This story…is still alive!
My most sincere apologies and a HUNDRED THOUSAND pardons. I know I haven't updated this story in ages and I am SO SORRY.
You see apart from insane school projects (which still need to be done) assigned almost every single day, a typhoon struck our place and we were without electricity AND Internet for about 6 Whole, Freaking Days!
But I'm back now with another update so hopefully, things will start to look up.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own HTTYD (no matter how much I wished I did -_-)
In Dragons We Trust
Dragon Training begins and ends with trust. Both the dragon's and the Rider's. So it was no surprise that on this particular afternoon, Hiccup and Zenna decided to take their friends and their dragons out of the Academy to do an extreme version of the Trust Fall Exercise with their dragons.
'As you fly through life it's always good to know who you can trust…'
Hiccup and Zenna both smiled contentedly as they fell through the air, lying on their backs and the ocean rapidly approaching as they continued their descent. Flipping themselves over to face the oncoming water, both teens patiently waited…
'…and who you can't.'
Just as they were inches away from the frigid ocean, Toothless and Stryka swooped in and caught them on their backs. "Nice catch, bud. A little close…"Hiccup praised his trusty one tail finned Night Fury. "Good job, girl. You always come through for me." Zenna smiled at her one eyed Night Fury. Both Toothless and Stryka crooned in pleasure and soared up into the clouds.
'Hiccup and I know we can always count on Toothless and Stryka. And it's important for them to know…that no matter what…they can count on us.'
Joining their other Dragon Rider friends, Hiccup and Zenna simultaneously voted on the next one to try the Extreme Trust Fall-Fishlegs Ingerman and his female Gronckle, Meatlug.
"It's your turn. Jump!" Hiccup coaxed the chubby blond Viking. Fishlegs, however, remained on the saddle. "I don't want to jump! I…" he managed to protest before Hiccup told him, "You have to believe she's gonna catch you! It's a trust exercise."
"You and Meatlug can do it! Just trust each other." Zenna encouraged the husky Viking teen. "I like to do my trusting on the ground, thank you very much!" Fishlegs squeaked nervously.
"Like this, chicken-legs." Snotlout Jorgenson said pointedly and, with a whoop of excitement, slid off of his Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang, and fell.
Seconds passed…and Hookfang made no move to dive down after his Rider.
"So…should we mention something to Hookfang?" Tuffnut Thorston asked while sitting on Belch, his half of the Hideous Zippleback he and his sister shared. "Let me sleep on it." Ruffnut Thorston, Tuff's twin sister, said nonchalantly.
"I think Snotlout's gonna hit the rocks instead of the water." Zenna observed, seeing the rock spires jutting out from the ocean near the cliffs.
Astrid on her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, then shouted to Snotlout's dragon, "Hookfang! Get him!"
Hookfang lazily turned his gaze to his Rider. "Not feeling the trust!" Snotlout was screaming as he hurtled down towards uncertain doom! Panicking, Hookfang quickly dove down to catch him, which he did. Now the only problem was that they were going too fast to maneuver properly!
"AH! Coming in too hot! AHH!" Snotlout yelled as they crashed through a house's roof.
And Hiccup and Zenna both saw that it was Mildew's house.
"Holy Shields Snotlout, get out of there quick…" Zenna muttered, feeling both annoyed by the black haired bruiser's stupidity and worried for his and his dragon's safety.
Back in Mildew's house, Snotlout and Hookfang were recovering from their crash. Once he managed to refocus, Snotlout nervously looked around the house until his gaze landed on…
"Mildew!" Snotlout gulped once he saw the old coot scowling at him. Immediately getting on Hookfang, Snotlout high tailed it out of the old Viking's house and caused even more damage to the roof.
Mildew glared at the fleeing teen. "You'll pay for this!" he yelled at the Dragon Riders and their dragons. Fungus, Mildew's pet sheep, merely bleated.
As their friends flew with them, Hiccup and Zenna worriedly looked at each other. "Ohh…something tells me we're gonna hear about this…" Hiccup mumbled, already imagining how steamed his father, Stoick the Vast, was gonna be. "Thanks a lot, Snot." Zenna said sarcastically, glaring at Snotlout with her one violet eye. "It wasn't my fault!" Snotlout protested, only to get his butt nearly burned by Hookfang.
That evening in Hiccup's house, Hiccup and Zenna looked at the piece of wood Stoick had set down on the table in front of them, along with a hammer and some nails that Edgar and Henna, Zenna's parents, had placed as well.
"Shingle again? Didn't we have roofing material for dinner last night?" Hiccup said jokingly, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Hammer and nails again, Mom and Dad? That's the fifth time this week." Zenna tried to joke around as well.
But there was no denying the fact that both teens' parents were upset.
"It was an accident, Dad. I'm sure Mildew's making it sound worse than it is." Hiccup said in defense. "That's what he usually does whenever he wants to complain about something." Zenna chimed in.
"A dragon and a huge, obnoxious boy crashed through his roof…twice!" Stoick said sternly. "Well, sure, it sounds bad if you're gonna…stick to the facts." Hiccup mumbled sheepishly.
"And while it was only Snotlout's fault, Zen, it is also partially yours and Hiccup's as well." Edgar told his daughter. "Can't you and Hiccup get him to listen to you two, love?" Henna asked Zenna. "Mom, Dad, trust me. Trying to get Snotlout to listen is like trying to teach a yak how to lay eggs." Zenna deadpanned, rolling her eye.
