"Does anybody even notice? Does anybody even care?"

-Dawn, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Six's episode, "Once More, With Feeling"

Author's Notes: And so, we arrive at the more canon stories. But naturally, there will be changes because Addie is there. It'd be kind of weird if there weren't any alterations. Am I right? But this story mostly just has some dialogue shifts, with one brief change in how it went. What change is that? I'll leave you to see for yourself.

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You know, it's fun to see all the crazy nom de plumes people have on this site.

If you guys like reading, I know some really great books. They're the InCryptid novels and the October Daye novels by Seanan McGuire, and I love them. I've even met the author, although I didn't realize it was her until my mom told me who she was. The InCryptid novels are about a family that try to hide the creatures that modern science doesn't accept as real (gorgons, chupacabras, dragons, etc.), and the October Daye novels are about a changeling living in San Francisco, where she is a PI and a knight of Faerie. They're really awesome. I'm not entirely sure how else to describe them, which is kind of sad for a writer.

Please R&R! I'm tired of reminding you at the bottom.

Disclaimer: HTTYD is not mine. Just my OC's, deviations, and original plot lines. Got it?

Key: Y'all know why this is here.

Bold: Translated Benydeyh

Italic: Frostwave's translated lines (when from Addie's POV); human language (when Frostwave's POV); emphasis during normal speech

Italic Bold:Translated Benydeyh (when Frostwave's POV)

Normal: normal Norse; emphasis during flashbacks or when Frostwave is speaking

-8

Part 2: Fire

A week later...

Adeline's POV

It was the realm of my dreams again, that same world of obsidian and light, and as usual, that weird golden lady was there. That nightmare on Blackstone hadn't been the first time I saw her, and I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last.

"Adeline, Guardian of Kindness, I fear Lady Deorca, the monster the dragons know by the name of She Who Serves the Darknesse, will try to send her forces against you in the days to come. Her servants do not always know she is their master, but all are united in their purpose, and that is why you must be prepared. I cannot lose you. All of reality cannot lose you. Without your aid in the final battle, the power of Lighte might yet fail, and all my work will have been for naught," she said gravely. I rolled my eyes and started floating. Hey, it was a dream. If I wanted to, I could probably dye my hair the color of dragon nip flowers and not even break a sweat.

"You say that, yet I don't believe you for some strange reason. I've heard enough stories about those girls and boys who turn out to be the lost prince or princess of some powerful kingdom, and I don't plan on that being me. I'm perfectly fine just being me. Besides, how would I be able to help you out in some final battle? I don't even know where you are!" I replied dryly. The lady shook her head, and waved a hand. Where her palm had passed through the air, an image of a golden building, all delicate spires and intricate stonework that looked like it was made of solid gold, appeared.

"When you have grown into your birthright, when the other Guardians are ready, then I will summon you to my citadel. Haizhe will ensure your safe arrival, along with the allies you will need. Until then, Kindness, farewell. May the winds support your wings," she said, and I recognized the traditional dragon phrase for goodbye. I sighed, but bowed my head in reply.

"And may the stars guide you to safe nests," I said bitterly. I didn't really get this lady, but it wasn't hard to guess she had more power than a normal human did. And somehow, I was important to her plans for fighting this Lady Deorca. Whoever she was, I didn't really like the sound of her.

Or the sound of what was coming next.

"Fire!"

Now that was a cry I hadn't heard before.

The alarming shout of one of the Viking men would have woken me up, even if Frostwave hadn't pushed her nose into my belly.

"Addie, Addie, wake up! There is a problem in the village!" she hummed in concern.

"Yeah, I heard," I replied, not too sleepy to be sarcastic. Hey, it was a gift. Before she could huff a cloud of mist into my face, I sat up, rubbed the little kernels of sleep out of my weary eyes, and rolled out of bed. Frostwave was waiting impatiently by the window for me to get up, and when she saw I was at least conscious, she hummed eagerly.

"Hurry! I do not like the looks of this!" she growled in worried excitement.

I jumped on Frostwave's neck, even though it was some time before dawn, and we flew out of the window. A house was on fire, but everything seemed under control. Stoick was directing the brigade from in front of the house. And I knew that place, and seeing it in flames gave me a very bad feeling. My tired brain wouldn't work right now, though, and the dancing sparks attracted me like nothing else.

"The wind is shifting! Fire Brigade, move in! Bring the Nadders in from the South!" he commanded.

"I'm on it!" Astrid shouted as she led a group of Nadders on Stormfly and dropped some sand on the burning building. That helped, though the ferocious blaze still snapped and crackled in defiance of their efforts. It didn't deter him, though. I think it would take ten thousand angry dragons just to get him to try and stop. The guy is more stubborn than I am, and that's saying something.

"Gronckles, aim for the roof!" he shouted again. This time, Fishlegs led some of the tubby, tough dragons in and dropped troughs of water on the fire. It was really weakening now, but a few rebellious flames licked at the dark sky.

"Yeah!" he shouted triumphantly. Overhead, I saw Hiccup and Toothless dump a bucket of water on it.

"C'mon, girl. We have to help out," I said encouragingly. Frostwave shook her head eagerly.

"Gladly."

