You stood on the top deck of the ship with Amethyst at your side, breathing in the salty, sea air. So far, the plan seemed to be going well. Hiccup and the riders had been secured in the cages below you, and another group of hunters had managed to lure the Screaming Death towards Berk.
'Good.' You thought to yourself, 'That will teach them to underestimate me.' You didn't know what would happen next. Now that your mission and revenge were almost complete, what were you supposed to do after? You knew that the only realistic option was for you and Amethyst to leave Dragon Hunter Island. Yet, something seemed to be pulling you back. As independent as you were, you didn't exactly want to leave. The truth was, the thought of not seeing Viggo again troubled you enormously.
'You don't need anyone!' you told yourself. Besides, you had Amethyst. You couldn't help wondering what you would do with your life now. What would your purpose be? Merely survival? You couldn't help feeling that the absence of what had been slowly blossoming between Viggo and yourself would be sorely missed if you were to leave, and not only by you.
Amethyst nudged your arm again. You knew she was hungry, so you led her below deck, to where the hunters stored the food supplies. You handed her a fish, which she swallowed in a single gulp. She then licked your face with gratitude, smothering fishy dragon saliva all over your face. You screwed up your face, pushing away her snout with a small chuckle, and trying to wipe it off with your sleeve and some nearby water. Amethyst squawked with amusement at your attempt, throwing a playful grin at the difficulty you encountered.
"I see," you said, "very funny..." Amethyst replied with another excited caw.
Once you had cleaned yourself up to your satisfaction, you were about to head to the top deck again, when you overheard voices in another chamber of the lower deck. You realized it was the riders, and quickly strained your ears to make out what they were saying, curiosity gnawing at you. Edging silently down the corridor, you remained just out of sight of the cage they were in.
"I can't believe this!" Hiccup was saying.
"And who knows what she's told him!" Astrid sounded frustrated.
"Who?" Snotlout questioned.
"Viggo." Astrid replied, "I bet she's told him all about the defenses on the Edge."
"But, (Y/n) wouldn't do that, would she?" Fishlegs asked doubtfully.
"Sure she would." Ruff said simply.
"I mean, after the way you guys treated her and everything." Tuff added.
"That's not helping, guys." Astrid returned sternly.
"Listen, I know what it's like to feel alone and abandoned." Heather explained, "We made her feel like she didn't belong, and that made her feel vulnerable. That's when she would have been susceptible to Viggo's persuasion. We don't know what he's convinced her of. It's easy to fall into the trap of believing what someone as tricky as Viggo says, when you have no one else to turn to. "
"Maybe I was too harsh to her..." Hiccup said slowly, "I mean, she was trying to help, but..."
"The way she went about it was wrong." Astrid finished his sentence. "She shouldn't have gone off on her own like that." She added firmly, as if trying to assure herself she'd done the right thing. Yet, there seemed to be uncertainty in her voice.
"And don't forget she tried to destroy the Edge!" Snotlout pitched in.
"I guess she was angry and upset." Fishlegs suggested.
"I suppose I'm to blame for that..." Astrid sounded almost regretful.
"Listen, she's smart." Hiccup began, "She wouldn't have let Viggo persuade her into anything rash. She still knows right from wrong. She knows what Viggo's like, and there's no way she'd go along with the whole dragon hunting thing. There must be a way to reason with her."
"Let me handle this!" Tuff said proudly.
"And why would I do that?" Hiccup asked, dreading the reply.
"Because, when it comes to reasoning with with people with a thirst for revenge, we're the best in the business." Ruff explained, matter-of-factly.
"You know, guys, I'm not so sure that's actually - " Heather's sentence was cut off by a roar from one of the riders' dragons (it sounded like Hookfang), which Amethyst heard and instinctively went lunging towards, into the sight of the riders. They all gaped in unison.
"Hey... is it just me or did Ember...change?" Tuff said slowly, studying Amethyst intensely.
"Er, yeah." Ruff snapped, "Ember's a Changewing. That's kind of what they do!"
"That is not Ember." Fishlegs interjected.
"You're right." You announced, stepping out towards Amethyst, "It's not Ember." You said coldly. The riders exchanged a few agitated glances.