Stoick carried on with, "Of all the houses on the island, a dragon had to crash through Mildew's! You two know he hates dragons more than anyone else!" Hiccup sighed a bit. "Eh, Zen and I know…You might wanna talk to him about his attitude." He suggested.
"Or you can ship him off to another tribe. Berk will be a lot better off without him." Zenna piped up, only to get disapproving looks from both Stoick and her parents.
"Listen to me, Hiccup. I gave you and Zenna the responsibility of training those dragons. Everyone knows that! All eyes are upon you two, son. Whatever those beasts do reflects on you two. And whatever you two do reflects on me." Stoick explained to his emerald eyed son.
"It also reflects on the tribe's reputation. Zenna, you and Hiccup need to keep the dragons under control." Henna advised her daughter. "Not to mention some of your fellow Riders." Edgar added, referring to Snotlout and the Twins.
"I'm sorry, Dad. You're right." "Okay Mom and Dad. We will." Hiccup and Zenna both mumbled. "You and your friends are gonna go back to Mildew's and fix that roof. Without your dragons!" Stoick, Henna and Edgar both told the two teens sternly.
Hiccup and Zenna glanced at their Night Furies. "Got a break there, bud." Hiccup told Toothless. "Looks like we won't be spending the whole day flying, girl." Zenna shrugged. Both Night Furies purred. Well, at least they could have some alone time.
When both teens turned to leave, Stoick stopped them along with Edgar. "Ah! Not so fast! Aren't you forgetting something?" Stoick asked Hiccup and then removed his boots.
"It's boot night! They need to be aired out." He handed his son his boots while Edgar handed his own boots to his daughter.
"UGH!" Hiccup and Zenna both gagged at the foul stench.
"I think it's going to take more than…air." Hiccup pinched his nose in attempt to dull his sense of smell.
"You said it…" Zenna grimaced as they both carried their fathers' boots outside. Their friends were also outside as well with boots of their own. And they weren't happy either to do the sickeningly gross task of airing out their parents' boots.
"Uck. I hate boot night!" Fishlegs complained, looking a bit green.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut were holding a boot each. And Ruffnut was shoving the left boot she had into her brother's face. "Why is his left foot always so much smellier than his right?" Tuffnut wondered out loud, while trying to swat the boot away.
Astrid remained calm and just simply placed her father's boots out on the doorstep and quickly went back inside.
Zenna then quickly rushed to her house to place her Dad's boots in front of her house. Along the way, she caught sight of Snotlout. The poor Jorgenson boy had the boots with him and the smell was getting to him.
"Oh no…" Snotlout mumbled and promptly lost his lunch and dinner as soon as he had placed Spitelout's boots on the ground. "You okay, Snotlout?" Zenna called out to him. "No…" the teen Viking replied weakly.
Sighing, Zenna fetched a bottle of medicine and went to the poor boy to give it to him. After that, she went back to Hiccup's house and wished the Chief and his son and Toothless goodnight before going back home with her parents.
The night slowly grew darker as the snow began to fall. The cold winter air would've done good for the all the boots. But in the morning…every single boot in Berk had disappeared.
Stoick was puzzled to find his boots gone when he woke up. Even Hiccup was scratching his head in bewilderment. He placed the boots right where he usually placed them whenever it was boot night the night before. How could they have disappeared?
"Where are my boots?" Stoick asked and then saw Gobber, Edgar, Bucket, Mulch and a few other Vikings come over, all barefoot.
"Where are your boots?" the Chief asked them. "Nobody knows." Edgar shrugged. "They've all been stolen! Every last one!" Gobber told his old friend.
"Oh! That explains why me feet are so cold." Bucket realized, slow as always. "Who could have done such a thing?" Mulch asked.
Zenna had come with her father and was now looking at Hiccup, confused. Boots couldn't just disappear in the middle of the night. Well, unless they were stolen.
That's when Mildew showed up, also bootless. "All I know is that they left a mighty big footprint." He stated, pointing at a large dragon footprint with his staff.
Fishlegs carefully took a look at it. "Oh! Those are Zippleback tracks. You can tell by the half-moon shaped arches. That's Dragon 101 guys, I don't gotta fill you in on that." He said knowingly.
"I never should've given him Dragon Tracking lessons…" Zenna face palmed, knowing that this sort of info was just what Mildew needed to peg the dragons as the criminals.
Luckily Hiccup thought fast and said, "So a dragon walked through here-a Zippleback, according to my friend, Fishlegs. But that doesn't mean he took everyone's boots."
Mildew then replied with, "Well, there's just one way to find out. Follow the footprints."
Everyone then decided to follow the old man. Hiccup and Zenna just looked at each other, praying that the Zippleback had been a wild one and had already flown off. Because if Mildew proved his theory, the dragons were gonna be in trouble for sure.
The footprints led all the way to the Dragon Academy. Barf and Belch were there, still sleeping, along with a huge pile of chewed up leather boots.
"Oh Odin, no…" Zenna sighed, seeing Mildew's triumphant look. "So there's a bunch of boots piled around a Zippleback. That doesn't mean…" Hiccup managed to say before noticing the villagers' displeased looks.
"Okay, fine, he took the boots." The one-legged teen said in defeat.
Almost immediately, the villagers began to complain.
"How are we supposed to do any work in this weather without our boots?" "This is outrageous!" a bunch of Vikings grumbled in annoyance.
