At last! It's finished! Also, I realized I've been doing the ," backwards this entire time. How did I not notice that? I can't be the only one who didn't notice that, right?
Night of the Hunters (Part 2):
Night fell, and the riders still stood in a cell on the Dragon Hunters' ship, a cell made for a dragon with bars colored a, by now, far too familiar green.
"Dagur is here? And Heather is with him?" Fishlegs asked again, still having a hard time grasping everything they'd just learned only a few hours ago.
"Trusting her turned out to be a big mistake," Aric stated, his mind already made up regarding Heather's loyalty. It wasn't the first time she'd betrayed them, and Aric wasn't one to take being tricked well. Still, Astrid couldn't quite believe it.
"It just doesn't make any sense," she said. "Heather hated Dagur. She wanted to kill him. Why would she just suddenly turn around and join him?"
"Right?" Ruffnut laughed. "Who puts loyalty to their brother ahead of loyalty to their friends?"
"I heard that, sister," Tuffnut agreed.
"The bigger question is, who are these Dragon Hunters and what do they want from us?" Aric questioned.
"You're about to find out," none other than Heather answered, making her presence known. She had two Hunters with her at either side. They opened the door to the cage, and Heather strolled in. Aric stepped forward, but Heather shook her head.
"Not you, hot shot. Her," she said, looking directly at Astrid, before shoving passed Aric and grabbing her arm. "Ryker wants to have a little chat with you." She pushed Astrid forward and out of the cell, the hunters closing it as soon as Heather stepped out.
She kept a firm grip on her shoulder as she led her down the hall. Astrid glanced behind her where Heather walked. "After everything we did for you," she said. "Took you in, taught you to ride, saved your life…more than once. I thought you were my friend."
"And Dagur is my brother."
"A brother you used to hate, if I remember correctly."
Heather didn't respond, her eyes trained forward to where they were headed. She leaned forward against her ear. "Lie," she whispered so quietly Astrid almost didn't hear. "Lie with everything you have."
"What―" Astrid started confused, but Heather quickly overrode her.
"You don't know anything about me," she exclaimed, abruptly shoving her forward, only confusing her more. Astrid nearly tripped because of it, but she was able to catch herself.
They made it to a door intricately carved, and they stopped. "Your concern is touching, Astrid," Heather rounded her, knocking on the door with the back of her hand as she refused to turn her back towards her. "But I'd be more worried about myself."
"Come," Ryker's voice came through the door, and Heather pushed it open, a dark room awaiting.
"Ryker wants information, and he can be very persuasive." Heather grabbed her again, and into the dark room Astrid followed.
000
After their fiasco of a rescue attempt, Toothless had found an island they could rest on. They stayed on the beach, out in the open, but little chance of stumbling on someone else's territory.
Hiccup woke with the sun, her brother and cousin still sleeping soundly. Hookfang was still asleep as well. She let them, giving herself the time to come up with a new plan. She took out one of her maps, thinking, but little was coming to her.
Not only didn't she know the Dragon Hunters' next location, but even if she did, how were they going to get passed those arrows? One hit or scrape, and they were done. And clearly the Hunters knew their dragons. Really, why hadn't she thought of that? Of course they would have figured out sooner or later their arrows had no effect on Gronckles. Fighting Dagur for so long must have made her forget not everyone was as dense as him.
Toothless began to stir, soon opening his eyes and stretching like he did every morning.
"Morning, bud", she greeted.
"Morning," he greeted back, then went to the shore line for breakfast.
Figuring she should wake the Snotlout and Hookfang, Hiccup stood up and strolled over to them.
"Hey, Snotlout, you up?" she asked, and surprisingly he was, lifting up his helmet to look at her.
"Yes. Somebody snores," he non-too-discretely pointed at Hookfang.
"I snore?!" Hookfang roared sharply, spewing fire at Snotlout.
"Hookfang!"
"Who started it?!" Hookfang screeched back.
"Hey, hatchings!" Toothless stole their attention, four fish in his mouth that he dropped to the sand. "Breakfast is up if you're done screeching at each other."
Hiccup chuckled with her brother's comments, Snotlout none the wiser as he strolled up.
"Great!" he said. "I am starving. We'll cook these up and―"
Hookfang snatched a fish right from under him.
"Okay. Okay, all right," Snotlout brushed off, then went for the second fish. Hookfang snatched that one too. "Okay," Snotlout chuckled now. "No. Stop it." Snotlout went for the third, and Hiccup couldn't help but snort as Hookfang swiped that one too. "Hey! Hey!" he jumped for it, Hookfang having yet eaten it, simply dangling it in his mouth and taunting him. "Gimmie that!" Slowly, Hookfang ate it.
"Looks like someone's feeling better," Hiccup tried not to laugh, turning back to her map as Hookfang continued to taunt Snotlout with the fourth fish.
"Hey! Stop that! STOP! What are you doing?" he suddenly asked her.
"Trying to figure out where the Dragon Hunters are headed," Hiccup told him.
"That's a bad idea. Even if we find them, they have those one shot and you drop poison arrows. What do we do then?"
"I'm uh…still working that out…"
"I got to be honest. That's not the answer I was hoping for. Ough!" The fish was smacked into Snotlout's face. "Hookfang!"
Hookfang rolled his eyes.
"Okay," Snotlout began to pace, the fish now in hand. "We always knew this could happen. The day has come. Hiccup's run dry. It's up to Snotfang to come up with a plan."
Now Hiccup rolled her eyes, Snotlout proceeding to repeatedly hit his head with the fish thinking that'd somehow spark any ideas.
CLANG
"Hah!"
