Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon

"Fire!"

Javelin opened his eyes and rolled away from the cliff edge, ending his meditation handstand. He looked around for the flames, and found the smoke trailing from above. The dragons were flying in formation, each species group led by one of the rider pairs. With his gauntlet activated, he scaled the cliff in front of him. He quickly got to his feet and surveyed the damage.

Gobber's home was on fire. Or had been, as the flames were quickly doused. He circled the partially burnt building, looking for the village blacksmith. Fortunately, the man was unscathed and was talking with Stoick and Hiccup. "You pushed me too far this time, you ugly bag of bones!" the man yelled, shaking a hook towards the sky.

"Dad, what's he talking about?" Hiccup asked. "Our dragons don't do that anymore."

"Gobber, what are you going on about?" Javelin asked as he approached.

Stoick sighed. "Gobber, there is no such thing as a-"

"Boneknapper?!" the man half-shouted. Whatever it was, the village seemed to be tired of the claims. Before Javelin could ask again, he continued. "A disgusting, foul beast. Wearing a coat of stolen bones like a giant, flying skeleton."

Fishlegs saw this as the perfect time to speak up. "The Dragon Manual says that the Boneknapper will stop at nothing to find the perfect bone to build its coat of armor. It's awesome!"

The chief and some of the crowd scoffed. "Please, it's a myth. It doesn't exist."

"You thought I was a myth," Javelin pointed out.

"See? It's real, I tell you! He's been after me my whole life." Gobber gestured to his home. "He's the one who started the fire."

One Viking must have just come out from checking the interior damage. He was holding a stick, a pair of burnt undergarments on the end. "Stoick, we found Gobber's underpants by the stove. They must have started the fire."

Almost everyone laughed at Gobber; Javelin pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Ugh, you need me, you know where to find me." The soldier walked off towards his home.

A black form dropped from the sky and landed gracefully near the man, luminescent green eyes shining in the dark. "Sorry I got here late. What happened?"

Her brother looked back to Gobber. "Something in Gobber's house caught on fire. He's saying it was a dragon called the Boneknapper, but turns out it was pair of his underpants." Meanwhile, the blacksmith had gathered up some items and was walking towards the docks, a sheep alongside him. Now where's he going?

"Do you believe him?"

"What?"

"Do you believe what he said? This 'Boneknapper.'"

The half-human hesitated. "I... I don't know. I remember seeing it in their Dragon Manual. Too much detail for it to not exist." He looked away in thought.

"I know that look. Go ahead and join him."

"You sure? Yo-"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Now go. Hiccup and the others are getting their things," Twilight said, nudging her brother towards the docks.

Javelin resisted for naught. "Is there something going on here?" He looked at his brother-in-law to see a cross between worry and amusement on Toothless' face. Still being forced back by a female Night Fury, the soldier put two and two together. "Oooohhhh, I get it no-Aaaahhh!" His comment was interrupted by his screaming after Twilight gave a harsh push.

Fortunately, his claws were already out and he dug them into the cliff. He maneuvered himself onto the rock wall and chuckled. I wonder who'll be the more surprised: me or her?

"What are you hanging around there for?" Gobber asked from below. Probably saw the whole thing.

"Oh, the usual 'Twilight throwing me off cliffs' routine." Snotlout snickered. "Laugh it up, Snotlout. Hookfang does the same to you."

"So you're coming to help, right?" Hiccup ascertained.

"Yup. I want to see this thing for myself." Javelin climbed down halfway, then leaped off the side. He landed in front of the blacksmith and the teens. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Come on, you mangy dogs! Harder! Put your backs into it!" Gobber yelled from the rudder. All six of the teens were rowing the small boat, the oars moving sluggish wings in the water. Hiccup, Snotlout, and Fishlegs were on the starboard side; Astrid and the twins on the port side. Javelin perched himself on the mast, watching for dangers. "You're not even trying!"

"How fun is this, right?" Hiccup asked, trying to keep morale high. "We got the team back together, another adventure. This is pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah, nothing cooler than rowing until your hands bleed," Snotlout answered sarcastically. Javelin climbed down the mast and took a seat next to Phil, who was at the bow.

Gobber took the moment to speak again. "I just want you lot to know it touches my heart, you helping me slay the Boneknapper." He sniffed. "True Vikings, you are."

Javelin smiled. Ruffnut merely groaned, "Gobber, are we there yet?"

Fishlegs happily answered. "Oh, you'll know we're close when your ears explode from the piercing screams. Legend says this dragon's roar is so fierce, it can melt the flesh right off your bones!"

Before the soldier could comment, Gobber corrected the teenager. "Not so, Fishlegs. The Boneknapper has no roar at all. That's why he's terrifying. He's a silent killer."

"Have a blackout grenade go off in your face and he'll definitely be silent."

