61. Tyrant Lizard Queen
For the month that they’ve been gone, whether sailing to Berk or on the island itself, Hiccup and the Madrigals had all envisioned what they imagined the queen to look like.
As did Snotlout, and the twins.
Fishlegs had half a year to imagine it.
And Astrid, the only one who’d seen it, was still clueless about the rest of its body. Having only viewed its head.
All of the Dragon Riders had their own interpretations of the beast.
Some pictured it as a vile sea serpent, with a body that stretched for miles. Others imagined a living mountain, as if the dragon was the volcano itself.
But no matter how it appeared in their minds, it was always a horrible creature with a wicked disposition.
Every Rider could agree that the real thing was so much worse.
They were flying as fast as their dragons could take them, towards the nest.
Strangely, it seemed their companions weren’t pulled into any trances on the way.
The reason for this being that the alpha dragon was too busy annihilating the Hooligans to focus on its call.
They were nearly there, they could see the monster from afar. It was fairly hard to miss.
And when they’d seen this abomination, when they finally bore witness to the queen of dragons in its full form…
It was horrifying.
This massive, grotesque beast with a lust for destruction.
This was their opponent.
This is what they had to defeat, lest they all be sent to early deaths.
They thought they were ready, but now it seemed the Riders were having second thoughts.
“Oh Dios Mio…” Luisa shivered, clutching Hercules’ neck.
Camilo tried to hide behind Tonta’s spherical eyes. “I should’ve stayed home…”
Snotlout raised his hand. “Uh…is it too late to back out?” He asked.
Hiccup shouted over the rushing winds, trying to quell their fears. “Look, guys. I know this is scary, I’m scared too! But everyone is counting on us!”
“We have to do this…” Despite how dire the situation was, he allowed himself to smile. “And y’know what? I know we can do this!”
“There is no one I trust more with this mission, than you guys!”
Except for the twins. And Snotlout, unless he’s having one of his rare moments of humility.
But he didn’t say that.
His encouragement seems to have worked. While they were still clearly frightened, he could see the determination flaring in every Rider’s eyes.
The drive to overcome any challenge that lied ahead.
The resolve to finish the fight.
And just in time, too.
They were here.
Looking down onto the island, Hiccup saw a mass of fleeing Vikings. All scrambling to get away from the dragon.
And near the queen, running around and making spectacles of themselves…
Were Stoick and Gobber.
And from the way the dragon was moving, it appeared they were about to be fried.
Not on his watch.
Wordlessly, he urged Toothless to begin charging a shot.
Zooming behind the dragon, he launched a plasma blast right at the back of its skull. Ceasing its incoming flame.
And the Dragon Riders made their heroic entrance.
Every Viking present looked upwards, awestruck. Even the ones who were just running for their lives.
Were these teenagers really about to throw down with that monster?
Soaring around the island, Hiccup shouted a few orders to the riders. To keep them coordinated, and out of harm’s way.
“Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs!”
“Move, Fishlegs!”
“Camilo would you please stop trying to flip it off?”
“Look at us, we’re on dragons!” Tuffnut shouted. “We’re on dragons! All of us!”
“We’ve had our dragons for like, a week!” Ruffnut said.
Her brother glared at her, energy depleted. “…Why do you have to ruin everything?”
Stoick watched them as they flew.
Part of him was terrified. He’d come here to keep them away from this madness.
But seeing Hiccup up there, leading his forces into battle…
Another part of him was immensely proud.
Gobber couldn’t help but nudge Stoick’s side with his elbow.
“That is definitely your son!” He snickered.
The Riders continued to circle the dragon, as the daze from the plasma blast wore off.
It was even bigger up close.
They needed to know just what they were up against, and there was only one man for the job.
“Fishlegs, break it down!” Astrid cried.
From atop Meatlug, the rotund boy put his analytic mind to use and scrutinized the dragon as fast as he could. Taking in every little detail.
His examination complete, he gave them the summary. “Heavily armored skull, and tail made for bashing and crushing. Steer clear of both! Small eyes, large nostrils, relies on hearing and smell!”
Hiccup had heard all he needed to hear. “Okay, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout! Hang in its blind spot, make some noise, and keep it confused!”
“We’ve got it covered!” Astrid replied, as they flew off to carry out those orders.
“Isa, Luisa! Get those people to safety!” He said. In response, they both nodded with tenacity.
“On it!” Answered the hulking girl. The older sisters then descended to the ground below, to assist the warriors.
“Ruff, Tuff, Milo! Keep it from attacking anyone on the ground. Make it mad!” At this, the shifter grinned.
Standing atop Tonta, his odd cloak billowing in the winds, he raised his hands upwards with a wicked smirk.
“Come, my minions! Let the chaos commence!” He overdramatically declared, much to the twins’ amazement.
“Just do what I told you!” Hiccup snapped, annoyed at the theatrics.
As the others flittered off to their various tasks, some of them hooting and hollering with excitement, he turned to Mirabel. “Go with your sisters. Take the arepas, and heal the injured. Once everyone down there is safe, you and the other riders get clear. You don’t want to be here when it explodes…”
She nodded, and he readied to leave. “I’m gonna go check on dad, I’ll be right back!”
She watched him soar to the ground, before flapping after her siblings. The case of healing food in hand.
Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout flew to the massive beast’s head, a prime spot for disorientation. While Camilo and the twins got in front of it.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut began insulting the queen, chuckling with immature glee. Hoping childish name calling would irritate it.
