Terrible Terrors were singing on the rooftops and Snotlout groaned. Why did any living creature have to be awake at the crack of dawn? Furthermore, why did anyone have to be so freaking happy at this ungodly hour?! Cursing under his breath, the viking stuffed his fingers in his ears and rolled over. Just as Snotlout was drifting back to sleep, he heard a pounding on his hut.

"Snotlout! Snotlout!" Astrid's panicked voice came through the wooden door. Instantly Snotlout hopped out of bed and jammed his helmet on his head. Pounding down the stairs, he yanked open the door to find Astrid, Hiccup, the twins, and Fishlegs looking at him with concerned faces. Snotlout's heart gave a little flutter at the way Fishlegs's bedhead framed his face but Snotlout pushed the thought away.

"What in Thor's name is going on?!"

"I was on patrol and a large fleet of Dagur's ships are heading this way," Astrid explained quickly.

" …. How large is large…?" Snotlout wondered, the color quickly draining from his face.

"Remember the last time Dagur attacked and you, Hiccup, and Fishlegs came back just in time," Tuffnut asked.

"… Yeah…"

"Double it." Tuffnut said grimly.

"Alright gang! Let's get up in the air and formulate a plan! We're less vulnerable out of the range of the dragon root arrows and catapults. To your dragons!" Not that Snotlout would ever tell anyone this but he had always admired how calm Hiccup could stay, even in the face of battle against one Dagur the Deranged. Truth be told, if handling this situation was up to Snotlout, he would be fleeing the Edge in a panic.

"Oh and Snotlout?" Hiccup quickly glanced around to make sure that they were alone.

"Y- yeah?" Snotlout glanced down at his boots, trying to stop the rush of color to his cheeks. If Hiccup had figured out how Snotlout felt about Fishlegs...

"We need you today. You and Hookfang are valuable members of our team," was all Hiccup said before hopping in the saddle and taking off to join the rest of the riders who were speeding towards Dagur's fleet.

"Alright Hookfang, let's go!" Snotlout jumped in the saddle before chasing after Hiccup and the rest of the dragon riders.

As soon as Snotlout pulled up to the group that was circling in the clouds above Dagur's fleet, Hiccup was already sharing his plan.

"What did I miss," Snotlout whispered quietly to Fishlegs.

"Um… you, Hiccup, and I will be concentrating on the ships closest to Dagur. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Astird will be taking out the support ships. If at all possible, we try to capture Dagur and take him back to Outcast Island," Fishlegs whispered back, looking shocked at having been spoken to in such a gentle manner.

"Everyone understand the plan," Hiccup asked.

"Yes," the rest of the riders chorused.

A single hand signal from Hiccup and the riders burst through the cloud cover. Toothless barrel rolled through a shower of green-tipped dragon root arrows and began blasting the ships. Behind him, Meatlug was spewing lava on the wenches and chains while Fishlegs yelled in anger. Gods, Snotlout could watch kind-hearted Fishlegs take on Dagur's men in a frenzy of angry justice all day long. Shaking his head, Snotlout pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and flew into the battle with a battle cry of his own. Flying between steel chains, boulders being flung from sturdy wooden catapults, and showers of the one-hit-you're-dead poison arrows, Snotlout commanded Hookfang to set fire to as many ships as possible. Flames would catch on the wooden boats and erupt into explosions of heat, terrified screams, and Dagur's men jumping to their deaths in the freezing waters below. As amazing as Snotlout felt he and Hookfang were doing, there was just one problem. For every ship they sunk, five more seemed to appear.

"Snotlout! Look out!" Fishlegs's scream came from somewhere to the right of Snotlout but he couldn't see the other dragon rider through all the smoke and flames. The momentary distraction was enough for one of Dagur's men to get a clear shot. Snotlout heard the whistle through the air and just as he turned his head, as steel chain flashed before his eyes. Before Snotlout could react, an angry yell and a blur of brown zipped by him. For a split second the smoke cleared and what Snotlout saw, he could not believe. In flying faster than anyone had thought possible, Meatlug and Fishlegs had taken the shot for Snotlout and Hookfang. Dagur's face leered up at Snotlout before sailing away with Meatlug and Fishlegs still struggling on deck, wrapped in dragon-proof chains.

"NOOOOO!" Snotlout screamed before urging Hookfang to dive after the ship.

"Snotlout no! You can't take on Dagur's entire fleet!" Hiccup and Toothless were there in a flash, blocking Snotlout and Hookfang from chasing after the retreating ship.

