When Toothless, Burst, Crackle and Claw appeared, the first thing Zephyr heard was a scream. A very satisfying scream from Spearhead. Spearhead tried to run out of the cave, but Nuffink held her back.
"You…wha…drago…" Spearhead stammered.
Fourlegs looked on in pure amazement.
Toothless stepped closer to Zephyr and let out a low growl. Why did he care if she stole a ship and came to The Hidden World without her parents? Shadow Streak was her dragon, and Zephyr wanted to fly her.
"I'm not alone this time," Zephyr said quickly. "I just brought a couple friends, Fourlegs and Spearhead. They've both known about dragons since they were little, and they won't tell anyone. Besides, my parents said it was okay. Uh, do you happen to know where Shadow Streak is?"
Claw suddenly spotted Nuffink and ran over to lick him. Nuffink tried to calm him down, but Claw continued to bathe Nuffink in slobber. Spearhead moved closer to the far wall of the Fury Grove, eying Claw with a look of pure horror.
Burst growled, glaring at everyone in the room. Crackle appeared more aggressive than normal.
"So, if Shadow Streak isn't here…" Zephyr said to Burst and Toothless. "We should probably move on."
Toothless and Burst backed off, but weren't exactly friendly. Zephyr and Fourlegs exited the cave, and Nuffink dragged Spearhead out with them. The glow of the moss columns lit their way down the path.
"Okay," Zephyr said. "Now that you've all seen dragons, it's time for you to get your own."
Fourlegs nervously nodded. Spearhead froze in her tracks.
"Me? Get a…dragon?" Spearhead squeaked.
"It's for New Berk. We're going to save our home from the invaders…using dragons," Zephyr explained. "And unless you're scared, you should be fine with that."
"I…I…I'm not scared," Spearhead claimed.
"So, where should we start?" Nuffink asked.
"Let's go to the Dragon Springs," Zephyr said. The Dragon Springs was filled with natural hot springs and housed a wide variety of dragons—a perfect place for finding tame dragons. Well, tame enough. They still needed to be able to blast ships to smithereens.
The friends walked through the cave to the Dragon Springs, Claw tagging along. Hot water bubbled from several springs nearby. Leaves and giant glowing mushrooms covered most of the area. Dragons of all kinds soared back and forth.
Fourlegs took a step back towards the cave. He didn't flee but clearly wanted to. Spearhead sank down on a rock. She looked like she was halfway between throwing up and fainting. Claw rawred besides Nuffink.
"Nuffink, get Fourlegs and Spearhead some dragons. I'm going to find Shadow Streak," Zephyr said.
"Wait. You expect me to get them dragons? This was your idea!" Nuffink yelled.
"It's really more of a team effort that I'm taking most of the credit for. At least that's what I think," Zephyr said. She ran out of the Dragon Springs and headed for Swirling Waters.
Nuffink glared at Zephyr's retreating back. She just had to leave him all the work, didn't she? They shouldn't even be out here in The Hidden World, but they'd already come this far. He didn't really have a choice; he'd gone along with Zephyr's plan to save New Berk and there was no going back now. They had no time to waste.
"Let's start with you, Fourlegs," Nuffink said after glancing at Spearhead. She was nowhere near ready to even touch a dragon. He thought if she tried to get up and walk, she might collapse instead.
Nuffink paced through the Dragon Springs with Fourlegs. They entered an area filled with ponds of fish, fruit trees, and lots of rocks. Gronckles, Zipplebacks, and a few baby dragons were eating.
"So, what do I do?" Fourlegs asked.
"Pick one?" Nuffink suggested. Claw nudged Nuffink.
"How do I pick one?"
"I don't know! I thought Zephyr had this planned out," Nuffink said. Claw rawred again, looking even more pitiful. "I can't ride you right now." Claw flew away. "Anyway, Zephyr's not here so I have no idea how she was going to do this."
"I sure wish she was," Fourlegs muttered to himself. He walked forward, studying the crowd of dragons. "Well, my dad had a Gronckle, and my mom had a Zippleback. I couldn't ride a Zippleback by myself…" He walked over to the Gronckles who were eating pounds of rocks.
There was a blue one, an orange one, and a brown one. Another blue one flew over and began to eat. The brown one flew upwards, not too high, just barely above the tallest ferns.
