Friday here and I'm finally done with this update! The weekend is going to be filled with preparations since I will be moving to a new place in time for the start of classes in preparation for college. I'll still update of course. College doesn't start till August so, hopefully, I can finish Riders and Defenders of Berk before then to complete the series.
In the meantime, enjoy this new chapter!
NOTE: I do NOT own HTTYD, HTTYD 2 or DreamWorks Dragons TV series. All rights go to Cressida Cowell, Dean DeBlois and DreamWorks Animation.
Worst in Show
Deep underground of Berk, Alvin, Savage and Mildew had returned to see if their plan of planting Whispering Death eggs underneath Berk had worked. But when Alvin's boots crunched under the remaining eggshells, they instantly knew that the Dragon Riders had foiled their plans once again.
"Anyone care to tell me what this looks like?" Alvin asked rhetorically, holding up a large bit of eggshell. "A waste of perfectly good Whispering Death eggs," Savage said grimly as he and his leader looked at Mildew, who cowered in fear. "This was your plan, Mildew," Alvin reminded the former Berkian. Mildew gulped as he nervously backed away from Alvin until he was against a rock. "Plant the eggs under Berk, you said! They'll hatch and destroy the village, Alvin! There'll be no one left to get in your way, Alvin!" the Outcast leader told him, looking ready to pummel the old coot. "I don't remember saying all that," Mildew told him, hoping that he wouldn't get killed for it.
Alvin backed up, much to Mildew's relief, and scowled. "Eh, it doesn't really matter now, does it?" he asked, drawing his sword out of its sheath and prepared to bring it down on poor Mildew's head! "Alvin, no! Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Mildew said desperately. "Why should I?" Alvin asked him suspiciously. Fumbling with his words, Mildew tried to reason with him. "Look at the positive, Alvin," he began only for Alvin to mutter, "That's not really me strong suit now, is it?" prompting Mildew to say more. "Think about it: Eh, when life gives you fish heads, what do you do?" he asked. Alvin frowned at the old coot's question. "I'd take it out on people like you!" he finally answered, raising his sword. "Yes. That, too," Mildew managed to say before yelping as Alvin readied his sword!
Quickly he also added, "But, but, but…you can also make a delicious chowder," hoping to please Alvin. Suddenly the Outcast leader swung his sword! Mildew yelped again and shut his eyes, bracing for the pain, only to open them again and see that Alvin's sword had stopped just about two inches away from his neck! Apparently his words had some effect on the brute for Alvin said, "I like chowder."
Then Mildew got to the point. "But these tunnels are your chowder. They'll lead you right to the Berk Dragon Training Academy," he informed Alvin. "Eh, what would I do when I get there?" Alvin asked, not seeing the point. Mildew grinned. "Well, the better question is, what wouldn't you do? What couldn't you do? Spying…kidnapping…dragon killing?" he suggested. Alvin finally got the message. If the tunnels led to the Dragon Training Academy, he could get valuable information, kidnap some of the Dragon Trainers there and even slaughter their dragons while he was at it! "Or…all of the above…" Alvin mused before looking at Mildew.
"Hahaha! I like it! You're in luck, Mildew! I'm not gonna kill you right now!" he laughed before leaving the old man. Sighing with relief, Mildew joined Savage. "I hate it when he says that," he said. "Trust me, it's better than when he doesn't say it," Savage told him.
Meanwhile the seven members of the Berk Dragon Training Academy were doing some training. On their agenda, Hostage Rescuing.
A boat with a life sized dummy had been floated out to sea and the job of the Riders and their dragons was to 'rescue' the hostage using all that they've learned from their past training sessions.
With a sundial to help him record the time of each rescuer, Fishlegs gave the go signal to Snotlout and Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare lifted off the ground, did two midair loops before going into a power dive! Reaching out his right arm, Snotlout grabbed the dummy and triumphantly yelled, "Yes, Hookfang! Victory loop!" and Hookfang proceeded to celebrate their success with a few tricks.
"Hmmm…pretty impressive on how they did it in such a fast time," one-eyed Zenna Fiersome remarked as she and Stryka, her also one-eyed female Night Fury, looked at the sundial. Sitting on his best dragon friend, Toothless, beside his Milady Astrid, who was sitting on her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, one-legged Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III said, "You know, I hate to admit it, but…Snotlout actually looks like he's worked on his rescue training."
But Hiccup spoke too soon.
Snotlout had Hookfang do a victory loop…right into the water!
"Uh, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Astrid said, Zenna nodding in agreement while Ruffnut and Tuffnut watched in excitement as Snotlout and Hookfang burst out of the water seconds later, the dummy Viking banging against the rough rocky surface of the sea stack, before landing in front of the rest of the team. "Another victim saved!" Snotlout, soaking wet, grinned triumphantly. Then the dummy's head promptly fell off, making Snotlout yelp and toss that to the ground too. "More like maimed," Zenna sighed, seeing that her Mom was gonna have to make another practice dummy for the Academy.
"Yeah…you got the victim part right," chubby Fishlegs Ingerman said brightly. "Shut up, Fishlegs. Big deal, so his head fell off. It's not like he's on fire or anything," Snotlout said in annoyance. Then Hookfang set the dummy on fire and, then, stomped on it to demonstrate how to extinguish fires – dragon style!
Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna, Stryka, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Astrid and Stormfly looked at Snotlout and Hookfang with shocked expressions. Turning to face his friends, Snotlout gave them a slightly panicked look. Fishlegs, holding his notebook, opened his mouth only for Snotlout to say, "Shut up, Fishlegs…"
"Okay, Astrid! You and Stormfly are up!" Zenna nodded to the blonde Hofferson maiden and Deadly Nadder.