"But Hiccup…." Snotlout's voice was thick with unshed tears.

"I know Snotlout. We'll get them back, I promise."

Snotlout just shook his head and flew off before anyone could see him cry. It was so unlike him and if any of the other riders saw him crying over Fishlegs…

"What in Thor's name was that all about," Astrid wondered as she watched Snotlout and Hookfang become a small speck against the cloudless blue sky.

"Yeah, what a muttonhead! He's not even going towards the Edge," Ruffnut pointed out.

"It looks like he's going towards Berk," Tuffnut added.

"Berk? Why would he be going back to Berk," Astrid asked.

"I don't know. We just need to get back to the Edge. From there, we'll send a terror mail to Berk. While we wait for their reply, we'll work out a plan to free Meatlug and Fishlegs," Hiccup decided. The other riders nodded in agreement and started heading back towards their home.

Glancing back at the expansive skies behind him, Snotlout sighed in relief when he concluded that he wasn't being followed back to Berk. Normally the warm rays of sunlight hitting his back and the wind in his face relaxed Snotlout like almost nothing could but not today.

"Oh yak dung, I knew I should have waited until nightfall to sneak - I mean visit Berk," Snotlout whined softly. Hookfang rumbled lowly in support.

"Good idea Hookfang! We'll wait on one of the sea stacks until it's dark enough that we can fly into Berk unnoticed! And they call Toothless the idea dragon," Snotlout chuckled. Again Hookfang gave a soft rumble and Snotlout responded by patting his dragon on the neck.

"Oh Hookfang! There! Head for that sea stack," Snotlout yelled out as Berk suddenly came into view.

The pair landed on the large sea stack that was about half a mile out from Berk's docks and lay down on the short but soft grasses that coated the wet heap of rock. Snotlout pulled out a burly cake from his saddle bag and was just settling into Hookfang's side for a long, undisturbed nap when an irritating voice interrupted him.

"Whatcha doing there Snotlout?" The viking in question opened his eyes to see none other than Gustav Larson, the captain of Astrid's auxiliary team, and his dragon Fanghook.

"Oh my Thor, Gustav! Don't you know not to interrupt people when they're napping," Snotlout snapped as he pushed himself off of Hookfang.

"Sorry Snotman but Stoic sent me to patrol the island. I need to make sure that you're not hiding Dagur somewhere to help him sneak onto the island or something!" Gustav looked immensely proud of himself.

"Hiding Dagur and -?! Gustav what in Thor's name are you - oh never mind. Just go away." Snotlout glared heavily at the younger viking who was still staring at him smugly.

"No can do, Snotman! Stoic sent me to protect Berk," Gustav bragged.

"He probably just said that to get rid of you for a few hours," Snotlout muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Snotman," Gustav asked cheerfully.

"Nothing. And it's SnotLOUT. Not SnotMAN!"

"Sure thing, Snotman! Now shall I bring you back to the Berk?"

"Gustav! I used to live here! I don't need to be escorted back to Berk and I am definitely not sneaking Dagur into the island," Snotlout yelled in exasperation.

… I know Snotlout, but there hasn't been anything exciting out here for ages! Every time I try to tell the chief that, he sends me back out here to keep looking just in case. You're the first thing I've seen in hours and it's so much more fun if I pretend that you're secretly a bad guy," Gustav whined.

"Not my problem, Gustav," Snotlout snarled. Taken aback by Snotlout's extreme harshness, Gustav hopped on Fanghook and flew away without another word.

"Well Hookfang, we should probably go to Berk. With Gustav blabbing everywhere, the whole village will know we're on this sea stack within a matter of minutes," Snotlout sighed. Hookfang stretched before letting Snotlout jump on his back and then the two were off towards Berk.

When the pair landed behind Snotlout's old house, the viking breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, a couple of villagers had given him rather questioning looks but for the most part, Snotlout and his dragon were being largely ignored. Snotlout gave Hookfang a loving scratch on the snout and then signaled for his dragon to stay put. Hookfang gave Snotlout his best pleading puppy-dog eye look but obeyed nonetheless. Taking a deep breath, Snotlout gripped his axe and headed down to the blacksmith's forge, where Gobber was working.

"Snotlout! Don't sneak up on a one armed, one legged viking like that," Gobber eclaims as he nearly drops the axe he was polishing.

"Oh… uh sorry Gobber," Snotlout murmured, his eyes downcast.

