Chapter 14: The Rogue Dragons
The moment of truth is coming.
Waking up to the sound of Stoick calling for Toothless was definitely something that none of the members of Team Go-Getters had ever looked forward to. Toothless immediately jumped up into the rafters when he heard Stoick calling him.
Snivels groaned. "If anyone needs me, I'll be hiding under the bed," he said as he trudged out of his corner and ducked underneath his trainer's bed. Seeing his two friends hiding was more than enough for Hiccup to get out of bed and head downstairs and talk to his father.
"Where's Toothless?" Stoick asked after he noticed Hiccup coming down the stairs.
Hiccup froze and glanced back upstairs to see Astrid, who gave a slight nod. "I don't know," Hiccup said, turning to face Stoick, "But...you look great, Dad! Did you do something with your beard?"
Stoick sighed. "Alright, you've given me the honey, now hit me with the hatchet."
Not knowing how Stoick knew what he had been doing, and without sparing a glance at Astrid, Hiccup sighed. "Look, Dad, you can't just keep taking Toothless. He's mine."
Stoick nodded. "Alright, that seems fair."
Hiccup quietly sighed in relief.
"So, find me one!"
Hearing what Stoick had said caught Hiccup off guard. "Sorry?"
"Find me a dragon just as good as Toothless," Stoick said. "That shouldn't be so hard for the head of the Dragon Academy."
From inside the closet, Snivels called out, "I beg to differ."
Toothless grumbled in agreement.
Later that day, the entirety of Team Go-Getters had gathered at the academy with the Dragon Riders and Stoick. Beartic was watching from the other side of the academy, keeping a watchful eye on the dragons. "I don't see why Brumous had to come here," Snivels said, gesturing to Beartic.
Both Stoick and Hiccup gave him looks of confusion. "Brumous?"
Snivels gave them a bored look. "Stoick's partner. The Beartic. The one who's leaning against the wall over there." He pointed to the growling Pokémon.
Stoick raised an eyebrow. "His name is Brumous?"
Kickin' Hawk glared at him. "You're his trainer, and you didn't even try to learn his name?"
Stoick sighed. "I'm too busy."
Brumous just grunted.
Snivels turned to the Viking teens. "I'm guessing that you guys didn't have the time to try and learn your Pokémons' names either," he said.
Blaze stepped forward. "Speaking of which," she said. "I would highly recommend that Snotface keeps Heat away from me and Amber." Snotlout's Magmar, Heat, slumped his shoulders.
"I'd like to know what Lombre's name is," Fishlegs said.
"His name is Pad," Amber replied.
Palus pointed to the Nidos. "And those two are Bonnie and Clyde."
Wavern squawked and gestured to the other Dragon-Type Pokémon with her wing. Snivels gave a slight nod and pointed to Salamence. "That's Vengeance." Goodra. "Nudi." Zweilous. "And Drei."
Stoick sighed impatiently. "Can we get on with this?"
As if on cue, all of the dragons spread out, forming a ring around him. "The finest dragon species on the island are represented here at the academy," Hiccup said, trying to direct Stoick's attention away from the name revelations.
"But," Snotlout said, stepping forward. "The Monstrous Nightmare is the only dragon with enough brawn and prestige to suit men of our stature."
"Does he even know what he's talking about?" Xylia asked.
"From what I can tell," Amber whispered, "He almost never knows what he's talking about."
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Snivels said.
Vengeance laid down next to them, greatly agreeing.
Snotlout paid no attention to them, and led Stoick over to Hookfang. "Hop on board and fell the Monstrous Nightmare difference," he said, gesturing to his dragon. Stoick sat on Hookfang's neck and gripped his horns, trying to get used to the riding position. Snotlout continued, "And on those cold winter nights, its entire body heats up. Let me warm him up for you." He flicked Hookfang's horn, and the dragon growled, glowing a bright red as he heated up his scales. Unfortunately, Hookfang heated up too much, causing Stoick's pants to catch fire. He quickly got off of Hookfang and jumped into the water trough that they kept in the arena. "Now, how about I put you down for one?" Snotlout asked, "They come in an assortment of colors!"
Stoick just grunted and demanded to see the next dragon. He glanced at Stormfly, who immediately retreated to the other side of the arena and hid behind Team Go-Getters. "She doesn't want you to ride her," Snivels explained to Stoick.
