Chapter Twenty Nine

We all have had things that we've lost and thought we could never live without. Sometimes to find it again you have to be willing to do anything. Even if that means looking fear right in the eye. Just make sure you don't blink.

Stoick and Gobber were riding on Thornado, flying away from Berk. Hiccup and I flew behind them on Toothless and Snowfire. As we flew over the ocean, I noticed that Stoick kept looking over the ocean for signs of life.

"Where is he?" Stoick asked Gobber. "He's never been this late before."

"Are you sure Trader Johann has it?" Gobber asked skeptically.

"I'm sure," Stoick replied in a firm tone. "I heard it from Trader Johann, who heard it from Stevenson the Shepard, who talked to Toldstadt the Fisher, who said he saw Johann put it in the boat himself."

"Well it doesn't get anymore sure than that," Gobber said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"You know, it might help if we actually knew what we were looking for," I pointed out as Snowfire crooned in agreement.

"Yeah, why are we being kept in the dark?" Hiccup asked.

"We're looking for Trader Johann," Stoick replied. "That's all you need to know." Snowfire only rolled her eyes at the response. She was clearly annoyed for getting her sleep disturbed, and of course this long flight wasn't making things much easier.

'This search is pointless,' she muttered crossly. Fortunately we turned back towards Berk after flying around a few more minutes. Once we landed on the docks, Stoick got off of Thornado and looked on in disappointment.

"Not to worry, old friend," Gobber said reassuringly. "It'll arrive safely, and in good time."

Hiccup looked at Toothless before glancing at me. "Come on, we're going on a little field trip," he said with a grin.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," I replied with a smirk. Snowfire narrowed her eyes in annoyance when she realized where this was going.

'Am I not allowed to have proper rest?' she demanded as we headed to the arena.

Once we reached the arena Hiccup started packing some smoked salmon into the saddles while I grabbed water to take on the trip. We weren't sure how long the trip would be. I always say it's better to be prepared and safe than sorry. Fortunately, Hiccup's a good listener.

"Alright, we'll start at the west islands and work our way back," Hiccup explained.

"Back from where?" I looked up in time to see Astrid and Stormfly fly down to join us.

"Uh, just a quick spin around the island," Hiccup replied.

"You might as well tell the truth," I whispered when he looked at me skeptically. "You're a terrible liar," I added with a grin.

"She's right, especially since you're bringing enough food for Snotlout's whole family for a quick spin," Astrid replied after pulling out the food from Hiccup's satchel. And right on cue Snotlout joined us on Hookfang.

"Do I hear my name? Is Astrid finally admitting that she needs me?" Both Hiccup and I smirked when Astrid punched Snotlout right up the nose.

"Even if I did need help, the last person I would ask for help is you," she snapped before Snotlout grabbed the smoked salmon she was holding.

"All right," Hiccup sighed. "Look, if you must know…"

"And they must," I cut in with a shrug.

"I'm going to do something for my father, and Alex is helping me," he went on. The two of them just looked at him, knowing there was more. "Okay, Trader Johann is bringing something for him. Something important and he should have been here by now.

"You're not trading this fish, are you?" Snotlout asked with a mouthful of fish. "Because it's delicious." Hookfang than came out of nowhere and ate the fish right from his hands. "Hey!" Snotlout snapped his fingers and Hookfang regurgitated the fish into his waiting hand. I had to look away in disgust when Snotlout ate it.

"When do we leave?" Astrid asked.

"Only me and Alex are going," Hiccup replied with a shake of his head. "If we all disappear, my dad might get suspicious."

"Go alone? You? Without us?" Snotlout started laughing. "Like you could handle anything if we weren't there to bail you—" He started choking on his salmon after laughing so much. This time it was my turn to laugh when Astrid punched him in the stomach. "—Out," he finished in a wheezing voice.

"Don't you think your dad will get suspicious if you and Alex are gone?" Astrid asked with a raised eyebrow. Hiccup and I exchanged looks when she asked that. I hadn't even thought of it. But Stoick had never gotten suspicious before, as far as I was concerned.

"We should be fine," Hiccup replied. Astrid just folded her arms and rolled her eyes. Finally Hiccup groaned in annoyance before changing plans, "Alright, you two can come, but that's it. Don't even tell the others. Heed my warning. I am serious."