"Wait, so if we don't hear anything," Ruffnut concluded, "... we're dead?"

Everyone stayed silent after that, the only noise being the waves moving with the boat. No movement was made for several seconds, until Tuffnut broke it. "I don't hear anything," he said with a hint of boredom.

"BAAA!" Phil's bleating scared all of the teens, who jumped in fright. The adults were unaffected and laughed. "Good one, Phil," Gobber complimented. "Did I ever tell you about the first time I met the dreaded Boneknapper?"

Javelin was now leaning against the mast, arms crossed. "No, I don't think you have."

"Alrighty then. I was a young lad, about your age, on summer vacation with my family, when I heard the call of nature. I saw an army of Vikings, frozen in battle. Clutched in the fingers of one of the Vikings was a small treasure chest... I had to have it. I reached in and pulled out the chest... It was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. But the frozen Viking was still alive! He started punching me in the face! And there it was... I never even heard it coming... the Boneknapper! It crashed into the glacier, causing an avalanche of frozen Vikings! I reached into the water... only to find the frozen Viking punching me in the face again! The Boneknapper wanted that treasure... but I wanted it more!"

When he finished, most of the spectators had a skeptical look on their faces. "You expect us to believe that a frozen Viking punched you in the face?" Snotlout asked.

Gobber held up two fingers. "Yeah, twice."

Hiccup looked on the bright side. "Hey, it could happen. Right, Javelin?"

Javelin thought about it. "I... guess, but it'd extremely rare."

The blacksmith rolled his eyes. "What do you mean 'it could happen'? It did! But I outsmarted the silent beast."

"Um, Gobber, I hate to be a stickler for details," Fishlegs commented, "but Boneknappers are not silent."

"Fishlegs, I know what I didn't hear. But, I could feel it..." Javelin noticed the rocks passing by, as did Fishlegs. "I had a sixth sense for danger. I can smell anything..." Javelin saw the large rock ahead of the boat and ran to Gobber, who remained unaware. "... I could taste the oncoming doom!"

The boat slammed into the rock, knocking everyone off balance. Javelin got himself back up and looked ahead, Phil and Tuffnut at the front. The boy laughed at the damage. Astrid looked over the side, using Gobber's words. "Um, I'm tasting rocks."

The man didn't respond. Instead, he moved forward, looking around. "Ah... we're here."

Everyone got to the shore of the island and watched their boat sink. "Ugh. Now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and no one even knows where we are!" Ruffnut complained.

"We're not stuck here, Ruff. Javelin's here." Astrid looked at Javelin, followed by the twins and Hiccup.

The soldier knew what they were expecting. "I'm not that good, guys. Besides, I could only carry a few of you at a time." By now, just about everyone on Berk knew about Javelin's ability to change into a dragon and back. Part of the village often asked him for help with caring for their dragons, which he didn't mind. What he did mind, however, were the unimportant things. Fortunately, most of the dragons began doing their best to communicate without his help.

"No need to panic, kids. I've been shipwrecked many times!" Gobber sat down on a boulder and picked up a smooth rock. As he sharpened his hook prosthetic, he leaned back a bit in memory. "Ah, you never forget your first shipwreck..."

He spoke of his encounters, which quickly escalated everyone's annoyance, except for Fishlegs. Each story became more outrageous than the first. Javelin ignored the stories after the part about a hammerhead whale. He sat down and maintained his equipment. When everything checked out okay, he set to sharpening his own blades.

"You don't even have proof that that thing exists!" Tuffnut shouted over his sister and Snotlout.

Gobber threw his rock away and stood up. "Of course I have proof. I still have the treasure. This stunning belt buckle." He lifted his shirt to reveal his belt held together by a T-shaped bone the size of the blacksmith's palm. "It was in the viking's treasure chest. It's kept my pants up for years."

Fishlegs, interested in all sorts of stuff, stared at the buckle. "It is stunning."

Hiccup, at Astrid's silent request, decided to bring everyone back on track and to the reason they were there in the first place. "Um... listen, gobber. Instead of chasing down an imaginary dragon, maybe we should figure out how to get home?"

"Aye. I don't want waste several hours here sleeping with you here," Javelin said, still sharpening his knives.

"Say no more, I hear ya loud and clear. I've got a plan." Gobber stood up and pointed at the teens. "Alright, who'd like to be dragon bait?"

The teens moved away, minus Fishlegs and Phil. The sheep bleated and sidestepped away, leaving the large and now nervous boy as the only choice.

Using spare rope and dragon bones, the trap was set. Fishlegs was horribly disguised as Gobber and stood on a pile of dragon bones. Above him was a large rib cage, broken ribs pointing to the ground.

"Uh, Gobber?! You sure this is safe?!"

