Chapter Eighteen

"Urgh, easy!" Teeth snapped, being towed by Defenders of the Wing. Her arms were bound behind her, as were Hiccup's, Astrid's, and Snotlout's.

Being led to the two massive pillars, under the giant statue of the unknown dragon, the group could see a stone pathway that led to a throne. Mala was already sitting there, eyeing and studying them. Throk was standing next to her with folded arms, ready to carry out any other order she would issue.

Being pushed to line up with each other, Hiccup looked over at Astrid, who also looked over at him. Giving her a wry smile, he shrugged as he returned his attention to Mala.

Teeth, however, was pulled away from them and forced to stand to the side as she had a different crime. Glaring at her guards, she simply waited for Hiccup, listening to hear what magic words he could come up with to get them out of the mess she put them all in.

Narrowing her eyes, Mala then began to call out to them. "You stand here to be tried for crimes against killing and enslaving dragons. Do you plead guilty to these charges?"

"Of course not." Hiccup answered, taking a small step forward to distinguish himself as the leader of the group.

"Yet, you saddle and ride them, making them do your bidding."

"We had this conversation. We don't ride them unless they agree to it too." He answered. "Every single dragon we have, we give the chance to leave and be free. They chose to stay with us. Willingly and without being bribed to stay. We trusted them before they trusted us. That's the key to being friends with them, and frankly the only way they let us ride them."

"And yet, you're friends with a dragon hunter. Perhaps not one of the Grimborn's men, but a hunter nonetheless."

"That's what we were trying to tell you before you locked us up. She's not a dragon hunter. Not anymore at least."

Mala raised an eyebrow, signaling him to explain himself.

"You need to understand. A couple of months ago, Astrid and I were captured by Viggo's men. While we were being moved, the Southern Sea Marauders came and killed the men that had us."

"Making you friends."

"Making us their prisoners." Hiccup corrected. "Teeth, is- was…was the daughter of their chief. Talen Wrathen."

"Let me tell the story." Teeth growled, glaring at Mala with a cold stare. "I mean, I was the one that was put in charge of you two. It should be me explaining this."

Throk was about to run down to beat Teeth for speaking out of line, but was stopped by Mala. Gesturing to her, she gave her permission to speak.

"Let me begin saying that no one here hates the Grimborns more than me. I will kill anyone that tries to stop me from slitting their throats!" She growled. "My clan had a pact with them to not hunt in these waters. They get the northern islands to hunt, we get the southern islands. Leave the middle alone so we don't have to waste time and lives fighting for it."

"What changed? What made you sail up here?"

"Viggo, that's what changed!" She spat. "They broke our pact. We came up here to deal with them." Gesturing to Hiccup, she then continued where he left off. "We found Hiccup and Astrid. Seeing we had a common enemy, we teamed up with them. We promised to leave them this section of the world, and we'd stay in the south. And you know what? We did it. My clan, with the Riders, did it. We stopped Viggo! At least, so we thought…"

"What happened then? Where're your dad and his men?"

"My men. They were my men…"

Confused, Mala leaned forward on her knees. "Your men?"

"I was supposed to take over. I was supposed to be chief." She whispered hoarsely. Her mind flashed an image of Grange, making her swallow her anger and angst. "So yes, my men."

"Right…so where are your men and father?"

"In Helheim, probably." She whispered with a tone that sent shivers up everyone's spine. "In the end, Viggo and Ryker killed us! Be it men, my dad, my future; it didn't matter. They took it all away from me. My traitor brother helped him kill all of us. He freed him and coordinated his men to turn on us. I was wounded myself, ran in the back by that coward and traitor! I got a hole in my back to prove it!"

Mala simply sat back and watched her, contemplating if what she was saying was the truth.

"I was left for dead; and I would have died too, if the Riders hadn't found me."

Hiccup then spoke up. "She was a dragon hunter, yes. She readily admits that. But after we took her in, she's been training with us to be a Dragon Rider."

Mala then cut him off. "Convenient that she would so readily leave her past. Seeing that you held her life in your hands."

"You're wrong…" Teeth growled, making her guards shoulder check her. Ignoring them, she continued to snarl. "Their dragons proved themselves to me before I lost everything. They followed me, helped me, even saved me at one point. I had my mind changed before I was taken by them. I even vowed that I wouldn't hunt these waters the moment I became chief; leaving the dragons alone here." Looking at Hiccup and her friends, she whispered hoarsely. "I guess the moment I had no reason to live as a Dragon Hunter, is when I decided to join them."

