(A/N: I'm sorry I cut you short in the last chapter and I'm hoping to make it up to you with this one. If you saw the author's note at the end of chapter 27, then you know that there's something in store for Shockstrike.

Alright, I don't want to stall this any longer, so it's time to get to work. I hope you enjoy reading what I have to offer you.)

V-o-U-*0-0-0*-U-o-V

Only a couple of hours after Gothi gave a diagnosis of Ladok's condition and informed the riders of the crucial ingredient she needed to make a cure for him, they were preparing to leave for Glacier Island. It took a little convincing with some of them, but everyone eventually agreed to go.

Despite Hiccup's best efforts, he was unable to persuade his brother to stay on Dragon's Edge and rest. He didn't care if it was an icy, treacherous tundra or a barren desert, he was not going to lay down and wait for their return, especially if the Snow Wraith was as dangerous as they said it was.

Gothi was staying behind to prepare the medicine and look after the baby dragons. She gave Ladok a bottle of a tea she often gave to patients with similar symptoms, which would temporarily help with his nausea, headache, and cough. She also gave him a few apples and a small sack of berries to snack on, so that he wasn't flying on an empty stomach.

She allowed him to go to the place she personally dreaded, but only if he agreed not to exert himself and if he rested as frequently as he could, along with consuming the tea and fruits. He accepted her terms if it meant he wasn't stuck in bed, not that the chances of him staying increased regardless.

Although everyone was in agreement that the only one who was staying at the base was Gothi, Hiccup wanted to try a final time to convince Ladok to go back to his hut and lay down, "Are you sure you don't want to stay here and get a little more rest?"

He looked at him blankly and pointedly, "We've been over this, Hiccup. I'm not staying home unless I can't pick myself off the ground."

He sighed, defeated, "Okay, but just promise me you'll try not to push yourself too much, you need to save your energy to get better quicker."

He chuckled lightly, "Alright, I won't, I promise."

He smiled, "Thank you." He then addressed the other riders, "Alright, gang, it's about time to take off. Pack what you need to, we're leaving in a couple minutes."

Astrid pulled him aside to ask, "Hiccup, are you sure he should be coming with us?"

He frowned, "No. Truth be told, I want him to stay here with Gothi more than anyone else."

"Then, why is he coming?" she questioned. "You know he doesn't like cold places and this one could make him worse."

"I know, Astrid, and, believe me, I tried everything to get him to stay and sleep," he told her. "Gothi is okay with him going and, for now, I am too."

She sighed, "Okay, I'll trust you on this one."

She went over to Stormfly, who could sense her rider's doubt and concern. Toothless could feel the same emotions in Hiccup as he climbed onto his saddle.

He warbled, worried, and he reassured his dragon, "Don't worry, bud, we're going to be fine. Everyone ready to go?"

"Thought you'd never ask!" Snotlout exclaimed, jumping into the saddle on Hookfang.

"As ready as I can be," Helene replied.

"Yep," Fishlegs responded.

"Alright," he inserted his prosthetic into the pedal, "let's get going."

As they started to take to the air, Ladok suddenly coughed a few times. He took out the tea Gothi gave him and drank a little of it, hoping that it would help ease it.


A little more than a couple of hours into the flight, they were closing in on Glacier Island. The temperature of the air dropped as they neared the icy isle, which was not unnoticed by Ladok with his illness and being cold-blooded, but that would not stop him. He wrapped the blanket he had the preparedness to bring with him around himself.

"We'll be over the island in five minutes," Hiccup informed everyone. "How are you holding up, Ladok?"

He clenched his blanket tighter and sneezed, "I'm doing just great."

He sneezed again and a loud, violent coughing fit followed immediately afterwards. It happened so suddenly that it startled Shockstrike, causing him to falter and nearly dropping his rider. Fortunately, he straightened himself out before he could fall.

Ladok sniffled, his voice starting to sound gravelly, "Sorry, Shockstrike." He noticed everyone else looking at him with wide eyes, "What? Never seen a sick person on a dragon before?"

"Hiccup," Astrid began in a knowing and slightly frustrated tone.

"Don't say it, Astrid," he groaned. "This is the last time I let him use me."

"I doubt that," he suddenly heard his brother's sickly voice remark. "I'm sick, not deaf."

"Don't forget about the drink Gothi gave you," Helene reminded him.

He opened the bottle it was in by removing the cork, "I didn't."

Truthfully, he did slightly forget about it, only drinking the tea once or twice since they left Dragon's Edge. He figured it was never too late to swallow a mouthful of the drink, it was a simple retrieval mission, nothing more.

Just as they started to fly lower in preparation for landing, thin bursts of water suddenly erupted out of the arctic waters below, aimed directly at them! The unexpected series of geysers caused the dragons to panic, nearly throwing their riders off their backs as they tried to regain control of the situation.

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell is happening?!" Snotlout shrieked, his fingertips barely gripping the edge of his saddle.

"I- I don't know!" Hiccup held onto his saddle as tightly as he could, trying hard to keep his prosthetic in the pedal.

"Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs whimpered, holding onto his helmet to prevent it from falling off his head.

Shockstrike was perhaps the most panicked dragon, he hated water, as much as a Skrill could. His dislike of it had to do with the temporary disablement of his lightning channeling abilities.

Meanwhile, Ripwave was likely the calmest dragon, she was startled at first, but water was her territory, there was nothing for her to be afraid of. While her friends and their riders were in their frightful state, her own among them for a different reason, she decided to find out who or what was trying to prevent them from landing, especially when she noticed that Shockstrike was quite agitated.

