Reviews
DJ Rodriguez
Chapter 5: Stormfly and the Gronckle are the only dragons from the Arena that are in fact female. The Nightmare, Zippleback and Terror, Sharpshot are males.
Chapter 6: Yes, Johann has made an appearance. And thanks for your input.
Chapter 7: You are right, that probably hurt both physically and emotionally. And I really enjoyed writing Gojira's reaction and actions. And I'll point out that his Atomic Breath is more closer to that of Legendary's version in the 2014 MonsterVerse film.
zakrhinosaurus: Maybe. Somewhere down the line.
LORD DESTRYUK: Good question indeed.
raryshowproduction: Well, I did get inspiration from a HTTYD reaction fic on Ao3, so yeah, that's where you've seen it.
Now, on with the story!
Chapter 8: Dethroning the Red Death
They landed on the shore of Dragon Island. Hiccup climbed off Toothless and gently touched the arrow sticking out of his arm. He hissed in pain the moment his fingers came in contact with the arrow. He gritted his teeth and wrapped his fingers around the arrowhead and the shaft. Hissing again in pain he pulled the arrow out of his arm. He gasped and breathed deeply and held his arm.
Gojira walked out of the water, he lowered his head and crooned down at him in concern that was shared with Toothless. Hiccup held up a hand to them. "It's okay, I'm fine." he said with a forced smile. "Just give me a minute." He then pulls on his cloak while pulling out his little dagger.
The red-lit tunnels of the Nest were the first things to see as Hiccup and Toothless fly inside and then land on the floor as Gojira climbed into the entrance behind them, winding deep into Hel. As the tunnels go deeper, the light grows brighter, until finally, the center of the nest is found, burning with the glow of lava beneath pumping mist. The shadows of dragons dance on the walls, burrowed in their holes and sleeping on their overhangs. The mist is creeping, curling, but solid. Unbroken. The beast beneath does not stir.
But there is a spec of movement in some far corner of the Nest. Hiccup walks the hot rock of the Nest, his cloak folded on Toothless' back beside him. It is too hot for it within the volcano.
His arm is bandaged with a scrap from said cloak, but even in the red lighting of the nest, the stain on his sleeve is vast. It falls all the way to his wrist, where the blood stains the back of his hand, and a single drop slides from his palm.
Hiccup wipes it absent-mindedly against his leg, focused on peering down into the mist. The boy draws dangerously near to the edge and Toothless approaches, jaws sliding out. His teeth clamp onto the back of Hiccup's tunic, dragging him back from the edge.
Hiccup only pats the dragon's head, lost in thought. His eyes rove over every inch of the nest, from the dragons lying in sleep to the rocks and the mist. A few dragons, a Gronckle there and a Nightmare there, crack their eyes open for the guests.
They watch the little human climb quietly over rocks and walk in-step with the Night Fury and large Saurian, curious. But both Toothless and Gojira snarl at any dragon who look at them or their human companion for too long, and most close their eyes, falling back to slumber as the human boy explores their nest.
Hiccup looks repeatedly into the endless pit of red mist, but all remains quiet within the fog.
When Hiccup is much higher in the Nest, he lets his fingers trail along the warm, rocky walls. Toothless pads along behind him, crooning quietly. "Shh." Hiccup shushes his Night Fury gently, as one might a startled babe, and keeps walking.
Gojira looks around and noticed that there was not any other dragon that looked like Toothless in the slightest. He grumbles to Toothless in curiosity. The Night Fury paused and crooned in response. He is the only Night Fury in the Nest. Gojira looks down at him sympathy and replied that they were not so different. Back in his homeland, the land of the rising sun, Gojira was the only of his kind as well.
Hiccup's fingers keep trailing across the wall, and as he walks, his hand catches on the next fixture of rock, only this one is not of the wall or growing from the floor. Beneath the low ceiling Hiccup walks under, their sticks a thin stalactite, dull from the rubbing of dragon-scales and small in size. It is only when Hiccup's fingers brush over the new rock does he think to take it in, looking curiously at what his hand feels. He stops, and Toothless nearly bumps into him, huffing. Gojira looks down at Hiccup curiously before looking at the rock wall next to him. He rubs his snout as if to investigate what Hiccup was feeling on the wall.
Hiccup's brows furrow, and he taps the bottom point of the stalactite, testing the tip, but it is dull against his flesh. He turns, spotting a second stalactite nearby, and following it to a whole line of them, steadily growing in size as they near the ceiling. It is the ceiling of the Nest, near the opening, which boasts of the largest ones, massive stalactites which hang from the rock like the spears of gods, reaching as if to pierce the veil of fog.