A few minutes passed before we took off flying. Needless to say, Hiccup was not happy. Snotlout and Astrid flew behind us while Hiccup took the lead. And it didn't take long for news to spread like wildfire among the teens.

"Hey Hiccup?" a voice asked from behind. Hiccup turned in time to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut flying on Barf and Belch. Sure enough Meatlug and Fishlegs were there too. "Snotlout told us that there would be smoked salmon, and I love lox." Hiccup sighed and looked over at Snotlout.

"I'm pretty sure I said, 'Don't tell the others'," he groaned.

"And where's Jacob?" I asked after realizing that he wasn't with them.

"He stayed behind, said that he could buy us time while we're gone," Astrid replied with a shrug.

"And I'm pretty sure I didn't listen to you," Snotlout retorted, referring to Hiccup's statement.

"Hiccup, aren't you always saying that it's better when we work as a team?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yeah, next time I say that, slap me in the face," Hiccup muttered.

"I'll do it right now!" Ruffnut volunteered.

"She will," Tuffnut added. "And she slaps just like a guy! It's awesome. Watch." Ruffnut eagerly slapped him across the face. "Yeah!"

"Hey, look!" Astrid yelled, pointing ahead.

"At what? I can't see anything past these tears," Tuffnut replied.

We all looked in that direction. And sure enough there was what looked like the remains of a boat. My eyes narrowed when I saw a familiar figure laying unconscious on a wooden plank.

"Is that…. Johann?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.

"I thought he had a ship bigger than that," Snotlout added.

"Come on gang, let's go check it out."

We flew down as Toothless grabbed Johann with his talons, before heading off to somewhere safe we could land. Something told me that nothing good could come out of this. Moments later and we reached a rocky island. Johann was awake now and shook nervously.

"The fog… The fog…" Johann started stuttering on his words.

"Is he alright?" Hiccup looked at the group for anything helpful. Trader Johann was looking off in the distance, with wide, terrified eyes. Either he was just having a daymare (which could happen), or he saw something traumatic.

"Physically I'd say he's fine," I replied after giving him a thorough check. "But mentally… It's like something spooked the heck out of him."

"Well, let's see if he can answer some questions," Astrid suggested.

"Johann, where's your ship?" Hiccup asked.

"No idea," Johann replied rather quickly. "All I know is one minute I was sailing in perfectly calm sea, the wind at my back. And the next thing I know, my entire ship is pulled out from under me and I'm shark bait!"

"I don't understand." Hiccup shook his head in confusion.

"I do. I was three days late and trying to make up time, and I got too close," Johann explained, still jittery as ever.

"Too close to what?" Fishlegs asked.

"Too close to…" Trader Johann paused as if the word was a vial thing. "… Breakneck Bog."

"Breakneck Bog?" we all asked at the same time.

"Uh, quick question, what is Breakneck Bog?" I asked this time.

There were still so many things I needed to learn. Like the islands around Berk. And the names of said islands. Maybe it was time to hit the library again for a quick geography lesson.

"Many a ship has sailed through its waters," Fishlegs explained in a nervous voice. "Few have returned."

"My grandfather told me that it's pirates," Astrid added.

"That's ridiculous," Snotlout scoffed. "Everyone knows that it's haunted by a giant fog monster."

"Fog monster?" Now Fishlegs was really getting scared.

"The legend says the fog monster makes this really creepy moan," Tuffnut said. I rolled my eyes when he started moaning. Fishlegs was already jumpy enough. "Then, he surrounds you and scrapes the skin off your bones." Fishlegs shrieked after that. "And then he scrapes the bones off of whatever's under those."

"And then it drops the bones from the sky," Ruffnut added.

"Yes. It's true what they says. It-it surrounded me!" Johann stammered once again.

"See?" Snotlout asked with a smirk. "Fog monsters? Pirates?" He chuckled as Astrid narrowed her eyes. "Stupid grandfather."

"There's obviously no such thing as a fog monster," I muttered with another roll of my eyes.

Though I wouldn't admit that this 'fog monster' sounded a lot like ghosts. Now those, I did believe in. I blame it on too much television in my world. Watched too many paranormal shows about ghost hunters trying to prove their existence.

"So you don't believe in ghosts or monsters?" Snotlout asked as if I was crazy. Which I probably was.

"Of course not," I replied in a firm tone.

