Follow the Leader
The sun rose over Dragon's Edge. Astrid and Stormfly were up at the crack of dawn, like always. Hiccup and Toothless were the second ones to rise. They joined Astrid and Stormfly in the sky. They were flying over the base, when they spotted Serenity up and saddling Tenor. Curiosity got the better of them and they flew down. Serenity looked up when they landed.
"Where are you off too?" Hiccup asked.
"Whale watching," said Serenity. "I've been wanting to go for a while now." She tightened the girth strap.
"Why?" asked Hiccup.
"Believe it or not Hiccup, there are other animals in the world that interest me," Serenity said. "Not just dragons."
"No I mean, why are you going out alone with those hunters out there?" Hiccup asked. Tenor perked his ears up at this.
"Hiccup makes a good point," he said. "Viggo's still wants you for himself. It's just too dangerous to go out whale watching, at least for now." Serenity sighed sadly and stopped what she was doing. Tenor saw the tears in her eyes.
"You don't want to be in chains again do you?" he asked. "Never to fly again." Serenity turned around and leaned heavily on Tenor's shoulder. Hiccup spotted something around her neck, that looked like a pair of brass spyglasses. They were secured around her neck by a leather strap.
"What are those?" he asked, pointing to them.
"Binoculars," Serenity said, gloomily. "They're like your spyglass, only you use both eyes. I just got these from home, I was hoping to test them out."
"Can I see?" Hiccup asked. Serenity didn't say a word, but took the binoculars off and handed them to Hiccup. He put them up to his eyes, and scanned the horizon. He was pretty impressed. He could see everything crystal clear, better than his spyglass.
"Wow these are great," he said. He handed them to Astrid, and she tried them. She too liked them. Serenity sat down heavily in her chair, her spirits drained. Tenor felt so bad for her.
"Don't worry Serenity, we'll go whale watching again," he said.
"When though?" Serenity asked, getting very frustrated. "I see no end to all this. Until these hunters are gone I can't do a darn thing."
"Maybe we can go with you," Astrid suggested. "There's safety in numbers." Serenity looked surprised.
"We can help keep an eye out for Viggo," Hiccup said.
"You sure?" Serenity asked. "I'll be mostly looking for whales, not hunting ships or dragons."
"That's okay," Hiccup said. "I've never seen a whale, not a living one anyway."
"Whales are fun to watch," Serenity said. "Especially from the back of a dragon." She got to her feet.
"If you two are with us, who's going to babysit the other riders?" Tenor asked.
"I'll get Fishlegs to do it," said Hiccup. "I think he's up to it." Astrid handed the binoculars back to Serenity.
"We'll meet you outside the club house," Astrid said. "In fifteen minuets." Serenity nodded, looking a bit happier. She put the binoculars back around her neck. Hiccup and Astrid got on their dragons and flew off. Serenity stood beside Tenor.
"I wasn't expecting them to say that," she said.
"Honestly, there are humans out there that are capable of being nice to you," Tenor said. "Just as there dragons out there who are capable of being mean to you."
"I just find it so hard to trust humans," Serenity said. "After everything that's happened."
"I know," Tenor said. He draped a wing around her shoulders.
"I miss traveling," Serenity said.
"You can leave this place whenever you want to," Tenor said. "I'm sure one of the other dragons would gladly go with you. I don't see why you have to trap yourself here where you're not always happy."
"I can't leave you here," Serenity said.
"I would come back to you," Tenor said. Serenity sniffed.
"That's exactly what Chris said," she sighed. "And I never saw him again. I don't want to loose you too. What if you get hurt by the hunters? What if the other dragons get hurt by the hunters. Toothless and Hookfang won't wear their armor anymore. I have to stay here, I'm the only dragon healer in existence."
"If you went home, you have a better chance of getting those shackles off," Tenor said. Serenity put a hand on the shackle that was still around her neck. Hiccup had been so busy with Snotlout and the Twins that he couldn't find the time to take them off.
Suddenly they heard Toothless calling them. Serenity mounted Tenor and flew up to the clubhouse where Hiccup and Astrid waited with their dragons. Snotlout and the Twins were inside playing some sort of viking card game, and Fishlegs was receiving instructions from Hiccup.
