Shock and Awe
Early one morning Tenor went running along the edge of the island. The sun was just barely up. He had just gone on a night flight with Serenity. She went to bed when they got back, and he went running. He went all the way around the island without getting tired.
He was running along a lagoon about a mile from the outpost. There was a light fog over the water and rocks. Tenor ran at top speed, jumping over any obstacles in his way. He was having such a blast. Fishlegs and Meatlug appeared right in front of him so suddenly that he had to slam on the brakes hard. Luckily he didn't hit Fishlegs or Meatlug. However, his good mood was gone. He glared at the two of them.
"Hey Tenor," said Fishlegs. "I just saw something in the lagoon." Tenor hissed.
"Don't, ever do that again Fishlegs," he said, irritated. "Now what is so important?"
"I saw something in the lagoon," said Fishlegs. "A creature of some sort." Tenor scowled.
"How early did you get up Fishlegs?" he asked.
"It's true sir," said Meatlug. "We thought it was the Twins playing Loki Day on us, but there weren't anywhere near the water."
"Well, what ever it was I'm pretty sure it's gone now," said Tenor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have another mile to run." Without waiting for a reply he went around Meatlug and continued running. Fishlegs and Meatlug took off, heading for the clubhouse.
Tenor finished the last mile then headed for the clubhouse as well. When he got there, he saw the riders having breakfast. Fishlegs and Meatlug hadn't gotten there yet. Tenor was pleased with himself.
"Hey everyone," he said.
"Hey Tenor," said Hiccup. "How was your run?"
"Ah, it was going great," said Tenor. "Until I got interrupted by Fishlegs." He stretched his wings to keep them from cramping up.
"Why do you have run when you have those?" asked Snotlout, pointing at Tenor's wings.
"Because I can," said Tenor. He folded his wings back up. Just then they were joined by Fishlegs. He seemed hyped up.
"Speak of the devil," Tenor said. He stepped aside to give Fishlegs the spot light.
"I saw something in the lagoon," Fishlegs said. "It was like nothing I've ever seen before. Tenor didn't believe me, but I know what I saw."
"I never said that," said Tenor. "I just said it's probably long gone by now. There's not a whole lot to eat around here at the moment. I've had to fly miles out to sea to find a decent meal."
"Good point," said Hiccup. "But for the sake of argument what did it look like this thing?"
"It had two heads, maybe three," said Fishlegs. "And it made this weird sound, like sizzling."
"You sure it wasn't the fog? It can play really weird tricks on you," said Astrid. Fishlegs groaned in frustration.
"I know what I saw," he said. "And if you won't believe me, I'll prove it." He stormed out of the room.
"Well, all that running made me hungry," said Tenor. "I'll see you guys later." He left the room and flew away.
He soared over the ocean, looking for fish. There wasn't a single sea bird. Tenor dove in and out of the water. He managed to find a few small fish. He thought he would have to make an overnight trip, but then he saw the fin of something large emerge from the water. Tenor hovered in the air to get a good look at it. His eyes brightened when he recognized the fish as a sword fish.
"Oh, thank you Draco," he said. He dove after the fish. It was a good struggle to kill the fish. It flapped violently, trying to spear Tenor with its sword. But Tenor managed to snag it between his paws and bit it with his venomous bite, killing it instantly. He then hauled it back towards the island.
He flew by the lagoon and spotted Fishlegs hovering over the water on Meatlug. A rope dangled from Meatlug's saddle into the water. Fishlegs seemed about to fall asleep. Tenor flew over and hovered in front of them.
"You still trying to find that thing?" he asked.
"I know it's in there," said Fishlegs. "I'm going to find it, and what is that?" He pointed at Tenor's catch.
"It's a sword fish," said Tenor. "Not my favorite, but I take what I can get. So, how do you plan on finding this thing?"
"I have a fish on this rope," said Fishlegs. "All Thor's creatures have to eat."
"Somehow I doubt it's Thor's creature," said Tenor. "But anyway, I'm going to see how Serenity's doing. See you later." He turned and flew off.
He headed for the yurt. He was pleased to see Serenity waiting for him. She looked surprised to see the big fish. Tenor set it down and landed. Serenity got to her feet.
"That's quite a catch," she said.
"I know," said Tenor. "And an unexpected one too. I thought I would have to eat the ocean's scraps." Serenity threw her arms around his neck. Tenor purred and hugged her back.
"Fishlegs things he saw something in the lagoon," said Tenor.
"Well, the ocean is full of strange creatures," said Serenity. "Dragons are just some of them."
"Very true," said Tenor. "Maybe he did see something, but it might not be there anymore."
"Reminds me of Nessie," said Serenity. "No human has ever gotten a good look at her."
"Also true," said Tenor. He nuzzled her shoulder. She sat down again. Tenor turned to his kill. Having live with dragons all her life, Serenity was used to their eating habits. Tenor tore big chunks of fish with his teeth and strong jaws.
