Night of the Hunters (Part 1):
"Whoo-hoooo! Hahaha!" Astrid cheered as she and Stormfly sped through the early morning air, her arms raised to it with the thrill. Stormfly veered up, and Astrid held back onto the saddle as Stormfly flipped backwards. "We're going vertical, Stormfly!" Astrid shouted, before Stormfly went into a ninety degree vertical decent, Astrid screaming with exhilaration. They pulled up before hitting the trees, before deciding to dive and fly through the forest, veering passed every tree in their path.
"Catch ya on the other side!" Astrid shouted, then stood on Stormfly's back and jumped onto a branch with a vine hanging down. She leapt and caught the vine, swinging with it until she let go and launched herself up into the air and out the forest trees above Stormfly, safely landing back in the saddle. "Miss me?"
Stormfly squawked in response.
They flew through a small canyon with a river running through it, before landing on some rocks and deciding to rest in some early morning rays by the water. Stormfly laid down, and Astrid comfortably stretched herself out and relaxed against her.
"Nothing like an early morning ride to start the day", she said. "I know we should do it more often; it's just been so crazy since Dagur found the Edge." It was also the last time they saw him too, but everyone was still on edge. Dagur knew where the Edge was, and no one knew what or when his next move would be. For now, it was as though he'd disappeared, and somehow that was even more worrying.
A distress call rung out, and Astrid stood and mounted Stormfly. Fun time was over. Following the dragon's calls, they were led to the beach where ships were moored, and men littered the shore carrying and moving crates filled with who knows what.
"I've never seen those colors before", she thought out loud, looking at the men's uniforms and their boats' sails. Taking a closer look, though, there was something familiar. A dragon with an arrow and a sword pierced through it... "But I have seen that insignia. It was on the Reaper." Suddenly, Astrid realized who those men were, and she gasped with it. "Those are Dragon Hunters. Come on, Stormfly, let's get a better look."
Stormfly took her in closer, hiding behind some large rocks on the beach, and Astrid saw the green tinted cages she'd seen on the Reaper, each holding a dragon. If there was any doubt these were Dragon Hunters before, it was gone now.
"Quiet down, ya useless lizard!" one hunter slammed his mace against the bars of a cage holding a Monstrous Nightmare barely making any noise. Astrid narrowed her eyes furiously at it, already making her mind up that these people were monsters.
The 'man' was laughing, taunting the poor dragon, when another man who was clearly his boss slammed his head into the cage with one hand. His armor was clearly made from dragon skin and bones, but what was strange was his face. His hair was shaven, leaving him bald with his face sporting clean and shaven facial hair, only leaving a thin mustache and a single line going from below his bottom lip down to his chin. It was such a strange and foreign look, Astrid began to question if these were even Vikings, though their armor did resemble it.
"Just load 'em up", he said, his accent foreign as well.
"Yes, Ryker. Sorry, Ryker", the hunter responded.
"Look at him", 'Ryker' pushed the hunter's face further against the cage. "Powerful. Perfect. Remember, they're smarter than you."
The Monstrous Nightmare lunged, nearly biting the hunter's head clean off, but that Ryker guy yanked and tossed him away.
"But not me", he smirked with an awful chuckle. Even after all the awful people she'd faced, Astrid still couldn't believe what she was seeing. This man…he was something else entirely, and it both scared and angered her to think what he was going to do with all those dragons. Who knew what he was even capable of?
Her fears were only confirmed when Ryker began sniffing the air, his face that of someone who knew something was amiss. When his gaze landed onto the rocks they were hiding behind, Astrid quietly gasped, hiding further behind the rocks with Stormfly doing the same.
"And grab that Nadder!" he ordered, somehow knowing exactly where and what Stormfly was. Time was up. Leaping onto Stormfly, they got into the air and revealed themselves, the hunters in awe of her riding a dragon, but their leader hardly fazed.
"Get us out of here, Stormfly!" Astrid said, but her dragon instead dove at the hunters, performing evasive maneuvers to avoid their arrows. "Come on, Stormfly! We gotta get Hiccup!" she tried again, but for some reason Stormfly wasn't listening. Was she trying to save the other dragons first?
Ryker pushed his men out of the way and aimed his own bow, Stormfly reacting to the threat with a spine shot attack. That's when he fired. They couldn't dodge in time, and suddenly Stormfly was hit in her flank and going out of control, screeching in pain.
