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The next morning Nissa tried to slip outside the house, only for her aunt to catch her when she reached the door. "Going somewhere Nissa? I thought we had an understanding," the queen said, sitting at the table, her hands folded, and her fruit salad breakfast left untouched. "I thought we could share breakfast together. I know you usually enjoy having a meal with your friends at the Great Hall, I thought though you should get use to the idea of eating with me again."
Nissa rolled her eyes and stomped her feet. Jerking the chair from the table she sat down angrily. Her aunt eyes narrowed. "Manners, have you truly lost your skills of proper etiquette here?"
Nissa ignored her taking a bite of her breakfast. Reaching out instead with her mental link she brought her aunt into her mindscape. This time she was projecting a valley with tons of flowers and brook flowing through the middle. "Please Aunt Rayna don't start nitpicking. I know we're leaving in a few days and I have to wrap up everything, but your pushing isn't helping." She waved her hand showing her mindscape staring to crumble and break. "I'll need my friends help to pick an ambassador. No, I'm not making an excuse to see them, we're a group that makes important choices together. I'll haven an ambassador the day after tomorrow I assure."
"See that you do. I have some things that need my attending to. I'll meet you later this afternoon for lunch. No dawdling," Rayna informed her, changing the mindscape to resemble the palace back home. The connection broken she watched her niece set off to find her friends. Turning back to her breakfast, she called down the Honor Guard to discuss the day's itinerary.
Snotlout and the Twins, along with their dragons, were attending to their morning duties. Mainly daily grooming for the dragons. Snotlout was cleaning out Hookfang's talons, while the dragon used a minimal fire to dry out the laundry. Ruffnut was brushing Barf's teeth while Belch helped Tuffnut by inspecting him for parasites and bugs he might have missed in the bath last night. Tuffnut was very ticklish as Belch used a light spark to kill the parasites.
"Oh ha ha, that tickles. Oh that hurts, watch the hair Belch. You don't want me to scrub to hard when I'm doing your underbelly and tail," Tuffnut whined as Belch knocked him over with a light shove. Tuffnut was not happy he was dust-covered once more. "Give a guy a break, I don't want another bath tonight."
"I thought you liked baths. You spend an awfully lot of time in the water yesterday. Why would it take you over half an hour to get clean?"
"Perhaps he is primping up to attract a mate of his own. Ruffnut has two suitors and I'm sure she'll make her choice soon, who is the healthiest and strongest mate for her protection and desires," Barf suggested. He swirled the toothpaste and spit it out in a nearby barrel. Licking his teeth he was happy how shiny they looked. "Thank you for cleaning my teeth. I know how hard it is to get gas stains off."
"No problem Barf, I have to thank you for getting me that new oil for my hair. Not only does it make my hair silky clean, it drives the boys crazy," Ruffnut replied to her dragon head giving him a big hug
"My maiden you don't need products to make yourself beautiful. I love the all-natural look. You're as beautiful as a Zippleback in flight," Snotlout flirted. Ruffnut blushed as Tuffnut slapped Snotlout telling him to get away from his sister.
Nissa strolled in just as Hookfang was taking bets with Belch on which rider would win the wrestling match that the minor argument turned into. Nissa shook her head as she strolled over to Ruffnut who had the biggest grin on her face. "I love it! Everyone is fighting over me, not only do I have the two greatest male specimens in our age range, my brother's no longer hitting me!"
Nissa laughed joking that she thought Ruffnut still liked the occasional head butt. "Speaking of suitors, is it Fishlegs turn to be teaching the recruits on bonding with life dragons?" Ruffnut nodded, hoping he wasn't boring the recruits with his lectures on the different classes of dragons and the expanded edition of the Book of Dragons with Meatlug and Iggy. Speaking of Terrible Terrors; Biter, Head and Butt had woken up from their morning sunning before jumping into the match causing many painful bites.
"Ah Biter how many times do I have to tell you my leg is not a chew toy!"
"Butt, get your butt out of my face. Ah Head that's my face!"
"Alright, break it up everyone. I need all your help today finding an ambassador before I end up sequestered for the next decade being taught private lessons by my Aunt Rayna." The others stared at her for a moment trying to figure out what sequester meant. Her attribute and knowledge flame changes had permanently improved their brains and personality, but they still had trouble once and while with something they didn't know.
"Oh, you mean you're going to be locked up for a long time learning stuff. I didn't think learning to be queen would take so many years. I mean all Hiccup's been doing his whole life is observing Stoick and taking his own lead in things. Makes me happy to be his future right hand man. I'll get to advise, take charge of the army, oh I can't wait to lead my first hunting party."
"Hate to be the one to blow up your ego, but Astrid's going to be his right hand woman. I doubt she'll be inclined to sit back and just lead the shield maidens. She's going to be in the thick of things," Hookfang informed his rider.
