Freedom in its Richest Form

Pain of the Truth(13)

"Toothless..."

Gathering my remaining strength, I shoot into the sky, and Vikings are back to defending the village.

My head whips around. "Toothless!" I shout, flying frantically among the crowd of dragons. "Toothless, where are you!?"

My answer comes in the form of the telltale screech of a night fury's dive. Spotting him, I fly as fast as I can, and right as he shoots a plasma blast, I shoot one of my own.

The two blasts collide, creating a shockwave that disorients him. "Toothless!" I shout, flying up to his face. "What are you doing!?" He doesn't answer. His eyes are blank and feral, like Toothless, my friend, has been shoved aside and something else put in his place. Like he's possessed.

But his eyes flicker, and he bows his head, trembling and whimpering in struggle. "Toothless, what's going on?"

Suddenly, a sound shreds through the air, heading straight toward me. A bola. No time to dodge. Suddenly, a great force shoves me aside, and a shriek sounds as the bola ensnares my friend, unheard over the surrounding chaos by anyone but myself.

The force of the bola, clearly meant to take down something like a gronkle, sends him crashing into the forest. By this time, the dragons make their retreat, hauling away what catch they could obtain.

Gobber is alone, heading back to the smithy. Swooping down, I enter through the back unseen and pull him in right when he opens the door.

"Yah! Lad! Oh, you're okay! Now what in Odin's name were ya thinkin'!? Ya coulda been killed! And the night fury! What if-"

"Gobber!" I shout. "I'm fine, but something's not right. Those dragons, Toothless, it was like they were possessed. I'm going to find him. He was shot by a bola."

"Now just you wait, laddie," Gobber says, pulling me back by the scruff of my shirt. Aw, man, what's he gonna say now? I need to find my friend. "Ya don't know what that dragon is capable of in that state of mind. I'm comin'. And second, ya can't just go walkin' 'round the village all willy nilly like that." Oh. Right.

"Okay, meet me on the edge of the forest by the north cliffs," I say, exiting through the back and taking off once again.

Toothless isn't far from there, though conveniently far enough away from the village for comfort. He's still wrapped up in the bola, and he's out cold. It isn't long before he comes to.

"Ohhh, my head hurts. And my tail hurts... My everything hurts," he groans, eyes fluttering open.

I chuckle a little. "This is becoming a bad habit," I say, gesturing to the bola.

"Wh- Hiccup, c'mon, get me out of this thing!"

"Sorry, bud," I say, moving to cut off the rope with my claws. "Just had to make sure you were...you know, you. What happened there, anyways?"

His face darkens. "The Red Death." I stop. "Self-proclaimed 'Queen' of the nest. She caught me in her call. She's as big as a mountain and forces dragons to bring her food. If they don't bring enough, they are the ones eaten.

"What she does, it's horrible. She forces most of our conscience aside, replacing what is missing with the desire, no, need to fulfill her wishes. Going against that is like having your wings ripped off." He looks so...small, saying this. "Tell Gobber. He needs to know."

And I do. I tell him everything.

"I'm sorry, Toothless," he says, kneeling down.

A crash and arguing sounds in the distance from villagers trying to fix their homes. "Gobber," I say. "You should probably go help them."

He nods, standing up to leave. "We'll do somethin' about this, don't you worry. I have no idea what, but we'll do somethin'."

"When you were struggling," I start, choosing my words carefully. "Fighting her... What did she tell you to do?"

He looks at me with the saddest, most haunted face I could never imagine on my best friend. "Kill you."

I freeze in stunned silence. In a small voice, I respond, "Thank you for fighting her, Toothless."

"Of course," he says. "I'm not gonna kill my best friend." He looks down at the ropes. "But can my best friend please get me out of this bola?"

"Sorry, bud," I laugh guiltily, snapping off the rope. He gets up, stretching a bit, and I stop cold. "T-Toothless..." He looks up at me, concerned. "Your tail..."

He swings it over to look at his tail, which is missing a fin. It has been ripped clean off.

"H-hey," he starts, looking at me. "It's alright. I broke Red's control over me. I've never felt more free," he says, feigning content, but it is merely a mask hiding a broken soul. "I'm gonna go to sleep, now," he says, turning back to the cove and looking longingly at the sky. "I suggest you do the same."

* * * * * * *

That night, I am haunted by a dragon's broken cries.

This is my fault. If I hadn't been in the way, he wouldn't have taken the bola for me.

I sit up with burning determination. Grabbing the notebook that I have been keeping since this whole thing started, I head to the smithy in the dead of night.

This is my fault, so it's my responsibility.