Chapter Eight - Fallen Kings

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Hiccup was thrilled to have found his mother, but was not so thrilled with her cooking. Almost raw fish with a pinch or ten too much salt was not something you could get accustomed to easily. The dragons ate most of it, Grump especially, even though he was half asleep. 
    It must have been around two hours since Stoick had come, enough time to explain where Valka had been living for the past twenty years, why she hadn't gone back to Berk, and most importantly, to Hiccup anyway, about Dragonbloods. After all the explaining Stoick and Valka had even had a dance, to lighten the mood a little, he supposed, before they had a family hug, with Toothless sticking his head in. 
    'Thank Odin you didn't listen to me, son,' his father said with a laugh. 'Or we never would have found each other.'
    Toothless growled and looked around, his ears swivelling. Hiccup heard it too, a war cry made up of thousands of voices and crashes from outside the Sanctuary. He and Valka shared a look, green eyes meeting green eyes, then they both rushed through the tunnel and out onto a jut of ice. Below they saw thousands of soldiers, hundreds of ships and many dragon traps, some of which were already tight shut. 
    'Oh, no...' Valka stumbled back, right into the Chief. 
    'Val! It's alright, it's alright.' He said, catching her by her shoulders. 'We're a team now, what do we do?'
    'Save the dragons.'
    'Aye. You got it.'
    Hiccup Shifted back to human and leapt onto Toothless, both taking off into the sky like a sheep from a catapult. They shot around the Sanctuary, observing the situation and listening out for anything useful. Right below them green gas leaked from a trap, then ignited. A Zippleback flew up on an explosion of flame, a rider on one of its heads. 
    'Surprise!' Tuffnut yelled. 
    Ahead Hiccup saw a Nadder, Gronckle and Nightmare brake free of traps, all with Vikings on their backs. Stormfly flew over, with Astrid and Eret clinging to her. 
    'Welcome aboard, Dragon Rider!' Hiccup said to the Trapper. 
    'Thanks,' Eret gulped. 'I think.'
    Gobber charged down on Grump, knocking out a line of archers. Barf and Belch spread gas over the traps and Hookfang lit it, freeing the captured dragons. Meatlug spewed lava on the catapults, burning through the wood and melting metal. 
    'Where have you been?' Astrid asked, ducking as Fishlegs and Meatlug flew over. 
    'Oh, you know. Catching up mum,' Hiccup smiled, looking at Valka and Cloudjumper. On his four, strong wings the Stormcutter rose, with Valka standing on his back with her blue armour on. Behind them the Alpha crashed out of the Sanctuary, roaring his rage to sky. 
    'That's your mother?!'
    The Dragonblood grinned. 'Well, now you know where I get my dramatic flair.' He flicked his helmet down and banked away, swooping down to fire at a trap holding a Zippleback. 
    A deranged scream ripped the air, along with a faint rattling. Hiccup looked over and saw his mother facing Drago, who was swinging his staff around like a lasso and screaming at the top of his voice. The sea around the ships churned, frothing up as something huge thrashed out of the water. A Bewilderbeast, bigger and darker than the Alpha, roared his challenge. Cold water streamed from his scales, running into his pale, slitted pupil eyes. He smashed his shackled tusks into the water, creating waves that swamped the nearby ships.
    'Come on!' Drago shrieked. 'Take down the Alpha!'
    Without any warning, Toothless shot down and darted around the dark Bewilderbeast, trying to distract him from his quarry. Valka and Cloudjumper, now in the air, did the same, almost getting squashed as the two massive dragons locked tusks. The dark one reared up, using his full weight to crash down in the Alpha. The lighter one fought back gallantly, wrestling his foe back to all fours. The dark Bewilderbeast shoved his tusks under the Alpha, lifting him high and putting him off balance. With a mighty heave he pushed the light dragon to the ground, stabbing his sharp tusks into the Alpha's unprotected belly. 
    'Noooo!' A chorus of voices wailed. 
    The champion lifted his head and roared, bringing the attention of every dragon to him. Hiccup saw a Raincutter fly past, its pupils so tight there was almost nothing but iris. 
    'We've won,' Drago crowed. 'Now finish her!' He pointed his staff at Valka. 
    The Bewilderbeast spewed ice at the dragon and rider, catching Cloudjumper's tail in the freezing blast. Stoick rushed to help, along with Gobber, leaving Hiccup and Toothless hovering between Drago and his parents. 
    Those two... He shifted to hybrid form and urged Toothless down, hissing his plan to the Night Fury. When they were right above the Dragon Master Hiccup leapt off and landed in front of Drago, while Toothless took up position behind, baring his fangs at Drago's back. 
    'This... Is the great Dragon Master?' Drago laughed, his mad eyes eyeing Hiccup. 'The son of Stoick the Vast? What shame he must feel.'
    'All this loss, and for what?' Hiccup got right to the point, his wings half spread menacingly. He growled to Toothless, who growled back an affirmative to the question he was asked. 'To become unstoppable? To rule the world? Dragons are kind, amazing creatures that can bring people together. And you should know.'
    'Or tear them apart.' Drago unhooked his metal arm, which Hiccup had suspected had been fake. 'You see, I know what it is to live in fear. To see my village burned, my family taken. To feel my wings ripped from my back. Even as a boy, left with nothing, I vowed to rise above the fear of dragons and liberate the people of this world.'
    'Then why a dragon army?'
    'Well,' Drago glanced at the Bewilderbeast. 'You need dragons to conquer other dragons.'
    'Or maybe you need dragons to conquer people,' Hiccup glanced at the new Alpha too. 'To control those who follow you, and get rid of those who won't.'
    'Clever boy.'
    'The world wants peace, Drago,' Hiccup said, his wings now almost fully out. 'And we have the answer, back on Berk. Just let me show you.'
    'No! Let me show you!' The Dragon Master snarled partly in Dragontongue. He roared to the Alpha, calling him down to fight. 'No dragon can resist the Alpha's command. So he who controls the Alpha,' Drago pointed his staff at the Bewilderbeast. 'controls them all.' He pointed his staff at Hiccup, a cruel smile curving his lips. 
    Hiccup looked up at the Alpha and immediately a rattling filled his ears, incessant and painful. He felt himself slipping away, losing his grasp on his thoughts and actions as the dragon's will took control. The sound rattled his very soul, jerking his mind from his command. In a ditch attempt to brake the hold on him he Shifted to human, but instead of his wings shrinking, they grew. The Alpha made him Shift to his dragon form and turned him around to face his best friend, charging a blast as he stalked forward. He watched through red tinged sight as his bud backed against an ice wall, nowhere to run, unable to fly. He felt the fire rise up his throat, helpless to stop it, and saw the bright blue flash as it shot towards his friend. In slow motion he saw a human figure leap in front of the Night Fury, taking the blast instead of Toothless. For a second everything was still, almost calm, before the shock of what had happened snapped him from the Alpha's command. 
    His father lay in shards of ice, unmoving, not breathing. Hiccup Shifted to human and ran to Stoick, pulling him over onto his back and pushing broken ice off of him. Valka skidded to a halt beside him, crouching and listening for a heartbeat. 
    Her eyes closed and she dropped her head onto Stoick's chest, her breathing ragged. 
    'No...' Hiccup sobbed. 'No...' He can't be gone, he can't. He looked down at his hands, as if seeing them for the first time, then at his father's burned body. 'I did this.'

1372 words.

This needs editing :-\

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