"Ember is dead." Silence rang through the chamber. They were shocked to silence, and could only exchange stunned glances. "Thanks to you." You glared at each of them in turn, giving Astrid an especially flinty glare; after all, if Stormfly hadn't been ordered to shoot her spines at you, Ember wouldn't have been in that cage when Ryker arrived. In fact, if she had helped you in the first place, instead of leaving you to fend for yourself when the Shellfire attacked, none of this would have happened.
The riders seemed taken aback at what you had said. Hiccup spoke hesitatingly.
"(Y/n), I... I'm so sorry.... really I am... Things have gotten out of control, but - "
"No Hiccup." you interrupted, "No buts." For once in your life, not one of them dared to interrupt you.
"I've spent my whole life being disrespected, underestimated, mocked... All of you have hurt me in some form." You looked hard at each of them in turn. "Some more than others." you added, as you came to Astrid.
"(Y/n)...I..." Astrid began.
"Don't!" you couldn't help shouting, as your voice became raw with emotion. "Everything I did, I did to try and help. I warned you in advance on numerous occasions of what Viggo was planning. But, did you listen? No! I put myself in danger; I put Ember in danger! Everyday I tried. I tried to fit in, to be one of you guys. But it didn't matter how hard I tried, because you had already decided that I wasn't worthy! And then, Ember! Ember, my dragon! If you had at least accepted me, then Ember would still be alive!" You were struggling to hold back the tears, but you had to appear strong, so you willed yourself to remain resilient. "Well, I don't need you anymore." You said emotionlessly, your strength of mind allowing you to regain your composure. "Any of you."
"Look, I don't know what Viggo's said to you or made you think, but you know what this guy is like. He wants you to trust him, and then he'll betray you." Hiccup warned, the tone of his voice grave.
"I don't trust anybody." You found yourself saying. "All I know is I trust him more than you." You wanted to tell them that Viggo had understood you from the moment you arrived, that he was the one who had helped you get through Ember's death, and accepted you for who you were, but you refrained. You couldn't let them know how much Viggo meant to you. No, that would only make the situation worse - they could use it against you.
"You can't isolate yourself like this, (Y/n)." Heather tried suggesting in a softer tone. "Why not go back to Berk? You'll be safer there. You need some time to cool off and figure things out."
"I assure you," you retorted, "I know exactly what I'm doing. I have Amethyst, and I don't need anyone else. My instinct is the only thing I trust."
"Truer words were never spoken." You heard a familiar voice sound behind you, as you turned around to see Viggo walking from the corridor to your side. Relief flooded through you, as you seemed to have gained some form of an ally in your otherwise solitary battle. He swiftly wrapped an arm around your shoulder, and pulled you towards him. The act took you by surprise, but you tried to act casual in front of the riders.
"Come, my dear," he said, "No need to converse with those who betrayed you." He said, leading you towards the corridor.
"(Y/n)!" you heard Hiccup call as you disappeared through the corridor. You made a point of stubbornly ignoring him. Your skin prickled as you heard his voice echoing through the corridor, and your face grew hot with anger. It had taken every ounce of self control you possessed, to keep from losing your temper entirely or crying in front of them.
When you and Viggo reached a separate chamber, you noticed his arm was still around your shoulder. He had clearly noticed the tension throughout your body, as a result of the heated conversation. You quickly glanced at it, and blushed slightly.
"Thanks." you said, placing your hand lightly on top of his.
"Don't thank me." He replied, leaning towards you, eyes glistening. You couldn't help but naturally lean towards him too, as your anger subsided and turned to bitter sadness. Seeing your misery, he pulled you closer, until your forehead was resting against his chest. You clung on to him, somehow feeling that the closer he was, the more the pain seemed to ebb away. He hugged you tightly. It seemed as if he was the only person in the world who understood you entirely. You felt his gentle hand slowly lift your chin, until you were face to face.
"Again, thank you." You said. It was as though he knew exactly what you needed to feel better. He replied with a knowing and sympathetic smile. In that second, your lips seemed to inch closer but, before they could meet, a violent shaking of the boat made you both jerk, and look up at the ceiling. Another thud came, along with the shouting of hunters, and the moment was over as you both raced to the top deck to investigate what had happened.
