So I'm back. Sorry for the delay. I had a lot of reports for school, and I've been looking into colleges. Due to the long wait, I'll just end this A.U. now so you can get right to the story.
Elsa walked down the halls, her back straight. She had encountered no one in her walk to the meeting room, which was helpful in keeping the little dragon a secret. Once she was inside, she set the dragon on the table and left it for a moment, going back into the hall. She looked around, and located a servant girl. She was about fifteen years of age.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," the girl said, curtsying.
Elsa nodded, before speaking. "Please bring me a small amount of fish to the meeting room."
"Of course, Your Majesty." If the girl thought anything about the odd request, she had done well in concealing it. She simply curtsied and left Elsa. The queen went back to the meeting room, where she called upon the most important authority figures in Arendelle.
In roughly fifteen minutes, the people began to file into the room. Along with the traditional officials of Arendelle were Owen, Barry, and Brynn. Several people stopped in surprise when they saw a small, reptilian animal sitting on the table, slightly to the side of their queen, who was feeding the creature a selection of small, fresh fish from a small bowl. Much to their credit, the people sat down civilly in the open chairs.
All along the right-hand side of the table, Anna sat next to Elsa, Brynn next to Anna, Owen next to Brynn, and Barry next to Owen.
"Elsa?" Anna asked, staring at the small, green animal. Elsa shushed her gently, and continued to give food to the messenger.
Once everyone was seated, Elsa rose.
"Not a half-hour ago, this creature appeared in my bedchamber. Tied to one of its legs was this note." She held up the roll of parchment. "Written on this paper is a message from Sir Indi Rex. He has given me some information and has told me of what he had done thus far. He had secured an alliance between our country and that of Corona. But what is more interesting is that he had found a group of Vikings from Berk." She unrolled the paper. "The section reads as follows: '...they don't just have dragons living there, but actually have deep bonds of friendship with them. They even ride them, flying wherever they please.'
"Sir Indi also hints that there is more than one kind of dragon. He speaks of 'a wild dragon that can turn invisible and can spit burning acid.'"
"In terms of our situation, what does this mean?" someone asked.
"This means that Von Schwicke is even more dangerous that we thought," Brynn said. "The proof of the existence dragons indicates that, even if Von Schwicke doesn't create hybrids with them, and merely has them in his possession, he will have unmatched weapons. Yes, dinosaurs are strong, but dragons traditionally breathe fire. Now Indi is talking about at least one type of dragon that doesn't spit fire, but acid. Ac-id. What's more, we don't know how strong this acid is: does it only cause a tingling sensation, or can it melt through stone in seconds?"
Elsa thought for a moment; all of the the points that Brynn brought up were all indeed valid.
The group talked for a while more, until the meeting concluded some time around ten o'clock. AT the end of the counsel meeting, Elsa wrote a reply to Indi's letter. After stamping it with the royal seal of Arendelle, she tied the letter to the leg of the dragon, and sent it out her window. She watched it depart with longing.
Indi and his pack yawned in unison, all flashing rows of teeth in the morning sunlight. Rising to his feet, Indi arched his back and twisted his neck, groaning as he felt the satisfactory cracking in his stiff joints. Hiccup said that they would construct a hut for him and his pack, and Indi was grateful. The area where the building would be located was still a construction site, with many nails and boards lying around.
Indi sent his pack off to hunt for their breakfast as he began the walk up to the Clubhouse. Though the initial reaction to the reveal of his Indominus rex side could not have gone smoother, the male still sensed some uneasy emotions coming from the dragon riders whenever he came near.
He entered the meeting place, where the riders were finishing their breakfast. Hiccup passed Indi a bowl, which Indi accepted with a nod. Sensing tension among the riders, Indi ate quickly.
"Alright, what are we doing today?" he asked, setting his now empty bowl aside.
