They traveled up to Fang where they hid the boat away so that none of the Dragon Hunters or Fang soldiers could spot them. Keeping out of their sight wasn't easy, seems that they were patrolling the water since they know that it was the only safe area to stay away from the Druun. Raya was going through with the plan that same night so that they could possibly use Namaari to help them save their home. This was something that scared everyone when they told them the plan, but they figured it was worth at least trying.
"If she refuses to help, we've just flushed our tactical advantage into the dung pot," Tong cursed as he looked annoyed by the plan.
"I know," Raya agreed.
Whilst they were talking, Sisu was biting into some of Raya's jerky.
"Yeah. She doesn't have much reason to help us," Boun stated.
"I know," Raya repeated.
"This jerky's terrible," Sisu grimaced.
"I know!" Raya shouted, tired of hearing too many statements.
"Do you know of a backup plan if this fails?" Hiccup asks Raya.
"I...don't know," Raya admitted.
"We sure those four menaces are going to be able to pull this off?" Toothless wonders.
"I don't know," Raya repeated her answer.
The four menaces in question the baby and Ongi's made their way up to the Fang fortress to deliver the fight to Namaari. A Fang Guard keeps watch as from behind a wall, the eyes of Noi and the Ongis appear. They give each other a look.
Ready? Let's go!
One Ongi ties up the Guard's legs as another silently climbs onto his shoulder and - THWAP - judo-chops him on the neck, dropping him. They infiltrate the palace and shuffle down the dark hallways in a military-like fashion.
Suddenly, Noi holds up her little fist to give them the order to stop! She clocks a plate of food in the palace kitchen and signals to it. The Ongis quietly retrieve the food.
They continue onward, shoving the food in their mouths along the way.
Namaari sits at the edge of her bed, the dragon scroll opens in her lap.
Namaari hears Ongi chitters coming from outside. She turns to the window.
"Huh?" Namaari wonders what was going on.
The Ongis throw her a small tied-up bundle and disappear before she could even notice they were there. Namaari opens the bundle to find a note and... the dragon pendant. She picked it up and looked around before she started to read the note, wondering what Raya could possibly risk doing this for.
The boat floats in a little alcove on the river, with Fang on the horizon. Raya sits at the end of the boat, looking up at the palace, deep in thought. She wondered if she had made the right decision to give into Sisu's idea and trust Namaari.
"Hey." Hiccup greeted her as he came up to sit next to her.
"Hey." Raya greeted as she moved to give him some space. "What's up?"
"Well, Boun and Tong are arguing over food right now, so I thought I'd just come over here and talk." Hiccup admitted as he sighed. "Doubting this plan?"
"You're not?" Raya asked as she knew he was hesitant to go along with this.
"I told you why I'm so reluctant to trust people." Hiccup shrugged as he definitely was against the plan. "But...people often do surprise you. I took a chance to trust a dragon, and that's what got me into this predicament."
"Let's just hope we survive so Sisu can life to say she told us so." Hiccup joked.
Raya chuckled as Tong and Boun argue over a simmering pot that got their attention. They looked over and decided to approach to figure out what was happening.
"There's too much spice," Tong stated.
"Uh, no, there's too much bamboo." Boun retaliated.
"What do you know? You have the tastebuds of a tall baby." Tong replied.
"Well, you dress like a tall baby," Boun stated as he crossed his arms.
"Give me the spoon!" Tong stated as he reached for the spoon. "I'm taking over!"
"Back off tidal wave, I'm the professional here," Boun stated.
"May I?" Raya approaches, pulls some palm sugar from her pouch, and sprinkles in the sugar. After she finished, Boun decided to go for a taste of the broth.
"Whoa," Boun said in surprise. "That's good!"
"It's just a little something my ba showed me," Raya said as she walked around so she could sit down.
"Aw," Sisu said sweetly. "Did he also show you how to make that delicious jerky?"
Raya rolled her eyes as she took a seat and Hiccup joined her. "No, that was all me." She admitted as she looked down at her food. "It'll be nice to share a meal with him again."
"I know what you mean," Boun admitted as he pours a bowl for Tong. "I have this really obnoxious sister who always tussles my hair." He chuckled as he handed another bowl out to Hiccup. "I can't wait to see her the most."
"After we win the day, I look forward to filling my eyeball with the joy-tastic image of my village full again," Tong stated with a sad smile, thinking of his village. Noi, on Tong's shoulder, babbles trying to touch his face. Tong then went and grabbed her to hold her in his arms. "And you will be reunited with your family, Noi."
That got everyone's attention when they looked over after hearing Noi. None of them knew what that word meant to her and was curious.
"Um, what did you just call her?" Raya was the first to ask.
