FORTY-SEVEN: The Fifth Lens

The battle with the Fliers was going as well as could be expected-which was really, really badly as, outnumbered three-to-one, the Riders were barely able to evade the barrage of fireballs and blasts that threatened to take them down. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder and then glanced upwards.

"Back into the storm!" he commanded. "They won't follow us!" Immediately, they arched upwards and plunged into the roiling clouds. If anything, the storm had gotten worse, the winds fiercer and rain harder. And lightning was exploding all around them.

"We may have underestimated them," Heather shouted as they dodged Singetail fireballs.

"Yeah-you may make a great chief one day," Snotlout snarked. "Just know-I will NOT be living on your island!"

"Well, that's so comforting, Snotlout-but right now we need to figure out a way to neutralise these guys!" he sassed back, eyes darting from side to side as lightning bolts clustered around them. Snotlout's earlier comment about the metal was starting to concern him.

"I can think of plenty of ways to neutralise them..." Snotlout boasted-but got no further as a huge lightning bolt slammed into him. He jerked and Hookfang gave a shocked roar-before the pair separated and pinwheeled limply towards the sea, far below.

"SNOTLOUT!" Hiccup and Heather screamed at the same time and dived down, with Toothless gently grasping his cousin and Windshear catching the stunned Hookfang before either could slam fatally into the sea. But the pair were stunned and out of it, useless in the fight and swinging the odds even more firmly in favour of the Fliers. Skimming low over the sea, Hiccup led the way, zooming as fast as he dared away from the pursuing Fliers. They were close to a small collection of rocks and as he circled, he saw a wrecked ship, half-resting on the rocky islet with a huge hole in the deck.

"There!" he shouted and Toothless whipped in, followed by the Razorwhip.

Inside, Snotlout recovered much more quickly than the dazed Hookfang and Snotlout gently hugged his dragon, not concerned that his friends were briefly witnessing his usually well-buried caring side.

"It's alright, Hookie-I won't that big, bad lightning hurt you ever again," he soothed the whimpering dragon. Heather rolled her eyes.

"Snotlout-the chances of getting hit by lightning more than once are...maybe, one in a million?' she pointed out.

"Really, Heather? Well, you might want to check your Math-because I count THREE times for me, just in the last year!" She stared at him, her jaw dropped.

"How many times has he been struck by lightning?" she asked Hiccup incredulously. He shrugged.

"Oh, far too many to count," he admitted. "Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have any lasting effects. Woo us!"

But immediately, there was a crash and the whole ship began to shake. Hiccup stared at the deck, which was beginning to part.

"They're getting stronger, more fearless..." he realised and rested his head in his hand. "What was I thinking?"

"That every second they're here is a second they're not heading back for Johann," Heather told him.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate lightning?" Snotlout commented, sitting down and rubbing his forehead. "I mean, I really hate it." Hiccup rose to his feet and looked into his cousin's face, checking he was okay.

"How's Hookfang?" he asked with concern. As leader of the Riders, the Riders and their dragons were all in his charge. Snotlout shrugged.

"He'll be fine," he admitted. "His saddle is toast though-it was made out of metal. Mister Lightning's favourite meal!" He shook his fist at the unseen clouds. Hiccup paused and then looked up.

"Metal..." he breathed.

"Yes, metal!" Snotlout snarked. "Were you not paying attention when I pointed that out earlier? Or do you never listen to the Wit and Wisdom of Snotlout-even when I'm always being proved right? Lightning always goes for metal-usually when it's on my head!" But Hiccup was already staring at the remaining cargo in the stricken wreck...weapons, especially bolas...

oOo

Fishlegs was running as fast as he could back towards the beach even as the Grim Gnashers arrowed down towards the helpless and vulnerable Sentinels. The twins and Dagur on their dragons intercepted and tried to drive them away but the Gnashers, seeing their chance, we much more determined this time.

"I hope you're going to hurry up because there are far more of them than there are of us," Tuff noted as Belch slammed another Grim Gnashers back.

"And soon there will be none of us!" Ruff yelled encouragingly as Barf head-butted another Grim Gnashers. Meatlug and the little Gronckle were both desperately continuing to wrap the fallen Sentinels in lava as Fishlegs tried to run and flick through the journal he had found in Oswald's hut.

"I know-I'm trying to find something..." he protested.

"Try harder," Dagur advised him, watching Sleuther slam another Grim Gnasher in the face with all three of his tails.

"I'm trying to find out any clue why they won't wake up completely!" Fishlegs explained, flicking desperately.

"INCOMING!" Dagur warned as Fishlegs stared up-straight at a diving Grim Gnasher. He tensed-but Barf batted it aside. It rolled and slammed into the tusk of the King of Dragons skull.

