1 week later~
Washington D.C.
Flashes of camera clicks and reporters trying to ask questions surrounded Henry as his father and Dr. Elias helped him get through the crowd down the stairs and into the car. His mind was a bit hazy, trying to recollect what happened a few hours ago when he made his speech...
————————————————————————————————
A couple of hours ago~
Henry sat on a seat with a well-chosen suit attire his father made him wear, gripping his papers tightly. At that time he was incredibly nervous, his left foot tapping nervously while the right one ached as it was still recovering. It was hard to believe that he was about to make a speech in front of thousands of people in Congress. Just thinking of that made Henry nervous that he may forget what he was about to say.
"Scared right now, Henry?" Dr. Elias asked him as he sat down besides him. "Me?....I guess you could say 'nervous' is another word for 'extremely freaked out' about this." Henry said. "It's ok to be nervous. I know I am as well." Elias said. "But we're here for you. We will always help you." Alice said to Henry from the other side of the aisle with a smile. Henry smiled and said, "Thanks guys."
Another man appeared from behind the curtain and made a hand signal to them. "Guess it's time." Elias said. Henry stood up immediately and walked over to the curtain, ready for whatever he was about to say. "Go knock 'em dead, buddy." Gideon said to Henry from behind. Henry grinned at him before turning back and stepping forward to enter the stage.
A few camera click sounds greeted him as he made his way towards the microphone stand in the middle of the stage. A few of his friends that were sitting on the far end waved at him excitedly. Henry did a small wave at them before focusing again on what he was about to do. The important people that occupied most of the seats began focusing their attention to Henry.
"Ah..." he said, and the microphone ringed. Ignoring that, Henry cleared his throat and began to read what he prepared in his papers:
"Thank you all for coming here. I'm here to testify about things I've experienced. I have come here to this stage to say...that our race, the human race, has become very powerful. We've done things that our ancestors may have considered impossible or ridiculous to achieve. Like aircrafts that carry people and supplies far distances in hours instead of days, medicines that can treat illness that were almost incurable, cultivated mass amounts of cops that could feed our recovering population, and new technologies that can harness massive amounts of energy. But...everything that we have made...has had a price. One that we are going to pay soon. No...another kind is already suffering the consequences. That kind, ladies and gentlemen, are dragons. Yes, the creatures that attack us all the time..." he began saying, but trailed off as he spotted several people talking to one another probably commenting about how this was going to be another green people speech.
'Well...here goes nothing...' Henry thought as he took the microphone off the stand and walked to the other side of the stage. This took everyone by surprise.
"Listen, there's a lot of things I could quote on and place them on a sheet of paper. But what all of you need to know—no...what the whole world needs to know—is that coexistence and peace with the dragons is actually possible. Now I know a lot of you guys in this large room are thinking "What's this kid saying? That's ridiculous! There is absolutely NO WAY that we could become pals with those monsters!". And, to be honest, I thought that too in the past. But with everything that I have gone through...I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ANYMORE.
Dragons are magnificent creatures that are just as intelligent as us. They're loyal, kind, protective, and quite caring when you get to know them. That's exactly what I experienced with a dragon that I've made contact with. I know a lot of you are wondering if I have proof in my hands along with someone else, but I'm not getting off track. The dragon that I've made contact with was so...friendly with me when we first met that later on it willingly accompanied me to its nest. Yes, the nest of the dragons the last mission I was involved in. What I saw there...was beauty. I mean, I've seen a lot of the world via photos and vids thanks to virtual tours. However, nothing compared to how beautifully amazing that place was when I set foot there. But...I also discovered the root of everything. I, along with the help of a few friends of mine, discovered the EXACT reason as to why the dragons are attacking us. No, they aren't attacking us because they're mindless beasts. They RAID us because they are starving. Them and their families. Soon they could resort to cannibalism and die off. Their home, that was once self-sufficient, has been damaged so greatly that almost all of the beauty near the entrance is gone. What's the cause of all this, you may ask? I'll put it in two simple words:
OUR. AVIRACE.