"We received a distress message from Outcast Island," Hiccup said. "Indi, you ride with me." In less than ten minutes, the group was airborne and soaring over the oceans. It took a day and a half to reach their destination. They spent the night on a small island, before pressing on. At about noon the next day, Indi saw a grey, rocky island, with tall spires pointing diagonally into the sky. At some areas of the island that showed signs of civilization were pillars of white smoke, now starting to dwindle.
The riders landed and dismounted from their dragons. Toothless was clearly agitated at the surroundings.
"I don't like it," Ruffnut said as she and her brother examined a damaged structure.
"Weird," Hiccup said. "I don't see any arrows or spears."
"No boulders from catapults," Fishlegs added.
"This really doesn't seem like a dragon hunter attack."
Indi sniffed the air. The air smelled of charred wood and burnt meat was primary, but another scent also reached his senses; The smell was reptilian in a way, but not one he had encountered before.
"Well, whoever did this meant business," Astrid said.
"And where did everybody go?" Fishlegs asked. Apparently Indi wasn't the only one who thought the absence of humans was odd.
"They must have evacuated," Astrid suggested.
"What could possibly scare the Outcasts off their own island?"
Indominus rex, Indi guessed in his head.
"Mutton famine," Tuffnut said.
"Bedbugs?" RUffnut guessed. "Once those things show up you can never get rid of them."
"I think this had something to do with it," Hiccup was looking up at a large rock formation with a charred marking along it. The marking had several forks in it, almost like lightning. "These scorch marks. Does this look familiar to anyone?"
"Hiccup," Fishlegs said, nervously. "Do you think it could be..?" Indi was absolutely confused.
Soon, the riders were in the air once more, flying north. They had filled Indi in on the suspect dragon species: a rare one call a Skrill. The Skrill could apparently channel lightning through its body or store the lightning for later use. Hiccup and the rest of the riders had dealt with this individual in the past, before sealing it back in a glacier.
"There!" Hiccup said, looking at a small, icy island in the middle of nowhere. "That's the one!" The dragons landed near a large crevice n the ice, and the riders all looked down inside.
"Yep," Snotlout said, confirming the obvious. "The Skrill is gone."
"That'd be a good title for a song," Tuffnut said. "I'm gonna work on that when we get home."
"How could this happen?" Fishlegs said.
"Soddy workmanship, I'd say," Tuffnut said.
"Aren't we the ones who sealed him in that big hole?" Ruffnut asked. Tuffnut cleared his throat, pointing back at Bark and Belch.
"It doesn't matter how it got out," Hiccup said. "We've gotta get it back, before it hurts
anybody else. or before Dagur get's a hold of it."
"Well the question is: where is it headed?" Astrid said.
"Well, since the Skrill gravitates towards storms to channel its lightning, I'd say its following that storm," Fishlegs said pointing at a large mass of dark clouds, thunder rumbling in the distance. "Headed due south from Outcast Island."
"Hey," Snotlout said, eyes widening. "Isn't Berk... Oh, no."
As the riders approached the Isle of Berk, Indi saw a dark-purple dragon shooting beams of lightning from its mouth at a flock of dragon riders that were attacking it.
"Wow, look at that," Astrid said, seeming somewhat impressed. "The A-team, already on the case."
"Yeah, well, okay, it might be a little early in their dragon riding careers to..." Hiccup voice said, trailing off.
Indi watched as the Skrill shot down several of the auxiliary riders with beams of lightning. When a man riding a blue and orange Deadly Nadder was shot, Snotlout dove after him. "Dad!"
"Cover the downed riders!" Hiccup ordered, before guiding Toothless into a steep dive with the rest of dragons. Toothless suddenly stopped his dive and began snarling as a haunting dragon scream came from the clouds.
"That's a Skrill, right?" Indi asked Hiccup.
"Yep. Toothless! What- What are you doing?!" Toothless gave no response, only to continue to growl at a menacing dragon in the distance. "Toothless, no!" Toothless and the Skrill charged each other. Both dragon readied their attacks, their mouths glowing. Both dragons shot their blasts at the same time. When the lightning and plasma hit, both dragons were flung backwards, and Hiccup and Indi were flung from Toothless' back.
