Two weeks had passed since you had escaped Johann's base. The quick succession of events had caught up with you, and you and Amethyst had spent the last fortnight on this island recovering. In the meantime, you had befriended some of the wild dragons living on the island. The truth was, now that the rush of whatever the last few months had consisted of had subsided, you felt incredibly bored, and you weren't quite sure what to do. You realized that, now that you seemed betrayed from all ends, you had nowhere to go back to. At least you had Amethyst - you didn't know what you would do without her. You were sure it was her company that kept you sane in times like this.
You had no idea what to do. You felt utterly useless just surviving on this island. A part of you wanted to simply choose a direction and fly that way forever, whatever it might bring. You remembered Hiccup had always been fascinated by what lay beyond the Archipelago, and you shared that curiosity. As risky as your experiences had been, you lived for the thrill of adventure. You imagined a life where you and Amethyst could soar through the sky anywhere you chose, beyond the knowledge or even imagination of any other viking. And that dream was very possible now.
Who would stop you? No-one.
Yet, there was one thing that seemed to hold you back. Viggo. Even the thought of him tugged at your heart to stay.
"What are you thinking?!" you said to yourself. The truth was, you weren't thinking. Well, that had got you into trouble before...
"He betrayed you, remember?!" you couldn't help yelling at a tree. Any other time, you would have been embarrassed, but you needed to voice your thoughts. Besides, you were alone on this island apart from a few dragons.
You unsheathed your sword.
"He betrayed me!" you breathed again, clenching the hilt and feeling a serious urge to slash at the tree. A part of you cried out that he hadn't. That he did that to protect you. That he loved you. You still weren't one hundred percent convinced by the letter. What if he was lying again? He was good at that, it seemed. You wanted to believe it, but that would be short-sighted and foolish. Besides, it wasn't as if he had since made any attempt to find you or make sure you had escaped safely. You assumed he was still with Krogan and Johann, probably laughing over your gullibility and failure. You hated that - being tricked - especially by him. You were almost willing to believe that he did at least care about you a bit. Otherwise, what else would explain his actions? Despite this, you stuck by what you had always known and always told yourself: 'Viggo Grimborn is a Dragon Hunter'. Aside from whatever you had shared, that didn't change the fact that he hunted and killed dragons for profit. You were convinced that, if he had had the chance, Amethyst would have befallen no lesser a fate. For that reason alone, you could never be with him the way you had again.
Angry, you struck a small branch with your sword, making it fall to the ground. You heart was racing, and your teeth were clenched in aggravation. Viggo had done this to you. You wouldn't have endured half the pain you had if you had never landed on his island all those months ago with Ember - if you had never left Dragon's Edge - but what choice did you have? Ugh, your mind was going round in hopeless circles.
"Viggo!" you shouted, your shaking, yet defiant, voice echoing through the swaying trees.
"I hate you." you muttered more quietly, but bitterly. The words seemed to carry from your lips in the swift wind. Your heart seemed to scold you, and you weren't entirely sure that what you had said was true, but, for now, it made you feel better.
Amethyst, who had been diligently observing the whole situation unravel, perked up at this comment, as she strode up beside you. You looked down at her, her eyes sparkling with defiance. It seemed she understood what you had said and disagreed with it.
"I know..." you began, "But, that doesn't make what he did right..." you trailed off, as Amethyst picked up the young, sapling branch you had slashed onto the floor between her jaws, and clawed at the earth beside you. Placing it in the earth, she nudged some soil around it to stabilize it the ground, and looked up at you with gleaming eyes in the dusk light. You stared with wonder, as she nuzzled the yak-bladder flask to the planted sapling, spilling water over it. Your mouth dropped open a little with bewilderment at the young dragon's perceptiveness. You had never seen your dragon so defensive of someone except you. It was as if she was telling you to trust him. Like she knew that was the right thing to do.
Regaining mobility, you smiled, and crouched beside the sapling, taking the young, green leaves gently between your fingers, and examining the plant closely. You placed another hand on Amethyst's shoulder.
"I don't know what I'd do without you..." you said, your voice low, and still in awe. Amethyst cooed softly beside you. As you studied the sapling closely, you heard a sharp yelling coming from the dusk sky. You raised an eyebrow with curiosity.
