Chapter 2

"So, do you actually know where the Fire Key is?" asked Fradokos as He, Marko, Hiccup, Toothless and White Light headed towards the docks, where there was a single ship left that could take them to the Key of Fire. "Yeah," Marko responded, putting a hand of reassurance on Fradokos' shoulder, "just before me and Hiccup returned to Berk, I saw these words when I couldn't see, and they said..." Marko trailed off when he saw Rachel in front of him, carrying a backpack of supplies and with Cloud, her White Fury, at her side. "Oh, no. You're defiantly not going," said Marko sternly, gesturing at Rachel. Chuckling, Rachel turned around and headed towards the boat, calling back, "Not gonna happen, Marko!" Sighing, Marko had a small smile on his face, and he and the rest of them followed Rachel towards the boat. When they finally arrived at the docks, they could see their large boat docking at the far-most pier: it must have been a fishing boat, judging by the size of it.

Stepping on board, Marko quickly looked out to sea before returning to look at them and saying, "Ok, this is how it's going to happen: one of us is going to have to be in control of the boat, so is anyone going to volunteer?" Fradokos volunteered instantly: apparently, his mother was part of the fishing group on Molak. "So, now someone's in control of the boat, I'm guessing that we're gonna need someone to be in charge of medication, and-"

"That'll be me, then," came a voice behind them. Startled, Marko and Hiccup turned around and saw someone that they thought that they never see again: it was Astrid, her battle axe in one hand and a backpack of supplies in the other. Hiccup stepped forward to try a feeble attempt to try and stop her from coming on board the boat, but Astrid said, "You're not going to stop me from getting on the boat, Hiccup. I'm not going to lose you again." That was all the convincing Hiccup needed: he stepped aside and let her walk onto the boat. Crossing his arms in front of him, Marko questioned, "A tell me why I should let you join us on this journey?" Swinging her axe onto her shoulder, Astrid said, "I'm a Viking: I think that's all the convincing that you're going to need." Shaking his head, Marko chuckled and said, "You'll have to think of something better than that." Smiling, Astrid suddenly dropped her backpack and, with lightning fast reactions, threw her axe at Marko; the others watching it spin through the air. But to everyone's shock, Marko caught the axe in mid-flight, the sharped-head of the axe barely an inch from his face.

"Nice try, Viking," taunted Marko, dropping the axe onto the wooden floor of the boat. But then, Marko said, "Alright, then: you're in. But only because I might not be able to stop you trying to kill me next time." This caused the group to chuckle for a few minutes before Astrid put her supplies into the hull of the ship before she resurfaced and sat down on the side of the boat, with Hiccup sitting beside her. "OK, so now that's settled, I'll decide what the rest of us will have when we're a few days out," said Marko, and the group split and started exploring the boat that they would be calling 'home' for the next few weeks. Walking over to the side of the boat, Marko lent on the railing, and was quickly joined by Fradokos and Rachel on each of his sides. "So, do you really think that we'll be able to all four Keys AND make it back in one piece?" asked Fradokos, looking over at the people that he would be calling 'crew' for the next few weeks to months. Shrugging his shoulders, Marko replied, "Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?" Chuckling, Fradokos said, "You really think we can pull this off, don't you?"

But Marko didn't answer: he just got up and started to undo one of the ropes that held the boat to the pier, but struggled to do so. "Ah, damn ropes...This is why I never got involved with anything to do with boats!"he muttered under his breath, when he suddenly felt a pair of hands cover his own and started to help him undo the knot. "Let me help you," whispered Rachel, and moved around Marko and undid the rope with littlest of effort. Chuckling nervously, Marko rubbed the back of his neck, and muttered, "Must be a girl thing..." Rachel faced him and said, "Mm-hm, you just keep telling yourself that," before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Smiling, Marko returned the kiss: he defiantly wasn't going to let anything happen to Rachel. They then heard an awkward cough coming from behind them, and they turned around to see Fradokos standing there, a smile spread across his face. Clearing his throat awkward, Marko said, "So, is everyone ready to go?"

Nodding, Fradokos said, "We've got enough food to last up for a few days, and enough fresh water to last us a while as well. But we've got to find an island with fresh water and edible food on it." Nodding, Marko let Rachel finish undoing the rest of the ropes while he and Fradokos went to make sure the rest of the group were holding up and ready to set sail. Scratching Toothless' head, Marko asked, "Are you ready for this, old friend?" Flashing Marko his signature toothless grin, Toothless said, "I'm ready for anything." Smiling, Marko walked away to check on Cloud and White Light. Meanwhile, below deck, in one of the cabins, Fradokos was checking to make sure everything was in place and that Hiccup and Astrid were settling in well. "Hope you two have picked a room, 'because we're getting ready to go," said Fradokos as he entered their room to find Astrid placing her battle axe on the wall while Hiccup was pacing the room. They both stopped what they were doing and follow Fradokos out of the room and onto the deck of the ship.

As they arrived on board the deck of the ship, Rachel was just about to undo the last knot that was attached to the boat. Gripping one of the ropes that were attached to the sails, Marko, along with Fradokos' help, pulled the ropes and lifted the sails up. Rachel had just managed to undo the rope when the boat suddenly jerked forward, causing everyone to fall on their backs. Getting up, Marko saw the sails being pushed violently by strong winds away from Berk, and towards the open sea...


So, there's a little love going on between Rachel and Marko...What do you think going to happen? Where is the Key of Life; well, someplace hot, yes! But what will they find along the way?