It did not start off like this. When they were on their way to the nest's location, their visibility dropped dramatically once they coasted toward a shroud of heavy fog, hung like drapes from a low-hanging, ominous sky. Massive, jagged sea stacks emerged around them during their maneuvers, threatening to rip the ships to shreds. They would've been lost like the last time they went nest-hunting if it weren't for Stoick noticing Toothless' ear plates at the alert, quietly reacting to inaudible sounds only his dragon ears could catch. Covertly following Toothless' head movements, Stoick was able to sailed through the gauntlet of rocks, making their way closer and closer towards their destination.
Once they were closing in, there were met with a clicking buzz, growing louder as they went closer, filling the sky, converging in one general direction. The buzzing sound led them to into shallow black sand, with pebble-like black rocks littering everywhere on the sprawling beach. A craggy volcano towered into the gloom as everyone got ready for the fight. Tree trunks were sharpened and planted into the sand at angled rows. Boulders were loaded into catapult baskets. After making a couple of war plans, Stoick led the troops by going first towards the base of the volcano wall, back by several hundred warriors.
After signaling for the catapults to launch their load into the cliff wall, everyone was taken by surprise when the flaming bushel they prepared beforehand to be launched into the cavity revealed that the cavern was choked with dragons. Stoick pulled his hammer and rushed into the cave, brazen as he tried to slash at the dragons, and in a chaotic flurry, the dragons suddenly rush out like bats from a cave. They took to the air, bypassing the axe-swinging Vikings and fleeing the island in a mass exodus. Above the island, dragons poured from every crevice, fleeing to the sky. Once the sound of screeching dragons faded, everyone rejoiced as they thought they had won the war against the dragons and drove them out of their home, but Stoick saw that Toothless did not look happy and he still heard a distant roaring within the dark throat of the cavern.
Before he could tell everyone that it was not over, all hell broke loose as the gargantuan Red Death emerged through settling debris of ground cracking and stone tearing away, cascading like an avalanche. The troops tried everything. They launched their catapults and scored direct hits, but the burning stones bounced off the dragon's skin and were smashed and crushed within seconds. They tried taking cover at the ships but the dragon saw through it as it blasted the ships like a mile-long flamethrower, the sails torched. Vikings who got on those ships dived overboard for their lives and masts came down on them. All spears and axes and hammers thrown at it barely even made a scratch and they had no means to escape with all the ships destroyed.
Stoick and Gobber decided to become the distraction while one of the Viking Generals led the troops to the far side of the island. The Red Death seemed to be able to tell that Stoick was the leader of the troops as it focused on Stoick instead of Gobber, despite the blacksmith trying to get its attention. It reared back and inhaled, amassing the gas and was ready to fire when suddenly a blast exploded against the back of The Red Death's head. A little dazed, it turned to see a Nadder punched through the flames, banking across the sky, followed by a Monstrous Nightmare, a Zippleback, and a Gronckle.
As they rolled in unison, they revealed the recruits riding on their backs. Hiccup was leading the team, with Astrid clinging to his waist. Gobber and Stoick watched slacked-jawed in awe.
"Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs!" Hiccup shouted. "Move, Fishlegs!"
The monster shook off the blast and snapped in their wake. Hiccup directed his squadron out of harm's way. They climbed out of reach and circled each other.
"Look at us, we're on a dragon!" Tuffnut shouted to the crowd proudly. "We're on dragons, all of us!"
"Up, let's move it!" Hiccup called out as the dragons climbed past the Red Death.
"Every bit the boar-headed, stubborn Viking you ever were!" Gobber said as he hobbled over to Stoick.
Stoick is speechless, only nodding in agreement as the group circled over the dragon's head.
"Fishlegs, break it down," Hiccup said, addressing Fishlegs as a tactical member of the team.
"Okay. Heavily armored skull and tail made for bashing and crushing," Fishlegs started. "Steer clear of both. Small eyes, large nostrils. Relies on hearing and smell."
"Okay. Lout, Legs, hang in its blind spot. Make some noise, keep it confused. Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit. Make it mad."
"That's my specialty," Ruffnut said proudly.
"Since when? Everyone knows I'm more irritating. See?" Tuffnut demonstrated by making irritating sounds at Ruffnut.
"Just do what I told you," Hiccup groaned exasperatedly. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Don't worry, we got it covered!"
