(A/N: For those who missed it at the end of the previous chapter, this takes place in the episode "Imperfect Harmony". I have to admit, I didn't exactly like it when I first saw this episode, but I have come to enjoy it as one of my personal favorites.
I think the reason why I came to like this episode has to do with it being the one where we really see the riders grow up. They're leaving home and it's their chance to prove themselves as they gradually venture into adulthood.)
O-X-O-X-O~*I*~O-X-O-X-O
After he made his bizarre discovery with the Dragon Eye, Hiccup immediately went to everyone's houses and woke up the other riders. Neither they nor their dragons were happy to have been awakened, but it was their families he upset the most. One way or another, he was able to convince them to get them to come back with him to his house to see what he found.
They all went up to his bedroom and he told them what happened with the Dragon Eye. Naturally, they were sceptical because he had been obsessively trying to figure out the object's secrets since it was found on the Reaper.
To convince them, he had to show them how it worked. He held it up to Toothless' mouth and he looked up at him, as if asking him if it was alright.
He gave him an approving look, telling him, "Okay, bud, go ahead."
He opened his mouth and produced a low flame in his throat, a bright purple light glowed in the back of his mouth. The light entered into the Dragon Eye and an image similar to the one he saw earlier appeared on the wall, it almost looked like some kind of map. All of the other riders were in awe when they saw it.
"Whoa!"
"Amazing!"
"Cool!"
"Awesome!"
"Definitely worth getting up for," Fishlegs grinned. Helene, who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement.
"Fishlegs, can you make any of it out?" Hiccup asked.
He went up to the image to analyze it, "There are parts of maps and symbols, nothing I've seen before. And there's writing, but it's in a language I've never read before."
"What's that thing?" Snotlout asked, pointing at the symbol in the center of the image. It was a tightly clenched fist with what appeared to be blood dripping down the palm and wrist.
It was a symbol Helene vaguely recognized, just like the insignia on the sail of the Reaper. She couldn't remember where she saw it, but it somehow caused her heart to start skipping beats in her chest and heavy vibrations in her throat.
"That must be some kind of tribal crest or something," Hiccup guessed.
"Ooh, I like that way better than our tribal crest," Tuffnut remarked with an almost mischievous smile.
"Tuff, we don't have a tribal crest," he pointed out.
"Well, we should," Ruffnut shrugged before she bore a smile on her face similar to her twin's.
"Yeah, and it should be that!" Tuffnut added, creating a frame with his fingers.
"Hiccup," Fishlegs began, "this map, you realize it…"
"Goes beyond the boundaries of the archipelago," he eagerly finished. "Oh, I know."
Everyone looked at each other, exchanging glances. Trying to figure out what to make of everything.
"So, what's our next move?" Astrid asked.
He looked at everyone in the room, all of them wondering what to do next. He then looked down at Toothless, who was still crouching behind the Dragon Eye, he nudged the cylinder with his snout and made eye contact with him with a mellow warble.
He knew what his best friend wanted, he knew what all of his friends wanted, he knew what he wanted for himself. But would his father allow it? Would he let them venture out into the unknown, into what could be perilous danger? What would the rest of the village say about it?
He remembered what they had all gone through mere hours ago, and how they barely escaped. He considered it only a strange twist of fate that Gothi had appeared at the last moment and got them a tooth after nearly beating the Snow Wraith with her staff.
He also remembered why they had gone to such great lengths and risks for the tooth in the first place. It wasn't just to figure out the Dragon Eye, it was to explore, to learn about what else could be out there in the world, both in and out of the archipelago.
He made his decision, he picked up the Dragon Eye and addressed the other riders, "Get some rest for now. I'll meet you guys at the Academy in the morning."
"What are you going to do?" Astrid asked again, almost afraid to do so, something she never thought was possible for her.
He looked down at the Dragon Eye before he looked up at everyone, "I'm going to have to have a meeting with my father and the entire council."
Morning came sooner than later and Hiccup immediately had his father call a meeting with the Berk Council. He demonstrated the Dragon Eye with Toothless providing the light and preaching why he thought he and the other riders should be allowed to explore beyond the archipelago.
Unfortunately, the council did not appear to support his wishes, Sven even called the possibility of discovering new dragons "no good". The only thing they wanted him to do was to find Dagur and send him back to Outcast Island, which he tried to use to support his reasoning to be permitted to explore what else could be out in the world.
Now, it was time for his father to come to a final decision. Stoick was too overprotective over him, Hiccup knew he had already lost his case.
Suddenly, just as Stoick was beginning the closing argument, the doors swung open. Standing at the entrance of the Great Hall was none other than Alvin the Treacherous, Helene's father. Why was he on Berk?
"Alvin? What are you doing here?" Stoick asked.
Helene stepped out from behind him with her hands folded in front of herself, she looked a little nervous. He placed his hand on her shoulder and they walked towards the council meeting. Ripwave was with them as well and followed them inside.
