Dragon Music Tales
Good to be Bad
Summary: After learning about an impending danger from the Berserkers, who have grown much stronger in the last few years, Stoick makes a risky decision. He asks the Dragon Riders to help them fight against them. They agree, but also ask if they would have some willing volunteers to teach them how to ride dragons and show Stoick, and all of Berk, that dragons aren't their enemies. Stoick eventually agrees to their terms, hoping to Odin that they know what they are doing.
Part Three of Runaway AU. Read "Ways to be Wicked" and "Rotten to the Core" chapters first.
Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins were waiting in the old Kill Arena, half of them almost shaking in their boots with slight nervousness, while the other half was pretty much quivering with excitement. "Can you believe it? We're going to ride dragons!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Actual dragons! Oh, think of the glorious destruction we can bring."
He sniffed while wiping his eye. "I'm getting a little misty-eyed just thinking about it."
"We're only learning to ride dragons so that those stinking Dragon Riders aren't outnumbered when the Berserkers get here." Snotlout said, snapping Tuffnut out of his destructive fantasy.
"I can't believe the Chief talked us into this." Fishlegs said. "I mean, I know that we know who they are, and they'll never actually hurt us despite what happened three years ago, but still. This is really dangerous."
"I know." Ruffnut said, a sultry look in her eyes. "Isn't it amazing?"
The boys all rolled their eyes at her statement. It was most likely that Ruffnut had willingly volunteered all of them at that council meeting just so she can see Hiccup again, saying that he was hot. Well, it was dark, and there was fire burning everywhere when they last encountered him and the other Dragon Riders during their most recent raid, so how can she actually tell if he actually was attractive?
Suddenly, there was a loud roar coming from up above. Instinctively, everyone quickly got their weapons ready. They looked all around until they saw four dragons swoop into the Arena through the front gate, do a few spins around, and then land in front of the four of them.
There were four people, each one on a dragon. The one that made the four of them the most scared was the ebony black dragon, known to all Viking as a Night Fury. The person got off its back and revealed his face. It was Hiccup, the thought-to-be-deceased son of Stoick the Vast.
"Hello, hottie." Ruffnut purred, twirling one of her side braids with a finger.
Everyone else though was surprised to see how much he had grown. Sure, he was still pretty lean and not very muscular from when they were younger, but now he had sprouted a good couple feet and now was taller than any of them, his hair had grown wild and shaggy and still had the same intriguing shade of auburn with a couple of small braids behind his left ear. His fair skin highlighted the red stripes painted on his cheeks, and brought out just how green his eyes were.
Suddenly, the Rider on the blue Deadly Nadder threw a shiny battle axe at Ruffnut's feet, barely missing them, but the Thorston girl still jumped. It was Astrid, glaring daggers at her. She had become quite a beauty, and her face was painted with light blue and orange designs. Ruffnut understood the glare that the Hofferson girl was giving her. It clearly said, "Stay away from my man."
Hiccup however, rolled his eyes at Ruffnut's attempt to flirt with him. "Glad to see nothing's changed." He muttered.
"What you'd expect?" The Rider on the Boneknapper asked him rhetorically as he got off his dragon. It was Ragnar, and he had grown up to be almost the same height as Hiccup, and in similar ways. His face however, was painted with dark blue and silver colors in zigzag markings.
"Nothing hardly ever changes on this giant, wet heap of rock." The Iverson boy continued.
"Tell me about it." The Rider on the red Grapple Grounder answered as she dismounted her dragon. Fishlegs was trying his best to not geek out over the rare Boulder Class dragon. It was Juno, and like Astrid, she too had grown into a vision of loveliness. Her face was painted with yellow and purple swirls.
"Nothing has for the last three centuries." The Solheim added.
"What's up with the face paint?" Snotlout asked.
"It's fun to wear, and it scares the heck out of the Hunters we raid." Ragnar answered.
"It was a poor attempt to hide our identities." Hiccup corrected his adoptive brother. "But I guess for some strange reason, it works, so it's become a habit to wear it."
"Well, me likey." Ruffnut playfully growled, trying to inch her way up to the lead Dragon Rider, but Astrid pushed her away.
"Don't even think about it." She hissed at the female Thorston protectively.
