"For the fifth time, Hiccup," shouted Snotlout, "we all know the plan."

"Okay," Said Hiccup. "Remember, the aim is to get in undetected through the secret passageway,"

"Free the trained dragons and torch as many buildings as possible on the way out." Finished Fishlegs. "We've talked about nothing else for the past week, Hiccup. I'm starting to recite the attack plan in my sleep."

Dagur, who had met up with the riders en route to Viggo's base, laughed maniacally. "Isn't this wonderful? Dragon riders and Chief Berserker on our way to destroy our most feared enemy." He let out the Berserker battle cry and flew in a loop-the-loop, howling.

Hiccup silently nudged Toothless forwards. This was probably the best shot they had at weakening Viggo Grimborn. The Wanderers had overheard in the trade markets that Viggo's defences were destroyed by a torrential storm. The riders finally had an opportunity to free Viggo's most dangerous weapon: dragons. Viggo's island loomed on the horizon, a large landmass with dense tropical forests. The map Fishlegs had stolen from a Hunter ship indicated an entrance that was so well hidden it wouldn't have been worth guarding. It was located on the South Eastern side of the island and was swamped with thick vegetation.

The riders landed in a clearing and began to trek through the jungle on foot. "Ugh!" Snotlout shuddered. "What is this stuff?" He pointed at a thick white goo which had spread from a plant onto his boots.

"Ragweed." Said Fishlegs. "Highly adhesive. Don't get any on your skin."

"That might have been helpful to know five minutes ago, Fishface!" Snotlout was trying to wipe glue off his hands onto his trousers.

"Shh!" Hiccup held up a hand and signalled to the others to stop walking. Up ahead, Viggo's men were marching through the undergrowth. "Must be a patrol." Whispered Hiccup. "We need to be quick." The riders slipped up to the cave entrance and peered around the edge. A small railroad had been set up leading towards the centre of the mountain, rusted steel carts littering the tracks. The riders began to follow the railroad towards the heart of the Dragon Hunter's base.

They hadn't got more than a few meters when there was a loud rattling sound. "Shh!" Fishlegs hissed at Dagur.

"Wasn't me." Said Dagur. "It-"

"Look out!" Hiccup threw himself to the floor as arrows shot sideways across the tunnel. He scrambled to his feet and ignited his sword, holding it aloft to defend himself as Hunters rushed forwards.

"Forces weakened by the storm my butt!" Yelled Snotlout, who was grappling with a Hunter somewhere to Hiccup's right.

Toothless opened his mouth to fire a plasma blast. "No, Bud! If you bring down the ceiling there's no way we'll sneak in undetected."

"Hiccup, they'll know we're here anyway!" Shouted Fishlegs.

Dagur whacked a Hunter over the back of his head and he fell forwards, unconscious. "Not if we knock out all their tiny imbecilic skulls and hide their bodies."

"Okay," Said Hiccup. "Just- just be careful not to kill them, Dagur."

Suddenly the Hunter that had been running at Hiccup collapsed to the floor to reveal another man in a battered helmet holding a blow gun to his lips. "Need any help?"

More guards began to spill into the tunnel. The riders didn't have much time. The guard with the blow gun cocked his head. "Are you going to let me help or not?" Hiccup hesitated. He nodded and the Hunter beckoned. "This way." He lead them through a second passage behind a rock and into a crevice being used as some sort of secret hideout. There were threadbare mattresses on the floor and a small gas lamp was burning on a table. In the flickering light Hiccup surveyed the man who had saved them. He was thin and wiry; not the sort Viggo usually recruited as Hunters.

"Who are you?" Said Hiccup. It was more a demand than a question.

"Haddr." The man extended his hand. "Haddr, born to the Wanderers of the Western Isle."

Hiccup did not shake the man's hand. "What are you doing here?"

"The Wanderers have betrayed you." Said Haddr. "I'm one of the men they sent to support the expansion of Viggo's dragon army. I'm an honest man and I don't support the enslavement of dragons. I'm willing to help you break into the base."