Her tendrils glowed and sparked as they charged for an attack. After a couple of moments, she released her electricity downward, at the ocean. Immediately afterwards, flying out of the depths were dragons unfamiliar to them.

All of them were the same shade of light bluish cyan and possessed uniform features, which were four flippers instead of feet, long, narrow snouts, flowing tail fins that slightly resembled large fans, and straight yet slightly curved coral-like horn structures on the sides of the heads that traveled down to the upper part of the jawline; there was little doubt they belonged to the Tidal Class. Although the unknown dragons were quite beautiful and held a peaceful ora, their aggression and hostility was prevalent.

Instead of the water that was shot at them moments ago, green acid was fired out of their mouths, similarly to Changewings. A wave of acid was coming for them, forcing the riders to fly upward to avoid it. The blue dragons followed after them, several more flying out of the ocean to assist in the pursuit.

"Acid?! What happened to the water?!" Snotlout screeched.

"I know! It's fascinating!" Fishlegs excitedly beamed.

"It'll be even more fascinating once we get away from them," Astrid remarked.

"I wouldn't worry about that anymore," Helene uttered, her dragon no longer soaring higher to escape from them.

The other riders stopped their ascension and looked down, watching as the unknown dragons went back into the icy water. Either they were flying too fast for them to pursue, or they could not withstand the high altitude.

"I think they were lucky to follow us even that much," she mentioned.

"Why is that?" Hiccup asked.

"Most Tidal Class dragons can't fly too high because the altitude puts a lot of pressure on their lungs. Not to mention that it might induce lightheadedness and nausea," she explained.

"Well, that's one thing these dragons and I have in common," Ladok muttered sluggishly, holding the side of his head.

"Hiccup," she started.

"Alright, alright, let's go around to the other side of the island," he told everyone.

They flew to a different area of the island in order to avoid another attack by the blue dragons. They had to land close to the coast so that Ladok could get a little relief, he was not lying when he mentioned he was beginning to feel lightheaded and nauseated.

The first thing he did after dismounting from his dragon's back was coughing several times before vomiting in a snow heap. Shockstrike stood as straight as he could and loosely wrapped his wings around his rider like a shield, using his high body heat to keep him warm in the freezing environment.

When the contents of his stomach were no longer pouring out of his mouth, he spit out the bad taste left on his tongue. Hiccup went over to him after he dismounted from Toothless and rubbed his brother's back, noticing the putrid stain on the otherwise flawless ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked him gently.

He spat the last of the foul flavor into the snow, "I am now."

"Do you want me to get you anything?" he started to rub his arm and shoulder.

"The tea Gothi made, please," he responded in a raspy voice.

He nodded, "Okay, I'll get it."

He left his side for a moment to get his bag, which fell off when he hastily got off Shockstrike's back to vomit. The canteen was cold, he hoped that all it meant was they did not live in the warmest climate in the world. Unfortunately, when Ladok tried to drink it, only a little came out; the medicinal tea was completely frozen.

He tipped the bottle upside down to see if anything came out, but not one drop did, "Hiccup."

"Toothless," he called his dragon over to them.

Ladok held the canteen in front of him and he concentrated his flame on it to defrost the fluid inside. When the ceramic was hot to the touch and steam was coming out of the mouth, Toothless stopped heating it.

The tea was steaming and he drank it again, not giving it a chance to cool down. His tongue became numb and it felt as though scalding water was flowing down his irritated throat.

He started coughing again when he was finished with it for the moment. Instead of vomitous, he was spitting out mucus, which was a putrid, milky green color mixed with a brownish yellow.

Hiccup grimaced and looked away, "That's disgusting." His brother elbowed him in the ribcage, "Ow!"

"I'll cough on you next time," he grumbled.

"Hey, we better find that water before the Snow Wraith finds us," Astrid uttered.

He nodded, "Right. Are you okay to fly, Ladok?"

"We're just going to the summit, right? I should be fine," he responded.

"Okay, but don't hesitate to say something if you don't feel well," he told him.

"I already don't feel good, I'm sick," he replied.

He held his hands up, stepping backwards, "Trust me, I know that."

He laughed, "You're being overdramatic, again."

"I am?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows and putting his hands on his hips.

He continued to laugh at his older brother, "You're too much sometimes, Hiccup."

He chuckled, "They say laughter is the best medicine."

"Yep, I can feel my fever going away right now," he flippantly uttered.

He smiled as he climbed onto Toothless' back, "Don't forget you still have the fruit Gothi gave you to eat. Having something in your stomach might actually help you get better."

"Thanks for reminding me." He looked through his bag and took out a small handful of berries, eating them as he mounted Shockstrike. "Want one?" He growled and opened his mouth, he complied by dropping a blackberry onto his tongue.

They flew up to the top of the main mountain on the island, where the glacial water lake would be. Ladok found that the symptoms he experienced just minutes earlier were minimal; perhaps all he needed was something in his stomach to reduce his ailments.

Once they reached the summit, they landed near the lake and dismounted their dragons, walking up to the water. As Hiccup got an empty canteen out of his saddle bag, Toothless, along with the other dragons, started to growl.

"Hey, what's with them?" Astrid asked, noticing the wariness and hostility in all of the dragons.

"They must sense something's wrong," Fishlegs claimed.

Stormfly's tail spikes erected, Ripwave's tendrils sparked, and Shockstrike's body flashed electricity; all of which was noticed by Helene. "I'd say so."

Just as what happened while they were in the air, the water of the lake erupted into miniature geysers, revealing the same dragons from before. How they got there, they had no idea, they never saw them after their failed pursuit. What they did know, however, was that they were even angrier, now face to face with the riders.

