The voyage was mostly quiet. Astrid ran out of ideas for what she could say. No one else knew either. They were in a state of shock. The other Riders still felt like they could not believe it.
"He can't be gone," Snotlout said, in a quiet voice.
Fishlegs was sadly looking at the deck. The twins were equally disheartened, but what broke the friends' hearts more was seeing their leader silently crying into Astrid's shoulder. There were also sniffles coming from Gobber. His face was tear-stained no matter how much he tried to wipe them away. The man had never imagined seeing the day he lost his best friend. He glanced towards the back of the ship and saw Valka. Her face was bone white and her expression was unreadable. It almost angered the blond.
"Can't you offer any tears for him?" he asked.
Valka still said nothing and this time, it did more than almost anger Gobber.
"Did you hate him that much?" he questioned harshly.
This seemed to have an impact on Valka and she flinched ever so slightly. Deciding that talking to her would get him nowhere, Gobber went below deck. His words had struck the others' ears, contrasting with the soft waves they heard just prior.
"We're almost there," Heather said, hoping to cut the tension.
The others looked up, seeing Berk. Hiccup stood up, taking a deep breath.
"We need to figure out a plan," he stated. "Without the dragons, we lost a major advantage in this, but there has to be something else."
Hiccup frowned as he thought more about everything that had happened. None of his ideas seemed possible. Even fewer of them seemed like they could lead to success. Frustration became evident on his face.
"We'll send in the Outcasts as distractions or they could be the ones to attack the fleet or maybe…"
The Berkian let out an irritated grunt. How could he think clearly at a time like this? Unfortunately, in times like those, clarity of mind was necessary for strategies. Discouragement hit the dragon trainer.
"Hiccup Haddock," Mala said, bringing him out of these depressing thoughts, "we will figure out the plan. First, let us give your father a proper send off. He deserves that."
No disagreement came from the other Viking. He slowly nodded his head, knowing his friend was right. Their ship pulled into the harbor and they disembarked. Allies greeted them, but they moved away in shock upon seeing the solemn expressions.
"Where's the chief?" Mulch asked, noticing who was missing.
Astrid stepped forward, focusing so that her voice would not tremble. "Prepare a funeral."
This caused a gasp in the group. For several moments, they did nothing, too shocked. Alvin looked at Hiccup as though the blonde might have been misinformed.
"Is this true? He isn't really…"
Hiccup's low eyes raised to the Outcast, holding pain in them. "Didn't you hear her?" he asked.
Still shocked, the group felt a swell of sadness enter them as they went to prepare a ship. The other Riders went with them, feeling a sense of duty in completing this task. Stoick was their chief. At times, he was like a father too. They gathered grave goods and put them into the vessel. Each step felt heavier until they could have believed they had been weighed down by boulders. Finally, the ship was completed and a fire was lit. Gobber slowly pushed it into the water. It floated there for a moment before Hiccup took an arrow, dipping the tip into the flame. He drew back the bow and fired, shooting the arrow into the ship. His friends and allies did the same until the ship was completely covered. It was bittersweet to see how loved his father had been.
Hiccup noticed the twins coming up. Without any words, they gave him a hug. He returned the embrace, feeling his throat getting sore again. The Berkian shut his eyes tightly to keep any more tears from slipping out. When he reopened them, he noticed that someone was not there. Before he could do anything about this, another Viking approached him. Spitelout had a troubled look on his face.
"Hiccup," he said, "with the chief being gone, we need a new leader."
"You can't be serious," Snotlout suddenly commented, going over to his father.
Spitelout turned to him. "Berk's always had a chief. Now can't be any different."
"Berk can have a chief, but it just happened, Dad," Snotlout said, a fierceness in his eyes that surprised the older man. "Give him at least a few hours before you start pressuring him into the position."
Spitelout felt stunned by his son's words and reluctantly moved away. Hiccup watched him go before sending a small but grateful smile to his friend. Patting the twins' backs, he got them to let go. He wanted to get away from the coast for a moment. Hiccup began heading towards his home. Entering was an unpleasant experience. It felt cold. Seeing his father's empty chair just reminded him that it would never be used by the man again. Although he was unsure what compelled him to do this, Hiccup went and sat down. There was a small part of this which was almost comforting–like it was an embrace from the chief, but Hiccup was not sure if it was only in his mind. A few minutes passed like this until he heard the door open.
