53. Raid on my Parade

The smell of burnt wood.

The sounds of screaming Villagers, beating wings, and howling beasts.

The inescapable heat, as the world around you was engulfed in flame.

Silhouettes of winged creatures, framed by the raging inferno.

It was like a scene out of Hell.

Or as they called it on Berk, Thursday.

The Madrigals watched in terror from the entrance to the Great Hall, as Vikings frantically scrambled to grab a weapon and defend their village. As monstrous lizards descended from the sky, looking to pick off any food they could get their claws on.

They felt like they understood why the Berkians were so aggressive and bitter, at least a little.

Hiccup had seen this before. He’d seen many raids in his life.

But he was seeing this one in a different light.

He now knew that these dragons weren’t demons, looking to destroy just for the thrill of causing suffering. The dragons themselves were suffering.

They weren’t in control of their own wills, or perhaps even their minds. Forced to pillage and kill, only to be killed in return.

These weren’t monsters. They were slaves.

It made his stomach churn.

“They may not even know what they’re doing…” He whispered, horrified. “They might have no idea what they’re doing, and they’re gonna be slaughtered for it…”

Mirabel heard this, and grew a resolute frown. “Not if we have anything to say about it!”

Hiccup looked to her in shock, as she continued. “We’ll help the village, and the dragons!”

Her sisters and cousin nodded with determined grins, and Toothless crouched low. Gesturing to his back.

They were ready for action.

After a brief stunned silence, Hiccup grinned himself.

“Man…my family is awesome!”

He hopped onto Toothless, Mirabel sitting behind him, and spoke to the Madrigals. “Defend the people, and the livestock. But make sure no dragons are killed!”

Without a second more of hesitation, they took off. The others in their group rushing off into town.

Immediately upon hitting the air were they met with a swarm of dragons, all looking for food to steal.

They bobbed and weaved through the flock, on the lookout for danger.

And danger they found.

A Gronckle was readying a blast of lava, aimed directly at a row of huts.

Toothless pounced on it, and jumped off it like it was a platform. It was knocked off course, and buzzed about wildly trying to realign itself. It crashed onto the ground with a thud, eyes spinning dizzily.

Scanning the dark skies, something caught Mirabel’s attention. “Over there!”

At Mirabel’s shout, they spotted a Hideous Zippleback spraying its gas over a group of Vikings. Speeding up, they flew through the cloud. Dissipating it before the dual-headed dragon could ignite the smog.

Confused at the lack of an earth-shattering kaboom, the two heads faced each other. The right head scowled, as if blaming its brother. And the left head meekly smiled.

A plasma blast combusting to their right spooked them out of their stare down, and they swiftly flew off elsewhere.

Coughing as they waved the haze out of their faces, Mirabel and Hiccup caught the Vikings waving up to them gratefully.

They allowed themselves to smile, thankful that they’d prevented those dragons from hurting anyone.

But it wasn’t just the dragons they had to worry about.

A quick screech from Toothless got a nearby Nadder’s focus, just in time for it to dodge an axe that was swinging for its neck.

Seeing a troop of Berkians wielding crossbows, aimed right an unsuspecting Gronckle, another plasma blast was required. The light temporarily blinding the archers, and ruining their shots.

It was hard work, making sure neither side killed the other.

It was especially tough, as they had to make sure their dragon rescues were relatively discreet. But it was what they had to do.

And Mirabel had to admit, as much as she disliked fighting, flying around at high speeds, looking for action…

It was exhilarating!

There was flash of flame, in the village plaza.

A Monstrous Nightmare had set itself ablaze, and was duking it out with Stoick. A group of crying children behind him.

They had to help.

“Hang on!” He called to Mirabel, as they went into a dive.

Accelerating at rapid speeds, they intercepted the Nightmare with another plasma blast. Right before it could snap at Stoick’s arm with its toothy snout.

The force of the explosion knocked both the chief and the dragon back a bit, in opposite directions. As the trio landed in the middle of plaza.

The Nightmare glowered at the new arrivals, and roared intimidatingly. But Toothless was undeterred, spreading his wings and releasing an even mightier shriek. Rattling the ears of all who were present.

Night Furies are loud.

Thoroughly frightened, the dragon’s flames fizzled out. And it slunk away, tail between its legs.

Dazed, Stoick had to do a double take at what he saw before him.

His son and the Madrigal girl sat atop the most illusive of dragons. And they’d just defended him, and the children, from a raging Nightmare.

