Chapter 3: The Downed Dragon
Meanwhile, in the forest behind Berk, Hiccup drew a map of Raven Point in his sketchbook as he, Hicca and the quadruplets tried to locate the fallen Fury. Many spots were already marked with X where they didn't find it. Hiccup could sense the Dragon, but he couldn't pinpoint its position. As they came to another potential location, as they opened their eyes, they just sighed in disappointment. No Dragon. Hiccup put down another X before he scribbled angrily into it. "You okay, Hiccup?" Sál asked with concern as Hiccup put his pen back in the sketchbook and put it back in his vest's jacket pocket. "Oh, the Gods hate us. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not us. We manage to lose an entire Dragon!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Can't a single clue to where it landed just hit us in the face?!" Hicca exclaimed as she smacked a branch, but it swung back and hit her in the eye. "OW!" She glared at the branch angrily.
"Wait. Look at the tree." Hylli said. They looked up to see that the tree was split down the trunk…like something crashed into it. Their eyes followed the tree and led them to a trail left in the dirt. "It must've crashed down this way." Hiccup said. They slowly slid down the trail and climbed up a little hill. Suddenly, as they saw something big and black with big wings, they quickly took cover back behind the hill. "You think it saw us?" Blóm whispered. They slowly peeked up and saw that it was one of the Furies. The black one, known as a Night Fury. It's wings were a similar shape of a bat's, 4 mobile, ear-like appendages on the back of its head, small tendril-like appendages around its jaw and flaps running down its back to its tail. It wasn't moving, still wrapped securely in the bolas. As the quadruplets readied their weapons, Hiccup and Hicca quickly reached for their knives with shaky hands. They were made to carry those knives by their father.
They climbed over the hill and hid behind a big rock for a moment. They peeked out to see if it was moving, but it wasn't. "Is it…dead?" Oflugin asked. "You know…I think it is." Sál said. "Oh, wow. We did it." Hicca said. "Oh, we did it! This fixes everything!" Hiccup cheered. "You 2 made the biggest Dragon kill in history!" Blóm cheered. "Yeah! You 2 shot down a Night Fury, the ringleader of the Furies!" Hylli cheered. "Yes! We have brought down this mighty beast!" Hiccup cheered as he and Hicca each put their right foot on the Dragon to do a victory pose. But suddenly, the Dragon moved, pushing the Haddock Twins off and letting out a growl. Hiccup, Hicca and the quadruplets stumbled back in surprise, backing up against the rock. "Uh, guess it's not dead after all." Hylli said, smiling sheepishly. They slowly walked towards the Dragon with their weapons ready. They crept up on the Night Fury and saw it staring at them with its beautiful green eyes. Just then, Hiccup clutched his head as he felt another emotion coming from the Night Fury. "Hiccup, what is it?" Hicca asked. "Fear. I feel fear. And it's coming from…him." Hiccup said, gesturing to the Night Fury, knowing that it was a male. The Night Fury heard Hiccup as Hylli and Sál helped him stand.
Together, all 6 of them readied their weapons. "We're gonna kill you, Dragon." Hiccup said, half believing himself. "We're gonna cut out your heart and take it to our father. We're Vikings. We're VIKINGS!" He exclaimed. "YEAH!" Hicca and the quadruplets shouted. The Night Fury made another sound, but they ignored it. They shut their eyes and raised their weapons. Hiccup opened his eyes and saw the Dragon's eyes widened at him. He wasn't trying to escape…or even struggle against the ropes. He was really scared. Hiccup even sensed a new emotion…acceptance. The Dragon was accepting his fate. Hiccup shut his eyes again, trying to burn away the image of the Dragon looking at him, his sister and their friends. But he started struggling as the Night Fury lay his head on the ground. He wasn't even resisting. Even Hicca and the quadruplets were struggling. They tried to find the courage to kill the Dragon. But his eyes…there was something in his eyes that made them hesitate, thinking about something. They just rested their arms and let out an angry, defeated sigh. They couldn't do it. The Dragon was defenseless and they had their chance, but they couldn't do it. They looked sadly at the poor Dragon, tied in their bolas. "We did this." Hiccup muttered. "What have we done?" Hicca asked sadly. They stepped back and took in the damage they've done, trying to be something they weren't. "What do we do?" Oflugin asked. "Do we head back to town and tell them?" Sál asked. "No. If we do, they'll come here and kill him." Hicca said. "She's right. And we can't just leave him like this." Hiccup said. They all looked at each other, knowing what had to be done.
Suddenly, the Night Fury's eyes shot open as Hiccup, Hicca and the quadruplets started cutting the ropes. "Don't worry, bud. We're getting you out of this. I'm sorry I did this to you." Hiccup said. As the last rope was cut, the Night Fury lunged for them. He pressed Hiccup against a rock, his claws at his throat. Hiccup struggled, but the Night Fury was just too strong. Hicca and the quadruplets could only stare in shock, not finding the strength to move. Hiccup looked into the Night Fury's eyes as he stared right back. The Night Fury raised his head, as if he was going to attack. But then, he just let out a loud, frightening, shrieking roar as he removed his claw from Hiccup's throat. Hicca and the quadruplets covered their ears from the loud roar. Afterwards, the Night Fury jumped off and flew off into the forest. But then, he bumped into a rock wall. Hicca and the quadruplets crawled over to Hiccup as they heard the Night Fury roar a few more times as they saw his shadow disappear. Their hearts were racing as they picked up their weapons and stood up, trying to regain their composure. But as they started walking back, in just 3 steps each, the Haddock Twins fell to the ground and fainted. The Styrkarsson Quadruplets were a bit shocked, but helped their friends as they carried them all the way back to the village.
Meanwhile, the Night Fury continued bumping into rock walls and trees as he couldn't get a good flight. Suddenly, he started to descend quickly and couldn't pull up. A few seconds later, he fell into a lake, feeling himself surrounded by water. He quickly swam up to the surface and pulled himself out of the water. He looked around to find himself in a cove. He started to check himself for the problem. He moved his wings and his tailfins. But for some reason, he couldn't feel his left tailfin. He looked behind him and discovered that his left tailfin was gone. He was shocked to see that, now knowing his inability to fly. He slapped his tail on the ground, but then started thinking about Hiccup, Hicca and the quadruplets, wondering why they freed him. He felt like Hiccup understood what he was feeling. But he thought it was impossible for a human to understand a Dragon. Wasn't it?
Wow! Hiccup, Hicca and the Styrkarsson Quadruplets find the Dragon, a Night Fury, but despite their intentions, they couldn't bring themselves to kill it. Instead, they set it free from the bolas and it attacked them, pinning Hiccup down. But instead of killing Hiccup, it just let out a loud roar and disappeared into the nearby cove. But what will Hiccup, Hicca and the Stykarsson Quadruplets explain this to Stoick and Gobber? Will the Night Fury understand why they let him go instead of killing him? Leave a review if you'd like.