PIPER
Hiccup left them to talk for a minute.
"What do you think of Hiccup?" asked Piper.
"I don't trust him," said Jason and Percy.
"But he saved our life," reminded Hazel.
"But," cut in Percy, "we wouldn't have been staying here if someone-" he glared pointedly at Leo, who shrugged indifferently. "-sank our ship in the bloody first place!"
"But I still don't trust him. He may or may not be part of Gaia's armies. Oh, and Percy, can you make a scabbard? To make no-one suspicious of your sword. Pretend Ana... Anaklusmos is a normal sword."
"Riptide glows," came the reply. "Do you think that's normal?" But when Annabeth glared at him, and Percy shrugged and said, "Fine. Get me some rope."
"Let's keep watch of him," said Annabeth. "And I still don't understand this - and I'm the daughter of Athena - how can Vikings still be alive? They died out one thousand years ago. Why are they still here?"
HICCUP
Hiccup knew he was going to be in serious trouble when he saw Astrid and Stormfly.
Percy was seated behind him, gazing back at the Argo II, which had been taken care of. When the Vikings saw the boat, they were going to take it to the docks. On Hiccup's left side, Frank the huge Stormcutter (Hiccup had helped him transform by describing one) had Piper, Annabeth, Leo (who kept on whooping "YEAH!"), Jason and Hazel on his back. They were very close to the village right now, but then just as they were about to land, he saw Astrid in the distance, who seemed to be looking for him.
"Hey Hiccup," she smirked.
"Good day, m'lady."
Percy whispered from behind him, "Who's that?"
Hiccup whispered back, "I'll tell you later."
Astrid glanced at Percy, and the rest of the Seven, and on Frank the Stormcutter. "Hiccup, who are these people?" she asked. "And how did you get a Stormcutter? Is that Cloudjumper?"
"No!" replied Hiccup. "We just... found him... in the forest. Yeah, the forest! And we trained him."
Percy nodded encouragingly. "That is exactly what happened."
"Okay," said Astrid. Turning back to Hiccup, she grinned and said, "but you are in trouble young man. You were missing overnight. Your mother was looking for you everywhere! Me, I wasn't particularly worried. I knew you were going to show up somehow. There was going to be a search party after lunch."
"Wait - what?" said Hiccup. "Can you tell them to call it off? I'm back! Tell my mum we got special guests."
"Sure." Astrid flew close to Hiccup and kissed him on the cheek, then flew away. Leo smirked. "Is that your girlfriend?"
"Uh-huh," nodded Hiccup. "Astrid Hofferson - my girlfriend, my bodyguard-"
"Bodyguard?" Leo was laughing at that.
"She appointed herself as the Official Bodyguard of the Chief. Anyway, she's a warrior, a dragon rider, and she also worries about me sometimes when I do something she classifies as stupid. She's my girlfriend."
"Sound familiar, Annabeth?" Percy grinned. Annabeth brushed her blonde hair away from her face and blushed. "Maybe... 49% of me, I guess."
"Hiccup and Astrid sitting in a tree," sang Leo. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."
"Leo, shut up," snapped Piper.
"Leo, please don't sing that," sighed Hiccup. It's just the perfect time for more people to joke about me and Astrid. Yay! Hiccup thought sarcastically.
"Okay. Jason and Piper sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."
"Leo!"
"You told me to shut up about Hiccup and Astrid," said Leo. "So I did, and I sang about you and Jason...
"Then don't sing about us!"
Leo opened his mouth, perhaps maybe to sing about another couple, when Percy and Annabeth said in unison, "No. Not going to happen." Hazel may have noticed it too, because she said, "Frank will throw you off his back if you do it. Will you, Frank?"
Frank growled in reply.
Percy was holding Hiccup's shoulders really tight. "Ahhhhhh... Help me..." then he cupped his hands in prayer and said, "Zeus, or Jupiter, whoever is hearing me, please do not blast me out of the sky."
"Why would Zeus do that?" asked Hiccup. "And please don't hold
"Because my dad and his dad are rivals," explained Jason. "They're brothers, but they're still rivals."
"And Zeus has spared me like one million times already," joked Percy. "So, yeah, don't blast me, please?"
The sky gave no answer.