And with their faces illuminated by the flames, the wind blowing through their hair, and their stone-cold expressions…

They looked like heroes of legend.

“We probably look so cool right now…” Hiccup whispered, fighting a dorky grin.

“I know, right?” Mirabel replied.

The Viking kids were awestruck.

“Woah…” “That was awesome!” “” Is the Night Fury friendly?”

“…Hiccup?” The man eventually muttered, in disbelief. “What are you both doing?”

The boy looked down on him with an expression of mild interest. At best.

“Protecting the village. What’s it look like?” He shrugged.

Before Stoick could respond, panicked bleating filled their ears.

A frenzied flock of sheep was scampering down the hill, unknowingly heading right into the eager talons of the dragons.

They had to be stopped before they scurried to their deaths, and Mirabel leapt at the opportunity.

“I got it!” She slid off of Toothless, and ran over to the sheep without a second thought.

Hiccup made to follow her, but just then, a building exploded.

The forge was now barely more than a pillar of flame, and the scrawny teen was suddenly very afraid.

“Gobber!” He cried, brimming with concern.

Mirabel saw this as well, and briefly halted her ewe chasing.

“I’ll get the sheep!” She declared. “You go help Gobber!”

He didn’t need to be told twice.

They nodded to each other, and dashed towards opposing directions.

Jumping into seas of fire, in defense of the village and its inhabitants.

Stoick still wasn’t entirely sure that he’d seen what he’d just seen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buildings were crumbling fast.

But Luisa was faster.

Various huts broke into pieces, as dragons torched their exteriors and rammed through their walls. Searching for any scraps.

But Luisa thundered through the village, pulling anyone she could find out of harm’s way. No one was getting hurt on her watch.

A house was about to collapse, with someone still in it. His leg broken from a previous incident.

He desperately tried to crutch himself to safety, but his efforts were fruitless. It looked as if he would perish in the flames of his own home.

Until Luisa took a flying leap through a hole blasted in his wall and launched herself onto him, bursting through the other wall and into the outside. Just as the building came crashing down.

“You alright?” She gently asked the Viking, standing over him. As he began to nod, his face suddenly became one of fear. And he feverishly pointed behind her.

A Gronckle was diving for her, maws wide open. She quickly performed a dodge roll, and let it soar over her.

She then saw that it was now aiming for the man she’d just rescued. She hurried over, and grabbed its bulbous tail right before it could bite his head off. With a mighty swing, she flung it in the opposite direction. Tossing it high into the air.

Wide eyed, the Gronckle righted itself and just kept flying in that direction. Too embarrassed to return.

Barely even winded from the exertion, she looked down with concern at the Viking she’d rescued twice now.

The young man was utterly entranced, and even seemed to be blushing a little. “Where have you been all my life?” He asked.

“Uh…Colombia?” She replied.

Suddenly, the ground began rumbling from beneath them. She quickly picked the Viking up in her arms, and ferried him to a safer position. Occasionally tripping from the quaking of the earth, but never dropping him.

She relinquished him to a nearby group of Berkians, who then took him to safety. Confident that he’d be okay, she tried to figure out what was causing these tremors.

It didn’t take long to find her answer.

A massive dragon, nearly twenty feet tall, was charging across the village. Wrecking anything in its path with its sizeable antlers. The scattered debris from the pulverized buildings not making a scratch on its rough scarlet and violet scales.

“A CRIMSON GOREGUTTER!” She heard someone cry, and she supposed that was its name.

This thing was wrecking the town like it was nothing. Blindly surging forward, and bludgeoning anything behind it with its axe-like tail. For the average person, it would be a truly formidable foe.

For Luisa, it’d be just like lifting a donkey.

She rushed ahead to intercept its charge. Planting her feet in the ground, she caught it by the antlers. It still continued to try and stampede, and Luisa was forced back a bit. Her feet creating grooves in the dirt. But soon enough, she slowed it to a complete stop.

Angry that its rampage was ended, it snorted furious steam from its nostrils and reared up on its hind legs. Intending to squish the girl.

Luisa dodged the crashing paws. And she dodged again, and again. The dragon repeatedly tried to crush her, to no avail.

Each time it did so caused the ground to shake and quake again, and she saw the buildings quivering on their foundations.

She had to put an end to this.

The next time it reared up, she moved forwards. Standing directly underneath its belly. Holding her arms up, she caught the beast by its stomach, and hefted it over her head.

The antlered dragon now wore a stunned expression, as she began to take aim.

