Gone Gustav Gone
Savage and the rest of Dagur's crew returned to the ship graveyard in order to try and see what other treasures the Reaper ship may have within it.
"Pull! Pull!" Savage ordered as he watched the Berserkers pull the giant chains to raise the Reaper. "Keep pulling, you maggots, unless you want to be giant eel chum!"
Meanwhile, Dagur was doing some chin ups, while admiring his muscles. "Hello, gorgeous...oh, hello again...work for me, baby...work for daddy!" Dagur cheered as he did one chin up after the other.
"The Reaper is starting to surface, sir." Savage said as he approached him.
"I can see that!" Dagur exclaimed angrily.
"Oh, right." Savage said in fear while Dagur returned to his chin ups.
They finally pulled the Reaper back to the surface and wasted no time in ransacking it. They pulled out anything they could find of value, which was a lot easier without those traps, which were already set off when Hiccup went through it.
"That's the last of it." A Berserker said as he placed a large snap top on the deck.
"Well, now we have everything of value from the dragon hunting ship." Savage said.
"No. Not everything." Dagur said as he then tossed a knife that stabbed into a drawing of the Dragon Eye. "Hiccup worked very hard to get that thing back, and whatever Hiccup works hard to get, I want to take." Dagur said with maniacal chuckle. "Let's sail on out of here, boys!"
The ship soon tried to make its way out of the graveyard, but then it came to a halt as everyone jolted forward by the sudden stop, with even one Berserker falling overboard.
"Uh, Savage?" Dagur inquired in confusion.
"Yes, sir?" Savage responded.
"WHY HAVE WE STOPPED?!" Dagur exclaimed in Savage's face.
"I'm not sure, sir." Savage said in fear.
"Dagur, you might want to come look at this."
Dagur looked overboard and saw that the Berserker that fell over was standing in the water. More like he was standing on top of something in the water. Dagur hopped over as his feet hit a thud the moment he touched down.
"What is it, Dagur?" Savage asked.
"I'm not sure. Hand me a spear." Dagur said which Savage obliged his request. Dagur tapped the sharp end of the spear on to the surface he was standing on and could a clanging sound each time. "Whatever it is, it sounds like it's completely made of metal."
Dagur tapped the spear end again on the surface, but then something happened when he did. A section of the metal surface started humming before it split open, indicating that there was some kind of door there. Dagur was confused at first, but then he cautiously walked towards it.
"Wait, Dagur, I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Savage called out.
"When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it!" Dagur exclaimed as he stood above the opening. He jumped down and landed rough in some kind of hallway. "I'm going to take closer look inside!"
Dagur brought out a torch and lit it up before continuing through the long highway. He gazed around curiously at the mere size of the halls, as it was a lot larger than the average Viking. In fact, it almost seemed like it was made for giants.
'Wait a minute...' Dagur thought as something seemed to dawn on him. 'Could it be?'
As he continued walking, another door opened up and, ever the curious Viking, Dagur decided to walk in and see what was inside. When he entered, he appeared to be standing in a very spacious room that had five cylinder-like capsules along the walls. Dagur approached one of the capsules and was barely able to see what was inside.
What he could make out, though, made his eyes widened in surprise. He was able to see a large silhouette of something inside.
"Oh, ho ho ho! Dagur likes what he sees." Dagur says as he brought out his axe. "Wakey, wakey."
Dagur raised his and brought it down, shattering the glass capsule.
/
Back at Dragon's Edge, Hiccup was in his room at his hut fiddling with the Dragon Eye. He had to say, it felt nice to have his own place outside of Berk. It felt like the perfect place to draw some ideas for some new inventions he and Bumblebee have been brainstorming on. He even decorated his wall with a bunch of tail fins for Toothless.
He turned to Toothless was sitting next to him. "Okay, give me a low burn, bud." Hiccup said, as Toothless did as he was told as he shined a light in the Dragon Eye as an image appeared. "Okay, I've seen this before, but what happens when I push..." Hiccup pressed one of the buttons and the image changed. "Cool, Dragon classes. What do you say we check out the Night Fury, bud?"
Toothless gave out a yawn, showing that he didn't really care.
"Try to contain your excitement, would you?" Hiccup said sarcastically as Toothless did a chuckle of amusement. "Now, Monstrous Nightmare gem plus Night Fury equals..." Hiccup put in the combination to see what would happen, but when he did, the image disappears. "Nothing. Okay."
Hiccup fiddled with it again, until the image reappeared and he shined it on his door. The moment he did, his door was slammed open as Astrid came in.
"Oh, Astrid class." Hiccup joked.
"Hiccup, we have a problem." Astrid said in alarm.
"Dagur? Decepticons?" Hiccup asked in alarm.
"Worse." Astrid said.
"What could possibly be worse than Dagur or the Decepticons?" Hiccup asked incredulously.
The answer came when Gustav, now older, came flying in on his Monstrous Nightmare Fanghook, but the both of them ended up crashing into Astrid.
"Gustav!" The young Viking cheered excitedly.
"Gustav?" Hiccup gasped.
"Gustav." Astrid said with a groan.
While none of the other riders hated Gustav, he has, in the past, given them plenty of trouble. Much like the time he set the arena back on Berk on fire.
"Gustav, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked in surprise, before reigning himself in to calm his nerves. "I mean, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Gustav got up and looked around Hiccup's room while Fanghook went to greet Toothless, bit due to his massive size he accidentally slapped Toothless, much to the Night Fury's annoyance.
It was at that moment that the other riders came rushing in. "Hiccup,did you hear Gustav..." Snotloud didn't finish as he saw Gustav standing there. "...standing right beside you. Perfect."
"Everything alright?" Bulkhead called out as he, Arcee, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen were on the ground beneath Hiccup's hut, considering they were too big to step inside.
"It's okay, it's only Gustav." Fishlegs called out.
This caused some of the Autobots to groan in annoyance. They thought Gustav was okay, if a little bit of a showboat, much like Snotloud, but they had the unfortunate luck of being on the receiving end of his mishaps. He asked if he could take a ride in Sideswipe in his vehicle mode once, and he almost caused him to drive off a cliff when he was playing with the steering wheel.
"You looking a little different there, Gustav." Tuffnut said.