"How?!" Snotlout yelled. "How did they get here?! How did they find us?!"

The hostile dragons started to spit their acid at them again, forcing them to dodge and find cover. Fortunately, it was apparent that the acid had little to no effect on the riders' dragons; they were protected for as long as they could withstand the assault.

Shockstrike covered his rider with his body, shielding him as well as keeping him warm. A couple of the other dragons did something similar with their own riders, while the others simply hid behind them.

"I don't think they found us, I think we found them," Helene claimed.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked her.

"Well, how did they know we would be coming here?" she pointed out. "It's unlikely they followed us, we would've seen them. They had to have come here directly from where we last saw them."

"That's right, they were headed for the island, just as we were," Fishlegs noted.

"Okay, now we know they came here after they attacked us. Question is, why? What are these dragons? What is it about this lake that would draw them here?" Hiccup inquired.

"Why don't you ask them after they stop shooting at us?!" Snotlout snapped.

All of a sudden, the green acid was no longer being fired at them. Which meant they either left or something else caught their attention, such as another threat.

"Um, why are they not shooting at us anymore?" he asked, puzzled.

The riders looked at the lake, seeing a surprising and terrifying sight. The attacks stopped due to the arrival of a familiar and dangerous foe, the Snow Wraith.

All of the blue dragons hissed and shrieked in alarm, spitting their acid in an attempt to force it to leave. It retaliated by flying around the circumference of the lake while firing down at them, they fled by diving into the icy water. That left the Dragon Riders alone with the dragon that nearly killed them.

"The Snow Wraith!" Fishlegs screamed. He fell into the snow and hid underneath his dragon, who growled as she protected her rider.

"Try not to panic, everyone," Hiccup told them. "If we leave it alone, it won't see us as a threat."

While the other riders felt nervous and frightened in its presence, Ladok took this as an opportunity to observe the Snow Wraith. Immediately, he noticed that its head was shaped similarly to an axe and the tusks of its lower jaw. True to what he was told by Helene, its mouth did slightly resemble a human's. He also saw that the tail bore a similarity to Stormfly's, causing him to wonder if it was possible for it to shoot spines like she could.

It was not his first time seeing this species of dragon, though the encounter was very brief. He and his mother were rescuing several caged dragons from a ship formerly occupied by trappers. He thought he heard something in the cages on the lower deck and investigated it, where he saw a dragon he was unfamiliar with. He couldn't see it too well due to the poor lighting, but managed to open the door to free it.

The moment he opened its cage, it roared at him and he lost consciousness, he found himself at home when he woke up hours later. After awakening, he asked his mother about the dragon and she told him that she watched it fly away but did not pursue it because she was worried about him.

She didn't know what it was when he asked her, Snow Wraiths were almost never seen and only alluded to in documents, including the book of dragons. However, years after the incident, he could say that he knew of a dragon that she could not identify.

All of a sudden, Shockstrike started to growl, glaring up at the Snow Wraith. Inexplicably, he recognized this dragon as the same one he had fought decades ago, a battle that resulted in him becoming imprisoned in a glacier. After all those years, after befriending his former foes, he thought he was ready to forget the day he could have died, but when he saw the white wyvern, the memories flooded his mind.

The Snow Wraith seemed to recognize him as well and growled back, gnashing and striking its teeth together, initiating a challenge. The challenge was accepted when Shockstrike's scales discharged a spark across his body, enhancing his fierceness.

Ladok was startled when he felt a spark on his shoulder, "Huh? What?" He noticed how hostile and rage-filled his dragon had become, "Are you okay, Shockstrike? What's going on?"

He reached his hand out, but before it could touch the smoothness of his scales, he pushed him away as he roared and spread his wings. He fell into the snow from the shock of his dragon's actions. The Snow Wraith roared back and Shockstrike took to the air to confront it, leaving his rider behind.

"Sh- Shockstrike?!" He coughed a couple of times.

Hiccup helped his younger brother stand up from the snow, "Are you alright?"

He coughed one more time and cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"What's up with Shockstrike?" Astrid questioned. "It's like he's wild again."

"And it only happened after the Snow Wraith arrived, like they recognized each other," Fishlegs uttered.

The Snow Wraith shot its icy blast at Shockstrike, which he countered with his lightning. The attacks created a field of intense energy, both of them knew what it could do to them and quickly flew out of its range.

The riders and the other dragons ducked and covered their heads, the power of it seemed to quake through them. The water of the lake rippled and thrashed as if it was the ocean during an earthquake, the dragons underneath the surface were likely startled.

When the intensity finally died out and they looked up, all they saw was the sky, Shockstrike and the Snow Wraith were gone. It was almost as if they used the electrifying pulse as a way to fly away unnoticed.

Distraught, Ladok tried calling out to his dragon, "Shockstrike? Shockstrike? Where are you?"

Hiccup placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Ladok-"

He turned around, forcing him to let go of him, and gripped both of his shoulders, "We have to find him, Hiccup!"

He quickly rubbed his arms to calm him down, "We will, I promise. But let's get out of here first, you need to lay down."

His eyes shifted downward as he looked at the snowy ground, "Okay."

They climbed onto the backs of their dragons to fly to an area where a shelter could be safely built. Ladok rode with his older brother, sitting in front of him so he could keep him warm with his arms around him from behind.

Hiccup held onto his hand and shoulder as helped him step down from Toothless' back, his dragon assisting by crouching slightly. "Are you okay? Do you need me to get you something?"

"I feel sick to my stomach again," he answered in a moody and slightly sarcastic tone. "When are you going to help me find my dragon?"

"We don't even know where he is," he pointed out. "And besides, we have other things to worry about at the moment."