"Yeah we'll be helping the Twins with construction, deconstruction and guard duty. Fishlegs and Meatlug will end up taking over the Academy or being the next librarian. Toothless and Orli will be proud parents, teaching their babies how to work with multiple pack leaders. Hmm, ever think we have too many pack leaders?" Barf asked his other half tilting his head and giving him a toothy frown.
"I'm sure the difficulty of multiple pack leaders will settle itself out soon and we'll have an overall leader of all the dragons on Berk with the pack leaders being subordinates to the main one. Hey speaking of Toothless, why hasn't he returned yet? I heard Orli screeching deadly pain all the way from Dragon Outcropping."
"Hiccup and Toothless aren't back?" Nissa questioned. Snotlout added that Astrid and Stormfly plus Stealth hadn't returned either. "They said they were coming right home. Maybe they got delayed, I'm sure there's nothing wrong. So, you guys ready to help me?" They all nodded mounting their dragons. Nissa sat behind Snotlout, all that endurance flying yesterday had left her very tired. Hookfang didn't mind the extra passenger.
The four friends decided the best way to find someone to be the Ambassador of Berk, without causing too much structural change with the island's population, they should look at both adults and the cadets to see if any had the qualities that Nissa was looking for.
The first group they came across was the farmers, who were busy taking care of the yaks. A few we're running for the woods. The twins dove down sending a sparking gas cloud to frighten back. Mulch and Bucket were running up towards the yaks, when their new field hand Hans, appeared. The broad shoulder blond hair man tackled the yaks, dragging them back to the heard. The trio sent out their shouts of thanks as the defending riders flew off again. "Well, what about Hans? He's pretty strong and deals with problems head on."
Nissa shook her head at Snotlout's suggestion. Hans was a good field hand, but in diplomacy rushing head on would cause you to lose more often than win. Not discouraged, the friends thought out other adults. Flying above the market place watching the trading going on Ruff and Tuff pointed out several people who were excellent negotiators in trade and knew how to deal with difficult people.
"Come on they're perfect. You can even have one of the woman merchants, they'll be underestimated," Ruffnut said, pointing to the lady, who sold clothes. Tuffnut started jumping about in his saddle. "What about some of the retired old man who help out with some smaller projects, such as keeping our history alive?"
"Both good choices, still I don't know. Merchants only specialize in one thing and have to have open minds. Old folk wouldn't have the stamina to keep up with the demands. Let's check out the Academy, Fishlegs has to have some idea who would be good."
The four of them arrived at the Academy in time to hear the most awful sound in the world; Fishlegs attempting to soothe angry dragons by singing to them. To say he was bad was an understatement. He sounded like a donkey who been dead for over a year and buried underground with rocks in his mouth. Judging by the students and dragons reactions, they weren't having a good time.
"Fishlegs enough! I think you're going to kill your students!" Snotlout shouted, jumping off Hookfang, before tying a gag around his mouth. The students cheered as Ruffnut and Tuffnut cleared the Academy sending them home. Nissa checked over the dragons before sending them back to their packs.
Fishlegs was getting redder as he made hand signals to Meatlug and Iggy. Meatlug belly flopped on to Snotlout while Iggy tore the gag off. "Was that a dirty sock you used? Why would you interrupt my lesson? The recruits were just about ready to soothe angry dragons."
"You're kidding right Fishlegs? The dragons and students were wondering if they should riot and kill you for that pathetic singing attempt. Hey, what happened to interior decorations I put on the wall? Did you strip them off again?" Tuffnut demanded.
"He thought they were a distraction from the lesson. Personally Iggy and I didn't mind the occasional skin and weapon perch."
"Yeah the new sundial was fun to listen to."
"Traitors, so why did you come here? I thought today's lessons were all mine, that is, if Hiccup hasn't shown up. Has he discovered a new species for me to study?" They tried not to cringe at his super excited eyes.
"Actually, I was wondering you might have a good idea for who could be the Berkian Ambassador. None of the adults meet my needs. I was thinking a young open mind, who had some decent talent and determination could be the ambassador. Who is the best student?"
Fishlegs thought about it for a few minutes. It really was a tie between Uta, who had carried a little lamb with her when she was younger. Her Terror Fang was the unofficial leader of the Terrible Terrors because he'd been the one recruits had to face, back when they killed dragons. She was starting to bond with a young Changewing called Sandslide. They had some excellent team work, but still had trouble with basic communication. The other recruit would be the ultimate reserve member of the defending riders; Gustave with FangHook. He never let the dragon go, continuing to train him over the years. They were good, extremely good, still Gustav didn't always think things through and FangHook liked to improvise too much.
Fishlegs was about to voice his opinion when they heard the telltale screech of a Nightfury followed up by the large voice of a Nadder. Hiccup and Astrid were back, whatever delayed them must have been important. Without out hesitation they mounted their dragons or manifested before flying towards Gobber's.
Miles away a mixed pack of dragons were stalking Eret, the Dragon Trapper's ship. The pack was being led by a beautiful male Stormcutter known as Cloudjumper. On his back was the one known as the Dragon Thief. The rider, obviously a woman, was using a found telescope to help her keep track of the ship.
