A/N: Okay, next chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. I only own my OCs.

"Words." = human speech

"Words." = dragon speech (translated; only in Ren's POV)

Chapter Two- Change in Scenery:

(Ren's POV)

"Hey, you doing okay?" Yusei asked, poking his head into my room. Another trial was held and I unfortunately got to see the guy being ripped apart by the local Speed Stingers as judgment. I doubt I ever ran so fast in my whole life.

"Considering I almost lost what I had for yesterday's lunch," I replied after moving my hand away from my mouth. I put it back on once I was done talking.

He winced. "Sorry, I know you don't like seeing the judgments of the dragons, but-"

"Queen Gwynedd insisted, I know." I groaned, leaning back onto the bed. I covered my eyes with an arm. "I'm starting to get real tired of this."

"Tired of what, exactly?" I felt the bed dip a bit. He must be sitting on it next to me.

"All of this!" I threw my arms in the air. "The trials, the hunters, having to keep you-know-who a secret, everything here!" My arms plopped back down onto the bed. "I just want out."

"And where would you go?"

"I dunno. Somewhere far from here. As far as we can get. Maybe then I can figure out what I want to do with my life besides staying here forever." I sat up at the last bit. I didn't hear anything from Yusei. "Uh...you still there?"

"Just thinking." That's not new, I thought as I rolled my eyes, turning away. "Well, we better make sure to do it when the guards aren't looking."

"Eh?" I looked at him like he grew another head.

"You heard me."

"You realize that's going against the rules, right?"

He shrugged. "Rules were meant to be broken."

"And we'd be so dead if we got caught."

"And?"

"And it would mean the instant Queen Gwynedd found out you'd be instantly stripped of your title and I'd be forced into whatever guard she assigns me, right?"

"Perhaps."

"You aren't backing out of this, are you?"

"Not unless you do."

"..." There's really no denying it. For the last eighteen years, I've basically been kept under lock and key here. More prisoner than an honored member of this place. I pretty much was kept a close eye on no matter where I went (unless I snuck out which became easier with Yusei). Plus, I wanted to see if I couldn't figure out why my parents left me all alone or if they had to give me up for a reason. I nodded at him. "Let's do it."

"We'll have to go on the far side of the island, far away from the ports. If they see us heading to the ports, they'll know something's up. I'll sneak a boat there and we can work from there."

"You sure you want to risk your hide just 'cause I'm feeling cooped up?"

"Technically, I've been doing that the last three years with you-know-who."

"...good point..."

(Scene Shift- Yusei's POV)

"You're risking a lot with this guy," Kalin said.

"I know," I replied. I was getting his help sneaking a boat onto the other side of the island so Ren and I could leave. Out of all the others in our age group, he was the only other one that Ren was able to trust with the secret of Aden.

"Well, you two timed it right. Queen Gwynedd and a good chunk of the Defenders are going off for this big meeting. Probably has to do with that letter earlier."

"Letter?"

"Yeah, from some far off village in the south. Judging from the look on her face, I'm going to guess that it's a village we're not supposed to be friendly with."

"The look?"

"You know the face we all had when we had to help clean out the dragons' nest? Yeah, that look."

"Wonder why. It can't be a hunter's village. We'd be hearing of a group heading out to there instead of meeting with the village."

"Who knows? Anyway, you better watch yourself out there. Once those hunters catch wind that the Defenders' precious Dragon Linguist has left the safety of the island..."

"I know. They'll be after us too. I got it."

I think that's what's worrying me the most, though. Some of the hunters were laughable at best, but the more serious ones will be a problem. It's only by chance we can catch even one of them to put on trial let alone a whole group of them. We've lost more members to them years before to the point that you have to be a certain rank to even go on a mission involving one of the groups.

Later that night, Ren and I waited for the chance to sneak out. Once we saw some of the night watchmen go to bid Queen Gwynedd safe passage, we snuck out of the building. The path would lead past where Aden stayed, so Ren would be able to tell him goodbye before we left. He didn't want to make it seem like we abandoned him at all.