Hiccup stares at them for a very, very long time. "Toothless." Toothless lifts his head. "Those are pretty thick, do you think you could blast through them?"
Of course, the dragon cannot answer him in words, and only croons, looking finally at the stalactites that have so captivated his human. "Would you?"
Toothless growls in question, as does Gojira. Why should they? Hiccup turns to face them. "I want– Toothless, Goji, we need to kill that dragon."
Hiccup kneels down, so that his eyes are level with the Fury's, and the dragon blinks at him. "I know you have no love for Berk. It's not your home, this place is. And it's not a home that seems very kind to you, it seems like a place of fear. But it's your home." He says to the Fury.
"And Berk is my home. It's where my father lives. And Gobber. And my Uncle Spitelout, and my cousin Snotlout." Hiccup goes on. "It's where my granddad lived, where my mother lived. Fishlegs, Astrid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Phlegma and Hoark and Ack and Silent Sven." He pauses and lets out a sigh before looking up to Toothless and then to Gojira. "I know their names don't mean anything to you...but they live in Berk. Berk is where I was born, where my mother died, where I met you. Berk is my home," he gestures to the cloud of red mist. "and because of Her, it's dying. "
Hiccup takes a breath, and both of his friends wait for him to continue. "Look guys, I don't know if you understood my father–or if you really understand me, now, but my father will kill himself to kill your queen."
"He'll kill himself to fail and hundreds of others with families will die with him. I can't let that happen. I won't." He shakes his head resolutely. "You don't have to help me, Toothless. I know you're afraid of Her, and this place."
Then Hiccup smiles sadly, and speaks a little softer, almost in a whisper, like uttering some secret. "I know I'm really, really scared. But–" Toothless licks Hiccup's face, and the boy recoils, falling away with a quiet groan. The dragon leaps upon him, delivering an assault of licking, which Hiccup is forced to quietly endure until the dragon climbs off.
Hiccup laughs silently as he sits up, shoving at the dragon, but Toothless comes back, pressing his head into Hiccup's hand and peering up at him. Gojira leans down and reaches his arm down and pats Hiccup's head with his hand.
Hiccup breaks into a smile. "We'll do this. The three of us. Together."
Toothless hovers before a stalactite, moving to the left, then the right as Hiccup studies the rock. He shakes his head, and they move to another.
Gojira watches their movements. The rocks all look near-identical to the Saurian, like rock had melted and solidified into great drips, thick as a tiny mountain and taller than a two-story house. He knows very little of Hiccup's plan but he will trust that it was be efficient.
The stalactites are not perfectly positioned above the pit, for the volcano opens to the sky. But the jagged sides of the mountain boast of rocky spears, and it is clear Hiccup is counting on them, directing Toothless to hover before one, and then another.
A drip of blood slides down Hiccup's wrist, and he wipes it on his tunic. Finally, Hiccup locates the lucky stalactite. "That one."
The lance of rock sits in a cluster of others. The Fury and boy hover before it, and Toothless sniffs curiously at the rock. Beneath them, the mist still does not stir.
"Okay, so I guess we should just..." He gestures for Toothless to go ahead. The Fury licks its lips, rolling its shoulders, and a whine of plasma builds in his throat. Hiccup flinches at the noise looking below, but the mist remains as it is. Other dragons open their eyes but none leave their spots of shelter.
The purple fireball rockets from jaws to stone, striking the stalactite at its base. The collision is thunderous, rocking through the volcano. The ceiling shakes, vibrating every drip of volcanic rock, rattling every dragon. A plume of smoke goes up from the stalactite, and while it shakes dangerously, it does not fall.
The sound echoes off the walls, and every dragon turns its eyes to the pit. The fog sinks, as if sucked down into a red abyss. Hiccup gasps, and Toothless' eyes slit. Gojira looks down and growls.
The gray-green nose, covered in barnacles, grime, and spots of blood, is the first thing to emerge from the mist. It's about the size of a large boulder, perhaps the front of a ship, or a vile god's fist. The rest of the snout follows, ever-lengthening in size, revealing those nubbed horns, the spots of red, the pack of tiny eyes.
Those little eyes search the ceiling, and the evaporating cloud of smoke near the stalactite.
The top half of Hiccup's face peeks out over Toothless' head. The duo are concealed behind Gojira who is behind a small rock wall that was just big enough to hide most of his fifty foot tall body as he crouched down. Toothless' wings covers his body and the boy on his back in a veil of night.
Dragons surge back into their sleeping places and cower.
The Queen shifts a little in her sea of mist, tilting her head to take in the stalactites above, the dragons in cowed fear.
It is gargantuan, Gojira notes. It's own head was bigger than himself, yet he was not at all deterred. Hiccup said that he will face this Dragon so Gojira shall fight along side him.