"You wanna bet?" All I did was fold my arms and glare.

"Guys, enough with the fog monster," Hiccup muttered and headed over to Johann. "Johann, we need to find your ship. There's something on it for my father."

"Yes, yes, yes, there was," Johann replied with a nod. Then he looked up at Hiccup. "But it wasn't for your father. It was meant for you."

"For me?" Hiccup asked in confusion. "From who?"

"He didn't tell you?" Trader Johann looked at him in surprise. "It was from your mother." Hiccup's eyes widened in disbelief.

"My mother?" He nearly choked on those words.

"That's impossible!" Astrid exclaimed.

"No wonder Stoick was so desperate to get it back," I murmured with a shake of my head.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked.

"I have no idea, lad," Johann replied. "I just know that it's a large chest with the Berk crest on it."

Sudden understanding lit in my eyes. That would explain why Stoick wanted to keep it a secret. He was probably hoping to surprise Hiccup with the chest. It made me realize just how much I missed my own mom.

"I have to find it. Take us back there. You show us where you lost your ship," Hiccup ordered.

"No!" Johann suddenly cried, crawling away from Hiccup. "No, I won't! You can't make me!" He started getting up as obvious fear showed in his eyes. "I have a knife in me boot!" The twins looked at Johann excitedly when he said that. "Okay, I don't have a knife in me boot," he muttered. The twins looked away in disappointment, as if the idea of something sharp would make this trip more exciting. "But no more fog, please!"

"Alright," Hiccup sighed in annoyance. "Just tell me how to find Breakneck bog."

"Head due east," Johann replied all too eagerly. "There's a group of island shaped like a man's hand. Breakneck bog is the thumb."

"Snotlout, you and the twins take him back to Berk." Snotlout looked at Hiccup in annoyance after hearing that.

"Back to Berk? With this clown and those clowns?" he asked, pointing to Johann and the twins.

"Would you look at him? We don't have a choice," Hiccup replied while gesturing to a trembling Johann. "And if anything happens, you'll be glad to have them with you," he added to Johann.

"Question," Fishlegs piped up. "Where are the rest of us going?"

"Breakneck bog," I replied as Hiccup nodded in agreement. Fishlegs whimpered at the name.

...

Once Snotlout and the twins had taken Johann back to Berk, we headed out to Breakneck bog. As we flew Fishlegs tried changing Hiccup's mind. I've known Hiccup only for a year now, but I already knew that once his mind was up, it was almost impossible to change.

"What if I gave you something from my mother?" Fishlegs asked in a pleading tone. "Or I could give you my mother. You know you love her crab cakes." I rolled my eyes once again at the desperation in Fishlegs' voice.

'The fog! The fog!' Snowfire suddenly started chanting. I tried not to smirk as Astrid flew in closer and did the same. Fishlegs only jumped at the sound of their voices, looking even more nervous, if that was possible.

"Tears, guys," Fishlegs muttered. "Is that what you want to see?"

"Look, there it is!" Hiccup exclaimed, pointing ahead. Sure enough the islands actually did look like someone's hand. It even had five smaller islands that looked like the fingers of a hand.

"Breakneck bog," Fishlegs breathed.

We flew down to the island that looked like the thumb. Once we landed on the island we saw nothing that looked like Johann's ship. Though it didn't help that the island was rather large. With lots of dead and eerie looking trees.

"I don't get it," Hiccup murmured. "We flew all around the island. No ship."

"Not even the remains of a ship," I added.

"You know what would take a ship?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "A fog monster."

'There is no such thing as a fog monster,' Snowfire snapped with a roll of her eyes. That was when a moan sounded coming from the forest.

"Then what was that?" Fishlegs asked.

"Probably just the wind," I suggested with a shrug.

"Only one way to find out," Hiccup said. With that being said, we walked through the forest. I may have been terrified when I first woke up in this world, but in my defense I had no idea where I was, and I was alone. But this was nothing compared to that.

"Wait a minute!" Fishlegs called and looked at us like we were crazy. "You don't go towards the weird, crazy sound."

"Yeah we do," Astrid replied in an eerie voice. "We always do." She was loving this. I could see the grin in her eyes as she walked confidently ahead. Fishlegs just whimpered a little more before following us.

"I hate that about us," he murmured.

"Ah come on, Fishlegs," I nudged him playfully as we walked further ahead. "You're not afraid of a little old ghost story, are you?"