Barf and Belch weren't so much better. When the twins started fighting about who'd get to speak first, the two heads began snapping at each other. Their fight only stopped when Barf released a good amount of gas, and Belch ignited it with a few sparks. The resulting explosion knocked the dragon out.
Stoick then turned his attention to Meatlug. "What you're really looking for is loyalty," Fishlegs explained, "A dragon that'll be there for you no matter what. The last face you see at night, and the first face you see in the morning. Warming your bed when it's cold outside, a shoulder to cry on when the world had turned its back on you, how could you not love a Gronckle?!" Fishlegs started sobbing, and hugged Meatlug.
Stoick shook his head. "Sorry, Fishlegs, but I'm looking for a dragon, not a mother." He turned to look at Hiccup. "I haven't seen anything that could hold accountable to a Night Fury."
Hiccup shook his head. "Me neither, but Toothless is the only Night Fury on Berk. And he's mine."
Kickin' Hawk suddenly stepped forward. "The rogue dragon is attacking."
Hiccup looked at him. "How do you know that?" he asked.
Kickin' Hawk shrugged. "Fjord told me."
Stoick immediately mounted Toothless. Hiccup was about to protest, but decided that it was better to go with it. "At least he blocks the wind," he muttered as he got on behind Stoick.
Groaning at the extra weight, Toothless got a running start and flew out of the arena.
No sooner after they had left, Snivels walked over to Wavern. "Think you can give me a lift?" he asked. Wavern nodded.
Hiccup, Stoick, and Toothless reached the scene of the crime in only a few minutes. A dark shape was circling a fishing boat from under the water. Mulch, Bucket, Sandslash, and Slowbro were on the boat, the two Vikings each holding a oar to defend themselves. A large blue dragon suddenly burst out of the water and roared. The roar was so strong, it almost turned the boat over.
"A Thunderdrum," said a voice. Stoick and Hiccup turned to see Snivels arriving on Wavern. "They say that the Thunderdrum gets its power from Thor himself."
"Fire a warning shot," Stoick said, "Let it know we mean business."
Snivels turned away. "No."
Stoick gave him a look of shock and annoyance.
"Snivels, ask Wavern to fire a warning shot," Hiccup said politely.
Snivels looked at his trainer and smiled. "Sure, all you had to do was ask." He patted Wavern's neck. "Okay, Wavern, do your thing!"
Wavern obliged, firing a powerful Dragon Pulse at the Thunderdrum. The dragon dodged it, and dived into the water. But not before it dropped something onto the ship's deck.
Snivels steered Wavern down to the ship, and they both landed on the deck, face-to-face with a male Druddigon. The Cave Pokémon eyed them carefully, before opening its mouth wide and roaring loudly, releasing large shock waves from its mouth. Snivels and Wavern covered their ears, the force of Druddigon's roaring pushing them backwards. "It's...using...Roar!" Snivels shouted over the noise. "WAVERN!" The Noivern barely heard Snivels's shout, but it was enough for her to uncover her ears and unleash a powerful Boomburst at Druddigon. The powerful sound waves collided with Druddigon's Roar, causing a burst of loud noises that blew Druddigon backwards to the hull of the boat. The Thunderdrum suddenly burst out of the water, and was about to attack when something slammed into its back, causing it to fall to the ship's deck, landing on top of Druddigon.
Toothless landed on the boat as well, and allowed Hiccup to dismount him. Stoick was wrestling with the Thunderdrum, trying to get it to hold still. "He's got spunk!" he said as he got off and threw a net over the two dragons. The Thunderdrum continued to struggle, but Stoick was able to hold it down. "This is the one, Hiccup! I found my dragon! Now all you have to do is train him for me!"
Snivels distracted himself by feeding Wavern a Spelon Berry that he had brought with him. The Noivern ate it gleefully. Snivels sighed as he turned to the Thunderdrum.
"We're gonna need a bigger muzzle."
Snivels, Hiccup, and the other Pokémon were able to put the Thunderdrum and Druddigon in a large cage in the academy. They were able to build a large iron muzzle for the Thunderdrum, which they put on while it was still asleep.
Stoick, Hiccup, and the others all stood back as Snivels conversed with the two caged dragons. "They won't say why their stealing fish," he said, "But they did tell me their names."
"So, what are they?" Amber asked.
"The Thunderdrum is Thornado, and the Druddigon is Grudge," Snivels replied.
