The Next Big Sting

Part One – Flight Suit

Dragon's Edge; at the top of a hill, some distance from their base,

"Ok, Hiccup; you dragged us all the way up here… What's this thing you had to show us?" Behind Astrid, the other riders followed, grumbling about the long walk.

"I know you're all wondering why I brought you here," Hiccup said, grinning, as he opened one of Toothless's saddlebags. "And the answer is: I wanted to show you my latest invention."

Astrid frowned, eying the mystery- object as she spoke, "And… what is that?"

Hiccup shook his head, his smile widening, "A flight- suit; an upgrade from my original riding outfit!"

"Hiccup; I don't think I need to remind you that we already have flying dragons..." Fishlegs gave Meatlug a pat on the head, "Why would we need flight- suits?"

"Well," Hiccup said, as he buckled on his new invention, "what if we were to get separated from our dragons mid-flight? We might need to solo-fly for a bit, until we can catch up with them." He turned to Astrid, "You know that 'secret project' I've been working on, the past few months? … This is it; I figured this would be a good place to test it out!"

"When this doesn't work, and it clearly will not," Snotlout said, moving forward as he spoke, "can I have Toothless?" Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly all glared at him, until he said, "What, I'm just asking!"

Astrid turned to Hiccup, "What, exactly, are you planning on doing here?"

Hiccup turned, "Jumping... Unless you can think of a better idea?"

"Hiccup; are you sure about this?" The worry in Astrid's voice was clear.

Hiccup gave her one of his usual, confident, smiles; "There's a strong updraft here… The glider will catch the wind, and I should be good- to- go!" With that, he turned; took the last few steps towards the edge of the cliff, and leapt into open air!

Toothless turned to Astrid, 'He'll be fine, Astrid; the design's come a long way since he tested the first version… besides: if something does go wrong, I'll have more than enough time to catch up with him; that's the other reason why came this high up.'

They hurried forward, and saw Hiccup; plummeting towards the lake, below them. Then he did… something; and a set of glider wings emerged, from his flight- suit, extending to either side! His fall slowed, and stabilized; his glider- wings caught the wind: Hiccup was flying!

They heard Hiccup whoop; "Oh, yeah: I'm flying!"

Toothless snorted, 'And what, exactly, were we doing before?' Hiccup was too far away to hear, though.

Astrid managed a smile, "You know what he means, Toothless… Well; looks like Hiccup did it again!"

Snotlout shook his head, "I can't believe that that thing actually worked!"

By now, though, Hiccup was getting closer and closer to the mountains; that rose up on the far side of the lake. And, he seemed to be having some steering- trouble.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup called. Immediately, the black dragon leapt into the air; and shot after Hiccup. A moment later, Toothless landed a short distance away from the lake; Hiccup back on his back.

When the other dragons set down, around them, and their riders dismounted, Hiccup smiled at them, and shrugged; "Ok, so there're still a few details I still need to work out, but that went fairly well!"

"Hiccup…" Astrid let her sentence drift off; not sure exactly what she intended to say.

Hiccup took in her expression, and seemed to understand; "I always take the necessary precautions during my test flights, Astrid; and it's better to do this when I can make adjustments, and not in actual life-or-death situations…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the other riders and dragons landed, around them. A split second later, another sound cut through the air.

"What was that?" Astrid asked; turning in the direction the call had come from.

"It sounded like a dragon in distress," Fishlegs commented.

"Uh, guys," Snotlout cut in, "something about that call, sounds strangely familiar: not good- familiar; bad- familiar!" He looked around, and frowned, "Uh… guys?"

"Snotlout, come on!" Hiccup called back; he and the others were already on their dragons, and rising into the air, to investigate the sound.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Snotlout sighed, shaking his head; then Hookfang rose into the air and followed after the others, his rider on his back.

Part Two – Injured Speed- Stinger

A few minutes later,

"The calls are coming from up ahead," Hiccup told Astrid and Stormfly, who flew nearest to him and Toothless. They heard the sound again; only this time, it seemed to come from behind them. Hiccup turned back, and his eyes widened, "A Speed- Stinger!"