"I think our little raid the night before last was a success. Eret has no dragons, when he meets up with Drago, one less trapper to worry about," she whispered to herself. She couldn't completely suppress a twinge of recruit. When she started her mission of protecting and learning all the secrets of dragons, she'd hope that somehow she could convince others to leave the dragons in peace. So far nothing had come of that dream. At least, not by herself.
A quick twirl of her staff commanded the pack to go higher into the clouds and pull back a mile and half. They couldn't risk being spotted before they were ready to attack. They had a general idea where Drago was, but not his specific position. If Eret could find Bludfist, then her pack could start preparations for a full scale rescue. Maybe even the death of the man and his people.
"Maybe I have been with dragons too long. I'm holding grudges and vengeful thoughts in my mind instead of letting it go," the Thief admitted softly rubbing the back of Cloudjumper's head. Her partner cooed at her softly. When he spoke it was a light rumble. Use to the comforting rumbles she felt herself calm down.
Her peace was interrupted when she heard the calls from members of the in the back. A light tap to the chin and Cloudjumper was turning around slicing through the clouds and maneuvering around others, until the pulled up between a bunch of purple dragons with big eyes and thin jaws known as Raincutters. "What's the problem? Have we been spotted?"
The dragons shook their heads. They continued to growl, hiss and grunt, but still she couldn't figure out what was wrong. Two of them dragons picked her up and flew down towards the sea landing on a sea stake. Carefully, she picked her way to the edge peering down in the water. What she saw surprised her. Normally a pack of Thunderdrome dragons would avoid a territorial match with Scaldron, here that wasn't the case. One Scaldron, missing half its horn was talking with the two packs. To her amazement a few minutes later, the packs split in half before mixing together. The missing horn Scaldron was leading his pack towards Berserker territory without fear. Scrambling, she brought up her telescope focusing on a dot in the horizon.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. A single Berserk ship waited for the pack. The strange leader rose his head out of the water before wrapping himself around the young chief who had a look of joy on his face patting the broken horn. He was soon joined by a Skrill who wrestled his way into a three way hug. The thief knew who he was, having learned about all the tribes in the Barbaric Archipelago, to keep track of leaders and dragon hunters. Observing Dagur, she saw that his people weren't harming the dragons. No, they seem to be giving them a checkup or cleaning gunk out of their teeth.
"Incredible. Is he responsible for the change? No, the other pack didn't come this way. They're heading to Berk, but why?" she asked herself. She signaled the dragons to take her back in the skies. No time for distractions, she needed to keep up with Eret, but what she had witnessed, kept tugging at her mind. Over the last five years she had observed many changes in dragon behavior as well as human treatment of it.
Her first encounter that puzzled her, had been when she had gone with some the mystery class dragons, to see if they could help their fellow friends, be freed of the Mad Red Death. When they arrived at the island, it was a shock to discover a giant skeleton of the Red Death and partial remains of destroyed ships and weapons. None had any crest on them, so she couldn't discover what tribe had been there. Careful deduction had told part of the story of what happened here. A human and dragon team had killed her. That was impossible wasn't it? Humans couldn't get along with dragons.
Over the year she had observed a lot of changes to the dragon species and their traditional habits. Many Thyphoomerangs left their home on Eel Island heading on southwest course which would take them past Berk. She also seen flashes of a pink dragon, one she couldn't identify all across the seas. During that cold front when she had taken shelter during her attempt to find lost dragons a whole group of Speed Stingers had passed by. The leader had eaten a piece of a cage, looking back towards the ice bridge. Snapping the bar he bowed his head, as if acknowledging an equal for winning a battle.
The thief pulled out her notebook reviewing the data. In the last four years dragon hunting had decreased by nearly seventy five percent. Packs that had been enemies for ages, now got along together, sharing territory and helping raise young. Many migration paths now headed towards Berk. Her notes also included observing a very friendly Thunderdrome being the leader of Dragon Island. She had actually was quiet shocked when he manage to slide her own his back happily giving her a tour. He had grunted a lot at her, trying to convey something to her, but she didn't know what he wanted.
Closing the book she talked to Cloudjumper. "Strange things are happening aren't they my friends. Reports of riders on dragons to protect people. Tribes not battling one another while showing respect to dragons. Strange formations lighting up. I wonder what it all means." Her sharp ears picked up the sound of approaching riders. Getting higher she looked down as a flash of black, then blue, followed by another black and pink hurried after them. Hearing more wings approaching, her eyes widened as she saw more riders and dragons heading this way. They all seemed to be approaching Eret's ship. The question was we're they allies or enemies of the Dragon Trapper.
Standing up she whirled her staff. "Everyone go higher in the clouds. We're going to watch what's going on before we make a move. Clear?" The pack growled in agreement as they all headed higher to avoid being spotted. The Dragon Thief's eyes were locked on to the first black streak, the one with a dismounting rider.
