so what the heck are you going to do with it?"
Mala was not fazed by this whiff of temper. "It shall go to the depths."
"Was it so hard to say that much in the first place?" Hiccup retorted, "What about the final lens?"
"That shall stay where it is. Now answer one of my questions before we part. Who stole the Eye?"
Hiccup smiled. Oh she was going to love this. "My mother,"
Even Mala, icy and expressionless as she tried to make herself, could not conceal her surprise entirely. "What?"
"My mother stole it. She's a long time believer in the greatness of dragons and one of Drago Bludvist's old enemies." He did not bother to hide the pride in his voice. "She's also been assumed dead for over 20 years,"
"I see," was all Mala could get out.
Toothless, who had been silently watching the volcano this entire time, now made a sound that prompted Hiccup to look up at the peak too. "I thought Eruptodons ate lava,"
"They do," Mala said.
"Then this one must've gotten full, because that's a lot of lava coming down," Hiccup moved over to Toothless, "We best get out of here. I'm guessing you don't want a lift to your ships?"
"Ship, you mean."
"No, ships."
"I only came here with one ship." Mala said sharply.
"Then why are there about 20 moored to the north?"
Mala frowned. "I told them to patrol the area!"
With an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, Hiccup nudged Toothless and they went into the air as high as they dared risk. Hiccup pulled out his spyglass. It was very hard to see with the air quality, but he certainly saw a multitude of ships. Then, after staring very hard, he noticed something. People were pulling a large cage to one of the ships, and in that cage was a large and squat dragon, similar to a Gronkle but with a spiked tail. He quickly turned the glass to the mountain and saw move lava spilling down the side.
"Toothless, get us down, quickly." He ordered. With the noise of the eruption growing louder and the winds picking up he had to repeat his words twice before Toothless heard him.
When they landed they got a jolt. Mala was lying on the ground, a bloodied knife in her hand and another one in her back.
"Mala! Toothless, quick, help me!" Hiccup shouted as he rushed to her side, "Summon the others here! Take it, easy, Mala, breathe, you're going to be fine, just stay with me,"
She grunted. "Eye's gone. Went…north,"
"Don't talk, save your strength,"
"Follower…said 'gracias, mi er—"
Hiccup froze. "What did they say?"
"Gracias, mi…ah," Mala gagged.
Toothless at once began to lick her where the wound was. "The dragons are coming; the Riders will be right behind them!" he said in between licks.
"Good. Get her out of here as quick as you can." Hiccup said through clenched teeth as he tightened the laces on his boot.
"And just where do you think you're going?"
"I'm getting the Eye back,"
"Hiccup, you can't! The volcano's erupting!" The ground suddenly shook.
"Of course it's erupting! Don't you get it? Dragon Hunters are here and they captured the Eruptodon and the Dragon Eye!"
"Then let's—" But it was no good arguing. Hiccup had already run off. Toothless dared not leave Mala until the others arrived.
The ground shook again, this time much more violently. His eyes shot upwards to the volcano. More lava was emerging from its mouth.
"Hurry up!"
"I should have known," Hiccup muttered as he followed a trail of blood that led along the volcano's base. He spotted a person clad in black less than a hundred meters ahead of him and broke into a sprint. He pulled out Inferno and ignited it. It was a fitting blade for a such a place.
The person of interest suddenly stopped. It was the Defender who had been with Mala earlier, the one named Serene. He snorted at the thought. They turned to face him and pulled down their hood, revealing a woman's face that had once been lovely, and still was in places, but now had several scars and a patch over one eye. She grinned at the sight of Hiccup.
"Why Mi Amor, you came for me!"
"That's right, Adoncia, and I love you so much I'm going to send you to what you Christians call Heaven—assuming your God lets you in there!" Hiccup growled.
"Such passion in your voice! Oh, it makes my heart skip!" She teased. "It's a nice change from being around Icy Mala all day."
"Tell me, did losing that eye hurt?"
"You have no idea." She said lightly.
"I think I do, thanks to you,"
"You're very welcome, by the way. And here we are, together again! I knew you could never resist me—whoops!" for the ground had trembled violently, nearly throwing them both off balance. She laughed, "Quite a place isn't it?" She swung the iron chest like a giant club and forced Hiccup to back up. "I've always wondered what making love next to lava would be like! Rather hot, I imagine!"
Hiccup was not in the mood as he looked for an opening to strike at her. "Let me guess, you're a spy for the Dragon hunters."
"Of course!" she grinned. "Did you like my alias?"
"And you stole the Dragon Eye the first time."
"Sí. They stole it back, and then a dragon stole it."
"And you told the Defenders I was responsible. Did you put the blame on me just to get me involved in this?"