The Red Death lets out a huff that sends fog creeping up the sides of the volcano, and slowly, slinks back into her pit. The mist rolls over her head, crashing like waves to bury her beneath a thin curtain.
Hiccup draws a breath, and whispers to the Night Fury. "Alright, Bud. That was a good try. Round two?"
Toothless croons, and steps off the rock. The dragon is a black outline within the red, hovering again while Gojira bids them good luck. He leans close so that Hiccup might observe. The stalactite now sports a crater in the center of its base, and great cracks jut out from around it, racing around the base and up through the point.
Hiccup rubs Toothless' scales to encourage his job well done, and uses the pedal to flick the tailfin, lining up the dragon once more. "Give it your best shot, bud."
Toothless does, and a second blast of fire strikes the stalactite. But still, it does not fall.
A growl rises from the mist. The Queen is quicker to rise this time, pulling herself from the void, and when her jaws part, white teeth large as trees snap through the mist. She lets loose a roar. Much like the Night Fury's plasma blasts, the sound rocks the volcano.
Hiccup covers his ears, pressing his head into his saddle, into Toothless' scales. Similarly, Toothless paws at his head, whining into the floor. Gojira shakes his head as well, his face forming a grimace of pain.
The Queen finishes her roar, and snarls once before falling back into the mist. Gojira was getting the distinct feeling that she was telling them, or whoever was making the racket to stop.
Hiccup lifts his head, slowly lowering his hands. He stares across the way to the stalactite hanging from the ceiling. The cracks are greater now, bits of rock chipping away and tumbling down. Hiccup: "Okay, Toothless. I think once more should do it. What do you say?"
The Night Fury turns to regard the little rider on his back, and growls gently. Yes.
Night Fury and boy line up again before the stalactite. Hiccup leans close. Yes, the cracks are deeper now, the massive rock greatly damaged. He presses the pedal, backing the duo up, giving them space. He reaches out with his left arm, pointing. "There, Toothless. Right there." he whispers. And as he said this, a single bead of ruby falls from his wrist.
Feeling the bead of blood, Hiccup sighs, pulling the bottom of his tunic to wipe at the blood on his wrist.
Beneath him, Gojira stares up and watches as the drop of blood falls down, down, down. It drops from the center of the volcano, past dragons in their dens and the first wisps of fog. It plops through the mist, creating a tiny crater in its wake, swallowed by the red fog.
Hiccup opens his mouth to speak to Toothless. "Now–" before he could say anymore, the Queen surges out.
The great dragon rises, raging from the mist, a single drop of Hiccup's blood splashed between Her many eyes. She roars in fury, digging Her claws into the sides of the volcano to drag up Her great body, eyes trained on the Night Fury, and on the human.
"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup shouts. Without needing to be told twice, Toothless fires.
The explosion rockets back the Fury, and finally breaks the stalactite form the ceiling.
Toothless beats his wings and Hiccup's foot works the petal, and they fly out of the way as the stalactite falls just like Hiccup's blood.
The Queen snarls, shoving herself aside, but her mass is great, and there is little room to move. She throws her body against the side of the volcano–which trembles–as the stone spear drops– and slices through the mist where the rest of Her body is hidden.
The Queen screams . She rocks back and forth in agony, but the spear did not strike Her head, nor her back and slide through Her chest, and the great beast of the Nest does not die.
Hiccup flexes the pedal, high in the ceiling. "Go, Toothless."
Dragons take flight, swarming out of the nest as their Queen sends up her pained roars. Her eyes narrow all together, focused on the spot of shadow in the volcano's center.
She knows. She knows the Night Fury is the one who attacked her. She screams her fury, claws digging once more into the sides.
Hiccup's eyes widen as he watches. He looks back at the dragons flying. "GO!" Toothless does, joining the swarm, weaving in and out of other dragons in his haste to escape the Nest.
Gojira suddenly lets out a roar before unleashing a blast of blue fire that launches down to the Red Death and hits her on the right side of her face. The Dragon Queen screeches before turning her six eyed gaze to his direction.
Gojira turns around and waves his tail at her back and forth before he roars at her over his shoulder before running down a tunnel that led to the outside.
The Dragon-Rider duo break out into the night sky, and it is a harsh contrast of midnight blue from the inside overbearing red. Dragons streak out in every direction across the stars, fleeing.
Hiccup turns, looking over his shoulder. Gojira appears in a tunnel and jumps off the ledge and dives head first into the water.
And a roar echoes through a thousand tunnels as the volcano begins to crack.