"Ghost stories, no. But monsters, yes," Fishlegs replied.

I tried not to laugh at the look he gave me as the dragons joined us. Snowfire walked behind me, keeping an eye out for danger with Toothless close behind Hiccup. Then Fishlegs stopped in his tracks when he saw something under his feet.

"Ugh. Bones. That's just perfect," Fishlegs groaned.

'They would be better with meat on them,' Snowfire hummed after giving them a sniff. I patted her on the shoulder as we walked ahead.

Astrid was leading the group when suddenly Stormfly grabbed her and pulled her away. My eyes widened in horror as an axe flew down where Astrid had been seconds ago. Following where the axe had fallen, I looked on in surprise at the sight of Johann's ship. To everyone's surprise it was stuck in a tree.

"Trader Johann's ship," I whispered in amazement.

"Wow, he really got off course," Hiccup said with the slightest smirks.

"Yeah, no kidding," Astrid added.

"Fog monster," Fishlegs suddenly chimed in. We all just stared at him with blank looks.

"Let's get up there," Hiccup said, getting on Toothless.

'Something is not right,' Snowfire suddenly growled.

"Come on," I sighed as I climbed into her saddle. We flew up to the ship, but none of the other dragons would move any closer. Instead they flew off until they were a safe distance away from the ship.

"They're afraid," Fishlegs said. "And they're dragons. So we should be asking ourselves, what are we doing?"

"They're not afraid," Astrid muttered in annoyance.

"He's right. The ship isn't going to hold them," Hiccup explained. "We have to jump down and send our dragons below."

"Great. That's just perfect," Fishlegs groaned.

'Be careful, little one,' Snowfire told me with a nudge. I nodded before jumping down onto the ship, just as Hiccup and Astrid did the same. We landed without a problem, but Fishlegs had crashed right on to the ship. While Astrid helped Fishlegs up, Hiccup turned to look at Toothless while I gave the signal.

"Ground." The one good thing about being able to bond with dragons; they actually listened to you. Even without the use of hand signals. Fortunately the dragons all landed on the ground just after Hiccup had signaled for Toothless to do the same.

"Stay where you can hear daddy," Fishlegs called over the ship's ledge.

"Okay, so let's just find this thing and get out of here," Hiccup said after looking back at us. "We're looking for a chest with the Berk crest on it." Then suddenly a bone landed on the deck in front of us, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Uh, care to explain that?" Fishlegs asked after nearly jumping out of his skin.

"Wish we could," I muttered as more bones began to fall.

"Everyone below deck!" Astrid cried as she took cover. We all ran for the deck down below until the bones had stopped falling.

"Now I know what it's like to be in a horror movie." Everyone gave me weird looks when I said that.

"Ah. It's just a little… bone shower," Hiccup tried reasoning, though even I could see the doubt in his eyes. "And it passed."

"Bone shower?" Fishlegs repeated, looking at us in disbelief. "Am I the only one who thinks that's weird?"

"Um…" Astrid started raising her hand while I just shrugged. Honestly, after waking up in this world it wasn't the craziest thing I've heard.

"Eh, okay, it's a little weird," Hiccup muttered. That was when we heard scraping from above deck. My heart nearly skipped a beat at the sound. This was exactly what happened in those ghost hunting shows. Weird, unexplained noises and shadowy mists appearing out of nowhere. God I hoped this wasn't the case.

"So is that," Fishlegs said in a whisper.

"Maybe it's just a bird," I whispered in a hopeful voice. The scraping suddenly got louder. "A very big bird."

"Okay, let's just start looking for the chest, quickly," Hiccup said. "That really doesn't sound like friendly scraping."

We all went off in different directions to look through Trader Johann's stuff. Astrid and I were sorting through the objects while Fishlegs had backed into a wall, trembling with fear. Seconds later and he let out a scream.

The two of us looked up from our work to see that Fishlegs had backed into a skeletal hand. I was struggling not to laugh when I saw the look of horror on his face. Fishlegs wasn't the really best choice for a mission like this. But he had better control over his attitude than Snotlout or the twins.

"Fishlegs, I found it," Hiccup announced. Sure enough he was holding on to a small wooden chest. The crest of Berk was smack on the middle of it.

"Oh, thank Thor," Fishlegs sighed in relief. "There was a hand. No Skin. All scrapped off."