"Of course! You are so smart, Mi Amor!" She laughed, as if she had done something to be proud of, "We've both been very busy, haven't we? You found the Eye for us and now I've stolen it again! No matter what happens it comes back to me, just like you always do!"
The ground shook again. Lava was coming down the slope of the volcano in greater volumes and getting closer.
"Adios!" Adoncia laughed. But instead of running towards the beach she went further up the erupting mountain.
Hiccup was suddenly grabbed from behind. He kicked and elbowed and his would-be kidnapper was knocked over. Hiccup spun around swinging Inferno, only to freeze.
"You!"
"Me," Eret, Son of Eret replied, pulling out a sword. "I'm touched you remember me, Dragon King, but this must end now,"
Hiccup tapped his gauntlet and flames burst from it. Eret dove out of the way and slipped on some broken rock. Hiccup turned around and ran after Adoncia.
"Where did he go?" Astrid screamed over the noise of the eruption. The ground had stopped shaking for the moment, but the lava was flowing faster. The wind was whipping around them, nearly blowing them to the ground at times. As they tried to get an incoherent Mala onto Meatlug, they looked around wildly at every opportunity for Hiccup. The dragons were equally frantic, especially Toothless. The air was getting thick with ash and the wind blew it around like a sandstorm.
"I can barely see! Hiccup, where are you?" Toothless shouted before coughing ash and dust out of his throat.
"Mala's strapped in!" Fishlegs announced, trying hard not to panic. "We'd better get her out of here before things get worse!"
"All right, Fish, you get her out of here, the rest of you go with him and help get Toothless to safety" Astrid ordered. "I'll stay here with Stormfly and look for Hiccup."
"No!" Everybody shouted.
"We're not going anywhere without the rest of you!" Meatlug said and the dragons nodded. Boulders suddenly rolled down the slope a little ways down the beach. The place was growing more unstable.
"We won't find Hiccup if we stay on the ground!" Fishlegs cried. "We'll all be flattened!"
"And how are we supposed to find him with the air like this?" Snotlout shouted back, "I'm not complaining, but we can barely see 10 meters! And that thing could blow for real any minute!"
The Riders attempted to get into the air but Snotlout's statement was accurate. The debris filled air choked and blinded the dragons and humans as soon as they rose into it. Only the Twins ignored it and made any progress. They soon disappeared into the smog. And suddenly everyone sensed the Twins and Zippleback were going to their deaths. How could anyone hope to survive in an atmosphere as poisonous as this?
Astrid ordered Stormfly to try to fly again, but Heather grabbed her.
"Are you crazy?"
"I can't leave them!" Astrid shouted.
Toothless decided to go after Hiccup on foot, but the lava found a new path downhill and blocked the route he had intended to take. He was forced to turn around and search for another way, but that would take time, and they were running out of that.
The sky was heavy with clouds of ash. The air seemed to burn and was growing hazy. Lightning was striking the peak of the volcano and thunder rumbled. Red and yellow molten lava was spilling down the northern and eastern slopes. Adoncia was making for the northern side of the mountain, where the ships were moored. But to get there required crossing a craggy ravine which lava was speeding down like a red river. She reached the edge of this ravine and had to turn around. Hiccup was less than 50 meters from her and coming as fast as he could. Eret was some distance behind him and puffing a little.
She grinned. "It's rather warm up here, Mi Amor! Perhaps we're overdressed!"
"Taking your clothes off means less resistance for Inferno!" Hiccup shouted as he approached. He swung and she leapt like a grasshopper away from him.
"Hiccup, you can't kill me!" she laughed, "You love me too much!"
"Care to bet on that?"
"Tell me, Mi Amor, have you ever killed anyone?"
"Yes, and I'm considering adding you to that roster." He slid forward and swung Inferno again. She darted backwards and nearly fell off the edge. "Come any closer and I drop the Dragon Eye into the lava, Mi Amor! I doubt the Defenders ever tried to destroy it using lava!" She was not joking around this time.
"And displease your masters?" Hiccup sneered. "I doubt they'll like that!"
"I have no masters!" Adoncia shouted shrilly. Evidently he had touched a nerve.
Hiccup swung again and she blocked it with the chest. "Oh really? Because I thought you and Drago were like mistress and Master! Or more like slave and master!"
She was really getting riled up now. "Oh you really think so, Mi Amor? I knew who you were the whole time and never told him! How's that fit into your 'master and slave' theory?" she suddenly laughed, and it sounded like a witch's screech, "You have no idea how funny it was, watching Drago scream at every failure you gave him, knowing I knew the truth and he didn't! You left me a very interesting journal!"
