Chapter 161: Dagur The Lightningrod

The Skrill rocketed out of the rift behind Toothless, a more irate Dagur still dangling from the ends of the steel cabled hanging below it. Dagur yelled, "HICCUP! STOP THAT! COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD!", as Hiccup glanced over his shoulder and flattened himself against the saddle, and yanked on the steel cables with a pained and angry grunt, the Skrill firing a blast at Toothless. He barely rolled out of the way in time, Hiccup clinging to the saddle for dear life. Taking a deep breath, Hiccup told Toothless, "We have Dagur furious, now we need to keep him too angry to think straight!" Toothless rumbled, "ROOO!" in agreement and started to fly faster. As Toothless began to accelerate in an attempt to get away from the Skrill, it began to accelerate after him, trying to catch the Night Fury. Dagur yanked on the cables again, and the Skrill fired another shot. Hiccup and Toothless were again forced to barrel roll out of the way, nearly colliding with a rocky spar. Hiccup noticed a rising spine of tall, sharp rocks amongst the broken terrain, and came up with a spur of the moment ploy to buy time. He pointed at the rocks, and yelled, "TOOTHLESS, WEAVE!" Toothless suddenly jinked towards the irregular line, and sped up, his wings pumping even faster as he tried to bait Dagur and the Skrill into racing into the jagged spires of rock.

A sudden loud impact, a shout, and the secondary cascade of chunks of rock tumbling down a sheer cliff face caused Toothless to suddenly brake and turn around. Hiccup glanced between the seastack-esque pillar in front of them, and the irregular spires behind them, nervously watching as the Skrill fell towards the rocks, dragging Dagur down with him. Furious, Dagur yelled, "WHAT THE?!? COLLIDING WITH A ROCK?!? REALLY?!? GET BACK INTO THE AIR YOU FOOL!" at the Skrill as it fell, stunned. Hiccup seized an opportunity to get under Dagur's skin, shouting, "I'M DAGUR THE DERANGED AND I JUST CRASHED A SKRILL! WHOOPSIE!", and flexing his own arms in mockery of Dagur's more obviously muscular appendages. Outraged, Dagur gasped, and howled, "HICCUP YOU SHRIMPY NO GOOD RUNT! WHEN I CAPTURE YOUR NIGHT FURY I AM GOING TO WEAR IT'S SKULL AS A HELMET!" Toothless stuck his tongue out at both chief and rival dragon, and fired a plasma blast at them. The blast exploded against Dagur's armor, simultaneously winding him and knocking him into a free falling somersault that entangled him in the very steel cables that he had been using to control the Skrill. Without checking to see if Dagur and the Skrill were following them, Hiccup and Toothless took off towards the spires at breakneck speed.

Hiccup flattened himself against the saddle, and complimented Toothless, "Good Idea! I did not think our Dragon Racing skills would come in handy!" Toothless snorted, "AARR-RHAAAH!", and dove into a high speed weave, dodging the obstacles as if he were dodging around competitors. A lightning bolt struck the spire above Toothless, Hiccup flinching as a shower of pebbles cascaded after them. He looked up, and spotted the Skrill soaring overhead, Dagur fighting to untangle himself from his own harness. Toothless rolled around the spire and shot between two large boulders, flipping upside down just long enough to launch a surprise plasma blast at the Skrill. The blast struck true, hitting the Skrill upside the jaw. Furious, the Skrill screamed and dove after Toothless of its own volition, Dagur screaming, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? I HAVEN'T FINISHED UNTANGLING MYSELF YET!" The Skrill ignored him, diving after Toothless and firing off another shot. Toothless shot into a cave in one of the spires, sending off an echolocatory pulse. The sound waves traveled down the tunnel ahead, giving Toothless a good map of the obstacles ahead. Hiccup once again put full trust in his dragon as Toothless hurtled down the narrow tunnel, echolocating and dodging rocky pillars, outcrops, stalactites and stalagmites with ease, the Skrill foolhardily chasing them down the tunnel. The Skrill flew after them, crashing into all manner of obstacles as it tried to navigate the pitch black obstacle course, Dagur getting just as badly beaten up as he was dragged along and re-entangled in the steel cables of his own dragon harness. He howled in a blind rage, struggling like a minnow tangled in a fishing line as his own dragon hauled him through a maze of obstacles that neither of them could see. Hiccup, despite being unable to see himself, taunted, "WHOOPS! YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING, DID YOU, DAGUR?!?" "HICCUP! I WILL MAKE YOU KISS MY BOOTS!" Hiccup flinched and snarked, "Oh good, Dagur's finally found his words again." Toothless chuckled, and sent off a fresh echolocation roar, diving into a side tunnel. The Skrill hurtled past Hiccup and Toothless, allowing them to take a moment to catch their breath before taking off and exiting the winding cave tunnels through a side tunnel. Hiccup and Toothless burst back into the light, Hiccup shielding his eyes against the unexpected brightness of the daylight. He quietly admitted, "I never thought a cloudy day could be this bright...", flinching as a lightning bolt struck a nearby spire. As soon as their eyes had readjusted to the light, Hiccup and Toothless took off again, heading for their trap.

