Chapter 24: A Time to Skrill
It was a very dark night out at sea and a glacier stood tall, then it began to shake and the Terrible Terror sleeping on it awoke and flew away as far as they could.
The entire glacier tore itself apart and then out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning struck right in the middle of it forming a huge crack in its surface. From inside the crack came a shriek, as a figure crawled out of its icy prison while its mouth was sparkling with electricity.
It then took flight, with only one thing on its mind.
Revenge.
(Linebreaker)
The Dragon Riders reached Outcast Island and it looked a lot worse before the Battle with Dagur and the Screaming Death. A few of the towers were still smoldering and hot. What's more, Alvin and the rest of Outcasts were nowhere to be seen.
"Whoa, I don't like it," Ruffnut said.
"Weird. I don't see any arrows or spears," Hiccup surveying the area.
"No borders from catapults," said Fishlegs.
Hicca looked troubled. "This really doesn't seem like a Dragon Hunter attack."
"Well, whoever did this meant business," Astrid commented.
"Really bad business." Raeda added.
"And where did everyone go?" Fishlegs noted.
"They must have evacuated." Hicca guessed.
"What could possibly scare the Outcasts of their island?" Astrid asked.
"Yeah, hardly anything scares Alvin, so whatever did this is no ordinary visitor." Raeda said.
"Mutton famine?" Tuffnut suggested.
"Bedbugs?" said Ruffnut. "Once those things show up, you can never get rid of 'em."
Hiccup then noticed something that was indeed troubling. "I think this has something to do with it."
Everyone turned and saw a large crack within a rock and there were scorch marks around it.
"These scorch marks…" Hicca said as Midnight growled, recognizing them. "Do these look familiar to anyone?" She asked the others.
"Hicca you don't think it could be.." Fishlegs trailed off.
Hicca had on her face a grim expression. She knew only one dragon that could cause this kind of destruction.
(Linebreaker)
Minutes later they were on their dragons heading towards the glacier, but finding it was not easy because it had moved from the last time they saw it.
Fortunately, Hicca had a very good memory and spotted it at once. "There. That's the one." She said to the others as she pointed in the direction of the glacier as they landed and peered down into the crevasse.
"Yep. The Skrill is gone." Snotlout said while looking at the others.
"That's a good name for a song." Tuffnut commented, "I should work on it when we get back."
"I was afraid of this." Hicca said in a worried tone.
"How did this happen?" Fishlegs wondered.
"Yeah, you told us that thing was frozen solid." Raeda added.
"I don't know how, but I think it was either by warmer water around the glacier or maybe even 3 years worth of sunlight." Hicca guessed.
"Shotty workmanship, I'd say," Tuffnut guessed.
"Aren't we the ones who sealed him in that big hole?" Ruffnut mentioned.
Tuffnut cleared his throat and gestured to Barf and Belch.
'Are you saying this is our fault?' Barf asked.
"It doesn't matter how it got out," Hiccup said, getting on his feet. "We've got to get it back before it hurts anyone else, or before Dagur gets a hold of it."
"And before the Dragon Hunters start selling Skrill skin belts on the market." Hicca added.
"Well, the question is, where is it heading?" Astrid asked as they all got under their feet.
"Well, since the Skrill gravitates toward storms to channel its lightning, I would say it's following that storm headed due south from Outcaste Island," said Fishlegs pointed.
Snotlout looked up. "Hey, isn't Berk…" His eyes widened. "Oh, no."
"We need to get home! Now!" Hicca called out in anxiety as she and the others got to their dragons and took off to Berk.
(Linebreaker)
At Berk the storm was now right over the island and the Skrill had followed it there. Lightning struck down on top of Stoick house as the dragon growled angrily as electricity surged through its body and then it took off shooting lightning everywhere.
'Where are they?!' It was demanding in rage.
At once the A-Team took up to the sky to face the Skrill.
"Axillary riders! Circle formation!" Gustav ordered.
The Skrill blasted them with a lightning blast, but they were able to dodge it.
The Dragon Riders had just arrived to see both the A-Team and Skrill confronting each other.
"Hey, look at that," said Astrid proudly. "The A-Team, already on the case."
"They're eager to help, I'll say that for them," said Raeda.
Hiccup look slightly concerned. "Yeah, okay, you know, it might be a little early in the dragon riding career to…"
Hiccup really does need to complete that sentence, because the Skrill had just sent bolts of lightning in all sorts of directions.
"Look out-" Was all Gustav could say before the Skrill shot down at him, Bucket, Mulch, Sven and Gothi.
He nearly got Spitelout, but he was able to dodge the blast. "Is that the best you've got, sparky lizard!" Spitelout taunted as Kingstail growled at him. "No offense to you, of course." But his moment of distraction allowed the Skrill to blast him with lightning and he fell off his dragon.
"Dad!" Snotlout yelled flying down towards him.
"Cover the downed riders!" Hiccup ordered. Spitlout then landed on a cart of flour sacks as Stoick turned to see the Dragon Riders going after the Skrill.
They began to soar downwards, but Midnight came to a sudden stop.
"Midnight? No. What are you doing?" Hicca asked, puzzled.
The Skrill then turns to the female Night Fury and growls, 'There you are.' He roared and began to charge up for a lightning blast and Midnight prepared for a plasma blast.
Knowing what's gonna happen next Hicca tried to pull Midnight back. "Midnight, no! You know what happens if you use your plasma blast!" She yelled.
Midnight ignored her rider as she then charged straight towards the Skrill and the two of them by their blasts. Once they connected it caused a massive shock wave that sent them flying and knocked Hicca off of Midnight as the Skrill then flew away.
"Midnight" Hicca yelled.