CLANG
"Just squeeze some brilliance out of this thick beautiful skull."
CLANG CLANG CLANG
'Thick skull?' Hiccup thought. 'Thick skull… YES!'
"I've got it!" she exclaimed.
"Awe!" Snotlout mourned. "I would've come up with something. I was so close."
"Come on, Snotlout," she mounted up. "We've got some hard riding to do."
Toothless took off, and Hookfang with Snotlout followed.
000
The others all fell asleep, but Aric hardly caught a wink. Astrid was still with the Hunters and Heather. What could they want so badly that they'd keep her all night? Aric swore, if they even thought of hurting her, he was gonna―
A hunter came with Astrid, the squeak of the door opening waking the others as she was shoved inside. The door shut behind her.
"Astrid, are you okay?" Aric stood.
"Just tired," she said, sounding just as much. "They questioned me all night. Wouldn't let me sleep."
"They?" Fishlegs asked.
"Dagur and Heather mostly. That Ryker guy doesn't say much. He just…stares."
"Yeah, but you hung tough!" Ruffnut said from where she laid. "You didn't crack. You never talked. Way to go Astrid."
"Actually, I did talk."
Ruffnut sat up. "Oh. Way to go, Astrid."
"I told Ryker what he wanted to know. The location of the Dragon Eye."
"They're after the Dragon Eye?" Aric questioned, feeling himself getting angry again at the idea of what they could have possibly done to get Astrid to talk. It couldn't have just been lack of sleep.
"It's very important to the Dragon Hunters," she said. "They've been looking for it for a long time."
"And where did you tell them it was loose lips?" Ruffnut asked.
"Back at Dragons' Edge where it's being guarded by all the other riders we left behind," Astrid began to raise her voice, and Aric's temper began to cool, beginning to realize what she'd done.
"What?" Tuffnut asked, predictably confused. "No one's―"
"Supposed to know about it! I know." She held a finger to her lips to tell him to 'shush'.
"Yeah," Aric decided to back her up, giving Astrid a wink. "Dragons' Edge is like a fortress. Lots of Dragon Riders!"
"Under the command of Captain Gustav," she winked back.
"Wait. Captain Gustav?" Tuffnut questioned. "He outranks me?"
"Only thing I could think of to keep them from sailing in and taking over Dragons' Edge," Astrid whispered.
"Ha! And they bought it?" Ruffnut asked.
"For now. But eventually, Ryker will send someone down there to check it out."
"You bought us time," Fishlegs pieced.
"Exactly. We need to get out of here before they find out I was bluffing. Any ideas?"
"Oh, way ahead of you," Tuffnut pitched in. "I have the perfect plan. We tunnel out," he held up a mug, then proceeded to try and dig through the floorboards.
"Through the bottom of the boat," Aric droned.
"Into the middle of the sea?" Fishlegs followed.
"Exactly!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "They'll never see it coming. Even I won't! Especially because I don't know how to swim. Okay, mental note, learn to swim. By tomorrow, or mid next week."
000
"Is that the island we're going to?"
"No," Hiccup answered…again.
"How about that one?"
"Also no."
"That one?"
Hiccup's eyes moved to glare up at Snotlout. "For the last time―! Oh. Yeah, that-that's exactly the one. My bad!"
They landed on the island, one they'd passed over before and was littered with holes.
"Hiccup, I recognize these holes," Snotlout realized. "Why didn't you tell me we were going to an island full of Whispering Deaths?"
"Because I knew you would react exactly like this," Hiccup answered. "Besides, this isn't just an island full of Whispering Deaths. Someone else lives here too."
The ground beneath them shook, and it didn't surprise Hiccup in the slightest when the Screaming Death broke out of the ground with a territorial roar.
"Oh, the Screaming Death!" Snotlout sassed. "Why don't we just wave him over and have him kill us?"
"Would you just relax? When he gets closer, he'll recognize us and calm down…I hope."
"Come on out to Screaming Death Island! We'll have a few laughs, get killed."
Hiccup glared up at him and his jokes. Sure, they looked different, and it'd been…well awhile, but their scents shouldn't have changed. Right?
The Screaming Death charged at them.
"Worst. Plan. Ever," Snotlout muttered.
It didn't look like he was stopping, but Hiccup still held out hope.
"This guy hates us! Let's get out of here."
"Have you forgotten? We reunited him with his mother," Hiccup argued.
"No. But it looks like he has!"
The Screaming Death was still charging, still angry, still roaring. Hiccup's ears perked straight up. 'Oh, gods!'
"Hiccup!" Toothless roared, and Hiccup got on, her brother shooting into the air just in time with Hookfang right behind.
"Come on, bud! Faster!" she screeched.
"Or, maybe he does remember what we did and he just has a lousy relationship with his mom," Snotlout continued his jokes.
"Head for those clouds!" Hiccup ignored and pointed. "As soon as we enter, bank right!"
Following her exact instructions, and hidden within the clouds, for a moment it seemed as though they'd lost him.
"Okay, so I might have…misjudged the Screaming Death…a bit," Hiccup somewhat admitted.
"A bit?" Toothless growled.
"Toothless," Hiccup huffed back.
"So, the plan is wait 'til he tires himself out, then head home, right?" Snotlout asked.
"Nope. We're going back down there. There's something in those tunnels we need", Hiccup answered, then signaled Toothless to dive.
"Why can't you ever say yes?!"
000
At last, Fishlegs wrestled that mug out from Tuffnut's hands, throwing it outside the cell.
"Oh… HA! How about this?" Tuffnut started again, Astrid already sighing. "We set our cell on fire and―"
"Ugh, no!" Fishlegs exclaimed.
