Dimension Splash Chronicles
Event: To Save a Dragon
Pov: Hiccup, Toothless
Time: Year 10.4 of Hiccup and Link’s existence in the game
Hiccup dropped to his knees. Link’s broken, bleeding body was sprawled out on the dirty ground before him. The hylian’s hands were manacled to a post several hundred yards from the prison. The Doctor began to use his sonic to break these bonds, but Hiccup looked over Link in utter horror. But something else was burning in Hiccup’s heart. Anger.
Link groaned as the chains fell from his hands. “Help me move him.” Hiccup commanded grimly. He and the Doctor lifted Link by the shoulders and moved him into the shadows of a nearby hut. The village of the Berk was barely lit. Everything looked grey and ghostly in the moonlight. Dragons apparently were still a threat, judging by the fully armed catapults, but the village itself seemed to have died long ago. The vikings of Berk no longer paced the streets at night carrying torches. Perhaps they no longer cared whether they were attacked or not. People can only have their beliefs broken so many times before they give up on believing.
The Doctor looked over Link with his brows deeply furrowed and his mouth pulled tight in worry. “He looks really bad, Hiccup. Not dead, but he’s lost a lot of blood.” Little did the Doctor know, but Hiccup had already decided what to do. His mind had been working like an engine, fueled by the fire of hurt and betrayal. It did not matter what it cost him, he was going to get Toothless back.
“How did you get here?” Hiccup asked bluntly. The Doctor was still looking over Link’s wounds.
“Opened a rift.” The Doctor replied quickly.
“Where? Did the Berkians see it?” Hiccup asked, a tiny lilt of hope tingling in his voice.
“No. Dragon Island. At least if your movies display your actual world accurately.” The Doctor glanced back over his shoulder. He could guess what Hiccup’s next question would be. “I flew here. There was a blue two headed dragon.” The Doctor’s eyes suddenly shone, almost happy. “If only things were not so dire, Hiccup, I’d love to tell you of it. Now I understand why you love those beautiful creatures. I’ve never felt anything quite like that.”
“Is the dragon still here?”
“I doubt it.” The Doctor looked around. “He seemed very frightened of this island.”
Hiccup stood and thought for a moment. Then he turned to the Doctor and looked at him with a face of granite. “You stay and look after my brother. I’m going to get my equipment and Toothless.”
“Right…” The Doctor paused. Something wasn’t right here. “And where is Toothless?”
“Probably on a distant island, but I’ll find him. I know I will.” Hiccup began to walk away.
“How long will you be?”
“I don’t know. Long.” Hiccup turned back around to look the Doctor squarely in the eye. “I am going alone, Doctor, and it is dangerous. But I cannot leave Link, and you cannot come with me. This is my world, and I must fix it. You must protect the one thing I have left to come home to.” Hiccup turned and walked away. The Doctor said something to him, but he didn’t here it. His mind was far away, locked onto the heart of his dearest friend in all the world and the many dangers that now surrounded him.
Hiccup began sneaking towards the armory. If the Gemnode’s world had not prepared him, he certainly would have been caught, but ten years of stealthy operations helped the young viking to dodge all the guards between him and his destination. Just as he was about to enter the armored building, he heard a long, sad shriek. He whipped around and saw a crumpled, silvery grey and black form of chained on a dock only a small distance from him. Hiccup’s heart leapt. It was a dragon. He’d need to climb down the cliff-face stairs, but perhaps he could do this without being noticed.
As quietly as possible Hiccup waited for the next patrol of dock guards to come and go. After nearly twenty minutes of nerve wracking tension, the guards finally gave him an opening. He ran down the zigzagging stairs and reached the exhausted reptile that was lying on the dock. It was not Toothless, but it was a form Hiccup did recognize, Skari. The Skrill had fought hard and exhausted himself, but he could not break the cruel chains that bound him to the dock. Hiccup looked to the side and saw an unoccupied Berserker war ship with a strange harness strapped to the front of it. Did they intend to weaponize the Skrill? Hiccup didn’t have time to ponder, he walked around in front of Skari who had been too tired to notice him. He reached his left hand out slowly and touched the dragon on the snout. Skari’s eyes shot open and he attempted to lunge forward and snap at the human standing before him. Hiccup stepped back deftly. Then Skari’s panting face focused in on Hiccup, and the dragon’s countenance completely melted. Hiccup had never seen the Skrill so tenderly happy. Hiccup whispered quietly to him, “Hey big guy. We’re gonna get out of here. I’m so sorry for what they’ve done to you.”