"Or maybe Jupiter is still fighting Zeus," Hiccup heard Jason mutter.
"What do you mean?" queried Hiccup.
"Well... it's a bit too complicated, and then we have to tell you a huge story... oh looky, are we here?" Jason pointed to the Great Hall.
"Yes," replied Hiccup, "but let's go behind my house, you know, so Frank can change back to human without being seen."
Hiccup had the feeling Jason didn't want to tell the story, so he stopped prying.
They landed down to behind the Chief's Hut, where Frank let everyone off his back and turned to human.
Percy said, "Thank the gods that you didn't blast me out of the sky, Zeus! Jupiter, whatever."
"Man, you people are a heavy bunch," Frank grunted, rubbing his back.
"Dude, I loved it!" smirked Leo. "Let's do it again!"
"I will never carry you ever again, Valdez."
"Come on," said Hiccup. "We're late for lunch."
They reached the Great Hall, where the whole Viking Tribe was in eating lunch, and it seemed like Hiccup, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank and Hazel were the last to arrive. Hiccup turned to his new friends. "Are you hungry?"
Leo rubbed his stomach. "Holy Hephaestus, my stomach is screaming FOOD in my ear. What's for lunch? Chicken nuggets is a choice."
"I'm hungry too," agreed Percy. "My stomach is screaming cheeseburgers, fries and blue Cherry Coke."
"How can Cherry Coke be blue?" asked Hazel.
"My mum started the trend," grinned Percy. "When we get back, I'll explain. I'll introduce you."
"Er," stammered Hiccup. "Sorry to disappoint you guys, but we don't have cheeseburgers, fries, chicken nuggets or Cherry Coke. Um, I don't even know what they are."
The whole seven demigods gaped. What are the kinds of food they eat... demigod food? thought Hiccup. I'm not a demigod, so how am I supposed to know? Do they eat the food and drink the drink of the gods?
"Do you have a McDonald's here?" asked Percy.
"No. And what is a McDonald's?" What are McDonald's? I don't know why, but he sounds like a farmer.
"NOOOOO!" Then Annabeth giggled and said. "Seaweed Brain." Then she turned to Hiccup and asked, "What do you eat here?"
"Well, we eat mainly fish, chicken and yak," replied Hiccup.
Percy stopped complaining about no 'McDonald's.' "You eat yak?"
"You drink blue Cherry Coke," reminded Annabeth.
"Can I go with chicken?" asked Percy. "Deep-fried chicken drumsticks, please?"
"Ah, come on," said Hiccup. "You'll see our choices of food later on. We Vikings eat and drink well, so I don't think they'll notice us. Come."
Hiccup and the Seven made their way past the tables of Vikings, some saying, "Hey, Hiccup!" "Hiccup, where in Valhalla were you?"
Toothless purred as if to say, Yes. Hiccup was a naughty boy. I saved the day.
Hiccup ignored them (and the Seven, for that matter - much of him still didn't forgive them for taking him Hostage on their ship) and went over to his mother, Valka, and his girlfriend, Astrid. Astrid went over and hugged him, and Hiccup was glad no-one noticed his blushing, especially the 'demigods.' Half of Hiccup still couldn't believe they were half-gods, and he was sure he did a pretty good job of hiding his shock. And he also promised on the River Styx, whatever that was. Was it that bad? He hugged Astrid and said, "Hello, milady."
He turned to his mother and grinned sheepishly. "Oh, uh, hi, Mum."
Valka smiled, then she frowned. "Where were you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third? I almost went mad looking for you, the docks were deserted, Toothless was missing too, and the dragons were going insane for their Alpha... where were you, son? Oh, I'm glad you're alive and safe."
"Uh, nothing really... no trouble at all."
Astrid and Valka's eyebrows arched. "No trouble at all?" they asked in unison suspiciously.
"Well... maybe a bit of trouble..." Hiccup rubbed the back of his head.
"What type of trouble?"
"The kind that we will all be in if we don't repair our ship," said a girl's voice from behind. "A kind of... game-over-and-you're-dead kind of trouble."
From the back, Hiccup heard Tuffnut saying, "I love that kind of trouble!"
Hiccup groaned. For one small moment he forgot about Piper, Leo, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Hazel and Frank. "Oh, come on!"
