It goes without saying that Lua got herself into trouble after the last thing she did. Hiccup left her in the arena (not inside a cage, but confined to the arena); they couldn't risk Heather climbing onto Lua again to escape Berk, and besides, no prison could ever hold that girl.
"That's not fair!" Lua growled, pacing back and forth inside the arena.
"You should've thought about that before running away with a complete stranger who stole that book," Toothless said, sitting down and watching her.
Lua snorted and looked away. Hiccup had also scheduled self-control training for Lua, since she couldn't keep being drawn to metal things like that.
(Damn Skrill instincts! I can't resist a little bit of metal! They're so shiny and perfect!) Lua whined in her thoughts.
At the moment, everyone was training hard to recover the Book of Dragons. Even Lua was training to provide support with her lightning (she hoped there would be a storm that day, so she could show her true power).
At one point during training, Hookfang got very irritated and activated his fire all over his body.
"Hey! Can you calm him down?" Astrid asked, stressed.
"Yeah! Fine!" Snotlout rolled his eyes and went over to Hookfang.
Without any fear at all, Snotlout grabbed Hookfang's head and pressed it firmly against the ground until he calmed down and even started purring, which was surprisingly fast (Hookfang is usually hard to calm).
"I figured this out yesterday, he likes it," Snotlout said, smiling at his discovery.
"Wait. He likes having his head forced into the ground?" Fishlegs asked, very surprised.
"Tuffnut likes it," Ruffnut said.
"I do?" Tuffnut raised an eyebrow.
Suddenly, Ruffnut launched himself at his brother and pressed his face hard against the ground. Tuffnut even seemed more relaxed afterward.
"Oh yeah. It feels good," Tuffnut said, relaxed, with a sleepy look. "The ground is soft."
"Can we keep going?! An army could be coming here!" Astrid was really stressed with everything that was happening.
Lua approached Hookfang.
"Is having your face pressed into the ground really that good?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"You bet it is! It's the best feeling in the world! The ground is cool and soft! Perfect," Hookfang even yawned a little.
Lua then looked at Astrid, who didn't look very happy while arguing with Snotlout.
"Maybe Astrid needs that too," Lua said, looking worried at her. "She's going to get a lot of expression lines."
"Oh, Astrid will get over it soon. And what are expression lines?" Stormfly asked, tilting her head.
"Oh, nothing. Sometimes I just do whatever comes to mind," Lua laughed nervously and brushed it off.
The riders discussed their plans to recover the Book of Dragons and eventually came up with a perfect plan: Astrid would disguise herself as Heather, even dyeing her hair black for it.
o0o0o
Lua ended up staying in the arena anyway, since they would have one less rider mounting a dragon, and it would be very difficult to command two dragons without riders.
It was already night when they left for the Outcast Island. Lua was sleeping curled up in a corner of the arena when something touched her.
Immediately, purely on reflex, she jumped up and spread her wings wide, releasing a lightning bolt from her mouth. The person barely dodged by throwing themselves down. Lua growled and looked at the person, but after recognizing her, she calmed down.
"Heather! Why do you always try to scare me to death?!" Lua huffed and lowered her wings.
"Sorry, girl. I didn't bring metal this time," Heather said as she approached and stroked her neck. "I'm going to need your help now. They'd never understand."
Lua lowered her neck and Heather climbed onto her back.
"Very good, girl. Now let's find Hiccup," Heather said, patting her neck and holding onto her horns.
Lua spread her wings and took off, beating them powerfully.
"Enjoy the ride! And this time it'll work," Lua exclaimed with a smile.
"That's it! Go, girl!" Heather shouted, smiling and holding on tight.
There was no one to stop them this time.
o0o0o
When they arrived at the Outcast Island, they saw that the riders were in trouble. A net had been thrown over Meatlug and Fishlegs, Barf and Belch's necks were tied, and Hookfang and Toothless were cornered.
They were all trapped because they had underestimated the Outcasts.
But like a winged savior, Lua dove in and first removed the net trapping Meatlug. Then, using her lightning (with extra care), she freed the rope binding Barf and Belch.
"That is—" Astrid was relieved and happy to see Heather.
"It is!" Heather cheered from atop Lua.
"Heather!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"Lua! / Lua!" Toothless and Astrid exclaimed at the same time.
