Hello again! Here's another chapter for you wonderful people! Sorry it took a while but I needed to work on something else briefly so I worked on my other outstanding fic for a while. But I'm back and ready to finish this story.

This chapter is mainly about character's relationships but there is some suspense.

I hope you enjoy! XD

Snotlout peeked into the stable nervously, his subconscious screaming at him that this was a bad idea but his conscious screaming just as loud that he was being a coward. He took a step forward and slowly entered the stables, careful not to wake all the other animals housed there. He continued walking until he found what he was looking for: the Monstrous Nightmare.

The red dragon was asleep and he didn't seem to be any more dangerous than a lion but the knowledge that this animal could spew fire hundreds of yards away was enough to respect the dragon and not try to agitate it. He could see several scars across its body, some fresh and others faded, indicating years of abuse and beatings, and his heart went out to the creature. Despite his size, Hookfang was still a living, breathing, conscious being with feelings and a mind of its own.

"What are you doing?" a voice whispered.

Snotlout jumped in surprise and turned around. "What the hell, Hiccup!" he snapped quietly. "You startled me."

"Sorry," Hiccup apologized as he put his hands up defensively. "I thought you heard me come in. My prosthetic isn't exactly quiet."

Snotlout looked down to see the metal leg protruding from Hiccup's jean leg and anger began to build inside his chest. Not at Hiccup but at the person who hurt him enough to where he had to lose his leg. "Maybe you should do something about that," he retorted. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second," Snotlout scoffed, straightening his shoulders to make himself bigger, even though he didn't need to.

Hiccup sighed as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I came down to check on Hookfang and Stormfly. Considering their history, I wanted to make sure they felt safe. Now it's your turn to answer."

"Same," Snotlout shrugged nonchalantly. "I figured that you would be busy with Toothless and the others so I figured I'd try and, you know, help out a bit." It wasn't a complete lie. He was actually really happy that the headmasters allowed him to go on the rescue mission and now with everyone suffering almost two defeats, he felt like he needed to step up and be proactive.

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow and looked at him unbelieving. "R-really? I didn't take you to be someone that proactive. I just figured you wanted to get to know Hookfang a bit more, considering you brought the salmon from the kitchen."

Snotlout looked down at the forgotten bag in his hand and tried to save his demeanor. "Well, I brought it in case the dragons were hungry. Better to be safe than sorry."

The larger boy saw a glimmer in Hiccup's eye as if he could see his inner thoughts and knew the truth but just smiled and shrugged. "Good point. Since you're here, let's get you more acquainted with Hookfang. It's a good thing I came in time because the way you were approaching him, you would have startled him and you would have wound up being barbequed Snotlout."

The dark haired boy shivered at the thought, mentally kicking himself that a dragon is still an animal and no one likes to be startled awake. He walked over to Hiccup and stood in front of the dragon's pen, Hookfang still oblivious to their presence.

"Now," Hiccup began. "I want you to softly say his name. When he begins to stir, then you can get louder and more firm. Like if you were waking your sibling."

"I don't have a sibling," Snotlout informed.

"Okay," Hiccup nodded. "You've seen movies with siblings waking up their siblings right?" Snotlout nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, think about those scenes and just apply them here. He may be a dragon but he's still an independent being who demands respect, so you must treat him with respect."

Hiccup motioned for him to begin and Snotlout felt foolish but he began to call out to the Monstrous Nightmare repeatedly until the dragon began to stir, like Hiccup said, and then got louder and louder until the dragon was fully awake. Hookfang's yellow eyes glared at him, obviously upset from being woken up by him but when Snotlout raised the bag full of salmon over the door so that the dragon could see it, the smell of fish caused his stomach to grumble and hunger quickly overtaking the anger in his eyes. He could tell that Hookfang was happy to be woken up with food.

Snotlout turned when Hiccup tapped him on the shoulder and indicated for him to open the pen door so that he could approach Hookfang without any barrier in the way. He did so, still very nervous about being so close to the dragon's mouth, but he took out the fish and laid it down at his feet and backed away, watching with glee as Hookfang ate it without hesitation.