"One more time," Hiccup called to Snotlout and the Twins. "While we're gone, Fishlegs is in charge." They just waved their hands nonchalantly, not looking up from their card game. Hiccup and Astrid took off, Serenity and Tenor right behind them.
They flew over the ocean, Dragon's Edge far behind them. Serenity scanned the horizon for whales, Hiccup and Astrid scanned the horizon for hunters. Serenity used her binoculars every few minuets. There were no hunters in sight. Tenor scanned the water for whales. At first it seemed all the whales had gone. Then suddenly a Sperm Whale spouted right below them. It stayed at the surface for a few minuets, then dove back under the water with a wave of it's tail.
"How come you dragons won' hunt whales?" Hiccup asked.
"They're too big," Tenor said. "We'll hunt the smaller ones like pilot whales, and other small toothed whales. But for these big ones, they are too big and too fat for our taste."
"Even the calves?" asked Astrid.
"It's against dragon law to hunt females and babies," said Tenor. "Or, it's supposed to be anyway." Just then the whale came up again. It rolled onto its side lazily. They could see it's tiny eye looking back at them. It let out a moan. Serenity steered Tenor down closer to it. The whale was huge, far bigger than all three dragons present. It rolled back upright. Serenity reached out and touched its hump, before it dove back into the water. When it didn't come up again, they all headed off again. They turned around and headed back towards Dragon's Edge, Serenity kept her eyes open for more whales on the flight back.
Unfortunately she didn't see anymore, she did see a school of yellowfin tuna and a few sharks. Tenor caught himself a tuna. They landed back at Dragon's Edge, to find the place a mess. All of the barrels that contained Monstrous Nightmare gel, were empty, and smoke filled the sky. Hiccup was not happy. Snotlout and the Twins were hanging around the clubhouse, and Fishlegs was no where in sight. Hookfang, Barf and Belch quickly turned and flew off when Hiccup and Astrid landed.
"I don't see what the big deal is," said Tuffnut. "It's our stuffed yak." He pointed to a stuffed yak among the mess.
"It's not the yak Tuffnut," said Hiccup. "It's the Monstrous Nightmare gel you used to set the yak on fire."
"We harvest that gel to defend the Edge against Viggo," said Astrid.
"So we might have gotten carried away," Snotlout shrugged. "It's not like we don't know where we can get more?" He patted Hookfang on the snout.
"What if our dragons aren't around?" said Hiccup. "We need to be able to defend the Edge at all times. Which is why we need the Monstrous Nightmare gel."
"Hookfang can't replace all that," said Astrid.
"I didn't say he was going to," said Snotlout.
"Would you just get more gel," Hiccup groaned. "Please." Snotlout and the Twins stormed off, their dragons right behind them.
"It seems I picked a bad time to go whale watching," Serenity said, trying to adjust the shackle on her neck. It was really itchy and sore.
"You are not to blame Serenity," Hiccup said. "Sorry you had to hear all that."
"It's okay, I've watched people get yelled at before," Serenity said. "I live with the dragon king and queen."
"Re can real scary when he's mad," Tenor said. "Sparks fly out of his mouth with every word." At that moment Fishlegs and Meatlug landed next to them.
"Hiccup you're not going to believe this," Fishlegs exclaimed.
"Yeah no kidding," Hiccup said. "I can't believe any of this. Fishlegs did you know they were doing this?" Fishlegs became timid.
"Yeah, I guess," said Fishlegs. "I told them to stop."
"And they didn't," said Hiccup. "And now we have fires to put out and an emergency supply of Monstrous Nightmare gel to refill. We're on our own out here, things like this just can't happen. You're better than this Fishlegs. It's just disappointing." Hiccup turned and left. Fishlegs looked very guilty. Everyone else left to clean up the Edge. Serenity and Tenor flew back to their yurt. Serenity sat in her chair massaging her neck, the shackle pinched her painfully. The ones on her wrists were also pinching her. Tenor looked at her sadly. Just then Fishlegs and Meatlug landed beside the yurt.
"Hey Tenor, you heard all that right?" Fishlegs said.