"No way," Fourlegs said in awe.
"What?" Nuffink asked.
"That Gronckle, the brown one, do you see it?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"There's a mark on the bottom of its paw that looks like a fish!"
"Okay…"
"That's Fishmeat! The baby Gronckle my father used to take care of."
"Good, you found your dragon," Nuffink said. "I mean, I assume you want to ride Fishmeat?"
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah," Fourlegs said. "The problem is…how do I get him to let me?"
"I have no idea," Nuffink admitted. Claw flew back to Nuffink and curled up beside him.
Zephyr ran into the Swirling Waters. Shadow Streak suddenly flew out of a glowing pit of water. She didn't appear to notice Zephyr. Shadow Streak dropped back into the pit. Zephyr ran over to her.
"Shadow Streak! It's me," Zephyr called out when Shadow Streak flew up again. She noticed Zephyr this time, but…ignored her and dropped back down.
"I need your help. Please?" Zephyr implored. Shadow Streak continued her pattern of flying up and then falling back into the orange glowing water.
"Would you let me fly you already?" Zephyr asked angrily.
Shadow Streak didn't fly up. Instead, she stayed at the bottom of the pit, splashing the orange, yellow, and red water.
"Fine then," Zephyr said. The drop into the pit looked to be only twenty feet or so. She leaped and landed in the water, then grabbed Shadow Streak. Shadow Streak burst into flight out of the pool. Zephyr clung onto Shadow Streak's neck for dear life.
"What are you doing?" Zephyr yelled. "I get that Toothless is mad about me flying you without my parents' permission, but why do you care? Don't you want me to fly you?"
Shadow Streak flew out of the Swirling Waters.
"Please just let me fly you!" Zephyr said. "Drop me by my cabin and I'll get your saddle."
Shadow Streak flew above the water in the Moss Columns, skimming over its surface only about five feet above it.
"What are you doing?" Zephyr exclaimed.
Shadow Streak shook Zephyr off, pitching her into the water with a splash.
"Please just let me explain. I need your help. Other Vikings are attacking New Berk. I need you! Everyone does!"
Shadow Streak began slowly flying away.
Zephyr looked around her. There was no way out of the water. There were columns stretching out of the water, but their mossy sides made them too slick to climb. Nothing but water surrounded her…and some Sea Shockers. Sea Shockers!
"Electrify is fatal!" Zephyr shouted. "Electricity is fatal! Help!" Zephyr desperately tried to climb a column, but her hands slipped down its sides. "If you ever want me to ride you again, save me!" The Sea Shockers were getting closer. "If you ever want me to breathe again, you need to help me!"
Shadow Streak finally looked back. Her eyes widened at the sight of the Sea Shockers. She shot back to Zephyr and dove downwards.
Zephyr jumped onto her back. "Thanks," Zephyr breathed in relief. "Now, I need your help with another matter." This time, Shadow Streak followed Zephyr's directions.
Spearhead sat dazed. She was nauseous and light headed. She didn't even feel the sting of embarrassment from screaming. Dragons were real. This had to be a dream. A dragon with spikes jutting out all over its body flew high over her head.
Spearhead decided she would feel safer with Nuffink and Fourlegs. She stumbled off the rock and began to follow their footsteps. She stepped on something. It looked like…a tail! The tail turned from purple to blue. Spearhead staggered back, freezing in place. A dragon with big frills stared at her…then it started stomping towards her.
Spearhead ran. She ran as fast as she could through ferns, mushrooms, and crowds of dragons. She hardly noticed that she was yelling.
She glanced over her shoulder. The dragon was following her! Of all the things that Zephyr could have dragged them into, she would have brought them to this! Giant lizards with wings and fire and claws and teeth. Why dragons? Why couldn't they have just gotten captured on their way here instead of getting eaten by seven-foot-tall reptiles?
Spearhead caught sight of Nuffink and Fourlegs up ahead. Fourlegs was feeding rocks to a giant brown bumpy dragon with a big mouth and thick teeth. It could have eaten him in one bite. Why was everyone acting so relaxed here? The dragon they called "Claw" was just sitting beside Nuffink. Why did he allow that thing to follow him?
"So, when will I be able to fly him?" Fourlegs asked Nuffink.
"Whenever you feel ready, I guess," Nuffink answered.