Hiccup and Astrid peeled away. The teens banked and dived toward the monster, splitting up. The twins raced alongside the monster's head, taunting it.
"Troll!"
"Butt Elf!"
"Bride of Grendel!"
The Red Death unloaded a spray of fire at the twins. They barely dodged it, while Fishlegs and Snotlout hung behind its eyes, banging away at their shields, making a racket. The Red Death opened all six of its eyes, spotting them.
"Uh, this thing doesn't have a blind spot!" Fishlegs announced worriedly.
Unfortunately Hiccup was away from earshot as he and Astrid went searching for Toothless. Hiccup spotted him among the burning ships, still tied in his restraints.
"There!" Hiccup exclaimed as he steered the Nadder over the deck and handed Astrid the reins. He lined up his jump, making sure the Nadder was close enough, and hopped off, guarding his face from the flames and landed on the burning deck. He turned to Astrid, "Go help the others!"
"You sure you're OK, Hiccup?" Astrid asked, worried. "The baby…"
"The baby will be fine. I'm fine. Just go!"
As Astrid and the Nadder took off, Hiccup fought his way to Toothless. He unbuckled the muzzle and Toothless shrieked at him, as if demanding what was he doing there when he was supposed to be finding some place safe to care for their child.
"I'm sorry, okay? Just hold on. Hold on," Hiccup said apologetically as he got to work on the chains.
Behind him, the monster's tail swept across the burning ships, snapping masts like twigs, as it tried to shake off the rest of the teens who were trying to bring it down and find its weak spots. One of them crashes onto a deck near the ship where Hiccup and Toothless were on. Try as he might, he couldn't budge them and Toothless was begging him with his shrieks and growls to get to safety when he saw fire licking at his mate's clothes. The Red Death blasted at the teens, enraged at their persistence. The monster's giant foot crashed through frame, smashing the bow under its impressive weight.
Hiccup and Toothless were immediately thrown into the water in a maelstrom of burning planks and rigging. Hiccup, after getting his bearings, swam toward Toothless. They were both caught in a mess of rigging, being dragged down, the heavy palette settled into the rocky bottom like an anchor. Toothless has stopped struggling, but Hiccup was not about to give up. He did not come all this way to watch his mate drown and he refused to allow his child to be born fatherless, not while they were this close to being together again. Hiccup took one more hopeless tug at the chains before he slowly started to blackout as he was almost out of air. Toothless let out a watery roar, worried out of his mind as he watched Hiccup loosening his grip on the chains…
Suddenly, a meaty hand grabbed Hiccup and pulled up to the shoreline through flaming debris. Hiccup was overwhelmed to see that his savior was Stoick, who lay him down under the shelter of an overhanging rock before diving back into the water between flaming flotsam. A few tense moments later, Toothless landed on the shore in an explosion of sea water, setting Stoick down and releasing him. Hiccup was awed as he realized that Stoick actually went back to get Toothless and released him from his restraints for him. Toothless immediately went to Hiccup, licking and kissing him, nuzzling at his middle to see if he and their baby was OK. Hiccup returned his kiss and hugged him, having that brief moment of respite where he and Toothless were finally in each other's arms again.
"I'm OK, bud," Hiccup whispered as he sobbed a little in relief. "I'm OK. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I just couldn't…I just couldn't leave without you…I'm sorry…"
The ground suddenly rumbled underfoot, bringing them back to the situation at hand. The monster screeched, its massive claws stomped around in the smoke. Toothless quickly mounted the rock and raised his wings. He turned to Hiccup and snorted, as if telling him to get this over and done with, and the bond telling Hiccup that he would trust and protect him and their child and get through this so that they will be a family again. Hiccup smiled happily as he made his way to him.
"You got it, bud," Hiccup said as he climbed onto Toothless and buckled himself in. Suddenly Stoick reached up to grab his arm.
"Hiccup. I'm sorry…" Stoick said regretfully. "For everything."
"Yeah…me too," Hiccup replied, equally remorseful.
"You don't have to go up there. I didn't mean to call you cursed. You don't have to prove it that much to me."
"Hey, we're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard."
They exchanged smiles. Finally they had something in common. Stoick pressed his other hand on top of Hiccup's.