"Fishlegs, I'm sure that it was nothing serious," I tried reassuring him. And of course that's when the footsteps sounded heavier, and the moans started.

"Uh, Alex, can I ask you something?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

"Sure." This was getting a bit unnerving. Knowing that something big and dangerous was up there left my mind reeling with unease.

"Did you ever hear your imagination walking and moaning?" Fishlegs' question made me look at him in annoyance.

"Well, when I was younger I used to," I replied with another shrug. This time I did laugh at the look Fishlegs gave me. "Okay, joking. No, I really hope we don't have to see it."

"It's coming after us!" Astrid suddenly yelled in alarm.

"Hide!" Hiccup whispered. Fortunately we found a nearby closet to hide in. It was big enough for all of us to fit in, and once Fishlegs had run inside, I closed the door just enough that we could peer through the crack. "Nobody… breathe."

We all held our breaths as the creature got closer. By now I had to fully close the door as it got closer.

"I just want you to know that I love you guys," Fishlegs whispered. We all gave him strange looks as he shrunk back. Then the closet suddenly opened. I think my heart nearly stopped for a second when everyone screamed.

Fortunately it didn't last long when they realized who had opened the door. Snotlout was standing in front of us, wearing some kind of necklace. Tuffnut was holding a skeletal hand that scared Fishlegs even more.

"Hey guys, need a hand?" Tuffnut asked with a chuckle. Astrid growled before jumping onto Tuffnut, pinning him to the floor. She then grabbed the skeletal hand he was holding and slapped him with it. "Ruffnut, do something!" he called for help. I was smothering my laughter as Ruffnut did do something. She grabbed the hand from Astrid and started slapping her brother.

"All right, all right, break it up, you guys," Hiccup said. Ruffnut looked up in surprise while Astrid took the hand and slapped Tuffnut one last time. Hiccup then turned towards Snotlout. "So let me get this straight, this was all you. The bones, the scraping?"

"That's right," Snotlout replied with a laugh. "And this was all you. Ooh! Ah! Eek!" I grabbed the skeletal hand from Astrid and slapped Snotlout across the face.

"You nearly gave us heart attacks," I snapped.

"Why would you do that?" Hiccup demanded after muttering under his breath about not believing what he was hearing. "What were you thinking?" Snotlout was still rubbing his nose after I tossed the hand aside before he spoke again.

"That I was going to make you pay for sticking me with Trader Johann," he retorted.

"Where is he?" Hiccup asked.

"Don't worry about him. He's fine," Snotlout replied.

"So you took him back to Berk?" I asked.

"Not… exactly."

"Just so you know, I'm not forgetting this," Astrid said in a dangerously low voice. She picked up the skeletal hand before pointing it at Snotlout's fresh bruise mark.

"And I'll make sure Snowfire doesn't either," I added with a smirk.

"Also, what's with that stupid necklace?" Astrid asked.

"You likey?" Snotlout asked. "Yeah, a little something I found above deck," he explained. "I can grab one for you if you want."

Suddenly the ship began to shake, and the branches holding it snapped. All of us were lifted off our feet as we screamed. Basically it was like being on a ride at the carnival. Only this had no protection as it landed on the ground with a massive thud. I held back a groan as I struggled back to my feet.

"Is everyone okay?" Hiccup asked.

"Define okay?" I muttered crossly. Then a moan sounded; and of course it sounded like it was coming towards us.

"Run!" We all ran up towards the hatch that led to the upper deck. Once we were out a fog began to pour into the ship.

"Just so you know, this fog, is not us," Snotlout said as we started to group together.

"For once, I wish it was," I replied.

"Okay, I'll admit it. Starting to come around to the fog monster theory," Hiccup said with equal fear and uneasiness.

Then the fog covered us as we all screamed. Once the fog dissolved I spotted Fishlegs clinging on to Snotlout's back for dear life. Snotlout looked at him with a disappointing scowl. "H-Hi," Fishlegs stammered before Snotlout threw him off his back.

"We're alive, right?" Ruffnut asked. Tuffnut flicked his finger at her. "Ow!" Ruffnut proceeded to punching her brother in the stomach.

"Can we please get out of here now?" I asked as my nerves started to crack. This place was freaking everyone out. Then I noticed that the chest Hiccup was holding earlier was gone.

