(A/N: Welcome to the new chapter, everybody, I hope you'll like reading it. I know I've said previously that I would be getting back to the episode-based chapters after this one, but that's not going to be the case unfortunately. As I got to work on this, I estimated that the end result would be somewhere in the range of ten thousand words, if not much more. That's all I have to say, other than I'm sorry.)

o-V-Y-V-o~*0*~o-V-Y-V-o

Ladok was standing on top of a cliff as he practiced his dragon calls. The other riders were in the Clubhouse, relaxing and waiting for dinner to be finished cooking.

It was a couple of hours after the three Grapple Grounder hatchlings were brought back to the island. A small section of the stables was made especially for them where the adult dragons could keep an eye on them.

He howled into the wind for his dragon to come to him, sounding raspier than normal. Midway through the call, he started coughing, unable to finish it. Nevertheless, Shockstrike found him on the cliff, nudging him as his coughs continued.

When they eventually stopped, he reassured his dragon, his voice slightly hoarse, "I'm fine, pal. Don't worry about me."

He was considering proceeding with the dragon calls, but he changed his mind when he heard a rumble coming from Shockstrike's stomach. Despite having not eaten too much himself that day, he didn't feel hungry, but he wasn't going to torture his dragon until his own stomach finally growled.

"Alright, let's go back to the base." As he mounted his dragon's back, he suddenly felt a chill in the air and rubbed his arms, "Geez, this a cold breeze."

He didn't think anything about it until they were in the air and he started to shiver. If he did not know better, he would have thought devastating winter had come early.

Even when they arrived at Dragon's Edge, his shivering had not ceased. In fact, the degree of its severity made it seem as though he was standing in the epicenter of an earthquake.

Shockstrike was headed for the stables, which was where he and his rider usually separated. However, he was shaking so much that Ladok didn't think he would be able to climb up all of the ladders and stairs on his own.

"Hey, can you take me up to the Clubhouse real quick?" he asked, his voice a little shaky.

The Skrill was hungry, he wanted to have a fishy dinner with the other dragons and play their usual games with them afterwards. He started to fly up to the Clubhouse nonetheless, a couple of minutes out of his life was nothing.

He stumbled backwards a couple of steps when he dismounted, his legs as shaky as his voice, "Th- thanks, you- you can go to the st- stables."

After he saw his rider's condition and heard the way he spoke, Shockstrike suddenly felt reluctant about leaving him. Instead of flying down to the stables, he used his snout to open the entrance for him.

Ladok didn't know what he was doing or why, but he decided not to protest the actions of a dragon that absorbed lightning. When he stepped inside, he saw the other riders either eating or getting food, a soup made of yak, peas, carrots, and onions.

After he went into the Clubhouse, Shockstrike followed, which did not go unnoticed by Snotlout, "What? Is your dragon too good to eat in the stables with our dragons?"

The bowl he was holding dropped to the floor, scorched with its contents spilled. Blue electricity briefly cloaked Shockstrike's body, smoke pouring out of his maw and past his teeth like a waterfall.

"Shit!" Snotlout picked up his burnt bowl and went to the cauldron the soup was cooked in while sulking.

The Skrill felt the scales of his rider's hand on those on his head. Ladok whispered to him, "Thank you." He cleared his throat as best he could to make his voice sound as normal as possible, "You can go now. I'll see you later." He nudged his side before he exited the Clubhouse.

"He better hurry up and get down there before the babies take all of it," Hiccup jokingly commented as he gave an empty bowl to his brother.

He chuckled, "No kidding."

He got in line for the soup, the only one in front of him was Snotlout. After he filled his bowl to the brim, it was Ladok's turn to get some. He poured a little into his one time, but not anything more than that, he didn't think he had the stomach to hold it all down.

He started to eat, but after only a few bites he gained a sour feeling in his stomach. He couldn't eat anymore of it, not without feeling like he had to vomit. He pushed his bowl forward on the table, away from him.

For a long time, he sat there, waiting for everyone to finish their soup. Frankly, he wanted to run outside because merely watching as they ate their food made him nauseous. Somehow, he managed to stop himself from running and vomiting, but he couldn't prevent the shivering.