"Do not stop doing what you're doing!" Fishlegs shouted. And then he stopped "Got it! I think..." And his eyes flicked over the page. "Hmm...Sentinels...Boulder Class...that makes sense...tough epidermal layer...that's nice...able to remain motionless for days at a time..."

"FISHLEGS!" Ruff shouted. "I really don't wanna interfere with your process but can you please STOP GEEKING OUT and find something we can use!" Fishlegs looked up as she took off her boot and used it to throw at another Grim Gnasher. He blinked in disgust and flicked his guilty gaze back to the book.

"Here it is!" he exclaimed.

"Yay!" Ruff yelled.

"No-no it's not..." the husky rider said.

"Oh, come on..." Tuff grumbled.

"Would it help if I threatened to kill you?" Dagur offered, as Sleuther blasted at the nearest Grim Gnasher. It fired a volley of teeth at him.

"Doubt it," Ruff noted.

"No-it is!" Fishlegs continued. "The Sentinels aren't dead! They're in a state of hibernation. It happens when one of them is injured. And the only thing that can speed it along is...HEAT!" And he looked up in complete pride as Meatlug valiantly completed her circuit of yet another Sentinel, the golden glow of the lava warming the stone dragon. He raced forward. "My Meatlug knew! She's trying to heal them. And she's doing exactly what is needed..." Then he rested his hand against the nearest Sentinel. "But it's too slow. We need more heat..." Tuff gave a mad grin.

"Did you say you needed the HEAT?" he yelled manically and looked over at Ruff. She was whooping as well as they dived down, green Zippleback gas enswathing the motionless Sentinels. Fishlegs was running for it as the crackling of Belch's sparks sounded and the whole beach was engulfed in a huge explosion. And arising from the flames, the jerkily moving Sentinels clambered to their feet, their sightless eyes fixed on the Grim Gnashers and wings unfurling.

"They're back," Dagur commented as the Sentinels launched and immediately wing-blasted the Grim Gnashers away. The stone dragons roared as the intruders fled and the Riders all breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to face them, the Sentinels hovered and Fishlegs felt a thrill of anxiety. But the dragons respectfully lowered their heads to the riders who had helped them.

"I think we've earned their respect," he realised as Dagur stared at him in shock.

"Wait-you can earn respect?" he asked in a puzzled voice. "I've been so used to demanding it..." Fishlegs smiled.

"Respect earned is worth far more than that demanded...because such 'respect' is little more than lip service to a bully," he explained. Dagur considered.

"You know this does feel better than any respect I got as my old self," he admitted.

"And so, the young Chief learns a valuable existential lesson," Tuff commented.

"Which may be meaningless if the others fail," Fishlegs commented, feeling the DragonEye lens in his pouch. "I hope they have stopped those Fliers before they got to Johann."

oOo

Peering through the gaps in their disintegrating ship, Hiccup could see the storm was inexorably moving closer. It was now or never.

"We need to lure them into that storm," he told the others grimly. It was a crazy plan-and Astrid would probably tell him he was insane...but he really had no other options. He nodded and as the Fliers circled, they shot up, the bolas clutched the their bodies and hidden from sight. Snotlout had been still muttering his objections-but not very loudly because he hadn't been able to come up with any better options. But as they launched, they realised it was only him and Heather.

"Snotlout says Hookfang's still in too rough a shape to fly," she explained and he sighed, And as they arrowed upwards, the Fliers followed, scenting blood, their fireballs clustering around the two dragons.

"Looks like it's just us," he said and Heather smiled.

"You know...even though Dagur is my real brother, I always think of you as my brother as well," she told him.

"I will always be here for you if you need me, Heather-because you and Dagur were there for me when I needed you most," he told her. She smiled.

"Berserk!" she yelled as she turned and began to throw the bolas at the Fliers, wrapping each man in the weapons, the ropes binding their arms to their bodies, the metal balls hanging loose and tempting for the storm.

"Keep throwing the bolas!" he yelled. "Hopefully the lightning will do the work for us!" And as they methodically trapped the Fliers, a couple headed up. "Okay Toothless-move, move, move!" They accelerated upwards and the young Viking whirled his last bola. But it missed and he gave a cry of despair as the last Flier arrowed round. The lightning arched through the sky and downed the trapped Fliers. Freed, their Singetails roared and flew off, freed from their servitude. But the last Flier was away and Hiccup could only watch in despair as the green shape accelerated away...and then another dragon shot out of the storm. The familiar screech of a Nadder sounded and then the Flier fell, two spines buried in his body. He vanished under the waves and didn't resurface.

"ASTRID!" Hiccup yelled in relief as his wife accelerated towards him. Her face was white and set as she hovered at his side.

"We need to talk," she said grimly.

"Dad?" he asked in sudden fear.