“Troll!” “Butt-Elf!” “Bride of Grendel!”
Their laughter was cut short, when the dragon began firing at them. Yelping, they hastily dodged two jets of flame. Just barely avoiding being burned to cinders.
Camilo rushed in to defend his servants. It was time to put his plot into action.
“You think you’re tough?” He asked, smugly. “My mom is scarier than you!”
Its beady eyes narrowed in on him, and he smirked.
He urged Tonta to disappear, and he pulled his cloak’s hood over his head.
And he disappeared as well.
The dragon was suddenly very confused.
There was prey here, and now there wasn’t.
Hiding in his hood made from shed Changewing scales, Camilo and Tonta snickered from their concealed positions. Intending to try this trick several more times.
But they didn’t account for the fact that the Red Death always defaults to violence.
It’d decided a test was in order. If it chomped the air in front of it, and it didn’t feel bones breaking in its teeth, then the tiny nuisances were truly gone.
Camilo did not want to participate in that test.
They frantically flew away, just avoiding the massive and jagged teeth that were seconds away from splitting them in half.
In retaliation, he commanded Tonta shoot a spray of acid at the creature.
It hit the monster’s skin…and dripped away on its impervious hide like it was nothing but water.
The shifter and the dragon glanced to each other, eyes wide-
And quickly swooped away, as fast as they could.
Near the monster’s head, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout were making an uproar. Banging their shields with their weapons.
Their actions were having the intended result, as the queen was growing quite dizzy. It wobbled about on its massive feet, suddenly finding itself unable to focus.
Seeing this, Snotlout cheered. “It’s working!”
“Yeah, it’s working!” Fishlegs shouted, jovially.
Unfortunately, it was working too well.
Their own dragons were becoming quite dizzy themselves.
Stormfly suddenly jolted, making Astrid drop her shield and almost drop her beloved axe.
Hookfang lost his balance, and veered to the side. Slamming into the dragon’s massive head, and knocking Snotlout onto it. The boy nearly fell off the other side.
Meatlug was spinning wildly, and Fishlegs could tell they were going down.
“I’ve lost power on the Gronckle!” He cried, before throwing his hammer to the stout boy. “Snotlout, do something!”
Meatlug careened to the ground, plummeting into the gravel.
It was a surprisingly soft landing.
“I’m okay! Fishlegs squealed.
…Until Meatlug slumped over. Her bulbous body slamming him into the pebbles.
“Less okay…”
Snotlout could honestly say he was having fun.
From his position atop the monstrous queen’s forehead, he whacked at its row of three eyes with a hammer. Smirking every time he landed a hit.
“I can’t miss!” He proclaimed. “What’s wrong, buddy? Got something in your eye?”
In terrible pain, the dragon let out a furious roar. But Snotlout kept the thwacks coming.
Having regained control of Stormfly, Astrid swerved around to rejoin he fight. When she saw how well the stout boy was doing, she decided to offer some words of encouragement to her teammate.
“Yeah! You’re the Viking!” She cheered.
Getting a genuine, non-backhanded compliment from Astrid shocked him so much, he stopped paying attention.
The Red Death bucked its head, and Snotlout’s loose grip caused him to be flung upwards. He barely caught himself on a notch on the dragon’s boney crown.
He then noticed just how long the drop was.
Had he fallen, he surely would have perished.
“Woah!” He gasped.
The twins were flying nearby, so he took the chance.
He ran down the length of the dragon’s face and made a dive for Barf and Belch. He just barely caught them, and was hanging on by their middle. Where the two necks met.
“What the- “Tuffnut noticed their new passenger. “Hey! Get your own dragon!”
They then quickly dropped him onto Hookfang, and flew off to cause more mayhem.
“And where were you?” The boy asked, crossly.
The dragon’s body heated up, and threatened to light on fire. Fearing for his rear-end, Snotlout quickly hushed any complaints.
Luisa and Hercules were leading the charge, down below. Dashing on the ground, taking the Vikings to safety, and crushing any obstacles to dust.
While they cleared the way, Isabela provided support. Using leaves as makeshift casts or gauzes, and having her Snaptrapper carry those too injured to move.
A quaking from above alerted them to a storm of rocks, tumbling down towards them from the broken volcano.
Frightened Berkians scrambled to escape, even those with broken legs, but they were kept in place by a growth of giant aloe plants.
“Are ya trying to get us killed, lassie!?” Spitelout asked Isabela.
But she didn’t respond.
Instead, she willed the plants to form a shield around them.
And let her younger sister work her magic.
Planting her feet solidly into the dirt, Luisa punched out every hunk of stone that fell their way. Reducing them to rubble.
Hercules did the same, swinging his massive antlers about.
The last boulder was falling, and this one was huge.
If it hit the ground, the Hooligans would be flattened into mush.
The hulking girl locked eyes with the hulking dragon.
And they knew what they had to do.
Bracing themselves, they readied their fists and their antlers. With one mighty, synchronized swing…
The massive boulder was obliterated.
A shower of pebbles fell to the ground, being all that remained of the once ginormous rock.
The Vikings gaped at her, through peepholes in the leaves. Completely captivated.
“Yeah, that’s my sister!” Isabela bragged.
The path clear once more, the Madrigal sisters continued to move the Hooligans to a safer position.
Though the beating of wings signaled another Rider’s arrival.
Mirabel had appeared, and she had a delivery to make.
