━━ chapter sixteen
cast out
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━━"Ambush!"
The collection of boulders flung sky-high towards the Dragon Riders. Valkyrie dipped Zephyr down to dodge the first. Above her, Hiccup destroyed it with a well-aimed plasma blast. The second lodged into Meatlug's throat and she chomped it to bits with a huffed growl. They took to the wilderness that morning for a series of exercises for different scenarios. Below, Gobber, Mulch and Bucket were helping them in playing the Berserker Catapulters, doing their best to knock them out of the sky. They twisted in and out and away of the rocks. This exercise wasn't supposed to be a victory, but rather to practice conducting a well-organised retreat.
The Twins spun wildly away from a boulder.
"Whoa!" Ruff clamped her helmet onto her head, "That rock almost took my head off!"
"It did?!" This idea excited Tuff and he cupped his hands over his mouth. "HEY, GOBBER! DO IT AGAIN!"
But of course, as the number of boulders became 'too much', Hiccup shouted to the team, "Fall back, everyone! There's too many of them!"
The riders did as they were told, turning their dragons around and evading the oncoming catapults. All except for one.
"You fall back!" announced Snotlout. "I am going in to finish this!"
He twisted Hookfang and dived right down to the catapults.
Hiccup's eyes widened, "What━Snotlout! That is not the excercise!" he cried down after him. "Retreat!"
He ignored him, swooping and causing Gobber to duck. He spun back up and when he was far enough away, Hookfang did a tricky tumble and let loose a trick shot that destroyed the catapults. He didn't account for the rocks still in them. One of the catapults launched at the impact.
It flew over their heads. Snotlout gasped and ducked. Hiccup glanced back and shouted, ducking down to the saddle.
But Valkyrie━Valkyrie had turned around too late.
Hearing the whistle of the boulder through the wind and Hiccup's shout, she frowned and glanced back, only to gasp━
It knicked her in the shoulder and before Valkyrie knew it, she had fallen off her saddle.
"VALKYRIE!"
She screamed, trying to flail her arms, but her left shoulder was numb from the hit. Zephyr squawked down at her and flapped his wings into a dive. Hiccup and Toothless followed. Valkyrie tried to look for something to break her fall, but the forest grew nearer and nearer, until she was encased in green. Zephyr had no choice but to pull up, unable to dive at high-speed in the branches. He shrieked, distressed as he searched for a way in to help his rider, but she just kept falling and falling━
Valkyrie's body jolted with pain at each hit of a branch. They knocked her sideways, up, down━in her stomach, her shoulder, her back. They made her vision become blurry; black dots danced in her eyes, or maybe it was Toothless, desperately weaving in and out of the branches with Hiccup gritting his teeth to reach her.
He swooped in underneath her, and she hit Toothless's saddle. Valkyrie was met with pitch black.
When she could finally open her eyes, she ached all over. She remembered when she had fractured her ribs, and the absolute pain that stretched from one side of her chest to the other and made it hard for her to breathe. This felt similar.
Pairs of worried eyes looked over her. Zephyr was the first she noticed, squawking and sniffing down. His long neck allowed him to hover his head right over her to check whether she was okay. He nudged her softly in the cheek, trying to wake her up more.
"Zeph?" she croaked, her head still dizzy.
She tried to remember what had happened. And when she did, she gasped, "Zeph━are you okay━?" she tried to sit up only to be met with only more pain. She winced and a pair of hands were at her side, gently setting her back down.
"Hey, hey, stay still ..." Hiccup shuffled in closer. "Zephyr's okay; he's all right."
Valkyrie's brother was on her other side, eyes wide and fearful. How far had she had fallen? She remembered being caught━she glanced up at the sky, seeing a cluster of broken branches she had tumbled through.
"Hiccup," she tried to sit up again━she could feel her arm now and gods did she wish she couldn't.
