Chapter 63: Wings of War Part 2
Hicca was still face-to-face with the Singetail which was about to lose heralive.
"Midnight!" Hicca screamed.
Then suddenly a large pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back just before the Singetail blasted him with a fireball. Hicca then soon found himself being dragged across the ground by his unknown rescuer.
They soon entered the cave and her rescuer shoved her against the wall and then a large and placed itself over her mouth. Hicca attempted to free herself and then her eyes fell upon her rescuer, who turned out to be none other than Spitelout.
"Spitelout? What are you doing here?" Hicca starred in surprise.
Spitelout looked at her. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" She asked.
Hicca just laid there, wondering the same question herself.
(Linebreak)
Took a few minutes for Hicca to get her bearings and discover that she was in some sort of cave where Spitelout had taken up residence. There are quite a lot of supplies here no doubt from the burnt out storehouse.
"Did I mention I was grateful for you saving my life?" Hicca asked as she paced up and down.
"You did, Hicca." Spitelout answered, who was starting to get tired of it. "And as a repayment, how about standing still? You're making my dinner come up with all that pacing back and forth." He said as he patted his stomach after having his meal.
"Oh, right, sorry." Hicca said apologetically. "I'm just worried about Midnight out there."
"Oh, well, if you missed your dragon, have a pet of mine. He won't mind," Spitelout assured, gesturing to Kingstail.
Hicca did just that. "There's a good boy." She said as she patted Kingstail's head as he purred and then looked at Spitelout curiously. "Spitelout, what are you doing back on your old Storehouse Island? And what's the deal with this place anyway? You've got all these provisions and supplies. You can survive for months in here." She added while gesturing the cave Spitelout has set up.
"Well, in case you forgot, Hicca, those bleeding blow torches destroyed my brand-new, perfectly located storehouse and nearly charbroiled my son in the process." Spitelout said as he got to his feet angrily, reminding Hicca of when he first built his first offshore storehouse when they first encountered the Singetails, which ended badly. "You and your brother were there. It was an ugly day in Jorgenson history."
"Is that… That's all this about? Revenge for your old Storehouse?" Hicca questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I've been watching 'em. Closely." Spitelout said, turning his back on Hicca. "One day I'll trap one. See how they like a little Jorgenson Justice."
"Yeah, okay, fine, if you say so." Hicca said, not sure what to make of this. "Just remember, it's rescuing my dragon first, Jorgenson Justice, second. If we don't find Midnight up in the sky without the cover of night, with that bad wing she'll be a sitting flightless duck and target practice for those Singetails." She said firmly.
"Well, then… lead on." Spitelout said, gesturing his arms towards the cave entrance as Hicca walked off with a determined look. "I could use a break from all this peace and solitude. Doesn't suit me. I'm a people person, you know." He added as he followed Hicca out.
(Linebreak)
At the Edge, Viggo had retrieved the Dragon Eye from the volcano and he and Krogan had just entered the clubhouse. Inside were a couple of Hunters playing Maces and Talons with one another.
"Maces and Talons," Krogan scoffed at the sight of them. "Childish nonsense."
"Never good at it, I take it?" Viggo assumed.
"Why kill pieces of marble when you can kill people?" Krogan questioned.
Viggo rolled his eyes. "Explaining that would take longer than I have the patience for." He then turned to the Hunters. "Everyone out. Now." He ordered.
No one dared question him and immediately rushed out of the clubhouse.
Viggo then lifted the Dragon Eye in triumph. "Once again, the Dragon Eye is in its rightful place. Never to be mishandled by my son and the Dragon Riders again." He said proudly as Krogan grumbled behind him. Viggo looked at him. "Do try to contain your excitement, Krogan." He said sarcastically.
"The Dragon Eye has spent the last three months in a volcano," Krogan reminded him as he fumbled with the Terrible Terror in his hands. "You really think it's going to be of any use to us now?"
"Let's find out," Viggo assured as he held out the Dragon Eye. "Hold the dragon up."
Krogan grunted but held the Terrible Terror up, he then squeezed on the dragon causing it to unleash its fire. However the Dragon Eye did not react to the flames one bit, much to Krogan's satisfaction.
"As predicted," Krogan smirked as he tossed the Terrible Terror aside and Viggo looked at the Dragon Eye curiously, almost as if he knew this would happen and fumbled around with it. "Tell me you can fix it." He said as he looked at him.
"If you'd leave me to myself, the chances of that will rise exponentially." Viggo said as he began to blow down the lens.
Krogan grunted and left him to it.
(Linebreak)
At Berk, Gustav and Gothi were on patrol in case there was any attack on the island. In the arena Hiccup, Astrid and the others had just stopped practicing for a brief moment and were now packing things up.
"It's all right, Stormfly." Astrid said, giving her Dragon props for the good work. "You did good out there, girl."
Hiccup is with Toothless as the Night Fury gave a worried croon. 'I hope Midnight and Hicca are okay. They've been gone for a while.' Toothless said.
"I know bud, I'm worried about those girls too. But I'm sure they will be fine." Hiccup assured Toothless as he gave his dragon a comforting pack.
Tuffnut was still covered in paint and was quite angry at his sister and Throk. He was now watching as Throk lowered up off of Barf.
"Oh, yeah!" Ruffnut yelled and jumped off Barf and landed on his arms.
"All right, that's it!" said Tuffnut angrily as he pulled up his imaginary sleeves. "That is it. This charade has gone too far! The truth must be revealed!"
Snotlout was packing some shields up and frowned at him. "Uh, what are you talking about? And where are you going?" he asked.
"Tuff? What are you gonna do?" Raeda asks next as she is packing some of her weapons for battle.
Tuffnut turned to him. "If I tell that gorilla what happened, that he wasn't saved by Ruffnut, but in fact he saved her, then maybe, just maybe, he'll sell back on his own rock and then we can go back to our perfectly normal lives. Two adult siblings living in familial harmony, spending each waking moment together, united as one living, breathing being that tried relentlessly to invoke physical harm on the other." He explained as he then marched over towards Ruffnut and Throk.