But she wasn’t gonna stay here. Not while she could be out there, helping the others.
She swooped down, and dismounted Mariposa. Handing the case of arepas to Isabela.
“Here, give these to anyone who needs them!” She said. “I gotta get back out there!”
Grabbing the case, Isabela firmly nodded. “We’ll be fine. Be careful!”
The bespectacled girl grinned.
“When am I not?” She asked.
Isabela’s deadpan stare said enough.
Confident that her sisters would be alright, she hopped back on Mariposa and swung around to engage with the monster.
While she was flying, she saw the twins get blown back by the force of the dragon’s roaring. Causing Tuffnut to drop his hammer.
It fell right onto Tonta’s head, who was flying below them.
Stunned, the Changewing spun out of control. Flapping frantically, and flashing in and out of sight.
Camilo was knocked off his dragon, and he fell to the ground-
Right underneath the queen’s monstrous foot, about to come crashing down.
And her blood ran cold.
“CAMILO!” She cried, while moving Mariposa into a dive.
Her shout got his attention, and he looked up. Screaming in fear when he realized the situation he was in.
He tried to scamper out of the way, but the beast’s paw was too large. He couldn’t get out in time.
Mirabel was beginning to panic.
They had to get there! They had to save him!
They weren’t moving fast enough! They had to be faster-
…Oh, right. Stormcutter.
Bringing out her second set of wings, Mariposa began slicing through the air. Accelerating rapidly, and snatching Camilo up just in time before he could be flattened.
She smirked down to him, in her dragon’s grasp.
“Why’s it feel like I’m always getting you out of trouble?” She asked.
Camilo could only nervously chuckle, as he dangled for dear life.
They deposited him back onto his own dragon, who’d regained her senses, and the battle continued…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiccup and Toothless descended onto the ground, with the intentions of slapping Stoick.
Figuratively.
Or literally, depending on his mood.
He stood alone, on the shore. Ships burning behind him. Gobber had already hobbled off with the other Berkians, following Luisa and Isabela. But he’d stubbornly refused to move from this spot.
He had to keep an eye on his son.
Running up to him, Hiccup fixed him with a stern glare.
“If you haven’t noticed, there’s a giant dragon in the middle of a rampage, so we’re gonna have to make this short…” He spoke, irritation rising with each word. “Give me one, just one reason why you thought this was a good idea!?”
Any fight from within Stoick dissipated, and he looked upon his son with regret.
“I just…I just wanted to keep you safe…” He admitted, softly.
...
...Of course that's why...
Hiccup released an exasperated sigh.
“Dad…this was something we could’ve talked about. Y’know, talking? The thing we said we would do?” He asked.
Stoick rapidly tried to defend himself. “I meant what I said! It’s just…”
“…If you died today, we’d never get the chance…”
And all the fight from within Hiccup dissipated too.
Silence fell between the two, neither knowing quite what to say.
“You don’t have to go up there!” The chief tried. “W-We could, we could maybe- “
“Dad, we’re Vikings.” The boy smirked. “It’s an occupational hazard.”
And in that moment, Stoick could’ve gasped.
The willpower to surpass insurmountable odds, to protect what you hold dear…
That’s what made a real Viking.
And that’s what he saw in Hiccup’s eyes.
“I know you’re worried about me, but this is something I have to do. I need you to trust me.” Hiccup pleaded.
And after a moment’s hesitation, Stoick made his decision.
He placed his large hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“I’m proud to call you my son…” The man declared.
A part of Hiccup’s heart that he thought he’d suppressed exploded.
“Thanks dad…” He whispered.
A shriek from Toothless caught their attention.
The dragon was glaring at the Red Death, wreaking havoc nearby. He glanced to Hiccup, and gestured to his back.
His request was clear.
“Let’s do this.”
“You got it, bud!” He hopped onto the dragon’s back, and prepared for take-off.
But before he did, he looked back to his father one last time.
“Get somewhere safe!” He ordered. And they launched into the sky, before the man could protest.
They soared through the air, rejoining the other riders. Dodging the enormous dragon’s attacks, and looking for an opportunity to land the finishing blow.
But while it would occasionally try to hit them with blazing flares, it never gave them enough time to blast it. They needed a clear shot, and to fire right before it’d ignited its flames.
It was frustrating, but they had to persevere. They had to succeed.
But while this was happening, the Red Death finally noticed that one of the little pests buzzing around it looked awfully familiar…
All six of its eyes widened, when it recognized the Night Fury.
The very same one that was once its strongest warrior, ensuring it was fed copiously after every raid.
The same Night Fury that had disappeared, a year ago. Leaving it to struggle to make up for his absence.
Here he was.
With a human on his back.
In fact, now that the alpha dragon took the time to inspect each of its tiny assailants, it could see that these were all dragons who were once its slaves.
All of them allied with humans. All of them trying to attack it.
And this made the queen furious.
How dare they…
How dare those whelps disobey their queen!
How dare these maggots stand against an alpha!
Do they really think they’ll succeed?
No.
It was time to put these worms in their proper place.
It was time to show these worms what true power looks like.
The Red Death looked towards the heavens, and released a demonic cry that could be heard from miles away.
Those close to it frantically covered their ears, to protect their fragile eardrums from the echoing scream.
And a few moments later…
“Uh…guys?” Fishlegs called, quivering.
The present Riders looked to the skies…
To see nearly a hundred dragons charging through the dark grey clouds.
