When they finally opened up their eyes and could see, Toothless and Sisu are alone, tied up, dangling from a wooly mammoth tusk. Toothless didn't seem thrilled as he had a blank stare on his face as he looked straight ahead, even though they were being slowly spun around the room. Sisu however was quickly looking around the room before trying to face Toothless.
"Interesting choice of digs," Sisu commented, trying to lighten the mood a little.
But Toothless wasn't going to even bother to respond to her after what she did. Dragon Hunters, Vikings, just about anyone he's come across, he was able to avoid. And yet she managed to be the first creature to actually lure Toothless into a trap and managed to capture him.
And she did it by accident.
Dragon Hunters would kill to fumble into something like that, as they've spent time and calculated attempts to try and capture him. But this dragon accidentally walked into another person's trap and Toothless walked right into it with her.
"Okay, so is it safe to assume you're not talking to me anymore?" Sisu wonders.
Toothless just keeps staring off into the distance as he wasn't responding to her.
"Is that your answer?" Sisu asks him. "Or are you just not conscious?"
Toothless turned to face her and showed he was awake and in extreme anger.
"Okay, so you're not talking to me." Sisu was able to confirm through silence. "But hey, look at the bright side."
"Bright side?!" Toothless broke the silence as he looked over at her. "You got us captured!" He then groaned as he shook around, trying to transform back into a dragon. "And with that stupid piece of the Gem out of reach, neither of us can transform back to free us. We're captured. Stuck."
"Well, on the bright side, we're closer to the Dragon Gem!" Sisu said as she looked around. "All we need to do is get down from here and find it."
"Get down? No! No, no. No more! No more plans or any ideas of any kind from you!" Toothless quickly shut down anything she was gonna say. "I don't want to hear your voice until Hiccup or Raya come and free us!"
Suddenly the doors of the cabin open and the two of them spin around to face the doors. The silhouette of a large barbarian stands there, axe in hand. He has very dark brown hair on the sides of his head. The top of his head is bald. He also has a goatee and a mustache. He has a black eye patch on his left eye and wears heavy clothing to keep him warm due to the cold weather of Spine. He has leather boots that seem to have been made in a rush. There is a red cloth tied around his waist and he has a fang to replace a button on his fur jacket.
"You two must be dung of brain to think you could steal Spine's Dragon Gem." He informs the two as he slams his axe into some wood.
Toothless sighed and looked at Sisu. "Seems he overheard your big mouth!"
Sisu sheepishly smiled at Toothless before looking at the Spine warrior with a scared look. "Hi! I'm Sisu, this is Toothless. We're sorry to intrude on your...lovely home."
"Oh, to the Gods..." Toothless sighed and lowered his head to look at his feet.
That's when the Spine Warrior came up to them and laughed in their faces. Toothless didn't much react to this and just closed his eyes and winced at how loud he had gotten, whilst Sisu shrieked at the sudden movement.
Sisu tried to laugh along but only got confused and looked at Toothless. "I'm not sure what's funny."
"Your fear, it's like a delectable nectar feeding the tum-tum of my soul. It's good. It tastes like... mango." The Spine Warrior said as he started to circle the two captives.
"Ooo, I love mango," Sisu commented with a cheerful tone.
"Or course you love mango! Only a tongue-less cretin wouldn't." The Spine Warrior proclaimed as he got into Sisu's face.
"Oh, toi..." Sisu said in worry about what he was going to do.
Toothless just had a confused look on his face as he watched the interaction with much confusion. "And here I thought the people of Berk had problems."
"It's been such a long time since I've last peered into the eyes of a trembling enemy." The Spine Warrior said as he marched towards the fireplace. Then he seemed to get lost as he contemplates the time and became sad. "Where has the time gone? It's been so long..."
Then he slumped in sadness whilst the captives were only getting more lost. They looked at one another and back over toward their captor in confusion. He didn't seem like a bloodthirsty barbarian like Raya had made the people of the village out to be. He seemed...
"He seems lonely," Sisu commented on his behavior.
"For once, we agree on something." Toothless had to admit he got the same conclusion from what he was seeing.
"NO! I'm not lonely. I'm a Spine warrior." The Spine warrior immediately denied it as he marched back over to them. "I was born and bred to do only one thing: to invoke fear and to crush the skulls of my enemies!"
"That's actually two things," Sisu informed him.
The Spine Warrior then roared and caused Sisu to shriek and Toothless to smell his bad breath. The Spine Warrior laughs as he watched the terror on Sisu.