"Noi. It's her name. It's written on her collar." Tong stated as he gestured to the child in his hand. "Have none of you ever checked?" Everyone started to look guilty as none of them considered looking there. He then scoffed at that statement. "And they think of me as the ruffian."
"What about you, Hiccup?" Boun wonders, looking at the Lone Rider.
Hiccup took a bit of his meal when he heard the question. "What about me?"
"What will you do when this is over?" Boun explains his question.
Hiccup had to admit, that wasn't something he was thinking about after everything. "Well, I'll have to lead Krogan away. This May end for you guys when the Dragon Gem is put back and the Druun are defeated, but Krogan is still out there." He then looked up and eyed the Dragon Hunters. "As soon as I leave, these Hunters will follow us. I hope."
"How long do you think you can keep this up?" Raya was really worried about him constantly going out on the run.
"I'll have to keep going until Krogan is defeated, we talked about this." Hiccup reminded her of their task to Spine. "As long as Krogan is alive, there is nowhere safe for me or for Toothless."
"And when you defeat Krogan, what will be your next step?" Tong asks him.
Hiccup never really considered a life without the Dragon Hunters out there and wondered if there was anything he could do. "I'm not entirely sure what will come next." But then he noticed all of their sad faces at the idea of him leaving. "But how about this, when I finally beat him, I'll come and see you guys again."
"You'd do that?" Boun asks in surprise.
"Yeah, you guys...have been the only friends I've really had for years." Hiccup admitted, immediately followed by Toothless raising his head. "Present company excluded." Toothless seemed to be fine with that and laid back down. "And I really don't have much for family. My mother was killed when I was little and my father cast me out. I don't have any siblings, so it's just me and Toothless."
Raya smiled and decided to correct him. "Not anymore." She then gestured to the table. "You have all of us. And we will willingly welcome you back with open arms. I mean, you kinda did help us save our world."
Hiccup smiled at her and knew that she meant everything she said. "Thanks. Been a while since I've been useful to anyone that wasn't a dragon."
The two of them yet again found themselves leaning in close, ignoring the present company. And that's when the universe decided to mess with them when a firework goes off in the distance and breaks the moment. They all looked and saw it was fired off from the top of the Fang Fortress.
"What's that mean?" Sisu wonders.
Raya sighed and knew it was time. "It means we're on." But then she turned to face Sisu. "Sisu, until we get that gem and confirm Namaari's actually on our side, promise me you'll stay hidden."
Sisu nodded and knew that she needed to listen this time.
Namaari stands alone, in her hands she holds the dragon pendant. Raya emerges out of the woods, followed by Hiccup who was there for her support.
Raya looked and saw the pendant. "I see you got my gift."
Namaari was staring at the pendent. "I never thought I'd see this again."
"Well, I tried to take good care of it," Raya said as Namaari looks up at them. "You're not the only dragon nerd around here."
Namaari unfolds the cloth to reveal the Fang Gem Piece, places it on the ground, then steps back. Raya's taken aback at the statement as she sees she actually did want to help. It's really here.
Sisu in her Dragon form emerges from the woods, her eyes locked on Namaari. Raya opens her satchel, showing that she has the rest of the gems.
"Huh, looks like I was wrong." Hiccup had to admit he was a bit surprised.
"The final piece," Sisu said with a smile.
"Time to bring everyone back," Raya said as she reached for her pieces.
But that's when they heard something click and they saw Namaari drawing a crossbow loaded with an arrow. (Am I the only one questioning where she was keeping that?) The rest of the gang emerge from the woods when they see their friends were in danger. Hiccup gestured for Toothless to stop, asking him not to transform to help quite yet.
"Stay back!" Namaari quickly changed direction and aimed the crossbow at the others. "Don't come any closer!"
"It was foolish to trust someone from Fang!" Tong stated.
But to their surprise, she looked over and aimed the crossbow over at Hiccup, who Raya jumped in front of to protect. The last thing that she was going to let happen was to allow Namaari to take away someone else she cared about.
"Nammari, it doesn't have to be like this," Raya tells her.
Namaari however didn't seem to listen and started to shake. "I don't have any other choice." But then she started to see what she could possibly be doing and then gestured to Hiccup. "I need to talk to your new friend."
Raya was wondering why and wasn't willing to part from shielding him. But to her surprise, and lack of surprise, Hiccup wasn't going to allow her to get hurt for him. He gently ushered her out of his and Nammari's path.
"It's okay. Let me hear her out." Hiccup said as he walked ahead, taking a few steps so he was at an equal distance between Namaari and his friends. All of them were worried about what they were about to do to each other. "What did you want to ask?"
"Back at Spine...what you said...about Krogan...was that all true?" Namaari asks him, wondering whose side she should be on.