Midnight tried to catch him, but missed and slammed into several carts. Fortunately, Hicca remembered the flight suit Hiccup made her.
"Hiccup this had better work!" She said as she tried to slip the wings onto her arms.
Hicca pulled her arms out, opening her flight suit, but with purple details as she glided over towards Stoick, who was riding on top of Skullcrusher.
She then landed behind her father, "Hey dad. Room for one more on the Rumblehorn?" She asked as he landed behind Stoick.
Stoick stared at the wings attached to her arms. "Where in the name of Thor did those wings come from?" She asked.
"Wings?" Hicca asked in confusion before she realized what he meant, remembering that this is the first time her dad saw her flight suit. "Oh right, long story. Right now I need to get to my dragon."
Midnight managed to get herself unburied from the sacks and saw Skullcrusher landing next to her and Hicca rushed over to her.
"Midnight!" Hicca yelled as she gave her dragon a big hug. "Oh. Oh, I am sorry about that, girl."
"Interesting strategy, going nose to nose with the Skrill," Stoick noted.
"Yeah, that wasn't exactly my strategy," said Hicca, as she nuzzled Midnight.
Soon the other Riders landed, Toothless went to his mate in concern after what he saw.
'Are you okay, Midnight?' Toothless cooed in concern.
'I'm fine, Toothless. I just forgot how our plasma blasts affect the Skrill's lightning.' Midnight warbled in assurance to her mate before she growled. 'But next time, he won't be so lucky.'
Snotlout then appeared with his father over his shoulders.
"Snotlout, is he okay?" Astrid asked.
"Yeah that was quite the blast he took." Raeda comment.
"It's my dad," Snotlout chuckled. "He bludgeons his own head for sport. Of course he's fine."
Spitelout tried to speak, but it just sounded like gibberish. He clutches throat and looked extremely furious.
"Like I said, he's fine," said Snotlout and leaned over towards Astrid. "Except for that blast of lightning he took to the head."
"Looks like he got what you had when you get struck by lightning." Hiccup noted, "How many times have Jorgensons been hit by lightning?"
Snotlout then raised his hands, "Trust me, you don't wanna know." He said.
"But like last time, the effects are temporary, so he will be talking gibberish for a while." Hicca added, knowing from experience that this will wear off in time.
Spitlout then started speaking again, but no one could understand him, "Oh thank you dad, I'm proud of you too." Snotlout said but judging by his expression that wasn't what he said.
"So what's the damage report?" Hicca asked.
"Well, all the huts seem to be in fairly good condition." Fishlegs said, seeing how the village was remarkable in one piece.
"All except one." said Astrid pointing at the Haddock House which was still smoking quite badly.
"Our house!" Stoick and the Haddock Twins all yelled from the damage the Skrill did to their home.
"Hey, Chief, is the charred look in this year?" Ruffnut asked.
"I actually happen to think it's trés chic, Chief," said Tuffnut. "I'm thinking of doing it to our hut back on the Edge."
"Weird that your family's house is the only one the Skrill attack." Astrid said to Hiccup and Hicca.
"Huh. That could explain why the Skrill went to Outcaste Island and then here," said Fishlegs.
"It would also explain why it was only focused on one of us." Raeda added, looking at Midnight.
"Yeah, it's not randomly attacking. It's looking for me and Midnight." Hicca realizing.
Astrid nodded. "And Outcast Island is the last place it saw you guys, before…"
"We lead it back to the Glacier and freeze it again." Hicca finished.
"Well at least we know why it wants you." Hiccup said, realizing what the Skrill was after.
"Yup, he's mad at you." Snotlout said to Hicca.
"Snotlout's right. It is mad. And it's looking for revenge for trapping it back in that glacier." Hicca said as she looked at their charred up home.
"What choice did we have? It was either that or let Dagur have it." Astrid pointed out.
"Why don't you explain that to mister Lightning Spitter?" Hicca suggested before rubbing her forehead. "Oh, this is all my fault."
"Sis, I don't think-" Hiccup tried to tell her but Hicca interrupted him.
"We were supposed to save that Skrill, not put it through the same suffering all over again." Hicca said.
"Look at it from its perspective, Hiccup. The moment it awoke it had been hunted relentlessly and then it was captured by the Outcasts, in slaves by Dagur and to top it all off Hicca frozen solid within a glacier and now that it's free want to settle the score." Raeda listed off on what the Skrill just did.
Midnight then snarled and Hicca placed a hand on her to calm down. "Ooh. Relax, girl. We've dealt with the Skrill before, we'll deal with it again."
"Is it just me, or is Snotlout's dad acting a little more violent and the range than usual?" Tuffnut noted as Spitelout swung his axe around in a mad like way.
Snotlout laughed. "Looks like the Skrill isn't the only one out for revenge." Spitelout then turned and babbled something. "Fear not, dear Father. You will be avenged. We Jorgensons will have our pound of Skrill flesh. I will make sure of that."
Astrid rolled her eyes and looked at Hicca. "Clearly, the Skrill is coming back to Berk for you and Midnight, and we need to be ready."
"We're not waiting for it, Astrid." Hicca said, mounting onto her dragon.
'We'll go after him.' Midnight added.
Toothless and Hiccup looked at Midnight and Hicca as they each gave each other a worried expression.
"I'm worried that this might turn out bad.' Toothless warbled to Hiccup in worry for his mate.
"Yeah, I know bud. I'm worried too." Hiccup said in agreement, having the same feeling as well for his sister.
(Linebreaker)
Moments later the Riders were just outside the arena preparing to take off. Hiccup wasn't sure about this plan and approached Hicca.
"You're sure this is the way you want to play it, sis?" He asked.
"Yeah, there's no way you can handle that dragon alone, you of all people should know what it's capable of," Raeda added.