"Speed- Stinger," Snotlout muttered. "Why did it have to be a Speed- Stinger?"

"It looks like a young- one," Hiccup continued, considering the dragon from a safe height. "But why would it be out during the day; Speed- Stingers are nocturnal dragons!"

"Aw, poor little guy… Let's head home," Snotlout suggested. "It's starting to get dark; besides, where there's one Speed- Stinger, there's usually a whole pack of them!" As was often the case, the others ignored this.

'He must have been separated from his pack,' Toothless said, and they could all hear the sympathy in his voice. 'We have to help him.'

Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless's head, "Of course, we're going to help him."

As he spoke, the Speed- Stinger tried to take a step. The moment its other leg touched the ground; it let out a yelp, and collapsed.

"Hiccup; it's leg is badly injured, and Speed- Stingers can't fly," Fishlegs commented.

Hiccup nodded, "That's exactly why we can't leave it to predators; come on, Toothless!" Toothless let out a low warble, clearly agreement, and made to turn back.

"Is he seriously going back?" Snotlout asked, incredulously.

Astrid turned to him, pride evident in her voice, "Snotlout; meet Hiccup … Of course he's going back!" As she spoke, Stormfly turned and followed after Toothless.

Snotlout grumbled, but Hookfang turned to follow the others back to where the injured dragon lay.

A few minutes later,

The moment they drew near, the Speed- Stinger growled a warning. Hiccup held up both hands, to show they were empty, and growled something to the young dragon.

"What's he saying?" Astrid asked, curiously.

"I'll tell you what he's saying," Snotlout interjected. "He's saying 'he wants to sting me'… they all want to sting me, so why are we even here?"

The Speed- Stinger seemed to frown at Snotlout. Then he turned to Hiccup, and growled what the others took to be a question. Hiccup shrugged, and smiled, "Nah, he's always that way; but about what I was saying before…"

The Speed- Stinger growled something else, and Hiccup sighed in exasperation.

Snotlout looked like he was about to say more, but Astrid shot him a look. Then she turned back to Hiccup, and asked, "What is he actually saying?"

Hiccup turned to her, "Well, first was the standard 'come any closer, and I'll sting you'; than he asked if Snotlout … Uh, I think I'll leave that part out." He glanced at Snotlout; turned back to Astrid, and shrugged; Astrid barely held back a smile.

"The last thing he said," Hiccup continued, "was that his pack would be coming back for him; that they didn't go far… But we can't leave him like this; predators will pick him off before the sun goes down, and his pack can get here! I'm going to try to explain that to him."

He turned to the young Speed- Stinger, and continued to speak in the language of dragons; occasionally, Toothless would growl a comment; but Hiccup did most of the 'talking'.

A few minutes later,

After several minutes of discussion, Hiccup rose back to his full height. He turned to the others, and nodded; "Ok, that's settled: we'll bring him back to Dragon's Edge, nurse him back to health, than bring him back here."

Snotlout looked as though he was about to argue, but the Speed- Stinger glared at him, and trilled something. Hiccup turned away from Snotlout, quickly, as did their dragons; and Astrid saw Hiccup's jaw working furiously, as he struggled not to laugh at whatever the Speed- Stinger had said.

Hiccup took a few deep breaths, than pulled a few spare parts out of his satchel; two long strips of metal, some lengths of rope, and a few other items. He spent a few minutes growling to the Speed- Stinger, gesturing to the various items, as he explained their purpose in what he was about to do.

Finally, the Speed- Stinger nodded, allowing him to approach. Before he did, Hiccup turned to the others, "The rest of you keep your distance, for now; I think we all remember what these guys' stings can do to you."

"You don't have to remind me," Snotlout, the only rider who hadn't dismounted from his dragon's saddle. "I know exactly what they can do!"

The Speed- Stinger brought its tail around, holding it up between him and Snotlout; and growled something, his eyes fixed on Snotlout. Hiccup sighed, "He says he's not surprised." He turned back to the Speed- Stinger, and held up his supplies, "Now, if you don't mind?"