"Hiccup, I told you already, who are these people?" asked Astrid. "They have got something to do with your disappearance, don't they? And where is that Stormcutter you trained?"
"Erm..." Hiccup glanced at the Seven. Piper looked uncertain. Leo was fiddling with a handful of tiny twigs he had picked up from the forest. Jason was hiding his sword behind his back ridiculously, Percy was twirling his sword, 'Riptide', which was in the form of what Percy called a 'ballpoint pen', something that even mortals used. Hiccup was a mortal, but none of the Vikings used it. Why? Meanwhile, Annabeth, glanced around uncertainly, and so was Hazel. Frank was looking at all the big, burly Vikings, as if counting how many could fight in battle and who were the strongest. The Vikings stared at the Seven as well. They stopped eating, drinking and talking.
"Um," said Hiccup, "these are Percy, Jason, Frank, Annabeth, Leo-"
"Hiccup," interrupted Astrid, "what exactly happened?"
"Um," cut in Percy, raising his hand, "he attacked us."
"You attacked too!" protested Hiccup. "All of you!"
"You did it first, Flaming Sword Guy!" said Leo, pointing at him. Then he added, "Hey, can I borrow your sword? I'll make exact replicas. I can have a flaming blade too! Jason can have a lightning-shaped sword, Piper's sword can be so super beautiful it charms people whenever you swing it, Percy with a water blade, Frank with awesome archery features, Hazel with the death skulls, Annabeth with a sword that speaks wisdom when you ask it-"
"Shut up, Leo!" said Piper. Hiccup swore that she was blushing.
"I think I'd like a sword like that," said Percy, wondering.
"I don't want death skulls, Leo," muttered Hazel.
"Actually," said Annabeth. "I think Mum would be proud if there was a sword that Valdez described-"
"I thought blondes were meant to be dumb and stupid and crazy, like me!" said Tuffnut.
"Say that again, Tuffnut," muttered Astrid.
And then, suddenly, Leo said, pointing at his prosthetic leg, "Dude... where did you get that leg? What kind of mechanisms did you use? How-"
"Long story," said Hiccup. "Ask later."
"Don't weasel out of it," quipped Annabeth. "You still attacked us."
Valka raised her eyebrows. "Why did you do that? Attack them, I mean. Hiccup, explain. Now."
"Um, because I thought they were one of Drago's armies," Hiccup replied, looking down. "And they kept on saying that they weren't. And I kinda attacked them and told Toothless to blast them. He... missed, luckily." Hiccup noticed from the corner of his eye that Leo was looking down at the floor. It looked like he turned his twigs into a strange machine. He threw it and it flew away out of the Village Hall. Maybe being the son of the blacksmith god does that to you, thought Hiccup.
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," said his mother firmly. "I love you, son, but what did I tell you about jumping to conclusions?"
"At least my mother is never angry," Hiccup heard Percy mutter.
"Good for you," whispered Hiccup, resisting the urge to kick Percy in the shin.
"Look," said Piper, "we also thought that Hiccup was an enemy, and we're sorry. So, um, can you not kill us please?"
Hiccup pinched himself hard, which prevented him from falling to Piper's charmspeak, and so did the rest of the Seven. The Vikings turned dazed and said,
"Not kill you."
"We'd never kill you..."
One minute later, the Vikings regained their senses and Astrid turned to Hiccup and said, "you forgot to tell them their names."
"Did anyone not hear me?" asked Hiccup, slapping his forehead.
Piper cleared her throat. "I'm Piper McLean, that's Jason Grace, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang."
Hiccup heard coughs that disguised chuckles and heard snickering.
"What?" Frank glared daggers at everybody.
"Does... that mean you smell?" snorted Snotlout.
"Uh," Hiccup said, "I apologise for my cousin-"
"It's fine," Frank waved him away. "Don't go insulting my family's name. In China, it's a heavy insult. Plus, my name Zhang means 'master of bows' in Chinese."
"You look too fat to be an archer," snickered Ruffnut.
"He's much worse than Clarisse La Rue," Hiccup heard Annabeth mutter. Percy nodded, agreeing in disgust. When Percy noticed Hiccup with a look of confusion, and he mouthed, I will tell you later.
