Chapter 3: Imperfect Harmony
After the discovery, Hiccup and Toothless wasted no time waking up the other dragon riders and gathering them in the Great Hall.
"Okay bud, go ahead." Hiccup said, after he set up the Dragon Eye. Just as before, Toothless gave a low heat at the eye of the object, causing a projection at the wall.
The other teens, who were rubbing their eyes before, were now fully alert at what they saw.
"Woah!" Astrid and Hicca breathed out.
"Amazing!" Snotlout said in awe.
"Beautiful!" Raeda said.
"Woah!" Ruffnut said.
"Cool!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
"Definitely worth getting up for." Fishlegs commented.
"Fishlegs, can you make any of it out?" Hiccup asked.
Fishlegs stepped closer to observe the symbols of the wall. "The're parts of maps and symbols. Nothing I've seen before and there is writing but it is in a language I've never read before." He replied.
One of the symbols caught Snotlouts' attention. "What's that thing?"
"That must be some kind of tribal crest or something." Hiccup inferred.
Hicca took a closer look at the symbol. "That crest, I feel like I've seen it before. But I can't place my finger on it."
"Ooh, I like that way better than our tribal crest." Tuffnut said.
"Tuff, we don't have a tribal crest." Raeda pointed out.
"Well we should." Ruffnut stated.
"Yeah, and it should be that." Tuffnut said, pointing to the crest.
"We can't use this if another tribe already has it." Hicca said.
Fishlegs looked at the map on the wall and noticed something. "Hiccup, Hicca, this map. You two realize it-"
"Goes beyond the boundaries of the archipelago." Hiccup finished. "Oh I know."
"So what's our next move?" Astrid asked
The next move was to attend the council meeting the next day, show them this discovery and discuss the course of actions accordingly.
"Look at this." Hiccup said, showing the council the projection. "There are maps we have never seen, writing we can't read, dragons that we don't recognize. It's incredible."
"This Dragon Eye, this is proof that there is a whole other world down there, a world that must be explored." Hicca finished.
"This sure beats normal council business." Gobber commented, while the other adults didn't say anything.
"It's alright lads, you can speak your mind. We're a council after all, that's why we're here." Stoick reassured.
"We've been at peace for three years, best years on Berk I can remember. I think you know as well as I do, when you go looking for trouble, you usually find it." Spitelout stated.
"I'm with Spitelout, if that Dragon Eye leads to unknown places and new wild dragons then no good will come from any of that." Sven agreed.
"I completely disagree, Sven. Look around you. How-how can you say that no good can come from discovering new species of dragons." Hiccup argued, gesturing to the dragons. "No if they're out there, we have to find them."
"If there is anything you and the other riders should be doing is hunting down Dagur and putting him back in jail, where he belongs." The older Jorgenson pointed out.
"Another reason to go. Dagur was heading beyond our borders. He thinks we won't go past them. But that's where we'll find him." Hicca countered.
"Stoick, anytime you like to chime in, we can put this thing to rest." Spitelout asked, turning to the chief.
"You're right Spitelout, let's put this to rest." Stoick agreed.
"Dad-" Hiccup started to say before he was interrupted.
"Let me speak son, this is as important for you to hear as it is for them." His dad said. "Spitelout, you're absolutely right. These have been some of our best years. Nothing is more important than peace, peace among us, peace with our neighbors."
Hiccup and Hicca sighed, waiting for the defeat to set in.
"And peace with our dragons." Stoick continued. "Having said that, Let me ask you this Spitelout, when you and I first had Alvin in our sights and everyone was trying to tell us to leave well enough alone, what did we do?"
"Crush them, that's what you did!" Gobber exclaimed, slamming his prosthetic on the table.
"Thank you Gobber." Stoick sighed, rolling his eyes.
"My pleasure chief." Gobber replied.
"When Valka was taken, and I went in search for her, could anyone have stopped me?" The chief reminded them.
"Well, technically you're the chief so no." Gobber pointed out.