"Exactly, if it's me and Midnight the Skrill wants," Hicca said. "Then it's me and Midnight it's gonna get."
"But don't you think it would be better if we were there?" Astrid asked. "It doesn't stand a chance against all of us."
"Yeah. I agree with Astrid on this, sis. We can face it together." Hiccup said in agreement as Toothless nodded as well.
"And it knows that it doesn't stand a chance against 7 dragons." Hicca countered, turning to them, "Which is why I don't think it'll show up unless it knows me and Midnight are alone."
Astrid sighed. "All right, guys, you heard the girl. Let's saddle up."
Everyone was mounting their dragons as Toothless turned to Midnight.
'Midnight are you sure about this? That Skrill is a powerful dragon.' Toothless asked his mate in worry.
'Yeah well so am I. After what he tried to do to Hicca, I'm not backing down from him.' Midnight retorted. 'And if he wants to finish this, then we're gonna finish it.'
Toothless didn't like the look on his mate's face. The only other time he saw this was when he went after the Whispering Death that scarred her.
Spitelout is trying to have a conversation with Snotlout, though they couldn't understand it because he was still recovering from his attack from the Skrill.
"What's that, Dad?" Snotlout asked. "You want to stay behind because you have total confidence that I will get your revenge for you? Ha! I respect that—"
Spitelout then shoved Snotlout out of the way and mounted on Hookfang. "Oh, you change your mind? You want to see me avenge you. Oh. Can't say I blame you." Snotlout chuckled. "It will be a spectacular…" He then turned around and saw the other Riders had left. "And everyone's gone."
Snotlout and Spitelout soon joined up with the other Riders, who were flying just above Berk as Hicca was about to set off on her own.
"Okay, guys, we'll see you soon." Hicca said. "The Skrill will be coming back to Berk as soon as he knows we're alone."
"Be careful, once that Skrill finds you, he's not gonna hold anything back." Hiccup told his sister.
"Don't worry, bro. I'll be careful." Hicca assured.
The Riders then flew off leaving Hicca and Midnight alone to wait for the Skrill.
"All right, girl. Gameface time," Hicca said as they then soared up towards the storm clouds. "He's around here somewhere. Let's see if we can't get his attention."
Midnight then fired plasma blasts straight into the cloud and then they waited, but nothing happened.
"I can't see him. Try roaring, maybe that will work." Hicca told her dragon.
Midnight then bellowed, 'Come out! Show yourself coward!'
Then all of a sudden lightning flashed and they saw the shadow of the Skrill deep within the clouds.
Seconds later it emerged from them with lightning crackling through its body and it looked even more angry when it saw Hicca and Midnight.
"Okay, Midnight, now!" Hicca yelled.
Midnight then dived just as the Skrill fired a lightning blast and soared above the ocean. Despite being so close to the water the Skrill followed them.
"Nice move, girl." Hiccup said, rubbing Midnight's head. "Now keep him close but not too close."
Midnight did her best, but it wasn't easy trying to fly straight and dodging the lightning blasts the Skrill was firing. 'Hold still!' He roared.
"Come on, just a little longer." Hicca said to herself.
The Skrill chased them down, firing lightning blasts whenever it got the chance.
(Linebreaker)
Meanwhile at the glacier, the other Riders were preparing their trap to recapture the Skrill.
"Okay, this trench is definitely deeper than the last one." said Fishlegs as he and Meatlug finished melting the ice to create a much deeper trench. "Hopefully, it will hold the Skrill this time."
Spitelout was shaking his arms furiously. "You mean after the Jorgensons exact their revenge, right?" said Snotlout. "We should at least be the ones to melt him into that hole."
"It makes more sense for the twins to do it since they can cover the area a lot larger than any of us," Raeda. "You, Astrid and I are to remain on standby in case we have to force him into that hole."
"Rag's right, Snotlout, we don't have time for Jorgenson's nonsense," said Astrid. Spitelout murmured something. "If you have something to say, say it."
Snotlout laughed. "Real funny, Astrid." He then looked at his father. "She messes with me like that all the time. We're totally on the same page and she's in love with me."
"Here she comes!" said Fishlegs pointing.
"Clear out, gang!" Hiccup called out. "As soon as it's inside and Hicca and Midnight are clear, we seal it up," He instructed as they all soon flew off to a safe distance.
Hicca and Midnight were making their way to the glacier and the Skrill was not far behind them.
"Midnight, aim for the tunnel." Hicca said.
Midnight accelerated towards the glacier and flew straight into the tunnel. However, the Skrill came to a sudden stop.
'Wait a minute.' The Skrill growled recognizing this scenario as he looked up and saw the other Riders watching from a ridge and watched the entire scene.
Both Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at one another and they had a pretty good idea what was going on.
"Uh-oh." Fishlegs mumbled.
"This is not good." Raeda said.
"Oh gods." Hiccup muttered.
"What's going on? Why did it stop?" Snotlout asked in confusion.
"Call me crazy, but I think he knows it's a trap," Fishlegs said.
"That's one smart dragon." Ruffnut said.
"Strike Class dragons are arguably the smartest." Hiccup said.
"I hate smart dragons." Tuffnut said and looked at Belch. "Which is why I love you."
'Was that compliment?' Belch asked.
"Are we surprised? Considering it's the same trap we used on him three years ago and let's face facts it's quite recent from his perspective?" said Raeda.
"Well, like what they say, 'Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.'" Hiccup said.
(Linebreaker)
Hicca and Midnight are still flying through the tunnel unaware that Skrill didn't take the bait. It wasn't until they were quite deep into the tunnel that Hicca noticed the Skrill wasn't following them.