"Stormfly!" Astrid screamed in fear. What was happening?!
"When a Nadder shoots its spines, it always leaves its belly exposed", Ryker smirked up at them, looking as if he knew he'd already won.
"Whoa, Stormfly! Whoa!" she tried to get control, but it was like Stormfly couldn't fly anymore. Something was wrong, and suddenly Astrid was bucked off and her dragon was falling towards the ocean. Her body hit the water first with a splash, the shock of the cold water taking Astrid's breath. She fought to swim to the surface, at last breaching the water and gripping hold of a nearby log for support, breathing in gasps of air. Looking up, she found her dragon being pulled onto one of the hunters' ships, her dragon squawking and screeching for her help.
"Move out!" she heard Ryker order.
"What about the rider?!" a hunter asked.
"Never mind!" Ryker shot back, her existence nothing to him.
They began to sail away, Astrid powerless to follow.
"No", she protested nonetheless, coming out breathless as she felt completely drained. "Stormfly! I'll find you."
000
Aric stood at their landing deck, watching as storm clouds began to roll in as evening fell. Hiccup came up behind him with Toothless at her heel.
"That doesn't look good", Toothless moaned, scared of thunderstorms ever since finding out his metal attracted lightning bolts, not to mention seeing his sister being electrocuted and nearly killed by one.
"Still no sign of them?" Hiccup asked, Aric having been watching out for Astrid and Stormfly for a few hours now.
"Nothing. She's never been gone all day like this", Aric said worriedly. "Not without telling someone."
"You think something happened?"
"I'm scared something happened."
Hiccup frowned, strolling up beside Aric and looking to the storm clouds in the distance, thunder rumbling. "Y-you know, it could be nothing. She might have just lost track of time and set down for the storm. R-remember that time she didn't show up for her own birthday party, 'cause she was trying to free climb to the top of Odin's mountain just to prove it was possible, and didn't tell anyone?"
"Yeah, but―", Aric said, a smile peeking through.
"Or, the time she decided to work on her late night sword fighting, without telling anyone, and surprised Silent Sven in the woods?"
"Hiccup―" Aric snorted.
"Yeah, I don't think he ever recovered from that. And then there was that time―"
"Hiccup, thank you for trying to make me feel better, but this is different. Something's wrong; I can feel it."
Thunder roared, lightning breaking within the dense clouds.
Hiccup sighed, knowing unfortunately he was right. "Then what are we standing here for?" she asked with a smirk, turning back around to mount up. "Mount up; we're finding Astrid."
Aric smiled a moment, then did as asked, the two gathering up the other riders and Hiccup hoping this really was nothing.
000
Flying out to the ocean with heavy rain pouring on them, the riders split in all different directions.
" "Astrid!" " the twins called as they flew North, each twin flying their dragon's head in opposite directions of right and left, causing them to slam back into each other like a stretched rubber-band.
" "Astrid!" " They switched directions, their dragon's heads crossing, and the same thing happened again.
"Ah! Bad dragon!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Okay, new plan. I'll look for Astrid, you fly the dragon."
"Good idea!" Ruffnut said.
"Astrid!" Tuffnut shouted alone this time, but the same thing only happened again.
"Okay-okay-okay-okay, new plan. I'll fly the dragon, you look for Astrid", Tuffnut said.
"Good idea!" Ruffnut agreed once more. "Astrid!" Ruffnut now shouted alone, and yet once more the same thing happened.
Snotlout and Hookfang didn't have much better luck. Finding a cave with light flickering inside, he'd been sure it was Astrid by a fire she'd lit to keep warm from the storm. Upon landing and entering the cave, Snotlout leapt from Hookfang's saddle in a grand show.
"Astrid! Your Viking in shining Gronckle Iron is here!" he exclaimed, but instead of coming face to face with Astrid, he'd come face to face with an angry and territorial Typhoomerang. "AHH! Not Astrid! Not Astrid!" he screamed as he and Hookfang flew out of there, a trail of Typhoomerang fire behind them. "So not Astrid!"
Aric was getting frustrated as he and Shadowstar searched East with Fishlegs and Meatlug. Every which way, all he could see was ocean and rain. "Astrid!" he called. "Ergh, where are you?"
For Hiccup and Toothless, they were equipped with something the others weren't, though that didn't mean their search was any better. Each pointing in a different direction, the two let loose their echolocation. Hiccup frowned as she still got nothing back.
