Shortly after breakfast, Snotlout guided Hookfang. The big dragon landed outside the stables with a heavy thud.
"Hiccup!" he said. "I found a base!"
Indi whipped around at the news; the dragon hunters had been quiet for the past week. During that time, Emerald and Copal had grown a bit more, and were now starting to puff smoke from their mouths and nostrils, a sign that they might soon breathe fire.
"Where?" Hiccup said, before whistling over Toothless.
"Due south," Snotlout said, pointing in the direction. "It wasn't that big of an operation."
Hiccup nodded. "Indi, tell Astrid we've be back shortly."
"Right," Indi said, walking off to Astrid's hut. He watched as the Monstrous Nightmare and Night Fury took off, before continuing on.
After a minute of walking, he came to the shieldmaiden's hut. Inside were Brynn, Heather, and Astrid, who were currently polishing their weapons.
"Hey, Astrid," Indi said. "Snotlout just came back from patrol. He found some sort of hunter operation, so he and Hiccup went to check it out."
"And he didn't think to come get the rest of us?" Astrid said.
"Snotlout did say it was only a small setup," Indi said. "Hiccup said they will be back shortly."
Astrid looked back to her weapon silently, and dragged a flat stone across the blade, creating a grating sound.
"Thanks for telling us, Indi," Heather said.
Indi nodded. "Hey, Brynn, wanna spar for a bit?"
"Indi," Brynn said, tipping her head. "We both know that I'll beat you."
Indi smiled, and continued on his way. After a moment, he saw Elsa and Anna, who were both walking up the path towards him.
"Hello, ladies," Indi said. "Elsa, do you want to spar?"
Elsa looked at Indi uncertainly. "Are you up to it, Indi?"
"It's been a week, Elsa," Indi said. "I'm fine."
"Elsa gave a slight sigh. "I see you in the arena."
Indi nodded, before jogging off to his hut. Climbing up the ladder, he located his shield, which was hanging on the wall above his bed.
Gripping the stiff leather handle, he climbed down the ladder and trudged off to the arena. After arriving there, he saw that Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Hannah had come out. The other females from Astrid's hut had also come out to see the fight.
"You ready, Indi?" Elsa said from inside the ring. She was holding a sword and shield, both made of ice.
The twins started chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"Yeah," Indi said as he stepped down into the depression that made the inside of the stone arena. He walked over and chose a sword from the rack. Holding the shield in his left hand, he twirled the blade in his right. "You ready, queensie?"
The blast of ice that flew at his head was Elsa's answer. Indi blocked the shot with his shield, and spun, swinging his sword. Elsa blocked the strike with her ice shield and swiped at Indi's head with her own sword.
Grinning, Elsa melted her shield slightly, allowing Indi's sword to sink in. Refreezing the sword to the ice, Elsa, pulled away, taking Indi's sword with her. Reaching around, she grabbed the sword and pulled it free, before tossing it to the side. Indi raised his shield, looking over the edge. Elsa dropped her sword and shield, taking an aggressive stance.
Indi took the opportunity and charged, only to have his shield frozen to a pillar of ice.
Pulling his hand out be had just enough time to recognize Elsa before the front of his shirt has grabbed in her fist. His legs were swiped out from beneath him, and Elsa aimed her free fist at his head, ice swirling.
"I win," Elsa said, only a slightly smug look on her face. Indi got back to his feet and Elsa released his shirt.
"Incoming!" a voice said from above. Indi watched as Snotlout and Hookfang landed.
"Astrid, Hiccup and Toothless need help!"
"What happened?" Indi said, as he gripped his shield. Elsa softened the ice, and Indi pulled the shield free.
"We went to Dark Deep, where the base was. When we went to free the dragons, Hiccup and Toothless were trapped and a purple cloud made them pass out."
"Mount up!" Astrid said as the riders ran off to get their dragons. Hannah transformed and Indi whistled over Emerald and Copal.
"Anna, you'll need to ride with Heather," Indi said. "Hannah can't carry three people."
The princess nodded and ran off, following Astrid.
After Indi climbed in Hannah's back, Elsa climbed on behind him.
A moment later, all of the people were riding on the dragons, racing through the air.
After four hours of flying, Indi saw a tall spire of rock jutting from the ocean. A few scraggly trees dotted the island, but that did not take away the ominous feeling that the dark-grey rock gave the place.
