The volcano was big, though not as big as the ones in Ashfield. It had small strains of lava pouring from ever openings, but the actually crater was still accessible. Toothless gave another humf as you rode him behind hiccup, since it was an emergence the Nightfury had allowed you to hop on reluctantly.
"Alright, that's where she'll be." He told you, the rest of the riders flying up behind you in a V formation. Valka and Stormfly were right behind you on the left with Snotlout and Hookfang were flying on your right. Fishlegs and meatlug leading up the rear alongside the twins with their two headed dragon.
"We still don't know what we're going to do once we come across it." Valka pointed out, standing on Cloudjumpers wing to get closer to you.
"We just beat it up, nothing Snotlout and Hookfang can't handle!" Snotlout roared, flexing his muscles. Foul! You thought to yourself, they haven't seen what I've seen! The other riders were still betting on the dragon to be an overly large Monstrous Nightmare, one that was especially bad tempered perhaps but nothing special about it. You knew differently, you kept looking at Hookfang to judge the size difference. It had only been a split second you got a good look at it, since under the water it had been covered by the bubbles and once you'd been thrown it immediately was attacked by the twins.
Yet there was still no doubt it was a Demonic Nightmare, not in your mind anyway. Your brought your armour too, as well as your sword. This had brought protest from Valka, more so the Sword then the shield and armour. But you weren't going to threaten the. lives of the riders for the sake of one dragon. That is not how it worked.
With arms and armour made of iron, I am to fight and die with the fury of the lion.
If my actions are guided by the Phoenix's song, I will never find myself on the path to wrong.
Through hells fire and demons cry, i endure so that my people will never die.
Stay my hand from flesh of a woman or child, for I'll find myself less of a man then the beasts who run wild.
Do not lie, cheat or steal for these things are for lesser men, and a knight like I, am worth more then ten.
Protect your country, legion and home, or else one day you'll find yourself alone.
The time had come for you to earn your keep, Astrid had been your friend when no one else was. Now she was in danger and your code, Honour and friendship demanded her safe return. It was time for you to walk through hell's fire and a demonic Nightmares cry so that you friend would not die.
Your small group landed on a small patch of flatland by the Volcano, already the air was hot. Ashfield had gotten its names from the various volcanos that litter the landscape, no all of which were dead, so having hailed there you had an inbuilt fortitude against the heat. You weren't as bothered by it as the others, but you still had to done full metal armour. You hopped down from Toothless, immediately heading to Hookfang who'd been the only one strong enough to carry your armour, except for Cloudjumper but he really didn't like you.
"So what's the plan Hiccup?" Snoutlout asked as you started to strap the armour on.
"Simple, we get in then we group up and get Astrid and Stormfly out of here. If you happen to avoid a large nightmare then that would be, just great." Toothless gave him a nudge of encouragement, but it was clear he was shaken up with Astrid in Danger.
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"Isn't it not, you know, hot in there?" Tuffnut asked as you all crept your way through the inner caves of the Volcano. You had to wear a hide and leather suit underneath to stop your armour burning you, but it was invaluable should a fight happen.
"You have no idea." You told him, already sweeting buckets full. You wear leading the charge with your shield over your back, ready to pull it forward as soon as you need to. You had a suspicion that these caves all lead back to the main chamber, the biggest and hottest part of the Volcano. If you were a gambling, you'd wager that it where a Demonic Nightmare would be.
You reached the end of the tunnel, this was indeed the main chamber, but no Nightmare. There was however, Astrid and Stormfly. Perfect.
"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled, running towards her. You felt your heart pang when they hugged, a small vial of jealousy rise to the surface of your subconscious. You pushed it down, this wasn't the time.
"Hiccup, Stormflys hurt. She can't move and I'm not leaving without her." The blonde protested, looking like she might be in the verge of tears. There was a nasty gash in the Nadders side, the Nightmare must have gotten her with its claws. You bent down to inspect the wound, there was no way this dragon was flying anytime soon.
"We could move her into a harness, the have the bigger dragons fly her out of here. Besides, look." You pointed up, noticing the main exit of the Volcano was right above you. It was a straight shot out of here, it would be easy for Cloudjumper and Hookfang to pull Stormfly to safety.
Valka retrieved a large net out of Cloudjumpers saddle bag, one she said was used specifically designed to carry injured dragons. You couldn't help but feel relieved, thankfully that she'd been prepared. You just had to get Stormfly into it, then you could get out of here.
It was then that a ear piercing roar cut through the air, signalling something big. Out of the lava crawled the Demonic Nightmare, Hookfang took a step back as it realised he was towered over. The dragon was black with red strikes running through the wings, two large horns and stood at fifteen foot tall on all fours. It then set itself on fire as black flames licked off of its scales, a huge torrent of black fire game streaming from its mouth. The blast was aimed directly for Astrid and Stormfly...
