The group flew a ways before needing to stop for the night, but by then, all of the new dragons were named, and Hiccup got the Lightning sign, a copper piece, as the storm passed overhead. That night, around the campfire, everyone began asking questions.
"How did Drago know where I live?"
"How did you know where to find us?" asked Astrid.
"Why is everything happening so fast?" asked Merida.
"Do we really need to be a part of this?" sighed Dingwall.
'How are the golden apples and the copper bell supposed to help?"
"Good question, Fishlegs," ginned Hiccup.
"Thanks," Fishlegs smiled back.
"Can we stay here forever?" came Tuffnut's question. Everyone glanced at him. "What? It's nice not having to worry about school and parents."
"You've got a point there," mumbled his sister as she leaned into MacIntosh.
"I think a better question is, are we going to survive this?" stated Eret.
Gobber sighed as he stood up, "And that is the hardest one to answer, the best I've got for you is, I don't know. We'll try our very best to keep you all alive, but, there are eleven of you, and only three of us, we can't keep watching for every arrow or every fireball that come your way. You are going to have to watch each other's backs. Your dragons will help, there's no doubt about that, but, when it comes to battle, we're not going to be able to help you. As for how Drago knew where you lived, Hiccup, it's not hard, actually. Drago is a smart man, evil, but smart, and observant. He knew about the prophecy, so he was watching for you as much as we were, the only difference is that we found you first. But when he figured it out, he's had someone keeping an eye on you."
"OK, that's creepy," muttered Tuffnut.
Gobber nodded, "But Drago only needed to know when you were going to start finding the signs so that he could attempt to prevent you from finding them. And it looks like that failed."
Snotlout raised his hand, "Uh, I hate to be the evil genius here, but, if Drago knew Hiccup was the Dragon Master of the prophecy, wouldn't it have been easier to kill him?"
"Hey!"
"It would have, but, then Drago would lose his passage to the Dragon World." Everyone glanced at Gobber questioningly. "Being untrained, Hiccup can call up portals without knowing it and cannot close them at command, and since the rest of us wouldn't have opened a portal for Drago, he figured that Hiccup was his best bet to entering the world of dragons."
"So, so basically, I let him in?"
Gobber shook his head, "No, you didn't."
"Right, that device those guys had," pointed out Fishlegs.
"Partially, but, it was mainly us." Their mouths and eyes widened in shock.
"What? You?"
Sandy sighed, nodding, "Yes, us, we pretty much had to choose between you or a portal. Not long after your family moved from Berk, a large portal opened up, and we had to choose either losing track of you, or letting Drago get through. We figured you were more important, and we let Drago get through."
"Uh, do you think this could have all been avoided had you closed the portal?" asked Eret.
Gothi and Sandy shook their heads, but Sandy spoke, "No, because Drago would have stuck close to Hiccup to get his chance. But things would have gone a lot more slowly if we had, that's for sure. The only reason why things are speeding up is because Drago has finally gotten through to the Alpha and is waking him up."
"Oh, wow, um, OK, well . . . that answers two questions," stated Hiccup.
"Three, I answered Eret's first," remarked Gobber.
"OK, three, out of what, seven?" mentioned Merida.
"Right, well, as for the others, no, you can't stay here forever, you're not dragons. Dragons are good at tracking, as good as any bloodhound, so that's how we found you pretty quick."
"Oh," they chorused.
"The six elemental signs must be found; To keep the dragonstone in the ground; The youngest Dragon Master will find them all; And with his friends will create a wall; The signs encircled to prevent a disaster dire; Before the stone stand Earth, Ice, and Fire; Protect the tree with Air, Lightning, and Water; They must be placed in the proper order. Between Earth and Lightning stands a Fire so hot; Almost like what the dragon's mouth begot; Between Lightning and Water stands the gentle Air; Like the dragon's flight, graceful and fair; Between Earth and Water stands the royal Ice; All in the hands of the one who rolls the dice. So listen, Dragon Master, listen well; You will also need the copper bell; And the golden apples three; To save the dragons and keep them free," rambled off Gobber.
Sandy groaned, "Will you please stop repeating the prophecy!"
"What? I need to refresh their memories!"
