Dragonling - The Gathering Storm [a HTTYD 3 rewrite]

Chapter 5 - It's a Trap!

The sun was setting behind the mountains as I walked slowly back towards my house. It had been a good day.

It wasn't over quite yet, though. I wanted to test out my new flightsuit, as well as better explore the forests below Berk. Before the week was out, I wanted to know every detail about Berk and the land surrounding it. That way, if Grimmel attacked, I'd know of escape routes to use.

I reached the edge of Berk. Looking around, I whistled softly, imitating one of the many birds often seen around the island. Spirit arrived moments later. The bird call was my way of letting her know that there was no one around and it was safe to come out.

"Ready?" I asked, just above a whisper.

She rumbled softly. "Ready."

We took off, and were soon skimming over the dark ocean water. I carefully stood up on Spirit's back, trying not to unbalance myself, then checked the wings of my flightsuit one more time. They were secure.

I jumped off her back, soaring down towards the dark waves. At the last second, my wing caught an updraft and I spiraled up into the clear night sky, flailing to stay upright.

Spirit glided alongside me, seeming amused at my attempt to fly on my own. A sudden downdraft gusted, and I plummeted again. This time, Spirit swooped underneath me, catching me just in time. She rumbled a laugh.

"Seems like you'll need a bit of practice with that, ey?"

I flushed. "Hey, it's a lot harder than it looks." Then I remembered I was talking to a dragon. "For someone who's never flown before, that is."

"That's why you need to practice."

It's hard to argue with that kind of logic.

Out of the darkness, somewhere off to the right, shadows moved across the stars. I frowned. No one was really supposed to be out at this time; although there was nothing strictly against it, night flying just tended to be generally more dangerous. Plus, everyone was asleep anyway.

Not that it was too strange, though. Vikings weren't known for not doing dangerous stuff. I'd just thought Spirit and I were the only ones out here, except for…

The guards.

That's what was bothering me. Guards had been set to patrol Berk at night, in case Grimmel tried a sneak attack. But the guards were nowhere to be seen.

Maybe those are the guards, I tried to convince myself.

But it couldn't have been.

The dragons flying across the night sky were unfamiliar, their outline one I'd never seen. Plus, they seemed to be carrying a kind of air ship... I sat bolt upright in the saddle. I had to warn Hiccup.

"Spirit, we need to get back to Berk," I whispered urgently to her.

She nodded, already turning back to the now-familiar island. "We should bring someone else along, for backup. What if one of us is hurt?"

 One person instantly leapt to my mind: Flame. If anyone would be ready for adventure in the middle of the night, it was her.

We circled Berk, sticking to the shadows and searching every house for signs that it housed a Flightmare. On our third circle, I finally spotted it: a house that was glowing faintly blue with what could only be Flightmare gel.

We swooped in. I quickly dismounted Spirit, then ran to the front of the house. I pounded on the door. "Flame! I need you! Wake up!"

There was no response, but the door swung open under my incessant pounding. She must've forgotten to lock it. Good for me, anyway. I paused a moment to get my bearings in the unfamiliar house - good thing most Viking houses are built about the same - before dashing up the stairs. I ran over to Flame, shaking her awake.

She came to with a start. "Huh? What? No! Not the cabbage! Oh, I mean, uh... hi, Rowen. What're you doing?"

"No time to *gasp* explain, but I think *wheeze* Grimmel's here. Come on, and *puff* bring a dragon." I was having a hard time catching my breath after running up the stairs.

 Flame immediately jumped out of bed. As I'd suspected, her bow and cloak were within easy reach and she was already dressed for adventure. "I'll be right there. Don't start the fun without me," she joked.

I had to grin at that. "Don't *huff* worry, I'll save plenty of *pant* enemies for you, too." I shot her a smile, then ran back down the stairs to where Spirit was waiting impatiently.

"I’ll wait here. You just hurry up and help the Riders." I nodded, then turned, running for our chief’s house. The sky was beginning to glow, though a faint smoky haze hung low over my vision. Strange, I thought. I'm pretty sure it's still nighttime. Then it struck me. That wasn't daylight.

It was fire.

Sure enough, as I emerged over the hill, every building was on fire. Smoke wafted in thick sheets, making me cough and burning my eyes. Flame and a strange dragon flew up beside me; I didn't have much time to focus on what kind of dragon it was, however.

Four shiny black dragons hovered nearby, carrying the airship I'd seen. A tall figure ran out of Hiccup's house, whistling sharply. Another of the dragons flew over and carried him into his ship. I could just barely hear him as he called behind, "This is what I will do to everything you love if you do not give up that Night Fury!"

Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Toothless came running out of Hiccup's house, mere seconds before it collapsed in a shower of sparks. I ran over to them. "Are you guys alright? What happened? Was that Grimmel? What kind of dragons were those? What do you need me to do?"

Hiccup coughed, waving his hand to clear the smoke away from his face. "Well, it would be helpful if you could assist in putting out these fires," he suggested.

"I'm on it!" Flame shot by on her orange dragon, which was spraying ice everywhere. In seconds, the fire on Hiccup's house was out, and the other fires were pretty close.

I jogged over to one of the firefighting buckets, but it was completely dry, scorched by the flames. I noticed someone standing a short distance away, but they didn't do anything to help and soon turned away. Flame seemed to have it under control anyway, and a minute or two later they were all out.

"So, now that we're out of immediate danger, what say you answer my questions?" I pressed.

Hiccup sighed. "As you guessed, yes, that was Grimmel. Those dragons he had with him are Deathgrippers; they spray a highly flammable acid... and he controls them completely. As for what happened... Well, I'm not entirely sure what happened myself."

He went on to relate his tale; how Grimmel had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere; how he'd attempted to make a 'deal' with Hiccup; how when Hiccup refused, Grimmel had threatened him and Berk; how despite all the precautions the Riders had prepared, everything had quickly turned in Grimmel's favor. "So, now there's a dangerous madman in the loose who wants to kill Toothless and who would do anything to do so," Hiccup finished. We all sat in silence for a second, letting it all sink in.

Then Flame spoke up.

 "So what now?"