Chapter Six

A/N: GAHHH! The new Defenders of Berk episode comes out tonight! So excited! XD And, wow, two chapters in one day...yeah, I love me too! XD

Hiccup's small bedroom is still dark, the boy's body is covered with a thick quilt. He mumbles something in his sleep and rolls over, tugging the blanket over his head. The whole village is quiet and peaceful.

That is, until a loud roar sounds from outside. Hiccup flinches as he yanked back into consciousness by the noise. Dust and wood chips trickle down from the ceiling, settling in piles on his floor as something slams into his roof. It roars again.

"Toothless...!" Hiccup grumbles, receding into a ball. "Give it a rest!" On the roof, Toothless growls and jumps again, shaking the whole house. He crawls over to the lip of the wooden roof and pokes his head into Hiccup's window. The dragon coos and pushes his head against Hiccup's. "Ohh, Toothless...!" The boy groans, clumsily reaching up to push his dragon away. "Five more minutes!"

But Toothless doesn't want to wait five more minutes. Already, he has been deprived of two chances to go flying and he isn't willing to miss another. No matter how groggy Hiccup is. Toothless growls and glides into the room, landing at the foot of his Rider's bed. Lowering his head, he opens his mouth to display his trademark toothless gums. Gently, so as not to hurt Hiccup, he closes his mouth around the boy's ankle.

Hiccup's eyes snap open, knowing what's about to happen. "N-no, wait! Toothless don't-" But it's too late. With a single tug, Toothless yanks Hiccup straight out of his bed and onto the hard, wooden floor. "Ughh..." Hiccup groans and rolls over onto his side, rubbing his neck where it connected with the floor. Sitting up, he glares at Toothless with tired green eyes. "Alright, alright. I'm up. ...apparently."

Toothless purrs and runs to the stairs, pawing at them as if to hurry his friend.

"I'm coming." Hiccup says, smiling despite himself. It doesn't seem to matter how annoying or bossy Toothless can be, Hiccup can never really stay mad at him. "Yeah, we can go flying now."

Astrid shivers and hugs her arms closer against the cold. Man, it's freezing out here. I thought devastating winter wasn't for a few more weeks! She glances over to where Fishlegs is cuddling with Meatlug to stay warm and then back at the cloudy sky. Looks like there's going to be a storm within the next few days. "I wonder where Hiccup is?" She says, mostly to herself. "He better not have overslept."

"Relax, Astrid." Fishlegs says. "He and Toothless are probably taking a morning flight. We all know how stubborn Toothless is."

"Yeah, almost as stubborn as Hiccup himself."

Stormfly chirps, softly and nudges her beak against Astrid's shoulder.

"I know, girl. We can go flying as soon as Hiccup gets here."

"I wonder if the others will come too. They didn't seem very interested yesterday." Fishlegs comments.

"Hn, I wouldn't be surprised if it were just us this time." Just then, an inhuman screech fills the air. A black dot races across the sky before vanishing once again. It reappears several feet away and then dives back into the clouds. "Oh, look. Seems like the Mighty Dragon Tamer finally decided to grace us with his presence." She says, sarcastically. Astrid folds her arms and smirks, waiting for Hiccup and Toothless to land.

For a moment, there's nothing but the eerie call of a Night Fury. The stillness is, admittedly, a bit unsettling even for Astrid. No wonder the Night Fury was such a feared dragon; she'd almost forgotten after getting to know Toothless.

However, after a few more seconds, the black figure reappears and nose-dives right toward the arena. Hiccup cheers in excitement as they tear closer and closer to the Academy.

"Show off." Fishlegs grumbles.

Astrid wacks him across the shoulder and steps back so Toothless has room to land.

"Ow...was that really necessary?"

She doesn't answer him. Instead, she waves at Hiccup who has just landed on the wire roof of the Academy. Toothless coos at her and crawls down from the hole in the roof, dropping to the ground. "Well, look who finally decided to show up." She says, looking at Hiccup.

He smiles, sheepishly and dismounts the saddle. "Sorry for the wait, guys. Toothless didn't get to fly very much yesterday so he was feeling restless."

"He was feeling restless? Somehow I think the feeling was mutual." Astrid says, grinning at him.

"Yeah well..." He glances around the Academy and arcs an eyebrow. "Just us today?"

"Seems like it."

Hiccup shrugs. "That's fine. Maybe we won't get shot down into the water again, huh bud?" Toothless purrs, happily.

"Yeah, let's all hope today goes a little better than yesterday." Astrid agrees.

"Hey! Don't say that! You're gonna jinx us!" Fishlegs glances around in a paranoid manner before hugging Meatlug.

"Jinx?" Astrid asks. "Fishlegs, how old are you? Three?"

"Actually, I'm-"

"Nevermind. Can we just get going now? Before Fishlegs chickens out too..."

"I wouldn't chicken out!"

Hiccup sighs and shakes his head. "Alright, everyone. Let's go." He hops back into the saddle, directing Toothless toward the door. "Next stop: Dragon Island."