As he fell, Indi stared down into the ocean. He knew that a fall from this height was deadly, even into water. Dropping people into water from extreme heights was a surefire way that the pterosaur hybrids finished off their targets.
Indi looked around and saw Astrid and Stormfly flying up to him. As he fell past his rescuers, Indi turned his body to face the blonde shield-maiden, who directed her dragon into a dive. He stretched out his arm to Astrid, and she grabbed his hand, pulling him to her. he carefully maneuvered himself behind Astrid, Stormfly still moving downwards. Just as he was settled, Stormfly pulled out of her dive, and Indi instinctively wrapped his arms around Astrid's middle as he was forced down onto Stormfly's back.
"Thanks," Indi said. "I owe you one." Astrid didn't reply, but Indi sensed that she was smiling.
Astrid directed Stormfly down to the island, where the blue dragon landed. Indi and Astrid both dismounted. A motion caught Indi's eye. Turning, he saw Snotlout helping his father out of a pile of flour sacks.
"Snotlout, is he okay?" Astrid asked.
"He's my dad." Snotlout laughed. "He bludgeons his own head for sport; he's fine."
"Esha!" Snotlout's father said, before grabbing at his throat. "Ach gradabla! Hie!"
"Like I said, he's fine," Snotlout said, then directed his voice away from his father. "Except for that blast of lightning he took to the head. Aw, thanks, Dad. I'm proud of you too."
"Well all the huts seem to be in fairly good condition," Fishlegs said.
"All except for one," Astrid said, pointing to a hut positioned somewhat away from the rest of the houses. This hut was extremely burned, with wisps of smoke still drifting from it.
"My house!" A massive man with red hair and a fittingly large beard said in shock, seeing the burned structure. Indi figured him to be Stoick the Vast.
"Hey, Chief," Ruffnut said. "Is the charred look in this year?"
Indi blocked them out at this point.
"It's wierd that Stoick's house is the only one the Skrill attacked," Astrid commented.
"Huh, that could explain why the Skrill went to Outcast Island, and then to here," Fishlegs said.
"it's not randomly attacking," Hiccup said. "It's looking for me and Toothless."
"And Outcast island is the last place it saw you guys, before..." Astrid's voice trailed off.
"Before we led it into the crevasse and sealed it inside," Hiccup finished.
"He's mad," Snotlout said. "At you."
"Snotlout's right," Indi said. "It is mad, and it's looking for revenge for trapping it back in that glacier."
"What choice did we have?" Astrid asked. "It was either that, or let Dagur have it."
"Why don't you try explaining that to the Skrill?" Hiccup said with noticeable sarcasm. Toothless snarled, looking into the sky. "Easy, bud. We dealt with the Skrill before. We'll deal with it again."
"And is it just me," Tuffnut said "Or is Snotlout's dad acting a little more violent and deranged than usual?" True to Tuffnut's words, Spitelout was swinging around a big, double-bladed axe, pointing into the sky, and trying to yell. All that came out was some odd squealing sounds.
"Yeah," Snotlout laughed. "Looks like the Skrill isn't the only one out for revenge." Spitelout turned towards his son, and tried to speak once more, to no avail. Snotlout lowered his voice slightly, giving the impression of being blood-crazed. "Fear not, dear father. You will be avenged. We Jorgensons will have our pound of Skrill flesh. I will make sure of it!" Once again, Indi ignored the sound of idiocy; he was getting a lot of practice at that.
Both Indi and Astrid rolled their eyes.
"Clearly," Astrid said. "The Skrill is coming back to Berk for you and Toothless, and we need to be ready."
"We're not waiting for it, Astrid," Hiccup asserted, climbing onto Toothless' saddle.
"Alright," Indi said. "So what's the plan?"
"It's me and Toothless it wants, it's me and Toothless it's gonna get."