"I have an idea," Ruffnut jumped in. "We―"
"How about psychological warfare?" Fishlegs interrupted. "We learn our guards' names, get them to like us, and then eventually they'll lower their guard and―"
"Bor-or-or-ring", Tuffnut drawled.
"What if―"
"Acid!" Tuffnut shouted, cutting off Ruffnut again.
"Mmm," she growled. "Okay, fine. Shutting down the Ruffnut idea farm. No milk served here."
"But the Tuffnut idea farm has a mighty fine harvest. We use acid to cut through the bars!"
"And where do we get the acid?" Aric questioned.
"I'm still working that out."
Aric shook his head. "That plan won't work anymore than your 'Ruffnut marries the guard, divorces him, and gets the key in the settlement' plan."
Astrid just groaned in frustration. Could none of them seriously come up with a solid plan to escape?! That's when Heather walked up.
"Ryker wants to see you," she said. "All of you. Let's go."
The door swung up, and as they filed out, Aric the last to do so as he made sure to 'passive-aggressively' shove passed Heather.
They were taken to another part of the ship and stopped before a dark entranceway. Out from the archway, out from the darkness, Ryker stepped in with his hands folded behind his back. Heather and Dagur flanked him on either side, each with this satisfied smirk on their faces.
"I am Ryker," he said. "This is my ship. You are my prisoners. And your dragons are now my dragons."
"And how they get treated is entirely up to you!" Dagur exclaimed.
Ryker walked back and turned around in confident strides, the guard behind them shoving them forward.
When they entered the room, it was another prison hold for dragons, this one full of them. Ryker stopped before one, and Fishlegs gasped.
"Meatlug!" he exclaimed.
Meatlug moaned tiredly. A harness was strapped to her, chains linking to the ceiling and keeping her in place as if the cell wasn't enough. There was a Hunter inside, and he pulled one of Meatlug's chains to yank her back from looking at Fishlegs. He held up a shovel of rocks and forcefully shoved them in her mouth. Normally Meatlug loved eating all kinds of rocks, but now it looked like all she wanted to do was sleep. Fishlegs tried to step in and stop it, but Ryker blocked him with his arm.
"This Gronckle is being very helpful," he said all too pleasantly, like they weren't torturing a living being.
"Her name is Meatlug," Fishlegs seethed.
"I don't care," Ryker barked back. "All I care is that it makes me metal, all day and all night."
Heather shoved him forward as Ryker continued, the others following behind. The next cell they stopped at was Stormfly's. Her foot was chained to the ground and two Hunters stood inside, one holding an axe and the other a shield. The one holding the axe swung down, obviously engaging Stormfly's fight or flight response, and with nowhere to go all she had was fight. She shot her spines, and the Hunter with the shield caught them.
"Hm, perfect," Ryker hummed. "Razor sharp tips for our spears and ballistas."
"You can't do that to her!" Astrid protested, and Ryker rounded on her.
"Oh, I can, and I will."
"Errgh," Astrid growled, before one of the guards shoved her forward.
"Poor Barf and Belch," Ruffnut worried. "What torture are they enduring?"
"I can't look. Because…my hands are over my eyes," Tuffnut followed, until they stopped and Tuffnut lowered his hands. "Well, this is more like it."
Barf and Belch were sat back comfortably, two Hunters inside with one feeding them fish and the other rubbing some sort of grease on their hide.
"Someone recognizes quality."
"He likes the fish," one of the guards grunted.
"Hey", Ruffnut got close to the bars. "Rub me down with some of that grease. I'm feeling dry."
Aric pulled her away, scowl evident.
"This hide'll fetch top prices in the northern markets," Ryker said offhandedly.
"Sure," Tuffnut unknowingly agreed. "It's soft and supple, the color! Oh, the col― Wait, what?!"
"Ooh, Zippleback boots. I always wanted a pair", Dagur taunted.
That's when Aric noticed something. "Wait. Where's Shadowstar?" he demanded, his dragon nowhere in sight despite reaching the end of the hall.
Ryker merely chuckled. "Oh, the hybrid," he said, then led them down into a room filled with standalone cages. They were much smaller than the cells, and had wheels for easy transport. In one, laying with a muzzle and a tired look, was Shadowstar.
"Shadowstar!" Aric exclaimed and tried to run to the cage, but Ryker caught him and threw him back, Astrid and Fishlegs catching him before he could trip to the ground.
"Rare dragons like these go to auction," Ryker told them with a smirk. "A pretty dragon like this, I wager will make more gold than we'll know what to do with." He turned to face them all, each glaring daggers. "This is what faces all your dragons," he said in finality. "Of course, they could get better treatment," he then enticed.
"Don't just leave me hanging. How?" Ruffnut bit.
Ryker slammed his fist against the top of Shadowstar's cage, startling her and all the riders. "Start giving me some real answers! Tell me what you know about the Dragon Eye. Exactly how many riders guard your base?!"
The riders looked to each other, and a silent agreement was made. The stood silent.
"Very well." Ryker straightened, then walked past them and out of the room. "Keep fattening this one up," he ordered the Hunters pampering Barf and Belch. "More to sell."
Somehow it was enough to get Ruffnut to crack. "Please!" she suddenly tackled one of the guards, dangling off him in an awful display. "Please, don't hurt our dragon. I'll do anything!" she begged.
"Then tell me what I want to know," Ryker demanded.
"Come on," she continued to beg, slipping further to the floor.
"Ruff, stop. Thorstons don't beg," Tuffnut said. "…Except for food."
Ruff continued to whine.
"Or money, or housing."
She fell completely to floor at the Hunter's feet.
