The final chapter! A lot of dialogue in this one.

Chapter Ten: The Last Defender

Standing triumphant atop the stairs to Berk's Great Hall was Alvin the Treacherous. He puffed up his chest high into the air. Looking down, he saw several burned down houses. But none of that was as beautiful as the sight at the bottom of the stairs. Stoick the Vast, unconscious, bounded by countless chains. Beside him was a group of viking teenagers.

"You couldn't possibly think you'd be able to defeat me, did you?" Alvin sneered, not even bothering to walk down the steps to gloat in front of his prisoners. "Without that Hiccup boy around, your village became easy pickings."

Astrid shot the Outcast Leader daggers with her glare. Alvin looked at her with an amused expression on his face. "I'll admit, Astrid," Alvin began happily, "you were the best rider after Hiccup. But face it, you were still no match for him."

"Just you wait, Alvin!" she roared. "As soon as Hiccup returns, he and Toothless are going to blow you to smithereens, you son of a half troll!" Savage appeared behind Astrid. Violently, he kicked her onto the ground, a groan escaping from her lips.

"Little Hiccup and his dragon?" Alvin chuckled sinisterly. "I won't exactly be counting on those two returning. Especially together."

In the shadows surrounding the Great Hall, a dark silhouette appeared. Pitch stepped out from the rocks. Alvin caught sight of him immediately. "Ah, Pitch. Where's the Night Fury?"

"I'm going to hold you to your deal, Alvin," said Pitch. "You're not getting the dragon yet. Not until you provide me with enough hopelessness, fear and misery that's going to provide me with a little more strength. Only then I'll give you the dragon."

"Like you aren't already powerful enough," Alvin muttered. "So, how was your little visit to our enemies?"

"Weak animals," Pitch commented nonchalantly. "But that Hiccup was an eagle. That is, until I took away that dragon of his. Then he was as useful as a fly. He must have some confidence. He refused my offer to allow him to join us."

"I tried that once already. It didn't work. The boy's as stubborn as his father." Alvin paused as he mused over what Pitch told him. "How much misery do you want?"

An evil smirk curled up Pitch's lips. "The more the merrier. For me, at least."

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Hiccup felt his consciousness return. And the first thing he did was check that he still had both of his arms. They felt like metal, with his shoulder aching to the bone. After wriggling the two limbs for a moment and convincing himself that they were both still firmly attached, he slowly allowed his eyes to flutter open.

Straight over him, Jack, Merida and Rapunzel, with Pascal on her shoulder, looked down, all of them beaming excitedly. Jack was the first to read the expression on Hiccup's face. "Relax. Rapunzel took care of you. You still have both your arms."

The teenagers moved away, giving Hiccup some space to sit up. He turned to look at Rapunzel. "How did you-"

"Still had some magic left in me," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess I called it out when I was really desperate to save someone. I did it with Eugene once."

"She easily saved your life," Merida added.

Nodding, Hiccup's gaze wandered around the room. Jack crouched down on the bedpost, his staff in his hands. He had his sweatshirt on and seemed to be moving normally. Hiccup figured it was safe to assume that he was all healed up. Merida stood behind Rapunzel. The two girls both looked fine, with slowly fading scratches that would leave minor scars. He noticed that they weren't in the tower anymore. "Where are we?"

"The Castle," replied Merida. "It seems that Rapunzel's a Princess too."

"Eugene carried you here," said Jack. "You were wounded pretty badly. The worst out of all of us, actually."

It was then it hit Hiccup like a ton of bricks. Despair rained down on him again.

"Toothless!" he suddenly shouted. Hiccup leaped to his feet, but quickly felt his shoulder sting again. Wincing, Hiccup grabbed his wound. Rapunzel stood up to support him. "Take it easy, Hiccup," she told him. "And no sudden movements. You were out for three days, but your body shouldn't be moving much yet. Stay down."

Gently, Hiccup sat back down onto the bed. He faced his friends with worried eyes. "Where's Toothless?"

Jack averted his gaze. His tone was solemn. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. Pitch took him."

A forlorn expression appeared on Hiccup's face. "No, no, no. It really was all my fault? Toothless is gone?" The despair inside Hiccup's heart slowly converted into anger. The boy slammed his fist into the mattress, prompting Rapunzel to move away from him.

"I think you should calm down," Merida nervously suggested, trying to break the tense mood.

"Calm down?" Hiccup repeated, his voice with a tinge of anger and hopelessness. "How can I calm down? It was all my fault. I just lost my best friend. And it was all my fault."

"Hiccup," Rapunzel said softly. She placed a hand on his good shoulder, hoping it would soothe his emotions. "It wasn't your fault."

"How?" Hiccup demanded fiercely. "If I knew how to fight without Toothless we at least could have stand more of a chance against Pitch."

"Well, it is true that we were all easily annihilated," Jack added under his breath, in which Rapunzel shot him a glare saying 'not helping'.

"What I'm sure Jack is trying to say," said Merida, sending the winter spirit an annoyed look. "Is that we were all too weak to fight Pitch."

"The way you say it makes it seems like we were a bunch of weaklings," grumbled Jack.

"It's not like yours was any better," Merida muttered.

"Guys," said Rapunzel, cutting in. "Please lower the noise. Hiccup needs his rest." As if on cue, Hiccup pushed himself off the bed, staggered to his feet. His hands stumbled around, eventually reaching the scabbard that held Endeavour. Hiccup could feel his friends' eyes on him. "We're all going to have to get stronger if we want to defeat Pitch," he said. Hiccup unsheathed half the sword, giving his friends a glimpse of the beautiful silver blade. "Grimbeard the Ghastly was a renowned sword fighter. And I'm going to follow in his footsteps."

