"Trader Johann's here! Everybody, Trader Johann's here!"
Fishlegs Ingerman's excited voice pierced through the foggy din as the ship docked into port.
"Johann, Schmohann. That guy never lets me touch any of his cool stuff." Snotlout Jorgenson.
"Well, that's because, last time, you broke half of it," Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III told him.
"It's my word against his!" Snotlout retorted.
"Remind me to get him a leash," Zenna Fiersome whispered to Astrid Hofferson.
Trader Johann was all smiles as he stood to welcome his customers. "Ah, Berk! The crown jewel of the entire Archipelago!" he said, smiling.
"Over here, Trader Johann!" Fishlegs said excitedly. Johann chuckled and met the teens on deck. "Ooh, what did you bring today?" Fishlegs asked excitedly.
"Oh, many wondrous things, Mr. Fishlegs. Treasures from every coast and every shore, like the pearls of Dinja. Perfect for that special lady in your life." Trader Johann told him, holding up a gorgeous pair of pearl earrings. Snotlout looked at the earrings and grinned. If he gave Astrid a pair of those beauties, he'd have a girlfriend in no time!
"You know those could be yours, Astrid. Just say the word," he said suavely to the young Hofferson girl who merely said, "Yuck." And walked away.
"That's a word," Snotlout pointed out, being ignored.
"Ooh…rare medicinal herbs from Greece and China! The Greeks have revolutionized modern healing but the Chinese have a way with their herbal healing arts…" Zenna breathed out in awe, inhaling the rich, earthy scents coming from the chests filled with herbs from lands far away.
However, she backed away when she caught a whiff of opium. "But some herbs can harm as well as they can heal!" she remarked, backing away from the opium chest. While the teens looked around for any wares they could want and use, Gobber headed aboard Trader Johann's ship and looked around for anything useful for the smithy.
"Hmmm…nope, no…" the two-limbed blacksmith said, not finding anything useful.
"Ah, Mr. Gobber! What could I interest you in?" Trader Johann asked him politely. "Why don't you wow me, Johann? Knock me off my feet?" Gobber replied. "Put me to the test, huh? Okay…" Johann laughed nervously before Gobber spotted something good. "Hang on…what's under here?" he wondered out loud, walking over to a cloth-covered pile. Johann sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Oh, nothing too exciting. Just an old pile of…" before Gobber lifted the cloth up and unearthed the treasure.
"Scrap metal! It's perfect! I've run out of things to pound around here," Gobber said happily.
Tuffnut had also found something as well…and it was beautiful, in his eyes.
"Whoa…it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Tuffnut gushed just as Astrid and Zenna joined him. "It's just scrap metal," Astrid said, wondering what's gotten the male Thorston so excited.
"No! I'm talking about this mace!" Tuffnut said, running in slow motion towards a large mace propped up in a corner next to the pile of scrap metal.
"Oh, dear…Looks like I'll have to postpone Operation: Hook up Tuffnut with Olga for a while…" Zenna murmured as Tuffnut held the weapon and admired it.
"Whoa…Hey, mace. You wanna come home with me, don't you? Yes I do, Tuffnut! I wanna needlessly destroy other people's property with you! Oh, Macey, you get me!" Tuffnut said alternating his real voice with his generic girl voice to make it like the mace was talking to him.
Astrid could only frown while Zenna shook her head and sighed, "I hope Olga has a thing for adrenaline junkies that fall in love with maces and name them at first sight…"
Trader Johann chose to ignore Tuffnut's eccentricities and focused on Gobber eyeing the pile of scrap metal. "I see you are a gentleman that recognizes quality when he sees it. This is the finest metal from the furthest reaches of the Archipelago!" he told Gobber as the blacksmith tested the metal by biting on a sword.
"I'll take it all," Gobber said, eager to do some magic on the precious scrap. "Excellent! Always a pleasure, Mr. Gobber," Johann said happily.