"Wait. The chest, it – it's gone! I just had it!" he gasped.

"Too bad, so sad. See you back on Berk," Tuffnut replied as he, his sister, Fishlegs and Snotlout headed for their dragons.

"Meatlug, oh! Oh, I missed you, Meatlug!" Fishlegs sighed in relief after climbing onto Meatlug's back. "Don't worry. Daddy's taking you home."

Just as they started heading out, we got above deck to watch them leave.

"You guys go on. I have to find that chest," Hiccup told us.

"Do what you got to do. See you when we see you," Snotlout replied quickly.

"Hold on guys, that chest is from his mom," I reminded them.

"Yeah, touching story. Gotta go," Tuffnut said.

"Put yourselves in his shoes," Astrid snapped.

"Shoe," Snotlout pointed out.

"Whatever," I muttered with a roll of my eyes. "The point is, I know what it's like losing my mother. How would you feel if it was yours?" That made them stop in their tracks. They thought about what I said before glaring at me.

"I hate you," Snotlout muttered crossly. Then he looked at Hiccup. "This does not mean we're really friends," he added.

"Thank you, guys. I mean it," Hiccup replied with a smile. I hadn't missed the look of surprise he gave me when I mentioned my own mom. "Now let's go find that fog monster."

...

All of us were searching for the fog monster now. Something told me that there was more to it than that though. Snowfire had already warned us that something wasn't right. That there was something else involved with the ship's wreckage.

"There it is!" Astrid exclaimed, pointing towards something moving down below.

I leaned forward and sure enough, there was a fog monster down below. But something was odd about the way it moved. For starters it was moving way too fast to be ordinary fog. And it was moving in an odd way, almost like something or someone was controlling it's direction.

"Is it just me, or does fog not move like that at all?" Hiccup asked after watching it too.

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't," I replied with a shake of my head. This didn't make any sense. We flew closer to the fog when it suddenly split in two.

"There's two of them?" Snotlout yelled.

"Astrid!" Hiccup called, pointing to the right.

"On it!"

Astrid then flew towards the right, with Snotlout and the twins following her. Fishlegs and I flew with Hiccup as we chased the fog monster on the left. It wasn't long before we lost sight of it. Astrid's group had disappeared into a canyon before emerging on the other side.

"We lost it," Hiccup said when we met up again.

"So did we," Astrid replied in a grim voice. We landed on the ground below, but Snowfire was still uncomfortable with her surroundings.

'We should not be here,' she suddenly hissed.

"Easy, we don't know what's out there," I murmured while patting her on the shoulder.

'Which is exactly why we should not be here,' she retorted, this time looking at me in annoyance. 'Why do you hatchlings never listen?' I was ready to argue when Tuffnut cut me off.

"Uh, it didn't lose us," he announced while looking ahead.

I followed what he was looking at to see the fog headed right for our direction. Once it got close enough the fog began to surround us. Snowfire let out another growl before flying up to flap her wings.

"What are they doing?" Ruffnut asked.

"They're leaving us," Tuffnut replied.

"I knew Hookfang never liked me," Snotlout whimpered.

'This is no ordinary fog,' Snowfire warned me as the fog began to dissolve.

"They're not going anywhere," I reassured them after realizing what the dragons were doing.

"Alex is right; they're just blowing the fog away," Hiccup said when he noticed what I was looking at.

Once the fog had dissolved we found ourselves surrounded by small smoky gray dragons. What surprised me the most though was that smoke was frothing from their mouths. They were not happy that we had invaded their territory. Now I suddenly understood why Snowfire was so worried.

"They're dragons," Astrid whispered in amazement.

"Yeah, angry ones," Snotlout added as the little dragon hissed angrily at him.

"That's because we're on their territory," I couldn't help but say. "That's what Snowfire was trying to tell me."

'And as usual you would not listen,' she muttered crossly.

"Well, look on the bright side, Fishlegs. No fog monster," Hiccup said in a sheepish voice.

"I feel so much better now," Fishlegs replied, sounding more anxious than ever now.

"So, how exactly are we going to deal with these guys?" I asked as one of them looked curiously at me.

"What are those things?" Ruffnut asked as the dragon looking at me broke it's concentration.

"They must have created the fog to look like some kind of menacing monster to scare predators away," Hiccup explained.

