Hiccup and Raya reentered the room where the party was still going on and they were greeted by warm smiles. The tribal leaders and Sisu's siblings admired the warm glowing cheeks of the happy couple. Benja didn't even take a moment to second-guess what had happened between them; he knew there was no doubt as to what had transpired between them.
"We have an announcement to make," said Hiccup. He smiled at Raya, and she smiled back with tears of joy in her eyes.
Raya wrapped her arm around Hiccup's waist as he placed one around her shoulder. "Hiccup and I are officially engaged!"
Raya and Hiccup held up their hands to show off the rings. Everyone erupted into peals of laughter and cheers. They clapped and danced, while whistling in celebration.
The couple was suddenly pulled into a big group hug by Tong, Boun, Noi, and the Ongis. Even Heather came in but was a little shy to join them, so Raya pulled her in. Tuk Tuk even joined in as he rolled up and licked the couple, who laughed at the action. To their surprise, Sisu and Toothless weren't in the room yet. But to their joy, they flew right into the room and wrapped their scaly bodies around the group, making the bear hug even more squishy.
"Oh, this is the best thing to happen to you guys!" Sisu exclaimed.
Thanks, Sisu," Raya said as they parted ways. "It's amazing. And a little spooky to think about."
"You kidding? I'm waiting for the day you two learn to read each other's minds." Toothless said, rolling his eyes.
Hiccup chuckled as he pushed his dragon friend aside playfully.
"Raya," Benja said, approaching his daughter. He gave a proud nod as he hugged his daughter. "I couldn't be happier for you, Dewdrop."
Hiccup remembered their talk about him and Raya taking over as chief and knew Benja really believed he could help her lead the people. But Hiccup wasn't entirely sure if he believed in himself. Did he believe in himself? That's when someone approached them from behind. It seemed it was just Erret as he approached and cleared his throat to get Hiccup's attention.
"Erret, son of Erret," Hiccup greeted his friend with a chuckle. "What brings you here? Have you come to wish me a happy birthday?"
"Afraid not, Chief," Erret said. That's a nickname he gave to Hiccup when they found him, and he kinda just stuck with it. "Sightings of Dragon Hunters just north of here. Thought you'd want to know."
"Dragon Hunters?" Hiccup was surprised to hear there were ships near Kumbara. "Are they coming here?"
"From the looks of it, they're just passing through. But they seem to have a full ship." Erret reported what he and his dragon had discovered.
Hiccup looked at Benja, knowing he was looking for permission to leave. "You should definitely go," Benja said. "This party will still be here when you get back."
Hiccup nodded and was about to run off to get ready to go when Raya stopped him. "Hold on there, tough guy," she said. "I just agreed to be your life partner, and that means some things are going to change."
Hiccup was a little surprised when he heard that. "Things like what?"
"Like, right now, instead of you going alone, I want to come with you," Raya explained to him.
"You do?" Hiccup asked.
"You do?" asked Toothless.
"Come on, the two of us taking down Dragon Hunters? It'll be like when we first met." Raya said as she caressed his chest. "After I punched you in the face."
"Hey, what if we could help out?" Boun wondered aloud.
"It would be like back in Fang." Tong agreed.
"You all want to come along?" asked Hiccup. He saw they all wanted to help and sighed. "Well, it's a good thing I actually was working on something."
Hiccup led the group to a small workshop he had hidden behind a wall. Inside, there were various types of armor similar to his own dragon-scale armor. The others were awestruck by his craftsmanship.
Raya's Dragon Scale Armor is comprised of several different pieces tailored to fit her body. There is the helmet, pauldrons, chest plate, torso guards, a skirt-like portion over the hips, gloves, gauntlets, leggings, and boots. There are also two wing structures kept folded into the arm pieces for flight and solo gliding when necessary. The suit is constructed from Cutter's shed scales, so it has a predominantly blue color, with occasional golden-yellow scale highlights. The scales are attached to a leather base, most likely using Toothless' sticky saliva as the gluing agent. The whole suit is further embellished with small metal skulls around the skirt piece, and various spikes mimicking those of Cutter. The helmet is shaped like that of a Nadder, obscuring Raya's entire face and leaving only eye slits exposed. A crown of spines adorns the back of the headpiece, alongside one small spine in place of a Nadder's nasal horn.
