Hiccup would not rate his stay in the Berk jail favorably. It is a small building with only enough room inside for four cramped cells. Meals are being brought to him by Silent Sven, leaving him absolutely no one to talk to. It could definitely be worse – his meals could be brought by someone ready to hurl insults and call him a traitor for his actions with the Monstrous Nightmare. Still, he is lonely and cold. The thin blanket on his cot does not compare to the warm, thick furs on his bed at home.
Long past when the sun had set, Hiccup is still tossing and turning, battling the chill and the loneliness. It is his second night here and he is missing Toothless so much, his chest aches. When the silence is broken by the door creaking open, Hiccup is convinced this is it for him. Someone must have gotten tired of waiting for his father to make a decision and figured they should just get rid of him themselves. He sits up, clutching the blanket tightly.
"…Hiccup?"
Exhaling in relief, he lets his shoulders drop. "Astrid."
Hiccup rises, going to stand at the bars of his cell. Astrid comes to stand across from him. Looking him over, she almost asks how he is doing, but she bites the words back. There is no point – he is fine physically speaking, but everything else has gone so wrong.
"What you did with the Monstrous Nightmare – Hiccup it was amazing. Even with all the chaos, you still got that dragon to trust you. Snotlout said it was probably the most badass thing he has ever seen."
Hiccup smiles wryly, letting his forehead rest on the bars. "Too bad it wasn't enough." He takes a deep breath before lifting his head. "What's been going on out there?"
"It's not great," she admits with a slight wince. "Some people are calling you a traitor. More are saying you've gone crazy. But most people are just confused; they don't know what to make of what they saw."
"And my father?"
She shrugs, uncertain. "People have been giving him a wide berth when he's out. Nobody wants to say the wrong thing and set him off. But he's absent most of the time, just staying home. It seems like he's been talking to Gobber a lot. Honestly, no one really knows how he is."
Maybe he should be comforted by the fact that his father seems conflicted about what has happened, but the information only causes anger to swell within him. While he is locked in a cell, his dad is moping. It hardly seems fair, considering that his father is the reason he's been imprisoned in the first place.
"What about Toothless?" Hiccup asks, changing the subject, not wanting to think about his dad. "Is he safe?"
"He's fine," Astrid reassures. "No one else has found out about him."
This time, he lets his head fall against the bars out of relief. As long as Toothless is safe, not everything is in shambles.
"But Hiccup, I don't know how much longer I can keep him in the cove. It has been days since he's seen you. I can tell he is worried." The 'I am too' goes unspoken, but he sees it on her face very clearly. "What's the plan?"
Hiccup almost wants to laugh. Plan? The plan was to calm the Nightmare down in front of everyone and look where that got him. In the face of a generations long war, one little display of peace simply wasn't enough. But maybe…
"I'm going to need you to bust me out of here."
Astrid nods without hesitation. Her willingness to break the law for him is surprising.
"Gobber has a set of keys he keeps in the forge. He's probably keeping it locked up, but there's a loose board around the back where you can sneak in." He explains. "Can you bring Toothless to the edge of town tomorrow night?"
Astrid reaches out to grip the bars of the cell. "I can, but Hiccup… you're not going with your Plan B, right? You're not just going to hop on Toothless and disappear?"
Hiccup grasps the bars, his hold on them just above hers. "Of course not. I promised if that happened, I'd take you with me, remember?" He lets his hand slide down just enough that his pinkie brushes the tops of her knuckles. Their eyes lock onto the motion, letting it comfort both of them equally. Neither of them are brave enough to do more.
Astrid takes a deep breath and nods before pulling her hand back. "I'll see you tomorrow night."
Then she's gone, and Hiccup falls asleep thinking of determined blue eyes and soft hesitant smiles.
It is closer to dawn than dusk when Hiccup hears the jail door creak open. He had begun to think something had happened, maybe Astrid had been caught or maybe she just decided not to come. At her arrival, he lets out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.
"Sorry it took so long," Astrid says while approaching his cell. "Gobber fell asleep in the forge and I had to wait for him to snore himself awake and go home before I could get the keys."
"It's okay," Hiccup says as Astrid starts trying out different keys in the lock. "You made it; that's what matters."
When his cell door swings open, Astrid grabs his hand and drags him outside. "Fishlegs is waiting with Toothless at the edge of the woods."
"You got Fishlegs to stay up this late?" He's a little surprised. Of all the teens, Fishlegs is the one who sees the most importance in getting a full night's rest.
"Well, someone had to wait with Toothless," she says. "Otherwise he would have followed me into town. Plus, Fishlegs knows how to hook up the flight equipment."
