"Italics: Dragon's speaking"
*Italics: telepathical speaking*
Italics: Thinking
Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk
Author's note: The dragon riders ride on their dragons while the guardians such as Aniu and Nava fly using their wings. All dragons with more than one head have a – between their names as each head has a name. For example: Barf-Belch, Lefa-Rila. This note is here just to avoid confusion.
Right now the Dragoniters group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf-Belch, Aniu and Nava.
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Chapter 19: We Are Family Part 1
"Vikings have a strong sense of community. It's important for us to be a part of family and to celebrate that connection."
Two Gronckles and their riders carried a banner to the steps in front of the Great Hall. Two Deadly Nadders and two Monstrous Nightmares brought planks of wood to the Vikings who needed them while a Zippleback gave a Viking some tools.
Gobber added the final touches to a statue of Bork riding on a dragon with his sword held up high. "Happy Bork Week, Magnus. And a good Bork Week to you, Seamus." He happily called to a couple of Vikings. "Cheers!" Seamus yelled, raising his mug in celebration. Once he was finished, Gobber got off the scaffolding and smiled at the statue of his ancestor. "Most importantly, a spectacular Bork Week to you, Bork." He said.
Bucket and Mulch walked up to admire the statue. "Best week of the year. Right, Gobber?" Mulch asked. "Right up there with Stump Day." Gobber agreed, toasting his hammer hand prosthetic against Mulch's hook hand. "Aah, the good old days. Brings tears to me eyes. We could use a man like Bork around here." Mildew sighed, approaching the three men.
"Tradition's a fine thing, Mildew. But things have changed...for the better, if you ask me." Gobber said. "I didn't." Mildew muttered, Fungus, his beloved sheep, bleating in agreement. "We have come a long way from the time when it was us or the dragons. You might be a little less crusty if you got used to that, Mildew." Gobber told him. "I'll pass, thanks. When are Bork's archives going on display? You still got that dragon-gutting dagger of his, don't you?" Mildew asked.
"They'll all be in the Great Hall tomorrow. Don't you worry." Gobber said, slightly unnerved by Mildew's love of anything that was used to hurt dragons. Mildew grumbled under his breath as Gobber walked away and went off to do some of his usual complaining about anything in particular.
Meanwhile, Fengo and Namara happily flew over the village and assisted any Viking in need of help. "Oh, I'm so excited for the celebrations and the Dragon Air parade! I wonder if some Terrible Terrors are going to be a part of it. And our baby girl, Hiccup and Toothless, leading the Dragoniters and dragons through the air in a spectacular show. Doesn't that make you so happy and excited, my love?" Namara gushed.
"Indeed it does, my dearest one. And I heard received a letter from Nava's parents saying they're coming in around three weeks. Nava's going to be so happy to have his parents back. He and Aniu seem to grow closer and closer as time goes by." Fengo said.
"Aniu's grown up so fast, hasn't she?" Namara asked wistfully. "She has. It seems like only yesterday that she was a little girl playing with Nava and waiting for her wings." Fengo sighed, remembering the times when he would read bedtime stories to her before bed, play with her, tickle her and hear her say in her cute voice "I love you, Daddy."
"In fact, I believe our precious daughter and her friends are practicing in the cove right now. Do you wanna take a look and see how they are going?" Fengo asked his wife. "Indeed we shall. Let's go!" Namara said and flew ahead of her husband. Fengo grinned and sped up until he was flying beside her. The two guardians raced each other to the cove...
where the Dragoniters were indeed practicing. Hiccup cupped his hands around his mouth and let out a dragon call. He waited for his beloved Night Fury to show up. "So that's why you and Aniu brought us out here? To honk into the wind?" Snotlout asked impatiently. "Just wait, Snotlout." Fishlegs told him.
"Dragon calls. Whatever." Snotlout scoffed and with a grin directed at the Thorston twins, he took out one of his Thawfest medals and distracted them with a beam of reflected light. "Really, Snotlout?" Aniu asked. "Uh, guys?" Hiccup asked, seeing how the twins were distracted. "Ha, idiots." Snotlout snickered as their eyes followed the light's path. "Snotlout. Seriously." Hiccup deapanned in a warning tone.
"So stupid. What? It's fun. Oh, fine." Snotlout groaned, pocketing the medal. Ruffnut and Tuffnut snapped out of their daze as the light vanished. "Uh, gone again." Tuffnut muttered in frustration. Sighing, Hiccup did another dragon call. "And nothing. Can we go now?" Snotlout asked impatiently. "Just be patient, Snotlout." Aniu said. "Good things come to those who wait." Nava said. "You were saying?" Astrid asked Snotlout as Toothless landed in the cove and answered Hiccup's call with a roar of his own.
"Fine. I hate to admit it but that was pretty cool." Snotlout conceded, crossing his arms across his chest. "Not as cool as that disappearing, shiny thing. You can never catch it." Tuffnut said. Then Fengo and Namara landed in the cove. "Hello, children. What are you doing?" Namara asked jovially. "Just training and preparing for the upcoming Dragon Air parade. And besides, we're not children anymore." Aniu said.
"You'll always be my child not matter how old you are." Namara said, stroking her daughter's golden-brown hair. "How far have you gotten so far?" Fengo asked the Dragoniters. "Can't tell you. It's a secret. We want it to be a big surprise." Nava said. "One that will knock your wings off." Toothless chuckled.