"What? You didn't think I wouldn't have any say in anything that involves my daughter, did you?" he asked rhetorically.
They walked up to the table and she left his side to stand next to Hiccup. He could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest.
"Are you alright?" he whispered to her.
"I suppose. I'm just a little nervous because my Dad wants me to become chieftess," she responded.
He sensed there was something more to it than that, "But?"
"But I want to go with you and the others if Stoick approves it," she replied.
He smiled, "I'm glad to hear that."
"Alright, then, let us get back to business, shall we?" Stoick uttered. "I think we can all agree these have been some of our best years." Alvin nodded silently in agreement. "Nothing is more important than peace. Peace among us, peace with our neighbors, and peace with the dragons."
Hiccup sighed in disappointment, he wasn't surprised, just very upset. He hid it well, but he was a crumbling, emotional mess on the inside.
"Having said that, let me ask you this, when the Berserkers invaded and I was kidnapped, leaving the village lost and confused, what happened next?" Stoick questioned.
"Rescued your sorry rear and kicked their asses," Gobber answered.
"Thank you, Gobber," he deadpanned.
"My pleasure, chief," he smacked himself with his own hammer.
"When Valka was taken, and I went in search of her, could anyone have stopped me?" he queried as he clenched his fist to contain his anger and guilt, and possibly something more.
Hiccup almost flinched when he heard his mother's name. He had vague memories of her, but he did remember this feeling of fear and possibly dread.
He slightly shifted in an uncomfortable manner where he stood and Helene saw this. She grabbed his hand and gave it a comforting and reassuring squeeze before letting go. He smiled at her thankfully, which she returned.
"Well, technically you're the chief, so... no," Gobber responded casually.
"Yes, Gobber, fair point." Stoick then addressed Alvin, "Tell me, Alvin, when you lost your wife and searched high and low for your daughter, would you have ever stopped, did you ever lose hope of ever finding her?"
"No," he answered after a short moment of silence. "Never. My daughter is the only piece of my wife I have left, I never would have stopped searching."
Helene was touched when she heard that, although it was something she had heard before. However, she also felt a strain in her chest, she never met her mother and didn't have the privilege of memories of any kind, unlike Hiccup.
She was frowning, which he took notice of and took her hand in his, giving her a squeeze, similar to the one she did for him. He let go and they exchanged smiles between each other once again.
Stoick addressed the rest of the council, "Think of the most important thing in the world to each of you. Ask yourselves honestly, how far would you be willing to go to get it? What would you risk? The boy's life has been dragons, his life is dragons, and will continue to be. We can't stop him from going if we wanted to, so we might as well support him."
Hiccup didn't know what to say, he was completely speechless. If his father and Helene weren't standing with him, he would be lying on the ground.
He then addressed Alvin again, "What say you, Alvin?"
He stood up from the table and stood next to his daughter, wrapping his large hand around her shoulder, "For years I searched for her, and, I admit, I did lose hope. When I finally found her, I didn't want to let her go. I saw the girl she had become and the woman she's now growing into." He squeezed her shoulder slightly and she smiled. "And now with this," he gestured to the image on the wall, "I see an opportunity for her to grow into someone who can and will surpass everyone when the time comes for her to become a chief."
She smiled up at her father and hugged him, "Thank you, Dad!"
Stoick smiled when he saw Alvin embracing his daughter and turned to his son and placed his hands on his shoulders, "Go, lad. Find whatever it is out there that's pulling at you. When you find it, Berk will be right here waiting for you."
Hiccup grinned when those words hit his ears, he couldn't believe it. If he didn't know better, he would have thought he was dreaming.
"You best get out of here before all of this nostalgia wears off and he changes his mind," Gobber suggested.
Hiccup decided it was best to heed Gobber's warning, he always did seem to have the best advice when anyone needed it. He started to run out of the Great Hall, whistling for Toothless to follow.
Helene gave Alvin one last hug, "Bye, Dad." She ran after Hiccup, calling for her dragon, "Ripwave, come."
The two dragons stayed behind for a moment, exchanging glances with the parents of their respective riders. They felt they needed their approval first before they went after them.
"You take care of my boy, dragon," Stoick addressed Toothless with a small smile.
"That goes double for you too, leviathan," Alvin addressed Ripwave, also smiling.
The two dragons gave their own versions of smiles to the two fathers. Toothless grabbed the Dragon Eye in his teeth before he and Ripwave ran after their riders together.
The remaining Dragon Riders were waiting in the Academy for the meeting in the Great Hall to finish. Helene was supposed to be waiting with them, but Astrid told the others that Alvin suddenly showed up and took her with him to the Great Hall.
It was almost an hour before Hiccup arrived, along with Helene. They dismounted their dragons and practically ran up to the others, barely able to contain themselves.
"So? What did they say?" Fishlegs asked, bouncing in his boots.
"Yes! My Dad said yes!" Hiccup eagerly informed, barely able to keep himself from running all over the arena.
"W-Wait… you mean?" he asked again, blinking rapidly as he tried to register what he just said.
