The Great Beyond

Chapter 49: Twintuition (Hiccup)

              One of our greatest enemies stood before us. I glared at it, the way it taunted us and glistened underneath the sunlight, waiting for us to make our move. All the dragons were lined up before it, waiting for my command to strike and finish it off. It would take the right order, and the right amount of shots, but I was confident we could finish it off once and for all. Reign, Fishlegs, and I had done the math far too many times for any of our scenarios to fail.

"Now!"

The dragons fired off their shots in the next order we decided to test, following their orders to a T. The probability of success wasn't too high, but my hope was just that we could make some form of progress. Unfortunately, when the smoke cleared, the dragon-proof chain was just slightly red-tinted where the dragons had fired on, and when Reign, Fishlegs, and I approached it, we were able to touch the spot without flinching.

"Anything?" Astrid called out to us.

"Nothing," I sighed. "Not even hot."

"Huh." Reign placed one hand on her hip, the other one furiously ruffling her own hair on the back of her head. "That combination of blast just isn't enough to melt the chain. Guess we're going to have to reset and try again in a minute."

"Um, hello, why are we not just using Changewing acid? We know that works. Duh!" Snotlout, in usual fashion, wasn't thinking through all the aspects and steps that plan would require.

"Oh. Thanks for volunteering to milk a Changewing for us," Astrid sneered, taking one of her many daily jabs at Snotlout. Now that he finally realized getting that acid would mean coming into contact with a dangerous dragon, his eyes widened.

"Funny Astrid," he laughed haltingly. Hookfang joined in on the amusement, chortling in a way that mimicked true laughter. "It's not that funny, pal. Let's remember who fills your bowl." Frustrated, Hookfang blew a little bit of fire at his Rider, startling him. "Hookfang!"

"Look, we're not gonna have Changewing acid on hand, Snotlout," I explained. "That's why we have to find the right combination of dragon fire to get through these chains."

"I think we need more of our dragons' fire," Fishlegs theorized, his eyes fixated on Reign and I to indicate whom he was referring to. There was no surefire guarantee this would work, but the dragons had enough time to recharge, so there was no harm in trying.

"Okay, bud, here we go," I encouraged, readying Toothless for the next round of blasts. "One more time. Toothless, go!" He fired off his first plasma blast. "Hookfang. Barf, Belch." The Monstrous Nightmare shot out fire without hesitation, but following that, there was a distinct lack of green gas and a subsequent spark. Hookfang's head moved out of the way, revealing the sleeping Zippleback.

"Hello? Hi?" Snotlout shouted, trying to wake up the dragon and its Riders. "Are you gonna help or not?"

"No, Snotlout, we are not," Tuffnut answered confidently, refusing to even open his eyes at first. "Because, as usual, Hiccup, Reign, and Fishlegs are over thinking everything."

"In delicate matters such as these, logic and reasoning can only take you so far," Ruff continued. Finally, the two of them got up onto their feet, actively engaged in the conversation.

"You have to trust your instincts."

"Follow your gut."

"You have to have the right inspiration."