Finally, they started to finish and used a bucket filled with water and soap on the floor to wash their dishes, stacking them next to it. While they were using the wash-bucket, Ladok stealthily went outside with his bowl, planning to get rid of the uneaten soup.

He didn't know what he was going to do with it, he did know that he couldn't put it back in the cauldron and risk contaminating what remained of the soup. He saw one of the Night Terrors on the deck, chewing on its claws, so he decided to set the bowl down in front of it. The Night Terror ate the cold soup and flew away when it was done, he picked up the bowl and went back inside to wash it.

Hiccup was cleaning his dish in the bucket, but everyone else was gone, they left through the other door. He knelt down on the opposite side of his brother and began to wash his own bowl.

"Hey, that was some soup, huh?" Hiccup commented.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it was fine," he replied softly with a quiet voice, so that he wouldn't be able to hear the weakness in his voice.

"Are you alright?" he asked, reaching his hand over to him. "You're not usually this quiet."

He cleared his throat again, speaking a little louder and clearer, "I'm fine, Hiccup. We've just had a long day with those baby dragons."

"That, we did," he chuckled. He rinsed his bowl one last time before drying it and stacking it with the other dishes. "Well, it's probably time to turn in for the evening."

Ladok was nearly finished with his dish, "I'm thinking about laying down when I'm done here."

"That sounds like a plan to me," he remarked with a light chuckle. He scratched the back of his head as he left the Clubhouse, "Good night."

"Night," he responded.

He finished with the bowl and put it with the rest of them. He wasn't going to his hut to lay down yet, there was something he wanted to do first. In order to complete it, he needed his dragon to help him.

He had to climb down many ladders and stairs to get to the stables, he would be lying if he said it wasn't difficult. There was no change in his condition from before dinner and afterwards. After what seemed like an hour, he finally made it to the ground.

Once he was walking down the landing strip, he started calling out to his dragon, "Shockstrike, Shockstrike! Are you here?"

The metal doors opened and Shockstrike walked out of the building. He was wide awake, but he could tell he was tired after all the flying they did that day.

"I know it's getting dark, but I need your help to get a couple of things," he told him. "It won't take too long, I promise." The Skrill bowed, allowing his rider onto his back. "Thank you."

They flew to the forest to find what he needed. Right away, he started to break small branches on a pine tree, taking the needles but leaving the sticks they were plucked from.

The next thing he needed was a little harder to find in the dark, which was one of the primary reasons he brought Shockstrike with him. "Can you give me some light?"

A blue light illuminated where they stood when he opened his mouth. In some ways, Ladok felt privileged to have a Skrill as a dragon. The brightness range of his lightning was nearly twice as strong as a fire-breathing dragon.

They flew around the island many times in their short time together as dragon and rider, and he was flying with Hiccup and Helene before that; needless to say, he knew the forest well. If his memory was correct, they were in an area that received plenty of sunlight on a regular basis.

As they started walking, he was focusing on the ground, especially the base of the trees. He spotted a plant and checked to see if it was the one he was looking for. The shape of the leaves was correct and he could smell a wintergreen aroma. He smiled proudly, it was wild peppermint, exactly what he wanted.

He took a few leaves and climbed back on to Shockstrike, "Let's go."

They left the forest and went back to the base, going to the Clubhouse once again. The hardest things he needed were in hand, all of the other stuff that he had to get was inside.

"You can go now, Shockstrike, I can handle it from here," he told him.

He didn't know what his rider had planned, but he knew that humans used peppermint when they were unwell. If he was sick, the last thing he wanted to do was leave him. He wouldn't be able to look at himself if something happened to him while they were separated.

When he saw his dragon's hesitation, he smiled, "Alright, you can stay. Now let's hurry up and get inside."

He let Shockstrike go inside first before following him. He was surprised to see Hiccup there, sitting at the table.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"Um…" he started to think of a quick response, he didn't want him to know that he wasn't feeling well, "...I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh, I couldn't sleep," he replied with a slightly tired smile. "Every time I tried to fall asleep, I would just wake up."