It actually looked rather timid, being held up like this.

“You need a time out!” She exclaimed. Before she chucked the large dragon into the nearest half-wrecked building she could find.

The barn.

Soaring through the air, this time not of its own volition, It crashed through the scorched roof. Collapsing on a bed of hay. The hulking beast then decided that a nap sounded good right now, and drifted off into unconsciousness.

Luisa was actually quite anxious now. She hadn’t meant to seriously hurt it, it looked big enough to take a hit or two.

She hoped she didn’t do any real damage.

The sounds of nearby explosions brought Luisa out of her musing, and she remembered she was still in a battle.

But before she left, she spotted the broken-legged Viking still standing there. Gawking at her.

It seemed he’d hobbled over from safety, into the middle of the fracas. just to watch her work.

She marched over and placed her strong hands on if shoulders, making him sputter with confusion.

“Make sure nothing happens to that dragon!” She pleaded. “Can you do that for me?”

He didn’t know why she cared about the dragon.

But when a giant woman asks something of you, you don’t tell her no.

Mouth agape, he dopily nodded.

Satisfied, she rushed off into the fray. Helping whoever she could, wherever she could.

And occasionally thinking back to that dragon. Wondering if he was alright.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You wouldn’t think plant powers would be good against fire-breathing reptiles.

But you’d be surprised.

Yes, they burned any plant she threw at them. She couldn’t just tie them in vines and call it a day.

That simply meant she had to get creative.

She’d summon corpse flowers when Nadders were near, assaulting their sensitive senses of smell.

She’d use the massive leaves of a palm tree to fan away Zippleback gas, leaving the sparking head a click-click without a boom to follow.

Fires were doused in the waters held by oversized cactuses.

And perhaps her most intuitive creation…sleep bombs.

Small flower buds, packed with sleep-inducing pollen.

She’d lob these flowers like grenades, at any dragon she caught trying to nab food or attack a villager. Knocking them out within seconds, and sending them to a cozy sleep.

She fought with the Vikings, and sometimes against them. Subtly using her pollen to keep them from decapitating the poor reptiles at times.

Honestly, Isabela was enjoying herself.

The thrill of battle, your blood pumping, your heart racing. A new threat around every corner.

After years of being a living doll, this type of excitement was more than welcomed.

She grew a cactus right under a storming Nadder’s foot, making the beast hop around in discomfort. And a flowerbed escorted a Yak away from a grasping Gronckle. All the while she continued chucking sleep bombs at airborne lizards.

But as the fight continued, the strangest thing occurred.

Isabela began to smell…chocolate.

The sweetest, most delectable chocolate she’d ever smelled.

And after tasting Berk food, she’d kill to eat something with flavor right now.

She began to wonder just what chocolate was doing here? And where exactly was it? Was it in somebody’s house? But the houses are being burned down. The chocolate might be destroyed! She had to save the chocolate!

Rational thought leaving her mind, she rushed off in search of the sweets. Leaving the Vikings present to fight on without her.

Following her nose, she found herself behind a nearby hut. No chocolate in sight.

But while she didn’t see or smell anything, she did hear something.

An odd hissing, coming from right behind her.

She suddenly turned, to see…

A flower.

Actually, there were four.

Four large flowers, with pink stamens twitching in the breeze. They peeked out from behind an adjacent building, resting on long, snakelike stems.

But what was very peculiar, is that the petals of these flowers seemed to be lined with…teeth?

It was then that Isabela realized that these were not flowers.

She jumped back, just in time, as one of the supposed flowers snapped at her. It’s triple-split jaw closing with incredible speed and strength.

Backing away, she watched as the creature brought itself into full view.

Its olive-green body slithered around the corner, long and covered with leaf-like protrusions. Not one, not two, but four heads towered over the girl. Glaring at her with malicious intent, and a bit of condescension.

Isabela saw this, the haughtiness in its gaze, and immediately bristled with indignation.

“Does this dragon think its…better than me?”

While she was eyeing the beast warily, she didn’t notice as its wiry double tipped-tail whipped around from behind to trip her off her feet.

She fell flat on her rump, and heard more weird hissing. She watched the four heads titter to each other, and knew exactly what the hissing was.

It was laughing at her.

Growling with frustration, she let her anger guide her. Summoning a round cactus, she threw it towards one of the heads.

Three of the heads dodged, but one of them, slightly longer than the others, caught it with its mouth. And after a moment’s hesitation, crushed the plant within its snapping jaws. Spines and all.

