Chapter 28: Dragon Raid
Off the coast of Berk
October 31
With the sun set completely, Toothless had no worries being seen by anything now. He flew over the ocean and under the sky in complete darkness.
Actually, he had been flying over the ocean and under the sky for several hours now.
He had no trouble traveling great distances without tire but he knew he would have to find shelter soon.
For a long time now, the ten-year-old Night Fury had traveled from island to island, each one a temporary home. They had all been good homes but none of them felt as welcoming as his first home did. He had long ago given up hope of finding other dragons of his kind but he was not about to give up on finding a more permanent home – if he ever found it.
Fortunately, he could see seagulls flying by and hear could hear their calls and that meant one thing: land.
He could also smell land too. He could smell all sorts of scents coming from wherever he was headed – some familiar and some unfamiliar.
Sure enough straight ahead of him was an island with a tall, rocky mountain right in the center of it.
Toothless headed straight for the island hoping it would be good and safe enough to spending the night there.
But standing between him and the island were what looked like two giant monsters with horns on either side of their heads and large gaping mouths with flames dancing inside them. He had never met other creatures that could produce fire like other dragons could.
Toothless bared his teeth and pricked his ears back. If these monsters were gonna keep him from entering this island, they thought wrong.
"All right, you beasts, face me if you dare," he growled.
The giant monsters did nothing. They just stood there with their flaming mouths still agape.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Toothless demanded. "Your size and flames don't scare me! I've faced creatures just as fearsome as you!"
The monsters still didn't move. It was almost as if they didn't realize he was even there.
"All right, I'll show you!" Toothless roared.
And with that, he turned to the monster to the left, charged towards its chest and slammed right into…a cold, damp, rocky texture.
Toothless shook his head and stared at the monster's chest. He rubbed his head against the rocky texture then looked up at the monster with the flaming mouth. Then he flew to the monster on the right and rubbed his head against its side. It too was made of rock.
It was then that Toothless realized that these weren't monsters at all. Just large, tall, rocky sea stacks that looked like monsters. He had never seen anything like this at all.
As confused as he was, he was kind of glad that nothing was preventing him from entering the island now. But as he started to fly towards it, it didn't take long for him to wish he had turned back. …
Berk
October 31
What Toothless saw on this new island was like nothing he had ever seen.
Surrounding the mountain of the new island were many cliff bases. Each cliff base had forests and fields but the cliff base he was flying over was different.
This cliff base was stacked up with several woodpiles and they were the strangest woodpiles he had ever seen. He had seen smaller woodpiles where small creatures had dwelled and the twigs and sticks making up said piles had been scattered and stacked in messy piles. But these particular woodpiles were much larger and taller for a much larger creature to live in and they were stacked up neatly and straightly though they were a bit curved in the back.
Hovering over the strange land was what looked like a tall rocky cave. A rocky slope was leading up to the entrance of the cave but instead of looking slanted like most slopes, it looked like it had cut straightly and deeply. Standing on either side of the entrance were some more tall rocks that resembled horned monsters but much shorter than the monster-like rocks standing at the entrance to the island. Right below the monsters were what looked like tall sticks with half-moon-shaped objects. Inside the objects were more flames.
Toothless decided the short cliffs on top of the cave's entrance looked like a good spot to rest and observe. He made sure to fly around the side of the cave and monster-like rocks in case anything was roaming outside the tall woodpiles. Luckily nobody seemed to be outdoors and even if there were, they couldn't see him thanks to the darkness and his stealth and he landed safely on top of the cave's entrance. Now he had a secure spot to keep an eye on this new island. Something was telling him he should be extra careful around this new place and whatever lived here.
What could have possibly fashioned such tall and funny-looking woodpiles and make fire?
Then his ears perked up at the faraway sound of familiar dragon cries and his nose picked up the familiar scents of other dragon species. He looked up and he could see in the distance several herds of dragons flying this way – to this strange new island.
…
Blacksmith Stall
With his hands on his hips, Hiccup stood in the middle of his private workshop and smiled proudly at his latest invention.
The invention resembled a giant slingshot with a long, stretchy strap of leather attached to two long poles of wood. The two poles of wood stood on a large wooden board. Four wheels were attached to all four corners of the board.
He just couldn't wait to test it out!
If it worked correctly and everyone liked it, then he could make even more of these!
"Hey, Hiccup!" Gobber called from outside the workshop. "How are the evening chores coming along?"
"Fine, Gobber," Hiccup called. "Would you come in for a minute? I really want to show you this!"
"Oh, did you build yet another modern weapon, lad?" Gobber asked, suddenly sounding unenthusiastic.
"Yeah and you're gonna love it!" Hiccup said, ignoring his mentor's bored tone.
"All right, I'm coming."
Gobber made his way into the workshop with a featherduster attached to his left stump and looked up and down at the invention.
"So what do you call this one?"
"I call it the Cata-bow-shot!" Hiccup answered.
"Huh?"
"It's like a combination of a catapult, slingshot and bow," Hiccup explained. He got behind the Cata-bow-shot and held up the leather strap. "You place a rock or even a sword or an axe or anything onto the strap, pull it back as far as you can, then you let go and it'll fly towards your target – be it an Outcast or a wild boar or dragon – and if you're lucky, it'll strike it down."
"I see," Gobber said, still not looking so excited. "And I suppose you want me to be your test model…again."
"I hope you don't mind," Hiccup said, shrugging.
"I do, actually. But I have no choice since we're the only two people around."
"Now if you'll just stand in front of it," Hiccup said.
The bored-looking Gobber stood in front of the Cata-bow-shot as instructed.
"Good," Hiccup said, picking up a small leather ball off the floor.