The massive flock, comprised of many different species, all soared downwards to the island. Releasing a cacophony of screeches and squawks.
Once they arrived, they swarmed around the Red Death. Hovering protectively.
The Riders reacted to this new development with fear and uncertainty.
“It called for…backup?” Mirabel asked.
“Hey, no fair!” Tuffnut whined.
Ruffnut crossed her arms, and moped. “Cheating’s only cool if we do it…”
And Hiccup paled.
Because their jobs had just gotten a whole lot more difficult.
They couldn’t light this dragon up, not here. Not if a multitude of innocent, mind-controlled dragons would get caught in the crossfire.
The queen seemed to understand their feelings, as it appeared to smugly grin at their distress.
“What are we gonna do-WOAH!” Astrid’s question was cut off by a Timberjack, slicing at her with razor-sharp wings. Stormfly nimbly dodged.
But it wasn’t just her.
Snotlout and Hookfang were being sneezed at by a Snifflehunch. Camilo and Tonta desperately tried to avoid a spraying Scauldron. A Rumblehorn rammed its way through the air, fully intent on bludgeoning Fishlegs and Meatlug.
The Red Death’s army was running circles around them.
“Just dodge, for now!” Hiccup cried, evading fire blasts from all angles. “Knock them out if you can, but don’t- “
“Don’t kill them, we know!” Snotlout interjected, ducking under an incoming Snafflefang.
This madness continued for a time. The Riders tried to defend against the swarm of violent dragons as best they could, and even managed to free a few. Knocking them to the ground, unconscious.
But it was a small team, versus an army. They were vastly outnumbered.
The queen hardly even attacked anymore, it was just enjoying watching their suffering. Only snapping at them if it felt they were close enough to eat.
They couldn’t go on like this, they needed a plan.
With all these dragons guarding it, they couldn’t get close. And even if they could, they couldn’t destroy it here. Not with all the lives at stake.
They needed to lead it away somewhere. Somewhere it could be disposed of without any collateral damage.
Hiccup wracked his brain, while also trying to stay focused enough to not die.
How were they going to do this?
How!?
…
…It was then that Hiccup noticed something.
Something that, in hindsight, was incredibly obvious. And yet, they’d all missed it.
It had wings.
The Red Death had wings.
And if it could fly, he could lure it away and finish the job.
If it could fly.
He had to find out.
But first, he had to be able to get to it in the first place.
He and Toothless deftly dodged a Whispering Death that was hot on their trails. It’s swirling spiral of teeth, itching to bite into them.
For some reason, the moment Toothless saw this dragon, he rolled his eyes. Hiccup didn’t know why.
They flew away from it as best they could, but their speed was impaired amidst the swarm.
But it was the opposite for the serpentine dragon. If anything, it seemed to be moving faster.
Their escape was suddenly blocked by the large body of a Thunderdrum, and that moment was all the Whispering Death needed.
It’s gaping maw inched closer and closer, ready to mangle Toothless’ vulnerable tail-fin…
Until its wide-open mouth was suddenly filled with a barrel cactus.
Whimpering with pain, it suddenly dropped out of the skies. Hitting a few other dragons on the way, and causing them all to crash to the ground. Unconscious.
Hiccup already knew who saved them.
Isabela and Luisa had finally joined the battle, just as it’d become overly chaotic.
“Isa! Luisa!” Mirabel exclaimed, blasting away hostile reptiles and flying over to them.
“How’s everyone doing?” She asked, concerned for the Berkians.
Isabela smirked.
“See for yourself!” She replied, before gesturing to the surface.
To Hiccup and Mirabel’s surprise, the Hooligans were not only back on their feet…
They were rushing into battle.
Led by Stoick the Vast himself, they all stormed the beach. Eager to engage with the ferocious flock.
“They wanted to help!” Isabela said. “And we already told them about the no killing thing, so don’t worry about it.”
“We had to use, like…all the arepas. But I think it’ll work out!” Luisa added, optimistically.
If Hiccup had the time, he would’ve hugged them.
Because they’d just given him an opportunity.
Wasting no time, he started telling them his plan.
He spoke quickly. “Listen, I’ve got a plan to end this all for good! I need you guys to lead all the dragons down to the beach, alright?”
The sisters glanced to each other, unsure.
“We can do that…” Mirabel started. “But what are you gonna do?”
Hiccup pointed through the flock, towards the giant they’d come here to slay. “I’ve got a royal pain to deal with…”
Isabela facepalmed. “Why is he so cheesy…?”
The cool-color daughters then flew off. All in separate directions, but all with the same goal.
Steer the flock downwards.
Torrents of flame, Lava blasts and flaming mists pushed the swarm in their desired directions. The other Riders learned of this plot as well, and soon they were all joining in.
Once the dragons were close enough to the beach, the Vikings stormed into combat. Keeping the creatures occupied before they could rush back to their queen.
Teeth gnashed, shields were raised, flames were spit, hammers swung-
Though Stoick made sure none were killed.
The Red Death was now unguarded.
And it was not happy.
It readied a bellowing roar, to call its minions back. But before it could, Toothless shot at its face.
Undeterred, it tried once more to summon its slaves. But again, Toothless shot at it.
Upon the second time, its head was knocked back quite a ways. Forcing its eyes into just the right position to notice a golden Stormcutter, flapping towards the beach.
This Stormcutter had only been part of its nest for one day, before disappearing.