We flew into the air, and Frostwave let loose some of her ice. Where it hit the house, spikes of ice about five feet long started to crystallize and put out the fire, and their melting created more water to extinguish the flames. The spikes spread about ten feet before stopping, water already starting to drip off them from the heat. We landed beside Stoick and the newly landed Hiccup and Toothless, and I dismounted quickly.

"Good work, just a few hot spots left," he said proudly. I smiled at him, then tried to remember why I had a bad feeling about that house. Hiccup answered that for me.

"Where's Gobber? Is he still inside?" he asked, worried about the blacksmith. Oh, yeah. That was Gobber's house. His house being on fire was very, VERY bad. Stoick shook his head.

"No, we can't find him," he said grimly. I heard a clanking sound behind me and turned.

"I'm right here," he grumbled from in front of the smithy, a cart of weapons, shields, and pretty much everything else he could take from his forge in front of him. Well, at least he was alive and kicking.

"That beast will pay for this!" he shouted, shaking his hook at the sky angrily. I gave Hiccup and Frostwave a confused look. Um, okay...? What was he talking about?

Stoick came forward and looked at him.

"Gobber, what happened" he asked concernedly.

"What's it look like? A dragon set my home on fire!"

"What? Ruffnut said in confusion. I didn't blame her. All the dragons around here hadn't set anything on fire since that accident with Frostwave (that poor yak).

"You've pushed me too far this time, you ugly bag of bones!" he shouted again, glaring at the sky. Frostwave let out a surprised hiss.

"What is it, girl?" I asked her quietly. She didn't answer, but I could see the cogs of her mind turning.

"Dad, what's he talking about? Our dragons don't do that anymore," Hiccup asked bemusedly. The chief sighed, and I could tell he was fed up with something.

"He doesn't mean one of yours. Gobber, for the last time, there is no such thing as a-"

"Boneknapper?!" Gobber cut in defiantly. The entire village, except for me and the other teens, sighed just like Stoick had.

"A what-knapper?" Tuffnut said warily. Gobber turned his steely gaze on the male half of the Thorston Twins.

"A disgusting, foul beast, wearing a coat of stolen bones like a giant, flying skeleton," he replied. I pictured that and shuddered. The tales I had heard from Trader Johann as a kid about a land in the south where the dead were raised to become mindless slaves to a witch doctor's will still sounded creepy, even after several years. To think there was a dragon that looked like that...

"The Dragon Manual says that the Boneknapper will stop at nothing to find the perfect bone to build its coat of armor. It's awesome!" Fishlegs said eagerly. Great. Tenacious and eerie. Just my luck.

"Come on, it's just a myth. It doesn't even exist," Stoick said skeptically. Frostwave huffed a cloud of mist at him.

"That shows what you know, human," she replied derisively. I gave her a confused look, but I couldn't ask her the question on my mind because of Gobber.

"I'm telling you, it's real! I've been running from him my whole life. He's the one who started this fire," he declared assuredly. Frostwave gave the chief a smug look, well, smugger than she normally looks. She always looks kind of smug, when she's not pulling the cute act. Another Viking man came up with something white and blackened on a stick.

"Stoick, we found Gobber's underpants hanging by the stove. They must have started the fire," he explained. And that made bile rise up in my throat. Seriously? I didn't need to see that! Stoick chuckled.

"Still think it's the Boneknapper, or just your underpants?" he asked jokingly, holding up the undergarment shish-kebab. Gobber glared at him.

"I don't think! I know! Somehow he found me again. That dragon is pure evil," he said. I shared a sad look with Frostwave.

"Gobber, it's late, and we're too tired for your stories. Now, get some rest," Stoick said wearily. Gobber shook his head.

"You rest. I'm putting an end to this." With that, he started to wheel the cart down to the docks. A sheep watched him curiously (or at least, as curiously as they get).

"Come on, Phil. Let's go. We don't need their help anyways," he said to the animal. It bleated at us and trailed after the angrily muttering blacksmith. Stoick and the other villagers began to walk away, but the rest of the teens stayed. Hiccup stared after him sadly.

"We can't let him go by himself, Addie," he said to me. I looked at Frostwave, and she gave me a patch of ice in my hair. I brushed it out easily.

"Frostwave, are you okay with this? I know how you feel about dragon death," I asked her carefully. She blew another cloud of ice at my hair, and I brushed it out again.

"While I mourn any action that results in the death of a dragon, I know from experience that there are those that must be put down. If any dragon's blood has been tainted by She Who Serves the Darknesse's influence, then I will not blame you if you must kill it," she replied ruefully. I sighed and looked at Hiccup.

"Well, Frostwave says she's okay with it," I told him. He nodded.

"Alright, Vikings! Grab your shields," he told the others. All but Snotlout looked enthusiastic about this, and a few even let their agreement be made audible.

"There's no way I'm getting on a boat to go after a fake dragon," he said mulishly.

Half an hour later...

We were all manning the oars of a ship Gobber had borrowed, including Snotlout. Gobber stood at the rudder and helped steer while we provided the forward power. Phil was somewhere near the prow with our supplies.

I, meanwhile, was sitting next to Hiccup, closest to the outside of the ship. I didn't mind. I wasn't scared of water. That would have been a very stupid fear for an ex-pirate to have.