Without being prompted, Snotlout reached out his hand towards Hookfang once he was done and waited for the dragon to return the gesture like he had done in the cavern but the dragon just looked at him suspiciously.

"Are you trying to get him to trust you again?" Hiccup asked from behind him.

"I don't know," Snotlout shrugged, himself also surprised. "It just happened."

Snotlout hoped and prayed that he didn't just offend the dragon by putting his hand out a second time. He had never seen Hiccup and Toothless do 'the hand thing' over and over again and wondered if it was only a one time deal but it felt right putting his hand out and he couldn't explain it.

His worrying ceased when he felt scaly skin against his palm and an almost purring sound coming from Hookfang. A big smile spread across his face and he chuckled excitedly, looking at Hiccup in triumph, who returned his excitement with his own smile and a fist punching into the air.

"That was amazing, Snotlout," Hiccup congratulated as he walked up to the two of them. "Seems that he has warmed up to you fairly quickly. I'm happy for both of you."

Snotlout drank in Hiccup's praise, not realizing how much he needed to hear those words. His father wasn't much on praise and to hear it from none other than his own cousin, who he has mistreated for so long, was the greatest feeling in the world. Not that he would ever admit it.

"You two want to continue with the bonding?" Hiccup asked, excitement in his eyes. "I could teach you some basic skills in the practice area."

Snotlout was about to respond with an 'obviously duh' but a loud alarm pierced the air, startling everyone and waking the other animals in the stable, all crying out in confusion. "Seriously! Another attack!" Snotlout gave an irritated huffed. "Why can't they leave us alone!"

"Because they're bad guys," Hiccup sighed, just as irritated. "And we just freed their prisoners, so they were bound to attack again but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon. Come on, let's open up the pens so that if we all die, they won't starve to death here."

Snotlout nodded and began on the opposite side of the stable, opening every pen until he met up with Hiccup at the entrance. "Let's go see what the Reapers have in store now for us now," Snotlout said, his eyes hungry for battle once again.

Several coarse hands touched his body, waking him up from his uneasy sleep. His heart began to race as panic began to enter his body once again and he wriggled as hard as he could against the unwanted touch. His blue eyes searched the faces of the men touching him and he didn't recognize a single one, making him panic even more.

"Hold still, boy," a familiar voice commanded.

Alvin.

Jack did as he was told when he felt a sharp point press between his shoulder blades, the pressure only making the sore muscles hurt even more and a hiss escaped his lips. He felt a cold, metal collar wrap around his throat as the shackles on his arms and legs were undone. When the men lowered him to his feet, the muscles in his legs gave out and he collapsed on the floor, his body trying to adjust back to a normal position. He reached his hands towards his mouth to remove the gag only to get his hand smacked down and pulled behind him.

"Not happening," Alvin sneered.

He felt his other arm forced back behind him and the shackles returning before he was forced to his feet and pushed into the direction that they were headed. He tried to fight against the restraints but the chain that was connected to the collar around his neck kept forcing him forward.

This absolutely sucks. It's so demeaning but if Emma got out safe, it's worth it.

Jack's thoughts were interrupted when he entered a bright room with a huge metal contraption in the center. There were computers, wires, and generators littering the outer walls and across the floor. The center of the machine looked like it had a vertical bed with tubing and wiring running towards it and above it sat another chamber with a familiar object inside.

My staff! What are they doing with it?

"Welcome to the party!" Dagur greeted. "You like Drago's machine? Clever isn't it? He got it from the military, designed by them to direct mutant powers to their advantage. Now he's going to use it against them." He laughed maniacally and stopped abruptly, cursing about opening up the wound on his cheek again.

Jack struggled against the restraints, having a good idea where this was going and why he was here in this room. He wasn't going to be a tool used by these evil people, he'll fight with every fiber of his being or die if he had too.

"Stop moving!" Alvin commanded again, this time putting a knife to his throat.

I'm sorry, Emma, Dad, Rapunzel, and Anna. I really hope you all live a long and fulfilling life. I love you all.

Jack leaned into the knife hoping to puncture his main artery but the pressure was removed when Dagur smacked Alvin's arm away. "Idiot! He's trying to kill himself. Don't give him a chance." He turned back to Jack, a smile across his face. "Nice try. I admire your commitment but you're not leaving us anytime soon."