Snotlout raised an eyebrow. "Normal? Are you sure about that?" He asked.
"I think Tuff finally snapped. And that's a shock." Raeda commented in surprise.
"He won't last long, that's for sure." Henry pointed out with a knowing expression, having a feeling that this might not end well for Tuffnut.
The three riders then watched as Tuffnut approached Throk and said something to him and did some crazy hand motions. Judging from my hand motions, they assumed that he had just told Throk that Ruffnut didn't save him. Throk then said something and did several hand gestures and judging from the cringing from Tuffnut it was not a very positive reaction.
"Uh-oh." Snotlout said as Raeda shook her hand as a sign that this could get ugly.
Henry's eyes widened when he saw the hand gestures. "Ohh-hoo-hoo, Mala's gonna love this." He said with a sly grin.
"What's going on over there?" Astrid asked as she and Hiccup approached him.
"Tuff's telling the Throkman the truth. About everything." Snotlout explained.
"And you guys let him? Are you guys insane?" Astrid starred.
"Uhh, do you remember who we're talking about right now?" Raeda asked the Hofferson girl.
"And Hicca chose a perfect time to go on a solo mission." Hiccup commented with a bored expression, knowing that this would be a perfect time for Hicca's Medic skills to be used.
Before they could walk off, Ruffnut laughed as she walked by with Throk hand-in-hand and was speaking Spanish to him.
Tuffnut looked very moody as he walked up to them.
"How'd that go?" Astrid asked.
"Well, you know what they say about the true setting you free?" Tuffnut asked. He then turned and faced them. "I don't feel free at all. Sans freedom."
"What did he say when you told him, Tuff?" Hiccup asked curiously.
"He said he agreed with me." Tuffnut said. "You know that he shouldn't be in love with someone over some silly life debt."
"So, that's good, right?" Snotlout asked.
"It was. Right up until he said, 'What was once a debt of honor, has grown into a debt of ardor.' Ugh." Tuffnut groaned at that.
Raeda blinked. "Maybe the rocks hit him hard in the head then I thought."
"Yeah, Throk is one for taking his words and vow by heart. It's a Defender's code after all." Henry pointed out with his arms crossed.
Stoick then entered the arena. "Hiccup, Hicca, we need to speak."
"Hicca's not here, dad." Hiccup called.
Stoick groaned. "Do I even want to hear this if your sister is out on her own this time, son?" He questioned
"She said he had to find another way to fight the Singetails, and then she just flew off while telling me that I'm needed here." Hiccup explained.
"I hate it when either of you fly off." Stoick groaned. He sighed and looked at his son. "Well, then, I suppose it's just you and me to speak, Hiccup."
All Hiccup could do is nodded, knowing that this might not be a talk he wanted to go to but had to and at least buy time for Hicca to find a way to stop the Singetails without hurting them.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile Hicca and Spitelout were still out searching for Midnight on the island.
"Okay, so, what exactly have you been doing out here this whole time?" Hicca asked.
"Research, lass. I've been doing research.," Spitelout answered.
"On?" Hicca pressed on.
"Singetails, of course. What else would I be out here doing research on?" Spitelout asked, looking insulted.
"Right, sorry." Hicca apologized. "So, what have you got? Anything useful?" She asked.
Spitelout rolled his eyes. "'Anything useful,'" He repeated before out of nowhere he grabbed Hicca and pulled her down towards a bush.
"What?! Ow!" Hicca yelled. She then looked up at Spitelout, rubbing her head. "Why would you do that?"
Spitelout then poked his head out from the bush and Hicca did the same and saw a Singetail in front of them with yellow scales.
"Heatlout." Spitelout said.
"You named that Singetail?" Hicca starred in surprise.
"I named all of them. They became like family after time." Spitelout explained as he then pointed to another yellow scaled Singetail that was climbing a tree. "Hotlout. Quite the naughty ninny. One of my favorites." Then flying overhead was the green scaled Singetail shooting fire all different directions. "Flamelout. He knows we're here."
Hicca looked at Spitelout with a concerned look. "I'm starting to think I may have showed up just in time, Spitelout." She noted.
"And why's that, lass?" Spitelout asked as he leaned back on something.
"Oh, I don't know. Let's just say…" Hicca tried to find the right words, then stopped when she saw what Spitelout was leaning against. A yellow scaled Singetail that was fast asleep. "Uh, Spitelout, don't move. You're sitting on a—"
Spitelout waved his hand dismissively. "Ah! Harmless, this one. Never moved from this spot. He thinks quite highly of himself." He said naturally, knowing all this Singetail does is napping all day.
"Oh, what's his name, Naplout or Snorelout?" Hicca jokes, having a feeling that might be its name.
"Stoick. His name's Stoick." Spitelout answered with a grin.
Hicca rolled his eyes. "Oh. Of course it is." She commented.
They then heard a familiar roar.
Hicca eyes widened. "That's Midnight!" She yelled
Hicca immediately got up and ran towards the roar and Spitelout quickly followed him. They then saw smoke in the distance indicating that she was busy fighting with a Singetail.
When they reached the clearing they saw Midnight, while on the ground as her wing was still injured, was busy fighting against the strong looking green scaled Singetail with scars all over his body. "Uh-oh." Spitelout said grimly, knowing this Singetail very well.
"'Uh-oh,' what?" Hicca asked with a concerned voice. "No. What do you call that Singetail?" She asked in worry.
"Deathlout." Spitelout said with a grave voice." I call him 'Deathlout.'"
Deathlout then pinned Midnight to the ground with his claw. Midnight was trying to break herself fully, the dragon appeared to be quite strong. She then fired a plasma blast across its face and used that as the opportunity to break free from its grip.
"Okay. That's it." Hicca said firmly. "I'm ending this now."
She was about to jump in, but Spitelout stopped her.