"Watch me." Frank pulled out his bow, and aimed his arrow. The arrow went off with a twang, and it whizzed past the Vikings, all the way to the other side of the hall neatly, right above the head of a snacking Terrible Terror. The Vikings gaped, and Frank said, "that's right." The Vikings applauded in respect, and Snotlout backed away.
Frank nodded, and Leo said, "Hey, can I get a standing ovation, too? All you need for an addition is a long, purple cape, a collector's edition golden crown, and one of those kingly sceptre thingies. And you all, my loyal subjects, grovel in the gravel and bow and say, "King Leo! King Leo!" Yeah, that'd be perfect!"
"The day I bow to you, Valdez," smirked Annabeth, "is the day I get chomped up by some imaginary monster and die."
"So..." said Valka, looking at the Seven. "How did you end up on Berk, anyway?"
"Oh," said Hiccup. "Their ship hit a rock and sank. Now they're shipwrecked on Berk. And they need help. The boat is docked at Thor's Beach."
"I'll help!" yelled Gobber, the village blacksmith, holding his mug of ale in the air. "Aye, I will! I'm the best blacksmith in the Archipelago-"
Hiccup turned and saw Leo pretending to cough, saying softly, "You haven't met me yet."
"- and I'll fix it for you faster than you say 'Odin's ghost-'"
"Odin's ghost!" said Leo. "And you haven't fixed it."
A few snickers.
Gobber frowned. "That's not exactly what I mean."
"Anyways, we'all get your ship fixed," said Hiccup. "First, we place it with our other ships."
LEO
Leo made a mental note in his head, I hate Snotlout.
Well, he hated Snotlout from when he laughed at Frank, but he started to hate him even more when the Seven, Hiccup and the Vikings loaded the Argo II onto metal supporting bars to help bring the ship to the docks. But Snotlout was helping to break the ship even more. No-one messed up with Leo's ship, especially if it were crazy Vikings who Annabeth said were supposed to be extinct. Snotlout reminded Leo of their old satyr chaperone, Coach Gleeson Hedge, except that Snotlout was a meaner, tougher version of him (and also the human Viking version). Leo didn't know how this guy hadn't ended up behind bars in jail yet.
"HEY!" yelled Leo as Snotlout swung his axe at the boat, and the blade ripped out a piece of wood from the Argo II, and he pulled a huge blacksmithing hammer from his magical tool belt and waved it furiously at the Viking's ugly face. "RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY!"
"And why should I, repair boy?" smirked Snotlout. "What's the best thing you can do?"
"SHUT UP, MUCUS MAN!" shouted Leo.
"Mucus Man? MUCUS MAN?!" shouted Snotlout back, ready to hit Leo, when Percy and Jason came from up deck and Hiccup arrived on the scene. With difficulty, Hiccup managed to pull Snotlout back and Jason went to Leo. "What the heck are you doing, man?"
"Mucus Man started it first," mumbled Leo.
"Listen to me, Leo. A few years back, I was on this Roman demigod quest. We went to this museum for clues. The museum lady talked about Vikings during the tour. She mentioned absolutely nothing about dragons, but she told Reyna and I that Vikings were fierce warriors, who killed anyone they wanted to. There was even a kind of Viking called 'Berserkers', Vikings that went crazy when in battle, and when they generally fought. I don't like nor trust this Snotlout person, but I also don't want you to turn into Repair Boy Shish Kebab."
Leo grinned. "Got it." But he scowled at Snotlout, and he pulled a face when he got close to the Viking. Percy drew Riptide and said, "Just remember - we came here peacefully. It isn't our fault we're stuck here. Don't pick a fight. We won't either, but if we have to..." Percy's voice wavered away.
Snotlout stared at the glowing blade and snorted. "You're almost as runty as Hiccup. It's a miracle how you can even hold that sword. Who made it for you - definitely not Repair Boy. The best he can do is join two pieces of parchment together."
"Don't insult Leo. He's a very good blacksmith."
"Hmmm... blacksmith? More like midget-y elf. Maybe a dwarf from Alfheim."
"SHUT UP MUCUS MAN! YEAH, I AM NOT DEAF! WHAT A SURPRISE!"
"YOU SHUT UP!" But Snotlout stopped shouting when he got dirty looks from Astrid, Valka (who happened to be Hiccup's mother), and other certain Vikings.