"What do you want in return?" Said Hiccup.

"Safe passage to Berk once the war is over."

Hiccup nodded and stepped away to speak to the riders. "Thoughts, gang?"

"We're never going to break in without help." Said Fishlegs. "The Hunters are everywhere." In the silence that followed, the footsteps outside ricocheted around the hideout.

"I know." Said Hiccup. "The Wanderers gave us false information about the storm." He looked at Dagur, waiting for the insistence that this was an obvious trap.

"Seems legit to me." Dagur shrugged.

"The next patrol is coming." Said Haddr. "We need to go now."

"Okay." Hiccup shook Haddr's hand. He and the other riders followed Haddr out of the hideout and onto the railroad. They slipped along the edge of the cave wall, condensation trickling down the rocks in streams. Everything smelt of damp.

"Eww," Said Snotlout. "Viggo's really got the dingy lair vibe going on."

"Shh!" Haddr held up a hand and the riders came to an abrupt halt. Haddr pointed to a ravine running through the centre of the mountain. "Viggo's quarters are across there. They'll be unguarded, Viggo doesn't like to be disturbed when he's thinking. If you cross-"

"No." Said Hiccup. "We're not here for Viggo. We're here to free his dragons."

"Oh," Said Haddr. "That complicates things."

"How reliable is this chart?" Fishlegs held out the map of Viggo's base that the riders had used to plan their attack.

Haddr studied the parchment. "It's good. You need to cross the ravine and climb up that tunnel," he pointed to a large hole in the left corner of the cave ceiling, "and then you'll cross the compound to get to the stables. I'm warning you, though, it's crawling with Hunters."

"Will you help us get through?" Said Hiccup.

"Yes," Said Haddr. "I'll need payment, though."

"Get us to the dragons and I'll give you a gold bar when we get to Berk."

"Deal. Come on, the patrol's just gone past."

They slipped down the slope of the cave wall towards the crevice. There was a loud clattering sound as Hookfang knocked a stone over the edge. Fishlegs sighed. "Hiccup, the dragons are only going to slow us down and get us caught."

"You're right," Said Hiccup. "We'll send them back to the hideout."

"Seriously," Snotlout skidded on a wet patch of rock and rammed his helmet back on his head. "You want to infiltrate Viggo's base full of Hunters, the most dangerous mission we've ever been on, without our dragons?"

"Yes." Said Hiccup. "We'll be fine, Snotlout. The dragons don't exactly blend in to the Hunter patrols."

"Neither do we: your one-legged scrawny butt sticks out like a Quaken in a chicken coop."

Hiccup gave a hand signal and the dragons crept away. The riders continued on and soon came to the river running through the middle of the canyon, rapids roaring like the mountain's heart beat. "How do we cross?" Sending the dragons back now seemed like a bad idea. Haddr pointed to a large rope tied to a gnarled tree stump growing out of the rock.

"What?!" Shouted Snotlout. "I'm not swinging across, I'll fall to my death!"

"It'll be fine, Snotlout." Said Hiccup. "As leader, I'll go first."

"Damn right you will." Said Snotlout.

Fishlegs was wringing his hands. "I think I should go back and check on the dragons."

"Fishlegs, you can do this. Think about all the dragons we'll save once we get across." Hiccup untied the rope swing and got ready to jump. It was difficult to get a tight hold on the rope which was soaked with spray. He took a deep breath and stepped over the edge. For a moment he plummeted downwards, the air a mixture of river water and whistling wind. Then the rope became taught. Hiccup rushed through the air, his feet skimming the river. The swing carried him high up to the walkway on the other side. He threw the rope back to the others and tried to catch his breath. One by one the other riders swung across the canyon.

Finally it was Snotlout's turn. "Hey Hiccup, watch this." Snotlout swooped through the air, waving his left hand above his head and kicking his right foot away from the rope. "One legged!" He was so busy showing off he misjudged the timing of the swing and didn't manage to jump across to the ledge. Hiccup made a grab for him but missed. Snotlout shouted as he swung away from them, imitating Hiccup. "Get on the swing...! it'll be fine...! we'll all get across...! I'm a muttonhead!"