"And how do you intend to do that?" Snotlout asked. "Give old Deathlout a whack on the snout and hope he runs away scared? I don't think so. What you say we try a little something I'd like to call…"
Hicca didn't really care as Deathlout was now hovering over Midnight unleashing his flames on top of her. Thankfully, Midnight was protecting himself and her wings, but there was no telling how long he would last as she cringed at her burn mark from earlier when the last Singetail hurt her wing when protecting Hicca.
"Who cares what he's called? You can name the plan later." Hiccup said, practically yelling.
"All right. You've got the easy part." Spitelout said, pulling her towards him. "Right now there and get as close to your dragons as you can, without getting killed by the Singetail. Then, get ready to grab her." He explained.
Hicca stared at him. "That's the easy part?" She asked.
"Argh, just keep your eyes on the ball, lass." Spitelout said, patting her on the shoulder. "All right. On the count of three. One…"
Then Spitelout pushed her forwards and soon came face-to-face with Deathlout.
"Hi!" Hicca waved nervously as she then immediately ran towards Midnight as fast as her legs could carry.
"Oh, yes." Spitelout said, picking up a stone.
He then tossed it at Deathlout and it struck the dragon just as it was about to fire fireballs. It then turned towards him and Spitelout started running and doing a combination of screaming and laughing through the forest and Deathlout and immediately began to give chase.
"Ha, guess I did have the easy part." Hicca said as she then grabbed her medical supplies from Midnight's saddle as she turned her attention to her wings. "Okay, girl, let's take care of that wing and get you flying." She said as Midnight spread out her injured wing for Hicca to tend as quickly as they can to go help Spitelout.
Spitelout was running through the bushes with a triumphant yell. "Yes!" He cheered.
Deathlout was close on his heels looking very angry and Spitelout grabbed hold of a tree branch, spun around as Deathlout ran past. He spun over the dragon and landed behind it just as it went past and then quickly ran through the woods.
Deathlout came to a sudden stop and turned around to follow him and then Spitelout jumped over a bush. Deathlout lost him for a brief moment and stopped to look around and then suddenly he found himself ensnared in a netter trap.
"Yes! Whoo!" Spitelout yelled triumphantly. "Take that, ya scaly lizard. Deathlout, meet Snaptrapper. I do hope you enjoy each other's company. You're gonna be together for quite a spell."
Spitelout then for some reason started to sing.
A Spitelout caught a Singetail,
I think I'll send a terror mail.
So everyone will see,
They cannot fool with me.
"Because I'm Spitelout! Spitelout! Oi, oi, oi!" Spitelout yelled, slamming his feet into the ground with enthusiasm. He then started to thrust his groin in and out. "Spitelout! Spitelout! Oi, oi, oi!"
"That's an interesting song, Spitelout," Hicca said as she and Midnight approached him.
"An instant classic, I'd wager." Spitelout said proudly.
"Well, that might be a stretch. But it was a nice plan." Hicca commented.
"Well, what do you expect?" Spitelout asked, slamming a hand on Hicca's back so hard that he nearly broke it. "I'm a Jorgenson."
"You're a Jorgenson." Hicca said at the same time as she rubbed his back to get some feeling back.
(Linebreak)
A few moments later, Spitelout was packing his things on Kingtail, but Hicca was far more interested with the Singetail they had captured.
"Well, that's the last of it," Spitelout said, rubbing his hands together. "I left you a nice supply of dried boar gizzards and yak jerky. Enjoy."
Hicca frowned. "Uh… Wait a minute. Where are you going?" She asked.
"I came here to catch a Singetail. Caught a Spingetail. Mission accomplished," Spitelout simply said.
"You don't want to hang around and help me study him?" Hicca asked.
"Uh, nope." said Spitelout as he hopped onto Kingtail. "Just wanted revenge. Got it."
"Spitelout, we finally have a Singetail dragon that I can take a real close look at. See if I can find a weakness if we want to stop them without hurting them." Hicca pointed out. "Something we can exploit the next time the Flyers attack." She added
"Well, all right." Spitelout shrugged as he hopped off Kingtail. "I'm going on record and saying that you're just wasting your time. But have at it."
Hicca nodded. "Cover me." He then looked at Midnight. "Both of you."
Hicca then approached Deathlout to begin her examinations.
"Okay, there, boy." Hicca said calmly. I'm gonna start by saying, no one wants to hurt you."
Spitelout laughed as he sat down. "You've gotta be joking."
Hicca ignored him. "I just need to get a closer look. Get to know you a bit." She then gently raised his hand towards Deathlout. "You've just been misunderstood—"
Deathlout then roared suddenly and began firing fireballs at the ground much to Hicca's surprise. Thankfully Midnight pushed her out of the way just before she got hit by one of those fireballs. Spitelout just sat on a rock completely calm as if he had seen this before.
"Well, that would be the signal fire." Spitelout said, looking at the flames around them as he got up. "To call all his Singetail buddies. You should have plenty of them to study in a matter of moments."
Hicca nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's put that off for another day."
They then quickly took off and the moment they did a Singetail appeared out of nowhere and nearly blasted Hicca off Midnight with a fireball. Hicca and Spitelout then began to fly as quickly as they could before another Singetail appeared and helped its friends by firing at them.
Hicca then saw coming from the site that there was another Singetail and it had already fired a fireball at them. Hicca quickly flew upwards narrowing avoiding the fireball.
"Oh, I see this a thousand times," Spitelout said, calmly. "There's only one direction we can go to get clear of these vermin."
Before Hicca could say anything, Spitelout immediately flew upwards much to her annoyance.
"Oh, for Thor's sake. Never really tell the plan." Hicca said in annoyance. "Follow that Nadder, girl." She ordered Midnight.
They then quickly ascended and the Singetails quickly followed them.
"Up! Up!" Hicca yelled.
Hicca looked back and saw that the Singetail were breaking off the pursuit, it looks as if they were having trouble believing in the higher altitude.
"Good call, Spitelout." Hicca said as she joined him. "They must not like the altitude."