Together, they sneak through the village. Astrid keeps one hand wrapped around Hiccup's and the other clutching the keys to keep them from jingling. The moon is merely a sliver in the sky, helping to conceal them with the cover of darkness and as they slip past, houses remain unlit and silent. When the tree line comes into view, Hiccup can see a dark shadow that he knows must be his best friend. As soon as Toothless sees them approaching, he begins to wriggle with excitement. Hiccup drops Astrid's hand and rushes forward, throwing his arms around the Night Fury once he is close enough. Toothless eagerly returns the embrace, pulling his chin down to rest across Hiccup's back and tucking him in close.
"I missed you too, Bud." Hiccup whispers against his smooth scales.
"Thank Thor you guys made it," Fishlegs says as Astrid walks up to join them. "I was worried you'd been caught."
Astrid shakes her head, dismissing his concerns. She looks Toothless up and down, but it's difficult to make out any details against his pitch scales with so little light. "Did you get all his flight equipment hooked up?" She asks.
Fishlegs nods. "I think I did it correctly, but Hiccup, you might want to double check it – just to be safe."
Letting go of Toothless, Hiccup begins to look everything over, making sure all the buckles are secure and the straps are connected properly. Once it has all been checked, he turns and gives Fishlegs a nod of approval. "It looks good, Fishlegs. You did a great job."
A small smiles spreads across Fishlegs' face and he shrugs his shoulders a bit bashfully. "Glad I could help. But if you don't need anything else, I think I should be getting home."
Astrid waves him off. "Go on ahead," she says. "If you're lucky, you might be able to catch a few hours of sleep before sunrise."
Fishlegs nods, waving goodbye to both of them before petting Toothless and disappearing into town.
"So, what is your plan exactly?" Astrid asks now that they are alone. "Since you swear you have one and aren't just planning on leaving."
Hiccup climbs into the saddle and she looks up at him, crossing her arms over her chest. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment, feeling the weight of his plan like a physical burden. Astrid can see the struggle in the furrow of his brows. She reaches out her hand and rests it on his wrist.
Hiccup opens his eyes at the contact and looks down, locking eyes with her. "I'm going to put an end to the war." He sounds sad as he says it, and maybe already a bit defeated. "I have to try."
The shock of the statement has her hand slipping from his arm. Several emotions cross her face in quick succession once his words sink in: confusion, anger, fear. Hiccup doesn't give her a chance to collect her thoughts and argue with him. Clicking the foot pedal into place, he and Toothless take off. He knows exactly what she would have said anyway, even without knowing about the giant dragon awaiting him at the nest.
Hiccup, that is crazy! How do you plan to stop a generations-long war by yourself? You shouldn't go alone. You'll get yourself killed!
As Astrid's form grows smaller behind them and the island below changes to ocean, he has to face reality. He doesn't know how he is going to take down a dragon the size of a mountain. He doesn't know if he will survive. But he knows he has to do this without her – without all of them. Hiccup and Toothless started this journey by doing something crazy and unthinkable – becoming friends – and now they need to do something crazy and unthinkable again. Sitting by and letting the war continue is no longer an option. The days of dragons and Vikings brutally killing one another need to end.
Hiccup sighs and leans forward, resting his forehead against Toothless' neck. "I'm sorry I'm dragging you back here bud."
The returning croon is reassuring, as if to say We are in this together.
Hiccup sits up, relishing in the current peace of the moment. The sea below is gentle, the air cool, the stars endless. "You know Toothless, if we can pull this off, everything's gonna change – it has to." He allows himself to imagine for a moment. "You won't have to hide anymore. You can stay with me and we'll show everyone how amazing dragons are."
Toothless lets out a happy warble as Hiccup pictures a possible future for them: his dad scratching Toothless' behind the ear, getting out of bed for an early morning flight without having to sneak out, spending time with his friends as they openly study dragons together and make Berk a better place. Hiccup lets that image and the feel of Toothless beneath him keep him steady as they near their destination.
When they reach the fog, it is so dark, Hiccup can't see a thing. They must be weaving between the sea stacks and the wreckage of broken ships like last time, but his eyes are useless under these conditions. He places his trust in Toothless and focuses on their flight – attuning himself to Toothless' subtle body language to know how to adjust his tail fin.
The fog lessens when they reach the island on the other side. Rising tall in front of them is the mountain housing the queen dragon and her fearful subjects.
"We can't do anything while she's in there. The rock keeps her too well protected and doesn't give us room to maneuver. We'll have to draw her out."
