Hiccup and the others were now tracking on foot towards the skulls right eye which was south of their position.

"Tell me again why you can't simply flyers over there?" Toothless asked, looking back at Hiccup.

"Because it would be hard to manoeuvre if I carried all of you if we were attacked," Hiccup explained. "Remember one of those Gothars rides on a giant bird. It's hard fighting in midair when you're carrying three people."

Chopper nodded. "And then somehow he managed to trap the Sky Knight, he the bird he was riding on got ensnared in something."

"Plus we don't know what the other Gothars are capable of," Hiccup added.

"He does have a point, it may be slower, but it is certainly safer going on foot," Heather agreed.

"You know I thought that this forest would be scary here, but so far it's been nothing nice and peaceful," said Chopper.

"You seem to be in a pretty good mood today," Hiccup noted. "Are you feeling courageous for change?"

"Yep, you bet ya," Chopper smiled. 'I feel so safe with these guys.'

"You right about this forest," Toothless agreed. "Which worries me, I've half expected to run into one of Enel's Gothars by now."

"I imagine a little tied up with the gorillas," Hiccup assumed. "From what I can tell, they seem to be at war with one another so they must consider as is a secondary concern."

"Their mistake," said Toothless.

Chopper was still smiling when suddenly he heard movement, a lot of movement, in the trees. He turned around and saw that the path they took had now blocked by a large root covered in stripes.

"Where did that giant stripey route come…" he stopped when he suddenly saw it move. "It's moving."

"You see something back there, Chopper?" Hiccup asked.

Chopper then quickly turned back around. "Oh, it's… uh, nothing really. Nothing at all." His cheerful expression had now disappeared. 'If I tell them that I saw a moving root, they'll laugh at me for getting scared over nothing. I'm supposed to be brave today; it was probably my imagination anyway.'

"There's something eerie about this place," said Heather.

Toothless noted that Chopper had been spending a lot of time looking behind them. "Chopper, why do you keep looking behind us?"

"No reason!" he said quickly. "No reason at all."

Hiccup then turned his head. "Then where did that giant stripey root come from?"

Chopper blinked. "Oh that, so you guys can see it?"

"I've never heard of roots moving before," said Toothless as it moved.

"Oh no, you see that too! I thought I was just imagining things!" Chopper panicked.

Then suddenly, the entire ground began to shake as the root began to rise. It was then that they discovered that it was not a root but rather a giant snake, the biggest one they had ever seen.

Unaware of the problems Hiccup and the group he was leading were facing, Astrid and the others were now cruising down the Milky Road. They were using the Raven as propulsion as there was no wind and there were making pretty good time.

"Is any way we can take up the pace?" Astrid asked.

"Afraid not, Astrid," said Fishlegs. "The Milky Road gets pretty steep in places; we have to rely on dial power to get by."

"Then I guess we should be lucky that we have the Raven with us," said Astrid.

"Hey, who put you in charge!" Snotlout yelled.

"Hiccup," said Ragnar.

"And who put Hiccup in charge?" Everyone just gave him dry looks. "Just saying."

"Anyway it's time for Gabriel's medicine," said Fishlegs. "Does anyone have any idea where Chopper placed it?"

"I think he left it in a barrel somewhere down in the galley, do you think you can get it?" Ragnar asked.

"On it," said Fishlegs as he made his way to the galley.

"Sounds like you're getting better, old man," said Ruffnut.

"I'm very grateful to you all," Gabriel nodded.

"If anyone deserves fangs it's our ship's doctor, when it comes to medicine that Chopper is a real miracle worker," said Astrid smiling. "And you did save Chopper from that Gothar guy, so I guess that makes you just about even."

Gabriel just sat there in silence.

"Hey, is he alive?" Tuffnut whispered.

"I can poke him with a stick," Ruffnut offered.

"Shall I tell you a little of this land history?" Gabriel asked. Everyone just looked at one another only took their silence as a yes. "Six years ago I was the All-Father, as you have no doubt learned it is believed that the Upper Yard first appeared in Skypiea abruptly a good 400 years ago. Until then Skypiea had always been a peaceful Sky Island. Items from the Blue Sea that were occasionally brought here by the knock upstream were rare and valuable treasures to the sky people. Likewise, all the vearth from the Sky Islands was brought here by the knock upstream.

"But a quantity of vearth as vast as the Upper Yard appearing in the sky seemed like an unimaginable miracle. The sky people understandably overjoyed and worship at it as sacred ground, a gift from the heavens itself, but the original inhabitants were still on that vearth, and a war erupted over its possession. Those inhabitants were the Vanir."

"Then there the gorillas?" said Snotlout as Fishlegs placed Gabriel's medicine in front of him.

Gabriel merely nodded.

"So you're saying that the vanir used to live on Jaya when it was still in the Blue Sea," said Ragnar.

"That's right, the current blast them into the sky against their will," Gabriel nodded.

"Hold on, does that mean you just stall the land that was rightfully theirs?" Astrid stared.

"It does, the sky people's greed drove them to steal the vanir homeland hand for the last 400 years, the war between the vanir and the aseir has gone on without a break. The vanir are simply trying to regain their lost home."