"Are you going to ask if I'm okay?" Hiccup asked.
"No," Dagur answered, "because I know you're not. You don't have to be either. Losing your dad hurts like hell."
The Berkian closed his eyes, frowning. "What makes it hurt less?"
"Having family and friends around you. Nothing else helps much."
"Not even time?"
Hiccup opened his eyes to see Dagur sadly shaking his head.
"No, but you've got a lot of Vikings who love you, Brother. You don't have to go through any of this alone. We're all here for you."
"Even if it's my fault?" Hiccup asked, distraught. "If I hadn't gone out there in the first place, we would've used his plan and he would still be alive."
"Going out led to you finding your mom."
"And some help she was." The Berkian gestured to the door. "I don't even know where she is right now. She just vanished like before. I have no idea if I'll see her again."
"Still, for a little bit, you and Stoick had your whole family together again. That's because of you."
Hiccup got quiet, thinking deeply. Maybe this was true. Valka clearly was not going to return to Berk and Stoick likely would not have found the nest on his own. Despite this, Hiccup wondered if it was worth it to reunite his family only for it to be broken in a more permanent way. Seeing this on his face, Dagur frowned.
"You didn't kill him, Hiccup. Drago did. So, do you want to keep taking the blame for a murderer or do you want to avenge your dad?"
After a brief moment, Hiccup stood up from the chair. Determination filled his gut, sending fire throughout him.
"Let's make Drago pay for what he did," he stated.
Dagur grinned with an unhinged twinkle in his eyes as he followed Hiccup out of the hut. The Vikings headed back towards the others. Fishlegs was trying to focus on something else and had a pensive frown. When he saw the duo, he approached them.
"I think there's something different about the baby dragons," he said. "It doesn't make sense that Atali and Minden could still fly, but we couldn't. It can't be a Razorwhip thing either since Windshear was affected by the Bewilderbeast."
"Baby dragons do think very differently from their adult counterparts," Atali stated.
"So…" Snotlout dragged. "Does this mean that the kids are immune?"
"It might," Minden answered. "They're like human children. They constantly refuse orders. It took years to discover the proper way to train our Razorwhips."
Ruffnut grinned. "Then we'll see all Wingnut's little siblings!"
Astrid nodded. "We could do that and then bring the ships to focus on Drago's fleet."
"We could even try to make some more Dragon Root arrows to use against the controlled dragons," Snotlout suggested.
"It might take too long," Heather commented.
Hiccup put a hand on his chin. "Not if we turn it into a powder."
This caused his friends to regard him in surprise.
"We could put it in sacks with oil. When the dragons shoot their fire, that'll make the powder go airborne."
The twins lit up brightly, headbutting each other.
"Massive explosions even without dragons?" Tuffnut asked. "We must be dreaming!"
Astrid looked at Hiccup. "If this works, it'll slant the battle in our favor by a lot."
"I know. That's why it has to work."
"I remember this one island where the Hunters got a lot of Dragon Root for their arrows," Dagur stated.
"Great," Hiccup said. "After we have enough, we'll make the explosives and then go from there to Drago."
"And we'll bring back more of the Razorwhips," Atali said.
"Meet us at the nest," Hiccup requested.
The group split up, heading off to take care of their parts of the task. It did not take long before the ships found Dragon Root covering an island near the leader's home. Vikings hauled it onto their vessels, then began grinding them into a fine powder. This was put in tiny bags until there were enough for each Viking to have several small bags. Once this was done, they began to sail back to the nest. They had to stop before reaching the island. Drago had not stayed there any longer than what was necessary for him to complete his mission. He was already on his way to another island, likely Berk given his direction. On sight, Vikings began their battle. The Berserker ships went ahead. Their numbers alone were enough to challenge what all the dragons could do. Shields lifted high, some of the Vikings defended against the reptiles' claws and fangs as others prepared the sacks. They kept the barrier up just high to protect themselves and low enough so that they could still see the animals. A Deadly Nadder was the first to make the mistake of firing at the Vikings.
When it opened its mouth, one Berserker threw a sack. The oil inside caught fire when blasted, causing the sack to be lit aflame. Air around it turned green from the powder and the dragon shook its head, dizzy. More of the nearby reptiles breathed in these fumes and began crashing into one another. The ships moved close together, catching the dragons that fell so that they would not drown. As they did, Defenders moved around to get closer to the enemy fleet. The Vikings blew darts at the attackers. Whenever one of Drago's people was hit, the toxins would fill the Viking and render him unconscious. They fell to the decks, but others turned their comrades into human shields. This allowed them to reach the catapults, firing arrows and boulders at the group.