"I'm surprised you could actually understand it. I'd have thought all you could comprehend was sex-related," Hiccup said dryly. He had carefully repositioned himself during her last few sentences. If he could only come at her from her blind side—
And then Eret caught up to them and swung a sword at him. Hiccup lunged at Adoncia, to get the Eye and save his own life, but she had had plenty of warning now and skirted aside. In the process she threw something to Eret, which he caught easily and put in a pocket. Her triumphant smirk and the missed opportunity set the King's temper off. He glared at Eret so fiercely sparks almost shot from his eyes.
Eret raised a hand slowly. "Dragon King, you're caught on both sides and there's a volcano erupting. How about you surrender and we'll settle this somewhere else?"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" the King snapped, his eyes looking from one foe to the other. "You'd both like to take me away, chain and flog me, impregnate Adoncia, and then cut my head off, wouldn't you? Well it's not happening!"
"I'm giving you a chance to surrender and live!"
The King suddenly whipped around and kicked Eret in the chest. "Did anyone make that nice offer before my friend's hatchlings were murdered?" he roared. He stormed over to Eret and kicked him with his metal foot, sending him further down the mountain slope. "Did anyone offer Olaf Hofferson a chance? Did Drago give Peer a chance before he crushed his throat? Who offered Grimm a chance to surrender before his head was cut off? WELL?" He grabbed Eret ferociously and shoved him back down the mountain. Then he turned back to attack Adoncia, only to find she had used the distraction to slip away. Cursing he pursued her yet again.
"This is so cool!" Ruffnut shouted as their dragon struggled through the air and they struggled to stay on.
"This is so crazy!" Tuffnut shouted back.
"That's why it's so cool!"
"And don't I know it! The Chicken is pleased!"
Actually, Chicken was downright terrified, but Tuffnut assumed it was just an act.
Ryker Grimborn stood on the ship's deck and surveyed his crew. All of them were terrified and pleading with him to cast off.
"Viggo's orders were to stay here until we had the Eye!" Ryker shouted furiously yet again. "Eret and Adoncia are still out there!"
At that moment a large boulder flew into the sea, missing them by meters. Waves rolled and nearly capsized the ship.
"On second thought, I'm sure Viggo will understand. Get us out of here!" Ryker shouted frantically. The crew did not need to be told twice. He knew Viggo would not like this, but they were no good to him dead either. They had already lost two ships to the eruption.
On another ship Draccus Grimborn had already given the order to cast off and he gave it without hesitation. He was very pleased with how things had been going. They now had the valuable Eruptodon locked in the hold and Adoncia and Eret were surely dead or soon to be, which meant there was no hope of Viggo getting the Eye. It was yet another failure for his brother and a success for him. The plan had been to wait until the Eye was retrieved and then take the Eruptodon, but he had deliberately moved prematurely. This way, Viggo hopefully lost a great prize and he, Draccus, would be the only person to bring anything successful out of this mess. With things going as they were, he felt he would now easily convince others to join him and force Viggo to step down. Of course, he recognized they had to survive this eruption first, and he dropped his scheming to help steer the ship.
Adoncia had stumbled on one of the jagged black rocks that were everywhere and was on the ground when Hiccup caught up with her. There was no talking this time. He stabbed with Inferno and she blocked it with the chest again. He kicked her in the leg. With a scream she swung the chest at his legs and grabbed her sword, which had fallen when she had tripped. Hiccup kicked it out of her hand. She shakily tried to get to her feet using the chest as a shield, but Hiccup grabbed it.
"I'll be taking this," he snarled.
"I think not!" she shrieked as she tried to tug it from his grasp.
"Nice try!" he laughed, though he did not feel remotely amused. She tried to grab the chest back from him and they wrestled over it.
"Give it! If you're so eager to hold onto something, you can always hold onto me!" she laughed. Her eyes seemed to light up with madness. "You have my permission to grab my—"
Hiccup spat in her one good eye to shut her up.
"Gah! You little pig, you'll pay for that!"
"Good grief, Adoncia, is any of this worth it?" he shouted in exasperation as he tugged on the chest, "All this spying and killing and rutting like hogs in the mud—what's the point of it all?"
"Because I like it, Hiccup!" she screamed, "I like upsetting established order! You do too!"
"Not like this I don't!" he tried to twist the chest around to make her break her grip on it, but she caught on and twisted the other way.
"It's like we're dancing!" she laughed, "You know, I've often thought if I danced naked in front of you you'd surrender to me at last! Maybe I could then get you to dance naked in front of me! We could dance naked together!" Hiccup suddenly tugged hard and pulled the chest free from her grip.
"Someone needs to learn to focus!" he laughed dangerously.
"Give me that!"
"Oh, you want it? HERE! YOU'VE EARNED IT!" he swung it into her stomach and she fell backwards. Hiccup drew closer and swung his sword. It hacked at her arm. "This is for what you did to me in Spain!" He swung again and landed a blow to her chest. "This is for Grimm! And this—" he swung a third time and sliced her leg opened. She screamed as the sword cut and burned her flesh, "this is for the Sanctuary!" He feinted with his sword and swung the chest instead, slamming it into her head.
