Hybrid's Retribution

Chapter 5

*Hiccup's POV*

The past few days were brutal. We finished the prepared to the village, but everyone was still shaken from the Stonehedge Attack. Heck, even I haven't had a decent night's sleep since that day. And, it doesn't help matters that a giant Burning Phoenix that attacks everything that gets close to him is on the outskirts of the village.
I gathered a small basket of fish, and walked over to Ember's dad. Ever since we met him a few days ago, he hasn't moved away from the tree for long. All he does is lay there, and observe the village people from a safe distance.
"Hey, how have you been holding up?" I asked, kneeling in front of him. He just looks at me before turning his head.
"What's wrong?"
He grumbled at me in an annoyed tone.
"I know we waited a long while to save Ember. I know you're worried about her. Believe me, I'm worried about her too. But, we will go after her soon. You just have to trust us."
I slowly placed my hand in front of his face, hoping that this time I would gain his trust. He glared at my hand once again. After a couple of seconds his expression softened, and he pressed his horned nose against the palm of my hand.
He trust me.
I smiled at Ember's Dad, as he snatched the basket of fish from beside me, and dragged it closer to him. He gobbled down the fish, and ignored me.
"Hiccup! Dad shouted, walking towards us.
"Hey Dad, what's going on?"
"Tell the riders to start preparing. We're going after Ember tomorrow."
Ember's Dad perked up at the mention of her rescue.
"Don't worry. We'll get your daughter back soon. I promise. And Hiccup," Dad said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You need to get some sleep tonight. All of us are going to need you to be strong for tomorrow. Including Ember."
I nodded at my dad's words and raced off to inform the group about tomorrow. Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins all reacted similarly to the plan. A mix of excited exclamations relieved "finallys." Along with them saying I should rest up for tomorrow.
The last person I had to talk to was Astrid. My stomach tied itself as I walked over to her house. Was she still angry about the cove?
Hesitantly, I knocked on her door, and she opened it in a matter of seconds.
"Oh hey Hiccup," Astrid greeted in a nonchalant tone. "Come inside."
"I really shouldn't," I told her, hoping to not make this anymore awkward. "We're going to rescue Ember tomorrow, and I got to prepared."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Astrid said, grabbing my arm, and pulling me inside her house. The walls were still adorned with aces and other weapons. I'm sure if I said the wrong word, one of them would take my head.
"You're in love with Ember, aren't you?" Astrid asked on the spot. The abrupt question took me by surprise as heat rose to my face.
"What?! Of course not! Why would you-"
"I swear to Thor, if you lie to me I will throw you into the ocean!" Astrid threatened, silencing me instantly.
What did I feel about Ember? Why did I have all these conflicting emotions for her? We've been friends for two years, but I've never thought of her as anything more. I looked down at my shoes before I spoke.
"I will admit I love her like a sister. And she has so many wonderful qualities. Like how she always enjoys the little things in life. And, how she will help anyone in need. No matter what is going on, around her, she keeps her head held high. You can talk to her about anything, and she will be there for you. Not to mention how beautiful her scales glisten in the sunlight and frame her features perfectly. And her laugh. And her laugh. Even when she sometimes cries, she's absolutely perfect." I felt a smile creep up onto my face. Then I looked up st Astrid and she was smiling proudly at me. Looks like I can't hide it.
"I'm in love with Ember Druman."
Astrid walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You need to let her know."
"You're not mad?"
"Mad? Not really. I was kinda angry at first, but the more I thought about it I realized that I didn't really like you that wayI thought I did. I would rather just have us be friends. And it explains a lot, like how distraught you are and the lack of sleep."
"Why does everyone keep bringing that up?" I chuckled. "Do I look that bad?"
"A little," Astrid said. "You might want to freshen up before you confess. And once you two become a couple, don't forget to hang out with your friends every once and awhile." Astrid said, playfully hitting me on the shoulder.
" I wouldn't dream of it. Thanks a lot, Astrid." I said as I walked out of the door.
We all spent the rest of the day packing for the trip and preparing ourselves for whatever Sloan would throw at us. I packed some food for Toothless and I. Plus some fish for Ember when we get her back. We will get her back. She will be okay. And as soon as we get back to Berk, I will tell her how much she means to me. I know now I can't wait for the perfect moment anymore. Anything can happen that will snatch the people you love most away.