Toothless and Stryka, Hiccup and Zenna's Night Furies, had also boarded the ship and were sniffing about for some food they could snap up. When the sniffed Gobber's pile of scrap metal, however, they caught a whiff of something bad and growled. But before they could give their Riders or Johann a heads-up, Toothless and Stryka were startled by the crashes from behind them. Johann turned around and gasped as he stared at the pile of ruined merchandise.
And, of course, Snotlout just so conveniently happened to be in the middle of the wreckage.
"Wasn't me," the Jorgenson boy said, putting his hands behind his back, making his escape. "Ooh…I really hate that kid," Trader Johann scowled.
Hiccup was just about to leave when he heard his old mentor grunting as he struggled to lift the pile of scrap metal up. "Hiccup, think you could spare a hook, son?" the two-limbed blacksmith asked. "Not a problem, Gobber. Hey, guys?" Hiccup said, turning to his friends.
"We're on it, Hicc!" Zenna grinned as she and the other Riders mounted their dragons.
"Let's do this, Macey!" Tuffnut said, holding up his newly-purchased mace. Snotlout had just gotten on Hookfang when Gobber suddenly pulled him off the Monstrous Nightmare's back. "Not so fast, you. I paid good money for this scrap. I'll not have you dropping it into the ocean," he told the Jorgenson boy who merely scowled.
Astrid, Fishlegs and the Twins were the ones who, in the end, carried the pile of scrap metal to the blacksmith's shop. Toothless and Stryka, still sensing trouble, growled. There was more to that pile of scrap metal than just scrap metal…and they could feel it.
That night the village was looted of its metal…by a mysterious fog…
Hiccup and Toothless were always early risers and were just taking an early stroll to stretch their muscles when they heard a commotion in the town plaza.
"I had those ladles when I went to sleep and, now, they're gone!" one Viking woman said. "My grandmother's goblets, gone!" a Viking man exclaimed as well.
"Uh…Okay…what did we just walk into?" Hiccup wondered out loud, Toothless growling in confusion. As they walked, the two best friends heard the villagers' laments.
"My favorite milk jars, gone!" one blond Viking wailed as Hiccup found his friends. "Wh-what is going on here?" Hiccup asked them, hoping for an explanation.
"Ah, a bunch of stuff got stolen from the village last night," Snotlout informed him. "And some of us are taking it pretty hard," Astrid said, gesturing to Tuffnut.
The poor male Thorston twin was absolutely heartbroken for his beloved Macey, the most awesome and deadliest weapon he had ever laid eyes on, had been one of the items stolen last night.
"Macey! MACEY! Oh golly, she's gone! NOOOOO!" Tuffnut howled in despair. After lamenting the loss of his mace, Tuffnut pointed an accusing finger at Ruffnut.
"You! You were always jealous of her! You knew that I loved her more because I told you every so often and I wrote it in your room on the wall!" he accused her.
While Ruffnut began to deny that she had stolen Macey, the rest of the gang could only watch in confusion until Stoick came.
"We have quite a situation on our hands. Axes, shields, helmets, drinking goblets, all stolen!" the Chief said to his son seriously.
"Axes, shields, helmets, drinking goblets…? What do all those things have in common…?" Hiccup murmured, thoughtfully putting a hand to his chin. "Obviously, duh, they're all gone!" Snotlout said, banging his fist against his helmet. "No, they're metal. And everything that's missing is metal," Hiccup corrected him. "Hiccup, everything we own is metal," Astrid reminded him. "I-It's a theory. Work with me," Hiccup said while listening to Tuffnut's lamenting.
"Whatever's going on, I need to find whoever is responsible before this panic gets any worse," Stoick said grimly just as Gobber, Edgar and Henna rushed over to him.
"Our swords, maces and shields have disappeared!" Edgar reported to the Chief.
"Stoick, Bucket and Mulch are slapping each other with sturgeons!" Gobber said, pointing to the two farmer/fishermen slapping themselves silly with fish as the sun rose.