And yet it had already joined up with a rather fluffy human.
Such mutiny must be punished.
Opening its gargantuan jaws, it began sucking in massive quantities of air.
Mirabel suddenly found herself fighting against the vortex, and tried everything she could to get herself and her dragon out of it.
Two-winged formation, four-winged formation, nothing was working.
Those teeth were getting awfully close.
“Come on, girl…” She called, voice straining. “We can do it…come on!”
Mariposa tried her very best, but it wasn’t enough.
Just when it seemed that their last moments on this earth would be spent being devoured by a heartless beast…
A familiar shriek filled their ears.
Hiccup and Toothless darted through the air, blasting its jaw before it could chomp down on them.
But the resulting explosion knocked Mirabel off Mariposa, sending her hurtling to the sands below.
She screamed, flailing about as she plummeted.
She shut her eyes, not wanting to see the moment she hit the ground-
But she never hit the ground.
Toothless caught her by her legs, and was flying her to safety.
“Did you get her?” Hiccup asked, voice dripping with concern. He tried to look for himself, but the angles weren’t favorable for him.
Toothless looked down, to check.
Despite the fact that she was dangling upside down at high speeds, and had nearly just fallen to her death…
When she saw Toothless’ goofy face peeking down to greet her, she couldn’t help but smile.
In turn, he gave her his gummiest smile as well.
He flipped her over, causing her to involuntarily yelp, and placed her on the ground. He then landed himself, as Hiccup decided he needed to make sure she was fine personally.
“A-Are you okay? You’re not-It didn’t- “She ended his frantic ramblings with a lip to his fingers.
“I’m fine! Calmate!” She reassured.
He sighed, relieved. Before looking back to the supremely pissed off colossus in the distance.
When he glanced to her again, his gaze was filled with an unwavering determination.
“I’m finishing this.” He declared. “No matter how this ends, it ends today.”
She nodded, silently.
Trying to hide her blush, because he looked really cool right now…
But before she let him go, there was one last thing she had to do…
She cupped both his cheeks with her hands, and pulled him in for a kiss.
One that lasted a bit longer than it probably should have, considering the circumstances.
She looked right at his red-hot face, and spoke three simple words.
“Kick its ass!”
With a steadfast glint in his eyes, he nodded.
He couldn’t say no to her.
Hopping back onto Toothless, they soared upwards. Rocketing high into the air…
“Okay, bud…” Hiccup spoke. “That thing has wings. Let’s see if it can use them!”
Before crashing back down with incredible speed, charging a mighty plasma blast-
And firing it right at the beast. Knocking its ginormous body onto the ground.
Hard.
And that was the final straw.
The Red Death, queen of dragons…
Was not going to rest until that Night Fury, and the scrawny human that rode upon it, were obliterated.
From its position on the sands, it slowly spread its enormous wings. Tattered and torn from centuries of disuse.
Raising itself onto its feet, it ascended to the skies with a monumental beat of its wings. Blowing everybody and every dragon in the area back, as a whirlwind surged from beneath it.
“You think that did it?” Hiccup asked Toothless, while they hurried to make some distance between them and the killer queen.
As if to answer his question, the ginormous dragon released a terrifying roar as it chased them. Single-mindedly pursuing them with a solitary goal.
Kill them.
“Well, it can fly…” Hiccup noted. His theory being confirmed in perhaps the most threatening way possible.
They flew across the sea surrounding the island, weaving between sea stacks.
The giant beast simply crashed through the sea stacks. They didn’t even slow it down a little.
Everyone on the beach watched the boy, inspired by his courage, and terrified by the monster that was after him.
His fellow riders cheered him on.
“YEAH!” “GO HICCUP!” “YOU GOT THIS BRO!” “WOO-HOO!”
And spurred by their reactions, the other Berkians began cheering for him too.
Hearing their chanting only invigorated the boy, who could use all the bravery he could get right about now. Having a disgusting creature that was crashing through mountains just to kill him wasn’t exactly the most comforting situation.
Looking up at the dark clouds above, Hiccup felt his heartrate accelerate even more as he was stricken with an idea.
He knew how they were going to beat it.
“Okay, Toothless…time to disappear!” With the crank of a pedal, they were speedily rising into the skies. “Come on, bud!”
The Red Death followed them, chomping at them as they ascended. Imagining what it’d feel like to finally burn their skin off.
In fact, why wait?
“Here it comes!” Hiccup cried with fear, before he and Toothless dodged a pillar of flame from beneath them.
Higher and higher into the sky, deeper and deeper into the clouds, they flew.
The Berkians watched the giant black silhouette chase the tiny silhouette into the heavens, until they couldn’t see anymore.
They all wanted to just stand there and look up. Never blinking, lest they miss even a single moment of the final confrontation.
So that’s exactly what they did.
The dragons that the queen had summoned snapped out of their trances, now that its focus was elsewhere.
The ones who weren’t already knocked out, that is.
But instead of taking to the air, they stayed where they were.
Watching the skies, hoping the demon would be destroyed. Hoping they’d be freed.
Stoick didn’t dare look away. He just watched…and prayed.
He prayed that his son would come back alive.
He prayed that they weren’t given a second chance, when it was already too late.
He prayed to individual Gods, all the Gods at once, or different sets of Gods at different times.
He prayed, and prayed, and prayed…
And watched.
Mirabel kept her bespectacled eyes on the clouds, at all times. Trying not to panic.