The boy placed the ball onto the leather straps, pulled them back as far as he could before he let go. The ball was sent flying straight towards Gobber and struck him square in the chest. Gobber grunted and stepped back a foot but his bored expression did not change.
"It worked!" Hiccup cried happily.
"Yay," Gobber murmured.
"What do you think, Gobber?"
"Not bad, not bad. However…"
"However?" Hiccup asked, worried that there might be something wrong with the Cata-bow-shot and it needed some improvement or if Gobber secretly hated it. If he hated it, then everyone else would too.
"However…" Gobber said. "…it does explain why there's still dust all over the floor."
Hiccup looked down at the floor and sure enough, there was indeed lots of dust and dirt covering it. He felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. He had been so busy finishing his contraption that he had completely forgotten that it was his turn to sweep the floor tonight.
"Oops," was all Hiccup could say.
"Oops is right," Gobber said dryly. He grabbed a broomstick leaning against the wall with his good hand and thrust it into Hiccup's hands. "Less building, more sweeping."
Without an argument, Hiccup got to the business of sweeping.
"But you do like it, do you?" Hiccup asked hopefully, looking up from the floor to his mentor but still sweeping in the process.
Gobber cracked a smile. "Of course I do, really."
"I'm glad you do," Hiccup said, sounding happy to hear it. "I really think this'll help whoever uses it strike something or someone a lot faster and easier."
"I'm glad you think so but I don't think everyone else will," Gobber warned. "Everyone around here would rather throw their axes, swords and maces the old –fashioned way. And by the old-fashioned way I mean throwing them with their hands and not from straps. No offense, Hiccup, but these inventions of yours are some of the reasons why everyone is seeing you as weird."
"I'm not weird!" Hiccup protested. "Am I?"
"Uh, different is probably the better word to use," Gobber said.
Hiccup looked back down at the floor as he continued sweeping. "There's got to be something I can do to show everyone that I'm not as weird or different as they think I am. But what?"
"I'm sure that someday something will come along for you, Hiccup," Gobber assured him. "Just try to be patient."
Hiccup nodded. "Speaking of being patient for some things, Gobber, when do you think Dad's gonna come home?"
Gobber frowned worriedly. "Soon, I hope."
"I always worry about him every time he goes away even if he is Stoick the Vast," Hiccup continued.
"So do I, lad. So do I," Gobber nodded.
"But at the same time I think he's lucky," Hiccup admitted.
"Lucky? How?" Gobber asked, looking surprise.
"Lucky that he gets to go other islands, towns and places while I have to stay home and do my chores," Hiccup answered gloomily.
"Now, Hiccup, it's not like your dad's gone on vacation without you. He just went away to go to a very important and very, very boring meeting with fellow chieftains. You'd go right to sleep within the first minute of the whole thing."
"I know that. But I still think he's lucky." Hiccup paused from sweeping and keeping one hand on the broom handle, he announced, "When I'm old enough, I'm leaving this giant hunk of rock and seeing all the places I've always wanted to see and maybe even discover a few new places outside the Archipelago."
"All by yourself?" Gobber asked.
"You and Dad can come along," Hiccup said. "You'll both be retired by then."
"Anyone else?" Gobber asked. "Astrid, maybe? Astrid and all of your future kids?"
"Astrid and our future kids?" Hiccup asked, looking a little horrified.
Gobber shrugged. "Why not? I still think you two would make a cute couple, especially with eight or nine tykes at your feet. Or ten."
"Isn't it a little early to talk about me having kids, Gobber?" Hiccup asked, still looking uneasy.
"Well, your dad never thinks it's too early to talk about you becoming Chief someday," Gobber said.
"Well, I guess it would be nice to have kids," Hiccup said slowly. "But Astrid wants nothing to do with me and being a mom is definitely the last thing she'd want to be. You won't catch someone like her changing any diapers."
"You might be surprised," Gobber said. "I for one think Astrid would make a great mom. With that double-bladed axe in her hands, she'd shield you and your little ones from any harm."
"Little ones maybe," Hiccup replied. "Me, never. She probably wouldn't wink a blink if a dragon came in through the door right now and bit my head off."
Just then, a series of horns rang out into the air which made Hiccup and Gobber look up.
"Speaking of dragons, I think a few of them are about to pay us yet another visit right now," Gobber said gravely.
Gobber's right, Hiccup thought. Sure enough, he could hear the familiar calls of the usual dragons that came to raid Berk followed by the shouts of the people.
Gobber removed his featherduster from his left stump and replaced it with a mace.
"Hiccup, stay in the stall," he ordered.
"Well, where are you going?" Hiccup asked.
"To help our people," Gobber answered. "What with your dad away, somebody's got to."
"Take the Cata-bow-shot with you," Hiccup suggested. "You might need it."
"Maybe some other time," Gobber said. "Just stay here."
"Why can't I come with you and help?" Hiccup asked.
"Because you're too young, helpless and unexperienced," Gobber answered hastily.
"Gobber!" Hiccup said, sounding hurt.
Gobber looked a bit sorry for saying that. "Sorry I said that lad. But if I let you go out there, you might get hurt or killed or something worse and your dad would have my head on a silver platter if that happened."
Hiccup nodded reluctantly. "I guess you're right."
Gobber nodded. "Look, I'll just go help decapitate one dragon…or two and I'll be right back."
"You promise?"
"I promise. You just stay right where you're standing...right in here…Ah, what am I saying? You know what I mean."
Then he whirled around and charged out of the stall with his mace raised in the air.
"AAAAARRRRRGH!"
"Please hurry back," Hiccup said quietly.
…..
Great Hall
In front of the Great Hall's large fireplace, Astrid ran a rag across the left blade of her axe. Pulling the blade away from the blade, she looked at her reflection upon it and grinned.
"Perfect," she said to herself.
No sooner had she said that than a blob of runny mashed potatoes splashed against it.
