Near the Battlefield center
The King steps forward close to Cloudjumper who in turn glares at the owl he once called King. Hicca demands once more, "Tell me what? What is going on?" Toothless steps close to his mate in support. Cloudjumper answers, "Our King was hoping when you faced The Red Death you would die with her." Hicca is stunned as are the others who never knew of this plan. When The King turns to Hicca pleading but his eyes hold anger, "Don't believe him Hicca. Cloudjumper is a liar. He wants to turn you against me." Hicca looks to The King then to Cloudjumper. She is unsure if what either is saying is true but, in her mind, and heart she believes Cloudjumper. Around Hicca and Toothless the others gather close to them and watch The King very closely.
Valka is nearby but is out of sight of the group. She can hear everything and knows Cloudjumper to never lie. In this moment she steps forward saying, "Cloudjumper is no liar. He has never lied about anything." Once in view Cloudjumper moves to her side to help keep her standing and away from The King. The King growls, turning to Valka, "You are the one who lies, and you lied to Hicca. You have no right to speak." Other owls murmur all around them. Valka hangs her head in shame then looks up to meet The King's eyes, "You right. I don't have a right to speak for what I have done to Hicca."
Taking a moment to breath and seal her growing nerves she continues, "I don't expect Hicca to ever forgive me. Whatever she decides to do with me is her choice." Hicca is a little surprised by this but after the talk they had not too long ago she is still unsure what to make of Valka. Nearby Gobber and Gothi can see the Valka they know but are too far to get close to help. Cloudjumper bumps her head in support while The King replies coldly, "How touching. With The Red Death gone and Haven is free. We have nothing to fear."
The owls around them nod in agreement and are silenced when The King speaks, "To be fully free all of those who served The Red Death shall be put to death." This surprised everyone, even Hicca and her friends. Toothless steps forward, "Then I will be put to death as well?" The King turns to Toothless as he continues, "I served The Red Death. Even for a short time. I was under a spell that made me serve her." The King then says, "Then yes. You will be put to death as well." Hearing this Hicca steps forward spreading her wings out, growling out, "You will not be doing anything."
Stormfly and the rest of the gang get ready for a fight and ready to defend their family. Hookfang yells, "No one else will die today! The fighting is over!" The King responds, "It does not matter. Those who serve The Red Death must die with her." Hicca was about to say something, but Snotlout speaks up, "Right. So that means you die too?" This statement freezes everyone in place and all heads turn to face him. Meatlug asks, "What do you mean?"
Snotlout answers calmly, "The King used to rule with The Red Death. They split when they both wanted to be the single ruler." Cloudjumper asks, "How did you learn this information?" Snotlout steps forward but not going past his group of friends. He takes a deep breath and shares what he learned.
Flashback: The Red Death's Lair
Snotlout has fallen behind and has gotten lost, but he quickly finds his way back to his group. However, before he even moves he sees something. On the wall is a painting but it is heavily damaged. The painting shows The Red Death and another owl next to her. They are higher up on the wall while dozens of smaller owls look up at the pair. But the damage prevents him from seeing who the owl next to The Red Death is. So, he moves on further down the wall where he finds another painting and this time he can see that it is both The Red Death and The King. At first he thinks this is a battle but taking another look the owls are side by side as rulers.
He does not believe that this is The King of Haven. Snotlout moves away from the wall only to bump into a small wooden table. Causing a parchment to fall to the ground. Snotlout quickly moves to clean up but when he reads one of the open message. He is stunned in place as he reads more. In one letter it states that The Red Death is sending scouts to Haven. While The King sends a single scout to look for an artifact. In another, it says that both The King and The Red Death are making plans to rule Haven together.
He takes that parchment and hides it in his feathers and armor as best he can. Snotlout takes a moment to look around one last time to find one more parchment. This one states that The King is taking those who want to leave The Red Death forever. But the catch is that they become slaves to The King, but they are led to believe they are free. Those that disobey go missing by being sent to The Red Death who then in turn imprisons them. Torturing them until they go mad and will kill everything in their path. Snotlout also grabs this parchment and makes sure to hide it on him. Once he is sure that everything is back in place he quickly catches up with his group. Snotlout is about to share this information but can't because everyone else is busy fighting for their lives.
Flashback Ends
Snotlout lays out the parchments he took for all to see. The King now realizes that everything he covered up is now out in the open. Everyone sees who he is now, and, in this moment, he just lost the support of everyone in Haven. Hicca reads the parchments and once she is done, she turns to The King, "You are a traitor to Haven." The other owls agree and take a step forward to the late ruler. Realizing that he has lost, The King looks to Hicca then admits, "Yes. Everything is true. I knew there was a chance you could discover the truth. If you had not died with The Red Death I would have made sure you did."
Cloudjumper commands, "Arrest the traitor." Two owls come forward to do so but are pushed back by The King. They fall to the ground as The King rushes forward to kill Hicca himself. Toothless shoves him back, giving Hicca a chance to defend herself and to stop The Mad King. Everyone around them steps back as the fighting picks up.
Valka is moving forward managing to get past Cloudjumper as The Mad King shoves Hicca to the ground. Hicca, still weak from battle, is not fast enough to raise her talons up. When she turns around to face The Mad King, she is stunned to see Valka locking talons with him. With all her remaining strength she throws The Mad King back. Valka is breathing heavily but not willing to let another owl hurt Hicca. Hookfang and Stormfly manage to get around to catch The Mad King. They each break a wing, while Toothless breaks his talons. The Mad King screeches in pain and no longer is able to move.