The Speed- Stinger gave Hiccup a minute to work, than it surged to its feet. The other riders and dragons took a few steps back, as did Hiccup. The Speed- Stinger took a few cautious steps forward. It glanced down at the splint, than looked at Hiccup, thoughtfully.

Hiccup placed his left hand over the armored- glove covering his right hand. Immediately, the piece of armor unsealed itself; and he slid it free, holding it in his left hand.

Off to one side, Fishlegs began to get excited, "Oh, he's going to do the hand- thing; please tell me he's going to do the hand- thing!"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Hiccup extended his right hand towards the young Speed- Stinger. Then, at the dragon's request, Hiccup lowered his gaze; some dragons were like that, wanting to see a little stronger of a sign of trust. From a young, injured, and alone dragon, such a gesture was only to be expected.

A moment later, the Speed- Stinger rested its snout against Hiccup's palm.

Hiccup smiled; and turned to the others, "Ok, everyone; I think we're good… Let's load him up, and get him back to Dragon's Edge!"

Astrid hesitated, "You know that the pack is going to do everything in their power to try to find it, don't you?"

Hiccup nodded, "Yup, and that's why we have to get him back on his feet, and back to this island, as soon as possible!"

They loaded the Speed- Stinger onto Toothless's back; as he was the only dragon who's armor would prevent any 'playful' stings from paralyzing him. The riders also clambered onto their dragon's backs, and they rose into the sky.

Unfortunately, before they could take off, two other Speed- Stingers glimpsed them, from behind the cover of the trees: 'We must tell Alpha,' the first said, in the language of dragons.

'Agreed,' said the second. 'Alpha will not be pleased.'

A third voice spoke, a moment later. 'And why won't I be pleased? … Where is the youngling?'

The two Speed- Stingers turned, bowed their heads to their Alpha, and gestured up to the departing dragons; in unison, they said 'They have him.'

Part Three – Whiplash, and The Alpha

A few hours later; back on Dragon's Edge,

By the time they arrived back on Dragon's Edge, Hiccup and Toothless had given their new friend a name: 'Whiplash'; one that the young Speed- Stinger took to surprisingly quickly. He had not, at first, been pleased when 'asked' to go inside the cage that had been found for him. However, once Hiccup explained that it was only to keep him from overusing his leg muscle, while it healed, and that he'd be let out several times a day, to exercise it, the dragon calmed down, and stepped inside.

Three days later, evening,

The progress the Speed- Stinger had made, in only a few days, was incredible. In fact, as the sun was beginning to set, Fishlegs decided to try taking off the splint. "Nurse Meatlug; if you would do the honors?"

Meatlug nodded, and shot a narrow blast of fire at the splint, melting it into a puddle.

Whiplash took a few hesitant steps, than looked up at Fishlegs; and trilled something. Fishlegs couldn't understand, of course, but he nodded, "That's right: No more pain!"

Whiplash ran a few laps of Fishlegs's hut; than, when he saw the sun setting, through the window, he charged out the door, growling urgently. Meatlug frowned, and followed.

Fishlegs hurried after them, rushing when he saw the Speed- Stinger charging towards the small pool he'd made, in his 'meditation gardens'. A moment later, Fishlegs had stopped dead, frozen in disbelief: Whiplash was running in circles, across the surface of the water! A moment later, he charged back to join Fishlegs.

Fishlegs unfroze; a moment later, "How did you do that?"

Whiplash looked down at his clawed feet, flexing his claws, as he did. Fishlegs's eyes widened, "Webbing; of course: you can't fly, so you needed a way to island- hop… your pack evolved; adapted!" Then his eyes widened, as he and Meatlug understood Whiplash's warning. "Oh, Thor!"

Five minutes later; in the clubhouse,

Once Fishlegs finished his explanation, nobody spoke for a full thirty seconds. Then Hiccup said, "Ok: normally, I'd be thrilled about something like this; it's amazing, explosive: the first actual proof of dragon- evolution! – But, under the circumstances…"

An all- too- familiar call echoed across the island. Hiccup's eyes widened, and he finished, "I'd say we've got bigger problems."