When the Queen shoves her head through the mountain, the whole side comes tumbling down. It is Her skull that breaks through first, the hole only wide enough for Her roaring jaws, Her nubbed horns. Her foot emerges and strikes the ground, along with a thousand rocks and boulders.
The dragon is tall. Taller, perhaps, than the Great Hall back on Berk. Large enough to squash it, if she were to sit upon it.
Toothless flaps his wings wildly, spinning in the air to face the threat. Hiccup stares, eyes blown wide. It is a waterfall of stone, and from within it, the Queen meets the night air. She moves, and her right shoulder crashes through a higher spot of the volcano's wall, shredding it like paper and loosing a second cascade.
Hiccup stares with wide eyes. "Oh, gods." he whispered.
Finally free, the Queen roars into the sky, enraged.
On her left side, on the joint of her shoulder, there is a gaping wound. As she shakes, the tip of the stalactite, embedded in Her skin, breaks, tumbling down her scales and to the shore. Left behind is a crater of blood, dirt and stone, burning crimson sliding down Her age-grayed skin.
Hiccup spots the wound. "Not bad for a first try, eh, bud?" His voice comes out nervous, and the Fury croons.
"Well, we started the fight. Might as well finish." He shrugs before narrowing his eyes. "We can do this. We can do this. For dragons, and for Berk."
Toothless looks up at Hiccup. "You with me?" The Night Fury snarls, rolling his spine as he flaps his wings. Hiccup hits the pedal. "Attaboy, Toothless. Ya hungry?"
And Toothless dives straight into the sea, Hiccup on his back. Not ten seconds later, the duo emerge, dripping wet. Hiccup shakes his head, hair flinging water, and Toothless growls around a mouthful of silver fish, quickly swallowing them down.
The Queen spots them, and screams.
Hiccup hunkers down. He takes a long, slow breath as the Queen lumbers forward, her paw sinking into the sea. "Let's aim for the eyes."
Toothless shoots forward, diving under the falling claw of the Queen.
Her size makes her slow, and her great forelimb strikes a sea stack, sinking it into the ocean. Hiccup turns with narrowed eyes, his foot flexes in the pedal, the tailfin shoots out, and Toothless fires.
A blast of plasma strikes the Queen in the largest of Her right eyes.
The Queen thrashes in agony, whirling around. Her tail smashes into the side of the mountain, jaws open. A glow rises in her throat but a black flash darts into view, and another blast is delivered to her middle right eye. Another pained scream.
Hiccup looks back and the Queen is tossing Her head, "Tooth–" and the great boulder-like skull strikes dragon and Rider.
Toothless roars, and Hiccup screams as they tumble down.
Hiccup fights to open his eyes against the wind, and presses the pedal. Toothless beats his wings–but too late. The Night Fury strikes the shore, the leather cord of Hiccup's riding vest snaps, and the two separate upon impact.
Both boy and dragon bounce when the hit the earth, rolling to a stop. Hiccup lies on his stomach, eyes closed.
But they gradually part, and he groans, wrapping an arm about his chest as he rises. "Toothless..." he calls out with a wheeze.
But Toothless is lying still. A rumble shakes the Earth. Hiccup freezes.
At his back, the monstrous form of the Queen slides into view, encompassing the entire frame and blotting out the light of the moon.
Hiccup turns his face to hers.
Five of Her eyes narrow, but one. Her middle right, does not. From it runs a thick tear, white, and jelly-like. The tear is stained with blood, as though the Queen is weeping red. The eye is ruined.
There comes a draconic groan, and Hiccup glances sharply to the side. Toothless is rising, shaking his head, but stands discombobulated and unsure.
His back is to the Queen, easy prey. The behemoth roves Her head to look at the Fury, cracking Her jaws and filling them with fire.
"HEY!"
The Queen swallows her inferno, surprised. Hiccup runs to stand in front of Toothless. "What, your palette too delicate for a fishbone? I'm bite-sized!"
The Queen leans down to the human, intrigued. "Come on, ugly, take me to my mother!"
Toothless roars. The Night Fury has spun around and shakes his head in confusion, but glares like death given form at the Dragon Queen. A ball of plasma slips from his fangs, and strikes the Queen in Her foreleg.
She turns on the Fury, snarling, and gathers a stream of fire. Toothless stares up into the building flames, turning once to look at Hiccup.
But then Gojira launches out of the water with a roar and he lands directly on the Red Death's shoulder, right on her bleeding wound. He then sinks his teeth into her flesh and began tear the flesh. The Dragon Queen shrieks in pain before looking down at Gojira with angry eyes before she reaches down and bites down on Gojira's torso and hold him in her jaws.
Hiccup and Toothless both stare in horror. "NO!" The Viking Teen screams as the Red Death clamps her jaws down, crushing Gojira's torso and blood sprays out of the Saurian's mouth like a waterfall.