Isabela was actually kind of impressed.

The dragon looked very angry now, and its four heads opened in unison. Spraying a fine mist throughout the alleyway.

Having fought a fair share of Zipplebacks tonight, Isabela knew what was coming next. Thinking fast, she grew a large and thick aloe leaf. Holding it in front of her like a shield.

The ensuing blast launched her out of the alley, and back into the open. But the now singed aloe leaf protected her from any damage.

From out of the smoke, the dragon emerged liked a quartet of sinister serpents.

The first head growled, the second head snarled, the third head rumbled…

And the fourth head was staring at the stars, enchanted by the pretty lights.

The first three snapped at their absent-minded sister, demanding she focus on the task at hand.

The four all turned back to face Isabela, only to find that she was gone.

Whipping their necks around to find their missing prey, they felt their feet being abruptly pulled together. Falling to the ground, they realized their paws were now bound together by a sturdy vine.

The eldest Madrigal grandchild stood a few feet away from the dragon, grinning smugly. “It’s not so funny when you’re the one getting tripped, huh?”

Growling all together, they broke free of their bindings and began to give chase.

Isabela had to act quick, as she’d most likely only have one shot to get this right.

The dragon marched forwards, clearly enraged at being made to look foolish.

Almost…

All of its jaws were opened wide, most likely intending to tear her limb from limb and split the remains evenly between itself.

Almost…

The gnashing of teeth and the scent of chocolate overwhelmed her senses.

NOW!

Isabela willed a giant flower into existence, bigger than any she’d made before. She grew it directly under the dragon, and before it could do anything else, the large petals folded up. Trapping the beast inside.

It clawed and writhed from within, but that would end in a moment. This flower was a supersized version of one of her sleep buds, and the creature was already inhaling the pollen.

From inside the flower, Isabela could see its movements grow more and more sluggish. Until eventually it just stopped struggling entirely.

Isabela walked up to her flower, and gave it a few pats. Proud of her handiwork.

Trapping a plant-like dragon in a plant. It was pretty funny.

A Viking approached her, eyeing the flower with caution. “Did you just catch a Snaptrapper in a flower?” He asked, incredulously.

She paused as he spoke that name.

Snaptrapper. Like some sort of demonic Venus flytrap.

…It was fitting.

She nodded to the man, before looking back to her giant flower. This time pondering the creature housed within.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Camilo enjoyed a bit of chaos, but he had his limits.

He ran and ducked and dodged, avoiding the dragons flying overhead like his life depended on it.

Because it did.

He tried to help where he could, but his gift wasn’t the most combat oriented. Yes he could transform into a burly Viking, but that wouldn’t give him the knowledge or ability to fight.

He relied on trickery, and it was kind of hard to deceive dragons who fired at every human they saw on sight.

He mostly just helped children, the elderly, and the sick or injured get to safety. It was good work, but he wasn’t fighting like his relatives were. He felt like he should be doing more.

But he also felt like he’d like to live.

It was a conundrum.

As he crept out of an alleyway, hoping to avoid detection by any reptiles, he heard sounds of a scuffle.

Peeking over a wall, he saw a group of Vikings fighting…

Nothing.

They were waving their swords and hammers around, shields raised defensively. But there were no dragons to be seen.

He was ready to write them off as wackos and continue on his way, until he saw the most peculiar thing.

A spurt of green liquid shot out from…somewhere, and onto a nearby Viking’s shield. The shield began melting upon contact.

He watched more, confounded at the origins of the strange liquid.

And then he saw something.

The briefest glimpse of a decently large lizard flashed into existence, before flashing away.

There was a dragon here.

The Vikings saw it too, running over to attack it. When they did, the dragon appeared behind them. Spouting acid at them once more.

Avoiding the sizzling substance, they all charged in the opposite direction. Only for the dragon to disappear, reappear behind them again, and shoot more acid.

Every time it confounded the warriors, it appeared to chuckle.

It was a tricky dragon, it seemed.

But Camilo had a few tricks of his own.

Picking up a small rock, he joined the Vikings who were huddling with each other. Looking all over for the illusory beast.

“Don’t worry, guys. Loki’s got a plan!” He spoked in a hushed voice. “All you gotta do, is stand still…”

Despite Loki being dubious at best in all the legends, they still decided to trust him.

They all stood, facing where the dragon once was. The Berkians were fearful, but Camilo knew its strategy now.

As soon as he heard the slightest shift of the grass behind them, he turned and threw his pebble.