Cloudjumper orders, "Take him to the cells." Both Stormfly and Hookfang take the prisoner away. Hicca looks at Valka and asks, "Why?" Valka turns around answering, "I regret what I have done to you. I am aware that it will never make up for it. You have fought for a long time. I also want to show you that I will fight by your side from this moment on." Valka limps away when Hicca stands up then yells out, "Thank you." Then quietly she says, "Mom." Valka hears her, turning around quickly in shock then smiles a moment later. Bowing her head to Hicca. Hicca returns a small bow to Valka who now turns back to head for the Healing pools.
Cloudjumper approaches Hicca, "What now?" Hicca looks around to see everyone, her friends and mate. Both Hookfang and Stormfly return and land nearby. When she turns back to Cloudjumper he says, "Haven will need a new leader." Hicca thinks for a moment then says, "Your right Haven does need a leader. And I am looking at him." She spreads her wings out in a bow, surprising Cloudjumper. Others follow Hicca's lead. Cloudjumper looks around but feels honored. When everyone rises up Hicca asks, "What do we do now?" Cloudjumper thinks for a moment before answering with a smile, "I have an idea."
Haven, few days later
The Mad King who has been sentenced to life in the lower cells and to prevent him from escaping. All of his flight feathers have been removed, and he no longer is able to fly. He is to be kept alone until his madness claims him. But is made sure that he gets meals and fresh water each and every day.
Haven is quiet for a moment only for a pair of owls rushing past causing leaves to fly from the branches. The pair in question is none other than Hicca and Toothless flying together like before. All around them owls are rebuilding and cleaning up some areas that were damaged from battle. Fishlegs and Meatlug are helping owls who were enslaved getting back on their feet. Valka is talking to a group of owls who need an extra hand to figure out where they belong.
When Valka sees the pair fly past her Valka sends out a call of greeting. Both Hicca and Toothless return the greeting but keep flying ahead. The pair fly past Cloudjumper who is helping with any repairs and when he sees the pair he gives a quick bow of the head. Both Hicca and Toothless bow their heads and keep going. "My life has been tough. Without the friends I made." Stormfly, Hookfang and their friends fly behind her. "Past rivals become my friends." Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut fly behind her. Meatlug and Fishlegs follow behind them. "My mentors who helped me get through the worst times of my life." Gobber and Gothi are training owls on battle tactics as well as teaching them that fighting with just talons is not always the way to win. "Now a mother who is making amends for the past. I can see that she is trying to do right by me."
She sees Valka once more who now is helping Cloudjumper with some of the owls she has taken under her wing. "And the biggest light in all this darkness is my mate, Toothless. He not only has helped me, but he also saved my life." Toothless looks at Hicca with love in his eyes as she gives him the same look of love. "Now Stoick is gone as well as The Red Death Haven has become home. The Mad King too is gone. Losing himself to his own madness and greed. Life here is amazing. We all can now heal and begin anew." Hicca and Toothless lead the group around Haven. As they fly Hicca turns to see Ash flying alongside Stormfly but when she blinks, he is gone. "Even an enemy became an ally."
Toothless gently bumps Hicca then shoots forward flying up. Hicca follows after him and they fly up towards the sun. Flying around each other before freediving with their friends diving after them. When they reach close to the ground they pull up. One by one they each land on a tree that overlooks Haven. Each one had fought to stay alive and now they fight for home, fight for family. They fight for freedom.
The Haddock Estate, Hunter's Room
A young boy in green pajamas, reddish brown hair, and green eyes listens to his father read him a story. Said father closes the story book then says, "Alright son it is bedtime." The young boy pouts, "Hunter." Hunter slides back and settles into his bed. His father pulls the blanket up, placing a kiss on Hunter's forehead. Hunter yawns and whispers, "Good night daddy." The man smiles, kisses his son's forehead again then gets up.
The man puts the story book away on a shelf then leaves the room carefully closing the door behind him. He then makes his way to the living room to see a woman sitting on the couch wrapped in a large fuzzy blanket. He joins her and together cuddles under the blanket when the woman asks, "What story did you read Hunter?" The man answers, "Fighting for Freedom." The woman answers, "But is that story a bit too mature for his age?" The man answers, "Don't worry Val. He asked me to read it to him. He can handle it."
Val sighs but says, "If you are sure Steven." Steven kisses her head then says, "Val he loves these stories. Why not read to him tomorrow." Val nods and says, "Alright. Perhaps I will. You did leave out the really bad parts, right?" Steven nods his head, "I did Val." Val nods her head then the pair cuddle for a while longer before they retire to bed. Tomorrow starts another day of work and a new story to be told.
Auther's Notes: A week late and this chapter is here. I wanted this last chapter to be good and I hope it is. Fighting for Freedom has come to end. This story has been fun to write even thought for some of it I had a hard time writing it as writers block was ever so present. But now the next story will start to show up. In one of the chapter's the sneak peak of the next story may give an idea of what the next tale will be. On another note, I am finding that I am having a hard time keeping to posting on Fridays only. So, what I will do to make things a bit easier is I will post Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. I will still post once a week, but it will be on one of those days. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the next story called, Demon Love. First chapter will be posted this week. You guys are still awesome, and I am forever thankful to every single one of you. Have a wonderful day/night.