Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Outcast Island

                The night was calm, and the full moon cast a bright glow on the grounds of the island. The villagers slept peacefully. enjoying a good night’s rest after a long day. The only movement on the island was within the prison dug deep into the mountain side. The dungeons of Outcast Island were darker than the night outside the prison door, the flames of the torches providing the only light within.

                The guard shuddered as a snake slithered out from the bucket of bread on the floor. Once it had fled, he picked up the bucket and started down the hall of cells. He grimaced as the light scent of the stale, possibly moldy, bread hit his nose. He shook his head, and grabbed one of the loaves before tossing it into one of the cells.

                “Mealtime, maggots!” He cried out as he walked down the corridor. He tossed in the loaves through the bars as he passed by, uncaring if they hit the ground. As he approached the last cell, he carefully grabbed the wrapped cloth at the bottom of the bucket and tossed it in. The shadowed figure in the cell made no acknowledgment as the guard walked away.

                “But that's not bread!” The prisoner in the cell across the hall whined. He grasped the bars and glared into the dark cell. “Why does he always get special treatment? Oh, Mr. Big Shot. Mr. Berserker Chief.”

                Dagur the Deranged, Chief of the Berserker tribe grabbed the wrapped cloth and rose to his feet. He put a smile on his face, and approached the bars.

                “Oh, hey you want some? Come here, I'll give you some.” Dagur offered kindly. He put his hand with the wrapped cloth through the bars towards his fellow prisoner. When the other man hesitated, he smiled and gestured again to the cloth.

                The prisoner reached out, and Dagur quickly grabbed his arm through the bars with his free hand. The kind smile was replaced by a dark smirk and a glare.

                I've been meaning to tell you something for the last three years; Your voice is really annoying.”

                With a jerk, he pulled the other prisoner forward. There was a loud clang as the man’s helmet hit the bars then he dropped to the ground. Dagur let out a sigh, and took a couple steps back rolling his shoulders.

                “Gosh that feels good.”

                He opened the folded cloth, and grinned as he saw the key. He began to giggle manically as he held it up. He stifled his laughter as he reached through the bars and used the key to open the door to his cell. Dagur stayed light on his feet as he crept quickly down the hallway.

                There was a guard standing at the end of the next hall. Dagur smirked as he approached him from behind. The way the man’s head was bobbing up and down, it looked like he was asleep on his feet. Dagur lunged forward as his head bounced up again, and wrapped his arms around the guard’s neck. Dagur pulled him to the ground, and was quick to knock him out.

                Dagur left the man where he was and walked into the next hall.

                ‘Too easy,’ Dagur thought with a smile as he saw two more guards. They were talking loudly, and facing away from him so it was simple enough to creep up from behind and slam their heads together.

                “He's escaped!” Dagur whipped around to see a guard had come up from behind. He rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration before running at the guard who continued to yell. “Dagur's got out! Sound the al—”

                The guard was cut off as Dagur picked up the two Outcast Guards iron clubs and slammed one into his head. The guard crumpled, and Dagur turned with gritted teeth at the noise behind him. He began to laugh manically as he observed five more guards coming his way.

                “Oh goodie!” Dagur giggled. “A challenge.”

                He charged forward with a loud yell and easily began to take down the guards. While he had been trapped in that cell with minimal food and space, he had not left himself get soft. He heard cheering from the surrounding cells and glanced at them with a pleased smirk.

                “Yah! Get 'em Dagur!” One of the prisoners cheered.

                ‘Be right back boys,’ Dagur thought as he ran down the hall. He giggled to himself. ‘Gonna go grab us ride!’

                He was nearing the entrance of the prison when a guard jumped out from the side and swung a heavy mace at him. Dagur quickly dodged and moved behind the man. As the guard looked stunned at the mace buried into the ground, Dagur got his attention with a jaunty wave. Spying the guard coming up behind him, he ducked out of the way as the guard angrily swung his mace up. The weapon hit the other guard in the helmet, and he fell to the ground.

                Dagur took advantage of the guards stunned state to come up behind him and hit him on the sides of the head with both clubs. He walked over the body, and put the clubs behind his back. He whistled a happy tune as he approached the guard at the exit.

                “No. No, Dagur don't!” The guard begged. He fell to his knees and dropped his club. “I'm the one that gave you the key.”

                “Which makes you a traitor, “Dagur mused. He dropped the iron clubs, and the guard had a moment of relief before Dagur punched him in the face. The guard slumped back against the door unconscious. “I hate traitors.”

                Dagur kicked the guard away from the door, and lifted the large metal bar holding it closed. He carelessly dropped the heavy metal on top of the guard, and opened the door. He took a quick peak out before stepping out into the night. His gaze fell to the docks below, and he smirked as he saw a familiar ship.

                “It's a new day, Hiccup,” Dagur said menacingly. He began his trip down to the docks with a giggle. “Hope you're well rested.”

Near the island of Berk

                Toothless let out a happy cry as he sped through the clouds. Hiccup couldn’t contain her grin as he emerged from the clouds into the blue sky with a spin. She clung on tight to the saddle as he weaved expertly through a few stone sea stacks. After a moment of enjoying the open sky, she took a deep breath and looked down at her dragon with a smile.

                “Okay, bud,” Hiccup said determined. “Let's try the new move.”

                Toothless made a rumble of agreement before diving straight down into the clouds. Hiccup felt her smile grow as he pulled back and shot straight up.

                “Woohoo! Yeah, baby! That's it, Toothless,” Hiccup cheered. “Push it, you've got it! Climb higher!” She laughed as Toothless had his gummy grin on his face, lips flapping in the wind. Her laughter quickly faded as she heard the distinct sound of her prosthetic unlatching from the stirrup, and gravity began to quickly remove her from the saddle.

                “What the... Oh no, not again!” Hiccup cried as she fell away from Toothless, and began to drop. “Uh hey, Toothless!”

               Toothless quickly turned around, and dove towards her. Hiccup looked away from him and out into the open sky. After a few seconds she looked over at the black dragon diving down beside her but just out of reach. 

                “Hey,” Hiccup said calmly. Toothless warbled at her, and Hiccup shrugged as the wind continued to whistle by. “So, we just plummet, or, uh any ideas?”

                Toothless flapped his wings and shot ahead of her. Hiccup grinned, and twisted her body around so she could land safely on the saddle as Toothless flew below her. She leaned forward as the dragon flew steadily. “I seriously have to get my own pair of wings.”

                Toothless grumbled and rolled his eyes at the idea.

                “Oh, quiet, you,” Hiccup admonished. She adjusted her seat in the saddle before reaching out to pet Toothless’s head. “Don't even start.”

                Without a sound, Toothless turned around and flew back the way they came. Hiccup felt a small smile grow on her face as her island came into view.

                ‘This is Berk,’ Hiccup thought as Toothless soared over the village. She nodded down to a few of the villagers who waved up at them.

                She gave a once over to the new construction in progress on the side of the cliffs as Toothless flew through what would one day be the Hangar. ‘This is Berk, too.’ 

               Toothless banked around, and passed over the new dragon feeder they had placed near the top of the cliffside. ‘And so is this!’

                Hiccup shook her head as she marveled at the new windmills Toothless sailed around. ‘And this also.’ 

                Hiccup looked down with content at the site of her village. There were times she couldn’t believe that this was the same village she had grown up in.

                ‘Berk has changed a lot,’ Hiccup thought to herself as Toothless sped up with a flap of his wings. She looked down as they passed over the village center, and spotted the familiar broad figure of her cousin Snotlout. ‘But then again, so have we. Snotlout works at the armory now. Gobber gave him the title of "official weapons tester."’

                Hiccup stared down in amusement as Snotlout climbed into the cup of the new catapult, and launched through the air. Toothless came to a stop, and hovered in place as Snotlout rose up.

                “It works!” Snotlout laughed as he passed in front of them. Hiccup shook her head, and then groaned as she spotted Ruffnut and Tuffnut pushing a wagon full of extremely sharp weapons.

                ‘The twins, to absolutely no one's surprise, have decided to dedicate their lives to Loki. The God of Pranks. Lucky us,’ Hiccup thought. Her eyes widened as the twins rushed to get the wagon of weapons below the now rapidly falling Snotlout. Toothless shook his head at their antics as he spotted Hookfang, Snotlout’s Monstrous Nightmare dragon, already diving for his rider.

                Snotlout gasped as he turned through the air, and saw the pile of weapons he was heading for.

                “Uh, Hookfang! Hookfang!” Snotlout cried. He grunted as he was caught by the belt just a few feet before he would’ve faceplanted into the weaponry. Snotlout quickly dropped his fear to look back at his red dragon.

                “You just have to cut it that close, don't you?” Snotlout asked irritably. He yelped as Hookfang flipped him up and onto his neck. He landed with a grunt, and now safely seated in the saddle he looked for the twins. He shook his fist at them as he cried down to them, “There will be repercussions for this! Repercussions!”

                The blonde twins crowed with laughter and gave each other a high five. Hiccup rolled her eyes, and sighed as Toothless glided away. Hiccup perked up as she spotted Fishlegs and his Gronckle dragon Meatlug on the ground ahead. Hiccup softly smiled as she spotted a few children following behind him.

                ‘And then there's Fishlegs,’ Hiccup thought happily as they glided by. ‘Who has really found his calling, teaching the children of Berk the history of dragons.’

                “And if you look closely at the walls of the Great Hall,” the large blonde boy lectured. “You'll still see puncture marks where the Speed Stingers attacked. Interesting fact about these dragons...” He paused as he turned away from the children towards the Great Hall, and gasped. Stoick and Gobber who had been descending the stairs from the Great Hall paused. “Oh! Oh, look, kids! We’re in luck. Here come two of Berk's most famous heroes”.

                “Ho ho! Heroes?” Stoick said with a laugh. “I've got some work to do, but I guess I could spare a moment—"

                “Hiccup and the amazing Toothless!” Fishlegs cheered.

                Stoick looked behind him to see his daughter and her dragon doing a flip in the sky as the children cheered them on. She grinned down at them as Toothless hovered in the air above them.

                “...eh, to introduce my daughter and her Night Fury!” Stoick recovered. “Hooray.”

                Toothless flew over them, and back out towards the sea. Hiccup and Toothless flew along in peaceful silence before a familiar squawking sound came from behind. Hiccup turned to look behind and saw Asher and his blue Nadder, Stormfly, catching up to them.

                “Hey, there you are,” Hiccup said happily. As usual, she felt a small jump in her heart as she saw the blonde-haired boy. She had to turn to hide her blush as admired how his long hair danced around his face, contained only by the leather band he wore and the thick braid down his back.

                “Hiccup,” Asher admonished. “I've been chasing you since the armory.”

                “Well, I thought we'd try out the far North today,” Hiccup shrugged. She felt the familiar anticipation fill her at the thought of potentially finding a new dragon species.

                “Uh, can we talk about something first?” Asher asked nervously.

                “Yeah, sure, if you can catch me,” Hiccup teased. Toothless let out a happy sound as he raced forward though the air. Asher sighed in exasperation as Stormfly sped up to follow.

                The two flew north for some time before Hiccup nudged Toothless. The dragon stopped and flapped his wings to remain in the air as Hiccup reached down into her saddlebag for her spyglass. She raised it to her eye, and peered out at the surrounding small stone islands and sea stacks.

                “I'm just going to say it,” Hiccup said as she heard Asher and Stormfly pull up beside them. “I have a really good feeling about today, Asher.”

                “You say that every time we go searching for new dragons,” Asher commented. Hiccup ignored the jab, and looked back through the spyglass.

                Asher shifted in the saddle. “Hiccup, can we have a second? I wanted to talk to you about—" He was interrupted by Hiccup tossing her spyglass towards him. He easily caught it as Hiccup motioned excitedly.

                “Whoa, look, look, look, look! Did you see that?” Hiccup exclaimed. “There's definitely some movement up ahead. Long neck. Large head. Behind that rock formation.”

                “Yeah, anyway,” Asher tried to continue. “I wanted to tell you...”

                He trailed off as Toothless and Hiccup took off towards the rocks. He sighed and rolled his eyes before following.

                “This is it, Toothless!” Hiccup said. “A new species of dragon, bud!”

                Toothless pulled around, and Hiccup felt her happiness quickly fade as she realized what she was seeing.

                “Loki'd!” Ruffnut and Tuffnut cried out from the back of their Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch. She saw that the two-headed dragon had twisted its long necks into a spiral forming the odd shape she had seen from her spyglass.

                “You totally thought "Barch" was a new dragon!” Tuffnut teased. Hiccup groaned as the twins howled with laughter.

                “Oh, come on!” Hiccup scoffed. “Did not! Let's go, bud.”

                Toothless grumbled as he turned, and flew them away from the pranksters.

                “Wow,” Tuffnut said as the two heads unwound themselves from each other. “Who yakked in her mutton?”

               Asher rolled his eyes.

                “Really guys?” Asher said irritably. “You know she’s been looking all over the archipelago for new dragons.”

                “Oh, come on!” Ruffnut teased. “The girl could use a little Loki if you ask us.”

                Asher shook his head, and gently pushed Stormfly to follow Hiccup and Toothless. By the time they caught up, the two had landed on a piece of land in the middle of the ocean. He sighed as he watched the auburn-haired girl sit on the edge of the island and stare out over the water.

                Toothless cooed as he came up beside her, and pushed his head under her arm to nuzzle her side. Asher felt a small bolt of affection as the girl glanced down at her dragon with a smile, and stroked the dragon on the head as she turned back to the water.

                Asher and Stormfly landed behind them, and Asher quickly dismounted.

                “Hiccup, those guys are muttonheads,” Asher said as he approached to stand beside her. He looked down at her, and admired for a moment how the sun highlighted the red tint to her hair. He liked the longer length, but it still drove him mad that she never bound her hair in a braid except for the two new ones behind her ear that he himself has put there. At least she was wearing her leather armor now over her red tunic.

                Asher sighed, and focused back on what he wanted to discuss. “But you have to admit, we've visited every island, every sea stack and every rock in the archipelago. Twice! And we haven't spotted a new dragon in a long time.”

                Hiccup shook her head. “This can't be all there is! There must be something more out there!”

                “What if there isn't, Hiccup?” Asher challenged. “What if we're done? What if the search is over?”

                “It can't be,” Hiccup said sadly.

                Asher sighed. “Well, it's over for me. I've been trying to tell you. Stormfly and I... We're joining the Berk Guard.”

                Hiccup couldn’t help the stunned look on her face, before she quickly caught herself and smiled.

                “Oh. That's great,” Hiccup said as cheerfully as she could. “I'm happy for you guys...”

                Asher shifted as Hiccup looked back down, and he saw the smile rapidly fade. “Look, maybe you should give some thought to what's next for you and Toothless.”

                Hiccup didn’t respond, and Asher walked back to Stormfly. Toothless watched them take off, before turning back to his rider. Hiccup stared out at the open water.

                ‘Even Asher is giving up,’ Hiccup thought sadly. ‘But this…can’t be everything. There must be more dragons out there. If we really have found everything…what does that mean for me?’ She sighed as she thought of what her father might say. ‘He would probably be head over heels at the idea that I might be ready to start becoming Chief. It’s great that he supports me now, but…I don’t know if I’m ready to settle down yet. I feel like there is still so much more to see.’

                The sun began to set before the two flew back to Berk. Her green eyes were drawn to a dark structure on the edge of the village as the torch lights were lit. She nudged Toothless, and he obliged her by gliding down to land outside the Dragon Academy.

                Hiccup looked around the empty arena silently as they entered. Since most of the dragons on Berk had been living amongst them peacefully, they hadn’t needed the Academy for a long time. Hiccup noticed one set of doors was left open, and sighed. Toothless crooned at her sadly, as she walked forward and shut the doors. To Hiccup it felt very final.

                “I guess it's just you and me for now, bud.” Hiccup said as she turned back to the dark dragon. Toothless warbled at her comfortingly as he walked with her out of the academy.

The Next Day

                Bucket struggled with the fishing net as he tried to pull it up out of the ocean. Mulch stood beside him in the boat offering no help.

                “I can't get it!” Bucket panted. The sun beating down on the metal bucket stuck on top of his head didn’t help his struggle.

                “What's the problem, Bucket?” Mulch asked. He glanced between his friend and the ocean worriedly.

                “I'm not sure, Mulch!” Bucket cried. “I can't raise the net! Something's pulling that end down!”

                The two froze as they saw a dark shape forming in the water before looking at each other.

                “SEA MONSTER!” they screamed as the net was ripped away from Bucket’s hand and hook. The two had barely a second to react before they were blasted with a jet of water that knocked them flat on their backs.

                The two men floundered in the boat as a two headed green beast rose up out of the water. Bucket scowled as the twins raised their heads from the backs of their dragons’ heads to grin mischievously at them.

                “Loki'd!” Ruffnut and Tuffnut laughed.

                “Oh, you!” Bucket started angrily. He stopped as he stared at the waterlogged figure lying over the dragon’s neck behind Tuffnut. “Johann?”

                The soaking and very disheveled Trader Johann groaned, “Help me!”

                “Oh man, you should see the looks on your faces,” Tuffnut said obliviously. “Priceless!”

                “Full Loki'd!” the twins crowed together as Barf and Belch brought them close to each other.

                “Bet you've never saw a full Loki coming, am I right, Johann?” Tuffnut said proudly glancing over his shoulder at the passed-out merchant. Tuffnut did a startled double take. “Johann?”

Back in Berk

                Hiccup sighed as she made her way up the hill to her house. Toothless happily pounced up onto the roof to relax in the sun as Hiccup entered.

                “Hiccup!” Hiccup looked up to see Stoick sitting at the table with his meal in front of him. “What are you doing home so early?”

                “Oh, I just... wanted to spend some time with my dear old dad,” Hiccup said nervously as the door shut behind her. “Yeah, you know, we never get to talk anymore. So...”

                Stoick stared at her as she came closer to lean up against the wall. “Alright. What is it?”

                “What's what?” Hiccup countered.

                “What is it?” Stoick repeated.

                Hiccup babbled nervously before replying. “Can't a daughter spend some quality time with her father?

                “Not this one,” Stoick said with a pointed gesture of his mug. “Not usually, at least. So, let's hear it.”

                Hiccup sighed before moving to sit across from her father. “All right. Did you know Asher just joined the Berk Guard?”

                “I heard that,” Stoick acknowledged. “Good for him.”

                “And the other riders have got their different things going on?” Hiccup continued.

                “What are you saying, Hiccup?” Stoick asked suspiciously.

                “I'm saying, I don't know,” Hiccup said hesitatingly. “Maybe it's time for me—"

                She was interrupted by the sound of the door slamming open behind her. They looked, and were stunned to see the twins supporting a very drowned-looking trader between them.

                “Johann!” Stoick said alarmed. He was rapidly on his feet and moving to the door. “What happened to you?”

                Trader Johann moaned. “Ooh... Dagur!”

                “What about Dagur?” Hiccup asked urgently as she came up behind Stoick.

                “He's out! He stole my ship and threw me overboard once we were out of sight of Outcast Island. He's more Berserk than ever!” Johann warned. “And from the way he was talking Hiccup, your number one on his revenge list!”

                Johann passed out as Stoick turned to look back at Hiccup in alarm. Hiccup glanced down nervously before looking back up at the twins.

                “Get Johann over to Gothi, and then gather the other Dragon Riders,” Hiccup said with resolve. “Meet me at the Academy.”

                For once, the twins didn’t crack any jokes as they left with Johann. Stoick stared down at Hiccup for a moment before he moved back to the table.

                “Hiccup,” Stoick began as he picked up his helmet.

                “Dad, I know,” Hiccup hurriedly said. “If Dagur is out this is really bad.”

                “And he’s coming for you!” Stoick said angrily. He jammed the helmet on his head before coming back to her. “That Berserker has to be even more insane than he was before after three years in a cell.”

                “Probably,” Hiccup acknowledged.

                “So why do I feel like you’re going to go out searching for him?” Stoick asked angrily.

                Hiccup sighed. “Because I am. Dad, if he really is after me then he’ll also come after Berk. If we can find him before he has a chance to do anything…”

                Stoick sighed and shook his head. “Then we can stop him before he does anything.”

                “Exactly,” Hiccup said. She cautiously placed a hand on Stoick’s arm. “I’ll have Toothless and hopefully the other riders with me. He has no army or armada this time.”

                Stoick gave her a curt nod. “I need to let the Council know about this. Do what you need to do.”

                “I will,” Hiccup said. Stoick ran a hand down the side of her head, pausing at the two braids behind her ear. He held them for a moment before letting them drop back down to her shoulder to mix with the rest of her hair that reached her collar now. He gave her another firm nod before he left. After a moment, Hiccup let out a deep breath.

                “Okay then,” Hiccup said nervously. “It’s just a deranged lunatic with a penchant for violence and destruction. What’s the worst that could happen?” She shook herself to try to get rid of her nerves before she walked out the door. Stoick had already gone into the village, and she hurriedly turned up to face the roof.

                Toothless looked down at her, and grumbled worriedly.

                “Come on, bud,” Hiccup called up. Toothless immediately dropped down beside her, and rubbed up against her side. “Dagur escaped from Outcast Island.”

                Toothless immediately growled and his pupils got thin. Hiccup pet his head both to comfort him and herself. “It’s gonna be okay, bud. We got to get to the Academy.”

                The two quickly made their way to the Academy, and Hiccup hurriedly went into the storage space to grab one of the maps. She secured it to the wall with a little help from Toothless as the other riders came running into the arena.

                “We got them!” Ruffnut said happily.

                “Had to get Snotlout out of a weird metal trap, steal Fishlegs from some ankle biters, and save Asher from a real job,” Tuffnut added. “It wasn’t easy, but we did it for you.”

                Hiccup stared at the twins before nodding.

                “Thank you, Ruff, Tuff,” Hiccup said. The twins nodded before Hiccup turned to the other three.

                “What’s going on?” Fishlegs asked nervously.

                “The twins found Johann out at sea,” Hiccup explained. “Dagur escaped, and stole his ship.”

                “What?!” Asher said, alarmed. “That lunatic is loose?”

                “Where is he?” Snotlout asked.

                “All we got from Johann before he passed out was this,” Hiccup said turning to the map. “Dagur escaped from Outcast Island by commandeering his ship. He threw Johann overboard about here.” Hiccup pointed to a spot on the map and Snotlout scoffed.

                “Oh, so what you're saying is Dagur could be anywhere by now.”

                “Well, technically, yes.” Hiccup agreed.

                “Oh, great. Great, great, great,” Snotlout said irritably. “So that just leaves, I don't know, let me think about this... the entire fucking ocean to search! No, thank you!”

                “Miss Hiccup.”

                Hiccup looked to see Johann walking over to them.

                “Johann, you're awake.” Hiccup said relieved.

                “And feeling much better, thank you for asking,” Johann said. “More importantly, I have more than a strong suspicion of where our nefarious foe may be heading.” He gestured dramatically to the drawings of clouds and fog covering the top edge of the map.

                “Outside the archipelago?” Hiccup asked.

                “No!” Johann said alarmed. “Just inside the fog bank on our outer group of islands.”

                “We've never been out that far,” Hiccup said.

                “When Dagur commandeered my precious ship,” Johann continued. “He also came into possession of a very important map. One that leads to a graveyard of ships hidden in that fog bank.”

                “Wow!” Snotlout said sarcastically. “That's the first place I'd go.”

                “If I may be allowed to finish?” Johann asked irritably.

                “Johann, last time we allowed you to finish, we ended up on Breakneck Bog,” Snotlout barked. “So, no! No finishing!”

               “Enough!” Hiccup interjected. “What's so special about the graveyard and why would he go there?”

               “Well, you see—” Johann began eagerly.

               “The short version, please,” Hiccup interrupted. She could tell from his voice Johann was about to tell them a very long story for what should be a short answer.

               Johann sighed. “It's where I store all my treasures and wares.”

               Tuffnut and Snotlout stared at the trader stunned.

               “Wow,” Tuffnut said. “Concise, to the point. Who knew he had it in him?”

               “Which reminds me of the first time I was labelled as "concise"!” Johann began nostalgically. “He was a young man, very ugly. I actually—"

               “Johann!” Hiccup interrupted.

               “Yes?” Johann asked.

               “Focus,” Hiccup advised. “Is there anything else?”

               “As a matter of fact, there is one ship you must avoid at all costs,” Johann warned. “It's called... The Reaper. Riddled with booby traps from stem to stern. Barely made it out with my life the only time I dared venture aboard.”

               “Okay, Toothless, let's go,” She looked around hopefully at her friends. “Of course, if any of you can make time out of your busy schedules to capture a dangerous maniac, you could perhaps join us?”

               The former riders glanced at each other before turning back to her with matching grins. Hiccup hurriedly told her father where they were heading as the others gathered their dragons and gear. Hiccup herself made a quick stop at Gobber’s workshop to grab her shield. Before long the Dragon Riders were taking off into the sky again.

               Hiccup sighed happily, and glanced over her shoulder at their friends flying behind them. She smiled down at the top of Toothless’s head.

               “This is pretty great, huh, bud?” Toothless happily crooned, taking a quick dive and pulling back up.  “Seems like forever since we all flew as a group. Let's see how rusty they are.” She took a breath before holding her arms up. “V Formation!”

               Quickly the other dragons fell into a v pattern behind her. Hiccup looked back at them approvingly.

               “Not bad.” Hiccup acknowledged. She bent her arms to form a diamond over her head. “Diamond Formation!” 

               The dragons switched positioned until they formed a diamond shaped flight pattern with Toothless at the front point, Hookfang at the back, Stormfly taking the top, Meatlug at the bottom, and Barf and Belch in the middle above Meatlug.

               “How rusty does she think we are?” Tuffnut asked dismissively.

               “Uh... guys?” The twins looked down to see Fishlegs squished between Meatlug and Barf and Belch. “A little tight on the diamond, are we?”

               “Just like old times,” Hiccup chuckled. She paused as she heard the familiar sound of Hookfang igniting, and looked down to see Snotlout pulling up below her and Toothless.

               “Five thousand pounds of flaming muscle coming through!” Snotlout crowed proudly as they zipped ahead.

               Hiccup sighed. “Ever a class act.”

                They flew over the ocean for many hours, and Hiccup enjoyed the feeling of flying with her friends again. She could feel Toothless was happy to have his pack back in the skies with him too.

                ‘This could be it,’ Hiccup thought excitedly as they approached the last landmark of their map. Her heart began to race as they flew by it, and into uncharted territory. ‘This could be our chance to see what else is out here at the edge of the archipelago.’

                It was dark by the time they spotted the shipwrecks on the horizon. A fog laid over the ocean below as they entered the ship graveyard. Hiccup looked around in amazement, taking in the different ships down below.

               “I knew it!” Hiccup declared. “I knew there was more!”

               “The design of some of these ships,” Asher said in awe. “I've never seen anything like them before.”

               “Okay, everybody fan out!” Hiccup ordered. “If you see any trace of Dagur, send a signal.”

                The group scattered, and began to glide around the various wrecks. Stormfly let out a squawk of unease as she flew by one that was particularly dark.

               “It's alright Stormfly,” Asher said comfortingly. He couldn’t quite keep his voice as steady as he had hoped it to be as he looked into the dark shadows of the broken ship. “Nothing to worry about.”

               A distance away, Fishlegs looked down in concern as Meatlug trembled below him, and warbled in fear.

               “Don't be nervous, girl,” Fishlegs said. He reached forward to pat her on the head. “We don't want you to—” He grimaced as Meatlug barfed up a ball of lava. He sighed as it fell into the water below. “Do that.”

               Snotlout laughed as he took in the numerous wrecks around them as he and Hookfang glided along the water. “Haha, Hookfang! These guys were awful sailors! Oof!”

               Snotlout felt all the air in his abdomen leave him as he slammed into a broken mast laid out over the side of a ship. Hookfang kept flying, and Snotlout scrambled to hold onto the wooden pole as the dragon continued without him.

               “A little help here Hookfang!” Snotlout called out. Hookfang looked back, and smirked as he spotted the young man dangling from the pole. “Hey! I saw that look! What did we talk about?”

               Hiccup and Toothless scanned the waters as they flew. Toothless soon spotted a strange ship still floating relatively intact in the water, and chirped. Hiccup followed his gaze, and Toothless dove down to glide beside the ship. Hiccup took in the red designs painted on the side of the ship.

               ‘I’ve never seen anything like them before,’ Hiccup thought. Toothless went higher and they spotted the large metal cages on the deck of the ship.

               “That's gotta be the Reaper,” Hiccup said softly. Toothless hummed, and Hiccup patted his head. “Let’s circle back to the others. We need to regroup.”

               Hiccup and Toothless found another stable ship, one that was a more familiar Viking long-boat design that matched Johann’s description of where he kept his treasures. Toothless shot a plasma bolt into the sky, and soon after the other Riders joined them on the deck of the ship.

               “No sign of Dagur,” Hiccup announced.

               “Looks like we got here first,” Asher agreed. “What's the plan?”

               “We wait,” Hiccup decided.

               “Wa-Wait a minute,” Fishlegs stuttered. “For how long? This fog really gives Meatlug the willies.”

               “He has a point,” Asher said. “We can't wait around here forever.”

               “We can't just leave Johann's treasure here either,” Hiccup protested. “Dagur will steal them!”

               “And use the profit to build a new armada,” Asher acknowledged.

               “Not if we steal them first!” Ruffnut teased.

               “That is the dumbest idea I've ever heard!” Tuffnut declared dramatically. “I hereby disown you.”

               “Actually, you know what?” Hiccup said with a smile. “I like it!”

               “Welcome back to the family,” Tuffnut declared. Ruffnut rolled her eyes, and turned back to Hiccup.

               “Here's the plan,” Hiccup said resolutely. “We search the ship, gather Johann's treasure and take it back to Berk. Keep your eyes open for Dagur. He could show up at any time.”

               Before she could continue, they heard a loud hissing fill the air around them. They looked around in alarm, as their dragons began to fidget nervously. Amongst the hissing they could hear snapping and the sound of the water moving around the ship.

               “What is that?” Asher asked in alarm.

               “Has Dagur's voice changed?” Tuffnut asked. Hiccup ignored him, and ran for the side of the ship. It took only a moment’s glance at the water for her to spot the source of the noise.

               “Eels!” Hiccup cried out. “Everybody get to your dragons before they get spooked and take off!”

               Fishlegs dove to hide beneath Meatlug. “Hold me, Meatlug!”

               Meatlug and all the other dragons apart from Toothless took off from the ship in fright. The Riders watched them go in horror.

               “Hookfang!” Snotlout yelled.

               “Stormfly!” Asher cried.

               The two jumped forward as they heard a heavy thump on the deck behind them. They turned and screamed as they saw a giant eel had lunged up from the water and through a hole in the railing to get onto the deck. Hiccup raced by them to reach Toothless who was crouched defensively and glancing around at the eels with narrowed eyes.

               “Calm down, bud!” Hiccup said as steadily as she could. She quickly mounted Toothless, and secured herself. “It's only a couple of eels! Really big, screaming mean eels...”

               Toothless growled, and took off from the deck unable to ignore the urge to keep himself and Hiccup safe. He began to climb as down below the giant eels began to cross the deck at one end. They coiled around the ship, and began to drag it down.

               The remaining four riders gathered at the other end of the deck, and looked down at the rapidly submerging bow of the ship. They yelled in alarm as it began to tilt, and their footing started to slip.

               “The eels are pulling the ship down!” Fishlegs screamed.

               They didn’t have much time to think of a plan as the angle of the deck became too steep, and they lost their footing. They started to rapidly slide down towards the water, and Snotlout quickly grabbed the control for the rudder to stop his fall.

               “Fishlegs!” Snotlout yelled at the boy coming down towards him. “Grab my foot!”

               Snotlout felt his leg nearly disconnect as Fishlegs grabbed a hold of his leg and jerked to a stop below him. “Oh, you ate a full breakfast!” Snotlout felt the painful stretch as Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Asher grab onto Fishlegs in a line. He ground his teeth, but held onto the rudder. “You ate everybody's breakfast!”

                “We're gonna live!” Tuffnut cheered. The cheer was short lived as one of the eels bumped the boat, and Asher’s hand slipped from Ruffnut’s. He screamed as he fell.

               “Asher! No!” Hiccup cried out as she and Toothless came back around.

               “Most of us are gonna live!” Tuffnut amended.

               “HICCUP!” Asher yelled before he hit the water. He sank for a few feet, and opened his eyes. He felt his fear spike as spotted the giant eels surrounding him. He quickly drew his axe, and began to swing it through the water. The water made his arms move so much slower, and it didn’t seem to deter the eels as they continued to advance.

               A bright shot of light flew by him, a stream of bubbles in its wake. Asher looked up to see Hiccup and Toothless diving into the water. Toothless swam down to him, and Hiccup reached out to Asher. Asher quickly grabbed on, and Toothless quickly rose up and out of the water.

               “Thanks, Hiccup!” Asher said gratefully as he settled in the saddle behind her.

               The sudden attack from the dragon scared the eels away, and the bow of the boat bobbed back up to the surface. It quickly stabilized and remained level as Toothless circled around to land on the deck.

               “Pardon me,” Snotlout asked angrily. “Does anyone else think that Johann could have warned us about... I don't know... THE GIANT SCREAMING EELS?!”

               “Snotlout, would you relax?” Hiccup asked tiredly as she and Asher dismounted. “The dragons will be back. In the meantime, we stick with the plan. We find Johann's treasure. Quietly.”

                Snotlout snorted before stomping away. Hiccup sighed, and turned around. She could make out the Reaper just a short distance away. The two red swords on the main sail stood out on the dirty white color even with only the moonlight to illuminate the area.

               “Why are you staring at that ship?” Asher inquired.

                “Because I'm thinking of checking it out,” Hiccup replied.

               “The Reaper? The ship Johann warned us about?” Asher said, alarmed.

               “Exactly,” Hiccup said determined. “A ship covered with booby traps from stem to stern. I'm thinking, what is on there they don't want people to find?”

               Asher groaned, but nodded. “Go on. I’ll make sure we do what we need to do over here.”

               Hiccup nodded in thanks, and turned to Toothless. Once she was back in the saddle, the black dragon took off, and a quick glide had them back to the Reaper.

               “This boat is definitely not from the archipelago,” Hiccup commented as they landed on the deck. As she dismounted, she also took her shield from her back and held it loosely at her side. She gazed around in curiosity as they made their way down the deck. “These carvings, the design on the sail... I've never seen anything like this.” She paused to kneel by one of the metal cages. “And this metal...”

               Toothless gave the cage a curious sniff before growling deeply in displeasure.

               “Come on, bud, it's just an empty cage.” Hiccup said. They both jumped and screamed as a bird suddenly flew out of the cage. Toothless looked at her unimpressed and chirped. “Okay, now it's an empty cage.”

               Back on Johann’s ship, Asher pinched his nose to try to stave off the headache as the other four riders scrambled around the large space below deck taking in all the trader’s goods.

               “Jewels, jewels!” Tuffnut crowed happily. He grabbed a handful of jewels and turned to Ruffnut. “You know what we're gonna do? We're bringing them back for the family. Mom will be so happy. Wait, but how are we going to carry all these back to Berk?”

               Ruffnut smiled, revealing she had stuffed her mouth with several jewels and gemstones already.

               Tuffnut gasped. “Great idea, sis! I can't believe I didn't think about that. Here, I may do it too. I'm also gonna put jewels in your mouth.” He grabbed a few more small jewels and shoved them into Ruffnut’s mouth. “Yeah! I gotta keep mine empty so I can talk.”

               Ruffnut groaned as she shifted the jewels in her mouth. “Keep ‘em coming. Keep 'em coming.”

               Fishlegs wandered over to another corner of the storage hold, and grew excited at the sight of piles of books and various kinds of documents.

               “Whoo! Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! Fishlegs!” he cheered. He happily dove into the pile, and grabbed a handful to examine. “Maps, old books, charts! Oh ho ho ho! There's no greater treasure than knowledge.”

               “I'm gonna be rich! I'm gonna be rich! Rich, rich, rich, rich, rich!” Snotlout cheered as he danced through a group of barrels, stopping to open each one. His interest peaked when he saw an ornate gold and wood chest. “Hmm, well, hello, Mr. Ornate Box. What treasures do you hold?”

               He laughed as he opened the chest. He pulled back from the box in confusion as he held thick braids of blonde hair in his hands. “Hair! Ew! Who keeps hair in a box? There's got to be more!” He dove back into the chest, but only found more blonde hair in large braids. “More hair? Ech! Man, what a rip-off.”

               Snotlout was ready to throw it back into the chest before he spotted a portrait of two Vikings behind the chest. One of whom in a regal set of armor had the same blonde braids he was currently holding. “Or is it?”

               He laughed as he held the braids up to his chin. “I'm Stoick the Vast! Hiccup, you're such a disappointment! Why can't I have an heir more like Snotlout?” He switched to holding the braids on the sides of his head. “Eh, I'm Ruffnut... or am I Tuffnut? Who can tell?”

               He laughed at himself before piling more braids around his helmet. He was about to make a crack before he caught sight of himself in a mirror.

               “This is actually kind of nice,” Snotlout said checking himself out.

Back on the Reaper

               “Come on, bud. Don't you want to see what's down below?” Hiccup asked Toothless as she gestured to the deck hatch. Toothless growled intensely at the wooden hatch. “All right, fine. Guess I'm going alone.”

               As she knelt to open the hatch, she felt a piece of the deck shift under her knee. She gasped as a hook came out of the far side of the railing and latched around her foot. She screamed as she was yanked towards the side of the ship. Toothless ran after her, and quickly shot a plasma bolt at the hook. The hook snapped and fell off the ship as Hiccup slammed into the side.

               “Okay,” Hiccup said shakily as she looked over the side of the ship. “Nobody goes to this much trouble unless there's something on this boat that they don't want found.”

               Toothless snorted down at the spot where the hook had disappeared beneath the surface, and Hiccup patted him on the head in thanks. Hiccup held her shield at the ready as she cautiously opened the hatch. When nothing happened, she picked up a lantern beside it, and saw it still held a candle within. She held it up to Toothless with a smile, and he obliged her by lighting the candle.

               “Watch your step, bud,” Hiccup warned as she began to make her way down the ladder. When she reached the bottom, she jumped as a bear trap sprang up and clamped itself around her prosthetic. “Watch out, Toothless!”

               Toothless growled menacingly as he saw her metal leg in the trap, and scanned the rest of the hold. Hiccup gingerly placed down the lantern and shield before she reached down to wrench the bear trap apart.

               “One of the benefits of a metal leg, I suppose,” Hiccup commented. She picked back up her items before leading them down the hall of the ship. “Okay, let's just take this nice and...”

               She trailed off as they entered a room lined with prisoner cells. Large metal bars the same green as the cages above deck covered the entire side of the cell facing into the ship giving them a floor to ceiling view of the inside.

               Toothless sniffed the air, and cautiously approached one of the cells nearby. He whined as he peered inside. Hiccup followed him over, and gasped as her lantern illuminated a pile of bones inside the cell.

               “Dragon bones,” Hiccup said sadly recognizing the skull of a Deadly Nadder inside. She turned and directed the lantern into the other nearby cells. Her heart sank as she saw piles of bones inside each cell.

               “I'm sorry you had to see this, bud,” Hiccup said as she knelt beside Toothless. She dropped her lantern and shield to hug him around the neck. Toothless whined sadly, and pushed into her hands. She pet his head gently as she glared at the cells. “Whoever commanded this ship was certainly no friend of dragons. Let's get out of here.”

               Hiccup picked up the lantern and shield, and stood. Toothless warbled an agreement and rose as she stepped away to give him space. She froze as her foot sank on a wooden square, and turned as she heard something spring out from the wall behind her.

               She gasped as she saw two crossbows flipping down by the entrance to point their way. She hurriedly raised her shield, and Toothless wrapped his wings around them as the bolts fired. The arrows deflected off his wings and the metal of her shield.

               “All right, come on, Toothless! Let's go!” Hiccup cried. The two raced through the room, hearing numerous arrows bury themselves into the wood around them. Spotting a few barrels, Hiccup leapt over one and crouched behind it with her shield raised. Toothless jumped behind her and hid himself behind her shield and the barrels.

               Hiccup held steady as she heard a few more arrows impact around them before breathing a sigh of relief as they stopped. Her attention was drawn by the shine of gold from the lantern on an ornate door at the end of the short corridor behind them.

               “Commander's quarters,” Hiccup said softly. “Stay close, bud.”

               The two approached the door but stopped a few feet away from it. Hiccup bit her lip as she tried to think of how it could be booby-trapped. “Okay, so here's the plan-"

               She stopped as Toothless shot a small plasma bolt at the door, destroying it.

               Hiccup grinned down at Toothless.  “I like yours better.”

               Toothless laughed, and when the dust from the explosion cleared the two cautiously entered the room. Hiccup’s eyes were immediately drawn to a table in the center of the room. A large chair was behind it with a dragon skull hanging off the top of the chair. Armor of an unfamiliar design was seated in the chair, but the body that had inhabited it had long since decayed. The only remnant left was a skeletal hand that clutched at an ornate cylinder on a small pedestal on the table.

               “What is this thing?” Hiccup asked curiously as she approached the table. She bent over to examine it closer. The cylinder was thick, and had metal rings around it. One end had a metal ring shaped like a dragon’s head. The other parts of it were a wooden brown color, and it was covered in markings she didn’t immediately recognize. “Whatever it is, if it's on this ship, it's no good for dragons. Which means we're not leaving it here for Dagur.”

               She lifted and pushed away the skeletal hand shuddering in disgust as she did. She steeled herself and carefully lifted the device from its pedestal. She glanced around, but didn’t see or hear any traps spring.

               “Huh,” Hiccup breathed out in relief. “Well, that wasn't too—” She jumped up as a large axe hit the table in front of her. “GIANT AXE! Toothless, run!”

               Toothless whipped around and froze as he saw spikes shoot up out of a panel of the floor ahead blocking their way out. He growled, and grabbed Hiccup by the belt on her back before leaping over the spikes.

               “Watch it, Toothless!” Hiccup warned as she saw the crossbows in the wall rearming. She hurriedly raised her shield, and held the device in her other hand tightly as they ran down the corridor. They raced back up the ladder, and hurriedly turned around to slam the hatch closed. When it dropped down, Hiccup gasped in shock as she saw Dagur with two Berserker men standing on the other side in front of a cage.

               Toothless immediately began to charge a bolt, but Hiccup quickly threw her hand out to place on Toothless’s neck.

               “Toothless, hold,” Hiccup ordered, spotting movement in the cage behind Dagur. She cautiously placed her shield on her back, and kept the hand holding the device behind her.

               “Hiccup!” Dagur cried out happily. “Did you miss me? 'Cause I sure missed you. Every day for three years, I thought about you.”

               Hiccup took in the sight of Dagur from his patchy red beard to the Berserker Chief belt around his waist over his dirty prison tunic. Dagur stepped aside, and Hiccup froze at the sight of her friends in one of the cages.

               “Guys!” Hiccup said alarmed.

               “And you too Mr. Night Fury,” Dagur sneered as Toothless crept forward. Toothless stopped, but continued to growl as Hiccup walked over the hatch towards Dagur.

               “Sorry, Hiccup,” Asher apologized. “He got the drop on us while we were searching—"

               “Uh, quiet!” Dagur snapped. “Can't you see my little sister and I are having a moment?”

               “I'm not your sister and we are definitely not having a moment,” Hiccup replied tightly.

               “Oh, well, I was,” Dagur replied happily. “Look at you, all grown up! Your daddy must be exhausted beating off all the betrothals. Hmm? Hmm?”

               “Dagur, what do you want?” Hiccup demanded.

               “Duh,” Snotlout said from behind a set of blonde braids. “He wants the jewels”

               “He's not getting my family's jewels,” Tuffnut declared. “No way! And I'll protect them at all cost! Also, what is with that hair?”

               “Ha!” Snotlout preened. “It's royal hair, I'll have you know.”

               “Haven't gotten rid of the Greek Chorus, I see,” Dagur commented. “Anyway, yes, I'll take the jewels. His too.”

               He gestured to Ruffnut. She grunted and spit most of the jewels in her mouth out as the guard slammed the butt of his crossbow into her gut through the bars.

               “Watch it, pal!” Ruffnut warned. When the Berserker laughed, she spit the last jewel in her mouth straight into the back of his. The guard began gagging as Dagur winced.

               “Oops, thought that was the guy,” Dagur admitted. “Never can tell with those two. And I'll also take whatever it is you're hiding behind your back.” Hiccup shifted, holding the device tightly behind her back. She kept her eyes on Dagur even as she heard Toothless creeping forward behind her. “Come on, hand it over like a good girl. Siblings share, you know.”

               Hiccup scowled as he gestured to the two men behind him who shifted their crossbows threateningly towards the cage.

               “You know you're not going to get very far with that thing, right?” Hiccup asked as she handed over the device.

               “Oh, boy, here we go,” Dagur said as he snatched it out of her hand. Hiccup stiffened as Dagur slid over to her, and brought her to his side with an arm around her shoulders. She could feel the strength in his arm as he gripped her tight. “Must we always do the same dance, Hiccup, you and I? Not that you're not a fabulous dancer.”

               Toothless growled loudly and menacingly as he saw his rider in the grip of the Berserker, and the guards hurriedly pointed their crossbows at him.

               “Easy, bud,” Hiccup said calmly as she broke free from Dagur to come kneel by the Night Fury. She glared at the three Berserkers. “Not yet.”

               “That's right, Mr. Night Fury,” Dagur said with great satisfaction. “Today is not the day, but it's coming! And soon. Now, if you'll excuse me. I've got people to see, an army to build, revenge to plot. Ooh, so much to do and so little time! Isn't this exciting, Hiccup? You must have been so bored over the last three years.”

               “Yeah, he's got a point about that,” Tuffnut commented. He and Ruffnut shared small smirks. “Not enough explosions.”

               Toothless moved to prowl behind Hiccup, and Dagur took advantage to move forward and kneel to grab her shoulders before she could rise.

               “Alas, my time here has come to an end,” Dagur lamented. He tugged her closer, and Hiccup stiffened as she made eye contact with him. “Farewell, for now, sister. Until we meet again on the field of battle.” 

               Dagur pushed her away, and calmy walked towards the side of the ship as Toothless stepped up behind Hiccup. Hiccup didn’t take her eyes off him as he climbed over the railing while one of the guards kept his crossbow trained on her. The guard waited until Dagur had descended before going over himself.

               Hiccup and Toothless raced to the side, and saw the Berserkers pulling away from the ship in their own boat. Hiccup glared after him before turning away. She raced back to the cage, and started looking for how to open it.

               “Forget about us!” Asher ordered. “Go after him!”

               “What are you waiting for?!” Snotlout added.

               “Are you guys sure you'll be okay?” Hiccup asked.

               “We're fine!” Asher assured her. “Go!”

               Toothless urgently warbled to Hiccup, and she nodded at her friends before running to mount the dragon. They lifted off quickly, and turned in the direction of the Berserkers.

               “Here they come, sir,” One of the men warned. “Just like you said.”

               “Still predictable, aren't you, little sister?” Dagur mused. He turned to the crew members lining up the catapult. When they had it readied, he smirked up at Hiccup before yelling, “Fire!”

               Toothless ducked under the boulder, and Hiccup glared at Dagur as Toothless pulled up.

               “You missed, brother!” Hiccup called out mockingly.

               “Hiccup, you should know by now, I never miss,” Dagur advised menacingly.

               Hiccup stared at him in confusion before it hit her. She whipped around to see the large rock heading straight for the Reaper. “Oh, NO!”

               The rock slammed through the deck of the ship not far from the cage where the riders were trapped. They clutched at the bars of the cage as the ship rocked and began to list towards the bow. They began to panic as the gravity forced them all to the front of the cage.

                Hiccup could hear her friends beginning to call out for help as Dagur laughed.

               “What's it going to be, Hiccup?” Dagur asked mockingly. “Catch me, save your friends? Ooh, tough one! Glad I'm not in your shoe.”

               Dagur laughed maniacally as Hiccup and Toothless both glared at him as he sailed away while the ship with her friends trapped onboard continued to sink.

Chapter Text

                The Dragon Riders scrambled at the bars of the cage as the ship continued to list. They were rapidly starting to slide as the tilt continued to steepen.

                “Get us out of here!” Fishlegs cried out in terror.

                “Hiccup!” Snotlout yelled.

                “Get us out!” Ruffnut screamed.

                Hiccup and Toothless whipped around to glare at Dagur who was cackling on his ship’s deck.

                “Isn't this exciting?” Dagur boasted. “What will she choose, ladies and gentlemen? Saving her friends or capturing her mortal enemy, her brother?”

                Hiccup turned back to the ship with her friends that was sinking rapidly into the water. She didn’t give Dagur a second look as she nudged Toothless, and he immediately flew towards the Reaper.

                “Hmm,” Dagur mused as he watched them race away. “Disappointing, but oh, so-typically Hiccup.”

                Toothless landed on one of the broken masts of the ship above the cage.

                “Move back from the door!” Hiccup yelled. Toothless dropped down onto the deck, and Hiccup could feel the effort to not fall in her legs as she dismounted and crouched on the deck. “Toothless, plasma blast.”

                Toothless blasted the door of the cage right on the lock of the door. The metal turned an angry red from the impact, but no damage was done to the cage.

                “Dragon-proof bars?!” Fishlegs said shocked. Hiccup scrambled up to the cage as Fishlegs ran his hand over the area. “Oh, fascinating.”

                “Whoever built this ship really knew what they were doing,” Hiccup commented. The ship suddenly listed to the side, and Hiccup stumbled to keep her balance.

                “Whoa!” Snotlout cried out as the rocking tossed Fishlegs into him. He pushed him away, but another rock to the opposite side had Fishlegs slamming into him again. “Oh, you know what would be more fascinating? Getting us out of here!”

                Hiccup hurried forward, and gripped the cage door.

                “Toothless, now!” Hiccup ordered.

                Toothless fired two more shots at the cage door, and Hiccup pulled as hard as she could while the metal was red. It didn’t budge, and Hiccup thought fast.

                “We need more firepower,” Hiccup muttered. “Guys, dragon calls!”

                Each of the riders began making personal calls to their dragons, filling the air with various whistles, roars, and howls. They were brought to a halt as the ship jolted, and they lost their footings in the cage. Hiccup heard a hissing sound, and flinched back as one of the giant eels jumped on top of the cage.

                “Why'd it have to be EELS?!” Snotlout cried as Toothless fired a shot at the creature. Hiccup shielded herself as the eel slithered away. Toothless raced forward and jumped on top of the cage. He growled down at the eels coming closer in the waters below as the ship continued to sink. He fired more shots at the creatures driving them off as Hiccup pulled at the cage.

                “Come on!” Hiccup grunted, straining to open the door. Snotlout went to the other side, and started trying to push it open. He gasped as he spotted an eel emerge from the water and lunge for Hiccup.

                “Aah!” Hiccup screamed as the eel bit her on the prosthetic leg. She hurriedly grabbed the cage bars as the eel tried to pull her down to the water. Snotlout reached through the bars to grab his cousin’s wrists to try to help secure her.

                “Toothless!” Hiccup cried out. Toothless fired a shot at the eel’s head, and the beast let go as it cried out in pain, falling back into the water. Toothless grinned down at her. “Thanks, bud.”

                Hiccup glanced down at her metal leg, seeing no damage was done. Looking at the bend of it, she got inspired and hurriedly moved to untie the prosthetic.  Using the cage to help herself stand up again, she shoved the metal of her prosthesis in the small space between the cage and the door. As she pulled, Snotlout pushed again from the other side. He had to stop as the ship neared going completely vertical in the water.

                “Hookfang! Help us!” Snotlout yelled as he tried to hold himself off the cage door. “I'm important!”

                “Stormfly!” Asher called out.

                “Barf, Belch, get your butts over here!” Ruffnut demanded.

                “Toothless!” Hiccup cried out as she had to stop trying to open the door and grab onto the bars as her legs swung out into the air.

                Toothless snarled down at the eels remerging from the water, and got ready to fire. He felt the flame die in the back of his throat, and growled as he realized he had no more shots left. He threw his head back to let out a loud cry, and was satisfied to see the other dragons returning quickly.

                Asher and Ruffnut, who had been clinging to the top of the cage screamed as they lost their grip and fell. The riders yelled out in panic as the impact slammed the door open, and they began to fall. Snotlout, Hiccup, and Fishlegs were able to hold onto the cage door. Snotlout trembled as he found himself hanging onto Ruffnut’s foot while she held onto Asher’s arms, and Asher grit his teeth as he held onto Tuffnut with his legs around the other boy’s waist.

                “That was great,” Tuffnut cheered as he hung upside down, and held onto Hiccup’s prosthesis. He flinched and began to flail as the eels started jumping up from the water. “Aah! No! Aah!”

                He swung with the metal leg, and used it to hit the eels away. He covered his head as a familiar flame lashed out at the dragons, and he looked behind him to see Barf and Belch flying towards them.

                “Oh, so now you decide to show up.” Tuffnut commented as the dragon swooped towards him, and he was able to drop down onto Belch’s saddle. One by one the dragons flew in to get their riders, and soon the five of them were flying back into the sky.

                “That was way too close,” Fishlegs said with a shudder. Tuffnut tossed Hiccup’s leg back to her, and she caught it with a grateful grin.

                “Hiccup, what are we doing?” Asher asked urgently as Hiccup secured her leg in place.

                “You guys go back to Berk,” Hiccup said firmly. “I'm going after Dagur. Whatever that cylinder-looking thing is, I know one thing for sure. It shouldn't be in his hands.”

                The others nodded in agreement, and they began to make their way home as Toothless turned back to chase after Dagur.

Dagur’s Ship

                Dagur examined the cylindrical object in awe.  “Amazing. I've never seen anything quite like this.”

                “Me, neither,” Savage said. He missed seeing Dagur’s shoulders slump, and the annoyed look on his face. “What do you suppose it is?”

                “Don't ask ridiculous questions, Savage!” Dagur snapped. “Just know this. It's mine now, all mine!” He laughed maniacally before holding up the cylinder to examine the large gem embedded in the dragon’s mouth. “Now, what exactly is it that you do? Tell Dagur, now. That's it. Don't be afraid. Tell Daddy Dagur.”

                Dagur held it up towards the emerging sunlight, and Savage saw a dark shape beginning to emerge from the fog behind him.

                “Uh, Dagur?” Savage said hesitatingly as he pointed at the figures of Hiccup and her dragon.

                “Uhh! What now?!” Dagur yelled exasperated. He held the cylinder device up above his head in the perfect position to clobber Savage with it. “Another stupid question?!”

                “More of an observation,” Savage said as he watched the dragon fly closer.

                Hiccup held onto the saddle tightly as Toothless flew down towards the ship. She held out one hand as Toothless flipped over, and she snatched the cylinder out of Dagur’s hand.

                “Thank you kindly!” Hiccup called back as Toothless flipped back over, and flew quickly back into the fog to disappear.

                Dagur clutched his hands in growing anger and disappointment. He trembled until the rage grew too strong.

                “Aah! Aah! Aah!” Dagur screamed.

                Hiccup turned back with a smirk, but gasped as she saw two archers lining up their crossbows. Toothless rolled in the air to dodge the arrows, and flapped his wings to quickly gain more altitude.

                In his anger, Dagur ran forward and pushed one of the archers firing at Toothless overboard. He turned to the other with a snarl, and the man immediately jumped into the water. 

                “See what you did?” Dagur turned back to yell at Savage. He pointed at the direction the girl and dragon were heading off to. “You distracted me, and now my pretty, cylindrical, mysterious object is gone.”  

                Dagur grabbed Savage by the collar before turning back to yell, “Good for you, Hiccup! Good for you! But I got all the gold! You hear me? All the gold! All! The! Gold!”

                Dagur shoved Savage to the floor, and laughed madly. He stopped as suddenly as he started, and began to walk for the hatch.

                “You know, you can never have nice things around that girl,” Dagur commented without care as he stepped on Savage.

Berk

                Hiccup watched with the other riders as Gobber grunted and strained to open part of the cylinder device. It seemed no matter how hard he pried or pushed with his hand and hook the cylinder wouldn’t budge.

                ‘It also shows no signs of damage,’ Hiccup thought in fascination. ‘His hook hasn’t even left a scratch on it.’

“Have you ever seen anything like this Dragon Eye before?” Hiccup asked.

                “Dragon Eye?” Tuffnut questioned. “How do you know it's called a Dragon Eye?”

                “Because I named it,” Hiccup replied.

                “Whoa, whoa,” Snotlout interjected. “Aren't we supposed to vote on stuff like that?”

                Hiccup sighed. “Fine. All in favor, say "Dragon Eye".”

                Everyone but Snotlout raised a hand and said, “Dragon Eye!”

                “Just wanted to make sure we voted,” Snotlout pouted.

                “Can you open it, Gobber?” Asher asked the blacksmith who was starting to turn red in the face.

                "Can I open it?" Gobber repeated with a laugh.  “I once opened a 500-year-old giant clam at the bottom of the ocean with my bare hook. Can I open it? Ha! I think it's going to be...Huh.” Gobber paused as the device shifted slightly, and he heard a click. “Aha.”

                Gobber froze as a dart suddenly shot out of the end of the Dragon Eye. It flew across the room to stab Tuffnut in the chest.

                “Ugh. What is that?” Tuffnut asked as he stared down at the dart in his chest. “That looks like a—"

                Ruffnut howled in laughter from her seat on the bench table as Tuffnut suddenly collapsed to the floor.

                “Well, that was... something, maybe.” Gobber said with a shrug. He went back to prying at one of the rings on the Dragon Eye, and Hiccup held up her hands.

                “Gobber, maybe you shouldn't...” Hiccup cautioned.

                “Trust me,” Gobber assured. “I'm... It's all right.”

                His hook jerked and ran up the side of the Dragon Eye. It hit a hidden latch, and green Zippleback gas began to spray from the Dragon Eye in a thick stream.

                “I'm okay,” Tuffnut said groggily as he rose to his feet. “I got hit with something, but now...” He paused and took a sniff of the gas. “No, scratch that.”

                The riders and Gobber stared as Tuffnut dropped back down to the ground, and began to twitch and jerk on the ground.

               “Yeah, I'm thinking we should probably go get Gothi,” Hiccup said.

Gothi’s Hut

                Gothi held the spasming Tuffnut up with one of the horns on his helmet as she gave one last shake to the medicine bottle in her hand. With her usual lack of warning, she shoved the bottle into Tuffnut’s mouth, pouring the concoction down his throat.

                Tuffnut hacked as it went down. When she pulled back, he gulped before sagging in relief. He suddenly straightened up, and began scratching his teeth.

                “My teeth are itching,” Tuffnut said, alarmed. “My teeth are itchy.”

                Gothi scratched out a few images in the sand with her staff.

                “She says that's a good sign,” Gobber translated. “Means it's working.”

                “Thank you, Gothi,” Hiccup said, gratefully. “We really appreciate this.”

                Hiccup and Gothi both turned at the small metallic clink to see Gobber had gone back to fiddling with the Dragon Eye. Gothi’s eyes caught on one of the designs on the Dragon Eye. She turned away in alarm, and Hiccup looked at the small elder woman in concern.

                “Gothi, are you okay?” Hiccup asked. “What is it?”

                Gothi looked up at Hiccup, before throwing her arm out. Hiccup stared at the bright scars on the old woman’s arm. It looked like three ragged circles in a line going from large to small. Hiccup took in a breath as she remembered where she had seen that design recently.

                “Gothi...,” Hiccup said awed. Gothi turned away as Fishlegs came up behind Hiccup. “Her... Her scar... it matches the keyhole on the Dragon Eye.”

                “Yeah, and it looked like a dragon bite to me,” Fishlegs added.

                “Oh, it is,” Gobber interjected. “But she doesn't like to talk about it.”

                “She doesn't like to talk about anything,” Fishlegs commented.

                “Oh, that's why she writes in the dirt with her stick,” Tuffnut said. His voice was muffled as he still had a hand shoved in his mouth scratching away at his teeth. “I thought that was just, like, her thing.”

                “Yeah,” Ruffnut agreed. “Like Snotlout being a woman repellent.”

                “Maybe we could use the stick to itch the teeth,” Tuffnut said as Hiccup moved to go around him.

                “Where are you going?” Gobber asked.

                “After her,” Hiccup replied. “We have to find out what kind of dragon made that scar. It could be the key to opening the Dragon Eye.”

                “Hold on. I have ways of making her talk,” Gobber chuckled. “Well... scribble, anyway.”

                Hiccup could barely contain her patience as Gobber took the time to throw together a pot of soup to bride Gothi with. It was already evening by the time it was done, and the blacksmith was setting a cauldron of soup in front of the old woman.

                “It's the old bat's weakness, isn't it?” Gobber teased. “Come on. You know you can't resist Gobber's home-made yak noodle soup.”

                Gothi took an appreciative sniff of the soup before she dug in. They watched in awe as the woman downed the entire cauldron of soup in record time even holding the pot over her head to get the last drops of broth.

                “Ho ho!” Fishlegs said amazed. “She downed that like a yak in a heat wave.” He looked questioningly at Hiccup. “That makes sense, right?”

                Gothi threw the cauldron away, and took a satisfied seat on the chair near her front door.

                “Now, tell me about this bite mark,” Hiccup said firmly.

                Gothi grimaced, but reached for her staff and began to scribble into the sand.

                “When I was a turkey neck—” Gobber translated. He stopped when Gothi whacked him over the head with her staff and a glare. “Ow! Teenager. Sorry. I had a longing to climb Glacier Island to find pure glacial water known for its healing properties. So, I went with two vegetables—" Gothi smacked him over the head again. “Ow! Vikings. Sorry! I'm a bit rusty.”

                Gobber cleared his throat before continuing.

                “We had only been at the summit for a few hours when we were hit by a terrible snowstorm. That's when it attacked. It was vicious. Relentless. And impossible to see in the white-out…The Snow Wraith. It took the others before coming back for me. It bit me in the arm, and I beat it in the head with my staff. It hurled me into a mound of snow before disappearing.”

                Gothi looked haunted, and her next message was drawn more slowly in the sand.

                “I'll never know why it didn't finish me off that day,” Gobber translated. “I left knowing only one thing... that I never wanted to smooch that dragon again. Smooch?” Gothi smacked him on the head. “Ow! See! Never wanted to see it again. You know, your drawing ain't what it used to be, old woman.” Gothi moved to hit him again, and Gobber quickly added, “But your swing, strong as ever!”

                “Gothi, a tooth from the Snow Wraith is the key to unlocking the Dragon Eye,” Hiccup said excitedly. “You have to help us find it.”

                Gothi frowned and scribbled in the dirt.

                Gobber stared stunned at the drawing. “I can't say that to her! She's the Chief's daughter!” 

               Gothi scowled but erased her message and drew a new one.

                “She says, no way she's ever going back,” Gobber translated. “And besides, Berk needs her. It's true. She's the best healer we've got.”

                “Well, Gobber can cover for you,” Hiccup suggested. She looked pleadingly up at the man.

                “Oh, well, uh, of course, I can,” Gobber stammered. “I've watched Gothi work so many times, I know this place like the back of my hand.” He lifted his hook, before hurriedly dropping it and lifting the other hand.

                “You remember the viciousness of the Snow Wraith. I get that,” Hiccup said sympathetically to Gothi. “But you also remember how it was to be my age, to want to explore, to need to see what else is out there. To get answers to questions you haven't even asked yet.”

                Hiccup walked over and picked up the Dragon Eye from the table. She held it out to Gothi pleadingly. “This will help me do all of that. But only... only if you help me unlock it.”

                Gothi stared at Hiccup. Hiccup smiled gently and continued to hold out the Dragon Eye. Gothi could see the spark in Hiccup’s eye, the desire for adventure and new sights. It was a familiar sight though the eyes she remembered seeing it last had been blue.

                Fondness filled her heart, and Gothi smiled at the young woman. She gathered her courage, and nodded.

The Next Day

                Hiccup stared in amazement at the huge island of ice and snow getting bigger on the horizon.

                “Look at the size of that island,” Hiccup said awed.

                “Oh!” Fishlegs shivered. “The Book of Dragons mentions the Snow Wraith but doesn't have any information on it. Can you believe this? A brand-new dragon! It's been so long, I've forgotten what this feeling is.”

                He squealed in excitement, but stopped at the look he got from the twins.

                “Sorry,” Fishlegs said. “Excited about the new dragon.”

                “You mean the dragon that single-handedly wiped out Gothi's entire search party,” Asher said, dryly.

                “That would be correct,” Fishlegs agreed. “So worth the long flight!”

                “Speak for yourself!” Snotlout snapped. “Your neck hair's not covered in old lady drool!” He cringed as Gothi continued to snore and drool on his back as they rode on Hookfang.

                “Okay,” Asher said, trying to forget that image. “Here we are.”

                “Oh, thank Thor,” Hiccup said gratefully as they descended to the island. They circled the area for a moment before landing on an area of snow beside a pool of water.

                Snotlout disembarked from Hookfang, and held up a hand to help Gothi down. When she placed her hand in his and moved to get off the dragon, Snotlout retracted it, sending her tumbling down. 

                “Oh! Yak hands. Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?” Snotlout laughed as Gothi stood. He fell with a scream as Gothi hooked him around the ankle with the crook of her staff and pulled him off his feet. Snotlout landed on the snow, and shrugged. “Fair enough.”

                “You know, we should bring her along more often,” Asher suggested, amused at the sight of Snotlout pulling himself out of the pile of snow.

                Gothi looked around the island, but made no move to write. She walked over to a small white stone, but put it down soon after she had picked it up. She ambled over to the edge of the ridge, and looked out over the area. After a moment, she turned to them and shrugged.

                “Great, just great!” Snotlout said irritably as Hiccup’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. “She's got nothin'. Someone else is wearing that bag of bones home. She's all knees and elbows.”

                Gothi scowled at him, but looked around in alarm as the wind began to pick up. Snow filled the air, and the riders had to brace themselves against their dragons as the winds got harder, nearly pushing them off their feet.

                “Can we please do something?” Snotlout pleaded with Hiccup. “My mouth is starting to freeze shut.”

                “Don't get our hopes up,” Asher said as he crossed his arms over his chest to try to keep warm.

                “Well, then we should work fast to find this Snow Wraith,” Hiccup said promptly. “Because we're not leaving until we do.”

                “Let's split up so we can cover more ground,” Asher suggested.

                “Good idea,” Hiccup agreed. “Dragon call if you come across anything.”

                Snotlout scowled before quickly turning around to his dragon.

                “Quick, Hookfang, before she sees us!” Snotlout stopped at seeing Gothi already sitting on Hookfang. She patted the saddle in front of her with a wicked smirk. He sheepishly chuckled. “Hi. I was just talking about you.”

                The Dragon Riders took off in different directions missing the large white creature opening its eyes nearby.

Back on Berk

                Gobber examined the various items on Gothi’s worktable outside her hut. There was already a line of villagers going down the stairs waiting for him to start.

                “Okay, you got this, Gobber,” Gobber said to himself. “Just follow the steps. Listen, diagnose, heal. Just like riding your first wild yak.” He picked up a jar of medicine, and uncorked it to take a sniff. He shuddered at the smell. “Oh, you never forget that first kick.”

                He tried to sit down on the stool, but forgot it was made for Gothi. The small stool crumbled under him, and Gobber fell flat on his back, the jar flying from his hand and over the side of the deck. He heard the jar shatter down below, and the sound of distant screams.

                “Ahh. I'll have to heal that later,” Gobber mused as he stood and kicked away the remains of Gothi’s seat. He grabbed one more his size, and cleared his throat as he took a seat. “Ahem. Okay, first sick, nasty Viking, Doctor Gobber is in the house.”

                Gobber perked up seeing Magnus walk onto the deck. “Magnus, what seems to be the problem?”

                “The problem?!” Magnus snapped. “My leg is caught in an old dragon trap, Gobber.”

Gobber glanced down and saw that there was indeed a trap latched on tight to the Vikings leg. 

                “Oh-oh, yes, of course it is,” Gobber stood and whacked away the tall axe Magnus was using for a walking stick. The man fell with a pained grunt to the deck. “Ah, I remember my first leg break.”

                Gobber twisted the trap off Magnus’s leg, turning away to place it down on the table oblivious to the screams of the man. He spotted a jar of liquid, and grabbed it.

                “Let me clean up that wound for you,” Gobber said as he cheerfully poured the bottle onto the wounds.

                “Aah! Aah, it burns! It burns!” Magnus screamed as Gobber turned to put the bottle back down on the table.

                “Ah, that just means it's working,” Gobber replied. He jumped when he saw that somehow Magnus’s leg was on fire. Gobber quickly grabbed the bucket of water and threw it onto Magnus. Magnus fainted, and Gobber looked at the cauterized leg wounds.

                “Cured!” Gobber declared. He dragged the moaning Magnus away from the main area of the deck to sleep it off in the shade of Gothi’s hut. “Next!”

Back on Glacier Island

                Hiccup sighed as she saw the other Dragon Riders descending towards where she and Toothless were waiting. From the looks on everyone’s faces it appeared that they had had the same luck she had. She dismounted from Toothless as the other dragons landed.

                “Anybody find anything?” Hiccup asked hopefully.

                “All we found was some scattered yak bones,” Ruffnut offered.

                “I-I didn't see anything, but I had this weird feeling that something was watching me,” Fishlegs said nervously.

                “Oh, I had a weird feeling, too,” Snotlout retorted. “Like this old lady was stuck on my back.”

                Hiccup shuddered as Gothi creeped up to peek around Snotlout.

                “Aah! Two heads!” Tuffnut cried at the sight. Barf and Belch growled at him. He patted Belch’s cheek apologetically. “Oh, sorry, guys. I mean, on you two, it works. I've seen it before. I'm used to it.”

                Asher shivered as the wind began to pick up. He looked to the top of the glacier, and saw massive white snow clouds coming over the ridge. Stormfly approached him making several noises of alarm.

                “Hiccup, maybe we should get out of here,” Asher suggested. “That looks like a huge storm.”

                “No,” Hiccup protested. “We should dig in here and wait for the Snow Wraith to show itself. Remember, it likes to attack when you can't see it.”

                “Great. Just great,” Fishlegs mumbled.

Back on Berk

                Gobber stared through a magnifying glass at the foot in front of him. He gave it a little sniff before humming thoughtfully.

                “Mm-hmm. My official diagnosis is... a thorn,” Gobber declared.

                “Yes, I told you that already!” Ragnar the Viking snapped.

                “Not to worry,” Gobber said reassuringly. “I can remove it right quick.”

                “The thorn?” Ragnar questioned.

                “The foot,” Gobber corrected. He hummed as he dug around one of the boxes of supplies nearby. “Hmm, no. Uh, no. No. Aha!” Gobber excitedly held up the axe. “This was what my mother used to do for me.”

                He turned back to see Ragnar was gone.

                “Some people just don't appreciate the practice of medicine,” Gobber commented.

Glacier Island

                The group had worked quickly to set up their tents. They had them up just in time as the wind only got stronger, and soon it was hard to see each other in the storm. Hiccup shivered as the wind cut straight through the sleeves of her shirt. Her leather armor kept her torso slightly warmer.

                “Use your dragons as extra protection from the wind!” Hiccup called out to the group. Toothless came over to her, and did his best to shield her from the wind with his wings. Both jumped when the tent behind them suddenly was torn away in a blur of white. Everyone froze as they heard a low growl nearby.

                “It's the Snow Wraith!” Fishlegs cried out. He dove and hid inside his tent, but the Snow Wraith rushed through again tearing the tent apart right above him. Fishlegs sat up in alarm, looking desperately for where the dragon had disappeared to.

                “Hold your ground and fire back!” Hiccup yelled.

                “Fire back where?” Asher responded as he shielded his eyes from the snow. “We can't see it.”

                They jumped in alarm as another tent was destroyed, and they barely got a glimpse of the white dragon as it jumped away.

                “Actually, you know what? Take cover!” Hiccup cried out.

                They all scattered to hide from the icy dragon, but Snotlout flew forward as the area behind him was blasted apart by a bolt of white. Hiccup and Toothless looked back at Snotlout screaming, and gasped before they were buried in a pile of snow. Snotlout landed a short distance away, and was also buried.

                Hiccup brushed the snow off her face, and gasped at the sight of the Snow Wraith standing nearby. It was pure white, standing on its two hind legs as it stretched its set of broad wings. She spotted a mouth full of sharp teeth as it roared into the wind, but the dragon also possessed two prominent tusks from the lower jar. It had what appeared to be thick eyebrows, and a long tail covered in spikes.

                Hiccup and Toothless stayed motionless and quiet as it roared again. They watched as the dragon moved away from them. Hiccup gasped as she saw Snotlout’s head emerging from the pile of snow it was walking to.

                Snotlout yelped as he saw the dragon sniffing around him, and turned his head away. The dragon roared in his face, and Snotlout cringed but didn’t make a sound. His body was completely buried, and he was terrified to try to move as the dragon sniffed around. He sagged in relief when the dragon turned away.

                Hiccup watched the dragon move away from Snotlout before turning to Toothless.