It was the sitting next to Hiccup part that I did mind. I could tell Astrid didn't like how close we were, and right now I swore he could hear my heart pounding. Gods, was it always going to be like this when I was too close to him?

"Come on! Put your backs into it, you lazy dogs! Stroke! You're not even trying! Stroke!" he commanded. At that moment, I would have gladly knocked him into the dark gray ocean, if he was going to keep yelling at us like that. I had never liked being ordered around so much. Call it my wild side emerging from inside of me.

"How fun is this, right? We got the team back together, a new ally, another adventure. This is pretty cool, huh?" Hiccup said, trying to lift our spirits. Snotlout behind us grunted with the exertion of moving a giant oar.

"Yeah, nothing cooler than rowing until your hands bleed," he replied. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes, I would see these guys and wonder, 'How did I ever become friends with them?' And then I remember that it was only because of Hiccup. Still, I'm glad they're my buddies. No one should ever be alone in this harsh world, and if they are, then someone needs to step up and be with them. Maybe then it wouldn't be as terrible. Maybe then I would have liked- no, I would have never liked Blackstone. It just hadn't been the place for me. Here was where I belonged, with dragons and people I could at least tolerate. And Hiccup.

"I just want you kids to know that it touches my heart, you helping me slay the Boneknapper. True Vikings, you are. And Addie, of course," he said, giving me a sly wink. I rolled my eyes. Maybe if I had grown up as a normal girl, Gobber would have been that crazy uncle that I would have adored. But I hadn't, so there was no use wishing for it. Besides, he could still be the crazy uncle I always wanted, just not for a little girl.

"Gobber, are we there yet?" Ruff complained. Ah, the most prevalent question in the history of travel. If someone doesn't ask it on your trip, then you're doing something wrong.

"Oh, you'll know we're close when your ears explode from the piercing screams. Legend says this dragon's roar is so fierce, it can melt the flesh right off your bones!" Fishlegs said dramatically. I furrowed my brow at that. Sounded kind of like Frostwave. Only hers didn't melt your flesh – it scared you half to death, and sometimes all the way to death. I guess the end result would be the same either way.

"Not so, Fishlegs. The Boneknapper has no roar at all. That's why he's terrifying. He's a silent killer," Gobber replied knowingly. I sighed. Great. So no one even knew which was really true. And by the time we figured it out, we'd all probably be dead. And I don't think Frostwave would like that. Or me. Yeah, definitely not me.

"Gee, that's comforting," I muttered. Hiccup nodded in agreement.

"Wait, so if we don't hear anything... we're dead?" the female twin said worriedly. We all leaned in toward the center instinctively, our ears strained to the max to hear any sign of the dread beast. Tense moments passed, but all I could hear was the sound of waves and wind in the strange mist around us.

"I don't hear anything," Tuff whispered, fear creeping into his voice. Did that make us dead? I hoped not. I rather liked being alive. You could do so much when you were alive, like flying on a dragon, or eating tasty food, or both at once! The options were nearly limitless.

"BAAA!" Phil bleated from the back. We all screamed in surprise, even Snotlout and Astrid. I didn't blame them. That had startled me, and my heart was still pounding. Oh, I couldn't take much more of this. That's it. I'm increasing my dragon nip flower tea intake. Sure, it wouldn't help if a dragon smelled my breath and started following me around, but at least I'd be calmer.

Gobber chuckled, and I shot a glare at him. He just laughed harder.

"Good one, Phil," he said, then sighed contentedly.

"Did I ever tell you about the first time I met the dreaded Boneknapper?"

Gobber, narrating

'I was a young lad, about your age, on summer vacation with my family, when I heard the call of nature.'

A much, much younger version of Gobber, minus the mustache and with all limbs intact, sits in the back of a boat. In front of him are his mother, sunning herself with a shield, and his father, controlling the ship as it floats through an ice field. Suddenly, he clenches his legs together in the classic position of holding it in (you know the one).

"Dad, pull the boat over!" he shouted, jumping out onto the ice and running off.

"Didn't I tell ya to go before we left?" his father shouted back. But Gobber was already too far away to hear.

After taking care of his business, he grabs his axe and is just about to return when he sees it. It is obvious he is amazed at the sight.

'I saw an army of Vikings, frozen in battle. Clutched in the fingers of one of the Vikings was a small treasure chest... I had to have it.'

Young Gobber plants a hand on the ice prospectively, then hefts his axe up and swings it. It flies true and breaks the ice open where the golden treasure is stuck.

'I reached in and pulled out the chest...'

Young Gobber does exactly this. Light pours forth from the opening.

'It was the most beautiful thing I ever saw.'

His eyes widen with awe...

'But the frozen Viking was still alive! He started punching me in the face!'

The trapped Viking, still very much alive, does indeed begin hitting young Gobber with his fist, and on one of the final tries manages to knock out a tooth (the very same one replaced with a chunk of metal).

"Oh, my tooth!" young Gobber exclaims, pulling out his lip to see the damage. The attacking Viking stops and starts trying to shout at him, pointing and waving with his free arm behind the defending Viking. He turns uneasily...

'And there it was... I never even heard it coming... the Boneknapper!'

The Boneknapper flies through the air silently, not even the barest hint of a roar escaping from its bony jaws. It dives for Gobber, but he manages to dodge out of the way.