Dazed and in pain, she fell backwards again. Then suddenly she found no ground to step on and she slipped. As she struggled for balance she realized she was standing on a small ledge and there was a river of lava directly below her.
"Hiccup!" she screamed, grabbing his arm. "HICCUP!" she looked into his eyes and saw them hard as jadestone. "GIVE ME ONE MORE CHANCE, PLEASE!"
"Adios, 'Mi Amor,'" he said coldly. He pulled his arm from her grasp and at the same time kicked her away from him. She fell screaming into the lava.
Hiccup had no time to think about what he had just done. Eret had caught up with him again and tried to tackle him, causing him to drop the chest and his sword. The two began wrestling on the cliff edge, when another tremor struck. Eret slipped partway over the edge. Desperately he seized a rock, only to have it break loose and roll away. He frantically reached for another handhold, but another yet tremor struck and he slipped again, this time so that his hands were clinging to the edge. He glanced down and saw the molten red lava below him. One more tremor and it was over.
Then the Dragon King grabbed his arm.
"Don't let go! Don't let go!" Eret pleaded desperately.
"Why would I do this if I was going to kill you?" Hiccup asked through gritted teeth. The man was a lot heavier than he had expected and his arms were feeling the strain. He gave a great heave, and, with Eret using footholds for support, helped him off the cliff face and up onto the ledge.
Eret's first thought was to resume the fight but he just stared at the King. "Why?"
"Let's discuss it later, all right? We're not out of this yet." The King at once picked up his sword and the box and began making his way down the mountain. He got five meters and froze. There was a large stream of flowing lava in front of him and it was growing. It oozed onto the lower parts of the ridge. They were cut off from the base of the island.
"We're surrounded," Hiccup said slowly.
Eret quickly joined him and saw what the situation. "Maybe if we wait a bit—"
"We'll have to, but there's not much to wait for," Hiccup said grimly. The lava below them was rising. The only way to escape it was to climb higher, which meant getting closer to the crater itself. "Our only hope now is a rescue from the air." And he could not see how on earth any of his friends could manage that. This realization struck him and made him feel very odd; almost wistful.
They were forced to crawl further up the volcano to escape the lava. The tremors got even worse the higher they went and projectiles flew past them occasionally.
"Why'd you save me?" Eret asked suddenly.
"Is now a good time?"
"We might be dead any minute now. You might as well tell me." Like Hiccup, he was taking the situation very calmly.
"I don't want you dead,"
"You didn't mind sending Adoncia to her death!" Eret cried.
"I did kill her, didn't I?" Hiccup mused. He did not feel sorry in the slightest about it. If anything, he felt a bit relieved. "But that was different. That was…personal. After all she's done to me…" He was uncertain if he should feel sick or relieved and this uncertainty made him grow even more confused about himself. "Anyway, you've never given me a reason to want you dead."
"I catch dragons! I was the greatest hunter to ever live!"
"If you want me to kill you, I could just—"
"Forget I said anything." They crawled a little further and crouched by a boulder. It probably offered no real protection, but it was a comforting spot for them to be in. "Thanks for killing Drago Bludvist, by the way,"
"Your pleasure," Hiccup said dryly.
They looked downwards. The lava was rising, but they had outdistanced it for a while. The eruption did not seem to be slacking off, but it did not seem to be getting any worse either. Still, it was very hot, the air was poor, the ground shook, and they were both aware each minute might be their last.
"So I saved your life so you'd die a little later?" Hiccup said lightly.
"It seems so," Eret said. "I don't suppose any of your friends could—?"
"Highly unlikely until this stops," Hiccup replied. A tremor struck again and they fell over. The very ground was like embers in a fire pit.
"And to think, this was all for that box you've got there," Eret said bitterly. "We're going to die because some hunters didn't realize it was time to move on and wanted some stupid device badly enough to kill for it."
"You don't sound very pleased with them,"
"They forced me to go along with this trap. I'm tired of it all. I wanted things to be simple again. Just me, a ship, a proud crew, and something to go after; that's a life I'd take any day."
Hiccup smiled slightly, "Here we are, sharing grievances during an eruption,"
"What else is there to do now?" Eret looked up at the sky and folded his arms in a resigned manner. "I just hope it'll be quick."