"What? Heather! And that Skrill!" Alvin shouted angrily.
"Miss me?" Lua asked as she landed.
"You have no idea how much I did," Toothless murmured.
Astrid approached Lua and Heather.
"I'm sorry for not believing you!" Astrid said, smiling at Heather.
"It's okay. I wouldn't have believed me either," Heather said.
"Let's get your parents now," Astrid said.
Heather helped Astrid climb onto Lua by pulling her up. Soon, Lua took off again and had to prove her strength by carrying and holding two adult Vikings and two teenage Viking girls on her back.
(I think I need to lift some weights) Lua had to strain herself to fly while carrying them.
"Alright, everyone! Just like we trained!" Hiccup said, commanding the team. "Fire cover, Twins!" Hiccup ordered.
"About time!" Ruffnut exclaimed.
The Zippleback focused on several Outcast catapults. Soon, despite the initial disadvantage, the team of riders quickly took control of the battle.
Lua narrowly dodged several arrows.
"Snotlout!" Astrid shouted, drawing his attention.
"Leave it to me!" Snotlout charged forward with Hookfang.
Hookfang spat out a wall of fire, forcing the Outcasts to retreat.
"Go, Lua! Lightning!" Astrid ordered, pointing at the wall of fire.
The Outcasts only heard thunder before seeing a white flash, and then the flames expanded almost like an "explosion," making them drop their weapons and run. Nearby dead trees even started to burn.
In the middle of this, Savage was launched from a catapult by Alvin toward Lua, causing Astrid and the book to fall. Lua roared in concern, but there wasn't much she could do, since her claws were full.
Fortunately, everything ended well, and Astrid's new friend, a Monstrous Nightmare, appeared and didn't hesitate to save her at the right moment.
This was definitely a victory for the riders, who decided to return immediately to Berk, since the mission was complete: they recovered the Book of Dragons and even managed to save Heather's parents.
But little do they know what Alvin the Treacherous is planning for the future of the riders—and for himself.
o0o0o
"I don't even know how to thank you. Especially you, Astrid—you put your life at risk for us, and I'll never forget that," Heather said as she hugged Astrid, while Lua growled beside her. "And of course, you too, Lua."
Astrid returned the hug a bit awkwardly. Heather petted Lua and then Toothless (Hiccup thought he was going to get a hug too, but he didn't).
"I'm going to miss you both," she said, and after petting Toothless, she stepped back.
"Oh, who knows? The world is crazy—maybe we'll see each other again sometime," Hiccup said.
"Yeah, maybe," Heather agreed.
"Just promise me one thing: if you ever need help, you'll ask me," Hiccup said.
"Alright, I promise," Heather nodded, then stepped away.
Heather boarded the boat that Stoick gave her parents so they could return safely to their island. Heather waved at them.
Lua watched sadly as Heather left. She swore she could have bonded more with Heather, and since she didn't have a rider, Heather could have chosen to stay in Berk and become her rider—but it seems that sometimes certain things can't be changed.
(Well, looks like I won't have a rider anytime soon) Lua thought sadly.
Toothless nudged her from the side when he noticed her sadness. Lua just huffed in response, but she wouldn't stay sad forever: loving also means letting go.
Maybe Heather wasn't the one meant for her. Maybe there was still a Viking out there, somewhere, waiting to connect with a Skrill.
o0o0o
Over the next few days, the Thawfest (? I'm not sure of the English name; when I translate it, it comes up as either "Freeze Festival".) took place. Nothing very exciting, and Lua just watched, since a rider could only use one of their dragons (a rule added because Hiccup technically has two dragons), and Hiccup obviously chose Toothless.
"I don't understand this festival," Lua said, watching the Vikings go through the first round.
"What don't you understand?" Stormfly asked.
"Berk is big, there are a lot of Vikings, but only our riders are participating. Where are the other young Vikings?" Lua raised an eyebrow.
The other dragons looked at each other. She had raised a point that none of them had an answer to.
o0o0o
Lua watched as the Vikings raised perch structures for the dragons. Dragons are very heavy and often use Viking houses to hang from and rest, which caused many houses to collapse.
At the end of the day, Hiccup, Stoick, and Gobber were celebrating the installation of the perches (but they couldn't drink the water for... reasons).