"What could be more important than helping me find Shockstrike?" he questioned, ill-tempered. He placed his hand over his stomach as it felt sour.

"Well, for one, we have to figure out a way to get around those dragons in the lake in order to bring the water to Gothi," he replied, looking through his saddle bag. "And you need stop torturing your body and get some rest." He took out a canteen and tossed it in his hand before giving it to him, "Here."

Begrudgingly, he grabbed it out of his hand and drank it with a grunt. The last thing he wanted to do was take a nap when his dragon was missing.

"If we're going to find a way to handle the dragons that attacked us, we need to know what they are and what they want," Fishlegs affirmed.

"But how?" Astrid asked. "We left the Dragon Eye back on the Edge."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other and walked backwards on their toes while he held something behind his back. The other riders' attention was drawn to them when they heard a warble from Barf and Belch. They noticed that Belch looked like there was something in his mouth, while Barf tried to look innocent.

"Um, what are you two doing?" Hiccup queried.

"Nothing! I just wanted to, uh…" he pulled Belch's head close to him and started petting his snout and horn, "...wanted to spoil Belch with a nice, uh, halibut! Yeah, that's right, halibut!"

"And Barf is obviously jealous." She started to scratch and nuzzle Barf, "Aren't you? Don't worry, you're still my favorite!"

"Really?" Astrid raised her eyebrow. "Why isn't he swallowing it?"

"Don't you know that digestion starts in the mouth?" he replied.

'He's actually not wrong,' Ladok thought as he drank the water inside of the canteen.

Helene rolled her eyes, she knew Mystery Class dragons very well, she practically raised Smog for almost a year, and understood that Barf and Belch were not displaying the typical behavior for a Hideous Zippleback. She took something wrapped in parchment and strings out of her saddle bag.

"Barf! Belch! I have something for you!" she called out to them. She untied the twine and unwrapped the parchment, holding up a large piece of ham, "Come and get it."

The meaty scent caught their nostrils and they ran past their riders towards her. She split the piece in half and gave one to Barf, but not to Belch, who looked at her expectantly.

She held it in front of him, but didn't give it to him yet, "It's yours if you can open your mouth."

An anxious and over-excited Belch finally opened his mouth, revealing what he had inside of it. She grabbed the item in his maw and gave him the ham, which he ate happily.

"Doesn't look like any halibut I've ever seen," she remarked. She held her hand up, showing what she found inside of his mouth, the Dragon Eye.

"Um, Tuffnut? Why did Belch have the Dragon Eye in his mouth?" Hiccup inquired.

He tried to think of a quick explanation, "Uh… maybe he thought…?" He groaned and confessed, "Okay, I stole it."

"Why? Why would you do that?" he pressed, irritated.

"Maybe we ask the questions later and find out everything we can about the dragons we have to deal with now," Ladok interjected, tossing the canteen to his older brother.

Hiccup could tell how much water he drank by the weight of the ceramic container, and it was more than he thought he would consume. He patted him on the shoulder, "Good job on the water."

"If we're going to look at the Dragon Eye, I'm going to need some help," Helene mentioned, looking at the dragons.

Using their wings and bodies, the dragons created an artificial dome for them to be able to clearly view what the Dragon Eye revealed. Ripwave was helping by standing on her hind legs and spreading her wings, but she was still capable of illuminating the cylindrical projector. Her electricity was being used because Helene theorized that the unfamiliar species in question very likely belonged to the Tidal Class.

Since Helene was the one who found the Dragon Eye and suspected she knew what class the dragons were a part of, Hiccup decided to let her have control of it. She looked through numerous projections, including things that they were unfamiliar with, until she finally found one that resembled the species.

"Here it is, it's called the Tide Glider," she stated.

Fishlegs excitedly gazed over all of the new information and symbols to glean from, "Ooh! So much to learn! Okay, let's-"

Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him, "Hele, you have the floor."

"Thank you," she responded.

She gave Astrid the Dragon Eye to hold while she walked up to the image, which was being projected on Hookfang's stomach. As she looked at the projections, she noticed one of them looked like the Egyptian hieroglyphic for water and near it was a single line with interlocking spirals around it; she saw the same symbol inside of a rendering of an open jaw. There was also what she thought resembled a thin arch of a fluid with a vapor emerging from it, along with a skull and crossbones next to it.

She tapped on the spot where the symbols were, inadvertently tickling Hookfang, "Sorry, buddy. I think these symbols likely represent the water and the acid they shot at us. There appears something about the water that I can't decipher yet."

"Is there anything about why they would be in the lake?" Astrid asked.

She looked at the projection and tried to find something that gave them a clue as to why the Tide Gliders would be in a freshwater lake. As she carefully looked at the images, she noticed one of them depicted two dragons side by side, to her it resembled a mating ritual of some kind.

After seeing that, she examined the other delineations and saw something that caught her attention. There was an oval-shaped symbol with arrows pointed at it, but what really intrigued her was the outline of an egg! That one vague depiction explained why the dragons went to the lake from the ocean.

Hiccup noticed how intently she was looking at the images and asked, "What is it, Hele? Did you find something?"

She nodded, "Yes, I think I've solved the mystery of the Tide Gliders."

"What? How? Why?" he questioned, completely flabbergasted.

"The imagery indicates that they travel in pods of mated pairs. After mating, they migrate to bodies of freshwater in order to lay their eggs and protect them from predators," she explained.

"Just like salmon!" Fishlegs chimed in. She nodded.

"Since they're in the Tidal Class, their predators are probably a part of the Tidal Class too," Hiccup pointed out.

