Chapter 5: Big Man on Berk
Today, the Dragon Riders were flying above the ocean near Berk at the request of the Chief Stoick the Vast, concerning a problem with the Scauldron. "All right, gang, we'll buzz past the Scauldron and draw its attention." Hiccup said to the group.
"That way Astrid, Rae, Ruff and Tuff can net it from behind and drag it out to sea, got it?" Hicca finished.
"I still think we should blast it!" Tuffnut objected.
"Stoick just wants us to move the Scauldron out of Berk's fishing lanes." Astrid reminded the blonde male twin. "So don't get any crazy ideas."
"Uh, sorry. Crazy is what we do, Astrid." Ruffnut brought. "Duh!"
"Truthfully, crazy is what we all do." Raeda pointed out.
"You guys do realize that a Scauldron's hot water blast can rip the scales right off a Screaming Death?" Fishlegs reminded everyone, mainly the blonde twins.
A familiar roar caught everyone's attention before anyone could respond to Fishlegs.
"There it is. Let's focus, guys." Hiccup ordered, before he and his twin led the others to their target.
"As usual, nobody's listening to Fishlegs." Said boy muttered, as his Gronckle followed the others.
The dragons flew slowly and steadily behind the Scauldron, making sure not to alert it of their presence. Raeda, Astrid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut got the net open and ready to use to capture the sea dragon. Hiccup gave the signal to everyone to be ready and then counted down. "One…" Fishlegs suddenly gave a snort, as if he was about to sneeze. "Two…" Fishlegs gave a grunt, trying desperately to contain the sneeze but failing. "Three!"
AH-CHOO!
Fishlegs sneezed causing him to accidently steer Meatlug in the wrong direction and bumped into Snotlout and Hookfang, pushing the boy off his dragon and into the net meant for the Scauldron.
"Help me!" Snotlout called from inside the net.
"That escalated much quicker than I thought it would." Hicca said sighing.
"Abort! Abort!" Hiccup called, while Toothless flew out of the way to avoid colliding into the boy and Gronckle duo who were flying uncontrollably due to the formers' sneezing. "Aah! Fishlegs!"
The four people carrying the net tried to fly their dragons out of there as fast as they could, which was a bit tough because they already flew close enough to the Scauldron, who is now giving them its full attention and definitely does not seem happy with their presence.
"Uhh! I knew I hated this mission." Snotlout complained, still in the nest and most vulnerable to a boiling water attack.
"Plasma blast, bud/girl." Hiccup and Hicca both said to their dragons. The Night Furies fired at the dragon, causing it to retreat underwater.
"Oh, I see how it is. You two are allowed to blast it." Tuffnut grumbled as the group headed back to Berk and come up with a new strategy.
Back on Berk, Henry and two of his dragons, sibling Sand Wraiths, Sandtrapper and Sandstorm, were walking in the plaza, back to the Academy after doing a quick perimeter check around Berk to see if there were any ships coming towards the island. It was highly unlikely that they would be able to find them all the way here, but Henry learned a long time ago not to get too confident.
"You and your Snot-rockets almost got me killed!" Henry and his two dragons overheard from the distance, making them stop. They turned to see that the Berk teens were gathered with their dragons in the center of the plaza and that statement came from the short, brawn boy who's name was….well Henry actually didn't know. He didn't know any of the other teens names, except for Hicca and Hiccup.
"Calm down, Snotlout, you lived. Yay us." The blonde girl with the blue shirt said with less enthusiasm.
"Back so soon?" Henry called out. He normally wouldn't try to make an effort to socialize with the teens, but he realised that they all went out exploring and might have a good chance of at least seeing certain ships.
"Oh hey Henry." Hicca greeted, as the two Sand Wraiths went to her and nuzzled in greeting, recognising the human who's been helping their friend. The other teens were surprise that the Henry was actually greeting them. This was the first time since him arriving to Berk with his dragons, that he did so. Hicca on the other hand, has gotten use to the short-talks they have every now and then. "We're just trying to complete a task Hiccup and my dad gave us."
"Key word is trying, no thanks to Itch-legs over here." The boy, who Henry now know as Snotlout, grumbled.
"It's so weird. I mean, I never... oh... ever…" Fishlegs tried to defend himself before feeling another sneeze coming. "Ah-choo!...get sick." He groaned. He then started scratching himself. "Ohh. Oh, gosh."
"Dig deeper, see if you can draw blood." Tuffnut cheered excitedly.