"Now how long before something's done about these creatures, Stoick? How much more can we stand?!" Mildew shouted to the Chief.
Hiccup and Zenna were about to try diffuse the situation when Gobber stepped in. "Listen to yourselves…My feet are cold! You're Vikings! Everything is cold! I'll fix your boots for yeh. You'll be back to work in no time." He addressed the crowd.
Stoick nodded his thanks. "You all heard Gobber. You'll be getting your boots back as good as new." He told his people.
While the villagers looked comfortable with that, Mildew was not. "That's it? No consequences for these dragons?" he asked Stoick bitterly. "They took our boots, Mildew. The world isn't coming to an end!" Stoick said sternly.
"If it were, the sky would be ablaze and Valhalla would be opening her doors wide open." Edgar chimed in. "Well said, Dad." Zenna agreed with him.
"Oh, don't be so sure. Dragons are wild beasts. There's no telling what else they'll do behind our sleeping backs." Mildew retorted. "Even dragons need to sleep, Mildew. That's what they all do at night too. I highly doubt they'd be up to something in the middle of the night." Zenna told him off, folding her arms across her chest.
"They don't destroy things on purpose!" Hiccup decided to speak up. "Dah!" Mildew grumbled, much to Zenna's amusement.
"But you do have a point, Mildew."
At that statement, Zenna gave Hiccup a shocked look while Mildew said, "Uh-whuh?" in confusion.
Hiccup carried on. "They are wild animals. And they need us to keep an eye on them. And rest assured we will do just that!" he proclaimed, standing tall and proud. Then he looked at Barf and Belch, who had just woken up, and realized that their presence wasn't really helping.
"Will you get out of there?" he gently shooed the Zippleback away and turned to the crowd.
"You heard him, everyone. We'll keep a close eye on every dragon and make sure they don't get into any mischief. You can count on us." Zenna said confidently.
Trusting the Chief's son and his one-eyed friend, the crowd dispersed. When everyone had left, Zenna looked at Hiccup. "Just out of curiosity, how exactly are we going to keep an eye over every dragon on Berk?" she asked him.
Hiccup was already one step ahead of her.
"We're going on night patrol." The auburn headed Viking teen told his friends once they had all gathered that afternoon. "Night patrol! I love it!" Tuffnut exclaimed excitedly.
Then he asked, "What is it?" Zenna gave him a look that clearly said, 'You are such an idiot.'
"It's where we patrol…at night. To keep an eye on the dragons. Make sure they don't get blamed for anything." Hiccup explained to his friends.
Fishlegs raised his hand. "Um, have you cleared this with our parents? Because some of us might not be allowed out after a certain hour." He said meekly.
"Not allowed? Or afraaaaid?" Snotlout jeered, getting all up in his face. "Hey! Things happen after dark." Fishlegs told him in annoyance.
"Don't worry, Fishlegs. Hiccup and I made sure to ask permission to all of your parents earlier. They're all fine with the night patrol." Zenna reassured him. Then Hiccup sternly looked at the other Viking teens.
"Guys! We have to do this. You heard Mildew: he wants the dragons banished." He said seriously. "And that's not okay. If we want the dragons to stay, we'll have to make sure that they aren't blamed for any transgressions of the law." Zenna added, confusing Snotlout and the Twins on the word 'transgressions' but didn't really care to explain the meaning.
The Twins immediately got excited. "Permission to shoot first and ask questions later?" Ruffnut requested eagerly. "Permission to skip the question?" Tuffnut joined in. "Both requests denied!" Zenna told them, miffed.
"We're just patrolling! No one is shooting anyone!" Hiccup reminded the mischievous duo. "I have a question! What's fun about that?" Tuffnut asked, already feeling bored.
"It's not supposed to be fun. It's a "Hiccup" Idea." Astrid told him. "Exactly." Hiccup said in agreement.
Then he realized what Astrid truly meant. "What?" he asked Astrid in confusion while Zenna merely laughed. "I totally agree with you, Astrid." The one-eyed girl giggled along with everyone else.
That night, the seven Viking teens split up to perform their night patrol. Astrid confidently strode to a house nearby and knocked.
"Hello sir!" she greeted the person who answered her door before looking up and noticed that it was a hungry Viking woman instead of a man who had answered her knock.
"Ah, ummm, ah—ma'm." Astrid corrected herself before continuing. "My name is Astrid and I'm with the Dragon United Monitoring Brigade." She said and showed her the sash bearing the group's acronym, which unfortunately spelt…
"Dumb?" the Viking woman asked her. "Yes. That is correct. Not my idea…" Astrid sighed, wondering why Hiccup chose such a stupid name for the group. But then she remembered the group's purpose and straightened up.
"But it is easy to remember. If you have any dragon-related problems, contact us. Just cup a hand on either side of your mouth and at the top of your lungs yell-" the blonde shield maiden managed to say before the woman just slammed the door in her face, clearly not interested.
"Dumb." Astrid deadpanned in defeat.
Meanwhile, Snotlout and Hookfang were doing their patrol. Something moved in the shadows, catching Snotlout's eye.
"Halt! Who goes there!" the Jorgenson boy called out. "Take a wild guess." Gobber answered back, making himself visible.
"I don't think I like your attitude." Snotlout frowned, strolling up to the blacksmith. "Right back at yeh." Gobber fired back. "Yeah…but I'm the one with the sash." Snotlout reminded him, puffing his chest out. "Let me take a closer look at that." Gobber yanked on the sash to inspect it, despite Snotlout's protests.