Zephyr hunched his head down; something he did when he was extremely worried. Hiccup carefully wrapped her up in his arms, helping her to rest against his chest as she tried to take in the rest of her surroundings. Astrid stood beside Fishlegs, absolutely fuming while the pudgy Viking was tearful in his relief she had woken up. The Twins were down as well, brows lifted in concern. How long had she been out? Had they ... did they think she could've died? She saw Toothless shuffle in close as well, sniffing at her arm. Something was wrong with it, she knew that now. Maybe it could be broken, or dislocated━the boulder had nicked it, and at that speed and that impact ... she was lucky it didn't hit her anywhere else.
"We're going to get you to Gothi soon, okay?" Hiccup murmured, brushing her hair off her face.
Zephyr whined again and carefully walked up to her. His hunched back told her he was scared━sorry for not catching her. Valkyrie was just glad he wasn't hurt, either.
She held out her good hand and he met it, the worry in his back slumping as he realised she didn't hold any hurt feelings. Toothless plopped down by her legs, peering up at her gently. Zephyr sat down, wrapping his long tail around all three of them and Hott, protective.
"I'm okay, right?" Valkyrie frowned, straining to see her arm. Oh, yeah, definitely broken ... "Oh, why did you let me look ..." she turned her head back to Hiccup's chest, hiding in it and taking a deep breath. Now that she saw it, the pain came on in waves. She blinked through tears, not wanting to cry in front of everyone. She felt him run fingers through her hair, attempting to calm her down.
Then, a cheer echoed above them. Something swooped and Valkyrie heard Zephyr snarl. He wrapped his tail around the lot of them tighter. Val felt Hiccup stiffen in anger and then, carefully, he passed her over to Hott as he stood up. She glanced over and saw Snotlout land with Hookfang. Hiccup stepped over Zephyr's tail and stormed up to him. Everyone else had glowers on their faces.
Valkyrie remembered what caused the boulder come flying towards her, and she glared, as well.
"Yeah!" Snotlout jumped off the saddle, celebraing. "That's right! That's how Snotlout retreats: he doesn't! Click━click━BOOM!"
No one was amused. Valkyrie wondered whether steam might come out of their ears. Zephyr's growls grew louder. Val reached a hand out to calm him. She didn't want him to hurt Snotlout, even if he got her hurt.
Snotlout realised their glares. "What?" he let out, annoyed. "Why are you all looking at me? I mean━" he chuckled, "━listen, I know why you're all looking at me." He flexed his arms. Astrid growled like a dragon. "What?" he dropped his arms. "It's Hiccup's stupid exercise!"
Hiccup couldn't contain his anger any longer. He marched right up to him and snapped, "You have no idea what you did, do you?!"
"Uh? Yeah," Snotlout scoffed. "Hookfang and I made the coolest trick shot ever!"
"You almost got Valkyrie killed!"
"Oh, come on, she's fine. Look at her!"
Considering Valkyrie could barely move, she considered herself not to be fine. She wanted to go at him herself, but every time she went to stand, she winced. However, Astrid had her back. Letting out a furious yell, she ran straight for Snotlout with a shout of, "No thanks to you!"
She would have attacked him if Hiccup hadn't pulled her back. She tried to kick him and punch him.
"All right, okay," Hiccup tugged her back towards the rest of them. "Easy there, Astrid!" but there wasn't much enthusasim to his voice. He looked as though he might just attack Snotlout himself if he wasn't supposed to be the leader.
"I'm going to kill you!" Astrid threatened Snotlout as she stormed back. "I'm going to take your helmet and shove it up your dirty, little rotten━"
"That's it," Hiccup spun back to Snotlout, livid. "I am tired of this!"
"I'm tired of this!" snapped back Snotlout, voice rising. "What are you tired of?!"
Hiccup stormed right up into his face. "You always have to do things your way!"
"Yeah? Well, guess what? I look out for number one━" Hookfang shot a column of fire. They ducked. Snotlout gestured back at his dragon. "And One 'A'."
"Exactly!" exploded the chief's son. "How can we rely on you if you don't do what we ask?!"
Snotlout snickered at his reaction, jeering, "So, what are you saying, Hiccup?"
"I'm saying, until further notice, you are supsended from the Academy!"
Whatever it was, Snotlout wasn't expecting this. His whole act fell and his eyes widened. "What?!"
