Strike Back

Saving the World

Check out the video and CRANK. IT. UP.

~~~

Toothless flew hard and fast toward Berk. His wings ate up the wind, the air sang through his body, granting him speed. He was out of the storm, and he could already hear the roars of captive dragons, though he couldn't see the island yet. Precious minutes ticked by and he drove harder, harder into the wind.

Suddenly, he heard something. Human screaming, not Hiccup, filled with a wild vengeance and accompanied by the clash of metal on metal. The war had begun.

The sky was getting darker, and Toothless used that to cover his entrance into Berk. He ducked behind a stack of barrels and took in the scene. What he saw was complete chaos. Villagers lay dead and dying everywhere, buildings were on fire, and Hiccup-

Toothless gasped. There he is.

Seeing Hiccup hurt so badly in his dream had been horrible, but it felt even worse in the battlefield that Berk had become. He was covered in dried blood and he looked so beaten up that an easy breeze might knock him over. His sight really was gone, it seemed, because he did nothing to defend the island; he just stood there, his breathing tense and uneven. But Toothless did notice that he flinched whenever a Berkian was struck down, even though he couldn't see the battle.

Just as Toothless took a step out of his hiding place toward Hiccup, an unearthly rumble came from Drago's armada, and the Alpha, an enormous Bewilderbeast, rose up out of the water. Dragons everywhere shrieked and wailed as their minds were taken over by the evil creature. Fires that were starting to die off flared back into action as the captive dragons relit the village, sending the villagers into a tizzy.

And then the man himself was there, striding toward Hiccup, his intentions apparent in every step he took. Hiccup heard him coming and stumbled back. Toothless bared his teeth and stalked toward them. This could be his chance to get rid of Drago. If he could get behind him without being noticed, he could go for the throat and have Drago down before he even knew what was happening.

Before he could get there, though, Drago grabbed Hiccup in a choke hold and started talking. "See, Hiccup, this is what happens when the people rebel against the chief. It's also what happens when man goes against nature. Death and destruction everywhere."

"I-I don't . . . understand," Hiccup gasped, and Drago threw him roughly to the ground, using his staff to pin the boy down. "Your so-called 'trained dragon'. It's not natural, what you've done. Now Berk is paying for a mistake that you made."

"You're the reason Toothless is dead!" Hiccup cried out. "You killed off the last of the Night Furies. You killed my friend!"

Wrong, thought Toothless, imagining his parents and newly hatched siblings, even as Drago began kicking Hiccup for his outburst. The Night Furies live on. I promise you that.

"You know," said Drago, glaring down at Hiccup, "I don't think the slaughter this battle is becoming will be enough. I might just have to make an example of one of their own." He grabbed Hiccup by the neck and hauled him upright. "Don't you agree, Hiccup?" His tone was like a blade. Toothless could see what was getting ready to happen. It was now or never, do or die. He ran forward, not caring if he was seen anymore, only knowing that he had to reach Hiccup, protect him.

Drago let go of Hiccup, turned toward the Alpha, and started screaming and throwing his staff around in wide circles. The Alpha approached its master, and at Drago's command, sucked in a big gulp of air, aiming directly at Hiccup. Toothless ran faster, faster. As giant spikes of ice came shooting out of the Bewilderbeast's mouth, Toothless spread his wings and catapulted himself toward Hiccup, shielding him from the blast as much as he could. Ice so thick it was green wrapped around them, dooming both, and the battlefield went silent.