"They're like smoky dragon pirates without the eye patches," Tuffnut chimed in.

"Smothering Smokebreath dragons," Fishlegs suddenly gasped. We all gave him weird looks at that. "What?"

"You knew about these things?" Snotlout demanded angrily.

"Well I read about them," Fishlegs replied, holding his hands up in defense. "I didn't believe they actually existed!"

"Kind of like the White Terror," I said with a smirk.

"And you went with fog monster instead?" Astrid asked in disbelief.

"Guys, can we talk about this later?" Hiccup muttered. He then turned back to Fishlegs, "What else did the book say?"

"They hide themselves in a veil of smoke…" Fishlegs began. He started counting on his fingers at the things Snowfire had already pointed out, "They're very territorial and…" He paused after giving it some thought before looking at us with worry. "Uh, I forget the third thing."

At that moment the Smothering Smokebreath dragons attacked. Hiccup hopped onto Toothless as he began firing plasma blasts at them. Snowfire swatted a few away with her tail while another tried jumping at me. Fortunately, much to my surprise, they didn't attack. Instead they gave me a cautious sniff before attacking the others. Astrid was wrestling with one until Stormfly managed to whack it away with her tail. Hookfang was firing a stream of flames at them to keep them away. Two Smothering Smokebreaths had grabbed Tuffnut by the arms and tried dragging him away. Barf and Belch pulled him by the legs and dragged him back down.

Snotlout and Fishlegs tried running away, but the Smothering Smokebreaths only blocked their paths. They flew back down to join the others.

"There's too many of them, let's fall back!" Hiccup yelled as they started surrounding us.

"Uh… Fall back where?" Tuffnut asked.

"Give us a fire line!"

"Don't have to ask us twice." Barf shot out some gas and Belch sparked it shortly after, creating a wall of flames that covered the Smothering Smokebreaths in smoke. While they were distracted we took the chance to fly off until we were at a safe distance.

"What are we doing?" Fishlegs yelled. "Why are we still here?"

"I can't leave here without that chest," Hiccup insisted.

"You don't even know if they have it!" Snotlout retorted.

'They do,' Snowfire said with narrowed eyes. I followed her gaze and watched as the Smothering Smokebreaths carried Trader Johann's anchor away. They then flew into a cave in the cliff wall.

"I have a pretty good idea," Hiccup said after watching them. "Let's get a closer look."

Moments later and we were back at the canyon where we first saw them. It didn't take me long to understand why the dragons had taken the anchor. My guess was they liked taking metal. Kind of like a certain Steel type Pokemon I used to love.

"Fishlegs? Anything else you'd like to share with us?" Hiccup asked after looking over his shoulder.

"Unfortunately yes. The third thing: The Smothering Smokebreaths build their nests out of metallic objects," Fishlegs explained.

"Well, wouldn't surprise me," I muttered with a shrug. "In my world there are legends about dragons protecting gold and other types of treasure."

"Do you think there's any treasure in there?" Snotlout asked in excitement.

"Don't get any ideas," Astrid snapped.

"I wish I could see in there," Hiccup sighed.

"Yeah you do," Tuffnut replied. I rolled my eyes as he laughed, holding on to a spyglass.

"Where'd you get that?" Hiccup asked.

"Duh. From the ship or whatever that was in the tree," Tuffnut explained as if it were obvious.

Hiccup snatched the spyglass out of his hands and groaned in annoyance. A moment of awkward silence followed as he watched what they were doing. I could barely see, but it looked like they were melting the metal together into one giant nest.

"They're melting them all together," Hiccup explained after observing them for a while. Then he noticed something in the distance. "The chest! It's in there! We've got to get them away from that pile of loot."

"Maybe we could lure them away," I suggested.

"With what?" Hiccup asked. We then heard Snotlout whistling as he tried polishing his necklace.

"Ooh, shiny," he marveled at his work. Snotlout stopped when he realized we were watching with grins on our faces; he let out a nervous laugh. "What?"

It took a lot of convincing to throw Snotlout into the line of fire. Thankfully Astrid and I managed to ware him down before he jumped out into the open. The one thing we had in common: We both hated Snotlout's obnoxiousness.

"Here, dragons! I've got something for you! Over here. Come get it!" Snotlout shouted, waving his arms like a madman. The Smothering Smokebreaths started chasing after him as he fled out of the cave. "I'm going to make Hiccup eat that chest!" I heard him mutter once he left.