He nodded, "He gave us all permission to go. To see the world no Viking has ever seen before."
"What about you, Hele?" Astrid asked her.
"My Dad said it was okay, I can go too," she replied.
"Let's pack up, gang, we have a long journey ahead of us," Hiccup told everyone.
For the next couple of hours, they spent their time packing for their journey. They weren't sure if they would be flying back to Berk or not, which made packing a little challenging.
After their packing was done, they said goodbye to their families because they weren't sure when the next time they would see them would be. Alvin was still on Berk and Helene said goodbye to him again just as he was boarding his ship for Outcast Island.
They rendezvoused back at the Academy once they said their farewells to their loved ones. From there, they took to the air for their journey to begin.
Hiccup stopped Toothless, as if he was either having second thoughts or trying to mentally prepare himself. Although, he did have somewhat of a habit of being quite dramatic, even if he didn't realize it.
"You ready for this?" he asked his dragon.
"Blah, blah, blah!" Snotlout interjected. "Why do you have to make a production out of everything?"
Hiccup looked behind himself to look back at the other riders. They all looked eager to finally leave the island.
"Let's just go already!" he yelled.
"Okay," he replied, "but if anyone has any reservation-" He was cut off before he could finish when Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins flew ahead.
"Into the great beyond!" he shouted excitedly.
"The great beyond!" Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins all repeated in unison.
Snotlout flew ahead to catch up with them and Hiccup looked beside him, Helene was still with him. She shrugged and smiled, "Great beyond."
She flew after them, leaving him behind as he remarked, "Okay, no reservations."
Finally, he and Toothless were flying after them to join them as they ventured out into the unknown together. It could be the start of something incredible and perilous.
After flying for several hours, the riders were no closer to finding anything than when they left Berk. They were flying through the clouds, which were as gray as they were. Everyone was tired and depleted of energy, including the dragons.
"Into the great beyond," Snotlout muttered wearily.
"Great beyond," everybody else repeated in the same weary manner.
Hiccup tried to keep everyone's spirits raised, "Oh, come on, you guys, so we had a couple of tough hours. Nothing that's worth anything comes easy."
"It's that one of your riddles?" Tuffnut grumbled. "'Cause now is not the time, my friend. We have to keep saying 'great beyond', great beyond."
"Great beyond," Ruffnut mumbled.
He sighed and shook his head as they continued to repeat each other. "Toothless, let's see if anything's out there."
The Night Fury opened his mouth and howled into the clouds. After a moment, however, the howl did not return.
"Nothing," he uttered after hearing nothing but silence.
He was beginning to think that perhaps what everyone said about the world beyond the archipelago being empty. That perhaps the ships discovered in the shipwreck graveyard in the outer islands were a disillusion of the taunting gods.
Suddenly, the roar of thunder echoed through the clouds, ricocheting as if inside of a cave. Rain followed not long after and only seemed to be getting stronger. They were out of the eye and into the storm. Pleasant weather for a Tidal Class dragon like a Shockjaw, but not so much for everyone else.
"It seems the farther we go in, the worse it gets!" Astrid's voice was barely audible in the rumbling thunder and pouring rain.
"Hiccup, I think we should turn back," Fishlegs voiced his thoughts. "We've been flying for most of the day!"
"We just have to keep moving forward until we're out of this!" he persisted.
The riders could hardly see anything as they flew deeper into the storm, the winds and raindrops made it difficult. They had no other choice but to rely solely on their dragons as their sight, even as the storm was beginning to have an impact on them as well.
Helene managed to peak through her fingers as her hand in front of her face protected her eyes, she thought she spotted something ahead. It was a very small white dot, barely noticeable in the gray of the clouds.
"Hiccup!" she called out, pointing at what she saw.
He looked ahead and focused his eyes on it, he could see it as well. "I see it! Everyone, fly for the light!"
Everyone focused their sights on the light and directed their dragons towards it. As they flew in closer towards it, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel got bigger and closer than ever before.
And soon enough, before they could even realize it, they were out of the confinement of the clouds and out in the open, clear blue sky. Below them was a beautiful island with strange yet unique rock formations. Everyone gazed at the natural beauty with amazement.
Astrid gasped, "Look at this."
"It's incredible," Hiccup smiled.
She grinned in eagerness and agreement, "I know, right? We made it, Hiccup! We made it!"
"Uh, guys, can we slap each other on the backs later? Meatlug's wings are about to fall off," Fishlegs interjected after he observed his dragon's tiredness and the weakening of her small wings.
"Sorry, guys. There's a place up ahead we can set down," he mentioned.
Suddenly, a strange, bellowing, siren-like sound rang out from somewhere on the island below. It put on the dragons on alert and seemed to direct them towards the island.
Fishlegs noticed the change in Meatlug's behavior, "Whoa, what is it, girl? Don't you wanna rest?"
"Guys, do you hear that?" Helene asked them about the sound.
"What is that?" Snotlout questioned.