Just as Hiccup turned to look for some way of releasing Skari, a thick Berserker guard came out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. Hiccup gasped as the weight of his attacker knocked the breath out of him. “Escaped, did ya?” The man spat. “Well, we’ll see about that.” Much to Hiccup’s surprise the man did not even try to bind him. Two rough hands clamped onto Hiccup’s thin throat and began to exert awful pressure. Hiccup clawed at them, choking. He couldn’t speak, and the world was starting to spin. What was this guard thinking? He couldn’t just kill an escaped prisoner. But Hiccup had no way to protest. He thrashed as much as he could, surprised at the strength of his now much older and fitter body. All he could do was try to shove his enemy off of him. It was not working, and the guard’s hands tightened their grip. Hiccup tried once again to push the Berserker off, and with one great thrash he managed to roll both himself and his attacker to the side. Hiccup’s strength was leaving him. He stared up into the face of the man on top of him. The guard was completely emotionless, but then his mouth shot open in a shriek of pain. Hiccup saw something black and sharp come jutting out of the guard’s chest and nearly prick Hiccup in his own. The men gasped for a moment, his grip still tight, and Hiccup saw his eyes waver out of focus before he collapsed heavily on Hiccup. The horrible hot feeling of blood soaked onto Hiccup’s tunic, and he jumped to his feet, his face pale with horror.
Skari looked at him, his tail dangling above his head with one of its sword like spines stained. Hiccup coughed hard, not sure what was going on. The coughing wasn’t just from being strangled, suddenly his whole body felt unbearably heavy. Hiccup tried to grasp what was happening, but then a flashback from the torments of Sardilic shot into his mind. The blood. It wasn’t his blood, it was his enemy’s, but he had just died on him. So many of Hiccup’s torments had involved himself becoming a murderer. Apparently Sardilic’s death had not cured Hiccup of his trauma. He close his eyes tight, shaking his head from side to side in sporadic spasms. Eventually he collapsed gasping to the ground. The visions finally stopped, but Hiccup had wasted precious time pulling himself together.
Skari had watched all of this. As remarkable as it was, the dragon knew what he was going through. The Skrill had also suffered under Sardilic after his deletion, and he assumed this is what it looked like for a human deal with the horrors that the Gemnode could percolate into a mind. Hiccup stood to his feet. He breathed out slowly, then locked his jaw. The memories may have been nightmarish, but many of them were of Toothless, and they made it all the clearer why he needed to get to his dragon as quickly as possible. Hiccup saw a rusted key on the belt of his dead attacker, and with a small shudder he removed it. He was tempted to stop and look at the lifeless form, but he forced himself to turn away. Regret would not change anything, nor would it save Toothless.
Hiccup unlocked Skari from his chains and the Skrill beat his wings mightily. The fully mature Skrill was an awe inspiring sight in the moonlight. Hiccup still needed his equipment, and the armory was just a small distance away. “Carry me up.” He said to Skari. The Skrill lifted off the creaking wooden boards of the dock and grasped Hiccup’s shoulders in his long talons. He spiraled up to the armory, and by Hiccup’s direction landed before the door. Suddenly the alarm horns sounded throughout the village. Fires blazed and the shout of guards and unsheathing of swords could be heard all over the sleeping village. The time for stealth was over.
Hiccup turned to the door of the armory. Hopefully his equipment was in here. “Break down the door, Skari.” The Skrill readily obeyed, and he swift head-butt from his spine covered skull splintered the door to bits. Men inside yelled in alarm, but Skari darted into the small building in a flash. Hiccup rushed in behind him. The Skrill whirled around and slapped both guards into the wall with a powerful sweep of his tail. One man groaned loudly on the floor, and the Skrill lurched forward with his jaws open. Hiccup saw this just in time and yelled to the determined dragon. “No!”