What the two didn't notice was Hookfang sneaking off to Odin knows where…
"Dumb. Well that suits you." Gobber remarked, looking at the acronym. Snotlout huffed, feeling annoyed. "Okay, I think we're done here." He said, turning to where Hookfang was earlier. But upon seeing that his Monstrous Nightmare was gone, Snotlout groaned and hastened to go look for him.
In another part of the village, Fishlegs cautiously patrolled. Suddenly a small noise startled him. "Oh! What was that?" Fishlegs whispered to himself, already scared.
Just then, another noise came from who knows where! This time it was loud enough to send the chubby Ingerman running and screaming in fright. Little did he know that the noise was just the Twins playing around, as usual.
"Whoa…" The Twins both breathed out, amazed at how well their little prank had gone before looking at each other and asked at the same time, "Did you see me scare him?"
That then started an argument between the two of them.
"No, I scared him!" Ruffnut told her brother.
"No, I scared him!" Tuffnut shot back.
"No, me!"
"No, no, no!"
Ruffnut then chose this time to attack!
"Hey! Ugh!" the male Thorston griped and began to throw punches as well.
"It was me! I did it!" Ruffnut shrieked at him. "Clearly me!" Tuffnut retorted. Barf and Belch just looked at each other and shook their heads, clearly not amused by their Riders' antics.
Meanwhile, Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna and Stryka were patrolling the town from up above. Stryka crooned, happy to stretch her wings alongside her mate on this beautiful moonlit night. "Not one dragon out misbehaving, Hiccup." Zenna reported after scanning the whole area. Hiccup looked at Toothless who was also enjoying the cool evening air. "Well, Mildew will be happy to know what dragons do at night: they sleep like everyone else." He told his best dragon friend happily.
"And he says that we can't keep dragons under control." Zenna smiled at the duo before frowning.
"What is it, Zenna?" Hiccup asked worriedly. The one eyed girl decided to be honest. "Can we please change the name Dragon United Monitoring Brigade to Berk Watch?" Zenna pleaded.
"What's wrong with D.U.M.B.?" Hiccup asked stupidly but then realized the blunder when Zenna give him a deadpan look.
"Ohhh…right…Berk Watch does sound a lot better, now that you mention it…" Hiccup said awkwardly. "It most definitely does." Zenna lightly laughed before they flew their separate ways to get some much needed rest.
But then, in the middle of the night…something happened in the Great Hall…
Hiccup was awoken by Zenna's panicked voice coming from outside his bedroom window.
"Hiccup! Hicc! Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, will you for the love of Thor, WAKE UP!"
Yawning, Hiccup lazily got out of bed and went to his window. Zenna was impatiently tapping her foot, Stryka at her side, looking frazzled.
"Morning to you too, Zen…What's up?" the emerald eyed teen mumbled sleepily. "The Great Hall's been thrashed! That's what's up!" Zenna exclaimed exasperatedly.
The one eyed girl's words immediately woke Hiccup fully. "We'll be down there in a few minutes!" he called out to her before leaving to wake up Toothless and his father.
Soon in the Great Hall, Stoick, Henna, Edgar, Hiccup, Zenna and the rest of the Viking teens were surveying the damage. And the damage was plenty. Posts were covered in claw marks, tapestries were ripped to shreds…yep, the Great Hall had definitely been thrashed.
"Oh dear…" Henna murmured, sadly looking at the ruined tapestries. She had even helped make some of them and now they were destroyed. "It's alright, love. There'll be plenty more wonderful tapestries for you to make for this place." Edgar comforted her.
"Who could have done such a thing?" Stoick wondered out loud. "Oh, it looks like a dragon to me!" Fishlegs piped up, inspecting a post that was covered in claw marks.
"We don't know for sure, Fishlegs!" Hiccup said, worried that his friend's extensive dragon knowledge would worsen suspicions on the dragons. "Sure we do. Look at this claw marks. It was obviously a Monstrous Nightmare. The spacing of the talons is dead on." The husky Ingerman informed him, completely oblivious to his friends' distress.
"Once again, thank you, Fishlegs!" Hiccup said begrudgingly. "Oh, stop, it's just basic stuff." Fishlegs said, a little embarrassed at the praise he was getting.
"He is so naïve…" Zenna said, shaking her head.
"But how could this happen? We had every dragon accounted for at all times!" Astrid said in disbelief before turning to the other Dragon Riders and asked, "Right, guys?"
That's when Snotlout looked guiltily at his friends. "When you say, 'at all times' and 'every dragon', what exactly do you mean?" he asked hesitatingly. "Oh no, this has 'Idiot' written all over it…" Zenna muttered under her breath. Honestly, she wondered why she was even friends sometimes with the pig-headed Jorgenson.
"Okay, what happened, Snotlout?" Hiccup asked his cousin patiently. "Well, I was detaining a suspect who wasn't showing sufficient respect to the sash." Snotlout began explaining, deliberately shooting looks at Gobber.
"I think I showed sufficient respect to a sash that says 'dumb'" Gobber said coolly. "We've got to change that name." Astrid sighed, shaking her head slightly. "I suggested Berk Watch. We can either make new sashes now or ditch the things altogether." Zenna informed her.
Snotlout continued explaining. "Anyways, as I was questioning said suspect, Hookfang may have—and I'm not saying that he did—but it is possible he wandered off for a few…" trailing off, the Jorgenson boy looked at his friends waiting looks and clammed up.