Indi nodded, and the group took flight. Spitelout tagged along, riding on Hookfang in front of his son, apparently because "he wanted to see his son avenge him." Or at least that was how Snotlout translated the unintelligible noises coming from the elder Jorgenson. Indi felt that Snotlout was just putting word's in Spitelout's mouth.
Indi's group went back to the glacier that sat in the middle of the ocean. They all began working away at the icy ground, creating a large trench.
"Okay," Fishlegs said as Meatlug drool melted rock onto the ice. "This trench is definitely deeper than the last one. Hopefully it will hold the Skrill this time."
Spitelout made some grunting noises and flexed his large biceps.
"You mean after the Jorgensons exact their revenge, right?" Snotlout translated. "We should at least be the ones to melt him into that hole!"
Astrid and Indi flew overhead.
"Snotlout, we don't have time for the Jorgenson nonsense," Astrid said. Spitelout attempted to make a retort, but all that came out was a strange gurgle. "If you have something to say, say it."
"Ha ha ha, real funny, Astrid," Snotlout said, before turning to his father. "She messes with me like that all the time. " He turned his voice to a low mutter, but Indi could still hear him clearly. "We're totally on the same page that she's in love with me."
Indi could only snort at that when a hooting screech of the Skrill came from the ocean. "And here they come."
"Okay," Astrid said. "As soon as its inside, and Hiccup and Toothless are clear, we seal it up."
Indi watched as the two dark colored dragons neared the glacier.
Hiccup and Toothless shot into the tunnel, followed by the Skrill. Indi watched, confused, as the Skrill stopped just outside the cave opening and hovered.
The dark purple dragon looked around, before looking up at Indi and the rest of the riders, who were hidden up on the top of an ice cliff.
"Uh oh," Fishlegs said.
"What's going on?" Snotlout said. "Why did it stop?!"
"Call me crazy," Fishlegs said nervously. "I think he knows its a trap."
Indi was impressed; this dragon was very intelligent.
"That is one smart dragon," Ruffnut said, echoing Indi's thoughts.
"I hate smart dragons," Tuffnut said. "Which is why I love you." He promptly hugged Belch, the green head gurgling happily.
The Skrill shot a beam of lightning at the cave opening, and large chunks of ice began to fall, sealing up the hole. Then the dragon turned and charged at the riders. The group scattered, and the Skrill sealed the exit of the tunnel.
"It's trying to seal Hiccup and Toothless inside!" Astrid exclaimed. Indi snarled as the Skrill turned and looked right at him. Suddenly, Snotlout, Spitelout, and Hookfang raced by.
"Watch out!" Snotlout shouted to his father. The Skrill shot a beam at the advancing Jorgensons, and Hookfang rolled to avoid the attack, only to plummet to the glacier, throwing his riders off as he hit the snowy ground.
The Skrill then turned to Stormfly, engaging the blue dragon in pursuit. Indi clung to Astrid as she hung on to Stormfly. The blue dragon effectively dodged the multiple volleys of lightning dealt by the Skrill. Stormfly turned skyward, trying to protect her passengers.
"Hang on, Indi!" Astrid yelled.
"Already am!" Indi said, feeling himself slip slightly as Stormfly went straight up.
The lightning blasts stopped and Indi looked down to see the Skrill looking at Snotlout and Spitelout. Spitelout was waving two axes and didn't look away from the dragon as Snotlout took one of his axes.
The Skrill charged the Jorgensons, lightning manifesting on its wings. Just when it was about to strike, the ice blocking the cave entrance exploded outward, and two purple plasma shots raced by the Skrill. Hiccup and Toothless shot from the cave and raced by the Skrill, the wild dragon hovering. Toothless circled around, and fired a blast at the Skrill. The spiky dragon dodged the shot, and retaliated with a lightning blast. Toothless then, turned and raced out to sea, the Skrill following.
"So, what do we do now?" Indi asked, watching the two dark-colored dragons fly off.
"We head back to the Edge," Astrid said. "Hiccup should know enough to head back that way."
The other riders grouped up with them, and they all flew back to Outpost Island.