Tong's dragon-scale armor appears to be composed of several different pieces tailored to fit his body. There is the helmet, pauldrons/shoulders, a chest plate with a carry pouch, a skirt-like section over the hips and legs, gloves and gauntlets, arm guards, and boots. There are also two wing structures that can be folded for flight when necessary. The suit is made from Steel's shed scales, giving it a predominantly brown color. The scales are attached to a leather base, with Toothless' sticky saliva serving as the glue. The entire suit is further adorned with metal balls, mimicking those of Steel.
Boun's dragon-scale armor appears to be composed of several different pieces tailored to fit her body. There is the helmet, a scaled cape, chest plating, a scaled codpiece, gloves and arm guards, scaled leggings, and boots. There are also two wing structures kept folded for flight when necessary. The suit is made out of Scorch's shed scales, giving it a predominantly red color. The scales appear to be attached to a leather base, likely using Toothless' sticky saliva as the glue. The whole suit is further adorned with a variety of spikes and claws, as well as a costume-like helmet resembling Scorch's head.
"Sorry, Heather; I haven't gotten around to making yours yet," Hiccup said to his friend. "The others don't seem to suit Windshear, and her scales are hard to sew."
"Meh, I'm good with the hood," Heather said as she raised her hood over her head. "Let's go rescue some dragons."
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In a short distance, the Dragon Hunter ship did indeed have a full cargo of frightened dragons. Sneaking in through the darkness of night, Hiccup and Toothless flew and landed in the middle of the fog. While they were landing, a Hunter was making his rounds around the ship. He was walking around and had his lantern pointed out to light the way when he spotted them. Hiccup quickly lit his sword to get a better view of him and the area, seeing he was alone.
"Uh-oh," the Hunter said and backed away. "No, not you again!"
"Again?" asked Hiccup and looked at Toothless. "Do we know him?"
"Possible," Toothless agreed. "We've met so many dragon hunters."
"You boarded my ship oh about five winters ago!" The Hunter whimpered as he backed away.
Hiccup and Toothless were shocked when they realized this was the same guy who had mistaken them for demons. He had to admit that it was a little funny that they managed to find him again.
"Are you serious? It's you!" Hiccup was amazed to see him. "Wow, what are the odds of that?"
"Oh, but you won't get me this time!" The Hunter promises and grabbed a crossbow. "I know you've come alone!"
Hiccup looked up and noticed the Monstrous Nightmare flying towards them. "Actually..."
"You think he came alone? That's just not the case this time!" Boun cheered as Scorch lit himself up. "Say hello to the Dragon Riders!"
"We never officially agreed to that." Hiccup reminded him.
"We will," Boun stated when his back scorched up. "Ah! My back is on fire!"
"Ah! I knew it! More demons!" The Hunter cried in terror.
Hiccup sighed and realized that he had forgotten something. "More like a reflection on how I forgot to fireproof his back."
Boun was freaking out as he tried to cool himself off. Scorch quickly came over and helped him by giving him a hand. He then grabbed the boy with his mouth and dropped him into the bucket of water nearby. Then, out of nowhere, Tong fell from the sky and landed on the deck of the ship.
Hiccup asked his friend, "Are you okay?"
Ah, sorry, Hiccup," Tong said as he tried to get back up. "Got a bit of a hang of this armor."
The Hunter started to back off as he tried to get away from the group. "Demons everywhere! It's the end of the world!"
But before he could get too far, a sword indented itself into the mass and someone came swinging in. Raya revealed herself as she smacked the Hunter against the cage, holding a dragon, and knocked him out. She sighed and stretched her back.