"What happened to their bludgeons?" Stoick asked.
"Stolen, hence the sturgeon," Gobber replied.
"In some ways, I guess that's probably better," Stoick remarked, watching the two slap each other senseless.
Hiccup then spoke up.
"Ah, Dad, what do you say you take care of the sturgeon slapping while Astrid and I do a little investigating?" he suggested, his father nodding.
"Investigating? What exactly are you planning, Hiccup?" Astrid asked her boyfriend.
"To return to the scenes of the crimes and see if we can find out something about this metal thief," Hiccup replied before hearing Tuffnut wailing, "I miss her! She had such a weird voice!"
Then Henna went over to Hiccup and gently patted his shoulder. "Hiccup, my dear, if it's not any trouble, can you come with me to my house? Zenna's in need of comfort," she said softly. Hiccup immediately grew concerned and asked, "Why? What's wrong with her?"
Zenna could only stare at her reflection in the mirror in her room, her hand reaching up to her chest to touch the spot where her lucky pendant usually rested against her skin. She could hardly believe her own one eye that her pendant, Eret's pendant, had been stolen from her so easily. And, without the familiar silver trinket, she felt…
"Zen, you coming out?"
Zenna groaned as she heard Hiccup's voice from the other side of her door. "No! I can't! I'm naked!" she said in despair. "Oh, hush now, Zenna. You're fully clothed the last time I checked!" Aurora chided her sister, opening the door.
"But without my lucky pendant, I feel naked!" Zenna said dramatically, covering her chest with her pillow. Hiccup slightly smiled and shook his head.
"Zen, I promise that we will do whatever it takes to get your lucky pendant back. You wanna help me and Astrid investigate the crime scenes?" he offered helpfully. Thinking about it for a few minutes, Zenna readied her battle sticks and Elias' shield.
"Let's go. And if I see that no-good pendant thief…I'll make sure his sticky fingers never touch anything ever again!" she declared. Henna sighed and smiled in amusement as her daughters left the house with Hiccup.
The first place they investigated was the forge. "Gobber, can you remember who's been here the last couple of days?" Hiccup asked the old blacksmith.
"Hard to say. Business has been booming. There's only 41 shopping days till Snoggletog, you know. Don't wait until the last minute," Gobber replied, scratching his head. Toothless and Stryka were not idle and sniffed around the place as well.
"Hmmm…no footprints," Hiccup said, noticing the lack of footprints coming and going out of the forge.
"This metal thief won't get the best of me. I've set up booby traps that are guaranteed to nab…" Gobber said before, ironically, he set off one of his own traps.
"What's the matter?" Astrid asked.
"I think…yep, he just stepped into one of his own booby traps…" Zenna observed, seeing Gobber freeze up. "It would appear that I've trapped myself in my own booby…" Gobber said in a low voice.
And, incidentally, the trap Gobber had trapped himself in had at least seven crossbows aiming arrows at him from all angles!
"No one move a muscle…!" Gobber hissed to the three teens and two Night Furies, who could only look at each other in what seemed like pity for the blacksmith.
The next crime scene they investigated was at the Thorstons. Tuffnut showed to them a little niche he had made for his beloved Macey, all decorated in flowers and pointy objects. "This is where Macey was before her…disappearance. Quote, unquote," Tuffnut said darkly before looking at Ruffnut accusingly.
"I didn't take your stupid mace!" Ruffnut glared at her brother.
"You made her…an altar?" Zenna raised an eyebrow at Tuffnut, somewhat concerned if the male Thorston was sane or not-so-sane.
"It was her favorite spot. She…just loved watching the sun set…or this wall, just depending on which side I left her on…" Tuffnut sighed, still in mourning.
"It's never too late to get back to wooing Olga…I heard she has a thing for guys with maces…" Zenna offered helpfully, still hoping that Tuffnut would forego his silly infatuation with a mace and go for a…real, living, breathing girl.