"I'm proud to call you my son," Stoick admitted, earning a beam from Hiccup.
"Thanks, dad," Hiccup said as Stoick let go of Hiccup's arm. "Oh, and by the way, you're gonna be a grandfather."
Before Stoick could respond to that, Hiccup spurred Toothless on, charged with his father's belief in him. They rocketed into the sky as Stoick watched, a little flabbergasted at what he just heard, but mostly hoping that Hiccup would pull through and win this. Astrid soon saw Toothless streaking through the sky, gaining altitude.
"He's up!" Astrid announced as she turned to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who are arguing and throwing punches at each other. "Get Snotlout out of there!"
As usual, the twins fought for the right to save Snotlout who was stranded on the monster dragon after playing whack-a-mole with its eyes, arguing as they race each other to the monster. Snotlout saw the Zippleback diving toward him and dashed down the Red Death's head, running up the end of its horn. As the twins sweep past, both missing him but perfectly snatching him where the necks merge. Ruff and Tuff eyed each other, surprised and impressed.
"I can't believe that worked," Tuffnut noted.
The Red Death then spotted Astrid and inhaled, preparing to blast. She and her Nadder got caught in the suction, pulled toward the monster's gaping mouth, but a massive blast jolted the Red Death's head sideways. Astrid was thrown clear of its mouth and her Nadder from the projectile of the halted suction. She tumbled through the air, closing in towards the ground before she was suddenly caught by the leg in the mid-air. She looked up to see Toothless with his front claw holding tight onto her ankle.
"Did you get her?" Hiccup asked.
Toothless looked under him to see Astrid smiling at him, in which he smiled back at her with the toothless grin, telling Hiccup through their bond that she was fine. They flew over the crowd of Vikings and set Astrid down, mid-run. They circled back to reengage the Red Death, rocketing past the Red Death's head and climbed, higher and higher.
"That thing has wings!" Hiccup told Toothless as he reached a certain altitude. "Okay, let's see if it can use them after eating up all that mass!"
Hiccup pulled Toothless into a turn. They plummeted, gaining tremendous speed. The wind buffeted them as they target the Red Death at supersonic speed. On cue, Toothless unloaded a fireball against the Red Death's head. It went down with a rumble as they climbed anew while the Vikings shielded themselves from the dust of the fallen monster as its wings finally unfolded and extended. Once they saw the enraged behemoth rose into frame, flapping its wings furiously, the pair dived into the tangled sea stacks, weaving through the rock like rabbits through a briar. The Red Death snapped at them, but couldn't reach them. Hiccup and Toothless pulled ahead, causing the monster dragon to smash through the canopy of rock and pulled in behind Toothless. He burst through fifty-foot formations like they were saplings as the Vikings continued watching the battle both in excitement and terror.
Hiccup and Toothless realized that they couldn't slow the monster down. Hiccup eyed the clouds above. An idea hits him. He locked eyes with Toothless.
"Okay, Toothless, time to disappear."
Toothless, feeling Hiccup's thoughts through their bond, pulled into a steep climb, heading toward the clouds. The Red Death followed, closing in fast. They heard the sound of gas build-up and narrowly dodged a column of flame and smoke. They reached the low-hanging clouds and pierced through them. The monster followed, immediately losing them in the hampered visibility as it roared irritably. Blending into the darkness thanks to Toothless' hide, the pair dived at the huge dragon, blasting and puncturing a hole in its wing. From the ground's point of view, the sky was littered with the resounding booms and flashes lighting up the clouds.
The pair dived in again and again, using the clouds to hide and surprise as they punctured the monster's wings. The Red Death bellowed in frustration and whirled around, unleashing fire blindly, in all directions in its effort to illuminate the pair and reveal their whereabouts. Hiccup saw the glow of fire cutting towards them.
"Watch out!"
The random blast clipped Toothless' tail, heavily damaging the prosthetic tail.
"Okay, time's up. Let's see if this works," Hiccup said as he pulled Toothless into a turn. They flew directly into the Red Death's face, taunting it. "Come on! Is that the best you can do?"
Toothless uttered an insult too in dragon language, and they jackknifed into a steep dive. The Red Death pursued, hot at their heels, as Toothless pumped his wings, racing faster than he's ever gone before. The pair stayed just ahead of the Red Death, no longer trying to evade it. Hiccup glanced back to check the tail and saw that it was disintegrating and knew it was now or never.