"Yeah, I'm growing a beard." Gustav said as he gestured to a single hair on his chin.
Tuffnut saw it and looked a bit disappointment. "Ha! Even Ruff has more hair on her chinny-chin-chin than that." Tuffnut said as he plucked the hair off his chair, causing him to recoil in pain and bump into a chest.
Gustav saw the Dragon Eye on the chest and picked it up. "Hey, what's this thing?" He placed it to his eyes and then got blinded due to the sunlight reflecting off the lenses. "Whoa! Can you see the spots? Some kind of sun sword?"
Gustav dropped the Dragon Eye, which Hiccup grabbed it before it could hit the ground and handed it to Fishlegs. "No, Gustav, it's not a sun sword."
"It's the Dragon Eye, and it's very old and very fragile." Fishlegs said as Gustav was still reeling from the bright light, where he even bumped into one of the fins on the wall and knocked it down. "And it isn't something to just be touched."
"Relax, Fishlegs, I know what I'm doing." Gustav said as he bumped into the wall again and ended up knocking down all the fins.
"Gustav, Gustav, over here." Snotloud called out as he grabbed Gustav by his helmet. "When are you leaving?"
"That's funny, Snotloud, but I'm not leaving." Gustav said with a smirk. "I'm moving here."
This caused Snotloud, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut to gasp in shock, but the later just started to laugh it off. "Yeah, you are...imagine that..." Tuffnut said in between laughs before he realized it wasn't a joke. "Wait, he's serious? I'll go get the stake and firewood." He said as he and Ruff started to leave.
"Whoa, hold on, hold on, no one is burning anyone at the stake." Hiccup said in a calming manner.
"Hiccup's right, let's just throw him off a cliff." Ruffnut said with a chuckle.
Hiccup facepalmed at the suggestion. "Guys, I'm sure that there's a simple explanation." Hiccup said as he turned towards Gustav, who was still wandering around aimlessly. "Please tell me there's a simple explanation."
"Yeah, very simple, by the way do not look right into that sun sword thing." Gustav said as his sight started to return. "Anyway, you said when I was ready, I could join the Dragon Riders. Well, I'm ready and I'm here to join. Where's my hut?"
Hiccup couldn't say anything as he looked at Gustav in mild shock and horror.
/
"Wait a minute, why do I have to watch him?" Astrid asked in shock by what Hiccup had requested of her as they stood outside his hut.
"I would do it, but I'm making some major breakthroughs with the Dragon Eye." Hiccup said.
"So?" Astrid asked.
Well, I did promise him that when the time was right, I would be training him to be a dragon rider, but I just didn't think said time would be today." Hiccup admitted.
"Well, what am I supposed to do with him in the meantime?" Astrid asked as she really didn't want to do this.
"I-I don't know. Just keep them occupied." Hiccup suggested.
"Great, so I'm a babysitter." Astrid said in aggravation.
"Babysitter!" Hiccup said wig a sheepish chuckle. "No, I mean, come on. He's sixteen, how much trouble could he possibly be?"
All of a sudden, Smidvarg crashed between them and looked extremely tired. The two of them bend down to see if he was alright.
"Smidvarg, what happened?" Hiccup asked in concern.
"Hey, Hiccup, did you know they could do this?" Gustav called out as they turned to see him flying with Fanghook next to the flock of Night Terrors, scaring them to the point as they formed a giant version of themselves, but Gustav just flew straight through them. "Awesome!"
"Please? I just need more time." Hiccup pleaded to Astrid.
"Fine." Astrid growled before turning towards Gustav. "Gustav, arena, now!" Astrid climbed onto Stormfly and flew off, with Gustav following.
Hiccup, looked at Smidvarg, who just got up. "By the way, you're timing...impeccable."
The response he got was Smidvarg screeching in his face and flying off in a huff.
/
Things did not go well with Astrid watching him. She tried to train him in target practice, but he just kept staring at her and daydreaming that Stormfly nearly killed him. Not wanting to deal with him, Astrid pawned him off to the twins. That didn't go so well, as Gustav thought he was helping by filling up the Nut's boar pit, which shocked them so much that they began to cry.
Seeing as how they were dealing with...something...Gustav decided to spend time with Fishlegs, who tried teaching him the art of meditation. It seemed to work at first, but then Fanghook accidentally breathed out a breath of fire and and burned down some of his plants.
Deciding to try something else, Gustav decided to spend time with Wheeljack, who was opening up a casket full of bombs and weapons ammo.
"So, what do I have to do again?" Gustav asked.
"Just catalog how much ammunition we have in stock while me and Bulkhead have our daily lobbing game." Wheeljack said as he passed him a data pad that was just his size. "We need to monitor how much we have so we can better prepare for our next fight with the Decepticons. We don't have an unlimited supply of Energon, so every shot counts."
"You can count on me." Gustav said in complete confidence as Wheeljack walked off. "Now let's see..."
Gustav counted down the grenades first to see how much they have, seeing as how that seemed to be the largest amount they had. Wheeljack sure loved his grenades.
"How can these little things cause a big explosion?" Gustav asked as he tapped the data pad on one of the grenades. That turned out to be a mistake as he accidentally pressed a button that caused it turn on and started beeping. "Uh oh."
Gustav panicked and started pressing buttons, hoping one of them would turn it off. That was a bad idea as he must have pressed a button that turned on all of the grenades.
"No, no, no, no!" Gustav panicked as he grasped his hair.
"Gustav, what is-WHAT HAPPENED!" Arcee exclaimed as she walked by to see his progress.
Arcee ran over and saw that the countdown was already too far gone so there wasn't enough time to deactivate them all. She closed the container and threw it onto the ground, then proceeded to kick it so it would roll down the hill and off a cliff. It splashed into the ocean before an explosion caused a geyser of water to erupt.
Gustav chuckled sheepishly as he turned to Arcee, who gave him a death glare. "Well...at least you got spares...right?"
/
After that disaster, Gustav was then handed over to Snotloud, who didn't want anything to do with the kid.
"I've had enough of you, Gustav!" Snotloud yelled as he pointed to the floor by Hiccup's hut. "Stay."
Gustav then noticed Snotloud's helmet was on fire. "Uh, Snotloud, your head..."