He was almost half way through it when Hiccup and Toothless appeared over the yurt.
"Fishlegs thinks he found the creature in the lagoon," said Hiccup. "If there is something there, I was hoping one of you could identify it." Tenor and Serenity exchanged a glance, Tenor with his mouth full.
"Alright," said Serenity. She got to her feet. Tenor swallowed the fish meat and Serenity mounted him. They took off and followed Hiccup to the lagoon.
The other riders were there already. The water was very still. Fishlegs explained that he saw the creature heading out of the lagoon and had Meatlug seal off the exit. This irritated both Tenor and Serenity. Snotlout, however, was completely skeptical. Hookfang was hovering low over the water. Suddenly an animal jumped out of the water, glided over Hookfang, and splashed back into the water. It was deep ocean blue, it had the body of a manta ray, and the head of a swordfish. It's body crackled with static. They all watched it glide though the water.
"That's a dragon," said Hiccup.
"And not just any dragon, it's a Sea Shocker," said Fishlegs excitedly. The Sea Shocker jumped again. It sailed though the air towards Tenor, then splashed down.
"Wow," Serenity sighed.
The riders landed on the shore of the lagoon. Serenity and Tenor landed on a rock, watching the Sea Shocker leap about. Static covered its wings. Hiccup and Fishlegs were very excited.
"I got to say Fishlegs, I'm impressed," said Hiccup.
"I know, a real live Sea Shocker and I found him," said Fishlegs.
"You mean you trapped him," said Tuffnut. Hiccup turned to Serenity and Tenor.
"Have either of you seen Sea Shockers before?" he asked.
"A few," said Serenity. "They're pretty fun to watch. They often hunt along side sharks and orca whales. They are often seen as pilot fish for larger sea dragons like the Whale Dragons." The Shocker jumped again. "Unlike Scauldrons they depend on their pods for survival."
"Which is why we should let this one go," said Tenor.
"But I still want to study it," said Fishlegs.
"We have to he careful not to hurt him," said Hiccup. The riders got back on their dragons and flew back out over the water. The Shocker was swimming erratically, he looked very upset.
"Way to go Fishlegs," said Snotlout sarcastically. "Let's mess with the angry zapperheads." The Shocker jumped again, narrowly missing Meatlug.
"Snotlout's right Fishlegs," said Hiccup. "He looks pretty agitated we should help him out of the cove."
"Alright, but first I want to take some measurements," said Fishlegs eagerly.
"Now Fishlegs," Tenor roared. "You should know by now what I do with dragon trappers." Fishlegs grew nervous again. The Shocker suddenly began leaping out at the other dragons, sizzling. The dragons dodged him and fired back. The Shocker jumped at Stormfly. She squawked in surprise and shot several spikes at the Shocker, one of them stabbed his back. The Shocker roared in pain. Serenity gasped.
"No!" cried Fishlegs. "Astrid how could you?"
"Stormfly was just reacting to being attacked," said Astrid.
"Yeah Fishlegs, what did you expect?" said Snotlout. The Shocker jumped out of the water and beached himself on the rocks.
"I'll go help him," said Serenity. She turn Tenor around. But Fishlegs suddenly blocked her way.
"I'm getting tired of you showing me up Serenity," he shouted. "First the Snow Wraiths, then the wild dragons on that island. Well not this time. I found this dragon, this is my rescue and I don't need your help; not now, not ever." Both Serenity and Tenor looked surprised. The riders gasped. Serenity though for a moment. Then she said something to Tenor in Dragontongue. Tenor nodded in agreement. Serenity looked back at Fishlegs.
"Alright Fishlegs," she said calmly. "Have it your way." She clicked the reins and Tenor sped up. He circled around Meatlug, the headed for the horizon and out of sight.
"That was mean Fishlegs," said Astrid.
"We're waisting time," said Fishlegs. "That Shocker needs to get back into the water." He turned Meatlug around and headed for the rocks where the wild dragon was stuck. He landed on a taller rock, dismounted, and slid down the rock to the Shocker. The poor thing was in complete distress. Fishlegs tried to approach it, but the two heads roared at him and zapped him back.
"I don't trust this human Zag," said one head.
"I don't either Zap," said the other head. "He's the one who trapped us in here." They saw Fishlegs approaching again. The hissed and squirmed to get away. Fishlegs darted forward and pulled the Nadder spike out of the dragon's hide. This surprised them.
"I'm sorry I locked you in here," said Fishlegs. ZagZap looked at each other.
"Very unusual for a human," said Zag. "Almost reminds me of that one human we pulled out of the ocean a few years ago, you remember the one?"
"Who could forget him," said Zap. "He spoke our language. No human has done that before or since."