Hiccup decided to get the show back on the road. "Fishlegs, do you want to show us your dragon call?" He asked. "Thought you would never ask. The call of the Gronckle is as unique as the dragon itself. Raw, guttural and intense. Yet with a subtle lilt." Fishlegs said. "Just do it already." Snotlout snapped impatiently.
Fishlegs unleashed his Gronckle call, which sounded pretty much like he said it would. Meatlug, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie flew over the cove and hovered. "Well done, Fishlegs." Aniu said, impressed. "That deserves an A." Namara remarked. "Oh, I'm not done. Watch this." Fishlegs said and let out another Gronckle call.
"I don't even want to know which part of his body that came from." Tuffnut muttered with a grimace. Fishlegs ended his dragon call and gasped for breath. "I gotta take a break." He panted. A herd of around seven Gronckles flew overhead, responding to the call. "Wow. Nice herd." Tuffnut remarked. Meatlug, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie flew up to join their fellow Gronckles. "Be home for dinner. You guys are having granite. That's their favourite." Fishlegs called after them, directing the last sentence at his friends.
"Okay. Anyone think they can beat that?" Hiccup asked. "I'll give it a shot. Watch this." Astrid volunteered and let out a Deadly Nadder call. Arrow, Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet flew overhead, followed by a herd of several Nadders. Stormfly woke up from a nap she was taking on a tree branch, squawked and flew up to join her family and fellow Deadly Nadders.
"Good job, Astrid. First try." Hiccup praised his girlfriend, smiling happily at her. "She's got a lot of skill and talent at this sort of stuff." Nava said. "That reminds of the wolves of Guardian Island." Aniu said. "Ah, the wolves. I miss those guys." Fengo sighed. "You and Nava used to play with Faolan and Edme." Namara said. "Uh, I have an important question." Tuffnut piped up. "Is it actually important this time?" Aniu asked him. "Uh, yeah. It always is. Like, why are we even doing this anyway? I don't get it." Tuffnut asked.
"Well, first of all, you never know when you're going to be separated from your dragon and the only way to communicate is to call it." Hiccup told him. "It's much safer than calling out your dragon's name. If you are in hostile or unknown territory, a dragon call will just be a dragon call to any non-dragon ears. But your dragon will most likely be able to tell the difference between your call and other dragon's call and thus be able to find you." Aniu said. "Sorry. Didn't get it." Tuffnut said, confused.
"Second of all, it's Bork Week and my dad asked us to put on a Dragon Air Parade." Hiccup said. "Why do we care about this Bork guy anyway? Wasn't he a dragon killer?" Ruffnut questioned. "Hey, Bork only killed dragons in self defence. He studied them and wrote about them." Fishlegs said. "And without him, there'd be no Book of Dragons." Nava said. "And without the Book of Dragons, there'd be..." Fishlegs began.
"No reason for you to live?" Snotlout asked with a snigger. "Dragon Academy, actually. And there'd be no really cool Dragon Air Parade." Hiccup said. "So, when we do this really cool Dragon Air show, who's he going to fly with?" Snotlout asked, gesturing at Toothless who gave his rider a meaningful look.
"I'm working on that." Hiccup sighed. "Maybe you should build him another one of those automatic tailfins like the one you gave to him during Snoggletog last year. Too bad he bashed it up." Aniu suggested.
Meanwhile, Gobber was searching through the blacksmith shop for Bork's archives. To pass the time, he decided to sing a little song which went like this:
"Bork, oh, Bork,
We sing your song
The man who studied dragons long
Without your work
There'd be no Berk
Woes the day you went Berserk"
Then, he finally found what he was looking for. "Ahahaha, gotcha!" The blond blacksmith exclaimed in triumph, grabbing the chest and blowing dust off it. Gobber slid down his ladder and came face to face with..."Aaah, Mildew! You don't sneak up on a man with a hook for a hand!" Gobber scolded the old coot. "Yeah, but I got an emergency. My wheel snapped just as we were coming into town. My cabbage is all over the road." Mildew said desperately.
"Can't it wait, Mildew? I've got to get these archives over to the Great Hall." Gobber said, pushing past the old man. "But my cabbage, Gobber! Whatever happened to customer service?" Mildew asked. Sighing, Gobber gave in and put the archives on a bench. "All right." He muttered, walking out of the forge. Mildew turned to stare at the archives and hummed thoughtfully. He was reaching out to grab them when Gobber reappeared. "You touch those archives and I'll make sure you'll never be able to touch anything ever again." He threatened, walking away again. But Mildew eyed the archives thoughtfully, an evil forming in his head. And that plot involved a certain brown-haired, green eyed, one-footed boy who rode a Night Fury and his golden-brown-haired, green-eyed guardian friend.
Once they finished up in the cove, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless stood on a ledge, watching dragons flying around the village. "If only there were more Night Furies out there, you two. What a sight that will be. And Toothless will have more of his own breed with him so he won't be alone anymore." Aniu sighed wistfully. "I wish there were more Night Furies here on this island, bud." Hiccup told Toothless. "Don't worry, I'm happy with you guys." The young Night Fury told them.
Then, Astrid, Stormfly and Nava came in for a landing. "There you guys are." Nava chirped. "Hey, check out my Nadders, I finally got them flying in perfect formation. A group of Deadly Nadders flew overhead in a V-formation. Arrow flew at the point with Skyflier and Forestflier on each side while Violet flew behind her father.
"That's pretty good. A+" Aniu said genuinely, trying to sound happy but failing. "Wow, yeah. That's great." Hiccup said, still feeling upset at the lack of Night Fury companions for Toothless. "Hiccup, what's wrong?" Astrid asked in concern, noticing the tone in her boyfriend's voice. "Is something upsetting you?" Nava asked in a worried voice.