Stormfly immediately went into focus mode and launched spine after spine for Astrid to grab onto as she climbed up a sea stack with amazing speed and agility. With a grunt, Astrid reached the top. "Great work, Astrid!" Hiccup nodded in approval. "Great work? Pfft! Try lame work! Hello, flying dragon? Might be a little quicker to get to the top of the sea stack," Snotlout scoffed, making appropriate hand gestures for emphasis. "What if your victim is trapped on the side of a cliff and your dragon can't get close enough? You ever think of that?" Astrid retorted.
"Yes!" Snotlout grinned arrogantly before realizing that Astrid made perfect sense. "No…shut up, Astrid!" he grumbled. "Wow, you're telling a whole lot of people to shut up today," Zenna rolled her eye and raised one of her battle sticks threateningly just as Snotlout was about to open his mouth to tell her to shut up.
"Okay! So, uh, Fishlegs, looks like you're up!" Hiccup said quickly so as to avoid any more tension between the other Riders. Patting Meatlug gently, Fishlegs gave the signal. Fully extending her wings, Meatlug flew up, up, up until Fishlegs said, "I call this the Stop." And she stopped.
At Fishlegs' command of, "Drop!" Meatlug tucked in her wings and plummeted towards the ground! Hookfang saw that the enormous Gronckle was going to land on him and quickly flew off, leaving Snotlout behind! "Oh no…" the Jorgenson boy mumbled and screamed as Meatlug's big caboose came into view! That's when Meatlug stopped falling and hovered, just mere inches away from squishing Snotlout.
"And Hover!" Fishlegs concluded. "I like it, Fishlegs!" Hiccup said, impressed. "Very impressive, you two!" Zenna grinned, seeing that the maneuver could come in handy. Snotlout, having escaped getting flattened by Meatlug, glared. "Oh, come on! That's not rescuing! That's falling!" he complained. "Actually, this is falling," Fishlegs smiled mischievously, having Meatlug drop right onto Snotlout!
Toothless and Stryka both winced and warbled, "Ouch…" while Snotlout raised his right arm, the only limb that hadn't gotten trapped underneath Meatlug's sheer bulk, and muttered, "Hookfang, rescue!" only for his Monstrous Nightmare to leave him.
"Thank you!" Snotlout's muffled voice said sarcastically. Zenna sighed and had Fishlegs get Meatlug to move so she could tend to Snotlout's bruises (or, more accurately, bruised ego) and Hiccup turned to the Thorston Twins. "Okay, guys, you wanna show us your rescue skill now?" Hiccup asked them. "Sure!" Tuffnut said gamely and, then, he and Ruffnut both gripped Barf and Belch's horns and made their faces serious.
Hiccup and the others looked at them, expecting the Twins and their Hideous Zippleback to take off and demonstrate an actual rescue technique but they just stayed there, rooted to their spot. "So…let's see it," Hiccup said, breaking the awkward silence.
No response from the Twins whatsoever.
"Ruff? Tuff?" Zenna asked, wondering if more screws in the Twins' brains have come loose. "Uh, you are seeing it," Tuffnut told her and the rest of the group. "Pretty cool, huh?" Ruffnut asked. "What awre thwey evwen doowiingg…?" Toothless rumbled, cocking his head to the side. "Bweats me…" Stryka shrugged her wings. "Our rescue skill is not falling off the sea stack! That way no actual rescue is necessary," Tuffnut explained. "Ta-da!" Ruffnut said grandly, throwing her arms out to the sides and unintentionally smacked her brother in the face!
"Aaaaah!" Tuffnut screamed before hitting the water with a loud 'splash!'
"We're still working out the kinks," Ruffnut admitted. Sighing, Zenna decided to demonstrate the rescue technique she and Stryka had come up with. And Tuffnut in the water made a very good victim.
Swooping down to where Tuffnut was currently doggy paddling amongst the waves, Zenna looked at Stryka, made sure that she was securely strapped into the saddle, and nodded.
"Wow!" "Whoa!" "Cool…"
Everyone was amazed as Stryka slowly flipped herself upside down and actually kept on flapping her wings so she and Zenna were still hovering in the air! "Tuff, grab my hands!" Zenna called out to the male Thorston, letting her arms dangle over her head right above Tuffnut. Swallowing nervously, Tuffnut did as he was told. Suddenly, Zenna swung her arms back and, the next thing everyone knew, Tuffnut was on the saddle with his back against Zenna's!
"Wow…cool trick…" Tuffnut remarked, blushing furiously. "Thanks! Stryka and I have been working on that for a while," Zenna smiled, looking over her shoulder to wink at Tuffnut.
'Man, she's got the whole dragon riding thing down to a science! Whatever that means…' Tuffnut thought, blushing even more, as Stryka rejoined the other dragons on the sea stack. "H-how did you do that?" Hiccup stuttered, amazed. "We've been practicing that maneuver for weeks. Hopefully we might be able to turn that upside down hovering into upside down flying in the near future," Zenna replied, scratching Stryka behind the ears.
Finally Hiccup and Toothless ended the day's training with their skill. Set up on some rocks nearby were three wooden Outcast targets. And Hiccup and Toothless were getting ready to blast the targets to pieces.
"Barrel roll! Multiple blast!" Hiccup shouted and Toothless did a couple of barrel rolls in flight and, simultaneously, shot out three plasma blasts that destroyed the Outcast targets in no time!
Toothless was really pleased with himself and crooned as Hiccup gently petted him for a job well done. "Nice…" Zenna smiled. "Wow…" Astrid breathed out in amazement along with Fishlegs and the Twins. Only Snotlout wasn't impressed. "Stop oohing! That's not even a rescue skill!" the Jorgenson boy exclaimed.