"Anything, bud?"
"Nothing", her dragon bleated.
They flew on, determined to find some trace of her. Anything!
"She's got to be out here somewhere", Hiccup said, and let loose her echolocation once more.
000
Astrid was so cold. So cold, and so tired. As the rain pelted harder and the waves rose higher, she didn't know how much longer she could hold on, but she knew she had to for Stormfly. Someone would find her; she just had to hold on. Nature had other plans, however. A wave came too high, and Astrid lost hold of the log keeping her afloat, unable to catch it or keep herself above water against the raging sea. She sunk like a rock in the dark, fighting but too weak and too tired to swim up against the current. She felt herself losing consciousness, when someone dove to her rescue and pulled her up to the surface and into the pouring sky.
"Astrid! Astrid!" she heard them call frantically, trying to shake her awake. Coughing water, Astrid opened her eyes and found it was Hiccup. Despite how weak she felt, somehow she still found the strength to smirk.
"What took you so long?" she teased, then with Hiccup's relieved laugh found herself drifting off.
000
It was the next morning before Astrid began to stir, and Aric called for the others. They all gathered around her bedside, all worried about her and wondering what could have happened, hoping for any semblance of an answer when she finally woke up. Though they'd found Astrid, Stormfly was still missing.
Suddenly, Astrid startled awake, popping up to a sitting position. "Stormfly!" she screamed in a daze.
"Hey, it's okay, it's okay", Hiccup immediately went to soothe. "Just try to relax, Astrid. You've had a tough night."
"Nonono, you don't understand", Astrid was frantic. "They were all in cages. A-and they have Stormfly!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait; slow down. Cages? What are you talking about? What happened out there?"
Astrid took a moment, then without looking at any of them in the eye said the words, "Dragon Hunters."
Snotlout and the twins gasped, while Fishlegs whimpered.
"Dragon Hunters?" Aric questioned, eyes narrowing.
"A whole fleet of them."
"And they have Stormfly?" Hiccup asked.
"Yeah. This big, ugly one… Oh, when I get my hands on him…"
"Annnd, welcome back", Fishlegs said.
"Come on!" Astrid jumped out of bed. "Let's mount up!" She ran down the steps…until she remembered she had no dragon.
"You can ride with me", Aric said, and Astrid was grateful.
Mounting up, they flew to the last place Astrid had seen the Hunters and Stormfly. The beach was littered with debris from the storm. They fanned out to search it anyway, Aric kneeling to the sand as Astrid scanned the beach with her eyes.
"There has to be some clues here somewhere. Something", she said.
"How many cages were there?" Hiccup asked.
"You remember all the cages on the Reaper?"
"Yeah?"
"Double it."
"We got nothing", Tuffnut said as he and Ruffnut came over.
"Just a bunch of trash", Ruffnut followed. "Looks like these Dragon Hunters are also littler bugs!"
"Yeah, there should be some sort of penalty or fine for littering. I mean, am I wrong, people? What-what if everyone were this careless and inconsiderate? What then, huh? Where would we be then?" Tuffnut exclaimed, before crying tears into his hands. Hiccup and Aric looked to each other a tad confused and a little concerned.
"I knew coming here was a bad idea", Snotlout griped after closing a washed up chest shut. "What did we hope to find anyway?"
That's when Snotlout screamed.
"OOOWWW! Something bit me!" he fell onto his back, something stuck in the bottom of his boot. "I'm allergic to sand crabs! They make my toes fan out. Ow, ow, ow!"
Before anyone else, Astrid raced over to check it out, hoping above all else it was a clue.
"Whoa", Snotlout chuckled, Astrid ignoring him as she held up his booted foot to examine. "Look at you. Rushed right over to help, didn't you? Well, you know what that means, Astrid..."
"I suggest shutting it before I decide to damage all the nerves in your foot", Astrid glared at him.
Snotlout gulped. "You can't really do that. Can you?"
"Wanna try me?"
Before Snotlout could respond, Astrid pulled at the sharp piece that was stuck in his foot.
"Ow!" he yelped as it was yanked out.
"This is a dragon hunter arrow", Astrid turned the piece in her hand. "Stormfly was hit by one of these right before she was caught. I've never seen her so out of control before", she said before carefully handing the arrow head to Fishlegs.