"I have no idea," Fishlegs replied, "but the dragons are definitely drawn towards it."
"Well, I guess, that's where we're going," Hiccup stated.
They allowed their dragons to guide them down to the island, landing on a beautiful, pristine beach. Next to where they landed was a waterfall, pouring water into a basin mere feet before the ocean.
"This place is amazing," Fishlegs admired the beauty around them.
Snotlout was sitting in the sand, underneath the shade of a tree. The twins were playing on some rocks in the basin of the waterfall.
Meanwhile, Helene was sitting on the edge of the basin with her shoes removed and her bare feet in the water. She was watching as Ripwave happily swam in the cool, refreshing water, playfully spraying her rider with it when she fluttered her wings.
Snotlout laughed, "Okay, I am never going back to Berk."
"Berk? What's that? 'Cause I forgot," Tuffnut smiled calmly at the tranquility around them.
"Well, I guess we don't need to vote on where we're making camp," Hiccup remarked as he watched the other riders.
"I'll take care of the fire," Snotlout volunteered, which was very unusual for him, but he was so happy that he didn't care.
He took over a container from his saddlebag and poured a green, gel-like fluid on the ground. He made a trail in the sand, pouring a large amount of the fluid onto a small patch of weeds.
"Hookfang, light it up!" he told his dragon.
Hookfang grumbled slightly, but did as he was told and ignited the green fluid with his fire. The flames quickly travelled along the trail and ended in a miniature explosion when it made contact with the weeds, startling everyone.
"Monstrous Nightmare gel," he mentioned. "Don't leave home without it."
Night soon fell and the riders were asleep with their dragons, the only ones who were not asleep were Hiccup and Astrid. They sat next to each other in the sand, staring up at the moon, which seemed to be brighter and bigger than when seen from Berk.
"You were right, Hiccup," Astrid spoke, admiring the beauty of the moon. "There is so much more out here. And it's… beautiful."
"And this is only the beginning, Astrid," he uttered. "Who knows what we'll find out here."
She leaned closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He did the same, resting his own head onto hers. They sat there in silence, admiring the beauty around them.
Morning soon came and everyone was beginning to awaken, yet there was something very strange when they did. Strange in a way that could not mean anything good.
Astrid was still asleep and was awakened when Hiccup shook her shoulder. "Astrid, wake up. Do you hear that?"
"What?" she asked tiredly as she rubbed her eyes. "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly, the sound is gone," he informed her of his observation.
"So are the dragons!" they heard Fishlegs suddenly shout. "All of them, gone!"
Everyone looked around and saw that the dragons were gone, as if they had vanished. Not just one or two, but all of them, all six dragons had disappeared.
They started to search for the dragons, venturing into the forest while calling out for them and looking in any place a dragon could hide in. So far, however, it was completely fruitless.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut kept looking behind a rock for Barf and Belch. Walking around it and sometimes crawling over it like an insect.
"How many times are you gonna check behind that rock?" Astrid retorted at their efforts. "Barf and Belch cannot hide behind it."
"Clearly, you are not aware of the stealthiness of one Barf and Belch," Ruffnut replied. "Or… is that two Barf and Belch?"
"Excellent question. Two heads," Tuffnut held up two fingers.
"One dragon," she held up one finger.
"Two brains," he continued.
"One body," she added.
"Two bodies, half a brain," Snotlout jeered. Astrid rolled her eyes.
Hiccup tried using his spyglass to see if he could find them, but put it away when he couldn't find anything. "Nothing. I don't get it, where would they go?"
"Oh, my Meatlug!" Fishlegs cried. "She wouldn't do this, she wouldn't leave me, she would never do this on her own!"
Suddenly, they heard bristling in the bushes, putting everyone on alert in case it was whatever caused their dragons to disappear. They relaxed when it was only Toothless and Ripwave.
They leapt out of the bushes and jumped onto their riders, causing them to fall to the ground. They licked and nuzzled their faces, happy to have found them.
They got off their riders and started to howl and growl as they walked in circles around all of the riders. Ripwave fired into the air and Toothless let out a howl-like screech when she did.
"Okay, I think you're dragons ate something weird in the forest because they're out of their minds!" Snotlout remarked.
"No, no, no, I think they're trying to tell us something," Fishlegs claimed.
Hiccup knelt down in front of his dragon, "W-What is it, bud? Is it the other dragons?"
Toothless suddenly grabbed his prosthetic leg in his mouth and ran away. Obviously not realizing that the leg was not attached to him.
"Uh, how long do you think he's going to get before he realizes?" Helene asked, kneeling in front of Ripwave, scratching her chin.
"Hard to say, he seemed pretty committed," he replied, looking down at his missing prosthetic.
After a couple of minutes, they heard Toothless' howl and he returned to them. He dropped Hiccup's prosthetic on the ground, looking guilty.
"That's okay, bud," he scratched him on his head. "I like the enthusiasm." He put his prosthetic back where it goes and mounted his dragon. "You guys stay here in case they come back. Helene, you and Ripwave should stay with them for protection. Toothless and I are gonna look for them from above."