"I just been thinking. Stormfly has Arrow, Skyflier, Forestflier, Violet and a lot of other Nadders. Hookfang has Firesnow, Ignitis, Infernia and a whole herd of Monstrous Nightmares. Meatlug has Clobbertail, Stonecruncher, Sweetiepie and a big group of Gronckles. Barf- Belch has Lefa-Rila, Boomer-Banger and a whole bunch of Hideous Zipplebacks and Toothless has no one." Hiccup said. "He has you and he looks pretty happy if you ask me." Astrid said, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "If the way he's rolling around in the grass is any indication." Nava chuckled, looping an arm and a wing around Aniu's shoulders. Aniu leaned her head on Nava's shoulder.
"You know what I mean." Hiccup sighed. "Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless will be fine. Oh, I almost forgot, Stoick, Fengo and Namara are looking for you. They want to see you in the Great Hall. They looked serious." Astrid said, walking away from them and getting onto Stormfly's back. The blue Deadly Nadder flew away. "See you guys later. Aniu, do you still wanna go on that date?" Nava asked, walking away from them and spreading his wings open to fly. "I'll be there once Hiccup and I find out what they want from us in the Great Hall. Love you, Nava." Aniu told her boyfriend. "Love you too, Ni." Nava said and flew away.
Aniu smiled and went back to staring at the sky then she noticed Hiccup staring at her. "What?" She asked. "Nothing. I just want to know what you and Nava do on your dates and alone times." Hiccup said innocently. "None of your business. But if you must know, we just talk to each other, cuddle up, share a few kisses every now and then. Sometimes, we even race each other by running in our human, wolf or dragon forms or flying in our human, dragon and owl forms. And there are times when we duel against each other." Aniu told him.
Hiccup nodded and then remembered what Astrid told him. "Ah, great. Happy Bork Week to me." He muttered. "Let's go." Aniu sighed.
When Hiccup and Aniu enetered the Great Hall, they found Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara as well as several other Vikings gathered around the main table. Slowly, the two teens approached them. "Mum, Dad, what's going on?" Aniu asked nervously. "Okay, this is getting weird." Hiccup said. "Hiccup, Aniu, come forward and hold out your hands." Stoick ordered.
"Uh, Dad, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and other scary looking Vikings. Aniu and I would just like to say, in our own defence that we cannot control Snotlout, Ruffnut or Tuffnut 24/ 7." Hiccup said. "Those guys never listen to us." Aniu added. "This isn't about those jokers, you two. It's something really good." Gobber said.
"Now then, Hiccup and Aniu, as you two know, Bork Week has begun. The first one since we made peace with the dragons thanks to you and Toothless. So it has been decided that from this moment forward, all things dragon-related, including Bork's life work, shall be entrusted to you and the Academy." Stoick said. Hiccup and Aniu's eyes widened in awe.
Gobber placed a chest on the table. "This is where the Book of Dragons started. Everything he ever wrote on the subject is in these notes. Personal thoughts, feelings, fears, even some delicious recipes." Gobber said, taking a pile of books and scrolls out of the chest. "Whoa. I don't know what to say." Hiccup gasped. "Thank you. It's an honour to be entrusted with these." Aniu said gratefully.
"Hiccup, Aniu, this is a big part of our history. You and the dragons are a big part of our future. It's now up to you to take care of both." Stoick said, placing his hands on Hiccup and Aniu's shoulders. "This is a big responsibility. You sure you two can handle it?" Fengo asked. "We will, Dad." Aniu said. "If you two need any help, come to us." Namara said, smiling. "We will, Mum." Aniu said, giving her parents a hug.
Gobber put the scrolls and books back into the chest, closed the lid and held the chest out to Hiccup and Aniu. But when the two teens tried to take it, parting with the chest and its contents was rather hard for Gobber and so he kept a firm grip on it. "Oh, Gobber, just let it go." Fengo sighed. "Gobber." Stoick told his friend sternly. Finally, Gobber let go of the chest and gave it to Hiccup and Aniu.
"They're yours now." Gobber smiled, tearing up slightly. "Take good care of them." Namara told them. Smiling, Hiccup and Aniu left the Great Hall. "Hey, Mum, Dad, can I sleep over at Hiccup's house so I can read the archives with him tonight?" Aniu asked before she left. "Of course, dear." Namara said. "Just don't stay up too late." Fengo said. "I'll get you a bed ready." Hiccup told his surrogate sister. "Nah, I'll just sleep on the rafters in my owl form or curl up on the ground in my wolf form." Aniu said.
Once they put the chest on Hiccup's desk in his room, Hiccup left to spend some time with Astrid while Aniu flew to find Nava for their date. She found him sitting in a clearing reading a book. Grinning mischievously, Aniu landed and snuck up on her boyfriend but Nava heard her coming. "I know you're there, Ni." He said. "Oh, darn. How?" Aniu asked.
"You used to sneak up on me a lot when we were younger." Nava smiled. "Alright. So, what are you reading?" Aniu asked, sitting beside him. Nava showed her the book he was reading. "Guardians of Gahoole: The Rise of a Legend." Aniu read out aloud then read the page Nava was on.
Page 218:
From our vantage point, we could see that Moss was about to wilf, but he fought it hard. The two Great Grays were looking stunned, as well as the Eagle Owl. They obviously understood the coded language, but the two Great Horned Owls did not, nor did the snow leopards. Except for this first small slip, Moss was doing a fantastic job of concealing his shock. The Snowy, my friend from earliest childhood, stayed as cool as any battle veteran.