"Yes Gobber, fair point, but you know where I'm going." Stoick said. "Think of the most important thing in the world to each of you. Ask your selves honestly, how far would you be willing to go to get it, what would you risk. The kids life has been dragons. They're lives are dragons. And will continue to be. We can't stop them from going if we wanted to. So we might as well support them." He then turned to his kids. "Go kids, find whatever it is out there that's pulling on you. You find it, Berk will be right here waiting for you." He finished putting one hand on each twins' shoulder, earning a smile from both kids.
"You best get out of here before all this nostalgia wears of and he changes his mind." Gobber advised.
The Haddock twins whistled to their dragons and started walking out of the Great Hall. The two Night Furies went to follow them, but were stopped by the chief.
"You two take care of my kids dragons." Was all he said, earning two identical nods.
They made the announcement to the others and then split up to gather the resources they needed.
Once Hicca got her provisions, she and Midnight went to the Academy to check up on their newest guests; Henry and his five dragons Wildstar, Scout, Sandtrapper, Sandstorm and Lockjaw.
"Hey Henry." Hicca greeted walking into the Academy.
The boy looked up, surprised to see her here, though he really shouldn't be. Out of everyone on this island, she and her dragon were the ones who visited them the most. Actually those two were the only ones who actually visited him. The other Berkians soon figured that Henry preferred to be a loner, except when he was with his dragons, so they just decided to let them be and continue with their lives. Anyone who does stop by only does because they needed something from the Academy. Hicca, however, always checks on them at least once a day, asking if they were alright, if they needed anything, checking on Wildstars' wounds. Henry has grown quite use to seeing the Haddock girl everyday, and his dragons were okay with it. It surprised him because she doesn't usually come at this time of day.
"Hey, Hicca." He greeted back. "Let me guess, here to check on Wildstar?
"Yep, just wanted to make sure there was no change in her health." She said. 'And to see you.' She mentally added being careful not to say that out loud. She didn't know why, but there was something about this strange guy that made her want to look out for him and his dragons.
"No change. She should be recovering soon." He stated, patting Scout.
"That's good." Hicca noted, nodding her head. "Actually I also came to tell you that if there is any change in her health later on, you should take her to Gothi. I already gave you the directions to her hut."
Henry raised an eyebrow to this. "Why? Where are you going to be?"
"My brother, friends and I are going to be doing some exploring. We found this map that can take us to territories we didn't even know existed. We don't know how long it we will be out for. There is a good chance you might leave before we come back."
"Oh." Was all Henry said as he processed this information.
There was an awkward silence as neither of them really knew what to say next.
"Okay then." Hicca said, knowing that Henry wasn't one for conversations. "If there's nothing else, then I'll-"
"Wait." Henry suddenly said. "Thanks. For the welcome." Although it was short, he meant every word. He really didn't expect an island to be as hospitable to him and his dragons as Berk was but found that it was a nice change, even though he wasn't anywhere near ready to be fast friends with its' inhabitants. The best temporary home he's had in awhile.
"Oh, no problem." Hicca reassured. "If you don't mind me asking, where are you guys planning to go once Wildstar heals?"
"Here and there." Henry answered shrugging. Friendly or not, he always has to be careful with what information he gives to others. After all, word can travel in the Archipelago.
Hicca looked at him for a second and was about to say something else, when Fishlegs called from the entrance of the Academy. "Hicca! Are you ready? We're going to leave!"
"Well that's my cue." Hicca said, walking to Midnight. "But, um, in case we don't come back in time, goodbye and good luck with you future travels. And if you or any of your dragons get hurt again, you now know a good place to go to."
"I'll keep that in mind." Henry said, as he watched Hicca and her dragon leave to join their friends.
As soon as they regrouped, the Dragon Riders flew off to their destination. The map from the Dragon Eye led them to a very foggy path.
"You ready for this." Hiccup asked the others
"Blah, Blah, Blah. Why do you have to make a production out of everything?" Snotlout interrupted. "Let's just go already."
"Okay, but if anyone has any reservation-" But the others took off into the fog before he could finish, leaving just Hicca, Raeda and Hiccup behind with their dragons.
