━━ chapter thirteen
the nest awaits

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑

━━Valkyrie always knew a Windstriker was fast, but being on Zephyr's back, was a whole new experience. The wind blew through her hair, the chill froze her cheeks, made her tunic flap; bugs flew into her face, and the sun blared into her eyes.

(Val has never felt more alive).

Zephyr's wings moved like a well-oiled machine at her legs━up and down with so much speed and grace and agility that if she wasn't in such a serious situation, she would have shouted with glee. In front of her, Hiccup guided Zephyr down, and they sky-dived through the rocks. Weaving in and out, they led the group of teenage Vikings to the Dragon Nest, ready to save their family and village from imminent disaster.

The tip of his wing grazed the water as they took a sharp turn, and the mist hit Valkyrie's cheek. Zipping under an archway of rock formations, Zephyr opened up his magnificent wings, and with a pull of the ropes, they soared upwards.

"Okay!" Hiccup shouted over the wind as they neared the island. Valkyrie's thrill disappeared when she saw the absolute destruction. It was chaos on foot. The Queen was out of her nest, and Valkyrie much preferred it when she only saw her head and her neck. Now out in the open, she was much larger than Val could have ever imagined. She stood at least half as tall as the volcano itself, with meaty legs and a club as big as a ship for a tail. She looked impossible to defeat. Viking warriors ran away from her large feet that stomped against the pebbled ground, heading towards the back-end of the island. Valkyrie saw two figures standing their positions, shouting up at the Queen: Stoick and Gobber. The ships on the bay were up in flames, and Valkyrie's hand rested on Hiccup's back. Toothless was amongst there, and they needed to save him.

"We're meant to fight that?" Snotlout cried out at the sight of the Queen, barely holding onto his dragon's back.

Hiccup managed a brief glance back at the others, all on their dragons. "We'll attack from the rear!" he ordered. "That way, she won't see us until last minute!"

"And if she does see us?" asked Astrid, pulling her Deadly Nadder up next to them.

Hiccup shrugged, "Then ... I guess we'll come up with another plan?"

"Oh, I don't like this," whimpered Fishlegs, but they soldiered on, soaring towards the island. Valkyrie felt like she was a true warrior of Valhalla, on her powerful steed, flying into battle with a new weapon on her back: a new mallet; one that didn't have dragon teeth to make it menacing. It was her mallet. Valkyrie's mallet. Not Mallory's mallet for Valkyrie.

Hiccup titled Zephyr to the left, and they swooped around the edge of the island. Valkyrie held on around his waist, gazing around his shoulder at the smoke, flames and chaos━all caused by one, monstrous dragon.

As they neared, Hiccup leaned down close to Zephyr's head and said, "Fire at the Queen, Zephyr!"

A Windstriker might not be known for its fire, like a Monstrous Nightmare, but that didn't mean it didn't carry a blow. At Hiccup's command, Zephyr opened his jaw and let blast a column of fire at the Queen's neck. As soon as the heat reached her scales, she roared in suprise, allowing for Stoick and Gobber to get out of the way. They looked up, and Val saw━even from up here━pale faces of shock (and if not slight awe).

"Ruff, Tuff!" called Hiccup as they soared around. "Watch your backs!" The group of them avoided the Queen's fire with Zephyr in the lead; and the chief's son commanding their mighty fleet. "Move, Fishlegs!"

"Look at us!" shouted Tuff, clinging onto his Zippleback head as it moved up and down. "We're on a dragon! We're on dragons! All of us!"

All the Vikings stopped to stare up at them, gobsmacked. Valkyrie managed a slight grin down at them as they neared the flaming fleet. "Up!" cried Hiccup. "Let's move it!"

Now at a safe distance, the six of them hovered in the air, turning to each other. "Fishlegs!" said Hiccup. "Break it down!"

"Okay," he began on top of his Gronckle. "Heavily armoured skull and tail made for bashing and crushing! Stear clear of both. Small eyes, large nostrils! Relies on hearing and smell!"

"Okay," nodded Hiccup. "Astrid, Lout, Legs! Hang in its blind spot, make noise, keep it confused! Ruff, Tuff━find out if it has a shot limit! Make it mad!"

Ruff grinned from the right head. "That's my specialty!"

Tuff glared at her, "Since when?!" he argued. "Everyone knows I'm more irritating! See?" he spun upside down on his head, making funny faces at his sister.

"Just do what I told you!" Hiccup interrupted. "I'll be back as soon as I can!"

He dipped Zephyr down to the ships, and Valkyrie leaned down closer to Zephyr's neck with him. Behind her, she heard Tuffnut shout, "Don't worry! We got it covered!"

Astrid led the group of Viking teenagers into battle against the Queen. She, Snotlout and Fishlegs split up and around the Queen from behind while Ruff and Tuff guided their Zippleback right into the dragon's gaze, ready to cause trouble.