You jumped in the way, holding your shield up to deflect it. The blast was far stronger then Hookfangs, the pure force of the blast pushed you back three feat. Meatlug fired a blast at it, though it just brushed it off.
"Get them out of here, now!" You shouted. Immediately the riders sprung into action, Meatlug stood next to Stormfly and let her lean against her as she guided the Nadder to the net. Toothless sprayed the Nightmare with a series of plasma bolts, this defiantly got its attention though.
"Well keep him distracted, you guys leave and we'll catch up." You went to protest, but then you stopped as you saw Toothless nimbly dodge the larger dragons attacks. The Nightfury could dodge the Nightmare all day. Hookfang, Cloudjumper, Barf and Belch and Meatlug grabbed the edges of the net, starting to fly up slowly to pull Astrid and her dragon up. You grabbed the next and hung off the edge, just so you didn't get left behind.
"Astrid, you ok?"
"I'm fine, just it's so hot." She said, sweet dripping off her brow. You had to admit you couldn't stand the heat much either, your armour was hot enough to burn someone. Below, you could see the Nightmare follow Toothless down a tunnel. Then it stopped, simply blowing for down after them, you weren't worried since you were confident Toothless could outrun it. You were concerned however, when it turned its attention back on you and the others. It beat its wings to get some height, looking to give chase. With a groan, you let go of the net.
You fell about twenty feet, landing painfully. You had no time to recover though, as you strapped on your shield and charged. You bashed the shield against the dragons foot, causing it to roar in pain. It kicked at you, sending you sprawling across the floor. You barely raised your shield in time to deflect another fire blast which pushed you back another few feat. You rose slowly, already aching. Drawing your sword slowly, you faced down the colossal creature.
It lifted its arm and clawed at you with its mighty talons, you blocked with your shield and slashed with your sword cutting its forearm. It gave another cry of pain, blood trickling down its arm. It then opened its mouth to bite down, another heavy swing cut its lip leaving a deep gash. It pulled back, starring at you with hatred.
For a few seconds, you both looked at each other in a silent battle of wills. Sudden the explosion of Toothless's plasma blast erupted from its back, causing it to roar. Toothless and hiccup swooped down from the main entrance, the Nightfury's claws wrapped around your arms and tried to fly away. To your horror, you realised you were too heavy.
"Hiccup, let me go." You told him.
"No way, I'm not letting you go to that monster." Speaking of which, the dragon sent another blast your way. You raised your shield to block it, but it sent you all dying back against the wall. You rose and swung as it approached.
"Hiccup, there's no way you can get me out of here. I'm too heavy and there's no way I can get all this armour off while that thing is trying to kill us, leave me here. I can hold this thing off, just make sure Astrid gets home alright."
"Were not leaving you behind!'
"What's the alternative! We both stay here! I'm not getting out either way! No point us both dying!" Hiccup looked a you desperately, while Toothless seemed to understand. The dragon took off with its rider, despite his objections.
"Toothless no! What are you doing?! We can't leave him!" You watched them, leaving you alone with this giant dragon. The two of you locked eyes again, both of you understood the other. You rolled your sword through your hand, thankful you'd spent the extra effort working on the blade and armour, else you'd be in serious trouble. Though this presented its own problems, you were feeling the heat badly, already you were tired.
The dragon started to claw at you with its talons, you held your shield out to block it and swung like the last time. Only now the dragon new your tricks and moved its arm back, then tried to reach around behind you and stab you with its claws. It bashed against you, the armour keeping you safe. You got up quickly much to it's surprise, then charged. You got under it's belly and tried to stay up, but it reared in its hind legs to avoid you. It tried to crush you under its weight by falling back down, you jumped back and the great arms of it crashed down where you'd been half a second ago.
You swung and struck its arm, your blade cut through its flesh like it was butter. The dragon cried out and breathed on you again, this time the blast was stronger as it was fuelled by rage. You again block it with your shield, smirking under your helmet. You defiantly had the advantage now, you were fighting this colossal creature and you were winning.
I am a true dragon slayer! You screamed in your mind, spurred on by your success you took a step forward into the torrent of black flame. The dragons eyes seemed to widen as it realised you were advancing, it redoubled its efforts and concentrated, summoning up an even greater storm of flames.
The dragon suddenly turned and swung with its sending you flying through the air, you struck a wall which knocked the air out of you. The Nightmare charged, its large talons hitting your breastplate and pinning you to the wall. It opened its wide jaws and bit down on you, its teeth crushing down trying to slice you in half. Your armour again saved you, but didn't stop the pain as it shook its head from side to side. Throwing you away like a toy it then summoned another breath attack, this time you were to tired to raise your shield. It struck you fully, sending you flying once again.
The heat was unbearable, you could feel the armour heat up and burn you through your hide protection. You felt faint as sweet poured from your body, dripping from your visor. Damn it, you were in a bad shape. You were exhausted, struggling to rise to your feet. The dragon clawed at you, leaving deep groves in your helmet. You'd been dead long ago with it wasn't for this armour, you were glad you'd made it. It pinned you down with one arm across your chest, the other holding down your shield. It raised its head again, directly blasting you with another torrent of flames.