"I did," Tenor said. "Hiccup should lock up flammable items, so Snotlout and the Twins can't get it. But if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing the whole time?"
"I was keeping watch for the hunters," said Fishlegs. "And I found an undiscovered cave and it had this sword in it." He held up a black sword that was slightly rusted.
"I think someone was stranded on this island long ago," Tenor said. "Probably that Thorston loser who thought the island belonged to him, and thus the Twins."
"Really hate it when Hiccup gets disappointed," Fishlegs said. "Mad I can handle, but disappointed."
"Seems to me that you want to prove yourself to Hiccup, and get back on his good terms," Tenor said. "I'm pretty sure Thor will give you an opportunity."
"Technically it would be Odin," Fishlegs corrected him.
"Whatever," Tenor said. "You get my point. But I'm pretty sure Hiccup's already sorry. Give him a few hours, he'll come round." Tenor began eating his tuna.
"Do you think I could be a good leader Tenor?" Fishlegs said.
"Yeah, I suppose," Tenor said, with his mouth full. "You'd probably make a better leader than the Twins anyway. But what do I know, I'm only a good leader when it comes to navigating."
"Maybe you can come see the cave," said Fishlegs.
"I'm kind of busy at the moment," said Tenor said, ripping off more chunks of fish.
"Later than?" said Fishlegs. Tenor just nodded. Fishlegs got back on Meatlug and took off. Tenor laid down on the grass and ate up his tuna. Serenity dozed off best she could. She was really looking forward to dreaming of happier times. However, the shackles made sleeping hard. Tenor watched her. He considered bringing up Gobber, or Draconia's top blacksmith Steel, to get the shackles off her.
"You should go back to bed, you look like you didn't get enough sleep," Tenor said. Serenity sighed, she did feel very sleepy. She got to her feet and went inside. Tenor went back to his fish.
Down in the cave Fishlegs and Meatlug had gone back to exploring the caves. Fishlegs still felt bad about letting Hiccup down. He hoped something in this cave would be the key to getting back in Hiccup's good graces. Meatlug lit a torch on the wall, and Fishlegs took it for a light source. They went slowly down the tunnel, deeper into the cave. Suddenly the ground vanished beneath their feet and they fell into a deep hole, and the torch went out. Fishlegs got to his feet and Meatlug relit the torch. They found themselves facing another long tunnel.
"Where are we?" Fishlegs wondered aloud. Suddenly there came loud bat like screeches. Fishlegs and Meatlug turned to see several white Night Terrors approaching them. They all had a wild look in their eye. Meatlug growled, not knowing their intentions. It was clear that these Night Terrors weren't apart of Smidvarg's squadron.
"Hi, I'm Fishlegs and this is Meatlug," Fishlegs stammered. The Night Terrors all screeched again. Fishlegs approached one, with his hand out front. The little dragon didn't like that at all. It hissed and snapped at his fingers.
"You don't like that, not a problem," said Fishlegs, backing up. He rummaged through his saddlebags and pulled out a few dragon treats. He tossed them to the wild dragons. It seemed to please them, and they didn't attack. One little dragon perched on top of Meatlug. He looked slightly different from the others. He had a dark stripe down his back. He squealed wanting more dragon treats.
"Sorry, that's all I have," said Fishlegs. The dragon sat on his haunches, looking disappointed. "You look like a Night Terror I know, his name is Smidvarg." The little dragon screeched with delight.
"Oh, you like that," said Fishlegs. "Well I can't call you Smidvarg, because that's already taken. How about Stargvarg?" The dragon paid no attention, and raided the saddlebags for more dragon treats. He ended up getting the bag stuck to his face. He panicked and tried to claw it off. Fishlegs got it off for him, and Stargvarg scurried back to his pack.
"I like this human," he said to his alpha. "He even gave me a new name."
"He can be useful to us," the alpha said. He turned to his squadron. "Bring him to the nest." The Night Terrors began pushing Fishlegs and Meatlug farther into the tunnel.
They rounded a corner and came to a small chamber filled with human items. More Night Terrors were perched on the piles of items, some were perched on little cliffs on the cave wall.