"Of course it is. You always need cover fire during a rescue. Everyone knows that. Pretty impressive, Hiccup," Fishlegs chided Snotlout before directing his last sentence towards Hiccup. "Hey, Fishlegs, you need some help getting your nose out of Hiccup's…" Snotlout managed to say before Hiccup sharply said, "Snotlout!" to keep him from making things worse.
"Oh boy, here we go…again," Zenna sighed, shaking her head, knowing that brains and brawn were about to clash once again.
Fishlegs looked calm as he faced Snotlout. "It's okay, Hiccup. He's just mad because he was dead last in the rescue competition. But what else is new," Fishlegs said coolly. Hiccup looked increasingly nervous as he said, "Uh, guys, this isn't a competition." Only for the Tuffnut to say, "Uh, yes, it is." Followed by Ruffnut who said, "You know, they say competition is the very essence of life itself."
Everyone else stared at Ruffnut in stupefaction upon hearing her words. "Whoa…since when did Ruffnut become one of those philosophers we met back in Greece, Stryka?" Zenna whispered in surprise to her one-eyed dragoness. Stryka merely warbled in confusion.
Then Astrid broke the awkward silence. "It's true. Weird that she said it like that but it's true. It's always a competition," she said, agreeing with Ruffnut.
"This wasn't a competition, you guys. It was training. And we train together to defend Berk and the dragons. When it comes to protecting our home and the ones we love, a competition is the least important thing on our agenda," Zenna told the other Riders seriously. "We are a team. Everyone has a role. No one person is better or more important than another," Hiccup said emphatically.
Instead of feeling inspired and understanding both Riders' speeches, the rest of the Viking teens burst out laughing.
"And our beautiful speeches have no effect, as per usual…" Zenna deadpanned, Stryka gently nuzzling her. Hiccup and Toothless merely looked at each other and sighed.
"Uh, you two don't really buy that, do you?" Snotlout asked, snorting with laughter. "We do, actually. Yes! Wait, do you all feel the way Snotlout does?" Hiccup asked, confused. "Uh, Hiccup, you and Zenna ride Toothless and Stryka, two Night Furies. And the Night Furies are at the top of the charts for intelligence, speed, accuracy and, well, everything," Fishlegs pointed out, making Meatlug a little upset. The female Gronckle cooed in confusion. "No offense, girl," Fishlegs said quickly, patting Meatlug's hide gently.
"You wanna know what I think?" Snotlout asked. "No!" the rest of the gang shouted at him but he still pitched in his idea. "I think we'll never know who the best Dragon Trainer is because we don't have a level playing field," Snotlout said.
Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna and Stryka merely looked at each other, perplexed.
"Hang on a second…what if we did have a level playing field? What if we could prove once and for all who's got the skills and who doesn't?" Fishlegs said. "Trust me, Fishlegs, you don't want that," Snotlout retorted. "Oh, I think I do," Fishlegs said, confident that he could beat Snotlout in the upcoming competition.
"And there is no stopping them…" Zenna deadpanned, Stryka rolling her eyes in agreement. Hiccup and Toothless could only look at each other and hope that, whatever competition Fishlegs had in mind, it wasn't going to be too dangerous.
Later, at the Berk Dragon Training Academy, Fishlegs revealed to everyone else what kind of competition he had in mind. Opening up a crate, he revealed seven Terrible Terrors in different colors.
"Terrible Terrors? This is your level playing field?" Snotlout asked incredulously. "As a matter of fact, yes. We'll all choose a Terrible Terror and have a day to train it. And then we'll find out who's best," Fishlegs said seriously. Snotlout merely laughed uproariously, making the chubby Ingerman boy slightly annoyed.
"Ahahahahahahaha! Oh man…hahaha! I can't keep a straight face…" Snotlout laughed, wiping tears of mirth away from his eyes. "I fail to see the humor, Snotlout," Fishlegs said coolly. "Okay, you guys, the-the point of all this is…" Hiccup tried to intervene but Snotlout was already milking the argument for all it was worth.
"You don't have a chance to win this, Fishlegs. And you wanna know why? Because there are readers and there are doers. And while you've got your nose buried in the Book of Dragons, I'm out there kicking names and taking butts!" Snotlout said emphatically. "I think you meant that the other way around," Astrid corrected him. "Shut up, Astrid," Snotlout muttered after an attempt to correct himself.
"He's been saying that ever since this morning…" Zenna observed, Stryka looking thoughtful. "Oh, guys, come on!" Hiccup sighed, getting in between his cousin and Fishlegs. "I'll tell you what, Snotlout, you're so confident in your Dragon Training superiority…why don't we make this interesting?" Fishlegs offered, smiling deviously.
"Pfft! All ears!" Snotlout said, always up for a bet. "Losers clean the winner's stall…for a month," Fishlegs set up the bet's terms to which Snotlout readily said, "Done!" followed by Astrid's, "In!" and the Twins' bashing their helmets together.
Zenna shook her head in disbelief while Hiccup was shocked. "Come on, we're not really going to do this, are we?" he asked in disbelief. "You and Zenna better strap on your helmets 'cause this guy right here…he's bringing the pain," Snotlout said and tried to pick up one of the two yellow Terrors before a dark purple one suddenly clamped its jaws down on his arm!
"Guess I'll take this one…! Bring on the pain…!" Snotlout squeaked, walking out of the Academy's arena.
Fishlegs got a red and orange Terror, Astrid chose the turquoise colored one and the Twins, after switching, got the two yellow Terrors. Hiccup picked the common green-brown colored Terror while Zenna was left with the lavender colored one.