The next day, Toothless and I woke up. And, I was relieved that I finally got a full night's rest.
"Come on, bud. Everyone's waiting for us at the Dragon Academy." I told Toothless. He cooed in excitement, and we both took off towards the Academy. And indeed, everyone was already there and anxious to leave by the time we got there.
"That's a first," Astrid chuckled. "You're normally the first one here."
"He was probably enjoying a good night's sleep for once." Dad laughed.
"Yeah, he doesn't look like a zombie anymore." Tuffnut added, while his sister acted like a zombie.
"Okay, enough joking around. Let's get going." I said. We all rushed out of the Academy where Ember's dad waited by the door. He was very attentive and skittish. Like he was remembering all the bad memories this place had.
"It's okay," I said, placing my hand out. "This place is not as bad as it used to be." Ember's Dad rolled his eyes and placed his snout against my hand.
"You ready to save Ember, bud?" Toothless grumbled happily as I petted his head.
"I know I'm ready to kick some Stonehedge butt!" Snotlout shouted, taking into the sky. A series of hollers later, and all of us were in the air.
We flew in silence for a couple of hours. All of us feeling the urgency of the mission as we got closer to Sloan's armada.
"Hey Hiccup? What's that a person floating in that water?" Fishlegs asked, pointing at the ocean. We all gazed down to Indeed see someone floating face down. We rushed down towards the person.
"Are you'dead?" Ruffnut asked bluntly. We glared at her, but the man said nothing. No one attempts to get close to the body, so Toothless and I inspected him first.
"Flip him over carefully." I told Toothless. He gently grabbed the man's shoulder and turned him over.
The man's eyes were dark and lifeless. His skin had a blue tint to it. The smell of death had already claimed him. And, his throat had been completely ripped out.
"By Thor," Dad muttered. "What happened to him?"
"Let's keep moving. If we keep flying, maybe we can find what village this man was from."
Everyone agreed as we continued further out to sea. We got closer to an island, and as we did more bodies littered the water.
"That's Shamanic Island." Dad said.
"That was Shamanic Island. Someone trashed it." Snotlout said.
"Or someone had a giant fire party." Tuffnut joked.
We landed on one of the blackened hills. It looked like someone had torched the entire island. And bodies were littered across the land. Whether they were scorched, sliced open, or dropped, the entire village was some form of dead.
"Stay close. I said as we investigated more of what was Shamanic Island. All the buildings were fallen and burnt.
"What could have done this?" Fishlegs asked, looking closely at the scorch marks.
"AAAHHH!!" A small boy appeared out of nowhere with a very large axe. As he got closer, he couldn't support the weight of the axe, and it fell over. "I will stop you!" The boy yelled, struggling to lift the axe. "I won't let you destroy what's left of my home!"
"Calm down, kid. What happened? I asked, walking slowly towards the young boy.
"Don't pretend to not know! You did this! You brought a dragon to destroy my village. Then you picked it clean of resources and destroyed anyone in your way!"
"We didn't do this. I promise," I said, trying to calm the boy down. "But, we can help you."
"You can't help me. That's the same dragon right there!" The boy screamed, pointing at Ember's dad. "It stood on two legs! I watched it destroy my family."
Everyone had that same shocked expression as everything clicked.
"Did the dragon have blonde hair? And a golden breastplate?" I asked, praying to Thor that what the boy was saying wasn't true.
"Yes."
"Ember did this?" Astrid asked shocked.
"The scorch marks are of a Burning Phoenix." Fishlegs added.
"This is what Sloan wanted Ember for?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around all of this. "Dad, can you take the boy back to Berk?"
"What about you?" Dad asked.
"We'll be fine."
Dad nodded and helped the young boy onto Skull Crusher. Then he flew back towards Berk, and flew forward hoping to find Sloan's armada. And, hoping Ember would be okay when we saved her. It made my blood boil knowing this was what Sloan wanted Ember for. A war machine. She had healed and learned how to control her powers, and he took her and wrecked her soul. He will pay for this.

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm going on a short hiatus. Tomorrow I'm moving to my college campus, and I don't know when will be the next time I will be able to publish another chapter. Though I promise you this is not the end of Ember's story.
Thank you for your support!
OtakuDreams139