That's right. Our AVIRACE. The same AVIRACE that is causing irreversible global warming and other types of irregularities that kill all the natural beauty. All of this caused by us humans.
And not just by simple carelessness like "Oops! I forgot to put this in the recycling bin...", but by those in power that think that they can do whatever they want just because they think the can. Oh, and don't look at me like you didn't do any wrong. Many of us Americans KNOW you guys will say that you didn't know or do that, OR that you're doing everything possible to sustain this perfect union.
A "perfect union", you say? While huge corporations do what they want, other people live in the streets and under tunnels. Is this what you call JUSTICE? Where's the justice of strip-mining, toxic waste, and chemical solvents being dumped into the ocean, killing the main food source of the dragons? And what about the long extra hours you invert into creating mechas and weapons that will fight dragons? Sleep will become an endless disease for all of you! But this has to stop already! Right now I'm using one of the blessings of liberty, which is my freedom of speech, to speak to those people who make the laws...that we are causing our own demise! Why are we still using gasoline-powered engines, cutting down trees, and throwing waste out carelessly instead of already using renewable energy sources? How many years have passed since we discovered how to harness the sun, wind, water, and thermal vents? How many years since the 1850's?
170 FULL YEARS!!! And we still haven't changed so that we could conserve our beautiful earth! We only have one earth and one atmosphere! What are you guys gonna to do with them when it's all gone? Make all us immigrate into space in search for another habitable planet, so that we could do the same like we did in the last one!? GIVE US A FREAKING BREAK!!!" Henry spoke to the whole audience while pacing side to side across the stage, expressing his feelings of shame and disgust.
Everyone was simply silent, with either guilty or ashamed looks. His father and friends stared at him in plain awe of his words, but Henry wasn't done with his speech yet. So he continued:
"Look, we can't reverse the damage done to the dragons and to the earth by the snap of our fingers....But there are some things that we could do to make a difference bit by bit. We need to pay attention to what we do and what purpose something serves for, along with the results that come after. If we could replace our energy sources with cleaner ones, it'll be like clearing all the smog out of Los Angeles California. I mean, how hard can it be? Just look into alternative energy sources no matter how lazy you are of switching into it. We could look like Singapore, Japan, and Sweden, who have engineered their cities to look and become more eco-friendly. But instead we the United States, like any other arrogant country, are a smoke-guzzling, easily-dismissive, air-headed blabbermouth. Where is our sense of pride that we want the world to see? Why can't we be more progressive leaders so that we could show that we can clean up our act and actually find out a way to end this war against dragons instead of winning it? Why can't we take funds from unnecessary things like the assembly of war machines and weapons? Why can't we try and understand dragons in a peaceful manner? I...I'm just a teenager from NYC, but...If I can come up with all this...then why can't you? So I'll ask this one time:
Do you want this war to end? Or do you want to let it continue?
The choice is yours.......That's all I have to say today." Henry finished, then walked towards the stage exit.
————————————————————————————————
One month later~
He didn't get imprisoned immediately. Instead...his speech in Congress made a significant impact on the world in less than a month, much to his surprise.
Millions supported him online, protestors from different countries marched in the streets near their congress buildings demanding change, corrupt practices were being uncovered and removed, and many people took the initiative to try and tame dragons with the help of Henry's guide to avoid future raids. The mindlink ability was still unknown to the people, Elias and the rest agreeing that they could discover it at their own leisure. And Jonas was sentenced to life in prison for his "inhumane procedures" and "cruel tactics".
However, the world still had a lot to do to recover. So Henry and his friends were getting ready to help out when needed.
YOU ARE READING
How To Train Your Dragon 4: Near Horizon
Fanfiction"There were dragons when I was a boy. Some say they crawled back into the sea leaving not a bone or a fang to remember them. Others say they were nothing but folk tales to begin with. But maybe one day, a time may come where the dragons will return...