"Remember: Not a competition!" the two siblings not by blood but by bond both called after the group. Looking at his Terror, Hiccup sighed. "This is really gonna go bad in a hurry…" he sighed as his Terrible Terror cooed and wriggled in his arms. "Look on the bright side, we have some little helpers! Now what should I name you, little one? Lilac? Lavender? Or do those sound way too obvious?" Zenna said and smiled at her Terrible Terror who cooed and curled up in her arms to take a nap.
Meanwhile Alvin, Savage and Mildew were navigating their way through the Whispering Death tunnels underneath Berk. Right now, poor old Mildew was holding Savage up so he could see through a hole while Alvin asked, "Well, what do you see?"
Savage said, "It's quite dark and something keeps swinging into my face!" as he tried to see past the dark and bushy something blocking his view. That's when the yaks left his spot and Alvin's second-in-command could see clearly now. "Oh, well, that explains it. Another yak farm!" he shouted down to Alvin.
Alvin gave Mildew a befuddled look. "What is it with you people and your yaks?" he asked the old coot, who was struggling to handle Savage's weight. "Don't look at me, I'm a sheep person," Mildew said in defense as Fungus, his pet sheep, bleated.
"Hang on, I-I see something…" Savage suddenly said and looked past a grove of trees. In the distance he could see the old killing arena which now served as the location of the Berk Dragon Training Academy! "I think it's the Academy!" he reported to Alvin. "How can you be sure?" Alvin asked Savage as he got off of Mildew's shoulders. "Well, it's got a sign with a picture of a dragon on it! Oh! And there are kids in there, training dragons so…" Savage replied as he stroked his goatee. "That's it! That's the Academy!" Mildew said excitedly. "Let's hold off on the victory dance, Mildew. I don't celebrate until I make me first kill," Alvin said ominously.
That night, Fishlegs was determined to train his Terrible Terror to become the best. If he won the competition, Snotlout wouldn't be able to rag on him that much ever again.
Setting down his little dragon, Fishlegs smiled. "Well, trainee, I have a rigorous schedule planned out for you," he told the red-and-orange Terrible Terror that scratched its head with its hind foot. "Step One: We have to name you," Fishlegs said, producing from his desk a list of potential names for his new dragon.
That's when Meatlug entered the house with a sheep in her mouth. Excited, Meatlug went over to Fishlegs and placed the sheep on the table. "Sorry, girl. We can't play Toss the Sheep right now," Fishlegs said after Meatlug had nudged him and placed the sheep back on the floor.
Turning back to his list, Fishlegs said, "Okay…I've got it narrowed down to 'Lars' or 'Van'…Maybe 'Carston'…or 'Slerg'…how about 'Deathwing'? Ooohhh…that's good. Intimidating…" Fishlegs mumbled, ignoring Meatlug who was trying to play Toss the Sheep by herself. "No, Meatlug, I can't right now. Daddy's gotta work on humiliating Snotlout," Fishlegs refused to play. Little ears drooping, Meatlug sadly plodded over to besides the fireplace and sat down with her little sheep friend following her.
"I'm gonna crush him in the Dragon Training competition," Fishlegs said to himself just as Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna and Stryka came into his house without their Terrible Terrors. "It's not a competition, Fishlegs. Listen, I of all people know has Snotlout has a way of getting under your skin. Zenna and I just want to make sure you're not losing perspective in all this," Hiccup advised while Zenna worriedly noticed that Fishlegs was invested in training his Terrible Terror and was ignoring Meatlug.
"Ohoho! Deathwing and I? Nah, we don't plan on losing anything," Fishlegs grinned. "Uh…Deathwing?" Hiccup repeated the suggested name. "Or Iggy…we're not sure yet. What do you and Zenna like?" Fishlegs asked the two Night Fury Riders. Zenna nudged Hiccup and motioned her head to Meatlug. The poor Gronckle hadn't gotten a chance to play with her Rider and was feeling down in the dumps. "Uh…is Meatlug okay?" Hiccup asked, concerned. "Of course! Why wouldn't she be?" Fishlegs replied, not even bothering to look.
Toothless and Stryka went over to Meatlug and gently nudged her. "Hey there, Meatlug…What's got you looking so blue?" Toothless warbled in his dragon language. "We can play Toss the Sheep with you if Fishlegs is busy. Come on, let's play!" Stryka crooned. Meatlug merely looked down at the wooden floor and didn't say anything.
"Oh, Meatlug…" Zenna sighed, pitying the sweet Gronckle. "Okay! Well, good talk…" Hiccup said, seeing that Fishlegs was busy and headed for the doorway with Zenna. The two of them turned back to their dragons, who were trying to cheer Meatlug up. "Come on, Stryka. Let's get some sleep," Zenna said quietly. "Let's go, bud," Hiccup told Toothless.
As they followed their Riders back home, Toothless and Stryka worriedly looked back at Meatlug one last time before leaving the Ingerman residence.
Meatlug then looked up when she heard Fishlegs speak. "Okay, Iggy, time to get serious. Let's do this," the chubby Ingerman boy said and proceeded to begin Iggy's training regimen, completely ignoring his sweet Meatlug once more.
The next day, with a sheep in her mouth, Meatlug waddled into the Berk Dragon Training Academy where all the Dragon Riders had gathered with their respective trained Terrible Terrors.
"Oh, Iggy, you can do this! You're the best, most-most well-trained dragon ever!" Fishlegs gushed to his Terrible Terror before Meatlug gently nudged him again. Turning around and seeing Meatlug and the sheep, he sighed. "No. Meatlug, I can't right now," Fishlegs said firmly. Warbling sadly, Meatlug sat in a corner and dropped the sheep she was carrying.