"Or any other thing that we need. Mm, you know what, this isn't a good argument."
"You want to save your dragon? Then give me some information," Ryker demanded again, and just as quick as she'd cracked, Ruffnut snapped out of it. She got herself back to her feet with a firm look.
"No! Never," she protested, then walked back to the group, everyone looking at her strangely.
"Huh?" The guard was even confused.
"Sorry, lost my head there for a second," she said.
"Interesting," Ryker said. "Something you and your dragon may soon have in common. Get them out of my sight!"
000
They made it into the tunnels and Hiccup and Snotlout flew in search of something that would no doubt guarantee their success against the Hunters.
"Did the Screaming Death look even bigger to you?" Snotlout asked as she and Toothless led him and Hookfang through.
"Yes. That's what I was counting on," Hiccup answered.
"Oh, really?" he snarked backed. "Thanks for letting me know."
"Because if he grew," she ignored it, "that means he had to molt. And if he shed his skin, there should be old scales around here somewhere. Like those!"
She had Toothless land, a pile of scales scattered on the ground with more than enough for her plan to work.
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I think your thinking is the worst plan ever," Snotlout said as Hookfang landed behind, Hiccup already dismounted and picking up one of the scales.
"Well, I disagree," she said.
"I stand corrected," he dismounted and walked up behind her. "There was that whole 'let Meatlug get captured' idea. That was genius," he laughed, Hiccup unamused. "Really brilliant. A work of art."
"Okay, come on," Hiccup shoved the scale into his arms, stopping his jabs in the process. "Let's get to work. We probably have an hour or two before the Screaming Dea―"
And then that territorial roar rang out, echoing through the expanse of the tunnels, and causing Hiccup and Snotlout to jump.
"Hiccup, stop acting like you're friends," Snotlout admonished. "You don't know this dragon, and he clearly doesn't know you."
"Toothless and I will draw his fire," Hiccup picked up and thrust two more scales onto Snotlout. "You try to make it outta here with as many scales as you can carry."
Before Hiccup could get to Toothless, though, the Screaming Death was already there.
"Hiccup," Snotlout drawled.
"Oh, don't even say it. Come on, big guy, you gotta remember us," Hiccup then cooed. "I mean, how many girls with black wings and metal legs are there, right?"
The Screaming Death just stared at them a moment, then snarled.
"Oh-ho-ho, we're gonna die," Snotlout cried, hiding his face behind one of the scales.
The Screaming Death charged up a blast, but before he could release it, a Whispering Death burst in.
"What are you doing?!" she roared.
"What does it look like? Defending our home," he roared back.
"Defending our home from the people who not only freed me, but brought you and your brothers and sisters back to me?!"
"They're trespassers! They're stealing my scales!"
"Go check on your brothers. Now!" the Whispering Death roared furiously, and the Screaming Death slunk away. The Whispering Death turned to face them.
"What just happened?" Snotlout lowered the scale from his face. "Did we die?"
"Well, the Screaming Death didn't remember us, but his mother did. Thank you," Hiccup bowed her head.
"Of course," the Whispering Death responded in kind.
"You don't mind if we take a few scales, do you?"
"For you? No. We don't need them anyway. Take as many as you need."
Hiccup once again bowed her head in thanks, then turned to Snotlout.
"What? What did she say?" he asked.
"To take as many as we need. Now come on," Hiccup walked back to the pile, starting to gather up the scales again. "We gotta get these scales together and back to the beach, fast."
000
Back in their cell, ideas for escape resumed. They all agreed that now more than ever they had to get themselves and their dragons off this ship.
"What if we tunnel out through the ceiling?" Tuffnut mulled over, somehow getting his hands on another cup.
"Technically, that's not a tunnel," Fishlegs informed him.
"Oh, it isn't?" Tuff challenged. "There's no such thing as a ceiling tunnel, Fishlegs?"
"Guys, I have―"
"Listen up", Aric interrupted Ruffnut. "I've memorized the guards' schedules and I have a plan, but we need a way to get this door open first."
At that moment, Ruffnut held up a key for all to see.
"You mean like this key I stole from the guard?" she said quite smug.
They all looked at her in stunned silence.
"Okay, wait," Astrid broke it. "How did you…?"
"You know how I 'lost my head for a second'?"
Tuffnut dropped his cup in shock, Aric, Astrid, and Fishlegs just staring.
"Yeah. You guys should try listening to me every now and again. Ruffnut idea farm. Back in business."
"All right," Aric shook off, taking the key. "As soon as I take out the guards, we split up and get our dragons. Then we blast our way out of here."
"Okay, and go where?" Tuffnut asked.
"Straight up. Out of the range of those arrows."
"And what about Heather?" Astrid asked. Aric looked at her like that'd been the furthest thing from his mind.
"What about her?" he asked.
"We're not gonna just leave her here, are we?"
"Why not? Astrid, she turned her back on us. As much as you don't want to believe it, she chose to side with Dagur and the Hunters."
"But what if it's not that simple? What if she's in trouble, and can't tell us? I mean, doesn't anyone else find it strange we haven't seen any sign of Windshear?" she pointed out.
"She's probably just in a different part of the ship, or she was left at their base," Aric explained away. Astrid should have figured as much. "Heather's not in the plan; end of story."
He turned back to the cell door and stuck his hand through the bars, key in hand. Twisting it in the lock, Aric unlocked the door, but kept it closed. Quickly, he pocketed the key.
"Guard! Guard!" he shouted, grabbing at the bars with both hands. "I can't take it! I want to save my dragon. I'll tell Ryker what he wants to know."