"Val," she said. Hiccup felt the breath had been stolen from his body and he stared at her in horror. He had never even dreamed that someone could harm an innocent baby...let alone his own newborn daughter. And as he thought it, he felt rage begin to fill him, a deep desire to make those who had harmed his child pay. And as he recognised the anger, he felt ashamed as well. Because this wasn't who he wanted to be. It wasn't who he had been, before he was separated from Astrid. And he was deeply ashamed of what he had done in his zeal to find and protect her. But, it seemed, it was who he had to become once more to avenge his child...

"Would this be a bad moment to say it's great to see you, Astrid?" Snotlout said as Hookfang flew up from the wreck.

"Shut up, Snotlout," Heather said, reading her friend's face. "What's wrong?"

"Johann has our daughter," Astrid said, her voice cold. "He killed Mom and took Val and Hjordis. We have three days to give him the lenses or he will kill them."

oOo

Back on Vanaheim, the twins were circling and whooping as Hiccup and the others returned. Fishlegs took no time to explain what had happened and why the Sentinels were back at their posts.

"They weren't dead," he said smugly. "My baby Meatlug knew what was wrong and fixed it."

"Oh, thank Thor-at least this place can remain a secret," Hiccup sighed.

"And I have one other piece of good news," the husky rider said, brandishing the lens. "The Fifth lens, I believe. It seems Oswald knows more than we thought!" Astrid gasped and then glanced over at Hiccup.

"So now we have a choice," the Acting-Chief said grimly. "We hand everything over to Johann and hope he honours his word to give our daughter back..."

"I wouldn't...when I was evil, obviously," Dagur commented. "She's a powerful hold and she would get you to give up everything you have and surrender Berk to his servitude."

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one," Hiccup murmured, recalling his father's words.

"But the one is my-our-daughter," Astrid pointed out. He sighed.

"Whatever I decide will be really bad decision," he said with a sigh. "There are no good choices."

"That's true," she said and he gave a wry smile.

"You know, you're not supposed to agree with me," he told her quietly. "You're supposed to say something amazing and supportive and suddenly everything will be clear." She drifted closer to him, clambering up and throwing herself across from Stormfly to land on Toothless's back, sliding to sit behind him with her arms tight around his lean shape. She gently rested her head between his shoulders, savouring his warmth and scent and solid presence.

"I could do that but we both know that wouldn't happen," she murmured. "Hiccup-you make a hundred decisions every day. And you won't get all of them right. but the important thing is that when you get it wrong, you learn from it and push forward. And most importantly...you keep on making decisions. Especially in this, where what you decide may determine the fate of the entire Archipelago..." Half-turning to face her, he smiled in admiration.

"Where do you get all of this?" he asked her in a proud voice. She smiled.

"I don't know...I just do...because you need to hear it," she admitted. "And because I know you will always do your best...and what is best for everyone." She paused. "I know Johann won't let Val go-Alvin said much the same..."

"Alvin?" Hiccup's voice was wary.

"He and the Outcasts are protecting Berk and making sure the island is safe while we are away," she reassured him. "Johann hates you with a passion and he will eventually want to kill you. I can see him demanding you in exchange for her-and when he has you, he will kill you. He has knives up his sleeves, Hiccup. Please remember that..."

"Duly noted, Milady," he murmured.

"And I know it will never make Berk safe for her-or anyone-if Johann gets to the King first," she sighed. "Our only hope is to find the King first. And then stop Johann."

"That will risk Val," he reminded her.

"We have friends and our dragons," she said quietly. "They will have to be enough. But whatever happens, Hiccup-Krogan dies." He gasped and stared at her. "He killed Mom. She shielded Val with her body. Otherwise...she would be dead. He's lived too long." He nodded.

"Okay, gang," he announced. "We land and then we check out this new lens. We find the King of Dragons-and we beat Johann to him. Johann must never find him."

But in a port not so very far away, Johann was already inspecting an unusual lens.

"We found it on this rat-he was trying to sell it for gold," one of the Hunters reported. "He wouldn't tell us where he got it but it was easy to relieve him of it." And as Johann smirked, he didn't even cast a look at the cage where the twins' nefarious cousin Gruffnut was locked up, black and blue and cursing his luck once more.

oOo

Camping on the beach of Vanaheim under the watchful blind eyes of the Sentinels, Hiccup had set up a projection theatre in a shady spot with a smooth wall ahead where the light of the morning sun wouldn't obscure the DragonEye projection.

"Well this is it," he said as he slid the lens into place. "The final lens for the DragonEye. This should tell us everything there is to know about the King of Dragons..." Toothless was panting with excitement, crooning and sniffing Hiccup's DragonEye 2 with great interest. The auburn haired Viking patted his friend automatically and smiled.