"Stop! I'm not falling for that again!" Snotloud said as he walked out the hut. He then realized his helmet was on fire and he then screamed and jumped off the railing.
Gustav walked around Hiccup's hit to try and find him. "Hello? Hiccup?" Gustav called out, but the hut was empty.
Gustav played around for a bit, but then he accidentally knocked one of the replacements find on the wall down. He stumbled back and toppled over Hiccup's chest, where all its contents spilled out, including a spare leg. Deciding to have fun, he took the spare leg and started to imitate Hiccup.
"Gee, Gustav, there must be a simple explanation for you being here." Gustav said, doing a terrible impersonation, but Fanghook found it pretty funny as he gave a laugh-like growl. He then started speaking normally before switching back to his Hiccup voice. "Well yeah, Hiccup, because I am so awesome. You are awesome, Gustav, definitely ready to become a dragon rider."
Gustav accidentally stepped on Fanghook's tail, causing him to breath fire on one of the tail fins on the wall. Gustav panicked and tried to put the fire out with the fake leg, but the leg then caught on fire. Gustav was about to panic more, but then he notices the flames caused the lens of the Dragon Eye. The reflected off the lens and created a map.
"Is that...a treasure map?" Gustav said with his interest peaked. "Oh, Fanghook, we are so in!"
/
A couple hours later, Gustav and Fanghook were flying towards the island the Dragon Eye pointed them to. He was using a map that he drew up that had the exact image the Dragon Eye showed him.
"That's it, Fanghook, just like the Dragon Eye said. All we gotta do now is find the cave, grab the treasure, and guess who's gonna get his own hut on Dragon's Edge? Uh, Gustav." Gustav said in excitement.
They landed on the island and spotted a cave up ahead. Before Gustav could enter it, the ground started to shake and a rock fell down near the entrance.
"Uh, I'm not worried. Are you worried?" Gustav asked his dragon as he was definitely worried.
They entered the cave and it was so dim that they could hardly see anything.
"Fanghook, flame up." Gustav ordered, which his dragon obliged as he lit up, which showed multiple paths ahead. "Which way do we head?"
Suddenly, the cave began to shake, causing Gustav to wave the map around, which caused it to get caught on fire by Fanghook's flames. Gustav tried to blow the flames out, but it caused it to get bigger, until it was burnt to a crisp.
Gustav groaned in annoyance, before he reached into his satchel to pull out the Dragon Eye. "Good thing we brought this. Fanghook?" Fanghook leaned down and produces a low flame, which caused the map to appear. "It says it's just this way."
Gustav and Fanghook walked forward, never noticing the ground cracking behind them. Suddenly the cave began to shake and the ground began splitting. Gustav would have fallen in, but Fanghook grabbed his satchel and pulled him to safety.
Gustav breathed a sigh of relief, but then panicked when he felt the Dragon Eye was missing from his vest. He looked and saw it was rolling towards the the crack in the cavern.
"No, no, no!" Gustav exclaimed as he made a dive towards it and grabbed it with one hand, while the other hand grabbed on to the edge of the hole. "Whew, a little help, Fanghook? A little help?"
Gustav then lost his grip, but then he felt something grab him. He was then pulled back up from the hole, only to come face-to-face with a very angry Hiccup.
"Hiccup! I can explain." Gustav said nervously.
/
A few hours later, Gustav was sitting down in the clubhouse, which is basically the largest building on the edge so it could fit both Dragon Rider and Autobot, as well as their dragons. He was surrounding by the riders and the Autobots as they all gave him a glare.
"Of all the irresponsible, insubordinate..." Hiccup said furiously.
"Not to mention reckless, rash..." Arcee said just as angry.
"Not to mention idiotic, imbecilic, insane..." Tuffnut said as he counted down on his fingers, with the other riders and Autobots staring at him. "What? I've heard a lot of words for 'stupid.' I mean, come on, people say that to me more than my name."
"Of all those kinds of stunts you could have pulled, this was the worst." Hiccup said as he continued lecturing with Gustav. "Do you know what Dagur would do to get his hands on the Dragon Eye?"
"What if you had been discovered by Decepticons? You would have had no backup." Bulkhead said, though it was as sternly as Hiccup or Arcee.
"I just thought if I come back with here with the treasure, you would accept me." Gustav said.
"First of all, there is no treasure. Second of all, we've already been there, and that entire island is honeycombed with the most unstable of caverns we've ever encountered." Hiccup continued.
"I'm sorry, I just-" Gustav tried to speak.
"You put yourself, and your dragon, in danger. You have to understand that this isn't Berk, when going up against Dagur or the Decepticons, it's life or death." Arcee interrupted.
"I just wanted to prove myself." Gustav said.
"Oh, you have. You have proven you are not responsible enough, you're not mature enough, and you're not trustworthy enough to be one of us." Hiccup said while counting down his fingers.
"You really want to be a part of this team, you need to stop thinking like a show off, and start thinking like an Autobot." Arcee said firmly.
Gustav didn't say anything as he glared at both Hiccup and Arcee.
"Now, it's been a long day, we all need to rest. We'll talk and this m the morning." Hiccup said.
The Dragon Riders and Autobots left the clubhouse, leaving behind a depressed Gustav and Fanghook.
Outside, Arcee was walking down a path, with Bumblebee following her.
"You think you might have been a little too harsh on him?" Bumblebee asked.
"Maybe, but he needed to hear that. He wants to join, but he doesn't take this seriously, and that can get himself killed." Arcee said.
"Trust me, I get that." Smokescreen said as he approached the two of them. "You know who he reminds me of?"
"Yeah, he reminds me of you when we first met." Arcee said with a smirk.
"And you were an absolute nightmare." Bumblebee said beep-like chuckle.
"Exactly, and through time, patience, and through all the times you guys yelled at me, I learned and became the Autobot I am today." Smokescreen said with a smile, which the other two Autobots returned. "Just give the kid a chance, something tells me he's going to surprise all of us someday."
/
Later that night, Gustav was sitting next to Fanghook outside the stables, tossing a fish to his faithful dragon.
"'Talk about it in the morning.' Like there's anything left to say." Gustav muttered angrily. Fanghook growled after taking another fish, which Gustav thought of as a sign he agreed with him. "That's right! It's not fair! I did everything they asked. I shoved dragon poop for two years without a single complaint, and for what? So they can tell me I'm not good enough? I am good enough. We're good enough."
