Chapter Thirty Eight

We flew beyond the two peeks and what we saw next made our eyes widen in disbelief. Below us a badly burned forest stretched ahead for miles. There were no signs of life as far as I could see. Anyone smart enough would have fled the area hours ago.

As we flew further ahead I spotted something that nearly made my heart skip a beat. It was at the edge of the forest, further out in the ocean. But even from this distance I could easily make out the large shape. A large structure that was made of ice loomed ahead, jutting out in spikes that tore apart any ships standing in it's way.

"My God," was all I could whisper. Hiccup shared my worry with the faintest nods.

"Stay close," he said when Toothless flew closer to Snowfire. It looked like a fortress made of ice. Something I'd only seen in pictures. Large glacial mountains like this were something I've always wanted to see, but never like this. "What happened here?" Hiccup asked.

'It was not created by my kind,' Snowfire commented after growling in concern. I looked down to see a giant dragon track in a mound of mud. Whatever made those tracks was a lot bigger than the Red Death. And they were as big as a mountain.

Toothless didn't seem to like the print either as he started getting uncomfortable. He warbled nervously as Hiccup tried reassuring him. "All right, easy bud," he murmured as Toothless shook his head.

"This is nothing like what Snowfire's created," I said after biting the bottom of my lip. It made even me feel nervous as I wondered what sort of creature could do this. Snowfire shook her head as Toothless had earlier before swerving to the right. "Hiccup!" My warning call came too late.

Down below a group of people on a Viking ship had spotted us. One man had pointed towards us before shouting something. They were too far away to hear, but I knew already what was happening before they could attack.

Snowfire rolled to the side, but the bola on the net managed to wrap itself around her tail fin. She let out a roar of fury as she was downed, and of course I had to slip off at the last minute. Luckily Toothless had flown just in time to catch me.

"What was that about?" Hiccup asked. The leader of the group had no idea who he was dealing with. The air suddenly got colder than it was before, and Snowfire bellowed furiously at the group of Vikings charging at her.

"Better get down there before she kills them all," I muttered as she already swatted away a few Vikings with her tail. The man in question laughed when Toothless flew towards the ship, with Hiccup yelling at them to stop. "Snowfire!"

I grabbed the nearest piece of wood once Toothless had dropped onto the ship while Hiccup grabbed Inferno. It was obvious as soon as we landed that the men on this ship weren't Vikings. They were pirates.

"What are you doing?" I demanded. Suddenly Snowfire let out another roar and lifted her head, tossing a few other pirates into the ocean in the process. She whipped her tail around, tossing the rope off before trotting over to my side, ignoring the pirates threatening her.

'I should bite your heads off for this!' she snarled. The leader of the pirates only smirked and stepped forward, eying both dragons dangerously. He had jet-black hair and bright brown eyes, and looked to be in his later twenties. What drew my attention though were the twin swords on either side of his waste, still in their sheathes.

"Back again are we?" he asked, then noticed exactly what Snowfire was before glancing at Toothless. "Soil my breeches, a Night Fury and a White Terror. I thought these dragons were all gone for good! Looks like our luck's taken a turn for the better lads! Don't think Drago has one of those in his army." Snowfire snarled again at the name, causing the other pirates to step back out of fear.

"Dragon army?" I whispered in disbelief.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," Hiccup tried reasoning with them.

"Yeah, so why don't you let us go before Snowfire decides to change her mind," I added a bit more aggressively.

"Ha! You should've thought of that before you stole all of our dragons and blasted our fort to bits!" the pirate retorted, gesturing to the ice structure behind them.

"What are you…. What are you talking about?" I demanded, mostly because I knew we weren't the ones behind this. Unless Snowfire was going out without my noticing, which was highly unlikely.

"You think we did this?" Hiccup asked in equal disbelief.

"Ha! Dragon trapping is hard enough work as it is, without having do-gooder Dragon Riders sneaking around rescuing them," replied the pirate.

"What do-gooder—" Hiccup paused when he realized what the man just said. My eyes widened in surprise as Hiccup glanced at me. "Wait, there are other Dragon Riders out there?" he asked.

"You mean, other than your thieving friend from last night? You tell me," the pirate said before walking towards us. "You may have an ice-spitting dragon on your side, but I still have a quota to fill. How do you suppose we explain this to Drago Bludvist?"

"Drago What-vist?" Hiccup asked, sounding even more confused than before. All I could do was watch them carefully. The man was still glaring at Snowfire as she let out another warning growl, one that would send anyone else running. "Does anything you say make sense?"

"He's expecting a new shipment of dragons for his army by tomorrow," one of the pirates explained.

"And Drago don't take well to excuses," another pirate added.

"This is what he gave me the last time I came up empty handed," the leader said as he pulled down his shirt. Just above his neck there was a brand mark on his skin, making me wince. It looked like a dragon's skull that had a sword going through it. "He promised to be far less understanding in the future."