In the spoken code, Blix told Moss where we were hiding. We could not hear the entire conversation for the wind was up again, drowning out many of the words. But it appeared that Moss called a halt to training for the night, though dawn- or the virtual dawn- was still some hours away and then set up a guard rotation for the night.
"It's all right." Loki whispered to me. "We outnumber them."
"They're twice our size! And they could call in other owls, other enemy troops. There could be other Ice Talon owls holed up all over this place. Remember that peregrine your mum mentioned flying around? We could be outnumbered."
From our sequestered perch, we could see that every creature, both owls and snow leopards, were extremely nervous that evening and ready for anything but sleep. Blix pretended to sleep in a small notch in some rocks. As dawn neared, I spied Half Beak rouse himself, swivel his head about slowly as if checking that his comrades were asleep and loft into flight. He flew straight out toward the Bitter Sea, quite far out and when he returned, he wasn't alone.
Aniu finished reading and leaned back. "So what were you and Hiccup needed for in the Great Hall?" Nava asked, book marking the page with a leaf, closing the book and putting it on the ground beside him. "Well, at first Hiccup and I thought we were in trouble but they told us we weren't and they gave us Bork's archives." Aniu said happily. "That's amazing. It's only natural the archives went to you and Hiccup because you two are the leaders of the Dragoniters and the Dragon Academy." Nava said, giving his girlfriend a hug.
"I know, right. Hiccup and I are going to read them tonight and after that, we'll share them with you, Astrid and probably even Fishlegs." Aniu said. "Well, it's only an hour or two until night time so what do you want to do now?" Nava asked. "I can think of a little something." Aniu grinned and kissed Nava on the lips. Nava kissed her back and lay on the ground with Aniu on top of him. Once they finished kissing, Aniu and Nava cuddled up together and talked about random things.
When the sun was low in the sky, Aniu and Nava parted from their cuddle and began walking home. They hadn't gotten far when Nava turned into his wolf form. "Hey, Ni. Wanna race?" He asked. "I think I might so I can whoop your tail." Aniu grinned and turned into her wolf form. "Three, two, one, go!" Nava counted down and started running. Aniu took off at the same time he did and the two guardians raced each other back to the village to have dinner in the Great Hall with their fellow Dragoniters.
That night, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless were in Hiccup's room reading Bork's archives with some candles to give them light. Aniu had used light magic to create several balls of light to hover above them like tiny suns. "Wow, look at this, guys. It's amazing." Hiccup gasped. "It sure is. By the gods, Bork must have spent a long time studying dragons. There's information that hasn't been included in the Book of Dragons." Aniu whispered, gazing at the pages. "Let me know when you find something interesting." Toothless yawned, retracting his teeth back into his gums and lying down on his stone bed to sleep.
"We will, Toothless." Aniu said as Hiccup put the pages and picked up a book. "These are his personal notes. Everything he observed about dragons is right here in these pages...along with some rather interesting sketches of his neighbours (shudders). Can't unsee that." Hiccup said, flicking through the pages. "We betted erase those pictures from our memories." Aniu said.
Hiccup noticed something in the back of the book, pulled out some folded up papers and unfolded them. "This is all on the Night Fury. It's all about you, Toothless." Hiccup gasped in amazement. "Is it really?" Toothless asked. "Bork didn't put any of this into the Book of Dragons. Maybe he didn't want everyone who read it to know about the Night Furies." Aniu said.
"'My studies lead me to conclude that an entire island exists teaming with mysterious Night Furies. I call this land the Isle of Night.' An island filled with Night Furies." Hiccup gasped, his heart filling with hope. "Did you just say an island filled with more Night Furies?" Toothless asked, his forest green eyes lighting up with hope. "That's what the papers say, Toothless. You know what this means: we're gonna find more Night Furies, you won't be alone anymore and we might even find your family and probably even a girlfriend for you. " Aniu gushed, giving the Night Fury a big hug around the neck.
" I can't wait! Ever since the Red Death took my memories to make me and the other dragons better slaves I don't even remember any other Night Furies I might have known, where we lived or anything." Toothless gasped. "I wish there was a way we could recover your memories." Aniu told him. "There are rare times when I get brief flashes but I can't remember them after that." Toothless said. Despite only being to understand what Aniu was saying, Hiccup listened to her and Toothless's conversation with a big smile on his face.
He waited for his friends to finish their conversation before speaking up. "Toothless, we have to find that island. If we do, we find your family." He said, giving his Night Fury a hug. "We'll head out in the morning with the others." Aniu said.
The next morning, the Dragoniters headed out. As they flew, Stormfly flew closer to Toothless. "How do you feel about finding more Night Furies?" She asked. "I feel so happy and excited. I always wondered what happened to my family." Toothless said. "Just wait til you have a mate and hatchlings like us. I'll make sure to hatchling-sit them like what you sometimes for our hatchlings." Meatlug said. "I wonder what having more Night Furies on Berk will be like." Hookfang said thoughtfully. "Yeah, me too." Toothless said. "My fine brother-head and I want to know how good Night Furies are at blowing stuff up."Barf said. "Judging by how you defeated the Red Death, I think Night Furies can be really destructive when they want to be." Belch added.
While the dragons were talking, their riders and Aniu and Nava were having a discussion of their own. "So, let me get this straight. To find this island, we have to find Bork's cave?" Snotlout asked. "His last known place of residence." Fishlegs said. "Who would live in a cave?" Astrid asked. "Who wouldn't?" Tuffnut questioned with a grin. "Whatever reason Bork had for living in a cave, there must be something in it that can lead us to the Isle of Night." Aniu said.