Mala stroked her chin, contemplating the claims.

"Look, kill me if you need to. I don't care." She spat, making everyone gape at her. Ignoring her guards, she took a step closer to the throne. "You can judge me for what I was, and I won't bat an eye. I've been wishing to be dead since everything was taken from me. But in regards to Hiccup and the others? You can't call yourselves dragon lovers if you find them guilty. They risked their own hides to save as many dragons as they could when they were working with us. Be it wild or captive. My dad swore to release half the dragons we found in Viggo's cages to appeal to the Dragon Riders. If their own conviction to saving dragons isn't enough to convince you, then I'll laugh all the way to Helheim at your claim that you're friends to dragons."

"Teeth! What're you doing?!" Astrid hissed, glaring at her.

"Enough." Mala called out, silencing any other questions from the Riders. Looking at Teeth, she eyed her suspiciously. "I can see the evidence' of Hiccup's claim. I would be a fool to put them to death on charges that simply don't exist. You however, have a much more serious crime that can't be overlooked. Apart from trying to assassinate me, you admitted to hunting and killing dragons. Regardless of what you're now doing, the blood of those dragons cries out for justice."

"What?! No! She's changed!" Hiccup shouted.

"Silence!" Mala barked. "Do not test my patience, Hiccup Haddock. I will revoke my decision about you and your friends."

Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout watched in earnest, unable to say anything to help Teeth.

Turning to Teeth, who simply glared at her with a murderous look, Mala then surprised everyone with her decree. "However, I can't ignore the fact that you're trying to change. If what you say is true, you'd do more good alive than dead."

Teeth simply raised an eyebrow, questioning what was going to happen to her.

"I cannot judge for myself. But I will leave dragons to be the determiners of your fate."

"Still sounds like a death sentence." Teeth snapped, shaking her head angrily. "How about you let me find and kill the Grimborns and my brat brother? That'll bring the world a lot of good."

Mala sighed as she shook her head. "If you truly are a Dragon Rider. Then show us that you can appeal to the dragons and have them choose to be your friend."

Hiccup's face paled, realizing they were going to test her ability to tame a dragon.

Teeth shook her head angrily. "Might as well run me through with a sword. I never tamed a dragon. I'm still learning how to. I've only been able to walk and move around for the past couple of weeks."

"Then you will die. The dragons will deem if you're worthy to live or die. I have spoken."

"No!" Hiccup cried out, looking at Teeth in a panic. "Please! She's not a dragon hunter!"

Mala sighed as she ignored his plea. "Release the Riders. If they wish, they can watch the trial."

Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout were grabbed to be held still. The guards then untied the ropes around them, letting them free.

"As for Teeth, prepare The Nest. I know exactly what dragon should be her judge and possible executioner."

"Urgh…not even going to let me slit Viggo's throat for you?" She growled sarcastically, being grabbed and escorted by the two guards.

"Wait!" Hiccup shouted, trying to run after her. One of the guards turned around, leveling their spear at his chest. Keeping him from coming any closer, he watched as Teeth was escorted back to the cell where they were taken from.

"Take Hiccup and the other two to their dragons. I'm sure they would like to be reunited." Mala announced, standing up and turning to leave.

Being surrounded by a few guards, the three reluctantly began to leave, after watching Teeth disappear from their view.

"What're we going to do?!" Astrid whispered to Hiccup, looking at him frantically. "She only knows what we told her! She has no experience trying to train a dragon!"

"I'm thinking!" He replied, shaking his head frantically.

"Hmph. Maybe Hookster and I will just bust her out and get out of here." Snotlout grunted, glaring at one of the guards' who was eyeing him dangerously. "What? You think I'm scared of you?" He barked challengingly.

"Snotlout, shut up!" Astrid groaned, shaking her head. "The last thing we want to do, is to start a war with these guys while trying to find Viggo."

"Yeah, but we also don't want our friend killed too." Hiccup replied quietly. Turning to one of the guards, he asked. "What kind of dragons do you keep at this…nest?"

"Does it matter?" The guard replied in an uncaring tone.

"Yeah, it does. There are some dragons we don't try to train."

"She's not training a dragon. She's being judged by one. If she's spared, she's innocent." Came the quick reply. "Your dragons are this way. Keep up."