He motioned with his head and Jack was pulled once again by the neck towards the machine, struggling the entire time. He yanked, pushed, shoved, made himself dead weight, anything to try and stop them from placing him inside that machine but he was unsuccessful. The most he did was delay them by a couple of seconds.

Jack was shoved against the bed, the shackles being undone and his whole body forcibly turned around and lifted off the ground to be placed into the bed. His wrists and ankles were shackled to the bed and the wires and tubing dangling nearby began to be placed on his body by the guards. He tried to move his body away but, once again, to no avail. Once he was hooked up, he looked ahead of him to see Dagur, Alvin, the guards, and who he assumed was this Drago.

"He's all ready for you," Dagur smiled victoriously.

Drago smirked at the boy, his eyes full of excitement which made Jack shutter. "We wait for the machines to do their jobs, then we give them their ultimatum."

With a nod from Drago, Jack expected to feel or hear the machine begin whatever it was supposed to do but nothing happened. Instead, he felt a light vibration shake the entire room, confusion crossing his face. What did they just do?

Merida stared out the window lackluster as the white noise of the school day echoed around her. She didn't care about what the other kids were screaming about or what the animals were doing or anything in between. She tried to focus on keeping her mind clear so that she wouldn't remember those horrid images but sitting there doing nothing wasn't helping.

Her mind kept traveling back to the rescue, which didn't really feel like a rescue now, and how things went horribly wrong. She shuddered as the images came flooding back and a pang of guilt retched throughout her body as she remembered Jack flying away from her how she was too weak and helpless to stop him. I was utterly useless! Pathetic! And now he's their prisoner because of me. I have to make it up to him somehow and sitting here doing nothing isn't going to help him one bit.

"Merida, darling," Elinor gently called as she entered the room. "How are you feeling?"

She didn't respond, turning further away. She didn't want her mother to see the tears in her eyes or hear the fear in her voice if she spoke and just resigned to shrug instead.

"Darling," Elinor sighed as she sat down next to her and began to play with her hair. "Talk to me. I'm here, lass."

That seemed to have been the straw to break the camel's back because she finally broke down and cried into her mother's chest. "Mum, it was horrible, what he did. I cannae explain it but it was horrible."

"Try dear. Try and help me understand."

Merida sniffled again and braced herself to remember. "It was the memory of one of our Christmas dinners but he changed it as if it actually happened. The images, smell, sound, the emotion, all were real."

"How did he change it?"

"Ye changed into a bear and began to attack us," she stated outright. She felt her mother tense up and hold her tighter to her body. "Ya killed Dad and then ya went after Hubert, Hamish, and Harris, and then ye went after me. It was like ya went feral."

Merida continued to cry as Elinor petted her head. "Oh, dear. I'm so sorry. I promise that I would never do that to you or your brothers or your father."

"I know," Merida choked. She felt so small and pathetic crying in her mother's arms but she didn't pull away either, feeling safe and comfortable there. "I'm sorry for being so childish and scared. It's so unlike me."

"Now, dear, you listen to me," Elinor commanded gently as she pushed Merida back to look her in the eyes. "That is not childish or cowardly or whatever other emotion you think you are ashamed of. I would be scared just as you were. There is nothing shameful about being scared but you can't let it control you. That is how that man will win. It will take time, dear, but I believe you will come out on top and stronger than before."

Merida looked at her mother, seeing the honesty in her eyes, and smiled gratefully before engulfing her in another hug. She didn't care that she was technically an adult now, she never wanted to let go of her and stay in her safe arms but reality had other plans. The school alarm went off and the two looked at each other in confusion.

"Now what?" Merida asked.

"I don't know," Elinor said as she quickly got up. "Let's go."

Merida followed her mother to the Globe Room where the others had gathered as well, Snotlout and Hiccup being the last to enter. "What's happenin'?"

"Look what just popped up on the news," Flynn explained. Merida was surprised to see him there but it seemed that he came to comfort Rapunzel after he got the news that Jack didn't make it back.