"Okay, time to show off what we've trained our Terrible Terrors to do. Why don't you go first, Snotlout?" Fishlegs asked, not missing a chance to infuriate the bratty Jorgenson boy. "Why don't you go first?" Snotlout retorted, irritated. "Fine! I'll go first," Fishlegs smiled calmly. "No, you don't! I'll go first!" Snotlout took his words back and glared at him. "First? Second? Third? Does it matter? 'Cause in the end, you're gonna come in last," Fishlegs challenged him.
"And this just keeps getting worse…" Zenna sighed while Astrid and the Twins looked on, a bit disturbed at what they'd just witnessed. "Whoa, what got into Fishlegs?" Astrid wondered out loud. "Looks like he finally grew some…" Tuffnut managed to say before Hiccup intervened.
'This is really escalating quickly into something even Zenna and I can't control…Well, if you can't beat them…might as well join them and try to get them to see the lesson in all of this…' Hiccup thought as he said, "How about I go first since, aside from Zenna, I don't care whether I win or not 'cause this isn't about winning or losing?"
"Yeah, you keep selling that…loser!" Snotlout said, making Zenna roll her eye at him.
"Ready, Toothless?" Hiccup called out to his best dragon friend, his Terrible Terror, Sharpshot, perched on his left arm. Toothless balanced three wooden ducks on his right wing. "Now!" Hiccup gave the Night Fury the signal and Toothless tossed the wooden ducks into the air! "Sharpshot, fire!" Hiccup ordered. The little green Terrible Terror soared into action and, with pinpoint accuracy, fired three fireballs at the ducks, hitting each one, before landing back on Hiccup's arm. "Not bad. You're starting off the competition with a bang, Hiccup," Astrid complimented her boyfriend.
"It is not a competition!" Hiccup said emphatically. "Not yet, it isn't," Fishlegs muttered under his breath. Snotlout merely glared daggers at him.
Astrid, on the other hand, stood in the center and asked, "Well? What do you think?" throwing her arms out. The others looked at her strangely, seeing that her Terrible Terror was nowhere to be found.
"What do we think of what?" Snotlout asked her. "My dragon's stealth skills," Astrid replied, smiling proudly. "Right…his skill's so stupid he didn't even show up," Snotlout said sarcastically. "Or did he?" Astrid asked, folding her arms across her chest.
That's when Snotlout felt like something was perching on his helmet. Looking up, Snotlout could see Astrid's Terrible Terror perched on his helmet. "Oh, he is good!" Tuffnut remarked, seeing the little dragon suddenly on Ruffnut's helmet next. "Yeah…Who's good?" Ruffnut asked before looking up in time to see Astrid's Terror fly over to his mistress.
"Sneaky! Then again, he can't do what Butt and Head can do," Tuffnut said. "Aw, cute, their names are a play on Headbutt if you switch them around," Zenna cooed as the Twins' yellow Terrors backed up on opposite sides of the arena.
"Let me guess, they're gonna run into each other?" Astrid guessed with a knowing look. "Wrong!" Tuffnut told her just us Butt and Head flew into each other head on! "They flew into each other!" Ruffnut grinned. "Totally different," Tuffnut smirked.
"Okay, that's certainly…creative. Now, to demonstrate my Terrible Terror's skill. But first…" Zenna said before suddenly knocking Snotlout out with her sticks! That's when Zenna's lavender-colored Terrible Terror flew over to the unconscious Jorgenson boy and flew over him in circles. "Medic here, I've trained to signal me whenever she sees someone injured," Zenna informed the group, taking out a small vial of reviver fluid. Holding the pungent-smelling vial under Snotlout's nose, Zenna counted to three before Snotlout regained consciousness and gagged at the smell.
Medic chattered happily at him and licked his face, much to Snotlout's disgust. "What'd I do?!" Snotlout asked angrily, clutching his head in pain. "I needed a test subject and you were the one closest to me," Zenna merely shrugged as Medic flew up to her shoulder and purred. "Oh! And Medic can also do the same maneuver to disorient any foes. Watch! Medic, confuse!" Zenna commanded. At Zenna's command, Medic shot off towards Snotlout and spun around him in super fast circles. The poor Jorgenson got so dizzy trying to follow Medic that he passed out again to everyone's amusement.
Unbeknownst to the seven members of the Berk Dragon Training Academy, Alvin the Treacherous, Savage and Mildew were spying on them. "What are they up to…?" Alvin wondered out loud as Fishlegs cleared his throat.
"Prepare to be amazed at the smartest little dragon in the Archipelago!" the chubby blond Viking said grandly. Meatlug sulked in the corner, her sheep forgotten, when she heard that.
Fishlegs then cleared his throat once more and gestured to Hiccup, Astrid and Zenna the variety of objects he had placed on wooden crates inside the Academy before shuffling the papers on which he had drawn pictures of the various objects. Snotlout scoffed at this. A simple game of fetch and retrieve, that's all Fishlegs taught his Terrible Terror to do!
"Iggy, bring me this!" Fishlegs said, holding up a picture of an apple. Iggy flew over to the apple placed on the farthest crate on the left side. As the little Terrible Terror flew past her, Meatlug growled in jealousy. Her Rider had stopped spending time with her all because of Iggy and a stupid contest! "Good boy, Iggy! Oh, who's a good little guy?" Fishlegs gushed, cuddling his awesome Terrible Terror.
Meatlug warbled sadly and slumped to the ground, completely depressed.