Skari stopped short. He was not used to showing mercy. The man was no longer a threat, and Hiccup searched the room with quick efficiency. He found what he needed most, Endeavor. It was still in one piece. Apparently the Berserkers did not know what the retractable sword was. Hiccup also found some pieces of his armor. He did not have time to look for all the bits and bobs of it, but he found the important sections for his own protection and pulled the helmet down onto his face. Then, right as he turned to leave, his eye caught the gleam of the Master Sword. He reached out to take it, but then drew back. He’d be back. This little island would once again know goodness and light, and Link’s sword would be returned to him and him alone.
Just as Hiccup turned to leave the armory, shouts from the outside erupted. Skari stepped into the smashed doorway, roaring vehemently. Hiccup began to walk toward him, but a tingling on the back of his neck gave him a clear warning. With eyes wide Hiccup dove away from Skari and covered his helmeted head. There was a brilliant white flash, and lightning struck the menacing spiky back of the dragon. The front of the armory was completely obliterated by the bast, but Skari was not finished. With a ferocious roar he blasted the lighting out in front of him. Hiccup couldn’t see what was going on, just flashes of blue and white and the crackle of electricity as it danced through the armor of the guards outside. When it all stopped, Hiccup uncover his head and got to his feet. He walked to the doorway, Skari still panting. The ground outside was covered in over a dozen blackened forms. Hiccup didn’t look at them. He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t risk feeling again. Another attack of visions would ruin any hope he had of escape. “Come on.” He said to Skari, and the two of them began running toward the cliffs of Berk. Guards were soon hot on their heals. Skari was in the air, but he had neglected to pick Hiccup up. Arrows whizzed past the Skrill, keeping him from flying higher. With the catapults now armed, any attempt to gain altitude would be suicide. By the time Hiccup had reached the cliff he was practically surrounded by guards, many of them with bows drawn. Apparently execution was the Berserker way of dealing with escaping prisoners. Hiccup saw to his great grief that some of his pursuers were Berkians, some of which he might could have even named. Hiccup took a step back towards the cliff edge.
“I’ll come back. That is a promise.” Hiccup said sternly from under his mask. Then he fell straight backwards. He had not had time to reassemble his flight suit, but he did not need it. Skari shrieked in panic and dove for him, but then the Skrill saw a bright light burning from the boy. Hiccup had Endeavor, and inside of Endeavor was the Gemshard. Hiccup focused his mind on Toothless, and doing that was all too easy. The emotion was powerful, strong, and Hiccup’s heart burned with it. The shard ripped through the inter-dimensional space right before Hiccup hit the surging black water, and both he and Skari dove into it. The vikings on the cliff top, both Berserker and Berkian gasped in wonder, their swords and armor illuminated by the dazzling white light of the rift before it closed with a snap.
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Toothless rushed down the canyon, confusion filling his mind. The Skrill pursued him but kept his distance. The young dragon refused to communicate clearly with Toothless, and all of the Night Fury’s questions were met with angry insults and triumphant threats. The Skrill was beginning to draw a great amount of static energy, and his shrieks could be heard echoing throughout the entire canyon. Without a doubt, this Skrill would lead the hunters directly to Toothless whether that was his intention or not. Toothless kept running, but it was hard for him to flee from this enemy. He was still sickened by his recent acts of violence, but he still could not help but instinctively despise Skrills. After all, a Skrill on Herkja brought back many hate filled memories.
Lightning struck the Skrill, and he absorbed the entire bolt. Toothless tried to find adequate cover in the canyon, but he was completely exposed to the sky. The Skrill reared back his head and roared with a fury, “For my father!”
The Skrill sent a bolt rocketing down towards Toothless. It was a fairly good shot, and Toothless only barely managed to avoid the full impact of it. Unfortunately the electrical field still channeled into Toothless making his heart jolt and his legs burn. He looked angrily at his enemy. The Skrill’s dark form was buzzing with electricity against the cloudy morning sky. Then Toothless suddenly grasped who it was that was attacking him, or at least he had a guess. This youthful Skrill… could he be a son of Skari? The Skrill had never told Toothless whether he had had a family, but this Skrill knew the name that Skari had reserved for him. If this was Skari’s child, things became far more complicated. Toothless could not afford to kill him, but how could he possibly convince him of the impossible truth that Skari had changed?