Looking at each other, the three continued to reluctantly follow their escorts, desperately trying to figure a way to save Teeth, without having to be enemies with Mala and her people.

Teeth sat there against the wall in her cell, wishing the time away. Thankfully, if there was anything to be thankful for, her captors didn't chain her hands above her like before. Staring blankly at the grooves, all while lazily scraping a rock along the bricks, she heard the wind howl above her cage ceiling. Shivering, she dropped the rock and held herself to help stay warm. The pit of a cell was all but comforting, letting in the cold winter air.

"Why does anyone live this far north?" She whispered hoarsely to herself. "Better yet, why would anyone want to live here?"

The warm sands and crystal-clear waters of her home again flashed in her mind. She wished she could go crab fishing again. Or use a harpoon to hunt small sharks in a lagoon. She never realized how much she missed her old life until she learned she could never go back. Now for more reasons than one. She was going to die by a dragon, which she thought was a suiting end for her. All her life of hunting and killing dragons, it only seemed fair that they be the death of her.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the wall. Of course, Hiccup wanted to give her the best chance to survive, which is why they gave her the fastest run down on how to train a dragon. "What did they tell me again? Never approach a Nadder by its blind spot? Twist a Nightmare's horns to calm it down? Gah…no wonder they dedicated their lives to training dragons. They spent the last how many years recording and discovering the secrets of the dragons? Too many if you ask me…" She continued to mutter to herself.

Dragons. What made them special anyways? They were only beasts that acted and reacted. Terrorized the islands under her former father's banner. Killed how many of those she respected and looked up to? Why would anyone want to sympathize them?

No sooner had she thought that, her mind instantly recalled the moment Toothless stood over her, defending her from the Speed Stingers. He was honestly the reason why that night ended the way it did. She could have easily lost her arm, or worse. Not to mention the fact how affectionate Toothless and Stormfly were to her. The others' dragons were just as friendly too; as if she was part of the Riders for years, not the weeks she was recovering.

Her father's words then echoed in her mind, recalling him giving words of advice: "Never stop growing. Never stop learning. Never settle."

Reluctantly, she let out a long sigh. She hated conceding to him, even though she knew he was much wiser and experienced than her. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to use what Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout had taught her. At least, if she wanted to live. "Earn their trust." She muttered, recalling the first thing Astrid told her, and what Hiccup had continued to pound through her head. "And how do I do that with an unknown dragon?"

Before she could ponder on it any longer, the locks on the other side of the door echoed as they were being opened. Letting out a soft groan, she quietly pushed herself up and stood there waiting.

Throk opened the door with two other Defenders, surprised to see her standing there already.

Casually shrugging, she then asked. "So…are we doing this? Or are you going to stand there and gawk at me?"

Scowling, he simply gestured for her to start walking.

As she was escorted up the stairs and outside, she instantly found Hiccup and Astrid watching her with anxious expressions. Snotlout, predictably, was arguing with one of the guards, trying to convince him to let her go. Mala, who was near Hiccup, simply watched her, as if waiting for her to do something.

Rolling her eyes, she focused on where she was being escorted to. At the back of the village, at the foot of the volcano, there was a dark cave with a pair of guards at its entrance.

"So, that's The Nest?" She asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

Throk didn't say anything, but kept his eyes on their destination.

"You know, a simple yes or no isn't going to give me an advantage of whatever's going to happen in there."

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Throk nodded. "Yes. This is where you're judge resides."

"Whispering Death, by the looks of it." She growled, not taking her eyes off the cave.

"Nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"A dragon we don't really know anything about. We've never seen it before." Mala interrupted. Walking alongside, she set her icy stare at the cave, getting closer and closer with every step. Hiccup and Astrid were also with her, listening intently.

"Try me."

"It's a juvenile, that's all we know." She started to explain. "Narrowed eyes, four wings, long ta-"

"Tail?" Teeth quickly finished for her. Stopping at the entrance, she squared up to the queen. "You said four wings? Can it turn its head almost all the way around like an owl? With a triangular faceplate on its head? Does it stack its wings on top of each other when resting? Does it have long claws on each wing?"

Shocked to hear one of the traits, Mala nodded.

"You've never seen a dragon like this before?" She continued to quiz, looking over at Hiccup. "You too?"

Hiccup shook his head, wondering what she was talking about.