"Interesting", Fishlegs examined. It was a strange green color, almost like the cages they found on the Reaper, but darker. He sniffed it, and it smelled earthy. "Unexpected." Finally, Fishlegs decided to lick it, hoping the taste would prove his suspicions. "Mm, tangy."
"Mind filling us in on what 'tangy' and 'unexpected' mean?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm guessing it's refined dragon root", he said, and Hiccup gasped with a small step back. "I've heard that at high concentrations, it can overwhelm a dragon's senses completely, making it almost impossible for them to fly."
"That's exactly what happened to Stormfly", Astrid said.
"Think of it. Just one quiver of these arrows could decimate an entire flock of dragons."
"I'd rather not think of it", Hiccup interrupted.
"How are we gonna find her?" Astrid asked, Aric taking the arrow head from Fishlegs as Hiccup shied away, not really wanting to get too close to such a thing as 'refined dragon root'. The original was bad enough.
"We have no idea where they're going", Astrid continued, but looking to the arrow in Aric's hand and the symbol etched into the metal beneath the dragon root coating, Hiccup knew where to start.
"We might not know where they're going, but we do know where they've been", she said, and the Riders set course for the Reaper. Or, what was left of it. Last they were on board, they were nearly sunk with it. Now it seemed to be shipwrecked on a bunch of rocks, as if someone had unsunk it. Lucky for them, Hiccup supposed.
Split up into groups, Fishlegs, the twins, and Snotlout were to search the deck, while Astrid, Hiccup, and Aric searched below. "Remember, we're looking for maps, coordinates, hidden compartments, anything that could help us track down the Dragon Hunters", Hiccup told them. "If you find anything, use your dragon call. Not the distress one, please. The uh...'let's regroup'...one."
"That's not what it means", Toothless lightly protested.
"It's the best translation I've got", Hiccup tried to subtly reply.
With that, they went their separate ways, and the twins, Fishlegs, and Snotlout began looking through crates and barrels scattered on the deck.
"There's nothing here", Tuffnut said. "Somone totally looted this boat."
"This ship gives me the creeps", Ruffnut said beside a left behind dragon skull.
"Sunken ship, dragon hunters, the creeps. I bet this thing is crawling with ghosts, and other such spirits, planning on dragging us down to the dark Viking underworld where they will torture us by tickling us for eternity!"
Ruffnut gasped. "Niflhiem?"
"Gesundheit."
"Niflhiem?!" Snotlout shouted. "I knew coming here was a bad idea! What do we hope to find anyway?! AHHhhh!" he suddenly fell through the boards and into some hold with a ton of crates. So many, they broke his fall.
"Get me outta here!" Snotlout whined, the other three looking down at him through the hole he'd created.
"What if that's just what the ghosts want us to do?", Tuffnut asked skeptically.
"TUFFNUT!"
000
Astrid searched with her brother and Hiccup in yet another room, and there was nothing. Dagur had stripped the Reaper of practically everything. And even if he hadn't, what good would any of it have done in finding Stormfly? They were wasting time!
After searching another empty barrel, Astrid ended up throwing the lid across the room.
"Argh!" she shouted. "There's nothing here!"
"Just keep looking, Astrid. We'll find something", Hiccup tried to assure with that calm voice of hers, but all it did was make Astrid even angrier.
"What if we don't?! What if we can't track them down?! Hiccup, I'm―"
"I know, I know."
"We all do", Aric said too. "But as hard as it may be right now, we have to stay positive if we're ever going to find Stormfly and bring her home."
"You don't think I'm trying?" Astrid accused. "You didn't see Ryker. He actually enjoys hunting and caging dragons. And he", Astrid unsheathed her sword, "has", she swung up, "MINE!" Astrid swung down right into a shield hanging on the wall.
Astrid seethed there for a moment, just breathing hard, trying to keep it together.
"Astrid, we're going to find her", Hiccup tried to assure again. "And the other dragons too. I promise."
"Hiccup", Astrid sighed, Hiccup's attempt actually starting to work this time. Maybe it had something to do with letting all that anger out. "I don't know what I would do without Stormfly", she said. "If something happens to her, I-I―"
"Don't worry", Hiccup interrupted again. "We'll get her back. Now let's go see if the other guys found anything."