You lay there, weak and wounded. Your armour was beginning to fail, as well as you were too. You felt a few broken or cracked bones, with this giant dragon above you there was no way you were getting off.
Make me proud...
I'm sorry, father. You thought to yourself, remembering everything that had gotten you this far. Your father had never been easy on you, but then, he wanted you to be a pride to the legion. No weak son he said, no embarrassment to the legion.
No, that wasn't why he did it. He wanted you to be strong, so that you could overcome any obstacle in your way. So that when the time came you'd be strong enough to handle whatever came your way. Small tears dropped down your face, you never realised how much he'd done for you until now. How much he'd gone that extra mile to see you through, no matter how much you hated him for it.
And Astrid, she'd looked after you when no one else would. She'd sat by you and shared your pain when you needed someone, she had never hurt you, never called you outlander like the rest. It was your fault she got taken, because she had wanted show you the wonders of dragons.
Hiccup, someone you'd never really spoken at length with, he'd wanted to stay. Even though you knew it could be the end of him, he wouldn't have left you if he had the choice. Even though you were largely a stranger, he'd have risked it all for you.
And you'd let them all down, sure you'd tried your best but it wasn't enough. Because do you, your father had died, because of you this thing could still hurt the others. You screamed as the dragon breathed over you again, this time the metal burning your flesh.
Wait... it could still hurt the other riders. Your eyes opened, rage filling your body. You still had a hold of your sword, you reversed it and buried it in the Nightmares jaws. It came entered through the top jaws and exited through the bottom, it roared as it leapt up off of you. You held on to your blade and was lifted up with it, you used your shield to bash it repeatedly against the dragons head.
You dropped to the ground and rolled away from it as it's claws furiously swiped at you, keeping the shield up as it sprayed yet another blast at you. Despite the pain you pushed through it, moving towards it yet again. You saw the tail come sweeping at you as it turned, this time you jumped over it and made a straight dash for its wings. Instead of attacking you climbed up onto its back, making for your sword. The Nightmare roared louder then ever before and shook itself knowing what you were doing, just in time you locked your shield between its two horns, stopping you from being dislodged. With a final effort you grabbed your sword, yanking it from the jaws of the creature.
"Listen you Demonic Nightmare, my name is (Y/N) of house Rogan, I am a knight of Berk and the Dragon Legion." You yelled, forsaking your place in the Phoenix. Berk was your home, Vikings were your people and the riders your family. This is what you were, this where you belong. "And I, am a dragon slayer!"
You jumped down as the dragon tried to crush you against the floor as it rolled onto its back, but you managed to jump off at the right angle to avoid it. Then rush of fury charged, you held your sword up high and brought it down leaving a huge gash through the dragons side. It swing the tail at you again, which you sliced with your blade. You then stabbed it through the belly, then twisting to cause extra pain. The giant creature roared again, raising its head high for one, last attack.
Your arm was burning with exhaustion from holding the massive iron shield up constantly, so you dropped your sword and used both hands to keep it in place for the largest blast yet. Your feet dug into the ground as you were pushed back, but you held on. Screaming with the effort you pushed through, gaining territory as you got closer to the dragon. You lifted your shield for one final attack, you threw it at the dragons head with a ever fibre of your body. It smashed against it in a hard bash, causing it to stumble. When you rushed in with your sword and slashed it across the face with all your strength causing it to finally, fall.
The giant creature crashed to the ground, you sidestepped to avoid being crushed. You took a deep breath, truly exhausted. You help but collapse next to the Demonic Nightmare. It was breathing deeply, it's great chest heaving to keep up the demands of its oxygen supply. You both spent minutes just breathing trying to regain your strength.
"Well, looks like we can call it a draw..." You joked. "That was a hard... fought battle... You should... be proud." You slowly rose to your feet, stumbling a few times. You slowly dragged your bruised, bloodied and burnt body in front of the dragon. With one final effort it opened its jaws and tried to blast you, but only black embers come out.
You raised your sword to finish it off, to skewer its brain. Yet you didn't, instead you stumbled onto its head as your body gave underneath you. You once again just looked at each other, neither of you had the strength to finish it, you both knew that. You slowly removed your helmet, letting it fall beside you.
You slowly raised your hand onto its face, to which it responded by pressing its head against you. The two of you stayed like that, feeling a strong bond being made between you. You knew you weren't a dragon slayer, but you guessed you were a dragon tamer now...
"Well then, since we've reached an understanding, what should I call you...?"
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Thanks for reading, please let me know if you have any suggestions for the Demonic Nightmare. I thought I'd work extra hard to bring you this early, so please let me know and I'll pick from the selection. Also, there may be some lemon in the next chapter, just saying...