Gustav got up and gave Fanghook the last of the fish and climbed on his saddle. "And someday they'll find that out, but it'll be too late. We're leaving."
They took off into the sky before Gustav took one final look back at Dragon's Edge. He turned his gaze back into the ocean as his dragon took off back for Berk. They've been flying for a few hours with no sign of land so far, but Gustav didn't care. All he wanted was to get back home, and then the riders will come begging him to come back. It's a full proof plan, in his opinion.
"They're gonna be so sorry when they wake up in the morning and see that we're gone." Gustav said stubbornly. "Once they see that we're missing, they're gonna beg us to come back to Dragon's Edge. Those huts were lame anyway, I can't wait to get back to my own-"
All of a sudden, a jet came barreling past him that sent the two of them barreling back a bit, before Fanghook stabilized himself.
"Whoa! What the heck was that?!" Gustav exclaimed as he and Fanghook saw the jet circling around them. "Wait...is that a...Decepticon?!" The jet then started firing at them with its mini-guns. "Fanghook, evasive maneuvers!"
Fanghook dived out of the way and starred flying as fast as he could to get away from his pursuer. The jet managed to easily catch up, and started firing a couple of missiles. Fanghook managed to do a barrel roll and avoid the missiles as they impacted the water and caused a couple explosion.
"Ha! Missed us!" Gustav called out smugly.
His victory was short lived as a net suddenly appeared and snared them, causing them to plummet. Gustav tried to cut the net with a knife, but it was too late as they hit the water and blacked out.
/
Dagur stood by the railing of his ship, playing with his knife. Savage soon approached him win an ecstatic look on his face.
"Ha ha! We captured a Dragon Rider!" Savage said happily.
Dagur's instantly brightened up as he and Savage walked across the deck. "Which one is it? Oh, I sure hope it's brother Hiccup, or I suppose the girl would work to." Dagur said.
"Which girl?" Savage asked.
"There's more than one?" Dagur asked in confusion.
The both of them reached the stern of the ship where a gang of Berserkers were huddled together. Dagur pushed them aside to see which Dragon Rider they have captured. When they saw that it was just Gustav, along with Fanghook trapped in a dragon proof cage, Dagur's mood instantly soured.
Dagur grabbed the helm of Savage's shirt and glared at him. "This is not one of Hiccup's Dragon Riders." Dagur let him go as he looked at Gustav. "Who are you?"
'Oh, thank Thor he doesn't recognize me three years ago.' Gustav thought as he attacked Outcast Island along with Snotloud all those years ago. "Larson. Gustav Larson, and that's all you're getting out of me."
"Fine, he's all yours, boys." Dagur said as he turned around to walk away.
Gustav felt the ship the rock as a shadow looked over him. He turned his head to peer behind him and was shocked by what he saw as he gasped in horror.
"But I know Hiccup, I know the Dragon Riders, and I have information!" Gustav said in fear.
Dagur held up his hand, which caused the shadows to back off. "Oh? What kind of information?"
"I can get you the Dragon Eye." Gustav said.
"And what's the Dragon Eye?" Dagur asked.
"That. That's the Dragon Eye." Gustav said as he pointed at the mast, which had the picture of the Dragon Eye.
"Oh." Dagur said with interest.
It was then the next morning as Gustav sat at a table helping himself to plenty of food while also tossing some chicken to Fanghook, who lay by his side. Dagur sat across from him with Savage standing at his side.
"So, are you enjoying your meal?" Dagur asked.
"Mmm-hm." Gustav said as he continued eating.
"Good. Good, good, good." Dagur said as he carved a piece of chicken. "So, here's the plan. We'll draw Hiccup, the Night Fury, and those Autobots into the open, neutralize the other riders and seize the Dragon Eye by lethal force, as I've there's any other type of force. Then then Dragon Eye will be mine."
"Yeah, that's one way to do it." Gustav said as he leaned back in confidence. "And you might get the Dragon Eye, or Hiccup could crush you just like every other time you faced off against him."
Savage didn't like Gustav belittling his boss, so he drew his sword, but Dagur stopped him. "You have a better idea, Gustav?" Dagur asked.
"Can you hand me the sauce, please?" Gustav asked. Savage looked at Dagur, who nodded his head, so Savage gave Gustav the sauce. "I do, one that will guarantee Hiccup delivers the Dragon Eye right to us."
"More mutton thigh, my friend?" Dagur asked with an evil smile as Gustav nodded with a smirk and stabbed the chicken with his fork.
/
Back at the Edge, all,of riders and the Autobots on it scoured everywhere in search of the missing Gustav. Hiccup and Toothless landed in an open clearing as the others came by.
"Any sign of him?" Hiccup asked in worry.
"We've checked the clubhouse, your hut, even the stables. He's not there." Astrid said as she landed.
Bulkhead and the rest of the Autobots drove by and transformed. "We searched all around the outskirts of the island and we found nothing." Bulkhead said.
"There's no telling where that little maniac could be." Arcee said.
Fishlegs and the twins came flying by and then landed, and by the looks of things they didn't find him either.
"Nothing else is on fire here, so he must be gone." Fishlegs said.
"Well, we have to find him." Hiccup said.
"Or...do we?" Tuffnut suggested.
"What are you getting at?" Smokescreen asked.
"What he's getting at is why should we worry?" Snotloud said. "Shouldn't we be celebrating the fact that he's gone?"
"That's a little harsh." Bumblebee beeped.
"Not until we know he's safe." Hiccup said.
"Well, we could ask Fanghook." Ruffnut suggested.
"How are we supposed to ask Fanghook when he's not even here?" Wheeljack asked.
"Turn around." Ruffnut said with a smirk.
Wheeljack did just that as he then gave a yelp of surmise as he had to quickly duck down to avoid Fanghook from crashing into him. Toothless saw that he looked distressed as he approached and started sniffing him, before giving out a roar.
"Fanghook without Gustav? Now I know something isn't right." Bulkhead said as each of the Autobots looked worried.
Tuffnut soon walked up I'm front of the distressed Dragon. "Fanghook, where's Gustav, boy? Where's Guatav?" Fanghook gave out a groan causing Tuffnut to walk away in frustration. "Ah! He's not talking you guys. He's completely shut down. Typical."