"GOJIRA!" Hiccup screams as Toothless shrieks.
The Red Death shakes her head before throwing Gojira's limp body out of her jaws and far into the sea. She roars in victory before turning to the Viking and his Night Fury companion.
The tornado of red, orange, and white is unlike any other dragonfire the world has ever seen. It breaks in a stream, streaking towards the Night Fury and Hiccup runs in front of it.
Hiccup races forward, ramming his small body into Toothless' side. The dragon yelps, grabbing Hiccup in his wings, but the force of Hiccup's run sends the dragon over the edge of the shore and into the sea.
The dragon crashes beneath the waves, and as he sinks, an explosion of fire lights the world above, shifting in a thousand shades of red just above the water.
Toothless shakes his head and kicks his four legs, paddling from the shore.
On the rocks the Queen roars into the sky, unleashing a second wave of fire into the clouds. She studies the water, but the Fury does not appear. Her tail lashes into the volcano, once, twice, until mist comes screaming out. She watches the ground, searching.
Between two sea stacks, a wrecked ship sits stranded. Toothless breaks the surface, dragging himself through a hole in the ship's belly. He rolls to the floor, a spot blessedly dry, and quickly opens his wings. Hiccup sits up on Toothless' stomach, gasping for air.
Toothless croons, nosing at the boy's back. "Oh, hey, bud. Good job."
Toothless rumbles, letting his head fall back against the planks. Hiccup frowns.
Another roar rolls over the sea, causing the ship to shake, but Toothless hardly stirs. Hiccup slides off the Fury's belly, stepping to the hole in the ship. On the shore, the Queen is raging. She has slipped both her paws into the water, and a Viking longship is brought near on the waves she has made. She snarls, bending down and snapping the boat into the air with her jaws. The Queen bites down, cleaving the ship in two.
The remains scatter on the sea, and she throws her snout into them, sniffing—but howls in vain.
Toothless is still sprawled on the floor. Bits and pieces of the ship lie broken all around him, snapped oars, waterlogged sails, overturned chests. Hiccup studies the scene, and then returns to Toothless' side, snatching up one such oar.
When Hiccup makes it to the gaping hole once more, Toothless whines. The Fury lifts his head from the ground, still stunned.
Hiccup smiles, gripping the oar shaft. "It's okay, buddy. You just stay here. I'll...I'm gonna buy some time." he said to Toothless in a reassuring tone.
And Hiccup takes a deep breath and dives into the sea.
The shore boasts of the queen's hind-legs and great, clubbed tail. The sea contains the rest of her, her forelegs and breast, her massive head. The Dragon Queen has ambled halfway into the water, scenting the air–but her nostrils do not detect anything, and she roars in frustration, shaking her head and destroying another sea stack. The misplaced boulders crash into the ocean.
Up ahead, ruined Viking ships wait. In one of them lies Toothless, pushing himself up on his forelegs, but then collapsing down, shaking his head.
Hiccup breaks the surface of the sea, sucking in air. His hair is plastered to his forehead, and his tunic has been dyed a darker green. The red on his sleeve is cast darker with the ocean water. In his left hand, he clutches still the broken oar. The Queen is a perhaps two ship-lengths from him, roaring in the opposite direction.
Hiccup takes a deep breath, both for air and to steel himself, and dives again.
The Queen murders another sea stack, stepping further into the ocean as Hiccup surfaces beside her left hind-leg, now also in the sea. He's...what? Two feet from that thing's leg? One?
Floating directly beneath the Queen, she appears like a mountain herself. Her body is dark as stone and spotted with crimson, dotted with barnacles and nubs. Her great fangs glint in the light of her occasion fire, and her beady eyes glare out into the night. Her body seems to take up the entire world.
Hiccup treads water and looks to his left–looks to that single ship where within, Toothless is struggling again to ride. Hiccup swallows.
The Queen destroys yet another stack, calling her challenge–except this one is close to Hiccup. Hiccup gasps as her skull plunges through a tower, and the rocks begin to cascade down.
He dives. Beneath the water, Hiccup swims down, down, down–and the first rocks strike the sea. They rain all around him, and Hiccup watches with wide-eyes as great boulders sink, leaving trails of bubbles.
Up ahead in the water, he spots the great paw of the Queen, fangs digging into the earth and spewing dirt into the sea. Hiccup's eyes narrow before a falling rock obscures him.
The Queen roars into the black night–but if one were to look to her front leg. In the darkness, there they would see a small shape clinging to the scales and skin.
Hiccup looks up at the Queen, and presses closer to her leg, gripping another purple barnacle and pulling himself up.