Henry and the two Sand Wraiths just watched the scene with discomfort, with the human wondering if it was a good idea to socialize with the other teens in the first place.
"Well, something's clearly not right with you." Hiccup said.
"I don't see what the big deal is, okay? Everybody sneezes and scratches sometimes." Fishlegs said defensively.
"Not like a honey-covered yak on an anthill." Tuffnut countered. "What? You've never seen a honey-covered yak on an anthill? Well, those things scratch. It's terrifying. The horrors haunt my dreams."
"I really don't feel sick, okay? I promise, I'm fine." Fishlegs reassured. But it was hard to be reassuring when he started using Meatlug to scratch his back, much to the others disgust.
"Ugh. Well, your symptoms seems to be pointing to allergies." Hicca said.
"Uh, that's impossible. Allergies don't run in the Ingerman family." Fishlegs stated, still scratching. "I'm clean, serene and…"
"And an itchin' machine!" Ruffnut finished.
"Might I interject?" Tuffnut suddenly spoke up. "We at the Thorston house have a very simple allergen detection system. It has never failed."
"That's a system?" Ruffnut questioned.
"It is now." Her twin answered.
They went to the Academy to use the Thorston system, with Henry, Sandtrapper and Sandstorm there with the rest of their dragons watching from a distance. Henry already figured the teens haven't encountered them yet, but was now curious of the group that he decided to still watch.
"Thousand-year-old egg." Tuffnut presented, handing said egg to Fishlegs. "Slam this down your gullet."
"Hmm." Fishlegs said, inspecting the egg before eating it, much to the disgust of the other "Oh, it could use a little sea salt." He said, to Tuffnut's disappointment.
Ruffnut then stepped in. "What about this?" She shoved a stick filled with yak-hair right into Fishlegs' face. "Yak hair. Takes itchy to a whole new level." She explained as she continued to rub yak-hair on the Ingerman boy.
But the blonde boy didn't seemed bothered by it. "Not really. Feels kind of like my old Aunt Gerta. You know, she used to…"
"No, I'd like to be able to sleep tonight." Hiccup interrupted quickly.
Tuffnut then handed Fishlegs a mug filled with what appears to be goat milk but with a very strong smell. Henry and his dragons could smell it, even though they were at a distance. "Spoiled, coagulated goat milk with just a pinch of hoof jam.I find it changes the whole experience."
"Woah! Okay, no. I need to draw a line here. That can't be good for-" Hicca tried to interjected, but Fishlegs much to the shock, horror and disgust of the other teens and dragons actually drank that concoction and somehow managed to not spit it out. He didn't even seem repulsed as he swallowed it. "Oh, that is... cheesy and delicious!"
"I don't know whether I should be amazed or disgusted at that." Raeda said.
"I'm choosing to be concerned." Hicca answered, while taking a bottle out of her bag. "Drink this before the milk comes back to haunt you."
"I'm telling you, I've never been allergic to anything." Fishlegs insisted, after drinking the medicine. He then walks over to his dragon and that was when he sneezed once again. "Ah-choo!"
"Huh." Was all Hicca said as she seemed to be in thought.
"What? What is it?" Fishlegs asked, noticing the expression.
"Fishlegs, I think you might be allergic to... Meatlug." Hicca theorised.
"Why, all of a sudden, would he be allergic to Meatlug?" Raeda asked.
Before Hicca could answer that, Tuffnut spoke up. "Perhaps it's just a simple case of adult-onset allergies."
"Ah, I concur with your diagnosis, Dr. Nut." Ruffnut agreed.
"I concur with your concur-ation." Tuffnut replied.
Ruffnut continued to explain. "Adult-onset allergies develop in your elder years when your immune system mistakenly identifies a dangerous substance."
The rest of the teens were surprised at what they heard. "That's correct, all of it." Hicca agreed. "Y-you guys actually read those pamphlets I give you."
"That and the Thorston family history of allergies which led to the created of the allergen detection system." Ruffnut added
But Fishlegs was skeptical about this. "Don't be silly. There's no way I'm...allergic to Meat…" Ruffnut proved the theory true by shoving the boy into the Gronckle, causing him to sneeze hysterically.
"Oh, yeah, diagnosis confirmed." The Thorston girl said, letting go of her patient.
"Fishlegs, there's only one person that might actually be able to help." Hicca said.