'It crashed into the glacier, causing an avalanche of frozen Vikings!'

All around Gobber, ice cubes with Vikings in the middle cascade around him, and he runs just ahead of the Vik-alanche. The Boneknapper recovers and tries to take the treasure away from him, but he trips, and it skids across the ice and into the icy sea.

"The treasure!" he shouts in despair, then runs to the edge of the ice.

'I reached into the water...'

Young Gobber does this and pulls out the box securely. But he has an unexpected guest.

'Only to find the frozen Viking punching me in the face again!'

With each blow, he becomes more and more disoriented, shouting "Hey" every time. After the fourth blow, the Boneknapper lands on the ice, causing it to flip up and form a mountain of frozen Vikings. The treasure is sent flying into the air as well, and Gobber runs up the mound to grab it. But at the same time, the talons of the dragon clutch it and carry both it and him away.

'The Boneknapper wanted that treasure... but I wanted it more!'

Gobber manages to wrench it free from the dragon, goes through a crack in the ice as the Boneknapper hits the berg, and slides up a curving ramp made of ice. It sends him flying through the air and into the back of the boat, where his parents are waiting.

"What took you so long?" his father asks. Gobber looks down at the small chest in his hands and hides it behind his back, grinning and giggling nervously.

Adeline's POV

"You expect us to believe that a frozen Viking punched you in the face?" Snotlout asked derisively. I looked at the ocean thoughtfully.

"Yeah, twice," Gobber replied, holding up two fingers.

"Hey, it could happen," Hiccup said, trying to back up the blacksmith. When the others didn't seem convinced, he turned to me.

"Addie? What do you think?" I shrugged.

"I've heard crazier during the Cajah Hekrdc uv Fiends. Remind me to tell you guys about that two summers from now. But yeah, it could have happened," I agreed casually.

"What do you mean, "it could happen"? It did! But I outsmarted the silent beast," Gobber said

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

"Fishlegs, I know what I didn't hear. But, I could feel it..." the older man replied, looking around to prove him point.

"Uh, guys? Are there supposed to be...?" Fishlegs asked, fear coloring his voice. But maybe I was the only one to notice. The others were all listening to Gobber.

"I had a sixth sense for danger. I can smell anything..." he continued, pointing at his nose. I snorted at that. Somehow, I doubted a human could actually smell danger. Dragon, yes. Human, no.

"I really think we're gonna hit these..." Fishlegs said, his voice getting a little higher.

"...I could taste the oncoming doom!"

CRASH!

I was sent flying forward by the force of our impact. Thankfully, the oar kept me from being knocked off of the ship, which was now at a very bad angle for a ship. Unfortunately, my stomach had rammed up against it, and now it hurt. A lot.

"Whoa..." Tuffnut murmured in awe. I held my belly and looked around. Jagged spires of rocks surrounded us, jutting out of the sea like the teeth of some ginormous monster.

'Does that make us its next meal?' I thought grimly.

"Um, I'm tasting rocks," Astrid said, looking over her side. I nodded. Looks like Gobber's "sixth sense" hadn't really kicked in. Speaking of our favorite blacksmith, he stood up from the front and walked over to the side of the ship.

"Ah, we're here," he said darkly.

Getting all the supplies off a boat that could sink at any moment was... fun.

Getting to dry land was... less fun. It's a very good thing I knew how to swim, because otherwise I would have had to use a plank or something to stay afloat. As it was, we managed to get everything and everyone to the nearby island without much incident (although the Twins did try to drown each other, twice).

We all watched the ship as it slid into the deep, leaving only a trail of bubbles and a few pieces of hull behind to mark its passing.

"Ugh. Now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and no one even knows where we are!" she complained loudly. I sighed. So far, this whole trip had gone downhill, metaphorically speaking. I still didn't see why we couldn't have just taken the dragons, but I guess the Boneknapper would have been scared away by their presence. That would have made hunting it down just a bit harder than before.

"Except the Boneknapper. Legend says..." Fishlegs began worriedly, but Snotlout cut him off quickly.

"Hey, you know what legend also says? Stop talking!" he shouted.

"Okay, just hold on one darn second..." Fishlegs said, this time getting angry.

"No need to panic, kids. I've been shipwrecked many times!" Gobber said, taking a seat on a rock a short distance away.

"Oh, well that's... comforting," Hiccup said sarcastically. I nodded, my mouth a narrow line. Here we were, trapped on some uncharted island with only other teens and an adult that was the target of the creepiest dragon I'd ever heard of, and that same adult had several shipwrecks under his belt.

"Very comforting," I agreed, folding my arms across my chest.

Gobber began sharpening his hook with a rock and stared off into space.

"You never forget your first shipwreck..." he began dreamily. Hoo boy. Here we go again.

Gobber, narrating

A slightly older version of Gobber stands on an island, a metal tooth, a small beard, and a longer mustache the only sign he had grown older. Mist surrounds him.

'I was stranded on an island, with only my broom. It was a very small island. It's no wonder the Boneknapper found me again. He never forgave me for taking that treasure.'