"Theirs, or yours?"
Gobber ignored the comment and got into it, "According to the prophecy, Hiccup's friends are supposed to help him create a wall, apparently between Drago and the Alpha."
"Maybe we have to hold the signs?" suggested Merida.
"Nah, there's probably some kind of pillar or something the signs are supposed to go on. The copper bell will probably confuse the Alpha, messing up any communications there might be between him and Drago, and the three golden apples are supposed to slow down his waking, giving Hiccup enough time to get the signs in the temple."
"OK, where are the copper bell and the golden apples?"
"In an enclosed garden we'll come across tomorrow. Only Hiccup can enter.'
"Oh, great," muttered Hiccup.
"What? Seriously, you are the only creature who can enter," stated Gobber.
"Really?"
"Oh, I think I know the garden Gobber speaks of, and he is right. All dragons avoid it, those who attempted to enter got seriously hurt," Toothless told Hiccup.
Gobber nodded, "Yup, anyone or anything else that tries to enter get hurt."
"Whoa," breathed the others.
"Told ya," smirked Toothless, though Hiccup was the only one who heard him.
Sandy stood up and stretched, "Well, I don't know about you, but I need my beauty sleep." The group glanced at her. "What? I was actually beautiful once, you know."
"Really? Don't look it now," scoffed Snotlout. Sandy glared at him.
"I think we should all go to bed, we still have a ways to go, and we still need to stop at the garden."
Hiccup sighed, "Right. Well, goodnight." The others echoed goodnights before they turned in for the night. They woke up fairly early the next morning, had a quick breakfast, and were soon on their way. It was a little after lunch when Gobber pointed out the garden and they landed. The outside of the garden was covered in vines, obscuring the door, while magnificent, green trees could be seen just peeking over the wall.
"Wow, I wonder what the inside looks like," muttered Merida.
"Yeah, well, only Hiccup can see it," stated Gobber.
"If I could see the door," muttered Hiccup. Gobber placed a hand on his shoulder and pointed at a part of the wall. Hiccup let out a breath and walked towards the vine-covered wall. As he neared it, the vines parted, and there, visible now, was a door. Letting out another breath, Hiccup opened the door, and walked in. "Wow," he gasped as he walked further into the garden. There were snapdragons everywhere in various hues with clusters of marigolds dotting the ground here and there. There was a stone path leading through the garden to the center, where a gazebo stood flanked by three trees. The gazebo looked like a mini Stonehenge with a vine-covered, stone roof. The golden apple tree was standing behind it, while two other trees Hiccup had never seen before stood on either side. The tree on the left looked like a palm had met a mushroom with dark orange berries, while the tree on the right looked like a mix of tree and cactus, a much friendlier looking cactus, with spiked, reddish fruit. Curving around the three trees grew a hedge dotted with citrus fruit. Hiccup took a moment to take it all in before walking towards the gazebo, and sure enough, sitting there on the table in the center of the gazebo sat the copper bell. Hiccup went straight to the apple tree and plucked three apples before returning to the gazebo. He stuffed a cloth into the bell before stuffing the bell into his pocket. He walked back to the wall and, taking one more glance around, left the garden. He explained everything he had seen.
"Oh, the tree with the red fruit is a dragonfruit tree, the other tree is a Dragon's Blood tree, the smaller dragons just love those berries. And that hedge is Flying Dragon orange, a pretty sturdy plant. Oh, and the tree in the prophecy is a dragonfruit tree too."
"Wow, now I'm beginning to really wish I could see that garden," muttered Eret as he glanced back.
"Well, you can't, only Hiccup could enter."
"Why is that?" asked Hiccup.
"Not long after the Alpha was put to sleep, a spell was put on the garden to keep everyone, and everything, out so that its powers wouldn't be used for ill."
"Its powers?"
"Yeah, like longevity, healing, increased abilities, or in the case of the apples, protection from evil. And since the Alpha is evil, three apples will only put him to sleep for a few minutes. You're going to have to work fast, Hiccup."
"Right." Two days later, they flew across the ocean towards an island with ice spiralling into the sky.
"There it is, the ice temple," announced Gobber. The group glanced at it in awe and solemnity, this was where it would end.