"In central California, it was reported that mysterious activity was spotted at an abandoned factory by a group of teenagers having a late night celebration. When authorities arrived, they found a strange machine sitting there. Experts were brought in to understand the device's function to determine if it was dangerous and discovered that it is.

Residents living in the central area are being asked to prepare for immediate evacuation as the device is a sonic pulsator designed to agitate the fault lines and initiate an earthquake. Until this device can be dismantled, all residents on the Western Border are asked to stay alert and prepare for removal.

Government officials here and in other countries are sending investigative teams to additional locations that may be affected by these devices. Who would create such a device and why? What would be the purpose of initiating an earthquake? Does this have something to do with the Grain Stallions? More after the break."

Everyone gasped as the station went to commercial, a quiet symphony of murmurs filling the room. "Could this really be the Phantom Reapers?" Elinor asked.

"I don't know," North shook his head. "It doesn't seem like them but I could be wrong. The world is beginning to panic again, which is fantastic foter for Pitch's nightmares, but don't imagine Pitch would go that far to potentially kill people. He needs them."

"I could see Gothel coming up with something like this," Flynn stated. "She doesn't seem to be too concerned about killing people."

"I think someone else is behind it. Someone a bit more sinister," Hiccup added as he shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Tooth asked.

"I can't really explain it," Hiccup continued as he rubbed the back of his neck. "While in those tunnels, I didn't really experience anything but once out and the adrenaline had slowed, I had this repulsive feeling that there was something more...evil in that place. An evil that felt all too familiar."

Merida noticed that he did seem super uncomfortable and even Toothless cooing at him didn't help. "Could this person be the boss that Fishlegs suggested?" she asked.

"I didn't think you heard that conversation," Rapunzel piped in. "You seemed to be preoccupied."

"I wasn't deaf," she mumbled. "Just out of sorts."

"It could very well be," North agreed with Merida's connection. "This seems to be intricately planned."

"But why the theatrics?" Merida asked.

"I don't think they were planning on the device being discovered," Elinor stated. "There were no guards, no traps, no alarms, nothing to prevent someone from contacting the authorities."

"Or they did want it to be discovered," Flynn countered. "Cause mass panic at the local and federal levels which then they could exploit and make demands from the governments."

"Either option isn't good," North mumbled.

"We need to do something," Merida advocated.

"Dear, you're still recovering," Elinor gently spoke. "You're still recovering and-"

"I'm fine," Merida interrupted. "I need to do something."

The room went quiet before North spoke up. "I understand but after last time, I do not want any of you children near this. I want you to stay here and protect the school." Merida groaned in frustration. "The adults will travel to a few key spots that could be the most devastating if there are more of these devices."

"That still sounds like a bad plan," Flynn remarked. "Leaving the school entirely protected by students, super powers or not, it could be what these people expect you to do. All the adults leave and the students are easy pickings."

"He's got a point," Elinor nodded. "I'll stay here with Bunny and the other teachers. You take Gobber and the other Guardians to these sites and see what you can do."

"That definitely sounds better," Flynn agreed. "I'll stay too. I can do some damage around here."

Merida didn't budge as North began to leave with the other adults in the room. "I cannae believe this!" she exclaimed. "We're grounded?"

"Not exactly," Rapunzel said as she elbowed the man next to her. "Tell her, Flynn."

He approached the others still standing in the room and held out a little device. "This is a tracker. I was able to convince your headmaster to transfer the data from the Globe to here."

"Why?" Merida asked.

"It turns out Emma is also a mutant!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Not nearly as powerful as Jack but she has something."

"Seems like the entire family has abilities," Snotlout noted.

"Not quite," Rapunzel frowned. "Anna does seem to have gotten the gene."

"Okay, so Emma is a mutant and we can track her," Merida shrugged. "So what?"

"She's showing up on the tracker," Hiccup clarified. "Which means she's no longer with the Reapers."

"And we can locate her and bring her back here for protection!" Merida slowly realized, getting excited as she spoke. "We can surprise Jack when we get him back!" She jumped up and began to exit the room when her mother stopped her.

"Merida," she started.

"No, Mum," Merida cut her off as she yanked her arm away. "I am not staying here. The others have done so much to help Jack and I have yet to do anythin' for him. He stayed behind because of me and the least I can do is locate his sister and bring her back."