"Me too," Hiccup said quietly. His thoughts turned to death and the many ways he could die out here. None of them were pleasant, but he seemed to smile at all of them. Heck, anybody could die, could they not? Everybody did at some point. He could face death as well as any person. Would this put him in Valhalla? Dying in an eruption had never been covered in Berk's religious teachings. Or maybe he had just not paid attention at that particular lesson. He wondered idly what would happen to the others after his death. His thoughts turned to Toothless and Astrid, Gobber and his father, Fishlegs and Heather, the Twins, all his dragon friends, Snotlout, heck, even old Mildew. He would not fly on Toothless again, not marry Astrid and raise a family, not work in the forge again, study lore with Fishlegs, help the Twins prank Mildew, not work to earn his father's approval and forgiveness, explore any further, or reconcile with his mother. His resolve trembled away. His steady gaze slowly turned into the expression of someone trying not to cry.
"I don't want to die yet…"
"The chicken is thinking it's time to turn around!" Tuffnut shouted. Chicken had been thinking that this entire time but Tuffnut had ignored it until now.
"Astrid's gonna kill us,"
"Well I don't see him anywhere? Do you?"
"No," Ruff said in a small voice. "Hiccup, where are you? You can't be dead yet, you're supposed to be indestructible! Oh, there he is. As I was saying, how many times have we cheated death together? You can't just—what did I just say? TUFF, THERE HE IS!" she screamed. Sure enough, they could see him and another man sitting beside a boulder.
"The Chicken is overjoyed!" Tuff yelled, "all right, Belch, head in there and let's get him. Where's some rope? Haven't we got any rope?"
As the Zippleback flew nearer they could see the stunned reaction on Hiccup's face. "I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO GLAD TO SEE ANYONE IN MY LIFE!" he shouted up at them.
"GOOD TO KNOW!" Ruff shouted back as her Zippleback dangled a rope down, "Now grab this and let's get…out…of…"
She had seen the man Hiccup was helping up the rope. All at once her eyes bulged out and her mouth slowly fell opened. She was looking at the handsomest man she had ever seen. Dear Odin, she could not take her eyes off him! His face was adorable! His muscles were huge! So was his nose, in a cute way! All at once she knew she had found the one! "Ohhhhhhhh….me likeyyyy!" she said as if hypnotized.
"Um, Ruff?" her brother said uncertainly, "Are you all right?"
"Never better!" she said dreamily. "Oh, come to my arms, my most magnificent man!"
"I don't mean to complain, but could we GET OUT OF HERE MAYBE?" Hiccup shouted from below. The Zippleback got the hint and took off.
"Hold on down there!"
"The thought had occurred to us, Ruff," Hiccup yelled back.
"I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to the butch and adorable God of Manliness who's down there with you!"
Ignoring the fact that he was flying through the air, while holding onto a rope, in the middle of an eruption, Eret looked down at Hiccup and yelled "what's she talking about?"
"You, I think,"
"Me?"
"Well she's never called me the God of Manliness and as there's no one else down here…"
"GOD OF WHAT?"
The other Riders had been forced to move off the island and onto a smaller once, which was little more than a rock. Astrid had to have been practically dragged off by Stormfly, while Hookfang and Windshear had carried Toothless, who had been even less willing to leave.
"Look!" Fishlegs exclaimed, "Ships on the right and on the left!" About a score of ships were making their way away from the erupting island, while five more were sailing over on the left and making their way to join them.
"Who cares about some stupid ships? We've gotta find Hiccup and the Twins!" Astrid shouted, furiously scanning the area.
"Then why are they leaving that ship there behind?" Fishlegs asked. Looking at the area around the larger group of ships, he could see one ship was still moored.
"That must be the ship Queen Mala landed on." Heather said, "But where are all the other Defenders?"
"Fishlegs, Astrid, those are dragon hunter ships, and they've got the Eruptodon on them!" Toothless cried, "Whoever stole the Eye will be making for them!"
"What's that?" Astrid exclaimed. "You mean the person Hiccup's chasing will be heading for those ships?" Nobody knew he had been chasing Adoncia.
"Yes! And that means Hiccup and the Twins will all be heading for them too!"
"Except they aren't!" Fishlegs shouted, "I see them! They're heading for the ship that isn't moving!"
"What ship? I don't see anything!" Snotlout shouted back. Astrid ignored him and mounted Stormfly.
Astrid ignored her too and instead shouted, "Fishlegs, stay here and look after Mala! Make for that ship, Stormfly! Live up to your name!"
"Wait—why do I have to stay behind?" Fishlegs shouted but it was too late. She was already gone and the others were right behind her.
Nobody had planned to land on any ship, but they had little choice because once Barf n' Belch were close enough the Zippleback collapsed onto it, tossing every human down the deck as if they were toys.
Eret tried to heave himself back up when Tuffnut suddenly climbed onto him. "All right, who are you and what are you doing here? And don't even think about lying to me if you know what's good for you! I'm the greatest interrogator in the whole world—and most of Denmark!"