"Aye, but they sure do love a good campfire." Spitelout said, gesturing to the burning forest below them.
Hicca looked at the burning forest and an idea appeared in his head. "Campfire. That's it." She then looked back at Spitelout. "Okay. I think I have the answer I came for. But there's something you need to do for me."
"Oh." Spitelout said, looking intrigued.
(Linebreak)
Hicca soon flew back to Berk and entered the arena only to find it was completely deserted.
"Uh… hello?" Hicca called out as she jumped off Midnight. "Hello? Hiccup? Henry? Guys? W-where is everybody?"
Then landing in front of her directly out of nowhere was Gustav.
"Ah, Gustav!" Gustav said, spinning his helmet on his head.
"Gustav, w-where is everybody? The Riders, all your teammates?" Hicca asked.
"They went to the Edge. The chief decided to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Dragon Flyers." Gustav quickly explained.
Hiccup groaned. "I hate it when he pre-emptive strikes, and I had a feeling Hiccup couldn't talk him out of this one." She said as Gustav nodded in confirming, stating that Hiccup didn't like this but Stoick firmly went with the plan as Hicca mounted back on Midnight. She then looked at Gustav. "All right. Gustav, you follow me. I may need you for this plan. I'll tell you on the way." She said to him.
(Linebreak)
The Berk fleet was emerging from the fog bank as it descended upon the Edge. Flying over the fleet was Stoick, the Riders and the rest of the A-Team.
(Linebreak)
On the Edge, Viggo was in the clubhouse as he worked on the Dragon Eye. In one hand he was holding the Dragon Eye, but in the other he held a cage containing a Terrible Terror.
"This should do it." Viggo said, placing the case onto the table. "No telling how long it will look, but work it shall."
He then plunged two daggers onto the table and placed the Dragon Eye on it. Unbeknownst to him, Krogan was watching him from outside and was holding a dagger in his hand.
Viggo then positioned the cage in front of the Dragon Eye and slammed his fist onto the table. The Terrible Terror immediately unleashed its fire and this time the Dragon Eye activated. Viggo could sense Krogan was behind him and reach for one of the daggers.
However before anyone could make a move a Hunter entered the clubhouse with a frantic look on his face.
"Sir." The Hunter said.
Viggo immediately turned on him. "I thought I asked for complete privacy." He sternly reminded him.
"Yes, sir. But there's a fleet of heavily armed ships flying the Berk colors approaching, and escorted by a squadron of Dragon Riders," Hunter explained.
Viggo growled with frustration and the Hunter immediately exited the clubhouse. Viggo then picks up the Dragon Eye and his eyes turn towards the shadow where Krogan was hiding.
"You have to do much better than that, Krogan." Viggo informed him.
Krogan merely smiled from the shadows.
Viggo made his way outside and looked down at the Dragon Flyers.
"Dragon Flyers. Take your positions," Viggo ordered. "A battle in the skies is upon us."
The Dragon Flyers immediately climbed onto their Singetails and took off as Viggo gave an evil smile as the Flyers flew overhead him.
(Linebreak)
The Berk fleet could see them coming and the soldiers on the boat prepared for battle as did the Riders in the air.
"Alright, gang. Keep in position and try not to lose focus on those Singetails." Hiccup called out to them as he took the lead.
"Here we go." Astrid said. "Good luck, everybody. We're gonna need it." She then turns to Hiccup with a sympathetic look, "Hiccup, I know this will be difficult for you but…"
"I know, sacrifices must be made for the greater good." Hiccup said, even though he hoped things would be different this battle was unavoidable.
Immediately the Riders and Flyers began to engage with one another. The Flyers were the first to go on the offensive, unleashing fireballs in every single direction.
"Look out!" Astrid cried.
The Riders immediately made evasive maneuvers to dodge the fireballs and many of the Flyers began to chase after them. The soldiers in the boats immediately grabbed a bow and arrow and began to fire at the Flyers as they came past.
On the ship that Gobber was on, the men were preparing to arm the catapults, but the Flyers were bearing down on top of them.
"Oh, no, you don't." Gobber said, waving his ax prosthetic at them.
The Flyers then fired fireballs at the ship causing some of the men to jump overboard and destroy the catapults. Gobber jumped narrowly avoiding a fireball and landed near Grump, who was fast asleep.
"Slimy little…" Gobber said getting to his feet and soon realized that his peg leg was on fire.
He tried to put it out, but accidentally set fire to the mainmast and then he turned to Grump.
"Come on. Get over here, you lazy beast!" Gobber yelled. Grump then flapped his wings and took off without Gobber. "Where ya goin'? I'm over here!"
Grump then fell asleep again and landed directly on top of Gobber.
(Linebreak)
In the sky the Flyers were still battling against the Riders and they were obviously winning. Astrid and Hiccup flew beside both Henry and Fishlegs as he avoided a fireball.
"I don't know how much longer we can hold them off, guys." Fishlegs said. "Not backing our heels, playing defense."
"We can't, Fishlegs." Astrid said, as she drew her ax. "It may be coming time to choose between us and the dragons." She said as she then immediately took off to join the battle.
Fishlegs shook his head. "But, they didn't do anything. They're innocent victims."
Hiccup sympathized with Fishlegs. "I hate this as much as you do, Fishlegs. I just hope we don't hurt them too much to get those Flyers off them." He said as he flew off. "Hicca, I hope you find the alternative." He muttered to himself.
"If we don't go on the offensive we'll die." Henry added gravely. He then shook his head looking at the battle. "Hicca, I hope you find a solution and fast." He whispered to himself as well.
A Flyer then came flying down towards them and was about to fire a fireball at them when the Thorston twins knocked him off his Singetail.
Tuffnut laughter triumph and failed to notice that they were heading straight towards another Flyer. Thankfully Throk, who was riding on the back of the dragon saw him heading towards them and jumped into action.
"Not on your life, friend." Throk said.
