"Are you sure you're ok? You've been really down since the beach incident." B.B. asked, nudging me with a head while the other carefully watched the twins spy, albeit unsucessfully, on Hiccup. "Well. More down than usual. No offense."

"None taken." I groaned. "It's just that... Everything keeps piling on top of eachother before I can do anything about it! The cats are planning to do some big bad, I just know it, and I can't focus on these stupid nightmares I keep having that might not even be about my past because of that!" I whined, smacking my head against the horn on his nose. "Then more stuff keeps happening and I get more problems and that's how it'll go forever." He got a thoughtful look for a moment, before clicking his teeth.

"You just need to focus on something to get it done right? Then just ignore everything else until you solve one problem, then solve the next one." He smiled, proud of his little 'eureka' moment.

"That sure sounds easy for you to say." I deadpanned.

"Hey!" He cried indignantly. "Just think of it like this, right now i'm ignoring our kids causing problems to talk to you about your problems. Then, when we're done, i'll go get them out of whatever trouble they've gotten into."

"I certainly would appreciate it if you two would keep your kids out of trouble." A voice said from a ways in front of us, walking closer. "They've been stalking Hiccup and I all day."

"Sorry, Toothless!" B.B. winced. "I was just talking to Pepper about helping her focus on the cats."

"Right, you've been having dreams. I don't appreciate having to hear it secondclaw, by the way. You should come to us when you need help." Toothless grumbled, taking a seat with us. "Although, B.B. is right, we do need to prioritize finding where the cats went."

"Told you." The zippleback sighed. I threw my head back exasperatedly.

"It isn't that easy! My weird amnesia thing is just gonna keep eating at me from the inside until there wont be a Pepper of whom to fight cats with!" I yapped, nipping at B.B.'s paws as he huffed at me. "If I could ignore it, don't you think I would be already?! I for one don't exactly appreciate waking up scared half to hell."

"Alright, alright! Stop biting." He scruffed me without actually picking me up with his spare head. "We still have to talk about those cats." He mumbled as he let me go.

"Okay..." I groaned as Toohless spared a quick glance to the kids, leaning in conspiratorially.

"We don't have a lot of time to talk here, so i'll make this quick. Pepper, are you still training with your bear friend?" He asked quickly.

"Paw? Yeah, he says I pretty much have the bases covered and I just need to practice." I answered, cocking my head. "What about it?"

"Good, you'll need it." He lowered his auricles as he glared at me. "You seem to have picked up the habit of starting fights with them, and we still don't know the full extent of what their magic can do. You don't need another foolish injury."

"Oy!" I started, then thought better. That wasn't the best thing to argue over, all things considered. "Actually, fair enough." I admitted, sitting up. "From what i've seen, they have mind control and teleportation, but only the mind control has any lasting effects away from that weird crystal."

"What is that thing, and where did they find it?" B.B. asked, breaking his eyes away from the twins. Whom, for the record, were spotted and getting an earful from a very irate Hiccup. "It just doesn't make any sense!"

"Remember when I had the first panic? I overheard two of Whittney's low ranking flunkeys talk about how some other cat hitchhiked on some dragon to an island where they supposedly just found it. Then I guess how they got back is a mystery." I recounted, ears lowering. "That's all I know, though. Sorry."

"Better than nothing." Toothless shook his head, standing again as the commotion the twins caused was dying down. "We need to all meet up again and discuss this in detail. Pepper, when your kids fall asleep tonight, meet us behind the academy. B.B., I'm trusting you can still bust everyone else out?"

"And bust them back in afterwards too!" B.B. stated proudly.

"Perfect." The night fury praised. A vague noncommittal chorus of conpliance rose from the twins, and Toothless nodded as he returned to Hiccup's side. B.B. and I nodded back, determined to not let him down. Tonight was going to be when it all comes together, I just knew it.

Things were not coming together! Apparently some of the locals had noticed bizzarre things happening. Holes too small for even terrors to have dug. Pinprick scratches along the wooden sides of their homes. Things going missing, things like knives and fish and entire lengths of rope and animal skin. The riders had, naturally, taken it upon themselves to fill the shoes of detective. And frankly? They kind of sucked. Poor Astrid was tasked with keeping the twins leashed while they dramatically recreated a nordic noir film. Stormfly, B.B. and I watched in abstract confused horror as all three of them missed the answer lying right beneath their noses.

"How did we not notice any of this before?! This has cat all over it!" Bemoaned Stormfly, sniffing anxiously at the dirt around a hole tunnelling beneath some viking's house. I had to give the cats credit though, they've learned to not make their tunnels big enough for me anymore. I couldn't squeeze in no matter how I tried.

"Hello from the other siiiiii-iiiide!" I jokingly sang into the hole. I shook the dirt off my face as the dragons sofly glared at the offending divet. "I don't think they're in there. I didn't hear anything but me."