Everyone else was shocked, even Valkyrie. She looked over with strain, surprised Hiccup would go to this level. He was always frustrated over Snotlout, but he never went so far to suspend him. This wasn't the first time Snotlout put someone in danger because of his impulsivity━he once got himself and Hiccup stranded on Outcast Island, but perhaps Valkyrie's near death had pushed Hiccup over the edge.
"You're grounded!" he stated, firm.
Snotlout jammed his finger against Hiccup's chest, "You can't ground me! You're not my dad!"
"I'm the chief's son!" he poked his chest back. "And I'm the leader of the Dragon Riders so yes! Yes━I━can!"
"Oh really?!" they had a small staredown. Snotlout expected Hiccup to give up, but he didn't. He stood his ground. In the end, Snotlout stepped back and stomped furiously to Hookfang. "Watch!" he mounted the saddle. "Ground this, Dragon Boy!"
They took off and Hiccup clenched his hands.
"Uh ..." Tuff spoke up into the silence that followed. "Am I wrong in thinking that grounding means staying on the ground? Because that looks an awful lot like━" he flapped his arms to mimic wings, "━skying."
Hiccup just stormed past him back to Valkyrie. Zephyr let him pass his protective circle and Hott passed Val back over. She felt the need to pass out again, but she forced herself to keep conscious and say, "Hiccup ... you ... you didn't have to do that for me."
He gestured for Toothless to get up and he did so. Hott stepped back, glaring off to where Snotlout disappeared. "If we can't count on him during practice," said Hiccup matter-of-factly as he helped Valkyrie up and onto Toothless's saddle, "how can we possibly count on him the next time we run into Dagur? And he risked your life━I won't forgive him for that."
Valkyrie didn't have the energy to argue. She felt stupid defending the boy who almost gotten her killed, so maybe that was why she stayed silent, too. She just let herself settle back onto his chest as his arms secured around her, terrified she'd fall again.
"Come on, I'm taking you to Gothi," he told her gently. "Fishlegs," he glanced at the blonde Viking. "Make sure Astrid and Hott don't find and kill Snotlout while we're gone."
"It's okay, we'll kill him instead," said Ruff.
Tuff snickered and they high-fived.
But Hiccup wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Just do as I say, for once. Or I'll ground the two of you as well."
That shut them up and Hiccup set off, veering the way back to Gothi's.
Gothi set Valkyrie's arm back pretty quickly. She wouldn't be able to use it for a few weeks, and it still hurt with a constant, thudding ache, but she was relieved to see it in the right spot again. Valkyrie's parents━as one could assume, were furious. The Frode's have declared the Jorgensen's enemies of their Clan for what Snotlout did, and Valkyrie just wanted it all to stop. While her father stormed off to find Stoick and demand for something to be done, Hiccup helped Val's mother in getting her home.
Her mother fretted non-stop, keeping the rest of Valkyrie's brothers out of her room as she set up furs and pillows and tended to her arm the best she could after Gothi. Hiccup gathered Valkyrie food and drink, a nice broth with water, which made her flustered.
"I'm fine," she argued.
"Fine?" her mother exploded. "You almost fell to your death! I will not━you stress me out too much. You are going to rest, and you are going to heal, and if I have a say in anything!" she scowled at Hiccup in passing as she pulled the furs right up to Valkyrie's chin. "You are going to get out of this Academy business and staying here. Help me out, help the sanctuary, learn your cooking and needlepoint━you're safe that way."
Valkyrie knew her mother was just worried for her and stressed, but the thought of not being allowed back into the Academy made her gasp and cry out, "Mum! What━you can't do that!"
"Yes I can!" she snapped and Valkyrie huffed, furious again. "And if your father says no than I will make him!"
"But, Mum━"
"No, buts!" she told her daughter. "This is for your own safety, Valkyrie. I can't stand back and watch you almost die again," she looked tearful and Valkyrie fatlered. Hiccup watched on, a little awkward. He decided to turn to Toothless and Zephyr, giving them some attention. "Screaming Deaths, Outcasts, Berserkers, Skrills━we're Vikings, I know it's what we do, but you're also my daughter. And as a mother, I can't bear it anymore. At least not until you're of age."