Hiccup sighed. "Kick off hard from the other side, Snotlout." Snotlout gave a feeble push and didn't generate enough momentum to reach the ledge.

"Do all your missions consist of waiting for Snotlout to get his act together?" Asked Dagur.

"Pretty much." Said Fishlegs.

Snotlout had jumped on to a crevice just below the ledge. He began climbing up to join the other riders. Hiccup reached down to offer Snotlout his hand. Snotlout pushed him away. "I don't need your help! You're looking at 200 pounds of raw Thawfest-winning Viking power!" Snotlout hauled himself over the ledge, staggered to his feet and flexed his muscles. He was trying to hide how out of breath he was.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let's go." They followed Haddr across the winding paths and uneven ground of Viggo's base. The Wanderer knew the maze of tunnels well and soon they emerged into the moonlight on the mountain top. Buildings and walls snaked around the landscape. To Hiccup's surprise, they were built from stone rather than wood. "Viggo's planning to be here a long time?"

"Yeah," Said Haddr. "We've been told to expect to be here for the long haul."

"Well," Said Dagur, "So much for torching the buildings on the way out."

They crept along a crumbling wall and came to stop a short way from a gate. It was guarded by two Hunters wearing oversized helmets. "How will we get passed them?" Said Fishlegs. "The walls are too high for us to climb over. Oh, we should have brought the dragons!"

"They'd see us if we flew over the walls, Fishface."

Haddr motioned for the riders to stay hidden as he stepped towards the guards. "Oliver! Filfanditch! Viggo's called an urgent meeting for the gate keepers. I've been sent to watch your station."

"Thanks, Haddr." Said one of the Hunters. Once they disappeared from sight the riders rushed through the gate. The small rescue party slowly made their way across Viggo's compound, with Haddr giving fellow Hunters excuses ranging from a fire in the mountain complex to a dragon attack on the far side of the island. They eventually made it to a large arena that looked hauntingly familiar.

"He's copied the dragon arena from Berk!" Shouted Snotlout.

"Not now." Said Hiccup. "We need to find a way to get in. Haddr, are the dragons kept in the arena or is it just used for training?"

"No idea." Said Haddr. "Truth be told I'm a railroad technician. Viggo only trusts his most experienced Hunters with the dragon training."

"Great." Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Just perfect."

"Snotlout!" Fishlegs said. "There's no way we'd have gotten this far without Haddr's help."

"Tomayto tomahto."

Hiccup signalled for the others to be quiet and follow him. They crept towards the arena. It was set into a pit in the ground and the riders peered through holes in the roof. Hunters were inside working with Grim Gnasher dragons. Hiccup felt sick as a Hunter cracked a whip against a Gnasher's back. It fell down on its side, all fight gone from its eyes.

"This is barbaric." Whispered Fishlegs.

"I know," Said Hiccup.

"Those are Gnashers." Said Fishlegs. "You know what this means,"

"Well duh!" Snotlout blew his fringe out of his eyes. "We need to free them and head home before Viggo catches us."

"No, Snotlout," Fishlegs spoke with an air of authority. "It means Viggo has found Vanaheim and is planning to attack the Defenders of the Wing."

"I don't follow," Snotlout scratched his head. "This affects the Defenders of the Wing because-?"

"Because, Snotlout, the Grim Gnasher is the only natural predator of the Eruptodon." Fishlegs suddenly dropped his superiority. "Oh this is bad, this is really bad."

"We can't think about that now." Hiccup was peering at the Gnashers with a spy glass. "Viggo must have more dragons stored elsewhere. We need to find them, earn their trust and then come back to take on the Hunters."

"Wait wait wait," Snotlout held up his hands. "The Hunters could kill these Gnashers in the time it takes us to rescue the other dragons. We can't just let them die, Hiccup."

"The Hunters won't kill the dragons, Snotknuckles." Said Dagur. "Dead dragons are worthless to Viggo."