"And most Tidal Class dragons can't fly to the lake because of the elevation," Astrid added.

"Unfortunately, it draws in other predators too," she mentioned.

"The Snow Wraith," they finished in unison.

"This is all great, but how does it help us deal with those dragons?" Snotlout interjected.

"Well, for starters, we know why they're here. And if we can show them that we're not the enemy, we might be able to gain their trust," he proclaimed.

"Yeah, and if we have their trust, they might be willing to help us with the Snow Wraith," Fishlegs uttered.

Helene gasped in realization when she remembered something, "The Snow Wraith! Shockstrike! We still have to find him!"

"One thing at a time," Hiccup tried to call her down. "We'll find him, but first, we have to figure out a way to get the Tide Gliders to trust us. Shockstrike can take care of himself, right Ladok?"

There was no response from his younger brother, not one word or sound. It was then that he suddenly realized he had been unusually quiet the whole time.

"Ladok?" He turned around and became alarmed when he saw him lying in the snow, sloppily leaning against Stormfly. "Ladok!"

Consumed with concern, he crouched next to him and tried to wake him up, but it was fruitless. He pulled him off the ground, hoisting him up against his own body with his arms around him.

He felt his head, it felt hot under his hand, "Damn! His fever is rising." The other riders gasped in shock and worry.

"Let's get the shelter set up and a fire going," Astrid enjoined.

The dragons broke apart the artificial dome when they separated to allow their riders to work on their tasks. They helped them as much as they could, following the duties they were given. The one who was assigned the most important job was Hookfang, who was tasked with igniting his body with a low flame to keep Ladok warm.

Although he was asleep, he would turn away from him whenever he started to feel too hot. Surprisingly, the stubborn Stoker Class dragon took his role very seriously, using his wings and talons to redirect him towards the heat of his body.

The shelter was put together quickly with all of them working in unison. A fire pit was made with some rocks and the dragons shooting the ground with their flames, it was sustained with vegetation found near the snowy beach.

The twins and Snotlout started to snack on food they found, even though they did the least amount of work. Their dragons put more effort into their assignments than they did.

Hiccup was looking inside of his brother's bag for the fruit he was given by Gothi. Strangely, it was empty, and he knew that he could not have eaten all of it.

He shook it upside down in hopes that something would fall out, "Hey, has anyone seen the fruit Ladok got from Gothi before we left?"

Immediately, the three of them realized that the food they were eating was fruit, the same assortment he was looking for. To avoid him discovering what they did, they quickly found a way to hide the evidence.

"Nope! Absolutely nothing over here!" Snotlout's slightly muffled voice replied to him.

Their attempted deception did not fool him, especially not after what Ruffnut and Tuffnut tried to do earlier, "Do you really think I can't see that?"

"See what?" Tuffnut asked innocently with his fully stuffed cheeks, juice leaking past his tightened lips.

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, just give me whatever you have left."

Ruffnut held up an apple small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, "Is this okay?"

He had to roll his eyes once more with a scoff as he took it from her, "Thank you, Ruff."

He heard the slight crunching of snow and realized it was Ladok waking up. He took the apple and the now-refrozen tea over to him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked him.

"Okay, I guess," he answered sluggishly. "I have a headache."

He nodded understandingly, "Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure," he responded.

"Hookfang, could you-?" He didn't need to finish his question because the said dragon fired at the canteen, instantly melting the medicinal fluid once again. "Thanks." He let it rest in the snow for a moment to cool it down before giving it to him, "Here you go."

He sat up as best as he could and brought the mouth of the bottle to his scaly lips. He drank only a single gulp before stopping, "I can't, I can't do it. I'm just too nauseated."

That made him even more worried, "Maybe the apple-"

He shook his head, "No, no. Even if I wanted to, my stomach couldn't handle it."

Hiccup's heart dropped, he was deteriorating in front of him as his sickness became worse. With each passing second, his ability to heal himself from within becomes nearly non-existent, which meant his chances of survival in this cold environment were quickly fading.

"Change of plans, gang, we're going back to the lake and getting the water," he announced.

"Now?" Fishlegs questioned.

"Right now," he replied seriously with a slight nod.

"What- what's the rush, Hiccup?" Helene inquired.

He took in a deep breath as he mounted Toothless, "I'm afraid he's getting worse and I really don't know how much longer he's going to last, especially in this weather."

"And what are we going to do if we get attacked again?" Astrid raised her eyebrow.

He wasn't sure how to answer her because, truthfully, he didn't know himself, "Uh…"

She slapped her forehead in frustration, "Of course!"

"Helene?" She looked at him with a curious hum. He silently mouthed to her, "Help me out here!"

"Um, well, we know why they attacked us, right? They were protecting their eggs. If we can show them that we're not a threat, we may get out of it in one piece," she uttered.

"And if they attack us anyway?" Snotlout interjected with a retort.

"Uh, hello? Tidal Class dragon," she nonchalantly pointed at Ripwave.

"Hey, since the lake is freshwater, maybe saltwater will calm them down enough for us to get close?" Fishlegs suggested.

"It's worth a shot," Hiccup replied.

Helene got a spare bottle she had in her bag and filled it with water, the ocean directly next to their campsite. Hiccup didn't want Ladok to go with them in the condition he was in, a decision which was not protested. He helped him into a tent and made a warm compress for him with rags and small rocks he had Toothless breathe on.

He set the finished compress against his legs and gave him his blanket. Since he was still semi-conscious, he said to him, "We'll be back as soon as we can. Be strong for me."

Although he was quickly drifting into a slumber, he managed to tell him something before he left, "Sorry… Hiccup."