Astrid's eyes bulged before she groaned. She didn't need telling twice of who threw those potatoes.
"Ruff! Tuff!"
She looked over towards one of the tables where the twins whose faces were dripping with runny potatoes were sitting. They both looked at her with oh-crap looks as they held up a handful of potatoes.
"We weren't having a food fight," Tuff said with a sheepish smile.
"Then how did these potatoes get on my axe?" Astrid demanded, holding up her dripping axe. "They couldn't have just flown out of their bowl and landed on it. Now I have to clean it all over again"
She sighed exasperatedly as she picked up the rag again and wiped the potatoes off.
"What's the point of cleaning it if it's only gonna get dirty again?" Ruff pointed out.
"Yeah, aren't axes supposed to get dirty?" Tuff added. "People always use them to kill wild animals and enemies and the blades always get covered in blood and organs and whatever else is inside of them."
A coughing sound came from another table.
The cough had come from Fishlegs who was sitting at the table with a large book laid out in front of him.
"No need to make my dinner come out with all your talk of blood and organs," the chubby boy complained.
"Ah, poor little Fishwegs, feeling sick from talk about what we Vikings do all the time – killing," Ruffnut said in a mocking voice as she and her brother approached.
"Yeah, sis, too bad he'd rather spend his time reading instead of killing like he's expected to once we're all old enough," Tuff said.
"So whatcha reading about now, Fishy?" Ruffnut asked, trying to peer over Fishlegs' pudgy shoulder. "Fairies and flowers?"
"Bunnies and kittens?" Tuffnut asked.
"None of those," Fishlegs said. "This is something much more exciting and I only just read the first three pages. This is the official Book of Dragons."
"Book of Dragons?" Ruffnut said.
"I didn't know there a book about dragons," Tuffnut said. "Usually everyone just kills them instead of reading about them."
"Yeah, and killing them is what we're going to learn to do once we're old enough," Ruffnut said.
"Well, until that time comes, I'm going to be memorizing every single fact about them," Fishlegs said. "You guys care to join me?"
"Are you kidding?" Ruff asked, disgusted.
"What's so fun about sitting on your butt and staring at words and pictures when you could be slishing and slashing?" Tuffnut asked.
"That's what we should be doing right now," Ruff said, grabbing Tuff's arm and dragging him away. "Come on, bro."
Fishlegs shrugged as he watched the twins walk away. "Oh, well. Your loss." He looked over at Astrid. "What about you, Astrid? You wanna read this too? I just started reading about the Tidal Class."
"Maybe some other time, Fishlegs," Astrid said, as she continued cleaning her axe.
Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looking up, she saw, to her annoyance, that the hand belonged to Snotlout.
"Good choice, Astrid," Snotlout commented. "Who needs literature, history, math and all that brainiac mumbo-jumbo when you could be bulking up to gain 2,000 pounds of muscle?" He flexed out his arm. "Not to mention keeping up with the latest hair fashions." He removed his ram-horned helmet, licked his hand and ran it across his black hair.
Astrid gave Snotlout a look that said he was the most stupidest person in the world.
"You'd be surprised, Snotlout," Fishlegs said. "I for one think brains are just as important as muscles…and hair. If you could take the time to learn about the dragons' strengths and weaknesses, it could help you defeat them a lot faster even more so than practicing axe-throwing or push-ups."
"Nerd talk, huh, Astrid?" Snotlout whispered to Astrid, as he nudged her on the elbow.
The sound of horns blaring from outside interrupted the conversation.
Astrid looked toward the doors that were opened ajar as she listened to the alarms.
Those horns meant one thing.
"All adults to the outside and all children stay inside!" Ingrid Hofferson called. "It's probably another dragon raid!"
All the adults in the Great Hall stopped what they were doing, got out of their seats and started racing out the door.
"I'm coming with you, Mom," Astrid said, running to her mother.
"No, Astrid," Ingrid replied. "You stay in here with the other kids."
"But I wanna help!" Astrid protested.
"Not tonight," her mother said firmly. "You're still not ready."
And so Ingrid hurried out the doors to join the rest of the adults.
"No fair!" Astrid shouted, stomping her foot.
Snotlout approached her again and put his arm around her.
"Don't worry, Astrid. You and I will get our chance to chase the dragons way soon enough."
Astrid pulled his arm away from her shoulder and glared at the doorway, still angry that she was not given a chance to help.
"I hope it's sooner," she murmured.
…
Cliffs on top of the Great Hall
What happened next was quite a spectacle in Toothless' eyes.
No sooner had the mass of dragons arrived on the island then strange sounds rang throughout the island.
The strange sounds were a series of deep, blaring sounds kind of like the sound a whale would make. But there weren't any whales around. With his ears perked up, he followed the blaring sounds towards one of the high cliffs of the island. He could make out what looked like giant conch shells and a few creatures were standing up straight behind them. But the creatures were too far away for Toothless to see what they looked like.
Then he could hear excited cries coming from within the cave. He peeked over the small, cramped cliff he was still roosting on and watched as several creatures descended out of the cave's entrance, past the monster-shaped rocks and the flaming sticks and down the straightly-cut slope.
These creatures, Toothless decided, were what dwelled on this island. But they were unlike any creatures Toothless had ever seen. Each one was running on their hind legs instead of on all fours like most creatures. They only had bits of fur – dark or light on their head and/or around the lower half of their faces while the rest of their body was completely furless. Covering their bodies were strange materials – some looked furry and others looked smooth. Horns stuck out on either side of their heads. Each horn on each creature's head was a different shape.
He watched as the creatures ran towards the strange woodpiles. Suddenly, more of the new creatures also crying excitedly emerged out of all the woodpiles of this new land and joined the ones that had left the cave.