"My name's not Snotknuckles." Muttered Snotlout grumpily as he followed Hiccup around the edge of the arena.

They came to a stop by a large compound of stone buildings. The doors were made of metal. Fishlegs ran his finger across the frame. "Dragon proof. They're in here."

"How are we going to get in, genius?" Said Snotlout. "There's probably a million guards."

"No," Hiccup had his ear pressed against the wall of the barn. "I can hear whirring in the walls. Viggo wouldn't waste men guarding the dragons. He's booby trapped the barn instead."

"Great!" Snotlout rolled his eyes. "So what's your plan to get in there? Man, I wish the twins were here to trip all the traps for us."

"Actually," Said Hiccup, "That's not a bad idea."

"Great! I'll fly back to the Edge and pick up those two muttonheads for death by Viggo Grimborn's warheads."

"No, Snotlout. We're not killing the twins. We just need to think like them. How would Ruff and Tuff get around the traps?"

"It might help if we knew what the traps were." Said Fishlegs.

"Well, there's an easy way to find that out." Said Dagur. "I've set a lot of traps in my time." He slid his knife into the join between the door and the wall, stopping about halfway down to wiggle the blade. "There's a trigger switch here. From the position I'd say that weapons are rigged to fall when the doors are opened. If I trip-"

"No!" Shouted Hiccup. "There might be dragons on the other side of the door. We don't want them to be hit by the weapons."

Dagur banged hard on the door. "Move, dragons!" He shouted.

"Unorthodox." Said Fishlegs.

"Effective." Dagur tripped the switch. There was the sound of axes falling.

Snotlout picked the lock and slowly pushed the barn doors open. He jumped backwards. "Ugh!" Hiccup understood why. The smell of dragon excrement was overwhelming. Viggo was obviously leaving the dragons sat in their own waste.

"Come, on." Hiccup took the sword from his back and ignited the blade. In the dim light of the flames he could just make out dragons gazing back at him. He approached a Monstrous Nightmare and held out his hand. The dragon sniffed him, then rubbed the side of its head against Hiccup's chest. "That's weird," Said Hiccup. "Viggo's clearly abusing them. Why aren't they terrified of humans?"

"We need to go." Said Haddr from the doorway. "Viggo's men are going to notice us soon."

"I'll set the dragons free." Said Snotlout.

"No, Snotlout!" Hiccup held up a hand to stop him. "We can't just let them go free. They'll attack villages like the Flame Whipper and the Devilish Dervishes did."

"Hiccup, how are we going to get all these dragons back to the Edge?" Said Fishlegs. "There must be at least fifty of them."

"We'll fly home in formation." The riders set to work locking together each dragon's chains in a long rope. The dragons watched amicably. Hiccup raised his hand. "Come on gang, we've got some Gnashers to free."

The riders abandoned any attempt at stealth; it isn't exactly easy to hide a flying convoy of large fire-breathing reptiles. A hunter nearby screamed and scrambled backwards as the dragons erupted out of the barn. "Sound the alarm! Rider attack!"

A warning horn blared from the mountaintop and more hunters surged forwards. "Dragon calls!" Shouted Hiccup. Hookfang, Meatlug, Toothless and Sleuther all burst from a cave in the mountain: they had clearly followed their riders, anticipating a battle. Hiccup slipped into Toothless' saddle with Haddr behind him and fired a warning shot at a hunter. "Protect the rescued dragons!" He shouted at Fishlegs.

"On it! Warden Meatlug, if you will." Meatlug sent a deluge of lava onto the heads of the hunters, who screamed in pain. Hiccup looked at Fishlegs, stunned. "What?" Said Fishlegs. "They're torturing dragons."