They bank wide, coming around to the side of the mountain with the entrance they used last time they were here. Hiccup grips tightly onto the saddle and Toothless flies inside. Pitch darkness envelopes them, but Toothless takes the twists and turns confidently. It's not long before Hiccup can see a warm glow ahead and they are emerging in the large cavernous space. Like before, there are dragons crowded everywhere, but the pair doesn't bother with finding a place to land. Instead, the Night Fury dips low and fires off several shots into the depths, the purple glow of his blasts blending with the red-orange of the fire below. The roar that follows causes the rocky walls to tremble. Fearful of the queen's wrath, the other dragons leap from their perches and flee. Toothless doesn't stick around and follows the crowd out, weaving between their bodies to not be stuck at the back of the pack.
Outside, they stay low and watch as the enormous flock head up and away. Another roar rings out, though this time it is muffled by the layers of rock separating them from the source. A sharp crack rings out as a rift shoots up the side of the mountain, splitting it open. The queen bursts out second later, raining down massive amounts of rocky debris.
"Well, she's out." Hiccup yells.
They weave between the falling rocks and head higher, above the cloud of dust that has accompanied the destruction of the mountain. From up here, they can truly see just how big the queen really is. Based off the size of her head, Hiccup had known she was large, but not this monstrously gigantic. Her form takes up much of the rocky beach, and although the mountain is heavily damaged, it is still standing tall behind her as rocks continue to break away and tumble down. It doesn't give them much room to circle around for attacks, and they would have to split their attention between the queen and the falling rocks if they even tried it.
As they continue to hover overhead, Hiccup takes a moment to look her over. Though her eyes are small, she's got six of them, so her visibility has got to be pretty good. Seeing her large nostrils, he adds good sense of smell to the list. Her talons and teeth are bigger than he is, so he definitely needs to avoid those. The queen turns sharply and slams her club-like tail into the mountain; a large spray of rocks explodes from the impact. They'll definitely need to steer clear that too. She has a set of wings tucked up tightly against her back. They look a bit weak from disuse, but if she can use them, they can take the fight to the air. The other dragons have completely cleared out by now, and with her bulk, they will have the advantage when it comes to speed and maneuverability.
"We can't fight here down here bud." Hiccup says. "Let's see if we can get her in the air."
Toothless brings them up a little higher before diving down, aiming a powerful shot at her back. The force of the blast knocks her off balance and she stumbles before looking up for the source of the attack. Her eyes lock onto the pair and she throws her head back, letting out another ear-splitting roar. Unfurling her wings, she stretches them high above her before taking flight.
Seeing a dragon of that size take to the air is quite a sight. Hiccup had almost thought she wouldn't be able to get off the beach, grounded by her large size and weak wings, but they must be stronger than they look because it doesn't take long for her to come after them. Toothless lures her higher, until the three of them are nestled in the clouds.
It's not yet dawn, so the darkness continues to provide Hiccup and Toothless with additional cover. Free to maneuver in the open air, they circle the queen quickly and repeatedly, firing at her from multiple angles. Toothless is in his element, and even with her six eyes, she isn't able to spot them. Enraged, she takes a deep breath, building up gas in the back of her throat and thrashing around, releasing billowing flames all around her.
Caught off-guard by the sudden outburst, Hiccup and Toothless barely manage to duck out of a blast of fire. Before Hiccup can thank their luck, he hears the crackling of flames and looks back to see the leather tail fin has caught fire. This is bad. Without the tail fin they can't fly, and if they get grounded with the queen still after them, they don't stand a chance. They need to take her out now.
"All right bud, we're out of time!" Hiccup calls out.
He can feel the tension in Toothless' body. The Night Fury knows what crashing out of the sky is like, and the thought of doing it again with Hiccup is terrifying. But the dragon trusts his human. When Hiccup nudges him into a direct dive, he complies. When the queen dives after them, he holds. When he can hear her breathing gas for an attack, he waits. And when Hiccup says, he fires. His plasma blast ignites the gas that had been building at the back of her throat, and the rush of air from their dive pushes the flames deep into her vulnerable core. She tries to slow her descent by extending out her wings, but the membranes tear and offer no help.
As the pair swerves up past her face, they can see the fear alight in her eyes mere moments before her impact with the ground. They can hear the collision followed immediately by the triggered explosion, and Hiccup and Toothless' sole focus is on escaping the blast. The tail fin is all but gone. As they weave their way up through the spines on her back, a wall of fire closes in behind them. Just as they are almost in the clear, the queen's tail is brought up in front of them by the force of her impact with the ground.
Instinctually, Hiccup shifts the foot pedal to give them the maneuverability they need to get to safety, but without an intact tail fin, it is a pointless act. Toothless tries to curve his body out of the way, but there is nothing he can do to avoid the collision. The tail slams into Toothless' left side, crushing Hiccup's foot where it had been on the pedal before knocking him from the saddle, unconscious.
Toothless watches as Hiccup falls. A look of desperation and determination passes over the Night Fury's face as he dives after his human and the flames envelop them both.