Suddenly, they heard the sound of lightning striking. Toothless climbed upward, but Lua followed the others outside.
"A storm! That's great!" Lua growled happily.
"Wow, lightning is striking everywhere," Hiccup said, surprised.
"Normally lightning doesn't strike here in the village," Stoick said, frowning.
"Thor is angry. There was only one time I remember seeing lightning strike in Berk..." Stoick and Gobber looked at each other.
"Barnstadt," they both said at the same time.
"Bar—who?" Hiccup was very confused by the name.
"Jorgern Barnstadt, a nomad. Came by boat—back then he robbed widows and the elderly," Stoick explained.
"And as punishment, Thor struck him with lightning right on the head while he was fixing the ship's mast to escape," Gobber said, laughing.
"After Thor finished him off, our entire fleet burned," Stoick said.
"We banished him from the island, and Thor never attacked the village again," Gobber said.
"They banished him from the island? Wow, that was serious," Hiccup said, frowning—then he became alarmed when lightning struck a house.
Soon, more lightning struck several houses, starting a fire.
"Gobber!" Stoick shouted.
Lua passed by them excitedly. It had been a long time since she had witnessed such a strong storm.
(I'm going to enjoy this!) Lua growled and took flight.
She had barely risen a few meters above the ground when lightning began to be drawn toward her. Lua felt a pleasant, relaxing sensation as the lightning traveled all over her body.
"It feels like a massage," Lua purred and climbed higher.
She didn't even notice when she began circling Berk and most of the lightning was drawn toward her and then absorbed, to be released later as powerful bolts.
Lua didn't notice when chaos began to spread through the village; she only realized it when Toothless called out to her.
"Lua! Help!" Toothless shouted while fleeing from the lightning.
Lua opened her eyes, stopped circling Berk, and saw Toothless jumping from perch to perch while avoiding being struck by lightning.
"Toothless!" Lua flew toward him.
A lightning bolt was about to hit Toothless, but Lua got in front of it. The lightning wasn't absorbed by her—it was discharged outward instead.
Toothless leaped toward Hiccup, his heart pounding with fear and panic.
Lua landed nearby, but Toothless backed away as soon as he heard static sounds coming from her. Lua looked at him anxiously but didn't approach, knowing he was scared.
"Don't you understand?! Thor is angry with us, and I'll tell you why! Because of him!" Mildew pointed at Toothless, and Lua growled. "As everyone knows, the Night Fury is the demonic offspring of lightning and death itself! We let it live among us, and now we will all pay the price!"
"Well, it really did look like the lightning was attacking the dragon specifically," Mulch pointed out.
"Exactly! It struck the dragon, and we've never had a storm like today before! There's only one thing we can do... Ban the Night Fury! It's the only way!" Mildew exclaimed, encouraging the crowd.
The Vikings began shouting loudly, the majority agreeing with Mildew's view.
Suddenly, Lua rose upward.
"Lua!" Hiccup tried to stop her, but it was too late.
The Vikings trembled when Lua roared so loudly that a lightning bolt struck behind her, making them duck in fright. Small electric sparks crackled around her as she stared at Mildew with pure hatred.
"Look! The lightning struck when she roared!" a Viking exclaimed.
"Skrills draw their lightning power straight from Thor himself! They're like his force!" another shouted.
"And look! The other dragon that's cursing us with Thor's lightning!" Mildew pointed his staff at Lua. "Thor is furious because of the Night Fury and the Skrill for being a lightning thief!"
"Stop twisting things!" Lua growled and slowly descended.
Hiccup had to hold her back so she wouldn't lunge at Mildew, since that would only make things worse.
The people of Berk were hesitating now. They had been agreeing with Mildew until then, but Lua's display of power made them hesitate. Skrills control lightning, they can use Thor's strength, so surely Thor must like them (though some, like Mildew, believe Skrills merely steal Thor's lightning).
"What? No! This is ridiculous!" Hiccup said, but no one listened.
"We need to act fast, or should I remind you of... Barnstadt," Mildew said, causing the crowd to murmur even more.
"You're right... You're right to think Thor is angry with us, but I don't believe it's because of Toothless or Lua," Stoick said, defending the two dragons.
"That's right! Have you all forgotten what Toothless and Lua have already done for this village?!" Hiccup asked, a bit stressed by the situation.