"Help!" Spearhead yelled. "Big slashy thingy! Big slashy thingy chasing me!"
She ran over to Nuffink.
"Relax. It's just a Hobblegrunt," Nuffink said.
The Hobblegrunt, as Nuffink called it, kept running, and so did Spearhead. She hit a dead end, a rock wall. She backed up against it, panting for breath. She could hear the Hobblegrunt stomping towards her through a wall of ferns. Finally, it emerged. Spearhead closed her eyes, preparing to be eaten alive.
Then she heard…sniffing? Its breath blew in and out against her. She slowly opened her eyes. The Hobblegrunt changed from blue to purple.
"I'll just…uh," Spearhead squeezed by the dragon to hurry back towards Nuffink and Fourlegs. Stomping came from behind her. She turned around and saw the Hobblegrunt had followed her. She pretended not to notice it and kept walking. It continued after her.
"Nuffink?" Spearhead whispered when she reached her friends. "I need some help here. This dragon won't leave me al…"
Fourlegs was on a dragon. The dragon he had been feeding earlier. He was flying a dragon. He was only about five feet in the air, but he was still flying a dragon.
"Wha—?" Spearhead mouthed.
"Looks like you made a friend," Nuffink said, turning around to face Spearhead and her perpetrator. "Hello 'Big Slashy Thingy.'"
Spearhead didn't have time to protest him teasing her because a scream sounded from somewhere in the Dragon Springs.
Zephyr flew Shadow Streak through the Dragon Springs looking for the source of the scream she had just heard. It was probably Spearhead.
Zephyr caught sight of Nuffink, Fourlegs, and Spearhead with Claw, a Gronckle, and a Hobblegrunt. They were walking towards something. Shadow Streak landed next to them.
"Where are you going?" Zephyr asked them. "And who are the Gronckle and the Hobblegrunt?"
"The Gronckle's Fishmeat," Nuffink said. "The Hobblegrunt is Big Slashy Thingy."
"That was a description," Spearhead argued. "Not a name for it."
"We're looking for whoever screamed," Fourlegs said.
"That wasn't…" Zephyr looked towards Spearhead. If it wasn't Spearhead then who was it? "Let's find out."
They walked for a while. The Dragon Springs was huge, almost as big as the Moss Columns. They couldn't have walked for more than ten minutes, but they were already feeling winded.
"You know, if we're getting tired, we could just fly," Zephyr suggested. "It would also give us a much better view."
"No," Spearhead strongly objected.
"Shhh!" Nuffink hissed. They quieted. They heard…talking. The voice sounded familiar. It was coming from some ferns.
They crept towards the noise. Shadow Streak's mouth began to glow purple with plasma, which caused Spearhead to lag behind fearfully. They burst through the ferns, hoping to take whoever it was by surprise.
On the other side was… Booboo? Yes, Booboo, who had been corned by a big, red, baby dragon.
"How did you end up here?" Zephyr asked, furiously stomping towards him.
"It was by accident. I promise!" he cried out.
"We told you to stay below deck."
"I know, but the ship was sinking!"
"How did it sink?"
"Some metal from a sunken ship below poked through the wood."
Oh. That must have been the family ship she had stolen, but how had it sunk?
"That still doesn't explain why you came down here," Nuffink said.
"To be fair, you never said I couldn't jump into giant holes," Booboo said. "But of course, I didn't want to. A dragon pushed me into it. I barely grabbed onto the rope in time."
"A dragon?" Zephyr asked. This sounded so super believable.
"Yeah. And he thought it was real funny too," Booboo said.
"Well, at least if our parents look for us, the dock will be empty," Nuffink said. "Zephyr, we need a few hours of sleep or we won't be able to function when we attack the enemy ships. We also need to teach Spearhead and Fourlegs how to fly."
"And Booboo," Zephyr added.
"What?" everyone asked in unison.
"Your punishment for being down here," Zephyr said to Booboo. "Also, why aren't you scared out of your mind that dragons are flying all around you?"
"Things like this happen to me all the time," Booboo said. "I think something doesn't exist, then it does. Just like I thought I was going to be an only child. Very disappointing."
"Okay. Let's go," Zephyr said. "We can rest at the cabin a little before training."
Everyone nodded…except for Spearhead. The big, red, baby dragon followed too. Followed Booboo that is.