Toothless spent the entirety of that day avoiding the young Skrill. It was not easy, and if the Skrill had been more experienced he would certainly have killed the Night Fury. Fortunately the hunters did not show themselves. All Toothless could do was run and occasionally fire in self defense. Toothless’s tactic filled the small Skrill with pride and contempt, and he would often screech down challenges for Toothless to stand and fight him as a Night Fury ought. Little did this Skrill know how easily Toothless could blast him out of the sky and leave his soft scaled body burning on the canyon floor. Toothless tried to shout up to the Skrill about Skari, but the mentioning of that name only provoked the young dragon to release even more vicious blasts of lighting.
Night fell, and with it came the hunters. Toothless could hear dozens of them chanting in the woods. They had never done this before, and each time the Skrill fired down on him they would chant and cheer all the louder. By this time Toothless could tell that the canyon was surrounded on all sides by Berserker and Herkja hunters, and worst of all Toothless had run himself into a dead end. The hunters had not yet come down into the ravine, but the Skrill now bombarded Toothless over and over again with blasts of lightning. It was just a matter of time before one of these cruel blasts hit Toothless dead on and knocked him into unconsciousness. Toothless was breathing hard. Days and nights of running and dodging had taken their tole on him and his legs felt weak beneath his heaving chest. His mouth was dry and his eyes bleary. Should he finish off the Skrill? Even if he did he could hear the hunters all around him, and with them there was a maniacal, deranged laugh.
Just as Toothless was gasping for air and trying to see some possible way to climb out of the canyon, the small Skrill fired a bolt of blue energy. It hit very near Toothless’s face, temporarily blinding him and making him roar out in pain. He shook his head viciously from side to side, trying to stop the pain and the burning of his eyes. There was no other option. Skari’s offspring or not, this little Skrill had to be shot down. If Toothless did not do it, the hunters would kill him here and now and he would never see Hiccup again.
Toothless looked up into the now black sky. The Skrill was hovering openly above him, its eyes gleaming with triumphant cruelty. Toothless did not let him see what he was doing, but within his closed mouth he began to generate a ball of acetylene that would kill the Skrill on impact. Toothless did not want to risk harming someone who Skari cared for, but there was no other option. He did not know who this Skrill was, but he had decided that killing it was the only way to ensure his own survival.
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Hiccup and Skari tumbled out of the rift onto the dirty, dry soil of Herkja. Skari recognized the place as soon as his eyes adjusted from the rift light. Hiccup looked up at the dark night sky and pulled his lips tight. In front of him was a forested canyon. It would not be easy to find Toothless, but at least this looked like the right place. “Come on, we are going to go save Toothless.” Hiccup said to Skari who was still taking in his surroundings. The Skrill looked up at Hiccup attentively. Skari was such a bold, proud soul, it was strange for him to be so submissive. He looked almost as if he was waiting for orders. Hiccup stood and marveled, but only for a moment. It was beautiful to see what Link’s friendship had done to this dragon.
“Right, you fly and see if you can find where Toothless is. I’ll move along the ground. You shouldn’t have trouble finding me. If you find Toothless, call out. Be careful, he’ll probably be on edge.” Skari shot up into the air as soon as Hiccup had finished. Hiccup paced as quietly as he could across the ground. Toothless would probably have gone into the canyon itself, but Hiccup wanted to stay on the rim. It would be easier to move quickly up here, and if he found Toothless inside the canyon he could climb down to him. Hiccup had only walked for a few minutes before the sky erupted into the lightning. Skari? What was he doing? Hiccup began to run in that direction. Lightning struck again, and again. This did not look good. Hiccup was now sprinting as fast as he could. Then he saw the light of torches. There were dozen of them surrounding a deep gully. The men were chanting something harsh and tribal, and it made Hiccup’s heart seethe with anger. That was Toothless down in the canyon, he felt sure of it. The lightning had all been leading to this point. Then he heard a sound that confirmed his guess. Skari cried out loud and long in the air above the ravine. Hiccup dashed in that direction, but his mind was starting to wonder how he could possibly get Toothless away from so many enemies.
