Moments after the panic began to spread to the crowd, the sun was blotted out by the sheer number of dragons in the air. Hope was used to occasional swarms and the Snoggletog migration, but those all paled in comparison to the sheer numbers in the sky above them. The other dragons snarled and roared, telling the villagers these were not tamed and friendly dragons. Hope locked eyes with her father and she held up three fingers with a questioning look on her face. Hiccup nodded and held up three fingers. Hope nodded in return and ran back into the emergency bunker. Three fingers meant plan C. Plan C was if a massive and possibly hostile force that couldn't be reasoned with came to Berk. The first thing to do was get the children inside. That wasn't Hope's job. That was up to Astrid and the other mothers. The second part was to find a way to neutralize the force without inflicting too much harm.

Hope grabbed her father's shield from the bunker and rushed back out into the ring, leaping on Sugar's back in a single stride. Sugar, sensing the danger, took to the air as the villagers scrambled around. The women led the children down into the emergency bunker, and the men reached for their weapons and leapt on their dragons. Hope and Sugar flew over to Hiccup, who was standing just in front of the chief's chair. Hope leapt off of Sugar's back and Hope handed her father his shield.

"Dad, where did they come from?" asked Hope, her eyes flickering to the fast approaching mass of dragons. "Do you think they could be Gran's?"

"If they were Gran's dragons, then Toothless wouldn't be growling like that. Neither would Sugar or Stormfly," said Hiccup. He pulled Inferno from its sheath and Sugar sparked just enough to set the blade aflame. "No, I think these dragons are from Dragon Island."

"But the wild dragons on that island are extremely territorial, they wouldn't abandon their territory for anything under normal circumstances," said Hope. "Even if they were being threatened, what could be so terrible to have scared them away from their nests?"

Hiccup gave Hope a look of both sadness and fear, one that said what neither of them wanted to hear. He didn't know. He didn't know the answer and he was very frightened by the lingering of uncertainty in the question. He pulled Hope in for a hug, because he knew that if this was going to be the last time he saw her, he didn't want to regret holding her one last time. Of course, the chances of them not being able to sort this out without major casualties were very slim, but he never knew. Hope gave her father a brave smile when he pulled away and climbed back into her saddle, going to round up her friends. Hiccup and Toothless, united again in battle, followed the stream of Vikings flying up to meet the horde of dragons.

Hope wanted to join in the investigation, but Hiccup had expressly told her not to do anything so stupid until she knew exactly what she was doing. Unfortunately for Hiccup, Hope had two generations of the most wilful and stubborn Vikings in existence in her family. She certainly wasn't going to know how to defend herself in a fight unless she was actually in a fight. This was her one chance to find out what it was like. Hope, loading another arrow, but keeping her bow in a lowered neutral position, followed the others.

For a terrifying moment, she thought the dragons were attacking the front lines, but then she realized something. The dragons were paying absolutely no mind to the Vikings at all; only going around them in whatever way was fastest. Hiccup had only seen that once before, at the dragon nest when he was fifteen. The dragons then had been running for their lives, and these ones appeared to be doing the same. They weren't hostile, they were frightened. They only had to make sure the dragons didn't decide to land in the village.

"Reel them in men, we have to lead them away from Berk and to a safe location!" shouted Hiccup over the squalor of the dragons and cries of those below. "Do not injure the dragons!"

The people began to form a ring around the mass of dragons, with hopes to guide them away. Hope wondered how she was supposed to comply with that order without her father seeing her. She decided to go a little bit beneath everyone else. The dragons, in their panic, blindly followed without even knowing they were being led. They flew past Berk and away over churning grey sea until they reached another island similar to Dragon Island. Leading them down out of the air was easier than Hiccup thought it was going to be. A few of the smaller ones, exhausted from the flight, which had been a few hours at the least, settled down on the island immediately. The bigger dragons followed, however the biggest just kept flying, clearly not worried about rest for a long time. The Vikings landed when the other dragons did, hoping that with their dragon taming abilities, they might be able to calm the dragons. The wild dragons with a bit of strength left in them ran or flew off into the foliage, not wanting to have to go through a fight. The more tired ones could be appeased with fish.

"Why did they leave their island?" asked Fishlegs, his voice sounding nervous. "Hiccup, they only leave the island for the Snoggletog migration. I've never seen this many dragons this shaken up."

"I know, neither have I," said Hiccup, tending to a young Nadder. The mother was nearby, eating fish and keeping a wary eye on the strangers. "I haven't seen them like this since the Green Death."