He then got to his feet and ran across Barf's neck and jumped into the air. He somersaulted until he slammed his feet right on the Flyer, knocking him off the Singetail and grabbed the said Singetail's tail. He then flew directly over them and was tossed in the air, but performed the most magnificent somersault as he landed behind Ruffnut.
Ruffnut just looked at him with awe and Tuffnut's mouth was wide open.
"You know, I hope you don't expect the rest of us to do that." Tuffnut said.
Several Flyers were chasing after Gothi as he flew close towards the water. She then flew towards two ships that were covered in Zippleback gas and flew into it. Then Bucket and Mulch appeared out of nowhere and sparked the gas blocking the Flyers, who then began to chase after them.
(Linebreak)
In a hidden cave on the island, Hunterbolt and the other dragons were hiding out from the hunters, hoping the Dragon Riders would return to kick these invaders out of their home.
And then they hear some explosions happening as Hunterbolt went out of the cave and saw the battle in the ocean happening as he realizes what is going on.
'The Riders have returned, with reinforcements!' Hunterbolt roared happily as he turned to the other dragons in the cave. 'The Dragon Riders have returned to save us! So we must aid them in their battle!' He roared out as the other dragons roared as well as they flew out of the caves and into the sky.
(Linebreak)
Viggo was at the clubhouse observing the battle when Krogan approached.
"They're on the defensive." Krogan noted. "Now is our chance to wipe them out entirely." He then turned to the remaining Flyers that were on the island. "Send all the Flyers. All Dragon Flyers to the sky!"
Immediately the Dragon Flyers took to the sky and headed straight towards the battle.
Viggo however was concerned. "Are you sure that's the best course of action, my friend?"
"Why don't you just go back away and let me do what I do best?" Krogan glared as he crossed his arms.
Viggo shrugged as he walked away. "With pleasure. It's nothing short of a thrill to watch you work, Krogan."
Krogan growled angrily at him.
(Linebreak)
Out at sea, the battle was intensifying in favor of the Flyers. The Riders were getting completely overwhelmed by the reinforcements.
"Oh, no! There's more?" Hiccup cried.
"Lots more," Astrid said.
The Flyers then fired several fireballs from the Singetails' tails directly at them. Astrid and Hiccup were able to avoid getting shot, but Fishlegs wasn't so lucky and began to spin out of control before landing on the ship. He looked up to see several Dragon Flyers heading straight towards him.
"Meatlug!" he yelled.
Meatlug quickly spun around shooting a couple barrels into the air filled with Monstrous Nightmare gel. The Thorston twins then appeared out of nowhere and fired a shot at the barrels causing the explosion that caused them to retreat.
They all cheered and made that spectacular move.
"Yeah, all right!" Tuffnut cried before more Singetails arrived. "Oh come on!" He moaned.
Then they heard a familiar sound and looked up to see Hicca and Gustav heading straight towards them from the sky.
"Hey, here comes Hicca!" Tuffnut cried. However, Hicca and Gustav then flew straight past him and headed straight towards a nearby island. "And, there. There goes Hicca." He then looked at Fishlegs, who was back in the air again. "You know she's become very unpredictable. It's unsettling."
"No. I think Hicca has an idea." Hiccup called out as he noticed what his sister was doing.
"Well, whatever she's doing, let's hope she does it quickly." Henry called out.
(Linebreak)
Hicca and Gustav soon reached the island where Spitelout was busy preparing for Hicca's plan of action.
"Did you bring it?" Hicca asked as they landed.
"Can't you tell?" Spitelout asked, gesturing to the net containing Deathlout, who was roaring with frustration. "Yeah, yeah. Keep yapping, ya fiery pain in the—"
"Spitelout, is everything ready?" Hicca interrupted.
Deathlout roared once again even louder than before.
"No, there's still a few—" Spitelout tried to explain.
Hicca shook her head. "Too late. We're going with what we got."
Spitelout rolled his eyes. "Well, then, why'd ya bother asking?"
Spitelout then jumped out of the tree branch he was standing on and landed on Kindtrail. They then turned and faced the net that contained Deathlout.
"All right. Time to play your part, dragon," Spitelout said.
They started to move closer towards Deathlout and the moment they did he unleashed a burst of flames from his stomach. Which immediately ignited the logs underneath him.
(Linebreak)
The battle was still raging out of sea and the Flyers were now really putting the heat on. A single Flyer kept on whacking his Singetail with a horse whip, but then suddenly it was taken out of his hand. He looked up and saw Fishlegs flying upside down above him.
"Oh, hello," Fishlegs said before whacking the Flyer with the whip as he then grabbed the Flyer and tossed him off the Singetail.
Raeda then flew up as Sparkfire fired spine shots at the Flyers, knocking them down as they fell to the ocean as the Singetails flew away. "That's what happens when you take our home!" She called out.
Snotlout flew down to one of the ships then grabbed a barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel. "Let's go, Hookfang." He then flew upwards and two Flyers followed him. "Incoming!"
He then released the barrel and it was sent flying towards the Flyers and Stoick flew out of nowhere and blasted the barrel knocking the Flyers back with a massive explosion. However, two more Flyers appeared either side of him and were charging towards him.
"Got two coming from both sides," said Stoick as he drew his ax. "Come and get some!"
The Flyers were about to fire at Stoick, but then something caught their eye. Stoick turned and saw a light coming from one of the nearby islands and instantly the Singetails pulled out of the attack and made their way towards it.
"Come on. Where are you going?" Stoick yelled. "Come back and fight!"
"It's a distress signal." Fishlegs said as he flew up towards him. "All the Singetails in the area are flocking to help the dragon that's in trouble."
Henry and Hiccup soon joined them and watched as the Singetail were flying towards the island despite their Flyers best attempt to turn them around.
Henry looked at Hiccup. "You don't think?"
Hiccup nodded. "Hicca."
"This is our chance, people. To the Edge!" Stoick ordered.
Immediately the Riders and the ship started to make their way towards the Edge, which was now completely defenseless due to the fact that Krogan had launched every single Flyers he had at them.
