Thepurplewriter333 is back for the second time today! And I've got a bunch of Hictooth and Hiccstrid stuffed up my sleeves for next chapter, so be prepared!

So, this will be the second to last chapter in the story. Thanks so much for reading so far!

Also, to katurdi: My unicorn's name is Sam. I don't know why she likes it. Well, it's better than her original name: Salmonella. *shrugs*

Chapter Four: There Were Dragons: Part 1

"Achoo!" Snotlout sneezed, wiping at his runny nose as he entered the Edge's clubhouse. He saw Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs, and Astrid all look up in surprise.

Tuffnut even jumped up from his seat. "Ahhhh! He's got a demon inside of him! Save me, sis!" He attempted to hide behind Ruffnut, but his sister slammed him to the floor with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't have a demon inside of me, you muttonhead!" Snotlout snapped, his voice a pitch higher than usual and very, very squeaky. "I just have a cold because I had to sleep outside last night…ACHOO!"

Tuffnut looked even more alarmed than before as he sat up from the ground. "Ahhh! He doesn't KNOW he's got a demon inside of him!"

"Guys, quiet!" Astrid shushed, putting a finger to her lips. "You might wake Hiccup up!"

"Like he can hear us all the way from over here," scoffed Tuffnut, still eyeing Snotlout warily. "Besides, we weren't the ones doing all the shouting… it was also-" He stopped for dramatic effect. "THE DEMON!"

Snotlout slapped his forehead. "I give up…" He walked over to the table, sliding into a seat next to Fishlegs.

Fishlegs had been quietly reading a book until then, but he looked up as Snotlout came over. "Oh. It's you." He stared back down at his book, rolling his eyes when Snotlout tried to take a peek at what he was reading, being the nosy epithet he was.

"I'm going to go check on Hiccup," Astrid announced, looking around. "And you all are going to come with me. Hiccup needs all the support he can get, especially since yesterday." She glared at Snotlout. "And just because Hiccup has baby teeth doesn't mean that anybody gets to pick on him."

Tuffnut groaned, slamming his head against the table. "Do we have to go?" he whined. "Hiccup can take care of himself. He's not a baby." He then paused, his head snapping up. "Wait! If Hiccup has baby teeth, and he's clearly not the average Viking size for his age, that means he's a baby!"

"Tuff!" Ruffnut glared. "Don't say that kind of stuff in front of Astrid! You know how she'll freak out!"

Rolling her eyes, Astrid crossed her arms. "Come on, everybody up. We're going on a field trip to see Hiccup." When nobody moved, the girl's eyes flared. "Now, guys! Or I'll make you go to Hiccup's!"

"Fine, fine," Tuff grumbled.

Ruffnut nodded, standing up. "You don't have to be so Astrid-y about it, though…"

Once everybody had gotten up, Astrid led them out of the clubhouse. But as they came up to Hiccup's hut, Astrid noticed that her friend was already outside, crossing his arms as he leaned against the side of his home.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled cheerfully, hoping to surprise her friend. "Look who I've brought!"

Hiccup smiled faintly at the sight of all the Riders trailing behind Astrid in single formation.

"I just want to say that I did not want to come here!" Snotlout grunted. He quieted when Astrid sent him a deathly glare and corrected his words. "I-I mean… I hope you're feeling better."

Hiccup nodded back. "I am."

Astrid's eyes widened in surprise. "Hiccup! You can speak perfectly now!"

"Yep. The medicine worked great last night…" He scratched his head, frowning. "Anyways, have any of you guys seen Toothless? When I woke up, he was gone. And that's definitely not like him. He'd never just take off."

Astrid paused, thinking. "Maybe he's in the Dragon Stables with the other dragons. He might have wanted to be around his own kind for a bit…" But her tone was doubtful. Why would Toothless be there? The dragon would never leave Hiccup, at least not willingly. They were both inseparable. So, what happened?

"Okay, let's go," Hiccup agreed, not even trying to cover up his obvious concern. His thoughts raced for an answer of where his dragon had gone. Where was he? Was he hurt? Had he been taken?

Hiccup paused, fearful.

Oh, Thor, I hope Toothless didn't run off and get into some kind of trouble...

"Well, I'm staying here, so you guys can go ahead-ACHOO!" Snotlout sneezed, his eyes popping with the ferocity of the sneeze.

"DEMON!" shrieked Tuffnut, covering up his face with his hands. "Don't hurt me, demon! Take her instead!" He shoved Ruffnut in front of him. "Please! She's so much tastier than me… you'll love her!"

"Hey!" Ruff protested. "I am not tasty! The only reason why I wear fish oil is to scare away others! But it's clearly not working on you!"

"Guys!" Fishlegs interrupted. "This is serious! If Toothless is missing, and our dragons have been left all alone in the stables all morning as well…"

Astrid gasped. "Are you saying that they might all be gone? Oh, no. Stormfly..." Without a word, she grabbed Hiccup's hand and pulled him along to the stables. "Stormfly? Are you there, girl?" Astrid yelled down to the stables that laid on the floor beneath them.

Usually, Stormfly would answer with her morning caw, but this time, though, there was no answer.

"Oh, gods, what if something happened to them?" Hiccup panicked, struggling to keep up with Astrid's amazing speed of running down the Edge's stairs. "What if Viggo took all of our dragons last night so we'd be unable to leave the island without using wild dragons?"

Astrid did not reply,

When the two reached the stables, Astrid slammed open the door, her eyes wide. "Stormfly?" she yelled. "Stormfly!"

But, much to Hiccup and Astrid's horror, all of the dragons were gone.

Every. Single. One. Of. Them.

The cage doors were swinging wide open, but there were no signs that the dragons themselves had broken out. No, the cages had clearly been unlocked from the outside with keys. Whoever had done this was no dragon.

"No!" exclaimed Astrid, kicking the wall in frustration. "Where are they? Who could have taken them?"

Hiccup rubbed his cheek, wincing as the throbbing in the mouth returned. He was due for another dose of medicine soon, but he ignored the thought. Toothless was missing, as were all the other dragons. Something was off.

"Could it have been Dad?" he guessed, trying not to hope for the worst. "Maybe he thought the dragons needed some fresh air…"

"I'm afraid not, son," said a deep voice from behind them.

Hiccup and Astrid swerved around, and saw Stoick in the doorway, his face sagging with exhaustion. Hiccup's small hopes were diminished into practically nothing.

"I haven't seen Skullcrusher either," Stoick revealed with a dip of his head.

Hiccup's eyes widened, and he looked at Astrid in horror.

If his father hadn't released the dragons, and the other Riders didn't know where they were either, then where were all the dragons now?

Ooooh, a cliffhanger for this one! That's a first for this story! (but not a first for me, hehe)

*strokes unicorn's side*

Come now, my friend, and let us journey to the Great Beyond!

*rides off on unicorn into the sunset*

-thepurplewriter333