He chuckled, "I feel you, big brother. I know what you mean."

"So what's Shockstrike doing here?" he asked. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess he's not comfortable enough to sleep in the stables yet," he gave him a strained smile. His dragon growled in protest. "Shh."

"Well, uh, would you like to sit down?" He patted the space next to him.

"Okay," he responded.

He sat down next to him while Shockstrike laid down near him on the floor. He noticed that he was eating one of the sweet breads Fishlegs made that morning.

"I didn't know we still had those," he commented.

"There are a couple left. Want me to get you one?" he offered.

"No," he declined. "I'm fine."

"Have you tried one yet?" he questioned.

He shook his head, "No, I haven't." He tore a small piece off and offered it to him, but he turned it away. "I already told you I didn't want it."

"At least try it," he insisted. "You don't know if the ones left are going to be there tomorrow and who knows when Fishlegs will make them again."

"Oh, okay," he caved in. He took the piece from him and ate it, he was glad his brother convinced him to because it tasted very good. "It's not bad. Does it have honey in it?"

"Yeah, I think so," he replied. "Why?"

"No reason," he shrugged slightly. "I just thought I saw him use it this morning."

"Alright." He ate a little more of the bread before he started to feel tired. He yawned, "Well, I'm going to see if I can finally get some sleep. Do you want the rest?"

There was a little less than half of it left and since he didn't want it to go to waste, he accepted the offer, "Sure, I'll take it."

He gave him the rest of the sweet bread before leaving, "Good night again."

"Good night again, Hiccup," he waved as he went out the door.

He took a bite out of the bread and heard a growl coming from Shockstrike, who was still on the floor. He ate a couple more bites before giving the rest of it to him, as far as he knew, he was probably the only dragon that didn't get the chance to eat one yet.

As he was eating, he decided to get what he needed from the crates most of the food was kept in. He grabbed three wooden containers, which held cinnamon, ginger, and honey respectively.

Afterwards, he got a ceramic canteen and filled it with water. He put the pine needles and peppermint he found near the fireplace that acted as the center of the table, the embers were still hot but starting to go out. Then, he set the canteen on the faintly fiery coals to boil the water inside.

He sat back down at the table and crossed his arms on top of it, laying his head on them. It would take a while for the water to boil, so he wanted to see if he could close his eyes for a couple of minutes.

Inadvertently, he fell asleep, but was awakened when Shockstrike bit his leg, almost causing him to jump out of his boots. While rubbing his sore leg, he could hear the sound of water boiling inside of ceramic. He quickly got the canteen off the coals, blowing on his fingers once it was safely on the table.

Not only was the water ready, but the plants were dried out too. He put them into a tiny pouch made out of a thin fabric, along with spoonfuls of ginger and cinnamon. He dropped the pouch into the hot water, taking the canteen, honey, and a cup with him as he left the Clubhouse, finally going to his hut for the night.

When he got there, he opened the door and stepped aside, giving Shockstrike space to go inside, "Dragons first."

He went into the hut and his rider followed him, closing the door behind him. He lit the candle he kept on the small table next to his bed.

He checked on his canteen and took the pouch out, putting it on the table. He used a spoon to put a little honey into the cup he took before he poured the warm drink into it.

'Time to see if Mom's recipe will work,' he thought.

He started drinking it and immediately felt a burning sensation in his mouth and throat, and he knew it wasn't just the water. He coughed again and swallowed more of his home-made tea in an attempt to suppress it, inadvertently spitting out some of it.

When he was finished with his cup, he decided not to drink more of the tea, he was suddenly beginning to feel fatigued. He laid down on his bed, falling asleep the moment his head made contact with the pillow.


Morning came all too quick for Ladok, who wanted nothing more than to continue resting. When he woke up, he was greeted with a sore throat, a headache, and pains that made his body feel as still as a stiff piece of wood.

He felt worse than ever, he didn't even have the strength to pull himself out of bed. There was a sickly contrast all over his body, he was cold, but didn't dare to wrap a blanket around himself, he would have felt as though he was on fire.