Percy backed away, putting Riptide back in his makeshift scabbard, but as he went back, a large red dragon that probably belonged to Snotlout growled at him.
A very fat Viking with dragon wings instead of horns on his helmet shuffled up forward and shoved Snotlout. "Don't insult him, Snotlout. Or you'll have to face me." Then he turned to Leo and said. "Sorry for that. Usually, he's very... disciplined."
'Thanks. I'm Leo."
"Fishlegs." Then the Viking named Fishlegs stepped up to Snotlout and said, "Apologise."
"No."
"Do you want to see what I can really do, Jorgenson?"
"Fine." Then he turned to Leo and muttered what Leo thought was a forced apology.
"What?" Leo cupped his hand to his ear, and thanked the gods that his ear nor hand nor head caught on fire.
"Fine... I'm SORRY!" Snotlout said, then backed away.
"Ah, much better. Thank you, señor." Leo grinned his 'Devilish Grin', a grin that made teachers say, "Don't even think about it, Valdez!" and plop him in the front row, in front of the teacher's desk. "Yes, my friends, Leo saved the day! Ha ha!"
"How can you save the day?" said a girl who Hiccup said was Ruffnut.
"You are too scrawny," snickered her brother and her twin, a boy named Tuffnut.
"Oh, but my friends, did you know? I saved the day with my midget size and my scrawniness! Did you know that scrawny is the new hot?"
There was some snickers, chuckles and laughter. Hazel, who was helping Frank, smiled at Leo, and Leo guessed that she remembered the last time Leo said the comment 'scrawny is the new hot', a quest that may or may not have involved hundreds of screaming nymphs, a bronze mirror, and a narcissist that fell in love with himself. (Now that Leo was thinking about it, maybe Narcissus's name was what the word 'narcissist' came from.)
"I have an idea," said Valka. "Why don't I show the girls - Piper, Annabeth and Hazel - around the village, while the rest of you work on their ship."
Cue the protests from Percy Jackson, Jason Grace and Frank Zhang. Leo couldn't help but laugh, but stopped as he remembered Calypso. Leo couldn't help liking her. She was stuck on an island for eternity, while the orher's girlfriends were on the other side of the Viking island, safe and sound, on a tourist trip around Berk.
"Annabeth's my girlfriend!" protested Percy.
"Piper's my girlfriend!" said Jason.
"And Hazel's mine," said Frank. "Will she be safe?"
"Of course," smiled Valka. "And I'm sure the girls want a break from overprotective boyfriends, don't you?"
Annabeth smirked. "Maybe I do need a break from Seaweed Brain."
"Hey! I heard that!" said Percy.
"So we're fine, so let us go!" Then Valka, Piper, Annabeth, and Hazel set off on the back of a Stormcutter that happen to belong to Valka.
However, as soon as they left, a Viking came rushing and running down to the beach, and he ran to Hiccup. "Chief! Chief!"
"What is it, Sven?" queried Hiccup.
"One of your mother's wild dragons... escaped into the forest... gone... we need... find them..." panted the Viking named Sven.
"Oh gods..." Hiccup slapped his forehead.
"Wait, wait," said Leo. "I understand you guys having tame dragons, but wild dragons? What if they chomped you up, or go haywire and wreck your laundry, and eat all your food stocks?"
"Don't worry," said Hiccup. "Let's make teams. I go with Percy. Fishlegs, go with Jason and Frank. And Snotlout, you can go with Leo."
Leo stared, dumbfounded, and Snotlout gaped. Then they both groaned. Hiccup added, "Or... you can go on Thurston duty."
"Why do we need babysitters?" asked Ruffnut. "I mean, Tuffnut needs a babysitter."
"You do!" said Tuffnut.
"No, you!"
"You!"
"No, you!"
"You!"
"You!"
Thorston duty was probably seriously bad, because Snotlout said, "Fine, but Repair Boy, I've got my eye... on... you." He pointed at Leo loathingly.
"Back at you," said Leo, glaring at him.
"Okay, gang, saddle up. We're going. The rest of you," Hiccup turned to the other Vikings. "Load the Argo II onto the Berkian docks, with the other boats, as I told you. Gobber, I'll put you in charge. Make sure no-one-" Hiccup glared pointedly at the twins, who were too busy to notice because they were fighting, "-damages that ship."