"There must be something in there about the Isle of Night and where we can find it." Nava agreed with his girlfriend. "Bork's notes said his cave is cut into the mountains above Odin's Shield." Fishlegs informed the group. Then Hiccup saw an opening in the cliff wall. "Right there. That must be it." He said, pointing at it.
The Dragoniters landed on a ledge and got ready to search. "Um, so, wait. How do we know what we're looking for?" Tuffnut asked dumbly. "It's a cave. Look for a big hole in the side of a mountain." Astrid said. "Hole, check." Tuffnut said. "Mountain, on it." Ruffnut said. Sighing in disbelief at the twins stupidity, Astrid turned to Hiccup, Aniu and Nava. "You know, we don't have to bring them every time." She said. "Believe it or not, they're a valuable part of the team despite their stupidity." Aniu said. "And plus, their stupidity provides comedy and gives us a laugh every now and then." Nava added.
Suddenly, a loud, long, low-pitched dragon call echoed throughout the area, causing the Dragoniters to rear up in surprise. But when all heads turned to the source of the sound, it was just Snotlout up to his old tricks again. "What in the world was that?" Fishlegs asked the Monstrous Nightmare rider. "That is a Changewing call, my friend. I'm surprised you didn't know that." Snotlout said proudly.
"I would've if it sounded like one. This is a Changewing call." Fishlegs retorted before letting loose a dragon call that sounded like a scream. "I bet you can't do a Thunderdrum." Snotlout scoffed. "Puh-lease, at least challenge me. I've been hearing Thornado and Sonica let out Thunderdrum calls ever since they made Berk their home." Fishlegs retorted and after clearing his throat, let out a bellowing growl that made everyone cover their ears.
"Fishlegs, quit it!"
"Ow, my ears!"
"Stop it, stop!"
"Ow, you sound terrible!"
"Okay, that's enough!"
"We don't need any more dragon calls now!"
"We heard enough! Can you please stop it!"
Hearing everyone's please, Fishlegs ended his dragon call and giggled. The Dragoniters began their searching until Hiccup saw a cave several metres away. "Hey, I found an opening!" He yelled. They all decided to approach it on foot. "That Bork was a dweeb. But boy, he could climb like a mountain goat." Snotlout remarked. Then another dragon call was heard. "Fishlegs, I thought we agreed to ease up on the dragon calls." Aniu said. "Actually, that wasn't me. Mine's far more authentic." Fishlegs told her.
Then Hiccup and Aniu looked up and saw a violet Thunderdrum headed their way. "You wanna tell that to him?" Astrid asked sarcastically. "That dragon looks like it's not in the mood for talking." Nava said. "Head for the cave!" Hiccup yelled. The Dragoniters flew to the cave which had mysteriously disappeared. "Wait. What cave?" Ruffnut asked. "We just saw it. There was a hole." Astrid exclaimed. "Yeah and now the hole's gone." Tuffnut said. "How does a cave suddenly vanish into thin air unless there was magic involved?" Nava wondered out loud.
The Thunderdrum flew straight at them. "Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff, you guys look for the cave opening. The rest of us will lure the Thunderdrum away." Hiccup said. Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Aniu and Nava flew up to confront the Tidal class dragon while Snotlout and the twins tried to find the cave entrance. "Fishlegs, Thunderdrum call!" Hiccup ordered.
"You should make up your mind." Fishlegs said and began exercising his vocal chords to warm them up. "Fishlegs!" Aniu yelled. The Ingerman boy let out a Thunderdrum call and the dragon took the bait, chasing after Fishlegs and Meatlug who screamed. The female Gronckle began flying as fast as her wings could carry her while the Thunderdrum chased them.
Meanwhile, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were having no luck in finding the cave even after the twins headbutted the wall in an attempt to find it. They only succeeded in knocking themselves out. "It was right here. I swear it was." Snotlout muttered and began hammering his fists against the wall.
A Changewing appeared out of thin air, grabbed Snotlout and flew to a higher sea stack. "Hey! Put me down! Hookfang!" Snotlout shrieked, terrified. Hookfang flew to his rider's rescue. "Way to go, Hookfang!" Snotlout cheered his dragon on. The Monstrous Nightmare spat fire at the Changewing. "Go away, Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled, narrowly avoiding the fire. Hookfang growled and flew away.
"Go see what you can find!" Astrid yelled as Fishlegs and Meatlug were chased around by the Thunderdrum. "We'll keep this guy busy." Nava said as he and Stormfly flew up to help Fishlegs and his Gronckle. "What about Snotlout?" Hiccup asked, pointing at the struggling Viking hanging by his vest from the Changewing's jaws.
"Ruff! Tuff!" Astrid yelled as Stormfly hovered over the twins. "On it!" Ruffnut said as she and her brother ran to Barf-Belch. "You're giving me the twins?" Snotlout yelled in dismay before the Changewing started smacking him into the rock wall. "Okay, I'll take the twins!" Snotlout yelled. "Go!" Astrid yelled at Hiccup and Aniu who went into the cave with Toothless.
"Be careful, guys." Hiccup said. The three of them reached a part of a cave that looked like someone had lived there a long time ago. "Bork's cave. This is it. We have to hurry." Hiccup said. "Well, let's get to it." Aniu said. Toothless crooned in agreement.