The splintered oar has been shoved between his leather riding vest and his tunic, sharp and jagged on one end. The edges of his cloak are filled with sea-water, and cling to his legs, his back. The water is frigid. A part of his mind protests. He'll freeze. I think I have other problems to worry about, he replies to that part of his mind before Hiccup climbs.
The Queen spots a nearby ship, and growls, advancing. Her leg begins to lift. Hiccup gasps as the limb rises, seawater falling between her talons.
Hiccup's fingers go white, holding tight–and the Queen steps upon an old Viking longship, Her entire body now standing in the sea.
The boat splinters and breaks apart. Chunks of wood fly everywhere, and Hiccup turns his face away, pressing into the Queen's leg–but the dying ship catches him still. A thick chunk strikes him in the side, and Hiccup chokes on a yelp, swallowing down the sound as he loses his handholds.
But then Hiccup slips–clinging to another barnacle several feet lower, wincing. As he falls, a smaller bit of debris cuts past his face, opening a long red cut on his cheek.
Hiccup removes one hand to clutch quickly at his ribs, but as the Queen roars above, he shakes his head as if to clear it and resumes climbing, a drop of blood beading under his chin.
In the belly of the ship, the world is much quieter. Toothless gathers his legs under him, and pushes up, stumbling.
The Night Fury whines, slipping on the wet boards of the deck, but tries again. He croons, sticking his nose to the hole where Hiccup disappeared, and sniffs the empty space. Not so far off in the distance stands the Queen, snarling and still bleeding heavily from the great wound in Her shoulder–now dirtied with rubble.
Hiccup's hand appears atop the Queen's skull, and he drags himself into view. The boy is like a gnat to a yak, unnoticed by the Queen, who is hunting the Fury and the human with it.
The mentioned Hiccup stands up on the rocking ground like a boy just gaining his sea legs–or, more accurately, like himself on ships, more oft than not. He might as well be atop a living mountain, and every sway of his body as he tries to keep his balance. A fall from that height would shatter bones, and that was if the Queen did not notice him afterward and finish the job.
Within the ship, Toothless spots Hiccup, finally getting his balance, and roars. His outburst, however, alerts the queen, who swings her neck to the left, now scanning the sea stacks and boats nearby. Hiccup stumbles with her sudden movements, falling to the scales and bouncing as the Queen ambles forward.
Hiccup looks up, and whispers. "Toothless."
Toothless sinks into the shadows of the ship, but croons, staring still at the human atop the Queen.
Hiccup jumps up, clinging to one of the great spines on the Queen's back just as Her foot comes down again, rocking her entire body.
Hiccup takes a deep breath. He spots the ocean moving below him, the rolling waves. He reaches behind him, and seizes the oar, sliding it from his vest.
Another drop of the Queen's foot, then another, and another. She lifts Her paw before a sea stack, snarling in rage, and then–stops. The She-beast pauses, and Her tiny little nostrils scent the air.
The behemoth lets out a huff, almost relieved, before delving into a gravely, rumbling cackle. She dips Her head, down and to the left, and there Her eyes find the ship where Toothless resides.
Inside the ship, Toothless snarls. The world behind the Queen seems to blend into one solid shade of black. In the light of Her fire, it is difficult to make out the stars. The waves swish around Her legs, her mace-like tail. Her teeth shine, and the air ripples with the heat of Her maw, cracking open, filling with flame.
Toothless steps to the hole in the boat, and lifts his head. The Queen's fire builds, and she screams. It was not a cry of rage but a roar is of agony, a twin of her anguish when the stalactite fell. She throws back her head in terrible pain, and her crashing foot lands feet from the ship, throwing up a wave that Toothless ducks against.
Hiccup clings to the shaft of the oar, the broken, splintered end buried in the Queen's left largest eye.
The eye is now a horrible mess, a terrible wound, and Hiccup rips the oar free as the Queen's head falls down again, gritting his teeth. The Queen screeches, and Hiccup lifts the oar over his head and thrusts it down again, taking a second of the Queen's left eyes, burying the haft deep. He tears it out again with a horrible squelch, and blood and slime splatters across his tunic.
It would take a quarter of an hour or more with the washboard to remove those stains, a part of Hiccup absently acknowledges. And as for the fur cloak, that was probably lost.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third cries out in determination and horror as he drives down the oar a third and final time, blinding the Queen of Dragons on her left side.
The Queen tosses her head with horrible strength, whipping it back and forth with enough speed to dizzy even her.
Hiccup holds fast to the oar, shouting against the horrible gale of her speed—but the makeshift-spear is buried in the smallest of the Queen's left eyes, and when it comes free, so, too, does the spear. And Hiccup. "Ah!" He screams as he is thrown. And as he falls, the Queen screams, too. Hiccup soars in the darkness–and then a black shadow slams into him, rolling in the air.