Mariposa nudged her a bit, and the girl moved her arms to pat her, but her head stayed locked in place. Not looking away for even a moment.
She heard footsteps approaching her, though she didn’t shift her gaze to acknowledge them..
“He’s gonna be okay…” Luisa said. Though it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.
“Of course he is, He’s too stupid to die!” Isabela snarked. Though as soon as she stopped laughing, she looked very worried herself.
“He’s not gonna die, because then Toothless would die. And if Toothless dies, Tonito’s gonna be sad. And if Tonito gets sad, then Mami will raise him from the dead just to kill him herself!” Camilo joked, desperately trying to lighten the mood. “So yeah, he’ll be fine.”
Mirabel didn’t respond to any of this.
She didn’t even hear it.
She just watched the skies…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were gone.
The Red Death had chased its two little attackers high into the sky, until it was surrounded on all sides by murky dark clouds.
And it couldn’t see them anymore.
It couldn’t hear them, or smell them…
They were gone.
It whipped its head around, searching for its prey…
It thought it heard the faintest of noises from behind it…
Before the Night Fury catapulted right into its massive wing. Ripping a hole into it with a burst of plasma, and then flying through that hole.
Overcome with pain, the giant beast whirled around to find the ones responsible.
But instead, all it found was more pain. As Hiccup and Toothless repeated this process again.
And again.
And again, and again, and again.
Relentlessly, they fired holes into the dragon’s wing membranes. Weak from going unused for so long.
Each blast illuminated the skies, for a brief instance. Giving their audience below fleeting glances at what was happening.
The Red Death was no longer mad.
It was no longer furious.
It was downright apoplectic.
Virtually foaming at the mouth with outrage, seeing nothing but red.
Losing all sense of reasoning, it released a continuous cyclone of fire from its maw. Rotating around the area rapidly, trying to destroy the two wherever they were hiding
Not caring about anything else in the world except for killing them.
Hiccup and Toothless dodged the flames as best they could.
But everybody makes mistakes.
“WATCH OUT!” Hiccup cried, but it was too late.
Toothless tail had caught fire.
In a matter of minutes, they’d be plummeting back down to earth.
Hiccup stared at the blazing tail-fin, eternally happy that he’d used the spare. He’d be horrified if the tail-fin handcrafted by Mirabel was destroyed.
But the time for musing was over.
They had to strike.
Now.
“Okay, time’s up!” He said. “Let’s see if this works…”
They only had one shot at this. They had to make it count.
If they failed, all was lost.
He turned Toothless around, and they charged towards the monstrous creature.
“Come on!” He goaded, trying to draw both its ire and its fire. “Is that the best you can do?”
The gargantuan dragon roared with hatred, and Toothless met its bellows with a defiant shriek.
It snapped at them, just barely missing them, while the Night Fury went into a dive.
It followed them downwards, seething rage overtaking every part of its mind.
The tail-fin was burning to ashes at this point. It was highly likely that they wouldn’t be able to fly back to safety, after this.
But that didn’t matter right now.
They continued diving, sweating intensely. Their hearts beating out of their chests.
“Stay with me, bud! We’re good!” Hiccup shouted, as they descended at frightening speeds. “Just a little longer!
They barreled through the clouds, the wind feeling like it was slapping them right in the face.
They achieved a steady position…
And that was all the Red Death needed.
Narrowing its six eyes, it grinned sadistically.
No matter what happened next, it knew one thing for sure.
The boy and the Night Fury would be dead.
It gathered all the gasses its body could produce, intending to annihilate them in the most colossal storm of flame it could possibly muster.
Making sure to prolong the process, just a bit.
It wanted to enjoy this…
Hiccup could hear it, behind them. Readying itself to send them straight to the afterlife.
The dragon beneath him was trembling, and he tried to soothe him in these final moments.
“Hold, Toothless…”
In the brief second before the beast behind them took their lives, Hiccup had a thought.
Centuries of bloodshed.
Centuries of war.
Countless dragons, killed at the hands of humans.
Countless humans, killed at the talons of mind-controlled dragons.
An unimaginable amount of destruction, desolation, and death.
Untold levels of suffering.
All because of one dragon.
And for what?
For what?
Because it was hungry!?
…
No more.
Humans and dragons shall fight no more.
This ends…
“NOW!”
At Hiccup’s shout, Toothless quickly spun and fired the most intense plasma blast he’d ever created. Right into the queen’s throat.
The obscene amount of gasses it held within were ignited, while still inside the dragon. Setting its innards ablaze.
Through its horrible pain, it saw the ground rapidly approaching.
It spread its wings, to slow its fall-
But its wings were ripping to shreds.
Their weak skin, thanks to years of lazing about.
The holes, shot by Toothless.
And the dragon’s body burning from the inside, all served to cause the queen’s wings to burn away like paper caught on a candle’s fire.
There was nothing to stop its collision.
It had lost all control.
Toothless whipped away from their position in front of it, flying up the length of its back in an attempt to escape what was to come.
In these final few seconds…
The Red Death, queen of dragons, alpha of dragon island, and sole origin of the Viking-dragon war…
Felt something it hadn’t felt in centuries.
Fear.
With a petrified roar, the flaming dragon’s life came to an end once it crashed onto the island below.
Exploding upon impact.
And engulfing Hiccup and Toothless into an apocalypse of fire…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The explosion was massive.
It knocked everybody back, both human and dragon.