"Not now, Tuffnut!" Hiccup snapped as he picked himself up. "We need to get back to the—" his gaze fell upon the Zippleback and it was clear as daylight the dragon was in no shape for another flight. The poor creature was slumped on the deck and wheezing loudly. The slightest movement took the greatest effort. "All right—Ruff, Tuff, will you two please get off of Eret and get the anchor up?"
"His name is Eret?" Ruff said dreamily, "what a perfect name!"
Eret had all sorts of ways he could have replied but Tuffnut had fallen over as the ship rocked and his arm ended up on Eret's mouth.
Slowly the ship got underway, as best as it could, for the rudder was broken. There was little room for finesse or expert seamanship, but the volcano was making enough waves and wind to push the boat further into the ocean.
The Riders in the air soon found the best way to get to Hiccup and the Twins meant going over the five ships that were heading to join the larger group, and due to the air conditions they were forced to keep low. They had not intended to fight, but when one ship fired a net at Hookfang, who was carrying Toothless, Snotlout lost his temper and roared for the Nightmare to return fire. Astrid was more interested in getting to Hiccup, but she was not about to let Snotlout fight alone. And Heather was not about to let the others fight without her, so she and Windshear joined the fight as well.
"Get 'em, Hookfang!" Snotlout shouted eagerly.
"This really awkward, carrying you, flying, and fighting at the same time!" Hookfang shouted to Toothless, right before spitting a plume of flame at a sail. "Why can't you just always wear that fin nobody needs to operate?"
"You wouldn't understand," Toothless said as he fired a blast of his own.
"What I do understand is, at times like this, you're almost helpless!"
"Oh, is carrying me too much work for you?" Toothless retorted in a tone worthy of his rider.
They targeted mainly the sails, rudders, and net launchers. It was not too difficult to do damage, for the ships already seemed to be in battered conditions, as if they had seen action very recently.
Windshear swooped over one ship intending to deliver the death blow to a net launcher. But this kind of combat was new to her. She broke out of the glide too late and Hunters threw a tangle mesh of nets onto her and Heather.
"Got 'em!" one shouted.
"Hey lads! The lassie's got the same armor as those chumps we just walloped!" another yelled. Heather froze for an instant but then grabbed her axe and slashed at the nets around her. And unfortunately for the hunters, the nets did not keep Windshear's mouth closed, and she spat fire indiscriminately.
Over from his vantage point Fishlegs watched as best as he could. The whole time he squirmed and fidgeted. He wanted desperately to get in there and help them, but he could not just abandon Mala either. This was even worse than being in battle. In battle you could at least do something, but here he felt incredibly helpless. He had an especially horrible moment when he saw Windshear and Heather go down, but to his immense relief they fought their way out of their predicament.
"Phew! Go get 'em, Heather! Go, go, go!" he cheered.
"You go too!" Mala groaned at him. "Don't worry about me! Get the Eye back!"
Fishlegs hesitated. "Are you sure? Can you manage alone?"
"Of course I'm sure!" she screamed. The effort caused her a lot of pain but she masked it, "Go get the Eye back!"
Fishlegs needed no more urging. "We'll be back soon! C'mon, Meatlug!"
Despite the foul air conditions Stormfly had seldom flown as fast, and she reached the ship several hundred meters ahead of the others. Astrid threw herself off and spotted Hiccup with a rope trying to adjust a sail. A huge wave of relief swept over her, followed swiftly by a wave of pure fury. She stormed over to him and slugged him in the face.
"Welcome aboard," Hiccup grunted as he clutched his nose.
"You stupid, stupid son of a half troll! What were you thinking, going off on your own like that in the middle of an eruption?" She shouted, "Do you think I like wondering if I've seen you for the last time?"
Behind them, Hookfang dropped Toothless onto the deck and the Night Fury went up to Hiccup and whacked him with his tail.
"Why is it even my friends enjoy hurting me?" Hiccup shouted and he was not at all joking.
"It's because we care about you too much!" Astrid shouted back.
"That's what happens when you nearly get yourself killed and scare us half to death!" Toothless growled.
"What's happened?" Heather interrupted, "who stabbed Queen Mala? Where's the Eye?"
Hiccup pointed to a corner of the deck, where the chest rested. "As for the person who stabbed Mala, she won't hurt anyone anymore." He turned and kicked the ship's mast.
Heather grabbed the chest and examined it. "It's all intact. Good. Let's get out of here before anything else happens."
Meatlug flopped onto the deck and Fishlegs leapt off of her.
"You were supposed to stay with Mala!" Heather shouted.
"I know and I'll explain later, but guys, look!" Fishlegs pointed over her shoulder. The fleet of ships was returning and heading directly towards them and moving quickly. From behind more boulders went flying into the ocean, making waves which pushed them closer to their hunters.
"Can't this just end already?" Hiccup groaned.