Down below Eret, son of Eret, was on his ship yelling at his crew for their incompetence. First they let the Dragon Thief destroy their fortress and free all the dragons. Next, they had two dragons literally drop onto their laps and they had let them get away! Now they were heading towards Drago with no dragons at all. Most likely he was going to kill them and feed their bodies to his army of dragons. He couldn't imagine how much worse this could get.
"Dragons off the port bow!" one of his men shouted. Looking up, Eret could see the two dragons from earlier coming in close. "Don't stand there being idiots! Get me those dragons now!"
"Right sir! Firing net now!" Running over the launchers, the man lined up a shot taking careful aim before firing the net. The Nightfury swooped under the net avoiding capture. A second net was fired at the girl and her Nadder. The aim was perfect except it didn't hit. The man would swear by Odin that some kind of sapphire glow surrounded the net before redirecting it away. Whatever was the cause soon they had two dragon riders on their ship.
Eret grabbed a spear from off the weapons rack. Spinning it around in his hands his hard footsteps thundered across the hardwood as he drew closer to the couple. Ignoring their raised hands he pointed the tip of the spear against Hiccup's neck. "What are you doing on my ship?" he demanded angrily.
"Here I thought you wanted to make quota for Drago. Well, here I am with two dragons and hostages, one who happens to be heir to Berk," Hiccup told him sarcastically. He took his sword off its belt loop handing it over as Astrid tossed her axe to the side. Stormfly and Toothless stood down. Stormfly whispered to her rider, "For the record, I think this is the craziest plan your mate to be has ever come up with, including the time he came up with the idea for the Screaming Death to eat Outcast Island."
"I agree girl this is insane, but we have to trust Hiccup. His plans usually work."
"Until they literally blow up in his face and I have to rescue him."
"Will you three please stop talking right now? I think Eret's debating whether to kill us or put us in the hold."
"Enough of the growling, you're giving me a headache!" Eret shouted rubbing his head in frustration. He couldn't believe the audacity of this boy. Did he really believe that Eret wouldn't hand him and the dragons over the minute they got to Drago? He voiced the same question out loud wondering what the boy's plan was.
"Um no joke, we just want to meet Drago and talk to him, see about ending this war before it begins." Hiccup saw Eret's men playing around with his sword and started to warn them, "Um you might want to be careful of that. It's really touch sensitive." Too late the flame erupted causing the crew to back up and drop the sword. Hitting the ground the Zippleback gas capsules opened up spreading its choking cloud around the crew before it ignited setting their clothes on fire. They started to scream and run around. They were slowly setting the ship of fire causing some real damage.
"Oh you idiots use the mop buckets on yourselves already!" Eret slapped his head, raising the spear as he did. "I'm surrounded by fools! You two wanted to be part of my quota well you're going to get your wish once I shove all four of you down into the hold!" He was reaching for some heavy duty rope to tie the two riders up when everyone went still as a loud burst hit the boat rocking it. They heard a familiar roar coming their way as a burst of orange fire surrounded the ship. "What is going on boy?"
"It appears my dragon's mate and my overprotective "big sister" are on their way. You might want to drop the weapon to avoid being attacked." Eret ignored him and found himself flying through the air curtsey of a plasma blast. As he was screaming he was caught in the claws of a female Nightfury who shook him like a rattle. He gulped as he looked up into the angry gold eyes of the dragon carrying him.
"Are you Drago Bludfist? Answer me!" Eret screamed over and over trying to swing upwards to mount her, but she would have none of that. She zigzaged across the sky before free falling into the water and burst back up on the other side of the boat followed by Stormfly. "Who is he? Is the reason Toothless didn't come home last night?"
"He's a Dragon Trapper named Eret Son of Eret." Orli narrowed her eyes as Stormfly laughed. "Yeah, I know weird human name. He does know Drago though. Hiccup was trying persuade him to take him to see Drago to stop the war before it begins."
"Fine, Hiccup gets a pass because he's a peacekeeper, but I'm still mad at Toothless! Here you can play fetch with him," Orli said giving the man a toss back towards the ship. Eagerly, Stormfly went after her new "toy" as her friend headed towards her mate.
Back on the ship Nissa had arrived, unseen by the crew in her dragon form. Now she was in human form in the mix of things fighting the crew, who were no longer on fire. She twisted about sliding on her feet before she used her arms to help move the men into the wall. Keeping her breath steady she returned to rooting herself before doing pushing her right limbs down into an oncoming sailor's chest touching chi points knocking him out. Switching her balance to the other side tripped another before tossing him through the window into the cabin behind her. "Can't even keep out of trouble for one day "little brother?" Nissa asked unclipping her mace before bashing it on the helmet of one guy sending him sprawling the ground. "Really if you weren't my best friend I start to question your state of mind."
"Ha ha really funny. Did you have to show up now? I was just about to get on Eret's good side," Hiccup barked back picking up his sword to defend himself. Eret had broken free of Stormfly's grip. Shoving Astrid off the boat, he snagged his fallen weapon heading for Hiccup not caring about the two Nightfurys behind the lad. He was too enraged. Before he could strike the air was filled with the roar of dragons.