"Into the great beyond!" Snotlout exclaimed.
"The Great beyond!" Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs chanted.
"Doesn't look there are any reservations." Raeda commented.
"Yeah, they all seem ready." Hicca said, shaking her head in amusement.
"Okay, then. Let's go guys." Hiccup said.
So the Dragon Riders started their journey out on a high, keeping a sharp eye out for anything out of the Archipelago, with the Thorston twins continuously shouting 'Great Beyond'. However, several hours later and still unable to find anything, with the fog appearing to be endless, the excitement vanished and was replaced with exhaustion, both from humans and dragons, while the blonde twins continued to mutter 'Great Beyond'.
Hiccup looked behind him and noticed the others in this state. "Oh, come on, you guys. So we had a couple of tough hours. Nothing that's worth anything comes easy."
"Is that one of your riddles." Tuffnut questioned, tiredly. "Cause now is not the time my friends, we have to keep saying great beyond. Great Beyond."
"Great beyond." Ruffnut repeatedly boredly.
Hiccup sighed at that and looked at his twin for back-up, only to find her busy reading one of her medical books she brought along.
"Really, sis?" Hiccup questioned.
"Sorry, can't slack off on my studies." Hicca apologised, still reading.
"It seems the farther we go in, the worse it gets." Astrid observed..
"Hiccup, I think we should turn back." Fishlegs advised. "We've been flying for most of the day."
"We're just going to fly the same distance we came. It's too much on the dragons if we do that." Raeda argued.
"We just have to keep moving forward until we're out of this." Hiccup said
Astrid looked ahead of her and noticed it was much brighter up ahead. "Hiccup, Hicca, is that…"
The Haddock twins looked ahead and found what the blonde girl saw. "Yeah it is." Hiccup nodded. "Everybody, fly for the light."
With renewed strength, the dragon riders got their dragons to fly in the direction of the light, finally getting out of the fog and into a completely unknown territory.
"Look at this." Astrid said, as she and the others gazed around their surroundings in awe.
"Wow." Raeda breathed out.
"It's incredible." Hiccup agreed.
"I know right. We made it Hiccup. We made it." Astrid exclaimed excitedly, no longer feeling tired.
"Guys, can we slap each other on the backs later. Meatlug's wings are about to fall of." Fishlegs pointed out, gesturing to the poor Gronckle. The other dragons were feeling the same.
"Sorry guys." Hiccup apologised, looking ahead for an island. "There's a place up ahead we can settle down."
Suddenly the dragons flew off to a different direction, to another island. "Woah what is it girl? Don't you wanna rest?" Fishlegs questioned, but the Gronckle ignored him in favor of flying to the new island.
Suddenly there was a strange sound. "Guys do you hear that?" Hiccup asked the others.
"What is that?" Snotlout wondered.
"I have no idea but the dragons are definitely pulled towards it." Fishlegs observed, looking at the other dragons.
"I guess, that's where we're going." Hicca decided.
They all landed and took in their new surroundings. "This place is amazing!" Raeda said in awe.
"Okay, I'm never going back to Berk." Snotlout declared.
"Berk. What's that? Cause I forgot." Tuffnut said.
"I guess we don't have to vote on where we're making camp." Hiccup commented.
"Haha. I'll take care of the fire." Snotlout claimed, taking out a jar of green gel and pours it into the ground. "Hookfang, Light it up." He commanded. His dragon blasted at the gel, making a campfire. "Monstrous Nightmare gel. Don't leave home without it." Snotlout explained to the others.
With that, the teens continued to set up camp while the dragons got some much needed rest. Soon night-time came and everyone, except for Astrid and Hiccup, were fast asleep.
Astrid joined the Haddock boy by the shore. "You were right Hiccup. There's so much more out here and it's beautiful." She said, smiling at him.
"And this is only the beginning Astrid. Who knows what we'll find out here." Hiccup agreed, as he and Astrid looked out into the sea.
They fell asleep on the their spots and soon morning came. Hiccup was the first of the two to wake and started stretching. He then paused when he noticed something amiss.