                “Toothless, warning shot,” Hiccup ordered, and Toothless fired at the Snow Wraith. The bolt missed the dragon, but blasted the wall of snow behind him. The Snow Wraith screeched in alarm, and turned to face them. Hiccup saw it powering up a blue-white blast in its mouth, but Hookfang and Stormfly quickly fired their own blasts at it.

                The Snow Wraith roared, and took off into the air. It rushed at the two other dragons who launched more attacks at it. The Snow Wraith stopped in front of them, and Stormfly fired another blast at it. The blast missed, and Hiccup jumped as she felt it impact the snowbank she and Toothless were in.

                “Cease fire! Cease fire!” Hiccup yelled out as Toothless growled.

                The Snow Wraith rushed at Stormfly, causing the blue dragon to rear back. Asher lost his grip on the saddle, and tumbled over the back of his dragon. Asher gasped as he slid over the side of the edge, and grabbed at the wall. He jerked to a stop as he managed to hold on.

                “Stormfly!” Asher cried out. Stormfly popped her head over the ridge to find him, before turning and crouching so her tail would go over the side near Asher. Asher hurriedly jumped and grabbed onto the spikes of her tail using them as a ladder to climb back up.

                Hiccup grunted as she finished pulling herself out of the snowbank. Toothless shook the last of the snow off his back, and they both turned to look for the Snow Wraith. Hiccup scowled as she couldn’t spot it anywhere.

                “All right, I've had just about enough of this dragon,” Hiccup said irritably. “Bud. Do your thing.”

                Toothless let loose a loud blast, sending purple waves streaming out into the air. Toothless grunted as the circular waves of sound bounced off the startled Snow Wraith.

                “Toothless, now! Multiple blasts!” Hiccup cried.

                Toothless began to fire at the dragon. It was able to dodge multiple shots, and roared in anger. The dragon flapped its wings, and rapidly ascended disappearing from view.

                “I think it's gone,” Hiccup said cautiously after a moment. She looked around, and felt a wave of relief as she saw Asher climbing back up safely. “Everybody okay? Everybody here?”

                “What do you mean by "here"?” Ruffnut asked.

                “I have a question, Hiccup,” Snotlout said irritably. “What exactly is your plan to get a Snow Wraith tooth? Take it out of one of our dead bodies?”

                “If all goes well, it'll be Ruffnut's dead body,” Tuffnut commented. “And the Wraith tooth.”

                “Hold on, quiet,” Hiccup interjected as Gothi approached them. She began to write in the snow as Fishlegs ambled over. “Gothi wants to tell us something.”

                “She says we should've left when we had the chance,” Fishlegs announced ominously. Everyone looked around fearfully as the Snow Wraith’s roar echoed through the area.

Berk

                Gobber grimaced as Agnar threw up into his helmet. Gobber took a quick glance at him before looking back at Gothi’s recipe book.

                “Don't you worry, Agnar. I've seen her whip this stomach cure up a thousand times,” Gobber assured.

                He picked several containers of ingredients, and dropped them, jars and all, into the green liquid stewing in the cauldron. 

                “One dab, eye of yak. Would that be one eye or a dab of an eye?” Gobber questioned. He turned back to the book, and accidentally bumped a bottle of green liquid over. The green substance poured right into the cauldron.

                “Ah! Whoa,” Gobber sheepishly grabbed the bottle, and glanced at Agnar. The miserable Viking hadn’t noticed anything. Gobber sighed in relief before sneezing into the cauldron. Twice.

                Gobber used the now empty bottle to dip into the cauldron and fill it full of the concoction.

                “Drink this three times a day,” Gobber said, handing Agnar the bottle. “And come back and see me if it doesn't kill you.”

                Agnar gasped.

                “I'm just kidding,” Gobber teased. His smile dropped as Agnar wandered away. “Hopefully.”

Glacier Island

                The riders gathered around within a circle formed by their dragons. The storm had finally calmed down, and they could see each other clearly.

                “Okay, that thing was gnarly,” Snotlout declared.

                “Asher, are you okay?” Hiccup asked concerned.

                “Yep, all good,” Asher replied, but his chattering teeth gave away his discomfort.

                “Hiccup, you know I want a shot at this as badly as you, but maybe we should get out of here,” Fishlegs advised. “We're just sitting ducks in this storm.”

                “W-Wait a minute. What did you just say?” Hiccup asked.

                “He said we're sitting ducks,” Snotlout snapped. “And for once, I agree with him.”

                “Sitting ducks,” Hiccup mused. The idea came together in her mind, and she smiled. “Yes, yes! Yes, that's exactly what we need to be.”

                “Excuse me?” Asher replied.

                “What if we could make the Snow Wraith think it sees us when we're not here?” Hiccup proposed excitedly.

                “You can make yourself invisible?” Tuffnut asked. He turned to Ruffnut. “Why does she get to do all the cool stuff? I just have to sit here with you as a sister.”

                “Will you two be quiet for ten seconds?!” Snotlout snapped.

                “Tuff's not that far off,” Hiccup interjected. “Look, the Snow Wraith didn't have any trouble seeing us until Snotlout got buried in the snow. And Gothi said it couldn't find her when she fell into a snowbank. I think that's because it sees body heat in the same way Toothless can find things with sound. We'll use this to our advantage to confuse it. Then, while it's distracted, we'll net it and get that tooth.”

                “And you're sure it will work?” Asher asked cautiously.

                Hiccup hummed, and didn’t make eye contact.

               “Of course not,” Asher sighed.

                Snotlout glared. “I hate you. You know that?”

                “Yes, I am aware of that,” Hiccup acknowledged. “All right, gang, let's get to work.”

                It took some time, but they managed to use some of their supplies to put together several dummies. They finished erecting them before they went to take cover in a nearby cave overlooking the area. Hiccup looked down at the circle of dummies, and nodded as she could see them clearly even as the wind began to pick up again.

                “Pretty good,” Hiccup commented. “Now, if I'm right, when we light these on fire, the Snow Wraith will think they're us and attack. Then we'll have the drop on it.”

                “Wait, wait, wait!” Snotlout protested. “Look at how realistically gorgeous my statue is. I can't in good conscience send that into flames.”

                Snotlout jumped as his dummy’s head was blown off by the wind.

                “I'll work through the pain and do it for you,” Asher offered with a smirk.

                “Shut up Asher!” Snotlout snapped.

                “All right, Toothless,” Hiccup said, ignoring the drama. “Light 'em up.”

                Toothless sent two blasts at the dummies, catching them on fire.

                “Somewhere in the world,” Snotlout said sadly, watching his dummy burn. “A silent tear was just cried.”

                “Hiccup,” Fishlegs started. “I don't know if this—"

                “Wait, look!” Hiccup interrupted. They watched as the Snow Wraith flew over the dummies. The dragon began to circle the area, watching the fires below. “Okay, next time it comes in, we go.”

                The Snow Wraith roared as it descended, swooping in to snatch up and destroy Snotlout's dummy.

                “Oh, no, you did not!” Snotlout yelled. He accidentally bumped Hookfang’s lower jaw, and Hookfang lit up his fire jacket in anger, causing the cave to melt. Toothless felt a rock hit his head, and looked up to see the ice of the cave cracking. He lunged forward to protect Hiccup, wrapping her tightly in his wings. They went tumbling out of the cave, and ice and snow fell to fill the entrance of the cave, trapping the rest of the gang inside.

                Snotlout pounded on the snow blocking the entrance as the others uncovered themselves. 

                “Hookfang! Get over here now!” Snotlout ordered as Gothi started trying to chip away at the wall with her staff. 

                Hiccup felt her back hit the cold ground as Toothless slowly pulled his wings away.

                “Thanks, bud,” Hiccup said gratefully. She glanced over his shoulder and gasped. “Toothless, look out!”

                Toothless looked behind him, and then quickly jumped to cover Hiccup with his body. They both felt the icy blast of the wind as the Snow Wraith swooped over them. They looked up after it passed and watched it fly away from them.

                “If it can see our body heat, then we are way too easy a target out here,” Hiccup said. She looked around, and her eyes fell on the still burning dummies. “Come on, bud.”

                The two of them quickly made their way to the flaming dummies, and entered the center of the circle.

                “This should even the odds a little,” Hiccup said hopefully. “It won't be able to make us out within the heat of these fires. Do your thing, bud.”

                Toothless let out a few of his echolocation bursts, but made no sign that he was spotting anything. After a few more, Toothless stopped his bursts, and turned to her. Hiccup sighed.

                “Nothing. Where is he?”

                Toothless grumbled uneasily, and Hiccup rubbed his head.

                “I know, bud. I don’t like it either,” Hiccup said soothingly. “Let’s try again.”

                Toothless began to send out more echolocation, but continued not to sense anything.

                “Keep going,” Hiccup encouraged. “Keep going, keep going.”

                Toothless continued, but stopped as he heard the crunching of the snow behind them. He whirled around and roared at the Snow Wraith as Hiccup turned around to see the dragon only a few feet away from them. Toothless readied a plasma blast, but stopped as Gothi suddenly went running by them.

                “Gothi, no!” Hiccup screamed as the old woman went right at the Snow Wraith, waving her staff in the air.

                The Snow Wraith roared at the woman, but Gothi began to use the end of her staff to beat it in the head. She swung again and again until finally the dragon grabbed her staff with its mouth lifting her off her feet.

                “Toothless, plasma blast! And careful not to hit the crazy little woman with the staff!” Hiccup said worriedly.

                Toothless blasted the Snow Wraith and it let go of the staff sending Gothi flying into a snowbank. It started to roar at Toothless, but was cut off when a fireball hit it on the side of its head.

                Hiccup and Toothless looked to see the cave reopened with a flaming Hookfang standing behind a cheering Snotlout.

                “Oh, yeah, that's right. Snotlout got us out of the snow,” Snotlout bragged.

                “Yeah, and you're also the one that got us buried in it to begin with,” Asher mentioned.

                “Ah, details,” Snotlout said dismissively. The other riders and dragons emerged from the cave, and positioned themselves around the Snow Wraith. The white dragon backed up until it backed into the ridge behind him, roaring each time it was hit with a plasma blast or fire blast. Meatlug and Hookfang moved to position themselves on either side of it.

                “Okay, we have him surrounded. Let's get that tooth,” Hiccup encouraged. The Snow Wraith roared at all the dragons around it, before it flapped its wings and took off straight up into the sky.

                “No!” Hiccup cried out in dismay. Toothless stepped up beside her, and she unconsciously placed her hand on his neck. “We can't lose him.”

                “Actually, he lost us,” Tuffnut corrected.

                “Hiccup, we should get out of here while we can,” Asher warned.

                “Not yet. This isn't over,” Hiccup protested. Gothi came up beside her and tapped her on the shoulder. “Not now, Gothi. Gang, we came here for a Snow Wraith tooth and—" Gothi tapped her again. “I-I said in a minute, Gothi.”

                Gothi held up her staff, and Hiccup gaped when she saw a tooth jammed into her staff. “Oh. Oh, a tooth! A tooth!”

Later Back at Berk

                “So, Gobber, how was it being Gothi?” Hiccup asked curiously. She ran her finger over the keyhole in the Dragon Eye in her hands as Gobber shifted in the window of his shop.

                “Well, I didn't get to wallop anybody with my staff, but...”

                “Gobber! Gobber!” The group parted as Agnar ran up to the window. “I must have more of that potion you made me earlier.”

                “So, it cured your stomach ailments, did it?” Gobber asked.

                Agnar bent over and threw up onto the ground.

                “Far from it! But it cured something else,” Agnar replied when he was done. He happily lifted his helmet up, and they stared at the single strand of hair sticking up on his head. “It's made my hair grow back!”

                “Congrats, Agnar. You look so...” Snotlout grimaced as Agnar bent over to vomit again. “Good.”

                “Well, at least you got only one of the side effects,” Gobber commented. Agnar suddenly blushed and grabbed the back of his pants as a very gross sound emerged from him. The smell hit Gobber, and he immediately began to wave his hand in his face. “Ugh...”

                Hiccup coughed, and managed to choke out. “Well, Gobber, just whip up some more of that potion for him.”

                “Uh, well, it was very complicated, and I'm retired,” Gobber said awkwardly. “Gothi, why don't you take this one?”

                Gothi whacked him in the head with her staff, before walking away rolling her eyes. Agnar followed her, and Hiccup turned to Gobber with a smirk.

                “You really have no idea what was in that potion, do you?” Hiccup teased.

                “No, not a drop,” Gobber confirmed. “But here's your key. Fresh from the old lady’s staff.”

                Hiccup took the Snow Wraith tooth and fitted it into the keyhole on the Dragon Eye. She was able to turn it, and she heard a soft click. Hiccup and Snotlout both crouched down to take a closer look, but nothing happened.

                “We almost died... for that?!” Snotlout snapped.

                “No, there's gotta be more to it than this,” Hiccup said desperately. She picked up the Dragon Eye and turned it over in her hands. “It just doesn't make any sense.”

                “Welcome to my world, sister,” Tuffnut said. “Nothing makes sense, and you got itchy teeth.”

                Hiccup said goodbye to her friends, and she and Toothless returned home. She went to her worktable, and started carefully examining the device. She worked on it until long after the sun had set, and she heard her father going to bed down below.

                “All right,” Hiccup yawned. “That's it, I'm calling it a night. Try again maybe tomorrow. Look at it again with fresh eyes.”

                Hiccup put the Dragon Eye on her worktable, and walked over to her bed as Toothless yawned in agreement. He padded over to his stone slab, and began firing up the stone beneath him.

                Hiccup sat down heavily on her bed, and rubbed her face. She glanced over at her desk, and gasped as she saw a faint light emanating from the Dragon Eye. The light was coming from the end with the dragon’s mouth, and if she squinted, she could see faint images projected on the wall. She looked in the direction the other end was facing, and saw Toothless still heating up his bed.

                ‘That’s it,’ Hiccup thought. ‘The Dragon Eye needs the light from dragon fire to work.’

                Hiccup got off her bed and went back over to her desk.

                “Toothless, come here,” Hiccup requested. Toothless cocked his head in curiosity, and walked over to her as she moved her stool away from the desk. Hiccup looked through the gem at the end of the Dragon Eye, but couldn’t make anything out. She placed the Dragon Eye on the stool, with the dragon’s head facing the wall. The two of them crouched behind it, and Toothless cooed at her questioningly.

                “Do that again, bud. Give me a low flame,” Hiccup said. Toothless perked up, and moved to stand behind the Dragon Eye. He opened his mouth, and breathed a low flame into the Dragon Eye. Hiccup watched stunned as the purple light emerged from the other end with a faint sound, and it projected images onto the wall.

                “Whoa,” Hiccup breathed as she took in all the imagery. She saw what looked like a dragon, a ship, so many new images and pictures. Her gaze rested on the symbol in the center. It looked like a raised fist, surrounded by blood.

                “This changes everything.”

Chapter Text

             Hiccup couldn’t wait until morning to show her friends what she had discovered. She hurriedly ran to their homes, and gathered them up to come back to her house. She took a deep breath to steady herself as Toothless shifted behind the Dragon Eye.

             “Okay bud,” Hiccup prompted. “Go ahead.”

             She couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face as Toothless’s purple plasma lit up the Dragon Eye, and the projections appeared on the wall of her room again.

             “Woah!” Asher said in awe.

             “Amazing!” Snotlout said.

             “Awesome!” Ruffnut said with a huge grin.

             “Cool!” Tuffnut agreed.

             “Definitely worth getting up for,” Fishlegs said happily.

             “Fishlegs, can you make any of it out?” Hiccup asked. Fishlegs hurried forward to examine the imagery.

             “They're parts of maps and symbols,” Fishlegs said. “Nothing I've seen before and there is writing, but it is in a language I've never read before.”

             “What's that thing?” Snotlout asked, pointing to the symbol of the fist in the center.

             “That must be some kind of tribal crest or something,” Hiccup offered.

             “Ooh, I like that way better than our tribal crest,” Tuffnut commented. Ruffnut nodded in agreement.

             “Hiccup, this map, you realize it...” Fishlegs trailed off.

             “Goes beyond the boundaries of the archipelago,” Hiccup said excitedly. “Oh, I know.”

             The twins exchanged concerned looks as everyone looked at the map and then to Hiccup in a new light.

             “So, what's our next move?” Asher inquired.

             “Well, now,” Hiccup said, her gaze never straying from the imagery. “Now I talk to Dad.”

The Next Day in the Great Hall

             “Look at this,” Hiccup said walking up to the glowing pictures on the wall. “There are maps we have never seen, writing we can't read, dragons that we don't recognize. It's incredible. This Dragon Eye, this is proof that there is a whole other world out there, a world that must be explored.”

             Hiccup turned excitedly to see the reactions of the Council. The men were staring with various looks from amazement to feigned disinterest at the projections.

             “This sure beats normal Council business,” Gobber said happily.

             Stoick walked forward to join Hiccup at the front.

             “It's alright lads, you can speak your mind,” Stoick encouraged. “We're a council after all, that's why we're here.”

             “We've been at peace for three years, best years on Berk I can remember,” Spitelout said strongly. Hiccup tried not to be distracted by Toothless stopping his flame, and sniffing at the Dragon Eye. “I think you know as well as I do, when you go looking for trouble, you usually find it.”

             “I'm with Spitelout,” Sven agreed. “If that Dragon Eye leads to unknown places and new wild dragons then no good will come from any of that.”

             “I completely disagree, Sven,” Hiccup protested. “Look around you. How can you say that no good can come from discovering new species of dragons? If they're out there, we have to find them.”

             “If there is anything you and the other riders should be doing it’s hunting down Dagur and putting him back in jail, where he belongs,” Spitelout said firmly.

             “Another reason to go,” Hiccup argued. “Dagur was heading beyond our borders. He thinks we won't go past them, but that's where we'll find him.”

             “Stoick,” Spitelout said irritably. “Anytime you’d like to chime in, we can put this thing to rest.”

             “You're right Spitelout,” Stoick said firmly. “Let's put this to rest.”

             “Dad,” Hiccup protested.

             “Let me speak lass,” Stoick interrupted. “This is as important for you to hear as it is for them. Spitelout, you're absolutely right. These have been some of our best years. Nothing is more important than peace, peace among us, peace with our neighbors.”

             Hiccup sighed, dejected, and turned to walk away.

             ‘Why did I ever think my dad would go for this?’ Hiccup thought depressingly.

             “And peace with our dragons,” Stoick continued. “Having said that, let me ask you this Spitelout. When you and I first had Alvin in our sights and everyone was trying to tell us to leave well enough alone, what did we do?”

             “Crushed them, that's what you did!” Gobber said with a strong smack of his stone hand on the table.

             “Thank you, Gobber,” Stoick acknowledged

             “My pleasure chief,” Gobber saluted, accidentally hitting himself in the head with the stone.

             “When Valka was taken, and I went in search for her, could anyone have stopped me?”

             “Well, technically you're the chief so no,” Gobber interrupted.

             “Yes Gobber, fair point,” Stoick said with a stern look. “But you know where I'm going. Think of the most important thing in the world to each of you. Ask yourselves honestly, how far you would be willing to go to get it, what would you risk?”

             Hiccup jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see her father smiling encouragingly at her.

             “The girl’s life has been dragons. Her life is dragons, and will continue to be,” Stoick declared turning them both around to face the Council. “We can't stop her from going if we wanted to. So, we might as well support her.”

             “But she’s the heir,” Sven protested. “She’ll be the first girl to become the Chief. She needs to stay here and learn.”

             “I’m not so old as to need my heir to take the position now,” Stoick countered. “I know my daughter will be ready when the time comes. Besides, when we were this age, nothing could stop us from chasing what we wanted.”

             Hiccup looked up at her father gratefully as he turned to place both hands on her shoulders.

             “Go lass, find whatever it is out there that's pulling on you,” Stoick encouraged. Hiccup felt her eyes burn a little at the look in his eyes. “And when you find it, Berk will be right here waiting for you.”

             Hiccup couldn’t help the huge grin that spread over her face. She lunged forward, and wrapped her arms as best she could around her father. She felt his hand on her back, and smiled up at him.

             “You best get out of here before all this nostalgia wears off and he changes his mind,” Gobber advised with a soft smile.

             Hiccup stepped away, and turned to run out of the hall. She whistled to Toothless as she went. Toothless perked up, and watched her run by. He turned back to Stoick questioningly.

             “You take care of my girl, dragon,” Stoick softly ordered.

             Toothless looked into his eyes and purred his agreement. Stoick nodded, and Toothless grabbed the Dragon Eye in his teeth before racing off after Hiccup.

             “Welp,” Spitelout said throwing up his hands. “Here we go again. Let’s see what the lass brings home this time.”

             Stoick turned away as the other men left the Great Hall. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

             “You did the right thing, Stoick,” Gobber said softly. He laughed. “You know there is no containing that girl when she gets her heart set on something.”

             “No,” Stoick said with a small smile. “She has her mother’s heart and her spirit.” He turned to look at the empty doorway. “Nothing can stop my little girl.”

Sometime Later

              Hiccup gazed out over the field of clouds as Toothless flapped his wings to rise.

              ‘This is it,’ Hiccup thought amazed. ‘We’re going to go where no other Berkian has gone before.’

             Hiccup took a deep breath, and glanced down to Toothless. “You ready for this?”

             “Blah, Blah, Blah,” Snotlout interrupted. “Why do you have to make a production out of everything? Let's just go already.”

             Hiccup looked around at the other Dragon Riders surrounding them.

             “Okay,” Hiccup said nervously. “But if anyone has any reservations—"She stopped as the others took off past her.

             “Into the great beyond!” Snotlout cried out as he and Hookfang shot forward to follow.

             “The great beyond!” The other Riders cheered.

             “Okay, no reservations,” Hiccup said staring after them. She grinned excitedly. “Let's go bud!”

             Toothless cried out his agreement, and shot forward to join the others.

             As eager as everyone had been to start the journey, for most of them the excitement faded after a few hours. Soon Hiccup was watching the others to make sure no one fell off their equally tired dragons as they passed through a field of grey clouds.

             “Into the great beyond,” Snotlout said wearily.

             “The great beyond…” Everyone else trailed.

            “Oh, come on, you guys,” Hiccup said, trying to be encouraging. “So, we had a couple of tough hours. Nothing that's worth anything comes easy.”

             “Is that one of your riddles?” Tuffnut asked irritably. “Cause now is not the time my friends, we have to keep saying great beyond. Great beyond.”

             “Great beyond.” Ruffnut joined in from where she was slumped over Barf’s head.

             Hiccup sighed as the twins continued, and patted the side of Toothless’s head. He warbled up at her.

             “Toothless, let's see if anything's out there,” Hiccup said. Toothless roared out an echo, and Hiccup strained to hear if there was any reaction. “Nothing.”

             Hiccup winced and shielded her eyes as rain began to come down on them.

             “It seems the farther we go in, the worse it gets,” Asher said as thunder began to roll around them.

             “Hiccup, I think we should turn back,” Fishlegs said worriedly. “We've been flying for most of the day”.

             “We just have to keep moving forward until we're out of this,” Hiccup encouraged. She turned back to face forward, and perked up as she saw a patch of clouds growing lighter in color.

             “Hiccup is that...” Asher trailed off as he shielded his eyes from the brightness peaking through the patch of clouds.

             “Yeah, it is,” Hiccup said. “Everybody, fly to the light.”

             All the dragons flew rapidly towards the lighter clouds as lightning crashed around them. Everyone gasped in relief as they emerged from the storm, and into clear skies. Everyone stared in awe at the sight below them as they flew over unfamiliar sea stacks.

             “Look at this,” Asher breathed looking down at an island of stone and forests.

             “It's incredible,” Hiccup declared.

             “I know right,” Asher said excitedly. “We made it Hiccup. We made it!”

             “Guys, can we slap each other on the backs later?” Fishlegs interrupted. “Meatlug's wings are about to fall off.”

             Hiccup winced as she saw how tired the stocky brown dragon looked.

             “Sorry guys,” Hiccup apologized. “There's a place up ahead we can set down.”

             Hiccup and the others looked around they all heard a strange sound faintly.

             “Woah, what is it girl?” Fishlegs asked Meatlug, concerned as she suddenly stiffened beneath him and started flying more swiftly. “Don't you wanna rest?”

             “Guys do you hear that?” Hiccup asked, as she tried to pinpoint where the noise was coming from.

             “What is that?” Snotlout asked.

             “I have no idea, but the dragons are definitely being pulled towards it,” Fishlegs observed as the dragons all began to fly towards the strange new island.

             “Well, then I guess, that's where we're going,” Hiccup said. She gave a little encouragement, and Toothless began to descend towards the island with the other dragons following. They landed on a beach, and looked around in wonder. The plants and stone around them were all unfamiliar to them, and the crystal blue water of the ocean gave it all a picturesque appearance.

             “This place is amazing!” Fishlegs said, awed.

             “Okay,” Snotlout said as he lounged against a sandy hill. “I'm never going back to Berk.”

             “Berk. What's that? Cause I forgot,” Tuffnut teased.

             “I guess we don't have to vote on where we're making camp,” Hiccup said from where she was sitting beside Asher. She couldn’t help but lean a little towards the young man, and her heart skipped as she saw him tilt towards her.

             “Haha. I'll take care of the fire,” Snotlout offered.

             Hiccup watched in both curiosity and concern as Snotlout went to retrieve a bottle from his saddlebags. They all watched as he poured a trail of green gel along the sand to a pile of palm leaves.

             “Hookfang, light it up,” Snotlout called out to the dragon once he had finished.

             Hookfang let out a breath of fire, and they watched as the gel ignited. The flame traveled along the path of the gel, and ignited the leaves once they made contact.

             “Monstrous Nightmare gel,” Snotlout explained smugly. “Don't leave home without it.”

             Hiccup groaned, her mind already imagining the many fires and explosions in her future. She put it out of her head as they relaxed, and enjoyed some peace after their long journey. Soon enough, the sun had set, and night arrived. Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs slept against their dragons as Hiccup and Asher sat together on the water’s edge enjoying the view of the moon.

             “You were right Hiccup,” Asher acknowledged. “There's so much more out here and it's beautiful.”

             “And this is only the beginning Asher,” Hiccup said positively. “Who knows what we'll find out here?”

The Next Morning

             Asher groaned as he felt a hand shaking his shoulder. He had been sleeping so well with Hiccup curled up beside him.

             “Asher, wake up,” Hiccup said urgently shaking him. Asher moaned as he opened his eyes, and began to sit up. “Do you hear that?”

             “What? I don't hear anything,” Asher complained.

             “Exactly, it’s quiet. The sound is gone,” Hiccup declared worriedly.

             “So are the dragons!” Fishlegs cried out in alarm. “All of them, gone!”

             Everyone else scrambled to their feet, and looked around.

             “What?!” Hiccup said, shocked. “Where did they go?”

             “Why would they leave us?” Fishlegs cried.

             “Well, Hookfang I could see abandoning Snotlout,” Tuffnut acknowledged.

             “But Barf and Belch would never leave us!” Ruffnut said dramatically as Snotlout glared at her brother.

             “They must’ve gone further in,” Hiccup said. She was trying to stay calm, but on the inside, she was worried about Toothless and the others. “They might’ve gone looking for food. Let’s head in, and see if we can track them down.”

             They quickly made their way further inland, entering the nearby forest. Snotlout scrambled up onto a pile of tall rocks, and started combing the sky.

             “Stormfly,” Asher called out. He stopped and scowled as he observed the twins checking behind a rock for the third time. “How many times are you gonna check behind that rock? Barf and Belch cannot hide behind there.”

             “Clearly, you are not aware of the stealthiness of one Barf and Belch,” Ruffnut protested. She looked confused and turned to her brother. “Or is that two Barf and Belch?”

             “Hmm, excellent question.” Tuffnut mused. “Two heads...”

             “One dragon...” Ruffnut continued.

             “Two brains...” Tuffnut added.

             “One body,” Ruffnut declared.

             “Two bodies, half a brain!” Snotlout laughed as he walked by.

             Hiccup sighed as she and Fishlegs walked over to join them.

             “Nothing,” Hiccup said, confused. “I don't get it. Where would they go?”

             “Oh, my Meatlug!” Fishlegs said worriedly. “She wouldn't do this. She would never leave me. She would never do this on her own.”

             Everyone froze and turned as they heard a large rustling coming from the nearby bushes. They all jumped as Toothless lunged out of the bushes and pounced onto Hiccup, knocking her flat onto the ground.

             “There you are bud!” Hiccup said happily as Toothless began to lick her face. She grasped the sides of his face to examine him. “Where did you go?”

             Toothless looked at her for a moment, before he let out an urgent cry and jumped away. Hiccup watched as he prowled around making more distressed sounds.

             “Okay,” Snotlout said cautiously as they watched the dragon circle them. “I think your dragon ate something weird in the forest because he's out of his mind.”

             “No, no, no,” Fishlegs protested. “I think he's trying to tell us something.”

             Hiccup hurried over to Toothless, and knelt in front of him. She worriedly caressed his head as she asked, “W-what is it, Bud? Is it the other dragons?”

             Hiccup cried out in shock as Toothless bit her metal leg and took off running. Everyone stared after him as he raced away through the woods.

             “How far do you think he's gonna get before he realizes?” Asher asked.

             Hiccup sat up on the ground, and watched her dragon run away with her metal leg dangling from his mouth.

             “Hard to say,” Hiccup commented. “He seems pretty committed.”

             Toothless stopped in his tracks, and glanced to the side. He scowled when he saw he was only holding Hiccup's metal leg, which meant he had left his girl behind. Toothless raced back, and jumped over the bushes. Hiccup was waiting for him on the ground, and he warbled an apology as he put the leg on the ground in front of her.

             “That's okay, bud,” Hiccup cooed. She rubbed his head, and gave him a smile. “I like the enthusiasm.”

             Toothless backed up while she put her leg back on. He looked at her expectantly as she came over to him, and got onto his saddle.

             “You guys stay here in case they come back,” Hiccup said to the other riders. “Toothless and I are gonna look for them from above.” Toothless took off into the air, and they started heading towards the center of the island.

             Both froze as a deep sound came from below them. They looked down, and saw a purple Thunderdrum heading through the woods towards the other riders. Hiccup quickly tugged on the saddle to get Toothless to turn, but was surprised when Toothless fought her and tried to continue straight.

             “No, no bud this way,” Hiccup grunted as she tried to get him to go back to their friends. She heard another set of sounds in the distance, and Toothless seemed to weaken for a moment. She was able to tug on the saddle, and turn him away. She quickly directed him after the Thunderdrum.

             The riders heard something approaching them from behind, and turned around. They all screamed as a purple Thunderdrum leapt from the bushes and started running at them.

             “Oh Thor, oh Thor,” Fishlegs panted as they ran. They heard the dragon stop, and saw it was standing in place and preparing itself. “Thunderdrum!”

             They all scrambled to take cover behind a set of boulders, and ducked down as the Thunderdrum let out its mighty sonic blast. They covered their ears as best they could as the soundwaves buffeted the air around them.

             Toothless hovered in the air above, and fired a plasma bolt down. It impacted on the ground next to the purple dragon, and he quickly stopped his roaring to turn his attention to them. He lifted off from the ground, and Toothless fired another shot at him. The Thunderdrum veered away from the two, and flew away over the forest.

             “Good job bud,” Hiccup praised. She gave him a pat on the head as they watched the dragon fly away. “Let's hope that's the last we see of that guy.”

             The two of them descended, and landed in front of the riders.

             “Anything else you wanna draw towards us?” Snotlout yelled irritably as he rubbed a finger in his ear. “Changewings or Screaming Death maybe?! I'm sure there’s one of those around here.”

             Toothless rumbled in displeasure at the volume, and Hiccup winced.

             “Snotlout, you're yelling very loudly,” Hiccup said shortly.

             “Oh really, I can barely hear myself, because that's what happens when you get attacked by a wild Thunderdrum!” Snotlout snapped.

             “Okay, we need our dragons. I'm gonna go back out there,” Hiccup paused as she saw the other Riders looking at her blankly. Hiccup sighed and looked at Toothless. “They can’t hear a thing I’m saying,” Hiccup took a deep breath before yelling out, “I said, I'm going back out there!”

             The other Riders immediately protested.

             “NO! I will take your other leg!” Snotlout shouted, missing the displeased look on Asher’s face at his threat.

             “As if!” Ruffnut protested.

             “No way, Hiccup,” Asher said strongly. “You are not leaving us alone.”

             “We're dragonless and defenseless,” Fishlegs cried.

             “And we can only communicate by yelling!” Ruffnut cried.

             “Which, although quite enjoyable, is not very stealthy!” Tuffnut yelled. “Are you hearing any of this?”

             “Okay, fine we'll all go together,” Hiccup agreed. The Riders looked at her blankly. Hiccup groaned. “Oh for...” She placed her hands over Toothless’s ears before yelling, “I said we'll all go together!”

             “Why didn't you just say so? Jeez,” Tuffnut complained.

             Hiccup was very happy the hearing loss was only temporary as they started following Toothless through the woods. They stayed together, glancing around as the clear air became foggy as they ventured deeper into the island.

             “Uh Hiccup...” Fishlegs trailed off nervously.

             “I know Fishlegs,” Hiccup agreed as the woods became spookier. “No longer amazing.”

             “Can we get a vote for creepy and weird?” Snotlout asked. He raised his hand along with the twins. They emerged into a clearing, and everyone gasped at the huge pile in the center.

             “Are those what I think they there are?” Fishlegs asked, fearfully.

             “Weirdly shaped white rocks?” Tuffnut offered.

             “Dragon bones,” Hiccup answered.

             “Ah a boneyard, yes I like it,” Tuffnut said excitedly. He froze at the stern look on Hiccup’s face and gulped. “I don't like it?”

             Toothless growled at the massive pile of bones, and Asher’s eyes caught on a glint on the ground. He knelt, and picked up a small piece of a hard, amber substance.

             “What is this stuff?” Asher asked, holding it up to the light.

             “No idea,” Hiccup replied. They all froze as a roar sounded nearby.

             “Okay, what was that?” Snotlout demanded.

             “That my friend is a dragon in trouble.” Fishlegs replied.

             Toothless cried out, and took off around the pile of bones. The riders followed him as they approached the canyons and cliffs up ahead. As they entered the area, Hiccup came around the corner and gasped.

             “Woah,” Hiccup breathed. The others joined her, and they all stood stunned at the sight of multiple dragons held captive by the amber substance. The dragons were all crying and whimpering in distress, unable to break free. The gang cautiously made their way in, and Hiccup watched as Toothless approached a Deadly Nadder trapped in the amber. He tried to bite it, but she was amazed to see he didn’t even dent it.

             “You guys do know what's going on here, don’t you?” Tuffnut inquired.

             “Yeah,” Fishlegs said slowly. He observed the dragons around them as he continued. “Something is trapping the dragons in its amber rock substance and immobilizing them.”

             “Oh,” Tuffnut replied. “I had a completely different idea which involved oily fish and uh, bad mutton.”

             “Then it’s breaking them out and eating them,” Fishlegs said worriedly.

             “Oh, come on,” Ruffnut said dismissively. “Who would be doing that?”

             They froze as a roar echoed around the cliffs surrounding them, and looked up in terror as a new kind of dragon swooped into the canyon. Hiccup and Toothless ducked behind one set of rocks as the other Riders took cover behind another. The new dragon was primarily orange, but its wings were very colorful with a pattern of blues and yellows. It had blue fins on the sides of its head, long horns, and spines running down its back.

             “How about that guy?” Ruffnut asked pointing up at him from their hiding place. “He looks suspect to me.”.

             Fishlegs hurriedly pulled her down as the dragons’ head snapped in their direction.

             Hiccup held onto Toothless tightly as he growled and tried to go out to confront the dragon.

             “They’ll be fine, bud,” Hiccup whispered. “Just stay calm.”

             The dragon looked around for a moment before snapping its head down to grab an encased Terrible Terror. The poor dragon screamed in distress as the larger dragon took off with it. As it flew, it let out a strange noise, almost like a song.

             Hiccup struggled with Toothless as he tried to follow the dragon.

             “No, no Toothless, no bud,” Hiccup said firmly. She saw that Toothless’s pupils were thinner before the sound faded and they expanded back to normal. As they did, Toothless stopped his struggles and calmed down. Hiccup gasped as she realized the connection. “It's the sound. That's what draws the dragons in.”

             “Songwing!” Fishlegs said suddenly.

             “What?” Asher said, confused.

             “That's what we should name it,” Fishlegs replied.

             “Now? Really?” Hiccup asked, exasperated. “You want to name it now?”

             “We need to call it something,” Fishlegs argued.

             “Yeah, I'm thinking Death Song might be more appropriate,” Tuffnut proposed. “You know, 'cause you hear the song, you're dead.”

             “Tell you what, he makes a pretty good point,” Hiccup acknowledged.

             “Yeah, I do,” Tuffnut agreed. “Wait, what was it again?”

             “It doesn't matter what we call it,” Asher said seriously. “If it's doing it to all these dragons, then it probably did it to ours.”

             “We have to find them,” Fishlegs said urgently.

             “Fast,” Hiccup agreed. “Spread out and find them, but keep an ear out for that dragon.”

             They ran down the canyon, searching all the amber piles for the missing dragons. Hiccup felt her heart ache as she passed by so many dragons trapped in the amber.

             “Stormfly!” Asher called out.

             “Hookfang! Hookfang!” Snotlout yelled.

             “Snotlout, look!” Asher said, kneeling beside the trapped Hookfang. The dragon looked lethargic as he lay on the ground with amber encasing him in patches from his shoulders to his feet.

             “Hooky!” Snotlout cried. He raced over to his dragon, and put a hand on his head as he started looking over the amber. “I am getting you out of there, Fangster.”

             Hookfang let out a rough wheeze, but he didn’t move his head.

             “Asher, I've got Stormfly!” Fishlegs called out. He was trying to pull Stormfly out of the amber cocoon encasing her, but she didn’t budge.

             The gang all stopped as they heard roaring. As they took cover, Hiccup looked away from where she was trying to use her shield to pry open the amber encasing a Deadly Nadder, and spotted Toothless running away.

             “Toothless! No!” Hiccup yelled.

             The Death Song flew into view as Toothless jumped onto a large rock and turned to face it. The Death Song swooped in, and stopped to hover in the air above the Night Fury. Toothless roared, and shot a plasma blast. The Death Song dodged, and then spat at Toothless coating him with amber. He fell to the ground, and moaned as the amber solidified.

             “No!” Hiccup cried as she saw the amber harden around him. She hurried towards him calling back to the others, “You guys, get your dragons free now!”

             The gang moved out of their hiding places and ran to try to get their dragons out. The Death Song watched them all move around before it began to fire.

             Fishlegs yelped as he felt something coat him as he tried to break the amber off Meatlug.

             “Wha... I can't move!” Fishlegs panicked. The amber cocooning him took seconds to harden around him. “I'm totally stuck!”

             “Me, too,” Snotlout grunted from where he was now attached to Hookfang’s side. “I can't believe that thing got me. I'm usually so limber.”

             “Yeah?” Tuffnut complained from where he was trapped beside his sister above Barf and Belch. “Well, at least you got your own cocoon.”

             “Oh, yeah, like this is a picnic for me,” Ruffnut remarked. They heard a crack, and groaned as the amber they were encased in fell back onto the ground.

             “I'm fine,” Tuffnut groaned.

             Hiccup desperately pulled at the amber encasing Toothless.

             ‘What is this stuff?!’ Hiccup thought. ‘It hardens so fast, and it’s really strong.’

             Asher saw the Death Song circle around to aim for Hiccup’s back.

             “Hiccup, it's coming for you!” Asher yelled. He ran for her, and pushed her aside as the Death Song fired. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, trapped in his own amber cocoon.

                “Asher!” Hiccup screamed. Before she could move towards her friend, the Death Song let out a cry and Hiccup scrambled away. She reached a small opening in the cliffside, and hurried through. When she reached the other side, Hiccup looked up at the sky but didn’t see the dragon.

                ‘This is bad,’ Hiccup thought as she took a step out into the open, keeping her eyes up above. ‘This is BAD!’

                Hiccup screamed as she lost her footing, and slid down a steep hill. She flew off the cliffside, and plummeted over to faceplant hard on the ground. Hiccup groaned as she lifted her head, and froze as she saw the purple Thunderdrum turning to her with a growl.

             “Oh, hey,” Hiccup said nervously. “Remember me?”

             The Thunderdrum roared, and Hiccup hurriedly stood and brought her shield up.

             “Okay, so, yeah,” Hiccup said shifting around. “I'm thinking we may have gotten off on the wrong foot.” 

             She quickly raised her shield as the Thunderdrum roared and blasted her with a short sonic blast. The metal shield bounced the soundwaves away, dispersing them. Hiccup peeked out from behind her shield.

             “Note for the Book of Dragons,” Hiccup muttered to herself. “Thunderdrums carry a grudge.”

             The Thunderdrum charged at her, knocking her off her feet. She sat up with a groan as the purple dragon stepped away and roared. She looked up to see the Death Song perched on the cliffside. A glance at where she had been standing prior revealed a pile of amber in the area where she had been.

             ‘The Thunderdrum protected me,’ Hiccup thought, surprised. She turned back to see the Thunderdrum taking off towards the Death Song. The Death Song waited, and then quickly whipped its tail into the Thunderdrum’s side. The purple dragon hit the cliffside, and fell to the ground on its back. The Death Song jumped from the cliff to pin the Thunderdrum to the ground. ‘Oh no you don’t!’

             Hiccup ran forward to stand by the Thunderdrum’s head.

             “Don't worry, I got your back,” Hiccup assured the purple dragon. When the Death Song turned to her, and opened its mouth Hiccup activated the bola in the center of her shield. The bola whipped through the air before wrapping around the Death Song’s mouth sealing it shut.

             “That's not gonna hold him for long,” Hiccup said as the Thunderdrum kicked the other dragon off, and rolled over. Hiccup secured her shield to her back, and walked over to the Thunderdrum. “Okay, uh... you might not like what I'm about to do, but trust me, it's gonna work out for both of us.” 

             Before she could second guess herself, Hiccup jumped onto the Thunderdrum’s back grabbing the spines around the top of its head. The Thunderdrum roared in anger, and immediately took off into the air. Hiccup screamed as he barrel rolled repeatedly in the air, trying to throw her off.

             “Whoa. Haven't we been over this?” Hiccup cried out. The Thunderdrum spiraled in the air. “I said I'm trying to help the both of us. Don't you listen?”

             Hiccup could’ve smacked herself for the thought.

             “Of course you don't listen, you're a Thunderdrum, and Thunderdrums are hard of hearing,” Hiccup recalled as the world continued to spin.

             Hiccup felt a moment of relief as the Thunderdrum stopped spinning in the air, but immediately screamed again when the Thunderdrum plunged down to the ground. The dragon barreled through the forest, and came to a hard stop on the ground. Hiccup yelped as she was thrown over the head of the dragon, and landed hard on the ground. She moaned as she sat up.

             “At least we lost the Death Song,” Hiccup observed as she got to her feet. She turned to the Thunderdrum, but her smile faded as the reality of the situation hit her.

             “Oh, no, I can't believe this is actually happening,” Hiccup lamented. She began to pace, rubbing her head as she did. “I should've left all those guys back on Berk. Now they're cocooned in that crazy rock stuff, I'm being chased by an angry Death Song, and I'm stuck here with a wild Thunderdrum who can't hear a word I'm saying.”

             Hiccup froze as what she just said registered.

             “Wait a second,” Hiccup said turning to the Thunderdrum. “If you guys can hardly hear a thing, then you probably can't hear the Death Song's call. And if you can't hear the Death Song, then it can't lure you in. No wonder you haven't been caught and you're all alone.”

             The Thunderdrum roared, but didn’t move as Hiccup slowly approached.

             “You know what, Mr. Thunderdrum?” Hiccup said calmly. “You're gonna help me get my friends back, and I'm gonna make sure that dragon never bothers you again. What do you say?”

             She held her hand out to the dragon, and crept closer. She flinched as it growled, and gnashed its teeth at her. Taking a deep breath, she inched her hand closer and closed her eyes. She turned her head away, and tried to stay calm as her hand touched the bumpy surface of the Thunderdrum’s nose. She heard it growl, but smiled as she heard the growl’s tone change from aggressive to pleased.

             Hiccup opened her eyes and smiled at the dragon. It gave her a smile too, and she rubbed her hand gently on the ridge above its nose.

             “Alright, friend,” Hiccup said warmly. “Let’s go save some dragons.”

             The Thunderdrum let her mount behind its head before taking off into the air.

             ‘Hang on, guys,’ Hiccup thought as she focused on the cliffs ahead. ‘I’m coming.’

Back in the Death Song’s Lair

             Snotlout struggled to loosen the amber around him. He gave up with a grunt.

             “Where's Hiccup?!” Snotlout snapped irritably. “I knew she'd leave us! I have to pee.”

             “She didn't leave us,” Asher called out angrily. He struggled to try to move his arms in the amber encasing him. “She'll be back. If I could just reach my knife.”

             “It wouldn't matter, Asher,” Fishlegs said, grunting as he tried to pull himself free. “Whatever this is, it's really strong. Uhh! I don't think we can cut through it.”

             “If we can't cut it, then how do we get out of here?” Snotlout yelled.

             “Yeah,” Tuffnut called out. He blew out a breath of air to try to get Ruffnut’s hair out of his face. “You can't tell me that my last breath is gonna be inhaling her stinky fish hair.”

             “Oh, yeah, that's real original,” Ruffnut snapped. “You know what? I hope it eats you first. At least I'll have something cool to watch before I die.”

             “You just stay on your side of the cocoon, missy,” Tuffnut hissed. The twins suddenly cried out as their cocoon flew through the air, and rolled on the ground. Tuffnut laughed after it stopped. “Whoa! Whoa! What's going on? Do it again!”

             “Okay, so that's a negative on plan A,” Hiccup observed from the back of the Thunderdrum above them. “No ramming the cocoon open.”

             “Please tell me you have a plan B,” Asher said, relived to see the girl.

             “If it involves cutting, ramming or ripping, you might as well forget it, Hiccup,” Fishlegs advised. “Once it cools down, this stuff is hard as any rock I've ever seen.”

             “Cools down?” Hiccup inquired.

             “And hardens,” Fishlegs confirmed.

             Hiccup put her hand to her chin as she thought.

             ‘If it cools to harden, stands to reason that it would melt or break with heat,’ Hiccup thought quickly. She hurried over to Hookfang. “Nobody move.”

             “Oh, yeah, that's funny,” Tuffnut said dryly. “A real comedian.”

             Hiccup reached Hookfang, and was relieved to see that Snotlout’s saddlebags had been spared from the amber. She grabbed the one that she had seen him get the Monstrous Nightmare gel from, and was elated to see he had more. She quickly grabbed it, and started laying a trail of it on a nearby dragon. She went as fast as she could carefully pouring the gel in a trail from dragon to dragon.

             Toothless cooed at her as she poured it over the amber on top of him, and Hiccup gave him a hopeful smile.

             “Just hang in there, bud,” Hiccup said as she poured the trail back towards Hookfang.

             “What are you doing, Hiccup?” Snotlout hissed as she spread the gel over the amber encasing his torso.

             “Just trust me, Snotlout,” Hiccup assured.

             “Says the girl who's about to set me on fire?” Snotlout snapped.

             “You said it only stings a little,” Hiccup objected.

             “I was lying!” Snotlout admitted. “You know I'm a liar!”

             “It'll be okay, Snotlout, I promise,” Hiccup said soothingly. Snotlout groaned as she moved away, but froze as they heard the sound of the Death Song returning. He spotted Hiccup and the Thunderdrum hurry for cover, and they disappeared as the other dragon swooped in.

             Meatlug whimpered as the Death Song landed near him and Fishlegs. Fishlegs shuddered as he heard it behind him, and cringed as he heard it bite onto the encased Gronckle behind him. He began to panic as it flew away with its prey.

             “Hurry up, Hiccup!” Fishlegs screamed. “He just took the appetizer. I think I'm the main course.” 

             He stopped his struggles as he heard the amber crack, and he fell back with a loud thud. “Oh, Thor!”

             “Fishlegs, relax,” Asher called out to the other boy. “It could take hours for him to eat that dragon.”

             Asher froze as the shadow of the Death Song passed over him.

             “Or minutes! Help!” Fishlegs yelled as the Death Song descended towards him. He screamed in fear as the Death Song landed almost on top of him, and stared down at him. Fishlegs whimpered, kicking his feet to try to move but only managed to turn himself in a circle. “Hi, sir.”

                The Death Song spread its wings, and roared down at him. It stopped as it heard another roar, and turned to see the Thunderdrum flying towards it.

             “Hey, remember us?!” Hiccup called out from the back of the Thunderdrum. The Death Song lunged for them, and the Thunderdrum turned to lead it away.

             Hiccup ducked to avoid a shot of the amber, and held on tight with one hand as the Thunderdrum dodged another shot. The Thunderdrum climbed higher before turning to face the approaching dragon. The Death Song lunged for them, but the Thunderdrum shot right by it diving for the canyon.

             ‘This is gonna hurt,’ Hiccup braced her shield as she readied herself. When the Thunderdrum pulled up near the ground, Hiccup jumped from the back of the dragon landing on her shield. She sped across the ground, sparks lighting up as the metal ran over the hard rocks and gravel. The sparks hit the Nightmare gel, and the flames quickly spread over the trail Hiccup had left earlier.

             The riders and dragons froze as the flames snaked across them, but soon felt the amber loosening. Meatlug was the first to break free, her cocoon shattering to pieces as she lifted into the air.

             “Aah!” Asher cried as he was able to break free from the amber. He looked around to see the others breaking their cocoons. “Yes! It's working!”

             Hiccup let out a sigh of relief as she saw her friends free. Seeing Toothless running her way, she dropped her shield and opened her arms.

             “Hey, bud,” Hiccup said relieved. She hugged his neck as he purred happily. “Good to see you.”

             The Thunderdrum roaring above them drew her attention, and she looked up to see it blocking the Death Song. Hiccup looked to her friends, and was relieved to see they had all mounted their dragons and were taking to the air.

             Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless, and the black dragon crouched with a growl, eager to get at the Death Song. Hiccup froze as she heard a young dragon’s distress cries, and turned to see a small blue dragon still trapped in amber.

             “It's an adolescent Thunderdrum,” Hiccup realized. “No wonder he stuck around.” She turned to look up at her cousin. “Snotlout, you get the Thunderdrum. I'll handle the Death Song.”

             Toothless took off from the ground as Hookfang dove down towards the trapped Thunderdrum. Hiccup narrowed her eyes as Toothless shot into the air, and flew behind the Death Song with his signature cry. He quickly turned to dive down right in front of him, distracting the Death Song from chasing after the Thunderdrum.

             “Hey, let's relocate this guy permanently,” Hiccup told Toothless.

             Toothless growled in agreement, and dove faster. He raced down towards the nearby ocean, pulling up just in time to glide over the water. The Death Song chased after them as Toothless glided along the coast, and into a familiar area of cliffs.

             “And I've got just the place,” Hiccup said with a smirk. She called back to the dragon, “Okay, Mr. Death Song, welcome to your new home.”

             She pulled on Toothless’s saddle, and he immediately began a tight barrel roll as they approached the cliff side. Toothless flew into the tight cave, occasionally rolling to avoid obstacles. A glance behind her showed that the Death Song was still chasing them, but it was crashing into the stone stalagmites in its rage.

             “Okay, bud, get us out of here,” Hiccup told Toothless.

             Toothless let out an echo, and did a tight turn as he sensed the exit. The turn was too tight for the Death Song, and it smashed into the side of the cave. Toothless dove for an opening, and soared out into the open air. Hiccup saw the Thunderdrum swoop in from above, and release a sonic blast at the rock above the cave entrance. Toothless added his own plasma blast, and a large section of rock crumbled away and fell to block the cave entrance.

             “Yeah!” Hiccup cheered. “Nice going big guy! No one’s going to hear his song in there.”

             Toothless and the Thunderdrum turned away from the cave, and flew back towards the forest. They stopped to hover above the trees, and Hiccup turned when she heard a small sound. The three of them looked to see the Dragon Riders flying towards them with the small blue Thunderdrum between them.

             Hiccup giggled as the Thunderdrum child flapped eagerly towards its parent, and the Thunderdrum let out a happy cry as he swooped towards the little one. The two met in the air as the Dragon Riders pulled back, and happily rubbed their noses together.

             “If I were you two, I'd maybe find another island,” Hiccup warned. “I don't know how long that rock keeping that Death Song trapped is gonna hold.”

             “Uh, you know they can't hear you, right?” Tuffnut asked.

             “Yes, Tuff, I know,” Hiccup sighed. “Let's get out of here.”

             The Dragon Riders turned and flew back out over the ocean, leaving the Thunderdrums to enjoy their reunion. Once they were clear of the island, Hiccup looked around at her friends.

             “Hey, gang,” Hiccup said, hesitatingly. “I just wanted to say I'm sorry for getting you all into this. If you want to turn back...”

             “Are you kidding?” Asher cried.

             “No way,” Ruffnut said firmly.

             “This is the most fun we've had in years,” Snotlout added.

             “There is one thing we need to do, though,” Asher warned.

             “I'm all ears,” Hiccup replied, curious.

             “We need an island,” Asher declared. “Our own island.”

             “Asher's right, Hiccup,” Fishlegs agreed. “We're way too far out to travel back and forth to Berk.”

             Hiccup perked up, and grinned at the idea.

             “What we need is a base of operations,” Hiccup said eagerly.

             “Exactly,” Fishlegs said. “But this time, we don't let the dragons pick it.” Meatlug growled up at him, and he smiled at her sheepishly. “Sorry, girl, it had to be said.”

             “All right, Snotlout,” Hiccup said turning to grin at her cousin. “You're the man of the hour for bringing the Monstrous Nightmare gel. You choose.”

             “Seriously?” Snotlout asked, surprised.

             “Yeah, seriously,” Hiccup confirmed.

             “All right! What do you say, Fangster?” Snotlout cheered. Hookfang roared out his agreement, and Snotlout whooped. “Ha! Couldn't agree more. Into the great beyond!”

             “The great beyond!” Everyone cheered as they flew forward towards the horizon, and their next adventure.

Chapter Text

                The day had started out with such promise as they landed on a new island. Hiccup had decided to explore on foot with Snotlout, and it didn’t take long for the island to show them why that was an incredibly bad decision.

                The two of them screamed as they raced through the trees away from the angry group of wild boars chasing after them.

                “Let’s explore the island on foot,” Snotlout mocked angrily. Hiccup ignored him to focus on running as they cleared the trees, and ran towards the edge of the cliff. “Rest the dragons for the long trip home. I’m a muttonhead!”

                The two jerked to a stop as they reached the edge, and Hiccup nearly lost her balance.

                “Okay, genius,” Snotlout snapped, glancing down at the rocks below. “What’s our next move?”

                “Uh, weapons,” Hiccup said nervously, eyeing the approaching boars. “We need weapons.”

                Snotlout nearly cursed as he didn’t see anything nearby that he could use before he focused on Hiccup’s metal leg.

                “Got one!” Snotlout cried as he lunged for her prosthetic.

                “Snotlout!” Hiccup cried. She banged on his helmet, and struggled to keep her balance as the boy tugged on her metal leg. “Let go!”

                “What? I called dibs. Gimme!” Snotlout said as he continued to tug.

                “Get off me!” Hiccup pushed him away as he nearly caused her to fall off the cliff. Hearing the snorting come closer, Hiccup and Snotlout braced themselves as the boars approached.

                The boars suddenly squealed in fear, and ran away at the sight of Stormfly coming up over the cliffside. Asher watched proudly from her back as the dragon fired a blast at the boars driving them away.

                “Okay,” Hiccup said later as she sagged in Toothless’s saddle as he flew steadily in the air. She was relieved to be leaving that disaster behind them. “So, check that island off the list.”

                “This is so exciting!” Fishlegs said with a laugh. “Searching the high seas for an island outpost to call our own.”

                “Yeah, I like this idea,” Ruffnut agreed. She put her hands behind her head, and stretched. “Move away from Berk, get my own place away from you-know-who.”

                “Yeah, you’re telling me sister,” Tuffnut agreed, not noticing the look she was giving him. “I am so sick of you-know-who. He never knows when to shut up. I want him out of here.”

                “Guys, let’s focus,” Hiccup called out. “We need to find an island that’s safe, secure and habitable for both us and the dragons.”

                “Blah, blah, blah,” Snotlout interrupted. “How many times do we have to hear that?”

                Hiccup sighed and rolled her eyes. “Until we find what we’re looking for. Let’s check this one out.”

                The group dove towards the island in front of them, and they glided along the tall cliffs before they found a small area of grass set on top of cliff that was walled in by the taller ones around it. As they passed over, Hiccup started looking at all the features of the island. Seeing some promise, Hiccup prompted Toothless to land.

                “Not bad, not bad,” Hiccup mused as she dismounted Toothless and looked around. “Lots of fresh water, seems like a plentiful food supply.”

                “And lots of cool blue flowers,” Ruffnut called out happily, holding up a bunch of blue flowers she had plucked from a nearby bush. She took in a hearty inhale of the blooms. “I’m in!”

                “Wait!” Asher said, alarmed as he recognized the plants. “Aren’t those—”

                “Blue Oleander,” Fishlegs finished with a gasp. “Deadly poisonous to dragons.”

                “So, we’re not staying?” Tuffnut asked as Ruffnut waved the blossom in front of Barf and Belch. The two headed dragon sneezed, and accidentally created a small explosion that engulfed the twins.

                Once the twins had dusted themselves off, they took off again.

                “Oh, this island is beautiful!” Fishlegs praised as they descended through the clouds. Toothless dove ahead of the others, and Hiccup smiled as she heard the familiar whistling as he cut through the air. “I even like those weird dots all over the—”

                “Those aren’t dots!” Hiccup said alarmed as they cleared the clouds and got a clear view of the island. Toothless quickly leveled out his dive and stopped. “They’re Whispering Death holes!”

                “Been there, done that,” Snotlout dismissed, as the serpentine dragons with round heads started popping out of the holes.

                “Next!” Asher agreed.

                Due to some small confusion, they ended up back at the isle of boars though this time they all experienced the pleasure of running from the locals.

                “My bad!” Fishlegs apologized as he ran. “I should’ve crossed this island off the list!”

                The gang took running leaps off the cliff, landing safely on their dragons hovering below. Fishlegs felt queasy as he landed on Meatlug, and groaned as they flew away.

                “This looks pretty good,” Hiccup commented as they flew around the next island. It was a beautiful island with tall cliffs surrounding several coves, rich green grass, a vast forest, and a range of mountains at the back with a large, snowcapped dormant volcano.

                “Those cliffs could work,” Asher said positively as they passed over one of the coves. “Good sightlines, easily defendable.”

                “The location is great,” Fishlegs agreed.

                “It’s perfect!” Ruffnut chimed in.

                “Yeah. Too perfect,” Tuffnut said ominously. He shrugged when Ruffnut glared at him. “I’m just saying, in the immortal words of the mighty Thor, ‘When something looks too perfect, it probably sucks’.”

                “Yeah,” Hiccup called back. “I’m pretty sure Thor never said anything remotely like that.”

                “Oh really?” Tuffnut prodded. “How do you know? Do you know Thor? Have you talked to him recently?”

                “No,” Hiccup said slowly. “But—”

                “Because I have,” Tuffnut interrupted. “And I don’t recall him mentioning you.” Tuffnut shrugged as Hiccup turned to raise an eyebrow at him. “Look, I just have a feeling about this place, and I think we all know what happens when I get a feeling.”

                “We ignore it?” Asher teased. Hiccup rolled her eyes, and prompted Toothless to dive to land on the island.

                “Mark my words,” Tuffnut warned as the others followed them. “There will be something wrong with the island, something mysterious, something horrible, something…something…”

                Ruffnut stared deadpan at him.

                “You finished?” Ruffnut asked before directing Barf and Belch to follow the group down.

                Hiccup dismounted Toothless, and looked around at the surroundings in satisfaction. The area looked perfect for them to start building a base with plenty of open space for all of them.

                ‘Though that will have to wait until tomorrow,’ Hiccup thought as she saw the sun beginning to dip below the horizon. ‘We’re running out of daylight.’

                “Okay,” Hiccup called out to the group as she continued to scan the area. “First thing we need to do is set up camp for the night. We’ll need dry wood for fire, fresh water, and someone needs to be on traps.”

                “Snotlout, what is that?” Asher asked. He frowned as Snotlout worked with a stick in the dirt.

                “It’s an ‘S’ for ‘Snotlout’,” Snotlout answered happily. He drew an S shape in the dirt that was all sharp angles. The others all circled around the drawing with varying looks. “I think aesthetically it would look nice flying over.”

                “That’s ridiculous,” Asher said dismissively. Hiccup wandered over, and tried to peek over the boys’ shoulders, but couldn’t quite see. “It doesn't matter what the outpost looks like. It needs to be functional and operational.”

                “Uh, guys,” Hiccup tried to interject. “What we really need is—”

                “A place for rest, relaxation, and replenishing after a hard day’s work,” Fishlegs interrupted. Hiccup stared as he turned to Meatlug, and pulled from her back a shield with various rocks and sticks arranged on it. “Look, Meatlug and I had some thoughts.”

                “Is that a hot tub?” Asher asked pointing at a ring of stones in the middle.

                “No, that’s the mud bath,” Fishlegs corrected. He pointed at another group of stones to the side. “The hot tub is over here.”

                Hiccup threw up her hands as Toothless rumbled over her shoulder.

                “Tell me about it,” Hiccup grumbled.

                “Wait a minute,” Tuffnut said urgently. “Everyone stop. I don’t see it.”

                “Me neither,” Ruffnut agreed, glaring down at Fishlegs display.

                “See what?” Hiccup questioned.

                “Um, the boar pit,” Tuffnut said indignantly. “Where is it? Where’s the boar pit?”

                “You see,” Ruffnut said, tilting her head towards Hiccup. “The centerpiece of any good outpost is a boar pit.”

                “Why?” Hiccup asked as Toothless put his head on her shoulder to watch.

                “Everybody needs a little entertainment now and then,” Tuffnut said creepily. “Don’t they?”

                Everyone stared at him for a moment.

                “Well, we do know where we can get boars,” Fishlegs said helpfully.

                Hiccup groaned, and rubbed her forehead.

                “Toothless,” Hiccup whispered tiredly. Toothless spat out a small plasma bolt, hitting Snotlout’s design in the dead center.

                “Oops,” Hiccup said loudly. “Sorry about that. Okay, now that we have your attention, we really need to set up camp for the night.”

                “Wait,” Tuffnut protested. “What about the—”

                “Ah-da-da-da!” Hiccup interrupted with a show of hands. “We’ll talk about the dragon outpost design in the morning. For now, someone needs to get the water.”

                “Ugh,” Snotlout scoffed. He turned towards Asher. “I don’t know about you, but I like whiney Berk Hiccup way better than Princess Outpost Hiccup.”

                “I know, right?” Asher agreed. Hiccup smirked as the blonde gave her two thumbs up behind Snotlout’s back before he followed him away.

                Once they got on task, they were able to get what they needed by nightfall. Hiccup sighed as everyone relaxed around the fire, and leaned back on Toothless enjoying his warmth. She was close to falling asleep, when Toothless suddenly opened his eyes and sat up with a grunt.

                “What is it, bud?” Hiccup asked curiously.

                “I’ll tell you what it is,” Tuffnut teased. “Rats. Rats the size of yaks. No, it could also…Is it yaks the size of rats?” Ruffnut rolled her eyes as her brother went on. “Yakrats! Ha ha ha! Wait, those would be adorable. No, no, I know what it is. It’s yaks the size of dragons. Right Toothless? You feel me T?”

                Toothless growled irritably, and laid back down. Hiccup ran a hand along his neck to help him fall asleep as Fishlegs laughed.

                “There’s no such thing as yaks the size of dragons,” Fishlegs said to Asher. The two of them jumped as Tuffnut popped up between them.

                “Yakdragons to you, my friend,” Tuffnut declared. “And when you’ve heard their cries, you’ll believe. Trust me.”

                Everyone winced and covered their ears, as Tuffnut cupped his hands around his mouth and let out a very loud obnoxious call.

                “That’s right,” Tuffnut said, satisfied. “Let that roll around in your head for a minute.”

                “All right, Tuffnut, knock it off,” Hiccup warned.

                “Yeah,” Snotlout said irritably. “You’re not scaring anyone.”

                “Really?” Tuffnut asked slowly. He got close to Snotlout. “What is there were snakes out there in the dark? Hmm? Giant snakes? Snakes big enough to swallow a man whole and then barf out his bones? Blech!”

                “Ha!” Snotlout laughed as he shifted nervously. “Please. Barfing out bones.”

                Hookfang snarled as Snotlout suddenly grabbed one of his wings, and held it over him like a blanket.

                “What?” Snotlout snapped.

                “Yeah, that’s right,” Tuffnut teased. “Got to bed. Sleep if you can.”

                Hiccup rolled her eyes as Tuffnut lay down next to Ruffnut, and set his head to rest on Belch’s neck. She yawned, and exchanged smiles with Fishlegs and Asher.

                “We should all get some rest,” Hiccup said, ignoring Tuffnut’s mumbles. “We’ll have a busy day tomorrow.”

                The two nodded, and went to rest against their own dragons. Hiccup lay down next to Toothless, her back resting up against his side. She closed her eyes, and smiled as she felt his wing slide over her. Soon she was asleep.

                Tuffnut heard his sister and friends settling for the night. One by one their breaths became slow and deep as they entered the realm of sleep. Trying to push the weird feeling he was having away, he rolled over and tried to put it out of his mind. It felt like he had just fallen asleep when a howling in the woods made him jerk away.

                “What was that?” Tuffnut asked tiredly as he sat straight up. He looked around, and realized a couple hours must have passed as the fire had gone out and his friends were still sleeping deeply. Tuffnut shivered as he heard a rustling in the bushes, and jumped as he heard another strange animal sound in the woods behind him.

                Wide awake, Tuffnut quietly got off Belch and stepped over Ruffnut as he went to go see what was making the noise. He couldn’t make anything out from the edge of their camp, so with one last glance behind him, he started into the woods. The woods were dark with only faint shafts of moonlight breaking through the leaves above to light the area.

                Tuffnut walked through the woods, glancing nervously all around. He jumped as he heard the fluttering of wings, and yelped when he saw a shadow fly by out of the corner of his eye.

                ‘Oh man,’ Tuffnut thought with a groan. ‘I really don’t want to be Yakdragon food.’

                The sounds came from behind him again, and Tuffnut whirled around. He saw the shadow moving through the branches, and he lost it as he tried to turn to follow it.

                “It’s in the trees,” Tuffnut moaned. He heard a noise to his left, and whipped around in time to say a small shape dart behind a tree. “Yakrats! I knew it.”

                The shape ran out from behind the tree, and Tuffnut flinched away from it with a scream. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes and looked down.

                It was a chicken. A hen to be specific with white and yellow feathers, and a red crest on her head. She clucked at him, and Tuffnut breathed a sigh of relief.

                “Oh, it’s just a chicken,” Tuffnut sighed. “It’s a tiny chicken. Well…ahem. Hello breakfast!”

                Before he could grab the bird, he heard branches breaking behind him and turned to see an enormous shape rising out of the trees. He couldn’t make out any features as it rose up in front of the moon, but something seemed off about the edges of its shape. He gasped as the shape suddenly spread a large set of wings and let out an eerie roar.

                “Oh my Thor,” Tuffnut said, shocked. The shape roared again, and he screamed. He bolted back towards the camp as fast as he could, crashing through the bushes and branches.

                “Help!” Tuffnut screamed as he spotted the clearing up ahead.

                Hiccup groggily opened her eyes as she heard the faint screaming of Tuffnut. She sat up, and realized he wasn’t inside their camp. As the other began to rise, Tuffnut crashed through the bushes and stumbled into the camp.

                “Chicken!” Tuffnut panted wildly. He gestured wildly with his arms, and Hiccup looked at Ruffnut. Ruffnut just shrugged her shoulders before turning back to her brother. “Roaring! Roaring huge chicken! Chicken roar!”

                “Is he saying he saw a big, roaring chicken?” Fishlegs asked slowly.

                “Not a chicken,” Tuffnut amended. “Dragon. Huge. Massive. What’s another word...Colossal.”

                “What happened to the chicken?” Fishlegs asked.

                “Forget the chicken!” Tuffnut snapped. “We gotta get out of here!”

                Asher yawned dismissively. “Is anyone falling for this?”

                “I don’t know,” Ruffnut said worriedly. “I haven’t seen him this freaked out since he found a leech on his—”

                “Okay!” Asher interrupted. “I’m going to stop you there.”

                “Okay, fine,” Hiccup said tiredly. “Let’s just check this out so we can all go back to sleep.”

                Tuffnut led them out into the woods retracing his steps. Hiccup glanced behind, and saw that the dragons were already curling up to go back to sleep.

                ‘If they’re not freaking out, I’m betting there isn’t much to fear nearby,’ Hiccup thought to herself. ‘Still, we need to give Tuff the benefit of the doubt and check it out.’

                “Did you not here me say that this thing was massive?” Tuffnut asked Hiccup. “Huge!”

                “Colossal,” Hiccup finished. “Yes, I heard you, Tuff. Just show us where you saw it.”

                “Okay,” Tuffnut obliged. “When this giant beast rips us limb from limb, I will expect a full apology from each and every one of you. And a handshake.” Hiccup rolled here eyes as Tuffnut knelt down to crouch behind a bush. “No, you won’t be able to shake hands ‘cause your limbs will be gone.”

                The group stiffened as they heard a rustling in the woods. Tuffnut shushed them before leaping out from behind the bush with a loud cry. They stared at him as he started fighting the air in the middle of the clearing as a chicken wandered up to him.

                “No! It was here and it was huge! I’m not making this up,” Tuffnut said desperately. He looked down to the chicken. “Here, tell them. You were standing right there. Tell them, chicken.”

                The chicken was silent, and Hiccup rubbed her forehead as Ruffnut approached him.

                “Uh, you’re scaring me, bro, okay?” Ruffnut said. “And we shared a womb.”

                She walked back towards the group, and they began to head for their camp.

                Tuffnut glared down at the chicken. He turned away from it, and used his hand to block it from view.

                “I can’t even look at you right now,” Tuffnut said petulantly. The chicken crowed at him, and Tuffnut whirled around to glare down at the hen. “What did you just say?”

                The chicken let out a quiet cluck, and Tuffnut turned to follow the others.

                “I didn’t think so,” Tuffnut said as the chicken ran after him.

The Next Day

                Hiccup yawned as she stretched in the morning sun. Behind her, Toothless let out his own yawn, his jaws stretching out wide. Hiccup shook herself to get rid of any lingering aches before approaching the others.

                “Okay, gang,” Hiccup said as Snotlout yawned loudly from his seat on a log, and Fishlegs touched up his shield display of rocks. “Let’s talk outpost .”

                “Since you brought it up,” Asher said with a grin as he came over. He unrolled a large scroll in hands. Hiccup held in a laugh at the sight of a stick figure of Asher standing on top of a watchtower surrounded by skulls, some of which appeared to be on fire. “I’ve been working on my designs. We’ll set up lookout posts with interlocking fields of fire and—"

                “Never get any rest,” Fishlegs interjected. “But here in my meditation garden—”

                “Neither of those is S-shaped,” Snotlout observed angrily. “Did you not see my design?”

                “Boar pit! Boar pot! Boar pit!” Ruffnut cheered.

                “Guys, guys, listen to me,” Hiccup said firmly before the situation could get any worse. “We need one idea. We can’t design five different outposts.”

                ‘These guys will just keep arguing about whose is better until a fight, probably with some weapons, breaks out,’ Hiccup thought. ‘They all can’t make a design…’

                “Actually,” Hiccup said perking up. “Maybe we can! You know what? Boar pit, love the idea.”

                “Whoa,” Ruffnut said shocked as they stared at Hiccup. “What just happened?”

                “S-shaped,” Hiccup continued gesturing to Snotlout. “I love it.”

                “Don’t freak me out, Hiccup,” Snotlout said nervously. “It gives me the willies.”

                “I’m just saying, let’s all come up with a design that we each think is the best,” Hiccup explained. “When everyone is ready, we’ll look at everyone’s designs and take a vote on it. Does that sound fair?”

                The other four riders continued to stare at her.

                “What are you up to?” Asher asked.

                “Nothing, nothing at all,” Hiccup said. “Just trying to keep everyone happy. Happy troops make happy groups, right?”

                Asher rolled his eyes, and turned away. Ruffnut passed by Hiccup, and she hurriedly tapped her on the shoulder.

                “Hey, Ruff, speaking of troops, where’s your other half?” Hiccup inquired.

                “Don’t ask me,” Ruffnut replied irritably. “All I know is, this boar pit is not gonna dig itself.”

                Hiccup sighed as everyone separated to go work on their designs. Toothless sat beside her, and pressed his head under her hand. Hiccup smiled down at him, and rubbed his head.

                “What do you think, bud?” Hiccup asked softly. “Should we got looking for the other nut?”

                Toothless snorted, and Hiccup giggled at the look on his face.

                “Alright, alright,” Hiccup agreed giving Toothless a scratch under the chin. “Let’s go make sure the other dragons are okay while they work on their designs.”