The ships drew closer, allowing Vikings to board the rival vessels. When they did, Berkians and Outcasts joined the fight, battling with axes, maces, and swords. Still, the dragons were not completely gone. Most had inhaled the Dragon Root fumes, but there were so many more. Defenders tossed more sacks towards Monstrous Nightmares as they flamed up. This knocked out another dozen nearby dragons. Nets from the Berserkers gently caught the animals and hauled them to safety. More reptiles came from behind them, Timberjacks, Prickleboggles, and Death Songs blasting at the Vikings. When amber was shot, the group had to quickly move back to avoid getting trapped. Even with all the people they had, they were outnumbered by the reptiles. At last, the Wingmaidens returned. Atali and Minden led their warriors and a flock of Razorwhips.
These young dragons went towards the Riders, attaching to their backs. It felt odd for those inexperienced with this, but it was helpful dealing with more of the dragons so that the other warriors could fight the Vikings. There just was one problem: nothing they did would successfully stop the dragons as long as there were more. The Dragon Root was insufficient for thousands of reptiles and the newly flying Vikings could not defend against them all. If they wanted the battle to end, they needed to go to the source.
"We need to get to Drago!" Hiccup called.
His friends had been looking for the warlord, but he was not on any of the ships. Hiccup saw him on the Bewilderbeast again. Near him was Toothless. Pain tugged at the Berkian's heart, but he frowned and took a breath.
"We'll give you cover," Astrid assured him, deflecting a fire blast with her ax.
Gratefully, Hiccup nodded and began directing the Razorwhip towards the man. They were getting closer, but this also meant that they were noticed. Drago used Valka's staff to point at the pair, roaring. Understanding the command, the Bewilderbeast called to Toothless to attack the Rider. Mechanically, the Night Fury opened his mouth and fired a plasma blast. Hiccup and the Razorwhip had to speedily move to avoid the attack. In his hands, he felt a larger Dragon Root pouch, but he did not want to use this.
"Toothless!" he called out, going closer. "I know you're still in there, Bud. These dragons aren't affected. The Bewilderbeast's control isn't impossible to escape. If there's any other dragon strong enough to do that, it's you."
Drago was visibly angered at the realization that some dragons were not under his influence.
"You're wasting your time," he stated.
He was speaking to no one at this point. Hiccup was not paying him attention. The Berkian was only looking at his friend. Drago growled and turned back to Toothless.
"Kill him!"
The dragon's eyes were shifting around anxiously. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Lifting a claw, the reptile pawed at his head. It was so fuzzy, but he could still slightly hear Hiccup. His voice was the only one he needed to focus on.
"I know you can do this," the Rider stated, filled with certainty.
It was deafening to hear the Bewilderbeast's order. Toothless felt like his brain was shaking from all the noise. He could not prevent himself from walking closer to the edge of the dragon's head. This was no easier to prevent than it was to stop his jaws from opening again or the blast from escaping, but he could shift the direction at the last second. Hiccup saw how it missed him and smiled.
"See? That was you, Bud. Not the Bewilderbeast or Drago. You're in control. I just need you to know that too."
The Viking's words were comforting and grounding. They were what Toothless needed. Yet, they had not worked before when…he made the worst mistake of his life. Toothless feared his best friend would never again see him without also seeing his father's killer. Hiccup had believed in him and the dragon let him down. Maybe this was doomed to happen again.
"It wasn't your fault," Hiccup said.
It was as though he had entered Toothless's mind, moving aside the Bewilderbeast. The look on the Berkian's face was understanding. There was still a trace of sadness in his eyes, but they held no blame.
"We all know you loved Dad too. You never would have done that if you had a choice. This is why I really need you to snap out of it. So many more lives are going to be lost if Drago's not stopped. I can't do this without you. It's you and me, Bud. It always has been."
