Hiccup woke up and looked around the room. He saw Toothless still sleeping in the other corner, so he got up quietly and put on his armor. Leaving the room, he walked through the halls to get to the meeting hall. Arriving there, he saw a few workers already working, preparing the meals for the army. Walking over to the tables where the food was set out, the men around him greeted him and bowed before returning to their work. He picked up a plate with some fish and some salad. He grabbed a tankard filled with water before walking over to his chair. Sitting down, he began eating his food, while deep in thought.
They will take down the last allies of Berk before taking Berk itself. In one week, Berk will be all his. What's making all this perfect is that the day he planned to take Berk would be his birthday. He smiled at that irony. No one has ever wished him a happy birthday in the last few years besides Gobber and Gothi. It makes the take-over THE perfect gift for him, and no one can't do anything about it—a scowl formed on his face, thinking about all the people and how they mistreated him.
His train of thought was broken when the doors opened, and a familiar black shape entered. Toothless didn't need to look around to know where his brother was sitting. The workers in the hall brought Toothless a basket of fish to eat before scurrying away. Toothless happily began eating, and the pile of fish was gone within a few seconds. The dragon licked his lips and shook himself before looking at Hiccup. Then, he noticed the boy going out the door. Following him, they reached their room again. Inside, he saw him sitting on his bed, deep in thought. Walking over to him, the dragon nudged him with his head, shaking Hiccup out of his thoughts once again.
"Wanna tell me what's wrong?", Toothless asked.
"Just thinking about this lovely place called Berk.", Hiccup answered with his usual sarcasm.
"Okay, what is it this time?", the dragon corrected.
"It just makes me angry to think about all the times I would get beaten up for doing nothing. Then, when I do something, I get scolded or beaten up for doing it! It didn't matter what I did. It always led to me being beaten!", Hiccup yelled, standing up now.
"Remember that in a week, they will be the ones begging for mercy on their knees. They will cry, complain, and do anything to please you. You could end it all by just killing them off. Instead of killing them, you will let them live in a world where everything depends on what you want or do.", Toothless told him.
"I know that I can and will bring them to their knees and take revenge. It's just that now and then, I get these memories from before I met you. It still hurts to think about it. I had no family and no friends. No one was there for me when I was at my lowest. No one there to talk with or just hang around.", Hiccup said, his shoulders sagging.
"You have me.", the dragon gave a sad croon.
"And I'm eternally thankful for that. I wouldn't be here if it were for you, you know?", Hiccup told him quietly.
"I know that you would still be there, trapped on that cursed island, but fate brought us together.", Toothless said, walking closer to Hiccup.
"No, I wouldn't.", Hiccup sobbed slowly now.
"What do you mean?", the dragon asked, confused.
"If I hadn't met you, my father would have banished me for not being the son he wanted. The day I found you, I messed up once again. I'm gonna be honest with you, I had times when I thought about taking my own life. After I released you, I went home, and my father told me to get good at fighting dragons... or I would be banished. That night, I lay in my bed, a-and I thought about ending it, to get away from all this pain.", Hiccup reached a point where he was leaning at Toothless and crying on the dragon's shoulder.
"What changed your mind?", Toothless asked, not knowing how he should react to it.
"You. I thought about you. At first, it was just to study you, and maybe I would get good at fighting dragons, but when I saw you the second time, and we looked at each other, was when everything changed. It was the first time someone didn't look at me with only hate and disgust.", Hiccup commited.
"I was angry at you at first, but then I saw what lay behind your eyes. I didn't know why, but the anger slowly faded.", Toothless confessed.
"I understand why you were angry at me; I would be too. After I saw that you lost a fin, I felt guilty. I knew that if I didn't do something, you would die. So, I did the only thing I could think of, even if it cost me my life in Berk. I built the tail and befriended our supposed enemy, and I couldn't be happier.", Hiccup assured the dragon.
"Me neither. Let's forget about the past and focus on what lies ahead. You will get your revenge, and then we can live in peace.", Toothless said, nudging Hiccup's chest with his head.
"You're right, let's focus on the task at hand.", Hiccup said, hugging the dragon's head.
"Let's get some sleep. We have a busy week ahead of us.", Toothless said.
Without further interruptions, they readied themselves for the night. Toothless walked over and heated up his stone slab while Hiccup took off his armor and lay on the bed. He lay there, trying to sleep but to no avail. An hour passed and he still couldn't get any sleep. Shifting around, he notices two green eyes watching him in the darkness.
"Something wrong, bud?", Hiccup asked.
"I could ask you the same. I heard you shifting around so I woke up.", the dragon answered.
"Can't sleep, that's all.", the boy said.
"Come here.", the dragon said as he shifted onto his side and opened his wing.