"What for?" he asked, his eyebrows curled upwards.

"For… being a… stubborn… asshole," he answered in a sleepy and almost whispering voice. "You… were right. I… should… have stayed."

"No, no, no, don't apologize. You weren't wrong, I was," he expressed. "I was wrong to think that you're too fragile to be here, whether you're sick or not. It's just really hard for me to get past the fact that you're my little brother and you're cold-blooded. You and your well-being have been on top of my mind since I found out you were sick. Heck, since the day I met you! And though I'll never stop worrying about you, I'm happy to have you here."

He smiled at him and his words, "Really?"

He smiled back with a light chuckle and a nod, "Yeah. And truth be told, I would probably be even more worried about you if you were back on Dragon's Edge. I know that Gothi would be there for you, but still."

Astrid opened the tent slightly to ask, "Are you ready, Hiccup?"

"Yep, just saying goodbye and making sure he's alright," he responded. "We'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

He nodded as best as he could, "Okay."

He left the tent and climbed onto Toothless as the other riders did the same with their dragons. As they started to take to the air, the dragons suddenly stopped, looking down at the campsite instead of flying higher.

"Um, what's going on?" Tuffnut asked curiously.

"I think Barf and Belch are broken," Ruffnut remarked.

Fishlegs thought he knew why they were refusing to go anywhere, "Call me crazy, but I don't think they want to leave Ladok unattended."

They landed on the ground on their own, without the command of their riders. It only seemed to confirm what he suspected of the sudden change in their behavior. They were as concerned about his gradually failing health as they were.

"I think you're probably right, Fishlegs," Astrid commented, looking down at Stormfly. "So what now?"

Hiccup understood why they were so reluctant to leave him alone, even if the total amount of time they were gone was only a few minutes. He felt the same way they did, he wanted Ladok to be with them so that he could keep an eye on him, but in the condition he was in, he was worried he wouldn't be able to resist the plague slowly eating him from within.

"I'll go alone," he announced.

She was perplexed, "Hiccup, what are you-"

"I'll be fine, I promise," he interposed. "Just be sure to keep watch on him, okay?"

She nodded with uncertainty, "Okay. Be careful up there."

"I will." He placed his prosthetic back into the pedal, opening and closing the tailfin.

He took to the air once again, this time without the riders following him. She watched as he left and waved in a quandary manner.

'Good luck up there, Hiccup,' she thought.

Hiccup made it to the summit without an issue, which caused a degree of worry and nervousness. He was worried because no one had seen any sign of Shockstrike or the Snow Wraith, engendering him to fear the unthinkable. And nervous because the Tide Gliders were yet to react to his and Toothless' presence despite their close proximity.

He dismounted Toothless as soon as he landed and looked through his saddle bag for an empty container. While he was doing that, he realized he forgot to ask Helene for the saltwater she collected, he could only hope the dragons would not be as vicious with him since he was alone.

He eventually found a small bottle and walked up to the lake to fill it. His heart was beating rapidly in his throat, anticipating an attack, but it never came.

"That's weird," he muttered, sealing the bottle. As he put it inside of the bag, he asked himself, "Why haven't they attacked us yet?" Toothless warbled, seemingly asking him the same question.

He wished he could see underneath the distorted surface, but if he set his head - or any part of his body - into the cold water, he would freeze to death. With the thought of sustaining hypothermia on his mind, it was a reminder that Ladok was likely already fighting it; a dire way to think.

Still, he was curious about what could be underwater. Were the Tide Gliders still there? Did something happen to them?

Since he could not go into the water, he decided to use science to help him. He got his spyglass out of the saddle bag and placed the scope onto the surface. Carefully, using a rock for balance, he leaned over the lake as far as he could without falling in, peering into the small telescope.

The glass combined with the uppermost layer of the water and allowed him to see what was happening in the depths. What he saw surprised and amazed him.

He saw the Tide Gliders using an underwater plant that looked like a cross between grass and kelp. They were working together to create something that he thought resembled a net.

"I'll be damned," he whispered to avoid detection.

He wasn't sure what they planned to do with it, until he noticed one of them using its teeth to pick a small rock, dropping it into the leafy mesh. Surprisingly, the rock did not break it, it held together very well. When he observed the same Tide Glider taking out the stone, he realized that he had witnessed a test, they were trying to determine if it was strong.

Satisfied with the results, he watched as a flat and almost rounded stone was removed from a rocky wall, revealing a small opening to a cave. Since they had rather slender, elongated jaws, the dragons were capable of prodding into the aperture, a feat that would be impossible for others.

When they removed their heads from the cave, he was surprised to see that they had used their mouths to take eggs out of it! The eggs were odd, they were light blue and perfectly round with an almost gelatinous outer shell.

The Tide Gliders not only laid their eggs in freshwater, they used the underwater geography to hide them. It was a triple tier of protection, very effective and, as he could only assume, nearly impenetrable.

They started to place the eggs into the net they made and he understood what its purpose was. With the Snow Wraith aware of their presence on its island, it was a dangerous combination of territorial, aggressive, and potentially ravenous. Therefore, it made sense to him that they would want to leave the lake with their offspring before they hatched in order to find a new nursery.

As he continued to observe the Tide Gliders, he suddenly heard an alarmed yowl from Toothless. Before he could react, he was rammed in the side by his dragon, his back making contact with the snow.

"Whoa, Toothless?! What-" He was interrupted by a shrill howl and a gravelly trill, only a little less than a hundred feet above him were the Snow Wraith and Shockstrike!

