Hey there Star Wars and Anime fans. Before you start this chapter, has anyone ever noticed the similarities between the crew of the Ghost in Star Wars: Rebels and the crew of the Bebop from Cowboy Bebop? Spike Spiegel is like Kanan Jannus, Jet Black is Zeb Orrelios and Faye Valentine is Hera Syndulla. I haven't managed to work out if Radical Edward Wong is Ezra, Sabine or Chopper, or even a combination of all three (although Chopper could also be Ein the dog).


The Short Nap

Chapter 4

"Hey Ruff, Tuff... nice day isn't it?" the suspect greeted us.

It had taken me over an hour to find Fishlegs; it was almost as if he did not want to be found. Hmmm... suspicious to say the least. Another thing that did not bode well for Berks premier Gronkle rider was that we found him at the scene of the crime in Gobbers workshop. Considering how badly my first two attempts at finding the saboteur had gone, I decided to be more direct this time and avoid all confusion.

"Cut the chatter ya mugg, I'm wise to the graft you've been pulling."

"Err... you wanna say that again?" Fishlegs pretended to be innocent, but I could tell he was just playing for time.

"Don't try and bamboozle me with your fancy talk; flapping your lips doesn't change the facts one iota. Two weeks ago, in the last race before the mid-season break, you did a number on the Night Fury forcing our future chief out mid race and propelling you into first place on the leader board."

I waited to hear his denials and excuses, but was surprised instead when Fishlegs sank to his knees and tearfully admitted his guilt.

"I'm so sorry" he sobbed like Gobber at bath time "I didn't mean to hurt anyone... honestly."

"You didn't hurt anyone." Hiccup stated as he walked out of his small workshop "What are you doing here Tuffnut and... what are you wearing?"

"It's a trench coat" my sister revealed with a smile.

"And where on earth did Tuffnut get a trench coat?" Hiccup sighed as he asked.

"I dunno." Ruffnut answered "Probably the same place he got the Viking Fedora with the horns on it."

"It's part of Trader Johann's new fall retro fashion line" Astrid added as she joined the group "I picked up a nice wool sweater and a poodle skirt."

"A sweater?" Hiccups eyes brightened "I hope you're gonna wear it on our dinner date tonight."

"Down boy" Astrid smirked "There are more important things for us to talk about right now."

"Yes... like this poodle skirt for example" I stated "What is a poodle?"

"It's kind of like a sheep with a weird haircut" Astrid answered "but that's not important. I'm talking about your wild accusations Tuffnut... and why is Fishlegs on his knees in tears?"

"I... I don't know" Fishlegs realised as he got to his feet again "Tuffnuts accusation was so forceful, I just got caught up in the moment."

"I told you not to go crazy Tuffnut..." Astrid dropped her head into her hands.

"Yeah, like that's gonna work" my sister snorted.

"...just to keep your eyes open."

"Keep his eyes open for what?" Hiccup joined in the confusion.

"I was worried about what happened to you and Toothless in the last race and I thought since everyone is accustomed to Tuffnut poking his nose in and asking stupid questions, nobody would notice if he were to keep a lookout for any... you know... funny business."

"There was no funny business" Hiccup declared as he slowly shook his head.

It began to appear to me as if the fem fatale's concerns could be slightly misguided as the Dragon Master continued to talk.

"The bones in a dragon's tail are both light and strong but in order to get that strength in the tail I made for Toothless, I had to use metal that unfortunately had too much extra weight. I think that is why Toothless has trouble with tight turns so I've been trying to develop a light tail for racing but... I went too far. During the last race, some of the struts began to flex and bend and we lost too much control so I had to pull out. If you thought something was wrong Astrid, why didn't you talk to me about it?"

"Oh come on Hiccup, everyone knows what you're like. If somebody was fixing the races and I told you about it, you wouldn't believe me because you're way too trusting."

"I prefer to think of him as gullible."

The new voice came from on high as a rope noose was dropped over me and tightened around my feet. With a sharp jerk, Snotlout yanked me upside down and I soon found myself swinging beneath Hookfang as we quickly gained height.

"I told you this wasn't over mutton head" Snotlout called out to me.

The other Dragon Riders along with half the village, smiled and laughed as I was roughly lifted up and hung from the roof of the Great Hall.

"What are you doing Snotlout? Please put Tuffnut down." Hiccup tried to defend me but still could not stop giggling.

"No way Hiccup; this weirdo tried to frame me for sabotage and race fixing, so now he's gonna pay for it. I'm not letting him down until I think he's had enough time to think about what he's done."

"You must admit babe, he does make a good pendulum" Astrid laughed as she slapped Hiccup on the back so hard, he almost fell over.

"This is entirely your fault Astrid" Hiccup scolded her "You should have asked me about your suspicions before setting Tuffnut loose on Berk."

"Oh don't be upset. Do you wanna see how I look in my new sweater?" she smiled as she walked away.

"I forgive you" Hiccup declared as he chased after her "Sorry Tuff... I'll check on you an hour... err, maybe two."

As the rest of the jovial masses went about their business leaving me all alone, I considered just how right I had been when Astrid visited me earlier in the day. I just knew I'd wind up on the end of a rope.

Fin.


For those who are wondering why this story was called The Short Nap, it was a play on the Raymond Chandler detective novel called The Big Sleep. Nobody asked so I assume most people worked that out themselves (I also briefly considered naming it The Big Sheep, but that sounded ridiculous). Thanks for reading and bye for now, Marty.