The village was behind us as Ren let out the special whistle for Aden. Wingbeats and then the Triple Stryke landed in front of us. He made a curious rumble, tilting his head at us.

"Hey, Aden. Listen, Yusei and I are going to be leaving for a while," Ren told him.

"Rrr?" Aden rumbled.

"Not further out on the island, Aden. I meant...far away from it. I'm feeling way too cooped up here and I want to get away for a while. We'll be back someday, though, so just stay safe until then. You already know which places to hunt in that's away from the other dragons. You'll be fine."

Aden started shaking his head, roaring a little. "Ren, we've got to go before they hear or notice we're gone," I whispered. I have to hope they thought Aden's roars were from some of the dragons at the nest and won't check on it.

"I know, I know." He turned back to Aden, giving a pat on his snout. "Don't worry. It's not goodbye forever, pal. I wouldn't do that to you." Aden let out a sad growl.

(Ren's POV)

He'd be safer here than with us, I told myself as Yusei and I hurried to the boat. We already gathered some supplies to split on the trip until the next island stop. We'll just have to watch it.

As Yusei was about to untie the boat, we both got scooped up into the air after something wrapped around our waists. I would have panicked...if I hadn't looked up to see who it was. "Aden?! What are you-"

"I'm coming with you!" he roared.

"What, no! You have to stay here! You'll be safe and-"

"The only reason why I'm alive today is because of your help, Ren. Besides, with more dragons going in there and being accepted, they'll be expanding their hunting territories. I'm coming with you and that's that."

I groaned slightly, sighing. "Fine..."

"What'd he say?" Yusei asked.

"He says he's coming with us, and he won't take no for an answer."

"Well, get him to land. It won't be comfortable for any of us if he carries us like this the whole night."

I looked around until I spotted a sea stack. "Aden, can you land down there?"

"Yeah, just hang on." He angled downwards.

He set us on our feet first, uncurling the parts of his tail that he had wrapped around us, and landed himself, curling his tail back up. "Okay, I guess we're going to have to change plans a bit. We might be able to travel faster on dragon back if Aden allows us."

"Will you, Aden?"

"Of course! You're both my friends!"

"Sounds like a yes to me."

Yusei nodded, looking back at the island. "Then we better move fast before we get spotted." We both got on Aden's back and took off. "Put as much distance between us and them before we find a place to stay a few days."

"You heard him, Aden. Time to book it!"

(Scene Shift- Back at the Village- Some Time Later)

As the boat returned, Queen Gwynedd still had a scowl. I swear, she's even harder to deal with than her parents! If only we could have snagged her instead of the boy...no, we'd have the same situation even reversed, she thought as she and the council stepped off the boat.

"Queen Gwynedd! I have terrible news!" one of the Defenders shouted, running up.

"What is it?"

"The Dragon Linguist...he's gone!"

"What?! Where is his guard?"

"We don't know. Both the Dragon Linguist and Yusei Fudo are missing. We found a boat on the far side of the island, but we don't know if it's one of ours or a hunter's."

As other Defenders were searching frantically, only one knew the truth of what happened. Yusei, hope you know what you're getting into, old friend, Kalin thought.

(Scene Shift- Hundreds of Miles Away- Yusei's POV)

I blinked awake, rubbing my eyes. We had spent a good chunk of the journey flying and had Aden land on a far off island to rest. The island had a village we can visit to stock on supplies while we're here. Aden can't carry much with us flying on his back too, so we could carry only enough food to fit in our bags.

Aden was still fast asleep as was Ren, Aden's tail curling up in front of where Ren and I laid. And Ren...well...was leaning onto my shoulder as a pillow. He looked more peaceful fast asleep, not having to worry about sneaking around to visit Aden or attend a trial. He was free to do whatever he wanted or be anyone he wanted to. Now that I think about it...has Ren even had any contact with others our age? I only recently had him introduced to Kalin, but...other than that? He's been around just the Queen and the council.