Skari himself had received quite a shock. He had flown quietly over the canyon, and he had seen lightning being guided down into it by a small dragon. Upon getting closer he realized to his great shock that the Skrill was firing bolts of energy down onto Toothless. The Night Fury looked as if he was poised to fire back, and Skari had just managed to tackled the smaller Skrill out of the air before the Night Fury fired off his own blast. Skari had no way of guessing who this small dragon was, but he was still passionately loyal to his own species. Now he and the small dragon were locked together in flight and hurtling out of the air. The small Skrill fought him in a rage and clawed at his stomach as they both tumbled from the sky. The two Skrills hit the ground with a crash of bramble and a huge cloud of dust. Both of them were angry as they leapt to their feet and faced each other down. Skari was bleeding from the claw marks on his stomach and the small Skrill felt he had been robbed of his victory. Then Skari suddenly felt something, a strange familiarity that haunted and shook him down to his bones. The small Skrill breathed out cool puffs of electrical breath as he glared at Skari, but the adult Skrill stood in sad, wonder filled awe. He cooed, barely audible, “Fenriss?”
The little Skrill’s face changed completely. He raised his head and twisted it to the side in utter disbelief. “Dad?” Skari’s heart filled with joy, a joy he’d long forgotten. His son was still here, still alive, a strong, proud Skrill. But Fenriss was not so pleased. Without warning he snapped and bit his father across the face. Skari jumped back in shock, and Fenriss leapt into the air. He was roaring so loudly that his screeches could almost not be comprehended, but Skari made out at least some of the meaning, “You are supposed to be dead! Why did you leave us!? How could you leave us?”
Meanwhile Hiccup had nearly reached the canyon edge. He hoped Skari would defend Toothless against any nearby hunters, but the lightning had stopped, and Hiccup saw that the torches were beginning to slowly creep down into the ravine. Then Hiccup heard a long, hackling laugh. It trailed on and on, bizarre and almost demonic. Hiccup was right up to the hunters now and he hunkered for a moment behind some bushes. He saw a man dressed in a long black fur cape. Hiccup could only see his back, but he was wearing a full viking helmet with tall horns capping it. From behind Hiccup could see that his waist was weighed down with several different swords and axes, and he carried a long crossbow in his hand. Grizzliest of all, he had the skull of a small skrill on his shoulder functioning as decorative armor for his right arm. This man looked very much like a viking chief, and as he tossed back his head and laughed again Hiccup recognized him beyond any shadow of a doubt. This was Dagur the son of Oswald, or at least that was who he was when Hiccup had last met him. Now he was Dagur the Deranged, King of The Wilderwest. He had an armored guard with him, each of them carrying several weapons and covered in armor decorated in the scales and teeth of fallen dragons. Dagur gestured to some of his guard to move along in front of him, and they began to descend down into the canyon. Then Hiccup heard it, Toothless was crying out in desperation and fear. It was not often that Toothless let Hiccup hear him be so afraid. The sound sent shudders down Hiccup’s spine and filled his eyes with tears. The visions returned, but Hiccup refused to succumb to them. They filled his mind’s eye with images of Toothless’s lifeless body, but Hiccup clenched his jaw. He did not try and shake the panicked nightmares from filling him. He gripped them, and he told himself that they would not come true. Only one guard remained with Dagur. Apparently the great king did not wish to descend himself until he was sure that his kill was subdued enough. Hiccup slipped up behind the guard and took out Endeavor. He flipped the sword around deftly in his hand to where the bottom of the hilt faced upward. Then in one swift motion Hiccup grabbed the Berserker from behind and held his neck in a choke hold. The man fell backwards trying to get his attacker off of him. His weight knocked the wind out of Hiccup was they tumbled to the ground, and Dagur turned to see what the scuffle was. Hiccup put the hilt of his sword up to the face of the guard and released the gas from the sword. It discharged into the man’s face, and in a few moments he was completely unconscious. Hiccup had learned the Toothless’s fire gas was fully capable of knocking someone out if they breathed it in dead on. Dagur was now walking towards the strange scene, his head cocked to the side as Hiccup clambered out from under the unconscious guard.