Looking up he saw the riders, Gobber and Stoick, and all the Daypeaces, (not that he knew that's what they were called,) circling the ship. The riders were taking shots at the weapons disabling the ship. The Daypeaces flew all over the ship firing yellow flames at the crew and Eret. All at once Eret felt weak and his knowledge of his specialty slipping away. Before he could question this a blue flame filled the deck sending him into dreamland.
A short time later he came too being guarded by two twins, the female giving him flirting smiles. Craning his head he saw his crew being watched by the riders as soldiers of some kinds scoured his ship. Looking forward he saw Hiccup and a girl with pink hair, (his big sister perhaps?), being lectured by an older female with a crown on her head and one Viking Chief he knew by reputation. "Hey, you're Stoick the Vast right? I thought Drago said you burned alive, than again he's probably never heard of your famous Viking Temper. Ow!"
"Shut your mouth and show your respect," Gobber growled before waving his hook towards Grump. If need be the Hoptburple would sit on him. "Save your strength for later. We have a few questions for you." He turned his attention back to listen in on Stoick and Rayna's lecture. The two scions were not backing down as they listened to their parent/guardian talk down to them.
"Of all the idiotic and rebellious things you've ever done, what makes you think you can change the mind of man who is nothing except raving mad?" Stoick demanded angrily. It was taking an enourmous effort to not shake some sense into his Hiccup's head. Pulling on his beard he wondered how long it would take before his son finally started listening to this orders.
"I'm a peace keeper Dad. I know you want me to take over being chief, but how can protect our people if I don't prevent a war? I know I can persuade Drago to listen to me if you give me a chance."
"Why give him a chance when he's shown his true colors? Nissa, I know you're better than this. Why didn't you stop him?"
"I thought our entire lifestyle revolved around peace and justice. How is preventing a war and freeing hundreds of our cousins from unnecessary slavery wrong?"
Both adults sighed, the young adults clearly not understanding the danger they were in. So Stoic told his tale of Drago's madness and nearly being burned alive because of him. Rayna spun her own tail of why the Daypeaces were hunted by men such Drago and why they need to protect their own. You couldn't reason with a madman.
Hiccup wasn't about to back down. He had a plan that Nissa could feel forming. Her aunt also felt it, but before either she or Stoick could stop them Hiccup released a gas capsule as she sent a charge of light in it, causing it to explode leaving a burning sensation in their eyes. By the time they could see the Nightfurys and Nissa and Hiccup were gone. Angrily the adults went off to track the heirs down, telling the riders to let Eret go and head home. The kids followed their others, but once they were far enough away they landed on a sea stack waiting for a message from Hiccup.
They didn't have to wait for very long. About fifteen minutes later Sharpshot appeared on the horizon singing horribly, (at least to human ears), to his fellow Terrible Terrors, who had ridden in the saddlebag attachments. "It's a beautiful cold day! The waters are freezing and the annoying seagulls are missing from the sky! Not to mention it's cloudy and sad. Oh what a perfectly wonderful day to be alive!" Sharpshot landed on Astrid's outstretched arm as he finished his song. He bowed a bit as his fellow Terrors praised him. He looked expectantly at Astrid waiting for his treat, but sadly she had none. Sharpshot pouted, but let her take the message.
"It's a good thing Stoick didn't notice Sharpshot landing on Eret's ship and sneaking into the saddlebag," Snotlout commented, earning nods from everyone including the dragons. Ignoring the shivering cold wind and the roaring of the sea below, he looked at Astrid. "So what does our fearless leader want us to do?"
"According to this he wants us to stay put for now. If we don't hear back from him or Nissa in the next half hour. If we don't hear back from him by then, he's given us permission to go after Eret, hopefully he can lead us to Drago if Hiccup hasn't found him by then."
Fishlegs swallowed loudly, but steeled his face. Now wasn't the time to get scared. "Just for the record, we're not going to follow the Chief's orders and go back to Berk?"
"We are following the chief's orders, our chief is Hiccup. Where have you been the last few years?" Tuffnut questioned. He leaned back a little to stretch his tired arms. "We've been taking orders from Hiccup more often the Chief Stoick ever since we started this group." It was true, they all knew it. Hiccup had gained their respect, loyalty and trust easily over the years; even forgiving them for their earlier behavior towards him when they tormented him daily. If he could forgive them after all they put him through, he was worthy to be their leader.
"Can we just skip the waiting and go after Eret now? He was so muscular and did you see his face? Ah now that's the kind of older guy a girl wants," Ruffnut pleated batting her eyelashes and playing with her hair. Both her other suitors looked sad to hear her talk like that. Just what they needed, more competition.
"Don't you have enough suitors Ruffnut?" Astrid asked. Barf answered for his rider. "In the world of mating Miss Astrid, one can never have enough potential suitors. The more fighting over you, the better chance a female finds the perfect mate."
"Can we please stop this talk about mating and figure out what we're doing next?" Belch pleaded, his rider agreeing with him. He was tired of putting up with his twin's search for the ideal mate.