"Shame we had to leave him," said Zag. "But he's a land dweller, and we live in the ocean." Suddenly they felt the Gronkle lift them off the rocks. Then she dropped him into the water. ZagZap swam from the shore and headed for the mouth of the lagoon. The other riders were blasting the wall that Fishlegs had made. ZagZap picked up speed, Meatlug flew overhead. The Shocker paid her no attention. The made a B-line towards the open sea. Suddenly they stopped.
"Did you see that?" asked Zag.
"Yeah I did," said Zap. They could see two figures heading right for them, one green, one red.
"Scauldrons!" cried Zag. They turned and swam back into the cove, looking for a place to hide. Unfortunately the two Scauldrons were hot on their fins.
Above, the riders attempted to help the Shocker evade the Scauldrons. They blasted them. For a while it seemed to be working. But the Scauldrons were getting more and aggressive. They began shooting back at the riders. It was getting harder to keep the Scauldrons away from the Shocker. Down in the water ZagZap was running out of options. They looked around franticly for a place to hide.
"There," said Zag. He steered them towards a deep hole on the floor of the lagoon. The dived down into it, the Scauldrons right behind them.
"Please help us Lord Draco!" ZagZap cried in unison.
The rider watched from above. All the sea dragons had vanished, leaving a ring of bubbles on the surface. Everything grew quiet.
"Did he just?" said Fishlegs, unable to finish the sentence. The Shocker didn't emerge. Everyone feared the worst. But then the Shocker leapt out of the water, alive and well. He splashed back into the water. The Scauldrons were no where in sight, yet. The way to the sea was clear for the moment. The Shocker made for the opening.
"He's making a break for the opening," said Fishlegs. He turned Meatlug around and followed the Shocker. The other riders did the same. Suddenly Hiccup saw a third Scauldron heading for the Shocker.
"Another Scauldron," he announced. Fishlegs brought Meatlug to a halt over the water, the Shocker stopped as well. Fishlegs looked from the Scauldron a head of them, to the two closing in behind them. He took a huge breath and stood up on the saddle. Meatlug grew concerned.
"This is going to hurt," Fishlegs said to himself. With that he jumped off Meatlug and into the water. He splashed into the water and managed to grab hold of the Sea Shocker. The Scauldrons got closer, hunger in their eyes. The Shocker lit up wit static. Fishlegs pushed their two heads together. It made a huge ball of electricity that surrounded the Shocker. It was very strong and pushed the Scauldrons way far away, leaving them badly stunned. The ball of electricity also launched Fishlegs out of the water, he soared through the air, and crashed onto the shore, leaving him stunned as well.
They riders quickly rushed to his side. Hiccup jumped off Toothless.
"Fishlegs, are you okay?" he asked, worried. Fishlegs sat up, wobbling badly.
"I think so," he said.
"That was the gutsiest thing I've ever seen," said Hiccup, impressed.
"I know," said Fishlegs proudly. Just then there came a Night Fury call from the air. Everyone looked to see a black speck heading for the island. The riders got on their dragons and flew back out to see it better.
"It's Serenity, she came back," said Astrid. Serenity and Tenor flew towards them. They circled around and pulled a long side them.
"Thanks for coming back Serenity," said Hiccup. Serenity smiled.
"Don't thank me just yet," she said. She pointed out towards the ocean. They followed her gaze and saw the fins of more Sea Shockers heading for the cove. The reunited with their missing Shocker. Together they drove the Scauldrons away.
"You found he pod," said Hiccup.
"I did," said Serenity. "I told them where their friend was. His name is ZagZap, by the way." Fishlegs beamed.
"You did it Fishlegs, you won," said Astrid.
"We did it," Fishlegs corrected. "Thanks Serenity, and I'm sorry for snapping at you." Serenity smiled softly.
"Apology accepted Fishlegs," she said.
"Look," said Tenor. He pointed towards the sunset. They watched the Sea Shockers leap out of the water with joy. And in the distance the riders saw a large black fin.
"That's Shark," said Tenor. "You remember her?"
"Yup," said Hiccup. "She's a big, black sea dragon."
"She's been making a solid effort to stop dragon cannibalism," said Serenity. "And has been successful recently."
"Can we go already?" asked Snotlout. "I'm hungry." The riders turned and headed back to the outpost. Serenity and Tenor went back to their yurt.
The pod of Sea Shockers joined Shark. She was happy to see them together again. She turned and led them from the island.
"We must get back to the Beweilderbeast," said the alpha. "We've been away from his waters for too long."
"Yes, that is where we're going," said Shark. "He's been wondering where you were."
"Say did you know there's a human that speaks our language?" said the lead Shocker.
"Serenity?" said Shark, casually. "Yes I've met her. She's valuable to our kind. Hurry now, if we want to get to the Arctic before dawn." Shark led the Sea Shockers deeper into the sea