"Well, you might as well kill me now." She huffed angrily. "I know what it is. They're common in the Southern Seas! They're impossible to sneak up on, and they've been known to be ruthless on anything they view as a threat. Did you know they hunt Monstrous Nightmares? Only because they know they can kill them?"

"What is it?!" Hiccup asked, wanting to know what she knew.

Before she could answer, Throk grabbed her by the shoulder and marched her in. "Either way, your judgement is waiting."

"Mala, please! It's clear she knows what kind of dragon this is!" Hiccup began to plead, following the queen into the cave. "Let the four of us try to help this dragon!"

"No, Hiccup Haddock. The dragon will judge her alone." She replied resolutely. "If it spares her, she'll be free to leave."

Hiccup looked at Astrid with a pained expression. Astrid could only gesture to the axe strapped to her back, hinting that they might have to pull her out against the queen's orders. Torn between what to do, Hiccup simply watched as they arrived to a ledge, looking down into what looked like a large pit.

"Your judgement awaits for you…down there." Throk gestured down into the boulder plagued cavern.

"It already knows we're here. If it's the dragon I'm thinking of." She huffed annoyingly. Turning to Hiccup, she growled. "Hiccup. When you hear it kill me, promise me that you'll do everything to stop Viggo. I want him to burn."

Hiccup couldn't say anything. The only thing he could do was nod.

Satisfied with the response, she then started to climb down the ledge.

"Remember, Teeth! Show the dragon you trust it!"

"I'll trust it, if it doesn't burn me to a crisp when I approach it!" She snapped back. Ensuring she had decent footing, she glared at Mala, silently accusing her. Then, without saying anything else, climbed down the ledge.

After making it down to the bottom, she began to walk farther into the cavern. "What I don't get, is why you were keeping a dragon like this in here. They usually like fly. You know, since they have four wings and all." She shouted, almost accusingly to Mala. "Frankly, I don't see this much better than how we Hunters treated dragons."

Mala scowled at the accusation. "It was found on our shores. We took it here to heal it, and it never wanted to leave. Since it's so young, we can only assume that its mother was killed by your kind!"

Though no one could see it, Teeth actually let out a wide smile. Stopping, she turned to her audience standing high on the ledge. "For self-prescribed dragon experts, you're thick headed idiots. This dragon probably fears you, which is why it never wanted to leave. First you took it away from its natural environment; the sky and being outside. Second, you'll never understand that these dragons are usually loners. They leave their nest before their even juveniles." Then, for the first time, dug into the supposed Defenders. "So much for being the Defenders of the Wing; you're more inhumane than I was as a dragon hunter. I at least killed my dragons with a quick death. You apparently like to keep them alive and let them suffer in caves."

A vein bulged out of Mala's neck. The accusation couldn't have been farther from the truth regarding their intentions; but in this case, it was accurate."

Smirking at them, she finally turned and disappeared in the darkness. If it was the dragon she was thinking of, and if it was a juvenile, it wasn't too late to get it out of the cave. If she could show it the exit, it would fly out of the cave like a bird leaving its cage. She didn't need to train it. She needed to be chased by it.

It wasn't a long walk before something made her stop. A small rockslide tumbled down to the right of her; letting some rocks continue to roll deeper into the cavern. Letting out a sigh, she reluctantly searched for the source of the disturbance. Looking up and to the right, she saw the dragon that was supposed to be her judge.

A Stormcutter. Right there, perched on a large boulder! Honestly, she relished in seeing it. It was the something that reminded her of home.

The triangular head plate, the narrowed eyes, and the low growling were everything she expected to see in it. What she didn't expect to see, was the coloration. It had a dusk orange to its scales, almost light brown. Its face, as well as the base of its wings, had a charcoal grey to it. Honestly, it just looked dirty. Probably from all the days it spent being trapped in a cave. It was, however, very much a juvenile. Not even half the size that an adult Stormcutter could be. If it was on flat ground, it probably wouldn't stand over her more than a couple of feet; instead of towering over her as they usually did.

"...hey there…" She whispered, wishing she had a spear or anything to defend herself with. "What's a pretty looking Cutter like you doing here? Wanna get out? Wanna go hunt some Terrible Terrors? Start learning how to take down Nightmares?"

The Stormcutter never stopped growling. Narrowing its eyes even more, it snapped its mouth at her, as if telling her to back off.