Astrid thought it over for a minute. Eret's ship was on the move once more, no doubting heading towards Drago. Judging by the position it was going it was heading in a direction that was north by northwest, a slightly different direction than were Hiccup had taken off in. If they waited, they might lose Eret and their only chance to track down this Drago Bludfist. Stealth, poked his head out the saddlebag chirping at her. Patting his head, she made her choice.
"We're going after Eret now, Sharpshot does Hiccup need you for a return message?" The little terror shook his head, Nissa would probably call up a passing dragon to pass a message to them. Astrid reached inside her blue speckled saddlebag pulling out some characle and paper. She wrote a quick message on it before tying it to Sharpshot. "Take this message back to Berk. Let them know what's going on and prepare for war. No stops got it?" The Terror nodded flying off in the opposite direction as the group headed off after Eret.
Eret and his ship had no idea that they were still being followed. After finally managing to free themselves they started sailing as fast as possible away from the crazy riders and strangers. He ordered the men to start trawling the waters for sea dragons. They couldn't give up on finding something to bring Drago or it was their neck. "If I ever see those riders again it will be too soon. I'm going to make them wish they never messed with me, the greatest Dragon Trapper."
"You want to test that one out?" A female voice called out. Eret rolled out of the way of Stormfly's claws. He growled as the pair came back to snatch him off the ship. He pulled out a knife ready to dig it into Stormfly leg, when suddenly a massive wave rocked the boat throwing him balance.
"Fetch Stormfly!"
"I did want a new toy to play with!" the Deadly Nadder shouted firing a burst of flames to keep people away from her toy. With glee she snatched her toy and began tossing him around enjoying her toy. Below she saw the Terrible Terrors working together to maneuver the crew into a corner before Fishlegs and Meatlug belly flopped on to them using the power of the topaz necklace to share physical strength. Snotlout was on board using chains to tie up the crew and put them in cabin, double checking to make sure they were out.
"Let me go you crazy maiden! Haven't you ruined my life enough by now?"
"Nope, you're going to take us to Drago now."
"What makes you so sure you can persuade me to do that?"
Stormfly dropped the man listening to his screams. Right before he hit the water Barf's head snagged him as Ruffnut distracted him with her flirting. He was so freaked out he didn't notice the chains circling him until the lock clicked shut. Astrid flew next to him giving him an evil grin. "Take us to Drago or we'll feed you to a passing tidal dragon. Got it?" Eret nodded as the kids landed on the ship. This was the easiest kidnapping ever.
While this was happening in a more northern slightly by east their friends had found themselves in a heap of trouble. After getting enough of lead from their trackers Hiccup had let out a roar of frustration. Toothless had tried to comfort him with coos, but the boy just sat there quietly. Slightly behind him the girls were giving them a bit of space.
The girls had just changed position so a few minutes ago so they flew side by side when all of sudden something cut through the clouds driving them apart by a few feet. Suddenly the form a rare, but beautiful Stormcutter with the Dragon Thief appeared. The sight was enough to cause the dragons and riders to hover.
"Have you ever seen something like that bud?"
"Not in my lifetime had someone tamed a Stormcutter nor ridden it like that."
"Toothless watch out!" Orli shouted firing two plasma blasts at her mate. He rolled to the side as the blast as two Snafflefang were blown backwards in the sky. The four of them were suddenly surrounded by a whole horde of different dragons, some species they couldn't identify. These dragons fired fire and lightning at them as the two riders broke formations. Orli with Nissa plunged downward as Hiccup and Toothless led the others through a dangerous chase in the sky. They were pulling off as many trick they could to avoid being caught off guard.
"Go to the limits Toothless!" Hiccup ordered, grasping for his shield, bringing it up in time to avoid being hit with an intense fire line. Transforming it into a crossbow he shot warning shots at the dragons trying to persuade them to go away. "They are getting the message bud! Do you think they can hear me?"
"They probably can hear you, but if you start speaking Dragonesse right now, it might make them angrier thinking it's a trap. Try to get the Dragon Thief. Catch the Thief the dragons back off." Toothless advised. They were in a darker cloud waiting. They both pushed their senses to the limits. Toothless fired an echolocation blasts. "Got them! Here we go Hiccup!"
The duo dove through the skies aiming for the Stormcutter and the Thief. Hiccup lined up the shot hopping to snag the Thief. Toothless had his teeth out and paws ready to clutch the thief. Suddenly something hit them from below throwing Hiccup clear from the saddle. He was free falling on his back, no way to change position to use flying suit. Too far away from any dragon to borrow its skills. Just then a dragon species he never seen before grabbed him tightly. "Let me go! My dragon; he can't fly by himself!"
"Silence human, our protector will decide what to do to you and the other for forcing dragons to be your mounts!" the dragon growled not realizing Hiccup had spoken in perfect Dragonesse as they flew further away from a drowning Toothless.