Astrid nodded, then went to pull her sword out of the shield she'd practically mutilated. It was pretty stuck in there, but with a little wiggle, she got it out. Her sword wasn't the only thing to slide out, though. As her sword came out, something else did too, something brown on the edges and clear in the middle.
Hiccup knelt to pick it up, and they all looked to each other. "Dragon Eye lens", she said.
000
They called the others down, pairing the lens with Hookfang, then Meatlug, Barf and Belch, and lastly Toothless, but no matter the fire or configuration of the Dragon Eye, nothing came up.
"Well, none of our dragons work with this new lens", Hiccup said in finality.
"If we can't figure out what kind of dragon we need…" Astrid trailed off.
"It's gonna be okay", Aric assured beside her.
Hiccup frowned with Astrid's dismay. They needed to find Stormfly before she began to truly lose all hope, but so far all they found was dead ends.
'Think, Hiccup, think', Hiccup thought. What was she missing?
It was then Tuffnut went up to the shield the lens came from, looking at it with a hand to his chin in thought…however Tuffnut thought.
"Hm, yep. It's either the inside of a yak, or a Changewing in a cage", he said, and that's when it hit her. That Changewing in a cage, the lens was its eye!
"Tuffnut, you're a genius!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"I'm actually a Geologenius. That's a geologist who's also a genius."
"Looks like we're going to Changewing Island."
They set course for Changewing Island, and on the way, Astrid had began to brighten with the promise of this new lead. It was one step closer to the Dragon Hunters, and one step closer to Stormfly. At least, that's what it seemed. In all honesty there was no telling what would be on the lens, and Hiccup was worried. If this led to a dead end, she didn't know what Astrid would do.
"Ah, Changewing Island", Fishlegs said as they landed and dismounted. "Such a peaceful place. Except for all the Changewings, of course."
"Okay, guys", Hiccup addressed, "We need some glowing Changewing acid to shine through the Dragon Eye so we can see what's on this lens."
"Let me guess", Snotlout pitched in. "That means we have to somehow find a Changewing, an ambush predator that can blend in perfectly with its environment, and milk its acid before it rips us to shreds? Great idea, Hiccup", he finished sarcastically.
"Au contraire, mon ami", Tuffnut called, covered in leaves and green and brown paint. "In order to find a Changewing, you must become a Changewing! RAWWWWR!"
"Uh-huh", was Hiccup's response. "Alright, let's go find us a Changewing."
They walked through the island a bit until they came across a large river that would likely act as a main site for water. They stopped and crouched behind the bushes, waiting. But, as time passed, Astrid grew impatient.
"Hiccup, this is taking too long", she whispered.
"Changewings can be a bit skittish. Just give it time."
"We don't have time. The longer we wait, the longer Stormfly's with those monsters."
"Astrid―Oh-oh, wait, shhh. Look", Hiccup whispered, and there a Changewing was moving from place to place, a rock, a tree, a log, camouflaging against her surroundings until she came close enough to the river and deemed it safe enough to come out in the open to drink. She still seemed rather wary, though, looking this way and that for anything.
Hiccup decided to take the chance anyway. In general, Changewings were very hostile dragons, but also very skittish. One wrong move, and they could either elicit violence, or cause her to startle and fly away. Hiccup tried her best to keep her footsteps light despite her metal prosthetic. She couldn't really say she was all that stealthy when she had both her legs, but the metal leg sure didn't help. Still, it wasn't what suddenly scared the Changewing into flight.
No, that was Tuffnut's yelling.
"Hey! You guys have any luck?!"
"Ugh! Tuffnut, we were just about to―" Astrid started, when Hiccup noticed how the Changewing was flying.
"Whoa, wait. Look at that."
The Changewing was flying in circles, a rope chaining her to one spot from where it was tied to a tree.
"Like I said", Tuffnut said, "See the Changewing; be the Changewing."
The Changewing realizing they were the reason she was stuck, she roared and spat a glob of acid. The majority of it landed in the grass, but a small bit ended up on Snotlout's helmet.
Obviously, Snotlout screamed. "AHHHH!"
The rope broke, and with her freedom, the Changewing took the chance to fly far fast.
"Ahhh-owowow!" Snotlout continued to scream, about to reach for his helmet to throw it off, when Hiccup stopped him.
"No-no, Snotlout, wait!" she exclaimed, and Snotlout stopped, looking at her like she was crazy.
000
In a cave, Hiccup held the Dragon Eye to the acid sitting on Snotlout's helmet, her cousin sitting on a rock with the helmet still on his head.