A lightning bolt firing from somewhere other than the clouds confirmed that the Skrill had exited the cave system, and Toothless fired another shot, hitting the Skrill in the head. The dragon screamed and took off in pursuit of Toothless. Hiccup and Toothless slowed to a gentle halt and landed on the tip of a spire across a gorge from their trap. The Skrill slowed to a halt almost directly above the trap, Dagur falling free from his own steel cables like a puppet being cut free from its strings. Landing roughly on his own two feet, Dagur opened his mouth... and started coughing. He doubled over, hacking as if he was trying to cough up his own lungs, and spat some foamy pink blood out with a disgusted look on his face. Wheezing, Dagur tried to stand straight, and command his Skrill to fly across the gorge. The Skrill refused, hovering above Dagur and waiting for Toothless's next move. Toothless fired two plasma blasts at the Skrill, which nullified both. Managing a hoarse, gurgly giggle, Dagur stepped forwards, asking, "...That's it?" He then tried to boast, "I was hoping for something more challenging!" Hiccup gave Dagur a steely glare, deadpanning, "So was I." He watched Dagur's feet closely. One of them stepped into a puddle. Hiccup bit his tongue, resisting the urge to taunt Dagur once more. Dagur asked, "Any last words, Hiccup?" Hiccup shrugged and said, "I got nothing. How about you, Bud?" Dagur's other foot landed in another puddle, and Toothless seized the chance, firing a blast which caught the Skrill off guard. The Skrill roared and tried to fire a lightning bolt at Toothless.

The lightning blast backfired, surging through the steel cables and into Dagur's body. He screamed, his body spasming uncontrollably as if he were having a seizure. The Skrill screeched in fury, trying to channel more lightning from the clouds. The lightning passed right through it, further electrocuting Dagur as he received a second round of the "Toaster in the Bathtub" treatment courtesy of his own dragon. Dazed, partially paralyzed, and moving around uncontrollably, Dagur let go of the steel cables and uncontrollably lurched forwards, plummeting over the edge of the cliff face against his will. As he fell into the gorge, Dagur shouted, "CHUMBLE SPUZZ! ZINK WATOON GAZORK! SHMAGGIEEEEE...", his body thumping and rolling down the steep, rocky sides of the gorge as he fell. Hiccup leaned over the edge of the spire and watched him fall, dryly observing, "I don't think Dagur will lead any invasions any time soon." As he continued to fall, Dagur screamed, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" in a blind fury, then started coughing as he continued to crash, roll, and tumble down the sides of the gorge. Another spurt of pink, foamy blood escaped from the corner of his mouth as he fell. With a sudden thud, Dagur landed at the bottom of the gorge, in a substrate of pebbles. Lying flat on his face, Dagur coughed up more blood, then pushed himself up. Briefly lurching up to his feet, Dagur pointed skywards and screamed, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!", right before an after current suddenly shocked him into grunting, and he passed out, collapsing back onto the ground in a heap.