"And who do you think he's angry with, then?!" Mildew asked, frowning.
"Honestly, I don't know the mind of Thor, Mildew. But we'll find a way to appease all this anger!" With that, Stoick's words ended the argument for the time being.
o0o0o
After much thought, the riders thought it through and decided to build a metal statue for Thor. Lua, now calmer after her outburst of rage the day before, became worried.
"This isn't going to work. Thor isn't furious, and the problem definitely isn't us," Lua exclaimed.
Lua began trying to sabotage the statue of Thor. First, she decided to hide the twins' hammers, but it was pointless (the twins used their heads until they got other hammers). She knocked over the metal plates Astrid was trying to assemble, irritating the blonde to the point that she shouted at Lua (which didn't help much).
"Lua!" Hiccup called out to her.
Lua was holding the leg that Snotlout had made (and he'd even made it with the knee bent the wrong way), and she didn't want to give it back.
"Get back here with that leg!" Hiccup demanded.
Lua dodged him, still firmly holding the leg in her mouth.
"My leg!" Snotlout put his hands on his face, worried.
In the end, they managed to get the leg back, and Hiccup had to ground Lua, with Toothless keeping an eye on her.
"Maybe this way you'll calm down a bit," Hiccup said before turning back to finish the statue.
"We can't let them finish that statue!" Lua said, watching Hiccup walk toward the others.
"And why? Maybe this will calm the Viking god!" Toothless tilted his head to the side.
"I... I don't know how to explain," Lua looked down, trying to think of a way to explain. "But... I'm like lightning! And I'm attracted to metal! Lightning is attracted to metal! Wow... actually, that explains a lot about my obsession with metal. Why did I only think of this now?"
"Wait, so lightning is attracted to metal?" Toothless looked surprised.
"Exactly! We have to do something about that statue before everything goes wrong," Lua said.
o0o0o
Toothless and Lua watched as Hiccup presented the statue of Thor to the people of Berk, waiting for the right moment to act.
"Attention! Attention, everyone! So, I know Thor isn't very happy with us right now, but I'm sure this beautiful statue will be enough to make Thor happy with us again! So, without further ado...!" Hiccup pulled away the cloth covering the statue.
The people gasped and were impressed when they saw the statue of Thor, all murmuring that Thor would be pleased and would stop his attack.
Toothless and Lua looked at each other.
"That's it! Very good! Thor will like the tribute and smile upon us again!" Stoick said, and everyone applauded.
Lua didn't even pay attention to Mildew's complaints. She looked up and saw the storm forming.
"I'm going to bring the statue down tonight," she said without looking at Toothless.
"Alone?" Toothless asked, worried.
"Lightning doesn't affect me. I'll be fine," Lua smiled softly.
o0o0o
Lua was outside, on the perch above Stoick's house. There were still many Vikings in the courtyard, and she wanted to bring the statue down with as few people around as possible so it would be safer.
It didn't take long for everyone to return to their houses, and Lua moved.
She flew to the statue of Thor and began clawing and biting the metal. Fortunately, a dragon's claws and jaws are very powerful: the metal twisted and dented under her strength.
Lua began pulling the statue forward to knock it over, but she underestimated the statue's weight a bit. She growled and beat her wings harder, wanting to bring it down as quickly as possible.
"Look! The dragon wants to destroy the statue!" a Viking shouted, pointing at Lua.
The people began trying to drive her away; some even threw stones at her, but Lua didn't care.
Hiccup came running when he heard the commotion.
"Lua! No!" He stretched his hand out toward her.
A lightning bolt struck the statue and was redirected toward the houses, but Lua managed to knock it over.
Lua panted and took care not to be crushed by the falling statue.
Mildew took advantage of this to further slander the dragons and worsen the situation.
"Look at that! That's what Thor thought of the statue! And the dragon made everything worse by disrespecting Thor himself! We should banish these creatures immediately!" Mildew exclaimed angrily.
Hiccup approached and stood in front of Lua, protecting her from the others.
"No! Lua would never do this to harm us!" Hiccup looked at her, not understanding the reason for her actions.
The people didn't listen to a single word Hiccup said—no plea at all. Mildew led the Vikings toward Lua.
Lua, sensing the threat, growled and stood beside Hiccup, wanting to protect him from their hostile behavior.