It is Toothless, and Hiccup blinks into the wind on his back, sprawled. Toothless roars–the pair are spiraling for the sea.
Hiccup throws himself back, jams his feet into the pedals and twists. The tailfin shoots out and Toothless soars, scraping the waves as he goes.
Hiccup shakes before smiling down at his Night Fury. "Thanks, bud." Toothless snarls in response.
The Queen's fire splits the night for a brief moment, cut off for her rage to have a voice. High in the sky, Toothless beats his wings. "We're almost there, Toothless. I can feel it." Hiccup says.
He reaches up, and with his bloodied sleeve, makes to wipe some of the gore from his face, but only smears it with his own. He is going to need a bath. And fresh clothes– Hiccup shakes his head. "We can finish this, Toothless. Here, and now."
Toothless growls. As the Queen roars after them, Hiccup looks back upon the sound of crashing thunder. Hiccup's eyes widen as he sees an all too familiar tail rising out of the water, the tip glowing neon blue.
"No way!" the Viking teen exclaimed as Toothless' eyes widen.
Hiccup then hears that same humming sound growing in volume as the glow travels up the spines on the tail before the dorsal spines are shown as they rise out of the water as do their owner. Gojira rises up, completely healed as if his torso wasn't crushed by the Red Death's jaws.
Gojira steps forward as the Dragon Queen notices him with her two remaining eyes that are filled with shock at seeing him and she steps back slightly. Gojira inhales deeply before a large stream of blue fire blasts out of his jaws and hit right on the Queen's wounded shoulder.
The Queen whips her head back and forth, screeching in pain and agony as her exposed flesh is burning. She tries to distance herself but her smaller opponent follows after her.
Gojira paused briefly and the Red Death lunges but she is blasted in the face as a result. Gojira keeps up the blue flames going until the Dragon Queen stumbled and fell on her side from tripping over a sea stack.
Gojira snorts before looking up to the stunned Hiccup and Toothless. He growls and grumbles as if to ask, "Why are you two just hovering up there? We have a Queen to kill."
The Dragon and his Rider shake themselves. "You got it, Goji." Hiccup muttered. He flicks the pedal and Toothless snarls as they fly upward. The Night Fury twists around when they reached a certain height and then dived at super speed. A familiar whistle like screech comes from Toothless as he dives before he shoots a blast of purple plasma right at the Red Death's shoulder. Her wounded shoulder.
The Dragon Queen shrieks in pain but then Gojira jumps onto her face. He roars and snarls as he slashes at her face and jaw with his clawed feet and hand, using one hand to hold onto her frill. He pauses briefly to compare the sizes of his hands and the Queen's eyes sockets.
His lips curl upward before he plunged his right hand into the Red Death's front right eye. He didn't stop there. He then plunged his left hand into her remaining eye.
The Red Death shrieks in agony and shakes her head to get Gojira off of her. But in flinging the Saurian off her, the momentum allowed him to rip her eyes out of the sockets.
"Now, Bud!" Hiccup urges and the Night Fury goes onto the attack. They fly over the Queen and pelt her body with plasma blast after plasma blast. The Red Death roars out to call for help from her servants.
But no help comes. Just plasma blast and blue fire. The dragons of the Nest hover nearby and watch in awe and fear as the fog lights up with a blue explosion from the plasma blasts and the blue fire of the strange Saurian that they had never seen before.
The Red Death then looses it. Blind and in pain, she unleashes her fire in every possible direction.
Gojira dove underwater to dodge the great flames while Hiccup and Toothless fly up high and out of range just in time. "Okay, times up, Guys." Hiccup said and Gojira pokes his head out of the water and seemed to hear him. "Let's see if this works."
Toothless roars as they dive down towards the Red Death. "COME ON! IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?!" Hiccup shouts and Toothless roars his own string of insults.
The Red Death hears their shouting and roaring. She lifts her head and opens her jaws.
"Hold, Toothless. . . " Hiccup whispers as they dive towards the Red Death's jaws.
A wave of green gas rolls over the Queen's tongue and they get closer and closer. 3. . . 2. . . 1! "NOW!" Hiccup shouts.
Toothless flew and stopped dangerously close and fires a ball of fire straight into the Queen's mouth and they flew back up just in time. Her rising sea of gas takes sudden and great flame. She closes her teeth, but fire streaks from the sides, refusing to be put out. The Queen works her jaw, but fire burns inside all the while, the dragon lit from within.