Outside the cave, the Thunderdrum smashed rock pillar after rock pillar into its attempts to get Fishlegs and Meatlug. When the big mouthed, Tidal class dragon had the pair trapped, Astrid and Nava used Thunderdrum calls to get it to chase after them. "Thank you. If I survive, I can help you fine tune that call." Fishlegs yelled after his friends in relief.
"Oh, here's an idea. We could blast him out." Tuffnut said as he watched Snotlout struggle against the Changewing. "Yeah, let's blast him!" Ruffnut agreed enthusiastically. "What? No! No blasting! Blasting's bad! Blasting hurts! Long way down!" Snotlout panicked as a cloud of green gas drifted closer. Belch ignited it with sparks, creating an explosion that made the Changewing fly to a higher and safer sea stack.
"Much better, thank you." Snotlout said sarcastically.
"There's gotta be something here." Hiccup said as he and Aniu looked around the place. Toothless saw a fire pit and lit it up, spreading light throughout the cave. "Thanks, Toothless. You're the best." Hiccup smiled at his dragon. "What would we do without you?" Aniu asked with a smile. "That's right. I am the best." Toothless grinned smugly, raising his head proudly. "Don't let it get to your head, bud. We don't wanna deal with an arrogant, egomaniacal Night Fury." Aniu said. Toothless pouted at her.
Then Hiccup noticed something on the wall. "What is that? Toothless, Aniu, it's a map to the Isle of Night. We found it! Okay, I gotta draw this down." He said and began copying down the map into his notebook. "It looks like the Isle of Night is not far away." Aniu said. Hiccup had nearly finished his drawing when the entire cave suddenly shook. "What was that?" He asked nervously. "It doesn't sound good." Aniu said anxiously.
Outside the cave, the Thunderdrum let out another sonic blast which hit the cave as it chased Astrid, Stormfly, Nava, Fishlegs and Meatlug around. Inside the cave, the rock that the map had been drawn onto started to collapse. "No, no, no, no, no. We need more time." Hiccup said, desperately scribbling the map down into his notebook. "Hiccup, hurry up." Aniu said desperately. Toothless shielded Hiccup and Aniu from falling boulders with his wings but one big boulder landed on his wing causing him to yelp. "That's it. We have to get out of here." Hiccup said as he finished the drawing and jumped onto Toothless's back.
"Let's go." Aniu said, preparing to fly out but another blast from the Thunderdrum caused boulders to fall down and block the entrance. "Hiccup and Aniu are trapped!" Astrid and Nava yelled. "I'm in a tight spot here myself." Snotlout whimpered as the Changewing held him by the leg with its tail. "I know you think our plan didn't work, but believe me, this Changewing played into our hands." Tuffnut hollered nonchalantly.
"Sorry...didn't believe you...ugh, stupid dragon, ahh!" Snotlout screamed as the Changewing dropped him, caught him and repeated. When the Changewing did it again, Snotlout punched it in the jaw, causing the Mystery Class dragon to glare at him. "Oh no." Snotlout gulped.
Inside the cave, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless decided they could use some help right about now. With the entrance blocked, they were basically trapped. "Well, this is just great. We're trapped and Toothless can't use his plasma blasts without bringing the whole ceiling down. Neither can you, Aniu." Hiccup said. "You'd think we're used to these life-and-death situations by now, but they just keep on coming and I'm sick of it." Aniu muttered.
Then Toothless got an idea and roared. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What was that, bud?" Hiccup asked him. The Night fury's ear plates perked up. "Aniu, get Hiccup onto my back now." He said. "All right. Hiccup, Toothless wants you on his back." Aniu said. Hiccup nodded and mounted Toothless who let out another roar. This time, the roar was accompanied by a bright blue light. "Come on, Ni!" Toothless yelled and raced after the light with Aniu following him.
"Okay, where are you going and how are you seeing?" Hiccup asked. Sunlight appeared at the end of the cave and Toothless and Aniu flew out of the cave and into the sky. "Yes! We got it. Thanks, guys." Hiccup whooped as they flew off to help their friends. Astrid, Stormfly, Nava, Fishlegs and Meatlug had backed the Thunderdrum onto a cliff edge when Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless showed up.
"Somebody call for back up?" Aniu asked. "Hiccup, Aniu, you made it." Astrid exclaimed joyously. "We were starting to think you were trapped or worse." Nava exclaimed. "How did you get out of there?" Fishlegs asked as Meatlug spat another lava blast at the Thunderdrum. "Please don't ask us how cause we have no idea." Hiccup said. "We got this. Go help Snotlout." Astrid said.
Snotlout was not having a good time because the Changewing had hugged him to its chest and was trying to feed to feed him grass. "Aw, you made a new friend." Hiccup said, trying not to laugh. "How cute." Aniu cooed. "It's not as friendly as it looks." Snotlout whimpered, trying to stop the Changewing from nuzzling him.
Flying over to the Changewing, Toothless fired a warning shot and the Mystery Class dragon fled. Snotlout fell and Hookfang flew up to catch his rider. "Now that's how you rescue somebody." Snotlout whooped as his Monstrous Nightmare carried him away. "Hey, everything went exactly as we planned." Tuffnut said defensively. "Yeah, keep the Changewing busy until Hiccup and Aniu show up." Ruffnut said as she and her brother high-fived.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you two." Aniu said. "Now, let's saddle up. We're going home." Nava said. "I still can't believe you guys survived that cave-in." Astrid said as they flew home. "Neither can I. I mean, it was all Toothless. He sent out this weird sound, it bounced back towards us and somehow he used it to found his way out." Hiccup said.