Or so the riders thought as more Flyers came flying towards them from the Edge.
"Looks like they have extra Flyers for emergencies!" Snotlout called out to them as they got in ready position.
"Can we catch a break already?!" Raeda questioned tiredley.
"Hold your ground, gang!" Hiccup called out as they were ready for another air battle.
But then a bolt of lightning struck one of the flyers, knocking him off his dragon. The Riders were surprised until a familiar Skrill flew up to them.
"Hunterbolt!" Henry said with a surprised smile.
Hunterbolt then turned to the Flyers and roared, 'Attack!' Then from behind the flyers, every dragon on Dragon's Edge attacked, shooting at the flyers from all angles, breaking their formation unable to focus a proper counter attack.
"Oh yeah! Edge Dragons coming in for the big win!" Ruffnut cheered.
Snotlout then noticed a certain Nightmare was getting overwhelmed, "Girl-Hookfang!" He shouted before looking down at his dragon, "Whaddya say we go help your lady, Hookfang?" He asked.
Hookfang gave a determined snort as he flew up to Girl-Hookfang while Snotlout yelped in surprise. 'Absolutely!' He snorted.
"Whoa! A simple nod would've done!" Snotlout called out.
Raeda shook her head in amusement, "Let's give those two a hand, eh girl?" She asked Sparkfire and earned a squawk of agreement.
Girl-Hookfang was about to get hurt by the Flyers, but then Hookfang came flying by and shot fire at them, knocking the Flyers off the Singetails as Sparkfire flew up and shot several spine-shots, knocking them off balance as they fell.
Hookfang then turned to Girl-Hookfang. 'Are you alright?' He asked.
'I am now. Thanks, Hookfang.' Girl-Hookfang answered.
'He was really worried about you while we were away.' Sparkfire commented cheekily.
Hookfang's eyes widened in surprise before turning to Sparkfire with a glare and flaming up, 'Sparkfire!' He growled as Sparkfire gave a dragon's equivalent to a laugh.
"Ow! Hookfang! What's got you riled up?" Snotlout questioned his dragon after feeling his dragon's flame.
Girl-Hookfang then turned to Hookfang with a smile, 'We missed you too Hookfang.' She growled.
Hookfang turned to her and gave a bashful snort with smoke coming from his nostrils.
"I hate to break up this reunion moment, but we got an island to take back!" Raeda called out as she pointed towards the Edge.
"Right! Right!" Snotlout said as he turned to his dragon. "Come on, Hookfang! Let's get our home back!" He called out as Hookfang roared and flew off with Raeda following as Girl-Hookfang turned towards the battle.
Fishlegs was being chased by Flyers, but then they were hit by amber as they fell into the ocean as the Ingermen boy looked up and saw Garff. 'Hi Fishlegs!' He growled.
"Garff! Thanks for the help!" Fishlegs called out happily as Garff roared in response as he flew off to deal with more Flyers.
Hiccup, Astrid and Henry are flying through the battle as they made their way to the Edge, but they got Flyers in front of them, ready to fire, but then lightning bolts then struck as the Flyers fell of the Singetails while some of the Singetails fell a bit before regaining altitude and flew away.
Hunterbolt then flew in front of the three Riders as electricity sparks out of his body.
"Hunterbolt, thanks for the assist!" Hiccup called out as Hunterbolt roared and shot more lightning at incoming Flyers behind them as they fell to the ocean. "Keep those Flyers off us, we're going to the Edge!" He said to Hunterbolt as the Skrill nodded and flew off to deal with more Flyers as the three flew ahead to the Edge.
(Linebreak)
The Flyers were doing everything they could to turn back, they pulled on the chains, used their whips, but nothing they did forced their dragons to turn around. They were flying towards Deathlout and they saw Hicca, Gustav and Spitelout waiting for them and automatically registered them as the enemy.
"Now!" Hicca yelled as she took off.
Spitelout shouted as he took off and fired a stream of fire at a Flyer and then dived into the forest. Hicca then fired a plasma blast at two Flyers and flew into the forest as well.
Hicca chuckled as she zigzagged through the trees and kept very low to the ground. Then when the Flyers turned round the corner they saw a large net in their path and it was too late to stop. They immediately slammed into the net allowing their dragons to fly free.
"Help us out here! Get us out!" They yelled as they tried to break free of the net.
Spitelout was now doing the same thing with two more Flyers and they soon found themselves trapped in a net.
Two Flyers soon met up with one another within the woods of the island.
"Yoo-hoo," A voice said. They turned and saw Gustav waving them on top of Fanghook. "Hey, fellas."
"Get him!" They yelled and flew towards him.
Gustav quickly took to the air and let them get into another trap.
"Gustav!" Gustav said with a smirk at them.
They kept on doing the same process to the other Flyers, freeing the Singetails without hurting a single one. They soon flew out of the canopy and saw the Singetails flying away.
"The dragons are abandoning their riders." Spitelout said.
"And the others are trying to free Deathlout!" Hicca noted that several Singetails were firing at the net that contained Deathlout.
It took some effort but eventually they were able to free the captive dragon and once they did they flew away from the island with the others.
"Well, that looks to be all of them." Spitelout said.
However he spoke too soon as the fireball nearly struck them from behind. They turned and saw a single Flyer flying down towards them firing fireballs.
"Or not!" Hicca said as she dived down.
Sadly they had run out of nets and she down at this Flyer would fall for the same trick like his friends.
"We have no traps left, Midnight." Hicca noted. "Looks like we might have to take that shot after all. Let's just make sure we get the Flyer and not the dragon."
Midnight then immediately opened her wings wide open and began flying backwards. They flew past the Flyer, who then immediately turned around and fired a volley of fireballs. Hicca had to do some crazy maneuvers in order to dodge the fireballs as they headed straight towards the Flyer.
"Up! Up!" Hicca yelled at the last second.
Midnight immediately pulled upwards much to the surprise of the Flyer, but he quickly followed. They kept on flying higher and higher, but the Singetail was finding it difficult to climb.