Gojira growls. She was blind, in pain now, but it didn't seem to be enough to finish her off. He then got an idea. A wonderful idea. A crazy idea that bordered on insane. Gojira got a wonderful, crazy idea. He dove back underwater and swam a good couple of miles away from the Red Death. He swam to the ocean floor and turned around back towards where the Dragon Queen was. He stilled for only a second before he propelled himself forward with his tail and swam at high speeds towards the Red Death.
Hiccup and Toothless see the ripples forming on the water's surface. "What is he doing?" Hiccup asked and Toothless shrugged in response.
With a mighty splash, Gojira jumped high out of the water with a roar. The Red Death heard the roar and opened her jaws to roar back. That was a mistake. That was what Gojira was counting on and Gojira was pulled back down with gravity, but Gojira used his foot to kick off on a sea stack and he dove head first down the Red Death's jaws.
Hiccup and Toothless stared. And stared. For a long moment, all was silent before Hiccup broke the silence.
"WHAT IN THE NINE REALMS IS HE DOING?!"
The Red Death closed her jaws in surprise but then she gagged, she shook her head with a groan before she started shrieking in pain and agony. Hiccup and Toothless stared before the Red Death rolled and writhed in agony as she blindly came ashore. Then a part of her stomach began to bulge as blood poured out of her mouth and ran down her face from her eyeless sockets.
But then a stream of blue fire blasted out of her stomach, causing the Dragon Queen to shriek even louder than before. The fire blasted out of her stomach before stopping and then Gojira poked his head out of the hole, a large chunk of meat in his jaws.
The Red Death's movement's slowed and grew weak as her head fell onto the ground with a might THUD!
"By the gods of Asgard," Hiccup said with wide eyes and Toothless grumbled, probably saying the same thing in his draconian tongue.
Gojira pulled himself out of the hole in the Dragon Queen's stomach, his spines make the hole larger. He swallows the chunk of the Queen's heart before climbing down to the ground.
Hiccup and Toothless landed not too far away from the Saurian. "You are by far the most craziest creature I have ever met!" Hiccup exclaimed both in awe and shock, still stunned over what Gojira had just done.
Gojira huffed, his chest out as if taking it as a compliment. Toothless made a noise of disgust and Gojira looked at himself and understood why his friend was disgusted. His body was drenched blood and gore, he now looked like his scales were crimson and now dark greenish brown.
Toothless then walked over and rolled in the blood on the beach next to Gojira. "Toothless! I have to sit on that saddle!" Hiccup tried to scold the Fury who was now drenched in blood, saddle included. But he paused and looked at himself. He too was covered in blood and gore from when he stabbed the Red Death's eyes out with a broken oar.
Speaking of which, Hiccup found that the broken oar was ten feet away from him. "Hey, look at that." He mused as he went to pick it up.
Gojira suddenly growled, looking at something in front of them. Hiccup and Toothless turned around to see that the dragons from the Nest had all returned. Hiccup tensed a little, tightening his grip on the broken oar.
Toothless growled, wrapping his tail around Hiccup and pulling him close to him protectively. Gojira wrapped his tail around the Fury and pulled him close to his large foot as he growled at the hundreds of dragons before them.
The dragons were silent before a handful walked forward. A Monstrous Nightmare, a Deadly Nadder, a Gronckle and Hideous Zippleback. Hiccup gasped quietly as he noticed that they were all larger than most and covered with battle scars.
They were Titan Wings.
The Titan Wings formed a semi-circle in front of the Saurian-Dragon-Rider trio before the Monstrous Nightmare spread its wings and let out a screech.
Hiccup tensed a little as both Toothless and Gojira snarled in response. The Titan Wing Nightmare stared at them before lowering his head with a rumble. He was bowing his head. One by one the other Titan Wings bowed their heads as well.
And it didn't stop there. The younger dragons all followed their elders example and began to bow their heads to the Saurian-Dragon-Rider trio.
Hiccup looked around in confusion but saw Toothless and Gojira puffing their chests out, raising their heads up high. He looked to the Red Death's body and it clicked.
Of course! The Red Death was dead now, Hiccup thought in realization. And we defeated her. In the eyes of these dragons, we're the new leaders. Wow, Did NOT see THIS coming.
Both Toothless and Gojira looked to him silently. Hiccup looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding his head. He holds the broken oar like a spear and lets out a war cry. Toothless spread his wings out and roared. Gojira reared his head and roared to the heavens, the sound echoing across Helheim's Gate. All the while, the dragons kept their heads bowed as their new rulers roared to the sky.
SSKKKRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOO-OOOOOOOOONNNKKK!
It is done.
"He doesn't lose his leg?!" Tuffnut and Ruffnut cried before cheering. "YES!"
Yes, Hiccup does not lose his leg here, moving on!