They took to the air and started to fly away, Ripwave whined desperately, obviously wanting to go with them. She nudged Helene and whined again, trying to get her to follow them.
She gave her an apologetic scratch, "Sorry, but we have to stay here."
Just moments after they left, the others heard growling and the bristling of the leaves on a bush. They thought it was the other dragons, but it wasn't. It was a violet Thunderdrum, and it looked very angry.
"Thunderdrum!" Fishlegs cried.
Helene immediately mounted Ripwave and shouted back at the other riders, "Get behind me! Ripwave, fire!"
She shot her electricity at the Thunderdrum and she managed to hit it. The purple electricity danced on its flat, muscular body, but it did not incapacitate it. It growled at her, opened its wide mouth, and roared, releasing a sonic blast.
"Shit!" she seethed to herself and covered her ears.
She should have pulled herself and Ripwave out of the way, but then the other riders would be without protection. She and her dragon would have to take the brunt of the attack.
Hiccup and Toothless turned around and flew overhead just as the Thunderdrum was about to roar again. Toothless fired a plasma blast and it was enough to chase the Thunderdrum away.
"Good job, bud. Let's hope that's the last we see of that guy," he uttered.
They landed and the others came up to him. All looking upset with him, but otherwise alright.
"Anything else you want to draw towards us?" Snotlout retorted. "Changewing? Ooh, Screaming Death, maybe? I'm sure there are one of those around here!"
"Snotlout, will you stop?" Hiccup responded. "It's gone and right now we should all be focused on finding the other dragons."
Helene could see their lips moving, but couldn't hear a thing, nothing but the ringing inside her ears. "What? What are you saying?" She saw them try to talk to her, but she still couldn't hear them. "I can't hear you."
She saw Snotlout say something next, she didn't have to hear him to know what he was saying. She took his helmet and hit him on the head with it. He tried to take his helmet back, but she grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm into a painful angle. She saw him cry out for mercy and finally let him go, throwing his helmet on the ground. Even while hearing impaired, she was still strong.
She looked down at Ripwave and saw her shake her head. She frowned, she must have been hearing impaired too.
The ringing in her ears finally stopped and she thought she could faintly hear Hiccup say, "Come on, let's go find them."
Astrid tugged on her sleeve to get her attention and pointed her thumb back, yelling, "Follow us!" She nodded and tapped on Ripwave, pointing at the other riders, telling her to follow.
They walked further into the forest and soon what was once almost majestic was replaced with an eerie fog. It made what was at first a paradise seem more like a nightmare.
"Uh, Hiccup," Fishlegs began nervously.
"I know, Fishlegs. No longer amazing," he finished.
"Can we get a vote for creepy and weird?" Snotlout asked. He and the twins all raised their hands.
Eventually, they came to a stop when they discovered a clearing. And in the center was a large pile of dragon bones. A macabre, eerie sight.
"Are those what I think they are?" Fishlegs asked, his voice almost cracking with sadness and nervousness.
"Weirdly shaped white rocks?" Tuffnut questioned obliviously.
"Dragon bones," Hiccup uttered.
"Ah, a boneyard, yes! I like it!" he grinned. Hiccup gave him a stern look and he held up his hands defensively. "I don't like it."
Astrid saw something on the ground and picked it up. It was a hard, orange material that almost appeared as if it could have been crystalline due to its transparency, yet it was as sturdy as a rock.
"What is this stuff?" she asked.
Helene's hearing was getting better and she heard Astrid when she asked about the odd material, "Can I see it?"
"Sure," she replied, giving it to her.
She examined it in her hand and held it up to the sky to see how the sunlight refracted through it. "It looks like amber, but it's not. I don't know what it is."
Suddenly, they heard a loud wail coming from somewhere ahead. It sounded like some kind of distress call, most likely by a dragon.
"Okay, what was that?" Snotlout questioned, his body as stiff as a board.
"That, my friend, is a dragon in trouble," Fishlegs answered nervously.
They rushed to find out where the distress call was coming from. It wasn't long before they discovered something very terrifying.
They found themselves in a canyon filled with dragons. All of the dragons were trapped in the same material that was discovered with the bones in the clearing.
"You guys do know what's going on here, don't you?" Tuffnut asked, holding his chin.
"Yeah, something is trapping these dragons in this amber rock substance and immobilizing them," Fishlegs determined.
"Oh!" Tuffnut was very surprised by that conclusion. "Oh, I had a completely different idea that involved oily fish and, uh, bad mutton."
"Then, it's breaking them out and-" he paused as he came to a grisly conclusion, "and eating them."
"Ah, come on. Who would be doing that?" Ruffnut retorted.
She got her answer when a strange, shrill screech could be heard from somewhere in the forest. Suddenly, a large dragon emerged and landed on the ledge overlooking the canyon. It stood erect on its hind legs and spread its wings as let out a song-like roar.