"I don't get it. How do you use sound to guide you?" Fishlegs asked. "I do it all the time. Whenever I hear your voice, I go the other way." Snotlout said. "I believe that what Toothless uses is called echolocation. Animals such as bats use it to find their way around caves, tunnels and other dark caves when they can't see. I learned that at Guardian School back on Guardian Island." Aniu said. "I'm not a bat. I'm a dragon. A Night Fury to be exact." Toothless said proudly.
"So, did you find anything?" Nava asked. "Only a map to the Isle of Night." Hiccup said proudly. "Nice! When do we leave?" Astrid asked. "First thing in the morning." Aniu said. "By this time tomorrow, you are going to be surrounded by Night Fury friends." Hiccup told his dragon. "I can't wait!" Toothless exclaimed, shooting a plasma blast into the sky in joy and excitement.
The next morning before dawn, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless got up early to make a copy of the map and plan out their trip. Then they found something that could very well serve as a warning. "It says there's a reason why there's only Night Furies on that island. It turns out that you guys aren't so friendly to other dragons." Hiccup told Toothless who crooned in confusion. "But Toothless has always been friendly with the other dragons on Berk." Aniu said, feeling very confused.
"'Herds of Night Furies can be extremely hostile to other species.' If the others come with us on their dragons...well, looks like it's just us." Hiccup said and after he and Aniu packed some food, water and supplies went outside with Toothless and prepared to fly off. "Well, this is it, Toothless. You're finally going to see you're not the only Night Fury anymore." Hiccup told Toothless, stroking his ear plates.
The Night Fury crooned and flew into the lightening sky with Hiccup on his back and Aniu flying beside him. "Next stop: The Isle of Night." Hiccup and Aniu said together as the sun slowly rose and they left Berk behind. 12
When the sun had fully risen, the other Dragoniters had gathered in the Academy, waiting for their leaders to arrive. "Where's Hiccup and Aniu?" Fishlegs wondered out loud. "It is morning, right?" Tuffnut asked. "They wouldn't...would they?" Astrid asked. "Oh, they would if the information said something about Night Furies only accepting certain dragons." Nava said, not knowing how close he was to getting it right.
Astrid, Nava and Stormfly glanced at each other and decided to go to Hiccup and Aniu's houses. When Astrid went inside the Haddock house, she found Stoick sitting in his favourite chair and carving out a wooden duck. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir." Astrid said apologetically. "It's not a problem, Astrid. Just doing my morning woodwork. It's quite relaxing." Stoick said. "Um, have you seen Hiccup?" Astrid asked.
"I woke up and he was already gone with Toothless. Should I tell him you're looking for him?" Stoick asked. "How about I just leave him a note in his room." Astrid suggested. "Uh, well, be my guest." Stoick said. Astrid went up the stairs to Hiccup's room.
Meanwhile Nava went to Aniu's house in which Fengo and Namara were having breakfast. "Um, have either of you two seen Aniu?" He asked. "We woke up this morning and she was gone." Fengo said. "Maybe she has just gone out for a flight and forgotten the time, I hope." Namara added. "Well, yesterday, we found out about an island and we were going to look for it today but she, Hiccup and Toothless haven't shown up yet." Nava said, his wings twitching and bristling in anxiety.
Fengo and Namara glanced at each other with concerned looks on their faces. "Aniu's a good fighter but what if she was attacked by a whole group of Outcasts and there were too many of them." Namara whispered, her wings bristling and twitching in anxiety. "If those monsters have dared to hurt my daughter, I'm gonna make them wish they were never born." Fengo hissed, a ball of fire forming in his hand. "I better rejoin with the other Dragoniters now. I'll see you later." Nava said and walked outside to where Fishlegs and Meatlug were waiting for him and Astrid who had just walked out of the Haddock house.
"Hiccup must have copied the map from his notebook, fortunately." Astrid said, holding up Hiccup's journal. "Yes!" Fishlegs whooped. "Let's get the others." Nava said.
Meanwhile, Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu had arrived at their destination: The Isle of Night. The island was mainly rocky with some trees and patches of grass spread around. "Relax, bud. Trust me. If this map is right, you're gonna like what we find here." Hiccup said. "We're very close to the Night Furies. Perhaps, they're further inland." Aniu said.
The three of them looked around for any sign of a Night Fury then they arrived at a ledge. "Are you ready? Okay, here goes." Hiccup said and unleashed a Night Fury call which echoed around the area. A distant Night Fury answered it. "I can't believe it." Hiccup and Aniu gasped. "Did you hear that?" Hiccup asked his dragon excitedly. Toothless crooned in equal excitement.
Then the distant shape of a Night Fury came out from behind a boulder. "Bork was right. Go get them, Toothless." Hiccup said happily, dismounting his Night Fury. "Go introduce yourself." Aniu nearly squealed in excitement. "It's okay. Go, go. We're right behind you." Hiccup said when Toothless glanced back at them. "Every step and wingbeat of the way." Aniu said. Gathering his courage and steeling his excitement, Toothless slowly approached the Night Fury who didn't move.
Hiccup and Aniu followed behind Toothless but they began to get the feeling that something was wrong. "That's weird, only one Night Fury showed up. There should be more. Where are the others?" Aniu asked anxiously."Something's not right. Toothless, come back!" Hiccup called desperately. Toothless turned to go back to his rider and guardian friend but bolas flew out of nowhere and captured him.