"Come on now, T," Tuff said. "Fire that magical plasma up and light up that beacon of knowledge, that it may shine down on us and light our merry way..." Everyone gaped at the male twin and Hiccup shook his head with a rueful smile.

"And the weirdness continues," he muttered.

"No, seriously-there are whole societies where they talk in verse," Tuff protested. "I'd really like to visit one of those..."

"Hiccup-if you don't tell Toothless to light up that DragonEye and let us see what's on that lens, I will NOT be responsible for my actions!" Fishlegs interrupted, bouncing up and down like a young child the night before Snoggletog.

"Honestly, my daughter would be less trouble-and she's only a few weeks old," he groaned. "Okay Toothless-you heard the screaming crazy Viking..." And the Night Fury opened his mouth and allowed the smallest fraction of his plasma to glow in his throat, the purple fire illuminating the lenses in sequence and finally projecting a more complex and rich pattern on the wall than anyone had ever seen. There were collective gasps and 'ooohs' as they inspected the image.

"Wow-is that...?" Hiccup murmured, his eyes scanning the central image.

"A Dramillion," Fishlegs said.

"The King of Dragons...is a Dramillion?" Astrid asked cynically. She hadn't been on the trip to the island but she had been filled in and the stories didn't seem to properly tally up. But Fishlegs was in full flow now.

"It's a Titanwing Dramillion," he explained. "It's bigger than all the other dragons. Look at this Monstrouss Nightmare next to it..." He grinned. "That means the skeletal remains on Vanaheim belong to another Titanwing Dramillion..." Astrid frowned, still unconvinced but Tuff was convinced.

"Okay...that sounds great...but what can it do?" he asked.

"Yeah-how does it kill its enemies?" Ruff added. "Fire?"

"Spines?" Tuff suggested.

"Liquid hot magma?" Ruff butted in.

"Actually, legend has it that the King of Dragons uses its mind," Hiccup explained. Tuff frowned.

"What...like a bludgeon?" he asked and almost head butted Hiccup. The auburn-haired Viking sighed.

"No...it uses its mind to control other dragons...and make them do whatever it tells them to do..." he said firmly.

"That could be..." Astrid murmured.

"Amazing..." Fishlegs said.

"Catastrophic," Hiccup overruled firmly. "We have to go to Dramillion Island as quickly as possible, find the King of Dragons and move it out of there..." There was a pause and Fishlegs stared into the air as a familiar green and bronze Nadder swooped down and a confident blonde leapt from her back.

"Hiya one and all," Camicazi called, grinning. Hiccup smiled as he saw her.

"Hey, Cami," he greeted her. "What are you doing here?" She shrugged.

"Berk is lousy with Outcasts and though they are being very well behaved, Bogs and Outcasts really don't get along," she admitted. "Your Dad is spending most of his time with the Chief and he looks a little less...shocked." She glanced over at Astrid. "I didn't say it at the time, because I know I'm not your favourite person, Astrid-but I am sorry about your Mom. I know I would be devastated if mine died. You have my sympathies."

Astrid nodded wordlessly as Heather moved to her friend's side and touched her arm.

"Why didn't you say?" she murmured and Astrid sighed.

"I'm trying to ignore it for the moment," she sighed. "I feel numb. I know when the pain hits, it will be awful...but I'm a Viking. I can handle a little pain. And my daughter is a hostage...so I can't fall apart. I have to be in control so I can stop those who have her-and get her back." Then she looked up. "But thanks." They hugged and for a moment, Cami looked at her with an unreadable expression on her face before she turned back to Hiccup.

"What's up?" she asked, peering at the images on the wall.

"The King of Dragons, the creature that would allow Johann to control all the dragons and take over the Archipelago," he explained.

"And you need to stop him getting it?" she guessed. Hiccup nodded. "I guess I'm asking if I can come? I mean...not wanting to tread on anyone's toes...but I'm as invested in this as much as everyone else is," she asked and then looked self-conscious. Hiccup glanced around his Team: this was a critical mission but they needed every ally they could get and he could see that she was trying to be one of them, a friend and acknowledging her limitations in a way she hadn't previously. He looked over at Dagur.

"What do you think?" he asked. The Berserker paused and nodded, reading the Bog Heir.

"I need to get back to Berserk and make sure the defences are ready," he said. "I've been away for a very long time."

"I'll come," Heather said, casting a wary look at Cami. "We can make sure the island is protected and I can go over to Berk-and support them once we're done." Hiccup nodded gratefully.

"While we go to Dramillion Island-all of us!" he announced, grabbing the DragonEye 2 and rubbing Toothless's head. "Dagur, Heather-take care. We don't know where Johann will head next...or where the quest will go. I somehow think this isn't going to be that easy or straightforward... Everyone-be ready. We head for Dramillion Island!"