That person was Gothi. The Haddock twins, Raeda, Snotlout and Fishlegs went to the elders' hut, while Astrid and the Thorston twins decided to catch up on the happenings of Berk. Henry also opted to stay back.
After explaining the situation, the teens waited to see what the elder would decide to do. They watched as she waved her arms around in a strange manner.
Snotlout chuckled as he watched the healer's antics. "Ohh, I gotta see this."
Gothi then started scribbling in the sand.
"What's she saying?" Fishlegs asked.
Gobber was the one who read the scribbles. His eyebrows were raised at what he read. "Huh."
"What? What?!" Fishlegs asked worriedly.
"She wants to paralyze you." Gobber answered.
Fishlegs gasped in shock and fear, while Snotlout got excited. "Yes!"
"That can't be right!" Hicca protested
WHACK!
Gothi was quick to prove Hicca right.
"Aah! Check that." Gobber said, rubbing his head. "Hypnotize. Sorry, she wants to hypnotize you."
"Ugh, come on." Snotlout complained.
Hicca gasped at that. "You mean we get to see you do hypnotherapy?" Gothi nodded at that question and which made her protegee more excited.
Fishlegs chuckled at that, relieved that he's not going to be paralysed. "Unfortunately, guys, this is never gonna work on me because I'm way too…" As he talked, Gothi waved her staff in front of him in a circular motion, making him feel drowsy. "Okay."
A second later, he was snoring on the ground.
"Unconscious? Ha! Quick, put his hands in warm water." Snotlout urged.
"We're not going to do that." Hiccup said firmly.
"This is amazing, I've always wanted to see hypnotherapy in action." Hicca said as she walked over to read what Gothi scribbled. "Okay, now that he's under, she wants us to tell him that he's not allergic to Meatlug. I call it!"
"Does that really work?" Snotlout asked, feeling skeptic.
"It does." Hicca answered as she walked towards Fishlegs. "Hypnosis opens the depths of our subconscious minds, enhancing our capacity to respond to a suggestion thus allowing such changes to take place."
"Of course, of course, that makes a lot of sense." Snotlout said sarcastically, not understanding the workings of hypnosis.
"Here goes." Hicca said, sitting near a still-unconscious Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, you are not allergic to Meatlug. You are not allergic to Meatlug." She repeated, making sure her words are clear and concise.
"So, that's it?" Snotlout asked, seeming unimpressed.
"Basically." Hicca said. "But don't let this fool you. Hypnosis is very powerful."
"Okay, let's bring him out of it." Hiccup said.
Snotlout suddenly got an idea. "Now, now, now, hang on a second. We've got an opportunity here. We can rebuild Fish-face. We can turn him into a worshipped Viking. A fearless godlike hero, as strong as three yaks! A Viking who commands attention!" What no one noticed was that Fishlegs facial expressions seemed to shift while Snotlout was talking. "In other words, a Viking worthy of my friendship."
"Shut it, Snotlout! You have to be careful with what you say. The subconscious mind is vulnerable enough to take any suggestions given to it." Hicca reprimanded
"And we're definitely not doing any of that." Raeda added.
"You can bring him out of it now." Hiccup said to Gothi.
"I just hope none of your words got to him." Hicca said to the Jorgenson boy.
Gothi walked up to Fishlegs and snapped her fingers in front of his face. Fishlegs took a few seconds to blink his eyes before he jumped up. The others were a little puzzled when they saw the sudden intense look on their friends face as he flexed his muscles.
"Fishlegs?" Hiccup called with uncertainty
"Fishlegs?" The blonde boy repeated with a haughty accent. He then scoffed. "There's no Fishlegs here." He then noticed Meatlug. "Who is this pudgy little reptile?"
That shocked everyone, because Fishlegs would never, in a million years, ever insult Meatlug.
"I'd never thought I'd see this." Raeda said.
"That was a bit harsh." Gobber commented.
"And very strange." Hicca added.
"Fishlegs, are you alright?" Hiccup asked the larger boy.
"Are you deaf, skinny, one-legged boy?" 'Fishlegs' demanded. He then grabbed Gothi's staff with both arms and raised it in the air. "The name's Bonecrusher." With that, he snapped the staff in two and tossed it out the window. "Thor Bonecrusher."
The others looked at him in shock while Gothi glared at him for breaking her staff.
It wasn't difficult for Hicca to figure out what happened. "Snotlout, do you realize what you've done? You idiot! You've created-"
"My very own super-Viking!" Snotlout finished excitedly, looking at Thor in awe. "Thor Flipping Bonecrusher! I love it!"