"Astrid, wake up. Do you hear that?" He asked, shaking the blonde girl up.
Astrid slowly came back into consciousness. "What, I don't hear anything." She said, yawning.
"Exactly, the sound is gone." Hiccup pointed out.
"So are the dragons. All of them, gone!" Fishlegs announced joining the duo.
Astrid was suddenly jolted awake. "Stormfly." She and Hiccup joined the other teens, who were already awake, in searching for their dragons. Astrid paused in her search though, when she noticed Ruffnut and Tuffnut searching behind the same rock repeatedly. "How many times are you gonna check behind that rock? Barf and Belch cannot hide behind there."
"Clearly, you are not aware of the stealthiness of one Barf and Belch." Ruffnut countered. "Or is that two Barf and Belch?"
Tuffnut thought about that question. "Hmm, excellent question. Two heads…"
"One dragon." Ruffnut continued.
"Two brains…" Tuffnut started.
"One body." Ruffnut finished.
"Two bodies, half a brain." Snotlout joked, walking pass them. "Ha ha."
"Nothing, I don't get it. Where would they go?" Hiccup questioned.
"And I don't think they were kidnapped, because there are no marks in the sand." Raeda noted.
"Oh my Meatlug. She wouldn't do this. She would never leave me. She would never do this on her own." Fishlegs said, worriedly.
Suddenly the teens noticed some rustling from the nearby bushes. They braced themselves for whatever it could be when Toothless suddenly jumped out and darted straight to Hiccup.
"Ha ha, There you are bud." Hiccup said in relief. "Where did you go?"
"And where's Midnight and the others." Hicca said, starting to get worried as the two Night Furies don't usually separate if they're not with their riders. But Toothless seemed to be frantic, panicking for some reason as he tried to pull and push Hiccup.
"Okay, I think your dragon ate something weird in the forest because he's out of his mind." Snotlout commented.
No no no no no, I think he's trying to tell us something." Fishlegs inferred.
"W-what is it bud. Is it the other dragons?" Hiccup asked, trying to calm his dragon down.
Toothless responded by grabbing Hiccups' leg and running off as fast as he can.
"How far do you think he's gonna get before he realizes?" Astrid questioned.
"Hard to say, he seemed pretty committed." Hiccup replied, sitting up from the ground.
At a distance, Toothless finally stopped and looked at what he had in his mouth, which turned out to be Hiccup's prosthetic leg! Oops….
He then went back to the group dropping the leg looking very sheepish and apologetic. "It's okay bud, I like the enthusiasm." Hiccup reassured as he put the prosthetic back on. He then got on the saddle and turned to the others. "You guys stay here in case they come back. Toothless and I are gonna look for them from above."
"I'm coming with you." Hicca declared, sitting behind her brother on the saddle before he can say anything. Hiccup decided to allow that and Toothless then took off. Just as they were going to put some distance in their flight, Hicca looked back down at the others and her eyes widened at what she saw.
"Oh no! Hiccup! Toothless!" She called, getting the guys' attention. They looked at her as she pointed down to the others, who were getting attacked by a Thunderdrum!
"Oh Thor, Oh Thor. Thunderdrum!" Fishlegs hyperventilated from below. The Thunderdrum let out a sonic roar, causing the teens on ground to cover their ears. It then prepared to strike when suddenly it got hit by multiple plasma blasts, causing it to fly away.
"Good job bud." Hiccup praised as they landed back down. "Let's hope that's the last we see of this guy."
"ANYTHING ELSE YOU GUYS WANNA DRAW TOWARDS US?" Snotlout demanded, yelling at the top of his voice. "CHANGEWINGS, OHH SCREAMING DEATH MAYBE. I'M SURE THERE ONE OF THOSE AROUND HERE."
"Snotlout, you're yelling very loudly." Hicca said loud enough.
"OH REALLY, I CAN BARELY MYSELF BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET ATTACKED BY A WILD THUNDER DRUM!" He retorted
"Okay, we need our dragons." Hiccup said. "Hicca and i are gonna go back out there." He informed the others, only to receive blank looks because they couldn't hear him. "I'm saying WE'RE GOING BACK OUT THERE!" He yelled, making Toothless and Hicca winced.