"How long was Hookfang gone, Snotlout?" Zenna asked, already having a bad feeling welling in the pit of her stomach.
"Seconds?" Ruffnut asked.
"Minutes?" Tuffnut asked next.
Finally Snotlout replied with, "Hours." Much to the other Riders' chagrin.
"Oh, that's way longer than minutes." Tuffnut remarked. "Please, Odin, let this be a sick dream. Just a sick dream…" Zenna mumbled, covering her eye and eye patch with her hands in an attempt to keep herself from freaking out.
But then Mildew arrived. "Oh no, it's true! The Great Hall! So many memories. My three weddings, their three funerals. Oh, the funerals!" the old man said in mock horror and wistfulness.
"He is a sick, sick old man." Edgar muttered under his breath. "Quite right you are, love." Henna mumbled, disgusted at the old man's presence.
"A dragon must have gone on a rampage. I hate to say it, Stoick, but you're gonna have to—" Gobber managed to say to the Chief before he interrupted with, "I know what he has to be done, Gobber."
"So do I!" Mildew proclaimed triumphantly.
Stoick turned to Hiccup and Zenna with a grave expression. "Starting tonight, every night, I want all the dragons put in the Academy under lock and key." He told them. Hiccup and Zenna could only look at him in shock.
"Every dragon, Stoick?" Henna asked worriedly. When the Chief nodded, Zenna's mother sighed. "Serpent and Serpentine aren't going to like this…" Edgar mumbled, shaking his head.
Mildew then stepped forward with an incredulous expression. Locking the dragons was good. But was that all the punishment those beasts were going to get?!
"What? That's it? Look what they did!" the old man gestured to the Great Hall's damage with his staff.
That's when Hiccup and Zenna decided to speak up. "This just doesn't make any sense! A dragon wouldn't just come in here and destroy the place! I mean, none of the food was even touched!" Hiccup exclaimed, waving to the untouched supply of fish near the main fire pit. "The Great Hall is a place where we all come together, Viking and Dragon alike. All of us know that so Hiccup and I don't think a dragon would do something like this." Zenna joined in.
"I don't know why dragons do what they do, but I'm not going to let them do any more damage." Stoick said sternly. "Mom, Dad, back us up here!" Zenna pleaded to her parents.
"I'm sorry love. But we have to follow the Chief's orders." Edgar sighed. "What the Chief says goes, Zenna. I'm sorry." Henna said sadly. Zenna visibly slumped and looked at Hiccup, who looked just as defeated as she was.
Late in the afternoon, Hiccup, Zenna and the rest of the Dragon Riders had to take their dragons to the Dragon Academy to put them there under lock and key. Thankfully, they were only going to confine them in the ring and not in the cages. Stoick was with Gobber and Zenna's parents when the teens flew over their heads. Serpent and Serpentine, Edgar and Henna's Hideous Zippleback, was obediently following Stryka and Zenna. Catching the adults' gaze, Hiccup and Zenna both gave them saddened looks before continuing on their way to the Academy.
"Oh, I hope Serpent and Serpentine don't have a rough night…" Henna said, worried for the young Zippleback following Stryka like an obedient child in the sky. "They'll be alright, love. After all, Stryka will be there with them." Edgar reassured her but gave Stoick a look that clearly said that he was also uncomfortable with his decision to lock the dragons up.
"You had to cage the dragons, Stoick. You had no choice." Gobber told his old friend upon seeing the regret on Stoick's face. Stoick heaved a sigh. The old blacksmith was right. If he hadn't done it, Mildew would've stirred up the island and the problem would've worsened. But still…it didn't feel right at all.
"I know. But to Hiccup, when I punish them, I'm punishing him and Zenna." Stoick admitted. "Yeah, that boy and his best friend both think the dragons can do no wrong." Gobber agreed, feeling sorry for his apprentice and one eyed friend.
"I just hope that he understands that while a father does what's best for his son, a chief must do what's best for the village." Stoick sighed. "You had to make a sacrifice for your people, Stoick. We understand that." Edgar told him. "I just hope that our children will also understand when the time comes. Especially for Hiccup…" Henna said hopefully.
"I'll bet my right arm that when Hiccup becomes Chief, the first person to officially swear allegiance to him would be Zenna. That girl will follow him to the edge of the world if she has to prove her loyalty!" Gobber said jokingly, making the two Fiersomes laugh.
Stoick had to smile at that. He knew Zenna very well. Where he had failed as a father back then, Zenna was there to fill whatever hole Hiccup had when he was alone and needed someone. The one eyed girl had become his son's rock and had stayed loyal to him from the day they met. In return, Stoick remembered that his son had taken up the role of becoming Zenna's surrogate brother when Elias had died.
No doubt that when the time came for his son to become his successor, Zenna would be by his side…and will stay with Hiccup to the very end.
Meanwhile at the Academy, the seven Viking teens were trying their best to make sure that their dragons were comfy. Zenna and Stryka were busily putting together a bed of soft hay and some blankets while Serpent and Serpentine ate their dinner.
"Sleep, little Meatlug in your bed, where yummy little boulders dance in your head." Fishlegs sang to Meatlug only to get sad growls from his Gronckle, who refused to sleep.
"That usually works! Our whole bedtime routine is upset! She won't even lick my feet, thanks to—" Fishlegs whined miserably before Snotlout cut him off.