Both of them were marred by the other's firepower and still as angry as they were when they disappeared. They shot at each other once again, he and Toothless covered their heads in reaction. The force of the attacks opened their injuries, both old and fresh, blood dripped onto the icy ground and into the lake, alarming the Tide Gliders.

Meanwhile, the rest of the riders waited for Hiccup to return from the summit. Helene and Fishlegs acted as the primary caretakers of Ladok while his brother was away, largely merely checking on him as he slept. They did recurring stints of two minutes between the two of them, since none of the others wanted to take the time to look at him for a second.

"Hey, Fishlegs, I know it's my turn to check on Ladok, but can you take my shift?" she asked him.

He nodded, "Sure, no problem."

"Thanks a lot," she smiled.

The reason why she wanted him to do a checkup on him instead of her was because she had something on her mind she was trying to figure out. She was attempting to decipher the meaning behind the symbols from the Dragon Eye.

The one symbol that appeared more than once was the line with the two spirals around it, she wondered what its significance was. It slightly resembled a mirror image of the runic letter 'B' merged with the original.

Suddenly, like Ripwave's tail hitting her accidentally, she thought she understood what it meant. The Viking symbol for healing was called the berkano, a 'B' with upward extension in the back of the letter, which bore a similarity to what the Dragon Eye showed them.

"Fishlegs!" she exclaimed.

He ran out of the tent when he heard her voice, "What happened?!"

She went over to Ripwave, who was curled in the snow but still awake, and looked through her bag. She wanted to find paper, but couldn't, so she settled for one of her knives instead.

Using the tip of the blade, she drew their symbol and the one shown by the Dragon Eye. "Call me crazy, but do they seem similar to each other?"

He squinted his eyes as he analyzed the two symbols and realized what she was talking about, "They do! If you make a couple more lines to the berkano, they would be almost exactly the same!"

"Since it's our symbol for health and healing," she began, "that means this other one…"

"Could have the same meaning!" he finished. "You're a genius! Okay, so we know what it means, but now we need to figure out its purpose."

"I noticed they were near what I thought looked like either water or a river in the style of Egyptian hieroglyphs, and again in the jaws of a dragon," she told him.

"So, let's put all of that together. Healing, water, jaws…" he listed, using his fingers to count.

She gasped as she pieced together what the Dragon Eye was trying to tell them and quickly informed everyone else about it, "Guys! I think I figured it out!"

"Figure out what?" Astrid asked, confused.

"The Tide Gliders! It's not the lake water, it's the Tide Gliders!" she exclaimed.

She held her hands up to calm her friend, "Okay, Hele, back up. Start with point one, not point five."

She inhaled in preparation for her explanation, "Alright. Gothi said the glacial water had healing properties, right? Well, I'm thinking that the odd symbol I saw is meant to indicate that the water the Tide Gliders were firing at us could've had some kind of…" she struggled to think of the correct verb, "...cure… I guess… that heals injuries and illnesses."

"Okay, okay, if that water is a 'cure', why would they fire it at us?" Snotlout pointed out.

"What if they didn't mean to?" Astrid suggested. "You said they travel in a large group of mated pairs, right, Hele?"

She nodded, "Yes, that's right."

"Well, if they have to travel hundreds of miles just to lay their eggs, they're going to be exhausted, especially if the females are carrying a clutch," she claimed.

"Wait, so you're saying that they didn't mean to scare us, but the males were just trying to help their mates?" Fishlegs queried. She nodded. "Actually, that makes sense. Since they have to migrate to give birth, they probably have a lot of predators. If they're monogamous like Shockjaws are, they would try to do everything they can to protect each other and their offspring."

"Which is why they would be spraying their water like they did earlier," Helene deduced. "We just happened to be there, and they attacked us because they weren't sure what our motives were."

Out of nowhere, they heard an explosion and Hiccup shouting a moment later, "Incoming!" Toothless landed, his stomach skidding roughly on the compressed ice and snow.

Astrid went up to him as he dismounted his dragon with a grunt, "Hiccup, what happened?"

He pointed at the summit, "The Tide Gliders!"

"What did they do?" she questioned, gripping his shoulders.

"Nothing," he replied. "I actually discovered something really interesting-"

She released her hold on him, "Hiccup, point?"

"The Snow Wraith and Shockstrike are up there," he informed everyone.

Inside of his tent, Ladok shifted when he heard his dragon's name and murmured, "Shockstrike…"

Helene gasped, "He's okay?"

"Well, he's covered in battle scars, and so is the Snow Wraith, but otherwise, yeah," he answered.

"What about the Tide Gliders?" Fishlegs asked.

He scratched the back of his head and neck, "They're…" They all heard shrieks and roars originating from the summit and saw the blue dragons soaring downward in their direction with their eggs. "...on their way here."

"Is that a net?" he inquired, tipping his helmet.

He nodded, "Yes. Yes, it is."

He grinned, "Fascinating!"

"Uh, yeah. You know what else is fascinating?" Astrid pointed upward.

When they looked for themselves, they saw Shockstrike and the Snow Wraith, who were also flying downward towards them. They were clawing, biting, and firing at each other, creating additional injuries.

The Snow Wraith's teeth sunk into his nape, the tusks buried deep enough to draw blood. Shockstrike roared in pain and spun to throw his enemy off his body.

Ladok's eyes snapped open when he heard his cry, "Shockstrike!"

He attempted to stand up, but he still wasn't strong enough. He was determined to reach his dragon, he had to, his life might depend on it. Using his last ounces of strength, he started to crawl, slowly.

Alarmed by the presence of the feuding dragons, the Tide Gliders hastily made a beeline for the water. Before doing so, they sprayed their water onto the eggs, one of which began to judder.