This caused the others to protest very loudly.
"NO YOU'RE NOT, I WILL TAKE YOUR OTHER LEG!" Snotlout shouted.
"NO WAY GUYS. YOU ARE NOT LEAVING US ALONE!" Astrid objected.
"LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO US BECAUSE OF THE THUNDERDRUM!" Raeda pointed out.
"WE'RE DRAGONLESS AND DEFENSELESS!" Fishlegs shouted.
"AND WE CAN ONLY COMMUNICATE BY YELLING!" Ruffnut shouted.
"WHICH ALTHOUGH QUITE ENJOYABLE IS NOT VERY STEALTHY!" Tuffnut hollered. "ARE EITHER OF YOU HEARING ANY OF THIS?"
"They're right, bro. We just left for them for a few seconds and they already got attacked by the Thunderdrum." Hicca pointed out.
"Okay, fine we'll all go together." Hiccup conceded, but the others once again couldn't hear him. "Oh for.. I SAID WE'LL ALL GO TOGETHER!"
The others nodded in approval of the plan. "Why didn't you just say so. Jeez." Tuffnut said in a normal voice.
As they ventured out into the forest Snotlout, Fishlegs, Astrid, Raeda and the Thorston twins soon got their hearing back, much to the relief of the Haddock twins and the male Night Fury. The further they went into the forest the more eerie the atmosphere became.
"Uh Hiccup, Hicca…" Fishlegs started to say.
"We know Fishlegs." Hiccup said.
"No longer amazing." Hicca finished.
"Can we get a vote for creepy and weird?" Snotlout asked.
"For once, Snotlout. I agree with you." Raeda said.
They then reached a clearing in the forest where they gasped at what they saw.
"Are those what I think there are?" Fishlegs asked, horrified.
"Weirdly shaped white rocks." Tuffnut guessed.
"Dragon bones." Hiccup answered grimly.
"Ah a boneyard, yes I like it." Tuffnut said enthusiastically, before the others gave him looks. "I don't like it."
Astrid noticed that some of the bones were covered in a transparent, amber-colored shell. "What is this stuff?"
"No idea." Hicca answered.
The group then heard a wailing noise in the distance.
"Okay, what was that?" Snotlout asked, getting creeped out.
"That my friend is a dragon in trouble." Fishlegs answered also getting worried.
"Guys, look." Raeda said, getting further from the group. The others joined her to find that there were dragons who were still alive, but weak and trapped in the strange amber cocoon.
"You guys do know what's going on here, Don't you?" Tuffnut asked.
"Yeah, Something is trapping the dragons in its amber rock substance and immobilizing them." Fishlegs stated.
"Oh, I had a completely different idea which involved oily fish and uh, bad mutton." Tuffnut admitted.
"Please do not explain what that idea was." Raeda said.
Hicca continued Fishlegs thoughts. "Then it's breaking them out and eating them."
Ruffnut scoffed at that. "Oh come on, Who would be doing that?"
Suddenly a huge dragon swooped down, causing the group to immediately take cover behind some nearby boulders. Well almost everyone.
"How about that guy? He looks suspect to me." Ruffnut said, rather loudly. Fishlegs immediately pulled her back to the boulder.
The strange new dragon emitted the same sound the dragon riders heard earlier, causing Toothless to move towards the sound. "No no Toothless, no bud." Hiccup pleaded, trying to stop his dragon. "It's the sound. that's what draws the dragons in."
"Songwing." Fishlegs blurted out.
"What?" Astrid questioned.
"That's what we should name it." The Ingerman boy explained.
"Now? Really? You want to name it now?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.
"We need to call it something." Fishlegs defended.
"You know, that name makes the dragon seem less threatening than it actually is." Raeda commented.
"Yeah, I'm thinking Deathsong might be more appropriate." Tuffnut chimed in. "You know, 'cause you hear the song, you're dead."
"That's not bad." Raeda commented.