Hiccup was a little surprised that she asked this and decided to answer her. "Yes." He answered with all honesty. "Krogan is a Dragon Hunter. He's the leader of the Hunters. He bonded with his dragon and forced it to do whatever he wished ever since. He sacrifices his men without a second thought, and doesn't care who he kills to get what he wants." He then slowly raised his hand to the crossbow, trying to show her he isn't a threat. Raya still wasn't sure she trusted Namaari and got ready to pull her blade out. "He will betray you and your home without a second thought."
He then slowly pushed the bow downward. But it didn't take long for Namaari to lower the crossbow on her own. Raya was shocked and released her grip on the sword and was surprised by what she was seeing. Namaari started to tear up as she looked down at her bow and the ground.
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Namaari tells them with tears. "I was-"
"Just trying to show your mother you could be something." Hiccup finished her statement, shocking Namaari.
Namaari looked up at him, wondering how he guessed. "How-"
"We often sacrifice who we are to try and be someone we aren't." Hiccup explains how he could guess it and gestures to the others. "But instead of changing who I am, I found people who accepted me for who I am." He then held a hand out to Namaari to take. "It's not too late."
Namaari nodded and went to stretch her hand out to take his. But that's when Toothless noticed something in the distance behind Namaari and saw it was a Hunter. Looking to see where it was pointing, he noticed it was at Namarri and Hiccup.
"Look out!" Toothless ran in between the two and the Hunter.
Neither of them understood what was happening when Toothless transformed and tackled both Hiccup and Namaari. By the time that he did that, the Hunter had already fired and the arrow was sent flying through the air. When the arrow finally hit its target, it ended up hitting Toothless in the back.
The dragon screeched in pain, feeling the effects of the dragon root on his body, and fell to the ground. When they got back up, Namaari looked and noticed the Hunter before retaliating and shooting back at them. She immediately managed to shoot the Hunter out of the area they were hiding, and that's where they saw that it was indeed a Hunter.
"One of Krogan's men?" Namaari asks in shock.
"I think Krogan was onto you." Hiccup was worried that Krogan would learn about their spot. But then he started to worry as he knew Krogan wouldn't send one man. "But he wouldn't-"
And that's when several other arrows came flying in, cussing Hiccup to draw his sword and cut them down. Then they saw the Singetail fireball coming down at them.
"Watch out!" Namaari dragged Hiccup out of the way and the two were seeing it was an ambush. They were about to run off when they saw Toothless was too weak to move on his own.
"Come on!" Hiccup tells Nammari as he tried to rescue Toothless.
Namaari was shocked to see he would run into the line of fire for his dragon. That only cemented that he truly cared for his dragon more than Krogan does. She ran in as Raya and the others quickly tried to help. This is when they looked and noticed that the Dragon Hunters uncovered their boat and were now guarding it, so there was no way they were escaping that way.
"I'll give us some cover!" Sisu said as she ran ahead and quickly covered the area in smoke. With the area covered in smoke, it gave them the cover so Krogan couldn't keep firing down on them.
Krogan landed on the ground and called to his Hunters. "Find that dragon and Night Fury." He saw the last Dragon Gem piece they accidentally left and picked it up. "They couldn't have gotten far."
Virana was looking out where she saw the attack happen and was just as shocked as anyone. She didn't confirm such an attack, and it only surprised her more when she saw that her daughter was there in the middle of it all. She fumed with anger even more when she saw the Dragon Gem piece missing.
Krogan flew in and landed his Singetail nearby where Virana was and held the Gem. "Your daughter seems to have turned traitor on us."
"Has she?" Virana asks with anger in her voice. She turned to Krogan and took the Gem from him. "That's not what I saw."
"Your daughter was about to hand this over to the enemy." Krogan handed her the Gem Piece. "She has now become a traitor to us all. You should be thanking me."
Virana was going to walk away when she heard that and became angered. "Thanking you?" She then marched over and stared into his eyes. "I saw what your man was going to do. You almost killed Sisu, and you tried to kill that boy's dragon." She had finally had enough and saw what her daughter was saying. "I want you and your people out of my kingdom. For good."
Krogan sighed and placed his hands behind him. "I'm sorry to hear that."
And only a blade slicing the sir could be heard before Virana knew what was happening. Feeling a sharp pain in her stomach, she looked down and noticed that Krogan had impaled her with his blades. He only had a smile on his face as he withdrew the blades and watched the leader of Fang crumble to the ground.
"But I don't plan on failing in my mission," Krogan promised as he walked away and left her to die alone. "And your home will burn with you."
Several dragon hunters then set off explosions that caused rubble to fall and make a pathway onto the island for the Druun to travel on. He knew that this chaos and all of these innocents in trouble would draw Hiccup out quickly.