"Raya!" Hiccup chuckled as he saw her take him down. "I had him right where I wanted him."
"And then you had gotten him right where I wanted him," Raya said as she raised her helmet. "Come on, let's go and start free those dragons."
Heather dropped down and was the only one who managed to sneak in stealthily. "That could have gone better."
"Okay, we screwed that up." Hiccup had to agree with Heather. "But, at least nobody else knows we're here."
However, on the other side of the ship, several trappers were running toward the dragon riders.
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Chief Benja was outside, looking up at the sky and wondering how their scouting mission was going. As he was about to head back inside, he stopped when he noticed a Nightmare flying in the air and heading for a landing. That's when he realized that it was Namaari riding the dragon and had just landed right outside their home. He was happy to see her, but he also noticed the look of terror on her face.
Benja ran through the castle and made his way down as Namaari dismounted from the dragon. "Chief Benja."
"Namaari," she said, looking relieved to see him. "What's wrong?"
Namaari sighed as she knew this was going to be hard to say. "The Dragon Hunters."
"What?" Benja exclaimed in shock upon hearing that. "Where are they coming from?"
"No, it's not just Dragon Hunters." Namaari knew that they needed to be aware of what was coming. "They have gained alliances with other villages."
"How many?" Benja was growing concerned to hear there were more than just Hunters coming.
"Three other villages," Namaari recalled. "The Outcasts, the Berserkers, and so on."
Benji was familiar with the villages, since Hiccup had talked about them a while back to give them an idea of where he came from. "We must prepare...Sisu!"
"Wait," Namaari said, knowing this was the most important thing to warn them about. "There's more. Chief, Berk is coming."
Benji was shocked when he heard that the people who had shunned Hiccup and led him to their land were coming back. If they were teaming up with the Dragon Hunters, there was no doubt that they were coming for their dragons.
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Back on the Dragon Hunter ship, Hiccup went over to unlock a cage and free a Scuttleclaw. The Scuttleclaw looked like a cross between a Deadly Nadder and a Hideous Zippleback. Its head was similar to a Zippleback's, with Zippleback-like lobes, and its body, legs, and feet were reminiscent of a Nadder. It had a long tail. Scuttleclaws came in a wide range of colors (green, purple, reddish-brown, yellow, etc.). They also had a horn on their nose.
"Easy, girl. It's okay." Hiccup said as he started to approach her slowly. "Shh!" He then quickly gained the dragon's trust so he could help her get out. "We're gonna get you out of here."
On another part of the ship, Tong approached a cage containing a gigantic-looking dragon. This dragon was a Crimson Goregutter, one of the largest land dragons. They are primarily crimson in color with purple details and light undersides. They have four long and stubby legs, with their forelimbs being longer than their hindlimbs. The Goregutters' most defining feature is the set of massive, metallic antlers that adorn their short-snouted heads. These antlers are powerful enough to be used as formidable weapons. The tip of their tails is shaped like a battle axe that can be used for both defensive and offensive purposes.
"Ooh!" Tong exclaimed as he opened the cage. "Aren't you a mighty fine dragon?"
The Goregutter kneeled its head down to take a look at the man who gently started to grow accustomed to the man. Tong mimicked the same action as Hiccup and gained the dragon's trust with quick ease.
Boun was still struggling to open his cage, while he watched everyone else opening theirs and attempting to retrieve the dragon inside. The dragon he was rescuing appeared to be a Hobgobbler. These small, plump creatures are slightly larger than Terrible Terrors. They have a single nasal horn, short legs, small spines on their back, and a mouth that takes up most of its body. Their colors range from purple with darker spots to yellow undersides, except for the Smitten Hobgobbler, which has a white and gray body with pink, beetle-like eyes.
"Why can't I get this open?" Boun wondered.
Raya inspected the cage herself, curious as to how this kind of cage worked. "Oh, here we go," she said. "It slides."
Raya then slid it over to reveal the lock. Boun was a little confused. "What is the logic in that? You have a dozen cages that don't open this way, but then you have one random one that does?"