"Let's get going!" Astrid said. "Who's gonna carry Barf n' Belch?"
"Don't look at me!" Hookfang growled wearily, "I'm tired!"
"So is Meatlug," Stormfly said.
"I'll manage!" the Gronkle panted, "just need to get my breath back. Just be a minute."
Toothless looked around quickly. The ships were getting closer. The Zippleback was still out, Meatlug was tired, the others looked just about as tired, they had more people to carry now, and the volcano was still erupting. Instinct told him to attack or run, but could they do either? Those ships were built specifically to catch dragons and there were nearly 20 of them. None of them could dodge the projectiles from that many ships at the same time.
Hiccup had also taken a look around. He grabbed Astrid's arm and said quickly "If we want to fly through decent air we'll end up in range of their net shooters. Whoever carries Barf n' Belch will be an easy target! Meatlug will be too if we leave right now!"
"We're any easy target as it is!" Astrid reminded him. "And if we leave right now we might be able to outdistance them before they know what's going on!"
"I wouldn't bet on that!" Eret said loudly. "They'll be expecting it! Their nets will drop you all into the sea, and they'll haul your dragons on board and leave you to drown!"
"I don't wanna drown!" Snotlout cried.
"Don't listen to him!" Heather snapped, "He's just trying to scare us into surrendering!"
Hiccup looked around and waved an arm. "Everyone take up positions on the sides! If we can't fly away we'll fight them off!"
"That's the spirit!" Heather said enthusiastically, "Windshear, blast the nearest ship!"
Windshear tried to obey but instead of a sheet of flame a mere thread flew out of her mouth. "What? Oh no…c'mon, c'mon!"
"Did you guys use all your shots on those other ships?" Fishlegs cried.
"What other ships?" Hiccup said sharply. "Oh. Those other ships. Oh great…"
Hookfang and Stormfly both tried to spit flames at the enemy ships. Hookfang spat out only a few embers, which Snotlout kicked overboard. Stormfly succeeded in shooting a nice plume of fire. Unfortunately, that also meant she was another shot down.
Hiccup turned to Toothless, "Bud, c'mon, your shot limit is a lot higher, you can't have used all of them!"
"I haven't, but I can't shoot in circles!"
Eret looked amused. "You can't fight! Ha!"
"C'mon, Hiccup," Snotlout said. He was close to panicking, "what's Plan B?"
"That was Plan B, and it just got busted."
"We can still fight them!" Heather shouted. She spat at Eret. "We're not licked yet, hunter,"
Hiccup turned quickly at these words. "Yes, he's a hunter! And a very good one, so he's told me! Perfect! Tie him up right now!"
"What?" Eret exclaimed but Windshear was already on top of him. They had not done this sooner because everyone had been too focused on getting away from the volcano, Eret included. Ruffnut at first was aghast, but then realized Eret tied up meant he could not get away from her, so she was delighted.
"Oh, hold me Hunter of my Heart!" she cried as she flung herself onto him.
Ignoring what had just happened Hiccup said quickly, "Nothing to worry about, Eret, we're just taking precautions. I'm sure you'll understand. Guy's, come over here. Does anybody have a white cloth? We'll offer them Eret in exchange for an hour long head start. Even if they refuse the offer the negotiations will buy us some time!" He spoke softly, although Eret could probably guess what was going on even without hearing him.
"And what guarantee do we have they'll honor the terms?" Heather demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "For that matter, what guarantee do we have they won't just sink us right now?"
"Because we have what they want!" Hiccup smiled deviously. He gestured to the chest and Eret.
Astrid now cut in. "Every dragon, take up a position behind the railing! Pretend you're all loaded. Stay low and look as dangerous as possible!"
Most of the dragons could not grin, but if they could they would have right then.
Fishlegs had procured a semi-white rag he normally used to clean Meatlug with. Hiccup then climbed up the mast and then roared at the top of his lungs "FLAG OF TRUCE!"
The ships continued to advance, but that was probably by acts of nature rather than the desire of their captains. Hiccup shouted his words again and this time someone responded. "WHO'S OFFERING?"
"WE WANT TO TALK OVER TERMS!"
The ships were clearly slowing down now. "IN WHOSE NAME ARE YOU ACTING?"
"MINE OF COURSE!" Hiccup shouted back impatiently, "NOW LISTEN UP! WE HAVE YOUR FRIEND ERET HERE! YOU LET US GO FREE AND YOU'LL GET HIM BACK! IT'S THAT SIMPLE!"
"Too bad humans don't always understand the simple things," Hookfang commented to Windshear.
"AND JUST WHO ARE YOU?" someone from another ship now yelled.
"I THINK YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHO I AM OR YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE!" Hiccup yelled. He had considered leaving their identities secret but now realized those people would have seen the dragons and work it out for themselves. "AND IF YOU THINK OF FIRING ON US I'LL HAVE YOUR SHIPS REDUCED TO CINDERS!"