"Astrid, I've been thinking," Indi said after some time.
"Oh, no," Snotlout said from behind his father on Hookfang. "Indi, you seem too much like Hiccup, and when Hiccup thinks, it always turns into a production." Spitelout made some more strangled noises in agreement.
Indi ignored Snotlout and his father. "If Dagur always kept causing you guys problems those years ago, why didn't you just take him out? From what you guys told me, you had plenty of chances to."
Astrid thought for a moment before answering. "Well, Hiccup was never the Viking type."
"Clearly," Snotlout said. More strangled noises indicated that Spitelout agreed with his son.
Like Indi, Astrid ignored them. "He always tried to keep peace, and was never angled towards violence. That's why the dragon integration was always held as his biggest accomplishment. His dream of peace was realized. He always pressed towards a 'no-kill' policy, either dragon or human."
"It just seems that if this guy kept attacking you guys unprovoked, then the best and easiest course of action would be to kill him," Indi said.
"True," Fishlegs said from atop Meatlugs, the round dragon's wings beating rapidly. "But, like Astrid said, Hiccup is against violence. He always tries a diplomatic approach first, and only uses violence if there is no other option."
"It seems to me like that is a potentially hazardous plan," Indi commented.
Astrid didn't respond. Nobody did. Indi surmised that they were not accustomed to someone of Hiccup's stature to be inclined to the traditional Viking way.
The rest of the flight was relatively silent and uneventful, except for a pod of Sea Shockers that appeared below.
Landing down on the deck in front of the stables, the riders dismounted. Indi leaned up against the metal stable doors, and watched the horizon as the riders dispersed. Hours later, Indi saw the shape of a Night Fury, a black splotch on the blue sky. The shape grew, and soon Toothless landed haphazardly on the deck. Hiccup dismounted silently. Indi noticed that the one-legged Viking looked troubled, but before he could inquire about this, the rest of the group ran over.
"Hiccup!" Astrid said worriedly. "What happened?"
"Where have you been?" Fishlegs added.
"It's a long story," Hiccup said.
"Or is it a very short story?" Tuffnut said, holding Toothless' tail. He opened up the prosthetic tail fin. Instead of the usual red field with the white skull and Viking helmet, on it was a sheet of sailcloth with a red flaming fist insignia. "Looks to me like someone's changed his allegiance. I knew this day would come." He dropped Toothless' tail and pointed at Hiccup. "Seize him!"
Ruffnut tackled Hiccup to the ground. "You traitor!"
Fishlegs ran over.
"Fishlegs is in on it too!" Tuffnut shouted as he ran over. In a matter of seconds, the four were in a pile, with Tuffnut on top, Fishlegs beneath him, Ruffnut beneath him, and Hiccup at the bottom.
"Alright!" Hiccup shouted. "Everybody stop jumping on everybody!"
Indi walked over, and started pulling people off of the pile, working his way down to Hiccup. He pulled the thin Viking to his feet-er... foot.
"How could you even think that!" Fishlegs asked the twins incredulously. "Hiccup, a dragon hunter?! Just the idea that he would have anything to do with them!" He crossed his arms, disgusted.
"Actually, Fishlegs," Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Let's not go quite that far."
"Uh," Tuffnut said.
"You let the dragon hunters capture the Skrill?" Astrid said after Hiccup explained his story.
"That wasn't the plan. They were supposed to take it down, and then we would swoop in a grab it away from them, but..." Hiccup's voice trailed off.
"They got to it first," Fishlegs finished.
"So Dagur has the Skrill again?" Snotlout said, pointing into the distance. "Great! Now he's just gonna chain that thing up like a puppet, and take him on the greatest hit attack run in the archipelago!" Spitelout made more strangled noises, his eyes wide, waving his hands in front of him. "I agree, Dad. I'm very disappointed in Hiccup too."
"They had some sort of new net-shooting catapult," Hiccup continued.
