A/N This would take place sometime early in season one of Race to the Edge. It will be a five parter, with a new part on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Hiccup put a hand to his chin, studying the candles in front of him. Each was labeled according to the dragon whose flame had lit it: Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch, along with a Terrible Terror and Night Terror.

Beside the candles was a notebook, a charcoal pencil, and the infuriatingly mysterious Dragon Eye atop a stack of books. The notebook was full of notes as to the different images- which varied depending on the lenses and types of dragon flame- shown through the Dragon Eye.

"Now, which one..." Hiccup murmured to himself, running a finger down his notes. His finger stopped at a blank spot. "Ah, I forgot Stormfly's!"

Hiccup picked up one of the candles. Turning the Dragon Eye so it faced the blank spot on the wall, he placed the candle behind it. The candle had burned down a bit, so he had to remove a couple books to make the Dragon Eye level with the flame.

On the wall appeared a jumble of purple images. A familiar-looking shape filled a majority of the image, with images of small, curled up dragons on the lower, right-hand corner. Ancient Viking runes edged the image.

"Why, this is our island!" Hiccup exclaimed to Toothless laying curled against a wall.

The black dragon just grumbled and flicked an ear.

Hiccup laid a hand on the image. He and Toothless had flown over the Edge enough times for him to recognize the aerial view of the Dragon Riders' island. The old runes would take Fishlegs' help to translate, so he focused on the dragons in the corner.

The tiny images had no distinct features, so Hiccup guessed they signified dragons in general. The way that they were curled suggested they were sleeping or nesting. A dark line of purple arched over them, almost like...

"A cave!" Hiccup said. "Maybe it is a dragons' nesting place. I wonder if it is empty? If it was, it would make a great place for a backup stable. What do you think, Toothless?"

Toothless lifted his head, an unimpressed expression on his wide face. He probably was wishing he was in the quiet stable right now.

"Come on, bud, we have to check it out." Hiccup went to the front of his hut and threw open the tall launch door leading to his hut's launch platform, then stopped. "Oh."

It was the middle of the night. Everyone would be asleep, except for one or two of the Night Terrors standing guard.

Hiccup sighed, disappointed. "Guess we will have to wait for morning."

Toothless stood and climbed to the second floor of the hut. He warmed his stone slab with his flames and settled down, making his answer clear.

Hiccup couldn't help but laugh as he climbed the ladder to the second floor. "Okay, okay. We can go in the morning."

Hiccup woke up with the sun, too excited about his finding to sleep any longer. He harnessed up a grumpy Toothless, then the two headed outside.

Sometimes Astrid was up early as well, but Hiccup could see her launch door still closed. No one else would be awake this early.

"Guess it's just you and me, bud," Hiccup said, climbing into his saddle. "We'll just check it out, see if there is anything interesting. By the time we get back, the others should be up."

Toothless shook off his last bit of sleepiness and gave Hiccup his classic toothless smile. The pair launched into the sky, eager to check out Hiccup's finding.

When the rest of the Riders woke up, no one could find Hiccup around the Edge. Figuring he had gone to explore some place on the island, they busied themselves with other tasks.

Well, Astrid and Fishlegs did. With Hiccup absent, Snotlout and the twins took it as their cue to do absolutely nothing productive. While Astrid practiced her battle ax moves and Fishlegs trained with Meatlug, Snotlout simply watched and gave "helpful" advice.

"No, Astrid, you need to keep your left foot back."

"Too slow, Meatlug."

"Little to the right, Astrid."

"Fishlegs-"

Whack!

Snotlout froze. Astrid's battle ax had come flying out of nowhere, and was now buried in a wood post right in front of his nose.

"Oops." Astrid walked up to the ax and casually pulled it free. "It slipped."

Snotlout raised his hands and slid behind Hookfang. The giant red dragon rolled his eyes at his Rider.

"Where are the twins, Snotlout?" Fishlegs asked. "You were supposed to be keeping an eye on them."

"Yeah, well, they went to see if they could break a rock in half with their heads," Snotlout said, regaining some of his composure.

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Didn't they try that last week?"

"Yes, but this time, they are hitting the same rock with both their heads," Snotlout said.

"Right." Astrid shook her head. "As long as that keeps them out of trouble." As she turned back toward the target, something caught her eye. "Hey, there is Hiccup and Toothless."

"Wonder where they have been," Fishlegs said.

"You can ask him when..." Astrid frowned. "What are they doing?"

Rather than come straight to the arena, Toothless was hovering unsteadily over the treetops. Every couple wingbeats, he would drop or veer to the side. When he finally started coming forward, his flight was up-and-down and zig-zagging.

"Showing off, that's what," Snotlout said.

"Hiccup doesn't show off, you do," Fishlegs said.

Astrid squinted. Toothless' eyes were wide, and he was paddling with his paws when he dropped. Toothless never flew like that! Hiccup was sitting strangely in the saddle, with his body slumped forward and head down nearly to Toothless' neck. His metal leg didn't seem to be properly in the stirrup, which was probably why Toothless was flying so weird.

Before Astrid could tell the others that something might be wrong, Toothless let out a loud bellow. He spun upside-down, stalled, and started to fall!

"Hookfang, catch him!" Astrid cried, running for Stormfly.

Snotlout barely had time to climb in the saddle before Hookfang took off. He quickly flew up under Toothless and caught the smaller dragon in his talons.

"Good catch, Hookfang!" Astrid cheered as Stormfly flew them up.

"Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!" Snotlout shouted, pumping his fist.

Astrid rolled her eyes. Just like Snotlout.

Toothless suddenly roared and wrenched himself sideways, breaking Hookfang's grip. Hookfang snatched Toothless just before he could fall again.

Except Hiccup had slipped fully out of the saddle. Toothless had been trying to grab him when Hookfang grabbed him the second time, but missed.

"Hiccup!" Astrid jerked Stormfly to the side. Hiccup landed hard stomach-first across Astrid's lap. Astrid winced sympathetically. That had to hurt.

"Oh, Astrid, Hiccup's just falling for you," Snotlout said to hide his shock at dropping Hiccup.

Astrid glared up and him, then looked at Hiccup. He hadn't moved, and his eyes were closed.

"Hiccup?" Astrid shook his shoulder gently, then harder when she got no response. "Hiccup! Take us down, Stormfly!"

Stormfly squawked and landed as gently as she could. She crouched down so Astrid could jump off. Fishlegs ran over and helped Astrid slide Hiccup off Stormfly and to the ground. Still Hiccup's eyes stayed shut.

"Fishlegs, what is wrong with him?!" Astrid asked, barely hiding her panic.

"I-I don't know. He's breathing fine, and I can't see any injuries on him." Fishlegs ran a hand down Hiccup's arms and legs. "I don't feel any broken bones."

Hookfang placed Toothless on the ground, then landed as well. Toothless gave a roar of distress and bounded to his Rider's side. Crooning sadly, he nudged Hiccup's side. Slowly, Hiccup's eyes opened halfway.

"Hiccup! You're awake!" Astrid didn't even try to hide her relief.

Hiccup didn't seem to hear. He pushed his elbows to the ground, lifting his head slightly. He wasn't looking at anyone, but between Astrid and Fishlegs' heads.

"Bad... dragons," Hiccup said in a whisper, every word an effort. "Stay... a...way."

Hiccup's eyes slipped shut, and Astrid barely had time to catch his head before it hit the ground.