"Troll!"

"Butt elf!"

"Bride of Grendel!"

One shot━they spun out of the way. Two shots━they ducked down; both yelling in fear, but soon, it turned into glee as they shared a high-five. "That was fun!" exclaimed Ruffnut. "Let's do it again!"

On either side, Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout tried to make as much noise as possible. The Queen had six eyes in total, three on each side. With their weapons and shields, they clanged them together with gritted teeth. At first, it seemed to work. The Queen blinked and shook her head, as if being affected ... but having more than two eyes seemed to mean less of a chance to get disorientated ... and no blind spot.

"Ummmm━" Fishlegs called back to Hiccup and Valkyrie by the fleet, "━this thing doesn't have a blind spot!"

Valkyrie glanced back at them, her stomach twisting with worry. Hiccup soared them above the flaming ships, searching for his best friend amongst the destruction. Returning her gaze down below, she helped him look for Toothless. He could be on any one of these ships━and she prayed it would be one that hadn't already sunk. Toothless was chained, and if he fell into the water, he would sink to the bottom and wouldn't be able to get back up. They had to get him out of there before that could happen.

Then, they heard him.

His strangled cry for help echoed across the sea, and up towards them. Hiccup's gaze snapped down to the middle ship, and he cried, "There!"

He spun Zephyr around and they dipped down to the boat. As they did, Valkyrie carefully swapped positions with Hiccup, taking the reins as he crouched up on Zephyr's back. Val held the rope, at first unsure on what she was supposed to do, but Zephyr was ready to help. Once they reached the boat, Valkyrie pulled the rope back, and they came to a halt. Hiccup leapt off Zephyr's back and onto the burning vessel in front of Toothless━chained, muzzled, and completely defensless.

As soon as his feet touched the wood, Hiccup turned back to Valkyrie and Zephyr. "Go help the others!" he said.

Val was reluctant. She hovered there for a few seconds, unsure on whether she should leave or stay, but at the nod from Hiccup, she decided she had to trust him. So, with a deep breath, she said, "Zephyr, back to the others━" and with a woosh, they launched into the air.

At first, she almost fell off from Zephyr's immense speed, but she held on. Lowering her chest closer to his neck, Valkyrie's body grew steady, and soon, it felt like they were one; not just a dragon and his rider. They were in this together. Valkyrie didn't even need to tell Zephyr to spin out of the way of the Queen's fire blast after the twins, she just stayed close to his body and followed suit. Her flowers miraculously stayed in her hair, and she took that as a good sign towards success.

"Good boy!" she praised him. "Now, come on! We gotta help the others!"

The others seemed to finally be gaining some luck in disorientating the Queen. Astrid, Fishlegs and Sotlout shared a victory cheer as she blinked her multiple eyes, and shook her head. It didn't last for long. Not only did they disorientate the Queen, but also their dragons. In seconds, their flight grew wobbly and irregular. Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare dived right into the neck of the Queen, and Snotlout barely hung on, catching himself before he fell off the Queen's thick skull. Fishlegs and his Gronckle fell down to the ground, as did Astrid and her Nadder. Valkyrie gasped and said, "Zephyr!" she pointed to Astrid, and he seemed to understand.

With a cry, Zephyr dived down and snatched Astrid up by the arms with his feet. Astrid looked up at her, and grinned. Valkyrie smiled back, and set her down near her Deadly Nadder so she could get herself up again.

Fishlegs hadn't been so lucky. He and the Gronckle skidded through the rocky shores. "I'm okay!" he cried as they slowed down━until the dragon fell forward, and he was flattened under her meaty figure. "Less okay!"

"Sorry, Fishlegs!" called Valkyrie. She spun Zephyr around to go after him next, but the Queen had other ideas. With an angry roar, she raised her foot above where Fishlegs and his Gronckle lied. Val gasped. "Fishlegs!"

He screamed, and desperately tried to get away, clawing through the pebbles. Snotlout jumped to action. With the mallet Fishlegs had chucked him before he went down, he brought it right down onto the Queen's eyes.

"I can't miss!" he shouted gleefully. "What's wrong, boddy?" Snotlout teased the Queen dragon as she blinked, annoyed. "Got something in your eye?"

She roared, shaking her head. Snotlout held onto the red spikes on her scales. Huh, she's like a Red Death, isn't she? The Queen's foot missed Fishlegs by less than an inch, but he was okay.

Valkyrie swooped by Snotlout, "Yeah!" she shouted, throwing her fist up in celebration. "You're the Viking!"

Snotlout met her gaze, and grinned stupidly. With a new set of determination, he hit the Queen's eye harder. She shook her head, irritated. This time, Snotlout forgot to cling on. He went flying over her head and to the otherside. He dropped the mallet, but managed to grab ahold of the halo of scales around her head, legs dangling. The Queen spun around, and her tail slammed into the row of burning ships. Valkyrie's eyes widened as the ship Toothless and Hiccup were on crumbled at the weight. She saw the Night Fury disappear under the water, and Hiccup jump in after him.