Astrid went over to Hiccup and said, "This is weird." To which the one-legged boy replied, "Yeah, e-even for the Twins."
"Hey, leave me out of this one!" Ruffnut told the two crossly. "Sorry, Ruff…" Zenna said apologetically. Hiccup then inspected the doors.
"Strange…no forced entry…not a single footprint…" he mused.
"And no eyewitnesses," Astrid added.
"I just don't get it," Hiccup shrugged.
"Me neither," Zenna said, turning up with nothing.
"I do. It's so obvious. And you call yourselves detectives," Ruffnut said plainly. "Uh, first of all, no, we don't call ourselves detectives. Ah, and second, what's so obvious?" Hiccup questioned her. Ruffnut beckoned the trio closer.
"What you're looking for is not just a metal thief. It's a ghost metal thief," Ruffnut told them smugly.
"Ruff, as much as I am a believer in the strange and supernatural, I highly doubt that a ghost can steal metal," Zenna said, folding her arms across her chest.
And Hiccup didn't fail to notice how her face saddened when she couldn't feel the cool silver of her lucky pendant against her chest.
Exiting the Thorstons' house, Hiccup, Astrid and Zenna looked at each other.
"Well, that was helpful…as usual," Hiccup deadpanned. Seeing that the sun was about to set, Astrid mounted Stormfly.
"It's getting late. We'll start again in the morning," she said. "Hopefully, we'll have better luck tomorrow," Zenna sighed as the three of them flew home.
That night, however, the mysterious fog came again. And, with it, more metal objects were stolen. At the Fiersomes, the fog crept its way into Aurora and Zenna's room.
Shadow and Stryka woke up firs before Aurora was suddenly snatched from the back by her shield and sword! "Wah!" she screamed alerting her family.
"Aurora!" Zenna called.
"Gah! Shadow!" Aurora called. Her Dramillion father and Stryka launched into the fray! "Shadow! Zenna!"
"We got you sis." Zenna said as she and Shadow reached out and Aurora grabbed the two of them as they pulled her out of the fog. Edgar and Henna then entered the room, "What in the name of-?!" Edgar exclaimed as Stryka flapped her wings and revealed small dragons!
"Smothering Smokebreaths!" Henna gasped in awe.
These Mystery Class dragons, although only as big as Terrible Terrors, were notorious in a pack and breathed out this smoky fog that allows them to be safely shrouded in the darkness. Also, they used metal to build their protective nests…and it looks like they chose Berk to do some nest material shopping.
One of them tried to take their family shield portrait but Aurora grabbed it, "No! Get your hands off that!" Aurora said, wrenching the helmet out of the dragon's claws before she was once again grabbed by her shield and sword. "Not again!" she cried.
Shadow fired a magnesium blast forcing the Smokebreaths away and a plasma blast from Stryka was what it finally took for the Smothering Smokebreaths to leave.
"Well, looks like we found our thief." Edgar grumbled.
"Smothering Smokebreaths…I should have known they'd be the only ones who would need to steal all that metal!" Zenna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Let's just hope they haven't melted down any of the metal they stole…" Henna chimed in
"Yep, hoping…" Zenna agreed with him, praying that her lucky silver pendant was still out there…
The next morning, almost all the townspeople only had mere wooden handles instead of axes and maces. Stoick walked around the village, listening to his people complain about the lack of metal and ponder on what he could do. Meanwhile, a helmet-less Fishlegs, a helmet-less Snotlout and a shoulder pad-less Astrid saw each other.
"Huh, the thief hit you guys too?" Fishlegs asked, rubbing his somewhat mussed-up blond hair.
"I feel naked without my helmet!" Snotlout complained as the equally helmet-less Twins showed up. "Me, too! But, I made a sketch of the thief. It came to me in a dream. You see, my subconscious is working overtime like a sports team can't win (let's not even ask how Tuffnut knows about sports team now, shall we?)," Tuffnut said, showing them a sketch…of himself.