Hiccup didn't need any more invitations and stood up. He walked over to the dragon and lay against the scaly chest. Toothless put his paws across his chest and pulled him closer. Closing the wings, he enveloped him in darkness before laying down his own head. It didn't take long till Hiccup finally managed to fall asleep. Sensing the slow and even heartbeat, the dragon smiled and returned to sleep, too.
(The next morning)
When Hiccup woke up the following day, he was initially confused about why there was no light, but then he remembered that Toothless enveloped him within his wings. Trying to poke the wings, he noticed that his arms were being held at his side by one of Toothless's paws. Wriggling his left arm free, he reached out to poke the dragon but was stopped when the wings opened.
"Good morning.", Toothless said, looking at Hiccup, who crawled out of the dragon's embrace.
"Morning. What time is it?", the boy asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Don't know. Around 5 a.m., maybe.", the dragon said, shrugging.
"We should get ready. The ships must be ready by now; if not, I will kill someone.", Hiccup told him while getting his armor.
"While you get dressed, I'll get myself some breakfast.", Toothless said while walking to the door.
"Bring me some bread, too!", Hiccup yelled after him.
While Hiccup put on his armor and weapons, Toothless made for the storage. On the way there, he stopped by some dragons and told them to raid Berk every day while they were gone. He also told them to meet them next week just outside of Berks water for further instructions. After explaining it and ensuring they understood the orders, he reached the storage and grabbed himself a basket of fish and a small bag of bread for his brother. Having everything he wanted, he returned to their bedroom, reaching it just as Hiccup finished dressing.
"Thanks.", the boy said, petting the dragon's head.
"I also told the dragons your plan for them.", Toothless told him before beginning to devour the fish.
"That's one thing of the list. Let's eat and get to the docks, I want to leave by sunrise.", HIccup said.
Dragon and boy ate their food mostly in silence. After they finished their food, they made their way out of the caves and towards the docks. They saw everyone up and working while walking through the streets. Those who noticed him greeted him with a bow before returning to work. After a ten-minute walk, they stood at the docks, watching as the last soldier entered the ship. From their left side, they noticed Dagur and Alvin approaching him. When they reached them, they bowed before Alvin said, "My Lord, your troops are ready, and the ships are ready to sail."
"Let's not waste more time and get on board.", Hiccup told them before entering the command ship with Toothless.
The command ship was the latest ship that had been added to their fleet. It was triple the size of their regular ships and doubled in height. The armor was thicker, and the weaponry heavier. Every boat has also been painted entirely black. They now also had canons that could be pushed by hand, which required about ten Vikings, making them more mobile. There were also prison cells below the deck of the command ship, and they even had a room for questioning and torture. The fleet grew, bringing their total numbers to fifty normal ships, not including the command vessel.
"Set sail! We head for the Bogs!", he ordered. Slowly, one by one, the ships left the harbor. Making their way to Bog Burglars Island, the ships gained speed and continued their journey to their destination.
(Bog Burglar Island, three days later)
Bertha was walking through her village, looking for her daughter. They were supposed to sail to Berk tomorrow morning and reinforce the island with the entire Bog Clan. To do that, the chieftess first had to find her child. Having searched almost the whole village, she went to the only place she hadn't looked at. The Arena. She saw her daughter standing in the middle when she reached the arena.
"Cami. What are you doing here?", Bertha asked, making her daughter turn around.
"Wishing that we still had some dragons so that I could fight anything!", her daughter exclaimed. Bertha shook her head, chuckling. She knew that her daughter was always up for a fight, but there wasn't much to fight with since the raids had somehow stopped.
"I think that you will fight soon enough. We need to get ready to get to Berk.", the chieftess told her.
"Don't we sail tomorrow?", Cami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, but since you will be the chief in the future, you need to know how to prepare such voyages. Now, come with me; there's still a lot of work to do.", Bertha said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Ugh!", Cami groaned but followed anyway, "How many of us are going?", she asked her mother.
"All of us are going, Cami. From what we've heard of this enemy, we will need every warrior available.", Bertha explained as they walked through the village.
"You're taking everyone?!", Cami yelled, shocked, making her mother stop and turn to her.
"I know that this will leave our village unguarded, but by joining our forces, we will have a better chance to survive.", Bertha told her.
"I know, but a few could stand behind to guard. We can't just give up on everything we've built here!", the heir said.
"Cami, I know that it's hard, but you have to learn that as the chief, you have to put the lives of your tribe above everything else. Is it really worth it to weaken our force to protect something that can be rebuilt?", the chieftess asked her daughter now.
"No, I guess not. It's just hard to leave everything.", Camicazi said while looking around the village. Her mother followed her eyes and felt a heaviness in her heart. It was hard to leave everything, but it was for the better.
"Come now. We want to be there on time now, won't we?", Bertha said, a smile on her face.
"Alright, let's go.", the heir said with a smile that mirrored her mother's.