A vicious wind is blasting through the sky as the Riders make their way to Dragon Island. It's presence definitely agrees with Astrid's assumption of a storm but it's nothing they can't handle. The dragons' wings are far stronger than is needed to fly through this wind.

"Hiccup," Astrid calls. "How much further?"

"Um, about...five more minutes? Maybe."

"You don't seem very sure of that." She comments.

"Because I'm not. It's too windy to take the map out right now but don't worry, we're on course." He assures her. "I recognize the landscape."

"If you say so."

"Uhh...hey guys!" Fishlegs says, his voice sounding trembling slightly.

"What is it?" Hiccup turns around, frowning in confusion at what he sees Fishlegs pointing at. Below them, veiled in mist, is a small island. "What the...?"

Astrid notices it too and tells Stormfly to slow down. "Was that island always there?" She asks. "I don't remember ever seeing it before..."

"Neither do I." Hiccup mutters. He leans down and pats Toothless's side. "Just hover for a bit, bud. I want to check the map..." Toothless obeys and remains stationary, flapping his wings to keep them in the air. Hiccup fumbles through his vest and pulls out his notebook where he has copied the map of Berk's neighboring areas.

"Did you find anything?" Astrid asks him.

"I don't get it." He mumbles. "We're so close to Dragon Island. It's only a little bit in that direction," He jabs a finger to their right. "We've been all over this area a hundred times. How could we have missed an entire island?"

"Maybe it was the wind." Fishlegs suggests. "It could have gradually blown us in another direction."

"Possibly." Hiccup mutters, his brow furrowed.

"Well it doesn't really matter. If we're here then it means we're off course." Astrid says. "Let's just figure out where we are and then get to Dragon Island."

"Um, right." Hiccup nods. "Well, there are a few little islands surrounding the main Dragon Island. I'm sure that's what this island is. The only question is, which one?"

"Hmm...maybe-" But Fishlegs is cut off by an enormous roar right above them. They all whip their gazes upward, just in time to see a familiar dragon speeding toward them.

"It's the Monstrous Nightmare who attacked the village!" Hiccup gasps.

"No kidding!" Astrid retorts.

The huge dragon opens its mouth, blasting fire through the air right toward them. Astrid screams when Stormfly suddenly dives out of the way and sends a barrage of spikes toward the other dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare yelps when one of the spikes scratch its front leg. It hisses, furiously and flies straight toward them.

"Astrid!" Hiccup barks, seeing that she's in trouble. "Toothless, we've got to help her!" He says, patting his dragon's head. Toothless growls in agreeance and bolts forward, firing a plasma blast into the back of the Nightmare's strong neck.

It whips around, suddenly seeming torn. It doesn't know who it wants to kill first. Then, it seems to decide it doesn't need to choose. With a dragon-esque grin, it whips its tail up and swings out at the unsuspecting Hiccup. Then, turning its claws toward Astrid, it attacks her as well.

Hiccup gasps, yanking back on the saddle a bit too late. The dragon's tail crashes into his chest, effectively knocking him off Toothless.

Astrid sees this and screams his name, her heart leaping into her throat. However, she is distracted when the Nightmare's claws rake out toward her. Stormfly just barely dodges but Astrid is still jolted quite a bit by the sudden movement. She manages to hang on but then remembers Hiccup...

"Fishlegs!" She screams. "Hold this thing off! I've got to catch Hiccup!"

"Right!" He says. "Let's go, Meatlug!"

Astrid urges Stormfly to hurry as they rocket toward Hiccup and Toothless. The first thing she notices is how deadly still Hiccup is. He's not even trying to get back to Toothless, who is only a few inches away.

He must be unconscious. She concludes, remembering the way the Nightmare's tail had smacked right into him.

Toothless is awake, however. He flips through the air, desperately screeching at Hiccup, trying to wake him. At this rate, they'll both crash-land right on that island and die.

"Now, Stormfly!" She cries out, leaning forward into their plummet toward Hiccup. At her command, Stormfly tucks in her wings and allows gravity to press down on them, quickening their already immense speed. Astrid reaches out, her hand fumbling for Hiccup's limp body, only a few feet away. She growls an inaudible swear under her breath at the sight of the island closing in on them, faster and faster. "Come on...come on...!"

She stretches her arm as far as it will go, her fingers brushing Hiccup's ankle. She's just about to grab ahold of him when Toothless suddenly spins around and strikes out at them with his tail. The force knocks Stormfly sideways, forcing her to open her wings and slow down to almost a halt.

"TOOTHLESS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Astrid screams.

In response, the Night Fury reaches out with his front legs. After a moment of struggle, he grabs Hiccup and pulls him in, cradling him close to his chest. Toothless snaps open his wings, dramatically slowing their pace as well.

Astrid sits back, her eyes widening in understanding. Toothless knew she'd never be able to save Hiccup without crashing. He saved her life. But that leaves the question...will Toothless be able to land safely without Hiccup there to steer him?