"The look on your face!" The Spine Warrior laughed and mocked the two of them.
"Hey," Toothless called him out to stop the laughter. "What are you planning to do with us?"
"Oh, it's going to be bad." The Spine Warrior promises them. "Horrifying. It'll take me two weeks to clean up."
But Toothless seems to see straight through his facade. "You have no idea, do you?"
"Yes, I do! I'm formulating this gruesome plan in my head of... It makes me sick just thinking about it." The Spine Warrior promises him. "You just wait. Until then... why don't you just hang around? Good one, huh? Hehe."
"A Nadder tells better jokes." Toothless mocked.
A while earlier, Boun just parked the boat and the crew leaped off. Raya and Hiccup were the first to get off and jumped right onto Tuk Tuk.
"Come on, we gotta hurry." Hiccup said as the others joined them.
Once everyone was on board, Raya gave Tuk Tuk the okay to go. "Tuk Tuk, roll."
Tuk Tuk then started to roll off and made his way into the forest. They all held onto one another, the Ongis hanging off of the side whilst Boun held onto Hiccup's torso from the back.
"Ugh, why doesn't Sisu just listen?" Raya questioned as she was getting frustrated with her dragon friend. "If she had just waited..."
"She really wants to make the world a better place." Hiccup had to admire her determination. "I can't say I can't relate, but if you keep going on like this...it'll only end in destruction..."
Raya immediately turned to face Hiccup, noticing he was having a bit of a flashback to something. "If only Sisu would listen to you."
"To be fair, I am still the outsider in this group." Hiccup reminded her. "Me and Toothless are."
"You seem to be strangers no matter where you go," Raya replied.
"Fair enough." Hiccup had to admit she was right. "Which is why we need to keep going."
Raya knew she needed to have a conversation with him about the idea of running forever later. But that would have to wait when they stopped and came across the gate for Spine.
Raya and Hiccup jumped off of Tuk Tuk as they were wondering what happened to their friends. Raya tapped Tuk Tuk and looked at the others.
"Hang back here for a second," Raya asked of them and walked over to the gate.
Hiccup kneeled when he found a clearing in the snow and saw it was in the shape of a square. "A trap." He sighed as he stood up and wiped his hands off using his suit. "They've been captured."
"Okay, great." Raya sighed as she walked up to the gate. "So, they're captured. Anyway, how to get past an army of fearless warriors?"
Hiccup looked down at his sword and had an idea. "I might have one." He then took his sword and took the Zippleback gas canister out. "Stand back."
"What's that?" Raya asks.
"Zippleback gas. You saw what it can do back in Talon. Just trust me." Hiccup asked of her as Raya backed off.
Hiccup then tossed the canister over the fence and left a trail behind. When he sparked it, the trail turned into a fiery explosion that they could see. Boun and the others didn't happen to see it due to looking around, but they heard the sound and just missed it.
"Tuk Tuk?" Hiccup called out to the creature and gestured to the gate. "You mind?"
Tuk Tuk seemed to understand what he was asking and rammed the gate. But it appeared to be unnecessary when he smacked and the gate opened easily.
When Hiccup and Raya entered the village, they found nothing but a dozen stoned Spine Warriors. There wasn't even anyone to have been affected by Hiccup's Zippleback gas. Luckily it didn't crack the stone or harm any of them, as that would have been a rude awakening when they were lifted.
"Oh." Hiccup had to admit he felt a little embarrassed. "Well, that was unnecessary."
"But if all of them are stone...then who has Sisu and Toothless?" Boun wonders on top of Tuk Tuk.
Then they heard someone scream out from somewhere up on top of the hill where a small hut lay.
"That was Sisu," Raya said in worry.
"Come on!" Hiccup said as they raced up, leaping onto Tuk Tuk on their way up.
"A Nadder tells better jokes." Toothless mocked as time relapsed.
"A what?" The Spine Warrior didn't seem to understand what he was saying.
"Right." Toothless forgot where he was, considering there was no Nadder here. "Never mind."
The door was then smashed open, sending the Spine Warrior flying into the wall. The Ongis leap off of Tuk Tuk onto the Spine Warrior and tie him using some spare rope. The Spine Warrior is immediately subdued and gets tied up as the baby hisses.
Hiccup and Raya raise their swords to keep the Warrior still whilst the baby hissed from the top of Tuk Tuk. That seemed to get the Spine Warrior's attention as he saw the baby.
"A little one?" The Spine Warrior was surprised to see.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Toothless was happy to see they arrived. "Someone cut me down!"