They landed on the beach and Indi was the first to dismount. Sitting on the beach were a few discarded crates. Snotlout led the way, Hookfang following him into a cave.
"This way."
"Brynn," Indi said. "Get ready. I don't like this place."
Brynn nodded as they followed Snotlout into the cave. Just where the light started to fade was a flight of steps, which were carved into the rocks. Descending Indi felt Hannah's hand wrap around his, their fingers interlacing.
At the bottom of the steps, Indi saw that they had entered a large room, where, set into the walls, were cages, all of which were devoid of any dragons.
"What, what? They're gone! They were right here, I swear!" Snotlout said. "Back me up, Hookfang." Hookfang gave out a loud belch that echoed around the cavern.
"There, there, little Snotlout," Tuffnut said, placing a hand on Snotlout's shoulder. "I'm sure Stoick will forgive you for losing his one and only son."
"Not helping!" Snotlout said.
"Hey!" Astrid said. "Focus! We have to find them."
A slimy noise led Indi's attention to Fishlegs, who picked up an object in his hand. "Sea slugs."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, Snotlout," Fishlegs said. it means that those dragons were lured here with food and then gassed with dragon root. What do you think it means?" He tossed the slug to Hookfang, who swallowed the invertebrate with a gulp.
"But why bother knocking them out?" Astrid said. "The dragons were already captured."
"To keep the dragons pacified to make them easier to transport," Heather said.
"So, Hiccup and Toothless are now being taken to Thor knows where?" Snotlout said, throwing his hands up. "Great! And we have know way of finding them."
"Brynn," Indi asked. "Can you get a scent?"
The female sniffed the air. "Just various dragons and an overwhelming scent of dragon root," she said. "I can't pick out anything unusual."
"Do not fret!" Tuffnut said. "We will find the missing Hiccup Haddock and one Toothless Night Fury."
"Yes, that's right, young Snotlout," Ruffnut said. "My brother and I are experts in the delicate and fine arts of detection."
Tuffnut punched his palm. "Interrogation."
"And infiltration," Ruffnut added.
"We are…" Tuffnut said, before his sister stood behind him with their backs touching. They spoke in unison. "Thorston and Thorston, sleuths extraordinaire."
"The best detectives on Berk," Tuffnut said.
"Well, really, the only detectives on Berk," Ruffnut corrected.
"Shh," Tuffnut whispered. "They don't know that."
"Oh, not this again," Indi said under his breath.
Tuffnut began crawling around, sniffing, as though his sense of smell was better than Brynn's. Ruffnut "hmm"ed.
"Tuff?" Heather said.
"It's all very suspicious," Ruffnut said.
"If we-" Heather began.
"Heather, I got this," Tuffnut said. Heather crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "The Dragon Hunters have taken Hiccup and Toothless somewhere nefarious."
"Guys…" Heather said.
"Not now, Heather," Tuffnut said, silencing the female. "I'm detecting. Now, to find where Hiccup Haddock and Toothless Night Fury have been taken, we need-" Heather slapped her hand over Tuffnut mouth, shutting him up.
"Someone with inside knowledge of the Dragon Hunter ports," Heather said.
Tuffnut started his speaking, Heather's hand making his voice muffled.
"Someone with inside knowledge of the Dragon Hunter ports!"
Ruffnut snapped her fingers. "Someone like Heather! Thank you, Thorston." Heather removed her hand.
"You're welcome, Thorston," Tuffnut said with a stupid smile on his face.
Heather walked off. "Follow me."
They flew through the night, until, at dawn, they saw an island. It had several areas of greenery and a lightly wooded area. A wooden building sat on the east side of the island and a ship sat in the harbor.
"That's one of the main Dragon Hunter trading ports," Heather said from Windshear's back. "These hunters will know where Hiccup and Toothless have been taken."
"Take them out!" Indi said. "Interrogate them quickly. If they don't cooperate, get rid of 'em."
They flew over a couple of guards with crossbows.
Heather directed Windshear in to one of the crossbowmen, and the silver dragon wrapped the end of her tail around the man, before carrying him off. Behind her, Anna spoke with aggressive authority. "Where is the Night Fury?" The man crossed his arms and grunted in defiance. "Very well." Heather reached forward and gave Windshear a pat, resulting in the man being thrown into the ocean.