It took them only a short time to reach their harbor. Once there, they helped wherever possible while Bertha told Cami about what was essential while being chief. It was about noon when they were halfway through the work. Bertha was loading weapons on a boat when she saw a slight commotion at the end of the pier.
"What's going on here? Why is nobody working?", She asked when she reached the small mass of people.
"Chief! Look!", one said while pointing to the horizon.
Squinting her eyes, she saw small black dots above the water's surface, slowly moving toward them. Grabbing spyglasses, she looked through to get a better look. What she saw shocked her and made her blood run cold. Ships were coming; from what she's been told, only one man could be behind this.
"Everyone, get ready! We're being attacked!", she shouted, making the people around here stop their work and run home to get their weapons and armor. She saw her daughter running toward her.
"Mom, what's going on?", she asked her mother.
"Looks like you get the chance to fight. I want you to stay near me at all times. He's coming.", Bertha told her, the usual joyness in her tone replaced by a more severe and colder one.
"Here? To us? Why?", Cami asked while following her mother to the village center.
"I don't know. Probably to wipe us out.", her mother said in a stern tone.
Reaching the village center, they saw almost all their tribe ready to fight. Bertha was about to make a small speech when dozens of low bangs were heard. Everyone turned to look at the approaching ships as small smoke clouds formed on their decks. Some were smiling, thinking that the ships had been attacked, while others looked unsure of what was happening.
A few seconds later, a whizzing sound was heard before one of their catapults exploded. After another second, a second whizz and another building exploded. The villagers panicked and ran for cover. The village was hit with shell after shell, destroying building after building, and some of the villagers that weren't quick enough to find cover or only poor shelter.
After the explosions finally stopped, the Bogs slowly crept out of hiding, only to see that the enemy ships already reached their docks. Ramps were lowered, and soldiers in black armor emerged.
"Bogs! They attacked our island and destroyed everything we love! We will not stop until our last breath and avenge our fallen! We will stop them here once and for all!", Bertha shouted, raising her sword.
The villagers behind them shouted in agreement before they charged the enemy army. When the two forces collided, the Bogs quickly realized that their opponent's weapons and armor were far better than theirs. While they still managed to take some out, three Bogs died for every enemy warrior they killed. They were soon pushed back into the village center, where they slowly got surrounded. When only twenty of their warriors were left, Bertha realized something. Her eyes widened as she looked around, trying to see her daughter. 'Cami, where are you? How could I have lost her?', she thought.
When only ten others were left, they stopped fighting but kept their weapons up. The enemy made no move to advance further, so they stood still. The Bogs wondered what they were waiting for. A small passage opened between the enemy soldiers, and three men walked forward. Bertha recognized two of them immediately since their faces weren't covered. 'What are Alvin and Dagur doing here?', the chieftess thought.
The man in the middle and at the front was a mystery to her. His armor was different from the others, looking superior and even like it was made out of scales. She couldn't see his face since he wore a helmet, but judging by the body, it was a man. The next thing that shocked her was when she spotted the black dragon that followed the three men. She didn't know what kind of dragon it was, but it held a deadly aura around itself.
"Well, this was fun.", the masked man said.
"Let me guess, you're the 'Death Angel'?", Bertha asked, almost spitting out the last two words.
"You are a smart one, I'll give you that.", the man chuckled.
"I will kill you for what you did to my people.", the chieftess growled out.
"No, you won't.", he said, motioning with his hand to his men. Two people came forward, holding a person before them. When they got close enough, Bertha almost dropped her weapon out of worry. In front of her stood her daughter, struggling to get out of her captor's grip to no avail. The masked man approached Cami, pulled out one of his swords, ignited it in blue flames, and held it at the heir's throat.
"You will surrender, or your daughter dies.", he said, his words cutting through the tense air.
"Mom. Don't. Remember what you told me. We have to think about the others first.", Cami said, trying to stay as far away as possible from the flaming blade.
"I'm sorry, Cami, but I can't lose you.", Bertha told her, closing her eyes and dropping her weapon. The others followed her lead. Soon, the Bogs were being tied up, except for Bertha and Cami.
"Get them to the cells.", the enemy leader told his men. They escorted the two prisoners away.
Bertha heard the man say, "Execute the rest; they won't be useful.". She wanted to turn around but got shoved forward by her captor. They only heard the screams of pain from their tribe as they reached the harbor. They noticed that they were being led to the biggest ship. Once inside, they were shoved inside separate cells. Their hands were freed, but then they were left alone. The cells had no window, so it was dark in there, and there were only two torches to light up the entire deck.
"Daughter? Are you alright?", Bertha asked with worry.
"I'm fine. I'm sorry that I got captured. I'm sorry that I failed you.", Cami answered.