"Mum ..."
Her mother quickly wiped away the tears brimming at her eyes and took a deep breath. "There. You," she spun on Hiccup and he shrunk a little. "Keep an eye on her. I don't care if you have Academy business, you will stay at her side."
She stormed out then and Valkyrie sighed, her head slumping. So much has happened this morning, so much has changed━it was still only just hitting her. Now that Val's mother left, Zephyr went back to his protective nature. He set his head on her legs, positioned so he could watch both the window and the door. He curled his tail back around the end of her bed.
Glancing over at Hiccup, Valkyrie murmured, "I'm sorry. She'll ... she'll be better soon. And I'll be better soon. I'll be able to help fight Dagur when he comes. I promise. You should go off and find Snotlout, just so he doesn't do anything stupid."
"No, I'm staying here. The others can go find him," Hiccup pulled the stool over and sat down next to her bed. Toothless sat beside him, stubborn. "Besides, I think if I left your mother might just kill me."
Valkyrie chuckled. Then, she winced as the pain arched in her arm. "She does have a point, though━maybe ... I dunno ..."
Hiccup frowned, listening. Val has never told him this, and now that she might, she felt her breath freezing up. "I ... for a while I kind of ... I dunno, thought about stepping away from the Dragon Riders."
She expected him to look hurt, angry, or something along those lines. But instead, he just leaned forward, "Why?" he asked her gently.
Valkyrie hung her head, still feeling that shame. "I think I was scared. Or maybe I've just ... changed. I don't know. The idea of not fighting and just being at peace sounds way better than going out there and fighting and fighting and fighting. But then I realised that we're fighting for peace, and so I stayed. And I didn't want to disappoint you."
"What?" Hiccup took the hand of her good arm gently. "Val, you never disappointed me; you never will. You ... you are literally the girl I've crushed on since forever━like, I am not letting that go."
She grinned, feeling light in the chest. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts my arm."
"If you want to leave the Dragon Riders," Hiccup squeezed her hand, making her meet his gaze. "I'm okay with that. I will support you in that. I'll miss you, and there will be a gap in the team because I rely on you━I do rely on you. But that's something I will deal with and work around, not force you to."
Valkyrie smiled softly, "Eh ... there's things about it I like. I mean, I'm never bored. I get to see new dragons and new islands. And everyday there's something else entertaining from the Twins. And I get to spend time with you. That's definitely a positive. I don't think we'd get much time for that if I wasn't in apart of the Dragon Riders."
Hiccup realised with a soft sigh. His gaze dropped a little. But Valkyrie just let go of his hand and tilted up his chin. "That's who you are. You love dragons, and you're brave, and you're stubborn. I don't think I'll ever change that━I don't want to. I like you for you. And for a long time, I didn't even stop to even see how good you are, and how wonderful, and now I just ... I don't want to stop seeing it."
His eyes flickered to her lips before he leaned in and kissed her. Gentle, careful not to hurt her, but sensational in a way he's never before. Slow, soft━making her heart light up and the pain disappear.
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━━Valkyrie hates it when she gets injured, because she misses out on a lot of things. Good thing, however, was Hott was there to fill her in. And the news? Baffling. Snotlout returned from his stubborn flight with somebody they all thought to be dead: Alvin the Treacherous. He saved his life, flying Hookfang all the way back to Berk and letting himself be taken in. It didn't make sense. Perhaps he wanted something, but what was there to get? Did he want to take Berk out from within? But with what armada? Dagur took it all after he overran the Outcasts back when he took the Skrill.
Things didn't make sense. Worst of all, however, when Snotlout woke was the news of this:
The Screaming Death was making his way to Berk.
This made Valkyrie want to get out of bed and straight back to the Academy. So what she was in pain? So what she had a broken arm? She spent so long being afraid of this dragon and letting it control her, she wasn't going to let it destroy her home, too. But as she tried to sit up, Zephyr growled and set his head back on her legs, keeping her down.