"All right, we don't know anything about a dragon thief, or an ice-spitting dragon…." Hiccup paused and looked at me uneasily. I just nodded before glancing at Snowfire. She may be able to breathe ice, but she was also able to breathe fire as well. That complicated things here. "Or your lunatic boss and his dragon army, okay? Just let us go, strange hostile person whom we've never met."

"Oh, where are my manners?" asked the pirate leader as he gave us a mocking bow. "I am Eret, son of Eret." He then pulled one of his swords out of it's sheathe and pointed it at us. "Finest dragon trapper alive, after all, it's not just anyone who can capture a Night Fury and White Terror."

"Well, with that being said, this is Snowfire," I gestured to Snowfire, who growled in response. "And she doesn't like sharp, pointy objects."

"And this is Toothless," Hiccup added when Toothless let out an irritated growl. "He says we're leaving. Now!" Eret only laughed in response.

"They all say that. Rush 'em lads!" The pirates had started charging at us, but Toothless fired a plasma blast at the ice structure behind them. The blast managed to knock a few chunks of ice off, blocking their path to us. Snowfire flapped her wings furiously at the nearest pirates, sending them flying into the ocean when they were still running.

Some of the pirates managed to get past the ice and charged after us. Snowfire grabbed one pirate with her teeth and threw him off the ship, sending a warning growl to the others making their way towards us. Another had tried sneaking up from behind, but I kicked him in the chest with my foot, knocking him over in an instant.

Hiccup turned Inferno on, creating a fire-like sword that stopped a few pirates in their tracks. But their confusion only lasted for a few seconds before they attacked again. Snowfire suddenly swung her tail once again into the group of pirates, knocking them off their feet in the process.

"Let's go," I said as I hopped into her saddle. Staying here would only make things worse. Another pirate was running towards me, but I swatted them in the face with the plank of wood I'd been holding. Hiccup did the same just as Eret had recovered from the attack, only to watch us disappear in the distance.

"You will never hold on to those dragons!" Eret shouted. "You here me? Drago is coming for them all!" Arrows were sent in our direction as Toothless and Snowfire easily dodged them. Once we were far enough away, I let out a sigh of relief.

But the relief was short lived. Hearing what Eret had said left me feeling worried, more for the dragons than for myself. What exactly was this Drago character planning? And why did he need dragons of all creatures?

"That was bad," Hiccup muttered as we flew back towards Berk.

'Those humans can stuff themselves with ice,' Snowfire huffed angrily. I patted her on the neck, still feeling wary about what just happened.

"We need to warn your dad about this," I said while biting my lower lip. It was a habit I did when I got nervous. Snowfire had pointed it out a few times, much to my annoyance.

"Yeah, because he doesn't have enough to worry about." I looked at Hiccup warily, already knowing where this would head. Something told me that things weren't going to get any better.

...

We got back later that afternoon, flying past Gothi's house and towards the village plaza. For the time being I'd left Spikes in Gothi's care. Apparently she liked the extra company that Terrible Terrors provided.

I spotted the other Viking teens flying around nearby, whooping with laughter when they scared off a group of Terrible Terrors. Down below Gobber was working with a Hideous Zippleback with blue and yellow scales. After becoming the dragon dentist, he was kept busy working with any dragon that needed his help.

Toothless let out a roar as he landed on the plaza, with Snowfire landed right next to him. The crowd cheered as soon as they saw Hiccup, and Stoick rushed outside to greet him with a big smile on his face.

"Ah-ha-ha, there he is! The pride of Berk!" Stoick yelled proudly.

"Look who's finally decided to show up for work," said Gobber, looking up at Hiccup for a brief moment.

"Hey uh, dad, can we have a word?" Hiccup asked, rushing over to Stoick.

"Something you're itching to tell me, son?" Stoick asked, placing an arm around his shoulder.

I had to laugh at the sight. Though it did annoy me slightly that Stoick was ignoring Hiccup, again, this wasn't anything new. The look Hiccup gave me was priceless. I followed them into the forge as Stoick put on a work apron, something I never expected to see on him.

"Ah, not quite the itch you're probably thinking of, but yes," Hiccup replied awkwardly.

"Ah, good man!" Stoick said, tossing him an apron. "Now, lesson one; a chief's duty is to his people. So…." Stoick paused and looked at one of the wood pieces with a number carved into it. "Forty-one!"

"Wha— Could we please talk about this in private?" Hiccup asked. And as usual Stoick ignored him.

"Forty—"

"That's me! That's me! I'm next to you. I was ahead o' you," replied one villager.

"'scuse me, I've been here all day!" the villager said as he pushed his way towards the front. "Okay, okay. I want two of those high seaters, with lots of spikes and big storage compartments."

"Absolutely! You got it sir!" Stoick said cheerfully.