"You haven't failed me. The courage you showed and the will to sacrifice your life for the rest of us was nothing anyone could do. I'm proud of you.", she told her, trying to cheer her up a bit.
"And we still got captured, and the others got killed.", Camicazi mumbled.
"It's not your fault. It's the fault of that evil bastard and his followers.", Bertha seethed out.
"What are they gonna do to us?", her daughter asked, a hinge of fear in her voice.
"That depends on how you cooperate.", came a voice from the hallway.
"What do you want from us?", Bertha asked.
"Information.", was all the man said.
"You can try, but we'll never tell you anything.", the chieftess told him.
The man let out a chuckle, "I'm counting on that. It makes the torture so much more fun. Who wants to go first?"
"You can torture as much as you want; we won't talk.", Camicazi said, drawing his attention to her.
"Looks like someone volunteered, right bud?", the man said, turning to the hallway entrance. Following his eyes, they both saw two piercing green eyes staring at the man.
"Sounds like it. You want to begin now?", the dragon asked.
"Yeah, why not? Saves us time.", the man seemingly answered the dragon. "Guards!", he yelled.
Four people came rushing in and bowed before the man. "Bring them to the interrogation room. Tie the girl up and put the mother in the cell to watch.", he ordered his man.
They pulled them out to the cells before tying their hands together. The guards shoved them together through the seemingly endless hallway. When they reached a metal door, the masked man opened it, and they were led inside.
The room had almost nothing except a metal chair with a desk, a cage that could fit the average Viking, and other smaller closed doors. Bertha was led to the cell while the other guard tied Cami to the chair. The chieftess was locked inside, but her hand remained tied.
"Leave.", the man said to his guards. They obeyed without hesitation, leaving the two Bogs with the man and dragon.
Their captor opened one of the smaller doors and pulled out five daggers. he carried them to the table and spread them out. Taking Cami's hands, they were put in cuffs integrated onto the table surface.
"I will ask you questions if you answer, good; if not, I will cut off a finger.", he told her.
"I'll never talk.", the girl growled through clenched teeth.
"I hope you don't.", the man answered with a dark chuckle, sending shivers down her spine, "Now, let's begin. Did you send resources to Berk?", he asked her.
"Fuck off.", Cami said. It's the wrong thing to do. The man picked up a dagger and drove it right through her pinkie, making her yell out in pain. Bertha looked in horror as he cut off her daughter's finger.
"I will ask again. Did you send resources to Berk?", he asked her again.
"Yes.", was all that she answered him.
"What did you send?", he continued.
"Nothing that you need to-", she was cut off as the second blade went through her ring finger.
"Don't play with me.", the man told her, his voice cold, "What. Did. You. Send?".
"Weapons and food.", she told him, tears in her eyes.
"How many?", the interrogation continued.
"Two shiploads.", Cami said, not wanting to lose another finger.
"Why do you lie to me?", the man sighed, picking up another dagger.
"No, no,no, no! Please! I'm sorry!", she yelled, but it was too late as she lost her middle finger.
"If you know the answer, then why are you torturing us?", Bertha now yelled.
"You're right; I don't need to do any of this. But I want to see you suffer.", he told her, "You want to have a go too?", the man asked, turning to the dragon.
"Only if I can rip off one of her arms. The one with all fingers.", Toothless asked him.
"Uh, I like the idea.", the man answered, much to the confusion of the two women, "Now, ladies, my brother over here wants to remind you that you shouldn't try to escape from here.".
Bertha and Cami looked at each other with pure horror and fear. They broke contact when they saw the black dragon moving closer to Cami. It snarled at her, making her flinch.
"Please! I'll do anything! Just get this beast away from me!", Camicazi yelled.
"He's not a beast. I would have let him kill you if I didn't want to show you to Stoick.", the man told them sharply.
When the dragon was close enough, he bit down on her lower arm, making her cry out in pain. Toothless put as much pressure as he could onto the limb until a crack was heard, and the girl yelled out again. Without effort, he tore away the lower arm before throwing it toward the chieftess, who stepped back as if the arm attacked her. The dragon turned his attention back to the young Viking and now bit down on the upper arm. Repeating the process he had done before, he finished with a snarl toward both of them.
When the dragon stepped back, guards entered the room and began to bandage the girl's wounds. Satisfied that she wouldn't die, they nodded to their leader. He nodded, and four others led the prisoners back to their cells.
Toothless and Hiccup stood on the ship's deck, looking at the horizon. They stood there for ten minutes in silence. Hiccup's attention was drawn to his left when he was being nudged in his midsection by his brother.
"Want to go flying?", Toothless asked him.
"Yeah, it's been a while since we last took a flight.", Hiccup agreed.
Getting in the saddle, he turned to Dagur and Alvin, "Keep course to the Meatheads. I'll be back.". With that they shot up in the air.