Hiccup was her boyfriend, and she'll be cursed by the gods if she ever lost him. She'd rather tie herself to a ship's mast, lost at sea, than let another woman try to take advantage of one of the purest hearts in the entire known Viking world. And she considered herself lucky that he even looked her way, after the things she had done to him back in their youth.
Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder, and she immediately relaxed at his touch. Everyone was surprised to see how calm and collected she was around him. No one ever affected Astrid Hofferson like that.
"Let's not start another fight, or else my father would kick us off the island before we even got started." He said.
"Good point." Juno said.
"So, um..." Fishlegs trailed off, "you guys are going to teach us how to ride dragons?"
The four Riders nodded. "That was part of the deal." Ragnar said. "As much as we don't want to be here either, this is still our birthplace, and gods curse us if we didn't do anything to help protect against invaders."
"So what are we waiting for?" Snotlout asked impatiently. "Bring on the beasts!"
Juno held up a finger, stopping him in his tracks. "Ah-ah-ah! Not so fast." She said. "It's one thing to ride a dragon, but it's a different thing to actually want to ride a dragon."
"She's right." Hiccup said. "The first thing you have to learn is to first create a bond between you and the dragon."
"Once you look behind all of the fire-breathing and scales, you'll see that they're still living creatures with souls, and amazing ones at that." Astrid said.
As if on cue, the four dragons that belonged to the Riders encircled the new recruits, either in the air or on the ground depending on the size or handicap. The Riders then began to sing.
All: From the north to the south
From the east to the west.
Lost boys, lost girls,
You all know you're the best.
Then, the dragons moved away from the four recruits to give them some space.
Hit the skies, it's your day.
Turn it up, now's your chance.
It's time to get up on your feet
And dance.
Hiccup whistled sharply, and then, three more dragons appeared and entered the Arena. There was a red male Monstrous Nightmare, a brown female Gronckle, and a green male Hideous Zippleback.
Hiccup: Anybody wanna be like us?
Everybody wanna be like us!
Astrid then roughly pushed Snotlout towards the giant of the bunch, the Nightmare, secretly loving the way he was shaking in his boots as he got closer to him.
Astrid: All the boys from the Isle of Berk
And the girls,
'Cause they know what's up!
Snotlout was almost a few inches away from the red Stoker Class dragon. Juno came up beside him.
Juno: Your life could change today,
Your life could change today.
She then took his left hand and held it out towards the calm Nightmare. Once his palm made contact with the warm, scaly snout, Snotlout looked up into his amber eyes and saw that there was no malice in them, but faintly saw his own reflection in them. The experience of it was amazing. Ragnar smiled at the scene. He'd never thought that Snotlout would get sentimental about something like this.
Ragnar: These skies named after us
Because we paved the way.
Juno moved away from Snotlout and went over to Astrid to help the twins bond with the Zippleback. Both of them repeated the process that they helped Snotlout with.
Girls: Everyone,
Come and take your shot.
Now's the time,
Show 'em what you got.
'Cause everyone's
Gonna get their chance.
They said that being a Rider is bad-
The recruits looked at them with confusion at what they meant by that. The girls stepped away from the twins and joined the boys in a dance formation.
All: Well, it's good to be bad!
And we're proof of that.
Used to be lost,
Now we're on the map.
Used to steal snacks,
Now we're giving back.
Remember that.
As they continued to sing, they were giving hand signals to their dragons, and they spread open their wings and lifted them into the air and waved them.
(It's good to be) Bad!
If you've got pride,
Raise your wings up high!
Wave 'em wide,
Side to side,
Feel the vibe!
It's good to be bad!
Now they understood what the Riders were saying. According to what other people say, they were supposed to be evil, training dragons, who were thought to be bloodthirsty devils. But now that they're seeing the giant reptiles with new eyes, they see that their philosophy of dragons being kind, amazing creatures was actually starting to sound appealing. If they were to be tangled up with them, they would considered evil as well. Well, they're not, but they let them think that because it's kind of fun to stir up trouble for the true villains.
Next, Juno and Hiccup went over to Fishlegs and helped him create a bond with the remaining dragon, the female Gronckle.
Juno: I wanna see you all rep your block!