"Um, Tuffnut, that's you," Astrid informed the male Thorston. "No, it's not," Tuffnut replied. "Uh, yes, it is," Fishlegs pointed out.
"No, it isn't. I think I would know myself if I…" Tuffnut said before noticing that his sketch did look a lot like him.
"Huh…I guess it is," he said, admitting that Astrid and Fishlegs were right.
That's when Hiccup and Zenna flew into the plaza on Toothless and Stryka. "Hey, guys, Zenna and I know who the thief is or, should I say, Zenna and I know who our thieves are?" Hiccup announced. "Thieves, plural, please," Zenna requested.
"Adolescent Smokebreath dragons," Hiccup said. Fishlegs' eyes widened.
"Of course! Smokebreaths steal metal to build their nests," he said.
"But why would Smokebreaths be on Berk?" Stoick asked the team.
"Chief, coming in for the big win! Smothering Smokebreaths don't usually stray far from their home on Breakneck Bog," Fishlegs said.
"That's the part Zenna and I are still unclear about," Hiccup mumbled.
"It's odd for Smothering Smokebreaths to suddenly decide to head here…" Zenna remarked, thoughtfully tapping her cheek.
"I'VE BEEN ROBBED!"
Everyone then saw Gobber half-running, half-limping towards them.
"The thief evaded my booby traps and took all the metal I bought from Trader Johann! Left me with nary a scrap of…eh…scrap!" Gobber exclaimed. Something in Gobber's words suddenly gave Hiccup an idea. Turning to his father, Hiccup's face became serious.
"Dad, I think I might know how the Smokebreaths got here."
They found him in the Great Hall, regaling people with another one of his grand tales.
"That's when I said, 'What's for dinner?' and the Chief of the Moyori Tribe licked his lips and said, 'You are!'. Haha!" Johann laughed, waving his chicken leg in the air while the two Vikings he had been telling the story to both paled while Edgar and Henna merely gave him bored looks. "You are! My first mate would have been his first course, ha!" Johann laughed before seeing Hiccup, Stoick, Toothless, Zenna and Stryka approach him.
"Ah, Master Hiccup and Lady Zenna and the great Chief! To what do I owe this pleasure?" the trader asked warmly. "Well, Johann, uh…we were wondering where you may have gotten that scrap metal you sold Gobber?" Hiccup asked carefully. "Unfortunately, old friends, I can't possibly reveal my sources," Johann said apologetically.
"Great…" Zenna said, rolling her eye, while Stoick glared at Trader Johann.
"But, of course, there are times when it's best to share!" Johann said quickly, fearing Stoick the Vast's wrath. "I procured it from a Berserker who was offering at a price I could not refuse. He had just come from an island that we both fully fear…" Johann said nervously.
"Breakneck Bog!" Hiccup and Zenna both said, their suspicions confirmed. "You didn't hear that from me," Trader Johann said meekly.
"If that scrap metal came from Breakneck Bog…Oh, boy…" Zenna mumbled, seeing the bigger picture.
"Oh, well, that wasn't just a pile of scrap metal, Johann. That was a Smokebreath nest with hatchlings inside it!" Hiccup informed the trader. Realizing the mistake he had made, Johann weakly laughed.
"Oh…Well, that's unfortunate news," he chuckled slightly, receiving a glare from Stoick as he, Hiccup and Zenna left. Toothless and Stryka both snarled at him in annoyance and left, Toothless' tail flicking Johann's chicken leg onto the table. "No need to thank me! Now, back to our story…" Johann called after them and sat back down.
"Ah…now where was I? Ah, yes! The first course…" As Johann talked, the Vikings who had been listening to his tale left along with Henna and Edgar.
Walking down the steps of the Great Hall, Hiccup, Zenna and Stoick discussed the present situation. "Well that answers how the Smokebreaths got here," Hiccup remarked to his father.