"Yeah, he makes a pretty good point." Hiccup agreed, despite the situation.
"Yeah, I do." Tuffnut nodded, before getting confused. "Wait, what was it again?"
"It doesn't matter what we call it. If it's doing it to all these dragons, then it probably did it to ours." Astrid pointed out.
"We have to find them." Fishlegs urged.
"Fast." Hicca agreed.
As soon as the Deathsong disappeared, the teens immediately split up and started calling out to their dragons.
"Snotlout, look!" Astrid called, getting the Jorgenson boys' attention. He looked and saw her pointing to his Monstrous Nightmare, who was trapped in an amber cocoon.
"Hooky!" Snotlout exclaimed, running to his dragon. "I am getting you out of there, Fangster."
"Astrid, I've got Stormfly!" Fishlegs called, pointing to the blue Nadder, also trapped in a cocoon.
"Midnight!" Hicca exclaimed as she and Toothless ran to the female Night Fury who was also trapped.
A roar interrupted them as the Deathsong came back. Angry at the dragon for trapping his mate, Toothless ran to confront it.
"Toothless! No!" Hiccup warned, echoed by Midnights' own warnings.
Toothless was ready to face the dragon, when it shot out the amber substance, trapping Toothless as well.
"No!" Hiccup exclaimed, running to his dragons. "You guys, get your dragons free now!"
Immediately, the gang tries to free their dragons, but no luck. The cocoon was as hard as a rock. The Deathsong then changed its' target to the teens and started shooting at them, successfully trapping Raeda, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
"Wha... I can't move! I'm totally stuck!" Fishlegs yelled struggling.
"Me too." Raeda gritted out, also trying
"Same here. I can't believe that thing got me. I'm usually so limber." Snotlout grumbled.
"Yeah? Well, at least you got your own cocoon." Tuffnut complained, having been trapped in the same cocoon as his twin.
"Oh, yeah, like this is a picnic for me." Ruffnut said sarcastically.
Getting another idea, Hicca slowly approached the dragon.
"Sis, what are you doing? Get out of there!" Hiccup demanded as he watched the dragon sniff his sister with suspicion.
"It's still a dragon, Hiccup. Maybe we can try to befriend it." Hicca suggested, slowly putting her hand on the Deathsongs' snout. But the dragon responded by trapping her in a cocoon as well! "Okay, not a social dragon."
"Hicca!" Hiccup yelled, running to her.
Astrid noticed the Deathsong setting its' sights on the Haddock boy. She couldn't let that happen. "Hiccup, it's coming for you!" She immediately rushed to him and shoved him out the way, just in time to take the hit, trapping her along with the others.
"Astrid!" Hiccup exclaimed. But he didn't have time to try and help her as the Deathsong decided to take another chance of getting him.
"Hiccup, run! If the Deathsong gets you too, there will no one left to help us." Raeda urged.
As much as he hated the idea of abandoning his twin and friends, Hiccup knew the raven-haired girl was right and immediately ran away, with the Deathsong flying right after him. As he runs, he falls into a steep slope of a valley, which saves him from the Deathsong, but puts him face to face with the Thunderdrum from before.
"Oh, hey." Hiccup chuckled nervously, because of course he would have to end up in this kiind of situation. "Remember me?" The Thunderdrum roared, clearly remembering him. "Okay, so, yeah, I'm thinking... we may have gotten off on the wrong foot." The dragon then let out a sonic blast. Thankfully, Hiccup was able to deflect it with his shield. "Note for the Book of Dragons: Thunderdrums carry a grudge."
The dragon then charges at him, knocking him away from the amber substance that was suddenly shot at him. The Deathsong then appears and the two dragons face off.
"Don't worry, I got your back." Hiccup reassured the Thunderdrum. He used his shield to fire a bola at the Deathsongs' mouth, successfully clamping it shut. "That's not gonna hold him for long." Hiccup noted as he watched the Deathsong struggle. He then turned to his new ally. "Okay, uh... you might not like what I'm about to do, but trust me, it's gonna work out for both of us." He quickly jumps on the Thunderdrums' back. Startled and not accustomed to the concept of having a human rider, the Thunderdrum takes off and starts spinning madly, trying to shake Hiccup off.