A guard came through the door and into the hall to their cell. As soon as he was in range, Aric pushed, slamming the metal door open and into the man's head. The Hunter went down, and Aric swung the door closed as another came rushing in to see the commotion. Aric slammed the door at his head too.
"Okay, one last thing," Aric said before they split. "If this is like the other Dragon Hunter ship, there could be booby traps anywhere, so be careful."
"Oh, great," Tuffnut remarked. "Now he tells us."
"See you up there," Fishlegs said as they began moving, a nervous chuckle following.
"He means up in the sky, right? Not Vallhalla?" Tuffnut asked.
"Not sure," Ruffnut shrugged. "Let's ask him. Oh, he's gone."
000
As luck would have it, the key Ruffnut snagged appeared to open any and all the cage doors. Meatlug's was first in the line, and as soon as Aric opened it, Fishlegs rushed inside.
"Meatlug!" he exclaimed, though hushed, barreling into Meatlug with a hug as she licked his face. He barely noticed Aric move for the next cells with the others. "Oh, I missed you too, girl. We are getting out of here. Just let me check on something first."
"Okay. Check on what?" Meatlug bound to her feet as Fishlegs stood and moved to the barrels of rocks left in the corner, weapons hanging on the wall. They were familiarly shiny. He placed a hand to a double-headed axe, incredibly smooth.
"Gronckle Iron, I knew it!" he hushly exclaimed. "They must have the formula." He turned to the rocks. "Hm, now what was that guy feeding you?"
"Too much," Meatlug moaned.
000
Stormfly was next, and Astrid raced in much like Fishlegs, though paused when she noticed the pressure plate in the floorboards. She stepped over and then finished the distance, hugging Stormfly close.
"Hey girl," she sighed with relief, Stormfly trilling in her arms. "You didn't think I'd leave you here, did you?"
Aric smiled briefly, then went to let the twins reunite with their dragon, before racing towards his own at the end of the hall. Entering the room, the sight of Shadowstar in that small cage nearly broke his heart all over again. He opened the door, letting her step out with a muffled rumble.
"Don't worry, girl," Aric knelt before her. "We're almost out of here. Now let's get this thing off you." He reached for the muzzle, and Shadowstar looked as if she wanted nothing more.
000
Aric hadn't as much stayed to see them enter, and their dragon barely spared them a glance. The twins were most definitely not feeling the love at the moment.
"Barf, Belch. We are here to save you," Ruffnut said, and Barf and Belch looked to each other, reclined on their back as they were, before diving heads first into two personal barrels of fish.
Now Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked to each other.
"You heard her, you pampered lizard," Tuffnut took the reins. "We're here to rescue you, so let's go."
Their dragon merely growled at them like they didn't care, a bored look on their faces, before ignoring them and continuing their feast.
"Looks like somebody forgot who the boss is," Tuffnut said, ready to march over and drag the lazy dragon out.
"Yeah," Ruffnut backed him up, 'til Barch swiped their tail with a now angry growl. Tuffnut barely ducked away. "Who's the boss?"
000
Aric had almost gotten the muzzle off Shadowstar when an alarm sounded. They looked up in surprise, before Aric looked back out to the hall where Tuffnut was slamming his foot down on one of the ship's pressure plated traps. "Tuffnut," Aric growled, nearly rolling his eyes.
Fishlegs heard the alarm too, but he was so close to the true recipe for Gronckle Iron, he couldn't pull away. "If I could just find out what the last ingredient was, ugh." That's when a Hunter barged into the cell, grabbed him, and dragged him out.
With a much more narrow window, Aric decided the muzzle would have to wait and they'd just need to make a break for it. They didn't get the chance, as before he could mount on Shadowstar, hands grabbed him and weapons pointedly kept him still.
The twins were pulling and tugging at their dragon to move, Barf and Belch still refusing to go. "Come on! We're trying to save you!" they kept saying, but it was no use. Finally, the Hunters arrived, the twins turning to find crossbows aimed at them.
The ringing of the alarm had stopped, but Astrid was still trying to find a way to get the chain wrapped around Stormfly's ankle off. She hadn't made much if any progress, grunting with how it resisted budging.
"You're not going anywhere, Astrid," Heather's voice suddenly spoke strongly. Astrid turned in her crouched position, before taking up the spear left lying beside her.
"Maybe not," she said, poised for a fight. "But I'm still going to enjoy this."
"Oh, I doubt that." Heather flipped her axe open, then with one of the blades hooked it onto the bars of the cell door and slammed it shut. She charged.
Astrid did her best to block with her spear, before pushing her off and using the opening to strike. Heather dodged it, moving into the weapon's blind spot and hooking the handle of her axe around Astrid's neck. Astrid dropped the spear, struggling against the axe holding her to her opponent. It gave Heather the chance to confuse her for the second time since they'd been on the Dragon Hunters' ship.
"Take a dive," she whispered in her ear.
"What?" Astrid exclaimed. "Heather, what are you−?!"
"Astrid, I don't have time to explain right now, but you have to trust me," Heather implored, and Astrid pushed out from Heather's head lock, a little too easily if you asked her.
She just stared a moment, Heather staring back but assuming the role of the enemy again. Astrid wasn't sure what to think.
000
"Did I, or did I not warn you about them? They never quit," Dagur told Ryker. The Riders had all been brought up to the upper deck, Ryker and Dagur looming over them from their spot on a platform above. "Annoying," he finished in a sing-song tone. The only one not with them was Astrid. Aric thought maybe that meant she'd managed to escape, but that was quickly proven wrong when Heather walked up with her, Astrid holding one of her arms. He followed Heather with a glare as she moved on to where Dagur and Ryker stood.