Gobber gave the boy a thumbs-up, then waved a dismissing hand. "Ah, safety's overrated." He returned to the others. "Okay, here's the plan." He pointed to each step. "The Boneknapper wants me, right? He comes down that trail, sees Fishlegs, thinks it's me, rushes Fishlegs, causing Phil to trip that rope, dropping that rib cage and then we rush in and finish him off once and for all!"

The teens looked the man in confusion, while Javelin did a facepalm. "This is not going to work," he muttered.

"Gobber, you are taking this way too far, okay? You need to face it. There is no such thing as the Boneknapper!"

"Wormsquat!" The man brushed his apprentice off and turned back to the bait. "Way to go Fishlegs, you're doing fine!"

Even as they hid, their noise level grew as they argued, defeating their purpose. Fishlegs was the only who saw it, but Javelin heard the rattling of bones over the teens. He looked over to see the Boneknapper sneaking up on them.

The dragon was large and covered in white, bony armor. It covered the majority of the pale green, almost white skin. Everyone turned around to see it as it rose above them, allowing Javelin to see the rib cage chest piece and neck guard, a small hole in the latter. Without his helmet on, the observant soldier had trouble discerning what was scale and what was armor on the wings. It growled loudly, staring at the group with slit, black pupils on pale green eyes. When it opened its bone white mouth to roar, only a voiceless squeak came out.

"RUN!" Gobber yelled, motioning for the teens to follow him to Fishlegs. As Javelin put his crimson helmet back on, the dragon behind him unleashed a stream of curling orange fire. It ran after them and swung its tail across the ground, sending bones and dirt into the air. The force blasted the group onto the bone pile.

The rope was released and the rib cage fell down. Javelin managed to roll out of the way before one bone crushed his previous position. He quickly got up and took cover. The Boneknapper unleashed another blast, the flames shooting past the group pressed against the bones. Seeing that his action was for naught, the dragon moved around and on top of the cage, seeking a clear way in.

As it searched, Hiccup saw the hole in the armor and recognized its shape. "It searches for the perfect bone to build its coat of armor. The treasure!" He turned to his mentor. "Gobber, take off your pants!"

"Huh?"

The other teens screamed, "NO!"

"Wait, listen to me. I think Fishlegs was right. The Boneknapper is supposed to have a roar. But maybe he can't because the bone he needs is your belt buckle." While Hiccup explained, said dragon pulled out one of the ribs and threw it away.

"Gobber, you have to give it back," Astrid said.

The blacksmith scoffed and stood up. "No way, it's mine." A toothy mouth grabbed his peg leg. "Uh oh." He was pulled out and shook around like a rag doll. Hiccup screamed for him to give the bone back. Gobber refused until he was thrown high into the air. "Nooo... oh, alright."

He ripped his buckle free and threw it at the dragon. It landed in the hole with a faint yellow glow, which the Boneknapper immediately felt. Ignoring its original target, it raised its body and shook its chest, getting used to its now complete armor.

Gobber landed in a small pile of bones, but stood up with no discernible injuries. The teens gave sighs of relief, but covered their ears as the dragon roared. For Hiccup and Javelin, it was a shout of relief and joy. The soldier could see the sound rippling through the air like a cone, stirring up dust.

He approached the man he had tracked down for many years. "Thank you for my final piece."

Gobber did not understand the Boneknapper's rumbles, of course and stood up, ready to receive his fate. "Alright. Make it fast." Instead of eating him in one bite, the dragon nuzzled him, pupils wide with happiness and thanks. Unfortunately, his pants fell down, forcing everyone to look away. The Boneknapper didn't care, and acted like a puppy as Gobber scratched his chin. "Aren't you cute? Yes, you are. Yes, you are."

They were now in the air, riding the Boneknapper. Phil was on his head, followed by Gobber and the rest of the group. "Ahh, it feels so good to finally talk!"

Hiccup and Javelin smiled and chuckled in joy. "He's really happy to have that bone back."

"Well, legend says the Boneknapper's roar is its mating call," Fishlegs pointed out.

At that, everyone heard several female dragon calls and looked behind them. Four more Boneknappers had joined them, following the one they were riding.

"Oh, boy," Javelin half-breathed.

Gobber ignored the other man. "Ha. Reckon Stoick will believe me now, eh?"

(AN) - Oh, sweet relief. To be honest, this was a little hard to write. Not that much room to work out of, trying to keep it short enough to be one whole chapter without leaving stuff out of the story, using the transcript... But at least I got it done.

Thank you Adipose and Keyblade for your reviews. Keyblade, I will be doing HTTYD 2, but I want to start on Riders first for some very good reasons.

Well, next chapter(s) will be what everyone has been waiting for. For now, I'll just torture you with a small spoiler; they're cute.

Hahahaha, have a good rest of the day, everyone.