"Toothless No!" Orli cried diving towards the water for her mate as Nissa jumped off changing to Dragon Form. She was too far away from the thief and most of the pack for them to see the change. "Rescue Toothless and follow my trail. I'm going to rescue Hiccup!" she called out over her shoulder as she took off after the pack. No one messed with her best friend unless they wanted to face her wraith.
Several miles and little off course from the main trail, the elders were following Skullcracker's nose hoping he lead them to the missing young adults. Assisting him with this task was Steiner and Uta, whose bonds with Nissa were extremely strong. Even Queen Rayna was pushing her Dragon Heart hoping to find something that would lead them to the scions.
"I smell them, the wind is definitely blowing their scent this way. I think we need to adjust our course slightly to the east. I think they were following the air currents and got carried a little ways away," Skullcracker growled to his rider. He took a deep sniff making sure he was right. With another jerk of his head he pulled Stoick in the direction he scented. "This way, we need to hurry before the winds change direction."
"I trust you Skullcracker," Stoick told him patting his head and giving him a good stretch. He looked behind him as the formation of Daypeaces caught up. Uta and Steiner were in the lead flying a little ahead of Queen Rayna, who was in the middle of the formation, behind her was Fia and Davin. All the members of the Honor Guard were hyper vigilant they would not have a repeat of the poachers attack five years ago.
Uta broke formation heading towards the icebergs popping out of the water. She landed on one pressing her claws deep into it. After a few minutes she flew off and did a reverse flip before leveling between the two Vikings. Gobber asked her the question, "Did you Dragon Heart psychomentry work?"
Uta gave a slight shake up then back and forth. It indicate she had some good news and bad news. It was better to get the good news first. "The good news is that their reflections were caught in the icebergs sight mere hours ago, the bad news is that it doesn't tell us which direction they went. There a plenty of floating icebergs all over this area and probably solid land as well. They could have gone in any direction in their pursuit for Drago."
"I'm not feeling the Princess's bond in any direction. Fia, Davin, what about you? Are Dragon Hearts feeling anything?" Steiner inquired, his eyes scanning the endless ice around them. He shivered slightly increasing his inner flame to stay warm. The Daypeaces lived in the Mediterranean Sea, so they were use to warmer weather. During the peace missions they needed to learn ways to keep from getting to hot or cold, by controlling the inner flame of their dragon forms.
The other members of the Honor Guard shook their heads. They knew that there were dragon species this far north and that someone could easily hide an army among the many icebergs and land formations. It was difficult to find them unless they wanted to be found.
Queen Rayna reached out pushing the limits of her bond searching for her niece and Hiccup. She could feel them very faintly, enough to know they were alive, but nothing else. As she was pushing she felt something or someone reaching out towards her, wanting to meet her. Strange, the person I'm hearing sounds familiar, but at the same time a complete stranger. Their call it's resonating deep in my mind, trying make me remember something. What, I have no idea. Still if I'm sensing this call then the kids along with Nightfurys and this old voice, must be near each other.
"We should stay on this heading for now. With the speed of a Nightfury I suspect we'll have to take a few breaks before we find them. Skullcracker, are sure you can keep tracking their scent if we take a break?"
"Now that I've got it, I can't lose."
"Then let's continue on until we reached firmer ground to take a break." Stoick nodded in agreement as Gobber started to sing a traveling song. The Daypeaces grimaced at his voice, but nevertheless, followed the two Vikings deeper into the icy land.
Back with Hiccup, the dragons had finally reached their destination, a large island with a huge ice formation on it. He had since given up struggling relaxing his body ready to act when the moment was right. Finally he was deposited in a rather large cavern. Before him was a large horde of dragons. A tap from the Thief's staff and they lit up the room by keeping the fire in their mouths.
Taking a deep breath he held out his hands, crouched into a dragon pose and spoke softly. "I'm not an enemy here. I won't hurt any of you. I just want to have Toothless back. He needs me."
A rather large Gronkle replied angrily, "Liar! No dragon should have to depend on a human, especially a Nightfury! Why should the descendent of the Elemental Dark Dragon lower himself to serve a human?"
"Toothless isn't my servant, he's my best friend, well male best friend. We're practically flames," he snapped, surprising the dragons and confusing the Thief. Why was he saying this in response to a dragon's growling? The Thief didn't have time to figure this out. She twisted her staff creating a whistling sound. Out of the horde a large Monstrous Nightmare approached the rider, his body starting to heat up as if he was ready to burst into flames.
Hiccup didn't panic, he brought out his sword clicking the button to set it a flame. He waved it around in an intricate pattern watching as the Nightmare followed the flames in joy. Flipping the other switch he surrounded himself in Hideous Zippleback gas causing the other dragons to lower their mouth. Removing his dagger's sheath, he pricked his index finger on his right hand letting a few drops of blood fall to the floor. He took a step back letting them sniff the blood, watching as their eyes widened as the smelled the traces of dragon in it.