"Well, this isn't good," Hicca said as he forced Midnight to make a sharp U-turn.
(Linebreaker)
Outside, however, the Skrill decided to give Midnight and Hicca the same fate they gave him and started blasting the tunnel with his lightning blast creating a cave in. It then flew straight at the riders as Snotlout and Fishlegs flew out of the way. But instead of attacking them it began to blast the glacier with another lightning blast.
"It's trying to seal Hicca and Midnight inside!" Astrid yelled.
"Who knew dragons had a sense of poetic justice." Raeda blinked in surprise.
Then out of nowhere Spitelout forced Hookfang down and charged straight towards the Skrill and they could hear Snotlout screaming behind his father.
"Watch out!" Snotlout yelled.
The Skrill fired a lightning blast that grazed Hookfang forcing him down. Hookfang crashed to the ground and Snotlout and his father were thrown off him.
The Skrill then began to attack and Astrid tried a blaster with a lightning blast. Fortunately, Stormfly was fast enough to dodge the attacks, but the attacks did cause the other Riders to scatter as they got closer towards them.
Meanwhile on the ground, the two Jorgensons got back onto their feet and Spitelout began mumbling something as he swung his hands hitting Snotlout constantly.
"Dad, stop yelling. I can't think," Snotlout said, then looked at the battle above them. "We gotta distract the Skrill." He then yelled at the Skrill. "Hey! You wanna piece of me?"
Spitelout, however, has a much better distraction. He shoved Snotlout out of the way blabbing about something with two axes in his hand.
"Will you let me handle this?" Snotlout yelled. "I mean us?"
The Skrill heard Snotlout yell and turned to face them.
"Bring it on, Sparky," said Snotlout as he grabbed one of the axes his father was holding.
The Skrill then charged straight down towards them, but before it could attack, a plasma blast shot out of nowhere. The blasts came through the cave that the Skrill caused and everyone saw Hicca and Midnight flying out of it completely unscathed.
"That's for trapping us in an ice tunnel," Hicca glared.
"Hey, how come she gets revenge?" Snotlout asked.
Midnight then by the plasma blast at the Skrill, but it dodged it and countered with a lightning blast. Midnight dodged it with a barrel roll and they flew off to see.
Hicca tried to lose the Skrill within a nearby sea stack maze, but the Skrill was just as maneuverable as Midnight and continued to fire lightning blasts at them. Its aim seemed to be improving, because most of the blasts were inches away from Hiccup.
"Okay, need a new plan," Hicca panicked.
'What is it?' Midnight asked
"I don't have one yet." Hicca confessed "Uh, for now, we just need to find safe cover. And I know exactly where that is. Midnight, head north." She instructed her dragon.
Midnight then flew north and the Skrill followed, continuing to blast lightning at them. Fortunately they were able to survive long enough to reach their destination, the Ship Graveyard.
Then Hicca felt one of the Skrill's lightning blasts shot by past her ear, singeing some of her hair. "Hey, watch the hair!" She retorted as she looked around and saw in the dense fog that Midnight's wing had been grazed by the lightning, damaging it causing her to lose speed.
"Uh, Midnight, hold on! Hold on!" Hicca pleaded as Midnight flapped as hard as she could.
This made things even more difficult, because not only do they have to avoid lightning blasts but Midnight was struggling to stay aloft.
They soon flew past an assortment of different ships and they crashed onto the deck of the Reaper. The crash was a bit rough as they skidded to a stop and Hicca was thrown off of Midnight' back.
"Well, that could have hurt more," Hicca said, getting to her feet. "I suppose. But only slightly."
First she looked around for the Skrill, but since they weren't being blasted by lightning anymore this meant that they had lost it in the fog.
She then turned and looked at Midnight. "Okay. Let's have a look at that wing."
Midnight showed her wing as it was a bit burnt but not too badly damaged.
"Okay, I'll get you patch up." Hicca said, looking through the satchel, bringing out some ointment but found a slight problem. "Oh, I may have the ointment for your wing, but apparently, I thought it was a good day to run out of bandages. Well, at least we lost the Skrill."
Then as if Loki himself heard her streams Lightning struck the deck, barely missing the two, "He's trying to flush us out." Hicca said. The two of them then began running across the deck. "Let's see if we can find something to fix that wing."
Hicca ran over to a barrel, but then noticed that the blasts certainly stopped. He looked up into the foggy sky and then saw the mast falling straight towards them.
"Midnight, look out!" Hicca yelled as he shoved the Night Fury away just in time.
The mast landed right where they were standing, smashing the barrel to pieces. Hicca then looked at the sail that was flapping in the wind and he found exactly what he needed to warp Midnight's wings.
"Never thought I would say this, but thank you, Dragon Hunters," She said smiling.
Hicca then began work on Midnight's wing and about ten minutes later, Midnight's wing was fully bandaged up as it showed the Dragon Hunter's logo.
Midnight snorted, not exactly liking this new look, "Yeah, not really my best work. I'll get you something better back at home but, this should get us up in the air. But how are we going to take out that Skrill?" Hicca asked as she placed her finger on her chin as she got an idea to deal with the Skrill as she climbed onto Midnight's saddle. "Then again, maybe we don't have to. I bet those Dragon Hunters would love to see this guy in action."
Then a lightning blast shot out of the fog and this one was a lot closer than the previous ones. Hicca looked up and discovered that the Skrill was flying overhead roaring at them.
"Come on, girl. Let's get that Skrill to follow us."Hicca said..
They then took off into the air and were followed close behind by the Skrill.
(Linebreaker)
Not far from the Ship Graveyard was Ryker's flagship.
"Cap, there's a storm approaching," said the Hunter in the crow's nest. "Should we change course, sir?"