Snotlout walked up to Fishlegs and rolled his eyes. "Pfft! Whatever. Lucky guess," he scoffed. "Okay, you choose one?" Fishlegs offered him the drawings. Snatching them away, Snotlout looked over them until he settled on the picture of a bucket and held it up. Once he had been shown the picture, Iggy easily fetched the bucket and brought it over and dropped it on Snotlout's head!
"Whoa! Huh, I could do that…" Tuffnut said, a bit impressed. "Sure you can…" Zenna said teasingly, making Tuffnut blush.
"Ah huh…" Alvin said, not really seeing why the teens were engaged in such a trivial contest.
Snotlout then got the bucket off his head and tossed it aside. "Big deal! So he plays fetch?" he glared at Fishlegs who coolly asked, "Well, what does your Terrible Terror do?"
"This," Snotlout replied, opening the metal box he had kept his purple Terror in, the little Stoker Class dragon immediately clamping its jaws on his right leg! "Ouch…" Toothless and Stryka both crooned as they watched the arrogant Jorgenson brat hop about in pain. Fishlegs laughed a bit. "So…so let me get this straight…you trained him to bite you?" he asked, chuckling. "Try to pry him loose, I dare you! Took Gobber all day yesterday to get him off this leg!" Snotlout challenged him, holding up his bandaged left leg to prove his point.
"You're ridiculous! Just tell him I won, Hiccup," Fishlegs merely turned to the one-legged teen. "You won? Ha! Get real!" Snotlout laughed. "It wasn't even close!" Fishlegs retorted.
While her Rider argued with Hookfang's Rider, Meatlug suddenly caught a whiff of hostile Outcasts. Alvin, Savage and Mildew both anxiously watched as the Gronckle began to sniff around.
Meanwhile, the other Riders, save for Hiccup and Zenna, started arguing on who had won the Terrible Terror Training Competition.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, my Terror's stealthiness is pretty awesome too!" Astrid spoke up. "Astrid, please, there's no brains involved in teaching a Terror to hide," Fishlegs told her. Astrid frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Guys…" Zenna sighed, hoping to break up the fight before things got worse, only to get cut off by the Twins. "Hey! Our trainees rammed their heads together at high speed. That takes brains," Ruffnut pointed out. "Yeah, really hard rock-like brains," Tuffnut agreed with her.
Hiccup and Zenna could only look at each other and shake their heads as the other Riders began to have a really loud discussion on who was better than all the rest. Toothless and Stryka then saw Meatlug sniffing about and leaving the Academy.
Meatlug jumped onto the wooden walkway connecting the Academy to the grandstands, getting closer and closer to the three villains' hiding spot. "Uh, Chief, we can't let that dragon see us…" Mildew whispered urgently to Alvin and Savage. Quickly the three of them left the premises but Meatlug was still keen on tracking them down. Finally she arrived at a pile of rocks where she could smell Alvin, Savage and Mildew hiding behind! Growling, Meatlug unleashed a lava blast and exposed the three villains!
"This would be a good time to retreat into the tunnel…" Mildew suggested, eyeing the aggressive Gronckle warily. "Alvin the Treacherous doesn't retreat!" Alvin barked at him. "Well then, Alvin the Treacherous is gonna have to explain to Stoick the Vast what he's doing on Berk!" Mildew retorted as he and Savage decided to make a run for it. Meatlug roared ferociously at Alvin and that finally caught the Dragon Riders' attention.
"Meatlug…? Meatlug!" Fishlegs shouted, following Toothless and Stryka out of the Academy with Hiccup and Zenna right behind him.
Meatlug tried to clamp her massive jaws on Alvin only for the man to jump back and run. So she gave chase, firing lava blast after lava blast at Alvin. Halfway up the steps, Alvin stopped. "This is crazy!" Alvin grumbled and turned around, delivering a solid punch to Meatlug and knocking her out!
"Muzzle her! We'll use the dragon as a hostage!" Alvin ordered Savage. Once his second-in-command had muzzled and tied up Meatlug, Savage assisted Alvin into dragging the great Gronckle into the tunnel. "She's a tough one!" Savage said, gritting his teeth, as he put his back into it.
Toothless and Stryka ran as fast as they could, leading their Riders and Fishlegs to Alvin, Mildew and Savage! "Dragonnappers!" Zenna cried out accusingly as Toothless and Stryka fired plasma blasts. But the five of them were too late. In mere seconds, Meatlug had been dragged into the tunnel with the three villains! On top of that, one of the plasma blasts had sealed up the tunnel hole so they couldn't go down there and rescue Meatlug themselves!
"Hiccup, Zenna, they took my Meatlug!" Fishlegs said, panicking.
It didn't take long for Hiccup and Zenna to get the other dragons to try blasting the rocks away from the sealed tunnel's entrance. "We're only making it worse!" Fishlegs said, flinching away from Toothless, Stryka, Hookfang and Stormfly's combined blasts. "He's right. Hold your fire!" Hiccup ordered, the dragons immediately listening to him.
"Oh, wh-what are we going to do, Hiccup? Those tunnels go all over the island! He-he could be going anywhere!" Fishlegs babbled in a panic as Tuffnut stepped forward. "They don't really go all over the island. Like, six yak farms…" the male Thorston Twin told them. "A couple of sheep pens…" Ruffnut joined in. "Mildew's cabbage field…" Tuffnut added before he and Ruffnut remembered the last place they ended up in while spending time in the tunnels.