"How sad, all those lives lost," said Fishlegs.

"Wait a second, doesn't that make you the bad guy!" said the twins in unison.

Swift then transformed into a horse and growled at them, causing them to back away.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that is correct," said Gabriel regretfully. He then looked down at the medicine at his feet. "Oh, my medicine. Excuse me; I almost forgot to take it."

Astrid looked at him as he took the pills and drank a cup of water. "What about Enel? Who's he on what's his story?"

Gabriel put down the glass and looked at them solemnly. "While I was still the All-Father, he appeared from another Sky Island leading a group of warriors. They dealt a heavy blow to my divine squad and the vanir then they seized control of the Upper Yard. That was six years ago, since then nearly all the divine squad have been enslaved and forced to perform some mysterious labour, I don't know what it is. But the vanir don't care who the All-Father is; they want what they always wanted the return of their homeland."

Astrid was beginning to understand; the All-Father wasn't a god it was just a title for the head of state. She suspected that this mantra was some sort of martial art and all the strange powers the Gothars have could be Devil Fruit powers or some other kind of trick.

"I still don't understand, if all these vanir are only interested in getting their homeland back then why do they attack us the minute we arrived?" Ragnar asked.

He remembered that Wyper had attacked them without any kind of reason, and he was certainly determined to destroy them. They were still getting used to the altitude, so he literally swapped the deck with them, apart from Hiccup.

"The members of the divine squad sometimes steal a ship in hopes they might escape from Enel," Gabriel explained. "However the vanir still considered the divine squad enemies, and they will eliminate them on site. They must mistaken you for them."

Ragnar rolled his eyes. "Sounds like they are the kind that shoot first and ask questions later, get an ever occur to them that we don't have pointy ears."

"One reason I became the Sky Knight was to help these escapees make it safely away to other Sky Islands," Gabriel continued. "There is no place on the Upper Yard that such outlaws won't be able to avoid Enel's eye."

"This Enel sounds like he's some kind of demon from the way you're telling it," said Ragnar folding his arms.

"God or demon, I would not want his wrath to rain upon us," said Snotlout.

"A demon? No, but he comes very close," said Gabriel bitterly. "Enel has decreed that all outsiders, like yourselves, are criminals. What's more, he has made the inhabitants of Skypiea responsible for leading them to judgement; this gives rise to the islanders sense of guilt."

All of them just stared at him in shock.

"When the people believe they are committing a criminal act, they become overwhelmed by it; it weakens there will. Enel knows this and exploits it; he has created a flock of helpless lambs to rule over. The lies of the people are playthings to him… a demon indeed."

"When we first landed on a Valkyrie Beach, we thought we found something like a paradise," Fishlegs sighed. "Boy were we wrong."

Astrid nodded. "Out of all the places that the ancient city of gold ended up, this is just our luck."

"Oh, that's right," said Gabriel looking at her. "This city, all of you were excited about it, but please tell me something what is gold?"

They all stared at him, but it seemed as if he wasn't joking; he had no idea what gold is. There again it was a mineral which was scarce on Sky Islands so they shouldn't be surprised.

Six years ago, Gabriel had attempted to organise a treaty with the chief of the vanir, but a few of them weren't too pleased. Leading them was a young Wyper, who was deeply passionate about reclaiming their lost land and had a deep hatred for the aesir.

"You back again, old man, get out now!" Wyper demanded.

"Enough, Wyper," said the chief. "Gabriel is here to negotiate."

"Negotiate what?" Wyper spat. "No, chief were through! We're not going to stand by while two old men negotiate away everything that we fought for our whole lives!"

He then immediately turn to Gabriel. "Listen, Gabriel, you can forget about any kind of treaty! If you want to compromise so badly give it all back! For generations, we have watched you aesir slaughter us like little pigs! And now you're saying you want to make peace, ha!"

"I cannot give it all back to you," said Gable bluntly. "The power of the Upper Yard's vearth is of the utmost importance of every man and woman now living in Skypiea. All are grateful for its many blessings; I have no right to take that away. These people, after all, I innocent."

"Oh, so the aesir are innocent, are they?" Wyper scoffed and then slowly marched up towards him. "I guess you can call them that since they let you do your fighting for them and never bloodied their own hands! Maybe it's time we involved a few innocent people!"

"I won't allow that," said Gabriel.

Wyper then grabbed the hem of his robe and pulled him towards him. "You want peace so badly, make a sacrifice! Execute a hundred of your own people on the altar and bring us their heads!"

"You're mad… I won't."

"Then we're done talking," said Wyper releasing him, turned his back and walked away from him. "Get lost or I'll take your head as a down payment."

"Wait, Wyper," said Gabriel.

Wyper stopped in his tracks and turned his head. "Be careful when you use my name, old man."

Gabriel looked at him. "I'm quite fond of the juice made from your pumpkins."

Wyper, in a blind rage, raised his fist and charged at him. "I'll kill you!"

"Wyper, stop" the chief yelled. "Warriors restrain him!"