Ryker looked at the storm. "Yes. Tell about, due south." He ordered
"Wait a minute. Nobody moves." Dagur said, looking at the lightning through his spyglass.
"Oh, what is it now, Dagur?" Ryker said, looking slightly annoyed.
"That's no storm," Dargur said in realization. "I know those magnificent flashes anywhere. That's my Skrill!" He beamed before he looked at the helmsman. "Head towards it!"
"What?" Ryker gasped in surprise before smirking. "A Skrill, you say?" He then laughed. "That's very rare. Very valuable." He then frowned at Dagur. "You've seen this one before?"
Dagur then turned on him looking quite insulted. "Have I seen it? I owned it. It's mine! All mine!" He cried to the skies then looked quite teary eyed. "After all these years, my baby's home. Come home to Daddy Dagur, Skrilly. I've missed you so!"
(Linebreaker)
The one person who didn't miss the Skrill is trying to avoid not getting struck by lightning. Midnight was flying as fast as she could and performing quite a few maneuvers to dodge the blasts of lightning that the Skrill.
They soon flew close to the water and saw the Dragon Hunters ship.
"All right, just stay low and they won't see us, girl." Hicca said. "Not with that light show going on up there." She joked about the lightning around them that the Skrill is producing.
(Linebreaker)
On the ship, Dagur was looking through his spyglass and saw the Skrill emerging from the storm clouds. And just like Hicca predicted, they were so focused on it that they did notice Hicca and Midnight flying low towards them.
Dagur the notice of the Hunters moving catapult into position. "Don't even think about it," he orders, thinking they would try to harm the Skrill. "That's my dragon up there."
"Let him handle it," Ryker told his men. "He knows the dragon better than any of us."
Hicca and Midnight flew closer and closer towards the ship. "This is it, girl." She said.
They then shot up instantly giving Dagur quite a scare that he fell over.
"Was that, what that Hicca?" Dagur spluttered in surprise. "Why would she lead a Skrill right to us?! It's not my birthday. Is it?"
Dagur then pulled himself up and looked straight up at the Skrill. "Be ready. When the Skrill gets spooked, it'll run for the clouds. And we don't want to channel that lightning. Oh, no, we don't." He said, knowing from experience.
He then saw the Skrill getting closer and shooting lightning everywhere. "Archers, fire!" He commanded.
The Hunters began to fire as many arrows as they could at the Skrill and one of them struck its tail. They heard the Skrill screeching before it fell towards, the ocean shooting lightning in every direction before it slammed into the water.
Dagur and Ryker chuckled evilly at the sight.
Up in the air, Hicca saw the Skrill had fallen into the water and now she had to get it before the Hunters did.
"Okay, sounds like the Hunters fell for it," Hicca said. "Now, let's go get that dragon out of the water before they get there." She said to Midnight.
'As much as I want to get back at that Skrill, even he doesn't deserve to be at the hands of the hunters.' Midnight warbled, sure she wanted payback at the Skrill for almost hurting Hicca, but even he didn't deserve this kind of fate.
They then turned direction and flew downwards straight towards the ship. "Come on, girl. If Dagur gets that dragon, he'll be impossible to deal with, not that he is a lot of fun anyway." Hicca pointed out.
The Hunters are just launching a net into the water and snatching the Skrill.
"Sir, a Night Fury!" A Hunter called out as he pointed up into the air.
"Come on, Midnight." Hicca as they got closer towards the ship. She then pulled her battle staff out preparing to cut the net. "Here we go. Here we go."
However, before he could get anywhere close to the net a couple of archers fired arrows at him and one of them knocked her staff out of her hand.
"My staff!" Hicca called out as she saw her staff fall to the ocean.
"Stay away from my Skrill, Hicca!" Dagur roared as they flew past. "Hurry! Hurry, bring him to me!" he said eagerly.
More Hunters fired arrows at Hicca, but were way out of range for any of them to hit him.
"Forget them. They're out of range," Ryker said as they already had their prize.
"Thanks for the gift, Hiccup. It'll make an excellent weapon," Dagur smirked as they pulled the Skrill on board.
"And if not, his hide will fetch a hefty price." Ryker said looking at their new acquisition as the Skrill roared in anger.
Hicca looked down at the ship horrified. "What have I done? I've led that poor Skrill right into their hands."
(Linebreaker)
A few hours later, Hicca and Midnight reached Dragons Edge and landed at the stables where the other Riders, minus Snotlout and Spitelout, were waiting.
"Hicca? What happened?" Astrid asked as they rushed over to her.
"Where have you been?" Fishlegs asked.
"What happened to the Skrill?" Hiccup asked.
"And where's your staff?" Raeda asked.
"It's a long story." Hicca said.
"Or is it a very short story?" Tuffnut asked, examining Midnight's wing. He then showed them the wing had the Dragon Hunters crest on it. "Looks to me like someone has changed his allegiance." He then placed Midnight's wing down and looked towards Hicca. "I knew this day would come. Seize her!"
Then just as Hicca hopped off Midnight, Ruffnut tackled him to the ground.
Hicca was quite shocked and surprised by this and attempted to push Ruffnut off her as they rolled across the floor. "What the—would you…"
"Got you, traitor!" Ruffnut said.
Fishlegs then ran over to them to break it up.
"Fishlegs is in on it too," said Tuffunt. "No, you don't."
Soon they all piled on top of Hicca, who was finding it extremely difficult to breathe. "Okay, everybody, stop jumping on everybody," She wheezed.
Soon they all got up and Hiccup turned on Tuffnut. "How could you even think that? My sister? A Dragon Hunter?!" He said in disbelief. "As if she'd ever help them catch even one dragon!"
