Chapter One: Fire!
For the first time in weeks, the village of Berk was a flurry of activity. Dragons filled the air, cried from Vikings sounded from below and a house on fire was the only bright light on the island still shining. Surprisingly enough, though, this wasn't a dragon raid. In fact, the Vikings of Berk and the dragons had been getting along well since the Battle of Helheim's Gate when the Red Death, the reason behind the raids, was killed. Back to the fire, a Monstrous Nightmare flew over carrying a cart full of water – riding the Monstrous Nightmare was Snotlout Jorgenson, who'd named his mount Hookfang, after a suggestion from one of his peers.
"The wind is shifting!" a man shouted. This was Stoick the Vast, the tribe's chief. "Fire Brigade, move in! Bring the Nadders in from the South!"
"I'm on it, Dad!" a teenager yelled back from a Deadly Nadder. This was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Stoick's son and also the most promising Viking teen on the island, in spite of his otherwise unintimidating appearance. His dragon was a female whom he'd named Stormfly – he figured the name suited her. Hiccup, like his cousin, Snotlout, dumped a load of water onto the roof of the burning house. Stoick was still yelling orders from the ground.
"Gronkles, aim from the West!" he ordered. Fishlegs Ingerman and his Gronkle, Meatlug, flew over, also dumping a load of water on the house. It wasn't that long until most of the fire had been quenched. "Well done! Just a few more hot spots left!"
"Got it!" a Viking from the ground shouted, racing over to help. Meanwhile, a jet black dragon sporting a bright red tail fin had landed next to Stoick – it was the Night Fury, Toothless, and his rider, Astrid Hofferson, a strikingly attractive Viking teenager who, until recently, had been the bane of everyone's existence. It was thanks to her that the Red Death had been destroyed and the war between Vikings and dragons ended, even if it cost her the lower part of her left leg, which was now replaced with spring-loaded prosthetic of her own design.
"Stoick!" she yelped, dismounting her dragon. "Where's Gobber? Is he still inside?" Gobber the Belch was Astrid's, and the other teens', mentor and also the one who had made her leg – it was his house that was up in flames. Stoick shook his head.
"No – we can't find him," he explained.
"I'm right here!" Gobber snapped some distance away. He was in the forge packing a cart of some kind. "That beast will pay for this!"
"Gobber, what happened?" Stoick asked.
"What's it look like?" Gobber huffed. "A dragon set my home on fire!" The teens, knowing the dragons a heck of a lot more than the adults, blinked with surprise. "You've pushed me too far this time, you flying bag of bones!" Gobber shouted to the air. Astrid frowned.
"Stoick, what's he talking about?" she asked as Stoick sighed. "Our dragons don't do that anymore."
"He doesn't mean it, Astrid," Stoick replied. "Gobber, for the last time, there is no such thing as a..."
"Boneknapper!" Gobber interrupted. The whole village, excluding the teens, groaned almost simultaneously.
"Uh...what-napper?" Tuffnut Thorston, one of the twins, repeated.
"Disgusting foul beast," Gobber explained. "Wearing a coat of stolen bones like a giant flying skeleton!" Fishlegs was obviously the only other Viking to be informed of such a dragon because he became quite excited.
"Oh!" he squeaked. "The Dragon Manual says that the Boneknapper will stop at nothing to find the perfect bone to complete its armour. It's awesome!" Clearly Stoick thought otherwise.
"Come on!" he cried. "It's a myth! It doesn't even exist!" he added, laughing.
"I'm telling you – it's real!" Gobber argued. "I've been running from him my whole life. He's the one who started this fire!"
"Stoick!" Spitelout called. "We found Gobber's underpants hanging by the stove – they must have started the fire." The village laughed.
"You still think it's the Boneknapper?" Stoick chuckled to Gobber. "Or just your underpants?"
"I don't think – I know!" Gobber shouted. "Somehow he found me again – this dragon is pure evil."
"Gobber," Stoick sighed. "It's late and we're too tired for your stories. Get some rest."
"You rest!" Gobber snapped. "I'm putting an end to this." He picked up his cart and walked down to the docks, calling his sheep, Phil, along the way. Astrid watched as her mentor walked down to the ships – she didn't know why but she just felt the need for an adventure.
"I can't let him go by himself," she sighed before turning to her friends. "Alright, Vikings," she grinned. "Grab your shields!"
"Yes!" Hiccup, the twins and Fishlegs cheered.
"There is no way I'm getting on a boat to go after a fake dragon," Snotlout sneered.
AN: Okay, this is something that was requested by a reader and, seeing as I've had this on my computer for a while, I thought I'd post something whilst I get the chapters of my other projects done. Oh, and HTTYD 2... WHY, DREAMWORKS? WHY? Sorry, needed to recover my feels after seeing that movie.