"I can teach him if you want."

Turning their heads towards the entrance, the teenagers noticed the Eugene was leaning against the doorframe. "You'll what?" Rapunzel blurted out.

"Teach Hiccup sword-fighting," the former thief answered. "Back during the thieving days, I had to know how to survive. Swordplay was a basic skill. You've seen me with the frying pan."

Hiccup gave Eugene a smile of gratitude. "Thanks." He turned to face the rest of his friends, his expression gentle. "Answer me honestly guys. Do you think I'm weak?"

"No," all of his friends replied a split second later. It was like they didn't put a single thought into it. They just knew the answer. Hiccup redirected his gaze to the floor. "I don't get it."

"What's there to get?" Jack asked in reply. "You can ride the fastest and most dangerous dragon in your world. You managed to end a war. You fight against dragons and other vikings on a daily basis."

"I meant without Toothless," Hiccup clarified.

"Still no," Merida answered. Her arms were folded across her chest. "Just being able to eat haggis should be considered an incredible feat."

"And if you're still skeptical," Rapunzel began. "If you're strong physically, at least you're strong here." Upon finishing her sentence, Rapunzel placed a finger right on the skin above Hiccup's heart. The young viking gave his teammates a warm smile. Rapunzel stood up. "Well, it's not like you're the only one who's going to need to get stronger around here."

Eugene gave his wife a curious look. "Rapunzel, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," the Princess began, stretching a little, "that Jack needs to let me into his little team."

"What?" Jack suddenly blurted out.

"Think about it," said Rapunzel. "You guys need someone to look after you. I'm not saying that you're kids-"

"Which you are," Eugene quickly cut it for a moment.

"-but you do need someone to look after your wounds and heal you guys back to health. And I think I'm the best choice."

"She's got a point, Frost," said Merida.

"I second that," Hiccup added. Smiling, Jack turned to Rapunzel. "Looks like we've got our last Defender of Realms." Rapunzel returned the Winter Spirit's smile.

"Now that that's settled, I need a weapon," the princess replied enthusiastically. "Not a frying pan. Something I find familiar. Like a whip."

"We should be able to find one in the kingdom," said Eugene. "When do you want to start your training?"

"Now," Hiccup and Rapunzel answered simultaneously. Rapunzel gently pushed Hiccup back onto the bed. "You, need to rest."

"Fine," Hiccup muttered. "Then I'll train."

"I'll be looking forward to it," said Eugene. Jack hopped off his staff and poked the window of the room. Icicles formed at it's rims. "So after this training, what do you guys want to do?"

"Kick Pitch's ass," Hiccup suggested from the bed. Merida nudged him on his good arm playfully. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Haddock."

"How does this sound," began Jack. "We train, we get Toothless back from Gothel, who by some miracle is still alive according to Pitch. We take back Berk, and we force Pitch back under that little bed of his?"

"And make sure he stays there," Merida added. "And we're going to do it all in what, three months?"

"Sounds like a good plan," said Rapunzel.

"Alright. So in three months, we make our counterattack," Hiccup clarified. Jack nodded. "Yes, that's how it's going to go. Until then, we need to do our best at training. And be sure that when Pitch sees us next time, we're going to make him pee his pants."

The other Defenders laughed. "We'll take him up on that challenge."

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Sitting in a damp corner, an old woman loomed over a creature. The beast was bound in countless chains, all of them pinning his most dangerous limbs, most notably the wings and mouth to the ground. The cell was dark and cold. Barely any sunlight made it's way inside and it wreaked of dead rat.

The cell's door suddenly swung open. Pitch stepped in and turned to face the woman. "Ah, Gothel," he said. "How's the dragon doing."

"He's doing fine, Pitch," Gothel replied. "Though I doubt he'll be eating anything in that condition of his."

"Well, you owe me for saving your life when you fell out of that tower, Gothel," Pitch reminded the old hag in a dark tone. "Your life was supposed to end. You're lucky I granted you more time. But it comes with a price."

"Don't worry," said Gothel. "I'll keep the dragon alive."

"You'd better," growled Pitch. "Or you'll be the one begging to live. Until then, make sure the dragon doesn't even see a shred of hope."

As the beings talked, Toothless listened intently. His ears occasionally perked up. He couldn't pick up any information on his rider. But Hiccup was stubborn and he knew that. Hiccup would never give up on him. He would be rescued, no matter how long it would take.

The dragon's mind flashed back to the battle in the clearing. They weren't strong enough. But if he could make it through this and keep his health, his body would become stronger. Until then, he would have to wait. Because no matter how long it will take, Hiccup will come.

And thus begins three separate adventures. The training of our heroes. The survival of the Night Fury. And Pitch's forces gathering more power. The only question that remains will be: which side will be more prepared to face the other?

To be continued

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Thank you to everyone who has supported this story!

No, it is not over.

I have planned from the start that the "Defenders of Realms" is a three-part story. And just the first part is over. Look out for the sequel I will publish some time next week: "Preparations".

Summary:

With the Defenders complete, Jack, Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel prepare for the upcoming battle against Pitch. Hiccup and Rapunzel stay in Corona to train while Jack and Merida travel to DunBroch. There, they find clues to Toothless' whereabouts. But with the Compass damaged, our heroes must now reunite before Pitch hunts them off one by one.