Fishlegs flew Meatlug up to one of the catapults, where two hunters with bows were positioned. "Excuse me. Can any of you tell me where the Night Fury has been taken?"
The hunters answered with arrows. Fishlegs yelled in fright. "Whoa! Guess not." Meatlug flew forward, lava pouring from her mouth, burning the catapult's base.
Indi guided Hannah next to Snotlout and Hookfang.
"There's one!" Snotlout said.
"I see him," Indi said. "Take us in, Hannah." The silver dragon beneath him dove down. The hunter backpedaled until his back was up against a tree. Hannah and Hookfang both landed in front of the hunter.
"Hi," Snotlout said, leaning forward and resting his arms on Hookfang's horns. "I'm looking for a one-legged Viking and a Night Fury." His voice turned aggressive. "Tell me where they are!"
The man took aim with his crossbow.
"Hookfang?" Snotlout said, and the dragon shot fire at the crossbow, making the man drop the weapon as it turned into a pile of flaming wood.
"I'm not telling you anything," the man said in a slightly squeaky voice that Indi hated.
Elsa dismounted and punched her fist at the man, summoning a cage of icicles up around the man that buried their points into the tree behind the man. She left the man's head free as he pushed her face close to his, her eyes blazing.
"Oh, I think you will," Elsa said, dragging a finger over the ice. "You see, I know some people that are very persuasive." The flutter of large wings caught her attention, but Elsa did not remove her stern glare.
Indi turned and saw that Barf and Belch had landed, and the twins were dismounting.
"Leave this to us, Queen Elsa," Tuffnut said.
"Thorston and Thorston are on the case," Ruffnut said.
Elsa nodded and stepped off to the side, where she created a large ice tent. The twins went inside, and Elsa moved the man inside by force. Creating a table and several chairs, they tied the hunter's hands behind him, and left the twins to do their work.
After a moment of muttering, they heard Ruffnut yell from inside. "Tell me where Hiccup and Toothless have been taken! Where?!"
"I guess that means progress," Indi muttered as he took out a dagger and began whittling down a stick.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Tuffnut's voice said. "It's my turn to be bad Viking."
"Or not," Astrid said.
More murmuring. "No, we can talk about this now." More voices, this time more hushed. "If not now, the when?"
More whispering, this time is sounded like Ruffnut. "Somebody else should have a chance to be bad Viking."
"Hey, you were bad Viking last time," Tuffnut said.
"No!" Ruffnut retorted. "You threatened the suspect with Macey and I offered the suspect cookies."
"That's not how I remember it."
"Every time, Tuff," Ruffnut said from inside. "You do this every time. You take over my interrogations and ruin them!"
Snotlout sighed, shaking his head. "I'm going in." He opened the door in the tent, where Indi caught a glimpse of the twins brandishing small bludgeons at each other. "Have you two mutton heads gotten any information out of this guy?"
"He was just about to crack, but someone ruined it." Ruffnut said accusingly.
"Oh, please," Tuffnut said. "He was never going to spill the beans the way you were grilling him. You shouldn't be grilling beans, anyway. Weird."
Snotlout groaned. "Why do we trust you two with anything?"
"I'll get him to talk. Just you watch," Tuffnut said, stomping over to the man.
Astrid shook her head and walked to the tent. "That's enough."
"Where have you taken…" Tuffnut said as Astrid opened the door. "Oh, come on!"
"Another hunter just gave up where Hiccup and Toothless are being held," She said. "Come on, let's go!" Indi gave Elsa a confused look.
"What? Are you serious?" Tuffnut said. "I was this close!" He held his hand up, his thumb and index finger only a few millimeters away from each other.
"You were not!" Ruffnut said.
"Yes, I was."
"Were not."
"Yes, I was."
"Were not!"
"He was gonna be spillin' and grillin'!"
"Would you two just go?!" Snotlout yelled.
As the trio exited the tent, Tuffnut muttered, "He was gonna grill and spill those beans."
Indi shook his head and mounted Hannah.
Astrid led the group to a sea stack just off the island's shore. The dragons clung to the side like giant bats, where they waited for several minutes.
"So the twins didn't get any information out of that guy?" Fishlegs asked.
"What do you think?" Snotlout said, gesturing to the twins in question. "Of course they didn't."