"Net-shooting catapult," Ruffnut said, rubbing the back of her head. "Ya know, no one ever plans for the intangible."
"But, Hiccup," Fishlegs said. "It's just..."
"Confusing," Tuffnut said. "I know that I, for one, am confused."
"Yet intrigued," Ruffnut added.
"Ah, yes," Tuffnut said. "Moral ambiguity. Something else you can never see coming. Yep, catapult nets and moral ambiguity."
"Look," Hiccup said. "There really is no moral ambiguity. I messed up. I really messed up. and I'm not sure how to fix it."
The twins gasped in shock.
"Oh, what now?"
"We just," Tuffnut said. "never heard you say that before."
"You always know how to fix it," Ruffnut said.
"Yeah, well, guess what," Hiccup said. "I'm not perfect."
The twins gasped again. Indi rolled his eyes.
"No! What?!" Tuffnut said, holding his arms forth. "Whose painting am I going to have above my bed?"
Astrid walked in front of the twins, facing Hiccup. "First of all: eew. Second, everything you did, you did to protect that dragon, and to protect all of us." She gestured to the group. "now the question isn't how you fix it. It's how we all fix it. As a team." Fishlegs and Tuffnut stood on either side of Astrid. Indi smiled from his spot against the stable wall.
"My dad said we're letting you off easy," Snotlout said. "But we're still in."
"Now, we just have to figure out a way to find the hunters," Astrid said.
"Hiccup, which way was that storm headed?" Fishlegs asked.
"East."
"Then they would be going west. That way the Skrill can't harness the lightning and attack them."
"Good thinking, Fishlegs," Hiccup said. There's a group of islands just west of where we were. Lots of secluded beaches and coves to hide in."
Astrid turned to Indi. "You coming?"
"Well, it's not like I had anything else planned for today," Indi said, smirking. "So, why not?"
The group of riders flew into the night, using the cover of darkness. A several lush, green islands were below them. A full moon lighted their way.
"Hiccup," Fishlegs said from atop Meatlug. "I-I think I found them. There's a campfire and a lot of singing in really deep voices around on the other side of the island." The riders flew on, moving downwards.
The landed silently on a beach. True to Fishlegs' report, a group of hunters sat around a blazing fire. Indi could hear them well enough from this distance.
"Oh, tell the one about the Viking girl with the hairy onions!"
Indi raised an eyebrow, but kept quiet.
"Okay," Hiccup said, hiding behind a bush. "We'll quietly make our way along the treeline over to those cages. That must be where they're holding the Skrill."
Spitelout rose and swung his axe aggressively, making relatively quiet guttural sounds.
"My dad says that's a terrible plan and that we should just attack." Spitelout rushed forward through the shrubbery, charging the hunters. "Wait, what?!"
"Okay, ah, change of plans," Hiccup said quickly. "We'll use Spitelout as a distraction. Snotlout you and your dad keep the hunters busy, while the rest of us get the Skrill." Snotlout glared at Hiccup, but mounted Hookfang regardless. The rest of the riders mounted their dragons and flew off to the caves.
As the Jorgensons fought the hunters, Indi and the rest of the riders and their dragons snuck along the outskirts of the campsite, using the darkness as cover, looking in each cage. Indi located a cage set apart from the others, sitting in the water, covered in a burlap tarp. He signaled Hiccup, pointing to the cage.
"That's gotta be the right cage," Hiccup said quietly. "It's the only one in the water." Hiccup dismounted from Toothless and crept forward. "Cover me."
Indi listened carefully for unwelcome footsteps as Hiccup grabbed the tarp covering the cage, and pulled it away. Inside the cage was a very angry, dark purple-colored dragon. The Skrill roared at the sight of Hiccup. It's feet were in the water of the cove.
"I know, I know," Hiccup said, trying to placate the dragon. "You can't fire while you're in the water. But don't worry; we're here to help."
Hiccup moved forward, stretching his hand out to the Skrill. The dragon snapped at the intruding appendage, making Hiccup recoil. Toothless roared at the Skrill.