Not-as-young Gobber sighs when he sees his broom. The island was indeed small, barely enough to hold him and a palm tree (A.N. Where he found a tropical island, I have no clue. Maybe he was sailing to America and ended up in the Caribbean. Hey, that could be a movie! Gobber in the Caribbean! Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Craig Ferguson. Okay, I'll stop now).

The Boneknapper appears from behind a cloud and swoops down, taking off most of the palm tree and clearing the mist. Gobber sees that his tree is gone and glares after it, only to see something that had previously been hidden by the clouds.

'There was another island. My only escape. But I was surrounded by bloodthirsty hammerhead sharks!'

It is a larger island, with a few more palm trees than his own. Hundreds of sharks look up from the water at him and bare their teeth in shark-y snarls. The Boneknapper is starting to turn around for another pass.

'I only had one chance. So I ran across the shark-infested waters.'

Youngish Gobber starts dashing across the water, using the sharks as stepping stones and beating back any that try to attack. The accursed dragon is swooping down by this point.

"Take that! Watch it! Nighty night, fatty!" he shouts, using some sharks to attack others. One jumps out of the water at him, but he stops it by brushing its teeth.

"Someone forgot to brush!" he taunts. The teeth sparkle before he hits it down.

'I didn't think I was going to make it.'

The Boneknapper nearly has him in its talons.

'But then, from the depths of the ocean leapt forth... a giant hammerhead whale!'

The entire scene pauses with Gobber in front, the dragon right behind, and the whale about to eat the dragon.

Adeline's POV

By now, the story had gotten interesting, even though I had never heard of something like a hammerhead whale. We were all silent, until Fishlegs broke it.

"Whoa! So the hammerhead whale ate the Boneknapper?" he asked eagerly. I looked from him to Gobber.

"Almost, but he got away! Years later, the dragon hunted me down again and chased me into the jungle," he replied, his eyes going misty at this other remembrance.

Gobber, narrating

'All I had was my trusty eggbeater.'

Another younger version of Gobber is running through a bamboo thicket, with his trusty eggbeater on his left arm. The pounding feet of the skeletal Boneknapper drive him on.

'I carved through that thick brush as fast as a jungle cat. Still, the Boneknapper was right behind!'

Gobber cuts down a wall of bamboo with three quick swipes of his eggbeater and stops to sniff some pretty pink flowers.

"Ah, azaleas!" he says, holding up one blossom to his nose. He sees the dragon chasing him and runs away. The Boneknapper crushes the flower bush without even a drop of remorse. It was fixated on its target: Gobber.

'I ran up the side of a volcano and courageously leapt across the fiery crater.'

Gobber somehow defies the laws of space and time and quickly runs up an almost vertical slope, then jumps across the pit of bubbling lava, going farther than humanly possible. The Boneknapper almost has him...

'Then, deep within the burning volcano burst forth a giant hammerhead yak!'

The scene pauses with the yak about to grab the Boneknapper.

Adeline's POV (again)

"Okay, wait a minute. Now you're saying a giant hammerhead yak leapt out of the fiery volcano and ate the Bonekapper?" Tuffnut asked skeptically. I shook my head. Okay, this was going beyond the crazy stories of some of the pirates. I had heard more sane tales from Crazy Kate, a certifiably insane woman in the House of Waters that frequently drank too much fiend-gemman and liked to eat cabbage raw. But she was also one of the most creative hunters on Blackstone, and usually brought in twice as much game as the others.

"You would've thought so, wouldn't you? But the dragon got away again! I knew the boney scoundrel would keep coming after me...

Gobber, doing his thing with the story

'So, I set up a gauntlet of traps, and waited for the beast.'

A slightly younger version of Gobber than the current man sets up giant bear traps, a mine or something similar, and sits on a stool. His left arm is now a guitar (though where he got it, I have no idea), and his right hand begins playing a stirring, challenging song.

'And when he was ready... he charged!'

The Boneknapper flies down from the clouds and begins rushing Gobber.

'And then I ran like the wind!'

Gobber jumps up from his seat and runs past the traps, the dragon hot on his trail. It manages to dodge the snapping bear traps, and the mine didn't go off.

'But the traps failed!'

Gobber is cornered at a cliff, and the Boneknapper traps him under a foot. It leers down at him.

'Then, captured, I did what any brave Viking would do...'

"Help!" (A.N. Hey, that's what I'd do, if I was about to be eaten by a skeleton dragon. At least I don't have to worry about that. Yet.)

The clouds part above them, light shining through.

'The Gods must've heard my prayers. It was Thor!'

Gobber's eyes widen with admiration at the sight of the powerful god. Sadly, he was nothing like the Thor of the Marvel movies, and instead had overly proportioned muscles, no shirt, and a horned helmet.

'He tossed a mighty thunderbolt.'

Thor did, and it didn't go anywhere near the Boneknapper. Instead, it creates a huge, molten crater at the base of the cliff, smoke feathering up delicately.

"Aw, you missed," Gobber complains.

"Wait for it..." Thor replied, holding up a finger to emphasize the command.

'Then, from the center of the earth blasted forth...'

The ground starts trembling, perhaps with fear of the might creatures rising up.

'The hammerhead yak riding the hammerhead whale!'

The strange animals launch from the crater, the yak slapping the side of the whale.