"Zephyr!" she snapped, annoyed. "Sit up."
He stared back at her stubborny.
"Don't give me that look," argued Valkyrie. "I'm fine. I'm not going to let this Screaming Death hurt everyone."
She went to move but he snarled, and she froze. "Did you just snarl at me?"
He snarled again to make a point.
"They need my help!" she stressed. "Alvin is here, the Screaming Death is on its way, and I'm stuck in bed." His growl grew louder. "Zephyr!"
"You should listen to him," at Asrifth's voice, she glowered and sat back, annoyed. He made his way in with Boulder trailing behind him, stepping around Zephyr's protective circle to set her broth onto the table. Boulder, his Gronckle, sniffed at Valkyrie and gave her a tender nudge to show his concern. "You can't do anything in the sky with your arm like that."
He was right. The both of them were right, of course. But Valkyrie still felt like this might just be pay back for all the times she thought about leaving, or running, or giving up. Now when Berk might just need her the most, she was indisposed. The Screaming Death will be here, and she'll be stuck under furs and a stubborn, protective dragon.
Val hung her head and reached a hand out to pet her dragon. Asrifth sighed and sat down next to her. "Do you remember when we used to fight over stupid things?"
"You ended up being right about dragons," mumbled Valkyrie and he chuckled.
"Yeah, and you were right about Dad, in a way," he shrugged. "A lot of things have changed since then━a lot. I mean, you have a dragon, Dad runs a dragon sanctuary. Stoick the Vast is chief of a tribe that has dragons."
"What are you trying to say, As?"
He sighed, "I don't know, really. I just ... I just think you're being too hard on yourself. A lot of things changed, but the thing that hasn't changed━while you think it has━is you. Sure, you're nicer, and you're a lot better at conversations and stuff." Valkyrie scoffed at that. "But, what hasn't changed, and what shouldn't change is that you're still Valkyrie the Vicious. You might not scare kids out of their wits anymore, but ... but you're a vicious fighter; you never give up. And yeah, right now, you're injured, and you're bed-ridden, and you can't fight the way you want. But you're still going to fight in whatever way you can. And as soon as you can, you're going to be up and you're going to be vicious."
Valkyrie thought about those words. Maybe ... maybe she forgot what got her into this in the first place. Some might say Hiccup, and that was true, but it was her determination to fight, to save the dragons. To defeat the Red Death and get Toothless back. To make the Archipelago a better place for dragons. And that was what made her free. She was still Valkyrie the Vicious, with her fears, her regrets, her thoughts━everything. She could have run away, she could have stepped back, but she didn't. She had forgotten that. She had let that part of her slip under the surface. But it was still there; it had always been there.
But how was she to help if she couldn't fly? What was she to do? Heal up? If anything, Asrifth's talk only just made her more determined to push through her pain and fight.
"You know, As," Valkyrie decided to say. He met her gaze. "The reason why I was so harsh on you was because I was worried. I care about you so much, and I thought you were just going to get yourself killed, and one day, I wouldn't be there to pull you out. I guess ... I guess I just never showed it the way I should have."
"And now I worry you're going to get yourself killed."
"I'm the older sister," Valkyrie chuckled lightly. "It's how things work."
Asrifth smiled, "You're a really good sister," he told her truthfully. "I don't think I would have wanted anyone better to be just eleven months older."
Her chuckles turned out into a full blown laugh and Valkyrie held out her good arm, pulling her younger brother into a hug.
"Can you do a favour for me?" she asked him and he nodded. "Check on Hott, and Hiccup, and the others. With Alvin here, I think Hiccup's going to feel a little lost on what to do."
"Oh, I'm not chatting inspirational talks to him," snickered Asrifth. "I'm bring him over here for you to do that."
Valkyrie grinned, "That's the idea."
"One day," said Asrifth as he stood back. "If you and Hiccup are still like this ... I think you're going to make a good chieftess."
"Well, somebody's gotta keep Hiccup grounded," she joked.