Toothless tilted his head in surprise. So all of these woodpiles on this strange island did serve as shelters for these new creatures just like the den he and his family had shared on their old island.
Then he watched as a few two-legged creatures carrying flaming sticks ran towards to two half-moon shaped objects on top of tall sticks (like the ones at the cave's entrance only larger) standing in a clearing. They placed their flaming sticks against the top of the objects and the golden flames spread and grew larger. Then the new creatures pulled some vines on the side of the flaming objects and elevated them which made the sticks holding the flames grow taller and taller.
With the flaming sticks now hovering high above the new creatures and their woodpile homes, Toothless edged himself closer against the rocky wall to keep himself from being seen. But in the midst of all the excitement going on, nobody – not the other dragons or the two-legged creatures seemed to notice him.
The large fiery sticks in the center of the new land gave enough light for Toothless to see what was happening. From his cramped space, he could make out the different species of dragons that had arrived here: Deadly Nadders, Gronckles, Monstrous Nightmares and Hideous Zipplebacks. He looked all around if he could see any other Night Furies or any Whispering Deaths or even the tusked, poisonous dragons that had killed his parents and siblings. There were none. Just Gronckles, Nadders, Nightmares and Zipplebacks. Some of the dragons were carrying either fish or meat in their mouths or claws. Others didn't. In fact, the others were challenging the two-legged creatures.
Each two-legged creature carried a round piece of colorful wood in one front paw and an odd-looking stick in the other. Each odd stick looked different. Some sticks were tall with shiny, sharp material on either side of them. Other sticks were short with the shiny, sharp material sticking out of it and taking a much longer shape. Then there were other sticks attached to round rocks with sharp spikes all over them.
When some dragon either charged or shot fire out of their mouths at the new creatures, the new creatures held up the round, colored wood to protect themselves from the flames or the dragons' weight and then they would charge back and wave their shiny sticks at them or use them to strike the dragons.
Toothless looked towards a fierce-looking Monstrous Nightmare with fiery red scales challenged a two-legged with a stick with the shiny, sharp stuff on either side of it and blue-colored wood. Both the components stood their ground as they stood face to face. With a fierce cry, the two-legged charged at the Nightmare on its hind legs and the Nightmare charged back. The Nightmare struck the two-legged square in the chest before racing off.
As the two-legged fell on its back against the ground, to Toothless' surprise, its horns flew right off its head and rolled away from it.
At first Toothless was surprised by how the red Monstrous Nightmare was strong enough to knock the horns right off the two-legged's head. But as he squinted his eyes and took a closer look, he realized that the horns were attached to a curved, shiny half-moon shaped object. As the two-legged creature got back to its feet, it ran over towards the fallen horns attached to the object and placed it back on its head.
Looking around other areas, he saw more two-legged creatures that had been charged by their dragon components and had their horned objects knocked off their heads. Each creature reached out for the horned objects and placed them back on their heads.
So these creatures didn't really have horns on their heads like mountain goats or deer. They just attached the horns on either side of those half-moon shaped objects and wore them on their heads.
All his life, Toothless had seen many creatures big or small, harmless or dangerous. But never in all his life had he seen anything peculiar as these new creatures. Creatures that walked on their hind legs, dwelled in large, odd-shaped woodpiles and wore horned objects on their heads. And he had never seen anything as peculiar as their shiny sticks and round, colorful pieces of wood or the large contraptions they were using to hurl boulders at the dragons.
He had a desire to leave his hiding place and go out to help the dragons, to protect them from these new creatures. But somehow, his mother's warning before she was killed by the tusked dragons firmly kept him where he was.
"Go! Hide! Stay hidden! Don't let them see you!"
Yes, he had to remain where he was. He had to stay hidden from the new creatures. He had to keep them from seeing him.
However, he still had a plan to help the dragon herds and teach these two-leggeds a lesson for the way they were hurting or challenging them when all they were trying to do was survive. He was just waiting for the right moment of course. He knew exactly when the right moment would be and he couldn't wait to have those funny-looking creatures fooled.
So Toothless kept himself hidden against the small, cramped cliff and the battle between the dragons and the two-leggeds continued with their series of cries as the only sounds that the night winds were carrying.
…
Blacksmith Stall
Hiccup pressed the handle of his bellows, releasing air from its mouth and into the fire within the forge's stove which enlarged. Just because he couldn't fight the dragons, didn't mean he couldn't help the people. Some of the people would be coming here looking for weapons or having them repaired and providing and/or repairing was what he was willing to do.
"Hello? Gobber?"
Hiccup looked up. Standing by the window from the outside was Astrid's mother, Ingrid Hofferson.
"Good evening, Mrs. Hofferson," Hiccup greeted politely.
"Hiccup, where's Gobber?"
"He's out helping our people fight the dragons," Hiccup answered. "What with my dad away, somebody's got to." Notiching Ingrid's disappointed expression, he added, "But if there's anything I can do for you, I'm your man…or boy."
"Well, I don't suppose you could sharpen my sword for me," Ingrid said, holding out a sword and still looking disappointed.
"You got it," Hiccup said, still sounding polite.
Hiccup took the sword from Ingrid's hands and carried it to the grindstone. Pressing his foot on the pedal, he placed the sword against the rolling wheel-like stone, sparks emitting from the blade.
From of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the Cata-bow-shot near the doorway of his workshop and got an idea. After making sure the sword had been sharpened enough, he approached Ingrid.
"Hey, Mrs. Hofferson, I was wondering if you'd like to use the new Cata-bow-shot I just built to help you throw your sword," Hiccup suggested.
"Oh, Hiccup, not another one of your crazy contraptions," Ingrid said tiredly.
"You won't think it's crazy if you give it a chance," Hiccup insisted. "If you use it just right, the Cata-bow-shot will help your sword go right through a Gronckle's eye or a Zippleback's neck. Maybe even both its necks!"