"Well, we would have," Tuffnut said as he sat behind Belch's head. "If somebody whose name rhymes with 'Gastrid' hadn't interrupted us."
Barf and Belch looked at each other with mirth. Ruffnut turned to her brother accusingly"Or if someone had just let me do the interrogation in the first place." The twins pushed their heads together aggressively, their helmets making metallic scraping sounds.
"Ruff, Tuff, be quiet," Astrid said in a hushed voice, before raising her arm. Suddenly, a green Terrible Terror flew by the sea stack. "Now!"
The dragons took flight, chasing after the little dragon.
"If my detective senses are correct," Ruffnut said with a smile. "I would say that Astrid, lied to that hunter, got 'im to send a Terrible Terror, and we're gonna follow it." Indi looked over at the shieldmaiden, who had a pleased smile on her face as well. "Nice job."
"In the sleuthing business," Tuffnut said. "We call this 'tailing'."
"And in the idiot business," Snotlout added. "We call this 'the twins'."
"And business is booming," Tuffnut said proudly.
They flew for the rest of the day and through the night, following the dragon.
Elsa yawned, covering her mouth.
Indi glanced back. "You're tired."
"Just a bit," Elsa said.
"Go ahead and sleep," Indi said. "I'll wake you if anything happens." Elsa nodded and wrapped her arms around Indi, resting her head on his shoulder.
Indi leaned forward slightly and whispered. "How you holding out, Hannah?"
The silver head turned back slightly and Hannah crooned softly. Indi reached forward and gave the silver scales a pat.
The next morning, the Terrible Terror seemed to lead them to a lush island. As it started to fly down, The twins urged their dragon forward and the grabbed the Terror, pulling it away from its destination: a rocky island with a tall peak that seemed to have been made by a drunken god, for it was leaning over at a sharp angle. A small bay had several ships moving towards it.
"Gotcha!" Tuffnut shouted in victory. As he and Ruffnut guided their large green Zippleback back to the rest of the riders and their dragons (which were hovering). Tuffnut untied the note on the little dragon's leg and handed the note to Astrid.
Astrid unrolled the note, her eyes scanning the paper.
"Miss Hofferson?" Elsa said.
"Dragon fights?" Astrid said. "Hiccup and Toothless have been taken to dragon fights down there."
"Forcing dragons to fight each other?" Fishlegs said. "That's inhuman."
"And people will go nuts when they find out it's a Night Fury that's fighting," Heather added spitefully.
"Why are we even discussing this?" Everyone looked over at Snotlout, who was sitting on Hookfang. "Hiccup and Toothless need us. Ergo, we go. As in-" He gripped Hookfang's long, black horns. "Dragons blazin'."
"We can't do that, Snotlout," Heather said. "You can see that chained dome, there's no way we can get in there."
"So, what do we do?" Fishlegs asked.
"We shall use our superior slothing skills," Tuffnut said as he held up a finger.
"Uh, no offense," Fishlegs said. "But your sleuthing skills have not gotten us very far."
"Do not worry, Fishlegs," Tuffnut said. "Remember, we're masters of infiltration." The twins directed their dragon into a dive, towards the island while the rest of the dragons continued to hover.
"Oh, this is going to go well," Snotlout said with a groan.
"Oh, let them go," Indi said, waving the twins away. "I have another plan."
The dragons dove down and landed on an isolated beach. The sun was just starting its descent to the horizon in the west.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Elsa asked.
"Yeah…" Indi said, taking off his shield. "Look after this for me." Elsa accepted the weapon.
"Indi." Indi turned and saw Astrid lob a knife and its sheath at him. Indi nodded his thanks and accepted it, before strapping sheath around his waist.
"Be careful," Elsa said. Indi nodded as the dragons took off.
Once they were out of sight, Indi strode into the sparse forest. Looking around, he saw a hill that seemed to be open near the top. Climbing the rise, he looked around, taking in his surroundings. He saw a small camp about a league away, and made his way towards it.
He walked for roughly an hour, though it seemed like less; he kept running the plan over in his head.
As he crept into the camp, he saw several hunters milling about with weapons. As he casually entered the camp, the hunters noticed him and ran over, aiming an assortment of weapons at him.
"Who are you?" one asked, brandishing an axe made of the green metal. "What are you doing here?"
"And no lies!" another said, holding a sword.