Hiccup stepped forward. "It's simple," he said, "All you have to do is let them know that you're their friend. What's important is that you let them know they can trust you."
"I would recommend that you make eye contact," Kickin' Hawk added, pointing to his own eyes to make a point.
Hiccup nodded to Snivels, who pulled the lever that opened the door to the cage. The door opened, and Thornado and Grudge stepped out. They stopped just a few feet away from Stoick. "You'll know you've formed a bond when Thornado bows his head and lets you climb on his back," Hiccup said quietly and calmly.
"What are the chances of that happening?" Snivels asked.
"Little or none, if he doesn't start listening," Kickin' Hawk replied.
Stoick held out his hand, and waited for Thornado to do something. But all the dragon did was snap his jaws, obviously still angry about what had happened on the boat. Pulling his hand back to check and see if it was still there, Stoick punched Thornado with his other hand, knocking the dragon back into the cage. Grudge lunged forward and tried to attack Stoick. "What happened to trust?!" Hiccup asked in shock.
"Tell that to them!" Stoick shouted as he clamped Grudge's jaws shut.
Thornado then charged out of the cage, trying to fly away. But Stoick grabbed his tail and pulled him back down. "This is not bonding!" Hiccup shouted.
"You just have to show these beasts who's boss," Stoick said as he climbed onto Thornado's back. "Look at that. I'm on his back. Any questions?" Grudge pounced on Stoick just as Thornado took off, flying out of the arena and into the sky above.
"Oh, too many to ask," Hiccup muttered as the quarreling rivals flew out of sight.
Hiccup and his team had decided to head home to rest after the disastrous training incident. Kickin' Hawk was resting on the roof, and Hiccup was trying to get advice from him. "He never listens to me," he complained, "It's like I'm wasting my breath."
Kickin' Hawk sighed. "That's the thing with fathers, especially if he's a Viking."
Now it was Hiccup's turn to sigh. "Vikings never listen, I know."
"You shouldn't really stress out so much," Snivels said, "It messes up your head." Snivels had been feeding Torch and his siblings when he had unintentionally overheard part of the conversation.
"Why is it that you're always right about everything?" Hiccup asked.
"You asked me that yesterday," Snivels pointed out.
Hiccup couldn't help but sigh again. "I know."
"I can't help that I'm right," Snivels said, "I just gather the facts and make conclusions based on them. I'm not really the 'jump to conclusions without all the facts' kind of Pokémon."
"I noticed," Hiccup said with a nod.
"If you agree with everything that we say about Vikings never listening, and having hearts of stone, then why are you so desperate to get your father on a dragon?" Kickin' Hawk asked.
"Because I thought that if there was anyone we could try and reform, it's him," Hiccup replied.
"He won't reform for another five years," Kickin' Hawk muttered, "But by then it'll be too late."
"What was that?" Hiccup asked. He hadn't quite heard what the Hawlucha had said.
"Nothing you should know," Kickin' Hawk answered.
"You know, at some point those Vikings might learn that they've been spending a ton of time on the wrong side," Snivels suggested.
"And then again, they could remain stone-hearted for the rest of their lives," Kickin' Hawk said.
"Can we skip to the part where you guys start to make me feel better?" Hiccup asked, annoyed.
Snivels shrugged. "You could try talking to Astrid again," he suggested.
"Speaking of which," Kickin' Hawk said suddenly, "I believe she'll be needing her axe sharpened sometime soon."
As if on cue, Astrid emerged from inside the house. "I need to get my axe sharpened," she said. She walked over and handed it to Hiccup.
Surprised, Hiccup was speechless for a moment, but snapped back to reality when the axe was dropped into his hands. "Okay, one razor-sharp axe coming right up!" he said, forcing a smile as he headed to the sharpening wheel that Kickin' Hawk had set up just days ago.
Snivels noticed Hiccup was heading for the sharpening wheel, and in a flash, he was there, turning the handle that spun the wheel. When the wheel was turning fast enough, he then left to resume feeding the dragons. Hiccup hesitated before carefully resting one of the axe's blades on the wheel. "I'm not sure how much of that you could hear," he said.
"I heard enough," Astrid replied.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Hiccup said.
"So did you," Astrid pointed out.
Hiccup sighed before he started sharpening the other blade. "As much as I appreciate the new life we've been given," he said, "I kind of miss the old one."