The warlord had been angrily pacing the Bewilderbeast's head, considering his best plan. He could not redirect the other dragons to kill Hiccup. They were needed to fight the enemies. His warriors would be slaughtered if he did that. Drago was too far to attack the Berkian himself. He was unsure if the Bewilderbeast would be able to get in a clean shot like this while swimming, but it was a risk that he was willing to take. The man let out a roar and the dragon tried to shoot ice, but the water slowed him down as he lifted his head higher up. That angle where Hiccup was made it difficult to hit. The Berkian saw this and went even further towards the dragon. His eyes returned to Toothless, seeing the Night Fury shaking more. It was like his entire body was rejecting the Bewilderbeast's orders and being punished for it. Toothless jolted when he felt his friend's gentle hand touching the side of his head. This touch was soothing and lessened the mental agony until he felt peace.
Toothless's ear flap moved when he heard a furious yell. Drago ran forward, sword drawn. He moved to cut Hiccup in half. Toothless turned and bit Drago's arm, digging his fangs in deep. If he had to taste blood that day, the next time, it would belong to an enemy. Drago cried out in pain as a crunch alerted him to the broken state his arm was in. Toothless let go and Drago fell back. The dragon nuzzled against Hiccup who knelt down to rest his head against the dragon's.
"I'm so proud of you, Bud." He stood back up and got onto Toothless's saddle. "Now, let's do this."
The duo took flight again and Hiccup threw the pouch.
"Toothless, plasma blast!"
Obliging, the Night Fury shot the pouch. As it caught fire and the powder filled the air, he flicked his tail. This moved the powder towards the Bewilderbeast's nostrils. They would need more to fully knock out the dragon, but that was not their goal. Toothless fired more blasts directly at the dragon, hitting his tusk. Looking back at Hiccup, then the water, he gave a warning for his next plan. The Night Fury dove into the water, nipping the other dragon's underbelly. He quickly returned to the surface, following up with another blast to the head. Toothless sensed as some dragons around them delayed in their fight. The reptile's focus was shifting too much. Between the Dragon Root and the attacks, its concentration could not accommodate mind control as well.
Toothless flew high into the sky, letting out a ferocious roar. It got the attention of the other reptiles. Hookfang stopped his attacks, shaking his head like he had come out of a fog. Stormfly and Meatlug were next. Toothless continued to attack the Bewilderbeast, but he noticed as his friends joined him. Barf and Belch, then Windshear and Sleuther fired at the Bewilderbeast. More and more of its focus was lost because of the attacks. Skullcrusher and Grump added their fire to the battle. Drago dove for cover from the onslaught of blasts. The Bewilderbeast sensed his fear and felt more of its own. As it did, its control slipped even further. More dragons regained their senses. Toothless called again to them. If they were going to all be safe, then they all needed to work together.
The flock turned on their king. Water dragons swam below, digging fangs into the Bewilderbeast's legs and stomach while the flying dragons took care of its back and face. A Shivertooth flew closer, clawing its right eye. The Bewilderbeast hissed in pain and began to swim away from the group. Drago remained hidden between the spikes on the dragon's head. This plan was affected when more dragons tore at the spikes, ripping them off. Lacking a place for cover, the man dove into the ocean. Toothless fired plasma at him, snarling. After several moments, the man did not resurface. Others in Drago's fleet were forced to notice the change of advantage. They started to retreat, but without the dragons, they lacked the manpower to succeed. The dragons returned to their Riders, helping in this fight. Vikings dove into the sea, were slashed, or blasted until there was one noise that rang through the air: a cheer of victory.
Hiccup looked over the fleets and dragons with a small smile on his face. This faded when he saw Cloudjumper in the distance. Valka was standing on his back with a haunted look on her face. Toothless started to fly over to her, but the duo disappeared in the clouds. Hiccup let out a sigh and instead, they flew down towards the others. To their surprise, the dragons respond uniquely. They moved aside, lowering their heads to Toothless. The Night Fury was confused by their actions and his rider was the same.
"Um, this is…different," Hiccup commented.
Hearing an excited squeal, he turned to see Fishlegs.
"Hiccup! I think that Toothless just became the new king of dragons!"
The other Berkian's eyes widened, matching Toothless's equally stunned expression. Then Hiccup patted the dragon's head.
"Way to go, Bud!"
Toothless looked proud of himself, giving a happy roar. The pair looked back at the group, taking in who all was there. Some of their allies had been injured, but it seemed like no more lives had been taken. This took a weight off both of their shoulders. This weight returned slightly when they saw Skullcrusher. He had landed on a ship, eyes low and seeming lost. Hiccup hated to see the dragon like that. Something caught his eye as he noticed Eret helping a wounded Defender back to her feet. Toothless swooped down over to the man.