"Yeah for some reason, I don't think that's going to be a popular decision." Raeda dead-panned.
'Thor' didn't waste anymore time in the hut. He soon made his way to the Plaza, with Snotlout following his new role model. The vikings who passed them paused as they looked at the duo. They were surprised at both Fishlegs drastic change in demeanour and Snotlout look of admiration towards Fishlegs, two things they didn't think they would see separately, let alone together.
"Oh, hello." 'Thor' said confidently to a woman walking by. The woman stopped, confused because not only is Fishlegs acting different, he's also sounding different.
'Thor' then gave a thumbs up to a man pushing a cart full of apples. The viking was so caught off-guard by the move that he let go of his cart, causing it to roll away and crash into a neary hut.
The Haddock twins and Raeda, caught up with Astrid and finished re-telling the incident at the hut.
"And Gothi can't just turn him back?" The blonde girl asked.
"Not without her staff, which Thor Bonecrusher broke and threw off the cliff." Hicca explained.
"And unless we can get something that could replace the staff, Fishlegs is going to stay like this because there's no other way to snap him out of it." Raeda added.
Back with Fishlegs, or 'Thor', his new personality has attracted quite a lot of attention as the villagers gathered around him, all wondering what happened to the shy and nerdy Fishlegs they were used to.
"So, TB, you're not afraid of anything, huh?" Snotlout asked, before he suddenly and swiftly drew out his sword and struck the Inger-Bonecrusher teen.
The blonde boy merely grabbed the sword with his hands, pulled it out of Snotlouts' grasp and tossed it away. "Ha! Child's play." He scoffed.
"How about fire?" Snotlout challenged, bringing a burning torch close to the other boys' face.
"I scoff at fire!" 'Thor' replied, grabbing the torch and tossing it away as well.
"Fire! My house is on fire!" A woman suddenly yelled in panic. "Someone threw a torch on my house!"
I wonder who did that….
"Perfect, a call to action!" 'Thor' said. He ran towards the burning house, kicked the door open and rushed inside without hesitation. Soon enough, he made it out with one sheep each tucked under his arms. Snotlout and the other villagers stared in shock and awe before they started cheering for him.
"Please hold your applause until the end of the rescue." 'Thor' ordered. He then grabbed a nearby trough full of water and effortlessly tossed it at the burning house, successfully dousing out the flames. Once that was taken care of, he turned to the crowd. "You may commence."
The cheering resumed.
The woman whose house he saved, walked up to him, ready to thank him. "Fishlegs…"
"Fishlegs?" Thor interrupted, clearly disgruntled by the name. "Why does everybody keep calling me Fishlegs?"
"But you're Fishlegs, Fishlegs." The woman answered.
"Nonsense, crone!" 'Thor' objected. He then turned to the crowd. "People of Berk. It is with great pleasure that I announce the arrival of me, Thor Bonecrusher. The most universally feared and loved Viking in all the land is here to enchant you with my presence."
"Look out, the cart!" Another viking yelled out. This brought everyone's attention to a wayward cart filled with apples that was rolling very fast towards another cart with a baby in it.
"Ah! The baby!" A woman yelled in panic.
'Thor' wasted no time. He sprinted towards the wayward cart doing a few somersaults along the way, which impressed everyone and then leapt in the air, landing right in between the cart of apples and the baby cart.
The villagers cheered louder as the mother of the baby immediately ran to the cart and picked up her child.
"All in a days' work." 'Thor' said, waving to his fans.
"Did you see that?! That was incredible!" Snotlout exclaimed to Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda and Astrid, who joined the crowd in time to see the stunt. "He ran, and then did a flip and then a toss and then a thing, and then flipped into the other thing. Ohh! He's amazing."
"Is it me, or did Snotlout just fall in love with Fishlegs?" Astrid asked with her eyebrows raised.
"This day is just getting weirder and weirder." Raeda said, as the villagers continued to chant the name of their new hero.
The hero in question was basking in his new-found glory, until a sound from the distance caught his attention. "Shh, everyone!" He demanded, and everyone immediately grew quiet. "Thor hears the sound of a baby yak in trouble."
He then darts away, towards the sound of the baby yak, which was still far away and causing a rampage. 'Thor' then leapt in the air, jumping from one rooftop to the other to get closer to the baby yak faster as the villagers continued to look on in awe.