"Ryker, Rykey, Ryker-man, can we please just work together on this?" Dagur asked. "You know dragons, I know Dragon Riders."
"And?" Ryker seemed to spare him a glance.
"Send a message. Throw one over the side. It'll be so fun!" Dagur giggled.
"An excellent idea," Heather chimed in. "Unless, of course, you think Viggo might want to question them personally about the Dragon Eye?"
The way Dagur looked at Heather gave the impression he hadn't seen that coming. The Riders looked to each other as well.
"I have a better idea," she went on. "Why not put them to work?"
"I'd prefer to go overboard," Tuffnut raised his hand.
"Uh-huh," Ruffnut agreed.
"Split them up so they can't plot anymore escapes," Heather ignored them. "And make them serve you as their dragons do."
"You know, I like that idea," Ryker seemed to decide. "Put 'em to work!" he ordered. "But the next one who tries to escape goes over the side."
They were taken away, the three watching with only Dagur sporting a frown.
"Well, it's obvious who got the brains in your family, eh?" Ryker cruelly joked, before slapping Dagur on the back with a laugh.
Dagur laughed along, up until the man finally left, then he turned a quick glare at Heather. "What was that all about, sis?"
"I was protecting you, brother," Heather easily replied. "From what you told me about him, I doubt Viggo takes kindly to losing valuable property. If anything happens to the riders, let Ryker be on the hook for it, not you."
Dagur glowered a moment more, before shifting it into a smile and pulling her into a hug.
"You are my sister," he said. "Aren't you."
000
Out on a small inlet, Hiccup and Snotlout had stopped with their haul of Screaming Death scales and began the next stage of her plan. Hiccup felt she was nearly done, but when she looked over at Snotlout, he was leagues ahead of her. Her ears perked, eyebrows shooting up.
"Snotlout, that's amazing! You're almost done already. And your workmanship…"
Snotlout laughed. "My mother taught me everything I know."
"Well, if this works, remind me to thank her," she finished another segment. "Alright," she turned to her map. "Next step, find those Dragon Hunters."
000
Up top, Astrid was paired with Tuffnut to sweep the deck. Guards surrounded them, but that didn't stop Tuffnut from talking.
"So, let me get this straight. Heather took you down all by herself?" he questioned and Astrid's grip on her broom tightened.
"She had an axe," she said pointedly, turning ever so slightly to glare at him.
"Yes, and you had arms, which are axes without blades."
"Ugh!"
"This is yet another argument for why I say always carry an axe!" Tuffnut exclaimed, before running face to face with one of the angry guards. "I mean...cleaning."
000
Below, Ruffnut was forced to groom and pamper Barf and Belch as two guards watched. She was scrubbing the dragon's underbelly, and Barf went in for an apology nudge.
"Don't try and make up with me, mister," she rounded on him. "This is your fault."
Belch lightly growled to his defense, and Ruffnut turned on him too. "Oh, don't you take his side, other mister. You're in this too." Still, Barf and Belch each licked her, refusing to stop until she forgave them.
Within Meatlug's cell, Fishlegs was made to sort the rocks to be fed to Meatlug. There was one Hunter with him, force feeding Meatlug the rocks he sorted, but despite the situation, Fishlegs still took it as an opportunity to confirm the recipe and find out the last ingredient. He watched closely.
"Three parts limestone," he whispered to himself, listing the ingredients on his fingers. "Two parts sandstone, one part iron ore," he began to grow excited, voice becoming louder, "One giant spoon of hardened Gronckle lava, yeah!"
The other Hunter watching him growled, threat clear in his eyes.
"Right-right, back to the sorting," he appeased, turning back to the barrels of rocks.
In Stormfly's cell, Aric was forced to catch Stormfly's spines. Watching them practically torture her as they scared and forced her to release her spines in self defense was its own kind of torture for him, unable to do anything about it but stand there and catch them in the shield he was given. There was a guard at the door and two inside antagonizing Stormfly. Unless something changed, he couldn't see an opening for another escape attempt. Heather knew exactly how to weaken them. Still, every now and then, Aric would look down the hall and to the room he knew Shadowstar was kept in. Soon enough, he'd find his opening and take Heather down personally, if Astrid didn't beat him to it first.
000
Back up top, Tuffnut's comments were eating at Astrid, frustrating her to no end, especially when she glanced back at his non-chalant attitude, looking so smug. She couldn't help herself.
"How do you not get that having an axe is a huge advantage in a fight?" she harshly questioned.
"It isn't if you have a mace," he easily answered, and Astrid turned on her heel.
"I didn't have a mace! Or a sword, or a crossbow."
"Oh, so now we're getting hypothetical? I bet you didn't have eyes that could shoot fire either. I mean…"
If looks could kill, Tuffnut would have been dead on the spot, but her glare was quickly cut.
"Dragons sighted off the starboard bow! With riders!" a Hunter shouted, and looking up, there were two dragons were coming their way.
"It's Hiccup and Snot-hat," Dagur sneered above with Heather and Ryker.
"Standby catapults!" Ryker ordered out. "Archers at the ready! Wait till they're in range."
000
"Hiccup, as far as worst plans go, this has to be by far your best worst plan ever," Snotlout said as they began closing in.
"Uh, I'll take that as a compliment," she shrugged, then signaled Toothless to dive, leading Hookfang to their first assault on the Hunters.
"Oh, look at…" she heard Dagur laugh, sounding both astonished and somehow proud. "She's coming straight in! Suicide run! I-I didn't think she had it in her!" Hiccup nearly laughed at how easily Dagur could be fooled, but then another thought crossed her mind. 'DAGUR?!'
"The fool," Ryker followed his comments.