"Why are you up there anyways?" She asked, starting to back off. A single rock would set it off to chase after her. All she had to do was make sure she could climb up the ledge to lead it out. And then hopefully it'll be too excited when it saw the light at the exit that it'll forget about her. "Gods, when did I ever become this hopeful like Hiccup?" She huffed to herself, realizing how perfect everything had to be.

The Stormcutter stopped growling, though it never took its eyes off of her.

"Guess I'll be joining you, father." She whispered as she gripped a small rock. Winding her arm back, she was taken off guard as the Stormcutter's head instantly snapped to another direction. Somewhere further down the cavern.

All her times hunting this kind of dragon, she was knew that it meant something bad. Stormcutters couldn't be snuck up on, as they were always keenly aware of their surroundings. If something pulled its attention away from her, which meant it was more of threat than herself; even being next to it.

Gripping the rock, she simply listened for whatever caught the Stormcutter's attention. The Stormcutter itself had backed farther up the boulder, being higher than when she found it.

She instantly realized that whatever was coming, high ground was the answer to stay safe. Sprinting to another boulder, she started to climb it.

"Reeeggh!"

Freezing, she instantly recognized the sound. "Speed Stingers?!" She shouted, looking behind her shoulder.

Two Speed Stingers bolted around the corner, looking up and screeching at the Stormcutter, which was roaring angrily at the two below its perch.

Teeth continued to scramble up, realizing and grateful they were focused on the trapped Stormcutter. Getting to a safe place, she let out a long sigh as she sat atop of the rock. Watching the two Speed Stingers prowl around the rock, randomly trying to scale it, she couldn't help but wonder why the Stormcutter didn't just end them. Though she didn't know a whole lot about Speed Stingers, she knew enough about Stormcutters. Even juveniles were lethal. Rarely did any dragon try to fight them. Especially in the sky.

"Oh, of course! Those idiots!" She moaned, slapping her forehead in the moment of realization.

One of the Speed Stingers heard her, which it instantly leaped at her rock.

Pulling back her foot just as its tail hit where it was, she shifted herself up a few more inches. Looking at the Stormcutter, she could see it fire a weak looking pillar of flames at its attacker, which nimbly ran around the slow moving flame. "It hasn't developed yet…" She muttered to herself. "Those idiots don't realize that it was probably just resting when they found it…they're stunting its growth by keeping it in here!"

Even if she got it to chase her, it wouldn't be as fast as the Speed Stingers, which would probably run her down anyways. Letting out a long sigh, she watched the Stormcutter try to fend off the Speed Stinger. The one watching her, was stalking around the boulder, trying to find a way up to her.

"Gah…I hate those things." She huffed. Watching the Stormcutter roar, she could hear how terrified it was. Given her experience hunting the beasts, it couldn't be more than two years old. Not to mention however long it was stuck down here, it hardly had any chance to fight them.

As she continued to watch, only taking her eyes off to see where her Speed Stinger was, she slowly began to hear what Hiccup told her. About how he earned the trust of Toothless. Besides freeing him and letting him go, he literally placed himself in a position where he had to trust the legendary Night Fury.

Suddenly she felt something whiff by her hand, making her pull it back out of reaction! The Speed Stinger had actually been able to get close enough to strike her, which it tumbled back down. Panicking that she was only temporarily safe, she had a crazy thought. If she could get back to Hiccup and the others, they could help her get the Stormcutter out of here. At the very least, help keep the Speed Stingers away while they tried to move it out. Gripping the rock she still held on to, she waited for her Speed Stinger to expose its head to her. Slowly, the red fin on top began to show itself, making her ready her arm. If it failed, it meant she was going to die. If she succeeded, then she could get off this rock and get the others to help her.

"Come on…Come on!" She growled to herself.

Slowly, the head emerged, and it continued to eye her warily.

Taking aim, she hurled the rock with every ounce of power she had.

Whap! "Eeergghh..."

She drilled it directly in the side of its head, to which it flopped onto the floor struggling to stand.

"Oh, come on!" She growled, wishing it was at least knocked out.

By this time, the other Speed Stinger and the Stormcutter looked over at her with surprised expressions; even when the Speed Stinger was slowly crawling up the boulder.

Capitalizing on the stunned moment, she launched herself off the boulder and straight at the scaling Speed Stinger, since it was in the way of her exit. The Stormcutter watched her as she shoulder slammed into it, pushing it off and away from itself. Crashing on the ground, she rolled to her feet; all while snatching up another rock she felt landing on. With only a second to aim, she hurled it at the Speed Stinger with wild strength.