"Now if we can only find a way to drive them out of town…Also, I really want to wear my pendant again. Oh…I hope those Smokebreaths haven't melted it down…" Zenna said worriedly.
"Why not just get a new one, Zen?" Hiccup asked. Zenna sighed and looked at the spot where her pendant usually was.
"Sorry, Hicc, but that pendant…It…it has a lot of sentimental value…I can't just replace it…" she said softly.
Again, Hiccup remembered what Johann told him about the rumors of a boy who had given Zenna the pendant. If he only knew who the boy was, Hiccup could go find him and ask him if he had another pendant to spare for Zenna. Also, he would like to know the boy better. And, if he passed his inspection, Hiccup would allow that mysterious boy to date Zenna, his dear surrogate sister.
Walking through the plaza, Hiccup, Zenna and Stoick could see that things were looking rather bleak for Berk without the metal. Carts collapsed because their wheels no longer had screws, buckets cannot be lifted and benches were destroyed the minute a Viking sat down.
"Gobber, what's the latest?" Stoick asked as the old blacksmith joined them. "Just as I'd feared, Stoick. Almost no metal weapon in all of Berk," Gobber reported.
"And what of the armory?" Stoick asked. "Eh, let's just say the armory axe handles outnumber the axes. Oh, and, then, there's this," Gobber said, going over to a catapult. One tap from Gobber's hook and the whole thing fell apart!
Zenna whistled a long low whistle, looking at the remains of the catapult. Stryka gave a disgruntled warble. "Without weapons, Berk is vulnerable," Stoick said grimly as Hiccup came to him with Toothless. "Dad, we still got the dragons," Hiccup piped up.
"And Dagur has an armada. Six dragons are no match for a large-scale attack," Stoick retorted before leaving to survey the rest of the damage.
"Ahem, you haven't forgotten about my hundreds of dragons plus two Sabertooths, right?" Aurora deadpanned.
Stoick sighed, knowing she had a point.
Assembling all the other Dragon Riders, Hiccup paced the floor of the Berk Dragon Training Academy.
"We have to find that missing metal, expecially the weapons," he told his friends seriously.
"And my pendant!" Zenna piped up, earning stares from the group. "What? I'm trying to stay calm but, without it, I am freaking the heck out!" Zenna exclaimed in exasperation before Hiccup calmed her down.
"Oh…Macey must be so alone and scared out there! It's hard out there for a mace…Oh, Macey…" Tuffnut said, putting his face in his hands. "Maybe the Smokebreaths took the metal back to Breakneck Bog," Astrid guessed. Fishlegs had been reading the Smothering Smokebreaths section of the Book of Dragons and said,
"I don't think so. Smokebreaths can't fly long distances carrying a lot of weight."
That's when Ruffnut noticed something about Snotlout…His helmet, to be exact.
"Hey, Snotlout, how'd you get your helmet back?" the female Thorston asked. "Hehe, it's my spare. A real warrior is never without his helmet," the Jorgenson boy said proudly.
"Can't say the same for his brain," Astrid said, rolling her eyes. "What is it with you today? You are so…Aah!" Snotlout yelped as Stormfly fired a single spine at him, missing his head and scratching his helmet instead.
"Hey!" Snotlout fumed while Astrid patted Stormfly with a smug smirk.
"Break it up, you two," Zenna said sternly, stroking Stryka's head.
"Snotlout, come on, please focus," Hiccup told his cousin, annoyed. "Come on, really?" Snotlout asked before glaring at Astrid as Stormfly shot another spine at his helmet.
"If the Smokebreaths didn't take the metal back to Breakneck Bog, they must have started building a nest somewhere here on Berk," Hiccup said.
"Awesome!" Tuffnut suddenly exclaimed, his friends looking at him strangely.
"Tuffnut…" Zenna sighed, shaking her head. "Not awesome?" the male Thorston said meekly.
"Definitely not awesome. How are we gonna find them? They could be anywhere," Astrid said, looking to Hiccup.