Helene saw this and remembered what she learned from the Dragon Eye, "Guys! We have to stop the Tide Gliders!"

"What? Why?" Hiccup questioned, confused.

"Questions later, we need their water," she affirmed, pointing at them.

"Why? I got the water from the lake," he held up the canteen.

"It's not enough, we have to get pure water from the source," she claimed. "You want to save your brother, right?"

"Of course," he responded, "I-"

"Hiccup!" Astrid grabbed his wrist, tugging on his arm. She pointed at the Snow Wraith and Shockstrike, "We have to stop them before they kill each other!"

He nodded, "Right."

"What should we do?" she asked.

He tried to think of a quick idea for a plan, "Uh, we should-"

Helene watched as the Tide Gliders began to make their way into the cold water and started to panic, afraid they would leave and never be seen again, "Hiccup! The Tide Gliders! They're leaving!"

Overwhelmed, he held his head in between his hands, attempting to find a solution to appease both situations, but it was fruitless. The Tide Gliders, the fight between Shockstrike and the Snow Wraith, his brother and his illness; it was too much!

Astrid could sense how stressed he was and wanted to help him relax, even though she was very anxious herself. Inadvertently, she looked in the direction of the tents and noticed the one Ladok was resting inside of was empty!

"Hiccup, where's Ladok?" she asked, concerned.

His eyes became wide, "What?"

He glanced at the tent he left him in and saw a trail of flattened snow leading away from it. He followed it with his eyes and found his brother crawling in the direction of where the fight was still taking place.

"Ladok, get out of there!" he shouted.

Either ignoring or not hearing his words, he continued forward, 'I'm coming for you, Shockstrike. I'm coming.'

Another shot was fired by the Snow Wraith at Shockstrike, who was forced to do a barrel roll to avoid it, flying in a wide yet tight circle. While still soaring in the circular motion, he discharged his lightning at his opponent, striking him. Either weak from exhaustion or shock, the white dragon plummeted into a snowbank, unconscious.

After years of waiting for a rematch, he finally had a chance to enact his revenge. One more strike and it would all be over; no longer would his dreams be haunted by his enemy, and by his own failure. It was now or never, if it regained consciousness, his only opportunity was bound to be lost forever. Though his strength was fading, he opened his mouth as another attack charged in his throat.

Ladok clenched his fist tightly, somehow finding the power to lift his lower half out of the snow, using his arms for support. He cupped the side of his mouth, taking in a deep breath, and howled his dragon call. As the intensity and volume of the call faded, he collapsed, rolling onto his side. At that same moment, the juddering egg hatched in a small burst of water, revealing a baby Tide Glider with teal scales.

The sound of the dragon call reached Shockstrike's ears, causing him to immediately turn his attention to the source, his rider. He yelped when he saw his condition, how long was he away from him?

He looked at his downed rival and his rider, debating what to do next. In the end, he chose to fly down to the ailing Ladok, it wasn't a difficult decision to make.

He landed near him and started warbling in a frantic and apologetic manner as he tried to pull himself in a position to make both of them comfortable. He laid next to him, wrapping his wings around him, his body heat warming him as it radiated from his scales.

Hiccup ran up to his younger brother and fell to his knees, trying to wake him up, "Ladok, Ladok!"

Suddenly, he and the other riders heard a soft and high-pitched chittering, it was the hatchling Tide Glider. The adult dragons of its pod returned to the beach from the water, seemingly not viewing them as a threat anymore.

The teal hatchling crawled onto Ladok's body with its flippers. Once on his chest, it smelled his face and let out a huff through its nostrils.

Then, it opened its small, thin, elongated mouth and a squirt of water spritzed onto his face, a few drops trickling into his mouth. Hiccup was about to lift the newborn dragon off of him when he started to stir.

Ladok opened his eyes, seeing his dragon, friends, brother, and the hatchling on his chest staring at him. He smiled and shifted into a sitting position, petting the young Tide Glider.

It licked his chin and he chuckled, "Hi, there."

Hiccup wrapped his arms around him in an embrace, mindful of the baby dragon, "Thank Thor you and Shockstrike are alright."

"How do you feel?" Helene asked.

"Um? Still sick," he joked, nodding. Everyone laughed, including a couple of the dragons.

Shockstrike felt a cool spurt of water pouring down his back, it alarmed him because Skrills were not fond of water. He looked behind him and saw one of the Tide Gliders, it wanted to help him with his wounds, it was the least it could do.

The baby and the adult filled a canteen with their healing water to be taken to Gothi. Afterwards, they began to leave, the rest of the eggs still needed a safe place to hatch.

The adult allowed the baby to crawl onto its back as they rejoined their own kind. The hatchling used its small flippers to wave before they all disappeared into the water.

"Hey, why don't we use a little of this to heal the Snow Wraith?" Hiccup suggested, gesturing to the canteen.

"I suppose even a killer deserves a little sympathy," Astrid answered for everyone.

They turned to the location where it was last seen, but it wasn't there, it had vanished. Shockstrike growled, upset it was able to escape while he was tending to his rider.

Ladok placed a hand on his dragon to calm him down, "Relax, buddy, it's hurt, let it go for now. There will be another day."

"Hey?" Hiccup set a hand on his shoulder, "What do you say we get out of here and go home?"

He stood up from the icy ground with little support, "I say, I thought you would never ask. Let's go home."

V-o-U-*0-0-0*-U-o-V

(A/N: 9,000 words?! What the hell?! Forget about what I said back in chapter 5, this is my longest chapter to date.

I'm sorry this is very late and, believe me, I'm tired. So with that in mind, I'm going to make this short and sweet. I'll see you in the next chapter!)