"Gobber's outhouse!" the Twins said in unison, making gagging noises. The other Dragon Riders looked at them incredulously. "What? We spend a lot of time in those tunnels. It's a tunnel of fun!" Tuffnut told them. Then, to the male Thorston's delight, Zenna laughed as well. "Tunnel of fun…Holy Shields, that's funny…You've gotta let me spend time with you in those tunnels, Tuffnut!" the one-eyed Fiersome girl giggled. Tuffnut's face immediately turned bright red. "L-like a d-date?" he stuttered. "Yeah! Something like that…" Zenna said casually before Hiccup nudged her, bringing her focus back to the current situation.
"Okay! We'll have to split up, cover all those places," Hiccup said seriously. "Great, dibs on the beach!" Tuffnut told him. Stopping in his tracks, Hiccup let out an annoyed sigh. Leave it to Tuffnut to not tell him everything. Seriously?! He was beginning to doubt that Ruffnut's brother would make a suitable boyfriend for Zenna…
"Uh, what beach?" the one-legged teen asked, facing him. "The tunnel that goes to the secluded beach from the far side of the island. I can't believe you and Zenna haven't been there. It's white sand! So soft on your little toes…" he said, smiling as he remembered how the white sand felt under his little toes. "That's one place I gotta visit with Stryka later…" Zenna said thoughtfully, taking out her notebook and jotting down a reminder. Hiccup merely groaned but decided to take Tuffnut's word for it and rallied the Riders to begin searching.
Meanwhile on his ship anchored off the secluded beach, Alvin was preparing to set sail. "Secure the dragon! We're sailing off!" he ordered, tightening the ropes around Meatlug. The female Gronckle growled and tried to break free but couldn't. Sad, Meatlug resigned herself to her fate…never to see her Daddy Fishlegs ever again…
With their Terrible Terrors accompanying them, all seven Dragon Riders left the Academy. Fishlegs was sitting behind Hiccup on Toothless and was close to breaking down in tears. "Oh, if anything happens to my Meatlug, I'll never forgive myself!" he said miserably. "It's not your fault, Fishlegs!" Astrid reassured him only to hear Tuffnut say, "Sure it is!" making her angrily exclaim, "Tuffnut!"
"What? It's not my fault! Is it your fault?" he retorted, directing his question towards his sister. "Nope, not my fault," Ruffnut shook her head. "Yeah! Definitely Fishlegs' fault. Sorry…" Tuffnut said to the husky Ingerman boy.
"Guys, not helping!" Hiccup and Zenna both said. "No, no, they're right, Hiccup and Zenna. I ignored the most important thing in my life because I got so caught up in beating Snotlout," Fishlegs said, feeling thoroughly ashamed. "See? Bad things happen when you try to beat the Snotman!" Snotlout said, flying Hookfang arrogantly.
The other Riders just glared at him. "Put a sock in it, Snotface!" Zenna snapped, rolling her eye at the Jorgenson brat. "What? Sometimes the truth is hard to swallow," Snotlout said arrogantly.
Fishlegs sighed in shame. "You and Zen tried to tell me, Hiccup, but I didn't listen," he said guiltily. Looking up at his chubby friend, Hiccup was completely determined and focused on getting Fishlegs' dragon back. "Fishlegs, we'll get her back. I promise," he told Fishlegs seriously.
"Hey, if you girls are done doing each other's hair, there's an Outcast ship we might wanna attack," Tuffnut reminded them. Looking down, the Riders could see Alvin at the ship's helm!
"He's right. Alvin, you are so gonna get it!" Zenna said determinedly as they swooped down. Snotlout saw his chance and got Hookfang to fire! But Alvin was already prepared and put it out! "Give 'em plenty of lead! Maybe we can take out more dragons than I thought!" Alvin commanded, his bowmen readying their crossbows. Good thing the Twins intercepted with Barf and Belch's Gas and Spark attack! "Ha! Like shooting yaks in a barrel!" Tuffnut laughed. "Haha! That was fun!" Ruffnut laughed as well, remembering the time she and her brother really did that.
Astrid and Stormfly were the next ones to attack, sending a barrage of poisonous spines down the deck. Then Savage and Alvin drew their swords, the latter of the two deciding to use the dragon hostage. "Stop! Or I'll run the Gronckle through," Alvin threatened, pointing his sword at Meatlug.
"Hiccup, Zenna, don't fire!" Fishlegs yelped frantically, making Toothless and Stryka stop from firing their plasma blasts.
Seeing that they needed a new plan, Hiccup and Zenna both shouted, "Riders, hold your fire! Fall back!"
Meatlug watched with terrified eyes as her friends turned and flew away. "N-no! We can't just leave her over there!" Fishlegs yelled, seeing the fear in his sweet Gronckle's eyes. "Don't worry, Fishlegs. We're not going to!" Hiccup reassured him. "We have a plan!" Zenna added affirmatively.
With the Dragon Riders falling back, the Outcasts kept their guard up. "I don't see anything. Maybe they aren't coming," Savage said after a few moments. "Bah, they'll come…" Mildew grumbled, knowing that the teens weren't retreating. "He's right. Their sentiment is their weakness," Alvin agreed with the old coot, laughing as he faced Meatlug. "Isn't it, Gronckle?" he asked. Meatlug growled dejectedly before looking up and spotting Sneaky, Astrid's Terrible Terror, perched atop Alvin's head!
This was the Riders' plan: Use their trained Terrible Terrors to help free her!
Sneaky chirruped, catching Mildew and Savage's attention. "Alvin!" Mildew tried to warn the leader of the Outcasts before Savage elbowed him. "Don't move," Savage said urgently, drawing his sword. Luckily Sneaky senses the weapon's presence just in time and flew away, making Savage hit Alvin instead! Savage frantically looked around while Alvin was on the floor but couldn't find the pesky Terror anywhere.