"Look at this place Meatlug," said Fishlegs, in amazement. "It must be a lost civilization, and these guys have turned it into their own dragon village." The wild dragons pushed Fishlegs and Meatlug into another chamber, that was enormous. The ceiling arched high above them. It looked big enough to hold the dragon outpost comfortably.
"Why are you all crammed in there, when it's so much roomier in here?" Fishlegs asked. As an answer to his question, the sun shone down through a hole in the cave ceiling. All the Night Terrors scattered from the light.
"Oh, I see," said Fishlegs. "You guys are cave dwellers you can't be in the light. Don't worry, we'll be back with a solution." He mounted Meatlug and flew back out, through the opening.
Sometime later he came back with supplies to build a door over the opening. The Night Terros watched as Fishlegs made the door and attached it to the opening. He also created a pulley system so the dragons could open the door at their leisure. He went over to a stalagmite where Stargvarg was perched. Fishlegs began hammering in a large nail. The banging sound caused Stargvarg pain, as he wasn't used to such a high pitched sound.
"Oh, sorry Stargvarg," Fishlegs said. "Your hearing must be very sensitive." He hammered the nail, making the sound as soft as possible. The door was finished.
"There this should keep the light out," said Fishlegs. "Meatlug." Meatlug pulled on a rope, the door swung open, and sunlight poured in. Then Meatlug pulled the rope, and it closed again. All the Night Terrors cheered. The alpha beamed.
"This human has proven useful," he said. "He stays. Put him in the chair. Smidvarg's going to be so jealous." The Night Terrors boosted Fishlegs on their backs and carried him to a large throne that was made out of rock formations. The Night Terrors put Fishlegs into the chair and Stargvarg sat next to it.
Later that night, Hiccup was pacing the arena. He was worried about Fishlegs, who hadn't been seen all day. Astrid and Toothless were both present.
"Hiccup, I'm sure he's fine," said Astrid. "You know Fishlegs, he's probably wigging out over some new foliage."
"Yeah, but he usually wigs out with me," said Hiccup. "You think I was too hard on him earlier?" Before Astrid could answer, Snotlout and the Twins landed in the arena. They had spent the day gathering a new supply of Monstrous Nightmare gel. Snotlout had gathered several buckets from Hookfang, he looked very smug about it. The Twins had had no such luck. Hiccup decided he would worry about Fishlegs a bit later.
Over at the yurt Flash and Polaris were keeping Serenity company, so Tenor could go hunt with his comrades. Serenity sat on the grass, Polaris's head in her lap. Flash was hanging out on the roof. He could see a storm heading their way, and he hoped to restock on lighting. Hiccup and Toothless landed beside the yurt.
"Have you seen Fishlegs at all?" Hiccup asked.
"Not since this morning," Serenity said. "But this wouldn't be the first time he spent all day with just Meatlug. You remember the time he found the Changewing egg?"
"Yes," Hiccup said. "Would you be able to help look for him if the circumstances call for it?" Serenity nodded and stroked Polaris's muzzle. Hiccup and Toothless took off again, and headed back to the arena.
Down in the cave Fishlegs and Meatlug were still in the big chamber with the Night Terrors. Fishlegs was slouched in the stone chair.
"Now this is living," he said to Meatlug. He then got to his feet and stretched. "Well it's getting late, we should head back girl and show everyone what it's like to be worshiped buy an entire species of dragons." But no sooner had he said this, then all the Night Terrors pushed him back towards the chair.
"Oh, that's so cute they want us to stay," said Fishlegs, touched. "Well, we have to get back. But we'll be back tomorrow." The Night Terrors were having none of that.
"Don't let him leave, I don't want those other humans in here," said the alpha. "Do what you have to, but no fatalities and no blood." They all jumped on Fishlegs and held him down.
"Meatlug hug," Fishlegs ordered. Meatlug flew at the Night Terrors, and made them scatter. She then landed and Fishlegs quickly mounted her. She took off and flew as fast as she could towards the hatch. The Night Terrors flew after them. One little dragon managed to ram Fishlegs off the saddle, just as Meatlug sailed out the door and the door closed behind her.
Meatlug didn't stop and flew strait to Hiccup's house. She barged through the door, but got stuck in the doorframe. The noise was enough to wake Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup was out of bed and downstairs in seconds.