"No, no, no, Toothless," Hiccup said, calming his dragon. "I'm okay, bud." Moving back to the caged beast, he tried again. "Alright, pal, let's just keep it down or they'll hear us."
Indi snarled darkly as a familiar scent reached his nose.
A deep, gruff voice spoke out of the darkness. "Oh, it's far too late for that." Several hunters walked out of the forest, bows drawn. Hunters began appearing out of various places, trapping the riders' dragons. Toothless was trapped beneath a net, and the other dragons were ensnared and held back by the pointy ends of various weapons.
Spitelout and Snotlout were shoved into the clearing, taken captive. Seeing that he would need to stay hidden, Indi shrank back into the shadows cast by a large tree.
"Told you he'd come back for my Skrill," Dagur said, stepping next to Ryker, who had his sword drawn. Dagur walked up to Hiccup, the smaller Viking tensing. "How could you, Hiccup? We've barely had time to get reacquainted." Dagur poked Hiccup in the shoulder, passing him by and knelt in front of the cage that held the Skrill. The dragon roared angrily at Dagur. "It's alright, baby. It's just all still so new."
"Never mind that, Dagur," Ryker said, looking back at his captives. "Just look at all the new dragons your friend has brought us." Dagur shoved Hiccup back to the captured riders. "Tie them up. And muzzle the Night Fury." The hunters did as ordered, putting a leather band around Toothless' jaws.
Indi snarled and stalked out of the shadows.
"There's one more!" a hunter said, charging the dark figure, a green axe raised menacingly. Indi calmly grabbed the hunter by the throat, and raised him up, the hunter's feet leaving the ground, startling the man. Indi bared his teeth, which were now sharpening into fangs. The man gasped, and Indi threw him. The hunter landed back at Ryker's feet, groaning.
Ryker looked warily at the thin figure advancing upon him. Indi walked up to the leader of the hunters, looking him square in the eye.
"Release the riders," Indi said darkly, halting his approach two stride lengths away from Ryker. "Now."
"On whose orders?" Ryker said, challenging Indi.
"Mine," Indi stated, tossing his head, swinging his hair our of his eyes. Ryker stared for a moment, then threw his head back, releasing a hearty guffaw.
Indi smirked, then punched the man in the side of his face. Ryker stumbled back reeling. "I said release the riders. And their dragons."
Dagur then charged Indi, releasing a valiant war cry that gave away his position. Indi grabbed the young man, and picked him up into the air. Dagur's sword dropped to the ground as he flew over Indi's head, and slammed into Ryker, knocking the large man over.
Hiccup took advantage of the distraction, and darted forward. He ducked beneath a dragon hunter's sword as it swung at his head, and tackled the men securing his dragon.
"Toothless, the cage!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless, now free, ran behind the cage securing the Skrill. He shoved his weight against it, growling, and knocked the cage up out of the water, onto the beach. Jumping on top of the cage, Toothless growled as lightning crashed over head. The black dragon leaped away as a bolt of lightning shot downwards, striking the cage.
On top of what was now a hunk of metal stood the Skrill, lighting sparking all over its body. The Skrill shrieked, lightning shooting down from the sky, connecting with the dragon. The Skrill then turned to its captors, and shot several bolts of lightning at them. It tried to take flight, but its tail was caught in the metal cage bars.
Ind saw Ryker had gotten to his feet, and was aiming a dragon root arrow at the sparking dragon.
"No!" Hiccup said, placing himself between the man and the dragon. Ryker released the arrow and Indi darted forward. Time seemed to slow down as he charged, trying to beat the arrow to Hiccup. He opened his mouth just as he met hiccup, and clamped down on the arrow. Time sped back to normal as he knocked Hiccup away. As he landed on the ground, Indi held the arrow between his teeth.
Indi snarled at Ryker, who was reaching an arm around to retrieve another arrow. Leaping to his feet, Indi spat the arrow out and grabbed the cage bars, pulling as hard as he could, bending the metal. The Skrill shot upwards and hovered, lightning sparking across its body.
