Colossal Cave Chapter 8

Everyone held up their own end of the deal. The dragons of the Berk nest took wing about an hour before sunset and headed north. They saw the Outcast Island dragons spiraling in through the volcanic cone of Dragon Island as they arrived. They all found perches around the nest's edge or on the spires that rose up from the bottom, and waited. The ones who had once served the Mother braced themselves for a flood of unhappy memories.

As the sun touched the horizon, the two Red Deaths glided straight down through the cone and landed heavily on the bottom of the nest. They had to stretch their necks to bring their heads above the thick layer of yellow smoke so the other dragons could see them. Many of those dragons pulled away in fear, even though Toothless had explained at great length that this was a peaceful meeting and no dragons would be eaten tonight.

Tarpits took the initiative. Hiccup had suggested to him that a male Red Death would not frighten the dragons of this nest as much as a female one at the outset, because it was a female who had enslaved them in the past. He described the situation they all faced, with humans slowly taking over the world and driving the dragons to extinction. He refreshed their memories about the battles they had fought with humans in the recent past, and described what Drago Bludvist and his armies had done to the Bewilderbeast's nest. The dragons from Outcast Island didn't need their memories refreshed; their struggle with the humans was a daily battle.

Then Bigsmark began describing their proposed solution to the problem. As she told them about their cavern-nest and the plan to seal it off from humans forever, heads were nodding all over the nest. It seemed to make more sense than hoping against hope that the humans would leave them alone here.

"Finally," Bigsmark concluded, "I'd like to ask one dragon from among you, who has already visited our nest, to tell you all about it from her own point of view." She gestured with a wing toward Night-fury-first-girl, who almost panicked.

"What should I do?" she whispered to her father.

"Tell the truth," he whispered back.

"That's always good advice," her mother added.

So First-girl flapped over to a central location where nearly all the dragons could see her. "I visited this cave-nest a few weeks ago," she began nervously. "It's just like they said – it's huge, it has food and water, it has a little bit of light, and it has some room to fly around. They've got almost a thousand dragons there already, and it isn't even starting to get crowded. Everything they said is true."

"You said it has room to fly around," Gronckle-grouchy-questions-everything snorted. "How much room?"

"Well, it's not unlimited," she admitted. "But the Red Deaths say there's enough room for them to fly in circles, one at a time. That means there must be enough room for at least thirty normal-sized dragons to stretch their wings at once. Also, there are lots of stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and flying around those is kind of fun, as long as you watch where you're going. You won't be grounded if you go there." Some of the Nadders relaxed when they heard that.

"Are you going to live there?" someone asked her.

"I don't know," she admitted. "It's a big decision."

"It sounds like a no-brainer to me," someone called.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" someone else roared.

"Wait until you've heard the rest of the story!" Hiccup shouted as he landed next to First-girl. "There are a few issues that no one has mentioned yet. For starters, look straight up." They all did so. "Can you see the stars? Imagine never seeing the stars again. Imagine trying to explain to your hatchlings what the stars are like, because they'll never see them.

"Imagine never flying through the clouds again. Imagine never seeing trees again, or the moon, or ocean waves. Imagine never feeling the morning sun on your back again, or seeing a sunset. Imagine your young ones never playing sliding games on the ice in winter. Imagine two male dragons getting into a fight over a female, and they can't stay away from each other because there's noplace else to go. Imagine wanting to go for a long, relaxing flight, just for the fun of it, and you can't, because you have to turn away from a wall every minute or two. Imagine just wanting to see someplace different for a change, and it's impossible, because you're sealed inside this cave for life!

"Those of you who live on Berk and have made friends with a human, imagine saying goodbye to that human forever. Imagine all those things now, because you won't have to imagine them if you choose to join the cavern-nest. They will be your reality, and you'll have no way to change it.