“And… you are?” Dagur asked. Hiccup looked him in the eye and took off the helmet. Dagur’s eyes widened. “Well, I must say that you got here quick!”
“I’m here to stop you.” Hiccup said firmly, flipping his sword to where the blade ejecting side now faced upwards.
“Well, that’s gonna be a little harder than you thought.” Dagur pulled a horn from his belt and blew it. The guards who had begun to descend into the canyon immediately rushed back up to Dagur. “Go ahead, stop me… or are you going to run away? I mean,” Dagur laughed wickedly, “I’ve got a whole army here and you’ve come alone.”
“Alone is all I need.” The guards arrived and quickly began to encircle Hiccup and Dagur.
“And why is that?” Dagur asked, rolling his eyes.
“Because I am heir to the throne of Berk, and I challenge you to combat for my Island.” Hiccup desperately hoped this would work. It seemed like the kind of bait Dagur would take, especially considering he had made sure to defeat the chief of Herkja before a watching audience. Little did Hiccup know, but many of these hunters and even the elite guard were from Herkja, and some of them still remembered the brutal death of Heather. This played very much in Hiccup’s favor. The men standing around Hiccup looked to Dagur. Hiccup continued, “Or are you a coward? I mean, look at me? Can’t the King of The Wilderwest defeat Stoick’s little embarrassment?” Hiccup tossed his arms wide, his voice was full of anger and insult. For one of the few times in his life, his insignificant stature and habit of annoying the viking culture around him was giving him an advantage.
Dagur was angry, but he concealed it well, and soon the excitement of single combat had gripped his mind. He chuckled for far longer than any sane person would and he unbuckled his cape as he did so. “Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho…. Ah, Hiccup. A coward? Me? That is pretty low coming from the likes of a boy who couldn’t even kill a dragon. Let me teach you what it means to really be a Chief.”
“I’m ready. Teach away.” Hiccup ejected the blade of Endeavor and the blade shone bright in the torch light. Dagur pulled out a long sword from his side and brandished it in his right hand. He looked at Hiccup with a truly wicked gleam in his eye. “This is going to almost as fun as killing the Night Fury.”
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Fenriss did not calm down. He continued to swoop down and snap at his father. Skari was too shocked to understand what was going on, and with one mighty swoop Fenriss gripped him on the back and caused them both to start falling into the canyon. Now Skari was determined to end this and get answers. He flipped himself on top of Fenriss and landed on the canyon floor with him beneath his firm talons. The small Skrill squirmed, but Skari hissed into his ear, “I did not mean to leave you, I was taken. It was not my fault.”
Fenriss looked into his father’s eyes, not sure whether he believed him, and then he answered excitedly, “Very well, then let’s kill Dagr! Come on, together!”
Skari’s heart sank. “No. I and Dagr have ended the blood feud. The things I taught you were wrong, Fenriss.”
“Oh were they? Then what of the humans?”
“I have learned that there are some that are not cruel, some that I can even call friends.”
Fenriss’s growls dripped with contempt, “They broke you. Just like they broke her. Everything you taught me was right, but you’ve forgotten it old man.”
Skari suddenly realized that Fenriss was keeping something from him. “Where is Ing? Where is your sister?”
Fenriss was now venting the blackest hatred and grief. “Oh, now you ask. What happened to my sister? Let’s ask first what you did. How did you leave me? What did you say?” Skari looked down into his son’s burning yellow eye. He could not remember his last words to him. He stood over him in solemn silence, but Fenriss continued, “You told me you were leaving to hunt down Dagr, our great enemy who is on this island now and who you seem to be too cowardly to do battle with, and then you told me to look after my sister. You left me, a puny chick, with the job of protecting your own daughter.”
“Where is Ing?” Skari’s whine was filling with worry. Fenriss was filled with a bitterness that could only hint at the horrors he had seen.