Ingrid looked like she might consider his suggestion…but just took the newly-sharpened sword and said, "No thank you." Then she turned and ran off.
"Maybe next time then?" Hiccup called after her.
But Ingrid was too far away to even hear him.
"Okay, good luck!" Hiccup called before he slumped his shoulders and sighed in defeat.
…
Great Hall
With the Book of Dragons tucked under his arm, Fishlegs watched in horror as the twins and Snotlout made their way towards the Great Hall's doors. "What are you three doing?! The adults told us to stay inside!"
"We're not going outside," Ruff replied.
"We're gonna sit by the doors and listen to the action," Tuff added, sitting cross-legged and pressing his ear against the right door.
"Just because we're cooped up doesn't mean we can't enjoy the excitement," Snotlout said.
"But what if the dragons come bursting through the doors looking for food?" Fishlegs pointed out.
"Then it'll just have to deal with me," Astrid said, standing beside Fishlegs and holding her axe in front of her.
"You heard your mother," Fishlegs said. "You're still not ready even if you are good with that axe."
"Maybe Mom doesn't think so but I feel ready," Astrid insisted, keeping her grip on the axe handle tight.
"But you haven't even learned the limited number of shots each dragon have! Or which ones might be poisonous or non-poisonous!" Fishlegs said. He opened the book and turned the pages. "I'd better read faster."
Astrid could only shoot looks of annoyance at Fishlegs who was frantically skimming his finger down the open pages and Snotlout and the twins who sat with their ears pressed against the doors.
"Why am I always surrounded by muttonheads?" she wondered to herself.
…
Cliffs on top of the Great Hall
Toothless remained in his perch and watched the battle of the dragons and the strange, new creatures. He watched as the new creatures charged at the dragons with their colorful round wood and shiny sticks. He watched as the dragons defended themselves with their flames and strength.
Nadders released their spikes from their tails, Zipplebacks exhaled green gas and/or sparks which caused explosions, Gronckles spewed lava from their mouths and Nightmares shot out gel-like flames.
Some of the dragons' flames caught onto the new creatures woodpile homes causing them to spread. Some of the creatures doused as many flames as they could with water they threw from small wooden objects.
Before long, many of the dragons began taking off and flying away from the new creatures and their woodpiles. A lot of them still carried meat or fish with their teeth or claws. As the dragon herds departed, the two-legged creatures began let out happy, relieved cries and waving their furless, strapped front paws.
This was the moment Toothless had been waiting for.
He had been waiting for the dragons to leave and when they did, the two-legged creatures would think they were all gone which they did right now.
But Toothless knew they were wrong. Only one dragon remained and that was him.
So Toothless stood up, spread his wings and flew up towards the air. He flew higher and higher for a few moments right before he began swooping downwards towards the two-legged's land.
Opening his mouth, he let out a high-pitched shriek as tiny violet sparks ignited within his throat.
He flew lower and lower and released his plasma blast against one of the tall flaming sticks in the clearing of the land and as it exploded against the tall stick, he flew past it just as it fell sideways and struck the ground.
As Toothless rapidly flew away from the cliff base of woodpiles and over the ocean, he could hear the surprised, panicked cries the two-leggeds made.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?!"
"OUT OF THE WAY!"
"WHAT IS THAT THING?!"
"DID ANYONE SEE IT?!"
Toothless whirled around keeping a safe distance away from the cliff-base but he still had a good mind to teach these new creatures a lesson in hurting the dragons even if they weren't his kind. After all, they had acted no differently than the tusked dragons who took his family or the Whispering Death he had long ago became rivals with.
Turning back around, he charged towards the rock-hurling contraptions, let out his high shriek again as he released yet another plasma blast at it and struck it right on target.
"LOOK OUT!"
"GET DOWN!"
"STAND BACK!"
The two-legged creatures cried out in alarm again as splinters of wood and shiny material fell towards the ground courtesy of Toothless' well-aimed plasma blast.
Still flying, Toothless nodded as he looked back towards the new creature's island and listened to their cries.
Serves them right.
Then he looked up towards the direction the other dragons had just taken. Although they were now far away from the new island, Toothless could still make out their many, many shapes against the dark night sky.
They must be going to their own home, Toothless decided.
Toothless started picking up the pace to catch up with these other dragons and follow them back to their own home. There was no way he was going to spend the night on that crazy island full of even crazier creatures.
…
Blacksmith Stall
Throughout the whole dragon raid, Hiccup kept himself busy providing some Vikings with weapons or sharpening them or repairing them. He kept encouraging his customers to use the Cata-bow-shot but they all refused or declined.
They said things like "no thank you" or "too weird-looking" or "I prefer fighting the old-fashioned way like my forefathers".
And worst of all, the raid and battle seemed to be over now.
Hiccup could see several dragons flying away from the village and taking off into the air. In some of the dragons' mouths or claws were the fish or meat they had managed to steal. As they disappeared into the night sky, cheers of the people rang out into the air.
Hiccup knew he should be celebrating as well now that the dragons were gone but he was too disappointed to celebrate. Disappointed that he was still too young and inexperienced to help fight the beasts. Disappointed that nobody wanted to try out his new machine. A whole raid went by and the Cata-bow-shot had not been used or tried out at all.
"Maybe next time," he murmured to himself.
But not even his own reassurance cheered him up. It was only a matter of time before the next raid and nobody on Berk could predict when that would be.
His depression and disappointment instantly vanished when a new sound rang out over the people's cheers. A sound he had never heard before in his life.
A sort of high-pitched sound that seemed to be descending from the clouds and the sound made his spine shiver with terror.
Following the high-pitched sound was the sound of an explosion.