                Toothless warbled, and they wandered over to the area where the other dragons were relaxing. She made sure they were fed and happy before she and Toothless came back to check on the gang. Seeing them hard at work, Hiccup sat down on the grass to observe while Toothless lay down behind her. Hiccup enjoyed the quiet as time passed.

                “Do you hear that, Toothless?” Hiccup asked softly, leaning back against her friend. Toothless purred happily. “That’s the sound of peace and quiet. Having them work on their ideas to put up for a vote, might be one of the best ideas I’ve ever had.”

                Hiccup turned back to her friends, and frowned as she saw Fishlegs pick up a rock that Snotlout had been reaching for.

                “Uh, excuse me?” Snotlout said irritably. “My rock.”

                “Oh,” Fishlegs said snidely. “How do you figure?”

                “I need it!” Snotlout snapped. “That rock makes the bottom of my ‘S’. And I need my ‘S’.”

                “Really? Your ‘S’?” Fishlegs laughed. “Your genius architectural marvel.”

                “Give me the rock,” Snotlout demanded.

                “Ah, since you put it like that…” Fishlegs said cheekily, holding up said rock. He tossed it over Snotlout’s head, and Meatlug happily caught and ate it. She spat up a ball of lava into the dirt.

                ‘Oh man,’ Hiccup groaned. She quickly stood, and Toothless followed her up. ‘Here we go.’

                “There, there’s your rock,” Fishlegs said, very satisfied with himself.

                Snotlout stood up without a word, and proceeded to jump and belly flop onto Fishlegs’s design.

                “And there’s your architectural marvel,” Snotlout quipped to a gaping Fishlegs.

                “I guess I should’ve expected this,” Hiccup grumbled quietly. Toothless groaned walking away annoyed at the interruption as Hiccup facepalmed.

                “Hey Hiccup!” Ruffnut said running up to her. “I’m ready for a dry run! You want to be the boar?” Before Hiccup could even respond both girls turned to stare at Tuffnut as he walked by them.

                “Whoa,” Ruffnut said, shocked. “What happened to him?”

                “He’s your brother,” Hiccup replied.

                “And?” Ruffnut asked.

                Hiccup sighed, and went to follow Tuffnut. The two girls waited until he had gotten some water, and sat down against a log.

                “Dude, you totally missed digging the boar pit today!” Ruffnut scolded.

                “Where have you been, Tuffnut?” Hiccup asked.

                “Oh girl,” Tuffnut said, tiredly. “You are not going to believe what happened today.”

                Hiccup and Ruffnut listened as he told them about how he had spent all day out wandering the island, and seemingly finding every cliff it contained so he could fall over every one of them.

                ‘I swear,’ Hiccup thought irritably as she crossed her arms. ‘The twins are made of Gronckle Iron. They’re indestructible.’

                “You’ve really been out there all day looking for that dragon?” Hiccup asked.

                “Instead of digging our boar pit?” Ruffnut scoffed. “Priorities, huh?”

                “Maybe he really did see something,” Hiccup offered.

                Tuffnut chugged down some more water, and panted as he pulled the mug away.

                “Oh, I saw something,” Tuffnut said firmly. He looked to the chicken that was perched beside him on the log. “You did too you little back stabber. Tell them.” The chicken clucked a little before Tuffnut snapped, “Oh, save it. You had your chance.”

                “Or this whole thing is a bunch of stinky yak dung,” Ruffnut replied.

                “You know what?” Tuffnut said, rising to his feet to confront his sister. “First of all, yak dung, when made into a nice tea, can be quite aromatic.”

                “Agreed,” Ruffnut conceded. “But I still think you’re just trying to scare everyone. There’s no dragon out there.”

                “Yeah, there is Ruffnut,” Tuffnut retorted. “You willing to put your mutton where your mouth is?”

                “Oh, you’re not suggesting…” Ruffnut said excitedly.

                “Oh, I am,” Tuffnut declared. “I’m suggesting like a hot Gronckle in a lava pit, and you know exactly what that means.”

                “What is going on with you two?” Hiccup interjected.

                “Silence!” Ruffnut told Hiccup.

                “I officially declare Thorston challenge!” Tuffnut said proudly.

                “What challenge?” Hiccup asked, confused.

                “Accepted!” Ruffnut agreed. “Usual stakes?”

                “Of course,” Tuffnut said.

                “What stakes?” Hiccup asked worriedly.

                “It’s better you don’t know,” Tuffnut said. Hiccup grimaced as the twins spat into their palms and then shook hands. They walked by her towards Barf and Belch, and Hiccup stared after them as Toothless wandered up to her. He groaned as Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Asher all fought over another rock.

                “I know, bud, I’m starting to lose it too,” Hiccup said tiredly. She looked between the arguing trio and the twins who were mounting their dragon. “Well, when in doubt, always keep an eye on the twins.”

                Toothless warbled an agreement as she quickly mounted Toothless, and they took off to follow Barf and Belch. Ruffnut waved happily when she spotted them, and Toothless pumped his wings to catch up to them.

                “What’s up?” Ruffnut asked cheerfully.

                “Figured you may need a judge for your Thorston challenge,” Hiccup said simply. “So, what’s the idea?”

                “We search for that dragon!” Tuffnut declared. “We fly until we can’t fly no more!”

                Barf and Blech gave him an irritated look, and Tuffnut nervously shrugged.

                “I mean…until you guys are done,” Tuffnut said. “Because you know you’re the ones actually with the wings so…”

                “So, we’ll just fly around the island until we spot it?” Hiccup asked.

                “Pretty much,” Ruffnut said. She held up a hand to hide her mouth from Tuffnut. “Between you and me sis, we ain’t gonna see a thing.”

                “I heard that!” Tuffnut snapped.

                They flew over the island until long after the sun had set. Hiccup yawned from her seat, and a quick glance showed Ruffnut was bored out of her mind while Tuffnut had started to snore as his new chicken sat in his lap. Hiccup gasped as Tuffnut started to fall out of the saddle, and Toothless gently caught and placed him back in his seat with his wing.

                “And that’s where we should call it a night,” Hiccup firmly.

                “Sure!” Ruffnut perked up. “Since we never found that “yakdragon”, declare me the Thorston challenge winner and we can all go home!”

                “Okay, sure,” Hiccup said tentatively. “Um, by the power vested in me, I hereby declare that Ruffnut is the WHOA!”

                The two dragons abruptly stopped as a roar pierced the air, and a large dark shape rose up from the trees. Hiccup stared in shock at the dark shape that was unlike any dragon she had ever seen as it swooped over the trees and flew over their heads.

                “I don’t believe it,” Hiccup said. Ruffnut deflated as Tuffnut gave her a smug look.

                “Me neither,” Ruffnut whined. “Tuffnut wins the Thorston challenge.”

                “Yes!” Tuffnut cheered. “Told you. Now pay up.”

                “Guys focus!” Hiccup barked as the two started fighting. She pointed after the mysterious dragon. “Look at where it’s headed! Straight to our campsite! If the others are sleeping—”

                She stopped as the twins exchanged mischievous looks before directing Barf and Belch to fly after the dragon. Hiccup cursed under her breath as Toothless quickly followed them. They caught up, but Hiccup was caught off guard when Tuffnut picked up his chicken to hold it on top of his helmet.

                “See you in Valhalla!” The twins cried.

                Barf and Belch sped up, and charged after the shadowy dragon. It came to a stop, and hovered in the air in front of them.

                ‘Why does it look…off?’ Hiccup thought as she stared at the dragon. ‘I’ve never seen one that looks like that. It’s almost like the edges of it are…moving?’

                The twins and their dragon continued to run right at the giant dragon, and as they were about to make contact with it, the dragon suddenly dissolved into hundreds of smaller shapes.

                “What the?!” Hiccup said, shocked. She looked around at the dark shapes filling the air, and realized that they were each a dragon. “It’s not one big dragon. It’s tons of little ones.”

                Ruffnut put her arms down, and groaned as she saw her brother.

                “If this is Valhalla,” Ruffnut started.

                “What’re you doing here?” Both twins finished.

                “Whoa,” Tuffnut said, tapping his sister on the shoulder. He pointed down to a white version of the many dark colored dragons around them. “Check that out.”

                They watched as the white dragon turned to the mass of dark dragons that had started heading for the trees. It let out a shrieking sound, and the dark dragons quickly flew towards the pale one. The white dragon hovered in the air as the hundreds of other dragons surrounded it, and formed the shape of the large dragon they had seen earlier.

                “They’re joining back up around the white one,” Ruffnut observed pointing to the barely visible white dragon in the middle of the group that formed the head.

                “He must be the leader,” Hiccup said. She watched the dragons working together to form the shape, and even move together to flap the large dragons’ wings. “This is amazing.”

                Hiccup grew alarmed as the twins directed Barf and Blech to fly towards the mass of dragons again.

                “Guys, what’re you doing?” Hiccup yelled.

                The twins ignored her, and hurriedly grabbed a net from their saddle bags. As Barf and Belch bared down on the dragons, they readied the net and when they reached it caught the white dragon. As they carried the white one away, the other dragons shrieked and scattered. Hiccup frowned as they flew around in a panic.

                “Bam! Problem solved!” Tuffnut bragged. “Let’s head home!”

                Hiccup watched them head back to camp, carrying the screeching white dragon in the net between them.

                “I don’t know about you, bud,” Hiccup said quietly as she gave another look to the scattered dragons above. “But I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

                Toothless turned, and followed the twins.

                ‘This doesn’t feel right,’ Hiccup thought. ‘They weren’t doing anything to us. It’s more like they were just trying to scare us.’ They reached the camp, and the other riders stared at the twins as they proudly held up the white dragon. ‘And what will happen to them now that we have their leader?’

                Hiccup quickly dismounted, and moved to join her friends as Tuffnut dumped the net with the white dragon still inside on the ground.

                “Amazing,” Fishlegs said in awe staring down at the dragon.

                “It looks sort of like a Terrible Terror,” Asher observed. Hiccup could agree with that to an extent. The dragon had two small horns on the tip of its nose, a horn on its chin, and a short tail with four thin spikes on it. Asher winced as it shrieked. “But bigger and meaner.”

                “And they’re nocturnal,” Hiccup added. Snotlout gave her a look. “You know, they come out at night.”

                “Yeah, I knew that,” Snotlout snapped. “Noc-a-turnal. I was gonna explain that to them.”

                He pointed to the twins who were now happily chasing the chicken in a circle.

                “I say we call them Night Terrors,” Fishlegs suggested. Fishlegs startled as the chicken suddenly jumped up, and he caught it. The chicken cooed at him as Tuffnut ran up.

                “Hey, I saw him first, so I get to name him,” Tuffnut argued. The chicken clucked and Tuffnut scoffed. “No! You always say that.”

                “Now let’s think about this logically,” Tuffnut said looking down at the white dragon. “They come out at night and they’re terrifying. Terror of the night. I got it! Smidvarg and the Gang!”

                Everyone stared at him before Hiccup rolled her eyes.

                “Night Terrors it is,” Hiccup declared.

                A faint roar startled them, and the white Night Terror began to shriek and squirm on the ground in a more panicked manner. More roaring was heard, and the Riders looked around confused.

                “What’s going on out there?” Asher wondered.

                “I don’t know,” Tuffnut said seriously. “But whatever it is, Smidvarg doesn’t like it, and the Gang ain’t paying attention.”

                “Let’s check it out,” Hiccup said before going to Toothless. The others ran for their dragons, and they took off to fly together over the forest. They looked around, but didn’t immediately see anything. More roars drew her attention, and Hiccup looked down to see a group of the Night Terrors being circled by three familiar-looking dragons.

                “Changewings!” Hiccup called out as Toothless came to a stop. Hiccup was horrified to see the Changewings were easily able to pick off a couple Night Terrors who were flying in a panic. Toothless snarled at the sight, and Hiccup pet his head. “I know, bud, not exactly a fair fight, is it? Let’s even up those odds.”

                Toothless didn’t hesitate to shoot forward, and fire a plasma bolt in front of one of the Changewings chasing after a Night Terror. The large red dragon whipped around to face them with its leaf-lobbed antennae swinging through the air. It glared at them before camouflaging itself perfectly, disappearing from view.

                Toothless and Hiccup looked around for any sign of it, and braced themselves as it reappeared to attack from the side. It was stopped by a fiery blast from Stormfly.

                “No bullies on our island!” Asher yelled as he and Stormfly dove past them after the Changewing.

                Snotlout and Hookfang caught up to another Changewing chasing after a group of Night Terrors. Hookfang blasted it with fire, making it fall back squealing in pain.

                “You can’t treat our dragons like that!” Snotlout yelled down at the Changewing.

                Barf let out a stream of green gas as a group of Night Terrors flew by them, and Belch ignited it to cut off the Changewing chasing them.

                “Only we can treat our dragons like that!” Ruffnut declared.

                “That should take care of them,” Hiccup said as the three Changewings fled. She stiffened as she saw another set of dragons approaching in the sky.

                “What about those guys?” Fishlegs asked, fearfully.

                Hiccup quickly grabbed her spyglass, and cursed under her breath as she it was more Changewings heading their way.

                “Incoming!” Hiccup called out.

                “How many?” Asher asked.

                “Too many!” Hiccup cried.

                “Why are they all coming here now?” Fishlegs asked urgently.

                Hiccup flinched as a Night Terror flew by, screeching in her face.

                “It must be the Night Terrors,” Hiccup said. “When we captured the white one, the others split up.”

                “Of course!” Fishlegs said facepalming. “They flock into the shape of a giant version of themselves as a defense to scare off predators.”

                “And now that we took their leader,” Hiccup started.

                “They’re lunch,” Asher finished.

                “Oh, damn it,” Hiccup cursed. “I knew this was gonna be bad. We have to help them. I’m going back for the white Night Terror. He’s their leader. You guys hold them off as long as you can.”

                Hiccup pulled on Toothless saddle, and he turned to race back to their camp. Hiccup jumped off his back as soon as he landed, and knelt by the shrieking Night Terror. She quickly released him from the net, and he immediately flew into the air and roared in her face.

                Hiccup flinched from the sound as it quickly darted away. “Yeah. Probably deserved that.”

                Toothless watched the white dragon fly up towards the sky only to be surrounded by two Changewings that removed their camouflage. Toothless quickly fired off a blast that took one of them down. Toothless turned, and gestured for Hiccup to mount quickly. As soon as she was secure, he took off chasing after the Changewing hunting the Night Terror.

                Hiccup’s eyes widened and Toothless roared in anger as they realized they weren’t going to make it in time. The white dragon shrieked as it saw the Changewing about to bite down on it, but a blast of green gas stopped the Changewing in its tracks. It gagged as the Night Terror flew away, and then howled in pain as the gas ignited.

                “You leave our Smidvarg alone,” Tuffnut threatened as Barf and Belch looked very pleased with themselves. The white Night Terror flew up to hover beside him, and the Changewing fled.

                “Great job,” Hiccup praised. “Okay, you cover Smidvarg from behind, Toothless and I will lead the way.”

                The twins both smiled at her as she used the name, and Hiccup shrugged with her own smile.

                “Okay, it’s growing on me,” Hiccup admitted.

                They raced back to the forest where they had left the others, ensuring that Smidvarg was protected. Hiccup looked for the others as they approached, and was horrified to realize that somehow the boys had all been downed. Before Toothless could fire a blast, Smidvarg let out a piercing shriek.

                The dark Night Terrors quickly flocked to Smidvarg, surrounding him and forming the giant Night Terror shape. They dove down to hover behind a couple Changewings that were bearing down on Fishlegs, Snotlout, and their dragons. The Night Terrors roared together producing a terrifying sound that scared the Changewings. The red dragons quickly fled, and the boys cheered.

                Hiccup sighed in relief, and Toothless circled the Night Terrors to ensure no other Changewings remained. Smidvarg happily shrieked at them, and Hiccup nodded.

                ‘Thank Thor they’re safe now,’ Hiccup thought. She watched as the Night Terrors moved together to fly their giant form over the trees. ‘It’s incredible that they’re able to come together like that, and work so cohesively.’ Looking around at her celebrating friends, Hiccup smiled. ‘Which gives me an idea’

The Next Day

                “What’s this?” Asher asked curiously as Hiccup unrolled a large scroll on the ground. He and the others stared in amazement at the drawing Hiccup had created.

                “A diagram of our new outpost,” Hiccup explained. “I got the idea from Smidvarg. I combined all your ideas into one giant base. I was thinking we could call it the Dragon’s Edge. What do you guys think?”

                The others nodded eagerly.

                “Well, that’s the first time that has ever happened,” Hiccup remarked. She eagerly knelt to point to her diagram. “Take a look. Everybody gets to make their section of Dragon’s Edge whatever they want it to be. Asher, you can make the most heavily armed bedroom in the known world. Fishlegs, your place is quiet and secluded, overlooking the ocean. It’s serene and relaxing, with plenty of space for your rock garden. Snotlout, your spot is up here. It’s not S-shaped, but you can paint them all over it.”

                “Oh yeah I can!” Snotlout agreed.

                “Boar pit! Boar pit! Boar pit!” The twins cheered.

                “Yes, yes!” Hiccup interrupted them eagerly. “Glad you brought that up. There is a space for one right underneath your hut. Just do us all a favor, and lock up the boars after your done with them.”

                “Aww,” Ruffnut cooed.

                “You do care,” Tuffnut cried.

                “We’ll connect everything with bridges, zip-lines and gangplanks,” Hiccup continued excitedly. “We’ll have really cool stables with our own landing strip. Of course, we will have a dragon training arena. And the best part, in the center, overlooking everything else, will be the clubhouse. The Eye of Dragon’s Edge.”

                The gang immediately raced to begin putting the base together, and progress had been made by the time night fell.

                “It’s really taking shape,” Hiccup commented as they paused for the night. “And now for one more addition to our new outpost.” She turned to Tuffnut with a smile. “Tuff?”

                Tuffnut stopped playing with his pet chicken to look up at her blankly.

                “Uh…what?” Tuffnut jerked as he remembered. “Oh yeah! Smidvarg!”

                Smidvarg flew into the area with a happy shriek, and perched on one of the many wooden rungs set up throughout the area.

                “Well, if we’re gonna share the island with them,” Hiccup explained to the others. “I thought we should share the outpost too.”

                “Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they seem to have an instinct to protect,” Fishlegs added.

                “Exactly,” Hiccup agreed. “They’ll be like sentries. Right, Smidvarg?”

                Smidvarg squealed happily, and Hiccup turned back to the twins. She noticed Ruffnut was sitting a short distance away, pouting on a rock.

                “Okay, so the Thorston challenge,” Hiccup said. “When is Ruffnut going to pay up?”

                “She already has. Can’t you tell?” Tuffnut snickered. “I mean, look at her. She lost, so she had to swap clothes with me.”

                “Right,” Hiccup said slowly. Honestly, she thought the result would’ve been a lot worse so in a way she was relieved. “And if you had lost?”

                “Ugh,” Tuffnut shuddered. “I’d have to swap clothes with her.”

                “What?” Hiccup said confused. “But you guys are exactly—”

                “Don’t go there,” Asher warned, putting a hand over Hiccup’s mouth to stop her.

                Smidvarg screeched, and the dark Night Terrors came over the cliffs edge to circle around Toothless. Toothless sat back on his hind legs with a smile, and eagerly called over to Hiccup.

                “What’re they doing now?” Hiccup asked.

                “I have no idea,” Fishlegs replied.

                Smidvarg took off from his post, and the dark Night Terrors followed him up into the sky. The Riders and dragons watched in awe as they came together to form the shape of a Night Fury.

                “Awesome!” Ruffnut cried.

                “It’s amazing,” Hiccup said, awed.

                Toothless let out a happy cry to the Night Terrors, and turned to them, standing on his hind legs. He let out a happy cry, and flashed his gummy smile at Hiccup.

                Hiccup laughed as Tuffnut hugged his clucking chicken.

                “Aw, Chicken,” Tuffnut said softly. “I couldn’t have squawked it better myself.”

Chapter Text

                Hiccup took a deep breath, enjoying the salty scent of the ocean below. It had barely been over a week before her dad had sent a Terror Mail to them asking for their assistance with a Scauldron that had been causing trouble for their fisherman. Dragon’s Edge was nearly complete, so they had been able to return to Berk to help.

                ‘It’s kinda nice to be back in Berk for a visit,’ Hiccup thought. ‘Though honestly, I can’t wait to get back to the Edge.’

                “Alright gang,” Hiccup called out. “We’ll buzz past the Scauldron and draw its attention so Asher, Ruff and Tuff can net it from behind and drag it out to sea, got it?”

                “I still think we should blast it,” Tuffnut said.

                “Stoick just wants us to move the Scauldron out of Berk’s fishing lanes,” Asher reminded them. “So don’t get any crazy ideas.”    

                “Uh sorry,” Ruffnut said cheekily. She had a grin on her face as Barf flipped his head over, so they were both looking at him upside down. “Crazy is what we do, Asher. Duh!”

                “You guys do realize that a Scauldron’s hot water blast can rip the scales right off a Screaming Death?” Fishlegs asked fearfully.

                Hiccup looked past Fishlegs as a green dragon’s head atop a long neck came up from under the waves. The crest atop its head, and the large lower jaw made it easily identifiable as the Scauldron they had been looking for.

                “There it is,” Hiccup said steadily. “Let’s focus, guys.”

                Asher grabbed the net from where it was attached to Stormfly’s saddle. He grabbed one end before tossing the other over to Ruffnut. She caught it easily, and the two of them passed the ends down to their dragons’ feet. The dragons grasped the net in their talons before moving apart to spread it open.

                Fishlegs groaned as the other Riders moved ahead of him and Meatlug.

                “As usual,” Fishlegs mumbled. “Nobody’s listening to Fishlegs.”

                He sniffed loudly as Meatlug dove down to follow the others. Hiccup led the group towards the back of the Scauldron, eyes focused.

                “One…” Hiccup counted. She faintly heard Fishlegs sniff again from behind her, but ignored it.

                “Two…” Hiccup continued. Fishlegs groaned and rubbed his nose.

                “Three!” Hiccup called.

                “AHCHOO!” Fishlegs sneezed loudly. He sneezed so strongly that it startled Meatlug who began to spin in the air wildly, scared of what had happened to her rider.

                The Scauldron whipped its head around at the noise, and roared as it spotted them. It quickly began to swim towards them.

                Snotlout cursed, but then saw Meatlug and Fishlegs spin towards him and Hookfang out of the corner of his eye. He screamed as the two rammed into them, and he fell from the saddle. Snotlout flailed in the air until he was caught in the net hanging between Stormfly and Barf and Belch.

                “Help me!” Snotlout cried as the net contracted around him. The two dragons tried to adjust to the unexpected weight and keep level to not risk hurting him.

                “Abort! Abort!” Hiccup called back to Asher and the twins. She screamed, and clutched Toothless’s saddle as they were then rammed by Meatlug and Fishlegs. “Ah! Fishlegs!”

                “I knew I hated this mission!” Snotlout yelled. He screamed as the Scauldron got closer and opened its mouth to take a bite. He flinched as a black shape raced by him, and when he looked up, he saw Toothless flying in circles around the Scauldron distracting it from the others.

                Toothless banked hard on a turn, managing to get behind the Scauldron’s head to hover in place.

                “Plasma blast, bud,” Hiccup cried.

                Toothless shot a blast at the Scauldron hitting it on the side of the face. The Scauldron roared, and dove back down under the waves. Hiccup and Toothless watched until the large green body and tail disappeared.

                “Oh, I see how it is,” Tuffnut commented. “You’re allowed to blast it.”

                Hiccup sighed. She looked around and spotted Fishlegs and Meatlug flying back. Fishlegs smiled sheepishly.

                “Sorry,” Fishlegs mumbled.

                “Sorry!?” Snotlout yelled. He scrambled in the net, but kept tangling himself up further. “You’re sorry!? Why you—”

                “Easy Snotlout,” Hiccup said, as Toothless flew closer to the net to look. “We’ll get you out of there when we get back to Berk.”

                “Berk?!” Snotlout yelled angrily. “Get me out now!”

                “And risk dropping you into the ocean where an angry Scauldron is located?” Hiccup questioned.

                “I like that idea!” Tuffnut said happily.

                “Whose got a knife?” Ruffnut added.

                Snotlout stewed angrily in the net all the way back to Berk. He was bright red as they landed in the center of the village and finally freed him from the net. He immediately turned on Fishlegs.

                “You and your snot rockets almost got me killed!” Snotlout snapped.

                “Calm down, Snotlout,” Asher said dismissively. “You lived. Yippee for us.”

                “No thanks to itch-legs over here,” Snotlout retorted gesturing to Fishlegs who was bent over itching his legs.

                “It’s so weird,” Fishlegs said. Hiccup felt concerned as she heard his voice had gone very nasally. “I mean, I never…” He loudly sneezed all over poor Meatlug beside him.

                Toothless recoiled and shuddered in disgust as Hiccup took a cautious step towards her friend.

                “Get sick,” Fishlegs said. He started scratching all over his body, and everyone stared at how hard he was scratching.

                “Dig deeper,” Tuffnut teased. “See if you can draw blood.”

                “Something is clearly not right with you,” Hiccup said gently. Fishlegs stopped scratching for a moment to frown at her.

                “I don’t see what the big deal is, okay?” Fishlegs complained. “Everybody sneezes and scratches sometimes.”

                “Not like a honey-covered yak on an anthill,” Tuffnut commented.

                Everyone, including the dragons, stared at him.

                “What?” Tuffnut said. “You’ve never seen a honey-covered yak on an anthill? Well, those things scratch. It’s terrifying. The horrors haunt my dreams.”

                ‘I have a sick feeling the twins arranged for that honey-covered yak to be on the anthill,’ Hiccup thought as she turned back to Fishlegs, who had started scratching again.

                “I really don’t feel sick, okay?” Fishlegs protested. “I promise, I’m fine.”

                Everyone cringed as he turned and started rubbing his back up against Meatlug, scratching himself on her rough skin.

                “Maybe you’re allergic to something,” Hiccup offered.

                “Uh, that’s impossible,” Fishlegs objected. “Allergies don’t run in the Ingerman family. I’m clean, serene—”

                “And an itchin’ machine!” Ruffnut finished.

                “Might I interject?” Tuffnut said lightly. “We at the Thorston house have a very simple allergen detection system. It has never failed.”

                “That’s a system?” Ruffnut asked.

                “It is now,” Tuffnut said. He rubbed his hands excitedly. “Everyone! Meet us at the Dragon Academy. My sister and I shall gather everything we need!”

                “Uh, what exactly does this ‘system’ need?” Hiccup asked worriedly.

                “Oh, you’ll see,” Tuffnut said with a wicked grin. Ruffnut gave her a thumbs up before the two of them took off running with Barf and Belch following.

                The other Riders stared after them before they shrugged and started walking to the academy.

                ‘I really hope they don’t accidentally kill Fishlegs,’ Hiccup thought nervously. She glanced back at the miserable looking Fishlegs, and frowned. ‘But I don’t have any other ideas right now. He’s the only one affected. As much as he protests, it must be allergies.’

                It didn’t take long for the twins to come flying in on their dragon. They dismounted, and heaved a large basket off the back of their dragon. Hiccup, Asher and Snotlout cringed at the smell and the dragons except for Meatlug who remained by Fishlegs, immediately jumped to the ledge surrounding the arena to get away. Toothless stayed in the arena, but he immediately backed away from the basket with a snort.

                Tuffnut removed a large, golden egg from the basket and held it out to Fishlegs.

                “Thousand-year-old egg,” Tuffnut said proudly. “Slam this down your gullet.”

                Fishlegs took it and shrugged. He took a large bite of it, and hummed happily.

                “Oh, it could use a little sea salt,” Fishlegs commented.

                Tuffnut groaned, and Ruffnut pushed past him holding something behind her back.

                “What about this?” Ruffnut asked, before she smacked Fishlegs across the face with a ball of black hair tied to the end of a stick. She rubbed it all over his face. “Yak hair. Takes itchy to a whole new level.”

                She pulled back with a grin, and Fishlegs was left with several patches of yak hair attached to his face.

                “Not really,” Fishlegs said mildly. He rubbed over one of the pieces of hair. “Feels like my old Aunt Gerta. You know, she used to—”

                “No, no, no,” Hiccup interrupted shaking her hands. “I would like to be able to sleep tonight.”

                Asher and Snotlout gave her grateful looks as Tuffnut approached Fishlegs with a mug. The three of them cringed at the smell emanating from it.

                “Spoiled, coagulated goat milk,” Tuffnut said, holding the mug out to Fishlegs. “With just a pinch of hoof jam. I find it changes the whole experience.”

                Fishlegs took the mug, and shrugged before holding the mug up over his mouth. Hiccup nearly gagged as the spoiled goat milk came out of the mug as more of a solid than a liquid. It landed right in Fishlegs mouth, and he gulped it down with a shudder.

                “Oh, that is…” He trailed off before perking up. “Cheesy and delicious!”

                Hiccup, Asher, and Snotlout all gagged as the twins shook their heads.

                “I’m telling you,” Fishlegs said as he moved to Meatlug. Hiccup noticed the nasal quality returned to his voice as he got closer. He picked up a rock and tossed it into her mouth. “I’ve never been allergic to anything.”

                Fishlegs sneezed violently into Meatlug’s face, and the poor dragon looked very startled.

                ‘He seemed to be okay as these ‘tests’ were happening,’ Hiccup thought. She glanced over to Meatlug, and touched her chin. ‘But when he stepped closer to Meatlug, he started sneezing again.’

                “What?” Fishlegs asked, hearing Hiccup hum thoughtfully. “What is it?”

                “Fishlegs,” Hiccup said gently. “I think you might be allergic to…Meatlug.”

                “Why would he suddenly be allergic to Meatlug?” Asher asked.

                “Perhaps it’s just a simple case of adult-onset allergies,” Tuffnut suggested smartly.

                “Ah, I concur with your diagnosis, Dr. Nut,” Ruffnut said loftily.

                “I concur with your concur-ation,” Tuffnut replied.

                “Adult-onset allergies develop in your elder years when your immune system mistakenly identifies a dangerous substance,” Ruffnut explained.

                ‘The twins really do surprise me sometimes,’ Hiccup thought in disbelief.

                “Don’t be silly,” Fishlegs protested as he scratched Meatlug’s chin. “There’s no way I’m,” He sniffed, and scratched at his face. “Allergic to Meat—"

                He yelped as Ruffnut grabbed his face, and pressed it into Meatlug’s side right below the saddle. He began to violently sneeze multiple times.

                “Diagnosis confirmed!” Ruffnut quipped before she released him. Fishlegs panted, and Hiccup approached him to place a hand on his shoulder. She winced at how red his eyes were.

                “Fishlegs,” Hiccup said softly. “There’s only one person that might actually be able to help.”

                Fishlegs sniffed. “Gothi?”

                Hiccup nodded. Fishlegs nodded looking very defeated. Hiccup patted him on the shoulder before turning to the others.

                “You guys go ahead and see your families,” Hiccup said. “I’ll take Fishlegs up to Gothi. Could one of you let Gobber know to meet us there?”

                Asher and the twins nodded before departing, and Hiccup raised an eyebrow as Snotlout stayed behind.

                “Oh, if you think I’m missing whatever that old bat is going to put Fishface through,” Snotlout said with a wicked grin. Hiccup rolled her eyes before guiding Fishlegs to the exit. Meatlug whined and took a few steps after them. Hiccup looked back, and gave a gentle smile to her.

                “It’s ok, Meatlug,” Hiccup said softly. “You can come to. Just hang back a little bit, ok?”

                Meatlug whined, looking down sadly. Toothless came to her side, and rubbed his head on her neck. She gave him a grateful look, and the two dragons followed the three riders up to Gothi’s hut. They ran into Gobber on the way up and Hiccup explained the situation.

                “Ah, don’t worry lad,” Gobber said clapping his hand on Fishlegs’ shoulder. “Gothi will fix you right up!”

                “Really?” Fishlegs asked, hopefully.

                “Sure,” Gobber said confidently. He turned to Hiccup, and gave her a grimace. Hiccup sighed as Snotlout sniggered.

                Luckily Gothi wasn’t seeing anyone at her hut, and they were all able to gather around on her deck. After they explained the situation, Gothi smoothed out the sand in front of her and closed her eyes to go through the motions of preparing herself.

                “Oh, I gotta see this,” Snotlout giggled from his place beside the worried Meatlug as Gothi moved her staff around herself.

                Gothi stopped and began to draw in the sand.

                “What is she saying?” Fishlegs asked. He tried to squint to see better, but his eyes were still too watery.

                Gobber hummed.

                “What?” Fishlegs asked worriedly.

                “She wants to paralyze you,” Gobber explained.

                “Yes!” Snotlout cheered as Fishlegs gasped in horror. Gothi hit Gobber over the back of the head, and he hurriedly looked again at the drawings.

                “Check that. Hypnotize,” Gobber corrected. “Sorry, she wants to hypnotize you.”

                “Aww, come on,” Snotlout said, disappointed.

                Fishlegs squinted as Gothi began to move the end of her staff in circles in front of Fishlegs face. Fishlegs chuckled.

                “Unfortunately, guys,” Fishlegs said dismissively. “This is never gonna work on me because I’m way too—”

                Hiccup jumped as Fishlegs fell onto his back, unconscious.

                “Unconscious? Ha!” Snotlout barked happily. “Quick, put his hands in warm water.”

                “Snotlout! We’re not going to do that,” Hiccup admonished.

                “Ok, now that he’s under, she wants us to tell him that he’s not allergic to Meatlug,” Gobber said.

                “Does that really work?” Snotlout asked.

                “I guess we’ll find out,” Hiccup said as she approached Fishlegs. She knelt by his head. “Here goes.” She cleared her throat before speaking slowly. “Fishlegs, you are not allergic to Meatlug. You are not allergic to Meatlug.”

                Fishlegs groaned before relaxing again.

                “So, that’s it?” Snotlout asked.

                “Hypnosis is very powerful,” Hiccup explained, rising to her feet. “Okay, let’s bring him out of it.”

                “Now, now, hang on a second,” Snotlout protested. He started rubbing his hands together as he grinned. “We’ve got an opportunity here. We can rebuild Fishface. We can turn him into a worshiped Viking, a fearless godlike hero as strong as three yaks!”

                Unseen to Hiccup who stepped closer to glare at her cousin, Fishlegs began to growl and rise to sit up.

                “A Viking who commands attention!” Snotlout continued excitedly. “In other words, a Viking worthy of my friendship.”

                “Yeah, no, we’re not doing any of that,” Hiccup said, immediately shooting down the idea. Snotlout scowled as she turned to Gothi. “You can bring him out of it now.”

                Gothi walked in front of Fishlegs, and after a brief examination of his relaxed face, she snapped her fingers.

                Hiccup watched Fishlegs stand, but something was off. His back was to her and Snotlout, but they both glanced in confusion at one another as Fishlegs stood up straight and rolled his shoulders.

                ‘Fishlegs never stands like that,’ Hiccup thought. ‘He’s always hunched over. He looks so…confident.’

                “Fishlegs?” Hiccup asked hesitatingly.

                “Fishlegs?” Fishlegs repeated in a haughty accent. Hiccup’s eyebrows pulled up towards her hairline as Snotlout grinned. “There’s no Fishlegs here.”

                Fishlegs walked right through them, pushing both off to the side as he approached Meatlug. Toothless came from where he had been waiting by the stairs to observe by Hiccup.

                “Who is this pudgy little reptile?” Fishlegs said nastily with a gesture to Meatlug.

                Meatlug whined and lowered her head.

                “That was a bit harsh,” Gobber commented.

                “Fishlegs!” Hiccup scolded. “Are you alright?”

                “That is not my name, maiden,” Fishlegs said harshly.

                “Maiden?” Hiccup questioned as Fishlegs seized Gothi’s staff right out of her hands.

                “The name’s Bonecrusher,” Fishlegs declared. He raised the staff over his head, and snapped it in two. He threw the pieces over the cliff, and held his head high. “Thor Bonecrusher.”

                Gothi glared at ‘Thor Bonecrusher’, and Hiccup smacked Snotlout in the shoulder though he gave no sign he even noticed.

                “Snotlout, do you realize what you’ve done?” Hiccup scolded. “You fool! You created—"

                “My very own super Viking,” Snotlout said excitedly. “Thor Flipping Bonecrusher! I love it!”

                Hiccup groaned, and facepalmed.

                ‘Why?’ Hiccup thought. ‘Why does something like this always happen?’

                “Gothi,” Hiccup asked desperately. “Can you fix this?”

                Gothi stomped her foot, and drew in the dirt with her finger.

                “She says that she can’t do anything without her staff,” Gobber translated.

                Hiccup sighed, and then jumped as Thor pushed past her and Snotlout to head for the stairs.

                “Where are you going?” Hiccup asked.

                “To find my next adventure, fair maiden,” Thor boasted. “I’m sure there are many innocent people who need the help of Thor Bonecrusher.”

                Fishlegs descended the steps, and Snotlout ran after him.

                “Take me with you!” Snotlout cried eagerly. Thor paid him no mind and simply kept walking down towards the village.

                Meatlug whined, and Toothless cooed as he rubbed against her side. Hiccup cursed under her breath as Meatlug continued to whine.

                “Come on, you two,” Hiccup said. “Let’s try to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

                Hiccup and the two dragons hurried down the walkway. As they passed by the outer edge of the village, Hiccup saw Asher standing at the entrance to his house staring at something down the road. Hiccup waved at him, and he hurried to meet her.

                “Was that Fishlegs?” Asher asked. “What happened to him? And why is Snotlout following him like a baby sheep?”

                “Gothi hypnotized Fishlegs so we could tell him he wasn’t allergic to Meatlug,” Hiccup explained. She spotted Thor and Snotlout up ahead, and pulled Asher’s arm so they could keep some distance from the pair. “Before we could bring him out, Snotlout ran his mouth about Fishlegs becoming a super-Viking. We didn’t know that Fishlegs was hearing all his babble, so when Gothi snapped him out of it he was Thor Bonecrusher.”

                “Thor Bonecrusher?” Asher repeated in disbelief. He stared at ‘Thor’ as he walked confidently through the village, with his shoulders back and head high, waving and giving thumbs up to the Vikings around him.

                “And Gothi can’t just turn him back?” Asher asked concerned.

                “Not without her staff,” Hiccup said irritably. “Which Thor Bonecrusher crushed and threw off the cliff.”

                “So TB,” Hiccup looked forward to see Snotlout moving to walk alongside Thor. “You’re not afraid of anything, huh?”

                Snotlout tried to pull a sneak attack on Thor, swinging a sword at him. Hiccup’s jaw dropped as Thor caught the blade between his hands, and threw it to the side.

                “Ha!” Thor barked. “Child’s play.”

                “How about fire?” Snotlout teased, shoving a flaming torch towards him. Thor snatched the torch out of his hand, and threw it to the side with no care.

                “I scoff at fire!” Thor bragged.

                Hiccup saw the torch sail through the open window of a nearby home, and gasped as the flames began to quickly spread.

                “Fire!” A woman screamed from inside. “My house is on fire! Someone threw a torch at my house!”

                “Perfect!” Thor said. “A call to action!”

                He raced inside the home, and everyone watched stunned as he carried an old woman and a sheep from inside. People began to cheer, and Thor basked in the praise.

                “Please hold your applause until the end of the rescue,” Thor said haughtily. He grabbed a nearby water trough, and threw it over his head and into the home dousing the flames. He turned back to the crowd with a smirk. “You may commence.”

                “What in Hel just happened?” Asher asked, stunned, as the people cheered.

                “Thor Bonecrusher,” Hiccup said. “That’s what happened, and now he’s doing something else.”

                The two of them watched as Fishlegs jumped up onto a tree stump and began to address the crowd.

                “People of Berk!” Thor called. “It is with great pleasure that I announce the arrival of me, Thor Bonecrusher. The most universally feared and loved Viking in all the land is here to enchant you with my presence.”

                Asher and Hiccup exchanged looks of equal disbelief before someone yelled out.

                “Look out, the cart!”

                They looked to see a heavy cart, full of apples, rolling down the hill towards a small wooden cart with a baby lying inside.

                Thor laughed confidently, before running and flipping through the air.

                “What?!” Hiccup said stunned at the sight.

                Fishlegs landed in front of the baby’s cart, and raised a hand towards the approaching apple cart. He hooked his foot under the baby cart, and kicked up so the baby flew out and into his other arm. He kissed the baby on the head before tossing them to their mother, and stopped the apple cart with one hand.

                “All in a day’s work,” Thor bragged.

                “Did you see that?” Snotlout asked, awed. He turned to Hiccup and Asher excitedly. “That was incredible! He ran, and then did a flip and then a toss and a thing, and then flipped into the other thing. Oh! He’s amazing!”

                “Is it me,” Asher leaned to whisper to Hiccup. “Or did Snotlout just fall in love with Fishlegs?”

                “Bonecrusher! Bonecrusher! Bonecrusher!” Snotlout cheered. Others in the crowd began to take up the chant, and Hiccup rolled her eyes.

                “He just might’ve,” Hiccup said. “Who would ever think that…where’s he going now?”

                “Uh…” Asher stared stunned as Thor ran through the crowd before jumping onto the roof of a home. Thor ran towards the edge of the village, jumping between rooftops as Snotlout and the crowd eagerly followed. “That’s something I never thought I would see.”

                “This is crazy,” Hiccup said rubbing her eyes. “This isn’t Fishlegs! Fishlegs would never do something like this.”

                “Be a hero?” Asher asked hesitatingly.

                “Yes!” Hiccup cried. “I mean, no! I…” Toothless came up beside her and warbled. Hiccup rubbed his head for comfort before noticing Meatlug sitting in the dirt, staring sadly after Thor. “Fishlegs isn’t some super Viking. He’s one of the sweetest, kindest, smartest Vikings I’ve ever met. He’s one of my best friends.”

                Asher gave her a sympathetic look before going to rub Meatlug on the head. The poor dragon looked up at him with big, sad eyes and whined.

                “Well, then we better make sure Thor doesn’t do anything to Fishlegs before Gothi can fix him,” Asher said firmly. Hiccup gave him a grateful smile and nodded. Asher returned it before mounting Meatlug. “Let’s go find our resident super Viking.”

                Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless, and the two dragons took off. They went in the direction the people had gone, but it looked like the excitement was over as the crowd was walking away and Snotlout was sitting up on the ground.

                “Looks like we missed the fun,” Hiccup quipped as Toothless and Meatlug hovered in the air. They watched as Snotlout took off running back up the hill and down the road. “Let’s follow Thor’s number one fan.”

                Asher nodded, and the dragons trailed after Snotlout from the air. He soon caught up to Thor, and Hiccup groaned as she saw Thor approaching the blacksmith shop.

                “You, simple blacksmith!” Thor called.

                “Oh boy,” Hiccup said nervously as she saw Gobber inside the forge turning to face Thor with an axe in his hand. “We better get down there, bud.”

                Toothless warbled an agreement, and descended to land with Meatlug following him. Hiccup dismounted as Snotlout came back with a knife to show Thor.

                “How about this one?” Snotlout asked.

                “Oh, that’s perfect…for removing splinters,” Thor scoffed as he took knife, and threw it away. Snotlout eagerly ran back into the shop, and grabbed a sword off the rack.

                “What about this one?” Snotlout said excitedly. “You can use it to annihilate your enemies.”

                “That’s a nice handle, I suppose,” Thor mused. “If I had wee lady hands.”

                Thor laughed heartily as he threw it back into the shop. It flew by Gobber’s head, and lodged into the wooden post. Gobber didn’t flinch, and just glared at the big boy.

                “I made that handle with my best leather,” Gobber growled holding up the axe to shake at Thor.

                “Ahh!” Thor said pleased as he saw the axe. He snatched it from Gobber’s hands and held it aloft. “Now, this. This is an axe for a Viking.”

                “That’s Stoick’s axe,” Gobber protested as Thor began to swing and spin it in his hands.

                “Correction: this was Stoick’s axe,” Thor said before turning his back on Gobber.

                “Uh, Fishlegs?” Hiccup started nervously. She jumped as Thor whirled around to glare. “I mean, Bonecrusher. That’s my dad’s axe, and he isn’t exactly the kind of chief who likes to share his things, especially his axe.”

                “Neither do I,” Thor growled leaning in towards her. “If your father wants it, he can always try to take it back from me.”

                “Ok, back up,” Asher said, pushing Thor back from Hiccup. Thor stared at him like he couldn’t believe Asher had touched him. “This is getting out of hand.”

                “Ha!” Thor scoffed. “And what do you plan to do about it, you weakling?”

                “Weakling?!” Asher repeated heatedly.

                “Yes, weakling,” Thor taunted. He spun Stoick’s axe in his hands before pointing it at Asher. “Would you dare to fight me? Me, the bravest and strongest Viking in all the land?”

                Asher ground his teeth and glared, trying to hold back from hitting his friend.

                “Asher…” Hiccup said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

                Thor scoffed. “Ha! I knew it. A coward you are! Fear not, maiden for I will protect you since this boy here clearly is not up to the task.”

                Asher screamed and lunged at Thor, but Hiccup held him back by wrapping her arms around his waist.

                “Let me at him!” Asher yelled.

                “No, no, no,” Hiccup cried. “Remember he’s not himself right now.”

                Thor laughed at the sight before turning to walk away.

                “If you wish to attend to a real Viking, I will be in the Great Hall, maiden,” Thor called back.

                Gobber had to hook the back of Asher’s vest so he wouldn’t chase down the boy after he broke free from Hiccup. Snotlout glanced nervously between them and Thor before running after him.

                “Easy, lad,” Gobber said as Asher began to slow his struggles. “If he hangs onto that axe, you’re gonna have to get past Stoick to get at him.”

                Meatlug rumbled sadly as she waddled up to Hiccup, and Hiccup rubbed her head.

                “This is getting out of hand,” Hiccup said, worriedly. “We need to get Thor Bonecrusher back to Gothi before we lose Fishlegs forever.”

                “I totally agree,” Gobber said.

                Asher roughly tore himself from Gobber’s hook, and glared down at the ground clenching his fists.

                “I’m gonna kick his ass to Hel and back the next time I see him,” Asher swore.

                “Ok,” Hiccup said softly touching a hand to Asher’s arm. “Why don’t you go cool off for a little bit? We’ll meet up later to talk about what to do.”

                “Are you kidding, me?” Asher asked heatedly. “He’s the guy that—”

                “Is a total jerk, believe me I know,” Hiccup said quickly. “I also know that there is a good chance that you would win that fight, and Fishlegs could get really hurt before we can get him back.”

                Asher scoffed. “He wouldn’t need both arms.”

                Hiccup looked up at him, and Asher sighed. He took a deep breath and let it out.

                “Fine,” Asher reluctantly agreed. “But you come get me the moment he tries anything funny.”

                “I will,” Hiccup assured him. Asher nodded roughly, before walking away as Gobber hummed appreciatively.

                “Well, if Thor Bonecrusher isn’t your kind of Viking, lassie,” Gobber teased. “I think there’s one that’ll tickle your fancy.”

                “Gobber,” Hiccup blushed as Toothless laughed. “It’s not like that.”

                “Yeah,” Gobber teased as they made their way up towards the Great Hall. “I may be missing a hand and a leg lass, but I haven’t lost my eyes yet.”

                Meatlug flew ahead of them as they ascended the stairs, and Toothless decided to stay outside as he heard the ruckus in the hall. They entered to see Meatlug looking down, frowning and whimpering as Thor told a joke to the Vikings gathered in the hall that had them howling.

                ‘Although, I wonder at whose expense the joke was,’ Hiccup thought as she spotted Hookfang glaring at Snotlout, who was looking a little guilty.

                “Poor Meatlug,” Gobber said sadly. “She’s even torn off her saddle. Look at her. So lonely. We’ve got to do something with her.”

                “I’ll take care of Meatlug,” Hiccup said. She ignored Thor as he started telling a rather tall tale about their encounter with the Scauldron. She knelt to rub under Meatlug’s chin.

                “Hey girl,” Hiccup said softly. She wrapped her other arm over Meatlug’s head to hug her as the Gronckle let out a whine that broke her heart. “I know. Come on girl. Let’s go sit over here.”

                Meatlug waddled with Hiccup and Gobber over to the side of the hall, and plopped down onto the floor in a sad heap. Hiccup sat beside her, and continued to stroke her head.

                “We’ll get him back, Meatlug,” Hiccup said soothingly. “We’ll fix all of this.”

                “Fishlegs!”

                Everyone in the hall jumped, and turned to see Stoick standing in the doorway.

                “Is that my axe?” Stoick demanded.

                “Oh no,” Hiccup said, scrambling to stand. She hurried to cut her dad off as he stomped towards Thor.

                “Uh, Dad,” Hiccup said nervously. “That’s not Fishlegs Fishlegs.”

                “Don’t be daft,” Stoick said shortly. “I’m looking right at him, holding my axe by the way.”

                “Ah, you must be Stoick the Vast,” Thor said caressing the axe in his hands. He smirked at Stoick. “Vastly overrated.”

                ‘Oh shit,’ Hiccup thought in alarm as she saw her dad’s eyes narrow.

                “What did you call me?” Stoick asked angrily, using an arm to push Hiccup aside. He turned to look at her. “What did he call me?”

                “That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Hiccup said. “He’s not himself.”

                “Give me back my axe!” Stoick demanded Thor.

                “Don’t you mean my axe?” Thor replied snidely.

                Gobber hurried over as Stoick’s fists clenched.

                “He was just polishing it for you, Chief,” Gobber stammered.

                “Let me handle this,” Hiccup pleaded. “I will get your axe back to you, I promise.”

                “Fine,” Stoick said shortly. “But make it quick or I’ll take it from him myself.”

                “Let’s get out of here, Chief,” Gobber said wrapping an arm around Stoick’s shoulders to guide him out of the hall. “How about a nice piece of mutton?”

                Hiccup watched him go, and turned back to see Thor smirking. She glanced at Snotlout, and saw he was staring at Thor looking torn over what had just happened.

                ‘First Asher, now my dad,’ Hiccup thought with a sigh. ‘Thor’s really picking some nasty fights. We got to get him to Gothi.’

                Hiccup walked back to Meatlug, and rubbed her on the shoulder.

                “Come on, Meatlug,” Hiccup said softly. “You can come home with me and Toothless.”

                Meatlug warbled, and looked towards Thor. He had already turned his back on them, and Meatlug whined.

                “We’ll try again tomorrow,” Hiccup promised her as Meatlug walked with her out of the hall. Toothless perked up as they exited, but he picked up on the mood immediately. He crooned sympathetically to Meatlug, and let her lean on him as they walked home.

                Her father was still out with Gobber so Hiccup was able to feed both dragons and climb up to her room in peace. Hiccup sighed as she lay down in her bed, and stared up at the ceiling.

                ‘I hope Gothi can help fix this tomorrow,’ Hiccup thought anxiously. ‘We can’t lose Fishlegs. He knows more about dragons than anyone, and he’s…he’s one of my best friends He was one of the few that was nice to me before I found Toothless. I can’t lose him.’

                Hiccup grunted as she felt a heavy weight on top of her legs, and looked down to see Meatlug happily making herself at home on her bed. Toothless laughed from his bed as Hiccup struggled to free her legs.

                “Hang on Meatlug,” Hiccup said. She managed to get her legs out, and sighed as she removed her prosthetic. As she lay back down, Meatlug crawled up to lie beside her. Hiccup sighed, and pet her on the head. “It’s gonna be ok, Meatlug.”

                Hiccup continued to pet her until the dragon had drifted off to sleep. She drifted off soon after, warmed by the dragon beside her.

The Next Day

                “So how did you manage to convince him to come up here?” Asher asked Hiccup as they, Gobber, and Thor ascended the steps to Gothi’s hut.

                “I may have implied that our beloved healer may have needed help from a brave, strong Viking,” Hiccup whispered. Asher rolled his eyes, and stood beside Hiccup with his arms crossed as they reached the deck of Gothi’s hut.

                Gothi glared at Thor, and gestured for him to take a seat. He grumbled but did so as Gothi picked up a bowl to grind something within with her pestle.

                “I hope this won’t take long, sorceress,” Thor complained. “I like to nap after a feast of wild boar and mead.”

                “Thank you, Gothi,” Hiccup said gratefully. “We really need Fishlegs back.”

                Gothi smiled, and grabbed a stick before going to Thor. She hooked his mouth with the stick, and opened it wide to pour the contents of her bowl into his mouth. She pushed him away with a sneer, and Thor glared at her before gagging and running for a nearby barrel.

                Hiccup cringed as he vomited into the barrel.

                “What was in that potion?” Asher asked, amused.

                “It wasn’t a potion,” Gobber explained, reading the drawings Gothi was making with the stick. “Just spiced yak bladder. She says that’ll teach him to break her staff.”

                “Not the most delicate delicacy,” Thor complained as he moved back from the barrel.

                “What about getting Fishlegs back?” Hiccup asked.

                “She can’t re-hypnotize him without the staff,” Gobber translated. He shrugged at Hiccup. “Her staff is carved from the wood of a special kind of tree. I sent some men out to go and cut another piece of it, but even once they return it will take time to craft a new staff.”

                “Great, now what?” Asher moaned.

                Gothi drew more images in the dirt, and Gobber’s brow furrowed.

                “Fear,” Gobber translated. “Only a true feeling of terror will shock Fishlegs back to normal.”

                “And Mr. Thor Bonecrusher isn’t afraid of anything,” Hiccup said with a sigh.

                “Truer words were never spoken, my fair maiden,” Thor bragged. Hiccup cringed as Asher glared at him, but Thor paid them no mind. “Now, where is that snotty fellow? We have business to discuss.”

                “Hiccup,” Gobber said as Thor walked away. “You may want to swing by the old homestead. I think your father might be in a bit of a…state.”

                Hiccup nodded, and left to fly home with Toothless. As they landed outside the front door, both could hear Stoick inside.

                “Get this dragon off me!”

                ‘I’m guessing Meatlug wanted some attention while we were out,’ Hiccup thought. She opened the door, and saw her father was sprawled on the floor with Meatlug on top of him giving him licks.

                “Hiccup!” Stoick yelled. “Get this dragon away from me!”

                “Dad, she’s just lonely,” Hiccup pleaded.

                “If she doesn’t get off me, we’ll be having Gronckle for breakfast,” Stoick threatened.

                “We need to get Fishlegs back before this gets any worse,” Hiccup said to Toothless, who was watching the scene with great amusement.

                “Hiccup!”

                “Let me guess,” Hiccup said sarcastically as she turned to see Asher run through their door. “It’s Thor.”

                “Yeah, and Snotlout,” Asher said urgently. “You’re not gonna believe where they’re headed.”

                “Where?” Hiccup asked.

                “Thor is going after the Scauldron,” Asher explained. “They took off on Hookfang.”

                “Oh no,” Hiccup groaned. “Get everyone together, and make sure you bring the net. We gotta make sure both them and the Scauldron are safe.”

                Asher nodded, and left. Hiccup turned to Meatlug, and saw that she had moved off from her dad and was looking up at her pleadingly.

                “Don’t worry, Meatlug,” Hiccup said comfortingly. “We’ll go get him back. You just stay here, ok?”

                Meatlug whined, but didn’t follow as Hiccup raced out the door with Toothless. She quickly mounted the saddle, and he launched into the air. Toothless hovered above the village until the others joined them before they flew out over the ocean.

                “They have to be out there somewhere,” Hiccup said after they searched for a few minutes. “What was Snotlout thinking?”

                “He wasn’t,” Asher said. He batted his eyelashes. “He’s in love. He would do anything for his big, hunk of bone-crushing love.”

                “Please don’t do that again,” Hiccup said seriously. Asher smirked. “We’d better find them before they find the Scauldron.”

                A few miles ahead of them, Snotlout shivered as a storm began to take shape around them.

                “Just think, Snotlout,” Thor mused as Hookfang flew low over the water. “At any moment, the giant beast will emerge from the water, and I will tame him. Or he will kill you.”

                Snotlout let out a nervous laugh form where he was forced to hunch over the front of the saddle so Thor could stand behind him on the dragon. “You’re funny, TB. Listen, let me throw something out there. What if we…I don’t know…head back, call it a day, relax at the Great Hall, tell some more cool stories. You know, I’ve heard that Scauldron’s hot water blast can rip the scales off a Screaming Death.”

                “What gutless fool told you that?” Thor scoffed. He tapped the top of Snotlout’s helmet with the butt of the axe. “Nonsense. Thor Bonecrusher cannot return to Berk dragon-less. Negative, Snot-man.  I am not leaving these water without my prize.”

                They flew on for a short distance before the Scauldron flew out of the water. Hookfang stopped as the green dragon hovered below them and roared.

                “Time to engage my quarry,” Thor cried. He tapped Snotlout again on the head. “Dive, dragon, dive!”

                Snotlout nudged Hookfang to dive, and the dragon dove towards the Scauldron.

                “My super Viking’s gone rogue!” Snotlout screamed.

                “Fire!” Thor ordered. Hookfang shot a fire blast at the Scauldron, but it dodged the attack. Hookfang let out two more, and while the Scauldron dodged the first it couldn’t avoid the second.

                “Okay,” Snotlout said hopefully as the fire hit the Scauldron on the side of its head. “That ought to do it, right, TB?” His jaw dropped as Thor leapt from the back of Hookfang towards the Scauldron.

                The Scauldron sent a blast of scalding water at Thor, but missed its target. The shot did come dangerously close to Hookfang who reared back to avoid the blast. Snotlout lost his grip, and tumbled screaming into the ocean.

                Thor landed on the Scauldron’s head, and grasped the crest on nose of the dragon tightly.

                “Dance, big boy!” Thor sneered as the Scauldron flew higher to try to get him off as the storm unleashed with a burst of lightning.

                Hiccup spotted the Scauldron as they approached, and internally cursed as she spotted Thor riding its head.

                “There they are!” Hiccup yelled at the others as the rain poured down. “Come on!”

                Hiccup watched in horror as Thor continued to try to wrestle with the Scauldron’s head. She saw a glint of metal be thrown from his hand, and fall into the choppy waves below.

                ‘And I’m pretty sure dad’s axe is gone,’ Hiccup thought irritably.

                Snotlout, desperately trying to tread water, yelled out for help. He tried to wave his arms at the riders, but it was a constant struggle to keep his head above the waves.

                Asher heard Snotlout’s voice coming from below, and looked to see Hookfang was scanning the waters, saddle empty.

                “Snotlout’s in the water!” Asher yelled.

                “You guys grab him,” Hiccup called back. “I’ll go after Fishlegs.”

                “Okay,” Asher agreed as Toothless shot ahead with a powerful flap of his wings. “Stormfly, let’s go.” The dragon squawked her agreement and dove. The twins followed on Barf and Belch, and they scanned the waves for any sign of the Viking.

                “Keep looking,” Asher said. “He must be here somewhere.”

                “So, how hard do you think we really need to look?” Tuffnut asked his sister. “I’m thinking some passing glances might do the trick.”

                “Well, the sooner we rescue Snotlout, the sooner we can watch Fishlegs get eaten by the Scauldron,” Ruffnut pointed out.

                “Well, if you put it that way, let’s go!” Tuffnut said excitedly.

                Hiccup yelped as Toothless had to abruptly pull back as the Scauldron thrashed around.

                ‘Toothless can’t risk firing a shot at the Scauldron without hurting Fishlegs,’ Hiccup thought worriedly. Toothless cautiously tried to get closer to the pair.

                “It would be so much easier if you’d just submit to your new master,” Fishlegs grunted, glaring down at the struggling Scauldron. The dragon screeched and plummeted towards the water.

                Toothless dived after them, and Hiccup held her breath as they plunged into the cold waters. Toothless kept up with the Scauldron in the water, diving in and out of the waves as they chased it.

                Snotlout looked around in a panic, not seeing anything above him in the stormy skies.

                “Hookfang!” Snotlout yelled. “Oh, can this possibly get any worse?” He turned as he heard the waves crash behind him, and screamed as he saw the Scauldron coming down towards him. “Worse! Way worse!”

                He tried to swim out of the way, and gasped as he was suddenly snatched out of the water by his waist.

                He looked up and smiled at the sight of Hookfang. “Hey!”

                Hookfang turned his head to growl at the boy he held with his feet.

                “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Snotlout cried. “I will never try to give you away ever again!”

                Toothless flew out of the water, and scanned for the Scauldron.

                “What the-?” Hiccup said in disbelief as they couldn’t spot it. She flinched as the Scauldron burst out of the water, and shot into the air. Toothless took off after them, and the Scauldron shot several streams of water at them. “Toothless, watch out!”

                Toothless dodged the water, and quickly circled the Scauldron to get behind its head.

                “Come on, jump over!” Hiccup yelled at Thor.

                “Retreat?” Thor scoffed as he clung to the Scauldron’s neck. “In my moment of glory? Never! Whoa!”

                The Scauldron whipped around, and Toothless was forced to pull back to dodge another deadly stream. The Scauldron continued to throw its head, and finally succeeded in dislodging Thor. The boy went tumbling down its back, but managed to grab and hang on by the tail. The dragon turned to face him, and its cheeks began to expand with water again.

                Before Toothless could move, Meatlug flew by and rammed the Scauldron on the side of the head. Its water blast missed Thor, and Meatlug growled at the other dragon.

                “Yes, Meatlug!” Hiccup cheered. She gasped as Meatlug turned to fly away from the larger dragon, and it chased after her. “No, Meatlug!”

                Toothless raced after them, but the Scauldron had already been dangerously close to Meatlug. The Scauldron began to close in on the Gronckle.

                “Stop, dragon,” Thor ordered. “I, Thor Bonecrusher, command you to stop.”

                With an angry roar he started climbing up the dragon’s tail, but it ignored him. He managed to stand on the Scauldron’s back, and saw how close the Scauldron was to Meatlug.

                “No!” Thor protested.

                Meatlug turned to look back at him, panic clear in her eyes. Thor saw the Scauldron’s cheeks expanding, preparing to blast the smaller dragon point blank. Pure fear filled his heart at the thought of Meatlug being hurt, and he felt something click in his mind.

                “No! Not my Meatlug! You leave my dragon alone!” Fishlegs cried. He ran up the dragon’s head, and leapt forward to grab onto Meatlug. He landed on her back, and turned her to try to avoid the Scauldron. He screamed as they passed under its wing, and looked back to see it had turned its head to follow them.

                Before the Scauldron could make a move, Stormfly and Barf and Belch enveloped it into their net. The dragon cried out in anger and distress as Asher and the twins guided their dragons into a position where the Scauldron wouldn’t be able to escape.

                Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief as Toothless came to a stop.

                “That was a little too close,” Hiccup said tiredly.

                “Speak for yourself,” Tuffnut said. “That was freakin’ awesome!”

                The twins shared a laugh as they and Asher turned their dragons to fly towards the area they had picked out to release the Scauldron safely.

                Hiccup looked over to Meatlug, and was thrilled to see Fishlegs cooing over her.

                “Oh, I’m so sorry, girl,” Fishlegs said to the very happy dragon. “I don’t know what happened to me. I just…I wasn’t myself.” Meatlug gave a happy snarl and tried to lick him. He hugged her as best he could, and Meatlug gave a happy shake. “Oh, I missed you! How did I—”

                “Long story,” Hiccup interrupted. “I’ll explain later.”

                They ensured that the Scauldron was safely relocated before making their way back to Berk. The sun was setting, and a small crowd had gathered as they neared the village. Hiccup shook her head as she heard them begin to cheer.

                Toothless landed lightly on one of the platforms, and Hiccup dismounted as Stoick and Gobber approached.

                “So, what happened to the Scauldron?” Stoick asked.

                “He’s been relocated,” Hiccup answered happily as she rubbed Toothless’s head. She smiled as he purred.

                “And my axe?” Stoick asked.

                Both Hiccup and Toothless stiffened, and looked at him with wide eyes.

                “Uh…also relocated,” Hiccup answered nervously. Stoick huffed in displeasure, but didn’t say anything.

                “But what of Thor Bonecrusher?” One of the villagers asked. Before Hiccup could reply, Fishlegs lost his balance on Meatlug, and fell to the ground before she could land. The crowd stared at him, and Fishlegs nervously waved.

                “Hello,” Fishlegs said sheepishly.

                The crowd groaned and dispersed. Fishlegs wondered what was going on, but was distracted by Meatlug landing near him. He smiled and hugged her tightly as she wagged her tail happily.

                “You know, Fishlegs,” Asher said slowly. “You didn’t sneeze once the whole ride home.”

                “Yeah,” Fishlegs acknowledged. “And my legs don’t feel itchy anymore.”

                “Oh!” Hiccup said as she ran a hand along Meatlug’s back. “Meatlug’s not wearing her saddle. Maybe you were never allergic to her, but you were allergic to the saddle.”

                “But why, all of a sudden, would I become allergic to her saddle?” Fishlegs asked.

                Gobber shrugged his shoulders. “Well, uh, I’ve been using a different kind of wax on the saddles.” To everyone’s disgust he put his hook into his ear, and pulled out a big, yellow glob of earwax. “Look at that.”

                Hiccup and Toothless shuddered in disgust while Asher and Stormfly gagged.

                “Oh, great,” Tuffnut groaned.

                “What? I never run out of the stuff,” Gobber said. “It’s coming out of my ears.”

                The earwax on his hook passed close to Fishlegs as he waved his hook around, and Fishlegs sneezed violently.

                “I’m allergic to Gobber’s earwax?!” Fishlegs said horrified. Gobber laughed, and walked away as Fishlegs shuddered. “I’m both relieved and disgusted.”

                Fishlegs turned, and stopped as he saw Snotlout staring down sadly at him from Hookfang.

                “What?” Fishlegs asked, exasperated. “What is it?”

                “I’m just thinking of what might’ve been,” Snotlout said sadly. Fishlegs froze as Snotlout leaned forward to hold the sides of his face and look into his eyes. “You broke my heart, Thor. You broke it right in two.”

                Fishlegs was frozen in shock as Snotlout kissed him on the cheek before leaving with Hookfang. He stared at Hiccup.

                “That was creepy, right?” Fishlegs asked, stunned.

                “You don’t know the half of it,” Hiccup joked.

Chapter Text

                Savage scowled as he turned away from the chains raising the Reaper from the depths of the giant eel infested waters of the ship graveyard. They had been working for hours, and finally the wreck was beginning to surface. Savage walked over to Dagur, who was doing one-armed pull ups in an empty dragon cage in a very deranged manner.

                “The Reaper is starting to surface, sir,” Savage reported.

                “I can see that!” Dagur snapped.

                “Oh, right,” Savage said sheepishly. Savage sighed as Dagur went back to his pull-ups, and walked back to the side of the ship to coordinate the salvage of the ship. He directed the men to bring up everything from below deck, and they slowly got the ship emptied.

                “That’s the last of it, sir,” One of the Berserker men said. He set a very large dragon trap down on the deck.

                “Well, now we have everything of value from the dragon hunting ship,” Savage reported to Dagur. Dagur was scowling again as he walked by, hands behind his back.

                “No,” Dagur said. “Not everything.”

                Dagur whipped around, and threw a dagger past Savage’s head. It lodged deep into the wood of the mast, piercing a pinned drawing of the cylinder that Hiccup had taken.

On Dragon’s Edge

                Hiccup hummed as she opened the small compartment behind the head of the Dragon Eye. She delicately removed the lens from within, and held it up to examine it in the faint sunlight in her hut.

                ‘It looks similar to the lens within the dragon’s mouth,’ Hiccup thought. She titled it, and observed the silvery blue sheen of the metal encircling the lens. ‘The color of the outer ring is different though.’

                Hiccup polished the lens before placing it back inside the Dragon Eye.

                “Okay,” Hiccup said. She held the Dragon Eye in front of Toothless, who had been lounging beside her. “Give me a slow burn, bud.”

                Toothless obliged and opened his mouth. She heard the low hum of his plasma flame charging, but he only built up enough to direct purple light towards the Dragon Eye. Hiccup smiled as the familiar imagery that had started them on their adventure appeared on the wall.

                “Okay, I’ve seen this before,” Hiccup said softly. She tilted the Dragon Eye down, and examined the buttons on the bottom of the device. “Now, what happens when I push…”

                Hiccup pushed one of the seven buttons with the symbol of what looked like a Monstrous Nightmare silhouette, and a red gem popped up from within the device to rest inside the ring of buttons. When she tilted the Dragon Eye back up, the image it projected was now red and showed new imagery.

                “Cool,” Hiccup said, amazed. She realized the dragon in the center of the projection was clearly a Monstrous Nightmare, and a lot of the imagery surrounding it looked like information about it and other related dragons. “Dragon Classes.”

                ‘This is fascinating,’ Hiccup said. ‘Pressing these buttons changes what the Dragon Eye displays. I wonder…’

                “What do you say we check out the Night Fury, bud?” Hiccup asked Toothless. Toothless groaned, and lay his head down uninterested. Hiccup giggled. “Try to contain your excitement, would you?”

                Toothless laughed at her before laying his head back down. Hiccup looked down at the Dragon Eye.

                “So, Monstrous Nightmare gem, plus Night Fury,” Hiccup said twisting the rings on the Dragon Eye, so the symbol of the Night Fury was formed. She frowned as the projection immediately stopped. “Equals nothing. Okay.”

                She turned away from the wall to examine it, and undid the Night Fury pattern on the rings. The projection appeared again with the Stoker class information, and Hiccup jumped as her door swung up. Hiccup had a little laugh at how the red imagery shone on Asher standing in her doorway.

                “Oh! Asher class,” Hiccup joked. She moved the Dragon Eye down to her side so she didn’t accidentally blind him.

                “Hiccup, we have a problem,” Asher said urgently. “A huge problem.”

                “Dagur?” Hiccup asked, concerned.

                “Worse,” Asher replied.

                “What could possibly be worse than Dagur?” Hiccup asked, confused.

                Hiccup jumped as a boy riding a purple tinted Monstrous Nightmare came barreling through her door, knocking Asher down beneath them. Hiccup gasped as the boy popped his head up, and looked up at her with a big grin.

                “Gustav!” The boy said proudly.

                “Gustav?!” Hiccup said, shocked.

                “Gustav,” Asher growled from his place below Gustav’s dragon, Fanghook.

                Hiccup stepped back as Gustav Larson, one of the most annoying kids in Berk she had ever met, got off Fanghook and walked up to her. He was still a good foot shorter than her, but had grown into his helmet. It looked like he was still trying to imitate Snotlout as he was wearing something like him, though a couple of other items he was wearing looked familiar too.

                Hiccup hid the Dragon Eye behind her back as Gustav approached her.

                “My Lady,” Gustav said dramatically. He took her hand and made to kiss the back of it, but she hurriedly pulled her hand away. He didn’t even flinch as Toothless growled as he sat up.

                “Gustav, what are you doing here?” Hiccup asked. She backed up to her stool beside her chest, and sat as the boy looked around her hut excitedly. Realizing how rude she sounded, Hiccup hurriedly said, “I mean, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?”

                Toothless watched as Fanghook picked himself off the floor. The young dragon spun as he looked around, and accidentally hit Toothless in the face with his tail. Toothless growled, and pushed the other dragon away as he got close to his face.

                “Hiccup!” Snotlout ran through her doorway with the others right behind him. “Did you hear Gustav is—?”

                Snotlout froze as he saw Gustav standing behind Hiccup on her storage chest while Fanghook had climbed on top of a very unhappy Toothless. Asher was leaning against Hiccup’s worktable with a scowl and his arms crossed. They all looked at him with various emotions as he barged in.

                “Standing right beside you,” Snotlout finished. “Perfect.”

                “You’re looking a little different there, Guster,” Tuffnut observed.

                “Yeah, I’m growing a beard,” Gustav said smugly. He winked at Hiccup, and she couldn’t contain the shudder that ran down her spine.

                “Really?” Let me see,” Tuffnut said running forward. Gustav pointed to a single hair on his chin, and Tuffnut laughed. “Ha! Even Ruff has more hair on her chinny-chin-chin than that.”

                Tuffnut plucked the hair from Gustav’s chin, and he staggered back.

                “Ow!” Gustav said. He stumbled into the storage chest. He hissed in pain, but his attention was drawn by the Dragon Eye Hiccup had placed on top of the chest. “Hey, what’s that thing?”

                Hiccup reached for it, but Gustav held it up and put the Dragon Eye up to his eye. Unfortunately, he chose to look into the end with the glowing lens.

                “Whoa!” Gustav said surprised. He staggered and blinked rapidly as his vision was filled with bright spots. “You see these spots? Some sort of sun sword?”

                “I’ll take that,” Hiccup said roughly. She hurriedly caught the Dragon Eye as he dropped it. Hiccup sighed, and passed it over to Fishlegs as Gustav flailed around. “No, Gustav, it’s not a sun sword.”

                “It’s the Dragon Eye,” Fishlegs explained irritated. “It’s very old and very fragile.”

                “Whoa, these spots,” Gustav said as he continued to move like a drunken sailor. “They’re not going away.”

                Gustav hit the back wall, running right into one of the many tail fins Hiccup had crafted for Toothless. The green tail fin was knocked off the wall, and Toothless leapt to catch it. He crouched on the storage crate below the fins, holding the green fin protectively beneath him. He scowled at the boy as he staggered around.