It was certainly a strange looking dragon, nothing they had ever seen anywhere in the archipelago. It had an orange body, a lighter colored underbelly, and stripes on its body a darker shade of orange. It had very large wings in comparison to its long, slender body; they were colored beautifully with various shades of blue and orange, like the wings of a butterfly. Flanking either side of its curved yet straight horns were odd light blue fins.
"What about that guy?" she asked, pointing up at the dragon. "Yeah, he looks suspect to me."
Fishlegs quickly covered her mouth to keep her quiet. The riders hid behind some rocks just as the large dragon turned towards their direction, trilling. It reached down to pick up a Terrible Terror it had captured in its amber and left with it.
As it left, the same sound they heard the other day suddenly rang through the air. The pupils of Toothless' and Ripwave's eyes became thin slits and they seemed to be trying to follow the dragon, as if stuck in a trance, forcing their riders to hold them back.
"No, no, Toothless, no, bud," Hiccup told his dragon, eventually getting him out of the state he was in.
"Ripwave," Helene scratched her dragon to get her out of it as well, and it worked.
"It's the sound," he claimed. "The song, that's what draws the dragons in."
"Songwing!" Fishlegs suddenly submitted.
"What?" Astrid questioned.
"That's what we should name it," he explained.
"Now? Really? You want to name it now?" Hiccup practically snapped, his voice loud with bewilderment.
"We need to call it something," he shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm thinking "Death Song" might be more appropriate," Tuffnut uttered. "'Cause you hear the song, you're dead," he closed his eyes and stuck his tongue out for added effect.
"Tell you what, he has a good point," he remarked.
"Yeah, I do," he agreed, his arms crossed and nodding to himself. He then asked in an oblivious and confused manner, "Wait, what was it again?"
"It doesn't matter what we call it," Astrid interjected. "If it's doing it to all of these dragons, then it probably did it to ours."
"We have to find them," Fishlegs told Hiccup.
"Fast!" he affirmed.
They scattered throughout the canyon, calling out to their dragons. Hiccup and Helene kept an eye out for the Death Song, since they were the only ones with dragons.
"Stormfly!" Astrid called out to her dragon.
"Hookfang! Hookfang!" Snotlout frantically shouted.
While on lookout with her rider, Ripwave glanced down and saw Hookfang encased in the Death Song's amber. She looked up at her rider and growled to get her attention.
With her hearing better, she heard her dragon and looked down, seeing Hookfang. "Snotlout, look!"
He saw his dragon and ran to him, "Hooky! I am getting you out of there, Fangster."
"Astrid! I've got Stormfly!" Fishlegs informed her. Stormfly squawked as he tried to help her out of the amber.
Suddenly, the melodious yet dreaded roar of the Death Song echoed in the distance. Indicating that it was returning to the canyon for another morsel.
Toothless growled and leapt onto a rock facing the ledge the Death Song perched on before. He was ready to fight it, face to face.
"Toothless, no!" Hiccup shouted.
It appeared over the forest and landed on the ledge, roaring at Toothless. He shot a plasma blast, but it avoided it by flapping its wings to hover in the air. Then, it fired back at him, he avoided the first shot, but the second one hit Toothless, entrapping him in the amber.
"No!" he cried, rushing to his dragon. "You guys, get your dragons free, now!"
The Death Song watched as the riders ran to their dragons to try to free them. It knew they were trying to free its food, but they looked like a potential food source for it as well. It spat its amber at them, trapping them along with their dragons.
Hiccup, Astrid, Helene and Ripwave were not yet captured, but that would not be for much longer. It fired next at Helene and Ripwave with the intent on capturing both of them, however, Ripwave stood on her back legs spontaneously, throwing her rider off of her back like a raging horse. The amber hit her in the chest, trapping her and causing her to fall back due to the impact and additional weight.
"Ripwave!" she cried. She looked at Hiccup and Astrid, then at the Death Song, noticing the direction it was facing. "Hiccup! Astrid! Look out!"
It spat its amber down at them, in reaction to this, Astrid pushed him out of the line of fire. "Hiccup!" She got hit with it and it quickly encased her.
"Astrid!" he shouted in despair.
"Hiccup!" he suddenly heard Helene shout.
She ran over to him and grabbed him by the arm as she ran out of the canyon. With him in tow, she wasn't paying attention to the ground beneath their feet and didn't realize how gravelly it was. It wasn't until they both found themselves tumbling down a rocky hill.
They both landed on their stomachs and when they looked up, they found themselves in another potentially dangerous situation. The Thunderdrum from before was there as well and turned its head back to growl at them.
"Oh, hey," Hiccup chuckled nervously, "remember us?"
They jumped to their feet as it turned its whole body and growled again and roared. She hid behind him as he held up his shield to protect them.
"So, I'm thinking we might have gotten off on the wrong foot," he nervously told the Thunderdrum, trying to get it to trust them. It released a sonic blast at them and he quickly blocked it with his shield. "Note for the book of dragons, Thunderdrums carry a grudge."