Hiccup rushed to the window and saw that a violet-colored blast had struck one of the torches in the town square. Rushing past the evaporating violet blast and the struck torch was a…a…
He had no idea what it was and whatever it was, it went by so fast he didn't even get a good look at it.
As whatever the new creature was had swooped down from the sky and blasted the torch, the people's cheers were replaced by horrified screams and panicked exclamations.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?!"
"OUT OF THE WAY!"
"WHAT IS THAT THING?!"
"DID ANYONE SEE IT?!"
Everybody ran as fast as they could to avoid the tall torch that fell sideways and landed on the ground causing the tip of the giant flames to catch onto the grass.
Then Hiccup heard the new high-pitched sound again.
This time, he bolted through the threshold of his workshop and under his desk.
From his hiding place, he could hear another distant explosion as though the new dragon had struck something else followed by more shouts and screams.
"LOOK OUT!"
"GET DOWN!"
"STAND BACK!"
Hiccup curled himself in fetal position as he listened to the thudding sounds that followed the explosion and the people's screams.
Tears squeezed out of his tightly shut eyes.
He wished his dad were here. He wished Gobber was here. He wished his dead mom was here. He wished anyone was here.
…
Great Hall
Throughout the dragon raid, Astrid remained where she was: Standing on the stone floor of the Great Hall with her axe held out, ready to use it against any dragon that might find its way into the Great Hall.
Meanwhile, Fishlegs kept his eyes glued to runes and illustrations in the faded pages of the Book of Dragons, obviously still attempting to memorize everything about the creatures. Snotlout and the twins were still sitting against the doors with their ears pressed against them, cocky smiles on their faces.
To Astrid's disappointment however, the cries of the dragons began fading away. That had to mean that they were going away. The only sounds that could be heard from outside now where the cheers of the people.
"Aw, man, it's all over now," Tuffnut complained.
"These battles are way too short," Snotlout said in agreement.
"And we don't even know when the dragons will be back for more!" Ruffnut whined.
"And until they do, we'll have to learn every single statistic, fact, strength and weakness about them," Fishlegs said importantly as he shut the book and tucked it back under his arm.
Astrid made a look of confusion as she thought she heard another sound over the people's cheers outside.
"You guys hear that?" she said.
"Hear what?" Tuff asked.
"Shh!" Astrid shushed.
She put a hand to her ear as she tried to make out the new sound. Even Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout looked at each other in confusion and even fear as they too listened to the new sound.
Astrid had never heard this particular sound before. It started off quietly at first before it grew louder and louder – a sort of high-pitched shriek.
To Astrid's surprise, the sound made her spine shiver and her heart pound rapidly which rarely ever happened to her.
"HIDE!" Fishlegs shouted.
The blonde, chubby boy ran for the farthest part of the Great Hall still carrying the dragon book. Snotlout and the twins followed him as an explosion from outside followed the high sound and Astrid listened as the people outside went from cheering to shouting and panicking.
She could hear them shouting things like "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" or "OUT OF THE WAY!" and "WHAT IS THAT THING?!" and also "DID ANYONE SEE IT?!"
Astrid stood where she was listening and pondering what could have made that high shriek. With the exception of the Flightmare every ten years and the dragon that had carried off the Chief's late wife, Berk was mainly raided by Nadders, Nightmares, Gronckles and Zipplebacks. New dragons rarely visited the island. Astrid gripped her axe so tightly, she was sure she was going to snap it in half. Whatever new dragon had made that sound, she'd be ready for it.
And yet, though she tried to feel brave, the high-pitched sound and the explosion had seemed to fill her with a fear unlike any fear she had ever felt in her life. And obviously, that new sound was filling all the Berkians with fear.
She glanced over in annoyance as Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff and Fishlegs pushed and shoved at each other under a table they were hiding under.
"Move over!" Tuffnut complained.
"I was here first!" Ruffnut shouted.
"Find some other table to hide under, Fishface! You and your big belly are hogging up the space!" Snotlout grumbled.
"At least I have a big belly and not a crush on my hair and muscles!" Fishlegs retorted.
Astrid shook her head before turning her attention to the still closed doors, still determined to face the new dragon, whatever and wherever it was.
It wasn't long before she heard the high-pitched shriek and another explosion and more panicked cries outside.
"LOOK OUT!"
"GET DOWN!"
"STAND BACK!"
This time, Astrid's eyes widened in fear and she turned around and ran towards a table and crawled underneath it. She couldn't believe she was hiding under a table like a cowardly cat but there was something about that new sound. Something that made her and anyone else that heard it want to hide.
When Fishlegs, the twins and Snotlout also heard the sound again, all four of them stopped struggling and shoving and held each other tightly as they uttered only one word:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
…
Blacksmith Stall
All Hiccup could hear outside was silence now. But he dared not crawled out from under his desk in case whatever made that new sound was still around. Not that the new creature couldn't find him under his desk.
That sound had never made him so scared in his entire life. He felt as if he were re-living the day of his mother's disappearance all over again. He could almost see the yellow eyes glowing in the darkness, feel the tiny prick against his chin and hear his parent's voices calling out each other's names in his head.
He could hear another sound – not a sound in his head but a real sound: footsteps.
Hiccup curled up even more as he heard the footsteps get closer and closer.
And stopped.
"Hiccup?"
Hiccup looked up. That was Gobber's voice.
"Hiccup, where are you?! Hiccup?!"
"In here, Gobber!" Hiccup called, looking up but still remaining curled up.
Hiccup watched as Gobber's good foot and peg leg entered the room and stopped in front of the desk.
"Where are you, Hiccup?"
"Under the desk."
Gobber knelt down and Hiccup felt his heart fill with relief at the sight of Gobber's worried face.
"Are you all right, laddie?"