He could hear laughter. "WE'VE GOT YOU SURROUNDED!" someone yelled.
"AND THAT MEANS WE CAN'T MISS!" Astrid yelled back.
"Thank you Milady, I was just about to say that,"
"Anytime,"
There was a brief pause and then someone called "OUR LEADER SAYS HE WOULD LOVE TO ACCEPT YOUR TERMS AND HE WOULD BE DELIGHTED IF YOU CAME OVER IN PERSON TO CONVERSE WITH HIM!"
"Now if that doesn't smell like a trap I'm a rat!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
"It does smell like a trap and you keep your family out of this!" Snotlout retorted.
"Can it, you two!" Heather ordered.
"But I'm right, right? It's gotta be a trap! What else could it be?"
"OH AND ONE MORE THING! OUR LEADER WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT IF YOU HAVE A HOSTAGE, SO DO WE! YOU WOULDN'T WANT THE POOR ERUPTODON TO GET HURT, NOW WOULD YOU?"
Hiccup swore. "I forgot about that."
"So what now?" Toothless asked, "We don't know what ship he's on. He'll drown if we sink them all—assuming they don't kill him themselves!" Hunters at sea tended to leave dragons alive as long as possible, so they would not start decomposing, but there always exceptions to that rule.
"OH AND ONE MORE THING—ER, AGAIN! OUR LEADER SAYS HE WILL GLADLY GIVE AGREE TO YOUR TERMS IF YOU GIVE HIM THE DRAGON EYE! YOU CAN KEEP ERET!"
"WHAT?" Eret exclaimed.
"YAY!" Ruffnut cheered. "It's a deal!" Heather kicked her.
"Well, Eret, that's loyalty for you," Hiccup said, "hunt dragons for years and here's your reward. Now be quiet, please, I need to think a minute."
"Look, they're probably just bluffing, I'm sure if you pressed they'd take agree to—"
"I said I need to think!" Hiccup yelled. Everyone was taken aback by the sudden temper and no one dared talk.
Except Toothless, that is. "Mind telling me what you've got in mind this time?"
Hiccup scanned the sky briefly and looked disappointed when he saw nothing. Then he smiled nastily. "They want to have a meeting, don't they? Then I'll meet with this leader."
"Then I'm coming with you," Astrid said flatly.
Mala was sliding in and out of consciousness, and every time she was coherent her body felt like it was on fire. Yet not a sound did she make as she felt life slowly ebbing away. She was seething with rage. Rage that this had happened, rage that she had been duped, raged that these Hunters would succeed at last, rage that she had failed, and rage at everyone who had failed her. If she could only get her fist around someone's throat she would break their windpipe. And she slowly became aware there was someone beside her. Someone she did not recognize. It was probably a hunter, come to either gloat or speed up her end. She tried to reach for them, intending to fight back in any way she could.
"Don't move," her new companion ordered, "you'll make the injury worse,"
"Why would a Dragon Hunter care?" Mala spat.
"I'm no Dragon Hunter." They replied firmly, "I despise them as much as you do." Mala tried to sit up to get a better look at the person but the person pushed her back down. "Be still. Oh I just knew something like this would happen."
"Well if you're not a hunter, then who are you?"
"My name is Valka, and I'm going to get us out of this mess if I can."
"Where's Heather? Where are my Defenders?"
"I don't know." Valka's mind was racing furiously. She and Cloudjumper had lost track of the Dragon Riders when they had split up. At last, less than an hour ago, they had spotted 5 hunter ships and followed them.
"I see a larger fleet of ships—they are surrounding something." Cloudjumper announced from his vantage point. "The ones we followed are joining them. Oh dear."
"What?" Valka said impatiently. "What?"
"I see your son and his future mate swinging on a rope to one of the ships. Your son is carrying a chest. Probably the chest containing the Dragon Eye."
Valka assumed the worst. The Dragon Riders were all prisoners or soon would be, and the Eye was taken again. Even worse, she could not help them, for she no match for that many foes and now she had a wounded person to look after.
Mala was sliding into unconsciousness. Valka had a closer look at her injury. It was not necessarily a fatal wound, but without treatment it likely would be. Valka had learned much about injuries and treatments over the years but she could hardly do anything here with the most minimal medical supplies. And even if she could, Hiccup and the others were still up against a great fleet of hunters, and a recovering woman would hardly even the odds.
"Cloudjumper, do you think you can carry her and me?"
"It will be no difficulty. But where will I carry her to?"
"Berk. If what Hiccup's told me is true, they'll help us. Gods have mercy." She slammed her fist into her leg and yelled "Hiccup, why didn't you listen to me?"