"I know how you feel," Astrid replied, "It's still hard for me to believe I'm no longer living with my parents." She glanced at Snivels, who was gathering the dragons for feeding. She noticed that Blaze and the other Pokémon were watching nearby. She smiled. "At least we still have them," she said, gesturing to their friends.
Hiccup, who had finished sharpening the axe, turned to see what Astrid was talking about. He shrugged. "I guess you're right."
Astrid gave him a look of confusion.
Hiccup's eyes instantly widened. "I mean, uh...well, I..." He paused before holding out her axe. "Here."
Astrid sighed and took her axe back. "Thanks," she whispered under her breath.
Now it was Hiccup's turn to sigh. "You probably think I'm an idiot now."
"Why would I think that?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup froze. "Did I say that out loud?"
Astrid didn't reply. Instead, she leaned her axe against the sharpening wheel, and laid a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You said for yourself that we're all a family," she said.
"When did I say that?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid gave him a look of annoyance. "Last week."
"I don't really remember saying that," Hiccup muttered.
Astrid sighed. "Hiccup, I love you, but...sometimes you're just so hopeless."
Hearing this, Hiccup hung his head. Seeing him upset made Astrid's expression soften. "But you're still a great leader," she said, hoping to cheer him up.
Hiccup looked up at her. "Really?"
Astrid shrugged. "To be honest, I think we're both better Go-Getters than we were Vikings," she said.
"I wasn't really very good at being a Viking anyway," Hiccup said.
"And that's bad?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup shrugged. "Depends on what side you're on," he said.
Astrid glanced at their friends again before pulling Hiccup into a hug. "We're all here to help you," she said, "No matter what you get yourself into."
Hiccup gratefully hugged her back. "You've all given me more than I can ever ask for," he said.
"Maybe you should say that to our friends," Astrid said with a laugh.
"Our family," Hiccup corrected.
Astrid pulled out of the embrace and punched his arm lightly. "Whatever, you big dork."
Hiccup gave her a playful smile. "That's not very nice of you to say, my lady."
"Then it's a good thing you don't hate me for it," Astrid said, smiling.
Hiccup had so much he wanted to tell her. How seeing her everyday made him happy, how he appreciated her being kind and helpful to him, how he was happy to have her as part of his new family. But instead, he leaned in and whispered softly to her, "Love you, too."
"HICCUP!"
The tender moment was interrupted by a sudden shout, and everyone turned to see a badly bruised Stoick heading their way. "I'm gonna walk away now," Snivels said before doing just that.
"What happened to him?" Blaze asked curiously.
"Those beasts threw me off and flew off to Thor knows where," Stoick replied in a bitter voice.
"Well, do you blame them?" Kickin' Hawk said, "All you three did was fight!"
"No, they loved it!" Stoick said, laughing.
"Obviously not," Tito muttered.
"We can stand here debating, or we can get my dragons back!" Stoick shouted before walking off.
"Do we have to follow him?" Palus asked.
"We don't have to rush," Blaze said, shrugging.
"This might not be the right time for me to say this," Amber said, "But don't you think we shouldn't try so hard to change people that seem too stubborn to do so?"
"That would depend on what they think," said Tito.
It took a while, but eventually the members of Team Go-Getters convinced themselves to help Stoick. It took even longer to convince Toothless to let Stoick ride him one more time. Brumous stayed behind, at the request of Team Go-Getters. But since Snivels had left, it would take them a while to find the rogue dragons.
"Alright," Stoick said as they flew over Berk, "We have to fan out and cover every part of the island." "Sorry," Blaze said, "But as Go-Getters, we don't take orders from you." Stoick was about to say something when he was cut off by Hiccup. "Everyone split up. Astrid, take your team and cover the west side. Amber, you and the others take the east." "What about you?" Astrid asked. "We'll take the south," Hiccup replied.
They split up almost instantly, each group heading in a different direction. Stoick grumbled to himself, not willing to accept that none of the members of Team Go-Getters listened to him anymore. "You know," Hiccup said hesitantly, "When we find the dragons, you might want to consider approaching them a little differently. Obviously, they don't like being pushed around."
"There they are!"
Stoick pointed to the middle of a clearing over looking a cliff, where the two dragons were heading into a cave. "And once again, nothing gets through," Hiccup said in disappointment. Toothless grumbled before landing in the clearing, catching the attention of Thornado and Grudge. The two dragons immediately started guarding the entrance to the cave as Stoick dismounted Toothless and walked up to them, hammer in hand. "Let me handle this," he said, raising the hammer over his head, "These dragons are mine."