Wyper little outburst caused several of Gabriel's guards to rush into the fray, many of the vanir tackled Wyper, but his followers had taken his lead.

"What is this?" said the chief noticing a few vanir had drawn their weapons. "Kappo! Branham! Not you too!"

Rachel was watching from a nearby tent as the fighting started, and a baby girl was crying nearby.

"Aisa sure cries a lot, doesn't she?" Rachel noted.

"Yes, she always cries when there's a disturbance in the village," Aisa's mother nodded.

"It's Wyper, right?"

"There there, there, there honey," said Aisa's mother softly and then looked back up at Rachel. "I really don't know, but you have to admit when there are problems in the village he is right in the middle of them. Why would you think of him, Rachel?"

Rachel looked at Wyper, who was punching several Gabriel's guards. "I think he frightens me as well. He's like a demon."

Back in the present, Rachel was watching from afar, as Wyper had gathered up all the warriors to commence their attack on Upper Yard again. She made her way in order to join up with them when she saw that the bag of vearth had been spilt all across the ground next to Wyper.

"The vearth!" she yelled and then she looked up at Wyper. "Wyper…" She then rushed in towards him. "…I told you before that's Aisa's treasure you have no right to—"

"Enough!" said Branham blocking her path.

"But Branham…"

"We can't assume we'll get another chance like this," said Wyper as he addressed everyone. "I won't let this opportunity pass, if you don't think you're up to it stay behind. I won't hold it against you."

"Don't say that, you know we're up to it."

"Are you? Are you up to abandoning anyone who falls during the battle? If you can step over the bodies of your dying comrades and keep fighting, then follow me. Now I swear, Enel's head is mine!"

In the forest, Hiccup the others were having a little problem with the giant snake, whose large fangs were venomous.

"Move it!" Hiccup yelled.

No needed be told twice, and they immediately ran as quickly as they could with the snake hot on their heels.

"It's enormous," said Heather. "I wonder if it's another result of the environment here!"

"At the moment, the only thing I'm concerned about is not ending up as things meal!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless then turned around and grasped his swords. "I'll handle this."

The snake then dived towards him, and he quickly jumped out of the way, but it kept on moving towards Hiccup and Chopper. Hiccup quickly transformed his hybrid form and flew up while Chopper jump to the side.

Toothless then jumped from tree to tree before landing on a branch. "How the hell can something so big move so fast?"

Heather had grown several legs on trees and was jumping from one to the other towards the tallest branch. A good thing she did, because a few seconds later, the snake bit down on the tree she had been in front of a few seconds ago. Toothless then noticed that its venom was actually disintegrating the bark off the tree. When it removed its mouth, a massive chunk of the tree had noted away.

"Acid!" Chopper panicked.

"Uh, change of plan we're running away," said Toothless.

"Sounds good," said Heather.

"I agree," Hiccup nodded.

The snake then started to turn towards them as the tree yet had just bitten into toppled over.

"Do not let venom touch you its death!" Toothless yelled.

"Ow, big boy follow me!" Hiccup yelled, waving his arms about. "Catch me if you can!"

Hiccup knew that he was the swiftest out of all them, and if the worst came to the worst, he could simply fly to safety. Unfortunately, the snake didn't seem interested in him and looked up towards Heather.

"Heather, look out!" Chopper yelled.

Heather quickly jumped out of the way just before the snake bit down the branch she had been standing on.

"Five Flower!" Heather yelled, and five arms shot out of a tree to form a rope. She then quickly grabbed hold of the extended hand and swung to safety. "Nice try."

"That was awesome, Heather," said Chopper and then he saw that the snake had turned its sights on him.

He then quickly transformed into his animal form and galloped away as soon as he could. The snake then began chasing him and Toothless across the forest. Hiccup then flew down to get the snake's attention away from them.

"Oi a big fella, over here!" Hiccup yelled.

One thing led to another, and eventually they managed to shake off the giant snake. Unfortunately, in all the commotion, they ended up losing one another.

"This is bad," said Heather. "I know I'm on the right path, but where is everyone? Are they lost? Should I wait for them?"

Chopper was utterly panic-stricken. "I'm lost, guys! Wait for me!"

Toothless sighed. "Great, I'm now hopelessly lost. The others can take care of themselves; I guess I better start walking."

"Now what?" Hiccup sighed as he took in his new surroundings. "Guess we got all turned around that we lost one another. I can only hope they can make their own way to the ruins; I better make my way down south."

Meanwhile, Enel was using his mantra to keep himself updated about what was going on in the Upper Yard while he sat on his throne enjoying a glass of wine.

"It looks like our vanir friends are making their move how nice," he smiled. "And the Blue Sea dwellers have split off into two groups and then split up again, that interesting. Today is certainly shaping up to be a very lively day; I wonder how many of our players will live and to its end? Well, let the survival game begin."

He then began to laugh.

Wyper was now leading the vanir back towards Upper Yard, and this time they were out for blood.

"Our objective is All-Father's Shrine!" Wyper yelled. "Do not let anything get in your way! Our only goal was to bring back his head!"

All of them then perform battle cries signalling the start of a deadly battle on Upper Yard.