He didn't want him or anyone else to know, but now he could not lift up a leg. He had no other choice, he had to tell him before he became worse.

He looked at his dragon, who was still with him in his hut, "Shockstrike…" His voice was very low and slurred with everything that came out of his mouth, it was not enough to awaken him, "Shockstrike…" He tried one more time, raising his voice as much as he could, "Shockstrike!"

It worked, he finally woke up and hastily went to his rider when he saw his condition. He grabbed the tea he made with his mouth and offered it to him, but he wouldn't take it.

"Go… Hiccup," he managed to say those words to him before he slumped in his bed, completely unconscious.

He dropped the canteen and ran out of the hut, taking to the air as soon as he was outside. He flew down to Hiccup's hut, which was only a very short distance. He did not land on the deck, instead flying through the entrance and setting foot once inside.

The ruckus he caused was enough to wake up Hiccup, he rubbed his eyes and saw Shockstrike staring at him in a panic, "What? Shockstrike? What are you-?"

He didn't have the chance to finish when he was bitten by the normal leg and yanked out of bed, onto the floor. Before he had the chance to say or do anything, the dragon's mouth grabbed him again and he was dragged outside.

"Hey! What in the world are you doing?!" he yelled.

He finally let him go and stretched one of his wings, raising his snout in the direction of his rider's hut. It took him a moment to realize that he was pointing at it, trying to tell him that something was happening there, something that likely had to do with his brother.

"Is there something wrong with Ladok?" he asked. He growled in confirmation. "Show me."

Shockstrike knelt down slightly to allow him to climb onto his back since he wanted to get to his rider as soon as he could and Toothless was sleeping in the stables. He mounted his brother's dragon and flew up to his hut to see for himself what was happening.

When they landed and he felt a slight soreness on his tailbone, he realized how long it had been since he rode on a dragon without a saddle. One was yet to be made for Shockstrike because most materials were conductors for electricity.

"Ugh, how does Ladok do it?" he groaned, rubbing his lower back.

He heard an impatient growl coming from Shockstrike, who was standing in front of the door. He decided it best to not keep him waiting, unless he wanted to lose his other leg.

He went inside and immediately ran up to Ladok, who was lying on the floor. He had likely briefly woken up and rolled onto the floor by accident.

He tried shaking him in order to wake him up, "Ladok, wake up! Wake up!"

Slowly and sluggishly, he opened his eyes, barely able to see him clearly, "Hiccup… I'm sorry…"

Hiccup carefully put his brother in his bed, pulling his blanket over him. He felt his head, it was hot enough to almost make him think he accidentally touched a pan seconds after it had been on a fire.

He was about to call over Shockstrike, so he could inform the other riders, but he watched as he went to the other side of the bed and laid down. He decided to leave the hut and go to the nearest one on foot, Helene's.

After walking down the steps to the deck her hut sat on, he knocked on her door, "Helene, Helene, are you awake?"

She opened the door, rubbing her eyes, "I am now. What is it, Hiccup?"

"Is Ripwave in there?" he asked.

"No, she stays in the stables with Wolf, Raven, and Swampscape," she answered. "Why?"

"We have an emergency, we need Gothi here now," he informed her.

"What? Why? What's happening?" she questioned.

"Ladok is sick, we need her now," he told her.

She blinked in shock, "What? Is he alright?"

He nodded, "He's asleep right now, Shockstrike is with him."

"Okay, now I see why you need my dragon, so you can get yours and wake up everybody else," she smiled coyly to hide her pride, leaning against her home.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," he shrugged casually. "So can you get her up here?"

"Sure I can," she replied.

She walked to the edge of her deck and cupped her mouth, howling her dragon call in the direction of the stables. She turned around to face him when she was done and went back to the same position she was in.

"It'll take a minute for her to get up here," she mentioned.

"Thanks, Hele, I appreciate it," he smiled.

"Don't mention it, Hiccup," she uttered.