"Actually, Hiccup, let's not go quite that far." Hicca said sheepishly as she picked himself up.
Everyone just stared at her.
(Linebreaker)
Moments later they were all inside the stables and Hicca began to explain what had happened when they were separated, after she changed Midnight's bandage into proper ones so that she won't have to deal with the Hunter's logo.
"You let the Dragon Hunters capture the Skrill?" Astrid asked in disbelief.
"Hicca, are you serious?" Hiccup asked his sister in shock.
"That wasn't the plan." Hicca reasoned. "They were supposed to take it down and then we would swoop in and grab it away. But…"
"They got to it first," Fishlegs finished.
"And you lost your battle staff in the process." Raeda added.
"Yeah. Fell into the ocean before I could cut the Skrill free." Hicca said while giving a down expression. "Looks like I gotta make a new one."
"So, Dagur has the Skrill again?" Snotlout retorted. "Great! Now he's just gonna chain that being up like a puppet and take him on a 'Greatest Hits' attack run of the archipelago!" Spitelout started to babble once more. "I agree, Dad, I'm very disappointed in Hicca, too."
"They had some sort of new net-shooting catapult." Hicca said. "They must use it to pluck dragons out of the sky."
"Net-shooting catapult," Ruffnut said. "You know, no one ever plans for the intangibles."
Fishlegs looked at Hicca. "But, Hicca, it's just—"
"Confusing." Tuffnut offered. "I know that I, for one, am confused."
"Yet, intrigued." Ruffnut said.
"Ah, yes. Moral ambiguity. Something else you can never see coming. Yep, catapult nets and moral ambiguity." Tuffnut said.
"Look, there's really no moral ambiguity here." Hicca said guiltily. "I messed up. I really messed up. It's my fault that Skrill was frozen again and it's my fault it's at risk of being turned into the Hunter's new weapon or merchandise and I don't know what to do."
The twins gasped.
Hicca sighed. "Oh, what now?"
"We've just never heard you say that before." Tuffnut said in surprise.
"You always know how to fix it when you and Hiccup come up with ideas." Ruffnut added.
"Yeah, well, guess what? I'm not perfect." Hicca said with her hands over her hips.
"What? No. What?" Tuffnut asked in horror. "Whose painting am I going to have above my bed?"
"Seriously?" Raeda said.
"What? How else am I going to admire someone?" Tuffnut asked.
"That's disturbing." Hiccup commented with a cringe at Tuffnut, thinking that much of his sister. "And are you also doing that to me as well?" He asked.
"Well, duh. You and your sister are the best." Tuffnut said.
"Thanks, I guess." Hiccup said uncertainty, not sure if he or his sister would feel admired or disturbed.
"First of all, ew." Astrid said. She then turned and looked at Hicca. "Second, everything you and your brother did, Hicca, you both did to protect that dragon and to protect all of us.".
"She's right." Hiccup said as he walked to her sister while giving her a comfort hand on her shoulder. "We've all made mistakes, Hicca, and that's how we learn." He said.
Raeda then looked at the Thorstin twins and Snotlout. "Most of the time for some of us anyway." She commented.
"They're right, the question isn't how you fix it, it's how we all fix it. As a team." Astrid said.
All Riders then walked over to Hicca, smiling.
"My dad says we're letting you off too easily, but we're still in," said Snotlout.
Hicca smiled, "Thanks guys."
"Now, we just have to figure out a way to find the Hunters." Astrid said.
"Hicca, which way was that storm heading?" Fishlegs asked, since Hicca is the only one where the storm was heading when the Skrill was chasing her and Midnight.
"East." Hicca answered.
"Then they'll be going west. That way, the Skrill can't harness the lightning and attack them." Fishlegs pointed out.
"They would also choose a place that has easy access to the water so they can contain the Skrill without any fear of it shooting any lightning and some ideal cover," Raeda added.
"Good thinking, guys." Hicca said. "There's a group of islands just west of where we were. Lots of secluded beaches and coves to hide in."
"So let's think of a plan together and rescue that Skrill." Hiccup said with a smile as the Dragon Riders then thought of a plan.
(Linebreaker)
Later that night, they headed west and they found the islands. Fishlegs had gone ahead to scout since Meatlug was the smallest of their dragons and the only one of them not able to make much noise.
He soon returned and flew beside the Haddock Twins. "Hiccup, Hicca, I think I found them," He said. "There's a campfire and a lot of singing in really deep voices around the other side of the island."
Fishlegs then led them towards the area he mentioned. They landed behind a few bushes and looked over them to see several Hunters around a campfire and cages for dragons behind them.
"Oh, tell the one about the Viking girl with the hairy bunions," said a Hunter and the others laughed.
Hiccup then looked at the others. "Okay, we'll quietly make our way along the tree line over to those cages. That must be where they're holding the Skrill."
Spitelout began blabbing and swinging his mad-ish way. "My dad says that's a terrible plan and that we should just attack," said Snotlout. He then realized what he just said. "Wait, what?"
Too late Spitelout rushed past them and charged straight towards the Hunters.
Hicca facepalmed himself. "Okay, change your plans. We'll use Spitelout as a distraction. Snotlout, you and your dad keep the Hunters busy while the rest of us go get the Skrill."
Snotlout nodded and mounted Hookfang before heading over to his father to provide backup. The others soared up into the air and headed towards the cages.
"Let's go, girl," Hicca said as Midnight crooned.
The Hunters were still laughing, stopped the moment Spitelout jumped at them and slammed his axe into their campfire. The Hunters quickly armed themselves and surrounded Spitelout, but he simply disarmed one and head-butted him before grabbing the skull of another and slamming into the ground before slamming his elbow on top of them.
The Hunter was quite stunned by this, but not as much when Hookfang slammed his terror into them, sending them flying.