"He didn't even say anything." Bumblebee beeped.
"Hey, hey, Fanghook. It's okay. Easy, boy, easy." Hiccup assured the dragon as he approached. He took a quick look around the dragon and couldn't see anything physically wrong with him. "Well, doesn't look like he's injured."
"But he does look upset." Arcee said as she also approached the dragon. She then noticed a scroll attached to his horns and took it off before giving it to Hiccup. "Take a look at this."
Hiccup began to read the scroll and became worried the more he read it. "Dagur. He wants to make a trade. The Dragon. Eye for Gustav."
Minutes later, Hiccup began packing his satchel with whatever essentials he may need. The riders and Autobots, however, didn't like that he was going to go with just Toothless.
"I don't like this, Hiccup." Astrid said.
"This is without a doubt some kind of trap." Arcee said.
"Well, we don't have a choice." Hiccup said.
"You sure we have no choice?" Tuffnut asked. "Like none? Zip? Zilch?"
"This is all my fault anyway." Hiccup said.
"Ninguno?" Tuffnut asked.
"I never even gave the kid a chance."
"Ni Portugal?"
"Tuff, that's really not helping." Hiccup said in annoyance.
"Yeah." Tuffnut said in agreement.
"What language was that anyway?" Wheeljack asked which the rest of the Autobots just shrugged.
Hiccup then looked at the Dragon Eye in his hand. "If I wasn't so busy tinkering with this thing, I don't know, maybe I could have kept them busy."
"Uh, yeah, nobody can keep Gustav busy." Fishlegs said.
"That kid's like a ball of unstable energy." Bumblebee said.
"At least let us or Bumblebee back you up out there." Astrid said as Hiccup mounted Toothless.
"Dagur was very clear, no other riders, and most importantly, no Autobots." Hiccup said firmly. "We don't know what he'll do to Gustav if I don't appeal to his demands to the letter. We can't risk it." Astrid agreed that it was the smart call, but she still couldn't help but worry. "I'll be careful, I promise."
They all watched him fly away with Fanghook by their side.
"He'll be careful." Arcee said to Astrid, who smiled back at her.
/
Hiccup, Toothless, and Fanghook soon made it to the Ship Graveyard and managed to spot Dagur's ship. They also got spotted as Savage saw them coming.
"There!" Savage yelled, pointing at the approaching dragon rider. It wasn't long until Hiccup and Fanghook landed on the ship.
"Fanghook!" Gustav exclaimed as he ran past the Berserkers and hugged his dragon companion. "Oh, I was worried about you boy."
"Aww, dragon and Dragon Rider love." Dagur said with a smile, before pit turned into a disgusted look. "Makes me want to hurl."
Toothless growled as Hiccup looked around and saw many Berserkers appear out of hiding with their crossbows aimed right at them. "Yeah, I see 'em, bud." Hiccup said as he glanced at Gustav. "Gustav, are you okay?" The young Viking gave a nod of confirmation, then Dagur started to walk forward. "That's close enough, Dagur."
"Oh, wow, where's the trust? After all we've been through together?" Dagur said, with Hiccup giving a blank look. "No? Nothing? No Hiccupy bards, quips, snappy comebacks? But I really loved those. We've developed such a nice shorthand, you and I."
"Dagur, let's get on with this. Send them over." Hiccup said.
"You first." Dagur said, which Hiccup just glared in retaliation. Dagur didn't seem concerned as he just smirked. "So that's how it's gonna be? Fine by me." Dagur raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
All of a sudden, something zoomed over them and Hiccup looked up to see a jet flying high above and circling them, with Hiccup looking shocked and Toothless growling. The jet soon transformed and landed on one of the rock spires in the water to change into a one-eyed green Cybertronian with large guns on both arms and jet engines on its shoulders.
The surprises didn't stop as the ship began to rock slightly when another Cybertronian splashed out of the water and was hanging on to the railing of the ship with sharp teeth, had small spikes on his head going in a straight line, wheels on its shoulders, and seemed to be Arcee's side.
On top of another rock spire on the other side of the ship, two more Cybertronians appeared but they looked different than how they would usually look. One was purple walked on all fours, and had a massive jaw with razor teeth, while the other was black and blue and had deer antlers on its head.
From behind Dagur, stepping up from the stern, was another Cybertronian that was silver in color, and had a wolf-like appearance on his face with a wolf tail.
What shocked Hiccup the most was that each of them had a Decepticon insignia, albeit their marks had a claw slash across from them.
"You're not the only ones with new friends." Dagur said with a cruel smirk.
"Wha...but how did-" Hiccup tried to question.
"I found these guys sleeping in some kind of prison transport ship that was beneath the water of the Ship Graveyard. Oh, you want introductions?" Dagur said as he gestured to the Decepticons. "Gentlemen, if you would please?"
"The name's Nitro Zeus, and I'm ready for a blasting if you skip out on this deal." Nitro Zeus said as he raised both his blasters
"I'm Mohawk, and if Dagur didn't say otherwise, I'd kill you right now." The smaller one, Mohawk, said with a crazy cackle. "But I might kill you later, definitely gonna kill you later."
"Underbite, you ever heard of me?" The large-jawed Decepticon asked, to which Hiccup shook his head. "You ever heard Nuon City?" Again, Hiccup shook his head, which got Underbite angry. "That's cause I ate it!"
"Ey yo, the name's Thunderhoof, and I'm ready for any tricks you think about pulling." The one with antlers said.
"While my colleagues may have a creative way of introducing themselves, I'll keep it nice and simple." The one that was wolf-like said to himself as he gave a slight bow. "My name is Steeljaw, and would you be so kind as to hand us that trinket we asked for."
"You heard him, Hiccup." Dagur said as Hiccup glared at him. "You have no choice, one false move and my new friends will send you, you're Nightfury, and the kid to Valhalla."
"Please make a false move...please?" Mohawk said gleefully as he brandished a long knife from his arm.
Hiccup glanced over at Gustav, who nodded his head. He then hopped off Toothless and rolled the Dragon Eye to Dagur, who stopped it with his foot before picking it up.