Elinor sighed as she remained calm. "I wasn't trying to stop you. I wanted to wish you luck and ask that you please stay safe."

"I'll go with her," Hiccup offered. "With Toothless she'll have all the protection she needs and we can make a quick getaway if we have too."

Merida looked between Hiccup and Elinor for a few seconds, trying to wrap her mind around how easy it was to convince her mother. "Are ye serious? Just like that?"

"I can't stop you forever and I know you are more than strong enough to handle yourself," Elinor smiled. "You have your father's drive and my stubbornness. I see that now. You are more than capable of handling what the world throws at you, but remember, I will always be here. We all will."

Merida smiled gratefully and hugged her mother again. "I love you, Mum."

Rapunzel approached the two and hugged Merida after she released Elinor. "Bring back my cousin and stay safe. I'll be here if she needs any medical attention. Or if you need it or Hiccup or Toothless."

Merida giggled at the blonde and nodded in understanding. "I will. Come on Hiccup. Let's get going."

Flynn handed the tracking device to the boy, Snotlout giving him an uncharacteristic thumbs up, and followed Merida out to the open quad. Hiccup did one last check on Toothless' riding gear before mounting and offering a hand out to her. "It's going to feel a bit weird at first but after a while you'll get the hang of it."

The redhead nodded as she took his hand and sat behind him. "Not so different from Angus," she noted. "Definitely wider but same principle."

"Hold on tight," Hiccup warned as he indicated to the dragon that they were ready for takeoff.

Merida yelped briefly at the sudden jolt but quickly adapted and enjoyed the scenery. She could now see and understand why humans tried so hard to fly because it was utterly breathtaking. The feeling of being free and with one's own thoughts was liberating. "This is incredible," she said. "Thanks for offering to come. I don't think Mum would have let me if ye didn't."

"No problem. Besides, Toothless has been on edge since the ice tunnels and I figured getting him as far away from them as possible might help him." Hiccup lifted the tracking device and adjusted Toothless' tailfin to redirect him. "It seems that Emma is in California."

"That cannae be a coincidence."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But we need to be careful for sure. The people will definitely be on edge and anything strange or out of the ordinary will probably set them off."

"Good thing we'll be arriving when it's dark," Merida pointed out.

The three flew another hour or so until they reached a small town just as the city lights began to flicker on. They landed near where the tracker indicated Emma's presence and carefully weaved between buildings and cars until they made it to a bridge crossing an empty canal. They slid down the steep sides of the canal and continued to walk towards where the flashing light indicated.

"Arcadia seems like a nice town," Hiccup commented. "Big but not too big."

"We can worry about sight seeing later," Merida hurried along. "Where to now?"

Hiccup looked between the scanner and the wall standing in front of him. "Well, it says here. Okay, more here," he corrected as he tilted the tracker down to his feet.

Merida blinked in confusion, frustration building inside of her at the absurdity of the indication. "So she's underground? That's crazy. Why would she be underground?"

"Maybe she's in the sewers," Hiccup suggested. "This is a runoff canal if the sewers overflow so maybe she's hiding in there." He looked around briefly and saw a large grated pipe to his left and jogged over to it. He examined it closer and then retrieved a screwdriver from the bag on Toothless' saddle.

"What are ye doing?" Merida asked.

"Getting us into the sewers," Hiccup explained. "Once I undo these screws, we can walk right in. It's not going to smell the greatest but we'll find her, I'm sure."

Merida rolled her eyes and helped unscrew a few of them with the tip of one of her arrows. "These are easier than I expected," she pointed out.

"Like they've been undone before."

"Yeah. Weird."

With the last screw out, the two tugged together and lifted the grate off, placing it to the side. The three then walked into the pipe, Toothless leading the way and providing light by igniting his fire slowly. They continued through the maze of piping for what seemed forever but the tracker showed that they were getting close.

"Why would she be down here?" Merida asked again. "If she was always with the Reapers, why would they bring her here?"

"Maybe they didn't," Hiccup answered. "Maybe she escaped and somehow found her way here. If she was found by the government officials, it would be all over the news in Corona about the missing girl being found but no reports."