"I might know someone who can help us with this." Aurora smirked.
"Who?" Hiccup asked and Aurora whistled and called, "Scrap, I need you bud."
"Scrap?" the riders asked and everyone saw a large dragon that had a tan-coloured head similar to that of a Monstrous Nightmare, as noted by its under-bite, nasal horn between two large nostrils, bulging yellow eyes and a pair of twisted horns. "Woah... what is that thing!" Fishlegs gasped.
The dragon cooed and Aurora rubbed him on the head, "This is Scrap, my Armorwing Dragon."
"Armorwing Dragon? How is he going to help us?" Snotlout scoffed.
"Armorwing dragons collect metal, but they do it to protect themselves cause they don't have scales like other dragons, so Scrap here is trained to smell any traces of metal. So..." Aurora trailed.
"He can track the metal the Smokebreaths took to their nest on Berk! Aurora, you're a genius!" Zenna cheered.
Aurora smirked happily.
That night...
The riders had Scrap sniffed the areas where they metal had went missing. With his sense of smell, Scrap roared before he flew into the night sky, "He's got the scent, come on." Aurora called and she and the others flew off after Scrap. The Armorwing tracked the metal scent like a highly trained service dog deep into the forest near Berk. Scrap stopped and hovered over an area and roared. "This is the place." Scrap said to Aurora.
"Right.. let's see." Aurora then used her echolocation to reveal the mounds of metal piled high up in the trees! "The Smokebreaths' nest…" Hiccup breathed out. "Holy Shields…" Zenna mumbled as the Smokebreaths returned. They welded all the metal they had pilfered from Berk into one large molten mass, which cooled and hardened to fortify the nest.
"Good boy Scrap, good boy..." Aurora cooed, rubbing Scrap on the head.
"Okay…we need to break this apart and get it back to the village," Hiccup told Toothless, Zenna and Stryka urgently.
"Zenna!" "Sweetheart!"
The group turned and saw Edgar and Henna on Serpent and Serpentine. "Mom, Dad, what is it?" Zenna asked.
"We just spotted something on the horizon. Something that may be a bit bigger problem than the Smokebreaths," Edgar reported grimly.
The group was looked confused until they looked at each other. As if by magic, they instantly figured out what Edgar and Henna was saying.
On the horizon, not far from Berk, Berserker ships were sailing through the sea. Dagur the Deranged, Chief of the Berserker Tribe smiled as he gripped his axe.
"Who would have thought those pesky little scavengers could bring Berk to its knees?" he asked rhetorically.
"Actually, I did! If you recall, it was my idea," Savage said before he had Dagur's axe pressed to his throat.
"Although, now that I think about it, I probably stole it from you!" Savage said quickly. Dagur removed his axe and looked out over the horizon as Berk came into view.
"With no weapons and just a handful of dragons, Berk will be no match for the might of Dagur and his Berserker armada!" Dagur said, cracking his neck.
"Pucker up, Hiccup, because you're about to kiss my boots." the deranged lunatic snickered.
The dawn was breaking by the time the Riders spotted the Berserker fleet headed their way. "Yep, this is definitely turning out to be a way bigger problem," Zenna remarked while Hiccup looked through his spyglass.
"What? Is this guy like the King of Armadas? Does he ever go anywhere without one?" Hiccup asked in disbelief upon seeing that they were vastly outnumbered.
"It's like he knew we were gonna be defenseless," Astrid said, narrowing her eyes.
"He did," Hiccup told her. "Johann told us that he got the scrap metal from a Berserker. Dagur had set him up," Zenna informed her parents as they went to rally the villagers.
If there was going to be a fight with the Berserkers, they were going to fight it – with or without weapons.
Once the villagers had assembled, Hiccup explained the situation. "Trader Johann said he bought the scrap metal from a Berserker," Hiccup began. "And it was from Breakneck Bog," Fishlegs continued.