Ren's head started sliding down from my shoulder before hitting my lap. Well, I doubt we're going to be running into a lot of people our age anyway out here. We'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to focus on staying safe while out here. With the risk of running into hunters, we can't afford to stay easy going for long. We'll have to keep our guard up. The hunters tend to be ruthless to those that mettle in their affairs...even more so to someone who can understand dragons. During training, we heard all sorts of horror stories of what the hunters did to someone like Ren. Each one more gruesome than the next. All of them had a similar trend, though: none of them were quick deaths. I won't let that happen to him..even at the cost of my life.

A loud rumbling from behind caught my attention. Aden peeked open his eyes and gave a sheepish dragon grin. "Guessing you're hungry, then?" I said. He nodded. "All right. Ren's bound to wake up soon anyway. Keep an eye on him for me, okay?"

"Rrr."

I gently moved Ren out of my lap. He grumbled but didn't wake up, curling up near Aden's side for warmth. I stood up, grabbed my weapons, and headed out into the forest. Better check on that net I set up last night. There should be plenty of fish for Aden in it by now. I went straight to the river, pulling it out. Yes! I knew it would work. This'll cut hunting for the time.

As I pulled the net up, I listened in on the noises of the forest around me. Everything seems peaceful enough. We could stay here a few more days. Or we could turn this into a base. Either way, there's not a village on here and we can reach the next one by boat of Aden eas- Something that flew overhead caught my attention. Dragons? Well, it's not TOO surprising, but... I shrugged it off. Even if they are dragon riders...they won't think too much of us. Probably best to check out the rest of the island in case they've already got a base here.

(Scene Shift- Ren's POV)

"Hey, where'd you go? You were gone when I woke up," I yawned, rubbing my eyes as Yusei walked back into our camp.

"Sorry. Had to make sure we had something to eat for today," he replied, setting down the net of fish for Aden.

"Fish!" Aden roared happily. He pulled the net open and dug in.

"Spot anything interesting?" I started putting some wood out for a fire...when Aden could pause in his eating, that is.

"Not a whole lot. Just a dragon flying over head."

"Dragons? This far out?"

"It's not that shocking, you know. There are probably dragons all over the place. Not just near the village."

"Guess you're right. I was kind of figuring there weren't, you know, a whole lot left in the wild."

"There'll be plenty of places for dragons to be safe, Ren. Plus, the dragon riders that are out there will also be fighting against the dragon hunters."

"Dragon riders?"

"Yeah. You didn't know about them?"

"Well...err...I don't think Queen Gwynedd really included them in my teachings. A lot of what I've been learning was completely different to yours. I'm just thankful I was taught how to use a sword of all things."

"So you've learned nothing of the outside world at all?"

"Pretty much."

I honestly hated admitting that I didn't know the same things as the rest of the Defenders of the Wing my age. Queen Gwynedd told me that I didn't need to know much about the world outside of the village. Just that the dragon hunters out there would try to kill me if they ever had the chance. Everything else? Nope, not a thing. Just learned about the possible danger and that's all. Probably to keep me from being curious and running off.

"Well...then I guess it's a good thing you have a new teacher," Yusei said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I replied.

"You'll have to learn about what's really out here, not just one thing. Especially when we get to the villages. They'll know something's wrong when you don't act the same way around people."

"And you figure you have the means to teach me?"

"Do you see anyone else here?"

"...point taken. Well, you better not bore me to death. I'll just fall asleep on you like I did most of my tutors."

He smirked at me. "Yeah, you're not going to be pulling that for long with me."

A/N: What is it with me and not writing for longer chapters? XD Oh well, maybe as I go along with this, the chapters will get longer. So...I figure I'll try to upload this story two chapters at a time (which means it'll be updated only...three more times? I only have eight chapters planned for this part of the story...'hint') as opposed to one chapter done at a time. Might take a bit longer to write, but at least you'll have two chapters to read each time, right? Anyway, hop you enjoyed!