"Unless they figured out she was a mutant and we're about to find a super secret government experiment facility."

The three stopped and looked at each other nervously, pondering the idea that they could be entering a lion's den of trouble if they continued. The tracker beeped at them, breaking them out of their worried questioning, indicating that Emma was moving. And towards them.

They heard voices echoing from around the corner and the sound of heavy footsteps accompanying them as they got closer and closer. The idea of them being government agents grew in their minds and they looked for a place to hide but it was the sewer, there wasn't much room to hide a person let alone a dragon.

"I guess we will fight," Merida shrugged as she readied her bow and arrow. Hiccup grabbed his shield and held it before him as Toothless bared his teeth and expanded his wings to make himself look bigger.

The owners of the voices rounded the corner and there was a moment of chaotic screaming before the standoff began. "Who are ye?" Merida demanded as she gripped her bow tighter.

In front of them were five figures: two made of stone and the other three human. The stone creatures were vastly different from each other. One had four arms and six eyes while the other looked like an oversized gorilla covered in moss. The humans were fairly normal, two boys and a girl, although the dark haired boy in the front suddenly was wearing glowing armor and brandishing a strange sword.

"What are ya?" Merida asked, extremely confused, mainly towards the stone creatures.

"I think," Hiccup began as he continued to look at the people in front of them. "I think they are trolls."

"Trolls?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I've read descriptions from people who had supposedly seen one and they are very close to what was described."

"An intelligent lad," the one with the six eyes spoke, making Merida and Hiccup jump in surprise. "I am Blinkus, but you can call me Blinky, and this is AAARRRGGHH."

"Hi," the big troll smiled.

"And this is Claire, Tobias, and our Trollhunter, Master Jim," he continued.

The three humans didn't relax but smiled pleasantly. "What are you doing down here?" Jim asked, his sword still at the ready if he needed to defend himself.

"We're looking for someone," Hiccup explained as he lowered his shield, something Toothless nor Merida liked one bit. "It's fine bud," Hiccup assured after Toothless gave a low guttural growl. He showed them the tracker and explained. "This tells us that she's right here but I don't see her."

"Who is she?" Toby asked.

"A friend of ours is missing his sister," Merida continued. "She was being held captive for a long while but it seems she escaped. This was supposed to help us find her but it looks like it's broken."

"Emma?" Claire asked. "Is her name Emma?"

Merida cocked an eyebrow and looked suspiciously at the girl still holding a staff. "Aye. That's her name. How do ye know it?" She aimed her bow directly at the girl, ready to shoot if she had done anything to Jack's sister. "What did ye do ta her?"

"Whoa!" Jim cried as he placed himself between the two girls. His sword disappeared into thin air and he raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "Relax. We didn't do anything to her but I think we may have her."

"You do?" Hiccup asked, intrigued at the strange development.

Jim motioned to AAARRRGGHH as he lowered himself slightly and a small head popped up to look at them. She eyed them cautiously with her brown eyes before climbing down and standing behind the boy in the armor. Merida lowered her bow and Toothless relaxed as they all looked at each other.

"You know my brother?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," Hiccup smiled. "Jack's been worried sick."

"You could be lying," she said as she tried to hide even more of herself behind Jim. "You could just be saying that to trick me to come with you so that you can use me again against him."

Hiccup and Merida looked at each other worriedly but understood her fear. She had been held against her will by people using her as bait and they had no way to prove that they were telling the truth. After all that time together, they didn't have any pictures, they didn't have a piece of clothing, they didn't have a code word to give her.

Merida's face lit up when she remembered that she did have a code word. She bent down to be at an even level with the girl. "Jack told me to tell you that hopscotch isn't a game to play on thin ice."

Emma's face brightened and she smiled at her as she ran to give her a hug. "You do know Jack! How is he? Why isn't he here?"

Hiccup's and Merida's faces fell in sadness at the question. "He's been taken by the Reapers," Hiccup explained. "We found their hideout and went to rescue everyone but you weren't there."

Emma looked as if she was about to cry as her chin began to tremble. "They're hurting him aren't they?"

"We don't know for sure," Merida admitted.