I wanna see you all rep your block.
Show your pride,
Let me hear you shout!
Everyone: We're from the Isle of Berk!
The recruits were now feeling the excitement and anticipation course through their entire beings as they continued to form bonds with their new dragons. Snotlout had named his Nightmare Hookfang, Fishlegs had named his Gronckle Meatlug, and the twins each named a head of the Zippleback that they shared. Ruffnut named the right head, the one that breathes gas, Barf, and Tuffnut named the left head, the one that ignites the gas, Belch.
Juno: We're here to celebrate,
We're here to elevate.
If you down, then make your move,
But you best not hesitate.
Juno then moved away and began singing with Astrid again as the boys both tossed some leather saddles of slightly different sizes to the recruits and showed them how to saddle their new dragons.
Girls: Today's a day
That you won't forget.
The best to come,
Ain't happened yet.
Take a bow,
It won't be your last.
You're from Berk if anybody asks.
The boys then jumped away and rejoined the girls in their dancing formation. And they also showed the recruits more tricks that they taught their dragons with other hand signals.
All: It's good to be bad!
And we're proof of that.
Used to be lost,
Now we're on the map.
Used to steal snacks,
Now we're giving back.
Remember that.
(It's good to be) Bad!
If you've got pride,
Raise your wings up high.
Wave 'em wide,
Side to side,
Feel the vibe.
It's good to be bad!
Then, the boys began helping the recruits put on their dragons' new saddles at a pretty quick pace. Ruffnut had tried to run her fingers up Hiccup's arm to try and feel him up when he was helping her, but he expertly flipped up and over her, dodging her and landing behind her. Everyone was surprised by how he moved like that, remembering how he couldn't even perform a barrel roll back in training.
Ragnar: They can try to deny style,
But this is who we are.
'Cause you can take the Rider out of the Isle,
But you can't take the Isle out the Rider.
Hiccup: If you wanna make it hype,
Not a moment to waste.
Make it loud, make it live,
Make it jump to the bass.
Make it what you want,
But you better make your case,
'Cause the sky makes us
And we're running this place!
Hiccup and Ragnar then began leading the others in a cheer as they each got on their dragons, pumping their arms up in the air.
Boys: So when I say D, you say R!
D! (Everyone: R!)
D! (R!)
When I say all, you say day!
All! (Day!)
All! (Day!)
When I say D, you say R!
D! (R!)
D! (R!)
When I say all, you say day!
Everyone: All day!
Next, the Riders led the recruits and their dragons up into the sky, helping them get used to being up in the air. The wind in their faces, the feeling of freedom, it was exhilarating.
Ragnar: Come on!
All: (It's good to be) Bad!
Then, they led the recruits back into the Arena and they all jumped off their dragons and joined in their dance formation. Then the recruits tried some of the hand signals the Riders showed them earlier.
Everyone: It's good to be bad!
And we're proof of that.
Used to be lost,
Now we're on the map.
Used to steal snacks,
Now we're giving back.
Remember that.
To their glee, their new dragons understood them perfectly as they obeyed their new Riders.
(It's good to be) Bad
If you've got pride,
Raise your wings up high.
Wave 'em wide,
Side to side,
Feel the vibe.
It's good to be-
Bad!
The song ended with all of them having a fist pumped in the air. Everyone then lowered their fists as Hiccup turned around to face the recruits. "Well, you guys learned fast." He said.
"Those Berserkers doesn't stand a chance against us now." Snotlout said, clenching his fist again in determination.
"That's right, Snotlout." Hiccup said, actually agreeing with his cousin for the first time in his life. "They don't."
A/N: "DR" means "Dragon Rider", in case you didn't get it.
The song that I used is "Good to be Bad" from "Descendants 3", which is premiering today! So, since I absolutely love this song, I thought that I can upload this chapter in honor of this long-awaited Disney Channel film.
Also, even I don't think that this is worthy enough, but this is also in remembrance of Cameron Boyce, who played Carlos de Vil in this film trilogy. Rest in peace, Cameron, and keep singing and dancing among the stars.
Until next time, y'all! Please leave a review about what you think, or leave a request in the reviews or PM me.
Got to fly! ;)