"Ah, dad, this is a little more important than building saddles," Hiccup insisted.

"Ah. Lesson two. No task is too small when it comes to serving your people," Stoick replied, ignoring Hiccup once again before patting him on the shoulder. All I could do was lean against a table and watch.

"Dad!"

"Oh, excuse me Grump," Stoick apologized after hopping over Grump, Gobber's helping hand dragon.

Grump was a Hotburple. They had a large head that made up most of their body, and a club-like tail that was similar to the Gronckle. In fact, Grump was a distant relative to the Gronckle, just like Snowfire was a distant relative to Night Furies. At the moment Grump was sleeping right next to the burner that kept the forge running.

"Ah Grump, you let the forge die! Light it again!" Gobber yelled. Grump opened his eyes ans pointed lazily at the forge in front of him. Again I had to laugh when the area around Grump lit on fire from his lava blast. Gobber groaned in annoyance as I pulled the chain next to me and put the fire out. "Thanks Alex," Gobber muttered to me before turning to Grump. "That's it Grump. You're going up for adoption!"

"He doesn't mean it," I said after patting Grump on the head.

"Go on, have a way." Stoick was gesturing to a tool kit by the time I caught up with them. I hadn't missed the fact that the other teens had joined us either.

"Yeah, but seriously. I really need to tell you about this new land we came across," Hiccup kept insisting.

"Another one?" Gobber asked as he pulled his hammer out of his prosthetic. He came up with a tool that rotates to whatever tool he needed for his prosthetic arm. It actually was a brilliant idea.

"Any new dragons?" Fishlegs asked in excitement.

"We didn't stick around long enough to find out," Hiccup explained. "These folks weren't particularly friendly."

"Oh, really?" Gobber didn't really sound surprised. "Your Night Fury and White Terror didn't bring them cheering to the rooftops?"

"No, no, this was different," Hiccup told him. "They weren't your standard run of the mill who-has I've come to enjoy." Hiccup paused to adjust the saddle form after giving it shape. "These guys were trappers…. Dragon trappers."

"You should've seen the fort, all blown apart and stuck in giant spikes of ice," I added. "It was… weird."

"I've never seen anything like it," Hiccup said with a nod.

"They also mentioned an ice-spitting dragon and another Dragon Rider," I put in. "I know for a fact that the ice was too big for something that Snowfire could create."

I glanced out the window to where she was waiting patiently for me. There was no way she could have done all of that.

"A-And worst of all, they thought we did it!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Ya know, you two are going to get yourselves in serious trouble one of these days," Gobber said while using his prosthetic brush to come his mustache. "Not everyone appreciates this way of life."

"Gobber's right," Stoick agreed with his right-hand man as he pulled off a piece of leather from the saddle and placed it on Gobber's table. "Best we keep to our own. Besides, we'll have more important uses for your time." Stoick then turned on the saw blade and rubbed his hands excitedly. "Once we make the big announcement."

Hiccup sighed in frustration and pulled the lever that powered the saw blade.

"Dad, they are building a dragon army, or-or at least the guy they're working for is," he said with a look of determination. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Hiccup in surprise and worry. "Ah, Drago Bloody-fist or something…." Hiccup paused as he tried to remember the name.

Stoick's eyes widened and he locked eyes with Gobber, who gave the faintest nods. Both men didn't look too thrilled.

"I'll bloody his fist with my face if he tries to steal my dragon!" Tuffnut shouted, punching a fist into his hand.

"Or mine!" Ruffnut added.

"Ugh, you're such a moron!" Tuffnut groaned.

"A beautiful moron," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah," Snotlout agreed dreamily. Ruffnut groaned in disgust. Stoick's expression grew serious as he suddenly grabbed Hiccup by the shoulder.

"Bludvist. Drago Bludvist." My eyes widened when I suddenly remembered the name. Then I noticed something I never expected to see. Fear. Stoick's eyes showed real fear.

"Uh, yeah," Hiccup said. Then Hiccup's eyes widened when he realized what Stoick had said. "Wait, do you know him?" Stoick didn't answer. Instead he glanced at Gobber once more as they stood there in awkward silence.

"We need to move."

AN: Is anyone else having trouble viewing updated stories? I think something's wrong with FF. They obviously don't let us know when they're running updates or experiencing issues, so word of mouth would be much better. Hopefully this chapter is viewable /: I also hope that everyone had a great New Year! :D

Sil - XD That is hilarious! I know that California gets snow in higher elevations, but it's still warmer on the west coast than here in the eastern states. And nope, my Username is actually based off of a song by Matthew West :) He's a Christian artist who's music I really love. You should give it a listen to when you get the chance :)

69759 - Wow, you've got a lot planned! I'm in the works of two new fics that probably won't be posted any time soon, but I'm hoping to get the first few chapters finished before I publish the story itself. I like to do that when it comes to writing, just to keep up with the updates :)