It connected with the dragon before it could spit more acid. The creature briefly flashed as it winced in mild pain, after which it disappeared again.

He retrieved his pebble, and repeated the process. Throwing it at the dragon as soon as he knew where it was. A number of times.

The Vikings were awfully confused. How did he expect a pebble to slay a dragon?

The crimson reptile was growing agitated, Camilo could tell. Whenever he could see it, its round eyes were glaring daggers at him.

Which is good. That’s exactly what he wanted.

After the fifth time hitting it with the pebble, the dragon was at the end of its rope.

Forgetting its scheme, it appeared in full. Yellow and green tipped tail lashing about with rage.

It spared not a glance to the other Vikings present, only Camilo.

Fangs bared, it charged at him.

Only to stop, as Camilo disappeared.

Instead, there was a fourth Viking present. Identical to one of the others. Standing right where Camilo was a moment ago.

Hissing with displeasure, the red dragon searched the area for any sign of the irritating boy.

One of the Vikings started to move, but it cared not. It was looking for Camilo, and Camilo alone.

Now standing behind the dragon, Camilo in the form of a Viking reverted back to his normal self. And whistled to get the dragon’s attention.

Seeing its target, it growled with anger and launched itself at the boy. Talons outstretched, with full desire to maul.

But what it didn’t expect was for the teen to morph into the form of a far shorter child, causing the dragon to miss him entirely. Colliding with the wall he was standing in front of.

The dragon released one last petulant hiss, as she was knocked out cold.

The shifter grinned triumphantly over the slumbering dragon. “You can’t trick the trickster!” He proclaimed.

The Vikings thanked him for the save, while muttering something about how they were gonna tell their spouses that Loki rescued them from a Changewing.

He looked back to the dragon, the Changewing, and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of respect for it.

Anyone who enjoyed a good prank was alright in his book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trying to protect sheep during a dragon raid was an ordeal Mirabel would not recommend.

It made her a giant, bespectacled target. Everywhere she went there were talons swooping for her, teeth chomping at her, bursts of flame right at her feet.

All for a couple fluffy sheep.

One of the sheep was even picked up by a Nightmare, causing Mirabel to jump up and grab onto it. She was dragged by the dragon for a moment, feet dangling in the open air, before she managed to swing herself and the animal free.

But as awesome as that felt to pull off, it was way too close.

She needed to get the livestock somewhere safe. And fast.

Herding the scrambling lambs through town, trying her very best to avoid ferocious reptiles and crossbow crossfire, she found what she believed to be a suitable location.

Berk’s armory.

Surely, the smell of gunpowder and rusty metal would hide the sheep’s scent from the dragons. It was the perfect hiding spot.

“Alright, alright, vamos, vamos, let’s go!” She hastily urged the sheep to waddle into the building, keeping an eye out for peeping Gronckles or nosey Nadders.

Shutting the door behind them, she steered them all to the back of the armory. Tucked behind barrels and crates full of weapons.

“Now stay here…” She murmured to the animals. “And don’t make a peep!”

She really emphasized the word peep, drawing attention to the fact that it rhymed with sheep.

They didn’t get it.

Her smile dropped into a half-lidded frown. “Tough crowd…” She grumbled.

But then she noticed that the sheep were quivering in fear, and looking beyond her.

Now more uneasy than before, she turned to try and see just what they were gawking at.

And what she saw brought a shiver down her spine.

Two large, round, yellow eyes were staring at her from the darkness. Perched up above, hidden atop the armory’s ceiling.

She instinctively took a step back, and the eyes followed her movements. Puzzled, she took a step to the right, and then the left. The eyes kept track of her, no matter what she did.

She squinted her own eyes, and tilted her head in all sorts of directions. The eyes following her tilts. But she just couldn’t make out what was hiding.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t looking at the sheep. Its eyes were locked solely on her.

She felt a jolt of fear, as she realized she was its lone focus. She really hoped this wasn’t a hungry dragon, with a hankering for the taste of Madrigal.

She considered running out the front door, but it was positioned right above it. If she ran, it would catch her.

So the staring contest continued.

Blasts and screeches and yelling continued on outside, but they were only focused on each other.

Despite herself, and how sweaty she was getting, Mirabel couldn’t help but feel that the eyes were captivating. So large, and round.

As a child, when she’d first gotten her glasses, everyone had said that they made her eyes look super round. And she was reminded of that, in this instance.