"Come on, Amethyst!" you said, returning to your usual self, and jumping into the saddle on her back. In a matter of seconds, you were high above the canopy of the trees, searching for the owners of the voices. Ahead of you, you saw a Hideous Zippleback flying (well, not exactly...)
'The twins? Here? And are they...upside down?' you thought to yourself with confusion.
Amethyst accelerated towards them. You were able to make out some of what they were saying:
"Aaagghh I'm getting dizzy!" Ruffnut complained.
"Do you want to get the record for the longest flight upside down?" Tuffnut retorted determinedly.
"Aaagghh, I think I'm gonna be sick! Can't hang on!" you then saw Ruff fall from the dragon, and go plummetting towards the sea. You had become accustomed to becoming exceedingly confused by the twins. This time, you'd had about enough - you wanted answers. Swooping swiftly down, Amethyst clasped Ruff between her foreclaws, and dropped her back on Barf, before coming to hover in front of the Zippleback, in order to question the twins.
"Oh, hey (Y/n)! How's it going?" Tuff said in an oddly casual tone, that did not at all apply to the circumstances.
"Hey! She tried to kill us, remember mutton head?!" Ruff pitched in.
"I never said I was going to kill you." you rolled your eyes, "I only wanted to make you pay for what you did. I guess, to be honest, you guys weren't so bad. It was mainly the others..."
"I mean, we kind of get what you mean." Tuff said. You raised an eyebrow. You hadn't expected it to be that easy.
"The other riders call us mutton heads all the time. They just don't understand genius when they see it. I mean, remember that time we let the entire island get overrun by Fireworms? Wow - that was amazing!" Tuff reminisced, beaming from ear to ear. Now he was getting sidetracked.
"But, we didn't become Dragon Hunters to get revenge!" Ruff reminded him.
"No, no...That, we didn't do..." Tuff admitted, "But..." he said slowly, "that sounds like a great idea for a new record: most evil, twisted Dragon Hunter! Quick, add it to the list!" You slapped a hand against your face at his comments.
"Right..." you started again, trying to keep your voice even and irritation minimal, "What I wanted to ask is what are you guys doing here, so far from the Edge?"
"We're out here searching for records to be broken. That's right, we're gonna set a world record for something. Don't ask what it is because I don't know but, rest assured, it will be AWESOME!" Ruff cheered confidently.
"Well," Tuff added in a serious tone, "We would have had the world record for the longest flight upside down, if someone hadn't messed it up!"
"Seriously?" you queried. "You came all the way out here to do that?"
"Well no, not just that. We're helping Hiccup with some cool mission with Viggo and, in return, he's gonna be a witness when we perform our amazing record, whatever it is." Tuff squealed excitedly. Ruff elbowed him hard in the stomach.
Viggo?! What in the Archipelago was going on?
"And what exactly is this 'cool mission'?" you questioned further (getting information out of these two was painful).
"That information is classified, I'm afraid." Ruff pitched in, crossing her arms resolutely.
"Yeah, Dragon Riders only!" Tuff added immaturely.
"Oh, really?" you replied coolly, "Well, here I am - a Dragon Rider. Meet my dragon, Amethyst." At that moment, Amethyst narrowed her eyes and growled at the twins, who exchanged worried glances as glowing, green acid collected at the back of her throat, and her amber eyes shone in the dusk.
"Amethyst here possesses a deadly acid spray and has an incredible aim." you added proudly, the wave of curiosity about Viggo's intentions making you impatient. "Now, where are Hiccup and Viggo going?"
"Amethyst, huh?" Tuff waved at your dragon, smiling uncontrollably, "How's it going, A? And, as awesome as it would be, would you mind not burning our eyes out with acid? Please? Unless of course it's Ruffnut, then feel free because that would be great!"
"Tell me where they're going!" you snapped.
"Johann's base!" Ruff said quickly. That caught you off guard. You weren't even aware that Viggo had left Johann's base, let alone that he would be returning there, and with Hiccup no less. You knew it was unlike Viggo to go without a plan, so that begged the question: what was he thinking?
A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I last updated! Hopefully this should fit in with the events in the last season of Race to the Edge. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!