"Aye, Chief!"
"Good. Let's go."
PERCY
"Remind me why we're here."
Percy shivered, not daring to look down from their height. Hiccup, who was in front of him, smirked, and said, "We are looking for my mother's dragons. Some have gone loose."
"Why did we have to fly again? For the second time?"
"Sorry for that," apologised Hiccup. "But we have to be quick. Flying is quicker, faster and better, isn't it, bud?" Hiccup patted his dragon's head, and Toothless, the dragon, purred in reply.
"How many dragons does your mother have?" asked Percy.
"One, a Stormcutter. You know, the dragon your friend Frank turned into. His name is Cloudjumper."
"But how and why-"
Hiccup waved him away. "Long story. I'll tell you later."
"And why did you put Leo with Mucus Man - oh, sorry - Snot... Snotlout?" Percy tried hard not to laugh. Hiccup was a strange name. Snotlout? That made Hiccup's name sound like a perfectly normal American name. And Snotlout's meanness made Nancy Bobofit, a kleptomaniac he met at Yancy Academy, the school he went to before he went to Camp Half-Blood, a perfectly normal civilised and polite girl.
Hiccup grinned mischievously, which Percy called a 'Leo-grade-' grin. "Oh, that? I had a feeling Leo... also called Mr Flame Boy... still had some unfinished business with Snotlout."
"Gods, you got that right," grumbled Percy. "I was below deck with Annabeth and even them, I still could hear them fighting. My ears have been scarred for life."
Toothless descended into a forest, and Hiccup said, "So, the last trace of the dragon was here, in Odin's Forest. Look for any clues or prints. If you do, Toothless will be able to sniff the location of the lost dragon."
Percy jumped off Toothless, glad to be on the ground again, but then he remembered that the Earth = Gaia. Good math solving! he thought sarcastically as he drew Riptide and searched the ground carefully. Maybe I should warn Hiccup about Gaia... just in case, Percy thought. "Hey, Hiccup!"
Hiccup looked back suspiciously. "Huh?"
"Just be careful out here."
"What do you mean?" asked Hiccup, advancing forward, but then stopped and said, "Toothless! Bud, I found a footprint! Can you track down whoever owns it?"
Toothless caught up with his best friend and sniffed the ground and ran forward quickly. "Toothless, wait!" Then he turned to Percy. "I don't know what you mean. Berk is safe. Drago Bludvist can't attack us here. We've strengthened our defences. Why?"
Percy didn't know who Drago Bludvist was, but kept that thought in his head for later. "Be slow and careful."
Suddenly, there was a low earthquake rumble that felt as if it was way underground. Hiccup activated his flaming sword and yelled at Toothless to stop running. "What is this?" asked Hiccup to Percy.
"Great... she had to be here..." muttered Percy, gripping Riptide's hilt tighter.
"Hello, Percy? Berk to Percy? Who in Valhalla is she?" queried Hiccup.
"Do you remember who we thought you were working for? Well, she - NO, HICCUP!"
Hiccup had stepped forward, and a large sinkhole gave way and swallowed Hiccup up, then acted as if nothing had happened. A dragon's roar could be heard - possibly from Toothless - which meant the ground had swallowed him up too. Suddenly, darkness shrouded the forest. A thick, dense, grey blanket of fog enveloped the space where Percy was standing. Percy raised his sword higher.
Great. She IS here.
"Hiccup!" Percy yelled.
Percy swung his sword around, and yelled, "GAIA! I know you're there! Come out!"
Then, a voice from inside the Earth rumbled, I know you want the useless mortal, my little hero. Leave him, and I will stop this.
"I won't be leaving without Hiccup," said Percy. "Or Toothless."
The dragon? Gaia seemed to laugh. A creature of the air, created by that imbecile Zeus has no meaning to me. However, I thought it would be a waste if an ally of yours was roaming on my land.
"Get lost," Percy snapped.
I cannot! I must destroy you first. You defeated my son Kronos. You will pay! After I kill you, I will kill the others. And then I will destroy the gods! The blood of Olympus shall fully wake me, and you cannot stop me! Now go, Perseus Jackson, and I will spare you for now...