'Thor' caught up to the baby yak, just as it was about to run off a cliff, grabbed it, put a hand on its back and squeeze, causing the yak to fall asleep immediately.
"Sleep well, little yak." He said in a low voice before placing the yak on the ground. "Sleep well."
He returned back to the crowd and the cheering gets wilder everytime.
"What's next, Thor?"
"Show us more amazing feats of bravery!"
"I shall, citizen, I shall." 'Thor' reassured. "But first, I must claim a weapon befitting a god!"
He set off to the forge, with Snotlout following him. "Thor, you have got to teach me that Viking yak pinch."
The bigger viking decided to give the Jorgenson boy a first hand experience by repeating the same action to him, causing him to drop to the ground, out cold.
"All in the wrist, Snot-man." 'Thor' said without stopping from his path.
At the forge, Gobber was busy with his usual work, having decided to let the teens deal with the whole Fishlegs/Thor issue.
Well, I got my axe and I got my mace...
"You, simple blacksmith!" A new voice interrupted him
"Simple blacksmith?" Gobber repeated, narrowing his eyes.
Snotlout, who recovered from his impromptu nap, quickly caught up to his new buddy and tried to find a suitable weapon for him. "Uh, how about this one?" He suggested, holding up a dagger.
Thor seemed to consider it. "Oh, that's perfect... for removing splinters."
Snotlout laughed nervously as he threw the weapon away and held up a sword. "What about this one? You can use it to annihilate your enemies."
Once again the blonde boy inspected it for a second. "That's a nice handle, I suppose... if I had wee lady hands."
"Hmph, I made that handle with my best leather." Gobber protested.
'Thor' decided to look for a weapon himself. He picked up several weapons, inspected each for a second, before tossing them away. He then stopped when he saw an axe.
"Now, this. This is an axe for a Viking." He praised, holding the axe.
"That's Stoick's axe." Gobber pointed out the weapon that the chief had sent to change the blade.
That didn't seem to bother Fishlegs. "Correction: This was Stoick's axe." He said, looking at Gobber with a challenge to see if the blacksmith would stop him.
That was when Hiccup and the three girls came to the blacksmith and caught wind of what was going on. "Uh, okay, uh, Fishlegs?" Hiccup interjected before correcting himself. "I-I mean, Bonecrusher. Stoick isn't exactly the kind of chief who likes to share his things, especially his axe."
"Neither do I." 'Thor' stated. "If this Stoick fellow wants it, he can always try and take it back from me."
"Oh, man! He just totally called out Stoick!" Snotlout said as he watched his new role-model in awe. "How much do we love this guy?"
The others didn't bother trying to correct the teen.
Meatlug, who had been following the group hoping her human would snap out of whatever it was that was causing him to act this way, slumped down, clearly upset. "Okay, this is getting out of hand. We need to get Thor Bonecrusher back to Gothi before we lose Fishlegs forever." Hicca said.
"I totally agree. Just one question." Gobber said, nodding his head. "Where'd he go?"
The answer was in the Great Hall. There Bonecrusher was busy recalling a story (definitely made up) to his new fan-club, which comprised of almost the whole village.
"So there I was, Thor Bonecrusher, perched on an inferior dragon as we approached the vicious Scauldron, faster than Odin on his eight-legged horse."
"You could have Hookfang next time." Snotlout immediately offered. "He's a Monstrous Nightmare, scariest dragon of all."
"Monstrous Nightmare?" Bonecrusher questioned before scoffing. "Sounds like my post-mutton trip to the outhouse."
That caused everyone to start laughing, with Snotlout hesitantly joining in. "Post-mutton trip! We've all been there, ain't we?! Good one." Hookfang, however, glared at the duo, taking offense to the comment.
Meatlug, still upset with the situation was slumped down in the corner without her saddle. "Poor Meatlug. Wouldn't even wear her saddle." Gobber said to the other teens. "Look at her. So lonely. We've got to do something with her."
"Hicca and I'll take care of Meatlug." Hiccup offered.
"Yeah, she can stay at our place until we get this situation sorted out." Hicca agreed.
"My chances of survival were slim. I only had one option." Bonecrusher continued with the story.
"Ah, ooh, oh, oh! Fly away?" A viking man suggested.
That comment earned him a glare from the storyteller. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."
"Sorry." The man said meekly.