"Toothless, no!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed, running forward but they were grabbed by two Outcasts. More Outcasts came and tied up Toothless who was roaring in outrage. Then, with a gloating, smug smirk on his dirty, scarred face, Alvin the Treacherous strode forward, revealing himself to Hiccup and Aniu. "Alvin." Hiccup and Aniu hissed, glaring at the brutish leader of the Outcasts.
Two Outcasts walked by, wheeling a life-like dummy of a Night Fury behind them. "Amazingly realistic, wouldn't you say, Hiccup and Aniu?" Alvin asked, smirking at the captured teens. Toothless roared, struggling against the ropes, chains and metal bars holding him."Let go of him!" Hiccup yelled. "If you dare hurt Hiccup or Toothless, I will kill you and grind your bones into dust!" Aniu shouted.
"What do you want?" Hiccup demanded to know furiously. "I want me own Dragon Trainer and his guardian friend. And by the looks of it, I've got them." Alvin said. Savage stood behind his leader, holding a large horn in his hands and smirking. "We are not going to train dragons for you, Alvin." Hiccup hissed. "And I am not going to be your weapon." Aniu growled.
"Oh, I think you will. And once you have, I'll use my dragons to destroy Berk." Alvin sneered. "We will never let you destroy Berk as long as any of us live." Aniu snarled. "Take them." Alvin ordered, ignoring her threat. Before he and Aniu were taken away, Hiccup had one more question to ask "I don't understand. How did you do this?"
Meanwhile, back on Berk, Gobber hammered on Mildew's door with his fist. "Mildew, open up. I got your wheel and she's good as new. Home delivery. You don't get better customer service than this. Oh, come on, you cranky, old man! I know you're in there." The blacksmith yelled. When no one answered the door, Gobber decided to kick it open and when he did, he saw that Mildew's whole house had been cleared out. "What in the name of the gods of Valhalla?" Gobber asked himself in confusion.
In the Berk Dragon Training Academy, the remaining Dragoniters were getting ready to go out and look for their leaders when Stoick arrived on Thornado. Fengo and Namara flew in after them. "Has anyone seen Hiccup and Aniu?" Stoick asked. "Where are you lot off to?" Fengo asked. "Uh, just a training exercise." Astrid said, her voice higher than normal...a sign that she was lying. "We thought that while waiting for them to arrive, we might do some training." Nava lied.
"Uh, huh." Stoick said, not convinced. "A training exercise without Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless?" Fengo asked. "You lot never go training unless those three are with you." Namara pointed out. Focusing his gaze on Fishlegs, Stoick chose him as his next interrogation victim. "Fishlegs!" He called, standing right beside the Ingerman boy who tried to keep quiet and look innocent. But, he ended up snapping.
"We're going to the Isle of Night to look for Hiccup and Aniu! It's an island full of Night Furies, could be dangerous, maybe not. Wanna come?" He blurted out. The others groaned and Nava face palmed while Astrid smacked her forehead against Stormfly's wing. "If that is true, then we're coming with you." Fengo said. "Whether you like it or not." Namara added. "There you are, you three! Strangest thing at Mildew's place. It's completely cleared out, no sign of him anywhere." Gobber said, running into the arena.
"Mildew's moved out for good?" Namara asked hopefully. "At last! Thank you, God, Draco, Glaux and Lupus!"Fengo cried out joyfully, shooting a ball of fire into the air. Despite being happy at the fact he no longer had to put up with Mildew's constant complaining, Stoick couldn't help but feel suspicious of Mildew's sudden disappearance. "Gobber, get Sonica. You lot, come with us. We're going after them." He ordered.
Toothless snarled and thrashed his head around as two Outcasts muzzled him. Savage pushed Aniu onto the boat and kicked Hiccup onto it after her. Aniu had chains wrapped around her wings and both she and Hiccup were tied up. Then a familiar smelly, old man and his sheep walked onto the ship. "Mildew? What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked in shock. He knew Mildew hated the dragons and the Dragoniters but he didn't think he would go this far.
"Ah, look at you two. The two brightest kids on the island and yet, here you two are, trapped by a silly old man and his sheep." Mildew gloated. "You sided with the Outcasts. You just betrayed Berk! Then again, I shouldn't be completely surprised." Aniu shrieked, completely outraged. "How could you do this?" Hiccup asked, a bit calmer than Aniu but still shocked and angry.
"You two did it. You two believed our Bork notes. You two followed the map we drew. You two walked right into our trap. All for the love of a dragon. Hmm, maybe you'll think twice next time about where you place your loyalties. And Hiccup, you should have never became friends with this winged freak." Mildew gloated. "Don't you dare call Aniu a winged freak!" Hiccup yelled, surprising everyone around him with the sheer volume of his voice.
Alvin recovered from his shock and laughed. "There won't be a next time. Raise the sails! We're headed home to Outcast Island." He sneered. As the ship set sail. Aniu gently grabbed Hiccup's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Hiccup squeezed her hand back, wondering how they were going to get out of this.
On an island a far distance from Berk, a female Night Fury sighed as she stared at the stars. "What's wrong, my dearest Nightflier?" A male Night Fury asked, sitting down beside his mate and nuzzling her. "It's been around four years since we lost our son and I miss him so much. We don't even know if he's alive or not, Nightblaster." Nighflier sighed, nuzzling her mate back. "He'll come back to us one day, I'm sure of it." Nightblaster said. The two Night Furies went back into their cave to rest.
Only one more chapter to go before this story is finished, folks! Star Wars the Clone Wars has been getting more and more epic!
This chapter was 15 pages long on Microsoft Office. Probably one of my longest chapters yet.
Updated: 17. 02. 16