"Alright," Indi said, keeping completely at ease. He took a breath, then spoke. "My name is Indi Rex. I'm working the the Dragon Riders, and I am to sneak in here and free any dragons you may have captured. Once that is finished, I am to then report back to my superiors, and we'll all go home, eat supper, and, perhaps, have a drink."
"I said no lies!" the one with the sword said.
Another hunter leaned over to him and muttered, "I think he's telling the truth."
"But if you were expecting me to tell a lie," Indi said. "Then you wouldn't believe the truth, even if I told you it." The guards looked thoroughly confused.
"So are you lying or not?"
Indi shook his head. "Haven't we been over this?" he said. "Aside from being able to sneak in, complete all of my objectives, and take out your operations here, what purpose would I have for telling you an outlandish story?"
"Uh…" the guard with the axe said. "I guess you're coming with us..?" The other guards nodded slowly, still unsure themselves. "Drop your weapons, and kick them over."
Indi shrugged, untying the knot and releasing the belt. He then dropped the sheath and knife, before kicking it over. One of the guards picked it up cautiously.
Indi walked over and said, "Let's go."
The guards escorted him through the woods on a worn path. Soon, they led Indi to a large stone building that was set into the base of a mountain. Opening the door, Indi walked in, the guards following.
One guard walked in front of him, and opened a wooden door that had metal bars across the small window. A Indi stepped inside, and the door slammed shut.
"Indi?"
The male turned to see a familiar face. "Hiccup, how are you doing?"
"How am I- What are you doing here?"
"I got myself captured." Looking around, Indi saw that in the cell were four large dragons: A yellow Monstrous Nightmare, a bluey-green Gronkle, a blue and pink Deadly Nadder. All of them had one leg chained to the wall and several scars over their faces and bodies. A large set of double doors made up one entire wall that led into an arena. "Nice place they gave you." Turning towards Hiccup, Indi saw that the guards had chained his one good leg to the wall. Toothless was also chained, and had a leather muzzle around his jaws. The apparatus that controlled the prosthetic tail was gone.
"Where are the others?" Hiccup asked quietly.
"Infiltrating elsewhere," Indi said, lowering his voice. "My part was to get in here and see if you two were okay."
"Well, now that you're here," Hiccup said. "You wanna help me with these guys?" He gestured to the dragons.
Indi nodded, and walked over. Hiccup retreated to a corner of the cell and took out a fish. He walked up to the Nightmare, the dragon growling. As Hiccup held the fish up, the large dragon's pupils widened. It gratefully took the offering and started gnashing the food, its jaws working. Suddenly it had a pained expression on its face and spat the food out, along with a blast of flames. Indi turned away shielding himself from the heat.
"I've seen this before," Hiccup said. "Hang on." Indi picked up the fish from the stone floor and handed it back to Hiccup. Hiccup, held the fish by its tail, and the Nightmare became docile once more; it held its head out, jaws open, and reached for the fish. Hiccup pulled the fish just out of reach. "Okay, now, call me old-fashioned, but I'd really prefer to not lose another limb." He reached in and pulled something out of the Nightmare's gaping mouth. The dragon pulled back at the sudden pain, and looked ready to fire, until its pupils widened. Indi noticed the beast feel around inside its mouth with its tongue. Looking to Hiccup, Indi saw he had removed a rusted metal hook that had embedded itself in the poor dragon's mouth. "That was the problem." Hiccup tossed the hook to the side, and held the fish out to the yellow dragon, which took the food and swallowed it with minimal pain. It pushed its head into Hiccup's torso affectionately. "It's okay, It's okay."
Indi walked up to the Deadly Nadder, the dragon hiding in the shadows. As Indi took a few steps closer, the dragon charged, spreading its wings and its spines standing on end.
"Hey, hey," Indi said, his hands forward, trying to placate the dragon. "It's all right. It's okay."
"Indi," Hiccup said calmly. "Move towards the blind spot."
"Okay," Indi said. "Where is that?"
"In front of the nose for Nadders. Once you're there, scratch his chin."
"Got it," Indi said with a nod. He stepped up in front of the dragon's nose, and gently started scratching the Nadder's scarred chin. The dragon squawked in pleasure, and folded its wings and lowered its spines. "There you go. How's that feel? See? I'm not gonna hurt ya?"
The squeal of a door got his attention, and Hiccup and Indi both turned. The Deadly Nadder squawked aggressively, taking a step forward.