"Quickly, those things will be done with Snotlout any second now," Hiccup advised.

Astrid and I followed Hiccup as we flew towards the cave on our dragons. Unfortunately Snowfire didn't make things any easier as she looked around warily.

'This place is not safe,' she muttered after observing her surroundings. We hovered there and waited as Hiccup climbed on the metal that was welded together by the Smothering Smokebreaths. It amazed me that they knew how to do that.

"Uh, guys, they're coming," Astrid warned us as she kept lookout.

"Hiccup, look out!" I called as the Smothering Smokebreaths surrounded us. Hiccup had managed to grab the chest, but the Smothering Smokebreaths had already caught up with him.

"Toothless!" he yelled. Toothless jumped up and used his wings to blow the smoke away once more. Once Hiccup had climbed onto Toothless we searched for an opening in the cave.

"Hiccup! Don't leave me!" Snotlout's voice cried. I turned just in time to see Snotlout getting pinned down by a couple of Smothering Smokebreaths. This time I had to laugh when they tried welding down the necklace he still wore.

"Great," Hiccup muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Toothless, plasma blast." Toothless turned around and fired several plasma blasts that scared away the Smothering Smokebreaths, causing them to scatter. Once Snotlout was on Toothless' back they headed for the exit once more.

Of course Snotlout would still have the necklace. That's what they were after as they followed. One of them had even tried grabbing it from Snotlout's neck.

"Snotlout, would you give up the necklace already?" I demanded in a groan.

"No! It's my shiny," Snotlout replied defensively.

"Well, it's you or your shiny!" Hiccup snapped.

Snotlout looked back at the Smothering Smokebreaths before taking off his necklace. At last they grabbed it and flew back into the cave. My shoulders sagged in relief once they were gone.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout shouted. Hookfang flew down and grabbed him before throwing him into the air. Snotlout landed on his neck without a hitch.

We kept on flying, but of course the Smothering Smokebreaths continued following us. "Anything you have that's metal, throw it!" Astrid ordered.

Everyone had thrown their weapons down as the Smokebreaths caught them. I was still trying to figure out how they managed to hide it all. Luckily that was enough to draw them away as they retreated back to their cave. Snotlout looked over his shoulder one last time and looked relieved.

"We did it!" he shouted. That was when I noticed too late the Smokebreath flying straight for Hiccup. It didn't take me long to realize why.

"Hiccup!" I cried.

Hiccup noticed it as well, but by than it was too late. The Smothering Smokebreath had caught up with him, and latched on to his prosthetic leg. I couldn't help but wince as it yanked his leg from the stirrup, causing Toothless to fall in a deadly spiral nosedive.

Fortunately Fishlegs had come in out of nowhere on Meatlug. The Smothering Smokebreath was sent flying into a wall when Meatlug slammed into it, freeing Hiccup's leg.

"You will not haunt my dreams!" Fishlegs shouted after the retreating dragon. "Because I'll never sleep again," he quietly added.

'It's about time we leave,' Snowfire hummed as we headed for Berk, this time with the chest.

...

"I was afraid that I might forget her," Hiccup admitted as we flew side by side. It was later that evening when Hiccup discovered what was in that chest. And much to my surprise it was a stuffed dragon. A stuffed dragon that his mother had made.

"You're mother would be proud of you," I said with a smile. Hiccup looked stunned at my remark, but than a smile spread across his face. We flew on through the night, for once happy about what may lie ahead.

Most people are afraid of things they don't understand. For me, it was the fear of losing everyone I cared about. But I knew that deep down, they were safe. My heart belonged in two worlds, and for that I considered myself lucky. I had no regrets in choosing this world over mine.


AN: There's the next chapter! Sorry for the long delay, we just went through Snowmegedon, and it was loads of fun XD Over thirty inches of snow here in PA, and that's just in the mid-eastern part. Prayers for those who had more, and are enjoying the snow, and to the people of Alaska who woke up to that nasty earthquake!

CartoonLoverBecky - Don't you just love original content? I love adding different things to the story.

Wild Cat 24 - Gotta love it! And thanks, I'm glad everyone loved it :)

The Silent Fury - Yep, love always finds a way to pull through ;) And Snotlout and Hiccup actually getting along... Didn't think that was possible!