"We dragons love freedom more than just about anything. Some of us have taken great risks and faced great danger to earn and keep our freedom. I'm not exaggerating when I say that, for some of us, freedom is life. And, if you join this nest and seal yourselves away, you're giving up a huge chunk of that freedom! You're giving up all your options for the future in exchange for one option that sounds safe. No, it is safe – I can't dispute that. Everything that Tarpits and Bigsmark said is true. But they left out the part about the price you'll pay for that safety. You're trading freedom for safety. Is that a good trade? I can't answer that for you. But it's a trade that I, and my loved ones, can never make.

"Also, keep in mind that my plan to spread peace to the nearby Viking tribes is right on schedule. It will take a while, but there's every reason to think that, before too many years have passed, this region will be a safe place for dragons of all kinds. Will that safety last for hundreds of years, or for thousands of years, or maybe just a few dozen years? Will it spread to other parts of the world? Will other humans move in and ruin things for us? I can't answer those questions. No one can. But if my plan works as intended, then we and our children will have both freedom and safety.

"I remember being a human. Turning into a dragon was the best thing that ever happened to me, and a big part of that was because I found out what freedom really means. To me, being a dragon means being free! Even if the humans turned on us tomorrow and killed all of us, I'd rather enjoy every last moment of freedom than live for centuries in a stone cage. And that's why I can't accept this offer that the Red Deaths are making. I'm not forbidding anyone to accept their offer. All I'm saying is, think very carefully about what you're gaining and what you're giving up. Once you choose, you can never go back, and the things that you give up will be lost to you forever.

"Think carefully, dragons. Choose wisely." He flapped back and landed next to Astrid, with First-girl right behind him.

"Nice speech," his mate whispered. "You probably convinced half of our nest to stay."

"That many?" Hiccup was surprised.

"If you hadn't spoken," Full-of-surprises added, "we would have lost them all."

Tarpits raised his head again and rumbled, "Let me add just one thing to what Chief-night-fury has said. Yes, all of those things are precious to dragons. But what good are they if you're dead? What good will they be to your children if your children are dead?"

Bigsmark added, "We have said what we came to say. We'll leave this nest and spend the night on the beach outside. You can talk this over with each other without any pressure from us. Tomorrow morning, we will fly back to our nest, along with those of you who want to join us. We earnestly hope that some Night Furies will be among those who join us. After that, we will not be back." They leaped ponderously into the air and flapped up and out of the nest.

The dragons in the nest began discussing their choices, and those discussions quickly became heated. For the next three hours, the Night Furies were kept busy defusing arguments and separating dragons whose disagreements got too passionate. They did what they could to reinforce their message of freedom. But for many, the only thing that mattered was, "What good is freedom if the humans kill us? What if they kill our children?" At last, the debates petered out and the dragons slept. The Night Furies went for a midnight flight together to unwind.

"The Red Deaths still aren't getting any Night Furies," Astrid said. "What do you think they'll do?"

"They sure won't be happy," Smith-flies-for-fun replied. "That's what they came here for. They might threaten an attack anyway."

"Can anybody think of a way to avoid a war?" Hiccup asked.

"The only thing I can think of," Faithful-brother said slowly, "is if some of us volunteered to go, not because we want to, but just to keep the peace."

"Are you saying we should surrender to the demands of those nest-tyrants, just to get them off our backs?" Mother-of-twins was indignant. "That would be the most colossal 'cave' I've ever heard of!"

"You mean, give up a big piece of our future so the rest of us can have a whole future?" Hiccup considered that. "That would be quite a sacrifice." They flew in silence for a few seconds.

"We'll think about it," Bi-xi said suddenly, and Pu-lao nodded.

"Please think very carefully," Toothless cautioned them. "You're still young, with many centuries of life ahead of you. There will be no Night Furies to rescue you if you make your decision and then regret it later."

"Compared to being Grounded, being in a cave is not bad at all," Pu-lao said. "We also have our young family to consider. We have to talk about this before we decide for certain." They flew away from the others and had a long, quiet conversation. The rest of the Night Furies flew silently again.

"It's a sacrifice that I'll make, if no one else will." New-beginning's voice startled them. "I think my entire nest is planning to go. That big cavern is a lot better for them than endless war with the Outcasts – I'll admit that. And if they go, then I ought to go with them. I've grown attached to them, and they're used to me watching out for them."