"Whoa. Haven't we been over this?" Hiccup exclaimed, struggling to hold on as the Thunderdrum continues to spin. "I said I'm trying to help the both of us. Don't you listen? Of course you don't listen, you're a Thunderdrum, and Thunderdrums are hard of hearing." The Thunderdrum then plunges to the ground, causing Hiccup to lose his grip and hit the ground. "Aaaah! Uhh!" He grunts as he gets up. "At least we lost the Deathsong." This made Hiccup realised that maybe the Deathsong went back after the others! "Oh, no, I can't believe this is actually happening. I should've left all those guys back on Berk. Now they're cocooned in that crazy rock stuff, I'm being chased by an angry Deathsong, and I'm stuck here with a wild Thunderdrum who can't hear a word I'm saying." His eyes widened as he thought the last part over. "Wait a second. If you guys can hardly hear a thing, then you probably can't hear the Deathsong's call. And if you can't hear the Deathsong, then it can't lure you in. No wonder you haven't been caught and you're all alone." The Thunderdrum roars as Hiccup gets up and approaches the dragon. "You know what, Mr. Thunderdrum? You're gonna help me get my friends back. And I'm gonna make sure that dragon never bothers you again. What do you say?" He reaches out a hand to the dragons' snout and it accepts, creating a bond between boy and dragon.
Meanwhile the others were still struggling to break free from their amber prison.
"Uhh! Uhh! Where's Hiccup?! I knew he'd leave us! I have to pee." Snotlout said.
"That's too much information, Snotlout." Raeda stated annoyed.
"And he didn't leave us. He'll be back." Astrid argued. "If I could just reach my knife."
"It wouldn't matter, Astrid. Whatever this is, it's really strong." Fishlegs informed the Hofferson girl as he once again tried to move. "Uhh! I don't think we can cut through it."
"If we can't cut it, then how do we get out of here?" Snotlout asked.
"Yeah, you can't tell me that my last breath is gonna be inhaling her stinky fish hair." Tuffnut, who was trapped below his sister in their cocoon, wheezed out.
"Oh, yeah, that's real original." Ruffnut retorted, rolling her eyes. "You know what? I hope it eats you first. At least I'll have something cool to watch before I die."
"You just stay on your side of the cocoon, missy." Her twin argued. Suddenly, their cocoon got rammed at from the back, causing them to tumble to the ground. "Whoa! Whoa! What's going on? Do it again!"
"Okay, so that's a negative on plan A... ramming the cocoon open." Hiccup said to the Thunderdrum.
"Please tell me you have a plan B." Astrid pleaded.
"If it involves cutting, ramming or ripping, you might as well forget it, Hiccup. Once it cools down, this stuff is hard as any rock I've ever seen." Fishlegs stated.
"Cools down?" Hiccup repeated.
"And hardens." Hicca added.
This gave Hiccup an idea. "Hmm. Nobody move."
"Did you seriously tell us not to move?" Raeda questioned.
"Oh, yeah, that's funny. A real comedian." Tuffnut said sarcastically.
Hiccup goes to Hookfang and grabs the Monstrous Nightmare gel from the saddle bag. He then starts pouring some of the gel on Snotlout and Hookfang.
"What are you doing, Hiccup?" Snotlout demanded, not liking where this is going.
"Just trust me, Snotlout." Hiccup reassured.
"Says the man who's about to set me on fire?"
"You said it only stings a little." Hicca pointed out.
"I was lying. You know I'm a liar!" The dark haired boy exclaimed.
"It'll be okay, Snotlout, I promise." Hiccup promised. He was about to go and pour the gel on the others when the Deathsong came back. It looked at its' prisoners, as if trying to choose. It started eyeing Fishlegs, who decided to play dead in a fit of panic. The Deathsong picked up another cased dragon and flew away.
Hicca closed her eyes, not wanting to think of what was going to happen to that poor dragon.