                “It isn’t something to be touched,” Fishlegs admonished.

                “Relax, Fishlegs,” Gustav said as he absentmindedly drifted closer to the wall again. He ignored Toothless’ warning growl. “I know what I’m doing.”

                He hit the wall, but this time all the tail fins fell. Toothless ducked his head, and growled as Fanghook picked one up to place on his head.

                “Gustav, Gustav, over here,” Snotlout called. When the boy came close, he placed his hand on his helmet to stop him. “When are you leaving?”

                “That’s funny, Snotlout, but I’m not leaving,” Gustav declared. “I’m moving here.”

                The bright dots still danced in his vision as everyone gasped. Tuffnut started to laugh.

                “Yeah, yeah you are,” Tuffnut said jokingly. He slapped Ruffnut on the back. “Imagine…he would never…”

                Tuffnut straightened when he realized how uncomfortable everyone looked.

                “Wait, he’s serious?” Tuffnut asked, surprised. He rolled his eyes. “I’ll get the stake and firewood.”

                “Hold on, hold on,” Hiccup said. “No one is burning anyone at the stake.”

                “Hiccup’s right,” Ruffnut said. “Let’s just throw him off the cliff.”

                “Guys,” Hiccup said putting a hand on her forehead. “I’m sure there’s a simple explanation.” She looked at the flailing Gustav. “Please tell me there’s a simple explanation, Gustav.”

                “Yeah, very simple,” Gustav said, as he rubbed his eyes. “By the way, do not look right into that sun sword thing.”

                He laughed as his vision finally cleared, and then moved to stand with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out.

                “Anyway, you said when I was ready, I could join the Dragon Riders,” Gustav said. “Well, I’m ready and I’m here to join. Where’s my hut?”

                Hiccup stared at him horrified as the other riders turned to her.

                “Umm,” Hiccup said. She tried to think of any excuse she could come up with.

                ‘Of all the times for him to come,’ Hiccup thought exasperated. ‘I just started making some progress with the Dragon Eye, and Gustav of all people shows up. I really can’t deal with his creepy behavior now.’

                “Well, Gustav,” Hiccup began nervously. She froze as he slid up to her.

                “Yes, my Lady?” Gustav asked. Hiccup grimaced as she was sure Gustav believed his tone was smooth when in reality it was just weird.

                “If you think you might be ready, we will need to…check that you’re ready,” Hiccup hurriedly said. The other riders gasped, and Snotlout immediately began to gesture his displeasure behind Gustav’s back.

                “Of course,” Gustav said loftily. “I would be more than happy to show you my many talents.”

                “Right,” Hiccup said. “Well, I am a bit busy at the moment so one of the others will have to…” She scowled as she saw the tail ends of the twins, Fishlegs, and Snotlout run out her door. Asher looked like he wanted to run, but froze as Hiccup made eye contact.

                “Asher!” Hiccup said brightly. “You could start training with Gustav, right?”

                “Hiccup,” Asher growled. Gustav brightened, and puffed out his chest again.

                “That would be awesome!” Gustav said. He crossed his arms and smirked. “Fanghook and I, well, we’re kind of insane. I would be more than happy to show Asher some moves.”

                “Gustav,” Asher said. “Why don’t you go wait outside?”

                “Sure!” Gustav said brightly. He winked at Hiccup. “I’ll see you later, my Lady.”

                Hiccup groaned as he and Fanghook left her hut. She squeaked as Asher marched right up to her.

                “Really Hiccup?” Asher asked, irritably. “Why do I have to watch him?”

                “I would, but I’m making some major breakthroughs with the Dragon Eye,” Hiccup explained.

                “So?” Asher responded shortly.

                “Well, I did promise him that when the time was right, I would train him to be a Dragon Rider,” Hiccup admitted. She sighed. “I just didn’t think that said time would be today.”

                “What am I supposed to do with him in the meantime?” Asher asked.

                “I don’t know,” Hiccup said desperately. “Just keep him occupied.”

                “So I’m a babysitter,” Asher snapped.

                “Babysitter?” Hiccup repeated. “Well, not exactly. He’s what fifteen now? How much trouble could he possibly be?”

                The two heard a thump and some shrieking from outside, and they looked to each other before running outside.

                Smidvarg was lying on his back on the deck outside of Hiccup’s hut. He let out a soft shriek when he saw them.

                “Smidvarg?” Hiccup questioned. She knelt beside the Night Terror as Asher leaned down, putting his hands on his knees. Hiccup cautiously put a hand under Smidvarg, and gently flipped him back over. “What is happening?”

                “Hey Hiccup!”

                Hiccup and Asher looked up to see Fanghook, Gustav on his back, flying around and through the flock of Night Terrors. The poor dragons were desperately trying to both stay together in their giant shape formation and avoid the two. “Did you know they could do this? Awesome!”

                “Please?” Hiccup pleaded with Asher as Smidvarg growled up at Fanghook. “I just need more time.”

                “Fine!” Asher agreed roughly. He mounted Stormfly as she approached. “Gustav, arena, now!”

                Hiccup sighed in relief as they took off, and Gustav and Fanghook followed them. Smidvarg stepped away from her, and Hiccup smiled at him.

                “By the way, your timing is impeccable,” Hiccup complimented. Smidvarg shrieked at her before flying up to join his flock. Hiccup sighed and reentered her hut. She groaned as she saw Toothless trying to put one of his many fallen tail fins back up on the wall.

                Asher scowled down at Gustav as the boy sat in the middle of the training arena. The boy was clearly not listening to a word he was saying, staring off into space with a big, stupid grin on his face.

                ‘He’s probably daydreaming about food or Hiccup,’ Asher thought angrily.

                “Gustav,” Asher said firmly. When the boy didn’t acknowledge him, just continued to daydream, Asher growled. “Gustav!”

                Gustav jumped, and smiled at him. “Hey Asher! I was just dream—”

                “No,” Asher said firmly. “Don’t creep me out. You’re gonna help with target practice. Do you think you can handle that?”

                “Oh, I can handle that,” Gustav said proudly. “Hiccup is going to be so impressed when she sees what I can handle.”

                Asher glared at him, and pointed to the stack of barrels with targets painted on the lids.

                “When I say throw, you throw,” Asher said. Asher shook his head as he mounted Stormfly.

                ‘Hiccup owes me big for this,’ Asher thought. He pushed the anger down to focus on the course as Stormfly expertly navigated through the pillars and targets. As they passed over the arena, he was satisfied to see Gustav was holding one of the target barrels. ‘At least he can do something right.’

                Asher frowned as Stormfly came around, and he saw Gustav had moved to lean on Fanghook with the barrel under his arm, target clearly in Stormfly’s sight.

                “Ok, Gustav throw!” Asher called out as Stormfly began to fly towards Gustav. Asher began to panic as Gustav didn’t pay attention and kept hold of the barrel. Stormfly aimed for the target, and threw some of the spikes from her tail right at Gustav and the target.

                Asher cursed, and quickly threw his axe at the cluster of spikes. His aim was perfect, and the spikes scattered from the target while his axe landed safely in the dirt. Asher jumped from Stormfly as she flew over, and he glared at the still daydreaming boy.

                “And I’m done,” Asher decided.

                “I’m telling you if you get four boars and stack them on top of each other,” Tuffnut explained to Ruffnut as they exited their hut. “That’s a four-boar stack—”

                The twins stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Gustav sitting on a box on the deck in front of their hut with Fanghook lounging beside him. Gustav was smiling down at the deck.

                “What’s he smiling about?” Tuffnut asked.

                “I don’t like it,” Ruffnut said suspiciously.

                “Whatever he’s selling, I’m not buying,” Tuffnut said.

                “Yeah!” Ruffnut agreed. She scowled at Gustav. “We don’t want your cookies.”

                Gustav snapped himself out of his daydream, and trotted over to them.

                “Hey guys,” Gustav greeted. “Asher dropped me off, told me to help out around here.”

                “Yeah? So? What’s it to us?” Ruffnut asked dismissively.

                “You know that big hole under your hut? Filled it in,” Gustav declared proudly.

                “Oh, no,” Tuffnut said fearfully. “He doesn’t mean…”

                Ruffnut gasped in horror, and the twin raced downstairs to their boar pit. Gustav followed them down, and watched as the two saw that he and Fanghook had filled the pit in with large stones.

                “He filled in the boar pit!” Tuffnut cried. He got on his knees, and tried to move some of the rocks out. “Who fills in a boar pit?”

                Tuffnut began to sob, rolling onto his side and hugging his legs.

                “What kind of a monster would fill in a boar pit?” Tuffnut cried. Gustav moved to approach him, but Ruffnut pushed him away.

                “Hey, back off!” Ruffnut snapped. She tearfully fell to her knees beside Tuffnut. “Haven’t you done enough?”

                When Gustav had shown up at his hut, saying the twins had sent him, Fishlegs decided to try to help the boy. He took Gustav and Fanghook to his quiet grotto, and had them join him and Meatlug for meditation.

                Fishlegs directed them to sit on a couple large stones in the water before he sat down beside Meatlug. When they were ready, he closed his eyes and clapped. Meatlug let out a small lava ball, dropping it into the water so a warm steam filled the air.

                “This feels weird, Fishlegs,” Gustav said. He was sitting in the same lotus position Fishlegs was, but felt jittery trying to sit in one place.

                “Trust me, Gustav,” Fishlegs said calmly. He kept his eyes closed and breathed deep. “This is exactly what you need. You’re not centered, you’re all over the place. Shh.”

                He opened his eyes to check on the boy, and gave him a small smile when Gustav peaked at him.

                “Just breathe in, breathe out,” Fishlegs advised. He gave Meatlug a thumbs up as Gustav closed his eye and breathed deeply. “Breathe in, breathe out.”

                Fanghook followed Fishlegs instruction too, but accidentally let loose a small burst of fire on the last exhale. He jumped as a nearby topiary caught fire, and hurriedly batted at it with his wings to try to put it out. The fire spread faster, and Fanghook panicked. He fired at the topiary, and the flames engulfed it entirely, turning the plant into ash.

                “My topiaries!” Fishlegs screamed.

                “I have had enough of you, Gustav!” Snotlout barked as he took the boy to Hiccup’s hut. He opened the door, and pointed Gustav inside. “Stay. Stay.”

                “Uh, Snotlout, your head—” Gustav started to point at the fire on Snotlout’s helmet.

                “Stop!” Snotlout snapped. “I’m not falling for that again.”

                Snotlout stomped out of Hiccup’s hut, and Gustav winced as he heard him screaming a couple seconds later. He shrugged when he heard a splash of water, and turned to look around Hiccup’s hut.

                “Hello? Hiccup?” Gustav called out.

                When she didn’t answer or appear, Gustav shrugged and followed Fanghook to the back wall where Toothless’s tail fins hung. He laughed as he climbed up on the storage chest, and picked up a green fin.

                ‘Hiccup makes all of these herself,’ Gustav thought. He smiled dreamily as he thought of flying through the sky with her and their dragons. ‘Our Heir is so wonderful!’

                He spun around as he laughed in both his dream and reality. He stopped as he lost his balance, and wobbled before he fell off the chest, knocking the clasp on the front as he hit the ground.

                Gustav looked, and hummed as he saw all the items Hiccup had in the storage.

                “Huh, what have we here?” Gustav wondered. He picked up one of Hiccup’s spare legs, and giggled. He bent over, and put it under his own knee.

                “Gee, Gustav,” Gustav said, trying to imitate Hiccup’s voice. “I’m so happy you came here! I’ve been waiting for the day you would become a Dragon Rider!”

                Fanghook laughed as Gustav stood up, and postured.

                “Of course, my Lady Hiccup,” Gustav said pompously. “I could never leave my love out here alone.” He began to hop as he lost his balance. “I am ready to join you my lo—”

                He screamed as Fanghook let out a burst of fire when he accidentally hopped onto his tail. The fire hit one of the hanging tail fins, and set it on fire.

                Gustav hurried to try to put it out, but hitting it with the metal leg didn’t work. Gustav looked around for something else as Fanghook blew on the fin to try to help.

                “Oh, yes!” Gustav said excitedly as he saw the Dragon Eye. He immediately diverted from the small fire to pick up the device. As he did, he saw that a golden orange light, the same color as Fanghook’s flames, was emanating from the mouth of the dragon. When he tilted the Dragon Eye up to point it at the wall, Gustav gasped as a map was projected onto it.

                “Is that…a treasure map?” Gustav jumped and down excitedly. “Oh, Fanghook, we are so in!”

                Fanghook growled in agreement, and Gustav hurriedly made a drawing of the map on a spare bit of parchment he found on Hiccup’s worktable. Once he had a copy, he and Fanghook took off from Dragon’s Edge. He was so excited to go, he didn’t see Hiccup and Toothless running for her hut behind them.

                They flew for a little while before Gustav directed Fanghook to fly lower. The dragon obliged and descended to fly below the clouds. Spotting an island ahead, Gustav pulled out his drawing, and compared it to the image of the island.

                “That’s it, Fanghook,” Gustav said excitedly. “Just like the Dragon Eye said. All we gotta do now is find the cave, grab the treasure, and guess who’s gonna get his own hut on Dragon’s Edge?” Fanghook growled happily. “Uh, Gustav!”

                Fanghook landed on a small beach, and Gustav dismounted. He looked around as he approached the dark opening at the base of the spire like mountains of the island. As he took his first steps in, the earth shook beneath him, and a large rock fell from the ceiling.

                “Uh, I’m not worried,” Gustav said once the tremors had stopped. “Are you worried?”

                Fanghook made a worried sound, but followed Gustav deeper into the cave. Soon the light from outside had disappeared, and Fanghook ignited to brighten the cave. Gustav pulled out his map, and examined it.

                “Which way do we head?” Gustav mused. Another tremor rocked the area, and Gustav flailed as he tried to stay on his feet. He gasped as he accidentally touched the map to Fanghook causing it to catch fire. He tried to blow it out, but was forced to let it go and watch it burn on the ground.

                Gustav cursed under his breath, and frowned at Fanghook. He sighed, and reached into his bag.

                “Good thing we brought this along,” Gustav said cheekily as he pulled out the Dragon Eye. Fanghook rumbled an agreement. Gustav positioned the Dragon Eye to point at the wall. “Fanghook?”

                Fanghook lowered his head, and breathed a low flame. The map appeared on the wall, and Gustav studied it closely.

                “I think we go this way,” Gustav said. He walked away from Fanghook, and didn’t hear the small shifting of the rocks beneath his feet. “It says it’s just up this way.”

                Gustav abruptly stopped as the ground directly ahead of him crumbled away into a deep chasm. He couldn’t stop his forward momentum, and began to fall forward. He nearly screamed, but stopped as his descent was halted by a tug on his back. He glanced over his shoulder to see Fanghook biting the back of his vest.

                Gustav sighed in relief as Fanghook pulled him back up. The dragon sighed, and turned to lead them away from the edge. Gustav took a few steps away, reaching for the Dragon Eye in his vest pocket. He froze as he remembered he hadn’t put it away, and turned around to see the device rolling for the edge of the chasm.

                “No, no, no, no!” Gustav cried. He scrambled to grab the Dragon Eye, and jumped down to grab it while holding onto the edge with his other hand. He sighed in relief.

                “A little help here, Fanghook?” Gustav called. He began to panic as his fingers slipped. “A little help?”

                He gasped as he fell, but sagged in relief as his wrist was grabbed. He looked down into the dark as he was pulled back up. He sighed as he knelt on the edge, and jerked as he looked up to see Hiccup standing over him with Toothless and Fanghook at her back.

                “Hiccup!” Gustav said, surprised. Hiccup glared down at him with her hands on her hips. Gustav laughed nervously. “I can explain.”

Later at Dragon’s Edge

                Gustav sulked on the edge of the circular table in the center of the clubhouse. Fanghook was lying down beside the table as the other Dragon Riders stood at the sides of the room. Hiccup soon came in, a glare on her face and Toothless behind her.

                “Of all the irresponsible, insubordinate—”

                “Don’t forget idiotic, imbecilic, inane,” Tuffnut recited. He stopped when the others stared at him. “What? I’ve heard a lot of word for ‘stupid’. I mean, come on, people say that more than my proper name.”

                “Of all those kinds of stunts you could have pulled, this was the worst,” Hiccup continued. “Do you know what Dagur would do to get his hands on the Dragon Eye?”

                “I just thought if I came back here with the treasure, you guys would accept me,” Gustav explained desperately.

                “First of all, there is no treasure,” Hiccup said angrily. “Second of all, we’ve already been there. That entire island is honeycombed with the most unstable caverns we’ve ever encountered.”

                “I’m sorry,” Gustav said pleadingly. “I just—”

                “You could’ve been killed, Gustav,” Hiccup interrupted. She bent over so she could look him dead in the eye. “Do you understand that? You could’ve died. Fanghook could’ve been killed.”

                Hiccup sighed, and straightened up to pace.

                “This isn’t Berk, Gustav,” Hiccup said heatedly. “The rules are different out here. You have to be smarter than this.”

                “I just wanted to prove myself,” Gustav argued, crossing his arms.

                “You have,” Hiccup said. “You have proven that you are not responsible enough, you’re not mature enough, and you’re not trustworthy enough to be one of us.”

                Hiccup sighed as Gustav lowered his head.

                “It’s been a long day,” Hiccup said. “We all need to get some rest. We’ll talk more about this in the morning.”

                The Dragon Riders filed out, and Hiccup followed. Gustav glanced up at her when she paused at the door. She looked at him, and then shook her in disappointment before she left.

                Gustav sat in the clubhouse until long after the sun had set. Hearing Fanghook’s stomach growl he walked him over to the deck outside the stable, and got a bucket of fish from inside. He pulled a stool over to Fanghook, and sat down. He pouted as he grabbed one of the fish, and tossed it to Fanghook.

                “Talk about it in the morning,” Gustav grumbled. He scowled as he grabbed another fish. “Like there’s anything left to say.”

                Fanghook growled as he swallowed down the fish.

                “That’s right! It’s not fair!” Gustav complained. “I did everything they asked. I shoveled dragon poop for two years without a single complaint.” He began to pace, not noticing Fanghook following him for the fish in his hand. “For what? For her to look at me all disappointed. So they can tell me I’m not good enough?”

                Gustav stopped and stared out over the water angrily.

                “Well, I am good enough. We’re good enough,” Gustav said firmly. He passed the fish over to Fanghook. “And someday they’ll find that out, but it’ll be too late.”

                He turned, and got onto Fanghook’s saddle.

                “We’re leaving,” Gustav decided. Fanghook growled, and took off from the deck flying out into the night. Gustav glanced back at Dragon’s Edge, and his frown morphed into a glare. He turned back around, and prompted Fanghook to go faster.

                Gustav was quiet as they flew over the ocean.

                ‘I can’t believe she thinks I’m not ready to be a Dragon Rider,’ Gustav thought angrily. ‘They didn’t see how much I helped. I could help them! They still think I’m just some kid.’

                “They’re gonna be so sorry when they wake up in the morning, and see that we’re gone,” Gustav said with satisfaction. “Once they realize that we’re missing, they’re gonna be begging us to come back to Dragon’s Edge.”

                Fanghook looked up at him, and rumbled comfortingly.

                “Those huts were lame anyway,” Gustav scoffed. “I can’t wait to get to back to my—”

                Gustav yelled as he saw a large net flying their way from a ship down below.

                “Whoa! Fanghook, dive!” Gustav yelled. Fanghook dodged the net, and Gustav let out a mocking laugh. “Ha ha! Missed!”

                Gustav and Fanghook both screamed as they shot another at them, and Fanghook couldn’t avoid it. The net wrapped around them, and they began to plummet towards the water. Gustav grabbed his knife, and frantically began to try to cut through the ropes. He screamed as they hit the water.

                “Ha ha! We captured a Dragon Rider,” Savage said proudly. Dagur turned to him with a grin, and eagerly made his way down the deck.

                “Which one is it?” Dagur asked excitedly. “Oh, I sure hope it’s my little sister Hiccup.”

                Dagur paused and shrugged. “Or I suppose one of the four boys would do.”

                “Don’t you mean the three boys and the other girl?” Savage asked, confused.

                “Hiccup’s not the only girl?” Dagur responded. Dagur shook his head with a grin, and pushed through his men crowding around the net they had hauled up onto the deck. He frowned as he saw they had already packed a dragon into the cage, and a little boy was sitting beside it pouting.

                “This is not one of Hiccup’s Dragon Riders,” Dagur said, irritated. He pushed Savage away, and glared at the boy. “Who are you?”

                “Larsen, Gustav Larsen,” Gustav said bravely. “And that’s all you’re getting out of me.”

                “Hmm,” Dagur shrugged. “Fine, feed him to the eels.”

                “But I know Hiccup, I know the Dragon Riders,” Gustav said rapidly, as two of the Berserkers grabbed him and dragged towards the railing. His voice became high pitched as they picked him up to throw him overboard. “And I have information!”

                Dagur held up a hand, and his men dropped the boy down onto the deck.

                “Oh?” Dagur asked. He approached Gustav, and grabbed his jaw with one hand. “What kind of information?”

                “I can get you the Dragon Eye,” Gustav mumbled.

                “And what’s the Dragon Eye?” Dagur asked.

                “That,” Gustav said pointedly looking over Dagur’s shoulder. Dagur let him go, and turned to see Gustav was looking at the sketch of the device Hiccup had taken. “That’s the Dragon Eye.”

                “Oh,” Dagur said happily. He chuckled madly. He turned back to the kid, and laughed as he flinched. “Alright, Gustav. Why don’t we take this below deck to discuss this?”

                “O-okay,” Gustav agreed nervously. The boy shakily stood, and Dagur put an arm around his shoulders.

                “Put together a meal for my new friend here,” Dagur ordered his men. “Lay out a spread on the table below. I’m sure Gustav is hungry after such a journey.”

                “I-I am,” Gustav said. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t eaten since I left the Dragon Riders.”

                “Oh? Why did you leave them?” Dagur asked. He put on as sincere a smile as he could muster, but on the inside he was howling with glee.

                “I… I might’ve used the Dragon Eye without Hiccup’s permission,” Gustav admitted.

                “That’s it?” Dagur asked. He shrugged as he guided Gustav to the door to go below deck. “She is really uptight about her things, isn’t she?”

                “Wait!” Gustav abruptly stopped. Dagur scowled as Gustav looked back at his dragon stuck in the cage. “What about Fanghook?”

                Dagur groaned. “Fine, release the dragon.”

                The dragon immediately scrambled over to the boy once the door had opened. Dagur stepped back as the two collided with each other, and tumbled straight down the stairs.

                ‘I think I can see the other reasons Hiccup might’ve kicked you out,’ Dagur thought. He smirked as he descended the stairs to help the boy. ‘But I know you Hiccup. No matter how annoying this kid is, you’ll come to help him.’

                Gustav gasped in delight at the feast his men had laid out on the table. The boy ran to the chair at the far end, and his dragon followed to curl up in the space behind him. Dagur took his own seat at the opposite end, Savage at his back. After a few minutes of letting the boy gorge himself, occasionally throwing food to his dragon, Dagur smiled.

                “So, are you enjoying your meal?” Dagur asked.

                Gustav nodded happily.

                “Good, good, good,” Dagur said, taking his own piece of chicken. He slowly cut into it. “So, here’s the plan. We’ll draw Hiccup and the Night Fury into the open, neutralize the other riders, and seize the Dragon Eye by lethal force.” He slammed his knife into the table and chuckled. “As if there is any other type of force. I mean, really, come on. Then the Dragon Eye will be mine.”

                “Yeah, that’s one way to do it,” Gustav said leaning back in his chair. “And you might get the Dragon Eye. Or Hiccup could crush you like every other time you faced off against her.”

                Dagur gestured for Savage to stand down, though he himself wanted to strangle the boy.

                “Mm,” Dagur mused. “You have a better idea, Gustav?”

                “Can you hand me the sauce, please?” Gustav asked. Savage rolled his eyes, and took the sauce down to the boy. “I do, one that will guarantee Hiccup delivers the Dragon Eye right to us.”

                “I do have one question,” Dagur said. He leaned forward on the table, and stared Gustav right in the eyes. “Why? Why would you betray Hiccup and the other riders?”

                Gustav looked down, and pushed the food on his plate around.

                “I…I wanted to be a Dragon Rider,” Gustav said slowly. “Ever since I saw Hiccup and her friends flying over Berk, being heroes. I knew I was ready, and I was helping them, but Hiccup yelled at me. She said I was too immature, that she couldn’t trust me!”

                The boy seemed to deflate in the chair.

                “That really hurt,” Gustav admitted. “It really hurt because I lov—”

                Gustav clamped his mouth shut, and looked up alarmed, but Dagur only gave him an encouraging smile.

                “You care about Hiccup?” Dagur asked gently. Inside he was laughing madly. The idea of this kid having a crush on Hiccup was hysterical.

                Gustav nodded. “She looked so disappointed…”

                Dagur hissed in sympathy. “Oh, the disappointed look. Yeah, that’ll do it.”

                “She hurt me,” Gustav said. Dagur smirked as the boy glared down at his plate. “She hurt me, and I…I want to hurt her.”

               “More mutton thigh, friend?” Dagur asked with a satisfied smile. Gustav looked up at him, and nodded.

               ‘This is too rich,’ Dagur thought to himself. ‘Breaking this brat’s heart? I didn’t know you had it in you Hiccup. I’m kinda proud if I’m being honest with myself.’ Dagur smirked wickedly. ‘This little brat is going to give me everything I need to get everything I want from you Hiccup.’

Back at Dragon’s Edge

                Hiccup sighed, dejected as Toothless landed back at the base in the arena. They had been searching everywhere for Gustav since they had realized he was gone.

                ‘I hope he’s ok,’ Hiccup thought as she dismounted. She turned to the others, and sighed as she could tell none of them had good news. ‘I just hope he hasn’t hurt himself or Fanghook.’

                “Anything?” Hiccup asked the others.

                “I checked the clubhouse, your hut, even the stables,” Asher replied. “He’s not there.”

                “Well, nothing else is on fire around here,” Fishlegs observed with a small amount of humor. “So he must be gone.”

                “Well, we have to find him,” Hiccup insisted.

                “Or do we?” Tuffnut replied cheekily.

                “Yeah,” Snotlout snapped. “Why are we worried? Shouldn’t we be celebrating the fact that he’s gone?”

                “Not until we know he’s safe,” Hiccup said firmly.

                “Well, we could ask Fanghook,” Ruffnut suggested.

                “And how do you suppose we do that, Ruffnut?” Snotlout asked.

                “Turn around,” Ruffnut smirked.

                They all looked behind Snotlout to see the purple Monstrous Nightmare flying towards them. He landed roughly, and panted in exhaustion. Toothless quickly approached him, and sniffed. He growled at the dragon, but stopped as Tuffnut walked over to the tired dragon.

                “Fanghook, where’s Gustav, boy? Where’s Gustav?” Tuffnut asked. Fanghook only groaned in response, and Tuffnut threw up his hands. “Ah! He’s not talking, you guys. He’s completely shut down. Typical.”

                Fanghook snarled and made several distressed noises.

                “Hey, hey, Fanghook,” Hiccup said soothingly as she cautiously approached. She walked to the dragon holding up her hands. “It’s okay. Easy, boy, easy.”

                Fanghook lowered himself to lie on the ground as Hiccup touched him on the nose, and gently guided him down. She looked him over with a critical eye.

                “Well, doesn’t look like he’s injured,” Hiccup said.

                “But he’s definitely upset,” Fishlegs added. He gasped and pointed. “You guys, look!”

                Hiccup followed his finger to see a scroll tied to the base of Fanghook’s horn. Hiccup grabbed it, and scanned it over.

                “Dagur,” Hiccup said, alarmed. “He wants to make a trade. The Dragon Eye for Gustav.”

                “Oh you gotta be kidding me,” Snotlout said irritably. “He went and got captured by Dagur?!”

                “You can’t be seriously thinking about going, are you?” Asher asked.

                “I don’t see any other option,” Hiccup said. She rolled up the note, and quickly exited the arena.

                ‘This is all my fault,’ Hiccup thought as she ran up to her hut. ‘If I hadn’t been so harsh on him last night, maybe he wouldn’t have left.’ She took the Dragon Eye from her storage chest, and sighed. ‘Thor only knows what Dagur is doing to him. Gustav is annoying, but he’s just a kid. He doesn’t deserve that.’

                Hiccup ran back to the arena, and found Toothless waiting for her on the grass outside. He watched as she packed the scroll and the Dragon Eye into his saddle bag.

                “I don’t like this, Hiccup,” Asher said. He and the others stood a few feet away.

                “Well, we have no choice,” Hiccup replied.

                “You sure we have no choice?” Tuffnut asked. “Like, none? Zip? Zilch?”

                “This is all my fault anyway,” Hiccup said morosely. “I never even gave the kid a chance.”

                Hiccup pulled the Dragon Eye back out, and stared down at it.

                “If I wasn’t so busy tinkering with this thing, I don’t know, maybe I could’ve kept him busy,” Hiccup said.

                “Uh, yeah, nobody can keep Gustav busy,” Fishlegs pointed out.

                Asher quickly approached her as Hiccup got into the saddle.

                “At least let us back you up out there,” Asher insisted.

                “Dagur was very clear,” Hiccup said, “I have to come alone. We don’t know what he’ll do to Gustav if I don’t follow his demands to the letter. No, we can’t risk it.”

                “Hiccup…” Asher said softly. “This isn’t your fault.”

                Hiccup sighed and looked down.

                “I know that you feel that way, but none of this is your fault,” Asher continued. “We all took turns pawning him off on each other, he did something stupid, and you reprimanded him for it. You did what you were supposed to do as the leader.”

                Hiccup shook her head. “I feel like I was too harsh on him.”

                “Too harsh?” Asher repeated. “Uh, no. That kid needed to hear that. You want to see too harsh, picture what your father would’ve done to him if he had pulled the same crap with him.”

                Hiccup smirked thinking of all the lectures she had over the years for all the trouble she caused as a kid. “It’s not that hard to picture.”

                “You weren’t wrong Hiccup,” Asher whispered. Hiccup looked at him. “You said what you said because even though he is an annoying little prick, you still care about him. That’s why I know that you’ll be a great Chief.”

                Hiccup smiled at him, and nodded. He nodded, and stepped back.

                “I’ll be careful,” Hiccup assured him. “I promise.”

                Toothless took off with Fanghook following close behind. Asher and the other riders watched them go until they were out of sight.

                Toothless let Fanghook take the lead, and the dragon led them to a very familiar area.

                ‘Why is Dagur back in the ship graveyard?’ Hiccup thought confused. ‘What would he want here?’

                Hiccup put the thought out of her mind as she spotted Dagur’s ship amongst the wrecks. She spotted Savage pointing them out, and the two dragons glided to land on the deck at the bow of the ship. Toothless snarled at the Berserkers, and Hiccup scanned the deck for Gustav.

                “Fanghook!”

                Gustav ran out past Dagur, and Fanghook ran forward to meet him. Gustav hugged his dragon around the neck.

                “I was worried about you, boy” Gustav said, relieved.

                “Aww, dragon and Dragon Rider love,” Dagur cooed. He scowled. “Makes me want to hurl.”

                Toothless growled, and Hiccup looked around to see that Dagur had placed archers everywhere around them.

                “Yeah, I see them, bud,” Hiccup said. “Gustav, are you okay?”

                Gustav nodded, and Dagur roughly pushed past the kid to approach.

                “That’s close enough, Dagur,” Hiccup said holding up a hand as Toothless tensed beneath her.

                “Oh, wow. Where’s the trust?” Dagur mockingly asked as he stopped. “After all we’ve been through together?”

                Hiccup didn’t respond, and just stared him down.

                “No? Nothing?” Dagur asked surprised. “No Hiccupy barbs, quips, snappy comebacks? But I really love those. We’ve developed such a nice shorthand, you and I.”

                “Dagur, let’s just get on with this,” Hiccup said firmly. “Send them over.”

                “You first,” Dagur teased. Hiccup didn’t move, and Dagur put his hands on his hips as he grinned. “You have no choice. One false move and my men will take out you, the Night Fury and the kid! So roll it over and I’ll let him go.”

                Hiccup glanced at Gustav, and saw him shift nervously behind Dagur. She slowly dismounted from the saddle, but kept a hand on Toothless as she grabbed the Dragon Eye from her bag. She rolled it over to Dagur, and scowled as he stopped it with his foot.

                “Oh,” Dagur said excitedly as he picked it up. “It really is one beautiful artifact. And I hear it can be very useful to those who possess it? Hmm? Is that true?”

                “Gustav, let’s go,” Hiccup called. “It’s okay.”

                Toothless called out to him as well, but Gustav didn’t move. In fact, Hiccup was surprised to see him look down and rub the back of his helmet.

                “Yeah, about that, Hiccup,” Gustav said. “I’ve been treated much better by these guys than I ever was treated by you and the Dragon Riders.”

                Dagur laughed manically. “Oh! And the plot thickens.”

                “Gustav,” Hiccup said warningly.

                “You could’ve given me a chance, you know?” Gustav said hotly. “All you guys ever did was tell me I wasn’t good enough, tell me I didn’t belong. Well, I belong here.”

                “Gustav, you have no idea what you’re getting into,” Hiccup warned.

                “Oh yes, I do, Hiccup,” Gustav said smugly. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

                “Awkward!” Dagur interjected as he marched back to Gustav. “Well, I’d say your work is finished here, little sister. Ordinarily, this is where I would double-cross you and fill you full of arrows, but the kid is squeamish. He made me promise to let you go, and in return, he’s gonna take me to a treasure.”

                “That’s right, Hiccup,” Gustav said loudly. “We have the Dragon Eye and Fanghook’s fire. And you know what that means. Untold treasure awaits.”

                ‘I do know what that means,’ Hiccup thought as she stared at Gustav. ‘And I know you understand what it means now too. Damn it Gustav. This is so risky.’

                Hiccup didn’t say a word, and got back on Toothless.

                “You are going to regret this,” Hiccup said.

                “I don’t think so, Hiccup,” Gustav said happily.

                Hiccup prompted Toothless to take off, and glanced back to see Dagur watching as Gustav danced happily with Fanghook. She patted Toothless on the head.

                “Come on, bud,” Hiccup said. “We need to be ready.”

                Back on the ship, Dagur smirked at how well everything had worked out.

                “You know,” Dagur told Savage. “I’m actually gonna feel bad when I kill this kid.”

                Dagur fidgeted impatiently as Gustav guided them to an island of tall stone mountains. It took some time, but they finally arrived and set foot on shore. He scowled as the kid stopped outside of a dark cave entrance, and marched up to him as his men began to come ashore.

                “This is it,” Gustav announced.

                “Why are we stopping?” Dagur demanded.

                “No reason,” Gustav shrugged. “I was just kind of impressed that you trusted your men enough to show them exactly where the treasure is hidden.”

                Gustav covered his hand with his mouth and mumbled, “Especially when there’s so much of it.”

                “Stay here,” Dagur ordered Savage and the others.

                “Why?” Savage asked.

                “Oh, uh, let’s see,” Dagur said lightly. “I don’t know. Maybe because I SAID SO!”

                Savage flinched back as Dagur stormed off to join Gustav and his dragon at the cave entrance.

                “Good idea, sir,” Savage said placatingly. “We’ll stay here.”

                Dagur scowled as he reached Gustav, and passed him the Dragon Eye.

                “Fanghook, slow burn,” Gustav told his dragon as held the device in front of him. Fanghook let out a low flame into the Dragon Eye, and Dagur smiled as it projected a golden red map on the cave wall.

                “Ah, I see,” Dagur said. “You outdid yourself, Hiccup. I love this thing.”

                Gustav led the way, using the Dragon Eye to illuminate the path. They hadn’t gone very far before a rough tremor shook the area around them.

                “Uh, so, does that happen a lot?” Dagur asked nervously.

                “You get used to it,” Gustav quipped as he kept walking.

                They marched onward through more caverns, and Dagur felt himself getting impatient.

                “Are we there yet?” Dagur asked.

                “We’re close,” Gustav assured him. “Very close.”

                “Good,” Dagur responded darkly. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

                ‘I’ll take it from here you little brat,’ Dagur thought as he reached for Gustav.

                Gustav suddenly whipped around, and pointed the Dragon Eye right into Dagur’s face. Dagur cursed as the bright light shone directly into his eyes. He closed his eyes, and swung his arms around as Gustav and Fanghook fled. Dagur blinked his eyes open when the pain receded.

                “Oh, bright light, bright light,” Dagur said alarmed. His vision was filled with numerous bright spots. He shook his head, and smiled.

                ‘Not bad, kid,’ Dagur thought. ‘Sneaky, underhanded. It’s a shame I’m gonna kill ya.’

                “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Dagur called out as he made his way forward. He blinked to try to clear his vision, and in the meantime kept his ears sharp. He stopped as he felt the ground tremble, and blinked rapidly as the ground split apart in front of him. He laughed, and jumped across landing lightly on his feet.

                Dagur looked up and grinned as he was able to see a glow coming from behind some rocks. He crept up to the side, and saw Gustav cowering behind them clutching the Dragon Eye. The kid was trying to cover the light emanating from the dragon’s mouth, but it still made him so easy to spot. Dagur crept around as Gustav craned his neck to look around the rock.

                “Gotcha!” Dagur said satisfied as jumped in front of the kid.

                “No.”

               Dagur whipped around, and scowled seeing Hiccup and Toothless standing beside Fanghook.

               “We’ve got you,” Hiccup said. Toothless had his mouth open, the purple glow of his plasma fire bright in the back of his throat. Hiccup nodded at Gustav. “Good work, Gustav.”

               Hiccup smirked as Dagur glared at her.

                “Oh, what’s the matter Dagur?” Hiccup asked mockingly. “No barbs, no comebacks? I thought we had a shorthand; I thought you loved that stuff.”

                Dagur grinned, and then whipped around to grab Gustav’s arm. He took the Dragon Eye from his hand before throwing the kid at Hiccup and the dragons. Toothless had to douse his fire as Gustav spun in the line of fire before hitting the ground.

                Dagur laughed as he tossed the Dragon Eye in his hand.

                “Dagur, hand over the Dragon Eye,” Hiccup demanded.

                “I don’t think so,” Dagur said.

                “I’m not asking,” Hiccup replied. Toothless powered up, and fired a plasma blast at the ground between them and Dagur. The earth blew apart, and a deep chasm opened.

                “Oh, it’s a long way down, isn’t it?” Dagur observed. He jumped to the side as Toothless fired another bolt at his feet,

                “Dagur, you’ve got nowhere to run,” Hiccup warned. “It’s over.”

                “It’s over? Really?” Dagur asked mockingly. He held the Dragon Eye out over the chasm, and after a pause dropped it. “Whoops.”

                “Oh no!” Gustav cried lunging for the chasm.

                “Gustav!” Hiccup screamed as the kid jumped after the Dragon Eye.

                Dagur laughed as Toothless dove in after the kid, and took the chance to flee.

                Hiccup focused on Gustav as they dove. She spotted him just ahead as he grabbed the Dragon Eye. The kid twisted in the air, and screamed up at them.

                “Hiccup!”

                “There Toothless!” Hiccup pointed. Toothless dived down, and then spread his wings to slow as they were right on top of the boy. Hiccup reached out, and grasped Gustav’s arm. “We got you, Gustav.”

                Hiccup pulled him up into the saddle behind her, and looked up as rocks rained down on them.

                “Let’s get out of here,” Hiccup said. Toothless pumped his wings to fly up, but snarled as a large rock dislodged from the ceiling and fell towards them. It clipped his wing, flipping him over and sending all three of them plummeting.

                Hiccup screamed, and twisted in the air. She managed to flip herself over and spotted Toothless falling below her.

                “Toothless!” Hiccup yelled. The Night Fury tried to slow his fall or get into a gliding position, but with no control over his tailfin he was having difficulty. Hiccup pulled her arms to her side to dive down to him, “Don’t worry, bud.”

                Toothless cried out as he continued to fall, and Hiccup had to dive twice more to reach him. She quickly got into the saddle, and snapped her leg into place. Toothless quickly corrected his fall, and rose back up just as they had been about to hit the ground.

                Hiccup sighed in relief, and pet Toothless’s neck.

                “I’m gonna have to come up with something in case that happens to us again,” Hiccup commented.

                Toothless’s eyes widened as Gustav went screaming by them, and quickly dove back down after the boy. He pulled up, and sighed as Fanghook flew under Gustav, and caught the boy on his back.

                “Fanghook!” Gustav cheered. “Thanks, boy.”

                The carven shook violently around them. The dragons looked up, and saw that the opening above them was caving in. They dove through another hole in the ground, following the tunnel into another cavern.

                The two riders sighed in relief as the dragons landed. The tunnel behind them filled with rock, but the cavern they had arrived in wasn’t trembling.

                “You okay?” Hiccup asked Gustav.

                “Yeah,” Gustav said hurriedly. He looked at her apologetically. “Hiccup, I’m really sorry.”

                “I’m sorry, too, Gustav,” Hiccup apologized. “You’re still irresponsible, immature and reckless, but the way you handled yourself with Dagur, maybe you do have what it takes to be a Dragon Rider someday.”

                “Someday?” Gustav repeated. He thought about it, and shrugged. “I will take someday.”

                The carven shook around them, and the dragons growled.

                “What do you say you and me find a way out of here?” Hiccup asked. Gustav nodded, and Fanghook moved forward towards a possible exit. As he did, Hiccup spotted a small wooden chest placed on a stalagmite.

                Hiccup dismounted, and cautiously walked over. She picked up the chest, and opened the lid. She gasped at what she found inside as Toothless looked over her shoulder.

                “What the Thor is this?” Hiccup breathed. The cavern shook again, and Hiccup quickly closed the chest, and held it tight as she got back on Toothless. “Let’s go, bud.”

                Toothless hurried after Fanghook, and the two dragons quickly found their way out of the caverns. Hiccup held the chest firmly as they raced into the sky and back to Dragon’s Edge.

                The twins on lookout spotted them approaching, and signaled to the others. They gathered in the grass as Fanghook and Toothless descended.

                Gustav hung back as the other riders welcomed Hiccup back. He glanced down as Asher put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. Gustav put his hands on his hips, and looked back up as Hiccup approached.

                “Gustav—” Hiccup began. Gustav waved a hand dismissively.

                “I can’t stay,” Gustav said smoothly. “My mom would kill me. She usually notices I’ve been gone after about three days. It was great to see you all, but she needs me.”

                Hiccup smiled and shook her head.

                “We’ll see you back in Berk,” Hiccup said. “Fly safe.”

                Gustav nodded, and saluted the others before he turned to Fanghook.

                “All right, Fanghook,” Gustav said, climbing into his saddle. “Let’s go. You take care, my Lady. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

                Hiccup shook her head again, and turned to the others. She adjusted the chest in her arms, and opened it.

                “What’s that?” Asher asked.

                “Oh, just something I found at the bottom of that cave,” Hiccup said. She pulled out a Dragon Eye lens from the chest, and held it up. It was another lens with a silvery-blue metal ring.

                “Oh, a new lens,” Fishlegs said excitedly.

                “Yeah, there was treasure in those caves after all,” Hiccup said. “The Dragon Eye was giving us clues on how to find it all along. We just weren’t looking in the right place.”

                “And if there’s one of these out there that means there has to be more,” Fishlegs declared. He jumped excitedly.

                “Huh,” Asher said amused. “And to think, we never would’ve found that without Gustav.”

                “Awesome, so let’s just tell Gustav,” Hiccup teased.

                Everyone immediately protested, and Hiccup laughed loudly before waving goodbye to Gustav. The others happily waved the boy away on his journey back to Berk, far away from them.

Chapter Text

                Fishlegs scanned the forest below him closely as he and Meatlug conducted the first annual census of the island’s dragon populations. He was so happy that Hiccup had agreed with him that it was a good idea, and hadn’t wasted any time getting started. Fishlegs perked up as he spotted another Night Terror sleeping in the trees.

                “Okay,” Fishlegs said, making another mark on his parchment. “That’s 542…43. Oh, there’s one hiding under that tree trunk!”

                The Night Terror happily screeched up at them as they hovered by.

                “I see you little guy,” Fishlegs waved. “You’re 544.”

                Fishlegs smiled down at Meatlug as he held in the urge to bounce happily.

                “Isn’t this exciting, girl?” Fishlegs said excitedly. “The first annual Dragon’s Edge census. Once we get all these Night Terrors counted, we move on to the Gronckles.”

                Meatlug happily snarled, and did a happy shimmy beneath him. Fishlegs laughed as he held onto his helmet and parchment,

                “Maybe you’ll make some new friends!” Fishlegs suggested. Spotting a clearing down below, Fishlegs nudged Meatlug to land. Fishlegs was pleased to see more Night Terrors scattered around the area.

                “Okay, there’s a big flock,” Fishlegs said. He glanced between the dragons and his parchment as he counted. “575, 576…”

                Fishlegs paused as a small, glowing body landed on his parchment. He squinted, and saw that it was a Fireworm dragon. It was just an average one with the usual glowing flame-colored scales, multiple pairs of legs, and the white eyes glowing within their large head.

                “Oh, hello,” Fishlegs greeted. He quickly screamed and dropped it and the parchment as the heat of the Fireworms body caused the paper to burst into flames. Fishlegs tripped, and fell back as the small dragon flew off. Meatlug grumbled at him in concern.

                “What is a Fireworm doing this far out?” Fishlegs asked as Meatlug helped him back on his feet. “They aren’t supposed to be anywhere near our island.”

                Fishlegs shrugged and pulled another parchment out of his saddle bag.

                “It could’ve just lost its way,” Fishlegs dismissed. “Now where were we, Meatlug? Was it 576, or was it 675?”

                Fishlegs froze as he heard a crackling and smelt smoke. He looked behind him to see another Fireworm dragon perched on a fully enflamed bush.

                “Whoa!” Fishlegs cried. He ran forward, and tried to use the rolled-up parchment to beat the fire down as the little dragon flew away. He sighed in relief as the bush fire went out, but yelped as he had to drop his now flaming parchment.

                ‘I got to warn the others,’ Fishlegs thought frantically.

                Meatlug flew them back to base as fast as she could, and soon they were flying over the island with the other riders.

                “It began with one Fireworm,” Fishlegs explained as they glided over several small fires. “And as we were flying back, we kept seeing more and more.”

                “Do you think they’re migrating?” Asher suggested.

                “If they were migrating, the whole island would be on fire,” Hiccup said, thinking of how big a full flock of Fireworms with their Queen was.

                “Not necessarily,” Fishlegs said.

                “Oh, here we go!” Snotlout said, knowing a Fishlegs knowledge drop when he saw one.

                “When Fireworms migrate, they send out scouts to see if their migration route is safe,” Fishlegs explained. “If this is a stop along that route—”

                “An entire flock of Fireworms could be coming through here,” Asher finished.

                “Well, I say bring ‘em on!” Tuffnut said confidently. “I love those little scorchers.”

                “Are you still gonna love them when they all land here and burn our entire island to the ground?” Hiccup asked.

                “Yes!” Tuffnut replied. Ha paused. “Wait, no. Wait, is that a trick question? Because it’s pretty tricky.”

                “Fishlegs, how much time do we have?” Asher asked.

                “It’s hard to say,” Fishlegs said. “If it’s a full migration, the rest of them could be here as soon as next week.”

                “Ha! Good to know,” Snotlout said. He pulled back on Hookfang, making the dragon stop. “It’s been nice knowing you, island. Snotlout is outlout!”

                “We’re not abandoning the island, Snotlout,” Hiccup admonished as Snotlout turned Hookfang around to fly away. Hiccup pulled on Toothless’s saddle, and he turned to circle around Hookfang.

                “Uh, yeah, we are. Watch,” Snotlout objected. Hookfang stopped with a jerk as Toothless got in front of him, and hovered in place.

                “Guys, we put too much hard work into this place to just leave,” Hiccup said, knowing everyone was listening. “Snotlout is not outlout. We’re staying. Now let’s get to work.”

                “Fine!” Snotlout said irritably. “But I still like my plan better.”

                The gang quickly divided up tasks to help prepare and protect the island and base as best they could. When they finished their tasks they went to the clubhouse to meet up again.

                “Okay, Asher, you and Fishlegs filled the watering troughs, right?” Hiccup asked.

                “Yep!” Asher confirmed. “Topped off all the barrels too.”

                “I found a perfect cave for the Night Terrors,” Fishlegs said. “High enough and desolate enough so the flames won’t get near them.”

                “Perfect. Good job, guys,” Hiccup said. She glanced down at her parchment, and looked around. “Now, if the twins would finally get back, we can find out what they’ve done.”

                “Oh, I can tell you what they’ve done,” Snotlout said. “Zero, zip, zilch. I’m forgetting something…Oh, yeah, goose egg!”

                “Oh contrary, my fine fellow,” Tuffnut interjected. They looked to see him and Ruffnut standing in the door with smug looks on their faces. “We have done quite a lot actually.”

                “Did you clear the brush?” Hiccup asked.

                “Uh, no,” Tuffnut awkwardly replied.

                “Build a fire break?”

                “Nope, not that,” Ruffnut replied lightly.

                “How about water?” Asher asked. “Did you bring any back?”

                “Couldn’t. Too busy,” Tuffnut responded.

                “Busy with what?” Hiccup asked, exasperated.

                “Finding something awesome,” Ruffnut replied proudly. “Follow us, and prepare to be amazed!”

                The other riders glanced at one another before following the twins. The twins took them almost all the way around the island before they landed at the edge of a cliff. Set in the grass atop the cliff was a large stone with writing carved into it.

                “Behold!” Ruffnut announced. “We call it the Namey Rock.”

                “And why is that?” Asher asked.

                “Duh, cause it has our name all over it,” Tuffnut replied. “Cool, huh?”

                “Oh yeah,” Snotlout said, faking excitement. He scowled. “I mean, no. Man, you two are completely ridiculous.”

                “Ridiculous? Perhaps,” Ruffnut conceded. “But answer me this, where’s your Namey rock?”

                Snotlout groaned and pinched the top of his nose in frustration. The twins laughed and headbutted each other.

                “Uh, Hiccup,” Fishlegs said. He looked up from his examination of the rock. “You might want to come take a closer look at this. I think it’s a claim stone.”

                Hiccup moved to the stone, and examined the text carved into it.

                “I, Magmar Thorston,” Hiccup read aloud. “Hereby claim this island in my name and the name of all my family present and future, for ever and ever.”

                “And what else?” Tuffnut prompted.

                “And ever apparently,” Hiccup finished.

                “Long lost great Uncle Magmar,” Tuffnut cried happily. “Oh my Thor! Wasn’t he the one who could pass an entire cod through one nostril?”

                “And debone it at the same time,” Ruffnut added. “It’s really a lost art.”

                “People just don’t appreciate the craftsmanship,” Tuffnut said sadly.

                “Oh come on!” Snotlout said dismissively. “That stone is a fake. It’s so obvious that these two made it up.”

                “I don’t think so,” Fishlegs objected. He pointed to the text. “For one thing, everything is spelled correctly.”

                Snotlout deflated.

                “Okay, you may have a point,” Snotlout said dejected.

                “Let me get this straight,” Asher said. “These two own this island?”

                “It would appear that way,” Fishlegs said.

                The twins cheered.

                “In your face!” Tuffnut cried.

                “We are so in charge of this place!” Ruffnut said happily.

                “Whoo-hoo!” Tuffnut cheered. “Preach sister!”

                “Well, according to this stone—” Ruffnut began dramatically. Tuffnut covered her mouth.

                “That was a rhetorical preach,” Tuffnut said. He glanced away from her, and spotted Snotlout walking to Hookfang. “Hey, where are you going, subject?”

                “Ha!” Snotlout scoffed as he mounted his saddle. “You may be in charge of this island, but you’re not in charge of me.”

                “Respect the crown,” Tuffnut admonished pointing to his helmet. “Don’t make us get ugly.”

                “That ship sailed a long time ago,” Snotlout replied easily.

                “Ugly!” Ruffnut laughed as she punched Tuffnut in the arm.

                “Clearly, we’ll need a dungeon,” Tuffnut grumbled as he rubbed his arm.

                “Okay, let’s all just take a breath and calm down,” Hiccup jumped in. “The first thing we need to do is get this claim stone authenticated.”

                “How?” Asher asked.

                “I’ll send a Terror mail to my dad,” Hiccup replied. “It will take them a few days to sail here, but in the meantime, we can focus on getting ready for the Fireworms.”

                Everyone agreed, some more reluctantly than others. As much as she wanted to leave the claim stone issue to after the migration, she sent the Terrible Terror with the scroll to Berk as soon as they got back to base. It returned a couple days later, confirming that Gobber and Stoick would be coming. They wouldn’t be able to stay for more than a day, but at least they could possibly sort out one issue.

                As soon as the two men, arrived they were snatched up by an eager set of twins and taken to the stone.

                Gobber hummed as he examined the stone with his scope.

                “Hmm, I see,” Gobber muttered.

                “Well, Gobber?” Stoick prompted.

                “Give me a minute,” Gobber replied. He tapped off a piece of the stone with his hammer. He gave it a good sniff before popping it in his mouth and chewing on it. “Very interesting. Tastes right to me, Stoick.”

                He got up and turned to the waiting twins.

                “This claim stone is one hundred percent authentic,” Gobber announced.

                The twins cheered as the other riders groaned and protested. Stoick shook his head at the riders’ antics.

                “Alright, that’s enough,” Stoick said firmly. “It looks like this island officially belongs to the twins. The twins cheered, and hooked arms to dance in a circle.

                Hiccup and the others were stunned at the news. It took a stern glare from her father for the others to agree to stay to witness the twin’s ceremony.

                “As Chief of Berk,” Stoick said as he unsheathed his sword. He lightly touched it to the kneeling twins’ shoulders, one by one. “I hereby declare that under Viking law, the living heirs to Magmar Thorston are indeed entitled to full ownership of this island with all the benefits that come with it.”

                “Now what?” Tuffnut asked.

                “Don’t ask me,” Stoick replied as he sheathed his sword. “It’s your island.”

                Gobber laughed as the two men walked away as the twins cheered. Hiccup hurried after her father.

                “Now, Dad, Dad, Dad, you can’t be serious,” Hiccup pleaded. “You’re not leaving me with this?”

                Stoick looked at the dancing twins, and nodded.

                “Uh, yes, I am,” Stoick said clapping her on the shoulders. “Welcome to my world. Only now it’s your world.”

                Hiccup stared after them as Gobber laughed. Toothless purred, and pushed his head into her hand. She absentmindedly pet him as the others crowded around her.

                “Great, what do we do now?” Fishlegs asked. “Any ideas?”

                “Well, we could always…” He trailed off with a cutting motion across his throat. “You know.”

                “We’re not killing the twins, Snotlout,” Hiccup said tiredly. Snotlout growled disappointed.

                “Please tell me we’re not giving them the island,” Asher pleaded.

                “Actually, we are,” Hiccup said as an idea formed in her head. “We are giving them the island.”

                “What?” Snotlout barked.

                “First of all, we don’t really have a choice,” Hiccup said. “And second, once they find out being in charge isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be, and they have to deal with the Fireworm problem on their own, they will beg us to take the island back.”

                “And if they don’t?” Asher asked hesitantly.

                “It’s our island!” Tuffnut shouted. “Man, how great is this?”

                The twins happily slammed their heads together, and fell back into the dirt. The other riders stared, and shifted uncomfortably as the smell of smoke drifted on the wind. They made their way back to the base, and tried their best to ignore the celebration in the twin’s hut.

                The next day, Toothless lounged on the floor of the clubhouse as Hiccup lay flat on his back providing a nice spot of warmth. Hiccup hummed as she turned to the page on Fireworms in her copy of the Book of Dragons, and scanned for anything useful.

                “Ok, a little higher,” Tuffnut said from somewhere nearby. “A little higher.”

                Hiccup lowered the book, and rolled off Toothless as more directions came from Tuffnut. Toothless stood up, and they both looked at each other before sighing. Hiccup tossed the book on the table as she and Toothless followed the twins’ voices outside. Hiccup looked around as she went around the corner, but didn’t see the twins.

                “Hey, let’s ask Hiccup,” Tuffnut said from above her.

                “Let’s ask Hiccup what?” Hiccup repeated cautiously as she turned and looked up to see the twins balancing on Barf and Belch’s heads to try to hang a sign from the roof of the building.

                “Our new Thorstonton sign,” Tuffnut said proudly. “Does it need to be a little higher?”

                “Thorstonton?” Hiccup repeated.

                “Yes,” Ruffnut replied. “The name of our island.”

                “It came to us in a dream,” Tuffnut said dramatically. He abruptly dropped his end of the sign, causing it to fall and nearly take Ruffnut with it. “That’s right. Same dream. It’s a twin thing. You wouldn’t understand. Anyway, thoughts on the sign?”

                Hiccup stared as Ruffnut dropped the heavy wooden sign, and it smashed through the floor.

                “You know what? Never mind,” Tuffnut said quickly. “We’ve got more important things on the agenda today.”

                “I agree,” Hiccup said. She followed the twins with her eyes as Barf and Belch started walking away with the two still balanced on their heads. “We need to keep fireproofing the island.”

                “No, no, no,” Tuffnut said abruptly. “That’s not it. We need to give out job assignments.”

                “Job assignments?” Hiccup repeated as Toothless growled.

                “Oh, we got some good ones,” Tuffnut said excitedly. “Come along, lass. Don’t be late.”

                Hiccup sighed, but got on Toothless so they could follow Barf and Belch down to the arena. Once everyone else had arrived, Tuffnut and Ruffnut cleared their throats dramatically from their perches atop their dragons’ heads.

                “Alright Fishlegs,” Tuffnut began. He held up a parchment, and turned it to the side to better read it. “Says here you are now the official poet laureate of Thorstonton.”

                “Do you even know what that means?” Fishlegs asked.

                “We were hoping you would,” Ruffnut replied. “It’s your job, after all.”

                “Asher,” Tuffnut continued. “You are the official royal brush clearer. We don’t want Thorstonton burning down, after all.”

                “Or do we?” Ruffnut teased. Tuffnut smiled at her, and hummed appreciatively.

                “I’m not clearing brush for you two,” Asher protested. “I’m not clearing anything for you two!”

                “Come on, Asher,” Hiccup mumbled under her breath.

                “You’ll do it,” Tuffnut scolded. “And you’ll like it, lad. Snotlout, you, my friend, have an excellent job. You, sir, are our new sergeant at arms.”

                Snotlout hummed as he considered it.

                “I like the sound of that,” Snotlout decided. “Arms.”

                “Knew you would,” Tuffnut said happily. “All right, Hiccup. Oh, Hiccup, you are our new stable girl.”

                “Stable girl?!” Hiccup repeated, shocked. Asher covered his mouth to hide his laugh as Toothless growled at the twins for the insult.

                “Come on, Hiccup,” Asher teased. Hiccup sighed, and reached back to rub Toothless’s side to try to soothe him.

                “So, uh, here’s a question. What’s a sergeant at arms do, anyway?” Snotlout asked.

                “You enforce the rules,” Tuffnut declared. “If someone doesn’t follow them, you make sure they do. And if things get really nasty, you show them to the fancy new dungeon and give them some yak dung tea. Got it?”

                “Dungeon!” Snotlout cheered. “I like it. Better than ‘stable girl’.”

                Hiccup glared at him as Tuffnut threw away his job’s parchment, and grabbed another roll from his vest.

                “Okay, and speaking of new rules,” Tuffnut began dramatically. “Without further ado…”

                “Yeah,” Ruffnut cried, snatching the parchment roll from him. “No more further ados.” She cleared her throat as she unrolled the parchment. “Rule number one: everyone must bow to your rulers when they enter the room.”

                “Rule number two,” Tuffnut continued taking the scroll back. “Everyone must also bow to your rulers when they exit the room.”

                “Everyone must bow to your rulers when they are in the room,” Ruffnut carried on.

                “So basically, we just bow all the time?” Hiccup asked.

                “Ooh, stable girl, coming in for the big win,” Tuffnut congratulated. “That deserves a bow…from you. I’m not doing any bowing.”

                Hiccup scoffed, but bowed.

                “Thank you,” Tuffnut said.

                “Next,” Ruffnut said. “There will be a small fee for landing your dragons on the island.”

                “And another small fee for taking off,” Tuffnut added.

                “There will be a fee for sleeping,” Ruffnut continued.

                “A fee for waking up,” Tuffnut added.

                “A fee for eating,” Ruffnut said firmly.

                “And a small fee for drinking,” Tuffnut concluded.

                “How about breathing?” Asher asked sarcastically.

                “Good idea!” Tuffnut said giving him a thumbs up, “Mark that down.”

                “Way ahead of you,” Ruffnut said, already scribbling on the parchment.

                “And finally, the letter ‘S’ has been officially removed from the alphabet,” Tuffnut announced. “So you’re going to want to avoid words like sword.”

                “Severed leg,” Ruffnut added.

                “Severed head,” Tuffnut continued.

                “Cyclone!” Ruffnut said proudly.

                “That’s actually a ‘c’,” Fishlegs corrected gently.

                “Uh-uh,” Tuffnut objected. “Notlout, quiet him!”

                “Notlout?” Snotlout said confused. “Who’s Notlout?”

                “Do you two realize that there is an ‘s’ in the name of your island?” Asher asked.

                “Ilence, ubject!” Tuffnut struggled to say. “How dare you ay such thing?”

                “Any other rules?” Hiccup inquired.

                Tuffnut pointed appreciatively at her before reaching into his back pocket, and pulling out another scroll. He held it up proudly, but froze as a Fireworm dived straight through it.

                Hiccup and Asher backed up as the Fireworm crawled towards them, a small stream of fire in left in its wake.

                “Table girl, clean that up,” Tuffnut ordered.

                “Okay, while I’m doing this, you guys need to stay on top of this Fireworm thing,” Hiccup told Asher. Hiccup picked up a branch, and scooped the Fireworm up on the end of it. She jumped as the branch caught fire, and quickly threw the Fireworm at Toothless who knocked it far away with his tail.

                “It’s starting to get pretty real,” Hiccup muttered as she took in the charred branch.

                “Table girl,” Ruffnut called out as Asher snuck away. “You can begin your dutie with a rub down of our beloved, royal dragon Barf and Belch.”

                “Uh, okay,” Hiccup agreed as the dragon’s heads lowered so the twins could jump down.

                “Enure you use calding water, table girl,” Tuffnut said haughtily. The two walked away as Hiccup sighed and Toothless rolled his eyes at the human antics. Barf and Belch chirped as they lowered their heads towards Hiccup.

                “Hey, you two,” Hiccup greeted. She put a hand on each of their heads, and smiled as they purred. “Well, let’s go get started. Got a lot of room to cover on you two.”

                Barf and Belch laughed, and followed her and Toothless to the stable. Hiccup gave the Zippleback a proper cleaning, and smiled as the dragon relaxed.

                ‘Well, never let it be said I let a dragon suffer for the actions of its rider,’ Hiccup thought to herself.

                She was rubbing down Barf’s neck when Toothless returned with another bucket of hot water. Toothless tilted his head as he heard Hiccup humming a song as she wiped down the Zippleback. He hadn’t heard this one before, and it sounded pretty. Hiccup stopped as she heard him approach, and smiled.

                “Thanks, bud,” Hiccup said gratefully. He put the bucket down, and cooed. He tilted his head curiously. “What?”

                Toothless gestured his head at her, and when she only looked confused, he tried to warble the tune she had been humming.

                “Oh!” Hiccup said surprised. “That’s a…a song from home. I guess, seeing my dad made me a little nostalgic.”

                Toothless crooned as she looked down sadly.

                “It’s a song Gobber told me my dad would sing with my mom,” Hiccup explained, softly. “Dad hasn’t sung a word of it since she’s been gone, but Gobber taught it to me.”

                “Uh, aren’t you forgetting something?”

                Hiccup looked up to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut standing by the heads of their dragons. Toothless growled at them for the interruption.

                “What? Oh, right,” Hiccup groaned as she stood, and then bowed to the two of them.

                “That’s better,” Ruffnut said, satisfied.

                “Now, let’s have a look at your work, table girl.” Tuffnut said as he went to inspect Belch’s side.

                ‘Those ‘s’ letters really come and go, don’t they?’ Hiccup thought amused.

                Tuffnut hummed as he picked up Belch’s front foot.

                “Hmm, good,” Tuffnut complimented. “That’s nice attention to detail.”

                “Uh, we have a problem,” Ruffnut said ominously.

                “What? What’s the problem?” Hiccup asked.

                Tuffnut ran over to his twin, and Ruffnut gestured to the bucket of water. Tuffnut dipped his finger in, and scoffed.

                “Pathetic,” Tuffnut said.

                “Disgraceful,” Ruffnut added.

                “Unacceptable,” Tuffnut declared.

                “What is it?” Hiccup asked exasperated.

                “This water is lukewarm,” Tuffnut said angrily. “We pecifically asked for scalding, sorry calding, if I’m not miskaken.”

                “Oh, you are not mitaken, brother,” Ruffnut assured.

                “Fine, scald—calding it is,” Hiccup muttered. “Toothless—Toothle—Plama blat!”

                Toothless shot a plasma blast right at the bucket, engulfing everyone in smoke. When the smoke cleared, the water was bubbling in the bucket. The twins frowned at Toothless who only laughed back at them.

                “I’m keeping an eye on you, Mr. Night Fury,” Tuffnut said pointedly. He pointed to his left eye. “My good eye.”

                “Wait, are you telling me you have a bad eye?” Hiccup asked as the twins began storming off.

                “Wait, are you telling me you have a bad leg?” Ruffnut quipped. Hiccup glared at her, and Ruffnut smirked. “Thought so.”

                “And the weirdness continues,” Hiccup muttered.

                Asher sighed as he and Stormfly landed back at the base with more wood. He rolled his eyes when he saw the twins waiting on the deck.

                “That’s a two mackerel landing charge, lad,” Ruffnut said.

                Asher scoffed, and nudged Stormfly to jump to leave the wood in the pile they had been creating.

                “Two more mackerel,” Ruffnut added. She nudged Tuffnut in the side. “Are you keeping track, or should I?”

                “No, I got it,” Tuffnut assured her.

                “Look, I don’t have any more mackerel,” Asher snapped. “And if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you two for your dumb take-off and landing charge.”

                “Excuse me,” Tuffnut said dramatically. “Are you calling the laws of this land dumb?”

                “You don’t like dumb?” Asher asked mockingly. “How about dopey, brainless, dimwitted, moronic, idiotic. Shall I go on?”

                Tuffnut stared at him for a moment.

                “Notlout!” Tuffnut called.

                “Coming in hot!” Snotlout warned as he and Hookfang landed on the deck. “Ergeant at arm Notlout reporting.”

                “Take this mutineer to the new dungeon, and his little dragon too,” Tuffnut ordered. “Give him some time to think about his attitude.”

                “Dungeon?” Asher cried. “Are you serious?”

                “Do we look serious?” Tuffnut asked.

                Asher scoffed, and nudged Stormfly to move. Snotlout and Hookfang followed them as the twins turned to each other.

                “You know, that’s a good question.” Tuffnut acknowledged. “Do we?’

                “I don’t know,” Ruffnut replied. “Here give me your best serious face.”

                Tuffnut made a tough looking facial expression at her, and Ruffnut nodded.

                “Whoa, pretty serious,” Ruffnut said. “Okay, what about me?”

                Ruffnut made a face, but serious would not have been the best word to describe it.

                “Oh yeah,” Tuffnut encouraged.

                “Okay, we look pretty serious,” Ruffnut said.

                Later the two feasted, with Chicken pecking away beside Tuffnut, as Fishlegs recited poetry for them.

                “There once was an island named Thorstonton,” Fishlegs said. “Where everybody wanted to have fun, fun, fun. We sang and we danced, and we all peed our pants, when the ruler came up with a great pun...pun...pun.”

                The twins stared at him with bored frowns on their faces. Chicken squawked loudly.

                “The chicken is not amused,” Tuffnut growled. “Notlout!”

                “ir, ye, ir, right here,” Snotlout announced as he barged in on Hookfang.

                “To the dungeon with him,” Tuffnut declared.

                “No,” Fishlegs protested as Hookfang bit the back of his tunic to drag him out. “The chicken is wrong! The chicken is wrong!”

                “How dare you? The chicken is never wrong,” Tuffnut declared. He pet Chicken on the back as she clucked. “I’m sorry you had to hear that. That’s it, quiet. There we go.”

                Within the forest, the Night Terrors caught sight of a large group of Fireworms approaching the island. They shrieked out a warning and fled as the Fireworms began to come over the island.

                Hiccup stared as Snotlout pushed both Fishlegs and Asher into the stable. Hookfang was waiting by the door as Stormfly and Meatlug followed their riders in.

                “All right, giddy up!” Snotlout barked as he pushed Fishlegs forward. “Get back in line!”

                “Snotlout, what are you doing?” Hiccup asked as she paused her sweeping.

                “Never you mind, table girl,” Snotlout said dismissively. He unlocked one of the doors to the largest dragon sized pen. “This is official Throstontonston business.”

                He swung the big door open, and gestured for Asher, Fishlegs, and their dragons to enter.

                “Welcome to your new home, jailbirds,” Snotlout laughed. He slammed the door shut behind them, and locked them in. Hiccup shook her head as he left, and approached the pen.

                “What are you in for?” Hiccup asked cheekily.

                “Funny,” Asher growled. “Exactly how long are you going to let this go on? Have you seen all those Fireworms?”

                “Yeah, Hiccup,” Fishlegs agreed. “The migration is picking up steam.”

                Everyone jumped when Meatlug let out a loud fart.

                “Ho ho ho!” Fishlegs said as he waved a hand. “She does not deal well with prison food.”

                Hiccup cringed at the smell.

                “Alright, alright,” Hiccup conceded. “I’ll talk to them. I’m sure I can get this all straightened out.”

                Toothless eagerly followed her to her hut to grab her shield, and was quick to take off to search for the twins. Night was falling, making the small fires on the island bright in the darkness. Hiccup spotted Barf and Belch flying over a section of the burning woods, and nudged Toothless to pull up beside them.

                “So, you guys surveying the damage?” Hiccup asked.

                “No,” Tuffnut replied. “We’re looking for a place to build our summer palace.”

                “That might be a nice area once the fires burn the vegetation away.” Ruffnut suggested, pointing down to a patch of burning trees.

                “Any thoughts, table girl?” Tuffnut asked.

                “Yeah, just one,” Hiccup said quickly. “Have you considered the fact that if you throw everyone in jail, there’s no one left to actually build your summer palace?”

                Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other before turning back to her.

                “We’re listening,” Tuffnut said.

                “And what about the Fireworm migration?” Hiccup reminded. She quickly held up her shield to block a Fireworm. The glowing dragon bounced right off the metal, and tumbled down. “Don’t you think it might be a good idea to have everyone working so that we can stop Thorstonton from burning down?”

                “I see your point,” Tuffnut acknowledged to her relief. “But I also see something else.”

                “Oh yeah!” Ruffnut said.

                “What?” Hiccup asked. “What’s that?”

                “Toothless is flying as fast as Barf and Belch!” Ruffnut cried.

                “And by Thorstonton law,” Tuffnut began.

                “That is illegal!” Ruffnut declared.

                And that was how Hiccup found herself in ‘jail’.

                “So what are you in for?” Asher asked amused.

                “Asher, please,” Hiccup growled.

                “What?” Asher teased. “Just trying to be funny.”

                Their attention was drawn by Snotlout holding the back of his own neck somehow dragging himself closer to their cell. Hookfang followed him looking guilty.

                “Snotlout?” Hiccup questioned.

                She stared as Snotlout opened the door, and then threw himself inside. Hookfang also entered, making the large cell much less roomy. Snotlout got up, and closed the cell door after making sure it would lock behind him.

                “I was framed,” Snotlout said sadly.

                “Alright, that’s it,” Asher snapped, pushing Hookfang’s wing away. “We’re breaking out of here.”

                “Great!” Snotlout happily agreed. “Then we go back to my plan.”

                He hissed and pulled his thumb across his throat.

                “Guys, guys, we’re fine,” Hiccup said. “There’s nothing to worry about. I mean, the twins can’t be that oblivious!”

                “How long have we lived together?!” Snotlout snapped.

                The twins were indeed oblivious to the encroaching flock. They laughed as they juggled a sheep between each other with their feet. Ruffnut let it drop after she laughed too hard, and the sheep raced out the door. Tuffnut chased after it, and stopped as he saw a glowing Fireworm flying towards him.

                “Whoa, check it out!” Tuffnut cried. Ruffnut eagerly came running out, and they watched the little dragon land on the deck. “Fireworm!”

                “Burns with the heat of a thousand suns,” Ruffnut recited as the little dragon skittered across the deck.

                “Ah, those little guys,” Tuffnut said fondly as he stomped out a fire the dragon had left behind.

                Another one landed on the deck beside them.

                “Oh, look,” Ruffnut cooed. “It has a little buddy!”

                Another one landed by the edge of the deck, and the twins jumped as the wood immediately caught fire. Tuffnut cried out in pain as one hit his helmet right off his head, and Ruffnut flinched as another landed on a nearby barrel that caught fire.