“My sister, she did what I told her not to. She met with a girl from Herkja, the chief’s daughter. Oh, they both loved each other.” Fenriss snarled. “Yes, the young human had just lost her father, and she had a tender heart as did Ing. Ing sympathized with her, and foolishly she let the human break her… as you have been broken. Then the human brute hunter came to claim kingship over these lands. He killed the girl before Ing’s eyes, and then he took Ing for his own. But she would not be strapped to the front of his ships, she would not do anything for him. I tried to save her, but what could I do?” Fenriss’s clacking was beginning to fill with sorrow and regret. “In a fit of anger the brute king cut off her head. I saw it, I saw it father, but I was too afraid to go in to save her.”
Skari stood in shocked silence, his son breathing heavily beneath him. The grief was too much for the old dragon’s heart to bear. Guilt filled his soul. But then he looked back towards the torch light. “What does the brute king look like?”
“He should be easy to recognize, he wears Ing’s skull as a trophy.”
“Then he is here.” Skari stepped off of his son. “He is hear now on the hunt. I cannot bring your sister back, and I cannot give you a protected childhood as I would have liked, but we can rip the life out of the brute king. If you will come with me, we’ll not leave a single scrap of him for his comrades to mourn.” Skari had stretch his wings wide, inviting his son to the sky. Fenriss looked up to his father, and though he was still confused and unwilling to forgive, his heart longed for vengeance. That was all Skari had ever taught his young children, and it was the one thing he and Fenriss had in common.
Two bat-like shapes shot up into the air, trailing cold breath, led by piercing yellow eyes.
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Hiccup’s blade clashed with Dagur’s. The sound of clattering metal echoed across the landscape as Hiccup and Dagur engaged in the lethal dance of single hand combat. Every so often Hiccup would hear Toothless cry out from the canyon, and a smirk would crawl across Dagur’s face. “Better hurry little Hiccup.” He drawled and made a quick swipe at Hiccup’s throat. Hiccup parried it. Dagur wished that Hiccup would not have put his helmet back on, because he could not read the little emotions going on beneath that leather face cover. But if Dagur could have seen what was happening beneath the mask, he would have been far more frightened than he was. Hiccup’s face was pale and his jaw was locked. Cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck. Every one of Dagur’s attacks was met by a powerful parry from Endeavor as Hiccup skillfully handled the blade.
Little did Dagur know he was in over his head. Hiccup had been in a world of war, and more than that he had been trained by the greatest swordsman of the Gemnode’s world. Link’s advice and training sessions came to mind with every swing of Hiccup’s arm and twist of his wrist. With one particularly elegant swish, Hiccup nicked Dagur’s left arm, and as Dagur flinched from the pain, Hiccup sliced his right thigh. Hiccup’s eyes were cold and angry beneath his visor. He was completely focused, concentrating only on winning this battle. It was a fight of worth. Though the Herkja soldiers now crowding around saw it as a test for the throne, Hiccup saw it as much more than that. This dance of death was a test. Was he strong enough to keep Toothless safe? The dragon had saved him, comforted him, healed him, and now it was time for Hiccup to see whether he could do the same for that dear creature now trapped in the canyon with arrows whizzing into his scaly sides. Dagur had destroyed everything. The people served him now and detested the memory of Stoick. The peace between man and dragon was no more. Everything Hiccup cared about was caught up in this duel, and the fateful question remained: was he worthy of the ones he loved?
Dagur, now deeply angered by the small cuts launched himself forward. He laughed maniacally swinging his sword above his head and kicked Hiccup in the stomach. This sent Hiccup flying back and buckled him over. Hiccup looked up to see Dagur’s sword descending towards his head. In a flash Hiccup rolled to the side circling around behind Dagur. As he did so he held the gas release button on his sword hilt. His brain had been working like lightning, and now it paid off. As Dagur turned and Hiccup got to his feet, the small Berkian ignited Endeavor. The men watching gasped as blue and purple flames licked up the blade. Dagur’s mouth dropped open, but then the gas trail left around his legs ignited sending searing pain up his body. The flash blinded Dagur just long enough for Hiccup to spin around completely, sword outstretched, and the burning hot blade disarmed Dagur with a singing ring of triumph. Dagur fell to his knees, and Hiccup stood over him panting, his sword still burning blue.
“End it!” A man in the crowd yelled. Hiccup paused and stood motionless. The crowd erupted in protest.
“Kill him!”
“Do it!”
“Coward!”
“Prove yourself a chief!”
“Weakling!”