Whiplash took a few steps forward, and trilled something. All the riders' eyes immediately turned to Hiccup, who translated, "He wants us to let him speak to them; to make them understand that we're not enemies…" He nodded to Whiplash, and turned to the others, "Lets go!"

A quarter of an hour later,

They set down in a wide; open clearing, a short distance from their outpost. Hiccup turned to Whiplash, and nodded; "Do your thing, Whiplash!"

Whiplash nodded, and called to his pack; seconds later, his calls were answered.

A few minutes later, shapes were flitting through the trees; moving around, so that they could come at them from all sides.

Then they saw the Alpha; moving to the front of his pack, from the direction they had first come from. Before Whiplash, Hiccup, or anyone else could speak, the Alpha roared; ordering a charge, and the members of his pack sped towards them!

Meatlug was stung, and she froze where she stood; the others had circles of Speed- Stingers swirling around them, ready to attack if any of the dragons tried to rise into the air…

"There're too many!" Hiccup called.

Snotlout looked around, and shook his head, "I can't believe I'm actually about to do this!" He picked up Whiplash, and charged off into the woods; the pack of Speed- Stingers was quick to follow them.

When Snotlout stopped, and let Whiplash down, the rest of the pack quickly gathered around them: moving in, ready to attack.

A split second later, four of the Speed- Stingers collapsed; though they were only half- frozen, by a young Speed- Stinger, whose venom had yet to reach its full potency.

A moment later, Whiplash stood before his Alpha. Speaking in the native language of the dragons; which only Hiccup, and dragons themselves, understood; the Alpha said, 'Explain this.'

Whiplash responded: 'They helped me: I was alone, injured… they brought me here, helped me heal; they are Pack.'

The Alpha growled, 'They are humans, and they took you; they had no right… and we are your pack, youngling.'

"What… what's happening?" Snotlout asked.

"Whiplash is torn between his pack; and the one that saved his life, ours! Now get out of there, Snotlout!" Hiccup and Toothless had taken advantage of Snotlout's distraction to get airborne; Astrid and Stormfly arrived, a few moments later.

By now; the Alpha had leapt from rocky shelf, to rocky shelf; until he reached the top of a rocky cliff, that rose high above the clearing where they fought.

Hiccup lowered his voice, and said, "Toothless, we need to take- down that Stinger- Chief!" Toothless gave a silent nod, and shot towards the Speed- Stinger in-question.
Once they'd halved the distance; the Speed- Stinger Alpha launched itself into the air, coming right towards them!
Hiccup's eyes widened, "Toothless; separate!" The moment the words were out of his mouth; Hiccup leapt up, out of Toothless's saddle, and activated the mechanism for his glider. The wings extended, and Hiccup hovered; a moment later, the Speed- Stinger Alpha shot right between them!

As he began to fall back towards the earth, the Speed- Stinger Alpha shouted, 'A FLYING HUMAN? NOT FAAIIRR-rrr!" As he neared the ground, he turned his fall into a sort of roll; he landed, a little dazed, but unharmed.

By then, Hiccup and Toothless had landed, and Hiccup had begun to address the Speed- Stinger Alpha in his own native- tongue.

It took the Stinger- Chief a few seconds to realize what was happening, but the realization that he was addressing The Peacemakers – figures of a legend 'even the' Speed- Stingers knew, he decided he was willing to listen to the rest of their explanation.

Once he'd finished; describing everything from why they'd 'taken' Whiplash, to what the name 'whiplash' meant; Hiccup defined it as 'a pain you'd get in your shoulders if you had to jerk your head to see a fast- moving something'. – This seemed to please the Alpha.

Then Hiccup called to Whiplash; and, when the dragon had joined them, Hiccup shared the basic structure of human- speech with the dragon; asking him to share it with the rest of his pack, when the opportunity arose.

Then, the Alpha called to his pack; they gathered, in preparation to leave. Before they did, Whiplash turned to the other riders and dragons, and said, 'Until next time, my friends; swift travels, and good hunting!'

Then the Speed- Stingers surged forward; running over the waves, bound for home.

To be continued…