"Dragon Hunters aren't exactly the most logical thinkers since Krogan left," Heather said as she opened a cage to save a Nadder.
The other Dragon Trapper discovered the Dragon Riders freeing their dragons. They sneaked up on them as best they could before the group immediately went into defense mode to get out of the situation.
The Dragon Trapper shouted, "Attack!"
"Get the rescued dragons out of here!" Hiccup cried as he quickly reacted and used his new Inferno to block the attack, kicking the enemy in the back.
Raya helped by swinging her sword and embedding it into the mass before causing it to fall, creating a barrier between the two groups. Heather took down the few Dragon Trappers that had managed to get around the mass before it fell. She used her double-bladed ax to fight back, kicking one in the knee and swinging her ax at the other, hitting him in the face.
"Come on, we gotta get out of here," Heather tells everyone.
"Did we get all of them?" Raya asks as she kicked one of the Trappers back.
Hiccup looked around and saw that all but one of the cages had been taken care of. "There's one left," he said.
"I'll take it," Raya said as she used her sword to yank herself into another Trapper and knocked him out. "Heather, get everyone else out of here."
"I'm on it!" Heather exclaimed as she whistled, summoning Windshear to her side.
Heather jumped on the back of her dragon and was followed by Scorch grabbing onto Boun and taking off. Tong was fighting back and laughing, loving the feeling of the fight between all of these Trappers like it was nothing.
"Haha! I can take these Trappers all night," Tong says.
But Steel came up to him and Tong groaned as he jumped on her, knowing the dragons were the mission, not the Trappers. Raya made her way over to the last cage, seeing a hunter take a swing at her with his sword. But Raya was quick to act; she slid down the ground and jumped behind the hunter, then kicked him in the back, and finally knocked him out.
"And that takes care of that," Raya said as she walked over to the last cage. As she walked over to it, she almost completely froze in shock. "What?" She had to remove her mask and wipe her eyes to do a quick double take to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. "It can't be."
Toothless asked Raya, "Did you get the last one yet?" He continued to help Hiccup with the Trappers, "We're getting a little tired over here."
"Uh... Hiccup?" Raya wasn't sure what to think about what she was seeing. "You might want to come take a look at this."
Hiccup got an opening to dodge the attack and leapt behind Toothless, who fired a plasma blast for cover. Hiccup shut his sword down and sneaked back to try and help Raya with the cage.
"What is it?" Hiccup asked as he approached and saw the dragon in the cage. Removing his mask to get a better look at the creature within, he was shocked and bewildered by what he was seeing. "Oh, my gods," he said. "It can't be."
Inside the cage was the last kind of species that they had ever expected to see. Especially inside of a Trapper's cage. It was the one species that they had been searching for almost a decade and had never even found any indication that there were any left. But here before them, it showed absolute proof that there were indeed more of them out there.
It was a Night Fury.
A baby Night Fury, to be precise, but there was little to almost no difference between the adult and hatchling versions of the dragon. Raya quickly opened the cage up as Hiccup started to slowly make his way inside. The last thing that he wanted to do was scare the little dragon; the only proof in a decade that there were indeed other Night Furies out there.
Hiccup quickly removed the muffler from the dragon and tried to use his usual touch. "Toothless is going to be so excited to meet you."
It seemed that the baby Night Fury wasn't very friendly toward humans; he ended up biting Hiccup. Fortunately, he was wearing his armor, so the bite didn't even hurt or faze him. The baby Night Fury ran for the open door and escaped.
"Wait, where are you going?" Raya asked the baby Night Fury as if expecting it to respond. "Come back!"
The baby Night Fury ran away from the two, looking back to make sure that it wasn't being chased. But it turned and quickly skidded to a halt when it saw it was going to hit something. But that was when it noticed what it was about to hit was an adult version of its own species.
Toothless looked when he noticed the baby Night Fury and was practically left speechless at the sight.
He wasn't the only one...