Then, quickly, he hid his sword behind his back as Mildew got up and Alvin looked up at him, glaring daggers. "Uh…um…le-let me explain, Alvin! There was a little dragon on your…" Savage stammered as Alvin raised his sword to strike him. Suddenly Iggy swooped down and swiped it! "Hey!" Alvin shouted while the cheeky Terror of Fishlegs' chirruped happily, bringing the sword to Fishlegs who was holding up the sword drawing in his left hand.
"Yes!" Fishlegs said, triumphantly holding the sword up high. The Twins couldn't help but be impressed. "I wish I was as smart as that dragon!" Tuffnut said in admiration. "I wish you were as smart as that dragon, too," Ruffnut deadpanned. "Now it's up to Sharpshot," Hiccup said. "Don't forget Medic," Zenna added as she and her emerald eyed surrogate brother gave their Terrible Terrors the signal.
Tucking their wings in, Sharpshot and Medic went into a dive, pulling up as they soared over the Outcast ship. While Medic spun around in circles over the Outcasts to disorient them, Sharpshot used his pinpoint accuracy to destroy Meatlug's restraints. But he, unfortunately, missed one and Meatlug was still stuck to her prison by one line!
"Oh no you don't!" Mildew shouted and ran to stop Meatlug only to get head butted on both sides by Butt and Head! The Twins laughed at Mildew's misfortune. Meatlug finally got the last chain off of her and began to fly back but, suddenly, Alvin lassoed her bulbous tail!
"Not so fast!" Alvin gritted his teeth as he and Savage proceeded to pull Meatlug back onto the ship! Flying overhead, Fishlegs began to panic. "Oh, she's not gonna make it!" the chubby blond Viking said worriedly just as Snotlout and Hookfang swooped by. "Oh, yes, she is!" the Jorgenson boy said and painfully yanked his Terrible Terror off his ear, making Fishlegs and Hiccup both wince, and threw it right at the rope tying Meatlug down. Snotlout's Terror's strong teeth cut through the rope like it was yak butter and Meatlug was free!
"Bam! Who's the best Dragon Trainer now?" Snotlout said, victoriously standing on Hookfang's head, before his Terror came back to bite him again.
Meatlug happily buzzed over to Fishlegs and licked him. "Oh, I missed you too!" Fishlegs gushed, getting on Meatlug's saddle. Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna and Stryka, however, knew that their mission wasn't over yet.
"There's one more loose end to tie up," Hiccup said. "You said it!" Zenna said in agreement as they gave Sharpshot and Medic the signal to stand down before they had Toothless and Stryka to go into a power dive.
That's when Stryka slowly did a partial barrel roll so she and Zenna were flying upside down! "Yes! We're doing it, Stryka! Now, steady…steady…" Zenna cheered as she and Hiccup prepared to have their two best dragon friends engage. "Wait for it…Wait for it…and…" Hiccup said as they neared Alvin's ship.
Once they were close enough, they engaged.
"Now, Toothless! Barrel roll! Multiple blast!" "Stryka, open fire!"
Still flying upside down, Stryka unleashed plasma blast after plasma blast while Toothless barrel rolled and shot plasma blasts as well, completely destroying the Outcast ship! Alvin, Mildew, Savage and all the Outcasts onboard abandoned ship.
Victorious, Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna and Stryka rejoined the other Riders. "Oh, baby, we got you back! Oh, Meatlug!" Fishlegs said, over the moon with happiness, hugging his sweet Gronckle. "We all did, together," Hiccup and Zenna said, looking at each other and smiling. "Guess that competition was worth something," Tuffnut remarked.
"Oh, for the last time, it wasn't a competition!" Hiccup and Zenna groaned as they all flew back to Berk.
Stuck in the middle of the ocean, Alvin seethed with anger. Once again, he'd been bested by those infernal Dragon Riders! And he knew just who to blame for this latest defeat.
"Fungus!" Mildew said, relieved, as his precious pet sheep floated by in a barrel. "Why? What' happened?" Mildew then asked, a bit dazed since Zenna's Terrible Terror had done a pretty good job in confusing him. "Well, I'll give you a hint. Your chowder turned back into fish heads!" Alvin told him angrily. "Shame…I do love chowder," Savage sighed.
"Well…but look at the positive," Mildew said, angering Alvin even more. In retaliation, Alvin punched Mildew in the face, knocking him out and effectively shutting the old coot up. "Let's not," Alvin grumbled as their wreckage was soon chased by a hungry shark.
Back at the Dragon Academy, Fishlegs and Meatlug were having some much-needed quality time together and playing Toss the Sheep. Meatlug gave the sheep a particularly strong toss that sent her Riders falling back a few inches as he caught it. "Great toss, girl!" Fishlegs grinned, running over to Meatlug just as Hiccup and Zenna zoomed by on Toothless and Stryka.
"Hey, Fishlegs! We're gonna do some more training with the Terrors," Hiccup told his geeky friend. "And Stryka and I are gonna work on our upside down flying," Zenna grinned, scratching her loyal dragoness behind the ears. But Fishlegs politely declined. "No can do, Hiccup and Zenna. Meatlug and I have a lot of catching up to do," he said, patting his precious Gronckle's head.
Smiling, Hiccup and Zenna left the Academy with Toothless and Stryka to let Fishlegs and Meatlug have some quality time.
I'm loving all of the episodes so far. And I am SUPER STOKED for Race to the Edge. The new clips "Enter the Reaper" and "Meet the Snow Wraith" are just making me thirsty for more Dragons!
Oh, incidentally, I'm REALLY looking forward to writing "Zippleback Down". It's gonna be hilarious XD
Read and review. Those two things are my fuel for writing!
-GuardianDragon98