"Astrid!" Valkyrie shouted to the Viking down below. "Is your dragon okay?"

"Yeah!" Astrid jumped back on the Nadder's back as she blinked and shook her round head. "We're fine!"

"Okay! Help Snotlout and Fishlegs!" she pulled Zephyr up. "Come on, boy, we're gonna head after Hiccup and Toothless━" Taking a wide turn, the two of them soared up and over and down towards the fleet, ready to dive in after them, only for Valkyrie to stop Zephyr in seeing Stoick jump into the water after his son and his dragon.

Valkyrie watched him reappear after only moments with Hiccup in his grip. Setting him on the shore boulders, he wasted no time in jumping back in. Stoick's son waited by the edge, and Valkyrie herself felt her breath hitch━until Toothless vaulted out of the water with the chief in his grasp. He dropped him gently onto the shore, and set himself at the edge of the boulder. Valkyrie let out a laugh of relief, happy to see him. Toothless shook the water off his scales and nodded his head back to Hiccup, gesturing for him to hop onto his saddle.

Hiccup grinned, "You got it, bud!"

Knowing they were okay, Val spun Zephyr back around and towards the Queen and the others still fighting. "He's up!" she called out the others in seeing Hiccup and Toothless soar upwards into the smokey sky.

Catching up with Ruff and Tuff, Valkyrie ordered: "Get Snotlout out of there!"

"I'm on it━!", "━I'm on it first━!", "━hey, let me drive━!", "━no, let me━!"

"Just do it!" Valkyrie cut off their arguing and swooped downwards to help Astrid with Fishlegs. Looking back, she saw Snotlout run towards the twins and their dragon. He leapt off the tip of the Queen's horned snout and landing snugly in between the two Zippleback heads.

Valkyrie blinked, "I can't believe that actually worked," she muttered.

Zephyr moaned a gutteral agreement. With that said, he helped Astrid's Deadly Nadder in kicking the Gronckle off Fishlegs. With the extra push, they were both free, and both launching up into the air. Valkyrie followed.

It wasn't until she was up in the air, that she realised she and Zephyr weren't making any distance. Instead, it felt like they were going backwards. Her dragon flapped his large wings in distress, and Valkyrie heard a deathly inhale she never wanted to hear again. All the wind, smoke and heat around her seemed to fall backwards, and when she glanced over her shoulder, she yelled in alarm to see the Queen draw her in towards her mouth with one big gasp of air.

"Oh, gods, oh, gods━" she cursed. "Zephyr━come on!" she pushed him against the wind, but it wasn't working. No matter how strong his wings were, the Queen was stronger. "Come on, boy, come on! We can do it!"

Valkyrie felt her legs lift off from Zephyr's back, and he roared in surprise. Both of them were getting closer and closer to the Queen's teeth, and━gods, her dragon appetite did nothing for her breath!

Up from the sky, a black dragon dived straight down. His roar was high in every Viking's ears, making them all shout and duck. Toothless soared towards Valkyrie and Zephyr and on Hiccup's shout, he fired a plasma blast right at the Queen's jaw.

At the rush of wind, Val and Zephyr were free from the Queen's grasp, but they had been separated. Both spiralling out of control to the ground, Valkyrie was too far away from her dragon to join back up. She was falling, and falling. She screamed, flailing her arms and legs as if she had wings of her own. Which was obviously useless, but worth the try, right?

The black shore was a blur━but that blur was getting closer. And soon that blur will impact with Valkyrie's face and soon Valkyrie Frode will be no more━

She stopped falling. Something had caught her leg and Valkyrie shot up and forwards. She looked up, and grinned in relief to see Toothless carrying her away. Good dragon! Up above, Hiccup tried to glance down, "Did you get her?" he asked.

Toothless dipped his head down, meeting Valkyrie's eyes and gave her a gummy grin.

She chuckled, Toothless.

He tossed her up the right way and set her back on the ground. Before Valkyrie could wish them good luck, they were back in the air. Midnight black amongst the smoke and ash, Hiccup and Toothless charged into battle against the monstrous Dragon Queen; and Valkyrie thought Hiccup had never looked so brave.

Breathless, she managed, "Go get them, Hiccup."

The ground shuddered behind Valkyrie, and she glanced back onto to be met with a scaly neck that wrapped her up inside it like a Snoggletog present. Valkyrie laughed, "I'm okay! Zeph━I'm okay!"

He set her down, and hudged his horn against her cheek gently, as if to apologise. She hugged him around the neck, and looked back up to Hiccup and Toothless. "Come on..." she whispered. "Come on, you can do it. You can do it..."

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑

a/n: we're getting so close to the end of the first movieeeeeeeeeeeeee *sobs*