And the way they were looking at her. These didn’t seem like the eyes of a mindless beast, it looked at her with intelligence. And intrigue. It was fascinated by her, she felt.

And she couldn’t deny that she herself was fascinated by it.

It blinked one eye, then the other. It then opened it’s first eye, followed by the second.

The unsynchronized blinking brought a giggle out of Mirabel. She couldn’t help it, it looked so silly!

The eyes widened, seemingly surprised by her laughter. Then, to Mirabel’s shock, it actually began to slowly move.

Most of it was still obscured by the darkness, but she saw the barest hints of a claw, and a glint of golden scales…

She waited with baited breath to finally see the mystifying creature…

But then the weirdest smell wafted through the armory.

A split second later, an explosion burst a hole through the building’s wall. Knocking Mirabel to the ground.

She was a bit singed, but unharmed. Looking up, she saw the head of a wily Zippleback snaking through the hole. Licking its chops at the sight of the trembling sheep.

Hurrying to her feet, she looked for something that could help her defend the livestock. Anything.

…Oh wait. She was in an armory.

Reaching into a crate, she plucked the least deadly hammer she could find out of the pile. She didn’t want to seriously harm it, but she wouldn’t let it hurt the sheep.

Now armed with the bludgeoning tool, she stormed over to the dragon’s head just as it was about to take a bite of raw lambchop-

And was met with a mighty wallop to its jaw.

It reeled back, more out of surprise than pain. It looked to the girl in disbelief, as if it hadn’t expected something like that from her.

If she was being honest, Mirabel felt the same.

She regarded the creature with a stern glower, and brandished her hammer. A warning.

Its look of shocked turned into a scowl, and it began to remove itself from the armory.

Sighing, Mirabel turned back to the sheep to ensure they were all okay.

But she made a fatal mistake.

She forgot about the second head.

A clicking alerted her to the danger that was lurking behind her, and she quickly turned to face it.

She tried to raise her hammer to defend herself, but the Zippleback was faster.

It launched at her, jaws wide open and ready to rip into flesh-

Only for a torrent of flame to hit the it square in the cheek, blasting it back and causing it to knock into a nearby shelf.

The now dislodged items tumbled off the shelf, conking the Zippleback on the forehead as they fell one by one.

Wounded in several places, but mostly its pride, the second head retreated as well. And the entire dragon flew off elsewhere.

Mirabel kept her eyes on the hole in the wall, just a bit longer. Looking to catch any more surprises.

But there were none.

Finally allowing herself to breathe, she looked over to view her mystery savior.

But she found nothing. Lights from the flames outside illuminated the armory, and where there were eyes up above before, now was a just blank ceiling.

She actually felt a bit disappointed.

But she was left with some proof of her secretive new friend. A dragon scale, pale gold in color, sat on the ground.

She picked it up, and gently examined it. Before tucking it into her pocket for safekeeping. She’d ask Hiccup about it later.

And strangely enough, she felt like this wouldn’t be the last time she’d encounter the creature.

She shoved a large crate to block the hole, hopefully preventing the sheep from being seen.

After that, she finally moved to leave the armory. But before she did, she faced the huddling herd one last time.

She pointed to her eyes, and then to theirs. “I’ve got my eyes on ewe!”

They still didn’t get it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hiccup arrived at the forge, it was enveloped in a pillar of smoke. The flames from within burning brightly.

He couldn’t see Gobber.

Hopping off Toothless’ back, he began to rush in. Wanting to save the blacksmith as soon as possible.

But he was pulled back, as Toothless bit onto his vest and kept him in place.

“What the-Toothless!?” Hiccup, beginning to panic as the fire burned brighter. “What are you doing?”

The dragon moved in front of him, wearing a stern glare. He looked to the flaming forge, and then back to Hiccup. Before stamping the ground and snorting.

Even without Antonio to translate, he understood the message.

“I’m fireproof, and you’re not. You stay here.”

As much as Hiccup wanted to argue, he knew they didn’t have time.

“F-Fine, alright. Just-hold on…” The boy quickly removed his tail-fin, so it wouldn’t get damaged in the fire. With that done, Toothless dived into the forge.

And Hiccup just stood there. Anxiety multiplying with each passing moment.

His thoughts began running a mile a minute, as doomsday scenarios played out in his mind.

“What if he’s not in there? Or what if he’s already dead? What if he’s not there, and Toothless dies? What he is in there, but Toothless dies anyway? What if we all die!? What if- “

A splash of water brought him out of his thoughts.