"Oh, it really is a beautiful artifact." Dagur said as he towed with it. "And I heard it can be pretty useful to anyone who possesses it, right?"
"Gustav, let's go, it's okay." Hiccup said.
Gustav looked unsure as he looked between Hiccup and Dagur before making a decision.
"Yeah, about that, Hiccup." Gustav said as he then glared at Hiccup. "I've been treated much better by these guys than I ever was treated by you and the Dragon Riders."
"Now isn't that a twist." Thunderhoof said with a smirk.
"Ooh, and the plot thickens." Dagur said with a chuckle.
"Gustav." Hiccup warned.
"You could have given me a chance, you know." Gustav said as turned away from looking at him. "All you guys ever did was tell me I wasn't good enough; tell me I didn't belong. Well, I belong here."
"Gustav, you have no idea what you're getting into." Hiccup said.
Oh, yes, I do, Hiccup. I know exactly what I'm doing." Gustav countered.
"It appears that your friend has made his choice. So, you should be on your way." Steeljaw said with a smirk.
"Ordinarily this is where I betray you and fill you full of arrows or have my new friends eviscerate you, but the kid is squeamish." Dagur said. "He made me promise to let you go, and in return, he's gonna lead me to the treasure."
"That's right, Hiccup. We have the Dragon Eye and Fanghook's fire, and you know what that means. Untold treasure awaits." Gustav said with a smirk.
The moment Gustav said that, Hiccup instantly caught on to what Gustav was planning. It was reckless and dangerous, but he decided to play along as he hopped on Toothless.
"You are going to regret this." Hiccup warned.
"I don't think so." Gustav said with a smirk.
Hiccup gave Gustav one last glare before hopping on Toothless and flying off. Nitro Zeus watched him fly off before aiming his weapons at him.
"No, Nitro, let him go." Dagur said, halting him from shooting.
"Awe, I don't get to shoot anything?!" Nitro exclaimed as he retracted his weapons.
"Peace, brother, for if what Dagur and Gustav said about Autobots being here are true, you'll get your chance." Steeljaw called out, before opening a hatch on ship's deck and reaching inside it. "At least we have our beloved jailor to toy with." Steeljaw pulled out another Cybertronian, but this one was the size of Gustav and had an orange coloring, blue eyes, and had wheels instead of feet. "Isn't that right, Fixit?"
"I am warning you, Steeljaw, you are in violation of Alchemor prison vessel article-" Fixit tried to say before Mohawk came up and pointed his blade at him.
"Oh, shut up. You're lucky we don't rip you apart right now." Mohawk said.
"The only reason we're letting you live, is so we can know whatever juicy secrets you have in that tin brain of yours." Dagur said as he walked forward.
"I will never talk!" Fixit said as he crossed his arms.
"Suit yourself." Dagur said before giving a cruel smirk. "Just a heads up, Underbite is looking pretty hungry."
Fixit gave a wary glance at the large-jawed Decepticon as he gave the Minicon an evil smile, causing him to whimper in fear.
Dagur cast a glance at Gustav as he watched him playing with Fanghook. "You know, I'm actually gonna feel bad when I kill this kid."
"Dagur, I love the way you think." Mohawk said with a chuckle.
/
Dagur's ship soon landed on the island that Gustav explored yesterday, unaware of the island's instability. Steeljaw, Underbite, Thunderhoof, and Mohawk got off the ship with the rest of the Berserkers, while Nitro Zeus flew overhead and transformed, landing on the beach with them. A couple of Berserkers came out with a tied up Fixit with them.
"I've kicked more butt in prison." Nitro grumbled. "When are we gonna see some action."
"You'll get your chance, Nitro. Once we build up our forces, our combined might will crush brother Hiccup." Dagur said until Gustav stopped moving before they could enter the cave. "Why are we stopping?"
"Well, your new metal friends won't be able to fit, for one, and I'm just surprised that you trust your men enough to show them where the treasure is hidden." Gustav said before whispering in his ear. "Especially since there's so much of it." Gustav then walked off with a smirk as Dagur pondered his words.
"Stay here." Dagur ordered his men.
"Why?" Savage asked.
"Oh, let's see, I don't know, maybe because I SAID SO!" Dagur yelled in his face before turning to his Decepticon companions. "If any of them follow me in, you blast them, you shoot them, you crush them, you eat them, and you slice them!" Dagur said as he pointed at Nitro, Mohawk, Thuderhoof, Underbite, and Steeljaw respectively before following after Gustav.
"Ugh, I'd rather go back in that stasis pod then eat fleshies." Underbite said.
"Why are we listening to this human, Steeljaw?" Thunderhoof asked.
"We are on an unknown planet that just so happen to be crawling with Autobots on it. We need to know the lay of the land to have a better chance of fighting them in the future." Steeljaw answered.
"Plus, that Dagur guy is an organic after my own spark." Mohawk said with a sinister laugh.
"Probably because he's just as crazy as you." Nitro said.
The group of Decepticons and Berserkers just waited for Dagur to return, but they were starting to get a little antsy from just waiting around. It wasn't until a Groundbridge portal opened on the beach.
"What in Odin's name is that?" Savage asked in surprise.
"A Groundbridge?" Steeljaw said in confusion.
All of a sudden, the Dragon Riders came flying out of the portal and into the air, then began firing upon the group of Berserkers. The Decepticons were surprised by this, but they didn't have time to retaliate against them as the Autobots came rushing in and engaged them.
Arcee did a spin kick that pushed Mohawk back. They both brought out their blades and engaged each other in clash of strikes, with neither of them backing down.
"Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Nitro Zeus exclaimed with glee as he started firing a barrage of bullets from his weapons at Smokescreen, which the rookie managed to avoid by transforming to vehicle mode. He drove up close until he transformed and delivered an upper suit, sending the one-eyed Decepticon back.
Bulkhead and Underbite tackled each other and they were both trying to push the other back with their muscles.
"Let me guess. You're Underbite, devourer of Nuon City?" Bulkhead said as he tried to push forward.
"Finally, someone's who's heard of me!" Underbite said smugly as he tried to push back as well.
"Oh, I've heard of you." Bulkhead said as he glared at the quadruped Decepticon. "I had friends in Nuon City." Bulkhead's hand changed to a mace as he delivered an uppercut right below Underbite's jaw, sending him flying.