They laughed and Asrifth left with Boulder, going to check up on them as she asked. She sighed down at Zephyr who peered up at her, ready for another snarling competition. But Valkyrie just lied back against the pillows and furs, and let herself drift off into a short sleep.
But her sleep was short lived. Her eyes snapped open to hear the warning horn, echoing across the entire village. She gasped. "Zephyr!" she cried, flinging off the furs and jumping out before he could stop her. Her arm ached terrible, but she ignored it. She knew that sound; it meant Berserker's.
She took off running outside of the home, giving her dragon no choice but to follow her if he wanted to be protective. Her mother tried to get her to stop but she just flung open the door with her good arm and rushed into the cool night. All around her, villagers were rushing towards the Academy with their weapons and their war cries. Something was up.
"What's going on?!" Valkyrie shouted to Hott who passed her.
"It's Dagur," he said, breathless. "He was spotted near the Academy━the dragon's are in danger." Then he noticed she was outside. "What are you doing━you need to say and rest!"
"Not while the dragon's are in danger," grumbled Valkyrie and took off again, Zephyr bounding after her. With her good arm, she pulled herself up into the saddle and clung on as they shot into the sky. She didn't need one arm to hold onto a dragon. She was Valkyrie the Vicious, and a broken arm won't stop her from protecting the dragons and her home.
She landed amongst the others outside the Academy. She could see and hear the dragons fighting inside, shooting fire and spikes and letting loose explosions that shook the rock around them.
"Valkryie!" Fishlegs shouted. "What are you doing?!"
She ignored him and slid off, pushing through her pain and saying, "What happened? What did Dagur do?"
Zephyr growled nervously around them towards the Academy. Hott finally caught up, skidding to a stop in the grass. He saw the destruction the arena and cried out, "Spikemoth! No!"
Astrid tugged him back before he would go into the Academy with no regards for his safety. "Hiccup's checking right now." She arched a brow at Valkyrie. "When he sees you, he's not going to be happy."
"I'm doing my job," grumbled Valkyrie. "He's going to have to deal with it."
With spetacular timing to the conversation, Hiccup landed. But when he saw Valkyrie, he wasn't angry. He might be worried, but he also looked relieved. He moved on and she smiled, grateful. "Dagur put Dragon Root in the arena so the dragons will attack each other."
That made Hott struggle in Astrid's grip. "Oh, I swear━!" he grumbled, "━when I get my hands on him━!"
The last to arrive was Snotlout. He was heaving and breathless as he came to stand with the others, looking pale and frightened. "Hiccup, listen, I need to tell you something!"
Hiccup shook his head, his annoyance sparking all over again. "Snotlout, not now!"
"But it's important!"
He held up his hand, glowering. "I said: not now." Snotlout set his jaw, furious. Hiccup ignored him and returned to the matter at hand. "All right, Fishlegs. This is on you. Toothless and I can't get in there, neither can Val and Zeph because because they'll be effected by the root. You and Meatlug have to fly in and get that root out of there while the others distract their dragons."
Fishlegs looked very nervous, but he took a deep breath and nodded. "You hear that, girl?" he glanced down at Meatlug. "It's up to you and me!" She licked him.
Hiccup pulled the lever down to open the gates. The rest of the riders aside from Val and Hiccup ran into the arena with Fishlegs leading the fray on Meatlug. It was chaos, but they did there best to race in and try and get their dragon's attention on them. In their last experiene with Dragon Root, Valkyrie and Snotlout were able to keep their dragons from fighting each other by using their dragon's love and determination not to hurt them.
However, it seemed to be having less of a effect tonight. Astrid had to roll out of the way of Stormfly's own spikes. Hott was almost burnt from Spikemoth's flame. The Twins ran from the noxious green gas that sparked in a line after them, jumping and diving for cover. But this gave Fishlegs and Meatlug the distraction they needed. They snatched up the Dragon Root and made a bee line for the entrance━
Until the gate slammed closed.
They were trapped inside.
Valkyrie gasped to see the Berserker's appear from their hiding spots. Two manned the gate while others surrounded above on the wooden walks, crowsbows notched and weapons drawn.