                Barf and Belch chittered nervously as the twins tried to stomp out as much as they could.

                “No,” Tuffnut cried out, trying to step on one of the Fireworms tails. It ran away from him, leaving another trail of fire. “Stop, stop!”

                The twins looked up to see more Fireworms, raining down on the island.

                “As the ruler of Thorstonton,” Tuffnut said to Ruffnut. “I’m ordering the ruler’s sister to do something about this Fireworm problem.”

                “What do you want me to do?” Ruffnut asked. “I’m not the boss of them.”

                “Well, if we don’t do something, they’re going to burn Thorstonton to the ground,” Tuffnut declared.

                “Just like Hiccup said,” Ruffnut said solemnly.

                The two looked up at the thwack that sounded as a Fireworm hit their island sign above their door. The sign caught fire immediately.

                “This is all your fault!” The twins snapped at each other.

                Asher shook his head as he saw the smoke getting thicker out the window.

                “That smoke’s getting closer,” Asher warned. “And where there’s smoke—”

                “There’s Fireworms,” Fishlegs finished. He tried his best to comfort Meatlug and Stormfly, but the two were getting very stressed as the fires got closer.

                “Alright, you know what? Experiment over,” Hiccup said. “We are getting out there and stopping them before there’s nothing left of the island.”

                “Finally,” Asher said in relief.

                Toothless stepped up beside Hiccup as Asher moved away from the cell door.

                “Toothless, plasma blast,” Hiccup said.

                Toothless reared up, and charged up his blast.

                “Hey, guys?”

                Toothless immediately closed his mouth, and swallowed down his blast so he didn’t kill the twins as they appeared at the door. He groaned and sagged as smoke drifted out of his nostrils.

                “Now’s our chance,” Snotlout cried. “Hookfang, destroy!”

                Hiccup jumped between Hookfang and the twins before the dragon could do anything.

                “Oh, hey rulers,” Hiccup greeted. She glanced back at Hookfang as the dragon made a noise of displeasure before going to sulk. “How’s stuff in the old kingdom?”

                “Having lots of fun with all the smoke and fire?” Asher cheekily.

                “Yes,” Tuffnut agreed. He then sagged in defeat. “No. Okay, fine. As it turns out, we can’t save Thorstonton by ourselves. So we talked about it, and we hereby decree that you can all come and help us put out the fires.”

                “Ah, that’s a shame,” Hiccup said, as she leaned against Toothless who was greatly enjoying the interaction. “Cause from where I sit, you guys are on your own. I mean, rules are rules, right?”

                “You have to help us save our island!” Ruffnut pleaded. “It’s all we’ve got!”

                “I don’t know,” Hiccup mused. “Guys?”

                “I think you’ve got to stick your guns,” Asher said smugly. “You make a rule, you follow it through. Otherwise it’s…you know.”

                “Anarchy,” Fishlegs agreed, “I’m with them.”

                “Come on, you guys, please?” Tuffnut pleaded desperately.  “Is there anything we can do? Name it, we’ll do anything.”

                “Well, now that you mention it,” Hiccup said with a smirk. “I suppose we could consider one possibility.”

                “Anything!” The twins cried.

                “I’ll make you assistant ruler,” Tuffnut offered. Hiccup didn’t respond. “Ruler’s best pal? Second string ruler?”

                “No, I have a better idea actually,” Hiccup said. “We divide the island up amongst all of us. We all own it. There’s no ruler, no sister of the ruler. We’re all rulers.”

                “What?” Tuffnut cried. “That’s blasphemous! You can’t do that to the ruler.”

                Hiccup raised an eyebrow as a Fireworm came in from outside to land on Tuffnut’s back. The boy sniffed as his butt began to smoke before running and screaming in pain as his pants caught fire. He ran for the bucket of water in the corner, and sat down in it.

                “Ok,” Tuffnut sighed. “You guys can have whatever you want. The island’s all of ours. Just get these things out of here!”

                Hiccup smirked in satisfaction as Ruffnut opened the cell door.

                “Everyone on your dragons,” Hiccup called out. She mounted Toothless, and he raced out the door and took to the air. She gasped as she saw the huge flock of Fireworms coming over the island. She thought fast as the other riders pulled up beside her.

                “Okay, Fishlegs,” Hiccup called out. “Gather up all the Night Terrors and take them to the cave.”

                “On it!” Fishlegs called back before he and Meatlug flew down to start searching.

                “Okay, guys, we need to redirect the Fireworms around our island and on to the next one in the chain,” Hiccup said.

                “You really think it’s gonna make a dent?” Asher asked. “I mean, look at them all.”

                “Do you have a better idea?” Hiccup responded. “We don’t really have a choice.”

                They flew up towards the oncoming flock, and Hiccup took a deep breath to calm herself as she saw the sheer size of it.

                “Stormfly, fire!” Asher cried.

                Stormfly unleashed her blast as she flew through the Fireworms. The small dragons scattered as she passed through and came back together once she passed.

                “Come on, Barf, Belch,” Tuffnut encouraged. “Do it for Thorstonton!”

                Barf unleashed a cloud of green gas, and Belch cracked a spark to ignite it. The explosive blast again scattered the Fireworms, but just as many came in to take their place.

                “Fall back!” Hiccup yelled. “Maybe we can at least protect our base. Let’s get started on building a fire break!”

                They worked through the night and into the early morning, trying desperately to keep the fires away from their base. Barf and Belch worked on digging out any small plants along the edge of the cliff.

                “Keep digging, guys,” Hiccup encouraged. “The fire can’t get past if there’s only dirt.”

                Snotlout and Hookfang flew over the forest with Hookfang directing his own fire at the tree line to try to eliminate it before the Fireworms could reach them. Stormfly flew just behind, using her blast to dig trenches in the dirt.

                Toothless hovered in the air, and fired plasma blasts at any trees that were on fire, destroying them before the flames could spread to the surroundings. Hiccup began to cough as the smoke became thicker.

                “I can barely see, bud,” Hiccup wheezed. She coughed again, and Toothless looked up at her concerned. “If this gets much worse, we’re going to have to bail out.”

                Asher and Stormfly tried to swoop in for another pass, but the flames jumped forward and Stormfly was forced back. Hiccup signaled for all of them to land, and the dragons hurried their riders to a clearing on the edge of the cliff.

                “What do we do now?” Asher coughed. “It’s getting really dangerous.”

                “The cave,” Hiccup said. “We’ll go there and wait it out with the Night Terrors.”

                “Uh, Hiccup,” Fishlegs called out as he joined them. “You may want to come up with another plan.”

                “Why?” Hiccup asked nervously.

                “I couldn’t find the Night Terrors,” Fishlegs explained. “I called the till my lips almost fell off. They’re gone.”

                “I told you we should have bailed on this place,” Snotlout snapped.

                “No, we’re not bailing,” Tuffnut said dramatically. “This island is ours.”

                “Tuff?” Hiccup prompted.

                “It’s all of ours,” Tuffnut declared. “And no one burns our equally shared island to the ground but us.”

                “I may have to disagree with you there,” Hiccup said tiredly as she spotted a dark shape backlit by the sun. Everyone looked, and their stomachs dropped as they saw the silhouette of the Fireworm Queen hovering outside their island.

                “Hiccup, is that…?” Asher asked nervously.

                “Fireworm Queen!” Fishlegs gasped. “If she’s here, then the entire flock can’t be far behind.”

                Hiccup sighed.

                “That settles it,” Hiccup declared. “Grab what you can. We’re out of here.”

                “Uh, Hiccup,” Snotlout interjected. “That’s not the Fireworm Queen.”

                He pointed, and Hiccup looked closer to see that the Fireworm Queen was the Night Terrors taking her shape.

                “It’s the Night Terrors!” Snotlout said astonished.

                “They’re protecting the island by forming a Fireworm Queen,” Hiccup said, amazed.

                “There’s not going to be anything left to protect,” Asher said. “If all of those Fireworms up there land here—”

                “Well, we just won’t let them,” Hiccup declared.

                “Okay, I sense a plan,” Asher said with a smile.

                “I’m gonna lead the Night Terrors out to sea,” Hiccup said. “Hopefully the Fireworms will follow. You guys stay behind and put out these fires.”

                Toothless took off, and quickly gained altitude. He growled as they approached the cloud of Fireworms.

                “Come on, bud!” Hiccup encouraged. Toothless flew through the flock of Fireworms, and emerged on the other side. Hiccup smiled seeing the Night Terrors. “Alright, bud, we need to get the Terror’s attention and turn them out to sea.”

                Toothless growled, and flapped his wings to gain speed to circle the Night Terrors. Hiccup grinned as she spotted Smidvarg amongst the mass.

                “Alright gang,” Hiccup called out. “Let’s take a little trip, shall we?”

                Hiccup adjusted her metal leg in the stirrup, opening Toothless’s tail fin fully. Toothless rapidly gained speed as he came out of the turn, and shot out towards the open ocean.

                “Toothless, now!” Hiccup cried.

                Toothless let out a plasma bolt, and it shot into the air in front of them. With no target, it burst in the air with a loud boom and a wave of purple fire.

                Smidvarg heard the blast, and looked to check it out. He spotted Toothless flying away from the island, and let out a shriek. He flew after Toothless, with the other Night Terrors following his lead.

                “Yes!” Hiccup cheered as she saw the Night Terrors Fireworm Queen flying after them. “Nice job, bud.”

                The Fireworms on the island looked up alarmed as the shape of their Queen started to leave. They quickly began to follow her, forming the cloud once more.

                “It’s working!” Asher said happily as he watched the Fireworms go.

                Hiccup looked back to check on the Night Terrors and was pleased to see they were remaining ahead of the following flock. She turned around to see the approaching island.

                “There we go bud,” Hiccup said. “That island’s all rock. The perfect stopover for these guys.”

                “Going down, gang!” Hiccup called back to the Night Terrors as Toothless began to dive towards the island. The Night Terrors followed them as did the Fireworms.

                Toothless pulled up enough to glide over the rocks of the island before rising again out over the water. Hiccup looked back, and saw the Night Terrors dive towards the island and break apart from one another as they got close to the surface. They flew out to join Toothless, and the Fireworms no longer seeing the Queen stopped to land on the rocky island.

                Toothless looked down and back along his belly, and grinned seeing the Fireworms landing all over the island, making it glow.

                “Now that is something to write about,” Hiccup said. She giggled. “And Fishlegs thought the Book of Dragons was finished.”

                Toothless cried out in victory as he flew back to their island, the Night Terrors following close behind. Hiccup and Toothless found the other riders and their dragons out by the Thorston claim stone. The twins were staring at it sadly as Hiccup approached.

                “Ruff, Tuff, you guys did the right thing,” Hiccup assured them. “I just hope you learned something in all this.”

                “Yeah, we sure did,” Tuffnut acknowledged. “Leading blow. Oh, we don’t have to do the ‘s’ thing anymore. Leading blows.”

                “Seriously blows,” Ruffnut agreed.

                “You know what, though?” Tuffnut asked as he gestured to the claim stone. “At least we have our cool claim stone to remember our glorious reign!”

                He jumped away as Meatlug, starving after flying and working all night, devoured the claim stone in one giant bite.

                “No respect,” Tuffnut grumbled.

                Meatlug wagged her tail happily, before she gagged and vomited out a stream of lava at the twins’ feet.

                “No respect at all,” Ruffnut moaned.

                Snotlout laughed, and grabbed Hiccup’s arm to begin dancing.

                “It’s everyone’s island!” Snotlout sang. “This is our island. It’s everyone’s island!”

                Hiccup laughed and joined in with her cousin. Asher laughed and hooked Fishlegs’ arm to dance with him as they joined in as well. The twins looked at each other and shrugged before laughing as they added to the song.

                “It’s our island!” Tuffnut called out.

Chapter Text

                The night was clear and calm, a full moon illuminating the earth below. Many of the creatures on Dragon’s Edge were sleeping soundly. The only disturbance was the heavy steps of a figure stomping through the woods. He emerged from the trees and looked up at the Dragon Riders base.

                Within the clubhouse, all the riders were gathered and sleeping soundly with their dragons in separate areas. Snotlout sat on the edge of the deck looking out over the surroundings, and felt his head drop as he was lulled by Hookfang’s deep breathing. He startled awake with a cry, and tiredly rubbed his face.

                “Why do we have to be the ones to stay up on Rumblehorn watch?” Snotlout complained. He scowled as he saw Hookfang had his eyes shut as he lay out on the deck. “Hookfang, I’m talking to you.”

                Hookfang cracked open one eye only to roll it before closing it again. He shifted his head, mindful of the rope tied between his horn and the trap down below at the ground level of their base.

                “We’re never going to stop this crazy dragon from tearing this place up,” Snotlout grumbled. Not a moment later, the trap sprung down below, and Hookfang howled as the rope on his horn pulled hard. He let out a stream of fire, and Snotlout screamed as the flames set his rear on fire.

                “Intruder alert!” Snotlout yelled as he ran into the clubhouse. The others woke up abruptly and stared at him, confused as he ran around screaming before he sat down in a water trough.

                “Sweet relief,” Snotlout shuddered.

                Hiccup realized what happened, and immediately checked the map to be sure of which trap Hookfang had been tied to.

                “The Rumblehorn! It’s headed for the eastern beach!” Hiccup called out. Everyone raced for their dragons, and they took off into the air.

                Hiccup grinned as she saw the net of the trap holding a dark shape in the air.

                “Finally,” Hiccup sighed in relief. “We got it!”

                The dragons landed in the area, and cautiously approached the net.

                “I didn’t think it would be so smelly,” Tuffnut commented.

                “I didn’t think it would be so hairy,” Ruffnut said as she squinted at it.

                “You try shaving with a hook for an arm!”

                “The Rumblehorn talks!” Tuffnut cried. “Quick, smack it!”

                “Cut me down, you simpleton!” Gobber yelled as he shoved his face through the net.

                “And it’s got a bad attitude,” Ruffnut commented.

                “Eh, never mind!” Gobber growled. He got his hook arm out from the net, and with one jerk he cut right through the net. He landed safely on his feet, and scowled at the group.

                “Gobber, what did you do with our Rumblehorn?” Tuffnut asked.

                “Rumblehorn? What’s a Rumblehorn?” Gobber asked curiously.

                “A new dragon that’s been trying to chase us off the island,” Fishlegs explained.

                “Yeah, us and everything else,” Asher added.

                “We’ve been trying to catch it and relocate it,” Hiccup said tiredly.

                “Yet we caught you,” Snotlout commented dryly. “Yay us.”

                “You’re trying to catch a dragon with a net that can’t hold a one-legged, one-armed Viking?” Gobber asked incredulously. He sighed in disappointment. “Amateurs.”

                “Not too late to club him,” Tuffnut quietly said to Hiccup. He made several clubbing and beating motions with his arms. “I can give him a little ‘Ah! Uh!”

                “Yeah, we should just get back and check on the dragon base,” Hiccup said dismissing the idea. Tuffnut shrugged.

                “Well, let’s see what you’ve done with the place,” Gobber said eagerly as they entered the ground level of their camp. Debris and broken structures were scattered across the area, and the only things left in tack were a couple braziers and the dome. “It looks very, well…”

                “Trashed!” Asher throwing up his hands in frustration.

                “Your words, not mine,” Gobber said.

                “The Rumblehorn must have hit us while we were out chasing you,” Hiccup sighed.

                “Last chance,” Tuffnut offered. “I can still club him. Come on. Club, club, club. Join the club.”

                “As much as I love a good clubbing, even my own, it will have to wait,” Gobber interjected. He pointed to himself and Hiccup. “You and I need to talk. I’ve come with disturbing news about your father.”

                “Is he alright?” Hiccup asked.

                “Oh, he’s fine,” Gobber said.

                Hiccup sighed. “That’s a relief.”

                “But then again, not so fine,” Gobber added.

                “Gobber, you’re killing me,” Hiccup said worriedly. “Is my father okay or not?”

                “Oh, he’s as fit as a dragon,” Gobber said reassuringly. He then scowled. “Unfortunately, he’s as ornery as one, too.”

                Toothless growled at Gobber.

                “No offense,” Gobber offered.

                Toothless growled, and lay down on the ground, pointedly bringing his tail up to his face to hide from Gobber.

                “I’ve never seen him like this,” Gobber said. “Angry, shouting at everyone.”

                “That actually sounds like vintage Stoick the Vast to me,” Hiccup commented.

                “You think I would have sailed in a boat by myself for a week if it were vintage Stoick the Vast?” Gobber asked irritably. “He’s driving the village crazy!”

                “Alright,” Hiccup placated. “I guess I’d better go see what’s going on with him.”

                “Good idea,” Gobber said happily.

                “You want to ride back with me and Toothless?” Hiccup offered.

                “Actually, I think I might stay a while,” Gobber said, looking around with interest. “Help repair your wee dragon base. See if I can offer up some of my dragon-killing experience to help defend against that Rumblehorn. If there’s time, I’ll take Tuffnut up on that clubbing.”

                “It works with Ruffnut!” Tuffnut called out eagerly.

                “I get it,” Hiccup said with a smirk. “So basically you’re hiding out from my father.”

                “One might look at it that way,” Gobber said with a shrug.

                “Well, bud,” Hiccup said as she got on Toothless’s saddle. “I guess we’re off to Berk.”

                Toothless launched into the air once she was secure, and glided through the night sky with ease. Hiccup relaxed, and enjoyed the peace on the way back. The sun was high in the sky by the time they reached Berk, and Toothless landed in the village center.

                Hiccup huffed as she dismounted and looked around the village. No one was outside, and everything was so calm.

                “It’s quieter than usual,” Hiccup commented to Toothless. Both perked up as they heard Stoick yelling in the distance. “Never mind, we’ll follow the sounds of the angry Viking.”

                Hiccup realized Stoick was inside the armory, and he certainly sounded mad.

                “I said I wanted these weapons arranged by deadliness!” She heard Stoick snap. “Swords…” Hiccup threw herself down as a sword was thrown out the door. She cautiously tried to peak over the catapult she had landed behind, but flinched back as an axe landed right in front of her.

                “Axes, bludgeons, then maces!”

                Hiccup and Toothless ducked behind the catapult as her father threw one of every kind out of the vault. The mace bounced off Toothless’s wing, and hit the switch causing the catapult to launch a poor sheep through the air. Hiccup stared after it, and turned back to see her father barge out of the armory turning back to yell.

                “If I used them on you, you wouldn’t forget how deadly they were!” He turned away with a scoff and stomped away. “I can’t believe it…”

                Hiccup came out from behind the catapult, and watched her father go.

                “Hiccup!” She turned to see Sven running towards her out of the armory. “Thank Thor you’re here! You’ve got to help us. Your father has become unbearable!”

                “Well, to be fair, Sven, you did have the weapons out of order,” Hiccup commented sarcastically.

                “That’s because yesterday he told me to arrange them by length!” Sven cried. “The day before it was by pointiness! And the day before that, it was by name! Did you know he gave each weapon its own nickname?”

                “Well, I have to admit that is really weird,” Hiccup conceded. “I’ll go talk to him.”

                ‘My father’s never exactly been the nicest Viking in the village, but even he has never been this…particular,’ Hiccup thought worriedly. ‘I better see what’s wrong with him. Maybe I can bring him back to the Edge with me. Let him and Berk have a little time away from each other.’

Back at Dragon’s Edge

                “These attacks are getting worse every time,” Asher said, frustrated. He surveyed the damage done to the base as the other riders and Gobber began to try to clean it up. “Either that Rumblehorn’s got to go, or we do.”               

                “Hey, our boar pit survived!” Tuffnut cheered. “Cool! I like a pit, but I love a boar pit.”

                “You call that a boar pit? Ha!” Gobber laughed. “I’ve dug my way out of graves deeper than that.”

                “Would you look at these Rumblehorn tracks?” Fishlegs asked. Gobber looked over Fishlegs shoulder, and examined the large, deep tracks left in the ground. “If you take into account the width and the depth of the footprints, and the distance between them, I calculate that this dragon is—”

                “Hefty,” Gobber quipped. “One might even say beefy.”

                “Does somebody want to tell me why we’re rebuilding this place?” Snotlout asked irritably. “He’s just going to crash through and wreck it again.”

                “He wouldn’t if you could build a defensive wall properly,” Gobber said. He slammed his hook into a large log, and hefted it over his shoulder. “Well, don’t just stand there. If you want to learn, follow me.”

                Gobber started walking to the opening in the cliffs that led out to the island. The boys shrugged before following him.

Back in Berk

                Hiccup and Toothless found her father again up by Gothi’s hut. From the sound of his voice, he still wasn’t satisfied or happy with what he was looking at.

                “For Thor’s sake,” Stoick said, exasperated. He gestured around at the bare dirt of the small farm by Gothi’s home. “You plow like an old woman!”

                Gothi, the old woman, scowled at Stoick and threw the large wooden handle of her plow at his feet. Stoick grumbled under his breath as he grabbed it, and hoisted it onto his shoulders.

                “This is how you plow!” Stoick snapped, before stomping down the field. “Oh, it’s so simple! You can’t even…”

                Hiccup winced at his mumbles as she and Toothless watched from behind a tree. Hiccup gagged as she was yanked by Gothi’s staff around her throat to face Gothi.

                “Ow, ow, ow!” Hiccup yelped as the old woman swung her around. Hiccup rubbed her neck as the old woman scowled at her. “Ah, Gothi. You know, I don’t know what my dad is talking about. You’re plowing is great!”

                Gothi stared at her, deadpan, and Hiccup’s shoulders sagged.

                “Ok, I don’t know what’s going on with him,” Hiccup said honestly. “But I promise I will talk to him, and get him to back off.”

                Gothi scowled and drew angrily in the dirt.

                “Yes, I do agree,” Hiccup conceded. “He is out of control.”

                Gothi finished another drawing with a sharp stab, and Hiccup gasped.

                “Watch the language,” Hiccup said. “He’s still my father. I’ll talk to him, I promise.”

                Hiccup turned around to see her father had already disappeared again.

                ‘Really?’ Hiccup thought, exasperated as she ran down the road with Toothless following. ‘Where did he go now? To terrorize the kids?’

                Hiccup and Toothless searched all over the village, before they made their way up to the Dragon Academy. Hiccup sighed in relief as she heard him inside.

                “Finally,” Hiccup said. Toothless warbled an agreement. “Let’s see what damage he is causing inside.”

                Toothless elected to stay outside and relax in the grass as she entered. Hiccup saw her father standing in the center of the arena, throwing axes at a target on the wall. To her surprise, he was missing each of them, as a small Terrible Terror laughed at him from above the target.

                “Ahem,” Hiccup coughed as she approached. Hiccup screamed as her father turned with the next axe in his hand with a battle cry. “Dad, please don’t kill me! It’s me!”

                “Hiccup!” Stoick cried happily. He threw the axe behind him, and hit the target on the bullseye, scaring the tiny dragon away.

                Hiccup grunted as her father picked her up in a bear hug.

                “Good to see you too, Dad,” Hiccup wheezed as her father squeezed her tight. “Now, if I could just, um, breathe?”

                Hiccup felt something crack in her spine as her father put her down.

                “I’m sorry!” Stoick laughed. He slapped her on the back, and Hiccup nearly faceplanted into the ground. “Just happy to see my daughter!”

                “That’s great,” Hiccup said, holding her lower back. “My cracked ribs and I are happy to see you, too. What are you doing all the way out at the academy?”

                “Oh, well, I come up here for the peace and quiet,” Stoick explained. He ambled over to a saddle for a dragon sitting on a post, and picked up a rag to polish it. “Tired of hearing people complaining. ‘Stoick, you’re being too tough.’ ‘Stoick, you’re being too picky.’ ‘Stoick, you’re cutting off my air supply.’”

                Hiccup stared as her father made a motion like he was choking someone. She glanced down at the saddle, and realized she recognized it.

                “Hey, is that Thornado’s old saddle?” Hiccup asked, curiously. She ran a hand over the leather, and was pleased to see her father had kept it in excellent condition. “Wow, Dad, you really kept it shiny.”

                “Well, just because one dragon is gone doesn’t mean I’m going to let a valuable piece of equipment fall into disrepair,” Stoick said awkwardly. He wandered over to the target, and yanked the axe out with a grunt. “But enough about me. What brings my world-traveler child back to Berk?”

                “Well, we still,” Hiccup began to stutter.

                “Eh, Stoick.”

                The two of them looked over to see Sven cautiously entering the academy.

                “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’ve got those weapons arranged by deadliness,” Sven said happily. “Just like you wanted them.”

                “And who said I wanted them that way?” Stoick barked angrily. Hiccup winced as he clutched the axe tightly in his hands as he took a couple steps towards Sven. “Does anyone around here listen?!”

                “Dad, Dad, Dad!” Hiccup exclaimed. She jumped between him and Sven, holding up her hands to stop him. “I just had a great idea.”

                “If it involves hurling an axe at Sven’s head,” Stoick growled. “Let’s hear it.”

                “Uh…I hear my sheep calling,” Sven muttered before he ran out of the academy.

                “I was thinking something a little more relaxing,” Hiccup said calmly. “Something to take the edge off.”

                “Edge? What edge?” Stoick asked angrily.

                Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him, looking pointedly at the axe he was still clutching tight. Stoick followed her look, and sighed.

                “Okay, I’m listening,” Stoick said, deflating.

                “Yeah, so I was thinking why don’t you take a couple of days off, and come with me to see the dragon base?” Hiccup proposed eagerly.

                “No, impossible,” Stoick said gruffly. “There’s far too much to do around here.”

                “Okay, Dad,” Hiccup said. She sighed, and touched him on the arm. “Well, tell you what, if I’m being honest the reason I’m really here is that I’ve got a dragon problem back on the island.”

                “Dragon problem?” Stoick repeated, concerned. “What kind of a dragon problem?”

                “Well, you see, we’re trying to relocate a new species of dragon,” Hiccup explained. “I thought we could handle it, but we could really use your help.”

                “Well, I suppose I could spare a moment, if you really need me,” Stoick said. Hiccup knew she had him from the pleased tone in his voice.

                “Oh, we do,” Hiccup assured him as they left the academy. “We really, really do.”

Back at Dragon’s Edge

                “I have to admit,” Asher acknowledged from his seat on Stormfly. “That’s one impressive wall.”

                The Dragon Riders stared up at the huge rock wall that circle the bottom of their base. Gobber had guided them and their dragons on placing large boulders and rocks to create the massive structure.

                “That should stop the Rumblehorn, at least on the ground,” Asher said confidently.

                “I’m going to call her Greta,” Gobber announced. “After my first love. Large, sturdy. Beefy, some would say.”

                A loud roar echoed in the air, and everyone looked around in alarm.

                “It’s coming from the west,” Fishlegs determined. “And it’s getting closer!”

                Asher and Stormfly flew up to the top of the wall. They scanned the area as the growling continued to get closer. Asher cursed as he spotted the trees in the nearby wood, moving as something large ran through them.

                “Everybody, mount up!” Asher yelled.

                The Dragon Riders quickly got on their dragons, who moved swiftly into the air. Gobber put his back up against the wall, and held it with his arms.

                “I’m not moving!” Gobber said stubbornly. “The wall will hold.”

                He flinched as a large force hit the other side of the wall, making the entire structure shake. Gobber laughed when it subsided, and the wall remained.

                “Told you my Greta would hold,” Gobber laughed proudly. He froze as creaking came from above, and he looked up to see the four watchtowers they had placed at the top falling towards him. “Oh, Greta, how could you?”

                Asher gasped as Gobber was buried under several logs from the towers, and Stormfly quickly dived down to the ground.  Asher listened but didn’t hear the Rumblehorn anymore, and called up to the others.

                “Get down here! Gobber needs help!”

                The others joined him on the ground, and the dragons began to carefully take logs from the pile.

                “Hurry up and move those logs!” Asher yelled. He quickly dismounted when Stormfly picked one up to reveal Gobber. “Gobber, are you alright?”

                “Good morning, Mommy,” Gobber replied, in a happy daze. His eyes were a little cross-eyed as he moved shakily. “Is it time for dragon killing school?”

                Asher sighed as he dropped back down.

                “Hey, at least this wall held,” Snotlout pointed out. “Of course, everything else got crushed.”

                Everyone froze as they heard another roar, and looked up to see a large dragon coming towards them.

                “Incoming!” Tuffnut yelled. He and Ruffnut moved Barf and Belch forward, and they began to launch their gas and sparks at the incoming dragon. “Yeah! Fire, fire! Use all weapons! Start blasting!”

                Hookfang joined in with his own fire blasts, and the dragon quickly dodged around them.

                “Hey, it’s us! Cut it out!”

                The dragon came closer, and they saw it was a glaring Toothless with Hiccup and Stoick on his back.

                “Oh, okay,” Tuffnut said, relieved as they landed. “Sorry about that.”

                Tuffnut laughed awkwardly as Stoick dismounted and surveyed the area.

                “Nice to see you, Chief,” Tuffnut greeted nervously. “You’re looking very fit. Your hands seem to be rough and well-worked. Anyway, welcome to Rumblehorn Hel.”

                “You weren’t kidding about having dragon problems,” Stoick said, a little shocked as he followed Hiccup over to the other riders.

                “Is anybody hurt?” Hiccup asked.

                “Well, sort of,” Asher said.

                “Hello, lovies,” Gobber said dopily. He held up his own boot, and shook it towards them. “Who’d like some figgy pudding?”

                “What’s wrong with him?” Stoick asked.

                “Well, Chief, you can start with the peg leg,” Tuffnut suggested. “Ad then you add in the hook, and the bad breath, weird neck. I mean, look at his neck.”

                “He’ll be fine,” Snotlout said, easily. “He got hit by a watchtower.”

                Toothless stared at Goober as the man laughed in his face.

                “Ah, you’re killing me,” Gobber howled. Toothless backed away, growling in concern as the man wobbled and almost got him with his hook. “Who knew you were such a card?”

                “Hiccup, these Rumblehorn attacks are getting out of hand,” Asher said seriously. “We have to do something.”

                Hiccup put her hand to her chin to think as Stoick straightened.

                “Okay, then, first things first.” Stoick said firmly. “We’ll start with—”

                “Asher, you search the eastern coastline,” Hiccup interrupted. Stoick stared at her surprised as she continued with no signs of having heard him. “Ruff, Tuff, you have the west. My father and I will take the middle of the island. Fishlegs and Snotlout, you take care of Gobber, and keep fixing the base.”

                “Got it,” Fishlegs said.

                “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Snotlout objected. “Wait a minute there, dragon master.”

                He cringed as Gobber came up beside him, and pinched his cheek.

                “Hello, little fella,” Gobber said sweetly.

                “How come I have to stay behind?” Snotlout argued. He stared as Gobber started growling.

                “I’m a dragon,” Gobber said, grabbing Snotlout’s head and growling in his face. Snotlout just stared back at Hiccup.

                “Okay, fine,” Hiccup said agreeably. “You want to hunt the unstoppable, bloodthirsty dragon instead?”

                “Bloodthirsty dragon, huh?” Snotlout considered, glancing at Gobber who was still leaning on him.

                “Oh, look at my tail,” Gobber laughed as he shook his bum. “Do dragons chase theirs tails or do they breathe fire on them? I don’t know.”

                “On second thought,” Snotlout said, separating himself from Gobber. “I don’t want to give you guys an unfair advantage. So I should probably stay behind and protect one of the archipelago’s national treasures.”

                He patted Gobber on the chest, who looked up teary-eyed at the sky.

                “The sun is a shiny potato, covered in drawn butter,” Gobber said happily.

                “And the moon is a scoop of ice cream,” Snotlout added, amused.

                Hiccup shook her head before going to get Toothless, Stoick humming as he watched her. Once everyone was ready, they took to the skies and split up to begin the search.

                “Ah, it’s good to be back up in the air again,” Stoick said warmly. “No wonder you never come back to visit. This island is spectacular.”

                “Thanks Dad,” Hiccup replied. “But we’re not going to be able to keep any of it if we don’t solve our Rumblehorn problem.”

                “Right. When exactly did you start having trouble with it?” Stoick asked.

                “A few weeks ago,” Hiccup answered as Toothless glided over the forest. “We didn’t even know it was on the island, and then suddenly it was everywhere. First it just went after wild dragons, then it started coming after us.”

                “How many dragons has it killed?” Stoick inquired.

                “None yet,” Hiccup replied. “This dragon is more than strong. It’s fast, smart, and elusive. We’ve never even gotten a good look at it.”

                “This does seem like quite the challenge, doesn’t it?” Stoick pondered.

                “Yes, it does,” Hiccup said, amused. Stoick laughed and playfully shook her shoulders.

                “Look at the two of us,” Stoick said happily. “Two Vikings on the hunt, scheming to catch a wild beast.”

                “See? You’re cheering up already, right?” Hiccup asked.

                “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, lass,” Stoick warned. Both jumped as a loud growl came from the trees up ahead as a small group of dragons flew into the sky.

                “There!” Hiccup and Stoick both pointed.

                Toothless swooped down, and landed in the clearing that the dragons had fled from.

                “You see what I mean?” Hiccup scowled as she scanned the empty clearing. “Every time, we just miss it.”

                “Well, we didn’t see it fly away,” Stoick pointed out. “So it has to be on foot. But which way?”

                “Over here,” Hiccup said. She pointed to a grouping of bent trees. “Check the direction of the trees he knocked down.”

                “After you, lass,” Stoick said amiably, putting a hand on her shoulder. Hiccup nodded, and smiled as her father let out a little laugh as she led the way. “Ho ho, this is great.”

                ‘We never did things like this when I was younger,’ Hiccup thought. ‘Dad was always either out being Chief or shoving me back into the house. Looking back now, I can see he was trying to protect me, but it didn’t lead to a great relationship. He’s trying now, and it’s much better.’

                Hiccup glanced back as the thought struck her. Her father gave her an encouraging nod, and Hiccup turned back to continue following the tracks.

                ‘Was Dad so unhinged back at Berk because…he missed me?’

                Hiccup smiled a little before refocusing on the tracks. They followed the trail until the sun was beginning to set. Hiccup stopped to kneel and touch one of the tracks.

                “These footprints are fresh,” Hiccup observed. “We should be right on top of it.”

                “It’s like the beast can sense us coming, and then it changes direction,” Stoick said, amazed. “A truly worthy adversary.”

                They continued walking, and Hiccup groaned as they climbed over a fallen tree.

                “We have got to be getting close,” Hiccup said, tiredly.

                “Ah, I don’t think so,” Stoick said. He looked up at the trees around them. “We’ve been here before.”

                He gestured to a set of broken branches up in a nearby tree.

                “Look at the broken branches on this side of the trail,” Stoick said. “The beast has doubled back on us.”

                “Wait, you think it knows we’re hunting it?” Hiccup asked nervously.

                “No, I think it’s hunting us,” Stoick replied gravely.

                “Oh, that’s good!” Hiccup cried. “No, I prefer it much more the other way around.”

                She watched as her father went to the fallen tree, and examined it.

                “What are you thinking, Dad?” Hiccup asked. Stoick snapped one of the branches off the trunk, and turned to her with a smirk.

                “I might have an idea on how we’re going to catch this beast,” Stoick said. He told them his idea, and Hiccup agreed to it somewhat reluctantly.

                Hiccup held her breath as she and Toothless hid, while her father stood alone in the middle of the path singing at the top of his voice, while he slammed the branch into the ground with one hand and held a coil of rope in the other.

                “Well, I’ve got my club and I’ve got my rope,” Stoick sang loudly. “And I smell like a yak cause I don’t use soap. I’m a Viking through and through!”

                Stoick stopped as a roar rumbled down the path. Stoick squared up as a large dragon stomped out into the path. It had large wings, a wide torso, and a tail with a club at the end. The front of its body was massive with armor plates and a battle axe shaped muzzle above a large lower jaw. Two horns finished its fierce look along with its red and green coloring.

                The dragon roared as Stoick stared at it, amazed.

                “Well, you’re magnificent!” Stoick said appreciatively. “And you’ve got a lot to say, don’t you?”

                The Rumblehorn roared, and spread its wings out to intimidate. Stoick answered it by throwing the branch away.

                “Now, let’s see if you can back it up,” Stoick challenged.

                “Let’s go, bud,” Hiccup said to Toothless. Toothless took off, and flew behind the Rumblehorn as it and her father charged at each other. Toothless held the net tight in his hands as he swooped down, the wind whistling off his wings.

                The Rumblehorn heard them, and dodged to the side right as Toothless dropped the net.

                “Damn it!” Hiccup cried. “Dad! Get out of there!”

                “Not a chance!” Stoick yelled. He lashed the rope, and threw at the charging dragon. It wrapped around the top of its muzzle, and Stoick jumped over the dragon as it charged by. The dragon abruptly stopped, and Stoick’s momentum kept him going around.

                “Oh no, you don’t,” Stoick cried. He landed heavily, and grasped the rope as the Rumblehorn flapped its wings. He pulled on the rope hard, and the Rumblehorn crashed back down into the dirt. The Rumblehorn growled as it made eye contact with Stoick.

                “Dad, let go of the rope!” Hiccup called out.

                The Rumblehorn quickly stood, and jumped back into the air. It flew away with Stoick hanging on to the end of the rope.

                “Dad, don’t let go of the rope!” Hiccup screamed.

                Stoick grunted as he climbed up the rope. He yelled in frustration as it slipped from his grasp, and he plummeted towards the ground. He saw the Rumblehorn turn around, and dive towards him.

                “Oh, you want a piece of me on the way down, do you?” Stoick yelled. He slammed his fist into his palm. “Come and get some!”

                The Rumblehorn roared as it dove after him, and Stoick screamed back. He stopped as he was caught by Toothless and Hiccup intercepting him. Toothless quickly flew out of the way of the Rumblehorn.

                “We better get back to Dragon’s Edge for reinforcements,” Hiccup said, urgently.

                “Agreed,” Stoick growled. He looked back and saw the Rumblehorn landing on the beach below. “This isn’t over, Rumblehorn!”

                The Rumblehorn growled as it shook its head. The rope flew off his head, and landed in a heap in the sand. The Rumblehorn took a few deep sniffs of the rope, and then turned to look with satisfaction in the direction that the Night Fury had disappeared.

                Night had fallen by the time they made it back to the base, and Toothless landed in the arena where most of the others were gathered.

                “Where’s Gobber?” Stoick asked, looking around concerned.

                “Yoo hoo!” Gobber cried happily as he ran through chasing several boars. He somehow now had green and blue face paint on. “Come back, please.”

                Snotlout stared after him.

                “Boar pit,” Snotlout shrugged.

                “Okay, Gobber accounted for,” Hiccup said dryly.

                “Hiccup, did you find the Rumblehorn?” Asher asked.

                “More like he found us,” Hiccup replied.

                Stoick let out a bark of laughter. “Gave us a good run, that one.”

                “We’re going to resupply, and then we all need to go look for it,” Hiccup said urgently.

                “Eh, I bet I can find him, like right now,” Tuffnut said, casually.

                “Oh really,” Snotlout scoffed.

                “Oh yeah,” Tuffnut replied.

                “Oh, really?” Snotlout questioned with a smirk.

                “Yeah,” Tuffnut said confidently.

                “How’s that?” Snotlout asked.

                “Wait for it,” Tuffnut said, staring up at the sky. He pointed out with a smile. “Bing!”

                “What the?” Hiccup cried out in shock at the sight of the Rumblehorn coming towards them, back lit by the moon. “Everybody on your dragons! We need to draw him away from Dragon’s Edge.”

                Hiccup shook her head as she ran back to her dad and Toothless.

                “It tracked us all the way here,” Hiccup said.

                “Impressive,” Stoick said, staring up at the dragon.

                “Dad, let’s catch him first,” Hiccup called out from the saddle. “Then we can admire him.”

                The Rumblehorn roared as it approached their base, and the Dragon Riders quickly took to the skies.

                Hiccup gasped as Toothless reared back to avoid hitting the flock of Night Terrors that raced out of the forest below.

                “Where are all the Night Terrors going?” Hiccup questioned.

                The riders braced themselves, but relaxed when the Rumblehorn blew past them.

                “And why isn’t the Rumblehorn following us?” Stoick asked, watching the dragon continue towards the base.

                “Because it’s following him,” Hiccup said as she caught sight of Gobber still chasing a boar. Toothless quickly followed the Rumblehorn as it aimed straight for Gobber. “Let’s get his attention, bud.”

                Toothless fired a plasma blast close to the Rumblehorn, but it shook off the impact and continued. It landed heavily on the ground, and roared loudly. The Night Terrors that had been at the base, squealed and took to the air. The Rumblehorn watched them go before turning to Gobber.

                The Rumblehorn charged at Goober, who had his back to the dragon.

                Stormfly and Asher swooped in to get within range.

                “Stormfly, spine shot!” Asher cried.

                Stormfly extended the spikes on her tail, and whipped them into the ground ahead of the charging dragon. The Rumblehorn didn’t even flinch, and continued to run at the man.

                The twins guided Barf and Belch from above along with Snotlout and Hookfang to fire down on the Rumblehorn. They hit the ground in front of it with a fiery blast, but the Rumblehorn kept going.

                “For as powerful as that dragon is, he doesn’t seem to have a real thirst for blood,” Stoick observed.

                “Not yet, but it’s still going after Gobber,” Hiccup said worriedly. She swallowed as she saw the dragon getting closer to Gobber. “I hate to do this, but it’s the Rumblehorn or Gobber.” Toothless growled in agreement. “We may only get one shot at this, bud. Let’s make it count!”

                ‘This doesn’t make any sense,’ Stoick thought as Toothless line up to take the shot. He observed the Night Terrors flying away. ‘Why would he want to drive the dragons away, but not hurt anyone? Unless…’

                “Hiccup wait!” Stoick yelled. He yanked back on her shoulders causing her to pull back on the saddle. Toothless howled in pain as he was pulled back, and his shot missed the Rumblehorn.

                “Dad, what are you doing?” Hiccup cried.

                Gobber was petting a boar, but the animal squealed and took off. Gobber turned around, and saw a dragon stopping right in front of him. The dragon roared in his face, loud enough to blow his mustache back. Gobber stared at the dragon before smiling.

                “Oh, look, it’s Pepe, my favorite pet yak,” Gobber said. He started rubbing and hugging the snout of the very confused and uncomfortable looking Rumblehorn. “We didn’t eat you on Snoggletog morning after all. No.”

                “If that dragon wanted to hurt people, he’d have done it by now,” Stoick said. “Something else is going on here.”

                “Like what?” Hiccup asked.

                “Only one way to find out,” Stoick replied. “Put me down next to him.”

                Toothless descended to the ground, and landed behind Gobber. Hiccup stayed on Toothless, and watched as her father approached them.

                Gobber laughed as he turned around to face Stoick.

                “Stoick, you remember Pepe?” Gobber asked cheerfully.

                “Yes, yes, Gobber,” Stoick said gently. He carefully moved his friend to the side. “Pepe and I need to have a wee talk.”

                “Hiccup, have you met Pepe?” Gobber called out. Hiccup groaned, but kept a close eye on her dad as he approached the Rumblehorn. The other Dragon Riders landed behind Toothless, and watched as well.

                The Rumblehorn stomped its feet and let out a low roar as Stoick stopped in front of it.

                “What is it you really want, dragon?” Stoick asked seriously.

                The Rumblehorn softened, looking almost worried as it shifted. The dragon moved its head and gestured to the ocean with another low roar.

                “I think this dragon is trying to tell us something,” Stoick said, turning to face Hiccup again. He jumped as the Rumblehorn roared, and reared up onto its hind legs. It slammed powerfully into the ground making it shake.

                The Dragon Riders gasped and cried out as the dragons apart from Toothless roared in alarm, and shifted uneasily before taking off into the sky with their riders.

                “What is happening?” Fishlegs cried out as the four dragons circled in the air above the base.

                “I think you’re right,” Hiccup said softly as Toothless growled.

                Stoick yelped as the Rumblehorn hooked the top of his axe shaped muzzle between his legs, and flipped him into the air. Hiccup gasped in alarm as he flew up, and then came back down to land squarely behind the Rumblehorn’s head.

                “Whoa, big fella!” Stoick grunted. “Hold on there!”

                The Rumblehorn took to the air, and Toothless quickly followed him up. The Rumblehorn started flying out towards the sea, and the Dragon Riders followed.

                “Hiccup, out there!” Stoick called out. He pointed towards the horizon, and Hiccup squinted. She gasped as she saw a disturbance out in the distance.

                “The sea level…is it rising?” Hiccup questioned, alarmed as the water seemed to be getting bigger. She grasped Toothless’s saddle, and he shot ahead to get a closer look. He covered the distance quickly, and Hiccup gasped as she saw a large wave on the water’s surface.

                ‘This thing is huge,’ Hiccup thought alarmed, as Toothless swooped down to fly in front of it. She looked up at the water towering and curling above them. ‘And it’s only going to get bigger as it keeps going. It’s heading straight for our island! It’ll be tall enough to wipe out the bottom of our base!’

                Toothless sped back to the base, and landed next to the others outside the rock wall.

                “There’s a giant wave headed for us,” Hiccup announced urgently. “The Rumblehorn knew it and was trying to get us to leave. He was trying to save us! That explains why he was chasing Gobber. He’s the only one without a dragon to help him.”

                “I don’t buy it,” Tuffnut said. “But okay, real quick guys, does everybody know how to swim?”

                “No one has to swim,” Hiccup said firmly. “We just need to block the wave from hitting the camp.”

                “Isn’t it a little late for that, Hiccup?” Snotlout asked.

                “No!” Asher said. “Gobber’s rock wall. That’s big enough to stop the wave. We just need to reinforce it.”

                “Then let’s get to it,” Hiccup said. “Let’s move!”

                The Dragon Riders quickly took to the air, and moved to gather as many large stones and rocks as possible. They rolled and placed them in and along the wall as quickly as possible.

                “The wave is coming!” Fishlegs warned as Toothless set another rock down. “Hurry!”

                Hiccup looked out, and saw that the wave was much, much closer.

                “The wall’s not going to be high enough to stop that wave!” Fishlegs cried.

                “And it’s cracking!” Asher said, alarmed as water began to seep through the stones.

                “You handle the cracks, lass!” Stoick said firmly. “I’ve got an idea.”

                “You heard the man!” Hiccup cried.

                “On it!” Asher yelled. Stormfly swooped close to the wall, and on Asher’s command fired several spines into the holes in the wall, plugging them closed.

                “Meatlug, spew!” Fishlegs said. Meatlug fired several rounds of magma at the leaks, the molten material cooling to seal them.

                Barf and Belch tossed more rocks up onto the wall, and to Toothless who would catch them and carefully place them to plug the leaks.

                Hiccup looked up and gasped as the wave was bearing down on them.

                Stoick and the Rumblehorn flew in a circle and lined up with a tall stone sea stack that was near the wall.

                “Alright, then,” Stoick growled. “Let’s finish what you started.”

                The Rumblehorn roared and charged at the stack. It fired several blasts at the thin area near the base, and they exploded on contact, cracking the stone.

                “Full speed, big fella!” Stoick roared.

                The Rumblehorn charged at the cracked stone, and rammed straight into it. The stone immediately broke, and the stone column of the stack fell back onto the top of the wall.

                Hiccup let out a breath of relief as the wave crashed against the wall and it held. The Dragon Riders cheered as the wave moved around the cliffs of the island, leaving their base intact.

The Next Day

                “I can’t believe it, guys,” Fishlegs said, staring up in amazement at Stoick and the Rumblehorn circling above the wall. “If that Rumblehorn hadn’t warned us, we would have been wiped out.”

                Hiccup smiled as she heard father laughing as he and the Rumblehorn flew through the air.

                “Look at this guy,” Fishlegs said in awe. “He is amazing.”

                “Yes!” Stoick agreed as the Rumblehorn flew by. “You can say that again, Fishlegs.”

                “You know, guys, this is a whole new class of dragon,” Fishlegs said excitedly. “We need a name.”

                “Well, it tracked us down,” Hiccup said. “How about Tracker Class?”

                “Tracker Class?” Snotlout repeated mockingly. “Yeah, right! That sounds like something I would come up with.”

                “Perfect!” Hiccup chimed.

                “Tracker Class it is,” Fishlegs agreed.

                “What? You like it?” Snotlout asked, shocked. “Aw, come on!”

                Hiccup shook her head as Fishlegs laughed, and excused herself to go see Gobber off. The man had finally recovered, and was more than ready to sail home now that her father was back to normal.

                “Gobber, I sure am glad you’re back to normal,” Hiccup said relieved as she stood on the dock with Toothless, the two men, and the Rumblehorn.

                “Yeah, not sure what all went on,” Gobber said, climbing into the boat. “I’m sore in places I didn’t know I had.”

                “Well, lass, I’m glad I let you insist I come here,” Stoick said, as he patted the Rumblehorn fondly.

                “You know, Dad, when I first came back to Berk, I thought you might be missing me,” Hiccup admitted. “But it was actually Thornado all along.”

                “Aw, I do miss that magnificent beast,” Stoick said nostalgically. “We had some connection, he and I.”

                “I get it,” Hiccup said. She walked to Toothless and scratched under his chin. He leaned up to nudge her as he rumbled, pleased. Hiccup giggled. “No, I can’t imagine what it would be like without Toothless.”

                “Well, Thornado will never be replaced, but this guy,” Stoick said, as he placed a hand on the Rumblehorn’s head giving it a scratch. The Rumblehorn rumbled happily. “We’re a lot alike, he and I. We’re both protectors, we’re both leaders.”

                “And you’re both hard-headed,” Gobber chimed in as he pulled away from the dock.

                “Hard-headed, you say?” Stoick said as he climbed up to sit behind the Rumblehorn’s head. “Skull crushing’s more like it. Wait, that’s what we’ll call you. Skullcrusher!”

                Skullcrusher growled in agreement, and Hiccup waved before turning to walk away as they prepared to take off.

                “And by the way, lass?”

                Hiccup turned, and saw her father looking down at her.

                “I do miss you,” Stoick said softly. “A lot, in fact.”

                “I miss you too, Dad,” Hiccup replied. She smiled at him, and Stoick nodded. He turned to pat Skullcrusher on the head.

                “All right, big fella.” Stoick said. “Let’s get back to Berk. I’ve got the perfect saddle waiting for you.”

                Hiccup watched them go, and giggled as Toothless licked up the back of her head. She rubbed his head affectionately, and smiled as she took a deep breath. Toothless warbled at her, before pulling back to jump around excitedly.

                “Let’s get back to work, bud,” Hiccup said happily.

Chapter Text

                Hiccup hammered the last piece of the metal ring on their base’s new spyglass into place. Toothless came up to her side, and warbled eagerly.

                “Alright,” Hiccup said. She pulled back to survey her work before turning to Toothless. “I think one more plasma blast should do the trick, bud.”

                Toothless fired a small blast at the device, and Hiccup laughed as she waved her arms to clear out the smoke.

                “Whoo!” Hiccup coughed as Toothless laughed. “Great job!”

                “Nice!” Asher complimented as he tested the spyglass. “I can see straight to the horizon.”

                “That should definitely make it harder for anyone to sneak up on us,” Hiccup said. “Now, I wonder how the twins’ lookout tower is coming along.”

                “I can only imagine,” Asher said dryly.

                Ruffnut hummed over the tall lookout tower she and Tuffnut had built out of stone on top of a small cliff at the edge of the island. It was solidly built and held up nicely.

                “Hey. Doesn’t something seem off to you?” Tuffnut asked nervously.

                “Yeah,” Ruffnut replied, suspiciously. “This should have fallen down a long time ago.”

                “Maybe we actually did something…” Tuffnut trailed off. He jumped as the thought finished. “No, that’s impossible.”

                “Say it,” Ruffnut growled.

                “Something…right?” Tuffnut hesitated. Ruffnut gasped. “I have a weird feeling inside. Is that accomplishment?”

                “Whoa!” Ruffnut gasped. “I think I feel it, too. Quick! Let’s go rub it in Hiccup’s face before the feeling subsides!”

                The twins eagerly mounted Barf and Belch, and raced back to the base.

                Fishlegs hummed as he looked at the projection emitting from the Dragon Eye. The imagery on the wall was the same as before, but now in orange light thanks to Meatlug using her fire to power the Dragon Eye.

                “Hmm,” Fishlegs mused. He took a few notes in his journal. “Very interesting.”

                He giggled as he put down his journal, and grabbed a large basket of rocks.

                “Alright, girl,” Fishlegs said to Meatlug. She wagged her tail happily when he placed the basket in front of her. “Let’s see if feeding you different kinds of rock changes how your dragon fire lights the Dragon Eye.”

                “Hey!” Snotlout greeted from the clubhouse entrance. “What are you doing Fishlegs?”

                “Oh, hey Snotlout,” Fishlegs greeted. “Well if you’re asking, I’m testing how different rocks make Meatlug produce different flame and how that changes the projections in the Dragon Eye.”

                “Oh, that’s right,” Snotlout said. “I just remembered, you’re boring and I don’t care.”

                Fishlegs glared at him as Snotlout walked away. He smirked as Meatlug threw up a mound of molten rock.

                “Yep!” Fishlegs agreed. “Couldn’t have put it better myself, girl.”

                He looked up at the projection on the wall, and spotted that a change had been made with the light from the molten rock.

                “Oh, even more interesting,” Fishlegs said in fascination.

                Hiccup was hammering in the supports for the new spyglass under the watchful eye of Snotlout, Asher and their dragons when she heard someone land on the deck behind her.

                “Hiccup!” Tuffnut said eagerly. “Drop everything you’re doing and bring your face.”

                “Prepare to be rubbed,” Ruffnut said, smugly.

                “What?” Hiccup asked, confused.

                “Come on!” The twins yelled.

                “Alright, alright I’m coming,” Hiccup said quickly. Toothless came to her side, and she quickly got into the saddle. “Geez.”

                Barf and Belch flew ahead as they all followed them to the place where the twins had been supposed to be putting up a tower. Hiccup rolled her eyes when she saw Barf and Belch standing on their hind legs, trying to hide whatever was behind them.

                “Alright,” Hiccup said as she dismounted. Asher and Snotlout joined her, the latter snickering in anticipation. “What is it you wanted to show me?”

                “Dragon Riders,” Tuffnut said dramatically. “You asked for it. We built it. Presenting you…”

                Ruffnut made a few happy horn sounds.

                “With your new rock lookout tower!” Tuffnut announced. Barf and Belch took off, and revealed…nothing.

                “You guys never disappoint, do you?” Snotlout commented. The twin stared at the empty space in horror.

                “What? No! Wait!” Tuffnut said desperately. “It was here a minute ago!”

                He angrily turned to Ruffnut, and pointed accusingly at her.

                “What did you do with it?” Tuffnut demanded.

                “I didn’t do anything with it!” Ruffnut objected.

                “You lying she-beast!” Tuffnut accused. “You were always jealous of my rock tower.”

                “Your rock tower?” Ruffnut questioned, angrily. She pounced on him, and started beating him up.

                Hiccup winced as they fought while Asher facepalmed and Snotlout looked on, nodding in approval. When they pulled out their weapons, Hiccup intervened.

                “Okay, okay, okay,” Hiccup said quickly. She placed herself between the two, and they quickly stopped but continued to glare at one another. “Let’s everyone step away from the sharp objects.”

                The twins pouted, but dropped their weapons.

                “Okay, look,” Hiccup sighed. “Maybe this job was just too tough for you to do alone. I can always put Asher on the project with you.”

                “Let’s not be hasty, Hiccup,” Asher warned.

                “But we did build it,” Ruffnut said pleadingly. “Honest.”

                “And trust me Hiccup, no one was more surprised about it than we were,” Tuffnut added.

                “Hiccup!”

                Hiccup sighed as she heard Fishlegs yelling.

                “Hiccup, come quickly!”

                “Well, that doesn’t sound good,” Asher commented.

                Hiccup hurried back to base, and beelined for the clubhouse.

                “Fishlegs?” Hiccup called out as she ran inside. Hiccup glanced down, and hurriedly stopped as she spotted a faintly glowing glob of molten rock by her feet.

                “Careful where you step,” Fishlegs advised as he scanned the notes in his journal from his seat on Meatlug. Hiccup carefully stepped over several different colored pools of molten rock as Meatlug descended.

                “Fishlegs, what’s wrong?” Hiccup asked, concerned.

                “Wrong?” Fishlegs chuckled. “Nothing’s wrong. Except I may have just made the greatest discovery in the history of Berkian civilization!”

                He threw his hands up, and Hiccup looked to see a large projection from the Dragon Eye on the ceiling. It was entirely different to any of the other images they had seen from it before.

                “Fishlegs, is that…” Hiccup trailed off excitedly as she took in the pictures. Meatlug lifted Fishlegs closer to the imagery.

                Fishlegs eagerly nodded, and began pointing to different sections. “This is a Gronckle and here is the boulder surrounded by water and the dual mountain peaks.” He bounced excitedly on Meatlug. “Oh! Dark Deep!”

                “The ancestral home of the Gronckles,” Hiccup said softly.

                “It’s real, Hiccup!” Fishlegs cheered. “And we finally found it.”

                “Yeah,” Snotlout said dismissively as he entered the room. “What’s so great about this?”

                “Do I really have to explain?” Fishlegs groaned.

                “You boring discovery? Yes,” Snotlout replied.

                “Dark Deep is an island, that up until now we were never sure existed,” Fishlegs explained. “It’s not in the Book of Dragons anywhere. However, in Bork’s papers, there is a mention of it, but only briefly and in context to a completely different species. If we were able to find Dark Deep, it could unlock so many secrets, not only of the Gronckles, but the entire Boulder Class of dragons. Do you understand how amazing this is?”

                Hiccup scowled as she turned to Snotlout, and saw him picking wax out of his ear. He smiled sheepishly at her.

                “Check that!” Snotlout said. His smile vanished into his usual disinterest. “I absolutely don’t care.”

                Hiccup rolled her eyes as he left, and turned her attention back to Fishlegs.

                “Hiccup, I’ve taken the liberty of charting a course based on these encryptions,” Fishlegs said as Meatlug brought him back down. “This island is so remote, it’s farther than we’ve ever flown before.” He laughed as Meatlug happily growled and wriggled. “I’ve never seen Meatlug so excited.”

                “Just think, I will be the first Berkian to ever set foot on Dark Deep,” Fishlegs said excitedly. “What an honor.”

                “I get it Fishlegs,” Hiccup smiled. “I do think Toothless and I should go with you, just in case you need help.”

                “Okay, you can come too,” Fishlegs agreed reluctantly. “But I’m the first one to step foot. You can be second.”

                “Okay, I promise,” Hiccup agreed easily.

                “Well, then welcome aboard, Hiccup,” Fishlegs said happily. “Come on, Meatlug, we need to go pack!”

                Hiccup ducked as Meatlug flew over ahead, and shook her head fondly as she followed them out.

The Next Day

                Hiccup was double checking Toothless’s saddle was secured when she heard loud groaning. She looked over Toothless’s back, and saw the twins and Barf and Belch walking tiredly towards their hut.

                “Uh, Ruff, Tuff?” Hiccup asked, concerned.

                “Keep it down, will you?” Ruffnut moaned. “We were up all night rebuilding the lookout tower from scratch.”

                “Great!” Hiccup congratulated. “I should have a look at it then, shouldn’t I?”

                “Get ready to feast your eyes,” Tuffnut said.

                Hiccup followed them back out to the site, and bit her lip as she stared at the still empty space.

                “Okay,” Hiccup said slowly. “So what should my eyes be feasting on, exactly?”

                “Oh come on!” Tuffnut yelled in frustration. He paused. “Wait! Maybe we were pointing in the wrong direction.” He looked around frantically. “No, that’s it. Left of the chicken. Hi, chicken. Somebody keeps stealing our tower!”

                “Come on!” Ruffnut whined. “You know no one’s going to admit to it. Let’s just go rebuild the stupid thing.”

                “Can’t trust anyone on this outpost,” Tuffnut pouted as he followed her.

                “Yeah. You’re all a bag of liars,” Ruffnut said angrily.

                Hiccup walked to the edge, and looked down into the water.

                ‘Did it collapse?’ Hiccup thought as she tried to see to the bottom. ‘One trick I do believe they would pull, but twice? That’s a little much for them. I’ll have to remember to check on them when I get back.’

                By the time she made it back to the landing deck, Fishlegs and Meatlug were eagerly waiting for her beside Toothless. They took off, and Meatlug took the lead as they left their familiar waters. After a couple hours, Fishlegs began singing.

                “Dark Deep!” Fishlegs sang loudly. Meatlug growled along with him as Toothless looked back at Hiccup to pointedly roll his eyes. “At last I’ve found you! Dark Deep! The Gronckles surround you.”

                “Fishlegs,” Hiccup laughed. “I haven’t seen you this excited since Snoggletog morning when we were seven.”

                “I know!” Fishlegs said elated. “I couldn’t even finish third breakfast. I hope I don’t get too hungry.” He cheered as Meatlug sped up. “Dark Deep, here we come!”

                The sun was setting as they spotted an island on the horizon. It was all dark stone and rock, no visible vegetation anywhere on its surface. There were several jagged rock formations scattered around, all under the shadow of a low mountain with dual peaks.

                Meatlug landed on the island, and Fishlegs immediately jumped off and cheered.

                “Whoo! Oh yeah. Oh, yeah, Fishlegs!” He giggled excitedly, before gasping. “I can’t believe I’m actually here.” Meatlug nudged him with an unhappy growl. He quickly patted her on the head. “Sorry, girl. We’re here.”

                He picked up two stones and started dancing and singing again.

                “Dark deep is your home,” Fishlegs sang, tossing one of the stones to Meatlug. She eagerly swallowed it down. “Where all the rock eaters roam.”

                Hiccup smirked down at him as Toothless hovered in the air. Toothless looked up at Hiccup irritated, and roared lightly at her. Hiccup shrugged her shoulders, and Toothless rolled his eyes. Hiccup stared at Fishlegs as he continued his performance as Toothless landed on the island.

                Fishlegs spotted her, and cleared his throat.

                “I’ll work on the last part later,” Fishlegs said.

                “Hey, I love the song,” Hiccup assured him. She looked around worriedly. “It’s just one thing. Where are the roaming Gronckles? Do you think we could’ve landed on the wrong—”

                “No,” Fishlegs dismissed. He pointed to an area some distance from them. “That’s Gravel Lake and that’s definitely the dual peaks of Mount Grunt. Hiccup, this is Dark Deep.”

                Toothless looked around, and grumbled unimpressed.

                “Yeah, I’m with you, bud,” Hiccup said softly.

                Meatlug growled loudly from where she was standing at the edge of a thin crevice. Fishlegs hurried over, and gasped.

                “Oh, look!” Fishlegs said happily pointing down to a trio of Gronckles. “Meatlug found some new friends. Told you there were Gronckles here.”

                Meatlug eagerly flew down, and approached the trio growling a greeting. The trio turned to her, and growled back not very welcoming. Hiccup watched as Fishlegs climbed down to join her, wincing as he fell the last couple of feet. Hiccup got back into Toothless’s saddle so he could jump down to join them.

                “That’s strange behavior for a Gronckle,” Hiccup said, observing the defensive postures and growls of the trio. She glanced behind her and saw that the crevice extended far in a rocky pathway. Toothless would probably have to jump out as the low ceiling would make it hard for him to fly. “They’re usually pretty friendly.”

                The group tensed as the earth shook around them, and Fishlegs used Meatlug to keep his balance.

                “That could be what’s doing it,” Fishlegs pointed out after the rumbles stopped. “No one likes an earthquake.”

                Hiccup grew alarmed, as Toothless hissed and crouched down low to the ground, glaring at the area behind the Gronckles.

                “See?” Fishlegs said. He jumped back as Toothless roared, and a deep rumbling came from the path of the crevice behind the Gronckles. Seeing something in the distance, Hiccup and Toothless squinted and gasped when they saw it.

                “Runaway boulder!” Fishlegs yelled.

                The trio of Gronckles screamed, and Fishlegs ran for Meatlug as Toothless jumped over the Gronckles. He fired a plasma blast at the boulder, but it kept coming. Hiccup gasped, and Toothless backed up, rapidly firing more blasts.

                The trio of Gronckles fled down the crevice with Meatlug and Fishlegs following close behind. Toothless whipped around, and ran down the crevice after them.

                “Fishlegs!” Hiccup screamed.

                Fishlegs looked behind him, and saw that the boulder was gaining on them fast as they started going down a hill.

                Toothless raced closer to the group of Gronckles, and when he got near, he pounced up and off the wall to push them into a small space on the side of the crevice. Hiccup grit her teeth as small rocks pelted them as the boulder rolled past them. When it was gone, Toothless jumped back and released the Gronckles.

                Fishlegs sighed in relief, as the Gronckles watched the boulder roll away.

                “That was close,” Fishlegs said. The two of them froze as the boulder came to a stop.

                Toothless growled as the boulder suddenly reversed course, and started coming back towards them.

                “Hey Fishlegs?” Hiccup asked nervously. “When was the last time you saw a boulder roll uphill?”

                “Um, never?” Fishlegs replied shakily.

                “Yeah, me neither,” Hiccup agreed.

                “How is that possible?” Fishlegs cried as the boulder started picking up speed.

                “No time to find out!” Hiccup snapped. The trio of wild Gronckles flew back down the crevice and the Dragon Riders were quick to follow.

                “We can’t avoid it!” Fishlegs cried.

                Hiccup cursed as Toothless fired a blast over his shoulder, and it didn’t stop it at all.

                “Quick, down here,” Hiccup called out pointing to side path.

                The dragons all turned, and darted into the side pathway as the boulder continued. Meatlug and Toothless had to come to a hard stop, crashing as the path ended in a small cave. Hiccup looked up to see the trio of Gronckles scrambling at an opening in the ceiling that was too small for any of them to climb out of.

                “It doesn’t look like we can fly out, bud,” Hiccup said. Toothless growled in displeasure as Meatlug whined.

                “It’s okay,” Fishlegs said, rubbing her head to sooth her. “I think we lost it.”

                “Then let’s move out,” Hiccup said softly. “Quietly.”

                She and Toothless walked back along the pathway, and cautiously peaked up and down the crevice. Hiccup and Toothless exited onto the main pathway followed by the three wild Gronckles with Fishlegs and Meatlug bringing up the rear. Everyone was walking quietly until a gurgling sound echoed.

                Everyone turned to see Fishlegs holding his stomach.

                “What?” Fishlegs asked sheepishly. “That’s what happens when you don’t eat third breakfast.”

                A loud rumbling echoed down the path, and everyone stopped to stare down the path.

                “Uh, Hiccup?” Fishlegs said nervously.

                “I see it, Fishlegs,” Hiccup acknowledged as she spotted the boulder coming towards them. They both gasped as the boulder stopped, and uncurled itself to reveal a new species of dragon.

                The dragon was big and compact. It had one small pair of wings on its back, and a thick pebbled hide that was earthen in color and covered in spikes. Its red eyes locked onto them, and when it roared, they were shocked to see its lower jaw was bifurcated along with its blue tongue.

                Everyone screamed as it began stomping down the path at them. Hiccup scrambled back as the dragon whipped around. She ducked as its club like tail sailed over her head to slam into the wall. Hiccup covered her head as several rocks fell down, but nothing hit her. She looked to see Toothless using his wings to shield her and Fishlegs as the Gronckles cowered. The dragon roared and slammed its tail against the wall twice before roaring.

                “Impressive. Definitely a Boulder Class,” Fishlegs said, excitedly. Hiccup stared at him as Toothless sneered. “Hiccup, what do you think of ‘Catastrophic Quaken’ as the name?”

                “Well, I think we should probably name it later and focus on not getting killed by it!” Hiccup snapped. She jumped into Toothless’s saddle, and he fired a plasma blast at the Quaken. The dragon flinched back, and roared angrily at the Night Fury.

                Toothless fired another shot, before jumping away to cling at the wall. When the Quaken tried to grab him, he jumped to the opposite side near a hole in the ceiling. Toothless tried to climb out, but realized it was too tight for him and Hiccup. He growled, and jumped away as the Quaken curled into a ball and jumped to hit the ceiling. The impact caused more rock to fall, expanding the opening.

                “As long as it’s rolled up in that ball, we might be safe,” Hiccup said tentatively. “Fishlegs, get those Gronckles in the air.”

                Fishlegs and Meatlug guided the Gronckles out through the hole, and Toothless leapt after them, quickly taking to the air. Hiccup gasped as the Quaken lunged out of the earth, and nearly took a bite out of them. It fell back to the ground, curling up into a ball as it did. The Quaken slammed into the ground, and a massive shockwave rippled through the earth and air.

                Fishlegs screamed as he was thrown from Meatlug’s saddle, and Hiccup desperately held on to Toothless as he twisted in the air.

                “Okay, on second thought, maybe we’re not so safe after all,” Hiccup said nervously. Toothless quickly caught Fishlegs, and dropped him back onto Meatlug.

                “Fishlegs, Meatlug, retreat,” Hiccup ordered.

                “I thought you’d never ask,” Fishlegs said shaking.

                Toothless flew above the Quaken, and the big dragon roared up at him. The three Gronckles cowered behind a group of rocks, but Meatlug flew to hover above them.

                “Up here,” Fishlegs whispered. The three Gronckles stared up at him, terrified. “It’s okay. Come on.”

                The trio took to the air, and followed Meatlug as she joined Toothless. The Night Fury led them quickly away from the island as the Quaken stared after them.

Later at Dragon’s Edge

                “Really? More Gronckles?!” Snotlout cried. He pushed the happy wild dragons away, and they ran off eagerly.

                “It’s just a few stray Gronckles,” Hiccup said. “We should be able to handle that.”

                “Just a few strays, she says,” Ruffnut said mockingly.

                “Yeah,” Asher said slowly. “You should really have a look at this.”

                Hiccup and Fishlegs stared at the sight of at least a dozen Gronckles roaming the ground level of the base. The bright colors of their hides were very similar to the trio they had brought back.

                “So this is where all the Gronckles from Dark Deep went,” Hiccup said.

                “Can you believe they flew all this way?” Fishlegs asked, fascinated. “Gronckles may be slow, but they are tenacious.”

                “Yeah. Tell me about it,” Tuffnut said. He jumped and wagged his finger at one of the Gronckles eating a large stone. “Hey! Don’t you put that rock in your mouth. You have no idea where it’s been, mister.”

                “Hiccup, these guys are out of control,” Asher said seriously. “We have to get them back to their island.”

                “There might be a not so small problem with that,” Hiccup said.

                “They’ve been chased from their homeland by a giant Boulder Class dragon,” Fishlegs explained. “The Catastrophic Quaken, to be exact.”

                “Quaken shmaken,” Snotlout interjected. “You let one lousy dragon take over Meatlug’s entire island?”

                “It’s not that simple,” Fishlegs said.

                “Sure it is.” Snotlout argued. “Quaken, one. Meatlug, zilch! Pathetic.”

                “Let’s drop it,” Hiccup said firmly. “We have a bigger problem here. We need to wrangle all these wild Gronckles.”

                Hiccup sighed and turned to Ruffnut.

                “And since I unfairly doubted the twins, earlier,” Hiccup said. “I’m putting them in charge.”

                “Awesome!” Tuffnut exclaimed. “It’ll be nice to get to know these guys better. We got off to a little bit of a rocky start on our relationship.”

                Tuffnut laughed at his own joke as the other riders rolled their eyes, and walked away.

                “You see what I did there?” Tuffnut said as he followed. “I can explain later. My humor can be quite complex.”

                The twins quickly mounted their dragons, and started trying to drive the Gronckles towards the boar pit. Some time passed, and it could be said that not much progress had been made.

                “Back in line, Tuffnut Junior,” Tuffnut called out to an orange Gronckle that had been munching on some stone on the outer ring of the arena. Barf and Belch chased the orange Gronckle and a purple one around the edge of the space.

                “You two, Junior Tuffnut,” Tuffnut said to a blue Gronckle. The little dragon hissed up at him threateningly. “What was that? Tell me you didn’t just back-sass me, Junior Tuffnut, Junior.”

                “I got you now!” Ruffnut cried as the blue dragon fled.

                Fishlegs watched from a safe distance as the twins chased the Gronckles around. From the sound of it, it wasn’t going well. Meatlug rumbled in concern beside him.

                “Don’t worry, girl,” Fishlegs said, rubbing her head. “I’ll figure out how to get those Gronckles back home. There has to be a way.”

                “Sounds like someone has a problem that needs solving,” Snotlout said loudly as he and Hookfang joined them. “Consider this your lucky day, Fishlegs. Because the answer man has arrived.”

                “Snotlout?” Fishlegs questioned.

                “That’s right,” Snotlout said proudly. “I’m going to help you get Dark Deep back for those Gronckles.”

                “You don’t understand,” Fishlegs said morosely.

                “Yeah, look at me. Then look at you,” Snotlout said. “You’re much bigger than me, right?”

                “Yes,” Fishlegs replied.

                “Oh, your boot’s untied,” Snotlout said pointing down at Fishlegs foot.

                Fishlegs looked down, and Snotlout snapped his finger up hitting Fishlegs in the face. The boy was so startled he jumped back, and tripped over his own feet.

                “Hey, my boot doesn’t have laces!” Fishlegs protested.

                “The only way to get rid of this Quaken is to push him off Dark Deep,” Snotlout said. “And the only way to do that is to fight dirty.”