"Come on, beast!" The Flyer ordered, pulling on the dragon's chains.
Hicca looked back. "Come on!"
Eventually the Singetail couldn't fly any higher and broke off the pursuit.
"Singetails do not like altitude." Hiccup smiled. He then looked down at Midnight. "Now, Midnight!"
They quickly turned around and flew back down towards the Flyer and fired a plasma blast. The Flyer quickly raised his shield, but the impact of the blast was strong enough to knock him off his dragon.
"Ha-ha!" Hicca yelled triumphantly as the Singetail flew away. "Nice shot, girl! Let's hope we never have to do that again. And let's make sure we tell Hiccup this for him to make a note of it as well." She added as they flew off.
(Linebreak)
At the Edge, Viggo and Krogan could see the Dragon Riders and Berk's fleet were approaching them, and with no Flyers left, they were defenseless.
"I warned you about this. Leaving yourself vulnerable, over-committing your troops!" Viggo told Krogan as they dashed to the stables and Krogan prepared his Titan Wing Singetail for flight. "Perhaps a bit of Maces and Talons could've helped you strategize your way out of the embarrassment in which you now find yourself." He suggested holding up a game piece.
Krogan mounted his dragon and glared at Viggo. "Keep talking and I will leave you here to deal with them by yourself! You can throw your little game pieces with them." He told him as he extended his hand and Viggo took it. Krogan then lifted onto the back of his dragon just as Astrid and Henry appeared.
"There!" Astrid pointed.
At that precise moment Krogan took off.
"It's Krogan." Astrid said as Stoick appeared. "And he's got someone with him."
Henry nodded. "And if he's riding with Krogan, he's gotta be someone very important. But he looks familiar somehow." He muttered the last part as he'd seen the other man before.
"Well, let's get down there and meet Krogan's new sidekick." Stoick said.
They immediately began to chase after Krogan.
They soon entered the sea stacks and Krogan was proving that he was a capable Flyer. They were finding it very hard to keep up with the zigzagged sea stacks and when they went under an arch he fired a fireball at its base from his dragon's tail. They had to swerve to avoid the explosion causing him to lose some ground.
"He's a much better Flyer than his men." Astrid noted.
"He certainly knows how to handle that dragon of his, that's for sure." Henry added.
"Aye. But not better than us and we know our dragons far better," Stoick said.
Krogan then pulled on the chains and he began to gain a bit about too. At the same time the Singetail fired fireballs from its tail directly at them causing them to do some evasive maneuvers to avoid getting hit as they continued through the sea stacks.
When they got through the sea stacks he fired another fireball just as they turned round a corner. Astrid quickly ducked to avoid getting hit and Henry was able to get out of the way as well, but the same could not be said for Stoick.
The fireball had struck Skullcrusher's side and they began to plummet towards the sea.
"Come on, big boy." Stoick said as he pulled hard. "We're not going down like this."
Thankfully, Skullcrusher was able to regain control and stop just before they hit the water and immediately flew towards the nearest sea stack to rest up.
"That's a good fella." Stoick said, stocking Skullcrusher.
Astrid and Henry were still chasing Krogan and then they saw his passenger looking back at them. Eyes immediately widened as the passenger was none other than Viggo holding the Dragon Eye.
Astrid and Henry looked on in shock at what they saw, as if they just saw a ghost.
"No. No, that's impossible," Astrid stared in disbelief. "There's no way!"
"Dad…" Henry said in shock as he was seeing his father alive, thinking for the longest time he had died in the Edge's volcano after tossing the Dragon Eye. Viggo merely chuckled and that's when they noticed what he was holding his hand. "The Dragon Eye." Henry gasped.
"It survived the volcano?!" Astrid asked in shock.
"And apparently, so has my father! And now he has reclaimed it somehow!" Henry added as he gave an angry look. "We can't let them get away!" He said determinedly as Astrid nodded as they flew faster.
They then saw that they were approaching a fog bank and if they entered into it they'd never be able to find them again.
"All right. We've only gonna get one shot at this before they lose in that fog bank," said Astrid.
"Then we won't lose them." Henry said as they increased.
Korgan saw that Astrid and Henry were gaining fast and immediately pulled on the chains. The Singetail then immediately lifted its rear and before Astrid and Henry could do anything by shooting out of its rear end. This added a sudden burst of speed and entered the fog bank before their very eyes.
"No!" Astrid yelled in frustration.
Henry gritted his teeth in rage. "ARRRAAHHH!" He screamed in fury, echoing across the ocean with his arms out and fists clenched as Astrid flinched from that, knowing that Henry will be having a tough time at the moment.
(Linebreak)
The sun was just beginning to rise on the Edge and everyone was off loading supplies of the ships and Gustav was explaining to the warriors what had happened to the Flyers.
"Fanghook and Gustav lured the Flyers over." Gustav said. "And then they just took off, and of course, you know, I was the hero."
Stoick however was very proud of Hica and placed a hand on her shoulder with Hiccup next to her sister.
"You did it, daughter." Stoick said. "And not a dragon's scale out of place. Quite an impressive plan."
"That was a great plan you came up with, sis." Hiccup said to his twin with a smile.
"And let's not forget the Jorgenson contribution to that impressive plan." said Spitelout approaching them.
"Yeah. The Jorgensons were on fire." Snotlout nodded.
"Yes, they were. And you were great, Spitelout. I couldn't have done it without you." Hicca said gratefully.
"Well, you're right about that, lass." Spitelout nodded. "And they will be writing a little tiny crew song about it, either."
The two Jorgensons laughed as they walked off.
Hicca shrugged his father. "Some things continue to remain the same."
"True that." Hiccup nodded in agreement as he and Hicca laughed together.
"Hiccup! Hicca!" Astrid yelled as she and Henry landed at the stables.
Hicca looked very relieved upon seeing them. "Henry! You guys had me worried." She said before noticing the fury on Henry's face as he dismounted from Wildstar. "Henry, what's wrong?"