"Sorry? I don't think I've heard you say that word since… never actually." Gobber's voice went from a quipping to tone to a more thoughtful one.

"Um…."

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you like this," Gobber continued on in that same thoughtful tone. Snotlout sucked in a breath and plucked up his courage. It was now or never.

"Gobber, you've never married."

"Aye, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"You like men, don't you." Snotlout stared at the ground as blood rushed to his cheeks. Gobber's silence answered his question.

"I… I should…. I should go," Snotlout stammered awkwardly as he turned towards the door.

"You're right, you know." Snotlout turned back around and raised his gaze to meet Gobber's curious stare. For some reason his calmness broke the dam that was holding back a flood of pent up emotions.

"I'M IN LOVE WITH FISHLEGS AND - AND DAGUR CAPTURED HIM AND MEATLUG AND I…." Snotlout burst out as tears started to stream down his face. For a moment Gobber only stared in shock at the sobbing Viking but then he was pulling Snotlout into his hut that was located just below the blacksmith forge.

"W- wh- what… w- was… that for," Snotlout mumbled as he wiped the snot from his nose.

"Well I'm assuming you don't want all of Berk to hear about your feelings," Gobber stated matter of factly. Snotlout simply nodded and took a seat at Gobber's dinner table in front of the fireplace. The inside of the older man's hut was much cleaner and more organized than Snotlout would have ever expected from Gobber the Belch.

"So Dagur has Fishlegs and Meatlug and you're in love with Fishlegs. Do any of the other riders know?" Gobber wasted no time in getting right to the point.

"What, that Fishlegs and Meatlug were captured or…." Snotlout trailed off questioningly. Gobber responded with an even stare and Snotlout caved.

"Of course no one knows! I don't think they'd take it all that well," Snotlout groaned into his hands.

"Perhaps not but then again, they might not be bothered in the slightest." Gobber set down a bowl of steaming hot yak stew in front of his guest.

"I mean…. Astrid and Heather know that I'm… in.. well… you know. They just don't know who. I suppose it's only a matter of time before they find out," Snotlout sighed in dejected resignation.

"Then tell them. I don't think they'll take it as awfully as you imagine," Gobber smiled gently.

Snotlout shrugged noncommittally and fiddled with the spoon in his stew. His outburst of feelings was completely uncalled for, though considering how long he'd been keeping all his feelings pent up then maybe it was long overdue. Taking a sip of the yak stew, Snotlout smiled softly to himself as the warmth slid down his throat and into his stomach. He'd never really given it much thought before but Gobber was a shockingly good cook, even better than his own mother or Heather! Looking around the hut once more, Snotlout realized that there was a whole side of Gobber the Belch that he hadn't even known existed until half an hour ago. Maybe Gobber could help him figure out how to - No! Not helping, Snotlout! You're supposed to marry a beautiful Viking woman. Fishlegs can't happen, Snotlout scolded himself. Plus, he probably doesn't even like you back, a snide voiced quipped in the back of Snotlout's mind.

"So Snotlout, what are you going to do about all of this," Gobber asked quietly as he sipped from his own bowl of yak stew at the opposite end of the dark wooden table.

"I don't know…" Snotlout trailed off dejectedly.

"Even if you don't tell Fishlegs, you should go back to the Edge. They need you to help rescue him," Gobber pointed out logically. Snotlout only stared back at him blankly.

"Look you love him don't you? Go help him escape from Dagur. He needs you."

"I…"

"Go!" And just like that, the old Gobber was back. Deep down, Snotlout knew that the blacksmith was right. Regardless of how Fishlegs and the other riders felt, Fishlegs needed him right now. Snotlout grabbed his axe and leapt from the table. Just as he was pushing open the door, he turned back to look at Gobber.

"Thank you," was all Snotlout said before he hopped on Hookfang and the two were flying off in the direction of Dragon's Edge.

Seconds after Snotlout left there was a knock on Gobber's door. He opened it to find his best friend and the chief of Berk standing in the doorway.

"Stoick! What's going on," Gobber asked in surprise.

"Have you seen Snotlout? I just received a Terror mail from Hiccup and the other riders asking me if anyone on Berk has seen the lad," Stoick answered worriedly.

"As a matter of fact I have. He was just here a few moments ago."

"Well where is he now Gobber?" Stoick sighed in exasperation.

"Don't worry chief! He's gone back to Dragon's Edge."

"Ah, well it's getting late. Goodnight Gobber."

"Goodnight chief," Gobber smiled.