Deception (A Dragons Race to the Edge Fanfic)

Chapter 10

It was the night before you planned to attack. That would teach Hiccup and the others to tell you that you weren't good enough! You sat on the beach of Drenchwood Island, roasting some fish over the fire you had built, and throwing some to the dragons waiting attentively around you. You had spent the last four weeks training a group of dragons to fly in perfect formation, and fire upon command. You had successfully trained a purple Monstrous Nightmare, a green Thunderdrum, a Razorwhip and a Deadly Nadder, along with Ember. The five dragons seemed united as one when they worked as a team, and even you were impressed by the speed at which they had bonded. Somehow, the dragons seemed to understand and, having practiced the attack you had planned relentlessly, each dragon was confident in what its role would be. The formation you had developed seemed invincible.

 Pride washed over you, as you realized what you had accomplished, that was if everything went according to plan tomorrow. You were nervous, but excited. Finally, they would see what you could have brought to the team, and they would be sorry for sending you away. But, then again, you felt a slight twinge of guilt and doubt. You had been so angry at being sent away, that revenge had seemed to be the only option. Your hunger to prove yourself, and make them see you for the rider you really were had motivated you to train the dragons and plan the attack. Now that your anger had subsided a little, you weren't as sure this was the best choice. But it was too late to change your mind now - you had been working towards this for weeks. You reminded yourself of the embarrassment and shame you had felt as they banished you. You clenched your fists. They had to be taught a lesson for that. It wasn't like you were trying to completely demolish the Edge, unlike some who might have tried using...a Shellfire dragon. You were realistic in your expectations and, deep down, you didn't want to severely hurt them, only to teach them a lesson. It might make them reconsider what they had said to you. You smiled, tossing a pike to Ember. Only Ember really understood – he had seen the drama unfold back at the Edge, but you felt that somehow the other dragons understood your emotions as well, and were willing to help you for that reason. You weren't connected to them like you were with Ember, but you already felt grateful towards them for what they were about to do for you.

"Come on then, guys." You said to them gently, "We should get some sleep - tomorrow's going to be a big day."

The Next Day:

It was twilight as you and your team of dragons flew east, towards the Edge. The evening air was peaceful, as you glided over the ocean on Ember; the Thunderdrum and Monstrous Nightmare to your left, and the Razorwhip and Deadly Nadder to your right. The Edge was within sight now.

"Ok guys, like we practiced." The five dragons slipped down to a few mere centimeters above the waves in utter synchronization. They all looked directly ahead of them, completely focused on the mission. You were determined to make this plan work.

On approaching the island, you all set off in your allocated directions. The Nadder stealthily flew towards where you knew the Night Terrors would be on the lookout. You hoped she would be able to distract them while the rest of you made it to your areas of the island. Ok, it was time! The Monstrous Nightmare flew over the southern forest, ablaze, setting fire to the forest as he flew. That would take the riders a while to clear up! Meanwhile, you could see the Thunderdrum projecting its sonic blasts in all directions, destroying the boar pit and sending the dome tumbling to the ground. You smiled. The Razorwhip had made it to the stables, and was slashing the wood with her tail – that would take weeks to rebuild! The lookout towers were already on the ground from earlier. Now, it was your turn. Camouflaged with the night, Ember approached the clubhouse, shooting acid at all the huts in sight. Finally, you reached the club house, and sent mouthfuls of boiling acid at it, leaving holes in the roof and floor. You turned to see the island ablaze. Fishlegs, Heather and the twins were desperately trying to put out the fires.

"(Y/n)!" Snotlout screeched from behind you.

"Hey, Snotlout, how's it going without me?" you mocked. He hurtled towards you, but you dodged him, and he narrowly missed a spurt of acid from Ember.

"That's enough!" you heard Hiccup shout.

"What do you think you're doing?" he bellowed.

"Teaching you a lesson!" you replied with vigor. You saw Astrid approaching from behind Hiccup. Ember sent a blast of acid at her. She narrowly avoided it, but lost her balance and began plummeting towards the ground. 

"Hiccup!" she called frantically. Hiccup spun around to catch her, giving you enough time to call your team of dragons and retreat. The Dragon Riders were in close pursuit. Your dragons fired, but they were not as experienced as Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Windshear and Barf and Belch combined.

"Retreat!" you called to them. You had achieved what you had come for – you had wreaked havoc all over the Edge. That was something you would usually leave to the twins, but you figured you'd done a pretty good job. If you stayed any longer, you would be overpowered and captured. It was time to leave. Your dragon team retreated into the night, and the rain began to pour. But, just before they were out of earshot, you heard Hiccup say to the others:

"Everything is destroyed..." His voice was cracking, and his words fragmented. "The rain will put out the fire, but there's nothing we can do now. We should go to Defenders of the Wing Island to get some rest, and then set to work rebuilding the Edge."

You'd won! You really wanted to look back and see the defeated look on Astrid's face, but you thought you'd better not. Again, though, you couldn't help feeling that you had perhaps taken this a bit too far. But, there was nothing you could do about that now. You had taught them a lesson - they wouldn't be so quick to underestimate you next time! You congratulated each of the dragons in turn, as you flew back to Drenchwood forest.

 As you flew away from the Edge, you thought you saw the silhouette of a small ship down below, but when you rubbed your eyes, it seemed to disappear. You were too tired to investigate at that point. You were probably hallucinating after the lively events that had taken place. As you flew on Ember, you found a smile of satisfaction sweeping across your face.

A/N: I know there was quite a lot of description about the character's feelings here. But I thought it was important to show that she's a complicated character, and going through her thought process shows that, deep down, she is quite insecure and doubtful about taking revenge. I know Viggo hasn't featured in the story much recently, but he's coming soon! It'll be interesting to see what effect he has on the main character. Anyway, that's all for now! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!