"I'd miss you, nest-brother," Toothless said softly.

"I'd miss you too. But we got a chance to spend some time together again when we thought it would never happen. If my going will prevent a bloody battle, then I'll do it. It's a different kind of 'looking out for the nest.' "

"The only problem with that," Astrid pointed out, "is that the Red Deaths want breeding pairs, not bachelors."

"I'll offer myself anyway," New-beginning said. "Maybe it will be enough."

o

The next morning, the Night Furies perched on the rim of the crater. They could see the two Red Deaths on the beach below, looking up at them. "Tarpits! Bigsmark!" Hiccup shouted. "We have talked it over, as you requested. Now greet the dragons who want to join you." He looked back into the crater and roared quickly.

A great cloud of dragons of all kinds rose out of the crater and glided down to land next to the Red Deaths. From the Outcast Island nest, four dragons (including New-Beginning) stayed behind; all the others had chosen to live in a secure, human-free cave forever. Over half of the Dragon Island nest made the same decision, as did about half of the Berk nest. Ironically, most of the Berk dragons who stayed did so because they didn't want to be parted from their favorite humans.

The Red Deaths counted noses in satisfaction; they had gained over a hundred and seventy dragons from this expedition. Then they looked up. "But there are still no Night Furies," Tarpits thundered. "This is unacceptable!"

"We'll go, if it will keep the peace," came a female voice. Bi-xi and Pu-lao stepped away from the group and prepared to fly down to the beach.

"This is a 'forever' decision you're making," Hiccup said anxiously. "Are you sure about this?"

"We talked about it last night," Pu-lao said. "Until your daughter transformed us, we were resigned to being Grounded for the rest of our lives. This fate is not one that we dreamed of, but it is still much better than being Grounded."

"We can adjust to it," Bi-xi added. "It'll be better than war. Anything is better than war. We are also concerned about our children; we want them to grow up and live long, safe lives."

"This may not be a proper Night Fury attitude," Pu-lao finished, "but it is the way we have always thought about things. We understand your reluctance to take this path, but for us, this is wisdom. We are sure about this." They glided away with their juvenile son and their hatchling daughter.

"That is better," Bigsmark nodded, "but we want at least two breeding pairs, so the species will not become so inbred."

"I'll go," New-beginning said as he launched himself from the cone to join the others on the ground.

"Where is your mate?" Tarpits demanded.

"I have none," he admitted.

"This is still unacceptable!" Bigsmark roared. "We are not leaving here without two pairs of Night Furies!"

"Then I'll do my duty and go," came another female voice. It was... First-girl.

"No!" Lady-night-fury shouted. "You don't know what you're doing! You don't know what you're giving up! Are you even attracted to New-beginning?"

First-girl shook her head. "I'm still young, but I'll grow, and I'm used to being around New-beginning. He's a nice dragon. It will be like the arranged marriages that the Vikings do. We'll learn how to work it out together. Someone has to do it, or we'll have a war."

"We don't want war," Guana pleaded, "but we don't want to lose you forever, either! You're still so young!"

"Mom, this is something I think I have to do," First-girl replied firmly. "All the other girl Night Furies are already paired off, except for Thing One and Thing Two, and Thing One likes her humans too much, and Thing Two probably doesn't want to be cut off from her twin sister. I'm the only one who can do this. I'll miss the sky, but I'd feel awful if someone got hurt because I wouldn't do my job as a Night Fury. I'll go."

"Then I suppose our mission here is done," Tarpits nodded in satisfaction. "There will be no war, Night Furies. We thank you for your diplomatic skills, which far exceed ours. We hope you don't live to regret the choice you made today."

"Go in peace," Hiccup called, "and please take good care of our dragons." The others echoed his good wishes... except for Toothless, who was standing motionless with his mouth hanging open.

"My nest-brother and my daughter?" he whimpered. "I'm going to lose both of you? I'm running out of loved ones I can lose!"