Thunderhoof lowered his head and charged horns first right at Wheeljack. "You mess with me; you get the horns!" The Wrecker managed to flip right over him, while drawing his swords, and delivered a slash right along Thunderhoof's back, causing him to yell in pain.
"I'm shaking in my boots." Wheeljack said sarcastically.
"You will be." Thunderhoof raised his foot and delivered a hard stomp that caused the entire ground to shake, sending some of them, both good guys and bad, to the ground.
"Hey, we're on your side!" Savage exclaimed as he and the Berserkers got up. They had to move out of the way as Snotloud and Hookfang came flying down breathing a stream of fire.
"Great, now Dagur has Decepticons working for him?! That's all I need!" Snotloud exclaimed.
"You guys keep the Berserkers and the Decepticons busy!" Hiccup called out as he and Toothless flew in the cave. "I'm going after Gustav!"
Bumblebee dodged a few swipes from Steeljaw's claws, but then he had his chest scratched, leaving a mark.
"You should've stayed out of our business, Autobot." Steeljaw said.
"Sorry, not my style." Bumblebee beeped as he dodged another swipe and then delivered a couple punches to Steeljaw's head. "You shouldn't have come to Earth."
Steeljaw glared at the scout as he wiped some Energon of his lower lip. "I'm going to rip out your spark."
Astrid flew above as she spotted a couple of Berserkers holding Fixit hostage with crossbows in their hands. "Stormfly, Spine Shot." Her dragon shot out a couple of spikes that destroyed their crossbows and then fired a magnesium blast that sent them running scared. Astrid landed on the ground and approached the tied up Fixit with her ax drawn. "I'm going to ask this once, you friendly or not?" She asked suspiciously.
"Not to worry, we are on the bride...tide...side!" Fixit said with him twitching on the last three words.
"Um...okay?" Astrid said in confusion.
"Sorry, I have a glitch." Fixit said sheepishly as Astrid cut him free with her ax.
/
Meanwhile, Dagur followed Gustav and Fanghook as they made their way through the cave.
"Fanghook, slow burn." Gustav said as he presented his dragon the Dragon Eye. Fanghook did just that and the image of the map appeared, amazing Dagur.
"Ah, I see. You outdid yourself, Hiccup, I love this thing." Dagur said as they continued walking, when the ground started to shake, causing him to become nervous. "So, uh, does that happen a lot?"
"You get used to it." Gustav said simply.
As they continued to walk, Dagur was starting to become impatient. "Are we there yet?" Dagur asked.
"We're getting close, very close." Gustav said.
"Good, that's what I wanted to hear." Dagur said with a smirk as he approached Gustav from behind, ready to end him and get the treasure. Before he could make a move, Gustav shined the light in Dagur's eyes, blinding him, and then he and Fanghook ran off.
"Oh, bright light, bright light." Dagur said as he tried to get his bearings straight. After that he began searching for Gustav. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."
The ground began to shake even more as a large crack began to open up. Dagur looked down, but them he spotted a light appearing from behind a rock, causing him to smirk.
Gustav tried to cover the light with his hand, but it was just too bright. He looked over to see if Dagur was still there, but he couldn't see him. He breathed a sigh of relief, only to gasp when he spotted Dagur in front of him.
"Gotcha!" Dagur said with a smirk.
"No...we've got you."
Dagur looked behind him to see Hiccup, Fanghook, and Toothless glaring at him with the later preparing a plasma blast.
"Good job, Gustav." Hiccup said with a smile, which Gustav returned. "Oh, what's the matter, Dagur? No barbs, no comebacks? I thought we had a shorthand. I thought you loved that stuff."
Dagur wasn't going to go down without some incentive, so he grabbed Gustav and pushed him towards Hiccup, while taking the Dragon Eye away from him.
"Dagur,hand over the Dragon Eye." Hiccup demanded.
"I don't think so." Dagur said with a smirk.
"I'm not asking." Hiccup said as Toothless fired at the ground, causing a deep dark hole to appear.
"Oh, it's a long way down, isn't it?" Dagur said as he peered down the hole. He then jumped out of the to avoid getting hit by another plasma blast.
"Dagur, you've got nowhere to run. It's over." Hiccup said.
"It's over? Really?" Dagur said with a smirk as he then hovered the Dragon Eye over the hole and then dropped it in. "Whoops."
"Oh no!" Gustav exclaimed as he dived after it.
"Gustav!" Hiccup exclaimed as he and Toothless dived after him while Dagur ran off.
Gustav continued to fall after the Dragon Eye until he managed to catch it. "Got you." Gustav said until he saw he was still falling, then he noticed Hiccup following him. "Hiccup!"
"There, bud!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless flew straight down as they got close enough for Hiccup to grab him and pull him close. "We got you, Gustav. Now let's get out of here."
Toothless began to fly straight up, but then a rock came by and hit Toothless in the back of his wing, which tossed both Riders off his back. With Hiccup no longer on his back, Toothless began falling down as well.
"Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed as Toothless roared helplessly. Hiccup tried to dive towards his dragon friend to reach his saddle. "Hang on, bud!"
He unfortunately missed, but he managed to catch him after a second try. He got on Toothless' saddle and managed to get his foot on the stirrup and pulled. This caused Toothless to regain his bearings and stop himself from hitting the ground.
"I gonna have to come up with something in case that ever happens to us again." Hiccup said.
Gustav still continued to fall, but then Fanghook came flying down and managed to catch him.
"Fanghook! Yeah! Thanks boy!" Gustav said as he rubbed his dragon's neck. The cavern began to shake again as both riders flew into another hole and into another cavern.
"You okay?" Hiccup asked in concern.
"Yeah." Gustav said before looking guilty. "Hiccup, I'm really sorry."
"I'm sorry to, Gustav." Hiccup said. "You're still irresponsible, immature, and reckless, but the way you handled yourself with Dagur, maybe you do have what it takes to be a Dragon Rider...someday."
"I'll take someday." Gustav said with a smile. Just then the cavern began to shake again.
"What do you say we find a way out of here." Hiccup said.
Gustav nodded as he and Fanghook walked off. Hiccup would have followed, but then he noticed a chest by the cavern wall. He got off Toothless and opened the chest.