But Mirabel had been standing a bit too close…
She only had a split second to hold up her arm-
Before a whirlwind of fire blasted onto her. Launching her backwards.
Mariposa quickly took the air, trilling with fear. Following after her.
Luckily, she caught the girl before she could crash onto the hard ground.
She gently placed her rider on the sand, as her relatives rushed over.
Isabela was first to arrive, and she quickly checked her baby sister over. Mirabel, dazed from the explosion.
Her clothes and hair were a bit singed, and they’d have to clean the soot off her glasses, but otherwise she looked alright.
Except for…
“Good lord!” Camilo cried with shock, when he saw it.
Luisa cupped her hands to her mouth in shock, when she saw it.
Their dragons winced with sympathy, when they saw it.
Isabela was frozen with disbelief, when she saw it.
A ghastly burn, pulsing and oozing, was present on Mirabel’s left forearm.
It was huge, covering nearly her entire forearm and touching a bit of her hand.
It was black, that’s how bad it was.
Panicking, Isabela tried to think of a solution.
“A-Arepa!” She shouted, with a small sliver of hope that her sister would be okay. “Someone hand me an arepa!”
Neither Luisa nor Camilo moved an inch.
Isabela bristled with rage.
“What are you doing!?” She shouted. “Mirabel needs an arepa!”
Luisa, skin as pale as a ghost, was the one to remind her.
“There aren’t any more…” She whispered, horrified. “We used them all…”
Cold fear squeezed Isabela’s heart.
“N-No…” She choked, shaking her head. “No, there has to be more!”
Camilo raised a point. “Didn’t you guys say you gave them all to the Vikings- “
“THERE HAS TO BE MORE!” Isabela screeched at her cousin, shutting him up instantly. “THERE HAS TO BE!”
An array of dangerous looking plant life sprouted around them, at her outburst.
But none of them noticed.
They were all so dreadfully worried for Mirabel.
Luisa was nearly in tears. Camilo had sat himself down, curled into his knees. And Isabela was about to have a panic attack.
They felt so helpless.
They didn’t know what to do-
Until she noticed Mariposa, sniffing at Mirabel’s coat pocket.
She looked up at Isabela with pleading eyes, and poked the pocket with her claw. Repeatedly.
And Isabela understood.
Hastily, she ran over. Sliding onto her knees, she reached into Mirabel’s’ pocket.
And sure enough, there was half an arepa inside.
The other two looked shocked, but she wasted no more time.
With trembling fingers, Isabela managed to feed Mirabel the food.
Immediately, the burn cleared up.
But it wasn’t enough.
The burn only healed to a point.
There was now a very visible scar, on Mirabel’s forearm. A midsized reddish blotch, starting near her elbow and streaking across. Tapering off at her wrist.
Considering there were truly no more arepas now, she would most likely have it for the rest of her life.
The weight of this reality hit them all, giving them somber expressions…
Just when the food woke her up.
Coming to her senses, the girl was wondering just what they were all looking at.
“Hey, guys…what’s happening- “
She stopped speaking, when she followed their gazes to her arm.
Slowly…she held her arm up to her face.
She was now examining her scar. With an incomprehensible expression.
None of the other Madrigals said anything, for fear of offending her.
“Hmm…” She hummed, ogling her permanent marking.
Before she shrugged. “Not the souvenir I’d have picked, but eh....”
And their jaws dropped.
“W-Wait…you don’t mind it?” Luisa asked.
“Well…” She sighed. “It’s not that I like it, but…”
She then smiled, softly. “I’m okay. We’re all okay! If getting a scar means we all go home, safe and sound. Then that’s how it’s gotta be!”
Her reaction was unexpected.
But it was that plucky optimism that made their Mirabel, Mirabel.
Now all bearing grins, they crushed her into a hug. The four dragons slithering around them.
“It’s actually kinda rad!” Camilo grinned. “You got a battle scar, Mira!”
“A dragon and a battle scar…” The girl thought, stroking both her chin and her dragon’s side. “I guess I got the full Berk experience!”
And they laughed.
It was unfortunate, that the girl was now marked forever.
But she was alive. And in good spirits.
And honestly, the scar wasn’t that unsightly. It gave her an interesting story to tell, at the least.
But what was most important, is that they were all okay.
They were all together.
Except they weren’t.
“HICCUP?”
They heard Stoick’s shout, from afar.
Their crisis now over, they were suddenly reminded that the queen was dead.
They’d done it.
They’d ended the war.
Now where was Hiccup?
Without a word, they all mounted their dragons. Flying back towards the sound of Stoick’s voice.
“HICCUP!”
They soared through the ashy skies, soot falling like twisted snow. Smoke obscuring their vision from anything more than a few inches away.
“SON!”
They found him.
On the beach, looking around. Fighting through the smog.
They quickly came in for a landing, and Mirabel immediately rushed over to the large man.
“W-Where is he? Where’s Hiccup?” The girl anxiously asked
Stoick didn’t have an answer. “I…I don’t know, I…”
He swiveled his head around, searching for any sign of his boy in this barren land.
And then he spotted it.
A black mass, lying amongst the wreckage.
A Night Fury.
“…Hiccup…”
He hastily stomped over. Knowing that wherever that dragon was, Hiccup was nearby. Mirabel swiftly followed.
They tripped and tumbled over the course landscape, running into busted pieces of wood and metal.
Their breathing heavy, their hearts pumping, their minds overcome with fear.