"Watch it, Fishlegs! At least my dragon doesn't need a lullaby and a blanky." The Jorgenson boy taunted the husky Ingerman before noticing his friends glaring at him.
"Actually, it's your fault that all our dragons have to sleep in jail." Ruffnut pointed out, upset. "Yeah. You don't see our dragon going on a rampage and wrecking stuff." Tuffnut said in agreement before Barf and Belch promptly knocked down a few barrels.
"Well, not any good stuff." The male Thorston added in defense. "That still doesn't help our situation, Tuff." Zenna said blandly.
Hiccup, on the other hand, was still thinking hard. "I don't think a dragon wrecked the Great Hall or stole the boots." He said out loud. "You're not the only one, Hicc. Something awfully suspicious is going on." Zenna said in agreement.
"None of us wants to believe it either, Hiccup and Zenna, but you two saw the proof." Astrid told the two as the three of them stood in front of one of the Zippleback prints left behind at the Academy from yesterday.
"What proof? You saw the footprints, too. They were supposed to be made by a Zippleback, but they were no deeper than mine. Look at these! I could lie down in them!" Hiccup said, gesturing to the footprint. Zenna knelt down and began to inspect the footprint from all angles, her eyebrows scrunching up in concentration.
"Well, there could be a lot of explanations why a dragon made shallow footprints." Fishlegs informed the duo. "Like, hello, he was trying to be sneaky!" Ruffnut chimed in.
"That's true…" Zenna muttered, standing up with a skeptical look on her face as she tried to figure something out. "All right. Well, how do you explain the Great Hall?" Astrid asked. "That's another thing. I inspected the Great Hall and noticed that aside from none of the food being stolen, the claw marks looked rather strange. I can't really put my finger on it but something didn't look right." Zenna said, looking even more determined to solve the mystery.
The Riders' musings were interrupted by Hookfang flaming up and growling with annoyance at being locked up. Hiccup looked at Snotlout sternly.
"Snotlout, do something about him, please? We're trying to think over here." The auburn headed teen told his cousin.
"Yeah, I gave up thinking. Never been happier." Tuffnut said nonchalantly.
"I'm not the boss of him. He always does that when he gets angry!" Snotlout shrugged.
Hookfang, still in a peeved mood, walked away. And what he left on the Academy's stone floor got Hiccup and Zenna's attention: A single Nightmare footprint with scorch marks from the Stoker Class dragon's intense fire!
"Or goes on a rampage." Hiccup said in realization. "Of course, there weren't any scorch marks from the scratches!" Zenna said loudly as she realized this as well.
"That's how Zenna and I can explain the Great Hall! We've got to tell my Dad about this!" Hiccup shouted, grabbing Zenna's hand. Along with their two Night Furies, the two teens headed for the Great Hall.
Toothless and Stryka stayed outside the Great Hall while their Riders tried to explain their findings to the Chief.
"Just hear me and Zenna out, Dad. When a Monstrous Nightmare gets mad, his whole body bursts into flames. Look at these walls! Not one single scorch mark." Hiccup pointed out, gesturing to the columns and tapestries. "Plus if a dragon had gone on a rampage, there would be telltale signs such as the scent of smoke or even more severe collateral damage. And judging by the ruined tapestries and columns turned scratching posts, the damage is surprisingly not as severe as usual." Zenna added.
"Hiccup, Zenna, until I have solid proof that it was something else, the dragons stay where they are." Stoick told the two teens before continuing on with the repairs.
Meanwhile Toothless and Stryka were patiently waiting for their Riders to come out when an unusual scent reached their noses. Curious, the two Night Furies followed the scent to the armory. Not minding the Viking who was now watching them, the two Night Furies went inside. Upon seeing a small flame burning near barrels of explosive fluids, Toothless and Stryka both yelped and went out of the armory as fast as they could.
KABOOM!
It was a good thing they got out of there in time…
Back in the Great Hall, Hiccup, Zenna and Stoick were helping with the repairs when they heard people screaming, "Fire, fire!"
Quickly, they rushed out to see the armory in flames!
"The armory! Grab some buckets!" Stoick ordered quickly but stopped short when he saw two familiar Night Furies looking at the fire in shock.
"Toothless?" the Chief said in shock. "Stryka?" Henna and Edgar had joined him and were now staring at their daughter's one eyed dragon.
The Viking who had been watching the two dragons pointed an accusing finger at the two. "It was them! They set the armory on fire!" he shouted accusingly. "How dare they?" a Viking woman on the scene gasped.
Hiccup and Zenna had come back with their water buckets when they heard the accusation. They dropped their buckets in shock, prompting their dragons to look at them.
"Toothless?" "Stryka?" Hiccup and Zenna asked them, stunned. But when their dragons ferverently shook their heads and crooned at them imploringly, both of them knew that their dragons were innocent. But before they could prove it, they had to put the fire out-now!
By the time the fire was finally put out, the armory had been razed to the ground. Warriors could only stare at the smoldering ruins of the place where they had all gotten their weapons for battle made and maintained.
"Every one of our weapons…gone!" Stoick muttered in disbelief. Gobber picked up a ruined sword. "Prudence! My poor darling, I'm so sorry. You should've had a long, blood-letting life." He said mournfully as he cradled the twisted up weapon.
Mildew then chose that time to make an appearance. "She didn't have to die, Gobber. Hiccup and Zenna's dragons left us utterly defenseless." He said in mock condolence while glaring at the two Dragon Riders.