Dagur looked up at Hiccup and chuckled. His whole body began to shake with his sadistic laughter. Dagur smiled broadly and stood from his knees, Hiccup’s sword still pointed directly at him. “You never could do it. See, that’s why you’ll never be chief, that’s why you’ll never save you’re precious dragon. You’re weak. It is what defines you. Fancy swordplay is one thing, courage is another. For all your gadgets you don’t have the guts to kill me, you’re nothing but a child.”
Hiccup stood, he could still hear Toothless. Perhaps the dragon could smell him and knew he was there. The two hearts burned for each other. But as Hiccup looked into Dagur’s cruel face, his sword hand trembled. It would be so easy to press the blade into his enemies throat, but it would go against everything Hiccup thought of himself. He was not a warrior, he was not a killer, he had suffered so much to try and end an inter-dimensional system of war and murder. Then Hiccup looked up and saw two black shapes circling directly above Dagur. Hiccup glanced and saw the skull on Dagur’s shoulder, retracted his blade and stepped back. From beneath the mask Hiccup spoke in cold determination. “I may not be able to kill you, but I refuse to save you.”
Dagur’s smile turned to a look of confusion. Then there was a blinding flash. The two Skrills circling above drew huge amounts of lightning to themselves. The hunters watching dove away and Hiccup turned his back. Skari and Fenriss fell from the sky and Skari grabbed Dagur’s head in his strong jaws. The electricity crackling from the Skrill’s body danced into Dagur causing him to shriek out a blood chilling yell. That yell reached directly into Hiccup’s heart and he turned just in time to see Skari lift into the air with Dagur dangling from his mouth. Hiccup tried to scream out. This was wrong, and it was suddenly so painfully clear to him. But the words died in Hiccup’s throat. It was far too late to stop the Skrill’s now. Fenriss had gripped Dagur’s feet in his own jaws, and now the two Skrills lifted their victim high into the air. Lightning shot into them as they spiraled around and around until their screaming prey finally broke into ash between their jaws. The only thing left of Dagur was the lightning proof skull of Ing, and this fell from the air and landed at Hiccup’s feet.
Hiccup stood staring for a long time. He hardly knew what to make of himself or what had happened. He was horrified by his own capability to let others kill for his own sake, and he had willingly let Dagur go to a fate he knew would be cruel. Hiccup knew Skari, and the dragon had never shown even an ounce of mercy. Hiccup felt sick. He had won, and the men who stood around all seemed to be in full agreement that the hunt was over. Horns of retreat sounded out and a Herkja officer approached Hiccup. Hiccup did not turn to look at him, but the man stood proudly before him, drew his sword, and brandished over his head while shouting, “Hail chief!”
Still Hiccup did not look. He breathed out and glanced at the canyon. Toothless was clambering out, his hide filled with arrows but his eyes bursting with relief. Hiccup’s heart leapt within him to see his dragon alive, and he yanked the helmet off of his face and tossed it to the ground. Toothless rushed up to Hiccup and knocked him to the ground. Hiccup grabbed him and stroked his head. But there was no “Happy to see you too bud.” Hiccup clung to Toothless as hard as he could, his hands shaking, and when only the dragon could hear him he asked quietly, “What have I done, Bud? If we are no better than our enemy, what is the point of this war? I will never do that again, I promise you.” Toothless looked into his eyes, and the dragon understood very clearly what Hiccup was feeling. Toothless and Hiccup had both broken their beliefs, they had both bent their own rules and smashed their own worldviews, and they had done it so as to have this moment, so as to be united… but now this moment felt deeply somber. It was not a time to rejoice but a time to regret. Hiccup never learned what Toothless did to Friig, but Toothless made the same promise as Hiccup did. “Never again.” They had saved each other, but they had lost what they stood for.
The next time Hiccup encountered a helpless enemy, no matter the cost, the answer would not be execution, the answer would be mercy. If the acts of the Gemnodes could drive Hiccup to be exactly like them, then they had won the war already. Hiccup and Toothless had passed through fire, and now they were prepared for a far greater war, a war in which they both would have to show compassion even if it meant they might lose each other. The Gemwar was not just a war of live or die, not anymore.
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