"Dad, up here," said Snotlout.
Spitelout looked at him and started a babble before charging at the Hunters once more. "What do you mean, where have I been? You're welcome."
Their distraction was just what the others needed as they snuck to where the cages were located. There were several dragons inside them, but their main priority was rescuing the Skrill and they found it as it was the only cage that was in the sea and it was covered by a sheet.
"That's gotta be the right cage," Hiccup pointed to the cage. "It's the only one submerged in water."
Hicca dismounted from Midnight and looked at the others. "Cover me."
Hiccup slowly approached the cage and removed the sheet. They're sitting in the middle of it was the Skrill and he didn't look happy. Though Hicca would probably feel the same way if he was trapped in the cage knee deep water and facing the person that froze them inside a glacier.
'You are very fortunate I can attack you like this, human.' He snarled.
"I know, I know, you can't fire while you're in the water, and I'm truly sorry I got you into this mess." Hicca apologized, holding her hands up defensively. "But don't worry, we're getting you out of here."
Hicca slowly made his way onto the pontoon and approached the Skrill as calmly as possible. She stretched out her hand, but quickly pulled it back as the Skrill tried to bite it off.
'Hey! She's trying to help you!' Midnight roared at him immediately.
"No, no, Midnight. I'm okay, Girl," Hicca assured as she reached out her hand again and the Skrill roared at her.
'If you want to help me, fine! But keep your hands off!'
"All right, pal, personal space." Hicca understood, "Just keep it down or they'll hear us."
"Oh, it's too late for that," A voice said in a familiar, tough, gritty voice.
Hicca's heart dropped as she turned around and found that they were surrounded by Hunters aiming arrows at them. Then the Hunters dropped a net on top of Midnight and surrounded the remaining dragons and they were soon joined by Snotlout and Spitelout.
She then saw Ryker pointing his sword at them and Dagur approaching them with an evil smirk on his face.
"Told you she'd come back for my Skrill," Dagur said as he approached Hicca. "How could you, Hicca? We've barely had time to get reacquainted." He then approached the Skrill's cage and chuckled evilly as the dragon roared at him, clearly not happy being around his old abuser. "It's all right, baby. This is all still so new," Dagur comforted as if he was talking to a new-born baby.
"Never mind that, Dagur," Ryker said as he looked. "Just look at all the new dragons your friend has brought us." Dagur then shoved Hiccup forward. "Lock 'em up. And muzzle the Night Furies."
Hunters were shoving Toothless and Midnight into a cage while another Hunter placed muzzles over their mouths. The two fought back determined not to be caged and Hicca was shoved to the other Riders and Spitelout.
Hicca looked behind the Hunters and smirked. Astrid and Hiccup noticed this instantly and recognise the look she was giving.
"Uh, oh I know that look," Hiccup said.
"What are you thinking?" Astrid asked.
Hicca looked at the Skrill, which was trying to break free from the cage. "They're the enemy of my enemy—"
"Might kill us all?" Astrid offered.
"Yes. But he also might help us." Hicca added.
"Your plans get crazier and crazier by the day," said Raeda.
"Tell me about it," said Hiccup before Hicca charged towards the Hunters.
This sudden action surprised them and he dodged the swing of a sword from a Hunter and then tackled the two that were shoving Toothless and Midnight into the cage.
"Midnight! The Skrill's cage!" Hiccup yelled.
Midnight made a run for the Skrill's cage and began to push it over. It was heavy, but with one final push he was able to put the cage onto shore meaning that the Skrill's was no longer in the water.
Sge then jumped away from the cage just as a lightning bolt struck the cage. The Hunters had to cover their eyes, but when they looked up they saw that the Skrill was now free and he wasn't looking too happy for being locked up. He then fired a lightning blast that knocked several Hunters off their feet.
Ryker pulled out a bow and aimed an arrow at the Skrill. The Skrill tried to take off, but its tail was caught in the bars.
"No!" Hicca yelled. She then placed himself between Ryker and the Skrill. "No!"
The Skrill was surprised by Hicca's actions. Even after what he did to her, she still wanted to protect him?
Ryker then fired the arrow, apparently not caring if he had the Skrill or not. Then out of nowhere Midnight jumped out and took the arrow. Luckily it only hit her muzzle and the arrowhead broke upon impact.
Hicca then rushed over and rubbed her dragon's head. "Midnight." she said softly.
'I'm alright.' Midnight warbled.
The Skrill then finally freed itself from the cage and lightning caused right through its body as it glared down at the Hunters.
"Uh, what's it doing?" Dagur asked, as he didn't recognize this behavior.
"You tell me. It's your dragon," Ryker commented.
In one frightening moment Hicca thought the Skrill was finally gonna take it's revenge on her and Midnight, as it dove down and she shielded Midnight. But instead the Skrill flew over her head and charged straight towards the Hunters.
"Oh, no," Dagur said.
Ryker grabbed another arrow from his quiver, but before he could fire it both he and Dagur were blown off their feet by a lightning blast from the Skrill. It then began to fire lightning right down on top of them and the Hunters scattered trying to get as far away from it as possible.
Spitelout snarled at the Skrill and then saw Ryker's bow and arrow. He quickly aimed the arrow at the Skrill and shot it. The arrow hit it and it fell to the ground.
Upon seeing it, he began grunting something enthusiastically.
"He's saying, 'Spitelout, Spitelout, oi, oi, oi,'" Snotlout translated as he facepalmed himself.
(Linebreaker)
Next morning, they arrived at the glacier with the Skrill in a net which was being carried by Fishlegs and Meatlug.
"Okay, Fishlegs, a little to the left," said Astrid as they descended towards the ravine. "Now, a little to the right. All right, that's it. Lower him in."