"Deploy the yak," he says gruffly. The whale fires him using its blowhole, and he lands on the cliff. It begins punching the Boneknapper, knocking out a tooth. Gobber has just enough time to stumble a good distance away from the edge before the whale falls from the sky and eats the dragon. The yak gets on, and as that portion of the cliff falls away, the whale and yak look back at him on the edge. The whale somehow defies the laws of physics (again) and salutes him, moving its fin to its head and away just as quickly.

Gobber salutes in reply, wipes a tear from his eye, and stands up.

"Yes!" There is a crack, and he hunches over, one hand to his back.

"Oh, my back!" he shouts in pain.

Adeline's POV

"Whoa... the whale saluted you?" Fishlegs asked. I didn't really blame him. Gobber could really tell a story, almost as well as I could.

"Can you believe it? But the Boneknapper got away again! He found me on Berk-" Gobber started to tell another tale.

"Are you kidding? I don't believe any of this," Snotlout interrupted before he could get too far.

"Yeah, you totally made everything up!" Tuff added.

"Come on, Gobber, it's time to get out of here!" Ruff said severely.

"We need to get home!" Snotlout agreed.

Boy, things weren't looking good right now. If things got too violent, I might have to step in.

"You don't even have any proof that that thing exists!" Tuffnut claimed. What came next surprised me.

"Of course I have proof. I still have the treasure. This stunning belt buckle," he replied, lifting the edge of his tunic to show us all a buckle shaped like a T.

"It was in the Viking's treasure chest. It's kept my pants up for years." I knelt down and looked at it carefully.

"Looks like bone," I muttered thoughtfully. Wait... bone... bone... why wasn't my head working right now? The fact it was made of bone meant something important, I just knew it!

"It is stunning," Fishlegs allowed. Astrid punched Hiccup's arm, and I winced. She scared me, I'm not afraid to say. I wasn't entirely sure what she'd do to me if she found out I was interested in Hiccup, but I can assume it wouldn't be good. And seeing as she wasn't afraid to use brute force, I would be staying out of arm's reach of Astrid until I was sure she wouldn't kill me.

"Um... listen, Gobber. Instead of chasing down an imaginary dragon, maybe we should figure out how to get home?" Hiccup said, waving his hands around in his usual Hiccup way.

"Say no more, I hear ya loud and clear. I've got a plan. Alright, who'd like to be dragon bait?" he replied calmly, pointing at the middle of our group. Which meant he was looking at Fishlegs and Phil, and the sheep didn't seem to want to be chosen. It inched away from the poor guy, leaving him to stare at us all in terror.

A few minutes later...

Fishlegs was now "Gobber", with a hook in his left hand, an imitation of Gobber's helmet, and a mustache made of rope, and he was standing in a field of bone with a giant rib cage suspended above him. I shuddered to think just what sort of animal was big enough to need that, and then decided to stop picturing it. Given my luck, it would turn out to be some angry, humongous dragon that still haunted this place. Now, I'm not saying ghosts are real, but some places just give me a very, very bad feeling. This was one of those places.

"Um, Gobber, are you sure this is safe?" Fishlegs called to him. He was surveying his work, holding up a thumb like an artist.

"Ah, safety's overrated. Okay, here's the plan," he began softly, kneeling down in front of us all.

"The Boneknapper wants me, right? He comes down that trail, sees Fishlegs, thinks it's me, rushes Fishlegs (at this, the boy squeaked), causing Phil to trip that rope, dropping that rib cage, and then we rush in to finish him off once and for all!" he finished triumphantly. I stared at him in silence.

"It's sad when they get old," Snotlout muttered to the twins. Hey, Gobber wasn't old! He was just... aged. Like cheese. Hey, he even had the smell to match that analogy. I looked at Hiccup, and he must have understood it. This was way too much for just one dragon hunting expedition.

"Gobber, you're taking this way too far, okay? You need to face it. There is no such thing as the Boneknapper!" Hiccup said, trying his best to convince the stubborn old goat.

"Wormsquat! Now, get into position. Way to go, Fishlegs, you're doing fine!" he shouted to the poor Viking boy. I pitied him then, but not enough to trade places with him. He made a far more convincing Gobber than I ever would.

"No wonder the entire village thinks you're crazy," Hiccup muttered. I shook my head sadly.

"I've heard a lot of crazy things, but this takes the seed cake," I replied quietly.

"Hello? He sees dead Vikings!" Snotlout shot back.

"Yeah, especially that thing about the hammerhead yak..." Tuffnut added. I lifted my head to see Fishlegs had paled a lot more than usual.

"Um, guys...?" he said, trying to get our attention. That was when the prickling feeling on the back of my neck started up. Uh oh.

"This is a complete waste of time," Astrid grumbled. Normally, I would have agreed with her grudgingly, but something about Fishlegs and my neck made me think Gobber might have been onto something.

"Guys, hello?! Turn around! Guys! GUYS!" Fishlegs shouted in terror.

"WHAT?!" the others shouted back. I was just bracing myself for what I knew was coming. Oh, gods. This was how I would die, wasn't it?

There was a rattling noise behind us. Yeah, bad feeling justified.

"It's right behind us, isn't it?" Hiccup asked wearily. We all turned around slowly to see one of the biggest dragons ever looming over us. It was indeed coated in bones, but the skin not hidden was a pale, dead color. Its eyes glittered a malevolent green. It opened its mouth to roar, and...