Ripwave arrived from the stables and he was quick to mount her, "Okay, now all I need is to get Toothless and-"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" she interjected.

"Um…? A saddle?" he guessed.

It was true that she was not wearing her saddle, it was taken off in the evening for comfort, but that wasn't what she was referring to, "No."

"Then, what?" he inquired obliviously.

"Gothi has a dragon too," she pointed out with a smile that matched her tone of voice.

"I know, what's your…" he realized what point she was trying to make. "Oh."

She nodded, still smiling, "If you want to do what you want to do, be my guest. Just know that Gothi could arrive an hour quicker if you send out a Terror Mail."

He got down from her dragon, who huffed and laid down on the deck. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly with an embarrassed smile, "When you're right, you're right, Hele."

She looked up at the roof of her hut, where Terrible Terrors liked to sleep, and whistled; a blue one fluttered down to her head. She opened her door and got a piece of paper and charcoal from a desk that was next to the doorway.

She gave the paper, charcoal, and the Terrible Terror to Hiccup while she mounted her dragon, "Send a message to Gothi, I'll wake up everybody and tell them what's happening."

There were many times when she managed to make him speechless, and he never knew how she could do so little and so much all at once. He watched for a moment as she flew down to Astrid's hut, "She never ceases to amaze me."


Gothi received the message they sent and arrived at Dragon's Edge to examine Ladok. The time it took her to travel the distance from Berk was much quicker than it normally takes the Dragon Riders to fly there. It might have been because she was concerned about his condition, or perhaps it did not take a long time to travel alone as opposed to when with a group.

He had woken up a few times, but he always either fell asleep or acted as though he was semi-comatose. He refused to eat and his fever only seemed to rise, regardless of the amount of fluids he drank and how much sleep he got.

Shockstrike didn't leave his bedside for a moment the whole day, not even to eat. He almost seemed to become territorial of his sick rider, snapping at and occasionally trying to bite everyone.

When she started to look at him, she ordered everyone to wait outside. According to Fishlegs, she didn't want to be distracted, especially if Shockstrike got upset with someone.

While they anxiously waited for the results, Hiccup was beside himself as he looked down at the floor of the Clubhouse, moving his foot in kicking motions. Even hours later, he had a hard time comprehending why his brother would hide his illness from him.

He could have helped him in any way possible - made him a medicinal drink, put a compress on his head or sore spots, applied essential oils to help with his congestion. He was his older brother, it was his job to help him if he wasn't feeling well, he knew he would do the same for him if the roles were reversed.

Astrid noticed how withdrawn and distraught he seemed, "Are you alright, Hiccup?"

He sighed in frustration, "No, Astrid, I'm not. I just… I can't believe he would hide this from me! I'm supposed to look after him, but how can I do that if he doesn't tell me anything?!"

She rubbed his shoulder to calm him down, "Relax, Hiccup. What matters now is that we know."

"But I should have figured it out. How did I not see it last night?!" He leaned his head back against the wall he was standing in front of. "Am I blind?! Or-"

She started rubbing him harder, "You're not blind. We had a long day, I bet Stormfly would have missed it! And she can see the fleas crawling on yaks."

He covered his face with one hand as tears made their way into his eyes, "Why didn't he just tell me he was feeling sick, Astrid?"

"Maybe because he knew you would react like this?" she guessed.

"Still! I could have helped him," he gestured his arm in the direction of his hut.

"That's just it, Hiccup, he's a lot like you," she expressed. "He puts others before himself, whether it's a dragon or a Dragon Rider, he wants to satisfy them first."

His face softened, "What? He- he didn't say anything because he was worried… about me?"

She nodded, "You, Toothless, Shockstrike, all of us… he cares more about others than himself. It's… one of the many things that I like about you."

A light blush gave his cheeks a soft pink hue, he brushed his hair away from his eyes, "Really?"

"Hey, Ladok's awake and Gothi just finished," Fishlegs informed everyone.

"What did she say?" Hiccup questioned.

"She didn't say, she wants all of us to be there," he reported.