"Hiccup is no fool," another voice rang. Heather?
"Hunters, fire at will!" Ryker shouted, and there was no more time for questions. It was show time.
000
Hookfang and Toothless were in perfect range for the Hunters and their arrows, but as they flew around the ship, there weren't any roars or screeches, and no dragons plummeting to the ocean with their riders.
Confused, Dagur looked closer with a spyglass, his face twisting with annoyance more than anything else as he saw arrows bounce off something white strapped over the dragons' bodies.
"They're wearing some sort of dragon armor!" he shouted.
It was a little surprising it had been Dagur to notice first over Ryker, but maybe he wasn't as smart as they'd thought.
They began firing, taking out the catapults first.
"Come at me," Ryker challenged as he took out a jagged green sword. Hookfang and Toothless fired at him too, Heather standing beside him. The two ducked out of the way of the blasts, but the Riders still had the upper hand.
"Now or never," Astrid turned to Tuffnut amidst the havoc, the Hunters scrambling for what to do against Toothless and Hookfang's armor. With brooms as their only weapons, they each shouted their own battle cry and swung at the two Hunters at either side of them.
"I! Hate! Cleaning!" Tuffnut yelled with each hit, knocking the Hunter back further and further until he fell overboard. "A lot, as you can see!" Tuffnut continued shouting over the edge.
Astrid knocked her opponent out cold, his body splayed out over the deck, before more Hunters came rushing at them, axes raised.
"Yeah?" Astrid said to Tuffnut's comments. "Well, looks like there's some more cleaning up to do."
000
The ship violently rocked, the signs of attack evident. The Hunter at the door fled to help, when another explosion hit and Fishlegs decided it was now or never. The axe on the wall fell to the floor and, as Fishlegs caught himself on his hands and the balls of his feet from the force of the attack, he took the axe and swung it down on Meatlug's chain. The chain snapped in two, and they turned to the lone Hunter still left in the cage to guard them. He pulled out two axes, a cocky smirk on his face.
"Meatlug, hug!" Fishlegs exclaimed and, with a smile and tongue lolling out, Meatlug stood on her hind legs and waddled towards the Hunter. Confused by the order and 'strange behavior' of his dragon, the Hunter had no time to react before Meatlug crushed him under her weight and he was passed out with a groan.
Aric didn't miss the opportunity either. With a shield full of Nadder spines, and the Hunters surrounding him cut by one, Aric lunged. He took the first guard out with a full on hit to the head, before twisting around to the other, slamming him in the stomach and knocking the Hunter back into the bars of the cell where he crumpled to the ground. Taking the chance, Aric went to pull the chain off his sister's dragon.
"Come on, girl. We're finally getting you out of here," he said, and Stormfly happily squawked.
000
Hiccup and Snotlout were wiping the floor with the Hunters so far, able to get close and attack with no consequence of those arrows. They pulled back and regrouped a moment, letting Toothless and Hookfang refuel their shot count.
"You're armor's loose!" Snotlout suddenly exclaimed, and Hiccup looked down to see a piece of armor on Toothless' front leg coming off. "Oh, I knew I should have used a lock stitch, not a cross stitch. Stupid Snotlout, stupid! Oh, mom's gonna be so disappointed in me."
"Let's just hope it holds," Hiccup responded. "Now, take out those two support ships."
Passing the flag ship, Hiccup could see Astrid and Tuffnut still tussling with the guards. With a little shared smirk with Toothless, she decided to give them some help. Between Astrid and Tuffnut was a wide gap, the two having separated the Hunters into attacking only one of them. Toothless shot a plasma blast in that gap, and it threw the Hunters off their feet.
000
The Hunters thrown off by Toothless' plasma blast, Astrid took the opening and slammed the head of her broom to the head of her opponent. The man doubled over and Astrid kicked him down. Another came charging at her, and Astrid blocked his attack, shoving him down in the next second as she used the momentum to push her swing forward and use his weight and shotty stance against him.
No Hunters left on her end, Astrid noticed Tuffnut struggling against one and rushed to help him, attacking the Hunter from the side with a strong swing and quickly knocking him out.
"Let's go get our dragons", Astrid said with finality, and they ran to get below, their 'weapons' still in hand. Before they could both get back below deck, though, Heather jumped down and cut her off.
She attacked first, Astrid dodging the swings of her axe before raising her broom to block. Heather cut through it, straight down the middle, but that was a mistake. With one piece of the broom in each hand, Astrid decided on using them like short swords. She charged against Heather with a battle cry, each swing quick and precise to keep Heather on the defensive and throw her off balance. Then Astrid, with all her strength, rose her arms up, jumped, and swung down on the handles of Heather's axe, causing her to lose balance, trip back, and fall with her head hitting the deck. Astrid stood above her, Heather down but not for long.
That's when blasts came from below, the other riders making their escape with their dragons under Hiccup and Snotlout's cover fire. Meatlug and Fishlegs were first out, followed by Ruffnut and Tuffnut with Barf and Belch, and lastly Aric, but not with Shadowstar.
"Stormfly!" Astrid exclaimed, and Aric called to her as he flew her dragon in their escape.
"I've got her, Astrid! Just get Shadowstar!" he exclaimed, and Astrid nodded.
She raced down and to the room her brother's dragon was still trapped in. He must not have had time to get her out, but that was okay. He freed her dragon, so she'd free his. She took a key from one of the guards knocked out in the hall and ran to the room, unlocking the cage door between her and Shadowstar as soon as she'd entered.
"Come on, Shadowstar," she said as she took one of the dragon's burrs and pried the muzzle open with a successful snap. "We're leaving."