"Agh!" he groaned.
"Would you just hold still?" Hiccup complained, trying to get a good angle to see what was on the lens, Snotlout's jerking around not helping.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have Changewing acid burning through your skull!" Snotlout yelled.
"If we take off the helmet, we'll spill the acid", Astrid reasoned. "Now hold still."
Finally, they could see a map, and Fishlegs frowned at it.
"This doesn't help", he said as he stepped up to it. "We've seen this map before."
"It must be a hunter port", Hiccup deduced. "And it's the closest one to where Stormfly was captured."
"Odds are, that's where they're headed", Aric followed. "After that, who knows?"
"Then we have to hurry", Astrid exclaimed.
"Yes! Please! Let's hurry!" Snotlout yelled, throwing his acid soaked helmet across the room, Hiccup and Astrid rearing back.
"Uh, but how are we going to avoid getting shot with those dragon root arrows?" Fishlegs piped in.
"Funny you should ask, Fishlegs", Hiccup answered. "For my plan to work, someone's gonna have to get shot."
000
Flying as fast as they could, with Astrid riding with Hiccup this time, it wasn't long before Dragon Hunter ships came into view. Astrid pointed them to the one Ryker was on, 'the big ugly one' as she'd called him. She wasn't wrong.
With a plasma blast to his ship, they caught his attention, and Astrid shouted in fury.
"I'm here for my dragon!" she unsheathed her sword.
The man's face only lit up.
"It can't be", Hiccup heard him say, before he was laughing with exhilaration. She couldn't tell if his eyes were on her or Toothless, but it was probably Toothless. Excitement was usually reserved for him, whereas confusion was for her.
"It is one!" she heard other men saying. Definitely Toothless, then. She could only imagine what they were thinking of her. Either way, not getting struck by one of those dragon root arrows was a must. As she had Toothless pull away, the other riders came in with their attacks.
"Fire!" Ryker ordered then, and the arrows came in the dozens.
"Is that all you got?!" Snotlout taunted, 'til an arrow nearly took his head off, clanking off his helmet instead. "Whoa! How 'bout a little heads-up, Hookfang?"
"Get me in closer", Toothless growled. "We need to take out those launchers!"
Hiccup knew he was right, but the risk still made her nervous.
"Okay, bud! Get ready!" she said nonetheless, and then went in, Toothless blasting one as they sped passed the ship.
"There it is!" a man yelled, and before they could get back out of range were bombarded with a slew of dragon root arrows. If it weren't for Astrid's quick thinking and reflexes, blocking and knocking all the arrows off course with her sword… well, Hiccup didn't want to think of that.
"You sure your plan's gonna work? That was pretty close", Astrid asked.
"Hiccup, are you alright?!" Aric exclaimed as Shadowstar flew up to them. "This is getting dangerous!
"I know. Fishlegs! You're up!" Hiccup called, and Fishlegs gave a thumbs up.
"Okay, girl, let's give it all we got", he told Meatlug, before the two dove in. Meatlug shot a lava blast, sweeping across the ship, but before they could get out of range were shot with an arrow in Meatlug's side.
"We're hit! We're hit!" Fishlegs yelled, Meatlug spinning out of control, and the hunters taking the opening to shoot a chain from a winch similar to what Dagur had when he attacked Heather. The design was different, but the mechanics seemed to be the same. It easily wrapped around her, and they brought her and Fishlegs in with Fishlegs tumbling out of the saddle.
"They got Fishlegs and Meatlug!" Aric shouted, and Hiccup and Astrid did their best to act worried as Meatlug acted in a daze from the dragon root. For his part, Fishlegs played the panicked and worried rider perfectly. Not that was really off brand for him.
"Get up, girl! Oh, please, you'll be okay!" he exclaimed and fretted over her. Then he locked eyes with Ryker. "You monster!"
"Take 'em below and toss 'em in a cell", Ryker ordered uncaringly.
"Meatlug!" Fishlegs shouted as they were taken by the hunters. "Can you hear me? Oh, stay with me, girl!"
Toothless dove in, shooting a plasma blast to the deck at the hunters' feet before pulling up. Hiccup looked back, and the way Ryker looked up at them, his gaze strangely trained on her, made Hiccup's skin crawl and every instinct in her body scream to get away.