They all left the Clubhouse and made their way up to Ladok's hut. When they stepped inside, Gothi was writing a list on a piece of paper and Ladok was petting and scratching Shockstrike, who's chin was resting on his bed.

Hiccup quickly went up to his brother and gave him a hug, "Thank Thor you're awake."

They separated and Ladok remarked, "I'm still a little tired."

"So, what's the diagnosis, Gothi?" Helene asked.

She stopped with the list and wrote a response, which Fishlegs read out loud, "She says it's similar to the flu, but not exactly. She thinks he likely got an infection from the cut on his arm."

"Cut on his arm?" Hiccup repeated.

He looked at his younger brother and he turned his head away in shame. "I- I might have gotten scratched by an arrow when we were fighting the hunters yesterday," he admitted.

He took off his tunic and showed them the injury he sustained from the arrow. It had swelled and became discolored since it was inflicted, his scales slightly resembled a snake after eating a rabbit.

Hiccup's eyes were wide with shock and disbelief, "That's not a scratch, you got cut."

"It was barely bleeding, it stopped in a minute," he claimed.

"That doesn't matter, it takes a second for bacteria to get into an injury," he raised his voice, nearly shouting at him.

He scowled and pushed him away, "Do you really think I don't know that? And what are you getting so upset with me for? Do you think I asked those bastards to get me with their arrows?"

Gothi used her staff to discipline them by hitting both of them on the head with it. Shockstrike would have growled ordinarily, but he thought it was funny. He left his side for a moment to get something for his rider.

Hiccup rubbed the sore spot on his head, "Ow! Geez, you can hit hard with that thing."

Ladok groaned, "Oh, I have a headache."

He felt something against his other arm and saw Shockstrike holding a bowl filled with water in his teeth. He smiled and took it from him, drinking the water he brought him, scratching his dragon thankfully when he was done.

"Thank you, Gothi," Astrid whispered to her. Helene gave the wise healer a thumbs-up.

She gave both of the girls a smile before resuming her list. She added only a couple more things to it and showed it to them, it was quite lengthy as expected.

Fishlegs looked at it and whistled, "This is a lot of stuff we need to find."

She showed them a note she had written, "Because I have no idea what this is, I will need a variety of herbs to treat the symptoms. I will have to experiment in order to determine which ones are the most effective."

"Experiment?" Hiccup repeated uneasily after reading her note. "That doesn't sound safe, Gothi."

Ladok suddenly began a coughing fit, a particularly rough and gravelly one. Shockstrike got him more water while Hiccup patted his back in an attempt to get the cause of his coughs out of his throat.

His brother helped him with the water by taking the bowl and holding it. He didn't stop drinking until most of it was gone.

"Do what you have to do, Gothi," he told her, his voice quite hoarse. He drank what remained inside of the bowl.

Astrid took the list from her, looking at it herself, "We might have to split up to find everything on here."

Hiccup nodded in agreement, "Then that's what we'll do."

She tore the list into six sections, giving each to everyone except for Ladok, "Everybody will get the ingredients on their lists."

"Um, where would I find 'stawberries'?" Snotlout asked. Gothi grabbed the shortened paper and rewrote the item in question, giving it back to him. "Oh, 'strawberries'! I get it now."

Hiccup gave his brother a quick side-hug, "We'll be back as soon as possible."

He returned the gesture by patting his shoulder, "I have no doubt about that. Now get out of here before I have another coughing fit."

He smiled and nodded, "Okay."

They left his hut and mounted their dragons, flying to find the items Gothi needed to help him. With them gone, it left Ladok, Gothi, and Shockstrike inside with her Gronckle, Lugmeat, outside.

"Do you really think all the stuff is going to work?" he asked her while using his fingers to caress his dragon's snout. She shrugged.


An hour passed before the other riders returned with the herbs Gothi had on her list. Ladok never got the chance to look at it, but he was surprised to see every single medicinal plant on the island, everything from chickweed to yarrow to berries.

"I think we got everything you need," Hiccup told Gothi.

She counted and inspected what they came back with, making sure they were exactly what she needed. It all seemed to be there, she nodded and gave him a small smile, telling him that he and the remaining riders returned with the correct herbs.