The large set of double doors to the arena had been opened, and several hunters were pushing a Razorwhip into the cell. The dragon limped in, its purple eyes squinting in pain.
"You make sure you lock that manacle tight," the lead hunter said. "A Razorwhip tail can cut through anything." A hunter opened a large, green, metal clamp and put it over the dragon's tail, locking the barbs down.
"Can it cut through you?" Indi said, his brow furrowing.
The hunter snorted. "Get the Night Fury."
The men pushed a caged cart into the cell, and unlocked Toothless from the chain that bound him to the wall. They pushed him into the cage, and slammed the door shut with a clang!
As the hunters exited the cell, they pulled the cart out of the cell, before beginning to shut the door.
"Wait," Indi said. "I have an idea that could make the fight even better and more interesting."
The hunter that seemed to be the ringleader of the whole operation signaled his men to stop and looked at Indi. "I'm listening."
"What if I fight alongside the Night Fury? I won't ride it. You send out your best dragon, and we see where it goes from there."
The ringleader seemed to mull this over. "Alright. I like this idea." Indi stepped out of the cell, before giving Hiccup a trusting glance. The doors were shut, the ringleader gave Indi a small dagger.
As the ringleader stepped out, Indi looked over at Toothless. Leaning over, he set his hand on one of the dragon's front legs. The dragon croon, and Indi gave a small smile. Looking across the ring, Indi saw another caged cart be pushed in. Inside was a kind of dragon that Indi had never seen nor heard of before.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event!" the ringleader's voice said from the top of the caged dome, standing behind a throng of people. Looking up at the speaker, Indi saw that Ryker was standing next to him, his arms crossed. "The reigning champion, the Triple Stryke!" The cage was lifted by a rope and the stocky dragon stood semi erect. "Versus the newcomer, the Night Fury!" The cage over Toothless was lifted by a similar rope.
The crowd started cheering, and Indi saw Ryker turn to the ringleader and start yelling at him. After the ringleader said something that Ryker did not seem to like, the large man grabbed his subordinate by the neck and lifted him up. By listening hard, Indi managed to make out what Ryker said. "If the Triple Stryke kills that Night Fury, I kill you." He dropped the man onto his stomach, and the ringleader took up at the imposing figure. Looking back at the enemy dragon Indi got his first good look: the dragon was quite large, though slightly shorter than a Monstrous Nightmare. The top of the dragon was a brownish purple, and the underside was an orangish shade of pale yellow. It had large teeth that jutted down from its upper jaw. It had two horn-line projections erupted from the back of its head, and a horn on its nose. Its forearms were less draconic and had muscular, scorpion-like pincers. Two batlike wings sprouted from its back, the upper side of which had yellow stripes. It had three tails, each one also like a scorpion's, each with the stinging end. The tails were all braided into one long cord. Its small eyes were blood red, with a stripe of yellow surrounding the catlike pupil.
The Triple Strike gave a high-pitched roar up at the crowd, before charging at Indi and Toothless. Toothless jumped out of the way as the Triple Stryke swung its braided tails. Indi dove aside, and Toothless landed in the middle of the area, shrieking.
The Triple Stryke turned and roared aggressively, before swinging its tails, unbraiding them. It struck at Toothless with each of its tails, the black dragon jumping out of the way of each stinger. After the last stinger it the ground, Toothless jumped into the air with a mighty flap, shooting the Triple Stryke with a plasma blast. The dragon, turned its head away from the blast, before growling.
As he crept around, Indi saw the dragon's eyes lock onto him. It started creeping forward menacingly, each of its tails curved over its body, aiming their tips at Indi. Indi backed away, before tossing the dagger to the side, recalling what Hiccup said about the time when he had to face a Monstrous Nightmare, which was named Hookfang, before the Dragon Integration at Berk.
The dragon paid no heed to the fact that Indi was now unarmed, and charged, Indi ran as fast as he could, and felt the heat of the dragon's breath on his neck.
He ran to Toothless' side. "Hi, Toothless." The Night Fury crooned in response before charging their enemy, and tackled it into the wall of the stone arena. The Triple Stryke snarled and darted forward, grabbing Toothless with one of its tails. As it flapped its wings strongly, it raised Toothless up, aiming its other two stinging tails at Toothless' throat.
