The sun had begun to paint the clouds golden colors as it started to slip away into the night. Hiccup and I had remained completely silent on the flight back to Berk, feeling guilty after ripping Toothless away from the Hidden World. He was a king there, he had his mate, and now... he was just stuck with us. Toothless purred sadly, and Hiccup and I exchanged a glance, the same thoughts entering our minds.
We landed in a field back on New Berk, and I pat Shriek to let her go back to the stables. Hiccup stared off into the distance, clearly deep in his thoughts. I reached out and squeezed his hand quickly, just as tears were beginning to well in his eyes. I began to feel the overwhelming emotional weight on Hiccup right now, and pushed away as he moved around the front of Toothless.
"It's okay, bud. You belong there, with her. We don't." Toothless grunted softly, as though he didn't understand. "And that's all right. We'll find a way to--"
Before Hiccup could finish, there was a strange dragon call in the distance. The two of us turned toward the bare field of grass, attempting to find whatever dragon had made that noise. Toothless' head suddenly perked up, and only a few seconds later, the white head of the Light Fury emerged from the grass. Smiles spread onto Hiccup and my faces as we looked at her.
"Hey!" Toothless licked Hiccup's cheek, then bounded over to meet his mate excitedly. I came back to Hiccup's side. resting an arm on his back. With the exception of Grimmel still lingering out there in the world somewhere, things were actually starting to look up.
"She followed us back." They greeted each other, then tackled each other into the grass, causing the two of us to laugh.
"We might not have to say goodbye after all." Toothless looked from the Light Fury to Hiccup, as though urging her to approach. "That's it..."
Before she could, a dragon squawked behind us, carrying... Ruffnut? How did she escape?
"Ruffnut?"
"Miss me?" She spread her arms wide, as though expecting us to shower her with affection upon her return.
"How did you escape?"
"I annoyed them until they let me go." She still wasn't wrapping her head around the issues we had.
"Wait, wait. Grimmel let you go?"
"So dumb. They couldn't handle me. See, everyone thinks Tuffnut's more annoying, but..."
"Ruffnut, focus! Were you followed?"
"I never look back, Hiccup."
The two of us looked to each other, growing increasingly alarmed. Grimmel wouldn't just let her go. She must have said something that tipped him off that we had a new island, and knew she could lead him and his entire armada back here. We could be in serious danger, sitting ducks waiting to be shot.
"Toothless! Toothless!"
The Light Fury roared and took to the air, but only a few seconds later, something struck her in the neck, and she began to plummet. Toothless dashed after her, trying to save his mate in any way possible, but Hiccup and I knew he was headed straight into a trap. We ran behind the two dragons, trying to get him to turn around.
"Toothless, come back!" Hiccup begged.
My heart stopped as Grimmel came into view, aiming a crossbow at Toothless. Without a moment of hesitation, he fired another tranquilizer, this time into Toothless. The Night Fury teetered back and forth before collapsing onto the rock he'd stood on, defeated by something so simple.
"No!"
My heart broke as Grimmel chained up the two dragons, and just as Hiccup and I got close enough, he had his own dragons hoist them into the air, taking them back to his armada.
"And now, our little game must come to an end," Grimmel called, taunting us. The entire flock of Berk's dragon's suddenly burst through the trees, but just before they could reach Toothless and the Light Fury, Toothless roared loudly. The dragons, all at once, came to a stop, merely watching as Grimmel dragged them away.
"What are they doing?" Snotlout asked as he and the others approached us. "They could totally take him." I looked back to see Gobber, who quickly handed Alith and Kerrigan to me. Right now, more than ever, I needed to know they were safe.
"Not with her life on the line." For a moment, I met eyes with Grimmel, and my expression stiffened. I wanted to hack him into a million pieces, throw him into the ocean and let him drown, but there wasn't a thing I could do from here.
"Aww... Don't feel too badly. You tried your best. But you are nothing without your dragon." Quickly, my gaze flashed over to Hiccup, who looked to the same man in horror. Without thinking, he began to run after them, heading straight for the edge of the cliff.
"Hiccup!" I chased him, using my free arm to grab his waist and pull him back before he jumped off. He tried to push against me, but even with one arm, I was stronger than him. As we watched them fade into the cloud cover, he moved my arm aside, bringing a hand to his forehead as he began to pace. I watched him for a moment, trying to fight back my own tears, before I tried my hand at reasoning with him. He spotted me before I opened my mouth, and held his hand up.
"Don't say it." Immediately, I threw my free hand up in surrender.
"I wasn't going to."
"I shouldn't have dragged you out there. He wouldn't have flown me back. She wouldn't have followed."
"Yep," I shrugged. He threw his arms down and grunted in frustration, turning around and heading toward me. "I feel like the same screw-up I was before I met Toothless." I tried my best to fight down a genuine reaction.
"I can see that."
"Are you just gonna stand there and agree with everything?"
Finally.
"Well, you're right. You're back where you started." I turned my head and locked eyes with him, causing him to suddenly look away. "But I was the first to believe in you. And I have watched you doubt whether or not you're worthy ever since." He still wouldn't look at me as I moved closer. "But you know what? I am the person I am today because of you. I never told you that, but it's true. And it's not like I don't understand. Every new step of my life, I didn't know if I'd be able to do it. They were big steps, leaps, even. But you were always there, trying your best to help and support me in any way you could. You are the bravest, stubbornest, most determined knucklehead I know. Toothless didn't give you that, Hiccup. He just made it..."
"...easier." I smiled at him.
"And now it's gonna be a lot harder. So, what are you gonna do about it?" A sheepish grin crossed his face as he looked at me.
"Probably something stupid."
"That's the Hiccup I know."
He reached out and took my free hand, bringing me closer so he could kiss my cheek. He had done that a thousand times before for me, and now it had been my turn. Thank Thor it went well. We turned to the others, a new determination on our leader's face.
"Suit up, gang. We're going to get them back."
"What? He's lost his mind."
"Now that's father material." Tuff reached out and pulled Hiccup into a strange embrace. Confused, I turned to Astrid. "At last, faithful pupil, you are ready."
"He knows Hiccup's already a father, right?" I whispered.
"It's better when you don't ask," Astrid reminded me.
"Um, how are we gonna get our dragons back without dragons?"
"Trust me."
Hiccup turned to look at me, and the second I realized what he was thinking, I held up a hand.
"Now, hold on. I told you I'd support you until the day I die, but I'd rather not that day be today." He smirked and reached out, taking my hand and lowering it.
"You know we're out of options." I rolled my eyes, looking down at the grass.
"I know." We both fell silent for a moment, then his eyes moved to the children in my arms.
"Who are we supposed to leave Alith and Kerrigan with? We need all the fighters we can get."
We were going to have to ask someone to stay behind. Of course, given her age, Gothi was the best person to ask, so we left our two little girls with the woman, then secured our armor and prepared to march into battle.