That's when all the dragons started talking at once. "Impossible/how does a human have dragon blood? Is he a Draconia Daypeace? /Trick! He's trying to trick us! He can understand Dragonese! /Lucky guess about what we're talking about. Could he be the reason that dragons are not hunted anymore by most of the human tribes? /This kid, he's nothing like the Protector. She's the only human we can trust!"
The conversation was interrupted as the Seashockers flew in from another cavern carrying to extremely annoyed Nightfurys. They dropped them by Hiccup who rushed to check Toothless tail fin and see how he was doing. Meanwhile Orli was shouting enough profanity at the pack that her grandfather would slap her like an out of control baby. Even Hiccup winced when he heard her basically call the Seashockers nothing, but annoying lightning water bugs.
Leaving the other dragons in shock, she turned to her mate fussing over him. Toothless chuckled as she checked all over him. "Remind me to never let you near our soon to be hatchlings when you're angry. I didn't know that you knew that many profanities. Where did you ever learn them?"
"Never mind, I'm rather ashamed of myself right now. Still, I would never forgive this pack if they took my mate's life."
"We'd never let your mate drown Nightfury. We treasure dragons' lives. You shouldn't have spoken to us like that!" snapped a Nadder.
"Give Orli a break will you? She's a nesting mother to be whose mate nearly died. After attacking us and then kidnapping me before dragging her and Toothless to this place do you really expect her to be happy?" Hiccup replied sarcastically. All the Dragons stood still. The Thief tensed up as her staff swayed down. The boy had just talked like a dragon, but that was impossible!
Before anyone could do something they heard a familiar dragon call in the air. All at once the light from the dragons' fireballs was pulled out of their mouths forming a disco ball shape in the ceiling. The ball started spinning and flashing temporally blinding them. As they tried to see again an orange flame barrier formed splitting the groups in half pushing them to the side leaving just the Dragon Thief before them.
Nissa flew in circling around the trapped dragons letting them see who she was. Twisting about she landed in front of her friends. "You better have an explanation for all this. As the Princess of Daypeaces; I will not tolerate anyone harming my Nightfury friends or my best friend/little brother. Am I clear?"
"It is a Draconia Daypeace and a direct descendent of the Light Dragon Helios! Why are you defending a human and Nightfurys? I thought you hated them."
"No I don't. Toothless and Orli are some of my closest friends. Orli even lets me ride her to protect my secret cousins. Now why did you capture my friends?"
The dragons used their tails to point to the approaching Dragon Thief. It was a clear indication she was the one responsible for this. Keeping her eyes locked on the Thief she watched her approach and listened to the staff's sound. Realizing what she was up to, Nissa demanifested into her human form, stopping the Thief in her tracks. Nissa leveled her mace pointing it at the Thief. "You're tricks won't work on me. We mean you no harm, we're friends to Dragons. I prefer peace over anything, but I will defend myself and my friends if you try to hurt us."
While this was going on Hiccup finally was able to get control of enhanced senses. With the other dragons behind the barriers he was finally able to lock on the scent of the Thief. Taking a deep breath he drew in her scent only to exhale with his eyes wide. He took a step closer titling his head listening to her heartbeat. He knew that scent and heartbeat. He took another step closer only to be blocked by Toothless. He tried to get past, but the Nightfury was stubborn, not budging an inch.
Nissa turned her head back towards him. Through their bond she nearly overwhelmed by his emotions. Focusing on them she realized what he was thinking. "It can't be possible, she's been gone for fifteen years. Are sure you're not imagining this?"
"I wouldn't forget that smell or her heartbeat. Please, just check her aura or link with her mind. You'll know I'm right!" he responded in a trembling voice. He looked longingly at the Thief who was standing there confused. She didn't know what was going on.
The young lady cupped her hands around the amethysts necklace. As it started to glow the woman felt heat coming off her body. Looking at herself she was surprised to see a light glowing all around her. Different colors flashing all around her before disappearing. She felt a strange sensation, as if someone was trying feel her brain. Suddenly the presences was gone and the girl stepped back dropping her mace in shock.
"No way it's impossible! It can't be true Hiccup, it has to be some sort of trick."
"Nissa, you know it's impossible for someone to copy specific identifying traits like this. I don't know how, but it has to be her!"
The Thief's staff clattered to the ground just as the barriers fell. No one moved as the woman finally found her voice as she looked directly at the young man. "Can it really be you Hiccup, after all this time?" She then turned eyes on to the young lady really taking in her appearance. "Nissa? It's not possible, you're an imaginary friend."
"The world is filled with endless wonders and things beyond the imagination. Then again, you know that already don't you Valka?" Nissa responded softly.
The Thief, no Valka, removed her helmet letting it drop to the ground. For the first time in fifteen years she showed her face to other humans. Her eyes teared up as she started to walk towards Hiccup. "I thought I never see you again Hiccup."
Hiccup jumped over Toothless closing the distance before tightly embracing the woman. He cried into her jacket sniffling. "I never thought I see you again Mom." His words shocked all dragons in the cavern as they watched mother and son reunited after fifteen years.