"I'm all right," Hiccup said, as he slowly crawled out from under his desk. "A little scared but all right."
"Well, come here," Gobber offered, putting his good hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
Cracking a smile and shedding more tears, Hiccup wrapped his arms around Gobber who placed his good hand behind his back, keeping the mace on his left stump hanging on the floor. Although Gobber was a bit strict (not as strict as his dad but still strict nonetheless) and didn't fully understand him as everyone else did, Hiccup knew he could always rely on him for some comfort like what he was giving him right now.
"It's all over now," Gobber continued softly. "A few burned houses, one damaged catapult and the fallen torch scorched up a good section of the field. But at least nobody's seriously hurt, the fire brigade managed to douse all the flames before they could spread any further and all the dragons have gone away…for now anyway."
"Even the new dragon is gone?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes, even the new dragon is gone," Gobber reassured him. Then he added grimly, "But I doubt we've seen the last of him…or her."
"What do you think it was?" Hiccup asked, pulling away and looking at Gobber.
"I'm not sure but I have a hunch," Gobber replied. He stood up. "Come on, lad. I'll walk you home."
"But I haven't even finished sweeping like you wanted me to," Hiccup said.
"I'll do the rest," Gobber offered. "You went through enough for one night."
"Thanks," Hiccup said gratefully.
"But don't expect me to finish your chores for you every time this happens," Gobber added which made Hiccup crack a smile.
Holding Gobber's good hand tightly, Hiccup walked beside him as they left the forge and walked all the way back to his house.
"Now try to get some sleep," Gobber advised as they walked over the threshold. "I've got to go to the Great Hall and discuss tonight's events with the people."
"Do you think they might also talk about the new dragon?" Hiccup asked.
"I know for a fact they will," Gobber said.
"Why don't I come with you?" Hiccup asked. "Then we'll find out together what dragon it was."
"Sorry, Hiccup," Gobber said apologetically. "As much as I'd like to take you along, these meetings are for people who are over 16."
"But Gobber-!" Hiccup protested.
"No buts," Gobber said, shooing Hiccup up the stairs. "Now off to bed with you. You'll find out what the new dragon was in the morning."
Sighing, Hiccup hurried up the steps to his room and approached his bed. But instead of climbing into the bed, he stood still and listened to the sound of the front door shutting. Then he waited for about a minute or two then he quietly descended down the stairs and opened the door. Looking around cautiously and after seeing that the coast was clear, he headed towards the Great Hall. Good thing it was just a short walk from his house to there.
…
Great Hall
Several minutes had passed since the sounds of the high-pitched shriek and the explosions that followed it. Now Astrid could hear nothing but silence. With a suspicious look, she crawled out from under her table and looked around, keeping her eyes and ears open.
"Psst!"
Astrid turned to the table in which Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins were still hiding under. They all looked still spooked.
"Can you hear anything, Astrid?" Fishlegs whispered.
"No, I think it's gone now, whatever it was," Astrid answered, though she wasn't too sure.
"What if that's exactly what it wants you to think?" Fishlegs suggested fearfully. "What if its hiding out there and just tricking you into thinking it's gone before it pops out and gets you?"
"He'd have to be a very smart dragon to do something like that," Astrid said grimly.
"Even smarter than humans," Fishlegs said a dreaded look.
Snotlout scoffed. "That's ridiculous. No animal could be smarter than humans."
"I agree, Snotty," Tuffnut said. "We humans are the super duper most intelligent species there ever was."
"Shh," Astrid said, holding up a hand. "I hear something coming up the stairs."
"It's the new dragon, I knew it," Fishlegs squeaked, crouching even further under the table.
"You big baby, when are you gonna man up like a real Viking should?" Snotlout taunted.
"Shush!" Astrid hissed.
The footsteps sounded closer but Astrid could hear something else: the murmurs and chit-chat of people.
The doors opened and out stepped…the adults.
"It's just the adults," Astrid said turning to the other kids.
"Oh thank Thor and Odin and Freya and Frigga and even Loki and all the gods and goddesses we worship," Fishlegs said, crawling out and still hugging the dragon book.
Gobber walked away from the arriving crowd and approached the kids.
"You kids all right?" Gobber asked.
"I'm fine, Gobber but I don't know about the rest," Astrid said importantly as she glanced over at the other kids emerging from under the table.
"Are they all gone, Gobber? All the dragons? Is the new one gone too?" Fishlegs asked frantically.
"Keep your skivvies on Fishlegs," Gobber said. "Yes, I'm sure all the dragons are gone. Even the new one." He looked down at the book Fishlegs was still holding. "Ah, I see you found my great-great-great-grandfather Bork's dragon book."
Fishlegs eye's widened and looked down at the book in horror as if it were a very priceless and very breakable antique then held out the book to Gobber. "I'm sorry, Gobber. I swear I had no idea it was your great-great-great-grandpa's book! I saw it lying on the table and I thought it would teach me all the different species of dragons and everything to know about them."
But Gobber smiled and laughed as he took the book in his good hand. "Don't apologize, Fishlegs. I'm glad you were reading it."
"You are?" Fishlegs asked with a relieved smile.
"Of course," Gobber said. "And although I'm not much of a bookworm myself, reading about the all the dragons out there and learning everything about them will be very helpful for you in the future."
Astrid looked at the blacksmith thoughtfully. If Gobber and Fishlegs agreed that reading this Book of Dragons would be helpful, then maybe she should give reading it a try. Judging by the looks of the twins and Snotlout, she could tell that they still didn't want to even lay a finger on the book's cover or pages.
"Now you youngsters better skedaddle back to your houses," Gobber advised. "We older Vikings need to have a few words with each other about this particular raid."
"Aw, do we have to?" Ruff complained.
"Yes, you do," Gobber said firmly.