"So, what's next for you?"
Eret paused, a worried look crossing his face. "I don't know," he admitted. "My tribe was conquered long ago by Drago. I doubt there's much of a home to return to and I definitely can't go back to trapping dragons after everything that's happened."
He said this part while smiling at a few Hideous Zipplebacks. The former Trapper wondered how he could be so purposeless in life and yet so at peace.
"My dad's dragon needs a new rider," Hiccup said. "I'm not sure if that's asking a little too much too soon, but…"
Eret's eyes were wide with shock. "You'd really be alright with that?"
"I would. You had your chances to turn on us if you wanted, but you fought right here with everyone else. I trust you. Drago might not have been willing to change, but you were. Skullcrusher deserves another warrior flying with him."
A surprised but happy smile came to Eret's face. "Then I'd be honored. Thank you."
His voice revealed how this was a layered response and Hiccup nodded, smiling warmly. He and Toothless returned to the air.
"Let's head back," he called out. "He'll provide care for all the injured on Berk."
The Vikings began returning to the island. As they did, they were unaware of Drago having survived. Every stroke in the water ached with his broken arm and his metal one made him sink so badly that he had unattached it nearly as soon as he started swimming. The man's body was exhausted and littered with burns from the dragons. Finally, he reached land. Painfully, he pulled himself to the shore and heaved heavy breaths while on his back. Slowly, his brows began to pinch together.
"You're worried I'll come back for you," he said, panting.
Valka stood over him with hatred in her eyes. "No, I'm here because you took my husband and my son's father away from us."
Drago was too exhausted to move. He merely opened his eyes.
"You were the one who went after me," he reminded her.
There was no smirk on his lips, but there was the kind of amusement in his eyes that only someone who had accepted fate could have.
"You were the one who killed him!" Valka yelled furiously.
"The Night Fury never would have been there if the boy was not trying to protect you."
Valka began shaking and went temporarily blind in anger. She relied on memory to know how to walk back to Cloudjumper.
"Kill him," she instructed.
At her order, the dragon lunged at the warlord, mauling him. Valka was still too enraged to see any of it, but pained cries filled her ears. She let this become music to her while those on Berk were being healed. Gothi whacked several Vikings with her stick when they were being whiny, but otherwise, she was helping them. Hiccup stood with his friends, just letting his mind take everything in.
"Berk does need a chief," he stated.
Astrid turned to him. "I agree, but it's not going to crumble if it's without one for a few days. You don't have to do this right now."
"I think I can…but only if I'm not doing it alone."
This surprised the group. The twins scratched their heads unsurely.
"Uh, how's that going to work?" Tuffnut asked.
Hiccup looked at them with an idea in his eyes. "What we did today–what we always do–is work together. I couldn't defeat Drago on my own and I don't want to be chief on my own either. Let's all take a part of this. It'll be like the Edge where it was everyone's island."
Snotlout's jaw dropped. "Don't play with my emotions, Hiccup! Are you saying you want us to all be chiefs? Is that even a thing?"
"I always bring something new to Berk. Why should this be any different? The council has never really been listened to before, but if we are the council, we'll be able to delegate tasks to each other and share our ideas for how to make Berk the best it's ever been."
Fishlegs looked both excited and nervous. "Are you sure we can do this? We've never had this kind of responsibility before."
"Neither have I," Hiccup remarked. "All I know is that when we work as a team, we accomplish whatever we set out to do. I want that to be used for our home too. What do you say?"
There was a brief pause before Astrid held his hand.
"We're with you," she promised. "Now and forever."
Feeling relieved, Hiccup went with the others to prepare. They all gathered near the Great Hall. When Gothi was ready, she took a dark ink and the Riders bent down so that she could put the chieftain marks on their foreheads. Once she was finished, excitement filled the island as claps were heard in celebration of the new leaders. Suddenly, the twins cried out an excited cheer.
"It's everyone's island!"
They locked arms, dancing in a circle. Their friends laughed and began to join in. It was a new day in Berk, but they had all learned that change could lead to anything. In this case, it was going to mean what they wanted it to mean. Whatever came their way, they could handle as long as they had each other. In a world of many uncertainties, that was one guarantee they knew with all their hearts.