"Dad, you know Toothless and Stryka wouldn't do this." Hiccup tried to reason with his father. "They're innocent, Chief. Please believe us." Zenna pleaded while her parents looked at each other and at Stoick worriedly.
Mildew scowled. "Sure, listen to your boy and his friend, Stoick. That's what got us into this mess!" he exclaimed, the villagers also shouting angrily in agreement.
As he began to leave, Mildew looked at Hiccup and Zenna spitefully. "See what happens when you leave your dragons all alone to wait outside?" he sneered. While Zenna could only glare at the old man, Hiccup carefully considered Mildew's words. Something the old man said didn't sound normal…
"What…did you say?" the one legged boy began to question Mildew when Gobber held up another destroyed sword and exclaimed, "Cindy! Oh, I guess your throat slicing days are over." In sheer regret.
Tired of all this, Stoick heaved a sigh and looked at his son and his best human friend. "These dragons have done too much damage. It's no longer safe to have them on Berk." He said.
If that was already hurtful enough, the next few words Stoick had to say were like daggers to Hiccup and Zenna's hearts.
"I want them gone."
"What?!" both teens shrieked in horror. "Finally!" Mildew shouted in triumph.
"Round them up, and take them all to Dragon Island." Stoick told Hiccup and Zenna before they could even protest.
Facing the crowd, Stoick announced, "By the end of the day tomorrow, there will be no more dragons on Berk!"
While some villagers were somewhat relieved, almost half of the entire village population was stunned speechless and horrified at the mere thought of never having dragons with them ever again. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were shocked and could only gasp. Henna and Edgar held onto each other, terrified of the idea of having to send Serpent and Serpentine away.
Mildew, on the other hand, was really pleased. "Oh, what a glorious day that will be…Party at my house!" he whooped before grinning wickedly at Hiccup and Zenna. "Don't forget, you two. Right after you drop off your dragons, you two will be fixing my roof." He reminded them before leaving.
"Okay, that's it! Let me at him!" Zenna cried out, taking out her battle sticks and charged towards the old man but was held back by Hiccup. "Zen, just leave him be!" Hiccup told her off. Still feeling royally irked, Zenna put away her sticks and just scowled at Mildew's retreating form.
"This is wrong…" Hiccup muttered as he looked at his grief-stricken friends.
"I know, it's horrible. It's the worst day of my life…" Astrid said sorrowfully. "No, Astrid. Something here doesn't add up." Hiccup told her, the gears in his brain whirring.
"All I know is I'm losing my dragon…" Fishlegs whimpered. "For now…yeah. Okay, but I-I just need time to fix this." Hiccup tried to reassure his friends, but to no avail. "What are you talking about? It's over." Snotlout grumbled, walking away followed by Astrid and Fishlegs.
"Forget it, it's over." Ruffnut said despondently. "Yeah, forget it." Tuffnut agreed glumly as he and his sister left as well.
Zenna was the only one who stayed behind.
But when Hiccup looked at her, he was shocked to see tears streaming down Zenna's face.
"I'm gonna lose Stryka…?" she whispered fearfully. Hiccup pulled her into a hug. "We'll find a way to prove them innocent. Once we do that, the dragons will be allowed to return to Berk. But for now, we have to leave them at Dragon Island. But don't worry, Zen…we'll get them back." He whispered to her comfortingly.
Zenna sniffled and wiped her tears away as she and Hiccup let go of each other. She had to be tough now! This was not the time for an emotional meltdown!
But still…having to leave Stryka…the greatest dragoness in all of Midgard and the one non-human creature she had considered as her own flesh and blood…it was painful for Zenna to even think about.
One look at Hiccup's determined face, however, was enough to strengthen Zenna's resolve.
"Okay?" Hiccup asked her gently. Wiping the last of her tears away, Zenna nodded. "Okay." She replied with a steady voice.
The next day, with Gobber and Zenna's parents sailing a boat below them, the seven Dragon Riders flew to Dragon Island. The dragons all looked just as down as their Riders. But they were hopeful. Hopefully, things would be sorted out in the end…
"I'm gonna miss you…" Astrid whispered to Stormfly who warbled sadly.
Fishlegs had put together a pile of rocks for his dragon and looked at her sadly. "Okay, Meatlug. There's plenty of rocks if you get hungry…and don't eat any limestone. You know it doesn't agree with you." The husky blond Viking told the Gronckle, voice breaking as he said the last few words.
When Fishlegs left, Meatlug crooned sadly…and then fell asleep. Luckily, Fishlegs didn't see this so his feelings weren't hurt.
Snotlout took off Hookfang's saddle and looked at his dragon in the eye. "Be strong, buddy…I know you're gonna miss me—" he had just said this when Hookfang spied a bird and decided to chase after it, leaving his Rider all alone.
"Okay…He's crying…he's crying on the inside!" Snotlout said, his voice breaking a bit as he sadly watched his stubborn dragon chase after the bird.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut both took turns hugging Barf and Belch's heads while their Hideous Zippleback's necks intertwined in their own version of an embrace.
Hiccup and Zenna both took off Toothless and Stryka's saddles and placed them on the ground, all the while staying close to their Night Furies' sides.
"We'll be back for you. We promise." They both swore and began to leave. Toothless and Stryka rumbled worriedly and followed them to the beach, where Hiccup and Zenna turned around and stopped them.