Hicca watched as Fishlegs lowered the Skrill into the ravine. Upon looking into its eyes, almost seeing how it knew she'd do this, she couldn't help but feel guilty about trapping him in ice once more.
"Wait! We can't do this." Hicca said.
"Sure we can," said Snotlout. "We drop him in, and then, boom, we seal it closed."
"What I mean is, we shouldn't do this." She clarified, pointing to the Skrill.
"Wait, are you seriously asking us to let him go?" Raeda asked.
"Hicca, the Skrill handed you and Midnight. It wanted to kill you," Astrid reminded Hicca.
"But it didn't. It saved us." Hicca said. "And it risks its own life doing it. If we do this, we're no better than the Dragon Hunters." She then began to outstretch her hand towards the Skrill. "We're just using a different cage. And he doesn't deserve that."
Astrid looked at Raeda. "You heard the girl, besides showing mercy is how the Haddock Twins made friendships with Toothless and Midnight." She said to them.
"Raeda's right. It is who we are after all." Hiccup said as he petted Toothless, who was purring at his rider's touch.
Astrid nodded and pulled out her axe, she then gave it to Hicca.
Fishlegs lower than that and Hicca sliced the net open. The Skrill then roared as electricity surged through its body.
Midnight gave him a warning growl, while Hicca stared hard at the Skrill practically daring it to fire.
Then the Skrill lowered its defenses and bowed its head as a sign of respect and they did the same to it.
"Why are we lowering our heads?" Tuffnut asked, puzzled. "Oh, are we checking our foreheads? Is this something on my forehead?"
Raeda rolled her head, "I think he's saying thank you." She clarified.
Skrill then turned and looked up at the sky, roared and fired up a bolt of lightning into the sky. Then a bolt hit Spitelout on the head, bringing him another shocking experience. I then watched as the Skrill flew away.
Hicca smiled, "Goodbye, enjoy your freedom."
"So, you knew he wouldn't turn on us if we let him go, huh?" said Astrid.
Hicca shrugged and returned her axe to her. "Yeah… why not?"
Raeda just shook her head. "You and your brother sure like to live dangerously, Hicca." She said in amusement
"Hey, this is us you are talking about, Raeda. Besides, my brother does more dangerous stunts than I do sometimes." Hicca said while pointing at her brother.
"Well, my dad says he's very proud of us, especially me. His favorite son." Snotlout said.
Spitelout crossed his arms glaring at his son. "I didn't say that." He said, finally got his voice back.
Snotlout's eyes widened as he slowly turned towards his father. "Dad, you got your voice back. That's great."
"If it?" Spitelout then grabbed his son's shoulder before he could run off. "We'll see about that. We have a lot to talk about, boy-o."
The Riders laughed as the sky shot lightning within its clouds.
(Linebreaker)
Sometime later, and after a long and painful lecture Spitelout gave Snotlout, the Riders returned to the Edge for a rest after dealing with the Hunters and gave the Skrill its freedom.
Hicca and Midnight walked over to their hut as Hicca gave a tired expression.
"Well, I'm glad that we set the Skrill free, girl. But looks like I gotta replace my battle staff after it was lost in the ocean." Hicca said as she opened the door and got the surprise of her life when she saw the Skrill was curiously sniffing around her hut.
"Wha! Wh-what are you doing here?!" Hicca said in alarm as the Skrill turned to her.
'You're here! Glad I recognized your scent in this hut.' The Skrill warbled at Hicca as he walked towards her and Midnight.
Midnight got in front of Hicca in defense as she gave a warning growl at the Skrill. 'What do you want now?! We set you free!' She growled.
The Skrill then turned around and picked something up before bringing it over to them.
Hicca immediately recognized it, "My staff." She gasped as she looked at the Skrill in shock, "You, brought it back?" She asked the Skrill in surprise.
'I wanted to repay you for rescuing me and setting me free. And a little something to apologize for attacking you two.' The Skrill rumbled, which only Midnight could understand as she looked at the Skrill in surprise.
'You risked your own lightning by swimming into the ocean to find Hicca's staff and return it?' Midnight warbled in surprise.
Hicca smiled, "Well, thank you, this wasn't exactly easy to make." She said as she grabbed her but apparently forgot the Skrill was still holding it in its mouth and got zapped a little. "Ow!" She yelled in surprise by the shock as her hair stood out a bit from the electricity.
Midnight and the Skrill let out a dragon equivalent of a chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Hicca said as she then looked at the Skrill. She then raised her hand at the Skrill and this time he actually pressed his snout to her palm.
Hicca smiled at the Skrill, as it now accepted their friendship after a couple of years. "You know, if you're looking for a home, you could stick around here." She said to the Skrill, who rumbled as he nodded his head to Hicca. "But I'm also guessing you need a place where you can draw lightning too, huh?" She guessed.
The Skrill nodded his head again, wanting to stay on the Edge with the Riders, but needed higher ground so lightning won't cause damage to the Edge or hurt the riders or their dragons.
Hicca then led him outside, "There's a tall mountain close by, just fly to it and you will feel right at home." She pointed to the Snow Capped peaks, "And you can also catch the lightning for when a storm hits. So that way,they won't cause too much damage on the Edge and you won't feel defenseless, we do get some storm patterns here."
The Skrill then looked back at Hicca before he took flight towards the mountains, sparking with electricity.
Midnight then walked up to her, "Look like the Dragon's Edge Neighborhood just got a little bigger. Wait until the others hear this. They are gonna be surprised." Hicca commented with a small chuckle.
'They sure will, Hicca.' Midnight cooed in agreement as they watched the Skrill heading straight towards the mountain as they watched him go.