Indi ran and grabbed the dagger that lay on the ground, before spinning and throwing it up at the flapping dragon. It moved its attention from Toothless to the aggravating morsel. Seeming to seize the opportunity, Toothless swung his tail, smacking the Triple Stryke. The hovering dragon reflectively released Toothless and fell to the ground.
"Toothless, here boy!" Indi said. The Night Fury ran over, allowing Indi to climb on his bare back. "Fire!" Toothless shot a blast at the dragon, but the Triple Stryke did not flinch as it wheeled, brandishing its claws and teeth, before leaping into the air. It hovered in the air, braiding its tails into a single cord, before somersaulting at the human and dragon. Indi hung on tight as Toothless jumped out of the way, before he spun and slammed his front paws into the dragon, sending it back into the door of the cell that the other dragons and Hiccup were being held in.
Toothless jumped onto the Triple Stryke's back, and the dragon spun, flipping Toothless onto the side of the cage. Toothless clung to the bars. Indi hung on as tight as he could, but felt himself start to slip over Toothless' smooth scales. The larger dragon swung its tail, knocking Toothless free of the bars. Indi felt himself slip off as Toothless fell. Indi hit the stone ground in front of the wooden cart, and Toothless fell behind.
Shaking the stars from his vision, Indi saw that the Triple Stryke was stalking towards him. Indi tried to crawl away, but the Triple Stryke took his leg in one of its muscular claws.
Indi tried to push away, but the Triple Stryke grabbed his arms in its other claw. A shriek caught his attention, and a blue flash exploded in his field of vision. He felt the Triple Stryke's claws be removed, but the one around his leg had already started to close. Once the dragon was clear, Indi felt a fierce, burning pain in his leg. As he sat up, he saw that his left leg was slashed, his thigh slit on the front and back. Blood was running out of both cuts, and the leg of his pants was nearly cut clean off. Toothless bent down from his spot on the cart and sniffed the wound. Indi rubbed the black, scaly head, and Toothless growled looking up at the Triple Stryke.
Indi slowly got to his right foot, and stood on his good leg, before ripping of the torn leg of his pants. Carefully making his way around Toothless, he climbed on the dragon's back. Toothless roared with vengeance, his retractable teeth coming out. and sprung into the air, the cart smashing beneath him. He charged and slammed his paws into the menacing dragon, sending it back into the cell door. The dragon crumpled to the ground, dazed.
Shaking its head clear, the Triple Stryke got to its feet. Toothless walked forward, releasing blast after blast, knocking the dragon back with each shot.
"And now, for the final strike!" the ringleader said. The crowd cheered at this.
Toothless jumped into the air with a mighty flap of his wings, before angling down. As Indi watched as they neared the downed Triple Stryke, time seemed to slow down.
The large dragon looked up at them, fear and defeat in its eyes. It breathed heavily. Looking into its eyes, Indi saw himself and Toothless reflecting back, both appearing murderous. The dragon looked away, shutting its eyes, ending the vision.
Toothless glanced back at his rider, and Indi saw that he felt the same thing: they could not do this.
Toothless landed next to the Triple Stryke, and the large dragon looked at its attackers. Indi dismounted, and Toothless sat on the stone ground. The Triple Stryke got to its feet, looking confused, yet grateful.
Looking around, Indi saw the crowd was booing at them with distaste. Toothless crooned, when a clanking caught the attention of the three gladiators. Toothless and Indi turned, and saw Ryker and several hunters walk in with various weapons and restraints. Toothless growled, and Indi turned. The Triple Stryke came to stand next to them, brandishing its tails with a snarl.
Ryker narrowed his eyes and continued towards them. Suddenly, Indi saw a bola fly from the crowd, and wrap around Toothless' wings. Two more flew from the other side of the ring, and wrapped around the Triple Stryke's jaws and wings. Two hunters ran to each side of the great dragon and lassoed its tail, rendering it immobile.
Ryker ran up and struck Indi's thigh with his fist, sending the young male crumpling. Indi sucked in a breath through his clenched teeth as he forcefully kneeled, but refused to give Ryker the satisfaction of hearing him cry out.
Suddenly, a feminine shout came from inside the cell, which was followed by a blast of fire and ice that blew the doors open.
Standing in the doorway, surrounded by dragons, was Hiccup. His fists were clenched as Elsa walked up behind him, coming to stand next to the Viking.