"Great. Great! This is just..." Stormfly took a deep breath to keep herself from panicking. "Great."

"There's gotta be something we can do!" B.B. fretted. "Every time we get a lead like this, the cats just seem to vanish!"

"You remember what happened in Petite's cave right?" I asked. "I think they're hiding off-island."

"I still can't believe they have the ability to teleport..." Stormfly said hushedly.

"It's the only answer. They were there, flash of light, gone." I stated, lying next to the hole and leaning in close. I cocked an ear, listening for something, anything.

Then I heard something. A scratching sound, as if there was something that wasn't supposed to be in there still poking around.

"Hey! HEY! I hear something!" I barked, drawing the attention of the kids and a few bystanders. I began digging frantically at the entrance. "Block the other holes!"

"Right!" B.B. stuck his noses into two of the other holes, almost tangling his necks in the process.

Beyond the sound of falling dirt there was a frightened gasp from within the tunnels, and footfalls growing distant as whoever was in there ran away. I growled, sprinting to the hole I assumed they were running to, digging again. They heard me once more and ran further, towards the coast.

"There must be an opening by the beach!" I shouted to the dragons. "Get the kids, i'm going there!"

"W-wait up!" Stormfly tried stopping me, but I was already going. I dashed between buildings and legs, dead-set in catching what I was chasing. It felt like it was taking far too long to catch up, so I pumped my short legs faster, harder. Finally the ocean was within sight, and as I leapt into the sand I heard faint whistling, like the water boiling in a kettle. I skid to face the edge of the dirt, sure enough seeing a hole just small enough for a cat to squeeze into. The whistling got louder before halting immediately as a black cat bolted out. I lunged, grabbing its tail. It yowled in pain and bit back at me, reaching for my scruff.

"Pepper!" Someone called out. I wrestled the cat into the sand, growling wordlessly as I pinned it by its neck. Breath heaving, I looked up. B.B. and Stormfly had their kids, and had apparently found Hookfang and Snotlout as well as Meatlug and Fishlegs. Ruffnut dismounted and ran over, only pausing once she saw what was in my mouth.

"Woah! Pepper caught a cat." She announced to her friends and brother, all coming in closer.

"That's what made all those holes?" Astrid asked incredulously. Fishlegs shook his head.

"That's a house cat. Those aren't known for tunnelling, and it especially couldn't have made tunnels that long in such a short amount of time." If only you knew the half of it, I thought.

"What," Scoffed Snotlout, "So we just chased Ruffnut's dumb dog down for nothing?" I growled, the cat flinched. He took a step back. Hookfang however, stepped forward.

"That was in the tunnels?" He asked. I nodded, mumbling an affirmative. "I thought they all would have left by now."

"We thought so too." Stormfly confirmed.

"Pepper heard this one and went after it like a shot!" B.B. supplied. Meatlug lumbered over, glaring softly at the cat. It still showed no emotion other than rage.

"What do you have to say?" She asked it. It chuckled darkly, familiarly.

"Idiots." It hissed, in that unmistakable feminine lilt. "My plan is already in motion. You would best sit back and watch your precious little humans be destroyed!" I dropped the cat to yell at her. She didn't get up.

"Whittney! The hell have you done?! To Petite, to the egg, to Berk?!" She began laughing maniacally, and the cat she was speaking through began whistling again, louder than before. The humans covered their ears, and just like that the cat dissipated into a smoggy vapor.

"Was it just me, or did that cat like, turn into smoke?" Tuffnut asked.

"That's not... What?!" Astrid reached for her axe, eye twitching. Before anyone else coyld say or do anything, a dark shape fell out of the sky. Hiccup and Toothless, the former clearly less frantic than the latter. They both spoke at once.

"A longship has gone missing from the docks!" Hiccup stated, capturing his teams attention. Toothless already had our attention though.

"The cats stole a boat."

Author's Note:

Shedule? Who's she. Two chapters in one month haha who killed Carly and stole her tablet?

Nobody. That was a joke.

ANYHOO.

This chapter is the begining of the adventure! The adventure! The adventure! The adventure!!! How many more variations can I add on to emphasize it?! I've wanted to get here for so long you have no idea. Well you might have an idea if you've been reading since the beginning but silence I am being dramatic.

That said because this is totally not a cliffhanger chapter and because I totally haven't been writing and rewriting the next few scenes in my head for a little over a year you can and will expect the next chapter soon! We're wading into the waters, but by golly are they gonna get stormy. I hope you brought floaties.

I really have been wanting to get here for a while now, it's so weird finally being able to write what I want to write without having to worry about "wait did I establish that yet". As always thank you for reading especially if you've made it all the way down here to the bottom of my exorbitantly long notes, PLEASE review. Your critisism. It is what builds me. Please.

dies elegantly, but in a weird way.*

-Carly

P.S. Fuck "phase two" what kinda bullshit- STAY INSIDE!