"WAIT!"
Stoick, Hiccup, and Toothless were all surprised at the sudden shout that came from inside the cave. Thornado stepped aside to reveal Snivels in the cave holding a blue, red-spiked egg, and sitting next to a purple Thunderdrum with a badly torn wing. The Servine gestured to the dragon. "She's hurt. Bad." "Thornado is protecting his mate," Hiccup said in realization. Snivels walked out of the cave and handed the egg to Grudge. "Is it going to hatch soon?" he asked as Grudge took the egg from him and cradled it in his arms like a baby. Snivels took a quick look around before asking, "Where's the mother?" His question caused Grudge to give him a look of sadness before embracing the egg. Snivels nodded in understanding. "My mother's gone too." Grudge tightened his grip on his egg, growling sadly. Hiccup nudged Toothless gently. "We better go get the others," he said before the black dragon took off.
Snivels sat in the cave with Thornado's mate, feeling guilty about the fact that he was unable to help her. "So," he said, trying to focus his attention on something other than the dragon's torn wing, "What's your name?" The Thunderdrum lowered her head. "My friends call me Whirlwing," she said. "I can see why," Snivels said, "I mean, Thunderdrums are not only capable of producing very loud sonic roars, they can produce strong winds from their wings as well." Whirlwing gave him a look of shock. "I might be losing my hearing," she said, "But it's almost like you actually understand me." "Because I do," Snivels said, "I can talk to dragons."
Whirlwing gave a slight nod before looking at her wing. "I injured it a long time ago," she said sadly, "Not long after Team Go-Getters ended the war, like the prophecy promised." "You know about the prophecy?" Snivels asked. "Every dragon knows," Whirlwing said, "But some of them tend to forget at times of hardship." "I don't blame them," Snivels said, "I guess sometimes when animals try to find ways to survive, they can start something they never meant to happen. But I personally blame the Vikings for the Dragon War." "As do I," Whirlwing said, "We have often agreed that the Vikings are too stubborn and hard-headed to ever understand anything." "A friend of mine often says that they have hearts of stone," Snivels said. "Then he was right," Whirlwing said quietly. Snivels nodded. "Agreed."
There was a loud noise from outside the cave, and they both turned to see Stoick on Thornado's back. Snivels was the first to notice that Thornado's muzzle was off. "What is up with that big Viking with the huge horns on his helmet?" Whirlwing asked. "Wish I knew," Snivels said, shaking his head.
Later, the members of Team Go-Getters had returned to their home, and were all staring at Grudge's egg, which had been placed in a box full of straw. "I still can't believe that Grudge just gave us his egg," Astrid said. "Well, Snivels said that Grudge said that he thought it would be safer with us," Hiccup said, shrugging. Snivels crawled into the makeshift nest. "Y'know, birds and dragons don't really sit on their eggs," he said, "They crouch over them to trap in heat. If they actually sat on them, the eggs would break." He brushed the top of the egg before carefully sitting on it. "But considering that I don't weigh as much, and dragon eggs are very thick-shelled, I'm pretty sure that it's okay if I sit on this egg." "Are you ever going to stop playing Mommy for unhatched dragons?" Blaze asked. "I think it's cute," Amber said with a dreamy look on her face. Snivels smiled at her. "Thank you, Hotcakes."
"Hotcakes?" Astrid and Hiccup both asked in unison.
"A nickname for her," Snivels said with a smile.
There was a loud roar from above, and they all looked up to see Stoick and Brumous riding on Thornado with Grudge. The Druddigon looked down at them as they passed overhead, and waved to them. Snivels groaned. "Something tells me that we won't be getting any sleep for a while." This resulted in everyone bursting into fits of laughter.
Well, Dad still does things the Viking way.
Fortunately, Team Go-Getters was able to show him that the Viking way can also be the Dragon way.
No after-clip for this one. I was originally going to leave out the Hicstrid, but I figured that since Hiccup will be under a lot of stress, he'll be needing all of the comfort he can get. And I'm trying to save some of the major Hicstrid for the final part of Heather Report. And don't worry, Whirlwing will be fine. Leave me a review and leave your opinion about the chapter, and I'll keep in touch.