"Meatlug! what is it girl?" Hiccup asked. "Is it Fishlegs? Where is he?" Toothless head butted Meatlug, dislodging her from the doorframe. Hiccup mounted Toothless and took off. They woke up the other riders and dragons. Hiccup and Toothless woke up Astrid and Snotlout, Meatlug woke up the Twins. She also found Serenity and Polaris still outside.
"Serenity, I need your help to get Fishlegs back!" Meatlug cried. "Hurry, come." Serenity and Polaris got to their feet. Serenity mounted the Flightmare and followed Meatlug.
They all flew to the cave. About half way to the entrance Meatlug turned to Serenity.
"Say, can you two stand guard by that door," she asked, pointing to the door to the large chamber. "That'll be our exit." Serenity nodded. She didn't want to stall Meatlug with questions, so she she steered Polaris towards the door. They landed and sat down to wait.
Meatlug lead the riders and dragons into the cave. They all landed and dismounted. They followed the Gronkle into the cave and down the tunnel.
"Wow, never seen her move so fast," said Snotlout. "She's way cooler than I thought." The went farther into the tunnel. All the riders had torches and were looking around.
"Are we even sure Fishlegs is down here," said Astrid.
"Yeah, we're sure," said Hiccup. He shined his light on the sword he'd seen Fishlegs holding earlier that day. Hiccup picked it up. "Fishlegs had this in his hand the last time I saw him."
In the big chamber Fishlegs sat on the stone chair, waiting for an opportunity to escape. The Night Terrors had fallen asleep, and he got his chance. He quietly slid off the chair. Unfortunately he trod on the tail of a Night Terror. It woke up and alerted the others.
"The human's trying to escape," he roared. The other little dragons woke up and herded Fishlegs back to the chair, and he reluctantly sat back down.
"This is a little ridiculous," he said. "I'm touched that you think so highly of me. But this is kidnapping, which as far as I know, is against viking law." They all looked at him blankly, and Fishlegs remembered who he was talking to. "But of course, why would a flock of dragons care about viking laws." Just then there came a commotion from the tunnel.
"Intruders!" cried the alpha. "Get them." All the Night Terrors took off and swarmed out of the cave. Fishlegs was left and saw another chance to escape. He got off the chair and started for the exit. But was then blocked by Stargvarg.
"Starvargvarg, we're friends right," said Fishlegs. "We have a connection." He edged towards the exit. Stargvarg didn't seem to care. When his back was to the exit, Fishlegs pointed at something behind Stargvarg. "Look what's that?" The dragon turned and Fishlegs ran while he was distracted.
The other riders continued to follow Meatlug. Suddenly she came to a dead stop. She, and the other dragons, could hear the Night Terrors coming their way. They all tensed up and growled. At first the riders didn't know why the dragons were acting up. But then they saw the flock of white Night Terrors flying their way. The larger dragons fought the smaller ones, protecting their riders who were badly overwhelmed. The Night Terrors swarmed them all like angry bees.
"Stay with your dragons!" Hiccup called over the racket. "Do not try to fight these guys. They're not like Smidvarg, they're wild and aggressive." The dragons fired at the Night Terrors to keep them at bay. However, they were all running out of shots. Then Hookfang turned to the others.
"Hey guys, I've got an idea," he called. He spread his wings and shot strait up to the ceiling. He hit it hard enough to cause an avalanche. Rocks fell and caused the Night Terrors to scatter. The other dragons shot at the ceiling as well, making more rocks fall. The whole ground started to shake.
"We need to get out of here!" cried Astrid.
"Back the way we came," Hiccup agreed. They headed back towards the entrance. Unfortunately the ceiling caved in; Astrid, Snotlout, and the Twins were separated from their dragons, and the riders were trapped with the Night Terrors. The cave became still again.
The three dragons stared at the cave in, in shock.
"What now?" asked Stormfly. "They're trapped."
"They'll have to find another way out," said Hookfang. "We should get out of here, or we'll all die down here." He led the way towards the exit.
The riders and two remaining dragons also looked at the road block in shock. Toothless and Meatlug exchanged a glance.
"They'll find their way out," Hiccup assured them.