They arrived at the scene. Toothless was lying there, and he looked like he’d seen better days…
But he was breathing. He was alive.
But he was also alone.
His saddle was empty. The boy couldn’t be seen anywhere.
Where was Hiccup?
The dragon shifted over, in his slumber. Giving them a clearer view of his mutilated prosthetic tail-fin. Presumably destroyed in the explosion.
…
…What else was destroyed in the explosion?
Mirabel’s hands flew to her mouth, and Stoick crumpled to his knees, when it hit them.
They couldn’t stop the tears from rushing to their eyes, when it hit them.
They couldn’t stop their hearts breaking, or their souls shattering, when it hit them.
Hiccup was gone.
That wonderful boy was gone.
His dry sense of humor was gone.
His knack for invention was gone.
His love for dragons was gone.
His unwavering determination was gone.
The way he walked, the way he talked, the way he thought, was gone.
His miraculous son…
Her best friend, her amazing boyfriend…
The boy he’d swore to protect…
The boy she loved, the boy she wanted to marry…
Hiccup was gone.
“No…” Mirabel whimpered. “No, please…”
This was not how it was supposed to be.
Bruno’s vision showed them being together! Being happy!
“Oh, son…” He whispered. “I did this…”
This was not how it was supposed to be.
They’d reunited! They were a family again!
The smoke was clearing.
The crowd walked forth, trying to see what was happening.
Gobber, the Dragon Riders, and the Madrigals fought their way through the masses. They needed to know what was going on.
All they saw was Toothless on the ground. Stoick and Mirabel, in tears. And no Hiccup.
And they knew exactly what happened.
Gobber and the Dragons Riders were in shock, not quite believing what they were seeing.
Luisa clutched her hands to her chest, letting the tears flow freely.
Camilo saw what was happening and inadvertently turned into Hiccup himself. He took a moment, looking down at his own hands, Hiccup’s hands. And turned back, while scrunching his face. Fighting the urge to cry.
And Isabela felt a part of her heart breaking that she didn’t know she had. She was honestly surprised at just how upset she was. It seemed she’d grown fonder of him than she’d thought…
The Berkians dipped their heads in respect. Honoring the boy who gave his life to end their suffering.
The dragons stepped forth, gazing at the scene with great sadness. Even the wild ones. The boy had given his life to free them.
The war was over.
At the cost of just one more life.
It was a tragedy. There were no other words that could describe it.
From his resting position, Toothless began to stir. Making confused warbles as he awoke, and blinking his eyes groggily.
Still a bit out of sorts, he tried to figure out what was happening here.
There was Stoick, on his knees. Crying silently, and whispering broken apologies.
And Mirabel, who’d broken down into sobs. Muttering about how unfair it all was.
The dragon stared at them, with his powerful green orbs.
And knew what he had to do.
Slowly, painfully, he unfurled his aching wings…
And revealed the teen that lied within.
The very scrawny teen.
Jolting with shock, Stoick surged forth. Taking the boy from the dragon’s claws.
Mirabel watched with quaking eyes, not even daring to breathe.
Stoick checked the boy, trying to wake him up. It wasn’t working…
His fear increasing, he removed his helmet and placed an ear to the boy’s chest.
And listened…
Everyone waited with baited breath, for his reaction…
Nothing. He wasn’t hearing anything. He was two seconds away from breaking into hysterics-
Ba-Dump
His eyes widened. But maybe he’d just been hearing things-
Ba-Dump
No. That was real.
Hiccup’s heart was beating.
Hiccup was…
“He’s alive…” Stoick whispered through grateful tears. “You brought him back alive!”
The crowd was so quiet, even the Viking standing farthest in the back could hear him.
And the crowd was quiet no longer.
Cheers broke out, celebrating the boy’s victory and the fact that he was alive at all.
Gobber clutched his hand to his chest, sighing with relief. He’d be sure to nag the teen about the heart attack he nearly gave him.
The Riders were ecstatic, celebrating with high fives and a bear hug from Fishlegs.
Luisa started crying even harder, but these were now tears of joy. Elated that her little brother was still alive.
Camilo was wiping his face of any traces of tears, and trying to adopt a nonchalant look. But he was bursting with joy as well.
Isabela could only chuckle. Of course it took him nearly dying for her to realize she loved him as a brother. It was such a Hiccup thing.
The dragons rejoiced, hissing and screeching and squawking with glee. Their little savior had survived!
They’d even tried to join the Vikings in their celebration, to their surprise.
But not an unpleasant surprise.
And Mirabel…
Mirabel was on her knees, weeping. Hugging Toothless close, and thanking him over and over. While she continued to look at the boy in Stoick’s arms with teary eyes.
She was never.
Ever.
Allowing him to do anything like this ever again.
She was taking him home, and locking him in a closet until it was time for their wedding.
If that’s what it took to keep her un amor verdadero alive, then so be it.
She chuckled, through her tears. “Stupid boy…”
“I swear…” Mirabel spoke to Toothless, sniffling. “W-When we get back, you’re getting the biggest fish imaginable! I-It’s gonna take you years to finish it!”
Despite how tired he was, the thought had the dragon salivating.
Stoick placed a gentle hand on Toothless’ head. Locking eyes with him, warrior to warrior.
“Thank you…for bringing him back in one piece.” He said.
And it was then that Gobber felt the need to butt in.
“Well…y’know…”
…
“Most of him.”