Suddenly, Shadowstar growled, and Astrid turned to find Heather at the door.
"Don't you ever give up?" she stood.
"Don't you?" Heather retorted, then used her axe to slammed the door shut.
"I really can't understand you," Astrid glared. "One moment you're my enemy, the next you're helping me. What are you playing at, Heather? Are you my enemy, or are you my friend? Which is it?"
"You really want to know?"
Astrid didn't answer, but she figured her stare was answer enough, because at that moment Heather folded up her weapon and placed it on her back. Astrid only continued to stare at her, unsure what to say now.
"It was the only way I could figure out what kind of deal Dagur made with the Hunters," Heather spoke first. "I never expected for you and the Riders to get involved so soon."
"What kind of deal did he make?"
"The Dragon Eye. The Hunters want it and the Riders have it."
"And Dagur had information," Astrid surmised.
"On you and your base, yes. Originally, Dagur was only buying from them, trading gold for ships and weapons, like those dragon proof chains he used against me and Windshear. When I heard he made a deal with the Dragon Hunters for the Dragon Eye…"
"You decided to infiltrate and learn more to help us."
Heather nodded. "I couldn't risk my cover being blown, so at the time, I needed you to think I'd joined Dagur."
"Then why help me?" Astrid questioned. "And why risk everything by telling me all this now?"
"Because," Heather started, her eyes soft and sincere, "I could use a friend."
000
Hiccup and Toothless sped around the ships, the riders just waiting for Astrid to get Shadowstar free and blast their way out. Heather had followed her not too long after she'd gone down, and with how long it was taking her to come back up, Aric was clearly getting worried.
"Hiccup, Astrid's been down there too long," he flew Stormfly to a hover beside Hiccup, just out of range of the Hunters' arrows.
"I know. Just stay out of range and wait for my signal. As soon as Astrid's up, we're giving them everything we've got!"
Hiccup signaled Toothless to charge at the ships again, needing to help Snotlout keep the Hunters busy to give Astrid time. They wove through the ships and swerved passed sails. The Hunters shot at them and Toothless leaned into a barrel-roll, losing armor in the process.
"My leg's lost armor!" Toothless roared.
"I know, bud. Just keep flying!"
Dagur was laughing excitedly, if her eyes and ears were correct and that was Dagur. "He's lost some of his armor! We've got her now!" he shouted.
"Men! Concentrate all fire on the Night Fury!" Ryker yelled, and Toothless stopped to a hover, having a better chance at evading the barrage that way than giving the Hunters a clear trajectory they'd barely be able to dodge.
Toothless tried firing first to stall them and take a few archers out, but he was interrupted by the first shot, the onslaught already incoming. Toothless swerved and dodged, Hiccup moving with him and helping to anticipate the trajectory of each shot. They couldn't stay like that forever, though, and when Toothless dodged another arrow, they used that momentum to get moving, flying around the ship with arrows trailing just behind them as a Hunter shot a series using one of the ballistas on board. Hookfang made quick work of it, he and Snotlout charging in to help and blow it up. Hiccup and Toothless took that as their opening to fire too, taking out a few more archers.
000
Ryker was beyond pissed. Never had they lost a dragon, and now these Riders, this Hiccup, was making a mockery of his men. The dragon was right there and his men had still yet to shoot it down. His men continuing to fall one by one by the Halfling and her Night Fury, Ryker stepped up to take charge.
"Looks like I'll have to do this myself," he muttered, and drew back the bow string. Before he could fire, though, the ship violently shook with an explosion, a dragon shooting up into the air from the hole it made.
"I told you, you were messing with the wrong Vikings!" the girl riding the hybrid shouted back at them, and just then the Riders were attacking from all sides, leaving a clear message as they all escaped. Don't underestimate them.
000
"Oh, don't you think just because you saved me, I'll forgive you so easily. You're still on thin ice, mister," Ruffnut scolded Barf, Tuffnut doing relatively the same to Belch as they flew in the direction of the Edge. Hiccup largely ignored it, unconcerned with the twins' light scolding as another question took precedent.
"Did I see Dagur on that ship?" she asked everyone. "Is he with the Dragon Hunters?"
"Not just Dagur!" Ruffnut sang.
"Hiccup, we have a lot to talk about," Aric said as he and Astrid switched dragons mid-flight.
"Screaming Death armor?" Fishlegs analyzed Hookfang. "Yeah, makes sense. Thickest scales of any dragon."
"Woo! Excellent workmanship," Ruffnut called.
"Eh, I don't know," Tuffnut seemed to disagree. "I'm a little surprised you didn't use a lockstitch."
"Oh, I'll use it right now on your mouth," Snotlout retorted.
"Hey, it did the trick," Hiccup jumped in.
"It looks heavy," Fishlegs said.
"He's got that right," Hookfang cuffed.
"Maybe we should try a set made of Gronckle Iron, now that I have the formula," he finished proudly.
"Well, we might need to do just that," Hiccup agreed. "I'm pretty sure we've not seen the last of the Dragon Hunters."
000
With the Riders long gone, Heather decided now was a good time to show herself again. She arrived on deck hunched over a little and holding one of her arms to feign injury. Ryker seemed to be surveying the damage to his ship; any Hunters left were putting out the fires.
"So, what's next?" she asked as she stepped beside Dagur.
"We report back to Viggo," Ryker answered shortly.
"And, we tell him what?" Dagur asked.
"That we're one step closer to the Dragon Eye."
Whoo! Guys, the Hunters are in town and it is about to get interesting! Lots in store this season. Little bit of romance, little bit of lore, whole lot of drama, and even a new (original) invention. This is gonna be fun!