"Uh, what's it doing?" Dagur asked.
"You tell me!" Ryker shot back. "It's your dragon!"
Indi smirked as the the Skrill squinted at its captors, before it swooped down at Hiccup. Hiccup ducked as the Skrill changed direction, and charged Dagur and Ryker,
"Oh, no," Dagur said, turning and running from the sparking dragon. The Skrill shot several blast of lightning at its captors, scattering the men.
Suddenly, an arrow shot up from out of Indi's field of view and struck the Skrill, knocking it to the ground.
Indi turned and saw Spitelout holding a bow, pumping his fist in the air.
"Ah! Uh! Ah! Uh! Ah! Ah! Ah!" he grunted.
"He's saying: 'Spitelout, Spitelout, oy, oy oy,'" Snotlout translated, covering his face with a hand.
The riders loaded the Skrill in a dragon hunter net and carried it back to the glacier. Indi stood next to Hiccup as he watched Fishlegs and Meatlug lower the Skrill back into the ice crevice. Hiccup, once again, seemed troubled.
"Okay, Fishlegs, a little to the left," Astrid directed. "Now, a little to the right. Alright, that's it! Lower him in."
The Skrill snarled quietly as it approached the crevice.
"Wait!" Hiccup said, halting Fishlegs. "We can't do this."
"Sure we can!" Snotlout said happily. "We drop him in then boom! We seal it closed."
"No, what I mean is, we shouldn't do this."
"Hiccup, the Skrill hunted you and Toothless," Astrid said. "It wanted to kill you."
"But it didn't." Hiccup said. "It saved us. And it risked its own life doing it. We do... this... we're no better than the dragon hunters. We're just using a different cage. He doesn't deserve it."
Indi pressed the trigger button on one of his forearm guards, and unstrapped it, before handing the deployed weapon to Hiccup. Fishlegs lowered the netted Skrill to the ground, and Hiccup walked over.
With a swipe from the blade, the net fell away, freeing the Skrill.
The dragon reared with a roar, standing over Hiccup and Indi, lightning bolts covering its wings. Toothless stalked over, protectively guarding his rider. The Skrill lowered itself to Hiccup's level, lightning sparking from in between its teeth.
It and Hiccup stared into each other's eyes, before the Skrill's lightning dissipated, the dragon calming, lowering its head. Toothless calmed as well, dipping his head as well.
"Why are we lowering our heads?" Tuffnut asked. "Oh, are we checking foreheads? Is there something on my forehead?"
The Skrill turned and leaped from the icy ground, shooting into the sky with a massing lightning blast. Almost immediately after, a bolt came down from the sky, striking Spitelout's helmet, making him blabber gibberish.
"So, you knew he wouldn't turn on us if you let him go, huh?" Astrid asked as Hiccup returned Indi his blade.
"Yeah," Hiccup said, shrugging his shoulders. "Why not?"
"Well, my dad says he's very proud of us," Snoutlout said. "Especially me: his favorite son."
"I didn't say that," Spitelout said in a gruff voice, his arms crossed. It was the first time Indi actually heard the man speak properly.
"Dad! You got your voice back!" Snotlout said, becoming very nervous. "Just great..."
"Is it?" Spitelout said, taking his son by the shoulder, squeezing hard, making Snotlout cry out in pain. "We'll see about that. We have a lot to talk about, Boy-o."
That night, back on the Outpost Island, Indi was standing on the edge of a cliff, feeling the ocean winds blow through his hair. Looking to the sky, he saw a small green dragon flying down to him. he held out his arm, and the Terror landed. Indi was pleased to see a piece of parchment on the dragon's leg. After untying the message, Indi set the small dragon on his shoulder, and unrolled the paper.
Little did Indi or any of his allies know, on a collection of islands that formed a tight spiral, two eggs were moving. The eggs were white, with a slightly bumpy texture. On one of the eggs, a fracture raced across the surface with a crack!