"What in the name of Thor is this?" Hiccup said with a gasp. The cavern shook again, causing him to take the chest and hop on Toothless. "Let's go, bud."
/
Meanwhile, Dagur raced out of the cave and saw that his Berserker soldiers were losing badly. His Decepticon allies were not doing so good either.
Mohawk tried to slice at Arcee, but she ducked out of the way and kicked him away. Steeljaw rushed at Bumblee, but the scout managed to fall back and performed a somersault kick to his abdomen. Nitro Zeus had Smokescreen on his back as the Autobot grabbed him by the back of his and slammed him onto the ground. Bulkhead managed to pick up Underbite and managed to toss him right at Thunderhoof before he could charge at Wheeljack.
"Alright boys, we're leaving!" Dagur ordered.
Nitro heard this and shot out a flare from his back, creating a bright light that blinded everybody. The Berserkers took the distraction and got back on their ships, with Dagur and the Decepticons following suit.
When the light faded, the riders and Autobots saw that the ships were too far off.
"Ha! Too hot for you guys?!" Smokescreen said victoriously.
"Let's not start celebrating just yet." Bulkhead said.
"Now that that lunatic has Decepticons working with him, there's no telling what kind of damage he can do." Arcee said before turning to Fixit. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am unharmed. Thank you for freeing me from my captors." Fixit said gratefully.
"What are you supposed to be?" Tuffnut asked.
"Yeah, you're too small to be an Autobot." Ruffnut said.
"I can assure you; I am an Autobot. I am a subspecies of Cybertronian known as a Minicon." Fixit explained.
"Fascinating, I never thought there were other species of Cybertronian life." Fishlegs said with fascination.
"You'd be surprised." Wheeljack said.
Hiccup and Gustav managed to get out and saw the empty beaches of enemies.
"Let me guess..." Hiccup said.
"...they got away." Astrid finished.
"Don't worry, we'll get 'em next time." Bumblebee assured.
Gustav looked down with guilt before approaching them. "Listen guys, I just want to say I'm sorry about the trouble I caused you."
"You should be!" Snotloud exclaimed.
"But your plan to lead them into a trap was pretty awesome." Smokescreen said.
Even Arcee had to smile at that. "Nice work, kid."
"Come on, everyone, let's get back to the edge." Hiccup said as Arcee opened a Groundbridge for them to enter.
/
When they got back to the Edge, Gustav decided it was time for him to leave and go home to Berk, so the riders and Autobots decided to see him off.
"Gustav, I-" Astrid tried to say.
Gustav then placed his finger on her lips. "Uh uh, stop right there, Astrid, I can't stay. My mom would kill me. She usually noticed I've been gone after three days."
"Why couldn't she have noticed sooner." Arcee muttered, which Bumblebee chuckled.
Gustav then mounted Fanghook as they took off. "You take care, babe. Gustav will be back soon!" Gustav called out before he was gone.
"You know, I'm actually gonna miss the little guy." Wheeljack said.
"Seriously?" Arcee said.
"What? He made things interesting here." Wheeljack said with a chuckle.
Astrid then noticed Hiccup opening the chest he brought back from the island. "What's that?" Astrid asked.
"Oh, just something I found in that cave." Hiccup said as he showed them a new lense.
"A new lense?" Fishlegs said with fascination.
"Yeah, there was treasure in those caves after all. The Dragon Eye was giving us clues on how to find it, we just weren't looking in the right place." Hiccup said.
"And if one was there, then who knows how many are out there." Bulkhead said.
"Who knows what secrets they hold." Bumblebee beeped.
"Huh, and to think, we never would have found it without Gustav." Astrid said.
"Awesome, so let's go tell Gustav." Hiccup suggested.
"NO!" All the Dragon Riders and some of the Autobots exclaimed.
Arcee calmed down and turned towards their newest guest, Fixit. "So, what's your story?"
"How does a Minicon get held captive by Dagur of all people?" Bulkhead asked.
"You see, I was the jailor for the prison vessel known as the Alchemor." Fixit explained. "Our ship left Cybertron during the war, but was hit by a magnetic storm that sent us off course. We must have crashed onto this world and myself and the prisoners were forced into stasis."
"You were a jailor?" Snotloud said skeptically.
"Minicons are tougher than you think." Wheeljack said.
"And those Decepticons back there were the prisoners?" Fishlegs asked, to which Fixit nodded.
"Who were they?" Hiccup asked.
"A group of renegades that once tried to rebel against Megatron. Steeljaw was the leader, then there was Thunderhoof, Underbite, those three were once experimented on by the mad scientist Shockwave. Lastly there was Nitro Zeus and Mohawk. The records said that they were against Megatron in wanting to stay and fight in the war and wanted to conquer a new planet for the Decepticons."
"And now they're with Dagur." Fishlegs said with worry.
"Hiccup, Dagur was crazy by himself." Astrid said. "Now that he has Decepticons with him..."
"I know." Hiccup said as he had a troubled look on his face. "He just became even more dangerous, which means we need to be better prepared."
/
Hey everyone, I thought I'd give you all a surprise and update this story again!
Things seemed to go from bad to worse for our heroes. Now Dagur has his own ragtag team of Decepticons, but at least they have a new lens and they just got a new recruit in Fixit.
Now, at first, I didn't want to introduce any character versions from Transformers: Robots in Disguise, but I figured I can at least make these characters work, along with a couple of Bayformer characters. I had to do Nitro Zeus, he's voiced by the legend himself John DiMaggio
So here are the new characters:
Fixit (Robots in Disguise)
Steeljaw, Underbite, and Thunderhoof (Robots in Disguise)
Nitro Zeus and Mohawk (The Last Knight, but Mohawk is as tall as Arcee)
Now, I changed Steeljaw, Underbite, and Thunderhoof's backstory a bit by having be test subjects of Shockwave to give them their more bestial forms, because I want beast modes to be a rarity among the Transformers, and it seemed like every Decepticon of the weak had a beast-like form in one shape or another. I mean, look at Underbite, his standard robot form is practically a beast form already.
I also had to make up backstories for Mohawk and Nitro Zeus since we don't really know anything about their history, and I needed an excuse for them to be on that prison ship.
Well guys, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as I am going to work on my other stories for a bit.
See you all soon, and stay safe out there.