000
"Please, help us", Fishlegs continued to plead as the Dragon Hunters dragged him and Meatlug to the cells. "There was dragon root on that arrow. Look what it's doing to her!"
They opened up one of the cages in a hall much like the Reaper's, dragon cells left and right like a prison, and shoved them inside.
"In ya go!" one hunter said, before they shut the door and the man slammed his fist against it, causing a loud clang.
"Fishlegs?" Stormfly poked her head up and stood to see, their cell just across from hers.
Fishlegs gave her a wink to tell her it'd be okay, then turned to Meatlug who'd gotten out of her chains.
"I hope this plan works", she said.
"Just try to be still. We'll be alright", he told them both.
000
"FIRE!"
"Look out!" Hiccup roared, a boulder flying towards them. They dove out of the way, but with how sudden it was, they were off balance, and Toothless was spinning out of control. "Hang on, Astrid!"
"Ahhh!" Astrid screamed as she was thrown off.
"Astrid!" Aric yelled. "Come on, girl, dive!" he said, and Shadowstar moved to catch her as Hiccup and Toothless stabled.
He was just above her, reaching out for his sister with his hand. "Grab my hand!" he shouted, but just as Astrid reached her hand up to meet his, a chain wrapped itself around her waist and dragged her down.
" "Astrid!" " Hiccup joined Aric in his fear.
"No!" he then screamed, before Shadowstar had to dodge another onslaught of arrows.
000
"Help us, please, I think she stopped breathing!" Fishlegs pleaded through the bars of his cage, Meatlug laying on her side in an action of playing dead. Stormfly watched carefully, trying to follow along with the plan so she could get back to Astrid. She missed her so so so much, it hurt.
The hunter lazily watching them sighed and rolled his eyes, an action she'd seen her rider do many times.
"You think your boss is gonna want his newest dragon to die? And on your watch?!"
The hunter rolled his eyes again, this time with a groan, another thing Astrid did too, then went to Fishlegs and Meatlug's cage. Once he swung the door up, Meatlug popped up and hit him across the hall into her cage.
"Hey!" another hunter came running in, and that was Stormfly's cue. With quick reflexes, she shot two tail spines through the bars and pinned the hunter against the wall. The human began to try and pull one of the spines free, and Stormfly readied herself to shoot again.
"Don't even try it!" she squawked.
"I wouldn't make a sound if I were you", Fishlegs translated quite menacingly, playing with the key he got from the first hunter in his hand. "Stormfly can shoot a flea off a yak's tail from twenty yards."
"Don't mess with me!" Stormfly backed him up, snarling at the hunter.
Fishlegs unlocked her cage, and Stormfly had no problem stomping on the unconscious one Meatlug knocked out as she walked from the cage.
"I'm coming, Astrid!" she then ran to freedom.
000
Astrid hit the ocean with a splash, a chain tightly wrapped around her waist. One moment she thought she was going to drown, thrashing beneath the waves, the next she was being pulled up. Now the hunters were lugging her up to their ship, and Astrid was kicking and screaming the whole way.
"Hey!" she yelled once she caught her breath. "Come on! Let me go! Let go of me! Ugh!" she grunted as the men dragged her onto the boat and tried to hold her down.
"Oh, feisty one, aren't you?" Ryker commented, and that made Astrid furious. She broke free of the men and chain, throwing them all behind her as she charged at Ryker with her sword.
The hunter easily blocked it with the bracer on his arm. He had a sword of his own, green and jagged, but he didn't even use it. Instead, he used the same arm to slap her back, knocking her with enough force to bring her back to the hunters' grips again. This time they didn't underestimate her, and kept their hold stronger than before, each man holding one arm with both hands.
Astrid still struggled.
"I like your spirit", Ryker said, almost sounding impressed, 'til his face turned to an ugly snarl. "Throw 'er in a cell", he ground out, and Astrid sneered back.
"You're gonna be sorry!" she shouted, the hunters beginning to take her like they took Fishlegs. "You're messing with the wrong Vikings!"
"Well, so are you."
Just then, Stormfly burst through the doors, and Astrid felt herself light up.
"Stormfly!" she exclaimed, before stomping on the hunters' feet and shoving them off again, running for her dragon. She mounted up, and Stormfly took care of the rest, knocking back more hunters charging at them, Fishlegs and Meatlug just behind them.