"Dagur planted those dragons. He knew what they wanted to do," Astrid told the villagers.
"And he knew that, once Berk was weaponless, he and his armada could set sail and strike us when we're at our weakest," Zenna concluded, to the astonishment of the villagers.
Stoick then stepped forward.
"Hiccup, you and Zenna found the Smokebreath nest. You and the other Riders go to it and get our weapons," he ordered. "They'll be protecting it by now. We don't have enough time to fight the Smokebreaths and get back here before Dagur attacks," Hiccup said worriedly.
"Then I say we head out there and blast those Berserkers with what we've got!" Snotlout suggested.
"Even with our dragons, the seven of us won't be able to take out those ships alone," Hiccup reasoned with his cousin.
"Then let me and my dragons handle Dagur and his armada." Aurora volenteered.
"Aurora-" Hiccup started but Aurora cut him off.
"Hiccup, you know that I have more dragon friends than you guys and they're more than capable of taking on Dagur and his armada. Scrap, Bolt and Blitz can help you get the metal back while Viggo, Venom, Rosthorn, Shadow, Melody, Flare, Blase, Skyspike and Skydancer take on Dagur and his Beserkers. End of discussion. Let's move people!" Aurora snapped and she and respective former hunter and dragons flew off towards Dagur's armada.
"Well, you heard the girl, let's go!" Zenna said. Scarp, Bolt and Blitz, roared and he flew off and the others followed him to the Smokebreaths nest.
Aurora and her friends flew off and saw Dagur's army. "Dagur's fleet upahead, Enage everyone." Aurora called and the dragons fired at the ships.
"Venom, tail grab!" Viggo called and his Triple Stryke grabbed three Beserkers and flung them into the ocean.
Skyspike and Skydancer fired their magnesium blasts and their spines at the same time, leaving flaming spines in the ships.
Flare and Blaze flamed up and launched fireballs at the armada, forcing some men to leap overboard.
Melody used her amber to trap some of the Berserkers and flicked them with her tail into the ocean, "Suckers.." she giggled.
Rosethorn roared as she unleashed her fire on all of the ships and Shadow added to the flames with his own Triple Stryke fire.
Aurora decided to finish them off with her plasma blast. She concentrated and built up power and she unleashed it into the waters, creating a large wave that washed them away.
"Alright Aurora!" Shadow cheered happily.
"That's the way!" Flare added.
"Thanks guys, now let's go back.." Aurora said and she and the others flew back to Berk, leaving Dagur floating on a piece of wood. "Ooooh, I'll get that girl one day.." he hissed.
Back on Berk, all was right as rain.
With the help of Scrap, Bolt and Blitz, the group was able to take back all the metal stolen from the village.
Tuffnut, in particular, was very happy to see his beloved mace. "Oh, Macey, let's never be apart ever again! Life is an empty void without your spiky face! Oh, I missed you too, Tuffnut! And I miss the sunsets with you, Macey. Oh, the sunsets…" Tuffnut gushed.
"When, oh, when can I be his wing woman?" Zenna sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.
Edgar and Henna smiled as Aurora and her friend landed beside them. "Well done Aurora." Edgar praised.
"You gave Dagur a real Fiersome greeting." Henna chuckled.
"Thanks." Aurora said. "Now to get the tiny dragons back to their home."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Edgar chuckled.
"Ah, I think I know someone who should be happy to help us," Hiccup smiled.
Trader Johann gulped as the swirling, foggy mass of Smothering Smokebreaths neared his ship. The Riders then deposited the scrap metal on deck, much to his dismay.
"But, Master Hiccup and Lady Zenna and Aurora, this can't be the only solution!" he said nervously.
"Think of the story you'll have to tell! Next stop: Breakneck Bog!" Hiccup and Zenna called after him as Johann's ship set sail. Aurora chuckled as the Smokebreaths tried stealing some of Johanns' thing, much to his displeasure.
"No, get your claws off of that!"
"No that's not for you!"