Now soaking wet, he looked over to see Snotlout holding an empty bucket. Grinning deviously.

“Woops, sorry! You’re so freakishly skinny, I thought you were a tree!” He spoke, in a tone that implied that this absolutely wasn’t the truth.

“Snotlout!” Astrid shouted, marching over with a cross look. “You see the forge literally burning to cinders, and the first thing you do is waste water pranking Hiccup!?”

Fishlegs and the twins were hard at work, trying to put out the fire, as Snotlout sputtered.

“Uh-I mean-Uh-Y’know-Uh…” Not being able to form a coherent answer, he figured he’d charm his way out of this.

His slimy smirk returned. “Look, babe- “

His sure to be obnoxious speech was cut off, as his face was assaulted by a cactus.

“My bad.” Spoke Isabela, as she arrived on the scene. “I heard him speaking, and that just kinda happened automatically!”

Astrid snickered, but Hiccup still looked dreadfully nervous.

The other Madrigals showed up as well, as the teens finished dousing the flames. All that remained was billowing smoke…

And a Night Fury, leaping out of the forge with a shriek. Gobber on his back.

Hiccup rushed over, inspecting the man for damage.

He was unconscious, and covered in scorch marks. He was pretty scratched up, as well.

Hiccup patted his face a few times, trying to wake him up. “Come on, Gobber. You’re fine, come on…”

His breathing was so subtle, he may as well not have been.

Feeling his panic return, he began trying even harder to wake the man up. “C-Come on! You’ve survived worse than this! You’re fine, wake up!”

He was really starting to worry.

Right before the unconscious blacksmith could give the boy a heart attack, Mirabel sat down next to them. Retrieving an arepa from her pocket, she fed it to the man as best she could.

The teens and the Madrigals watched in respectful silence, hoping Gobber was okay.

From the skies, a chorus of screeches signaled the end of the raid. A swarm of dragons ascending to the skies beneath the rising sun.

Notably, they’d taken a lot less food than usual. And they were leaving in higher numbers.

Stoick tromped over to the forge. He was glad to see the fire already put out.

And mortified to see his old friend, passed out on the ground.

Rushing over, he was just about to begin shouting orders so the man could be properly attended to.

But to everyone’s shock, Gobber woke up.

Gasping for air, he suddenly sat up and looked around. Wide eyed.

“What in Thor’s name happened?” He muttered, his voice hoarse.

“Gobber? A-Are you alright?” Hiccup asked, greatly concerned.

Gobber eyed him with a strange look. “I’m tellin ye, lad…I was at the gates of Valhalla, about to be welcomed into the eternal resting place of all warriors…when the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted dragged me back to the land of the living!” He exclaimed, befuddled.

Hiccup allowed himself a relieved smile, as Mirabel laughed. “That’s my mom’s cooking, for you!”

Stoick stepped forth, eyeing Hiccup, Mirabel, and the Night Fury. “Did you do…this?” He asked, gesturing to the rescued Gobber.

Hiccup shook his head. “No, he did.” He pointed to Toothless, who puffed out his chest with pride.

…The Night Fury had saved his best friend?

“Well, actually…” Hiccup continued. “Toothless saved him from the fire, and Mirabel woke him up with Julieta’s food.”

Julieta…Stoick recalled that name. She was one of the witches.

His old friend was saved by a dragon, and resuscitated by witch food?

It was very strange.

The raid over with, many townsfolk began gathering where the chief was. Ready to asses damage and discuss rebuilding.

But when they noticed the Madrigals, they suddenly broke out into loud cheers.

“Luisa stopped my house from crumbling!” “That Isabela is a fierce warrior!” “Camilo brought my baby boy to safety!”

They told tales of the epic fights they’d witnessed between the three of them, and three of the more exotic dragon species.

Luisa blushed at the attention. Isabela gave them a wave, much more relaxed than the perfect ones she used to give. And Camilo just soaked up all the praise.

At this information, Stoick looked to them with surprise.

It seemed they’d done a lot to defend the village.

Then, a few children appeared. The same children Stoick was trying to protect earlier.

They pointed to the trio of Hiccup, Mirabel, and Toothless. “They saved us!” “From a Nightmare!” “It was awesome!”

At this revelation, the crowd seemed stunned. Looking at the trio, mostly Hiccup, with sheer disbelief.

Before breaking out into even more applause.

Hiccup felt his heart almost explode from joy.

For once, his contributions to the village were being appreciated. He had tried to help them, and didn’t screw it up.  He wouldn’t believe it, if he wasn’t seeing it.