Zephyr growled, wrapping his neck around Valkyrie to keep her back. Hiccup glowered up at Dagur who stood in front of them all, smug. Toothless snarled, looking at all of the possible targets. But even with two dragons, one of them a Night Fury, they were outnumbered.
Hiccup gritted his teeth and said, "Dagur, what do you want?"
"What I've always wanted," said Dagur the Deranged. "The Night Fury! Hand him over, and we leave peacefully."
Valkyrie seriously doubted that. And by the glower that darkened on Hiccup's face, she knew he didn't believe him either. Dagur shrugged. He knew he had the upperhand, however. "That's your choice. Your dragon, or your friends."
They glanced nervously back inside the arena where the others were placing a game of cat and mouse with the Dragon Root and their dragons. Valkyrie's heart jolted to see her brother narrowly miss another row of fire.
"Isn't this exciting?!" cried Dagur, crazed. "What will he choose, ladies and gentlemen. So, Hiccup. What's your answer?"
"The answer is━"
The voice of Stoick the Vast made the teens and Berserker's glance over. Valkyrie breathed a grin to see the village of Berk, armed to the teeth with weapons and looks that could murder Dagur where he stood.
"━we run you through and open the gate ourselves!"
There was a cheer and battle commenced. Stoick, Gobber and Valkyrie's father led the small Viking army, tackling the Berserker's head one with shields and deadly-sharp weapons. This gave Valkyrie and Hiccup a better determination and courage. Valkryie grinned and hopped back onto Zephyr, firing up at the archers who scrambled to avoid being shot. Toothless took them out, knocking then unconscious with a shot of his own.
Valkyrie took to the air and attacked from above. Zephyr boiled the shields of the Berserker's right off their arms and they screamed, running. Dagur had some of his men aim their crossbows but Hiccup had her back, swooping and making them duck while she took the chance to have Zephyr send a spine that imbedded right at Dagur's feet. He jumped back, glaring up at her. She smirked and sent him a short wink.
Stoick tried to open the gates up, but Savage was ready to knock him out from behind when━
"Stoick!"
Alvin the Treacherous appeared out of nowhere, flinging himself above the chief's head and kicking Savage back, stumbling down to the stone below. Dagur's eyes widened. "You!" he cried.
Alvin stood back up, and glowered. "Me. And don't look so surprised! I don't go down so easily."
"Alvin!" Stoick got to his feet and chucked his old friend a sword. The Outcast took it, surprised. "Well, don't just stand there!" he grinned and elbowed a passing Berserker before joining the fight.
The Academy door was pulled open and Fishlegs took the chance, diving Meatlug straight for it with the Dragon Root. The rest of the dragons followed, snarling and furious. Hiccup and Toothless delved in with a, "Fishlegs━this way! We'll cover you!"
"Come on, girl! You can do this!"
They made it out, knocking a Berserker back with the force of her spinning flight. But also Stoick the Vast, who hit the stone with a grunt, dazed. "SORRY CHIEF!" Hiccup had Toothless fire to the gate, locking the crazed dragons back inside.
Valkyrie continued to fire from above. The Berserkers were overrun. They had no choice but to retreat. She grinned amongst the cheers. Inside the Academy, the dragons calmed down and the riders could finally step out of their hidings spots━
That was when it all fell apart.
In the fray and chaos, Dagur and his men had somehow taken hold of Stoick and held him at knife point. Valkyrie gasped, "Hiccup!" she shouted.
He spun around at her voice and saw. His whole face dropped; he paled. "DAD!" he cried and ran out from the ramp of the Academy. He landed Toothless beside Valkyrie and Gobber as they all watched Dagur laugh, maniacal with his blade inches from the chieftan's throat.
"Nobody make a move," he snarled. "We'll be leaving, now, and if I see one dragon following us━rider or not! You're going to be looking for a new chief!" Valkyrie glanced at Hiccup to see him white as a sheet of parchment. "We'll be in touch!"
They could do nothing but watch as Stoick the Vast was led away to the Berserker boats.
✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑
a/n: not me posting the last two chapters and getting emotional hang on a second ...