"But we wanna hear what you guys have to say!" Tuff protested.
"Good night!" Gobber said, pointing to the doorway with the mace attached to his left arm and making his tone perfectly clear that he didn't want any arguments.
Astrid followed right behind the other kids as they made their way to the doors. She and Fishlegs walked with straight postures to show how obedient they were willing to be. In front of them, the twins and Snotlout had their shoulders slumped, obviously bummed that they couldn't be part of the adults' meeting.
Astrid remained behind her peers as they made their way through the doors and descended down the stone steps. As they were half-way down the steps, Astrid was still following the group when she noticed Hiccup among them.
None of the other kids seemed to notice him but she sure did. She didn't remember Hiccup being in the Great Hall. Usually, he just spent his evenings in his own house or in Gobber's stall. Yeah, he had to have been in either one of those places throughout the dragon raid.
As she kept her eyes on him as he went right past her, she realized that he was not walking down the steps like the rest of them but going up instead. And he was going up towards the doors.
"Where are you going?" she asked him suspiciously.
Hiccup stopped walking and turned to her with an I'm-in-trouble look. The other kids stopped walking and looked up at her and Hiccup.
"Uh…I'm getting my nightly steps in?" Hiccup replied with a sheepish smile.
Astrid sent him a look that told him she wasn't buying it.
"(Sigh) I'm going to stand behind the doors and listen what the adults have to say in there," Hiccup said.
"What?" Fishlegs squeaked, horrified. "You can't do that! If any of the adults catch you listening in on their private conversation, you'll get in trouble."
"In trouble, huh?" Snotlout said, grinning sneakily and rubbing his hands. "This I gotta see."
"Me too," Tuffnut piped up. "For once, someone else will be in trouble and not us."
"Yeah and that someone will be Hiccup," Ruffnut said in agreement.
Astrid looked at the kids in annoyance.
"I don't care," Hiccup said, shrugging.
This caused the other kids to look at him with surprised looks.
"You don't care if you'll get in trouble?" Fishlegs asked, couldn't believing what Hiccup was willing to do.
Even Astrid couldn't believe it herself.
"I gotta find out what that new dragon is once and for all," Hiccup said insistently.
"Well, that's exactly what we want to know too," Tuffnut said. "And if you're going, I'm going."
"I'm going too," Ruffnut announced.
"As I always say, I'm practically old enough to make my own choices so I'm going too," Snotlout said.
"What happened to watching me get in trouble?" Hiccup asked.
"Why should the Chief's son be the only one who gets to know what the new dragon is?" Snotlout replied. "We other kids have the right to know too so we're all going up to find out, period."
"No, no, no, then you'll all get in trouble," Fishlegs pleaded.
"Hey, we get in trouble all the time," Tuff said, shrugging.
"Yeah, and we're used to it," Ruff added.
"And besides, if we do get caught, we'll just tell them it was all Hiccup's idea and he'll take all the blame," Snotlout said.
"Hey!" Hiccup said, annoyed.
"Well, it is," Snotlout pointed out.
And so Hiccup, Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout quietly continued their way up the stairs. Shaking her head, Astrid started to follow.
"You're not going up too, are you, Astrid?" Fishlegs squeaked, looking more horrified by the minute.
"Somebody's gotta keep an eye on those muttonheads," Astrid said. "Why don't you go home if you're so scared of getting in trouble, Fishlegs?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Fishlegs said. "Whatever those adults have to say, I'll find out tomorrow."
And so Astrid descended up the stairs and joined Hiccup, Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout by the doors.
"Well, look who's come to join us," Snotlout said flirtatiously.
"Just so you know, I'm not joining any of you muttonheads because I'm curious to know what the new dragon was," Astrid pointed out irritably. "I'm just here to make sure you don't get into trouble."
"Where's the fun in that?" Tuffnut asked.
Meanwhile, Fishlegs was standing in the middle of the steps, straining to figure out whether to go home or join the other kids.
"Just go home, Fishlegs," he told himself, taking single step down. "It's the right thing to do. Whatever the adults have to say is none of your business. They'll just tell you what they discussed in the morning."
He tried to take another step down but…
…instead he just whirled around and bolted up the steps and didn't stop until he stood behind the rest of the group.
Astrid turned to him with an annoyed look and put a finger to her lips.
"Shhh!"
"All right, everyone," came Gobber's voice from inside. "I know we've all had a bit of a shock tonight but the good news is none of us are hurt."
"Aye, no thanks to that Night Fury," Spitelout Jorgenson's voice retorted.
"Night Fury?!" Hiccup exclaimed.
Fishlegs pressed his large hand to Hiccup's mouth and hissed, "Shhh!"
Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff snickered.
"Shush!" Fishlegs shot back.
Astrid rolled her eyes in aggravation before pressing her ear to the doors again.
"Night Fury?" she heard Gobber say in a confused way. "Oh, you mean the new dragon."
"Well, duh," Spitelout shot back.
"Now, Spitelout, we don't know for sure if the new dragon was a Night Fury," Gobber said. "There are all kinds of dragons out there and it could have been anything. A Whispering Death, maybe. Or a Timberjack. Maybe even a Changewing."
"Don't be silly, Gobber," Spitelout said. "I may not be an expert on the different dragon species but everyone on this island knows that there's only one dragon out there that blends in with the night sky and flies off in a fury. Hence the name Night Fury."
"I must say that I agree with you, Spitelout." That was her mom, Ingrid's voice. "It had to have been a Night Fury."
Agreements began to fill up the interior of the Great Hall.
"This has never happened before."
"I hoped we'd never have to face that kind of dragon."
Astrid and the other kids looked at each other as they stood outside the door. They hardly got along with each other but even they refused to believe it.
For the first time in the seven generations they lived here, Berk had officially been attacked by a Night Fury.