000
Hiccup watched closely at what was happening on deck, their plan going better than she'd hoped. With Astrid and Fishlegs on their dragons, the hunters caught off guard, now was their chance.
"Now!" Hiccup shouted, and she and Toothless led the charge to act as Astrid and Fishlegs' cover for their escape.
Only, they weren't caught off guard. All too calmly, Hiccup heard Ryker.
"Fire", he said, and Meatlug and Stormfly were taken down by bolas around their feet before they could even take off.
Hiccup pulled back on Toothless and stopped, stunned.
"It didn't work", she muttered. More arrows than before were fired, the riders all too close in range. "Evasive action! Now!"
Toothless weaved through the onslaught, able to just barely dodge it all, but the others weren't so lucky. Barf and Belch were the first to get hit, losing all control instantly.
"Not good!" Tuffnut exclaimed as the dragon began to spin out of control.
"Getting worse!" Ruffnut followed when they began to lose altitude.
" "We're going down!" "
Hookfang was next.
"We're hit!" Snotlout screamed. Whoa! Hookfang!"
Shadowstar wasn't even safe.
"Whoa! Shadowstar, hold on! Hiccup!" Aric and Shadowstar fell, spinning out of control towards the ocean.
Hiccup didn't know what to do, caught in chaos, everyone around her falling, trying to keep herself and Toothless from the same fate.
"HELP!" she heard Snotlout, Hookfang close and not yet out of the sky. He was still fighting; there was still time to save at least one of their friends in this mess.
"Toothless!" Hiccup roared, and that's all she needed to say. They dove for Hookfang, Toothless catching his tail before he and Snotlout could fall any closer to the hunters.
"Hiccup, what do we do?" Toothless asked, straining with Hookfang's weight.
Hiccup looked back towards the ship, the twins and Aric down with their dragons, Hookfang limp in Toothless' claws. What could they do?
"Hiccup, we need to leave!" Snotlout called up, holding on in Hookfang's saddle. Arrows flew, one nearly hitting her.
"Whoa!" she dodged.
"Hiccup!"
"Get us outta here, bud. Retreat!"
Hiccup hated leaving her friends like this, but Snotlout was right. Unless she wanted to get them captured too, they needed to leave and come back with a better plan.
000
Astrid had to watch as her brother and the twins' dragons were taken out the same way Stormfly had the morning that started all this. Ryker marched up to her and Fishlegs, all too satisfied.
"Your pathetic tricks won't work on me", he said. "I'm a Dragon Hunter! I know that Gronckles are immune to dragon root!"
"Ugh!" Astrid growled as Fishlegs gasped.
"I used your worthless escape plan to lure your friends in closer."
Aric, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were dragged up to the ship with their dragons in a heap, before they were all suddenly and forcibly removed from their dragons and taken to an area that looked a lot like a prison hold, likely meant for dragons, but would now be used for them. She didn't see any of their dragons, though. Before the door could be closed on them, Astrid the last to be taken in, she whipped out of a hunter's grip and rounded on Ryker.
"Where are our dragons?! What did you do to them?!" she shouted.
"Oh, if I were you, I'd worry about yourself", he said, but as someone else walked in, following a hunter, Astrid lost all interest.
"Heather?" she nearly gasped.
"No way", Tuffnut said.
"Run! Now!" Aric shouted, but then Heather did something odd. She smirked.
"Surprise!" Dagur popped in, Heather's smirk only grown larger. "Did ya miss me? Of course you did! Oh! Do you know my sister? Wait a minute, sure you do! You guys were little pals and buddy buddies." Dagur's ramblings turned to nothing more than fits of giggles.
"Hey, family is family", Heather shrugged, her voice sounding so…evil. Astrid couldn't believe it. She just couldn't. One moment Heather was their enemy, the next she was their friend, and now she was…Astrid didn't even know anymore.
"I can't believe this, Heather", Astrid told her. She felt hurt, and betrayed, and angry, but more than anything she felt confused.
"I know it's not Dragons' Edge, but it'll have to do." The door to their cell shut, and Heather taunted them through the bars, her tone reminding Astrid all too much of the Heather she'd met three years ago. "Enjoy your new home, Astrid", she said. "You're gonna be here a while."
Heather walked away with Dagur and Ryker, and Astrid sat down, Aric right beside her. 'Heather, what are you doing?'
Decided this one works best as a two parter. The cliff hanger is just too good.