"No kidding," she remarked, gripping his shoulders.
Suddenly, the Thunderdrum ran towards them, charging them like predatory sharks, knocking them down as the amber of the Death Song hit the ground. The Thunderdrum roared up at the Death Song, as if challenging it, it perched on a rock and roared back, as if mocking it.
The Thunderdrum flapped its wings and flew up to confront the Death Song, roaring as it did so, it simply swatted it away with its large wings. The Thunderdrum fell onto its back and the Death Song jumped down from its perch and onto its stomach, keeping it pinned.
"Hiccup, we have to help him," Helene told him.
"Agreed," he responded. He directed his shield up at the Death Song, "Don't worry, we have your back!"
He fired bolas from his shield and they wrapped around the Death Song's jaws. It removed itself from the Thunderdrum, who quickly jumped back to its feet, and tried to get the bolas off.
It was distracted for the moment, but both Hiccup and Helene knew it wouldn't be for long. They had to act fast before it was too late.
"That's not going to hold him for too long," she affirmed.
"I know," he replied. "We have to think of something fast!"
He began to look around for something to help them against the colorful dragon while her eyes nervously looked around the area. They eventually landed on the one thing that could help them safely get away from it while they came up with a way to free their friends and dragons: the Thunderdrum.
"Hiccup," she spoke, getting his attention. She pointed down at the flat, purple dragon growling at the Death Song.
His eyes widened, "You're not thinking-"
She interjected, "Hiccup, we have to."
He used his hand to rub his neck and collarbone, he knew she was right. "Oh, okay." He nervously approached the Thunderdrum, "Y-You're not going to like what we're about to do, but trust me, it's going to work out for all three of us."
Both of them jumped onto its back and in reaction to this it flew up in a panic. It started to fly frantically in circles, trying to throw them off.
"Haven't we been over this?" Hiccup asked in between shouts. "I said we're trying to help all three of us! Don't you listen?" Helene gave him a pointed look. "Oh, of course. Of course you don't listen, you're a Thunderdrum and Thunderdrums are hard of hearing."
The Thunderdrum made one last attempt to get rid of them by plummeting to the forest below. As soon as it landed on the ground, they were thrown off its back.
Hiccup grunted as he stood up and looked up at the sky, "At least we lost the Death Song." He tried to be positive, but then he suddenly snapped like a broken tree branch, "Oh, no, no! I can't believe this is really happening! I should have left you and the others back on Berk. Now, they're cocooned in that crazy rock stuff, we're being chased by an angry Death Song, and we're stuck here with a wild Thunderdrum, who can't hear a word we're saying!"
Helene said nothing as he blamed himself for everything that happened to them. He did it often, but she didn't try to stop him, no one usually did.
Then, she suddenly realized something, "Wait a minute, Hiccup, if Thunderdrums can hardly hear a thing, then he probably can't hear the Death Song's call, and if he can't hear the Death Song-"
"Then he can't lure him in!" he enthusiastically finished. "No wonder you haven't been caught! And you're all alone." The Thunderdrum roared. He began to cautiously approach him with his hand extended out, "You know what, Mr. Thunderdrum? You're going to help us get our friends back, and we'll make sure that dragon never bothers you again. What do you say?"
The Thunderdrum growled at him, still obviously still wary of them. He looked away, not able to bear the sight of potentially losing another limb. Finally, the Thunderdrum relaxed and allowed his snout to come into contact with his palm. Hiccup opened his eyes and smiled triumphantly at having trained the wild dragon.
The two riders mounted their new dragon and started to fly towards the canyon. Almost as soon as they took to the air, however, the Thunderdrum started to fly slightly erratically.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on?!" he shouted.
"Hiccup, Tidal Class dragon," she pointed out matter-of-factly.
He could have slapped himself in the face, he had nearly forgotten that fact. He took out a canteen from his belt and removed the cork with his teeth. Poured out the water onto the dragon and it soothed and calmed the Thunderdrum as it soaked into his scaly hide.
He let out a long sigh of relief and smiled at her, "What would I do without you?"
She laughed breathlessly, "I don't know, Hiccup. I don't know."
It wasn't long before they were flying over the canyon, the Death Song was nowhere in sight, it must have been eating. They landed on the ground but stayed on the Thunderdrum.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut were bickering when they were suddenly flipped over onto their backs. It was Hiccup and Helene on their Thunderdrum, who they had attempt to break the amber by ramming it.
"Whoa! What's going on?" Tuffnut asked, surprised. "Do it again!"
"Okay, so that's a negative on Plan A: ramming the cocoon open," Hiccup uttered.
"Please tell me you have a Plan B," Astrid remarked, slightly sarcastic.
"If it involves cutting, ramming, or ripping, you might as well forget it," Fishlegs told them. "Once it cools down, this stuff is as hard as any rock I've seen."
Hiccup suddenly perked when he heard that, "Cools down?"
He nodded, adding, "And hardens."