Why is Gaia here? Percy thought angrily. What's so special about this stupid Viking island? I have to warn the others... Gaia knows where here... of course! Island is earth... and Gaia is earth...
Then Percy said, "Let Hiccup go."
Gaia sighed, and a rumble the size of an earthquake shook Percy and made him fall down to the ground. The Three Fates will not allow me to kill you now. The Fates will not allow this puny mortal and his beast die either. I suppose I must let you and your friends go now... But be warned, Perseus Jackson, I will be watching you. I will be sending the worst monsters from the earth. Be warned, Perseus Jackson, that I will wake. Half-bloods, mortals, gods, dragons alike... they will all perish under my hand. Be warned, Perseus Jackson...
The earth rumbled, and the blanket of fog disappeared, the darkness turned to daytime, and the ground brought Hiccup back up. His face was dirty, and caked with mud and filth. His sword was clasped in his hand, but it was now in the form of a bladeless hilt, with a dragon head at each end. Hiccup wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "I had the weirdest dream that the Earth Mother, Jörð was evil. She pulled me into the Earth, and I dreamed of monsters... she said the world was going to end soon... and this Blood of Olympus thing... Is it Ragnarok?"
Percy shook his head. "I'm afraid that wasn't a dream. And no, it's not Ragnarok."
Hiccup returned his sword hilt to where it was supposed to be. "And they said your name was Pers... Percys... Perseus Jackson...
"I can't tell you right now," replied Percy. "We weren't supposed to even show our demigod powers to you. But be careful - the Earth can do that again. And promise on the Styx - again - to not mention this to the others until I tell you. Just tell them you lost Toothless."
Hiccup nodded - "I promise on the Styx," - and Toothless came pouncing onto him, and started to lick him everywhere. "Ugh! Toothless, you know that doesn't wash out!"
"Toothless was pulled into the Earth too," said Percy.
Hiccup stared, then Toothless kept on licking him and said, "Figures. I would hate it if he... died... Let's go back to the village. I think they're finished finding the dragon. Let's head back."
ANNABETH
Annabeth was never more glad to see her boyfriend.
Valka, Hiccup's mother, was a really nice woman. She showed her, Piper and Hazel around the village of the Isle of Berk, and Annabeth remembered her favourites - the blacksmith's forge (which happened to be as interesting as the blacksmith's shop back at Hephaestus Cabin, and they met Gobber and Grumpy), the stables (in which Piper accidentally charm-spoke one to faint into a dragon coma), and the buildings (Annabeth was so fascinated at the Berkian Viking architecture). Valka's dragon, Cloudjumper, was 'cute' and friendly, and Annabeth got to feed him, and he nipped her hand playfully.
But she missed Percy. Even though Valka reassured her that Percy was fine and was looking for a dragon with Hiccup on the island, but she was worried. She knew Percy wasn't one for flying. The Argo II was parked at the docks already. It was two and a half hours since the demigods and Vikings started searching for the missing dragon, but when the Viking named Fishlegs, Frank and Jason returned with the dragon, she got worried. Leo and Snotlout were back, and they were still fighting.
"YOU'RE LYING, REPAIR BOY! YOU MADE HOOKFANG THROW ME INTO THE AIR ON PURPOSE!" said Snotlout, punching Leo in the shoulder hard.
"NO I DIDN'T MUCUS MAN!" Leo shouted back. "SHUT UP!"
"You call me that again..." snarled Snotlout. "Hookfang got a scent and followed it! And you complained that the Earth was sucking you in!"
Oh gods.. Annabeth thought. Earth... Gaia. No... she can't be here.
Valka seemed to notice Annabeth's worried expression. "Is there anything wrong? Percy will be back."
Annabeth wiped the sweat pouring down her forehead. "No... nothing wrong. Everything is fine."
"I found the dragon's prints! You didn't follow it!" shouted Leo.
"AND you threw me into the Lake in the Cove on purpose!" yelled Snotlout.
"Festus is a better dragon than yours, and he is only a bronze dragon head!" said Leo. "At least Festus hasn't got an attitude!"
"Don't insult my dragon," warned Snotlout. "Or you will deal with Snotfang."
"What is that? A tooth covered in mucus?"
Snotlout opened his mouth, but Annabeth stepped up and elbowed him. "Enough, you two." Her eyes turned grey and stormy.