Whap!

Though she struck it, it wasn't half as helpful as the first one. Mainly because she hit it in square in the chest, and only causing it to stumble slightly.

Screeching angrily, it charged her with its tail ready to paralyze her.

Teeth saw it coming, knowing that it would strike with its tail first. Rolling along the boulder that acted as the haven for the Stormcutter, she heard the stinger strike the rock. Squaring up to the Speed Stinger, she saw that it had leapt back to put some distance between itself and her. That was all she needed. Turning around, she sprinted back to where everyone was.

"Hiccup!" She shouted, running as fast as she could. She knew she couldn't outrun the Stinger, but if they could hear her, they'd come. Hopefully.

"…Teeth?" A voice faintly called out.

"I need hel-" Her sentence was instantly cut short. Something sharp ran itself into her back, followed by a numbing feeling flooding her body. She could barely draw breath as she almost instantly locked up. Trying to brace herself, she violently fell to the rocky ground. With how fast she was going, she rolled a little bit away before finally stopping. Though she couldn't turn her head, she could see the Speed Stinger roaring straight at her. She tried to shout, move, even blink! She couldn't do anything except watch the Speed Stinger slowly move in for the kill.

As she was sure the Speed Stinger was about to end her, a dark shadow covered the two. She couldn't see much, but she did catch a glimpse of the two-legged dragon get plowed by the silhouetted creature. It didn't take her long to know it was the Stormcutter, as its tail rested in front of her.

Roaring at the top of its lungs, it clamped down on the neck of the stunned Speed Stinger, picking it up and shaking it furiously.

The Speed Stinger screeched in pain and panic, unsure of what just hit it and what was happening.

The Stormcutter then whipped it back, right into the cavern's wall. Teeth wasn't sure of what was going on, but could hear the Stormcutter furiously beat the Speed Stinger against the cavern repeatedly until the thumping noise stopped. As she heard the Stormcutter roar triumphantly, she wished she could close her eyes as she knew she was next. Suddenly, a pillar of fire shot over head, and though it was a smaller flame, she could still feel the heat from it. The screech of the second Speed Stinger ripped through the air, which meant it had recovered from its stunning hit from the rock.

The Stormcutter stood tall on its two legs, letting out more of its uncontrollable fire. The Speed Stinger let out one more defying screech, just before turning tail and sprinting back farther into the cave.

Still unable to move, she could only see the back of the Stormcutter. Seeing it turn its head around to look at her, she wished she could at least swallow. Turning itself around, it got low and right into her face with narrowed eyes that rivaled her dad's.

"Here I come…" She thought to herself. "Whether it be Helheim or Valhalla, I'm coming."

"Gah! Let go!" Astrid shouted, being held back by two Defenders.

"Not until we learn of her fate." Mala growled. "You two will not interfere with the trial."

Both Hiccup and Astrid were restrained back after hearing Teeth call for help. And since Snotlout hadn't been seen since they entered the cave, they weren't counting on him coming. Throk was more than enough to hold onto Hiccup, while it took two others to keep Astrid from swinging at them.

"This isn't a trial!" Hiccup argued with his face flushed red with frustration and anger. "A trial isn't an execution! You even knew she was changing her life, and you still sent her to be killed!"

"Weren't you the one that told me you trusted dragons, Hiccup?" She quickly fired back, glaring at him.

"Of course! But we don't just randomly walk up to any dragon! It's only during specifi-"

"Do you, or do you not trust dragons?" She demanded, marching up to him with a certain fury.

"Yes, I trust OUR dragons! The ones that want to trust us too!" He replied in annoyance, finally being released from Throk's grasp.

"Then let the judgement of a dragon tell us whether she's truly changing, or if it was all under guile!"

"What about our dragons?" Astrid growled, finally jerking her arms free. "They trusted her!"

Mala scowled at her, ready to rebuttal the argument when a loud roar echoed in the cavern.

Almost everyone turned to look farther down the cavern, wondering what had happened. A small glow of orange then emitted, reflecting off the dark walls and rocks that littered the cavern. Both Hiccup and Astrid could only gape, knowing exactly what was happening. Stepping up to the ledge, they both listened intently for anything that would hint to Teeth still being alive. Hearing one last roar, sounding that of triumph followed by silence and darkness, they silently mourned for their friend.

"My queen. I'll go retrieve her body."

"No. Not yet. We'll wait to see if she comes. If not, then yes. That would be best."