He hummed as he thought of a new plan, "Nobody move."
"Oh, yeah, that's funny," Tuffnut retorted. "A real comedian."
Helene casually flicked Hiccup's arm, thinking, 'Don't say dumb things, Hiccup.' He rubbed the sore spot on his arm. "What's the plan?"
"Just trust me on this one," he replied.
She rolled her eyes, 'Of course. Why didn't I expect that?'
They left the canyon for the beach they camped on the night before. They quickly returned to with containers, containers of Monstrous Nightmare gel. They dismounted their Thunderdrum and started pouring the gel on the ground, on their friends, and their dragons.
Suddenly, they heard the Death Song and quickly hid as it landed on the ground. It seemed to be contemplating whether or not it wanted to eat one of the riders or their dragons. Eventually, it chose a random dragon and flew off with it.
The nervousness that Fishlegs had kept sealed had flooded open and he cried out, "Ah! Hurry up, guys! He just took the appetizer! I think I'm the main course!" Suddenly, he broke off from Meatlug and fell onto his back. "Oh, Thor."
"Fishlegs, relax, it could take hours for him to eat that dragon," Astrid told him.
Unfortunately, she turned out to be wrong. The roar of the Death Song rang through the air and it was flying overhead.
"Or minutes! Help!" he shouted.
The Death Song landed in front of him, sneering. He started to slowly move on the ground in a circular motion, it followed him with its head curiously.
He finally stopped when the circle was completed and waved up nervously, "Hi... sir." The Death Song's head was upside down from following his movements and it whipped its head to the correct position and screeched at him.
The Death Song averted its attention when it heard the roar of a Thunderdrum. It looked up and saw Hiccup on his and Helene's Thunderdrum. She remained on the ground with everyone else.
"Hey, remember us?" Hiccup glared down at the colorful dragon.
The Death Song growled and spread its wings, flying up after them. It tried to catch them, but they were too fast for it.
"Yeah, you go, Earsplitter!" Helene cheered. Astrid looked at her questionably. "What? So I named him."
Hiccup and Earsplitter continued to divert the larger dragon's attention. They flew upwards, as high as they could go, before suddenly flying down.
Just as Earsplitter was about to fly up again, Hiccup let go and used his shield to scrape the ground the Monstrous Nightmare gel sat on as he landed, thereby igniting it. The flames quickly spread, travelling along the gel on the ground and onto the trapped dragons and riders. The amber melted and cracked, making it much easier to break out of.
Astrid broke out of her amber cocoon, dusting off the broken pieces, "Yes! It's working!"
The other riders were also able to break out theirs, and so were the dragons. The dragons shook off the amber and spread their wings, relieved to finally be freed.
As soon as she was freed, Ripwave immediately went to her rider, "I know, girl, I'm happy to see you, too."
Toothless went up to Hiccup, happy to be reunited with him, "Hey, bud, good to see you."
He mounted Toothless and when he did, he heard a squeaky sound that almost sounded slightly strained. He turned his head and saw a young Thunderdrum, caught in the Death Song's amber.
"It's an adolescent Thunderdrum. No wonder he stuck around," he uttered. "Snotlout, you get the Thunderdrum, I'll handle the Death Song."
Snotlout used a small dagger to scrape off a little gel from Hookfang. He rubbed it on the amber and had Hookfang ignite it, freeing the young dragon. Helene poured water on it to moisturize its dry hide.
With the young dragon freed, they flew out of the canyon together. Soon, Hiccup, Toothless, and Earsplitter were in view after defeating the Death Song and the parent and child were reunited. It was worth everything just to see the precious sight.
As they flew away from the island, Hiccup's guilt about what happened to them had only grown. "Hey, gang, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for getting you all into this. If you want to turn back…"
"Are you kidding?" Astrid rhetorically asked.
"No way!" Ruffnut chimed in.
"This is the most fun we've had in years!" Snotlout smiled.
"There is one thing we need to do, though," Helene put forward.
"I'm all ears," he replied.
"We need an island, our own island," she told him.
"She's right, Hiccup," Fishlegs agreed. "We're way too far out to travel back and forth to Berk."
He agreed with them, "What we need is a base of operations."
"Exactly," he responded, "but this time, we don't let the dragons pick it." Meatlug warbled. "Sorry, girl, it had to be said."
"Alright, Snotlout you're the man of the hour for bringing the Monstrous Nightmare gel, you choose," he smiled.
"Seriously?" he asked.
"Yeah, seriously," he replied.
"Alright! What do you say, Fangster?" he asked his dragon. Hookfang roared. "Couldn't agree more. Into the great beyond!"
"The great beyond!" everyone enthusiastically repeated in unison.
O-X-O-X-O~*I*~O-X-O-X-O
(A/N: 8,000 words?! This makes this my longest chapter to date! Oh, God! What is wrong with me?! I have been working on this for over two weeks and I am really tired.
So, with that in mind, I'm going to make this short and sweet. Goodbye, everyone, be safe.)