"Lua, go now! You have to leave," Hiccup pushed her snout gently.
The Skrill looked at Hiccup and sighed.
"Go before they capture you, Lua," Toothless stood protectively in front of Lua and Hiccup.
Lua looked away, then flew off into the distance.
Soon after, Hiccup mounted Toothless and fled to keep his friend from being captured and then banished.
The entire time, Hiccup kept thinking, reflecting on everything Lua had done. He knew Lua was an intelligent dragon and would never do anything without a reason, without purpose.
o0o0o
While flying with Toothless, a lightning bolt struck Toothless's tail, burning the material and deforming the metal.
Seeing this, Hiccup froze.
"The lightning hit the metal..." He put a hand on his chin. "Lua? Could it be...?"
Hiccup didn't have time to think further, because the angry Vikings captured them. A larger Viking grabbed Hiccup and dragged him away from Toothless by force.
There didn't seem to be any solution to the situation.
The other Vikings even tried to look for Lua, but searching for a Skrill in the middle of a lightning storm is the same as looking for a needle in a haystack.
o0o0o
Hiccup went to the workshop and grabbed a large spear. He had an idea—an idea that was risky and could be wrong, but it was worth trying.
Hiccup was about to leave with Astrid when Lua appeared, roaring.
"Lua! You came back, girl!" Hiccup felt relieved. "I'm sorry for not understanding sooner—you were always trying to warn us."
"Good thing you understand now," Lua huffed.
Hiccup mounted Lua, and they immediately went to where Toothless was.
"Stop!" Hiccup shouted, and Lua swooped low in front of the Vikings, forcing them back.
Lua landed in front of them and stared at them with sharp pupils.
"Stop! You can send Toothless or Lua away, you can send them to the ends of the world! But you won't stop these lightning bolts from destroying Berk!" Hiccup's words made the others protest and argue against him. "It's the metal! Lightning strikes metal! Think for a moment—there was never a lightning storm like this before we built the perches and the statues, was there?! And all of that is made of metal!"
"Ha! Lies!" Mildew stepped in front of Hiccup. "Have you ever heard such madness?!"
Hiccup turned and went to Toothless's tail, showing the place where the lightning had struck.
"Look! This is where the lightning hit Toothless! This connecting rod—this rod made of metal! And Lua was trying to warn us the whole time! She tried to knock down the statue to save us!"
Even so, the people still didn't believe Hiccup.
"Look, if you don't believe me, I can prove it!"
Hiccup firmly grabbed the spear and climbed onto Lua's back.
Lua rose up to the ship's mast, where Hiccup wanted to go.
"You can go down," Hiccup signaled, but Lua stayed.
"I'll stay here—if it goes wrong, I can catch you," Lua huffed, watching Hiccup.
"Hiccup!" Stoick called out, worried.
"You're all going to see," Hiccup flinched as lightning cracked around them. "When I place this metal spear on the mast, the lightning will be drawn—"
Hiccup didn't even finish the sentence when a lightning bolt struck the spear, electrifying him completely.
Hiccup felt agonizing pain as the lightning coursed through his body. He lost his strength, dropped the spear, and his body fell backward.
Lua's eyes widened, and she dove to grab him—but hesitated when she found herself face-to-face with the sea.
She wanted to dive into the water and save Hiccup, but something told her to stay away, to fear the sea. She was paralyzed.
Toothless, seeing Lua frozen, didn't hesitate. He broke free from the chains and jumped into the sea, saving Hiccup.
Lua only snapped out of her trance when Toothless emerged from the water with Hiccup in his claws.
Lua immediately rushed to Toothless's side and nudged Hiccup, just as worried as the Night Fury was.
Stoick and Gobber ran over, checking Hiccup's vital signs and seeing that he was alive.
Lua sighed in relief.
Even though she had watched the series, had seen all of this as an animation, a fictional world... everything was real now. There was pain, there was blood, there was fear and uncertainty.
The feeling of almost losing someone close was unbearably painful to her.
Lua had already lost someone important before—someone who had taught her everything about this universe while alive.
"...Mom..." Lua whispered softly.
Toothless's ears twitched, and he looked at Lua, but said nothing, turning his gaze back to Hiccup as Stoick carried him back home.
Lua followed them in complete silence.