A Hunter almost shot down one of the rescued dragons. "We need to get them out of here." Said Hiccup. Snotlout and Dagur guided the dragons upwards out of the range of Viggo's arrows. Hiccup turned his attention to the Grim Gnashers. Toothless crawled over the metal chains hanging across the roof of the arena and shot plasma blasts at the Hunters. They shrieked and abandoned their posts. Hiccup chuckled to himself. "Hunters. They run every time." He beckoned to the Gnashers, but the dragons didn't move. That wasn't surprising, they had clearly been in captivity a long time judging by the faded scars on their scales. Toothless slipped through the entrance and Hiccup jumped down from the Night Fury's back. He approached a Gnasher and held out his hand. "Come on, you're free now. We'll find you a nice safe place to call home."

Behind Hiccup, the gate slammed shut.

"It's nice to see you again, Hiccup." Said Viggo. He was leaning against the wall by the only exit. "Although, of course, you could have just rung the doorbell."

"Viggo! You let us go. We're taking your dragons with us." Hiccup glanced at the convoy, which was hovering lazily in the sky above them.

"Oh, I don't doubt that, my good boy." Viggo strolled across the arena towards Hiccup. "Tell me," he didn't break eye contact. "How is Astrid?"

Hiccup wished he had one of the 'snappy comebacks' Dagur usually praised him for. This time, though, there was nothing but anger. "How dare you ask about her? How dare you say her name?! You-"

"Ah, you're taking it well, I see." Viggo flicked dust from beneath his fingernails. "We have business to discuss, my dear Hiccup. I want to propose a treaty."

Blood rushed in Hiccup's ears. He didn't want a treaty. He wanted to wipe Viggo off the face of the Earth, obliterate his evil smile. "What terms?"

"The same as I proposed last time. You stay North of Defenders of the Wing Island, and I control the seas to the South. You'll save thousands of dragons."

"And you'll kill thousands more."

"True." Viggo stepped towards Hiccup and Toothless threatened to fire a plasma blast. "Do we have a deal?"

"Not a chance." Said Hiccup. "Bud." Toothless fired a blast at the chain holding up the roof of the arena. It crashed down with an ear-splitting clatter and sent the Grim Gnashers scattering. One dragon, slower than the others, got caught under a metal rod. "No!" Shouted Hiccup. Toothless dived towards the dragon.

"Hiccup," Haddr's voice made Hiccup jump. "We need to leave. We can't save these dragons."

"No," Said Hiccup. "We're not leaving them." He jumped off Toothless' back and approached the injured Gnasher. Hunters were picking their way across the rubble from the collapsed roof, the riders sending hot blasts of fire to slow them down. "Come on, Buddy. We need to go. Now." The other Gnashers snarled at Hiccup, biting at his legs. "I get it," Said Hiccup softly. "You want to protect your friend. I can help."

The injured dragon squealed loudly as the other Gnashers began to push it around with their noses. It seemed afraid; this made no sense.

"Hiccup!" Shouted Fishlegs over the blasts of fire. "Gnashers hunt sick and injured dragons!"

"They're not protecting it! Of course!" Hiccup shuddered at the thought of dragons hunting members of their own species. An idea occurred to him: if he carried the injured Gnasher away from the arena, the other Gnashers would follow. Toothless picked the injured dragon up in his claws and they took to the air. Toothless twisted to avoid arrow fire. Carrying the Gnasher unbalanced Toothless and Haddr, unaccustomed to aerial combat, slipped out of the saddle. He plummeted towards the ground and Viggo grabbed him around the neck. "Haddr!" Hiccup dived downwards but had to pull up as a flurry of arrows threatened to impale themselves in Toothless' stomach.

"Go!" Shouted Haddr. "Save the dragons. Don't worry about me." Hiccup hesitated.

"Come on, brother," Said Dagur. "He's right." Hiccup sighed and turned away.

Hunters continued to shoot arrows, attempting to bring down the riders and the stolen dragons. Viggo waved his hand. "Oh, let them go. You may have won this time, my dear Hiccup, but this isn't over."

Once the riders were out of sight of Viggo's island Hiccup addressed his comrades. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Said Fishlegs. "It's strange though. We practically walked in there and took his dragons. I just would have thought Viggo would have a better plan than that."

Hiccup glanced at Fishlegs. "Let's just be glad he didn't."