They were genuinely, sincerely proud of him.

He never, ever thought this day would come. The day Berk acknowledged him as anything more than a talking fishbone, or a walking disaster.

A hand on his shoulder alerted him to Gobber’s presence, looking down on him with a wide smile.

And the boy nearly cried.

Mirabel was so happy watching her boyfriend be so happy, that she nearly missed the shouting man coming down the hill.

“Chief! CHIEF!”

A Viking came running up to Stoick, fighting through the crowd and panting from the exertion. “Chief…its…it’s the sheep…”

At this, Stoick groaned. Time for a damage report. “How many left?”

“…All of them.” He replied, looking very discombobulated.

The crowd released a collective gasp, as Stoick’s jaw nearly dropped. The Viking teens, and even Hiccup were stunned.

The Madrigals had no clue as to why.

“…All of them?” He repeated, in disbelief.

The man nodded. “Aye, all of them. I found them in the armory, safe and sound. I don’t know what they were doing there…”

Mirabel decided it was time to speak up. “That was me, actually!”

“I needed to hide them, from the dragons, so I put them in the armory…” She shrunk, as every eye turned to her. “I-Is that bad?”

Stoick slowly approached her, eyes wide.

“…We haven’t had a raid, where we haven’t lost a sheep…in fifty years…” He spoke, softly.

There was complete silence, for just a moment.

Before the loudest cheers imaginable were roared out by the crowd.

There was dancing and hugging and lovers kissing, people giving each other handshakes and pats on the back. Everyone was celebrating as if a massive accomplishment had been achieved.

“You did the impossible! You saved our sheep!” “You’re a genius!” “The lass truly is miraculous!”

Spitelout abstained. Snotlout was about to join in the celebration, but he saw his father glowering, and decided to glower as well.

Silent Sven, the local shepherd, walked up to Mirabel. Silently crying his eyes out and miming his eternal thanks.

Soon, the chanting began. And they were only saying one name.

“MIRABEL! MIRABEL! MIRABEL!”

The eponymous girl could hardly believe it.

Mainly because it was ridiculous.

But many aspects of Berkian culture were ridiculous. And apparently, she’d just done something very important to them.

Despite her confusion, she couldn’t help but brightly smile at the praise. Her relatives giving her wide grins, and Hiccup pecking her cheek with pride.

Stoick was feeling conflicted.

On the one hand, he was vindicated. Yes, his son’s thing with the dragon was odd and he’d still yet to figure it out. But he was helping the village. And just as he said, the people were being kind to him. The boy was being accepted, and he’d definitely decide to stay!

But then he stopped thinking of what only he wanted, and tried to consider what Hiccup wanted. He did seem happy with the praise, but he also seemed happy with the witches. In fact, he seemed happier with the witches. Would he really want to stay, or would he still want to go with them?

He’d have to talk to him about it later. Listen to him.

But now was a time for celebration.

Grinning widely, Stoick walked behind Hiccup and gave him a mighty slap on the back. “THAT’S MY BOY!”

He still looked uncomfortable, but the boy didn’t flinch away from him this time.

Progress.

After a good while, the cheering and merriment died down just a bit. They still had a town to rebuild, and injuries to address.

But they did so with joy in their hearts.

Mirabel made quick work of the injured, using her mom’s food to heal them in no time. She ended up with a few people proclaiming her as the Goddess of good health. After informing them that her mother made the food, they began praying to Julieta instead.

Gothi, the village healer, was especially interested in the magic food. Asking for the recipe through frantic scribbles. Upon realizing that she’d never be able to replicate the effects, she grew very disheartened.

There’s nothing sadder than a depressed little old lady.

Luisa offered to help rebuild the town, of course. And Stoick could already tell that it would go much faster.

It was a strange, strange night. But the four and a half Madrigals couldn’t say it didn’t turn out well. No causalities on either side, a minor amount of food taken, two thirds of the village still stood.

They did good. Really good.

But one problem remained.

“What’re we gonna do with them?” Camilo asked.

The Goregutter, the Snaptrapper, and the Changewing all stood woozily. Wobbling and swaying on their feet. Having just woken up from unconsciousness.

They’d missed the call to leave, and didn’t return to the nest with the flock. They couldn’t even hear her anymore.

They had no idea what to do.

The chief had no idea what to do.

The Madrigals had no idea what to do.

…But Hiccup...

Hiccup had just gotten a great idea.