You leapt to the deck to assess the damage. A hole seemed to have been scorched into the side of the boat. You looked up, to see a Monstrous Nightmare swooping rapidly down towards you. It knocked into you, pushing you to the ground. You quickly jumped back onto your feet, as the rider of the dragon revealed himself to you.
"A-Gustav!" you heard him call out proudly.
"Are you joking?" You almost laughed. Several hunters already had their arrows aimed at Fanghook, as Gustav began to realize that he hadn't been so triumphant after all.
"Seriously, Gustav, I suggest you get out of here now." You knew Gustav was no match for the hunters, and he wouldn't be of much trouble if he got away, anyway.
"Oh no, (Y/n) we're here to rescue the riders! Aren't we Fanghook?"
You laughed. "Gustav, listen, I'm giving you one chance to leave here before all of these hunters shoot dragon root arrows at Fanghook, and you end up with the riders."
"Haha! That's funny (Y/n), but we're here to rescue Hiccup and the riders!"
"I highly doubt that!" You challenged, taking a step towards him. You didn't want to hurt him, but perhaps you could scare him off before the hunters fired.
"Step away from Gustav!" You heard a voice boom, as Stoick the Vast, and his Rumblehorn, landed on the deck of the ship. Above, you could see the rest of the A-team circling the boat.
"Attack!" you heard Stoick yell, and the A-team riders swooped down towards the boat, firing as they went. The hunters fired, but the riders managed to manoeuvre around them. Amethyst wasn't used to aerial combat. Although she had trained, she had never actually fought another dragon before, and you didn't want to put her in a situation in which she would have to do so. She was still only two months old - she wasn't ready for that. Now, you were locked in battle with Stoick, as he instantly lunged at you upon landing on the deck. It was your sword against his ax. The battle was fast-paced, but he was stronger and a far more experienced warrior than you. You weren't surprised when he easily knocked you to the ground after about five minutes.
"I know what you did to Hiccup and the riders." He said, pinning you to the deck with his foot. "You no doubt had something to do with the Screaming Death, too!"
"It was their fault!" you retaliated, "If they hadn't disrespected me, none of this would have happened!"
"Oh, don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to discuss that in much more detail when we get back to Berk." He said, scowling at you, as he threw you over to Spitelout, who tied your hands behind your back. You hoped Amethyst would come to your rescue, but she was locked in battle with Fanghook. You didn't want to distract her by calling her name; that could give Fanghook the opportunity to injure her. You could see Stoick now fighting his way towards the door that led to where the riders were. He seemed to plough through the sea of hunters in his way, in an outraged frenzy.
You struggled a bit. Spitelout seemed to be focusing more on the battle than you. You could tell that the knot he had used to tie your hands together was a simple one. You quickly set to work, undoing it. At last, the rope slackened, and you managed to wriggle your hands free. At the same instant, you saw Amethyst bounding towards you, Fanghook hot on her tail. Without thinking, you leapt onto her back and took to the air, quickly camouflaging yourselves with the night sky, leaving Fanghook puzzled.
Once you were out of range, you looked back at the boat. Nobody seemed to have noticed your escape. You saw the door of the lower deck fling open, and the riders and Stoick rushed out to join the fight. Now that the riders were free, the odds turned even more against the hunters. You soon saw many of the hunters surrendering, and Viggo had his hands tied behind his back, with Stoick on one side of him, and Astrid on the other. You could see the Dragon Riders, along with the A-team, were now leaving the boat, and Viggo was forced along with them. You wanted to help, but you couldn't. No. Then you would be caught too. You couldn't believe the plan had failed. It had seemed foolproof! Then again, despite your rage, a part of you was relieved that you wouldn't have to witness whatever Viggo had in store for the riders.
It suddenly dawned on you that you now had a choice: you realized that you could technically leave right now with Amethyst. But you couldn't. You wouldn't. Viggo had saved you before, and now it was time for you to return the favor. The riders were now mere specks on the horizon.
"Come on, Amethyst." you said determinedly, "We've got a lot of work to do." With that, you began flying towards Berk, a tenacious expression upon your face. You were doing this for Viggo, and nothing was going to stop you.
A/N: An extra long chapter - hope you enjoyed it!