…nothing. The only thing that came out was a squeak.

"Well, what do you know? No roar," Fishlegs said thoughtfully.

"Uh, hi there," I said, waving. It glared down at us balefully and got ready to attack.

"RUN!" Gobber shouted. For once, I wasn't tempted to disobey. We barely managed to get out of the way before it snapped at us, mostly Gobber. I ran faster than I thought I could, stumbling over the bones that littered the area. Well, it was probably the nest of this guy, and we were invading his home. No wonder he was upset.

"Okay, Gobber, we believe you!" Astrid yelled. I didn't even bother agreeing with her. Survival was more important than communicating our regrets.

I think we could have made it, if not for the Boneknapper sweeping its tail across the ground and sending a shockwave of bone and dust toward us. We were all pushed into the same trap as Fishlegs, and that was when Phil decided to disconnect the rope that held up the cage. It dropped, effectively making us easy pickings.

"Phil!" Gobber yelled reproachfully. I sighed and looked behind us at the approaching dragon.

"When this is all over, I'm eating that sheep," I swore softly. But that would have to wait until we either died, or managed to get away.

When it finally caught up to us, it resorted to a very common dragon fallback: fire. I could hear it breathe in, see the glow in the back of its throat, and we managed to take shelter behind some ribs before the flames came bursting out. At this rate, it would be its fire and not its roar that melted the flesh from our bones. I was sweating like crazy. I looked over at Snotlout and smirked.

"Find a happy place, find a happy place..." he muttered, scared beyond all rational thought. Looks like the tough guy wasn't so tough now, huh? But I was acting the same, so I couldn't really blame him. I had hoped I might go of old age, or perhaps "accidental" poisoning on Blackstone, not being killed by an angry dragon.

"Hey! Stop trying to kill us!" I shouted at it, angry and terrified and just a little bit hysterical. For a moment, it actually did stop to turn a confused look on me, but the screams of the others distracted it. What was that? Did it... had the Boneknapper actually listened to me? Well, it certainly wasn't anymore.

The dragon did its best to get into our cage, climbing on top, battering the ribs, and basically trying to break in. The others weren't much help right now, but I managed to make my way over to Hiccup, Astrid, and Gobber.

"No, no, no, please... please. He wants my head. I swear he wants my head!" Fishlegs yelped, while Gobber challenged it with, "Bring it on! You wait til I get out there and I'll show you!" Hiccup seemed to have an epiphany while he was watching it warily.

"Wait. It searches for the perfect bone to build its coat of armor. The treasure! Gobber, take off your pants!" he shouted at the man.

"Huh?" he asked in confusion.

"NO!" the others shouted.

"Hiccup, are you crazy?" I asked him, putting my hands on his shoulders. "Did that fall knock something loose in there? Because I'll put up with a lot of things, but crazy is a bit much." He pushed off my hands and looked at all of us very seriously.

"Wait, listen to me. I think Fishlegs was right. The Boneknapper is supposed to have a roar," he explained, motioning to his throat with one hand, "But maybe he can't because the bone he needs is your belt buckle." I looked at the dragon and saw an empty spot on its chest that matched the shape of the buckle.

"Gobber, please, you have to give it back," I begged him. He shook his head mulishly. While we were talking, the Boneknapper had managed to take out one of the ribs, right next to our little group.

"No way, it's mine."

Snap!

The Boneknapper had reached in and grabbed his (thankfully) wooden leg.

"Uh oh."

He was yanked out painfully, and the dragon started swinging him through the air like some sort of human chew toy (hey, Frostwave had needed one at one point. I lost one of my boots to her before I managed to find a log she wouldn't bite to splinters in one day). I winced at the sight, and yet I couldn't look away. It was morbidly fascinating. Maybe that was why we had all gathered at this side of the ribs to watch.

"Give him back his bone!" Hiccup shouted.

"NOOO!" Gobber replied, as stubborn as ever. It takes a lot more than that to stop Hiccup, though. I should know. When he got into my kit and started taking things out, I had to physically force him to the ground and pull him away. The guy's as stubborn as I am. Maybe that's why I like him. And being able to tame dragons is also pretty awesome.

"GIVE HIM BACK HIS BONE!" he tried again, louder this time.

"NOOOOO!" Okay, that's it. Time to take the gloves off and step in.

"Gobber, I will make you a new one when we get home! Just GIVE HIM BACK THE DAMN BONE!" I shrieked. That startled the Boneknapper so much, it let go of him while he was going up, and he was flung into the air.

"Noooo... oh, alright," he finally gave in, tearing it from his belt and throwing it. It flew with supernatural accuracy through the air and into the void on the Boneknapper, where it joined with a golden flash of light from the cracks. The dragon stopped and shook its chest, testing the feeling. Almost at the same time, Gobber landed in a heap of bones with a terrible crack.

"Gobber!" Hiccup and I shouted. I sighed in relief when I saw him stand up shakily. But it was not to be all fun and games from now on. The Boneknapper decided to test out its new roar, and it was almost as bad as Frostwave. The screech made us all cover our ears, though Gobber was trying to hold up his pants at the same time. When it stopped, it stepped toward Gobber and eyed him inscrutably.