"But we are working on getting him back," Hiccup added. "We know where their base is and they are looking for him now."

"They?"

"Our teachers," Merida explained. "They are out right now looking for him."

"How did you even get down here?" Hiccup questioned.

"That would be me," Claire raised her hand. "I was looking for Toby and when I found him, she was with him and my BFF."

"Yeah," Toby nodded. "I told her that I would help her escape and find her brother so when Claire showed up in her portal, I had her come with me."

"Portal?" Merida asked, confused.

Claire nodded as she focused on her staff and in a second a small black whirlpool appeared in the air. Both Hiccup and Merida gasped in awe while Toothless just tilted his head in curiosity.

Hiccup glanced at the tracker and pushed a few buttons, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Interesting. You can make portals but you're not registering as having a mutant gene. None of you are."

"Mutant gene?" Blinky asked. "What, pray tell, are you talking about?"

"Well," Hiccup chuckled nervously, realizing that he had just given away their world to these strangers. "There are humans out there with abilities due to this mutant gene. I have it, Merida has it, and we were able to track Emma because she has it."

"I do?"

"Yes. Same as Jack. But I've never heard of anyone being able to make portals without having this gene." He pondered for a moment before shrugging. "Weirder things have happened."

"Agreed," Blinky smiled. "Like seeing this magnificent creature!" He quickly walked up to Toothless, taking him off guard for a moment before regaining his composure. "I've only read of dragons in my books and they're mainly just legends. Myths! Speculations! To see one in the flesh is absolutely extraordinary! Although I expected dragons to be bigger."

"Toothless may not be the biggest dragon, but he's pretty powerful," Hiccup explained as he stood next to his friend to give him comfort as the troll ogled him with all six of his eyes. "He's also not the smallest. I just met a few other species of dragons myself not too long ago and I can't wait to learn more."

"Fascinating! Perhaps one day I can join you on your learning expeditions. I too would like to learn more."

"Can I touch him?" Emma asked nervously.

Hiccup turned to see Emma holding Merida's hand as she stood closely to her. He nodded as he walked over to them, kneeling to show her what to do. "Hold your hand out like this and let him come to you. There's no need to be afraid."

The trolls, the other humans, and Merida watched in amazement as Toothless slowly approached the girl. Merida had never seen this happen before as she and the dragon had gotten used to each other's company over the many years at the school and the whole interaction intrigued her. She couldn't help but be overjoyed when Toothless' nose gently touched the girl's palm and he cooed softly.

"He trusts you," Hiccup explained. "You are now a member of the thunder."

"Thunder?" Jim asked.

Hiccup chuckled to himself. "Toothless said that a group or family of dragons is called a Thunder, mainly due to their wings sounding like thunder when they fly together. He's created quite the family, haven't you bud?" Hiccup laughed as Toothless gave him a big lick in response as the dragon chortled. "I know. I'm happy too."

"You can understand him," Emma asked, amazement beaming from her face.

"Yep, that's my ability," Hiccup explained. "I can understand and speak Dragonese."

"Utterly fascinating!" Blinky bellowed in excitement. "Two whole new worlds to study and learn from. I'm shaking with so much excitement I'm causing the ground to shake!"

The others then began to feel the ground quaking beneath their feet as well. "Uhhh," Toby stammered. "I don't think that's you, Blink."

"Oh no," Hiccup whispered, his eyes widening in fear, his face going pale as he looked at Merida. "Can this really be happening already?"

"What?" Jim asked as he produced his sword again. "What's happening?"

"The Reapers," Merida tried to explain while keeping her balance and keeping a firm grip on Emma. "The ones that took Emma and sent the nightmares, they may have also sent out devices to cause earthquakes and it looks like they activated them."

"But we're living on a fault line!" Claire exclaimed. "An earthquake will cause a lot of damage and kill hundreds!"

"I think that's what they want," Merida said as she pulled Emma away from a piece of falling rock. "We need to get out of here! We'll be buried alive if we stay here."

Suddenly they all heard a loud crack and they looked up to see a big tear in the foundation of the sewer and a giant piece of debris headed straight for them. They all screamed in terror as they raised their arms to protect themselves.

Here we go again! Stay tuned for more!