                “I don’t think so,” Fishlegs said hesitatingly.

                “Fishlegs!” Snotlout snapped. “Do you want to be you, or do you want to win?”

                Fishlegs turned away, and watched Meatlug frown as the twins chased after more Gronckles.

                “I want to win, but not your way,” Fishlegs said firmly.

                “Oh, you’ll be back!” Snotlout called out as Fishlegs walked away. “They always come back!” Hookfang moved up beside him. “He’ll be back.”

                Fishlegs searched for Hiccup, and found her on the deck outside the forge, hammering away at a thin piece of metal. She paused to hold it up and examine it closely.

                “Hey, what are you up to?” Fishlegs asked nervously.

                “Just trying to strengthen the iron in this tail piece,” Hiccup explained tiredly. She looked fondly at Toothless. “Toothless keeps bending it when makes turns. Don’t you, bud?”

                Hiccup giggled as Toothless playfully bumped into her, and she pet his head.

                “So, what’s up?” Hiccup asked as she turned back to Fishlegs.

                “I was just wondering what the plan was,” Fishlegs inquired.

                “The plan?” Hiccup asked, confused.

                “For Dark Deep? The Quaken?” Fishlegs questioned. “How are we gonna get rid of it?”

                “Right. I’ve been thinking about that, Fishlegs,” Hiccup said slowly. She turned to put the metal rod back down on the stone. “And I’m not so sure we should get rid of it.”

                “What?” Fishlegs said shocked.

                Hiccup sighed. “I’m not sure if it’s right for us to intervene. I mean, this isn’t humans causing them to be driven from their home. This is what happens in nature. The Quaken has taken over the island, for now, and one day maybe a bigger dragon will come along and the Quaken will be chased off. I don’t know if we have the right to stop something like this every time. I’m sorry, Fishlegs.”

                Fishlegs frowned at her, and walked away. Hiccup sighed, and Toothless rubbed against her comfortingly.

                That night, Fishlegs screamed as he woke up from a nightmare of the Quaken chasing him and a group of Gronckles down.

                ‘I can’t let this happen,’ Fishlegs thought. He scowled as he thought of Hiccup’s answer. ‘If Hiccup won’t help me, then I’ll go to the guy who can.’

The Next Day

                Fishlegs took a deep breath before he approached Snotlout the next day. The other boy was napping on barrels beside Hookfang, his helmet covering his face.

                “I can’t believe I’m actually saying this,” Fishlegs said. Snotlout pushed back his helmet to look up at him. “Teach me everything you know, Snotlout.”

                “You came back?” Snotlout asked, happily surprised. He sat up so fast, he accidentally fell off the barrels.                Hookfang smirked at him as Snotlout scrambled to stand. “Of course he came back. I knew he would.” Hookfang blew a cloud of steam into the side of Snotlout’s face. “Hookfang!”

                “Let’s just keep this between us,” Fishlegs nervously playing with his fingers. “We don’t want to bother Hiccup with any of this.”

                “I feel you on that. My cousin can be a wet blanket sometimes,” Snotlout said agreeably. He grinned wickedly. “Now it’s time to get dirty.”

                Fishlegs nodded, and Snotlout and Hookfang led him and Meatlug into an area in the forest. Fishlegs watched and took notes as Snotlout drew with some chalk on a large rock.

                “They key to fighting dirty is to never face your opponent,” Snotlout instructed. “Look at the sky. Your boots. Anything but their eyes. Then lower the BOOM when they least expect it!”

                He had Meatlug practice battling. His strategy for her was running straight at her opponent in a charge. Meatlug rammed her head several times into a large rock until it broke apart. The boys froze as they saw Hiccup walking by on the other side. Meatlug hurriedly ate the rock, and the boys ran right into each other when they tried to flee.

                Hiccup rolled her eyes and kept walking as the boys writhed on the floor in pain.

                The boys practiced sneak attacks, and Fishlegs and Meatlug were very proud when they got the drop on Snotlout and Hookfang.

                Hiccup was walking back through the air, carrying a basket full of apples, when she spotted the boys and their dragons again. Snotlout was chasing Fishlegs, and Hookfang was chasing Meatlug around a tree.

                ‘I don’t even want to know,’ Hiccup thought as she walked away. A small part of her couldn’t help but be worried about what they were getting up to.

                The boys kept going until late in the afternoon, and Snotlout was satisfied.

                “Well, I didn’t think it was possible,” Snotlout admitted. “What with you being all “you” and all, but you’re actually ready.”

                “Do you really think so?” Fishlegs asked. Snotlout was about to reply, but froze as Hiccup approached with Toothless.

                “I knew you two were up to something,” Hiccup said. “Fishlegs, have you been training to take on the Quaken?”

                “You don’t have to answer that,” Snotlout loudly proclaimed.

                “Oh, yes, he does,” Hiccup said, crossing her arms. “Fishlegs?”

                “Fine!” Fishlegs snapped as Snotlout groaned. “Yes, we have. Only because we can’t just sit by and let the Quaken take over Dark Deep. We all know the Gronckles can’t stay here. This isn’t their home, Hiccup.”

                Hiccup stared at him thoughtfully as he continued.

                “You want to talk about nature, what’s right and who belongs where? The Dragon Eye says the Gronckles should live on Dark Deep and we’re gonna make sure they do. We’re ready for it this time, Hiccup. Look! Meatlug, battle ready!”

                Meatlug jumped into a fighting stance, growling fiercely. Toothless stared at her unimpressed, and spit a small plasma bolt at her. Meatlug coughed out a puff of smoke, and deflated.

                Hiccup glanced down at Toothless, and then back at Meatlug.

                “Battle ready?” Hiccup repeated. “Fishlegs, this isn’t you, it’s him.”

                She gestured to Snotlout who laughed.

                “I know,” Snotlout said smugly. “Great, right?”

                “No, not great!” Hiccup snapped. She walked up to Fishlegs. “You can’t listen to Snotlout. That had disaster written all over it.”

                “Hey! I resent that!” Snotlout said angrily. “When has anything I’ve ever done ended in disaster? Right, Hookfang?” He turned, and saw his dragon was flying away. “Hookfang!”

                “You’re all brain and heart, Fishlegs,” Hiccup said. “Not brawn and bragging.”

                “But Hiccup—” Fishlegs started.

                “You’re right, Fishlegs,” Hiccup interrupted putting her hand on his shoulder. “The Gronckles should be back on their own island, and we will find a way to make that happen, but fighting the Quaken? No, that’s not it.”

                Fishlegs looked down, but nodded. Hiccup gave him a small smile and nod before leaving with Toothless. Snotlout scowled as she left, and jumped as Barf and Belch burst out of the tree line behind him.

                “Um, you didn’t happen to see five or twenty wild Gronckles run through here by any chance?” Ruffnut asked.

                “Not that we lost them,” Tuffnut added quickly. “Even if we did, we’d deny it.”

                “How could you lose twenty Gronckles?” Snotlout asked, exasperated.

                “I know, right,” Tuffnut said. “We built a whole new pen for them.”

                “Yeah. Out of rocks,” Ruffnut said happily. Snotlout face palmed as the realization came over the twins. “Oh…”

                “Would you give me a lift to the clubhouse?” Snotlout asked. “Hookfang is otherwise engaged.”

                “We’ll give you a ride back, Snotlout,” Fishlegs offered. “On one condition.”

                ‘I need to remember to set boundaries on these conditions,’ Snotlout thought irritably as they approached Dark Deep. Fishlegs and Meatlug had taken him back to the clubhouse, where he found Hookfang, and then demanded Snotlout and Hookfang come with them to the island. ‘I guess I should be proud of him for this, but why did he have to drag me all the way out here?’

                “I feel bad sneaking away,” Fishlegs admitted as they touched down on the island. They dismounted from their dragons, and started walking. “But Meatlug and I are the Gronckles’ only hope.”

                “You did the right thing,” Snotlout said firmly. “You can take this dragon and reclaim Dark Deep for the Gronckles!”

                They both froze as the island trembled, and they heard a rumble approaching. The two looked up, and spotted the ball form of the Quaken roll up to the top of the stone above them. Snotlout’s mouth dropped as it uncurled, and stared down at them, growling.

                “You never said he was this big,” Snotlout snapped. “What were you thinking?”

                “You said I did the right thing,” Fishlegs said confused.

                “Uh, yeah. That was before I saw it!” Snotlout yelled.

                The two boys had to cover their ears as the Quaken roared.

                “Uh, I’m going to go get some help!” Snotlout said fearfully. “Yeah! Get some help! Oh, he’s really big.”

                Snotlout took off running, and Fishlegs followed after him screaming.

                “Retreat! Retreat!” Snotlout yelled as he mounted Hookfang. The dragon took off, but Fishlegs paused when he reached Meatlug.

                “Hiccup was right,” Fishlegs said sadly. “This isn’t us.”

                Fishlegs and Meatlug cowered as the Quaken roared at them from up above. Fishlegs looked at the Quaken and back to Meatlug. She stared at him expectantly, and Fishlegs sighed.

                “But what other choice do we have?” Fishlegs said. He mounted Meatlug and mustered his courage. “For the Gronckles and Dark Deep!”

                Meatlug roared in agreement, and the Quaken flew over them slowly.

                “Oh, dear,” Fishlegs said nervously as he and Meatlug cowered.

                Hiccup cursed under her breath as she and Asher flew towards Dark Deep.

                “We need to find these muttonheads before they get themselves killed,” Hiccup said.

                “Look there!” Asher called, pointing ahead. “Muttonhead incoming!”

                Hiccup was relieved to see Hookfang and Snotlout, but quickly noticed they were alone.

                “Snotlout!” Hiccup said loudly as their dragons stopped. “Where’s Fishlegs?”

                “You know, that Quaken was a lot bigger than he said it was,” Snotlout said with a nervous laugh.

                “So you just left him?” Hiccup snapped angrily. “Oh, my gods.”

                Toothless and Stormfly took off towards the island, and Hookfang angrily growled up at Snotlout.

                “Oh fine!” Snotlout snapped. He grimaced as Hookfang turned around to follow the other dragons. “My death is on your horns, Hookfang!”

                “Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!” Fishlegs gasped as Meatlug flew as fast as she could away from the Quaken. She tried to stay low, dodging rocks and stones, hoping they would slow the Quaken. The large dragon just barged through and destroyed all the obstacles. The Quaken was gaining on them until it was hit in the side by a plasma blast and a fire blast.

                “Fishlegs!” Hiccup yelled as Toothless and the other dragons dove down towards them.

                The Quaken stopped chasing Meatlug to follow the three new dragons. The three dragons hovered, and turned to face the dragon who flew up to be level with them. Hookfang snarled warningly as the Quaken observed them and their riders. It growled at them before diving back down to the ground. It rolled up into a ball, and impacted at high velocity sending out another earth-shattering wave.

                Fishlegs and Meatlug yelled as they were blown over onto the ground, and the three Dragon Riders in the air screamed as their dragons were thrown back violently.

                Meatlug shook herself, and moved to stand in front of Fishlegs as the Quaken uncurled itself. She held her ground as it began to approach them. It lunged at them with a roar, and the two screamed as Fishlegs scrambled to get back in the saddle. Meatlug took off again, flying as fast as she could as the Quaken gave chase.

                Toothless screamed as he fell, and flipped over so he could catch himself. He quickly flapped his wings, and raced back into the air, the wind whistling across his wings.

                The Quaken caught up to Meatlug, and bumped her tail. She lost control, and hit the ground making her and Fishlegs fall into another crevice. Meatlug growled up at the Quaken as it peered down at them from the opening, but it was too big to follow them. The Quaken growled down at them before moving away.

                Fishlegs panted, and looked around the crevice they had landed in. He spotted a large pile of rocks blocking the passage, and he bent over to pick up a strange spike. Examining it, he realized it was the same color as the Quaken.

                “The Quaken’s cave,” Fishlegs said, surprised. “It looks like he lives here by himself.”

                Meatlug growled an agreement, and Fishlegs dropped the broken spike.

                “Meatlug, let’s get out of here,” Fishlegs said nervously. He ran back down the crevice with Meatlug following close behind. He picked up speed as he saw the exit up ahead, and the two eagerly climbed back up to the surface.

                They had to stop as the Quaken rolled off the top of the mountain above them. The Quaken eventually stopped moving forward, and began to roll back towards them.

                Fishlegs stared at it fearfully, before he took a deep breath and steeled himself.

                Hiccup, Snotlout, and Asher spotted him from above as their dragons circled around.

                “What is he doing?” Asher asked.

                “Looks like he’s getting himself killed!” Snotlout snapped.

                “Fishlegs, get out of there!” Hiccup yelled.

                “No,” Fishlegs said firmly. “We aren’t going anywhere, right, girl?”

                Meatlug growled encouragingly, but glanced nervously between Fishlegs and the approaching Quaken.

                “I’m not backing down. I’m not backing down,” Fishlegs chanted with his eyes closed and hands outstretched.

                They heard a crash as the Quaken hit a rock, and went airborne. Fishlegs covered his head as the Quaken uncurled itself and landed with a heavy crash. When the dust settled, Fishlegs cautiously uncovered his head.

                “I’m not smushed,” Fishlegs said relieved. He saw Meatlug had moved to stand in front of him. She was staring down the Quaken, and flinched as the large dragon roared in her face.

                Meatlug snarled back, and the Quaken responded with a deep growl. Fishlegs watched, amazed as Meatlug and the Quaken communicated in growls and grunts. He sagged in relief when she perked up. Meatlug hovered to be level with the Quaken’s face, and the big dragon blew a puff of steam at her. She playfully shook her head, and then rubbed up against him.

                “It’s working,” Fishlegs breathed.

                “It’s working,” Hiccup said astonished. She heard more grunting behind her, and turned to see the twins on Barf and Belch escorting the wild Gronckles.

                The Gronckles flew down to land on their island. Some of them landed near Meatlug and the Quaken.

                “Hey! I thought everyone said that this dragon was tough,” Tuffnut complained. “Doesn’t look so tough to me.”

                The Quaken reared up on its hind legs, and growled at the Gronckles around it. They responded back happily, and the Quaken lowered itself back down. The large dragon began to walk away with the Gronckles following it, as Hiccup and Toothless landed nearby. Hiccup quickly dismounted and ran to her friend.

                “Fishlegs, that was just about the craziest and bravest, but mostly craziest, thing I have ever seen anyone do,” Hiccup said.

                “You were right, Hiccup,” Fishlegs said. “Fighting dirty isn’t me. That was me.”

                “It sure was,” Hiccup agreed.

                The two of them watched as the Quaken smashed a large rock with its tail. It watched contently as the Gronckles gathered around to eat the broken pieces.

                “The Quaken was just being defensive,” Fishlegs said. “It was scared and alone. It wasn’t angry at all.”

                “Fishlegs, that was awesome!” Snotlout said loudly. “Just like I taught you. No need to thank me. Success is its own reward.”

                “Oh really, Snotlout? Tell me more,” Fishlegs asked. He continued right as Snotlout was about to speak. “Oh, that’s right. I just remembers I don’t care.”

                Hiccup laughed at the look on Snotlout’s face.

                “I taught him too well,” Snotlout said sheepishly.

Chapter Text

                Bucket and Mulch flinched back from the side of the boat as a large shape blew by them. The two followed it, and Mulch squinted at the shape of a dragon headed for another fishing vessel not too far from them.

                “Well, that’s strange,” Mulch said, holding up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. “I don’t recall ever seeing a dragon that looked quite like that one.”

                He grabbed his spyglass and quickly found the dragon again. He looked at it closely and didn’t recognize it, but he gasped as he spotted a hooded rider on its back.

                “What is it, Mulch?” Bucket asked nervously. “You have that look. I don’t like it when you have that look!”

                Mulch didn’t answer, and handed the spyglass to Bucket as the dragon and its rider attacked the ship. Bucket stared through the glass, horrified, as the men screamed and dove into the water to save themselves as the dragon tore the deck of the ship apart. He slowly lowered it down when the dragon somehow cut the mast down, and landed on the deck of the ship.

                “Bucket, what do you see?” Mulch asked.

                “Something I wish I hadn’t, Mulch,” Bucket replied emotionally. Mulch didn’t hesitate and quickly set course back to Berk.

Berk

                Hiccup hummed softly as she left the armory and walked down the steps to join the other Dragon Riders in the center of the village. Everyone was busy gathering various supplies and personal items to bring back to the Edge with them. Hiccup smiled as she passed Asher the two daggers she had grabbed from the armory up to him.

                “Okay, gang,” Hiccup said loudly, turning to face everyone. “Remember we’re only taking absolute necessities to Dragon’s Edge.”

                Fishlegs clutched the large quantity of rocks he was carrying tightly as Snotlout laughed.

                “I guess we’re leaving you behind, Fishlegs,” Snotlout teased.

                “Come on,” Fishlegs groaned as he threw the rocks into the basket attached to Meatlug. “You’re better than that, Snotlout. Oh, wait. No, you’re not.”

                Meatlug warbled at him, and he warmly patted her on the side. Meatlug’s eye twitched as she struggled to take off with the two large baskets of rocks hanging from her side.

                “Come on, girl,” Fishlegs encouraged as Hiccup approached. “You can do it. Lift with your legs.”

                “Fishlegs,” Hiccup scolded watching Meatlug struggle.

                “What?” Fishlegs asked. “Berk granite has a nicer finish. And trust me, you want the nicer finish.”

                Hiccup shook her head as Fishlegs tried to help by lifting Meatlug’s tail, but was drawn away by the sound of metal clanging.

                “Not bad,” Tuffnut said standing in front of a mace wielding Ruffnut. “That’s a two. Do it again!”

                Ruffnut swung the mace straight into Tuffnut’s helmet, and the boy nearly fell to the ground. He managed to catch himself, and looked at Ruffnut with crossed eyes as he held his head.

                “Yeah, three,” Tuffnut said. “I still think we could do better.”

                “Yes, we can!” Ruffnut happily agreed. She swung the mace again, and Hiccup winced as the blow spun Tuffnut around.

                He staggered drunkenly, and grinned at Ruffnut.

                “Yeah, that is four. Yep, one, two, three, four,” Tuffnut counted the mirages of his sister. He fell back onto the ground with a sigh.

                “I’ll tag it and bag it,” Ruffnut said, placing the mace in a basket full of other maces.

                “I’ll tell you what,” Tuffnut slurred. “Any of you four need anything, I’ll be right here.”

                “Which one of the usual suspects was out sinking boats on their dragon this morning?” Stoick demanded making everyone jump. Hiccup frowned seeing her father approaching them with Gobber, Bucket, and Mulch. “I have my suspicions.”

                “Sinking boats?” Hiccup questioned.

                “Bucket and Mulch saw the whole thing,” Stoick said. “And don’t try to convince me that there’s anyone else in the archipelago who could pull something like this off! Well, I’m waiting.”

                Hiccup looked at her friends, and they shook their heads and shrugged.

                “It was me, Chief!” Tuffnut burst up. He walked forward on his knees. “I couldn’t control myself. I had to do it.”

                Tuffnut threw his hands in the air dramatically.

                “What is wrong with me?” Tuffnut continued. “Why do I do things like this? Why doesn’t anybody do anything to stop me? Can’t you all see that it’s a desperate cry for help?”

                Stoick pinched the top of his nose and sighed as Tuffnut sobbed loudly on the ground. Ruffnut approached her brother, and threw her hands up.

                “What are you talking about?” Ruffnut asked “None of that happened.”

                Tuffnut stopped crying and stood to face his sister.

                “I know,” Tuffnut said cheerfully. “I always wanted to confess to something. How’d it play? I didn’t overdo it, did I?”

                “Yeah, I mean, overall you seemed grounded, but it was still a little hard to believe,” Ruffnut critiqued.

                “Dad,” Hiccup said quickly as she heard him start growling. “We’ve been together all morning. It couldn’t have been any of us.”

                “Well, if it wasn’t one of you, we have a much more serious problem on our hands,” Stoick said seriously.

                “Rogue dragon rider?’ Asher questioned.

                “Not good, not good at all,” Fishlegs said.

                “No, it isn’t,” Hiccup agreed. “We need to find out who it is.”

                After getting the location of the attack from Bucket and Mulch, the Dragon Riders quickly rode out to investigate. They easily spotted the fishing vessel on the calm waters, and landed on the deck.

                “Okay, gang,” Hiccup called out as she dismounted. “Let’s spread out.”

                “I’ve been thinking about this rogue dragon rider,” Asher said as he dismounted from Stormfly beside her.

                “Dagur?” Hiccup guessed.

                “It makes sense,” Asher said. “If Dagur has a dragon, and is attacking ships, then who’s to say we won’t be next?”

                “Hiccup!” Fishlegs called out from a broken section of the siding further down the deck. “You got to see this.”

                Hiccup went over, and stared at the damage. It looked like the wood had been slashed or gashed with a blade rather than dragon claws or teeth.

                “Those are some deep gashes,” Hiccup said quietly, running a hand over the damage. “Any idea what it could be?”

                “This dragon is extremely powerful,” Fishlegs said, observing the damage. “It has the slashing attack of a Speed Stinger yet from the depths of the strikes it appears to be as strong as a Typhoomerang.”

                “You guys,” Hiccup called out. “Anybody find anything else?”

                “This ship has been stripped of everything valuable,” Asher said. He examined several empty barrels on the side of the ship. He kicked one of them away, and raised an eyebrow as the twins were fighting over something at the bow of the ship. The twins noticed them looking, and stopped.

                “Nothing over here,” Tuffnut announced as he hid something behind his back. “Right, sis?”

                “Nope,” Ruffnut agreed. “Nothing.”

                “Zilch,” Tuffnut continued as Hiccup approached. “Not a thing in front, behind or to either side of us.”

                “You know I can see that, don’t you?” Hiccup asked.

                “Alright, alright,” Tuffnut conceded. “But we get to keep it.”

                “Yeah, finders keepers,” Ruffnut said.

                “Loser…” He trailed off as he pulled a large silver object from behind his back. “Losers don’t get this cause it’s way too cool for a loser.”

                He held it out in front of him, and the Fishlegs gasped.

                “A barb!”

                “That looks like one of Stormfly’s” Asher observed.

                “Which means the dragon could belong to the Sharp Class,” Fishlegs said eagerly. “In fact, I’d bet my Meatlug on it!” Meatlug rubbed up against him, growling sadly. “No, don’t worry. It’s just an expression.”

                Hiccup walked forward, and grabbed the barb to examine it. She raised her eyebrows when Tuffnut tugged on it.

                “Tuff,” Hiccup warned as she pulled on it.

                Tuffnut continued to pull on it, and grabbed it with his other hand above Hiccup’s. Hiccup grabbed the top of it with her other hand, and Tuffnut moved his lower hand to slam it on the point at the top of the bar. He screamed, and released it whirling back in pain as he rubbed his hand.

                Hiccup examined the barb.

                ‘It’s definitely similar to one of Stormfly’s,’ Hiccup observed. ‘The silver isn’t just a color. This bard is metallic in nature. I’ve never seen any dragon with something like this. Though maybe we have something that has.’

                “You thinking what I’m thinking gang?” Hiccup asked.

                “Oh, good game, Hiccup,” Tuffnut praised. “You think of something, we’ll try to guess what it is. If we do, we get a prize. Think away, my dear friend, and let the game begin.”

                “Let me see,” Snotlout mused. “I’m thinking you two are muttonheads.”

                “Yes! I win!” Tuffnut cheered.

                “I was actually thinking, if we find the dragon, we find the rider,” Hiccup said. She held up the barb. “And I have a pretty good idea of how we can find the dragon.”

Berk

                “Sharp!” Bucket yelled fearfully. “Did I say sharp?”

                “I know Bucket,” Fishlegs said, frustrated. He put down his brush, and turned away from the shield he was painting on to glare at Bucket. “We’ve gone over that twenty times.”

                “Well, it’s got a very long tail,” Bucket said sheepishly. “And it can tie itself into a knot.”

                Fishlegs turned back to the shield, and continued to work on the painting of the dragon.

                “Yes,” Bucket said, observing him. “Yes, that’s right. And two large wings to slice.”

                Fishlegs paused, and stepped back from the shield. Bucket took one look at it, and ran screaming from the Great Hall.

                “So?” Hiccup prompted.

                “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Fishlegs said. He gestured to his drawing of a very sharp looking dragon. “Not in the Book of Dragons or Bork’s papers.”

                “There is one place we haven’t looked yet,” Hiccup said. She went over to Toothless, and took the Dragon Eye from her saddle bag.

                “Asher,” Hiccup said. “Can you go get Stormfly?”

                Asher looked up from where he was arm wrestling with Snotlout. Snotlout tried to take advantage, and pushed hard on Asher’s arm, but Asher showed no notice and just smiled at Hiccup.

                “Sure thing,” Asher said. He slammed Snotlout’s arm on the table. “Be right back.”

                Snotlout grumbled under his breath as he rubbed his arm, and glared at Hiccup and Fishlegs when he saw them snickering. Asher returned quickly with Stormfly beside him.

                “So, I’m thinking since Stormfly is also a Sharp Class,” Hiccup started.

                “Her magnesium blast could possibly illuminate some information about this new dragon,” Fishlegs finished.

                Hiccup gestured to a barrel, and Asher pulled two daggers out of his belt. He threw them into the top of the barrel at an angle so together they formed a v for the Dragon Eye to rest on. Hiccup set the Dragon Eye down on the daggers, pointing the dragon’s mouth at the wall.

                ‘Hopefully this works,’ Hiccup thought. ‘I still have that new lens we found in the cave inside it right now. The other one is back at the Edge.’

                “Stormfly, easy now,” Asher instructed. Stormfly moved behind the Dragon Eye, and leaned over to release a low flame. Asher rubbed her head fondly. “Good. Just enough to light it up.”

                “Deadly Nadder,” Fishlegs said, gazing up at the projected image. It was clearly a silhouette of a Deadly Nadder dragon with other small images and writing surrounding it. “I missed this the first time. Who has some chalk? I have to translate it.”

                “Now’s not the time, Fishlegs,” Hiccup reminded. Hiccup twisted the rings on the Dragon’s Eye into a new alignment.

                “Speed Stinger!” Fishlegs said, recognizing the new silhouette. “One of my favorites. There’s so much more to learn.”

                “Oh, my Thor!” Snotlout said, rolling his eyes. “Get on with it!”

                “I know, Fishlegs,” Hiccup said firmly. “I got it. Later.”

                Hiccup twisted the rings again, and a silhouette very similar to the drawing Fishlegs had made was projected up on the wall.

                “That’s it!” Snotlout cried.

                “It’s called a Razorwhip,” Asher read.

                “Okay, Fishlegs, do your thing,” Hiccup said, giving the boy a smile as he patted her on the shoulder.

                Fishlegs walked closer to the projection, and examined the images closely.

                “Okay. Razorwhip. Sharp Class dragon,” Fishlegs said. “Long, spiny, barbed tail. Very aggressive, very dangerous.”

                “Yeah, we got that,” Snotlout laughed. “Give us something new.”

                “You want to do this, Snotlout?” Fishlegs snapped.

                “Duh! I would,” Snotlout boasted. He looked closely at the text, but couldn’t read any of it. “But I’m just…I don’t feel like it right now.”

                “Continuing on,” Fishlegs said shortly. “This symbol indicates that it can use its tail to wrap around a victim and literally squeeze the life out of them. Unless it’s in a hurry. Then it just slices you in half.”

                “Punch me, because I must be dreaming,” Tuffnut said dreamily to Ruffnut. He cried out in pain as she punched him.

                “Fishlegs, is there anything about this dragon that won’t kill us?” Asher asked.

                “How about its eyeballs?” Ruffnut suggested.

                “No. Poisonous tears,” Fishlegs replied.

                “Poisonous! I love it!” Tuffnut cried.

                “Poison’s fantastic,” Hiccup said hurriedly. “Fishlegs is there anything that might help us locate it?”

                “Hmm,” Fishlegs looked over the projection. “Top speed, mating rituals, oral hygiene, feeding habits—”

                “Wait!” Hiccup said abruptly. “Go back to that one.”

                “Oral hygiene?” Fishlegs questioned.

                “No, feeding habits,” Hiccup said. “If we can figure out what this thing eats, then we might figure out where it eats.”

                “Sea slugs!” Fishlegs called out excitedly.

                “Where?” Tuffnut looked around alarmed.

                “It eats sea slugs,” Fishlegs elaborated.

                “Slugs? I hate those slimy monsters,” Tuffnut said with a shudder. “They’re just snails without homes. Giant homeless snails!”

                “We’ve come across a few islands that are crawling with sea slugs,” Hiccup said. “Hopefully, our Razorwhip is hungry.”

                “Hungry for sea slugs, hopefully, and not Vikings,” Asher added.

The Next Day

                “I have a good feeling about this island,” Fishlegs announced as the Dragon Riders flew towards the next island on their list.

                “That’s what you said about the last five islands!” Snotlout snapped.

                “Hey, I’m a ‘yak bladder half full’ kind of guy,” Fishlegs replied.

                “I don’t mean to burst your yak bladder,” Asher called back. “But has anyone considered what we will do if we actually find this Razorwhip?”

                “You can marry it,” Tuffnut said happily.

                “And what if Dagur’s riding it?” Asher asked amused.

                “Well, then Ruffnut can have him,” Tuffnut said. “It will be complicated, but I will one day learn to love him as my own.”

                “Uh, Tuffnut—” Asher tried to say.

                “Like a little babe, a child that I carry in my arms,” Tuffnut continued solemnly. “But he’s too heavy.”

                Hiccup and Toothless glanced at each other, and shook their heads. Hiccup raised her spyglass to her eye, and scanned the island. Her eyes caught on a stream of white smoke rising over the cliffs.

                “Guys, look! Smoke!” Hiccup said urgently.

                “A campfire,” Asher said.

                “This dragon builds campfires? “Tuffnut asked.

                Asher pulled up closer to Hiccup.

                “Give me the ‘Twins serve a purpose’ speech again,” Asher requested sarcastically.

                “Yeah! I’ve never heard that one!” Tuffnut said excitedly. “I’ve only heard the ‘Twins are muttonheads’ speech, which is also very good.”

                Hiccup glanced at Asher and the two exchanged eye rolls, before Hiccup nudged Toothless to descend.

                “Okay or you don’t have to,” Tuffnut mumbled.

                They circled the campsite, and seeing nothing from the air, they landed beside the campfire. Asher looked down at a set of crates and barrels piled up by a tree.

                “Could be the loot from the ship,” Asher said.

                “These gashes look familiar,” Hiccup said, pointing out a set of gashes carved into a couple rocks. “Alright, gang. Let’s split up and search the island for our rogue rider and his Razorwhip. He can’t be far away. Fishlegs and Meatlug, you two stay here. Signal if they come back.”

                “You got it!” Fishlegs happily saluted. Fishlegs sighed as he dismounted from Meatlug.

                “You know Meatlug,” Fishlegs said, as he bent over to pick up a couple stones. “Ordinarily, I would pretend to be upset at being left behind, but to be honest, this time I just feel a lot safer being here with you.”

                He tossed the stones to her, and she happily turned around to snatch them out of the air and munch on them. Fishlegs hummed in content, and then yelped as silver tail wrapped around him and yanked him up into the tree. Meatlug didn’t hear a thing, still happily chewing on her rocks.

                The twins took their search over a wide stretch of forest.

                “Alright sis,” Tuffnut said. “You look left, and I’ll look right.”

                The twins scanned the sky and trees around them in all directions.

                “Wait!” Ruffnut said abruptly. “My left or your left?”

                “We have the same left,” Tuffnut pointed out. “We’re twins.”

                “Right,” Ruffnut agreed. They went back to looking, and Tuffnut groaned after a minute.

                “Who are we kidding?” Tuffnut said. “We’re never going to find this thing.”

                “All I see are trees!” Ruffnut said annoyed.

                “All I see is my dreams of spending my golden years with a Razorwhip vanishing right before my eyes,” Tuffnut moaned.

                The twins cried out as a large silver blur lunged out of the trees, and knocked them right off their dragon. They plummeted to the forest floor, hitting several branches on the way down.

                Tuffnut groaned, and opened his eyes to see several Ruffnut’s hanging over a tree branch.

                “An eight?” Tuffnut slurred. “That is way too many Ruffn…”

                Ruffnut cried out as the branch she was on broke, and she fell straight onto her brother.

                Asher looked around the cliffside, axe in hand, as Stormfly sniffed the area. Stormfly snarled, and Asher hurried over to see she had found large dragon footprints.

                “These tracks look pretty fresh,” Asher observed. “Stay sharp, Stormfly.”

                Asher kneeled to examine them. Stormfly watched him, but then her attention was drawn as something was thrown past her. Stormfly sniffed the air, and smiled when she picked up the scent of chicken.

                Asher looked up, alarmed, as Stormfly ran towards a cave.

                “Stormfly!” Asher cried. He followed her into the cave, and stopped as Stormfly turned around. He was shocked to see a cooked half chicken in her mouth.

                “Chicken?” Asher said surprised. He gasped as he heard a metallic sound at the front of the cave, and turned to see a silver, whiplike tail hit the top of the cave. “Oh, no!”

                Asher covered his head as rocks came down, blocking the entrance of the cave.

                Snotlout shifted uncomfortably in the saddle as Hookfang glided over the forest. He squirmed for a couple more minutes before he couldn’t take it anymore.

                “Take us down, Hookfang! Hurry!” Snotlout demanded.

                Hookfang rolled his eyes as he did, and turned away as his rider ran for some nearby bushes.

                “I knew we should’ve gone before we left,” Snotlout said as he reached the bushes. He crouched into them, and quickly did his business. He froze as he heard a metallic sound ring out over head. He growled as the trees around the bush fell.

                “Can’t a Viking get some privacy?” Snotlout snapped as he came out of the bush. He heard a loud rumbling behind him, and turned to see a pile of logs rolling down at him from the top of the hill.

                “Hookfang!” Snotlout screamed as he took off running. He reached the end of the grass, and leapt down into the river below. “Hookfang!”

                Hookfang looked around the area for his rider, but grunted when he didn’t see him.

                Hiccup and Toothless scanned the area around them as they flew amongst the cliffs surrounding the river on the island. Toothless growled as he spotted something up ahead, and stopped.

                “What is it, bud?” Hiccup asked quietly. She looked in the direction he was growling, and spotted them.

                The Razorwhip was an impressive dragon. It had a long, slender neck with a prominent horn on top of its snout. Its large wings were folded as it looked around, and its body was covered in silver, platelike scales. On the dragons back was the slender figure of a human rider, with a hood over their head, and some armor similar to their dragons.

                “Nice work, Toothless!” Hiccup praised, rubbing him on the head.

                The Razorwhip turned its head towards them, and Toothless growled as he saw it roar at them. The Razorwhip leapt from the ledge it had been sitting on, its sharp wings slicing through the nearby trees.

                “Let’s get him, bud!” Hiccup said, encouragingly.

                Toothless raced after the silver dragon, following through some trees and into another canyon. Toothless narrowed his eyes as the Razorwhip looked back at them, and flew lower to slice through more trees. They began to fall into the Night Fury’s path.

                Toothless ducked under them, and kept going. He flapped his wings harder to catch up, and took the next turn in the canyon tightly.

                “Toothless, look out!” Hiccup cried seeing large rocks falling from several gashes cut into the canyon walls. Toothless flipped through the air to dodge them, and raced onward. He kept the dragon in his sights, and his eyes widened when he turned the corner and saw them flying back towards them.

                Hiccup looked at the rider as they flew past. She made eye contact, and felt there was something familiar with the green eyes that stared back into her own. Hiccup turned to face forward and screamed when she saw a tree coming their way.

                Toothless fired several plasma blasts, and destroyed the trunk of the tree. He growled as he stopped, and turned around to glare back at the canyon.

                “Alright, Toothless, give me all you’ve got!” Hiccup said fiercely. She hunched down low over Toothless as he raced to catch up with the Razorwhip.

                Toothless growled as he got the silver dragon in his sights, and fired plasma blasts at it whenever he had a clear shot. The first few missed as the Razorwhip turned the corners, but Hiccup spotted an opportunity at the last bend.

                “Now, Toothless! Now!” Hiccup cried.

                Toothless fired a plasma blast that ricocheted off the canyon wall, and hit the Razorwhip in the side. Both dragon and rider fell to the ground below, and Toothless quickly landed a safe distance away. The Razorwhip got up first, and quickly stood protectively over their rider as they got to their feet.

                “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Hiccup warned as the rider moved to get back on the Razorwhip. Toothless growled menacingly beneath her as the rider turned to face them. He powered up a plasma blast in the back of his throat.

                “I wouldn’t, either,” The mysterious rider responded, their voice feminine.

                Hiccup gasped as the rider lowered their hood. A long, thick black braid fell to past her belt, resting next to a small horn. The girl looked up at Hiccup, and smiled.

                “Heather?” Hiccup gasped.

                “Hello, Hiccup,” Heather said warmly.

                “Wait, wait, you’re the rider?” Hiccup asked as Toothless powered down his shot.

                Heather laughed, and patted the Razorwhip on the neck. “Looks that way.”

                “Don’t get me wrong,” Hiccup said slowly. “I’m happy to see you, but I’m very confused right now.”

                “I know,” Heather acknowledged. “There’s a lot to explain. We should go to my camp, and talk there.”

                “Sure,” Hiccup agreed. “The others should be able to meet us there soon.”

                Heather hummed, but didn’t say anything as she mounted the Razorwhip, and they flew back to her camp.

                ‘I can’t believe it,’ Hiccup thought, still in shock. ‘Heather. Heather is the mystery rider. I don’t understand. Last we saw her she was back with her family on her island. What is she doing here now?’

                When they made it back to camp, Hiccup saw Fishlegs, Asher, and Snotlout were already present. The three of them wore equal looks of shock as they saw her return with the Razorwhip and Heather. The shock quickly faded into anger.

                “You rolled me into a river!” Snotlout accused, angrily.

                “You trapped me in a cave!” Asher snapped.

                “You left me dangling in a tree!” Fishlegs cried.

                “Though, I have to admit the chicken move that brought back some memories,” Asher said nostalgically.

                “Guys, I’m sure Heather had a really good reason for doing what she did,” Hiccup said diplomatically. She looked at Heather with wide eyes. “Right?”

                “Look, I’ve been living on my own out here for years, and I’ve made some enemies,” Heather said firmly. “I didn’t want you guys to be involved. I needed to send you back to Berk.”

                “You couldn’t have just, I don’t know, said that?!” Snotlout snapped.

                “Would you have listened?” Heather asked.

                “She has a point,” Asher acknowledged. “We are a stubborn bunch.”

                “I don’t listen to anyone!” Snotlout said defiantly.

                “Heather, whatever problems you have, whatever enemies you’ve made, we can help you,” Hiccup said warmly. “You don’t have to be out here alone anymore.”

                “Hiccup, please, just let this go,” Heather pleaded.

                “We have a base not far from here,” Hiccup insisted. “Come back with us. It doesn’t have to be anything permanent. We’ll get you some provisions and catch up. You can see how you like it…”

                Hiccup trailed off as Ruffnut dragged Tuffnut into the camp, and propped him up against a tree. The Razorwhip looked at him curiously as he opened his eyes.

                “Whoa!” Tuffnut said in a dreamy state. “Razorwhip. This is the best dream ever.” He reached out and put his hand on the Razorwhip’s nose, and she leaned into the touch.

                “It’s like I can reach out and touch it,” Tuffnut said happily. He realized he was touching the Razorwhip, and jumped up. “I can reach out and touch it!” He slowly ran his hand down her neck, and the Razorwhip patiently allowed it. “Cold, scaly.”

                Hiccup had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter as Tuffnut removed his helmet, and knelt in front of the dragon.

                “I, Tuffnut Thorston, take thee, Razorwhip, whatever your last name is insert it here, to be my…Oh, hey, Heather,” Tuffnut said as he turned to face Heather, who was wearing a very amused smile. “What are you doing in my dreams? At my wedding. I didn’t put you on the list.”

                “You’re not dreaming, Tuff,” Heather replied, as he touched her on the shoulder.

                “Oh!” Tuffnut said. He turned to look at the silver dragon that was smiling at him. “Well, in that case, RAZORHWIP ATTACK! RUN!”

                Hiccup and Heather laughed as he scrambled away.

                “I see nothing has changed,” Heather said.

                “Yeah, same story, different year,” Hiccup replied. “Let’s head over to Dragon’s Edge.”

                “You’re not gonna give up, are you?” Heather questioned.

                “Not likely,” Hiccup admitted.

                “Okay,” Heather agreed. “Dragon’s Edge it is.”

                “You’re gonna love it!” Hiccup insisted.

Dragon’s Edge

                Everyone gathered in the clubhouse once they returned to Dragon’s Edge.

                “So where did you find her?” Tuffnut asked, gesturing to the Razorwhip.

                “More importantly, can we ride it?” Ruffnut asked eagerly.

                “Did you miss me?” Snotlout asked, getting up close to Heather. “I think you did. That’s why you threw that tree at me, isn’t it? Playing hard to get. Me likey.”

                Heather rolled her eyes, and pushed Snotlout back with a finger on his head. He tripped over Asher’s outstretched foot, and tumbled over. Asher smirked, and he and Heather fist bumped.

                “Never mind him,” Fishlegs said. “How did you train a Razorwhip? It’s incredible!”

                “Actually, I owe a lot to you guys, “Heather said gratefully.

                “To us?” Asher questioned happily.

                “To me,” Snotlout boasted as he got back up. “She meant to me. I mean, how much more obvious can she be? Women. I totally understand them.”

                Snotlout yelped as the Razorwhip hit him in the back with her tail, sending him sprawling.

                Heather patted her dragon on the neck.

                “When I found Windshear—”

                “Awesome name!” Tuffnut cried, “I bet you ride like the wind, shearing through it. Get it? I used both of the words in its name to explain why she’s called that.”

                “Oh, gods,” Hiccup moaned as Heather rolled her eyes.

                “Anyway,” Heather continued. “When I found her, she’d been hurt in a fight with a Typhoomerang. Windshear held her own, but she needed to be nursed back to health.” She hugged Windshear, and the dragon purred contently. “When she was better, I used the training you guys taught me on Berk. We’ve become the perfect team. We’re unstoppable. I mean, look at her! No one can take us down, and if they try, they’ll be sorry for it.”

                Hiccup frowned at how fiercely Heather sounded as she finished.

                “Ha! I guess she’s pretty cool, but not as cool as this. Hookfang!” Snotlout said. He walked over to the entrance of the clubhouse, and stood in front of Hookfang. “Flame up!”

                Hookfang flapped his wings to hover over the deck, and burst into flame. Snotlout smirked smugly.

                “That’s cute,” Heather said mockingly. “Windshear, tail slice!”

                Snotlout flinched as Windshear sliced her tail into the floorboards around him. He sighed in relief when she pulled back, and nothing happened.

                “Ha! What’s so great about—” Snotlout screamed as the floor broke away beneath him. The other riders looked down into the hole to see him hanging from one of the supports. “Ok, we’ll call it a draw.”

                “What else can she do?” Fishlegs asked excitedly.

                “Windshear’s breath can burn the flesh off a human from a hundred feet away,” Heather said proudly. “One single blade of her tail is as deadly as the sharpest battle axe.”

                Windshear expanded the barbs on her tail, startling Snotlout back down the hole.

                “It’s great having Heather back,” Asher said happily to Hiccup. He watched the twins and Fishlegs approach her with more questions, not noticing the frown on Hiccup’s face. “She’s so…I don’t know, intense, hardcore. I love it!”

                “You do?” Hiccup questioned. It felt like lead ball was slowly forming in her stomach. “I mean, it’s great. She’s definitely grown up since the last time we saw her.”

                “Hiccup, it’s been three years,” Asher said, looking at her questioningly. “We were just kids. We’ve all grown up.”

                “Yeah, but she was so sweet, and now she’s so…” Hiccup trailed off as she tried to find the words. “I don’t know.”

                “Edgy?” Asher suggested. “What’s wrong with that? I like it.”

                “Well, there’s edgy and then there’s destroying ships,” Hiccup pointed out. That lead ball was resting heavily in her stomach now. “Which I still need to ask her about.”

                “Well, do me a favor, and wait until I ask her about her battle axe,” Asher said. He looked over, admiring the double-sided axe Heather wielded in a demonstration to the other riders. “See? Hardcore.”

                Hiccup stared after Asher as he charged with a sword at Heather, and began to duel her.

                ‘Edgy? Hardcore? Since when did Asher like those things?’ Hiccup thought. She looked down as the two dueled, and Hiccup wrung her hands. ‘I guess, she is pretty cool…She’s even got her own impressive dragon now.’

                Hiccup felt a bump at her side, and looked down as Toothless shoved himself under her arm. He cooed at her, and Hiccup hugged him around the neck.

                “Thanks, bud,” Hiccup whispered.

                ‘I wish I could stay as excited as everyone else,’ Hiccup thought as she stroked Toothless. Her eyes flicked back to Heather. ‘But I need to find out what’s going on.’

                It took some time, but she was eventually able to find Heather alone in the stables with Windshear.

                “Eat up, girl,” Heather muttered, putting down an empty bucket as Windshear finished chewing. Heather pet her snout. “You’ll need all your strength for what we’ve got coming.”

                “Heather,” Hiccup said loudly as she approached. “We should probably talk.”

                “Sure, about what?” Heather asked.

                “About the ship that you and Windshear destroyed,” Hiccup replied.

                “Oh,” Heather said softly. “That ship.”

                “Heather, what are you doing out there?” Hiccup asked seriously.

                “I’m just taking care of business,” Heather replied shortly. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

                “Well, I do worry about it,” Hiccup said firmly. “If dragons are attacking ships, I worry. I’m worried about you, Heather, but I also have to think about Berk, my people.” Hiccup sighed when Heather looked at her confused.

                “We are the only village in the archipelago with Dragon Riders,” Hiccup said seriously. “We’ve kept that information close to the chest, but there are people that know. If word spreads that a Dragon Rider is attacking and stealing from ships, Berk will be the first suspect. My village could be blamed for attacks we didn’t commit.”

                “That won’t happened, Hiccup,” Heather said adamantly. She took a breath and sighed. “Look, a lot has happened in the last few years. We’re not kids anymore. Everything has changed.”

                “This isn’t you,” Hiccup protested. She couldn’t imagine the sweet girl that had been so brave back then being gone. “It can’t be!”

                “It is now,” Heather said. “The last time you saw me, I…never mind. If you want me to leave—”

                “I didn’t say that,” Hiccup said calmly. She put her hand on Heather’s shoulder. “Whatever it is you’re going through we can help. All of us. There’s always another way.”

                Heather smiled and hugged her close.

                “You’re so sweet, Hiccup,” Heather said softly. “Thank you. You’ve always been a great friend to me.”

                ‘I’m sorry, Hiccup,’ Heather thought as she hugged her tight. She closed her eyes as Hiccup sighed in her arms. ‘This is my fight.’

                ‘I played the game of deflection a long time before you started, Heather. Don’t think I didn’t recognize you turning that conversation around,’ Hiccup said, staring out at the setting sun. ‘I’m sorry, Heather. I wish I could trust you now.’

That Night

                Heather pulled her hood up over her head as she gazed up at the moon. Windshear waited for her on the deck outside the stables as she quietly entered. Heather cautiously tiptoed to each of the dragon’s pens, and locked them in. As she locked the padlocks with the key, she yanked down on the key, breaking it in two.

                ‘I sure hope Toothless is sleeping soundly with Hiccup,’ Heather thought. She had been surprised when Hiccup revealed that Toothless was more comfortable sleeping in the same room as her while the others were content with the stables. Shushing Stormfly back to sleep when she stirred, Heather pulled up her mask to cover the lower half of her face.

                “Sorry, guys,” Heather whispered as she exited. “Nothing personal.”

                As she mounted Windshear, and the dragon took off into the night, she missed the dark shadow of the Night Fury hanging from the rafters. Once he heard them leave, Toothless opened his wings, and twisted as he let go so Hiccup could fall into his saddle. Toothless rumbled in disappointment watching Heather and Windshear leave.

                “Ok, bud, let’s get some answers,” Hiccup said. Toothless growled, and took off following the pair. They hung back a safe distance, Toothless effortlessly blending into the night sky. They traveled for some distance, before Heather and Windshear descended around a group of sea stacks.

                Toothless landed on a nearby stack, and clung to the rock as he and Hiccup peered around the corner. They watched as Windshear landed on the bow of a boat, and Heather dismounted to meet a man waiting on the deck. Toothless growled intrigued as Hiccup raised her spyglass to her eye.

                “Come on, just turn around,” Hiccup muttered impatiently at the man facing away from her. “Let me see your face.”

                Hiccup gasped as the man turned to unfurl a map to show Heather.

                “Trader Johann,” Hiccup muttered. “Okay, this is getting strange.”

                Hiccup wished she had a way to listen in on their conversation as Heather said a few words to Johann, before jumping back onto Windshear.

                “Toothless!” Hiccup warned as Windshear flew up towards them. Toothless pulled back around the corner, and hugged the wall tight as the Razorwhip flew past. Hiccup watched them go. “Okay, Johann, let’s see what we can get out of you.”

                Hiccup secured herself in the saddle, and Toothless backflipped off the wall and glided down towards the trader’s boat. Johann jumped as the Night Fury landed on the bow of his ship.

                “Miss Hiccup!” Johann gasped as Hiccup dismounted, and approached him. He hurriedly put some parchment he had been looking over away, and sat down at the table nearby. “To what do I owe the pleasure for this midnight visit?”

                “Well, I just saw you meeting with a mutual friend of ours, and I got a little curious,” Hiccup said as she leaned on one side of the table while Toothless went to stand by the other. “Care to share what you told Heather with me?”

                “I’m sorry, Miss Hiccup,” Johann said apologetically as he wrung his hands nervously. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy. The Chief of the headhunting Asmat Tribe from Papua New Guinea couldn’t part these lips!”

                “Really?” Hiccup turned and put her hands on the table to lean towards Johann. “How about Stoick the Vast of the Hooligan Tribe from Berk? Do you know what trade sanctions are, Johann?”

                “Two words that should never be used in the same sentence?” Johann replied hopefully. He flinched as Toothless growled loudly at his side. “Right! Where shall I begin?”

                Hiccup sat down in the chair on the other side of the table.

                “Let’s start with why Heather is out attacking ships all be herself,” Hiccup said.

                “I suppose it would have something to do with her entire village, including her own family, being decimated by a rather nasty group of undesirables,” Johann answered. Hiccup focused on his words to keep a straight face as Toothless moved around behind the man. “She’s made it her personal mission to avenge her island and her family.”

                “By sinking and looting ships?” Hiccup asked angrily.

                “She’s not looting,” Johann said quickly as Toothless growled again. “She’s redistributing back to the victims of those horrible crimes. Every thieving ship that Heather attacks means they’ll get back some of what they’ve lost. Of course, lost loved ones can’t be replaced.”

                “But why?” Hiccup questioned. “Why now? Why her?”

                “Many ‘whys’, Miss Hiccup,” Johann commented. “None of which I can address at this moment.”

                Hiccup sighed and put her head on the table.

                “Johann, why do we do this?” Hiccup moaned.

                “I’m sorry?” Johann answered, confused.

                “You know you’ll tell me,” Hiccup said exasperated, picking herself back up. “I know you’ll tell me. So why not just save us both the trouble and just—”

                “I suppose you do have a point,” Johann said quickly, as Toothless got close to him. “Picture, if you will a brilliant sunny day on the Emerald Isle of Karantha when I received a mysterious correspondence from a little boy. Yet again—”

                “Johann!” Heather said, slamming her fist into the table. “Where is Heather going?”

                Toothless growled more deeply and showed Johann his teeth.

                “It’s not just where Heather is going, Miss Hiccup,” Johann answered ominously. “It’s who she’s going after.”

                “Who?” Hiccup asked.

                Heather took a deep breath as she spotted the Berserker ship of Dagur the Deranged sailing below.

                “There!” Heather said eagerly, pointing at the ship. “There it is, Windshear. Remember, girl, we’re doing this for my mom and dad. For our whole village.”

                She glared down at the ship as she lowered her hood and mask.

                “I want my face to be the last thing Dagur ever sees,” Heather said angrily. She paused as she saw three more ships sailing beside Dagur’s as the clouds parted more. “What in the name of Thor? He was supposed to be alone.”

                Down below, Savage pointed up at a silver dragon circling up in the clouds.

                “Sir, that dragon’s been circling up there for a while now,” Savage informed Dagur.

                “Hmm,” Dagur said observing the dragon. “Never seen one of those before.”

                “Nor, have I,” Savage said. “What should we do?”

                “Well, you know what I always say,” Dagur said darkly. “When in doubt, take it out.”

                Savage smirked and pointed at the dragon.

                “Fire!” Savage yelled at the archers on deck.

                Dagur watched the dragon carefully as it weaved through the volley of arrows, noting the rider on its back.

                “Wait for it,” Dagur said slowly. “Wait for it. Now!”

                A huge hook and chain were launched into the air. Windshear nearly dodged it, but the chain hooked around her tail and latched on tight.

                “No!” Heather cried.

                Another ship launched its hook, and it wrapped around Windshear’s arm. Windshear flapped her wings, pulling on the chains.

                “Reel in that spiny menace!” Dagur yelled as the two ships bucked up from the dragon pulling on the chains. The Berserker men holding the chains, pulled down harder, and Windshear faltered. She strained at the chains, and was able to stop them from pulling her down, but she couldn’t break free.

                Heather stared horrified at the sight of four more ships approaching. She glared down at the ship, and spotted Dagur.

                “Well, hello, Heather,” Dagur greeted. He yelled at his men. “Pull harder! She can be useful to us! Very useful.”

                “We got this, girl!” Heather encouraged Windshear. She and Windshear gasped at the sight of the other four ships coming closer. “Or not.”

                Three of the ships fired their hooks. Two missed, but one was able to wrap itself around the base of Windshear’s neck. Heather turned around on her saddle, and pulled at the chain. She flinched back as the hook on the chain of the fourth ship flew past her face. She saw another pass behind her, and she smirked, realizing it would miss her.

                She screamed as the chain that had flown in front of her wrapped around her and Windshear’s neck. As she fell back, the other chain fell to wrap around her shoulders and Windshear, tying her to her dragon. Heather struggled to break free, and keep the chain from moving to her neck.

                Windshear shrieked as more chains wrapped around her limbs, and she struggled desperately to break free.  Dagur laughed maniacally at the sight of the chained dragon.

                Hiccup gasped as Toothless stopped, shocked at the sight of Windshear being held by the chains of the Berserker ships and surrounded. Hiccup was horrified when she spotted Heather chained to the neck of her own dragon.

                “Heather!” Hiccup screamed.

Chapter Text

                Heather struggled against the chains binding her to Windshear. She could hear Dagur laughing below them, and cursed under her breath. She had been so sure she would be able to avenge her family and her village, but now the madman had her stuck and her dragon chained.

                “Come on Windshear,” Heather pleaded. Her dragon had never failed to get them out of tight situations.  “Get us out of here.”

                “Oh Heather, don’t fight it,” Dagur said gleefully.

                His smile faded as he heard the all-too-familiar cry of a Night Fury. He scowled and looked up to see Hiccup and her dragon flying towards them.

                “Toothless, we have to save her,” Hiccup said. Toothless nodded, and flapped his wigs to gain speed.

                “Well, look who the dragon flew in!” Dagur yelled happily. “Glad you could join us, little sis. It wouldn’t feel like a family reunion without you. Now, TAKE OUT THAT NIGHT FURY!”

                Toothless flew between the ships, ducking and dodging around bolas and chains. He flew up into the air to get some distance, and Hiccup ducked as a bola flew by her head.

                “Blast the chains, Toothless, now!” Hiccup said.

                Toothless fired a plasma blast at one of the chains holding Windshear. It hit the metal, but the chain didn’t break.

                “Dragon proof chains?” Hiccup gasped. Dagur laughed loudly.

                “Nice try, Hiccup,” Dagur said mockingly. He kept his eyes on them as Toothless circled the ships. “You didn’t think I’s make it that easy for you, did you?”

                Hiccup focused on the struggling Razorwhip and tried to find a weak point in the chains.

                “Whoa!” Hiccup leaning to dodge another bola. “Okay, that was too close. Come on, bud.”

                Toothless dove down, and glided between the ships. He pulled back up as they began to reach the center of the ring of the ships.

                “If we can’t blast the chains,” Hiccup said, as Toothless hovered. Hiccup followed one of the chains to a ship and spotted the men working the winch. “Blast the winches.”

                “Come to Dagur,” Dagur muttered as the Razorwhip and Heather were pulled down lower.

                “Fire!”

                Dagur turned as a plasma blast blew apart the winch of the chain. He growled in frustration as Toothless flew to the next ship and destroyed the winch on that boat too.

                Windshear roared as she felt the pull of the chains loosen. Heather felt relief as she heard more explosions, and the chains around her loosened enough for her to be able to free herself.

                “Nice, shooting, bud,” Hiccup said, patting Toothless on the head.

                “Ahem,” Dagur said calmly as he approached a Berserker looking down at the hole in the ship where the winch used to be, “Excuse me, what good are dragon proof chains without dragon proof winches?”

                The Berserker screamed as Dagur pushed him into the hole. Dagur ignored his moans of pain, and looked up to see Hiccup and Heather coming together with their dragons.

                “Heather, you can’t take Dagur and his fleet on all by yourself,” Hiccup admonished.

                “I’m not by myself,” Heather argued. “I have Windshear.”

                The two dragons growled as they reared back to dodge another bola. Hiccup growled as Heather and Windshear began to fly towards the ships again, and nudged Toothless to go after them.

                “I’m too close,” Heather said desperately. “I might not get this shot again.”

                “But this is suicide!” Hiccup said angrily.

                “I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” Heather said seriously.

                “Are you willing to sacrifice Windshear, too?” Hiccup asked.

                Heather stiffened at the question, and looked down. Windshear glanced back at her, and shrieked worriedly.

                “Heather, there will be another time,” Hiccup said calmly. “I promise you.”

                Heather struggled with herself for a moment, and let out a growl of frustration. She nudged Windshear to turn away from the Berserker ships. Hiccup sighed in relief as Toothless followed. The two dragons climbed quickly until they were safely above the clouds.

                The girls rode in silence for a long time. Hiccup glanced at Heather, but said nothing.

                ‘This whole time she was trying to get to Dagur,’ Hiccup thought. She sighed. ‘I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for her after losing her whole village, her parents. I wish…I wish she had talked to me. To Asher. To someone.’

                “Blasting the winches, pretty smart,” Heather suddenly said.

                “Yeah, and a little luck never hurts, either,” Hiccup joked. The two girls smiled at each other, before Heather looked down again, frowning.

                “I talked to Johann,” Hiccup said softly. “He told me Dagur wiped out your village and your family. I’m sorry.”

                “Then you know why he has to pay,” Heather said firmly.

                “I do, but you don’t have to do this alone,” Hiccup said. Toothless moved a little closer to Windshear so they could hear each other better.

                “I don’t know,” Heather said sadly. “It seems like I’m destined to be alone. First, when I was a little girl, I get separated from my birth family…”

                “Your birth family?” Hiccup said surprised.

                “Yes, but I don’t remember much,” Heather said. “It was so long ago. Just a few pictures in my mind. I remember my father’s hands. They were rough, like sandstone, but so gentle. And I remember the smell of his wooden shield. I don’t think I was supposed to play with it, but he let me anyway.”

                Heather reached down to her belt, and grabbed the small horn she had hanging there.

                “And this,” Heather said, holding it up. “He gave me this horn. I don’t know if it means something, but whenever I look at it, I think of him. I just wish I knew who he was.”

                Hiccup and Toothless exchanged sympathetic glances.

                ‘What a rotten situation,’ Hiccup thought sadly. She took a deep breath as they approached Dragon’s Edge. ‘She’s lost not one, but two families. It’s no wonder she’s changed.’

                They spotted the riders arguing with each other by the clubhouse, and Hiccup signaled Heather to land there. Heather sighed, but motioned for Windshear to follow Toothless. The other riders looked none too pleased as they landed, and Hiccup held up a hand to stop the incoming barrage.

                “Let’s go inside,” Hiccup said, tiredly. “It’s been a long night.”

                The riders grumbled, but complied. Heather stroked Windshear’s neck before following Hiccup inside.

                Windshear spotted Hookfang and Meatlug growling at her, and quickly backed up. She rounded the corner and hissed when she hit the wall. Meatlug growled at her, and playfully jumped towards her. Windshear roared, and looked around panicked as Barf and Belch leaned down from the roof to blow green gas and sparks at her.

                Toothless loudly growled at them, and the other dragons immediately stopped and backed away from Windshear. Toothless calmy approached her as she took a hesitant step back. Toothless rumbled comfortingly, and nudged the side of his face into hers. She rubbed him back appreciatively.

                “Look,” Heather said awkwardly as she rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry I locked up your dragons. I just didn’t trust that you guys would let me go after Dagur.”

                The twins hummed suspiciously as Fishlegs smiled.

                “Trust does need to be earned with people and dragons,” Fishlegs said graciously.

                “Thanks for understanding, Fishlegs,” Heather said gratefully. Asher rolled his eyes as Fishlegs giggled.

                “Good Thor, he is whipped,” Asher muttered to Hiccup. Hiccup elbowed him in the side with a smirk.

                “I don’t really trust these guys either,” Snotlout said sympathetically.

                “You know we can hear you,” Asher said loudly.

                “No one asked you Asher!” Snotlout snapped.

                “The point is,” Hiccup said, crossing over to put a hand on Heather’s back. “We have your back, Heather. You’re one of us.”

                “Yeah,” Fishlegs piped up. “I stocked Windshear’s stable with buckets of sea slugs.”

                “And I made room for you in my hut,” Snotlout said.

                “And I’ve made it clear to Snotlout,” Hiccup said firmly, crossing her arms. “That you’re not staying in his hut.”

                Snotlout pouted.

                “Even though you were the rogue dragon rider, and you locked up our dragons, and you snuck away in the night,” Tuffnut accused. He shook his head confused. “Wait, why do we like you again?”

                “I’m truly sorry, Tuffnut,” Heather said apologetically.

                “Whoa!” Tuffnut stumbled back. “That was…sincere. What am I supposed to do with that?” He started breathing heavily. “I’m feeling a little bit flushed and overwhelmed. Little help here? People!”

                Ruffnut rolled her eyes as Tuffnut stumbled away.

                “Help yourself!” Ruffnut said.

                “And if you need any help with Windshear—” Fishlegs offered.

                “Why don’t I show you around the Edge?” Snotlout interrupted. “I’m basically chief.”

                Hiccup glared, and stepped between the two boys and Heather as they looked at her expectantly. Ruffnut came around the side, and leaned against the wall by Heather.

                “Hey, glad your back,” Ruffnut said smoothly. “Your dragon rocks.”

                Heather let out a breath of relief as Asher grabbed her arm and tugged her away.

                “Let’s go get some battle axe training in,” Asher offered.

                “Good idea,” Heather accepted gratefully.

                Hiccup watched them go as the others grumbled. She let out a heavy breath, and jumped as Ruffnut touched her shoulder.

                “You alright?” Ruffnut asked.

                “Yeah, I think I’ve calmed down now,” Tuffnut said popping up beside them. Ruffnut growled and punched him.

                “Not you!” Ruffnut growled. She gestured to Hiccup. “Can’t you see we’re having girl talk?!”

                “Girl talk?” Tuffnut gasped. He looked between the two. “Oh, right. Cause the two of you are girls, so when you talk to each other it’s girl talk.”

                Ruffnut groaned and dragged Hiccup out by the arm. She whistled up to Barf and Belch, and they lowered their heads down. Ruffnut got into Barf’s saddle and gestured for Hiccup to sit on Belch’s. Hiccup glanced at Belch, and he growled warmly. Hiccup sat down, and the dragons raised their heads up and over the roof. The Zippleback heads lay down on the roof lounging in the sun as the two girls leaned against them.

                Ruffnut laughed quietly as Tuffnut ran out of the clubhouse down below looking for them.

                “Ah, he never looks up,” Ruffnut said fondly. She looked at Hiccup seriously. “So, am I getting an axe or a mace?”

                “What?” Hiccup asked confused.

                “You know, how bad is he making you feel?” Ruffnut asked. “Axe to the groin bad or mace to the groin mad?”

                “Uh, neither,” Hiccup said quickly. “And who’s ‘he’?”

                “Asher!” Ruffnut snapped. She groaned. “Look, I don’t do this kind of thing often so work with me here.”

                “I’m not upset with Asher,” Hiccup said.

                “Right,” Ruffnut said. “So the fact that he likes the new Heather and went off to train with her isn’t bothering you?”

                “N-no, no of course not,” Hiccup said quickly. She looked down. “He’s just being a good friend to her. She needs that right now.”

                “Right…” Ruffnut said as Belch chittered at Hiccup. Hiccup pet him on the head, and he put his head in her lap. “Don’t go spoiling him now.”

                Hiccup laughed, and Ruffnut smirked.

                “Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it,” Ruffnut said. “The two of them are too similar to ever work out.”

                “What?” Hiccup said alarmed. Ruffnut laughed.

                “Trust me,” Ruffnut said. Hiccup tilted her head, then perked up as Toothless jumped onto the roof. She rolled her eyes as he growled at Belch, and pushed him off Hiccup’s lap.  He loudly purred as he rubbed his head against Hiccup’s stomach as Belch glared. Ruffnut looked at Barf as he snickered.

                “At the rate that Asher and Hiccup are going, it’s going to be another year before anything happens,” Ruffnut muttered.

                Asher grunted as he threw two axes towards the targets. Both hit near the centers of their targets.

                “Two axes are better than one,” Asher said satisfied.

                “True,” Heather said. “Unless you have one of these.”

                She pulled out her axe, and extended it into its double-bladed form. She spun it in her hands before throwing it at the targets. It whipped through the air, and hit one of the targets just below Asher’s.

                “You really have to show me how you made that,” Asher said.

                “Sure,” Heather said as she picked up another axe. “I prefer close combat to throwing though.” She swung the axe into a nearby tree with a grunt. “So I can stare my enemy in the eye.”

                “Not a bad tactic,” Asher said appreciatively. He went and removed the axe from the tree. “But don’t discount...”

                With a cry, Asher threw the axe past Heather. It landed in the trunk of another tree with a heavy thud.

                “Hmm. The element of surprise,” Heather said. “I like that.”

                “It’s one of Hiccup’s favorite tactics,” Asher said fondly. Heather smirked as Asher went to get one of the axes from the target.

                “So,” Heather said slowly as she pulled the axe from the tree. “You two are a thing, right?”

                Asher jerked as he threw the axe, and the weapon went sailing over the target into the trees.

                “What?” Asher whipped around. “No, we’re just friends.”

                “Come on,” Heather said. She threw the axe into the target. “I’ve seen the way you two are together.”

                “No, seriously. Friends,” Asher insisted.

                “Hmm,” Heather hummed. “She is cute.”

                “I guess,” Asher said. He looked away from Heather as he rubbed the back of his neck. “If you like that unassuming, wild, heroic dragon rider type.”

                Heather raised an eyebrow at him, and threw the axe back into the center of the target.

                “Bullseye,” Heather quipped.

                “Now, you and Snotlout, that’s a match made in Valhalla,” Asher said, desperate to change the subject. The two of them laughed. “I do feel a little sorry for you.”

                “I can handle Snotlout,” Heather said confidently. “And besides, I’m not much into the macho Viking type. I like a little smarts, like Fishlegs.”

                “Fishlegs?” Asher questioned, pleasantly surprised. “Seriously?”

                “What? I think he’s funny and cute,” Heather said.

                “We’re talking about our Fishlegs, right?” Asher asked. “The guy with the Gronckle?”

                “Alright, alright,” Heather said, grabbing her weapon and folding it back into a single axe. “Enough romance talk. What else do you for fun around here?”

                Heather enjoyed spending time with Asher. The boy showed her how he took running leaps off cliffs to catch Stormfly’s tail, and it was nice to just have fun for a moment. She liked how Asher didn’t expect anything from her, and treated her as a fellow warrior.

                ‘Though he is slightly crazy for finding this fun,’ Heather thought as Windshear helped her climb up to sit on her neck after she missed her last jump. Asher laughed as he pulled up on Stormfly.

                “Want to go again?” Asher asked.

                “No,” Heather said adamantly. Heather took a breath. “I want to show you something. If you can keep up.”

                “Get ‘em Stormfly!” Asher encouraged, and Stormfly flew after Windshear with a happy squawk leaving Dragon’s Edge behind.

                Hiccup was glancing over some of the drawings Fishlegs had created when she heard Toothless growling curiously behind her. She turned and groaned as she saw he had his head jammed into one of Heather’s bags.

                “Oh, bud, knock it off, okay?” Hiccup said. She walked over and gently pulled the bag off Toothless’s head. “Snooping will not gain her trust.”

                As the bag came off Toothless’s head, the horn Heather had shown her earlier on their flight back fell to the ground. Hiccup sighed, and bent over to pick it up.

                “Huh,” Hiccup said, running a hand over the carving on the horn. She realized she recognized the design. “Wait a minute. That’s my dad’s Chief Seal!”

                ‘Why would that be on Heather’s horn?’ Hiccup thought confused. ‘She said her father gave her this…’

                Hiccup’s eyes widened, and she looked over to Toothless.

                “We need to go to Berk, bud. Now,” Hiccup said urgently. Toothless recognized her tone, and immediately lowered his shoulder so she could easily climb up. Hiccup secured the horn in her saddle bag, and when she was done, Toothless ran out of the clubhouse. They startled Fishlegs who Hiccup hurriedly told where she was going before they took to the air.

                Asher recognized the island they were flying towards, and grew confused as they landed back at Heather’s old campsite.

                “What are we doing back at your campsite?” Asher asked. “Did you forget something?”

                “Nope,” Heather answered. She began walking, and Asher quickly dismounted with his axe.

                “Stay put, Stormfly,” Asher said, patting the dragon on the wing. “Keep your ears up.”

                The dragons watched as the two of them walked away from the camp, and out towards an overlook looking out over the ocean.

                Heather looked out at the water, but saw nothing.

                “It must be here,” Heather said, annoyed.

                “Are you gonna clue me in on what we’re doing here?” Asher asked curiously. He frowned when Heather just mumbled and looked around a nearby tree stump. “Hello?”

                “I’m looking for something,” Heather said quickly.

                Asher glanced at the bush next to him when he heard the leaves rustling.

                “Looking for something like…” Asher quickly hooked the clothing he saw in the bush with the tip of his axe, and flipped the screaming body out of the bush and onto the ground. He put his foot on the man’s chest and pointed his axe at him. Asher frowned when he recognized the man.

                “Trader Johann?” Asher questioned.

                “Master Asher, so nice to see you again!” Johann said nervously. “Would you mind, please, lowering your axe so my frightened soul might be granted safe passage back to my body?”

                Asher sighed, and backed away from the man. Heather ran over and helped the trader to his feet.

                “Johann!” Heather said relieved. “Thank Thor!”

                “Oh! Miss Heather!” Johann said, pulling the girl into a hug. He stepped back, and wrung his hands. “I’m overjoyed you’re not dead. When the Terrible Terror returned with the message I sent, I was worried. Then, when I arrived here and saw your campsite had been abandoned, I feared the worst.”

                “Alright,” Asher interjected. “Someone needs to tell me what’s going on.”

                “You see, Master Asher,” Johann began. “If you need exotic spices from foreign lands, or one of a kind cured leathers or incredibly difficult to obtain information detailing the exact whereabout of a certain dastardly Berserker, Trader Johann is your man.”

                He unfurled a map with a flourish, with several red X markings on it, one of which was circled.

                “Dagur,” Asher growled.

                “And if you need a warrior to take care of that dastardly Berserker…” Heather wielded her double-bladed axe with a flourish. “I’m your girl.”

                “So, he’s got the info, and you got the axe,” Asher said. “Now what?”

                “Dagur is set to purchase a fleet of new ships from a group of salty undesirables in the Sea of Despair,” Johann warned. “But be wary. These new ships for his armada are outfitted with powerful ant-dragon winches and catapults! After the deal is done, I won’t be able to find him again. Dagur, will be back in the wind. Adrift, like a leaf in a stream.”

                Asher rolled his eyes at Johann’s dramatic flourishes.

                “And I’ve used my last grapevine,” Johann warned. “So I won’t be able to offer my invaluable, yet at times expensive, information again.”

                “Got it. Thanks, Johann,” Heather said. “Come on, Asher.”

                “You’re not coming?” Asher questioned as Johann made no move to follow them.

                “What part of this implies ‘rushing into battle on a fly lizard’?” Johann asked sarcastically, as he gestured to himself.

Berk

                Hiccup felt her nerves ratchet as Toothless approached Berk. The questions in her mind were bouncing around like crazy, and she was impatient to find her father.

                “Hiccup!” Gobber greeted her happily as Toothless landed in the village center. “From my lips to Odin’s ears. I was just saying I could use yours and Toothless’s help with a pesky flock of wild Nadders that have been driving me batty!” He winced as the dragons in questions screeched at him. “Yeah, you heard me, you lousy—”

                “No time, Gobber,” Hiccup said quickly. “I need to see my dad. It’s urgent.”