Hiccup looked at Astrid, who in turn nodded.

"Toothless!" He shouted, drawing his sword and letting fire run up and down the blade.

"Stormfly! Come on, girl!"

Mala and Throk watched as the two leaped off the ledge, plummeting farther into the cavern. Before they could even try to stop them, two blurs sailed above them, landing behind Hiccup and Astrid.

"I'll stop them, my Queen!" Throk growled, grabbing his axe and ready to jump in after them.

"No, let them go."

"But, my Queen!"

"If they think they can change the outcome of the dragon's judgement, let them try. They're fools to try and confront it." She continued to say, placing her hands behind her back and watching them disappear. "If they do come back, they'll only bring back their friend's body."

Throk let out a vented growl as he checked his grip on his axe. Watching the fire from Hiccup's blade finally disappear, he wondered if they would come back.

"Hiccup, you do realize we'll probably have to fight our way out when we find Teeth." Astrid called out, watching their flanks as they rounded a large rock.

"I know."

Almost hesitantly, she added. "…and you know that Teeth being alive is slim…"

Letting out a saddened sigh, he shallowly nodded. "…I know…" He choked out. Shaking his head, he then pushed onwards, with Toothless walking next to him.

Stormfly, who was sniffing the air, let out a frenzied squawk. Bolting past everyone, she ran up to a specific part of the wall and stood over some object.

"Stormfly, what'd you find?"

As the light from Hiccup's sword brightened the area, they gasped in horror at what they found. A Speed Stinger, or at least what was left of one. Blood was everywhere and it looked like a nightmare had popped out a dream and became a reality.

"Di-did Teeth do this?" Astrid gasped, staring at the sight.

Hiccup shook his head. "I don't think so. If she did, I really don't want to be on her bad side."

Astrid then peered further down the cavern. "Hiccup, let me see your sword."

Handing it to her, he simply followed, wondering what she was seeing.

The few steps she took, the light revealed instant relief and panic to them at the same time. Lying next to a large boulder was Teeth! She was unmoving, and frankly looked like her body was locked up.

"Teeth!" They both shouted, sprinting to where she lay.

"RRrrroooohhhhhh!"

Freezing in place, the four looked up to see a dragon standing a top of the boulder. Its black face didn't help hide the amounts of teeth it was baring at them; but the horrifying sight was the stained blood on it. It had four wings spread that was making it appear larger, as if warning them to step back.

"Hiccup! What is that?!" Astrid gasped out.

"I…I don't know! But if that's what Teeth was talking about, and if it is a juvenile, then I can't imagine how big it gets when it's an adult!"

Seeing they were slowly backing off, it leaped down at them.

Toothless and Stormfly rushed to their Riders, ready to protect them.

The mysterious dragon landed right in front of Teeth. Again, spreading its four wings to make itself a large x, it roared at the strangers to back off.

Hiccup couldn't help but notice what it was doing with its tail. Letting it circle around Teeth as if protecting her, he immediately recognized what it was doing. It was the same thing Toothless did to him whenever they were in danger. Pulling on Astrid's arm, he quietly kept walking backwards. "Come on, let's give it some space."

"But what about Teeth?!" Astrid growled, not wanting to leave her.

"Look at what the dragon is doing. It's protecting her! See?"

Even though she could see what it was doing, it didn't bring her comfort that they were still leaving their friend.

"We won't leave her; we'll just be out of the way until she can get herself moving again. I bet that Speed Stinger is the reason why Teeth isn't moving." Hiccup continued to console. "Come on, let's give her some time to recover. If she doesn't get up in a while, we'll do something to grab her. Okay?"

Reluctantly, Astrid nodded. Lowering Hiccup's sword, she began to slowly back away. "Hold on, Teeth. We're not leaving you!"

"…rrggghh…"

As the two Riders and their dragons backed off, the mysterious dragon slowly turned back to Teeth. Hiccup watched as it sniffed her, as well as nudge her lightly. Letting a small smile grow on his face, he shook his head. "You know, I can't wait to hear about what happened, and how she ended up befriending that dragon. I wonder what it's called."

"I guess we'll find out…" Astrid whispered, not taking her eyes off of Teeth until they rounded a corner.

Satisfied that the intruders left, the Stormcutter climbed up the boulder again, keeping watch over the paralyzed fighter that helped it take down the Speed Stingers and ultimately establish dominance in its prison.