"I'm not worried about them," said Snotlout, pointing upwards. They looked up to see more Night Terrors homing in on them and even more were coming at them from the tunnel that led deeper into the cave. They didn't hesitate in swarming the intruders again. Toothless was about to shoot them, but found that he was out of shots.
"Okay, he's out," Hiccup said, trying not to panic. The Night Terrors were getting closer, forcing the riders into a corner. Suddenly there came the sound of clanging metal. The closer it got, the more irritated the Terrors got. They scattered as Fishlegs ran towards them clanging two axes together. The Terrors flew off.
"Fishlegs!" Hiccup exclaimed, relieved.
"Hiccup!" Fishlegs cried. He dropped the axes and hugged Hiccup, Astrid, and Meatlug. Suddenly more Terrors flew at them. Fishlegs picked up the axes and banged them together. But he did it too close to Snotlout, causing him to be disoriented. The Terrors flew off.
"Wow, that was awesome," said Tuffnut. "Keep doing it."
"Tuff's right, keep doing it," said Hiccup. "Just not in Snotlout's face." Fishlegs banged the axes, which kept the little dragons at bay.
"Is there another way out of here?" Hiccup asked.
"Through there," said Fishlegs. He pointed to the tunnel that led to the larger chamber, but it was blocked by the Night Terrors. Fishlegs ran forward, banging the axes. Hiccup picked up a shield and banged it with the sword. The other riders picked up metal items and banged them together. All the noise kept the Terrors away as they all ran towards the other chamber. When they got there, the found the rest of the Night Terrors guarding the rope to the door. The riders ran towards it, making as much noise as they could. However two Night Terrors grabbed the axes out of Fishlegs's hands. More Terrors did the same.
"They're getting used to the sound Hiccup!" Fishlegs said. The little dragons attacked them again. But then one of them hovered in front of Fishlegs, and he recognized the dragon.
"Stargvarg, can you help us our boy?" Fishlegs asked. Stargvarg screeched happily and flew towards the rope. He cut with his teeth, and it swung open. Blue light filled the cave, making the little dragons scatter. The riders soon realized that the light was coming from the Flightmare outside. Serenity flew Polaris into the chamber and landed. Hiccup got on Toothless and Astrid got on behind him. Snotlout got on Polaris behind Serenity.
"Meatlug, Twins," Fishlegs ordered. Meatlug grabbed the Twins and Fishlegs jumped onto her back. The Night Terrors didn't dare get close to the Flightmare. All the dragons flew out of the hatch and to freedom.
They flew back to the outpost where Hookfang, Stormfly, Barf, Belch, Tenor, and Flash were waiting for them. The dawn came as everyone was reunited.
Later that day Fishlegs was outside his hut with Meatlug, polishing his new sword. Hiccup and Toothless landed beside them.
"Hey Fishlegs, what're you up to?" asked Hiccup.
"Just trying to make sense of this sword," said Fishlegs. An awkward silence ensued. Then they both started speaking at once, and stopped.
"You first," said Hiccup, and waited patiently.
"As hard as it was for me to hear what you said yesterday," said Fishlegs. "You were right. If I hadn't been so distracted by that cave, and focused more on controlling Snotlout and the Twins, we wouldn't be out of Monstrous Nightmare gel."
"Fishlegs..." Hiccup began, but Fishlegs kept going.
"I don't know how you do it Hiccup," Fishlegs said. "You lead by example. Not by fear or bossing people around. I've a lot to learn."
"Fishlegs, I can barely control those guys on my best days," Hiccup said. "You showed great leadership with the Night Terrors, and with us. I would never hesitate to put you in charge." Fishlegs blushed.
"Now that we're done with that," he said. "Can we take a moment to geek out over the white Night Terrors and this sword?" With that the two riders walked off. Meatlug turned to Toothless.
"You'd think they'd never seen Night Terrors or a sword before," she said.
"I know, weird," Toothless agreed. "Nice job putting the Flightmare at just the right spot by the way."
"Thanks," said Meatlug bashfully. "I figured a Flightmare would be pretty useful in warding off cave dragons, who are sensitive to light." The two dragons flew off to join the other dragons.