"Stay with me, buddy. We're good. Just a little bit longer."
The Red Death closed the gap. Hiccup tucked in and held Toothless steady, allowing the monster to set its sights on them.
"Hold, Toothless," Hiccup said as Toothless prepared his ignition gas in his throat. From the bond, Hiccup himself could almost taste the gas in his own mouth but he held on tight, waiting for the moment.
The Red Death opened its mouth, the familiar gas hiss emanating from its throat. That was the cue.
"NOW!"
Hiccup hit the pedals hard as Toothless extended one wing. They pivoted in place, hurtling directly into the Red Death's mouth. Toothless fired point blank down the monster's throat, igniting the amassing gas and backfiring into the monster, erupting in a chain of blasts throughout its body. Hiccup and Toothless burst from the clouds, the Red Death hot on their tail, exploding from within. It glanced forward and saw the ground rushing up. It quickly threw open its wings, attempting to put on the brakes, but the punctured, damaged wings couldn't stop its momentum. As the Red Death choked on the expanding fireball, the last thing it saw was Toothless suddenly pulling out of the dive, streaking up, past its head as it hit the ground, head-first, and exploded like the Hindenburg.
The pair weaved through the monster's massive back plates, wings, and flailing legs—a high-speed recall of the free fall slalom run. The expanding fireball raced toward them, about to swallow them, but they managed to clear the obstacles. Hiccup glanced back to see them having outran the fireball, only to look forward just in time to see the monster's massive club tail careening toward them. He tried to shift their direction but the last shreds of Toothless' tail tore away due to the fire the Red Death shot at before, causing Hiccup's pedals to go dead.
"No! No!"
Hiccup and Toothless couldn't maneuver; they were dead in the air. The giant club tail clipped Toothless, tearing Hiccup from the harness and sending him tumbling against the backdrop of the fast-approaching fireball. Toothless let out a horrified shriek and struggled with all his might to reach the unconscious Hiccup. They have gotten this far to be together. He almost lost him once, he was not about to lose him again. His life and his child's life depended on him, and there was nothing in the world that could do to stop him, not even the gods of Valhalla. Hiccup was his master, his best friend, his mate, his love, his heart and soul. He was not going to lose him, not now, not ever.
As the fireball swallowed them both, Toothless made one last effort to reach for Hiccup…
-:-
"Hiccup? Hiccup!" Stoick searched desperately. Everything was scorched. Even the ground was smoking from the terrible heat. "Hiccup! Son!"
Through the ash, Stoick saw the motionless silhouette of a black dragon. As the ashy fog cleared a little, he realized that it was Toothless. Gravely, he hurried to the dragon's side. Toothless was roughed up, but conscious. His scorched saddle, however, was vacant. Stoick looked everywhere within Toothless' vicinity, but he was nowhere to be found. He looked up to the sky in despair, fearing the worst. Stricken with grief, he buckled at the knees, overwhelmed by the loss.
"Oh son…I did this…"
Astrid and the gang pushed through the crowd, their eyes welling up, followed by Gobber. They flanked Stoick as he knelt, slumped over. Behind them, a ring of Vikings formed, keeping a respectful distance. As the dust and smoke cleared, a ring of wild dragons can also be seen, gathering just behind and between the Vikings.
Slowly, Toothless stirred and groggily rolled his head toward Stoick. Their eyes met, just like they did when Stoick rescued him from drowning after coming to a respectable understanding.
"I'm so sorry…" Stoick said remorsefully, thinking that Toothless was clueless that Hiccup was gone.
Toothless responded by unfolding his wings, revealing Hiccup, unconscious, clutched safely against his chest. Stoick's eyes widened.
"Hiccup!" Stoick exclaimed and scooped Hiccup into his arms. He held Hiccup's chest close to his ear and listened to his heart, then burst into relieved laughter. "He's alive! You brought him back alive!"
The crowd roared in relief and triumph, followed by the dragons. The Vikings looked around to find themselves surrounded, not sure how they should react to that. Stoick leaned close to Toothless, meeting him eye to eye.
"Thank you…for saving my son."
"Well, you know…most of him."
Stoick glanced back at Gobber who made that statement, in which Gobber shrugged in a matter-of-fact way.
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