Age of the Dragons (HTTYD Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

This is my fourth rewrite of this chapter. This section of the story is really hard for me to write, and so I can't seem to get it right. Ah well, I'm sure it's fine!

The Berkians tramped silently and reluctantly up the gangplank. A funeral couldn't have been more somber. Nothing could be heard except the soft clunk of boots and the crashing of the waves against the island.

Dread permeated the air like a toxin, a concentrated cloud hovering right over the assembly of Berkians and dragons.

There was a long, tense silence. No one wanted to admit that it was finally time to leave. But finally, Shadow advanced, edging up to the silent people.

And it was if a barrier had broken. Suddenly, the Berkians and dragons rushed forward, colliding into a long hug. "I'll miss you." Annie whispered, squeezing Moonglow's neck. Moonglow crooned sadly, and leaned forward." "I'll be back." Sarah promised, resting a hand on Z's neck. "Keep destroying..." Ruffnut said sadly to Hurl & Burp.

All around, the Berkians began to say their goodbyes, desperately clinging to their dragon counterparts. The air was now filled with sadness, a crushing sorrow that seemed to emanate in waves outwards across the islands.

Minutes passed, but none noticed, bracing themselves for the final moment when they would all inevitably part.

"Well," Hiccup said, resting a hand on Shadow's head, "I guess this is it." Shadow lowered his head silently. There was a pause, and then Shadow reared up, wrapping his forearms around Hiccup. And Hiccup hugged him back, tears streaming down his face.

And there was another moment, a timeless moment, where neither the Berkians or the dragons could let go. A moment burned in the memories of all present. The threshold of the next adventure. The greatest moment of sadness that had occurred so far.

But finally, all as one, the dragons and riders broke away, parting like the tide. Hiccup took a deep breath.

"Goodbye"

And Shadow roared a great roar, the spines on his head glowing. And all the dragons roared back. And they all spread their wings, and launched into the sky. The great reptiles soared into the air, sailing far up into the heavens. And the Berkians watched, calling out a final goodbye as they left.

"Take care of yourselves!" "Don't set too many things on fire!" "We'll see you soon, I promise!"

But soon, the dragons were just specks on the horizon. And finally, the Berkians turned back to their ship.

"Well," Hiccup sighed, "now all we have to do to get the dragons back is to single-handedly change the minds to billions of people before the government destroys us." He slumped slightly. Then, he lifted his head, eyes full of determination.

"Which means we had better get started."

The Berkians jumped into action with vigor. Now that the moment of goodbye had passed, each was determined to make the hello come as soon as possible. They swarmed over the finished ship, detaching the ropes that held it in place and throwing them aside.

Others swung up on the wings, pulling apart the panels and checking the wiring within. A select few jumped inside the ship, securing the stabilizers and making sure the NitrogenDensityTerrain Navsystem was blocked from all sentient or AI functions.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Annie clambered on top of the ship, checking that the cloaking device was ready to activate and tuned to the frequencies that they would encounter near the outpost and from the Satellites above.

Within minutes, the aircraft was checked and ready, and the Berkians assembled outside the doors. Hiccup took a deep breath. "Let's go."

Sarah picked up the Nucleus, and walked up the open gangplank, with the rest of the original riders following.

She turned to the back of the ship, reaching a metal wall at the back and pulling out a panel. Inside was a docking station of wires, tangled in great heaps. Sarah picked up the largest connectors, and carefully plugged them into the Nucleus. Then, as the cables connected began to hover, she latched it on to a strong metal frame placed in front of the hatch.

Hiccup watched in fascination as the wires slowly began to lift, until the seemingly disorderly tangle of wires surrounding the Nucleus became an efficient and intelligent wall of signals. Yet, the wires traveling through the ship did not begin to hover. Hiccup was puzzled for a moment, until his gaze landed at the bottom of the hatch, where the floating wires had now exposed a large lever.

Sarah took a deep breath, placing her hand on the lever. "3, 2, 1..." And she slammed it down.

There was a whirring, and wires all around tensed. The lights around them flickered, flashing and sparking before glowing brightly.

A groaning emitted from the metal all around, and the walls begin to shift, forming into a more aerodynamic shape as Hiccup felt the ship leave the ground.

And then it was over. Hiccup stuck his head out of the transport, to the cheers of the Berkians. He gave a thumbs-up, and marched down the gangplank, hopping back to the shining Gronckle Iron surface of the Dragon. "Everyone on!" he commanded, and walked back up to the doors, the Berkians all trailing behind.

The Berkians, after finishing gawking at the interior of the ship, efficiently sat down on the benches, strapping themselves securely in.

When they had made sure everyone was in place, the original riders headed to the cockpit. Annie took her place as pilot while Sarah sat down as copilot, bringing up the System Monitor. Hiccup watched from behind, preparing to lead the expedition. Christopher activated the Navsystem Console, starting up the Nitrogen Density Placement System and entering the calculations for their route. Tyler took a place in the commons, watching over the Berkians to make sure that the ship did not accidentally remove their internal organs as fuel.

"Everyone ready?" Hiccup asked, glancing around at the people assembled in the cockpit. The only friends he had ever known.

Christopher nodded just as he locked the NitrogenDensityTerrain to their map. Sarah nodded, already having finished the pre-flight checks. Annie paused for a moment, powering up the thrusters, before nodding. Tyler nodded as well, finishing a head count of the Berkians. Hiccup nodded, and looked steadily out the windshield.

"Let's go."