"So, now we have everything to make a cure, right?" he inquired.

Surprisingly, her face became serious and she shook her head. She wrote another note and gave it to Fishlegs to read to everyone.

"The last thing she needs is the most important. She wants to boil the herbs in a special water in order to ensure that they'll make Ladok feel better," he informed them.

"What kind of 'special water'?" Snotlout retorted, his hands on his hips. She used her staff to smack him on his face.

Fishlegs continued with her note and read the description she gave, "It has unique properties that are said to heal a sick person in a matter of moments. Few people have ever used or seen it, but one place it's known to be is…" He gasped and jumped in shock, dropping the paper.

"What is it, Fishlegs?" Helene asked, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Where's the water?"

He looked at her and everyone else with wide, fearful eyes, "Glacier Island."

To say that they were all shocked would be an understatement, their expressions showed they were consternated. They had a reason to be, their last visit to Glacier Island was not a pleasant one, not with the vicious and nearly invisible Snow Wraith roaming.

"Glacier Island?!" Snotlout shrieked. "No way in hell are we going back there!"

"What other choice do we have? We need to go there now!" Hiccup averred.

"I don't know, Hiccup, we barely survived last time," Astrid stated.

"That Snow Wraith was gnarly," Tuffnut commented.

"Remember how it was in front of you and behind you at once?" Ruffnut remarked, playfully punching her brother's arm.

"It scared Meatlug so much it gave her nightmares," Fishlegs shivered.

Ladok could hardly believe what he was hearing from them, most of his friends were not willing to get the one thing in the world that would cure him. If he wanted to rid his body of the illness plaguing him, he would have to go to Glacier Island and get the healing water himself, sick or not.

He grabbed the canteen and used his claws to fish the pouch out of it. He knew the tea grew cold overnight, but he drank what remained inside of the ceramic container nonetheless.

He sat up as much as he could and maneuvered his body to have his legs over the side of the bed. He started to stand, but Hiccup noticed and tried to get him to lay down by gripping his shoulders.

"No, no, what are you doing? You have to lie down," he urged.

He forced his hands away, "I'm going to Glacier Island, Hiccup."

His jaw dropped, flabbergasted, "Wh- what? You can't! You're sick, and it's cold-"

"No shit! It's not called 'Sand Dune Island'," he retorted.

"But the Snow Wraith-" he tried to warn him, but he interrupted him again.

"One dragon isn't going to stop me," he affirmed. "And I'm not waiting for you or someone else to convince us to stay or go."

"What? What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Half our team doesn't want to go and the other half isn't doing much at the moment," he stated matter-of-factly, his throat beginning to feel rougher.

He understood his frustration, especially since he was confined to the interior of his hut the entire day, but it didn't mean he wanted him to go to an icy, dangerous place. "We'll go, I promise, but not right now. Maybe tomorrow or when you start to feel a little better."

He looked up at the ceiling for a second before looking at his brother with a maddened and disbelieving face, "Hiccup, I have a fever, a headache, I'm freezing, and I'm two minutes away from throwing up on someone."

He took a step backwards, under the assumption that he was serious, "Well, uh, that's… very specific, and I see your point."

"Then stop dragging your feet," he crossed his arms. "I don't plan on waiting until my head stops hurting."

Realizing that he could not convince his brother to wait, he announced to everyone else, "Pack up your winter clothes, gang, we're leaving for Glacier Island."

o-V-Y-V-o~*0*~o-V-Y-V-o

(A/N: Again, I'm sorry about this everyone, I really wanted to get back to the episodes after this, but that's just not how it turned out. But just look at how long this is and we're not even on Glacier Island yet, this would easily be as much as eleven or twelve thousand words, plus at least three additional weeks to write.

Anyhow, I'm not going to rant or vent about it, what's done is done. If you're in the mood to see where this will go on Glacier Island, I would wait for the next chapter to arrive. I'm obviously not going to give you any spoilers, but I will say that Shockstrike's enemy from chapter 23 will be revealed.)