                “Oh, in that case, he’s in the Great Hall,” Gobber said. “But it’s Berk’s Gripe Day, so there might be a bit of a wait.”

                ‘Well, they’re just going to have to wait a little longer,’ Hiccup thought as she ran up the stairs to the Great Hall. Several of the villagers called out greetings as she passed, but Hiccup didn’t stop to chat. Hiccup nodded to the Vikings manning the door, and slipped inside.

                “Dad!” Hiccup called out as she ran towards his seat. Stoick glanced away from Sven, who was holding one of his sheep, and perked up when he saw her.

                “Hiccup!” Stoick said, surprised.

                “We really need to talk,” Hiccup said seriously. She held up Heather’s horn, pointing the seal right at Stoick.

                Stoick’s eyes narrowed as he recognized it.

                “Leave us, Sven,” Stoick said. “Let the others know I need a moment with my daughter.”

Dragon’s Edge

                “We gotta go now,” Heather said, determined. “Dagur won’t be out in the open for long.”

                “Wait a minute,” Fishlegs said. “You want us to go into battle with Dagur and the Berserkers without Hiccup and Toothless?”

                “Guys, I wish Hiccup and Toothless were here, trust me,” Heather said. “But they’re not, and we can’t wait. Dagur’s ships have dragon proof chains and grappling hooks. And the ships he’s buying are more powerful. If we all attack him at once, he won’t know what hit him.”

                “Uhh, I have to say,” Fishlegs said hesitantly. “Any aerial assault of this magnitude would be foolish without Toothless. He’s the most powerful dragon in our arsenal.”

                Meatlug groaned sadly, and Fishlegs hugged her.

                “Aww, but you’re still my favorite, girl,” Fishlegs cooed.

                “Well, it’s not like we need Hiccup and Toothless,” Snotlout said dismissively. Asher gave him a cold stare, and Snotlout swallowed. “Though it’s nice to know that we have a Night Fury when things get hairy.”

                “You heard Johann, Asher,” Heather pleaded. “This is our last chance. Tell them.”

                “Look Heather…” Asher hesitated.

                “You, too?” Heather asked sadly. She shook her head. “Just forget it. All that stuff about trust and having my back, I guess that was just talk.”

                Heather walked away, and Asher turned to the other riders who looked everywhere but at him.

                “Awkward,” Snotlout commented.

Berk

                “Where did you get this?” Stoick asked, examining the horn.

                “It’s Heather’s,” Hiccup replied from where she was leaning up against a pillar. Stoick looked at her questioningly. “She’s the girl that stole Stormfly, a few years back.”

                “Yes. Heather,” Stoick said slowly.

                “Dad, that horn has your Chief Seal carved into it,” Hiccup said, walking over to him.

                “It does,” Stoick acknowledged.

                “Is there something you need to tell me?” Hiccup asked.

                Stoick sighed, and began to pace.

                “When a Chief has a child, that child receives many gifts from all over. When you were born, I asked Gobber to make the smallest axe he’s ever imagined, with a handle tiny enough for a baby to grasp. I wanted you to start training the moment you opened your eyes,” Stoick said. He laughed at the memory. “I thought your mother was going to feed me to the boars.”

                “I remember that axe,” Hiccup said softly.

                “Yeah, you used it as a paperweight,” Stoick said pointedly.

                Hiccup stuttered before focusing back on the horn.

                “About the horn, Dad. Heather told me her father gave it to her, but it has your seal on it,” Hiccup explained.

                Stoick hummed and looked at the horn thoughtfully.

                “Dad, is Heather my sister?” Hiccup asked nervously.

                Stoick let out a heavy sigh as Hiccup’s heart began to beat faster.

Dragon’s Ede

                Heather sighed as she approached the waiting Windshear outside the stables. She rubbed a hand on her wing to ground herself.

                “Looks like it’s just you and me, Windshear…” Heather said. Windshear rumbled. “As usual.”

                “Hey!”

                Heather turned, and was surprised to see the Dragon Riders standing behind her, ready for battle.

                “If we’re gonna do this, it has to be a capture mission,” Asher said firmly. “Not a kill mission. Agreed?”

                “Agreed,” Heather said, relieved. “We’ll sink Dagur’s armada, and drag him back to Outcast Island. Let him rot there.”

                “Okay,” Asher nodded. “Then we’re with you.”

                “You can thank me! I was the one who rallied these guys,” Snotlout boasted.

                “Well, that’s not really my recollection,” Fishlegs said.

                “Quiet, Fishlegs!” Snotlout snapped.

                “As soon as she left, your lips started to do that cute little quiver thing,” Fishlegs teased.

                “Be quiet!” Snotlout yelled. “That’s a tic! It’s a tic when I’m about to fight.”

                “What changed your mind?” Heather asked Asher.

                “Hiccup,” Asher replied easily. “She would never want you to face Dagur alone again, and neither do I.”

                “Well, I know right where Dagur is,” Heather said proudly, holding up the map Johann gave her.

                “Good. Then you won’t need this,” Asher quipped, snatching the map from her hand. He pinned it to the wall of the stable with one of his daggers. “Now, Hiccup will be able to find us. So, what’s your plan?”

                “Hit him when he least expects it,” Heather said fiercely.

                The Dragon Riders mounted their dragons, and followed Windshear into the sky.

                ‘I’m coming for you, Dagur,’ Heather thought angrily. ‘This time…this time your head is mine!’

With the Berserkers

                Dagur took a deep breath of the ocean air as they approached the meeting location.

                “It’s a good day to strengthen my armada,” Dagur said with a happy sigh. “Then again, it’s always a good idea to strengthen my armada.”

                Dagur laughed madly, and heard Savage join in behind him.

                “What are you laughing at?” Dagur asked angrily.

                “The gold is ready for the exchange, sir,” Savage said quickly. “Should we move it to the deck?”

                “Leave it down below,” Dagur instructed.

                “But sir, when they arrive with the ships, they’ll be expecting our gold,” Savage pointed out.

                “Yes!” Dagur snapped angrily. He took a breath to calm himself, and glared at Savage. “And instead of our gold, we’ll give them our steel.”

                 Savage smiled wickedly as Dagur held up his axe.

Dragon’s Edge

                Hiccup looked around as Toothless landed outside the stable.

                “Heather!” Hiccup called out. She looked around confused, seeing no one anywhere. It was also strangely quiet. “Guys? Where did everyone go?”

                Toothless growled curiously, and walked over to sniff at a piece of parchment pinned to the stable with a dagger.

                “What’s this?” Hiccup questioned. She examined the map, and gasped as she realized what it meant. “Oh no.”

With the Other Riders

                “There he is,” Heather said. The Dragon Riders hovered above the clouds, and took in the sight of Dagur’s four ships.

                “Let me guess,” Tuffnut said, excitedly. “You want to attack like the rogue dragon rider that you are. A full-frontal assault!”

                “No,” Heather said. “Element of surprise?”

                Asher smirked at her, and nodded in agreement.

                Dagur looked up as one of the men yelled about Dragon Riders. He shieled his eyes and spotted three of Hiccup’s Dragon Riders approaching.

                “Prepare the grappling hooks!” Dagur ordered. “Ready the chains! It’s hunting season.”

                Hookfang began to fire down at the ships either grazing the sides or missing entirely. Meatlug spewed her molten rock as Barf and Belch let loose a couple of fiery explosions. All their attacks hit the water as they continued to fly just out of range of the ships’ weapons.

                “Ah!” Snotlout growled as another fire blast hit the water. “We’re too high to hit anything!”

                “We’re supposed to divert Dagur’s attention and stay high enough to avoid his weaponry,” Fishlegs reminded him.

                “We got to get lower!” Snotlout argued. “I can’t—” He winced as several arrows barely missed him. “I said higher! Hookfang, higher!”

                As the Berserkers focused on the dragons attacking on one end of the ship, Stormfly and Windshear flew in low from behind. They clung to the flagship, and Asher and Heather quickly climbed up.

                The two ducked down as a Berserker walked out from the crates stacked at their end of the ship. When he passed, they quietly climbed over and onto the deck of the ship.

                Dagur scowled as the three Dragon Riders continued to fly out of range, and take terrible shots at the ships.

                “What are they doing up there?” Dagur asked, frustrated.

                Asher jumped in front of a Berserker, making him drop the barrel in his hands.

                “Nice surprise face,” Asher complimented.

                The man went down as Heather hit him in the back of the head with her axe. She grinned as she bumped forearms with Asher, before they continued to creep along the deck.

                Asher spotted a man working the winch alone, and grabbed a basket. He flipped it over in his hand, and quietly approached him from behind. Once he was close enough, he slammed the basket over his head before the two of them yanked his feet from beneath him. They threw him overboard, and quickly ducked behind some crates as Dagur turned at the noise.

                They heard Dagur walk further away, but froze as a Berserker came out from behind another set of crates holding a few bolas in his hands. They stared at each other for a moment, before the man dropped the weapons and began to approach them.

                Before he could get further than a couple steps, Windshear’s tail came over the side of the ship, and picked him up. She slammed him into the side of the ship before tossing him into the crates.

                Dagur whipped around at the sounds, and realized he couldn’t find any of his men.

                “What is going on?” Dagur asked frustrated. He grabbed a grappling hook and chain on the deck, and began to make his way cautiously towards the crates. He growled as another blast struck the water beside the ship. “Come on, already!”

                He glared as Fishlegs and Meatlug flew closer, and whipped the grappling hook behind him to prepare to throw. Before he could bring it back forward, the hook was caught by an axe.

                “Oh no,” Dagur said.

Asher yanked the hook back, and Dagur was pulled back through the air to land at Heather’s feet. She quickly tied his hands behind him.

                “What are you doing?” Dagur demanded. He scowled when he saw Asher and Heather standing over him. “You two?”

                “Surprise, Dagur,” Heather said.

                “Two axes are better than one,” Asher said proudly.

                “And twelve ships trump two axes,” Dagur said calmly. He heard a heavy thud from above his head, and craned his neck so he could look behind himself. He sighed as he saw Windshear and Stormfly growling at him. “I should’ve seen that coming.”

                “Windshear, finish it!” Heather ordered.

                Asher gasped as Windshear held up her tail, extending the blade like barbs on it with a growl.

                “No, Heather, don’t!” Asher cried. “You promised us a capture mission.”

                “Sorry, Asher. I changed my mind,” Heather said, angrily. “Dagur didn’t ‘capture’ my village. So this ends here.”

                She extended her double-bladed axe, and pointed one of the blades at Dagur’s neck. The Berserker laughed maniacally.

                “If you kill me, Heather, you’ll never know—” Heather cut him off by shoving a gag in his mouth.

                “Save it for the gods,” Heather hissed as she glared into Dagur’s eyes. “Windshear!”

                Windshear roared as she extended her tail. Dagur yelled from behind his gag as Heather smirked. Windshear was about to swing, when a plasma blast barely missed her tail and impacted with the ocean.

                “Stop!” Hiccup yelled. Heather scowled as Toothless descended to land on the bow of the ship. Hiccup jumped as soon as he was close enough, and swung on a rope before sliding across the deck to try to grab Heather’s shoulder. “Heather, stop.”

                “Move, Hiccup!” Heather demanded.

                “You don’t understand,” Hiccup said, grabbing Heather’s shoulder.

                “You promised me there would be another time, and this is it!” Heather snapped. She threw Hiccup’s hand off her shoulder, and Hiccup hurriedly grabbed the horn from her belt.

                “Look. You told me your father gave you this,” Hiccup said quickly, holding it out.

                “He did, but what are you doing—” Heather said angrily.

                “This is my father’s Chief Seal,” Hiccup said, pointing to the carving on the horn.

                Heather’s eyes widened, and she took a step back. Her eyes darted between the horn and Hiccup.

                “Stoick’s seal is carved in my horn?” Heather said in disbelief. She took the horn, and looked back up at Hiccup with wide eyes. “What are you saying?”

                “Years ago, Stoick gave this horn to the Chief of the Berserker tribe, Oswald the Agreeable, as a gift for his newborn daughter,” Hiccup said rapidly. “You were that newborn daughter, Heather. Oswald the Agreeable is your father.”

                She put a hand on Heather’s shoulder, and turned her to face Dagur.

                “He is also Dagur’s father,” Hiccup said slowly.

                Heather stared at Dagur in horror.

                “No,” Heather said weakly.

                Dagur shrugged.

                “Heather, Dagur is your brother,” Hiccup confirmed. “You can’t kill him.”

                “Asher,” Heather said, desperately turning to the stunned blonde.

                Asher hesitated on what to say, but before he could say anything the ship rocked violently. They looked to see new ships arriving, hurling stones from catapults.

                “It’s the rest of Dagur’s ships,” Asher yelled.

                The ships began to launch stones up at the three dragons. Hookfang was barely able to dodge one, and fired a fiery blast down.

                “Look out!” Asher cried as the blast hit near the side of the ship they were on. The boat rocked again, and they all fell to deck.

                “Heather,” Hiccup called as a ship pulled up beside them, and two men lowered a gangway across. “We have to go.”

                Heather was crouched on the deck, stunned at the information she had learned.

                Dagur roared, and broke free of the ropes. He turned to the three of them with a smirk.

                “I have to admit, you never disappoint, little sister,” Dagur said smugly. He glanced between her and Heather. “Oh, this is crazy! Now I have two little sisters! What am I gonna call you now, Hiccup?”

                Dagur laughed maniacally, and rubbed his hand down his face. He glared at them, and Heather turned to look away.

                Asher cursed as two men began to cross the gangway, and jumped up onto Stormfly’s back when she came to him. The dragon easily jumped up, and launched some spines from her tail into the wood near the men. They screamed, and jumped off into the water to avoid the dragon.

                “Heather, come on!” Hiccup cried.

                “Heather, I’m the only family you’ve got left,” Dagur said. He stumbled back as Toothless jumped between him and Heather, growling menacingly. “Join me, sister! Don’t fight destiny. I know you feel the Berserker blood flowing through your veins.”

                Heather glared at him and stood. She smirked at Dagur, and he grinned. Heather ran towards him, grabbing her axe as she did. She screamed angrily and jumped over him. Dagur cursed as she flew by him, and landed on Windshear.

                “What are you doing?” Dagur demanded.

                Heather glared at him, and said nothing as Windshear took off.

                “Come back, sis!” Dagur yelled after her. “Heather the Unhinged has a nice ring to it, no? You’ll be back, and I will welcome you with open arms!”

                Dagur sighed and turned away.

                “We’ll have to wait on that reunion. Pity,” Dagur mused. He heard a familiar whistling, and looked up, alarmed.

                Hiccup was back on Toothless, and the Night Fury glared at him as he flew straight at him,

                “What?!” Dagur cried before Toothless rammed into him, and threw him back onto the floor. He groaned. “I should’ve seen one coming, too.”

                “All right, gang,” Hiccup yelled as Toothless fired plasma blasts at several ships. “Back to the Edge!”

                Toothless and Stormfly fired several more blasts at the ships as they flew to meet the others.

                “Under the circumstances,” Fishlegs said shakily. “I wholeheartedly agree with that plan.”

                The Dragon Riders quickly gained altitude and retreated towards the Edge.

Dragon’s Edge

                Heather went through the motions of checking her bag. She let out a heavy sigh, and gripped the bag to keep her hands from shaking.

                “Guess you’re leaving again.”

                Heather turned to see Asher and Hiccup approaching.

                “I thought you were tired of being alone,” Asher said.

                “I am,” Heather said somberly.

                “Then don’t be,” Asher said. “It’s safer here. You have support. We’re all here.”

                “I know,” Heather sighed. “I just have a lot I need to figure out.”

                “We’re here, if you need us,” Hiccup said. She put a hand on Heather’s shoulder. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate.”

                Heather stared at Hiccup, and smiled weakly.

                “You know, for a moment there back on the ship,” Heather said tentatively. “I thought that maybe you were going to say that you were my…”

                Hiccup nodded in understanding.

                “I had that thought to,” Hiccup admitted softly. She smiled. “I wouldn’t have minded having you for a sister.”

                “Neither would I,” Heather whispered. The two girls hugged, and Hiccup closed her eyes tight as they burned.

                Heather pulled away, and turned to grab her bag and put it on. When she looked back at them, Asher held out her axe. Heather took it with a small smile, and mounted Windshear.

                “Thank you, both of you,” Heather said. “It was nice having friends again.”

                Asher and Hiccup both nodded to her, and she nodded back.

                “Let’s go, girl,” Heather said. Windshear leapt into the air, and Hiccup sighed watching her go. She glanced over at Asher.

                “Hey, I know guys got pretty close,” Hiccup said gently. “I’m sorry you’re losing a friend.”

                Asher shrugged, and took her hand.

                “I still have you,” Asher said softly.

                Hiccup’s face felt warm, and they both turned to watch their friends fly over the horizon.

Chapter Text

                It was a beautiful day as the Dragon Riders lurched up a steep mountain on a random island. Hiccup had asked them to come take a look at something, and she had been so excited they didn’t have the heart to say no. They immediately regretted it as they ascended the mountainside all the way up to a cliff.

                “Okay, Hiccup,” Asher said tiredly. “You dragged us all the way up here.”

                “What is it you have to show us?” Tuffnut asked. “It better involve food or destruction. Or a combination of the two.”

                “I bet you’re all wondering why I brought you here,” Hiccup said mischievously. She was grabbing something off Toothless. “The answer is, I wanted to show you my latest invention. Presenting the Dragonfly One.”

                Everyone stared as she held up an odd-looking device. It was nearly as big as she was, and looked like a set of gears attached to two sets of wings with one set being larger than the other. She smiled as she pulled on one of the rods to extend a wing.

                “Well?” Hiccup asked excitedly. Toothless glared at the device and hated its very existence.

                Everyone stared at her, and Tuffnut held up his softy clucking pet chicken.

                “The chicken is not amused,” Tuffnut said dully.

                “What is it?” Snotlout asked. Hiccup pulled on it, and the wings opened fully.

                “It’s a flight suit,” Hiccup said proudly. She raised an eyebrow as Toothless growled, and the other riders remained silent. “Don’t all applaud at once.”

                “Hiccup, I don’t need to remind you that we already have flying dragons,” Fishlegs said gently, resting a hand on Meatlug. “Why would we ever need a flight suit?”

                “Well, what if we were to get separated from our dragon’s mid-flight?” Hiccup proposed. She strapped the Dragonfly device to her back, and tightened the belts. “We might need to solo fly until we catch up with them.”

                “When this doesn’t work, and it clearly won’t, can I have Toothless?” Snotlout asked.

                “Oh for Thor’s sake,” Hiccup grumbled, turning to approach the edge of the cliff. Toothless growled at Snotlout before following her.

                Hiccup stopped at the edge of the cliff, and looked down at the water and rocks below. She had specifically chosen this island for updraft caused by winds, and the river that gathered in small lakes amongst the rocky hills and cliffs.

                “What are you planning on doing?” Asher asked, alarmed.

                “Jumping,” Hiccup replied easily. “Unless someone has a better idea.”

                Asher facepalmed. “Hiccup!”

                Toothless looked just as unhappy with the news, grimacing as Hiccup stepped up to the edge.

                “Guys, relax!” Hiccup said confidently. “Do you feel that updraft? That’s why I chose this place. It’ll pick up my wings and I’ll be floating on a bed of air.”

                Hiccup grabbed the loops at her belt, and pulled down to fully expand the wings. The right one jammed, and Hiccup had to wrestle with it to get it open.

                “Or crashing on a bed of rock,” Snotlout said amused.

                Hiccup growled, and turned to face the cliff.

                “Ok, everyone,” Hiccup said excitedly. “Dragonfly One, maiden flight.”

                With no hesitation, Hiccup jumped from the cliff, holding her arms out at her sides beneath the wings. She glided for a couple feet, before she realized that her momentum was not carrying her forward. She screamed as she began to plummet.

                “Hiccup!” Asher cried.

                Toothless leapt from the cliff and dived down after her.

                “Uh, I don’t know about you, but I was under the impression that a flight suit was supposed to fly,” Tuffnut said.

                “Yeah,” Ruffnut said, grinning at the craziness of it all. “That looks more like a plummet suit.”

                Toothless reached Hiccup, and grabbed her by the shoulders. He pulled her close, wrapping her in his wings as they hit the water.

                Ruffnut laughed as the other Dragon Riders stared down at them with mixed looks of concern and exasperation.

                “Do it again!” Ruffnut cheered.

                Toothless grumbled as he surfaced in the water, and rolled over onto his back to pull his wings from Hiccup. She let out a breath of relief as she lay on his belly.

                “Thanks, bud,” Hiccup said gratefully. Toothless rolled his eyes as he used his tail to get them to the shore. Hiccup climbed off, and Toothless flipped over to follow her up. Hiccup took the Dragonfly One off her back, and started fiddling with it as they made their way back up to the top. Toothless grumbled as he could hear her muttering to herself about improvements.

                He loved his best friend Hiccup dearly, but sometimes he wanted to bite her for her lack of self-preservation.

                When they reached the top, Hiccup messed with the device some more as Toothless shook the last of the water off.

                “Okay,” Hiccup said brightly, resecuring the Dragonfly One to her back. “I made a few tweaks. Now behold, some serious flying.”

                Hiccup took a running leap off the cliff before Toothless could grab her. He watched her laugh as she glided through the air, but she didn’t make it much farther than last time before she began to fall. Toothless gave a side eye to the riders behind him, judging them for allowing this nonsense, and dove after Hiccup. Everyone but the twins cringed at the sound of them hitting the water again.

                “Now this time, I absolutely know where I went wrong,” Hiccup said confidently when she was ready to try again. “It’s all in the timing. I just judged the updrafts wrong. I assure you, I definitely have it now.”

                Toothless warbled at her, and Hiccup hurriedly held up her hands.

                “Don’t worry, bud,” Hiccup said. “I’ve got this under control.”

                Toothless growled his displeasure as the wind picked up. Hiccup observed a tree swaying in the wind, and grinned as her hair whipped around.

                “See? There it is,” Hiccup said happily. “Okay…now!”

                Hiccup leapt off the cliff, and dropped a couple feet in the air as her momentum carried her forward. Asher and Toothless ran up to the edge, and Asher clenched his fists as Toothless hid behind a wing.

                Hiccup screamed as she fell closer to the water. She grunted as she felt a pull on her back as the wings caught the wind, and she began to glide over the water.

                “Wait! I’m flying?” Hiccup said amazed. She looked down at the water, and back along her body and laughed. She pumped her fists in the air. “I’m flying!”

                She wobbled a little and hurriedly straightened her arms back out at her sides, and held her legs straight. She couldn’t contain the grin on her face as she glided above the water. She titled her body and used the pieces she had built for steering to glide around several rocks.

                “I cannot believe that hunk of junk actually worked,” Snotlout said, stunned as everyone watched in amazement as the girl flew over the river.

                Hiccup saw she was approaching the bend in the river.

                “Okay, right turn,” Hiccup said confidently. She tried to turn, but heard the Dragonfly One creak. She tilted her body, but the device’s weight made her too unstable to make a turn. Hiccup gasped as she realized she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from hitting the cliffside up ahead.

                “Might have to work on the steering a bit,” Hiccup said nervously. “Toothless!”

                Toothless shrieked as he saw her flying with no control. He jumped from the cliff, and glided down to the rocks below. He raced after her, pouncing from rock to rock.

                “Oh Thor! Oh, Thor!” Fishlegs said, worriedly. He covered Meatlug’s eyes as the other riders watched.

                Hiccup screamed as she tried to turn, and only succeeded in making herself spin. “What the—”

                Toothless glided down to another rock just behind her, and leapt up onto the wall of the cliff. He leapt from the wall, and tackled Hiccup into the water. He grabbed her with his teeth, and dragged her to the rocks along the edge.

                Hiccup coughed up some water as she crawled away from the water. She looked over her shoulder at Toothless, who was looking at her very unimpressed.

                “Thanks for the save, bud,” Hiccup said gratefully. Hiccup cringed and covered her head as Toothless spit a stream of water at her. Toothless laughed at her as Hiccup just dropped to the ground. “Again?”

                Hiccup groaned as she got up, and grimaced as one of the smaller wings stayed on the ground.

                “Well, it looks like our flight tests are probably over the day,” Hiccup said, holding it up and examining it. Hiccup looked up as the other Dragon Riders landed near them.

                “Okay, that’s it,” Asher said firmly. “You’re done with this.”

                “Right,” Hiccup agreed. “For now.”

                A screech echoed through the area, and everyone looked around alarmed.

                “What was that?” Asher asked.

                “Sounded like a dragon in distress,” Fishlegs said, hesitatingly.

                “Uh guys, something about that call seems strangely familiar,” Snotlout said fearfully. He looked down as he tried to recall where he had heard it before. “Not good familiar. Bad familiar.”

                “Snotlout, come on!”

                Snotlout looked up and scowled as he saw the other riders had already taken off with their dragons.

                “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Snotlout said irritably as Hookfang flew up to follow the others.

                “The calls are coming from up ahead,” Hiccup said as Toothless followed the sound.

                They glided around a cliff, and flinched as they spotted a Speed Stinger on the ground below.

                The small aqua colored dragon roared up at them when it spotted them circling, red eyes staring them down. It was lying on its side, the sail like appendages on its head, back and legs lying limply against the ground. The red color of the stinger on the end of its tail stood out more than the long black claws on its feet and arms.

                “Why did it have to be a Speed Stinger?” Snotlout said fearfully.

                “It looks like a young one,” Hiccup observed. “Why would it be out during the day? They’re nocturnal dragons.”

                “Poor little guy, Well, let’s head home!” Snotlout suggested. “It’s starting to get dark, and where there’s one, there’s usually a whole pack!”

                Fishlegs looked back as they began to leave and watched as the young dragon carefully stood up. When it tried to take a step, it shrieked in pain and fell back onto its side.

                “Hiccup,” Fishlegs called out. “It’s leg is badly injured and Speed Stingers can’t fly.”

                “Exactly why we can’t leave it to predators,” Hiccup said. “Come on, Toothless.”

                Toothless grumbled nervously, but flipped around to go back.

                “Is she seriously going back?” Snotlout asked, exasperated as they flew by.

                “Snotlout, meet Hiccup,” Asher said dryly. “Of course, she’s going back!”

                “Oh, come on!” Snotlout cried as they turned around to follow Toothless.

                The Speed Stringer screeched as Hiccup carefully approached after dismounting.

                “Hey, whoa, no, no,” Hiccup said calmly. “Easy there, easy little fella.”

                She kept her hands up and visible as she took a tentative step forward. The other riders watched nervously, Snotlout from the back of Hookfang. The Speed Stinger shrieked and held its tail up between them, pointing the red stinger up threateningly.

               “Hiccup, that thing looks like it can defend itself just fine,” Snotlout said shortly. “Let’s get out of here.”

                “Shh, quiet down, Snotlout,” Asher hissed.

                “You quiet down,” Snotlout muttered.

                “Unfortunately, this little guy won’t be a match for wild boars or dragons,” Hiccup said. She frowned as the small dragon lowered its tail and head, clearly exhausted. “A Speed Stinger without its pack is extremely vulnerable.”

                “He must’ve gotten separated from the other others,” Fishlegs said softly. “Then they had to go shelter before the sun came out.”

                “Sounds right. Let’s go,” Snotlout said quickly.

                “Snotlout, we can’t leave him like this,” Hiccup said. “We’ll bring it back to Dragon’s Edge, nurse it back to health, then bring it back here.”

                Snotlout groaned.

                The Speed Stinger shrieked at them as Hiccup went to Toothless, and removed the Dragonfly One from his saddle, placing it on the ground.

                “Uh, Hiccup,” Ruffnut said confused. “Are you planning on dropping the Speed Stinger off a cliff with your plummet suit?”

                “My plummet suit?” Hiccup repeated in an offended manner. She scowled at them as she removed two thin metal rods from the back of the device. “No, I do not plan on dropping the Speed Stinger off a cliff. By the way, thank you for volunteering.”

                “Sure thig,” Ruffnut saluted. She froze. “Wait what?”

                “You and Tuffnut are going to secure the Speed Stinger’s tail and head while I splint his leg,” Hiccup said. “We can’t take him back to the Edge until we make sure his leg is secured.”

                “Why am I being volunteered for this?” Tuffnut asked, confused.

                Hiccup paused as she was grabbing a roll of bandages from her saddle bag.

                “I guess I’m just used to pairing you and Ruff up,” Hiccup said. “Now, let’s go we’re losing daylight.”

                The three of them slowly approached the injured dragon slowly, Hiccup keeping a tight grip on the rods.

                “Ruff? Tuff? You understand the plan, right?” Hiccup asked.

                “Yeah, of course,” Tuffnut said cheerfully.

                “Definitely,” Ruff assured her.

                The two of them looked at each other then back at Hiccup with a frown.

                “No,” Tuffnut said.

                “Nope,” Ruffnut replied.

                “Alright,” Hiccup groaned. “You secure the Stinger so I can set the splint with these broken pieces of Dragonfly One, and be careful! I think we all remember what these guys’ stings can do.”

                “You don’t have to remind me,” Snotlout said. “I know exactly what they can do.”

                The Speed Stinger snarled, and Snotlout groaned.

                “This plan is insane. You know that, right?” Snotlout asked angrily. “If I’m saying it’s insane, it’s actually insane.”

                “Actually, it is insane,” Tuffnut said excitedly. He and Ruffnut bent over to speak to each other. “And for once it wasn’t our insane plan.”

                “I’m seeing a pattern here!” Ruffnut said happily.

                “First that lunatic flight suit, now this,” Tuffnut said. “Could it be?”

                “Is Hiccup coming over to our side?” Ruffnut asked, surprised.

                “Oh Loki, please let it be so!” Tuffnut cried. “We will welcome her with open arms. Teach her the ways of the truly disturbed!”

                “Guys, please,” Hiccup said exasperated. “Let’s just do this.”

                The twins laughed ominously before standing up. The three of them cautiously approached the dragon. It narrowed its eyes and then shrieked. They all flinched back as it swiped at them with its tail.

                “Come and get me,” Tuffnut said invitingly. He took a couple steps back, and started dancing a jig. “Fresh meat on the grill, right over here.”

                “No! Over here!” Ruffnut cried. “I’m all yours.”

                Hiccup sighed as the twins danced around.

                “Turn me into a pin cushion. I’ll give you a target,” Ruffnut said. She turned and shook her butt at the Stinger. “It’s my butt!”

                The dragon snarled and lashed out with his tail again, and the twins ducked.

                “That’s it?” Tuffnut said mockingly. “That’s all you’ve got?”

                “Guy, what are you doing?” Hiccup asked, frustrated. “I meant secure the tail!”

                “Hey! We know what we’re doing,” Ruffnut said, pointing her finger at Hiccup. Quick as whip, the Speed Stinger stabbed her outstretched arm with his stinger. Ruffnut flinched then started stuttering as her arm began to turn pale. She tried to move her arms, but slowly began to freeze in place. “Whoa! Whoa, whoa what’s happening to me? I can’t...”

                “Talk?” Tuffnut asked. He grabbed Ruffnut’s jaw and moved it around. She made small noises of protest. “She can’t talk! At least I think that’s what she’s saying.”

                “Hmm, interesting,” Fishlegs said. He observed Ruffnut walking around while unable to move her arms or face. “Only part of her is paralyzed. Since it’s an adolescent, its sting potency must not be at full effect.”

                “How do we get it to sting her lower half?” Tuffnut said eagerly. He waved his hands in the air before slapping his knees. “Here, Speedy. Come on.”

                He whistled at the dragon, and the Speed Stinger growled at him.

                “It’s the whole lower half of Ruffnut,” Tuffnut said invitingly. “Don’t you want it?”

                The angry dragon tried to take a step forward, but screeched as it put its weight on the injured leg. He fell to the ground, and Tuffnut ran forward, jumping on the dragons’ back.

                “Yeah!” Tuffnut cheered. He cringed as the Speed Stinger brought up its tail.

                “Someone help Tuff!” Hiccup cried.

                Asher and Fishlegs ran to help. Asher dodged a slash from the tail before grabbing it below the stinger and pinning it to the ground. Fishlegs jumped forward when the dragon turned to face Asher, and held its head to the ground.

                “I’ve got the stinger,” Asher said.

                “I got the head,” Fishlegs added.

                Hiccup raced forward, and quickly splinted the dragon’s leg with the rods and bandages.

                “There!” Hiccup said, when she tied the last knot. She took a couple steps back, and the Speed Stinger bucked the other three off him. Hiccup tensed as the dragon approached her with a roar.

                “Hey, okay, okay,” Hiccup said quickly. She held up her hands as she backed away. Toothless came behind her and growled at the other dragon. Hiccup stopped. “We’re here to help.”

                “Oh! She’s gonna do the hand thing,” Fishlegs said excitedly. “Please tell me she’s gonna do the hand thing!”

                Hiccup cautiously reached out with her hand, and the Speed Stinger screeched. Hiccup took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She focused on staying calm as she kept her hand outstretched towards the dragon. The Speed Stinger chirped, and approached to sniff her hand. He chittered and closed his eyes as he pressed his head into her hand. Hiccup opened her eyes and smiled at the young dragon.

                “Okay, everyone, I think we’re good,” Hiccup said relieved. “Let’s load him up and get him back to Dragon’s Edge.”

               “You know the pack is going to do everything in its power to find it, don’t you?” Asher asked.

                “Yep,” Hiccup said. “That’s why we have to get him back to this island as quickly as we can.”

                Unseen by them, two Speed Stingers ran through the darkening woods. They raced for the spot where their packmate had fallen the night before. They stopped as they emerged from the trees, and saw he was gone. They looked up and saw another pack of dragons flying away, one of them holding their packmate in their claws.

                The red striped Stinger Chief stepped between the two packmates and glared after the dragons. It roared angrily into the night as the red fin on its head stiffened with anger.

Dragon’s Edge

                Fishlegs had eagerly taken his new patient to the arena to begin trying to help it heal. For everyone’s safety, they closed the dome of the arena so the Speed Stinger would be contained in the area as well as have a dark habitat to rest in during the day. After a few days had passed, Fishlegs invited everyone to come to see the dragon’s progress.

                “Have a look at this,” Fishlegs said proudly. He opened the cage the Speed Stinger had been contained in, and the dragon cautiously stepped out. He looked around the space, and screeched happily.

                “Wow. Nice work,” Hiccup complimented, looking at the arrangements Fishlegs had made to the area to help the Speed Stinger. The dragon was running back and forth looking at everything in curiosity.

                “Uh-huh,” Fishlegs said, continuing to lean on Meatlug with his left arm on her back. “All thanks to the carefully designed rehabilitation program based on trust and understanding.”

                Meatlug’s tail wagged as she watched the Speed Stinger run by. She ran after him, wanting to play, and Fishlegs arm flopped limply at his side.

                “Fishlegs, what’s with your arm?” Asher asked concerned.

                “Yeah, let’s just say that the Stinger and I may or may not have had a few differences of opinion these last few days,” Fishlegs said rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand.

                Tuffnut examined his arm, poking it and lifting Fishlegs’ hand up to watch it fall limply back to his side.

                “Look at that thing!” Tuffnut laughed. “It’s like a dead old fish.”

                Toothless tilted his head and warbled as Hiccup and Asher cringed.

                “Okay, Meatlug, let’s get back to work” Fishlegs said, stepping away from Tuffnut. He walked over to the wooden shields mounted on the wall. “And we’ll bring this just in case.”

                He tried to move his floppy arm to grab the shield, but only succeeded in slapping the shield with the back of his hand. He groaned in frustration, and heaved his shoulder up to flop his arm on top of the shield. He smiled as he was able to get it off the wall, then frowned as the shield rolled away. Fishlegs sighed in exasperation, and grabbed another shield with his good hand.

                The Speed Stinger was standing on one side of a row of three logs Fishlegs had laid out on the floor. Fishlegs moved to the other side, and beckoned to the dragon.

                “Come on, little fella, you can do it!” Fishlegs encouraged. Meatlug growled supportively, and gently nudged the small dragon. The Speed Stinger warbled at her, and then jumped up on the first log.

                “Alright, there we go little guy,” Fishlegs said happily.

                “Huh!” Asher said observing the small dragon. “Ornery and stubborn, but it seems like it’s accepting Fishlegs and Meatlug.”

                “It makes sense, they are pack dragons,” Hiccup commented. “They can only function as a group. If they accept you then you have their allegiance.”

                “Wait, you’re not actually thinking of trying to train it, are you?” Asher asked as Hiccup brought her hand to her chin.

                “What? No! No, I could never,” Hiccup said quickly. Asher’s eyes narrowed as she walked over to Fishlegs, recognizing the consideration Hiccup had in her voice.

                Snotlout slammed the door of the dome opened with a snap, and strutted into the arena.

                “Well, well, well, lookie here,” Snotlout said. The Speed Stinger screeched in surprise from the top of the wooden wall Fishlegs had coaxed him to jump up to. “Our little friend here can stand on his own two claws again. It’s only a matter of time before it’s trying to sting us into oblivion.”

                The Speed Stinger jumped down from the wall, and walked between Snotlout and Fishlegs. He shrieked at Snotlout, recognizing the hostility in the boy’s voice.

                “My vote is we take it to where we found it,” Snotlout said. “I’ll get the cage.”

                “Snotlout!” Hiccup said warningly.

                The Speed Stinger shrieked at him, and the boy jumped then glared at the dragon and hissed back.

                ‘Snotlout, you idiot!’ Hiccup thought. ‘You’re only going to stress him out!’

                “Snotlout, he’s staying here,” Hiccup said adamantly. “At least for the time being.”

                “Having a Speed Stinger around is way too dangerous, especially for me,” Snotlout argued. Snotlout took a few steps away, and had to dodge the Speed Stingers tail as it tried to sting him. He glared at the dragon and raised his fists. “Not even on your best day, pal.”

                “Good news!” Ruffnut said happily as she ran into the arena. “The stinger venom wore—”

                She froze as Snotlout dodged another stab, and the stinger went into her leg.

                “Off,” Ruffnut finished stiffly before she turned pale and fell over her legs paralyzed.

                “Okay, everyone, no sudden moves,” Hiccup said firmly. She kept her eyes on the young dragon as it growled at her.

                Ruffnut growled as she tried to pull herself up with a storage chest.

                “Who’s got jokes?” Ruffnut asked irritably. “Frozen from the waist down. Come on.”

                “Settle down, big fella,” Hiccup said nervously as the Speed Stinger stared her down. “I’m your friend, remember?”

                Ruffnut grunted as she got herself on the chest. She grabbed her right leg, and pulled it over her left so she could sit with her legs crossed.

                “Ruffnut one,” Ruffnut said proudly. “Dead leg, zero.”

                Tuffnut yelped as Ruffnut’s leg suddenly shot out to kick him from behind. The Speed Stinger hissed angrily.

                “Huh, not so dead after all,” Ruffnut said.

                “What’d you do that for?” Tuffnut asked angrily.

                “Oh, like I have any control—” Ruffnut’s other leg straightened out and kicked Tuffnut hard. He fell back with a yell.

                “Guys? Quiet down,” Hiccup said shakily. She saw the dragon looking back and forth between her and Tuffnut. “I think he’s agitated.”

                “That makes two of us,” Tuffnut said angrily. “You better control that butt before it gets kicked.”

                The Speed Stinger glared at Tuffnut and ran for him.

                “Oh, I was afraid of this. Everyone take cover!” Hiccup cried.

                Tuffnut turned to see the dragon running his way, and ran. Ruffnut scrambled on the chest but was unable to move with her legs limp. She sighed in relief when the dragon ran past her, still chasing Tuffnut. Tuffnut managed to dodge it, and the dragon turned and ran around the arena’s edge.

                Asher quickly grabbed a shield, and used it to protect himself from the stinger as the dragon raced by.

                “Please, remain calm,” Fishlegs said worriedly. “Everything is going to be okay.”

                Toothless jumped over the Speed Stinger when it ran at him and roared at it. Fishlegs and Meatlug jumped out of its way, and the Speed Stinger went right at Barf and Belch. He stung Barf in the neck as it passed, and the dragon head chirped before falling limply to the floor.

                “Barf!” Ruffnut screamed, straining to try to reach him from the chest. She overreached, and faceplanted into the ground.

                “Stormfly, spine shot!” Asher ordered.

                Stormfly shot several spines towards the Speed Stinger. The Stinger turned away from the sharp spines, and kept running. Toothless hopped up onto the wooden wall, and shot several plasma blasts at the dragon driving it towards the cage. With more shots from Stormfly they were able to have him run right into the cage, and Toothless fired a blast that shut the door. The Speed Stinger screeched as the latch fell into place, locking him in.

                Ruffnut dragged herself over to Barf, who was leaking green gas from his mouth. Ruffnut threw an arm over his neck, and lay limply next to him.

                “Guys, a little help here?” Ruffnut called.

                “Uh, no,” Tuffnut replied.

                Once checking that the Speed Stinger was secure, the Dragon Riders made their way to the clubhouse. Asher leaned on the doorway as everyone settled in, and his eyes widened as Barf and Belch walked around the corner. Belch was walking, head held high as ever, while Barf’s head and neck trailed on the ground. Barf was still releasing the gas, leaving a green trail behind them.

                “That is really unsettling,” Asher commented turning to go inside.

                “Mmhmm, exactly as I thought it would end up,” Snotlout said smugly taking in the sight of Ruffnut trying to pound life back into her legs as Fishlegs comforted Meatlug. “That thing is going to paralyze everyone on the island before this is over, and then there’s going to be no one to take that stupid dragon back to where we found it.”

                Hiccup groaned, but contained her frustration.

                “You know what? I’m too tired to argue about this with you,” Hiccup said, exhausted. “We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

                “Hey,” Ruffnut said quietly to Snotlout as the others followed Hiccup out. “If you want to get rid of that Stinger, I’m in.” Ruffnut leaned too far towards him, and fell off the table. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I figure it’s him or me.”

                Snotlout smirked.

Later

                Fishlegs and Meatlug brought the Speed Stinger to their own area of Dragon’s Edge.

                ‘Hopefully, the tranquility of my meditation space will help prevent anymore incidents,’ Fishlegs thought.

                “Good news, little guy,” Fishlegs said happily. “Your splint comes off today! Nurse Meatlug, if you would do the honors, please?”

                Meatlug grunted and spat a small bit of molten rock at the splint. The shot melted away the bandages and metal revealing a healed leg. The Speed Stinger shifted his feet, testing the leg. It shrieked happily up at them when he felt no pain.

                Fishlegs gave the dragon a thumbs up, and the Speed Stinger took a couple small steps.

                “Yeah, you see?” Fishlegs encouraged. “No more pain.”

                The Speed Stinger roared happily, and raced around the area.

                Fishlegs jumped as he ran around him and Meatlug.

                “Wow! You sure had a lot of energy stored up!” Fishlegs said, surprised. He frowned when he saw the dragon running for his meditation pool. “Oh, dear. Meatlug, quick stop him! Speed Stingers can’t swim!”

                Meatlug flew after the dragon with Fishlegs close behind her, but they stopped when the Speed Stinger simply jumped and ran on the surface of the water. It took a few laps on the small pool before jumping out.

                “Whoa!” Fishlegs said, awed. “How did you do that?”

                The Speed Stinger ran back over to him, and Fishlegs looked closely at his feet. He gasped as he saw a thin, blackish webbing was now between the claws on its feet.

                “Webbing. Of course,” Fishlegs said amazed. “You can’t fly so you needed a way to island hop. You adapted, evolved.”

                The Speed Stinger chittered happily.

                “That is incredible!” Fishlegs said excitedly. “I have to tell Hiccup about this right away!”

                Fishlegs ran off to find Hiccup, and Meatlug laughed deciding to stay behind and watch over the young dragon.

                Fishlegs and Hiccup were still discussing it the next day as they bumped into Asher on their way to the arena. Asher rolled his eyes fondly as the two babbled on.

                “This is enormous Fishlegs,” Hiccup said. “Finally, actual proof of dragon evolution. It’s historic.”

                “I know, right!” Fishlegs said happily.

                “And the Stinger webbing actually inspired me to make a few changes on a little something I’ve been working on,” Hiccup said excitedly.

                “If you say Dragonfly Two, I’m locking you up,” Asher threatened.

                “Oh no,” Fishlegs said as he opened the Speed Stingers cage. “He’s gone.”

                “How could he have gotten out?” Asher asked alarmed.

                “He couldn’t, at least not his own,” Hiccup said stonily. “I think I have a pretty good idea who helped.”

                Hookfang flew over the forests on Dragon’s Edge with Snotlout and Ruffnut. Ruffnut had tied ropes around the Speed Stingers mouth body, and was holding him on her lap.

                The Speed Stinger began to purr in her lap, and Ruffnut cooed.

                “Aww, how cute!” Ruffnut said. “He’s dreaming.”

                “No, he’s not,” Snotlout said in a mockery of a girl’s voice. “He’s waking up. It’s almost sunset!”

                “Oh great,” Ruffnut moaned. She carefully placed the dragon on Hookfang’s back behind her. “Ruffnut gets paralyzed. Again.”

                “Come on, Hookfang, fly faster!” Snotlout encouraged.

                Ruffnut flinched as the Speed Stinger’s eyes snapped open.

                “Oh no,” Snotlout said fearfully.

                “The ropes should hold,” Ruffnut said nervously. “I tied them really…”

                She trailed off as the Speed Stinger stood up, and broke the ropes on its body.

                “Tight. Whoops,” Ruffnut said regretfully.

                “Whoops? That’s all you’ve got? Whoops?!” Snotlout snapped.

                “There’s other things I’d say, but none of them are very ladylike,” Ruffnut replied.

                The Speed Stinger snapped the ropes on its mouth, and approached them menacingly. He struck out with its tail, and stung Ruffnut in the thigh.

                “Uh oh, Snotlout,” Ruffnut slurred as the entire right half of her body went limp. She began to lurch to the side, unable to hold onto Hookfang or keep her balance. “Viking going overboard.”

                Snotlout lunged, and grunted as he grabbed Ruffnut by the leg. The Speed Stinger stung Hookfang in his right wing, and the dragon’s eyes widened before the right side of his body went numb.

                “Hookfang!” Snotlout screamed as they rapidly fell out of the sky. They broke through some branches, and Snotlout and Ruffnut were thrown as Hookfang landed heavily on the ground. Hookfang tried to get up, but he couldn’t support his weight on one wing and leg.

                Snotlout felt something knock into his chest as he was thrown and thinking it was Ruffnut quickly held on. He rolled a couple times, and groaned as he stopped on his back. He sat up, and gasped as he realized he was holding the Speed Stinger. The dragon chirped and licked him in the face, and Snotlout quickly tossed it away.

                “Ew!” Snotlout cried as he ran to Hookfang, wiping his face. “Watch the tongue!”

                The Speed Stinger approached them, and Hookfang ignited himself, roaring at the small dragon. Snotlout sighed in relief when he spotted the other riders arriving, and Toothless landed between him and the Speed Stinger. He glanced confused at Hiccup when he spotted something on her back, but didn’t ask as Hiccup glared at him.

                “Hey Hiccup,” Ruffnut said. Hiccup stared at the girl as she dismounted from Toothless. “I got stung again. Just the right side this time. I tried to walk it off, but I just keep going around in a circle.”

                “Dragon-napping, Snotlout?” Hiccup turned on her cousin. “This is a new low, even for you.”

                “I was trying to save us!” Snotlout protested.

                The Speed Stinger tried to approach the riders, but Toothless and Stormfly blocked him. Toothless growled a warning, and the Speed Stinger loudly shrieked. Everyone froze as a loud screeching answered it from a distance.

                “You guys heard that, right?” Asher asked nervously.

                “Please tell me that was an echo,” Fishlegs begged. Everyone covered their ears as loud screeching echoed through the area.

                “Oh no,” Asher groaned. “The pack’s come looking for it.”

                “How is that even possible?” Snotlout asked terrified. “Speed Stingers can’t fly!”

                “Yeah but, we did just discover these particular Speed Stingers can travel across the water just fine,” Fishlegs said.

                “What?! How?!” Snotlout shrieked. Hiccup hurriedly covered his mouth with her hand before he could continue.

                “If we keep quiet, we might not give away our location,” Hiccup said lowly.

                The Speed Stinger began to screech loudly, calling out for his pack. More screeches echoed around them as everyone tensed. The dragons prepared their attacks and scanned the trees for any sign of the pack.

                “I’m guessing that very soon I’m gonna wish I could run in a straight line,” Ruffnut slurred.

                A soft rumbling came from the ledge above, and the gang looked up to see the pack of Speed Stingers appear up above.

                “You!” Snotlout hissed at their Speed Stinger. “I knew you’d rat us out.”

                Snotlout froze as a very loud screech resounded from above. Everyone stared in horror at the sight of a larger, red striped Speed Stinger approaching. The Stinger Chief glared at them, and shrieked. The other members of the pack ran down towards them.

                “Guys! Stand your ground!” Hiccup yelled.

                The riders and dragons looked around fearfully as the pack ran around them in a circle. Toothless growled and shot a plasma blast at one that veered too close to himself and Hiccup. A couple of the pack approached the weakened Hookfang and spinning Ruffnut, growling menacingly.

                Meatlug quickly jumped between the Stingers and Ruffnut, and took the sting on her chin. She grunted as she froze, and Ruffnut patted her on the side.

                “Hey, girl,” Ruffnut said roughly. “Thanks.”

                “There’s too many of them,” Hiccup said nervously as she backed into Toothless. Toothless snarled as more kept coming and surrounding the group. “Our only hope is to draw them away.”

                “I’m not leaving anyone behind!” Snotlout snapped, swinging a branch to try to drive the Stingers away from Hookfang, Meatlug, and Ruffnut. Fishlegs snuck by the Stingers, and raced over to Meatlug.

                “Really? Since when?” Hiccup asked sarcastically.

                “Since right now,” Snotlout declared. “Don’t ask me why, but I’m suddenly feeling selfless and heroic.” He wildly swung the branch as Speed Stingers moved. “Back! Get away!”

                “Uh oh,” Ruffnut said as she spotted more dragons emerging from the trees. “Gotta get away. Come on, leg!”

                Snotlout growled as he looked at the defenseless group, and grabbed their Speed Stinger from where it had been approaching the group.

                “Don’t worry, guys,” Snotlout said holding the body of the dragon in one hand, and its tail below the stinger in the other. “I’ll be back for you. Come and get me, Needle Butts!”

                Snotlout ran, carrying the dragon away. The pack spotted him running with one of their own and chased him.

                “Go get them, Snotlout!” Ruffnut cheered.

                “Snotlout, Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!” Snotlout chanted as he raced through the forest. He glanced back and smiled at the sight of the pack following him. “Keep chasing!”

                Snotlout eventually had to stop, and he paused in a clearing. He put the Speed Stinger down, and gasped for breath. The Speed Stinger turned to face him, and screeched in concern. Snotlout ignored it, and examined the trees. His brow furrowed when he didn’t see the pack coming.

                “Gone?” Snotlout said confused. He froze as he heard the rustling come from behind him. He turned around and groaned as he saw them emerging from the trees. “And that’s because they’re all here for the big ambush.”

                The pack approached him, and Snotlout backed away holding up his hands.

                “This was a bad idea,” Snotlout declared. He saw a flash of aqua out of the corner of his eye, and flinched as it raced by him. He gasped as their Speed Stinger ran in front of the three closest to him, and stung them in the necks. The three of them dropped limply to the ground.

                “What the…” Snotlout said shocked. The Speed Stinger stopped in front of him, and screeched. Snotlout huffed. “I’m never going to get you, dragon.”

                Their Speed Stinger turned as the Stinger Chief approached, taking in the sight of its paralyzed packmates. It screeched angrily at Snotlout and their Stinger. Their Stinger screeched back at its pack leader.

                Snotlout looked between the two as they screeched at one another.

                “What?” Snotlout asked confused.

                “He’s torn between his pack, and the one that saved his life.”

                Snotlout looked up and saw Toothless hovering above them with Hiccup.

                “Our pack,” Hiccup said.

                “But he hates me!” Snotlout snapped.

                “You’re one of us, Snotlout,” Hiccup said. “It’s his instinct to protect you.”

                Toothless fired a small plasma blast to knock the Stinger Chief back. The dragon rubbed its face before screeching angrily.

                “Get out of there before he realizes he has to choose a side,” Hiccup yelled.

                Snotlout looked down at their Speed Stinger and it shrieked at him.

                “Okay, bud,” Hiccup said. “Let’s get them back in the water.”

                Toothless swooped down, and fired plasma blasts to drive the pack towards the beach. The Stinger Chief saw them running from Toothless, and immediately raced after them. Toothless kept up until they reached the beach, and Stormfly swooped in to throw her spines to ensure they didn’t deviate.

                “I brought back up,” Asher quipped as Stormfly pulled up beside Toothless.

                Hiccup heard Tuffnut cheering, and looked to see Tuffnut riding on Belch as Barf’s head continued to hang limply spewing green gas. He flew in a line along the beach, keeping between the Speed Stinger pack and the forest. When they reached the end, Belch sparked and ignited the gas creating an explosive fire that drove the dragons onto the ocean.

                “Nice, Barf,” Tuffnut said. “I mean, freaky, but nice just the same.”

                The Stinger Chief spotted the Zippleback above the fire, and growled. It quickly jumped up the rocks of the cliffside and got behind the dragon to sting it in the back.

                “Oh no,” Tuffnut groaned as Belch went limp beneath him, and they fell to the ground.

                “Barf and Belch are down,” Hiccup said alarmed. “We need to get rid of that Stinger Chief.”

                The Stinger Chief let out a challenging screech, and Toothless flew towards him. The Stinger Chief ran for the edge and leapt into the air, aiming to sting Toothless.

                Hiccup quickly stuck her hands into the loops at her sides clipping a set of chains to her ankles.

                “Toothless, separate!” Hiccup cried.

                Hiccup leapt up as Toothless dove under. Hiccup spread her arms, and a pair of red wings stretched out from her back. The fabric was secured by the straps at her wrists and the chains on her ankles keeping the fabric taut as she soared over the Stinger Chief.

                “Dragonfly Two, go!” Hiccup cheered as she glided.

                She grinned down at Toothless as he landed safely on the ground, and looked up at her. The Stinger Chief screeched as it fell through the air landing heavily on the sand below. Hiccup laughed as she rode the wind, gliding over Toothless’s head as he watched her.

                The Stinger Chief got up and screeched at the sight of Stormfly and Asher, Snotlout and Hookfang, fully ignited, glaring at it. Their Speed Stinger approached the Chief, and the Chief growled at it. Their Speed Stinger screeched back, and the Stinger Chief paused and looked up at the Dragon Riders above them. The Stinger Chief turned and ran back out onto the ocean to join his pack.

                “Yeah! Swim away, Stingers!” Snotlout yelled.

                Toothless ran up to Hiccup as she landed with a stumble. Hiccup laughed and hugged his head as he pushed into her chest.

                “I flew Toothless!” Hiccup said happily. “I really flew!”

                Toothless warbled at her, and Hiccup rubbed his head as she unclipped the chains at her ankles. Her grin faded as she saw their Speed Stinger run to the edge of the water, and growl sadly at his Stinger pack running away from the island.

                Hiccup shrugged off the Dragonfly Two, and left it in the sand as she approached their Speed Stinger. She smiled comfortingly, and reached out as it to turn to her. She held her hand steady, and it closed its eyes.

                Hiccup looked out at the retreating pack of Speed Stingers.

                ‘They came all the way here to find him,’ Hiccup thought. ‘I think he could be trained and do okay here, but a part of him will always miss his pack, his family.’

                The Speed Stinger was about to touch her hand, but Hiccup pulled back before it could.

                “No,” Hiccup said softly. “I’m sorry, but little guy, you need to go back with your own.”

                Their Speed Stinger tilted his head, and chittered happily up at her. Hiccup smiled warmly at him.  The dragon turned and screeched before jumping to begin running on the water after its pack.

                “What are you doing?” Snotlout asked angrily. “We can’t let him go back with them!”

                “Snotlout, it’s where he belongs,” Hiccup said. “That’s his real pack.”

                “Just when we were starting to get along,” Snotlout whined. He threw up his arms as he stomped away. “Why does this always happen to me?”

                “Can you believe what that dragon did for us?” Asher asked, amazed. “He helped us, over his own Alpha.”

                “For that little bit of time, he was part of our pack, and we were a part of his,” Hiccup said. “Even Snotlout, somehow.”

                “Scared? Ha!”

                The two of them looked to see Snotlout standing over the twins and their dragon.

                “That Stinger was more scared of me than I was of him,” Snotlout bragged.

                “Hey look! Isn’t that them swimming toward us?” Tuffnut asked pointing out to the ocean.

                “Maybe they’re coming back for you, Snotlout,” Ruffnut said ominously.

                “What? NO!” Snotlout screamed, running for the woods.

                “They weren’t swimming this way,” Tuffnut laughed.

                “Look at him run. Stupid,” Ruffnut said as she drooled a little.

Chapter Text

                Hiccup hissed as Toothless flew through the waterfall, and the cold water and mist splashed over her. She pushed her damp bangs away from her eyes as Toothless turned around the cliff.

                “Come on, Toothless!” Hiccup encouraged.

                Toothless dove into the forest, and flew through the trees. Hiccup ducked under a branch, and grinned. They were making great time through the course she had mapped out for the teams’ drills, but the hardest part was coming closer.

                “Faster, bud,” Hiccup said determined.

                Toothless easily avoided the trees, and they flew out of the forest and over the cliff. Hiccup leaned closer to him and the saddle as he began to turn towards the base, banking hard.

                “There they are,” Asher said, focusing on the pair through his spyglass.

                “Close the dome,” Fishlegs quickly told the twins.

                “And so the drama begins,” Ruffnut said playfully.

                “One woman, one dragon, one leg,” Tuffnut said dramatically. He and Ruffnut pushed the lever of the arena’s dome down, and it quickly began to close. “Versus one rapidly closing dome.”

                Hiccup glanced down at the base, and grinned.

                “It’s gonna be close,” Hiccup said excitedly.

                Toothless quickly weaved his way through the sea stacks. As he passed the last one, he quickly twisted to race towards the Edge. The wind whistled off his wings as he aimed for the cave entrance below their base. He reared back and pumped his wings to avoid hitting the wall, and then shot straight up towards the arena.

                “Yeah, no way she’s making that,” Snotlout said dismissively.

                Toothless shot up through the crack in the arena floor, and quickly lunged for the rapidly closing opening. He shot out into the air just in time, and the dome closed behind him.

                “Ah, what?!” Snotlout cried.

                “Good job, Toothless,” Hiccup congratulated. Toothless growled happily, and Hiccup giggled as he flaunted. Toothless circled back around and landed on top of the arena as he and Hiccup wore matching smug smirks.

                Asher and Fishlegs cheered, and Snotlout rolled his eyes.

                “Alright,” Snotlout said, waving a hand at Hookfang. “We’re up.”

                “Come on Snotlout,” Fishlegs said as Hookfang came to stand ready behind Snotlout. “Nobody’s been able to beat the dome except Hiccup.”

                “Nobody until now,” Snotlout said confidently.

                “Guys, this was supposed to be a drill,” Hiccup said exasperated. “Do you have to turn it into a game?”

                “Don’t we always?” Asher quipped.

                “Fair point,” Hiccup acknowledged.

                “Twas once a drill,” Tuffnut said dramatically. “Then it became a game. Now, it is theater!”

                “Let the drama unfold!” Ruffnut cried.

                “Whatever it is,” Snotlout said, stalking off with Hookfang to the start of the course. “It’s my turn.”

                “I’ll wager he loses an eye,” Tuffnut said confidently.

                “Ha ha!” Ruffnut laughed. “On the contrary, I predict that Act One Scene One will conclude with the loss of a gall bladder.”

                Hiccup rolled her eyes as Toothless jumped down, and landed beside the twins.

                “Hmm,” Tuffnut mused. “Or perhaps a leg. What say you, young Hiccup?”

                Hiccup groaned.

                “Woo-hoo!” Snotlout cried happily as Hookfang burst through the waterfall.

                ‘We’re gonna beat Hiccup for sure,’ Snotlout thought confidently. ‘Hookfang and I are unstoppable!’

                Snotlout gripped Hookfang’s horns tight as he began to fly towards the forest. He thought he heard a screeching sound faintly, but got distracted as Hookfang suddenly pulled back and looked towards the cliffs alarmed. Snotlout yelped as the sudden motion made him lose his grip, and he fell over. He managed to hang on with his legs, and growled as he pulled himself back up to the saddle.

                “Stay focused, Hookfang!” Snotlout snapped as Hookfang turned back to the route.

                As they made their way through the trees, Hookfang suddenly jerked his head around again, and Snotlout cried out in pain as the distracted dragon didn’t fly low enough for Snotlout to avoid hitting his head on a tree branch. The sound made Hookfang turn back around, and Snotlout growled as he held his face.

                “Keep your head in the game,” Snotlout said angrily. He hurriedly grabbed the other horn as Hookfang lunged out of the trees. “Hookfang!”

                “He hath emerged from the forest!” Ruffnut announced as she spotted them through the spyglass.

                “And what of his gall bladder?” Tuffnut asked, leaning on the dome switch.

                “Impossible to say,” Ruffnut replied.

               “The tension continues to build,” Tuffnut smirked as he pushed the switch down. He yelped as his hand slipped, and he fell onto the ground.

                Hookfang maneuvered with ease around the sea stacks, and made the last turn towards the cave.

                “And time runs out for our plucky little anti-hero,” Tuffnut said dramatically.

                “I love a ticking sundial, don’t you?” Ruffnut asked.

                “Indeed!” Tuffnut agreed.

                “Guys, please,” Hiccup said tiredly.

                Snotlout yelped as Hookfang entered the cave. He winced as the horns and top of his helmet scrapped the roof of the cave tunnel. He screamed as he opened his eyes, and saw the backwall rapidly approaching.

                Hookfang pumped his wings to stop, and flew up through the crack into the arena. He looked around disoriented as he tried to get his bearings.

                “Hookfang, beat the dome!” Snotlout yelled, pointing at the rapidly closing exit. “Hurry up!”

                Hookfang flew towards the opening, but had to abruptly pull back as the dome closed right in front of him.

                Everyone winced a loud thud echoed from inside the dome. Tuffnut quickly grabbed and pulled up the switch, reopening the dome. Everyone raced to the opening, and Hiccup gasped as she spotted Snotlout laid out on his back on the floor.

                “Snotlout, are you okay? “Hiccup asked urgently.

                Snotlout groaned and sat up holding his head.

                “Define ‘okay’,” Snotlout said irritably.

                “Where’s Hookfang?” Hiccup asked, not seeing the dragon inside the now open arena.

               “That’s what I’d like to know,” Snotlout snapped. “I’ve got some words for that dragon.”

               They stopped as they heard a familiar screeching in the distance.

               “That sounded like—” Hiccup said.

               “HOOKFANG!” Snotlout screamed, running in the direction the noise had come.

               “Should we follow?” Asher asked slowly.

               “Probably,” Hiccup said.

               “Hookfang probably just needs a break,” Fishlegs said. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

               Hiccup hummed, but Toothless warbled at her as he pushed into her side.

               “Oh, do you need a break?” Hiccup asked cheekily. Toothless hummed, and pushed Hiccup down to lie on her legs. “Toothless!”

               ‘Where is he?’ Snotlout thought as he trudged through the woods. The sun was starting to set, and he was getting worried. ‘He may be an ass sometimes, but this is weird.’

               “Hookfang!” Snotlout called. “Hookfang, where are you?”

               Snotlout smiled and sagged in relief as he saw Hookfang standing in the clearing at the base of the cliffs in front of a dark cave. Hookfang seemed to be ok, though his tail was swishing back and forth agitatedly as he kept looking around.

               “Finally! There you are,” Snotlout said relieved as he walked towards his dragon. Snotlout stopped as Hookfang whipped around and ignited.

               “Hey! What’s with the attitude?” Snotlout asked, alarmed. “I’m supposed to be mad here.”

               Hookfang seemed to realize what he was doing, and looked down as his flames died down.

               “Are you okay, Hooky?” Snotlout asked, concerned. He ran his hand along Hookfang’s head and neck before climbing into the saddle. “You’ve got to be starving.”

               Hookfang growled softly as he turned to look behind him.

               “Come on,” Snotlout said coaxingly. He pulled on Hookfang’s horns to turn him around. “Let’s get you back to Dragon’s Edge.”

               Hookfang flew into the air, and Snotlout sighed in relief. They returned to the base, and Snotlout directed him to the stable.

               “Let’s get you something to eat,” Snotlout said as Hookfang landed. The others were already there, carrying buckets of fish.

               “You found him,” Hiccup said, relieved. “Is he okay?”

               “He’s fine,” Snotlout said. He shut the doors of the stable, and went to go grab a bucket of fish for Hookfang. The others poured their buckets of fish onto the floor, and their dragons circled around to begin eating. Snotlout looked for Hookfang, and saw him sitting at the door. Snotlout shrugged, and went to stand in front of him.

               “Here, Hookfang,” Snotlout said, taking a fish from the bucket and holding it up. When Hookfang ignored him, he tossed it up and it landed on Hookfang’s snout. Hookfang jerked his head, and the fish flew back to hit Snotlout in the face.

               “Ow!” Snotlout cried. He pulled the fish off his face. “What? You love mackerel.”

               Hookfang screeched at him, and Snotlout jumped up to grab his lower jaw. Hookfang threw him off, and Snotlout dropped the fish and bucket as he flew back to land at the other riders’ feet.

               “Hookfang!” Snotlout growled as he sat up only to get the mackerel to the face again. “Everybody saw that, right?”

               “Yes, we did my friend, and it was delightful,” Tuffnut commented.

               “Good sir, can you re-enact it for us?” Ruffnut asked playfully.

               “No, I’m talking about Hookfang,” Snotlout said, frustrated as he got to his feet. “He’s acting weird.”

               “How’s that?” Fishlegs asked.

               “He didn’t listen to me during the race, he ran away, and he just spit fish in my face and threw me against the wall,” Snotlout listed.

               “And this is weird how?” Asher teased.

               “You have to admit Snotlout that does kind of sum up your relationship with Hookfang,” Hiccup said.

               Snotlout glared at them before picking up the fish and stomping back to Hookfang. He threw the fish at Hookfang’s tail, and the dragon turned to growl at him before hitting it back at him. Hookfang then flapped his wings, and rose towards the ceiling. Snotlout covered his eyes from the falling dust as Hookfang repeatedly slammed his head into the rafter. He looked up worriedly at Hookfang as Hiccup approached.

               “If you’re coming over to tell me I’m crazy, save it,” Snotlout growled.

               “You know what, Snotlout? You’re right,” Hiccup said.

               “I am?” Snotlout asked surprised.

               “No one knows your dragon like you do,” Hiccup said firmly. “If you really think something’s wrong, then lock him in a pen for the night just so he doesn’t hurt himself. Then we can see how he’s doing in the morning.”

               “Yeah,” Snotlout said turning back to see Hookfang still headbutting the ceiling. “Maybe I’ll do that.”

               The sun had long since set by the time Hookfang calmed down. Snotlout was the only one left in the stable, and frowned as his dragon looked so tired and distracted. Hookfang didn’t even protest when he put a rope around his neck to guide him towards a pen.

               Hookfang went calmy, but he growled sadly at Snotlout.

               “Don’t look at me like that,” Snotlout said uneasily. “This is for your own good.”

               Snotlout removed the ropes from Hookfang, and Hookfang stepped into the pen. He turned and looked at Snotlout as he shut and locked the door.

               “See you in the morning,” Snotlout promised before leaving, closing the stable doors behind him.

               Hookfang growled distressed, and he bit the bars to try to break free. He pulled on them, but they were too strong. Growling, he backed away towards the wall and ignited with a roar.

               Snotlout walked happily towards the stable, carrying the biggest tuna he could find from the storehouse.

               ‘He’s gotta be so much better now,’ Snotlout said confidently. ‘He’s gonna be so hungry he’ll eat this whole fish in one bite.’

               “Hookfang, you feeling better?” Snotlout called out as he entered the stable. “Who wants tuna for breakfast?”

               Snotlout gasped as he saw the damage to the pen Hookfang had been in. He dropped the tuna and raced to the pen, noting the door laying on the floor a couple feet away.

               “Hookfang?” Snotlout called as he stood in the doorway. The cell was completely empty, and there were scorch marks on the floor. “Oh no!”

               Snotlout raced outside and down the to field where the other riders were with their dragons.

               “Hookfang’s gone!” Snotlout yelled, racing up to Hiccup. “He broke out of his pen last night!”

               “Then this might be more serious than we thought,” Hiccup said alarmed.

               “Great. I accept your offer to help in the search,” Snotlout said. Hiccup watched him as he went, and climbed onto Toothless saddle. Toothless was amused, but quickly grew irritated as Snotlout yanked on the saddle. “Come on, Toothless. Up, bud. Fly, bud. Do something, bud!”

               “Ok, calm down Snotlout,” Hiccup said quickly. “We’ll help you look for Hookfang.”

               “Oh yeah you will,” Snotlout snapped. “It was your idea to leave him alone in his pen in the first place.”

               Hiccup sighed and rolled her eyes. She turned and yelled out to the other Dragon Riders.

               “Everyone, mount up! We need to search for Hookfang.”

               Snotlout nodded at her smugly. Hiccup pushed Snotlout back so she could sit in front of him and secure her leg in place.

               Fishlegs and the twins went to circle the island towards the east while Asher followed Hiccup and Snotlout to the west.

               “Hookfang!” Snotlout called. Hiccup grunted as he pushed her to lean forward, and she nearly faceplanted on Toothless’s head. “Hookfang!”

               Toothless screeched, and Hiccup patted him on the head.

               “Easy, bud,” Hiccup said. “The sooner we find Hookfang, the sooner we’ll get Snotlout off our backs.”

               Hiccup sat up with a sigh as Snotlout pulled back. She grimaced as Snotlout tapped her on the shoulder.

               “Give me your eye thingy,” Snotlout demanded.

               “You mean my spyglass?” Hiccup asked. She grabbed it out of her saddle bag, and he snatched it out of her hand. Hiccup turned back to face forward as he started scanning around.

               Snotlout froze as he heard a familiar screeching sound echo from nearby.

               “That sound,” Snotlout said slowly. “We heard that before Hookfang weirded out. Go that way!”

               Hiccup winced as Snotlout pushed her to the side as he pointed down in front of them.

               “Would you just…” Hiccup took a deep breath to calm herself. “Okay, let me fly the dragon.”

               “That sounds like a Monstrous Nightmare,” Asher commented.

               Toothless and Stormfly turned, and followed the reoccurring sound. Snotlout’s eyes narrowed as they approached the ground. He felt a wave of relief as he saw Hookfang standing at the base of the cliffs, but then got confused.

               “This place again?” Snotlout questioned. “This is where I found him last time.”

               Snotlout got off Toothless, but before he could even approach Hookfang, the dragon reared back on his hind legs and roared aggressively. Snotlout slowly approached as he continued to roar, stomping his feet and keeping his wings spread.

               Snotlout stopped as a purple Monstrous Nightmare emerged from the cave behind Hookfang, and screeched at them.

               “Another Monstrous Nightmare!” Asher said, shocked.

               “That’s not just another Monstrous Nightmare,” Hiccup said surprised. “That’s a female.”

               Hookfang turned to face the purple female, and the two of them growled at one another, displaying their wings. Hiccup dismounted from Toothless to stand beside Snotlout and observe the two better.

               “A female Monstrous Nightmare,” Snotlout said. “Now it all makes sense. My dragon has a way with the ladies! Must’ve picked up a few pointers from his master.”

               “I doubt it,” Asher said dryly. “She’s not dry heaving.”

               “Shut up Asher,” Snotlout snapped. “Hookfang, time’s up. Let’s go.”

               “Snotlout, you might want to tread lightly,” Hiccup warned as Snotlout walked to Hookfang. “He’s looking a wee bit territorial.”

               “Bit territorial,” Snotlout said mockingly. He scoffed. “Thanks for the advice, but like you said nobody knows my dragon like I do. So when it comes to Hookfang, I handle my own business. Hookfang? Girl Hookfang? What’s—"

               Hiccup and Asher covered their eyes as the two dragons ignited. They heard Snotlout screaming, and the flames die down. They lowered their hands and winced as Snotlout trudged towards them looking very singed.

               “Yeah, he’s busy right now,” Snotlout groaned. Hiccup and Asher stared at him as he faceplanted into the ground.

               “Oh dear,” Hiccup groaned. “Let’s get him back to the Edge. Now that we know where Hookfang is, we can take care of Snotlout and then regroup with the others.”

               Asher rolled his eyes and groaned, but reached down to grab Snotlout and threw him over his shoulder.

               “Stormfly and I will take him back,” Asher grumbled.

               “Thank you,” Hiccup said relieved. They quickly returned to base, and found that Fishlegs and the twins had already returned. Asher dropped Snotlout in the clubhouse, and Fishlegs and Hiccup started to clean her cousin up. To their relief he wasn’t burned, and was mostly covered in soot and ash.

               Snotlout awoke as Hiccup was trying to wipe his face, and pushed her away.

               “Snotlout!” Hiccup said relieved. “Are you ok?”