"You see why we don't rush ahead?" Hiccup asked the two as he walked over and allowed Raya to hold the Warrior back. "This is why."
"Yeah, yeah." Toothless rolled his eyes as Hiccup cuts them down. "Let's just grab the Gem and get out of here."
"You guys know where to find it?" Raya asked them.
"We could just interrogate this guy," Toothless said as he gestured to the Spine Warrior. "Get him talking."
"Well, you better hurry it up," Boun warns them as he looked out the doorway.
"Why?" Raya wonders.
"Fang's here," Boun said as he gestured outside. "Along with someone else."
Raya and Hiccup became worried when they ran up to the kid and looked outside and saw he was right. Namarri and Krogan were indeed out there, seems his Singetail was still too injured for battle, and none of his men were with him, but a squad was with Namarri. That means they were ready to deal with them, but they weren't ready to deal with their dragons. Not saying they were going to throw them into the line of fire.
"People of Spine!" Namarri called out to the gate, which they closed on their way up. "We are hunting for Raya and a fugitive from outside our lands!"
"Oh, yay, looks like both of our enemies have teamed up." Hiccup said in sarcastic happiness.
"Bring them out or we will be coming in!" Namarri warned them.
That's when Toothless noticed there were no other Spine Warriors. "Wait, you're the only one here?!"
The Spine Warrior sighed and slumped back. "My people battled the Druun with much valor, but lost."
Raya was starting to feel a little sorry for him and sighed. That's also when she looks into Tong's cabin and spots... an empty crib. Seems Hiccup also spotted it as well and saw a small stuffed (if he had to guess) pink elephant and remembered a Deadly Nadder stuffed animal he had.
"Okay." Raya quickly came up with a plan as she walked over and handed the Dragon Gem bag to Hiccup. "The Fang Gang's here for me, but they don't know you're here. So if I distract them, then you guys can get out of here."
"You're going to fight Krogan, Namarri, and her army?" Hiccup wasn't so keen on that idea.
"No, I'm just gonna stall them," Raya assured her friend. "Look, I know how to push Namaari's buttons. Once you guys get out of the way, I'll get out."
"You might know Namarri, but you don't know Krogan." Hiccup replied.
"From what I can see, he's on a short leash," Raya commented, noticing the charge Namarri is taking. "Something tells me she hasn't bonded with me as we did." She then looked over to their group who need help. "And they need you more than me."
Hiccup had to agree Krogan wouldn't want to turn a nation against himself and looked to the group. They indeed needed someone who the two trusted to keep them safe. "Fine." He then took the bag and sighed. "Just don't die."
"Counting on it," Raya assured him and looked around. They still needed a way out and got an idea when she looked towards the Spine Warrior. Walking over and kneeling to face him, she sighed. "What's your name?"
"The moniker given to me is Tong." Tong introduced himself.
"Okay, Tong, look, you don't know me, and I don't know you. But I'm sure that you know a back door or way outta here and it's really important that my friends stay safe." Raya asks of him, hoping that he knows a way for them to escape. "Okay? So, I am sincerely asking you, will you help us? Please."
Tong listened to her pleas and nodded, confirming that he did know a way to escape. Toothless had to admit he didn't see that coming and couldn't help but notice the smile on Sisu.
"Alright, one instance it worked." Toothless admitted defeat. Slightly.
"I accept your apology," Sisu said with a smile.
"I never apologized." Toothless replied.
"Too late." Sisu proclaimed.
"Come on." Hiccup tells the two, Tong leading the way out of the hut. He however sticks behind as the others left and he sees Raya eye Namarri and Krogan. He looked back to Raya who was determined to keep them busy and allow them time to escape.
There was something Hiccup wanted to tell her, but he didn't know how to say it. In all fairness, he wasn't entirely sure if he understood what he felt, it had been so long. He saw Raya as a good friend, but does that mean he likes her as something more? Is it possible that he could like her as something more?
Not knowing what else to say, Hiccup went with whatever actually came to him. "Be careful."
Raya nodded as she looked at the people of Fang and back to Hiccup. "Get them to safety."
"You can count on me," Hiccup promised as he walked off, wondering if this was the right choice.
There was something Raya wanted to tell him, but she didn't exactly know how to say it either. She didn't exactly know what she felt as she's never experienced the feeling for anyone before. She saw Hiccup as a good friend, but does that mean that she likes him as something more? Is it possible that she could like him as something more?
She could worry about that later, as she needed to worry about Namarri and Krogan for right now. If she did have feelings for him, she would just have to live to tell him later.