Leo backed away, shivering. "Sorry! I hate angry Annabeth. No offence, Chase, but your anger is scarier than most monsters. How does Percy-"
Annabeth grinned. "He lives under my command."
Astrid grinned. "Most of the time, Hiccup lives under my command, too."
"Join the club!" Then Annabeth saw Astrid's confused expression and said, "Never mind."
Leo pointed at the sky. A black shape was descending from the sky. "Isn't that-"
"Percy!" Annabeth ran toward him and hugged him so tight until Percy mumbled, "Crushing me," and she let go. She noticed Hiccup more dirtier than usual on his face. Then Annabeth put her hands on her hips.
"Where have you been? I was so worried, gods, I almost thought you died..."
"I almost did," agreed Percy, then dropping his voice to a whisper, "the earth says that the Fates aren't letting me die now. And Hiccup and Toothless got pulled into the earth, and luckily, they didn't die either."
"What?" Annabeth sucked her breath. Gaia? Here? But how? What's so special about Berk?
"I'll tell you later," hissed Percy. "And I'll tell the others soon."
Valka hugged her son, then said firmly, "where were you? You took a long time, and Annabeth was getting worried about Percy. And you're dirty, Hiccup. What happened?"
Hiccup took a quick glance at Percy, who shot him a look back. So, Hiccup said, "Sorry. We were looking for that dragon, but then we... kinda crash-landed and I got dirty."
Astrid laughed. "Serious? The Great Dragon Conqueror, crash lands into the ground and... oh my gods..." She punched Hiccup in the ribs.
"What was that for?"
"For being stupid."
Annabeth elbowed her own boyfriend, and he said, "Seriously? What was that for?"
"You know. For being stupid. Again."
Percy grinned, and then frowned. "This is serious. Gaia knows we're here. But then... on completely unrelated subjects, how are Leo and Snotlout doing?"
"Perfect. When I say perfect, I mean they are arguing so loud Olympus can hear them. Well, Leo, according to Snotlout, told his dragon to throw him up in the air and drop him, and threw him into a lake, but Leo backed away and said my anger is scarier than most monsters."
Percy muttered something like, "Well, that's true."
Percy called an emergency meeting.
It was almost the middle of the night, maybe, because Annabeth looked at the sky and thought so. They set up accommodation for the demigods - Percy, Annabeth in Hiccup and Valka's home, Jason, Piper and Leo with Astrid, Hiccup's girlfriend, and Hazel and Frank with the Viking named Fishlegs. They met in Fishlegs's house, because it was big, and they slept soundly there.
"What is it?" asked Leo, rubbing his eyes. "People need their beauty sleep. Except maybe Piper. She doesn't need sleep to be pretty. She's naturally pretty."
"Shut it, Leo!" hissed/whispered Piper.
"Got it, Beauty Queen," muttered Leo. "Why the heck would you call us in the middle of the night?"
"Because the Vikings won't hear us," said Percy. "I don't want them to know about us and our special powers. And they certainly would not want to know that the Earth Mother is evil, that she wants to destroy the world and kill us all, and also they don't want to know that the Evil Mother Earth, Queen Dirt Face, swallowed up their Chief and his dragon, and wouldn't kill him because the Three Fates wouldn't let her so."
"What?" asked Frank. "Dirt Face is here? But what is so special about this place?"
"I think it's because Berk is an island archipelago," explained Jason. "Island Archipelagos are part of the Earth. And Gaia, unfortunately, is Earth."
Percy told them everything - from the start of searching with Hiccup for the missing dragon ("Gee, I wish I went with Señor Hiccup," muttered Leo.), to when Hiccup and Toothless were swallowed up by Gaia, and his conversation with the Earth Mother herself. Annabeth shivered. She was lucky to have her boyfriend back alive. She grasped Percy's hand and squeezed it gently. "What do we do, Seaweed Brain?"
"First - no-one - absolutely no-one - tells anyone anything. Hiccup's sworn on the Styx, so we're safe - for now," said Percy.
"What's the next one?" asked Annabeth and Hazel in unison.
"Be careful. Gaia is close to waking. And we're delayed. We need to get back on track ASAP."
"We have to hurry," agreed Leo.
And the emergency meeting ended.