"We have another issue and another person to worry about who sided with Krogan." Henry said gravely as his voice was filled with rage and anger.
"Is it something we should worry about?" Hiccup asked next.
Astrid then jumped off Stormfly and approached the Haddock twins. "Definitely should be worrying about, guys. Because we just saw something you're not gonna believe."
"And it's something from the past that's come back to haunt us." Henry finished firmly.
(Linebreak)
At the stables Astrid and Henry told everyone that they had seen Viggo with Krogan and to make matters worse he had the Dragon Eye.
"Okay, okay. This is something to worry about." Hicca said while holding her arm in worry.
"Okay let's try to find another way to look at this thing." Hiccup said as he paced up and down. "Let's make the yak bladder half full."
"Sorry. My yak bladder? Dry as a bone." Snotlout said.
"Okay. we get it," Hicca said. "Viggo is back and alive. That's bad. He's got the Dragon Eye, which survives the Edge's volcano. That, too, is bad. And he and Krogan are working together, that is very very bad."
"Um… I hate to agree with Snotlout, really, I do… but I just don't see that any of this is good news," said Fishlegs.
"Yeah, I don't see any good that came out from this discovery." Raeda commented
"Okay, stay with us, guys." Hiccup said to the others as he continued.. "Viggo thinks he has the only Dragon Eye. But as you all know…" Hiccup then removed a sheet from a wooden barrel to reveal a circular sphere that was shaped like the Night Fury's head.
Fishlegs practically jumped up with excitement. "Ooh! It's almost finished."
"Our own Dragon Eye is almost complete." Hicca said as she now sees the bright side of this. "Even during our time away from the Edge and planning the attack, we spent our free time finishing up our Dragon Eye project. And I'm guessing you did most of it while I'm away, right bro?" She asked her brother with a smirk.
"That's right, sis." Hiccup said with a smirk in return as he then presented them with the Dragon Eye. "Friends, our yak bladders runneth over." He then tossed it over to Fishlegs and Henry leaned over to examine it. "When we're done, this thing is gonna do things that the original Dragon Eye can't even dream of."
"With some upgrades and our own design mechanism of our own." Hicca finished.
Henry nodded. "And I'm willing to bet that my father's Dragon Eye is damaged from its time in the volcano." He noted. "So that buys us time and the advantage we need until he somehow fixes it."
Astrid then looked at the Dragon Eye. "It looks amazing."
"Well, hopefully, it will be." Hiccup said.
"We just need a little more tinkering and it will be complete." Hicca finished.
"Okay. So now there's only one more thing we need to figure out. What's up with that shipwreck?" Snotlout asked, pointing towards Ruffnut, who was currently having her feet massaged by Throk.
"Yep. Yep," Ruffnut nodded. "Yeah, you gotta make that grime work for you." Several of them were quietly disturbed with what they were seeing, including Stoick. "Come on, Thork-quito. Get in there. Yep. Just go around the corns."
"Okay, I did not need to see that." Henry said, holding a hand in front of his face.
"That's a little disturbing." Raeda commented while trying not to feel sick at the sight.
"You know, maybe Throk really likes Ruffnut," Astrid said, trying to get some normality into the situation. "We're around her all the time, so it's easy for us to take for granted all of her wonderful qualities."
"Okay. But I dare anyone to explain that," Snotlout said, pointing yet again.
This time he was gesturing to Tuffnut, who was massaging, for unknown reasons, Throk's foot.
"Really, Tuff?" Henry asked in disbelief as he waved his hands in the air.
"Hey! Family is family. And these…" Tuffnut said, gesturing to Throk's toes. "I mean these are some magnificent feet. Look at these beauties!" He then sighed as he looked up at Throk. "What do you use, anyway?"
No one indeed couldn't explain what they were seeing and they were deeply disturbed with what they were seeing as they just stood there in silence.
"Okay, I'm gonna go outside and scream into the ocean until that vision is ripped from my brain." Snotlout said as he walked out of the clubhouse. "Will you call me when dinner's ready?"
"I need some time away from this as well. Call me as well." Raeda added as she walked out after Snotlout.
"Oh, yeah. Ain't no shame in a little toe game." Ruffnut said.
Henry then sighed and walked out of the room with his fingers to his temples. Hicca noticed and walked after him.
She eventually caught up to him at his hut. "Henry, are you okay?" She asked. For a while Henry was silent before he unsheathed his sword and let out a yell of anger, slamming his sword against the wall of his hut. "I take that as a no?" She squeaked a bit fearfully.
"Not really." Henry said while gritting his teeth as he walked up and pulled his sword out of the wall. "Sorry, Hicca. I'm just not myself right now." He sighs as he then throws his sword to the wall again.
"Is it because you saw your father again?" Hicca guessed as she came close to Henry.
Henry sighs as he gets his sword out of the wall again and puts it away. "Yeah. I mean, it's been a month since what happened, and recently, I thought he was gone when he fell into the volcano." He said as he then clenched his fist. "And now, he is back and has partnered up with Krogan and now, he has the Dragon Eye, again! All this time I thought he was dead, that he died caring about me, only to realize that he was still alive and never came back to me! How can I feel about that?!" He questioned as he slammed his fist on his table.
Hicca then approached him and placed a gentle hand over his fist, "Sometimes, one good deed doesn't make someone a good person right away." She tells him, "But it does prove that your father does care about it to some degree."
Henry sighed, "I just," He said before turning to her, "Hicca, I already lost my mother and my tribe because of him, and now that I know he's working with someone like Krogan, how long before he-"
Hicca then gives him a kiss, cutting him off. Henry was surprised at first but slowly returned it. When they broke away, Hicca smiled and placed her hands on his cheeks, "Don't worry, we'll stop them and I'm not going anywhere." She promised.
Henry smiled as he held Hicca's hands as he held them. "Thanks, Hicca." He said as he kissed her again as they would be like that for a moment, knowing that Henry needed it to clear his head after what he discovered and that Hicca will be there for him.