               Snotlout didn’t reply. He just stood up and walked out of the clubhouse. Fishlegs and Hiccup hurried after him, and rounded the corner to see him standing shoulders slumped in front of the others.

               “Snotlout, it’s not that bad,” Asher said. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”

               “I fear not, good sir,” Tuffnut said. “Hookfang made a decisive choice in that moment, and thus acted upon it.”

               “Showing, not telling,” Ruffnut mused. “The number one rule in theater, and what better way to achieve that than by setting one aflame!”

               “Kid all you want,” Snotlout snapped. “I know that dragon. I know what’s in his heart and in his head. He will come back to me. He always does.”

               Fishlegs shifted nervously.

               “Oh what? You’re gonna tell me he’s never coming back?” Snotlout asked angrily.

               Fishlegs continued to shift, and Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him.

               “Fishlegs?” Hiccup asked concerned.

               “Hookfang wouldn’t follow his training,” Fishlegs said nervously. “He wouldn’t eat, he ran away twice, he picked another dragon over you.”

               “Don’t forget the fire,” Tuffnut reminded.

               “Right,” Fishlegs said. “He pushed you away. All the symptoms are there.”

               “Of what?” Snotlout snapped.

               “I think Hookfang is going feral,” Fishlegs said.

               Hiccup and Asher gasped.

               “No, not going feral?” Tuffnut said, horrified.

               “The cruelest turn of events…” Ruffnut cried dramatically. “Wait, what’s going feral mean?”

               “I have no idea,” Tuffnut admitted.

               “It means that meeting this female has reawakened his primal instincts,” Fishlegs explained. “He’s retuning to the wild.”

               “Shut up, Fishface!” Snotlout yelled. “What do you know? Hookfang needs me.”

               “It’s nature, Snotlout,” Fishlegs said worriedly. Snotlout scoffed and started walking away. “You can’t fight it.”

               “Watch me,” Snotlout said fiercely.

               The other riders watched him go.

               “Bravo!” Tuffnut cried. “Bravissimo! Encore! Ah, what theater!”

               “Yes, and what a cliffhanger,” Ruffnut said excitedly.

               “Fishlegs, are you sure?” Hiccup asked. “Going feral? I mean, it’s possible I guess, but that was fast if that’s the case.”

               “It is the power of love,” Tuffnut said dramatically. He went down on one knee in front of her, and Hiccup stared at him alarmed. “It can do many strange things, and is often the subject of the theater!”

               “Ok,” Asher said, pulling Hiccup back. “Let’s just calm down. Hiccup, let’s go give Toothless and Stormfly a good scrubbing. They deserve it.”

               “Sure,” Hiccup agreed.

               ‘Hookfang going feral?’ Hiccup thought as they approached the stables. Toothless and Stormfly were out on the deck, and Asher whistled to get their attention. The two dragons ran towards them, and Hiccup rubbed Toothless’ head as they entered the stables. ‘Could it really happen so easily? I know it may not seem like, but Snotlout and Hookfang have such a strong bond. Would a potential mate really change things so drastically?’

               Hiccup and Asher were quiet as they grabbed a couple brushes, and started working on their dragons. Hiccup broke the silence when she couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself anymore.

               “It’s a scary idea, huh?” Hiccup mused. “That one of our dragons might just one day go back to the wild?” Toothless pushed up into her hand, and purred. “You’d never do that to me, would you?”

               Hiccup smiled and hugged Toothless as he crooned and pushed his head into her chest and neck.

               “I didn’t think so,” Hiccup said softly.

               “Come on, if it was going to happen to anyone, it’s gonna be Snotlout,” Asher said. “I mean, none of us have to worry. Right?”

               Stormfly growled at him softly. Asher smiled before sniffing the air.

               “What smells so good?” Asher asked. Hiccup smelled it too, and followed Asher.

               They found Fishlegs humming as he gave Meatlug a rubdown.

               “You’re giving Meatlug a rubdown?” Hiccup asked surprised.

               “Yeah, with her favorite lingonberry oil,” Fishlegs replied. “Just letting her know she’s appreciated.”

               Hiccup and Asher exchanged glances.

               ‘I guess everyone is now thinking about their dragons going feral,’ Hiccup thought. ‘I just hope Snotlout is doing ok.’

               Snotlout glared at the two Monstrous Nightmares from his place in the nearby bushes. He scowled as Hookfang gave a fish to Girl Hookfang, and she happily ate it.

               “Primal instincts, Thor’s butt!” Snotlout muttered. “My primal instinct is to get my dragon back.”

               Snotlout watched as Hookfang took to the air, and once he was gone, Snotlout grabbed his basket and stepped out of the bushes.

               “Hi, Girl Hookfang,” Snotlout greeted. He ignored her growl as he approached. “You already got my boy bringing dinner for you. Big Step.”

               Girl Hookfang growled and spread her wings threateningly.

               “Relax, relax,” Snotlout said, stopping his approach. “I just wanted to come over and say hello. Maybe bring a little dessert.” He smirked as he turned to the basket. “I’ve got something very special.”

               Snotlout tossed the basket at Girl Hookfang’s feet, and the lid broke open. Girl Hookfang reared back with a frightened screech as an electric eel fell out.

               “What? You don’t like eel?” Snotlout asked mockingly. “Oops. If I was you, I’d fly away and never look back.”

               Girl Hookfang growled, but backed away from the slithering eel. Hookfang landed between them, and slapped the eel away. It hit Snotlout in the chest, and he fell to the ground twitching and jerking as the eel shocked him. He managed to grab it, and throw it jerkily away from him.

               Snotlout stood back up with a growl.

               “I have had enough of you, Hookfang!” Snotlout cried. “It’s time to choose, her or me.”

               Hookfang growled uncomfortably, and looked back at Girl Hookfang sadly. He looked back to Snotlout and moaned. Hookfang kept staring at him, even as he backed away.

               Snotlout stared, shocked as Hookfang backed up until he was beside Girl Hookfang.

               ‘He didn’t choose me…’Snotlout thought. He felt shocked, a bit angry, and then felt a familiar pain beginning in his chest. He quickly turned away, and ran back into the woods. ‘He didn’t choose me!’

               Snotlout felt like he was on autopilot as he returned to Dragon’s Edge. The emotions inside had transformed into an all too familiar mixture of pain and disappointment, cutting just as deeply if not more so than before. He tried to shove it down as he went to the stables. He saw the other riders and their dragons there, but he kept his gaze low.

               “Any luck with Hookfang?” Hiccup asked gently as he walked to Hookfang’s empty pen.

               “You give a dragon the best years of your life and then poof it’s over,” Snotlout said painfully.

               Fishlegs whimpered, and glanced worriedly at Meatlug. He hurriedly picked up a bucket of rocks and fed them to her. “You want more bauxite, girl?”

               Even Asher looked uncomfortable, petting Stormfly’s neck to assure himself she was there.

               “Classic romantic comedy paradigm,” Tuffnut commented. “Boy gets dragon, boy loses dragon, dragon falls asleep, boy eats, boy falls asleep, dragon eats.”

               “Oh! Gets me every time,” Ruffnut sobbed.

               “I give up,” Snotlout said tiredly. “If being with her makes Hookfang happy, I guess I should be happy for him, too.”

               Hiccup watched worriedly as Snotlout groaned and walked away, shoulders hunched over and looking defeated.

               “If you’ll excuse me, I think I think I’m going to go lay down for a few…weeks,” Snotlout said depressingly.

               “Wow.” Hiccup said shocked as Toothless rumbled concerned. “It’s really not like Snotlout to give up this easily.”

               “What can he do? Hookfang hath forsaken him,” Tuffnut said. “I, too, would be depressed if Barf and Belch forsooked me.”

               “And if I forsaked thee?” Ruffnut asked.

               “That wouldn’t bother me,” Tuffnut replied with a shrug.

               “We gotta get him back in the saddle right away,” Hiccup said. “That means we’ve got some work to do.”

The Next Day

                Snotlout stared at the three different Monstrous Nightmare dragons standing behind the other Dragon Riders.

                “What’s this?” Snotlout asked.

                “We stayed up all night wrangling new dragons,” Hiccup explained positively. “We figured, maybe, with Hookfang going through…whatever he’s going through this might help.”

                “Guys, I don’t know what to say,” Snotlout said.

                “Thank Thor,” Asher sighed.

                “Except that you wasted your time,” Snotlout said shortly, crossing his arms.

                “Come on, Snotlout, at least try them out,” Hiccup said.

                “As awesome as Hookfire, Fangmaster, and Hook Blazefang are, and yes I named them already,” Snotlout said. “I can’t look at them, and not think of Hookfang.”

                “Another cruel twist,” Tuffnut said, clutching the ropes of the three dragons. “Snotlout rejects the new suitors.” He let go of the ropes and waved the three Monstrous Nightmares away. “Begone pretenders, and never return! I hast forsookenst thou!”

                “Snotlout, I know you’re hurting,” Hiccup said sympathetically. “But we need you up there with us.”

                “Dagur’s out there looking for us,” Asher said seriously. “We can’t be down a rider.”

                “What if you tried riding a different kind of dragon?” Fishlegs suggested.

                “I don’t know. Maybe,” Snotlout said hopefully.

                “There you go!” Hiccup encouraged. “How about a Nadder? Uh, Asher?”

                “Oh, he doesn’t want to ride Stormfly again,” Asher said nervously. “He’s already—”

                “Too small,” Snotlout commented pointing at Stormfly. He then pointed at Meatlug and Barf and Belch. “Too slow, two heads.”

                “Ok, you don’t like these dragons,” Hiccup said quickly. “So, maybe we try some new ones. A Thunderdrum or a Timberjack? Or how about—”

                “Listen guys, I don’t want to come off as thankful or anything,” Snotlout interjected. “You’ve taught me a valuable lesson today, by offering me your inferior dragons.”

                “What are you saying?” Hiccup asked suspiciously.

                “I’m saying that if I can’t fly Hookfang, I don’t want to fly any dragon,” Snotlout declared.

                “How can you be a Dragon Rider and not ride a dragon?” Asher asked angrily.

                “Do I need to spell it out for you?” Snotlout asked.

                “Wait a minute, you’re—” Hiccup said shocked.

                “Quitting,” Snotlout confirmed. “That’s right. I shall be a Dragon Rider no more.”

                “What?” Hiccup gasped.

                “Time to call in the understudy,” Tuffnut muttered.

                “Hey Fishlegs, how’s your Snotlout?” Ruffnut asked.

                “Aw come on Snotlout, you’re just hurting now, that’s all,” Hiccup said. “You just have to give it some time.”

                “No, Hiccup, my mind is made up,” Snotlout said firmly. “I’m going to say goodbye to Hookfang, and then sail back to Berk for good. It’s over.”

                Hiccup watched him walk away. She reached out towards his back, then let her hand drop. She and the other riders exchanged worried glances, but no one knew what to do.

                Snotlout gathered his things, and wrapped them in a cloth. He hadn’t brought many personal things to the island, so it wasn’t too large of a bag. With a heavy sigh, he heaved it over his shoulder and went to the entrance of his hut. He looked around sighing again at the faded scorch marks on the floor and walls. Without a word, he left.

                ‘That jerk at least better let me say goodbye,’ Snotlout thought bitterly. ‘If he burns me, I’m gonna kill him.’

                Snotlout sighed as he got closer to the cliffs where Hookfang was with his new girlfriend. He was tempted to just turn around and go, but he kept walking.

                ‘I won’t just leave without saying goodbye,’ Snotlout thought sadly. ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’

                “Hello, Hookfang?” Snotlout called, parting the bushes to be able to see the cliffs. “Girl Hookfang? I’ve come to say goodbye.”

                Snotlout gasped as he saw Hookfang lying down on the ground. He knew what it looked like when Hookfang was sleeping, and this was not Hookfang sleeping.

                “Hookfang?” Snotlout called worriedly. He ran out of the brush, and growled as he saw Girl Hookfang walk out of the cave towards the downed dragon. Snotlout quickly drew his sword. “What did you do to him? I knew you were bad news.”

                Girl Hookfang screeched and stepped in front of Hookfang, raising her wings high.

                “Make your move, she-devil!” Snotlout snarled.

                The two stared one another down before charging at each other with a roar.

                Hookfang shook his head as he regained consciousness. He could hear Snotlout and the female, and knew he had to stop them. Hookfang managed to raise himself up with his claws and let out a screech, before dropping back down to the ground. He tried to raise his head, but had to drop back down with a low growl.

                Snotlout stopped and lowered his sword as he saw Hookfang was still alive. Girl Hookfang stopped as well turning to look over her shoulder at Hookfang. He growled to her, and she turned to give Snotlout another look before walking to the edge of the clearing.

                Snotlout ran to Hookfang, dropping his sword. He paused as Hookfang managed to prop himself up. Hookfang gave him a soft screech, and nodded towards the small cave at the bottom of the cliff. Snotlout rushed to it, and gasped as he saw three light red, leathery patterned dragon eggs.

                “Eggs? What’s going on here?” Snotlout asked confused. A loud roar pierced the air, and Snotlout whipped around as Girl Hookfang came back to stand by him.

                Snotlout looked up and saw the silhouette of a Monstrous Nightmare against the sun, but it was larger than any Monstrous Nightmare he had seen. As it descended, Snotlout saw that this dragon was a much deeper red with black stripes, and rows of spikes along its back and wings.

                Hookfang got up and roared at the new dragon.

                “A Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare? Come on! Could this get any worse?” Snotlout cried.

                The Titan Wing roared, and Snotlout flinched back.

                “Whoa, I’d stay away from that guy,” Snotlout said fearfully.

                Hookfang and Girl Hookfang roared at the Titan Wing, and Hookfang ran at the larger dragon.

                “Hookfang! What are you doing?” Snotlout yelled.

                Hookfang tried to headbutt the Titan Wing, but the Titan Wing was able to get his own horns locked onto Hookfang’s. He whipped his head around, and threw Hookfang off and into the air. Hookfang flipped in the air, and crashed onto the ground. The Titan Wing turned back to Girl Hookfang and Snotlout, and roared at them challengingly before charging.

                Snotlout groaned and picked up his sword.

                “I don’t know why I’m doing this, but here goes nothing,” Snotlout said. Girl Hookfang looked at him surprised, before snarling at the Titan Wing. Snotlout held his sword in front of him. “If you want Hookfang’s girlfriend, you got to go through—”

                The Titan Wing was about to reach them when several purple blasts hit him, knocking him back. Snotlout grinned as he spotted Toothless and Hiccup beginning to circle back around as the twins came with Barf and Belch. The two-headed dragon engulfed the Titan Wing in green gas before igniting it. The explosion made the Titan Wing roar, and Snotlout cover his face.

                The Titan Wing screeched angrily, and quickly fled. Snotlout sighed in relief, and turned to the other Dragon Riders as they landed.

                “What are you guys doing here?” Snotlout asked. “Not that I’m complaining.”

                “We came to convince you to not quit,” Hiccup said as she dismounted.

                “You want to tell us what’s going on here?” Asher asked.

                “It looks like two male dragons fighting over a female,” Fishlegs said.

                “Yeah, I’ve heard male Vikings do it too, but I’ve personally never seen it,” Ruffnut said dismissively.

                “The Titan Wing must have heard the female’s mating call too, and was drawn to it,” Fishlegs said thoughtfully.

                “Ah-ha!” Tuffnut said triumphantly. “A love triangle!”

                “Wrong!” Snotlout snapped. “Girl Hookfang has three eggs in that cave. Hookfang has been helping her protect them from giant jerk dragon.”

                “That wasn’t a mating call Hookfang was answering,” Hiccup realized. “It was a distress call!”

                “Well, we taught him a lesson. He won’t be back,” Asher said confidently.

                “Yes, he will,” Fishlegs said seriously. “They’re probably the eggs of a rival. Titan Wings won’t give up until they’re destroyed.”

                Hookfang groaned as he came to stand beside Girl Hookfang and Snotlout. Snotlout gave him a small smile, and raised a hand to cup Hookfang’s jaw as he lowered his head. He did the same for Girl Hookfang when she lowered hers. Snotlout felt an enormous wave of relief to be able to touch Hookfang again.

                “So Hookfang didn’t go feral after all?” Snotlout asked.

                “Apparently not,” Fishlegs said. “He’s actually trying to establish dominance over the Titan Wing so he’ll leave the eggs alone. It’s…wow.”

                “I knew it!” Snotlout cried.

                “A true underdog story,” Tuffnut said formally.

                “Yes!” Ruffnut said dramatically. “The apex of dramaturgy!”

                Snotlout laughed and scratched Hookfang’s chin.

                “Ha! I’m proud of you, buddy,” Snotlout said proudly. He reached out and scratched Girl Hookfang’s chin too. “Girl Hookfang just became an honorary Jorgenson.”

                “Oh, boy,” Asher groaned, rubbing his forehead.

                “Uh, Hiccup?” Fishlegs said nervously.

                “Yeah?” Hiccup asked.

                “Remember what I said about the Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare coming back?” Fishlegs inquired.

                “Yeah?” Hiccup repeated.

                Fishlegs whimpered and shakily pointed up.

               Everyone looked up, and spotted the Titan Wing circling above them, glaring hatefully down at them. Hookfang and Girl Hookfang roared up at the Titan Wing, ready to fight again.

               “Hookfang can’t take on that Titan Wing alone,” Hiccup said, already trying to think of how they could deal with the large dragon.

               “He won’t be alone,” Snotlout declared.  Hookfang lowered and tilted his head to give him better access as he mounted the saddle.

               “Neither will you,” Asher insisted.

               “We gotta do this ourselves,” Snotlout said firmly.

               “No way!” Asher protested. “That thing will tear you apart. Saddle up, everybody.”

               “You heard Fishlegs,” Snotlout said fiercely. “That Titan Wing will only stop if it’s dominated by Hookfang.”

               “He’s right,” Hiccup agreed.

               “But look at that thing!” Asher protested.

               “I know. It’s gigantic, scary, angry,” Hiccup said seriously.

               “Bloodthirsty!” Tuffnut added.

               “Thanks, Tuff,” Hiccup said shortly.

               “Writer’s embellishment,” Tuffnut said cheekily.

               “Go get him, Snotlout,” Hiccup said encouragingly. “You guys can do this.”

               “Be careful,” Asher warned. “He’s pretty nasty.”

               “Whatever happens to us, promise me you’ll protect those eggs,” Snotlout demanded.

               “We will,” Hiccup promised.

               Hookfang took off into the sky, heading up to the Titan Wing.

               “He’s crazy,” Asher said.

               “He’s Snotlout,” Hiccup said obviously.

               “True,” Asher acknowledged.

               The Titan Wing stopped circling as Hookfang and Snotlout approached. The Titan Wing unleashed a large fire blast at them, and Hookfang quickly dodged. He paused and fired his own fire blast, hitting the Titan Wing in the side. The large dragon screeched in pain.

               Snotlout smirked as he heard the others cheering them on down below. Hookfang flew quickly around the Titan Wing, dodging its fire blasts before firing his own. The Titan Wing screeched at them, and Snotlout grinned before Hookfang moved again.

               “Hookfang’s smaller, but he’s more maneuverable,” Fishlegs said excitedly.

               “The climax approaches,” Tuffnut said dramatically.

               Hookfang continued to fly circles around the Titan Wing, until the other dragon lashed out with his tail. Snotlout screamed as Hookfang was hit hard, and began to fall. Snotlout held on tightly as Hookfang recovered, and stopped himself from hitting the trees below. Snotlout looked over his shoulder and saw the Titan Wing rapidly approaching.

               “This is gonna hurt,” Snotlout said fearfully.

               Hookfang began to fly away as the Titan Wing prepared to fire at them. A blast from above hit the Titan Wing in the head, and he screeched as he fell. Snotlout looked up, and saw Girl Hookfang hovering above. She roared before descending towards them.

               “Way to go Girl Hookfang!” Snotlout cheered. “I always did like you.”

               The Titan Wing flew back up to hover between Girl Hookfang and Hookfang. Hookfang blasted him on the back, making the Titan Wing turn away from Girl Hookfang to fire his own back. Hookfang dodged the fire, and Snotlout growled.

               “Okay, Hookfang time to play beat the dome!” Snotlout yelled.

               Hookfang took off, and the Titan Wing followed him.

               “Beat the dome?” Asher repeated as Girl Hookfang landed behind them. “That’s his great idea?”

               “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Snotlout’s never beaten the dome,” Fishlegs said worriedly.

               “You’re right. He hasn’t,” Hiccup said, watching Hookfang fly towards the cliffside with the waterfall.

               ‘Hookfang could handle the course, but that Titan Wing is far too big,’ Hiccup thought quickly. ‘Snotlout wants him to run the course and then be trapped inside the dome.’

               “Okay, Asher, Tuff, Ruff, you’re with me,” Hiccup said. “Fishlegs, stay with Girl Hookfang and defend the eggs.”

               Fishlegs nodded and followed Girl Hookfang and Meatlug to the cave as the other Dragon Riders took off, quickly flying back to base.

               Hookfang soared over the treetops towards the waterfall with the Titan Wing close behind.

               “Alright, keep coming,” Snotlout muttered, keeping the Titan Wing in the corner of his eye. “Keep coming, keep coming.”

               The Titan Wing unleashed a fire blast at them, and Hookfang lunged for the waterfall. They flew through the water, and the fire blast was extinguished against the wall of water. The Titan Wing stopped outside the waterfall, and tried to peer through the water.

                “Woo-hoo!” Snotlout cried as Hookfang shot out from the waterfall, knocking the Titan Wing aside as he flew by.

               The Titan Wing roared angrily, and raced after them as they banked around the cliff. The larger dragon couldn’t make the turn, and nearly fell into the trees below.

               “Aww, you couldn’t make that turn?” Snotlout said mockingly. He laughed. “Man, you’re gonna hate this.”

               Hookfang dove into the forest, and the Titan Wing followed him. Hookfang easily maneuvered around the trees, focused on getting through. The Titan Wing relentlessly pursued them, but his size meant he knocked into numerous trees and branches. Hookfang pumped his wings, and shot out of the forest. The Titan Wing screeched in anger as it chased after them.

               Hiccup, Asher, the twins and their dragons landed back at the arena. Hiccup quickly dismounted, and scanned the sky. She quickly spotted Snotlout and Hookfang with the Titan Wing in hot pursuit coming around towards the sea stacks.

               “Start the dome, now!” Hiccup ordered. The twins ran for the switch, and hurriedly pushed it down. The dome of the arena began to close.

               Snotlout glanced down at the base as they flew, and grinned as he saw the dome closing.

               “Yes, they got it!” Snotlout cheered. He spotted the Titan Wing approaching out of the corner of his eye, and the large dragon was gaining on them out in the open sky. “Oh, no!”

               Hookfang dove down, and flew by the sea stacks. The Titan Wing followed him as Hookfang raced for the cave tunnel. Hookfang entered the cave, and was able to stop himself before he hit the wall. He flew up, just missing the Titan Wing. The Titan Wing shrieked in surprise and pain as he slammed into the backwall. He growled as he recovered, and ascended after the pair.

               The Titan Wing fired a blast up at them, and Hookfang was able to fly through the crack and dodge as the blast of fire hit the top of the dome. Hookfang raced for the opening, but simply clung to the wood post. Snotlout looked back at the crack in the ground and smirked as the dome closed.

               Asher pounded a fist on the dome. “They didn’t make it!”

               The Titan Wing climbed out of the crack, and looked around the dome suspiciously. Hookfang flew along the dome behind him, and the startled Titan Wing turned to try to find him. The Titan Wing walked to the center of the dome, and reared back roaring challengingly. He stopped, and lowered back down as Hookfang crawled along the dome behind him.

               “Got you!” Snotlout teased as Hookfang fired a blast at the Titan Wing’s back. The Titan Wing screeched, but by the time he turned around, Hookfang was already crawling out of his line of sight. Hookfang fired another blast at the Titan Wing’s back. “Great shot, Hookfang!”

               Hookfang kept crawling and leaping around the dome. The infuriated Titan Wing began blasting fire all around the dome, trying desperately to hit them.

               Outside, Hiccup grinned as she spotted fire blow through the spaces between the dome’s panels.

               “Hookfang’s using the Titan Wing’s size against him!” Hiccup said, amazed.

               “He’s trying to wear it down,” Asher realized.

               Hookfang and Snotlout watched the Titan Wing as they avoided another blast. The large dragon tried to fly up, but only succeeded in hitting its head against the roof of the dome. The Titan Wing screamed in pain and frustration as Hookfang hit him with another fire blast, and quickly snapped his head around to fire one of his own.

               Hookfang quickly dodged and flew around the dome, blasting the Titan Wing in the face. He clung to the ceiling, and fired another blast.

               Hiccup and Asher exchanged glances as the noises inside the dome died down.

               “Quick, open the dome!” Hiccup ordered.

               The twins pulled back the switch, and everyone waited as the dome began to open.

               Hiccup and Asher jumped back with a scream as the Titan Wing roared at them. The Titan Wing groaned, and collapsed to the ground. Standing behind him was a glaring Hookfang and a smug Snotlout.

               “Now that’s what I call domination,” Snotlout said fiercely. “Boom!”

               Hookfang screeched happily.

               “You tell him, Fangster,” Snotlout said proudly, patting his dragon on the head.

               The Titan Wing weakly got to his feet. He screeched miserably at Hookfang before flying away.

               “And stay out!” Snotlout yelled. He laughed loudly and Hookfang screeched along with him. “Come on, Hookfang. Let’s go check on Girl Hookfang.”

               They all raced back to the cliffside cave as the sun began to set. Meatlug and Girl Hookfang were standing outside while Fishlegs was just inside the cave. He ran out as they landed.

               “Guys, look!” Fishlegs said excitedly. “They hatched!”

               Snotlout hung back with Hookfang as the other riders raced to look at the hatchlings.

               “And to think I saved them,” Snotlout said smugly. Hookfang growled at him, igniting his neck and head. “Ok! Ok! We saved them. We saved them.”

               Hookfang took to the sky, roaring and fully igniting his fire jacket. He performed a back flip in the air as Snotlout cheered him on from below.

               “Snotlout! Hookfang! Oi! Oi! Oi!”

               The riders watched the hatchlings play in their den as Girl Hookfang watched fondly. The twins began to cry, and Hiccup looked at them weirdly.

               “What’s wrong with you two?” Hiccup asked.

               “Nothing,” Ruffnut cried.

               “You just don’t see enough happy endings these days,” Tuffnut sobbed. “Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!”

Chapter Text

                Hiccup took a deep breath of the night air as Toothless flew above the water. While patrolling Dragon’s Edge was important, she enjoyed any time she was able to simply fly with Toothless. Having a certain partner with them also made it more enjoyable.

                “Well, very good patrol, Asher,” Hiccup said, looking back at Asher and Stormfly. “The Edge is secure.”

                Toothless and Stormfly continued to fly along the edge of the island, passing by their base down below. Stormfly pulled ahead of Toothless, and Hiccup groaned as she saw Asher scanning the coast and waters below.

                “Uh-oh. I know that look,” Hiccup said.

                “Hiccup, where are all the Night Terrors?” Asher asked urgently. Hiccup looked down and saw that the dragons in question weren’t in the lookout towers that they had made for them along the edge of the cliffs. “Aren’t they supposed to be on watch? They’re our last line of defense.”

                Hiccup looked closer at the lookouts, but couldn’t spot any of the flock.

                ‘Where did they go?’ Hiccup thought, growing a little worried. ‘They wouldn’t just abandon their watch of the island. We’ve been flying all around, and haven’t seen them. The only thing I can think of is that someone drew them away, but it would have to be someone familiar to them…’

                “Tuffnut!” Hiccup yelled.

                Back at the base, the flock of Night Terrors hovered just outside the cliffs edge as Fishlegs and Snotlout watched Ruffnut and Tuffnut ‘train’ one of the dark Night Terrors.

                “Yeah, that’s good,” Ruffnut said, holding a large stick out in front of her close to the Night Terror. The little dragon was watching the stick intently, and when she lifted it, he pounced to bite it. “Terrific!”

                “Uh, what are you two doing?” Hiccup asked, as Toothless and Stormfly landed behind the twins.

                “What does it look like we’re doing?” Ruffnut asked. “Dragon training!”

                “You would think that you, of all people, would recognize that,” Tuffnut said, picking up the Night Terror and cradling him in his arms. “Prepare to be amazed, my friend. Okay, ready, little guy?”

                He tossed the Night Terror to the ground, and the little dragon turned to look up at him expectantly.

                “Shake!” Tuffnut said.

                The Night Terror fell onto his back, and began to shake his limbs and back around on the ground.

                Hiccup and Asher stared as Tuffnut laughed.

                “Right?” Tuffnut said excitedly. “See, you thought it’d be a handshake, he’d put out his paw, but I taught him—”

                “Oh no, no, no we understand,” Hiccup said quickly. “I’m just not sure how useful a skill that is.”

                “That’s not all he does,” Tuffnut said eagerly. “You wanna see him get my slippers?”

                “These dragons are not our pets, Tuffnut,” Asher snapped. “They’re an integral part of our security system.”

                “He can also solve math problems by stomping his foot,” Tuffnut offered. “As long as the answer is three.”

                “Asher has a point, Tuffnut,” Hiccup said firmly. “And besides you have a pet already.”

                Hiccup pointed to the nearby Chicken. Tuffnut looked at Chicken then shrugged.

                “Dagur could park a whole fleet right offshore, and we wouldn’t even know they were there because the Night Terrors aren’t on their perches,” Asher said angrily.

                “Lighten up, Asher,” Snotlout said irritated. “Dagur doesn’t even know where Dragon’s Edge is.”

                “Not yet,” Asher angrily warned, marching up to stand over Snotlout. “But if you guys don’t take this seriously, he will soon enough.”

                “I say bring it on!” Snotlout said loudly. “Let him bring that weak sauce in here. Hookfang and I will pummel his deranged butt.”

                Hookfang screeched an agreement before flinching as a Terrible Terror flew just past his head. It zipped between Asher and Snotlout, and crashed into Fishlegs face, knocking him to the ground.

                “Oh dear,” Fishlegs groaned. He sat up, and carefully peeled the small dragon off his face. He saw a scroll attached to the Terrible Terrors leg, and plucked it off. The dragon moved to sit on his shoulder as he unrolled the scroll.

                “What is it?” Hiccup asked curiously. Fishlegs face fell as he read the contents.

                “It’s Berk, and it’s not good,” Fishlegs said worriedly. “There was an attack, and your father is asking us to come back immediately.”

                “Everyone, gather supplies quickly,” Hiccup said promptly. “We’re in the air in ten.”

                Everyone hurried to gather some provisions, and soon they were taking to the air as the flock of Night Terrors returned to their perches. The Dragon Riders flew all night, barely stopping to rest. The sun was just coming over the horizon as Berk came into sight. Hiccup saw the smoke rising from areas of the village, and felt her heart sink. As Stoick came into view with Skullcrusher, Hiccup let out a shaky breath of relief.

                “Hiccup, I’m glad you’re here,” Stoick said as Skullcrusher rose up to be level with Toothless.

                “Who did this?” Hiccup demanded. “Dagur?”

                Stoick nodded. “It was a hit and run attack. Catapults and volleys of fire arrows. Hit a few buildings in town. Asher, one of them was your parent’s house.”

                Hiccup snapped her head over to Asher as the boy softly gasped.

                “You should probably head over to—” Stoick stopped as Asher and Stormfly dove to get on the ground. Toothless and Skullcrusher quickly followed.

                Asher leapt off Stormfly as soon as her claws hit the ground, and ran towards his home.

                ‘Please,’ Asher thought desperately. ‘Please, no…’

                Asher stopped dead as he took in the destroyed remains of his childhood home. There were only a few bits of the walls standing, and ash covered the ground where it once was.

                Gobber, covered in soot, missing his helmet and carrying a bucket, came over to him.

                “Relax, lad,” Gobber said immediately, seeing the look on Asher’s face. “Your parents are fine. They were out at the yak races. I’m sorry we couldn’t save your house.”

                “If they had been home, Gobber…” Asher said, horrified.

                “But they weren’t.” Gobber said firmly, putting an arm around his shoulders. “It’ll be alright, lad. We’ll get this place rebuilt good as new.”

                ‘I know my house can be rebuilt, but it can easily be destroyed again,’ Asher thought fearfully. ‘Dagur could come back, and they could be home next time. They wouldn’t be able to protect themselves from an attack like this. I could’ve, but I wasn’t here…I wasn’t here.’

                “Holy Thor,” Hiccup said softly, observing the damaged home. She wanted to comfort Asher, but Stoick touched her shoulder.

                “Lass, we need to help put out the remaining fires,” Stoick said firmly. “Buckets are being prepared. You and I and our dragons can cover more ground than the villagers can.”

                Hiccup glanced back at Asher, and Gobber gave her a nod. Hiccup returned it, and took a deep breath.

                “Let’s go,” Hiccup said. Skullcrusher and Toothless raced into the air, and started grabbing buckets. With the other Dragon Riders and the villagers’ help, they were able to get the remaining fires out quickly.

                Stoick sighed as they descended, and he dismounted from Skullcrusher to address the group of people approaching them.

                “Alright,” Stoick said. “Now that the fires are out, Sven, you start the wall repairs. Bucket, you’re in charge of roofs.”

                “Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff.”

                Stoick looked behind him to see Hiccup calling out to her Dragon Riders.

                “You three ferry whatever supplies they need,” Hiccup ordered. Stoick felt a wave of pride, seeing his daughter take charge and lead her friends. “Fishlegs, you and Meatlug do the heavy lifting. I’ll go looking for Dagur.”

                “It was a strange attack, lass,” Stoick said, once the other riders left to their tasks. “A single ship. It fired a few salvos, and then just turned tail and ran.”

                Toothless purred as Hiccup ran her hand alongside his head as she moved around to his side.

                “That’s not Dagur’s style,” Hiccup mused. She mounted Toothless, and settled in the saddle. “Why attack at all?”

                “Good question,” Stoick replied.

                “Tell you what, I’ll ask him when I find him,” Hiccup said fiercely.

                “He was heading north,” Stoick said. “That’s your best bet.”

                “Let’s go, bud,” Hiccup said. Toothless leapt into the air, and they were soon out of sight of Berk.

                Hiccup and Toothless searched for most of the day, but found nothing. The sun was setting by the time they returned to Berk. Spotting the other Dragon Riders at the Dragon Academy, Toothless landed there. Hiccup dismounted from Toothless with a sigh. She raised an eyebrow as she spotted Fishlegs and Meatlug, who had her feet in buckets.

                “Uh, is Meatlug ok?” Hiccup asked, concerned.

                “Of course, she’ll be fine,” Fishlegs said warmly. He affectionately rubbed the side of Meatlug’s head, and she growled happily. “All that taking off and landing is tough on her insoles.”

                Meatlug grunted, and playfully moved her feet in the buckets, splashing some water out.

                “Oh, ok,” Hiccup said awkwardly. She sighed in disappointment, and rubbed the back of her head. “I couldn’t find any sign of Dagur, but he did have a full day’s head start on me. How’d you two do on the repairs?”

                She turned and grew concerned for a different reason as she saw the twins standing in front of a set of large tables piled high with food, along with various items and pieces of furniture scattered around them.

                “We did awesome,” Tuffnut said smugly. “We fixed so many houses.”

                “Yeah, and everybody was so grateful,” Ruffnut said. She gestured to the table of food behind her. “They just gave us all this food.”

                “They also gave us this furniture,” Tuffnut said amazed. “I mean, they just left it in front of their houses for us.”

                “Hiccup! It’s a terrible tragedy!” Hiccup turned to see Sven running into the academy. “Someone’s been looting the burned houses taking food, furniture, anything valuable they can get their hands on.”

                Hiccup turned, and raised an eyebrow at the twins. Ruffnut, lounging in a large chair as she examined a gold necklace, saw her and quickly hid the necklace behind her.

                “That’s horrible!” Ruffnut cried. “What kind of world do we live in?”

                “Don’t worry, Sven,” Hiccup said reassuringly. She put hand on his shoulder to guide him away. “I’m pretty sure it’ll reappear.” She glared at the twins as Sven left. “Very quickly.”

                The twins smiled at her sheepishly and shrugged. Hiccup shook her head, but looked up as she heard Stormfly’s squawk. She watched as Stormfly descended into the academy with a morose looking Asher on her back.

                “Asher,” Hiccup said relieved as the boy dismounted. “How’s your family?”

                “They’re ok,” Asher replied. “Their house… The house I grew up, is gone.”

                “Damn,” Snotlout said. He leaned on Asher’s shoulder. “That sucks.”

                Asher quickly grabbed Snotlout’s arm, and lifted him. Snotlout screamed as Asher swung him around and hurled him into the wall. Snotlout groaned as he lay on his back, legs still up against the wall.

                “Ohhh, pain,” Snotlout squeaked. Asher walked over, and knelt.

                “Thanks, Snotlout,” Asher said, his voice lighter. “I really needed that.”

                Snotlout grinned nervously and groaned as he took Asher’s hand.

                “You’re welcome,” Snotlout grunted as Asher pulled him up. “I know my role.”

                “Well, everyone,” Hiccup said loudly, gathering their attention. “Dagur was last seen fleeing due north. By my calculations, he could be heading out of the archipelago. So, we’re going back to Dragon’s Edge first thing tomorrow. We’ll use that as our base to search for him. For now, just go back to your houses, and get a good night’s sleep.”

                The other riders nodded, and turned to go. Hiccup quickly turned to Asher and Stormfly.

                “Hey, where are you guys staying tonight?” Hiccup asked, gently.

                “I figured Stormfly and I would just bed down here,” Asher replied, taking a bed roll from Stormfly’s saddle.

                ‘Oh,’ Hiccup thought sadly. ‘Poor Asher. I would offer him a place at my house, but…Dad would kill him.’

                Hiccup awkwardly laughed.

                “What a funny coincidence,” Hiccup said nervously. “I’m sleeping here too.”

                Toothless warbled his agreement as Asher gave Hiccup a confused smile.

                “Why?” Asher asked. “You have a warm bed and house.”

                “Yeah, but you wouldn’t believe how much my dad snores,” Hiccup said jokingly. “After so many peaceful nights on the Edge, I don’t think Toothless and I could take it.”

                “Yeah, Meatlug and I were gonna stay here too,” Fishlegs happily added, grabbing his bed roll from Meatlug’s saddle. “Just for old times’ sake.”

                “Uh-uh. Nobody is having a sleepover,” Snotlout protested. Hookfang grunted an agreement. Snotlout grinned. “Without Hookfang and me.”

                He laughed as he rolled out his bed roll. Asher smiled as the twins proudly held up their own bed rolls.

                “Alright, let’s get a fire going,” Hiccup said warmly. The twins rubbed their hands excitedly, and Hiccup quickly held up a hand. “No. You two are going to return every single piece of furniture and food to those houses. Now.”

                “What?” Ruffnut cried. “Now? It’s like the end of the day.”

                “Yeah, we’re tired,” Tuffnut said, yawning. “Can’t we do it tomorrow?”

                “No,” Hiccup said simply. “If you hadn’t stolen anything, you could be relaxing right now. Instead, you need to get all of that back where you found it before my dad finds you.”

                The twins glanced at each other before running for Barf and Belch. Snotlout laughed as the twins scrambled to grab everything, but ended up having to make multiple trips. The twins yawned loudly as they returned for the last time. They took the opening in the circle around the fire, and Barf and Belch went straight to sleep.

                Snotlout yawned, and lay down with his head and shoulders resting against Hookfang’s head. Hookfang jerked his head away, and Snotlout’s head hit the ground. He glared at Hookfang, who cracked one eye open and giggled.

                The twins gave each other a fist bump before lying down on their backs. At the same time, they moved their helmets over their eyes, and folded their hands on their chests. Fishlegs was already out, lying against a sleeping Meatlug.

                Hiccup sat beside Toothless, stroking his head.

                “Thanks guys,” Asher said gratefully. “This is kind of nice.”

                Hiccup gave him a warm smile before resting against Toothless. Toothless purred, and lay his head down against her legs. After flying all day, the two were out in no time at all.

                Asher watched Hiccup for a moment before his smile faded, and he turned to stare out at nothing. Hours passed, and Asher didn’t move.

                ‘I can’t sleep,’ Asher thought numbly. ‘All I can think about is how I almost lost my parents today. I wasn’t here to protect them. I failed them.’

                Not even the sight of Toothless on his side with Hiccup now lying over him could bring him any amusement. Asher rose to his feet, grabbed his axe, and quietly walked out of the academy. He wandered down to the village with no set destination in mind. The only thing he felt was an intense push to make sure everything was safe with his own eyes.

                Stoick watched as the young man entered the village center. He could see what Asher was feeling in the set of the boy’s shoulders, his normally proud eyes looking down, and the absentminded walk.

                “Can’t sleep, eh?” Stoick asked quietly, catching up to Asher. Asher glanced at him before sighing.

                “Not a wink,” Asher admitted.

                “Can’t stop thinking about what you might have done to prevent the attack?” Stoick asked.

                Asher looked down, and Stoick grabbed his shoulder gently.

                “There’s nothing you could have done,” Stoick said, turning Asher to face him. “You know that.”

                “I know that up here,” Asher said, pointing to his head. “But in my gut…”

                “You still blame yourself,” Stoick said knowingly. “I know the feeling. We’re warriors, you and I. Sworn to protect. It’s why I trust you out there when you’re with my daughter.”

                “How do I make this feeling go away?” Asher asked.

                “You don’t. You can’t,” Stoick replied. “So, you own it. You remember it, and you do everything you can to make sure you never feel it again.”

                Stoick rest his hand on Asher’s shoulder again, and the young man sighed.

                “Come on, I’ll check the docks with you,” Stoick said.

                Hiccup woke up the next day, and slid off Toothless’s back. The Night Fury warbled, sleepily, and stretched out as Hiccup sat back on her legs with a yawn.

                “Morning, bud,” Hiccup said. Toothless shook himself, before giving her a lick in the face. “Toothless! Bleh, dragon morning breath.”

                Toothless laughed, and then looked over Hiccup’s shoulder. Hiccup turned to look, and saw he was looking at Asher. The boy was sitting, arms and head resting on his knees.

                ‘Oh no,’ Hiccup thought worriedly. ‘Did he sleep at all last night?’ Hiccup quietly approached Asher in case he was sleeping, but bit her lip when his head rose.

                “Hey,” Hiccup greeted softly. “You get any sleep last night?”

                “Eh, I spent most of the night thinking,” Asher replied.

                “So we slept on the ground for Asher?” Tuffnut asked Fishlegs.

                “Yes, in a show of support,” Fishlegs said happily.

                “Wow, I completely missed that!” Tuffnut cried.

                Snotlout groaned as he stood. He flinched at a sharp pain in his lower back.

                “Ow, my back,” Snotlout whined. He pushed on his lower back, missing Hookfang smirk. Hookfang hit Snotlout in the back with his tail sending the boy flying into the nearby wall. He bounced off, and rolled over to stand on his feet. He grinned as he realized his pain was gone. “Ah, thanks Hookfang.”

                “Well, we’re wings up in an hour,” Hiccup said softly to Asher. “Let me help you with your gear.”

                “Hiccup, I’ve made a decision,” Asher said seriously. “I’m not going back to Dragon’s Edge. I’m staying here, on Berk.”

                Hiccup stared at him stunned.

                “Whoa, whoa, whoa! You’re staying here?” Hiccup asked, stunned. “When did you decide this?”

                “Last night, when I was talking to your father,” Asher said, gesturing a hand behind her at the approaching Stoick. Hiccup whipped around, and Stoick froze at the look on his daughter’s face. It was very similar to the look her mother would give him when he messed up.

                “We’re warriors, Hiccup,” Stoick said steadily. “We live by a code.”

                “I’m not leaving Berk defenseless again,” Asher said firmly. “I can’t.”

                “Asher, one dragon wouldn’t have made a difference,” Hiccup insisted.

                “I know that Hiccup,” Asher said calmly. “I’m going to stay and train new riders.”

                “What?” Hiccup gasped.

                “An auxiliary,” Asher explained. “A backup team just for situations like this.”

                “That’s, uh, actually a pretty good idea,” Hiccup conceded.

                “Excuse me, I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation, because I was eavesdropping,” Snotlout interrupted.  “If you need instructors for this new dragon training deal, I’m your man. A Snotlout trained rider will be able to anticipate his dragon’s every move. It’s like chess, except I don’t know how to play chess.”

                Snotlout ducked under a tail swipe from Hookfang, and grinned confidently.

                “See what I mean?” Snotlout boasted. He fell with a scream as Hookfang’s tail swung back and hit him in the side. “Checkmate.”

                “Sorry, Snotlout, but I’ll be doing all the training myself,” Asher insisted. He looked at Hiccup, and bent slightly to meet her downcast gaze. “This is something I need to do, Hiccup.”

                Hiccup gave him a small smile and nodded.

                “Okay, change of plan,” Hiccup announced. “Snotlout, twins, Fishlegs, you’ll follow Dagur’s trail north of the archipelago. If you don’t find him, resupply at the Edge and keep searching.”

                “Hiccup, what part of ‘I’ll be doing all the training’ wasn’t clear to you?” Asher asked irritably.

                “I’m just gonna patrol the area around Berk, in case Dagur doubled back,” Hiccup said easily. “You won’t even know we’re here. Right, bud?”

                Toothless growled an agreement and Asher sighed.

                “Okay, then,” Asher said. “Of course, this all assumes that anyone would even want to try out for our B-team.”

                As it turned out, a lot of Berkians were inserted in becoming a Dragon Rider. The other Dragon Riders watched from above as several villagers entered the arena, and grouped near the waiting Asher and Stormfly.

                “Nice turnout,” Hiccup commented, gently leaning over Toothless to see better.

                “Yeah, look at them all, fresh-faced and full of dreams,” Tuffnut said, Belch leaning down closer to Toothless. Tuffnut grinned wickedly. “Dreams that are soon to be crushed. Huh, Hiccup were we ever that young?”

                “Hey, Snotlout is that your dad?” Fishlegs asked, pointing to a very familiar Viking down below.

                “What!” Snotlout cried as he spotted his dad, Spitelout, standing beside Gustav. “Hiccup, you have to let me stay! I will get to make the rules. I will get to point out every one of his mistakes.”

                “Sorry. Not gonna happen, Snotlout,” Hiccup said firmly.

                “You owe me this! The world owes me this!” Snotlout insisted. He shook Hookfang’s horns in frustration. “Snotlout! This is Snotlout!”

                “And that’s a good sign it’s time to move on,” Hiccup whispered to Toothless. Toothless laughed. “Saddle up, everybody. Asher’s got work to do, and so do we.”

                Snotlout groaned, but didn’t complain as Hookfang took to the skies after the others.

                Asher examined the group of potential candidates, and straightened his spine before approaching them.

                “So, you all want to be Dragon Riders, huh?” Asher said critically. He walked along the front of the group, tossing an apple casually in his hand as Stormfly followed him, glaring at the recruits. “Looks like fun, right? Well, it isn’t. It’s hard, and it’s dangerous.”

                Spitelout laughed confidently. “Dangerous? You came to the right place if you want dangerous.”

                “Well, that’s a relief,” Asher said mockingly. He placed the apple on his head. “Stormfly, spine shot.”

                Spitelout’s eyes widened as Stormfly shot a spine that tore right through the apple before whizzing past his head.

                “Your turn,” Asher challenged, holding up another apple.

                “Oh, uh, hold on,” Spitelout said nervously. He made a show of stretching his arms. “I’ll need to stretch first. Limber up. I don’t want to pull a hammy.”

                “Who’s next?” Asher asked, walking back down the group. “You? You?”

                Several villagers ran screaming out of the arena. Asher smirked and put his hands on his hips, turning to the remaining recruits. The only ones left were Sven, Gustav, Spitelout, Bucket, Mulch, and Gothi.

                “Ok, for those of you that are left,” Asher said smugly. “I suppose you’d like to meet your dragons.”

                Everyone but Gustav chattered excitedly. Gustav just smirked and looked over at Fanghook napping in the corner. Asher went to the side, and grabbed a bunch of brooms.

                “Here you go,” Asher said, passing one to Spitelout. He gave another to Mulch. “This looks like a Changewing. You get a Gronckle, Gothi.”

                Gustav laughed as Asher approached him with a broom.

                “What are you laughing at?” Asher demanded. Gustav stopped and sheepishly took the broom. “Hey look, it’s a Sweeping Death.”

Gustav sighed.

                “Now, everyone,” Asher said. “We will practice moving as a team and flying in formation. Form a single file line now.”

                The recruits scrambled to get in line, and Asher took the front.

                “Mount your dragons,” Asher ordered. Everyone glanced at each other before placing the brooms between their legs. “Now follow me, and stay in formation.”

                Asher jogged around the arena, occasionally weaving around, and the recruits followed him while holding the brooms.

                “Flying in formation can save your life,” Asher said loudly. “It can hide your numbers, like the single file formation.”

                Asher stopped, jogging in place. “It can allow you to cover each other’s flank or—"

               The recruits all fell to the ground as Bucket, the last line, tripped and brought down the whole line other than Asher with him.

                “Nice move, Bucket,” Asher snapped. “You just got everybody killed.”

                “Sorry everybody,” Bucket said sheepishly.

                “Drop and give me twenty,” Asher ordered.

                Bucket got on his hand and hook, and started doing pushups as Asher turned back to the others.

With the Other Dragon Riders

                Snotlout scowled as there was still no sign of Dagur or his ships below.

                “Well, I give up,” Snotlout called out to the others. “I don’t see any sign of Dagur’s ship. Let’s just head to the Edge. I’m hungry.”

                “Agreed,” Tuffnut said tiredly. “All this focusing wears you out.”

                The Dragon Riders turned towards the Edge, not noticing Dagur’s ships hidden behind a rocky island.

                Dagur watched the dragons fly through his spyglass, before sighing as Savage scribbled on a map behind him.

                “Well, I’m waiting,” Dagur said impatiently.

                “Using their direction and our other men’s sightings,” Savage said, finishing up his work and drawing a circle on the map. “Their base should be in this general area.”

                “Oh, Hiccup,” Dagur said fondly. “So soft-hearted and soft-headed. I knew my attack on Berk would draw her and her lizard-flying friends out into the open.” He smiled wickedly at Savage as he walked behind him. “And you doubted me.”

                “Uh, I don’t recall that I did,” Savage protested. Dagur whipped around with a glare, and Savage quickly added, “Then again, maybe it was me.”

                Dagur rolled his eyes as he turned away and laughed.

                “The noose tightens,” Dagur said excitedly, before throwing his head back to laugh. “Assemble the fleet. We’ll scour this area until we find Dragon’s Edge.”

Berk

                Asher observed as the group got used to sitting on their dragons for the first time. Sven was sitting nervously on the back of a green Monstrous Nightmare beside Gothi and her purple Gronckle. Gustav sat primly on Fanghook while Spitelout was mounted on the back of a red and blue Deadly Nadder. Bucket and Mulch were sitting in the saddle behind the two heads of their blue Zippleback.

                “Okay. Repeat after me,” Asher said loudly from Stormfly’s back. “This is my dragon. There are many like it, but this one is mine!”

                The group repeated his words, as Gothi scribbled hers into the ground.

                “I can’t hear you!” Asher cried.

                The group repeated his words loudly as Gothi scribbled faster.

                “I still can’t hear you!” Asher snapped, looking pointedly at Gothi. The old woman scrambled to write in the dirt as the others repeated themselves again. Asher scowled at the panting old woman. “Drop and give me twenty.”

                Gothi’s shoulders drooped, before she let herself fall off her Gronckle. She shakily started doing push-ups as Asher moved on.

Dragon’s Edge

                Snotlout and Hookfang napped beneath the shade of the partially enclosed arena as the twins played with two of the dark Night Terrors. Tuffnut was playing fetch with one of them, and threw the stick as Fishlegs and Meatlug approached.

                “Ok, who’s ready to get out there and search for Dagur?” Fishlegs asked brightly. He watched fondly as the Night Terror grabbed the stick and raced back towards Tuffnut. Snotlout and Hookfang continued napping, and Ruffnut ignored him entirely.

                “Yes, that’s it,” Tuffnut said encouragingly to the Night Terror as he took the stick back. He frowned at Fishlegs. “Sorry, I am very busy doing research.”

                “Guys!” Fishlegs admonished. “Asher and Hiccup told you to leave the Night Terrors alone. And you have a pet already, remember?”

                Tuffnut scowled over his shoulder as Chicken flapped her wings.

                “I know you’re nodding back there,” Tuffnut said. “I can hear your feathers ruffling. You stay out of it!”

                Chicken clucked before running off, as Tuffnut sat down to wrestle the Night Terror for the stick.

                “They’re supposed to be lookouts,” Fishlegs reminded them shortly.

                “Oh, yeah? Then now come he’s so good at fetching things?” Tuffnut replied. He gestured at Fishlegs. “Leg!”

                Fishlegs scowled as the Night Terror came and bit his leg. Luckily the dragon didn’t have teeth big enough to pierce his boot.

                “Meatlug,” Fishlegs said irritably. Meatlug came over, and hit the Night Terror away from Fishlegs with her tail. Fishlegs glared at the twins. “Okay, I guess Meatlug and I are searching alone.”

                He walked away as the twins shrugged at one another. He turned back after a few steps, but Snotlout was still napping and the twins just blissfully waved.

                “See ya!” Tuffnut said cheerfully.

                Fishlegs shook his head, and walked away.

Berk

                Hiccup sighed as she and Toothless approached the overlook of the arena. She knew she couldn’t put off returning to the Edge any longer. She was hoping that Asher might be ready to return with her or at the very least soon.

                “I wonder how the new recruits have been doing,” Hiccup said thoughtfully. “They’ve been working with Asher for a few days, so they must be getting pretty good.”

                Toothless warbled an agreement, and Hiccup peered over the edge of the arena curiously. She smiled as she saw Asher pushing a wooden target of an angry Viking holding an axe in one hand, and a shield with a target on it in the other into the center of the arena.

                “Today’s exercise is to dive at the target,” Asher began as he reached the center and stopped. “Do a barrel roll to avoid enemy fire, and then hit the target with a blast. Like this.”

                Asher mounted Stormfly, and the two of them flew up into the air. Hiccup watched fondly as they performed the very maneuver he had just described, a light magnesium blast and spine from Stormfly hitting the target.

                Hiccup and Toothless watched from above the arena as Spitelout made the first attempt. She shook her head fondly as he and his Nadder performed enthusiastically, barely missing the top of the Viking.

                “Fail!” Asher cried.

                “You’ve got to be joking!” Spitelout snapped.

                Gothi and her Gronckle were next, and Hiccup had to put her hand over mouth to hide her laughter as Gothi and her dragon didn’t complete the barrel roll. Instead, they flew with the dragon upside down and the old woman hanging off the saddle. Gothi and the dragon barreled into the target taking it out.

                “Yes! Gothi coming in hot!” Hiccup cheered with a laugh.

                “Fail!” Asher snapped. “To be a Dragon Rider, you actually have to ride on the dragon.”

                Hiccup had to bury her face into Toothless’s side to prevent anyone from hearing her laugh as Bucket and Mulch ended up approaching the target upside down on their dragon. The Zippleback did hit the target with its explosive gas, before happily circling the target still flying upside down with Bucket’s bucket scrapping the ground.

                “Fail,” Asher said tiredly, watching them circle.

                “Oh, come on!” Hiccup said, exasperated. “You got to count that.”

                Sven completed the maneuver successfully with his dragon, but the fire blast missed the target. Sven grabbed his axe off his back, and threw it at the target Vikings head as his dragon swooped down. The axe hit the target right on the head.

                “Cheating,” Asher said critically. “Fail.”

                “What is he doing?” Hiccup asked Toothless, confused.

                Gustav went last, and he cheered Fanghook on as they barrel rolled in the air.

                “Yes! Ah, Gustav!” Gustav yelled as Fanghook blasted the target.

                “Fail. Lucky shot,” Asher said shortly. “Do it again.”

                Gustav and Fanghook circled around, and performed the maneuver again. Hiccup gasped as Asher kicked the target to the side as Fanghook fired, his blast going where the target used to be.

                “Hey!” Gustav yelled. “That’s not fair!”

                “Element of surprise,” Asher replied. “Key to any battle. Now land and give me twenty. Everyone else, we need to start over. From scratch.”

                “Are you seeing this?” Hiccup asked Toothless as Asher grabbed the brooms from the cart. “It’s like he wants them to fail.”

                Toothless warbled concerned as Asher had the recruits run in a circle around the target.

                “Who wants to fail next?” Asher asked.

                “At this rate, he’ll never be finished,” Hiccup said sadly. Her eyes widened as the thought clicked. “Oh…”

                Hiccup and Toothless made their way down to the academy entrance, and Hiccup cautiously approached Asher as he examined an axe as Spitelout did pushups.

                “What did he do?” Hiccup asked.

                “He’s Snotlout’s dad,” Asher replied bitterly.

                “Enough said,” Hiccup said nervously. “Can we talk?”

                “I would, but I’m busy,” Asher said dismissively.

                Hiccup sighed, and wedged herself between Asher and the target.

                “Asher, I know what you’re doing,” Hiccup said softly.

                “Really? And what am I doing?” Asher asked shortly.

                “Well, you’re being overly tough on these guys,” Hiccup said. “I saw what you did to Gustav.”

                “The element of surprise?” Asher asked irritably. “How is that being overly tough?”

                “It’s not just that,” Hiccup replied frustrated. “It’s that you want them to fail. That way you have an excuse to stay here on Berk. We both know what’s going on here.”

                “You’re wrong, Hiccup,” Asher protested, turning away from her. “You’re wrong.”

                “Asher, I get it,” Hiccup said sympathetically. “You want to stay on Berk and protect your family. I understand, but you can’t be there every second of every day for the rest of their lives.”

                Hiccup reached out to touch his shoulder, but stopped when she saw him tense.

                “Just think about it,” Hiccup sighed. “I’m going to head back out to Dragon’s Edge, see if the others have spotted Dagur. I’ll be back in a few days. We can talk more about it then.”

                Asher watched out of the corner of his eye as Hiccup mounted Toothless, and they took off into the sky.

                ‘You’re wrong, Hiccup,’ Asher thought. He pushed the target away in frustration, and scowled as he walked away from Spitelout. ‘These guys aren’t ready yet. I can’t leave until they are. When they’re ready, I’ll be ready.’

                Maybe if he thought about it long enough, he would believe it.

Dragon’s Edge

                Hiccup and Toothless glided around a couple of sea stacks, enjoying the night air.

                ‘We’ll check in with the gang, and then go get some rest,’ Hiccup thought. She was looking forward to sleeping in her hut again. ‘Hopefully, the others have found something.’

                Hiccup gasped as Toothless rounded around another seat stack, and pulled up sharply at the sight of the Berserker armada attacking Dragon’s Edge. Her heart began to pound as she spotted her friends and their dragons gathering in the closing arena dome, the tail of Hookfang making it in as it slammed shut. The dome protected them from the rocks of the catapults, and Hiccup could faintly hear Dagur laughing.

                “Dagur’s found the Edge,” Hiccup said stunned. “This is not good.”

                Toothless growled, and Hiccup patted the side of his head.

                “The others took cover in the dome,” Hiccup said urgently. “We need to get to them, and see how everyone is doing. Let’s go low and go fast.”

                Toothless screeched an agreement before he dove down to fly just above the water. Hiccup kept down low over the saddle as he soared around several ships. He pumped his wings to pick up speed as they passed the armada, and they entered the open area.

                “Fire!”

                Hiccup glanced back and scowled at the sight of numerous rocks and flaming arrows flying into the air. Toothless quickly sped into the cave tunnel, and burst upward to enter the dome through the crack in the floor.

                “Hiccup!” Fishlegs cried relieved.

                “Is everybody okay?” Hiccup asked urgently as she dismounted.

                “Meatlug took one in the wing, but she’ll be okay in a few days,” Fishlegs said, cuddling against his dragon.

                “They got the drop on us Hiccup!” Snotlout yelled. “Hit us before we even knew they were there. If our early warning system hadn’t been—”

                “Hey, hey, hey!” Tuffnut interrupted as he held a struggling Night Terror. Another played with an orange near Ruffnut. “Let’s not start throwing the twins under the yak cart.”

                The Night Terror broke free from Tuffnut with a screech, and flew to Hiccup, perching on her shoulders. The dome shook as another stone projectile hit nearby.

                “We have to fight back!” Hiccup said fiercely.

                “We tried,” Ruffnut said, tiredly. “It didn’t go so well.”

                Another shake rattled the dome.

                “Dagur has us pinned down!” Snotlout snapped.

                “With a dozen ships,” Fishlegs added.

                “And they have this catapult, that can launch twenty arrows at a time,” Tuffnut added eagerly. “It’s actually pretty cool. I’m asking for it for Snoggletog. Think Dagur will give it to me?”

                “It doesn’t matter, okay? This is our home!” Hiccup cried, “We’re defending it. Now, think. What are our advantages?”

                “Well, we do have the high ground,” Fishlegs offered.

                “That’s right,” Hiccup agreed.

                “And good cover,” Snotlout suggested.

                “And supplies,” Ruffnut added.

                “And we have dragons,” Tuffnut said, picking up another Night Terror only to flinch as it screeched in his face.

                “Okay, that’s pretty much implied, but I like the spirit,” Hiccup said. She went to Toothless, and grabbed some parchment form her saddle bag. “We’ll send a Terror mail to Berk for reinforcements. In the meantime, we hold the Edge.”

                Hiccup flinched as another impact shook the dome, and the Night Terror on her back screeched.

                ‘I just hope they make it in time,’ Hiccup thought as she rapidly wrote.

Berk

                “Not all combat is in the air,” Asher said. He finished painting the circle around the painted skull on the floor of the arena, and dropped the paintbrush into the bucket beside him. “Today, we’re going to practice precision landings.”

                Before he could continue, Skullcrusher and Stoick landed right on the painted skull.

                “Like that,” Asher said brightly.

                “Asher,” Stoick said urgently. “We just got a Terrible Terror from Hiccup. Dragon’s Edge is under siege by Dagur’s fleet.”

                “How many ships?” Asher demanded.

                “At least a dozen,” Stoick replied tightly.

                Asher cursed under his breath as he ran for Stormfly.

                “Long odds,” Asher groaned as he mounted Stormfly.

                “Let me help even them,” Spitelout said confidently.

                “I’m coming, too,” Gustav insisted. Gothi nodded in agreement behind him, patting her stick in her hand.

                “Absolutely not,” Asher refused. “You are not ready for combat. You will all stay here. That is an order.”

                The three exchanged displeased looks, but didn’t say anything.

                “Let’s go,” Asher called to Stoick. The Chief nodded, and Stormfly and Skullcrusher took to the air.

                ‘Hang on Hiccup,’ Asher thought. The same fear he had felt when word had come that Berk had been attacked filled him again. ‘Thor, please. Let them be ok until I get there.’

Dragon’s Edge

                “Now, Hookfang, stat!” Snotlout ordered as two ships launched their catapults.

Hookfang fired a blast down, before retreating into the tunnel below the arena. The boulders landed where he had been standing, and the two approaching Berserker men cursed as they blocked their way. They climbed over the boulders, and stopped as they saw Hookfang and Snotlout waiting for them. Hookfang roared and ignited his flame jacket. The two men screamed and covered their faces.

                Meatlug fired a blast at a ship that was approaching the docks, forcing the men onboard to jump overboard. One of the ships made it to the dock, and more Berserkers stepped out. Most ran forward as another stopped and fired some arrows with his crossbow. They missed Meatlug, and she landed safely on the deck outside Fishlegs’ hut. She snarled and fired a blast at the docks below. A section of the docks was destroyed, sending one man into the water as another ran to safety. A Berserker jumped the gap, and pointed his crossbow up.

                “Meatlug!” Fishlegs cried. Meatlug quickly fled from the arrows, and took cover with Fishlegs’ inside their hut.

                Down below, the twins ran along the edge of the cliff overlooking the docks. Ruffnut laughed as she wielded a huge crossbow, firing down at the Berserkers. Tuffnut reached their catapult, and released it to send a large stone down below. It hit the side of one of the ships, and knocked a few men overboard. Tuffnut picked up rocks, and pelted the remaining man with them knocking him out.

                Tuffnut smirked smugly, before hearing the clucking of Chicken. He looked down to see her cowering behind a barrel that had more than a few arrows stuck in it. Tuffnut yelled, and quickly climbed down the cliff to reach Chicken. Tuffnut lunged forward, and scooped Chicken into his arms.

                “No chicken left behind,” Tuffnut said firmly as she clucked loudly. Tuffnut raced along the deck to reach the staircase as a Berserker ship lined up a shot right at him. The man was ready to fire, but turned in fear as he heard the wind whistling.

                “Toothless! Plasma blast!” Hiccup cried as Toothless flew above the water aiming for the ship.

                Dagur flinched as the powerful blast crippled the nearby ship, rapidly sinking it.

                “Is that the best you can do, Hiccup?” Dagur screamed as the girl and her Night Fury shot straight up back into the sky. “Because it’s not enough!”

                Dagur rounded on Savage. “Focus all your fire—”

                “Dragons!” A Berserker yelled. “Approaching from the south—”

                Dagur snatched the spyglass out of his hand as he shoved the man overboard. He growled as he spotted Asher and Stoick approaching on their dragons.

                “Two late guests,” Dagur commented. “Clearly, they’re not aware of party etiquette. Take ‘em down!”

                The Berserkers began to fire arrows at the approaching dragons. Asher and Stoick separated, and Stoick roared as Skullcrusher dove down and charged at one of the ships. Skullcrusher rammed straight through the hull of the ship, slamming all the men on deck to the ground. They quickly scrambled up as the ship took on water.

                Skullcrusher hovered nearby, as Stoick looked for Hiccup and Toothless. He gasped as he saw a net coming over them, and quickly jumped over it as it landed on Skullcrusher. He gripped the net tightly, and yelled as they were pulled down onto the deck of a Berserker ship.

                The Berserker men froze as Stoick stood over his dragon. Skullcrusher growled.

                “Don’t worry, boy,” Stoick said with a laugh. He drew his axe, and grinned at the Berserkers. “This should only take a minute.” He glanced back at a Berserker pointing his crossbow at him. “Maybe two.”

                Stoick charged the two men in front of him, easily dodging the axe slice of one of them before elbowing him in the face. He blocked the others axe with his own, and punched him in the face. He turned in time to block the blow of the other, and grunted as he held him at bay. He pushed him back, and the familiar whistling of Toothless’s flight distracted him long enough for the man to grab him.

                “Dad!” Hiccup cried, seeing the two men left on the ship grab her father. She gasped as several bolas flew at them. “Toothless, look out!”

                Toothless dodged a couple, before blasting the last one apart.

                Asher and Stormfly spotted Dagur, and the dragon dove with a spin towards his ship. Dagur quickly raised a shield on the hull to block the sharp spines from Stormfly as she passed over. Dagur ran and grabbed one of the grappling hook launchers. He fired it, and the hook managed to grab Stormfly’s leg. Asher grunted as she was jerked to a stop.

                Dagur laughed, holding his axe at the ready, as his men started pulling Stormfly down. Asher grabbed his own, and leapt from Stormfly with a roar to the deck of the ship. He immediately swung at Dagur and his men, ducking under a swipe from a laughing Dagur.

                Stormfly broke the hook, and plunged into the sea. She quickly pumped her wings to get back to the surface.

                Asher growled as he locked axes with Dagur. He pushed the Berserker Chief back, and swung at him multiple times. Dagur, an infuriating smirk on his face, kept just out of reach, parrying the blows. Asher grunted as he swung his axe, only to have it grabbed out of his hands from behind. Before he could react, the Berserker punched him in the back of the head. Asher yelled in pain as he hit the deck, and growled as he was pulled up to his knees by his arms. Asher glared at Dagur as the Chief grinned madly and swung his axe up.

                Dagur yelled as he swung the axe down, only for it to be blasted from his hand. Asher looked up and gaped at the sight of Gustav and Fanghook hovering beside the ship.

                “Element of surprise,” Gustav yelled proudly. “Key to any battle.”

                The other members of Team B swooped in from up above.

                “More Dragon Riders?” Dagur cried.

                “Yes!” Asher cheered.

                “That’s cheating!” Dagur yelled.

                Asher elbowed the Berserker holding him in the groin, and jumped to grab Fanghook as the dragon flew over the ship. Dagur cursed as he watched Asher drop from Fanghook onto his own dragon.

                Toothless landed on the deck of the ship where Stoick was being held, and growled menacingly at the Berserker holding at crossbow at him and Hiccup. He grabbed the weapon with his teeth, and swung it and the Berserker overboard.

                The Berserker holding Stoick with an axe handle around the Chief’s neck, trembled at seeing the growling Night Fury. Stoick calmly reached up, and grabbed the handle, easily taking it from the terrified Berserker. The man tried to run, but a plasma blast to the back sent him flying.

                “Nice shot, dragon!” Stoick yelled. Toothless warbled appreciatively.

                “You’re good to go, Dad,” Hiccup said before Toothless took off back into the sky.

                Hookfang finished having fun tormenting the Berserkers and blasted the boulders apart. The two men ran out screaming, and jumped from the landing.

                “Yes!” Snotlout cheered, seeing the tides changing as Ruffnut came out from behind him on Barf and Belch. Snotlout and Hookfang took off, and Ruffnut looked up. Tuffnut jumped down from the landing above, Chicken safe in his arms as he landed in his saddle on Belch. The twins grinned wickedly before prompting Barf and Belch to follow.

                Mulch and Bucket guided their dragon to hover beside a Berserker ship. A Berserker pointed his crossbow at them.

                “Surrender or perish!” The man demanded. He sniffed, and spotted green gas creeping up beside him. He screamed as the gas ignited, and the explosion threw him overboard. Mulch and Bucket’s dragon heads moved apart to let the man fall between them.

                “Whoa!” Tuffnut said staring at the two men and their Zippleback. “It’s like looking into a mirror, but you’re better looking.”

                “Yeah!” Ruffnut agreed as the two men hummed appreciatively.

                Dagur screamed in fury as he watched the Dragon Riders, and their new Riders destroy his ships. He started grabbing weapons, and throwing them furiously up at the dragons.

                “Sir, they’re cutting us to pieces!” Savage screamed. “We need to withdraw!”

                Grunting from up above made them look up to see Gothi on the back of her purple Gronckle. The dragon spat out a glob of molten rock that they jumped back to avoid.

                “Oh, come on! Her?” Dagur cried, exasperated. “Since when does she ride a dragon?”

                “Sir!” Savage insisted.

                “Yes, I know!” Dagur screamed. He glared at Hiccup as Savage signaled for theirs and the only other remaining ship to retreat. “You’re a cheater, Hiccup! You’ve always been a cheater!”

                Hiccup and Asher grinned as the B-Team gave the retreating ships a few parting shots before everyone cheered in victory.

                After a good night’s rest, Asher summoned the B-Team recruits to the arena. They stood tall as they lined up in front of him, their dragons at their backs. Hiccup, Stoick, and Snotlout observed as Asher approached, hands clasped behind his back.

                “You all disobeyed my direct order,” Asher said coldly. “Whose idea was this little mutiny?”

                “It was mine,” Gustav said proudly. He dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups as Spitelout took a step forward.

                “No, it was mine,” Spitelout insisted. He dropped to the ground and started push-ups as Sven, Bucket, Mulch, and finally Gothi all took credit for the idea and dropped to the ground.

                “Ok, everybody get up,” Asher ordered. “What you did was dangerous, foolish, and completely not what you were trained to do.”

                Asher’s severe look relaxed into a small smile.

                “But it was also brave,” Asher acknowledged warmly. “And you worked together as a team. I couldn’t be more proud to call you fellow Dragon Riders.”

                The group looked at each other, chattering happily and congratulating one another. Asher nodded to Gustav.

                “Gustav, as the most experienced rider, I’m putting you in charge of the Dragon Riders’ Auxiliary,” Asher announced proudly.

                “Oh yes!” Gustav said happily, pumping his fist. Fanghook came up beside him, screeching happily. “Gustav, that’s me!”

                “I’ll be staying here on Dragon’s Edge,” Asher said as Stoick and Hiccup approached. Asher nodded to Hiccup. “After all, I can’t protect Berk all by myself every second of every day.”

                Asher approached the Auxiliary team, and nodded proudly. “You guys proved you’re ready to do the job.”

                “They did handle themselves pretty well, for the B-Team,” Snotlout said.

                “B-Team? No,” Hiccup interjected. “This is Asher’s team. The A-Team.”

                The newly dubbed A-Team cheered their new name, but froze as Asher spoke.

                “But if I hear you’re slacking off one inch,” Asher warned. “I’ll be on you guys like a Gronckle on granite.”

                “We’ll keep the brooms handy,” Gustav joked. “Mount up, A-Team!”

                Asher watched with pride as the new Dragon Riders mounted their dragons and took to the air. Snotlout walked up to Asher, and teasingly elbowed him in the side.

                “They grow up so fast, don’t they?” Snotlout teased. He yelped as Asher threw him over his shoulder and across the arena. He groaned and held up a shaky thumbs up. “You’re welcome.”

                Hiccup and Asher exchanged a warm smile, and watched Stoick and the A-Team fly high.