"Is it the Green Death again?" asked Tuffnut, raising a hand. "I could take him on another time."

"Tuffnut, we killed the Green Death," said Hiccup, pressing his palm to his face. "Remember? I lost a foot, nearly died and whatnot?"

"So it's the Green Death, but now it's a zombie," said Tuffnut, stroking his chin. "Awesome. I've always wanted to kill a zombie."

"Tuffnut, I am one hundred percent positive that the thing that scared these dragons was not the Green Death come back to life as a zombie," said Hiccup in a controlled calm tone. Tuffnut gave Hiccup a confused look, but Hiccup didn't let him say anything else stupid. "There's only one way to find out what scared off these dragons. We have to go to Dragon Island."

"What?!" exclaimed Hope, unable to hold in her outburst upon hearing those words. Hiccup's eyes found Sugar, her saddle empty because Hope was pushing her way to the front of the crowd. She didn't notice Valka mixed in among the others, she thought that her Gran was back home with Astrid and Magnus. Hope finally shouldered her way the group and in front of Hiccup. "Dad, you can't be serious."

"Hope! What did I tell you about following me on my missions?" asked Hiccup, rising to his feet. "And what do you mean, I can't be serious?"

"If something makes the entire dragon population of an island run away, it's never for a nice reason," said Hope, plating her hands on her hips. "Seriously, I've heard some crazy ideas come out of you before, but a suicide mission has never been one."

"She's right," said Valka, stepping out of the crowd and resting a hand on Hope's shoulder. "Hiccup, it was all well and dandy for you to do stupid things when you were young, but you have responsibilities now. You're the chief; you have to decide what's best for your people. Above that, you're a father, so you have to think of your family first."

"Mum, I know. I am thinking about my people and my family," said Hiccup, gesturing to the horizon where the dragons had come from. "Whatever is on Dragon Island is big. If it's hostile, we need to stop it before it decides to move on to bigger things. Also, we need to get the dragons back their island; they've lived there for centuries, nearly undisturbed."

"And what if it doesn't go according to your plan?" asked Hope, crossing her arms across her chest. She felt empowered by her grandmother's support, and the thought that her mother would've sided with them as well. "What then, Chief?"

"I don't know," said Hiccup, knowing that if he gave them anymore time to talk, they'd convince him not to go. He climbed on Toothless' saddle and looked to the crowd. "Anyone who has the true Viking spirit, with me. Anyone else, back to Berk with the two hard-headed women I am forced to love."

"Dad, come on!" groaned Hope, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "What am I supposed to tell Mom? You know she's gonna kill you when you come back."

"In all likeliness," said Hiccup without a shred of doubt or sarcasm. He looked over them to see how many men were going to be joining him. It was enough for a strike force, which was all that was necessary. He returned his attentions to the women in front of him. "Hope, you tell you mother and brother that I did what I had to, and that I love them. I love you both. Mum, you know where I keep the letters. You know what to do with them if…"

He didn't say those last four words, but they lingered in the minds of the listeners long after Hiccup and his men took to the skies again. If I don't come back, he'd meant. Hope wished to all the gods that he hadn't said that. She would've felt a lot better about him leaving. She wasn't concerned for the fact that none of them men had brought supplies, there were a months worth of supplies in the caves on Dragon Island, just waiting to be needed.

"All the stubborn Viking Stoick ever was," grumbled Valka. She turned her attentions back to the men, of which there were maybe twenty. "Alright, no more gawking and dawdling, off with you. Go back home."

"I take it you aren't going back to Berk with us," said Hope, watching the men mount their dragons and head for home. "I mean, there are dragons that need care and training. That's what you usually do."

"Indeed I do," said Valka. She pulled Hope in for hug. When she let go of Hope, she removed a hemp string from around her neck. The pendant had been hidden under her armour, but Hope could see what it was now. It was a key. Valka placed the key and string around Hope's neck. "The box with the letters to all of his loved ones is in the middle highest cupboard on the left wall in the workshop. This key opens the lock. I'll be back in about a week, since I was going to head off to the valley after you exam anyways."

"My exam!" exclaimed Hope, having nearly forgotten about that afternoon's ordeal. She pressed both palms to her eyelids. "I never got to perform my routine! Now I'll never know if I passed."

"On behalf of the chief, I give you full marks on your final exam," said Valka. "Now get back home and tell your mother what your deranged father has done now."

Hope kissed Valka's weathered cheek and climbed back up into her saddle, following the rest of the stragglers back to Berk. The whole way there, she couldn't stop picturing what it would be like if Hiccup never came home.