"No bud! You and Stryka gotta stay here…and take care of the other dragons…" Hiccup told Toothless, tears welling up in his emerald green eyes.
"Mom, Dad, it's time…" Zenna told her parents softly. Edgar and Henna came up to Stryka with a cooing Serpent and Serpentine between them.
"Take care of him, Stryka dear." Henna told the one eyed dragoness, looking rather heartbroken. "They'll feel much safer as long as you're here. Make sure they eat properly and don't get into any fights." Edgar nodded to Stryka sadly as the Hideous Zippleback youngling trotted over to Stryka and warbled softly.
Toothless and Stryka looked at their Riders, who smiled brokenly.
"It's gonna be okay, Toothless. Trust me…" "Everything's going to be alright, Stryka. I promise." Saying these, Hiccup and Zenna both gave their two Night Furies a last hug before they boarded the boat and sailed back to Berk, Toothless and Stryka sadly watching them from the shore…
As they sailed back to Berk, Hiccup and Zenna could only wonder about how they were gonna possibly make things right. Mildew had once again, bested them and they had to do something fast. The old man may not have realized it but thanks to him and his stupid complaints, Berk had lost their final line of defense against any hostile attacks!
Then Hiccup suddenly said, "There's something Mildew said that I can't stop thinking about…h-he said 'see what happens when you leave your dragons to wait outside.' He knew Toothless and Stryka weren't with me and Zenna just before the armory fire."
Zenna looked at Hiccup curiously, her brain already coming up with ideas.
"So…?" Astrid asked uncertainly. "So…so he lives on the other side of the island. What was he doing in town? And how would he know where we were before the fire?" Hiccup asked, agitated.
"Unless…he was the one who did it!" Zenna concluded, her violet eye flashing in anger.
Astrid looked at the two best friends in surprise. "You two really think he set that fire?" she asked them. "I think he did all of it. And I think he did it so my Dad would get rid of all the dragons…" Hiccup said grimly. "Basically, we think Mildew has committed high treason." Zenna said simply.
All three of them lapsed into silence for a few moments.
Finally, Astrid looked at Hiccup and Zenna. "That's a pretty serious accusation. How are you two gonna prove it?" she asked them. The two best friends could only look at each other seriously.
They didn't have any plans now…but where there's a will, there's a way.
And they were going to find it…
"I…so…hate…this." Zenna groaned as she hammered in another plank, muttering curses with every strike of the hammer under her breath.
She and Hiccup were currently fixing Mildew's roof while the old coot was out. But as they were doing the job, the unbearable itch to drop into Mildew's house (quite literally considering the fact that the roof had a huge hole in it) and snoop around was so intense that they decided to throw caution to the wind and risk it.
Lowering themselves into Mildew's sorry living space, Hiccup and Zenna looked around. Hiccup spotted three shield paintings of Mildew's three wives, all marked with x's as well as an unmarked painting of his pet sheep, Fungus.
"Wife…wife…wife…" Hiccup mumbled, looking at the wives' paintings. "Three-timer…" Zenna muttered.
Upon seeing Fungus' portrait, Hiccup crinkled his brow in disgust. "Hmmm…well Mildew definitely has a type." He quipped and turned away from the wall of paintings, shuddering. "Like my father said, he is a sick, sick old man." Zenna shook her head.
The duo kept looking around. At one point, Hiccup and Zenna peered into a cauldron that stank to high Valhalla, making them gag. But at that moment, they saw something hiding under a white sheet. When they uncovered it, both teens were shocked to find a staff made to look like a Monstrous Nightmare claw and a pair of Zippleback feet!
"What the…?" Hiccup mumbled in shock. "I knew that old bag was cruel but this takes the fish…" Zenna growled, feeling angry all over again.
Just as they were figuring out what to do next, they heard footsteps approaching! Mildew was back!
"Climb, climb, climb!" Hiccup hissed at Zenna. The one eyed girl quickly shimmied up the rope and clambered onto the roof. Hiccup was next and held on tightly to the rope.
"Come on, Hicc, hurry!" Zenna whispered fearfully. Hiccup was almost to the roof when the door opened.
"I'm home, ladies!" Mildew announced and turned to his wives' paintings. "What's that you say…? Nothing? Perfect!" he said happily.
Hiccup nervously dangled from the rope while Zenna was frantically trying to help him. Fungus was ambling about in the house when a small drop of sweat dripped down from Hiccup's face and plopped onto his wooly little head.
Zenna began to freak when Fungus began to bleat and hurriedly grabbed Hiccup by the back of his tunic. Yanking Hiccup onto the safety of the roof, Zenna breathed out a sigh of relief.
"That was just too close…" she told the auburn headed teen. Hiccup nodded grimly before he and his best human friend watched Mildew exit his house with the two pieces of evidence they so desperately needed along with Fungus.
"Ah, these served us well, didn't they, Fungus? Shame we have to get rid of them." Mildew said to his sheep before tossing the fake Monstrous Nightmare claw and Zippleback feet over the cliff and into the ocean.
"There goes our physical evidence…What do we do now?" Zenna groaned miserably. Hiccup could only look out into the horizon with a steely gaze.
Right now, he and Zenna didn't have any evidence to show that the dragons weren't responsible for any of the recent mishaps…
But one way or another…they were gonna make things right once again…
I hope this has somewhat satisfied you guys. Took me a long while because aside from my reasons that had been listed above, I really wanted this to be an intense chapter.
I promise I'll try my best to update more often!
-GuardianDragon98