"Alright, you've got me. Make it fast," he said in defeat. Instead of biting his head off, the dragon growled affectionately and rubbed its head against him, just like Frostwave or Toothless would. Its nudges made his pants fall down, and I turned a very sickly shade of green. I'm not even gonna describe what it looked like, that's how bad it was. The others all started retching or looking just as disgusted as I felt.

"That's gonna give me nightmares," Hiccup said, covering his eyes. I nodded, then regretted that immediately, Normally, I have a very sound stomach, but that was just too much.

"For a month," I added. The others all nodded, then we turned back to look at the new friends.

"Well, at least we have a ride home," Astrid said, trying her best to put a good spin on this.

"There is that," I replied, trying to focus on the dragon, not Gobber.

"Aren't you cute? Yes, you are. Yes, you are!" he cooed, scratching it under the chin. It wagged its tail like a dog, revealing a club made of interlocking bones.

Now that the dragon was friendly, I was able to get up close and examine him.

"Wow... you're beautiful," I murmured, looking at how carefully each bone fit together. To think that there was a dragon out there that could actually make its own armor from the remains of others and still move quickly was incredible.

"I think Addie has a new boyfriend," Snotlout muttered to the twins, just loudly enough for me to hear. I ignored him. You know, once a dragon isn't trying to kill me, I can really appreciate just how amazing it is, and I'm not gonna let some jerk like him ruin it for me.

"C'mon, I can't wait to get back to Berk to write this in the Book of Dragons," Hiccup said eagerly. Before I could protest, he climbed up behind Gobber, who was behind Phil on the Boneknapper's head, and he pulled me up behind him. I tentatively put my arms around his waist. It wasn't hard to guess that the malevolent aura behind me was Astrid seething about how close Hiccup and I were. Well, she would just have to deal with it. I was going to enjoy the rest of this trip, whether she liked it or not.

A few minutes later...

Thankfully, Astrid hadn't tried to strangle me from her position behind me, so I was in a pretty good mood. No one had fallen off (yet), I was sitting behind the boy I liked, and all seemed right with the world.

"You know, I never doubted him. I was always like: 'He's right,'" Snotlout said to Fishlegs behind us. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right. Just keep yapping, Snotlout.

"His tailbone is hurting my tailbone!" Tuffnut groaned.

The dragon just kept roaring cheerfully.

"He sure seems happy to have that bone back," Hiccup said to Gobber.

"Well, legend says that the Boneknapper's roar is its mating call," Fishlegs supplied helpfully. Hoo boy. Little baby Boneknappers, flying in!

"Oh, that's just a myth," Gobber scoffed.

"That's what they said about him, and look what we're riding," I replied, patting the back of the dragon. He growled happily, and for a moment I thought I was hearing an echo. But wait, that couldn't have been an echo. We were in the open air.

We all turned to see four more Boneknappers had joined us, flying in a V formation behind us.

"Uh oh!" Gobber said in surprise. Phil bleated again, and I turned back to see Berk was approaching fast.

"I think Stoick will believe me now, eh?" he cackled with amusement. I chuckled, too, then rested my chin on Hiccup's shoulder. He didn't say anything, but I sighed.

"Hey, Hiccup, thank you," I said quietly. He turned his head slightly.

"For what?" he asked curiously.

"For thinking about the dragon's side of the story. If you hadn't, we might all be dragon meat," I replied bluntly. Hiccup muttered something under his breath, but thanks to the wind, I couldn't really hear him.

"What was that?" I asked, holding a hand to my ear. He shook his head.

"It's nothing. Just think how surprised Frostwave and Toothless are gonna be when they see us riding a Boneknapper," he said smilingly. I grinned back at him.

"Well, I think Frostwave already knew that Boneknappers exist. I just don't think she realized we would be coming back with five," I replied, looking at the island that seemed so small from this distance, but was actually quite big. It was my home now, and like any home, it had its ups and downs. But I would be alright. With Frostwave by my side, I could handle anything, even the battle to win Hiccup's heart. No one was going to hurt me now.

Author's Notes: No translations for us, just good old fashioned talking. Does anybody even read this anymore? If you do, type your favorite How To Train Your Dragon character (or dragon species) into the review box when (and if) you review. But ah, the fun is just beginning.

MMM – Addie and Astrid are not going to have a very happy relationship for a while. It's gonna take a lot of dragon nip, chicken, and battleaxes to mend those bridges. But don't worry. Eventually they will be, if not good friends, at least civil ones. And really, isn't that enough? As to your first question, I'm not sure what you mean by "creature", but I'm assuming it is the dark lady from the end of the last chapter. As you could tell from Addie's dream earlier, her name is Lady Deorca. I got her name from the Old English word "deorc", which is the root of the Contemporary English word "dark". See? You learn something new every day! Anyways, she will be a very important character later, and is the link between... well, I won't get into that now, but you'll understand eventually.

There will be romance! There will be drama! There will be comedy! And there will be dragons! What more can you ask for in a story? Besides character growth, I mean.

Now review! That is a suggestion! Hey, I don't have nearly enough authority to be giving you people orders. Not yet, anyway... * evil laughter starts reverberating through * Ahem. Sorry about that.

Wild Cat 214, out!