"Aah! Hurry up, Hiccup! He just took the appetizer. I think I'm the main course." Fishlegs urged.
"Fishlegs, relax. It could take hours for him to eat that dragon." Astrid tried to reassure.
But contrary to her statement, the Deathsong suddenly comes back.
"Or minutes!" Fishlegs yelped. The rogue dragon then approaches the Ingerman boy, appearing to study him for a moment. "Hi, sir." Fishlegs said nervously, in a really high tone.
Hiccup and the Thunderdrum then confronts the Deathsong, getting its' attention. "Hey, remember us?! Hiccup called out to the Deathsong, getting its' attention away from Fishlegs. The dragon chased after the duo, while Hiccup made sure to pour the gel on the others, making sure to only get it on the cocoon. He then runs his dagger across the gel, the friction between the blade and the ground caused a spark which ignited the gel, spreading the fire. True to Hiccups' theory, the fire started to cause the cocoon to melt.
"Aah! Yes! It's working!" Astrid exclaimed, as she and her friends were released from their amber prisons. They quickly reunited with their dragons.
"Hey, bud, good to see you." Hiccup said, as he got lick by said male Night Fury.
As the riders got ready to confront the Deathsong with the Thunderdrum, Hiccup and Hicca noticed an adolescent Thunderdrum also stuck in the amber. They quickly put two and two together.
"It's an adolescent Thunderdrum." Hicca informed the others.
"No wonder he stuck around." Hiccup said, referring to the older Thunderdrum. "Snotlout, you get the Thunderdrum. Hicca and I will handle the Deathsong. You ready, sis?"
"Do you have to ask?" Hicca questioned. "Let's relocate this guy."
Toothless and Midnight quickly race off into a nearby cave, with the Deathsong behind them. The Night Furies were able to zoom through the tunnel with ease, but their chaser had difficulties due to its' size. It ended up crashing into a wall.
"Okay, guys, get us out of here." Hiccup ordered. The two Night Furies quickly used echolocation to navigate their way out, leaving the Deathsong trapped in the cave.
"Yeah! Nice going, guys!" Hicca praised. "No one's gonna hear his song in there."
As they trapped the Deathsong, Snotlout was able to free the adolescent Thunderdrum, allowing it to reunite with the older Thunderdrum.
"If I were you two, I'd maybe find another island. I don't know how long that's gonna hold." Hiccup advised his new friends.
"Uh, you know they can't hear you, right?" Tuffnut questioned.
"Yes, Tuff, I know." Hiccup sighed, rolling his eyes. "Let's get out of here." As they flew far away from the island as possible, Hiccup turned to the others. "Hey, gang, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for getting you all into this." He apologised, still feeling guilty of putting the others in that dangerous situation. "If you want to turn back…"
"Are you kidding?" Astrid asked in disbelief.
"No way!" Ruffnut protested
"This is the most fun we've had in years!" Snotlout exclaimed.
"There's no way we're leaving." Raeda said firmly.
"If you think any of us, especially me, will actually leave you, then you are out of your mind." Hicca stated.
"There is one thing we need to do, though." Astrid suggested.
"I'm all ears." Hiccup said, relieve to hear the others wanting to stay.
"We need an island, our own island."
"Astrid's right, Hiccup." Fishlegs agreed. "We're way too far out to travel back and forth to Berk."
"What we need is a base of operations." Hiccup said, thoughtfully
"Exactly. But this time, we don't let the dragons pick it." Fishlegs suggested, before turning to his own dragon. "Sorry, girl, it had to be said."
Hiccup thought about that. "All right, Snotlout, you're the man of the hour for bringing the Monstrous Nightmare gel. You choose."
"Seriously?" Snotlout questioned, wondering if his cousin was joking.
"Yeah, seriously." Hiccup said, nodding.
"Just when you thought you saw it all." Hicca said smiling.
"Alright! What do you say, Fangster?" Snotlout asked his dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare roared with enthusiasm. "Ha! Couldn't agree more. Into the great beyond!"
"The great beyond!" Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut all exclaimed.