"This end now!" Hiccup yelled. The dragons inside the cell raced past Hiccup, out into the arena. The Deadly Nadder shot spines at a guards, breaking his spear in half. The purple-eyed Razorwhip, now free of the manacle, flew out and wrapped its tail around the ringmaster, and carried him to the top of the dome, where it dropped him to the stone floor. The man landed next to Indi. Indi reached up and, with all his strength, pulled the bola off the Triple Stryke's jaws. The dragon shrieked forcibly, sending the man's spiked helmet flying off.
As the stinging tail was just about to lash forward, Toothless shrieked. The Triple Stryke backed down respectably.
"I would get out of here if I were you," Hiccup said, walking forward. The ringleader scrambled to his feet, and ran through the gate, out of the arena. Looking after him, Indi saw that Ryker was the only opposing man left. Indi crawled back to the large dragon and held out his hand weakly. The dragon lowered its head and touched its nose to Indi's palm, before stepping over him protectively. It flipped its braided tails over its head at Ryker, glaring menacingly. Looking back at the man, Indi saw the faintest glimmer of fear in his eye as Ryker backed away, clearly outmatched.
Hearing a friendly rumble, Indi and the triple Stryke looked to see Hiccup giving Toothless a good rub behind the head.
"Good to see you, too, bud."
A sudden fireblast drew everyone's attention to Snotlout and Hookfang, who were outside the arena's caged dome on a rock spire.
"Justice!" Snotlout shouted. "Get your justice here! Get it while it's hot!" Hookfang unleashed another jet of fire at the crowd, scattering the supporters of the fights.
A lava blast signaled that Fishlegs and Meatlug had joined the fray.
"Dragon fighting?!" Fishlegs growled as Meatlug chased the attendants. "I'll give you dragon fighting!" He and Snotlout seemed to give each other a look of respect, before flying to opposite sides of the caged dome, before having their dragons grab onto the dome, lifting it with a series of loud metallic creaks.
Once there was enough room, the captive dragons all took flight… except for the Triple Stryke, who cocked its head confusedly.
"Go on," Hiccup said. "Go." The dragon cocked its head even more. "You're free."
"He's been in captivity for too long, Hiccup," Fishlegs said as Meatlug descended. "He doesn't know how to be free."
"I can relate," Indi said as he shakily got to his feet. "Being trapped in a cage for a long time can take away the very concept of freedom to someone. But, with help, they can regain that feeling."
Toothless extended his wings upwards, motioning to the sky. The Triple Stryke looked up, and extended its wings as well, but hesitated.
"You can do it," Indi said. The dragon looked at him with soft eyes, and flapped its wings once, sending itself into the air.
"Yes!" Elsa said with a laugh as the dragon flew in a tight circle before returning. It landed next to Indi, and bowed its head.
"Come on guys," Hiccup said. "Let's go home."
"I agree," Indi said and he carefully climbed behind the dragon's head, positioning himself between the dragons horns. "I also think we should get moving before I bleed out."
After taking some time to locate the setup for Toothless' tail, during which Elsa bound Indi's leg with the remains of his pant leg, the group was flying back to Outpost Island. Indi and the Triple Stryke took the lead, everyone else following behind.
It's good to have you back," Astrid said to Hiccup. "I was really worried."
Snotlout laughed, motioning to himself. "Well, I wasn't worried for a second."
"Sure, you weren't," Fishlegs said mockingly. "Astrid would have killed you if we hadn't found Hiccup."
Snotlout laughed quickly. "Shut up, Fishface!"
The Triple Stryke made a somewhat musical call, and did an aerial somersault, before leveling out.
"Look at that magnificent creature," Tuffnut said. "So dangerous, so deadly. I shall name him 'Sleuther'."
The dragon did another somersault, before it started flying upside down, forcing Indi to hold on tight. Sleuther slowed down enough to fly above Hiccup, Anna, and Toothless, next to whom were Elsa and Hannah.
"Hiccup, I think he wants to come back with us," said Fishlegs.
Sleuther stuck out his dark-red tongue, letting it flap in the wind. Toothless responded by sticking out his tongue. Indi joined in, sticking out his tongue as well.
Hiccup and Elsa laughed.
"Sleuther," Hiccup said. "I think you'll like the Edge."
Sleuther flipped upright, and raced forward, everyone else following on their dragons.