"No, I had something very special in store for that Scauldron." Bonecrusher continued. He was describing the Dragon Riders earlier encounter with the Scauldron, with some tweaks. Instead of botching up the mission, he boldly dived off Meatlug and after the dragon while the others watched with fear. Despite 'Thor's' best efforts, the Scauldron still managed to get away.
"He narrowly escaped. However, next time, victory shall be mine!"
That earned more applause.
"Put me in your next story! Just as the background. But please?" Snotlout requested in a low voice amidst the cheering
"Fishlegs! Is that my axe?!" Stoick voice boomed, causing the Great Hall to go silent.
"O-oh, he's got his axe." The vikings whispered to one another as they quickly made room for their chief to pass through.
'Thor' merely watched in amusement as the chief approached him with narrowed eyes.
Hiccup quickly tried to step in and diffuse the situation. "Uh, Dad, that's not Fishlegs Fishlegs."
"Don't be daft. I'm looking right at him, holding my axe, by the way." His father pointed out.
"Ah, you must be Stoick the Vast-". Bonecrusher said, resting the axe on his shoulder. "ly overrated."
"He didn't." Raeda said, covering her mouth with her hand in shock as her eyes widened.
"He did." Hicca said, getting a bad feeling. "This is definitely not going to end well.
"What did you call me? What did he call me?!" The chief demanded, first to Thor, then to Hiccup..
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. He's not himself." Hiccup tried to explain.
"He's under hypnosis." Hicca added
"Give me back my axe!" Stoick demanded Bonecrusher.
"Don't you mean my axe?" 'Thor' corrected, keeping the axe closer to himself. The two of them stared at each other with intense gazes, cracking their knuckles as if preparing for a fight.
Gobber quickly stepped in. "He was just polishing it for you, Chief."
"Let us handle this." Hiccup reassured. "We will get your axe back to you, I promise."
After one last glare at Bonecrusher, the chief turned to the others. "Fine, but make it quick, or I'll take it from him myself."
Raeda looked at Gobber, silently pleading for him to do something. Luckily the dragon dentist/blacksmith got the hint. "Chief, let's get out of here. How about a nice piece of mutton?"
The four teens watched as the two adults walked away, trying to figure out what to do now.
"So, riddle me this." A new voice called out to them, causing them to turn around and find Henry casually sitting by one the long benches of the table with Lock-jaw by his side. Even he has heard about Berk's newest hero and although he doesn't know Fishlegs that well, the little encounter he had with the others before was enough to tell Henry that the blonde boy was acting completely out of character. His curiosity has been getting the best of him these days. "How do you manage to go from a simple task of getting rid of someone's allergy to turning that person into that." He gestured to Bonecrusher, who went back to regaling heroic stories to his captive audience.
Hicca answered that. "Well, you see, there are people who can't do things by halves, and then there are people who can't do anything by whole. We're in the latter part of the group."
Henry just looked at the group for a second before shaking his head and crossing his arms. "You guys are something. I can't tell if it's a good something or a bad something, but it's definitely entertaining to watch."
"Well, glad someone is amused by this." Hiccup said sarcastically. "Now if you excuse us. We need to go find Gothi."
He, Astrid and Raeda turned to leave, but Hicca stayed for a second. Henry also decided to go back to the Academy when the Haddock girl stopped him.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know a way to counter hypnotism, would you?" She asked.
The boy just shook his head and continued to leave with Lock-jaw walking next to him. "Cute." He said in a low voice to Lock-jaw, referring to Hicca. "Like I would have the time to read about that stuff." As he reached to the doors he turned back to look at the Berk teens, still talking to his dragon. "I don't know what it is about this group, buddy." His rested on Hicca longer before he left the Great Hall.
Hicca quickly rejoined her group.
"You and Henry certainly seem to be on friendly terms." Astrid pointed out to the auburn girl.
"Well, I would hope we are, considering I've been taking care of his injured dragon since he got here." Hicca reminded the blonde girl. She looked back to the direction Henry left, before shifting her focus on finding her mentor.
So the four teens, with Ruffnut and Tuffnut tagging along, went to Gothi for help. The elder had them bring Bonecrusher back to her hut where she would give him a potion. It took a bit of convincing, but the teens eventually managed to convince Bonecrusher to come along, making him believe he was getting some kind of fancy drink.
"I hope this won't take long, sorceress. I like to nap after a feast of wild boar and mead." Bonecrusher demanded
"Thanks, Gothi, we really need Fishlegs back." Hiccup said.
Gothi walked up to Bonecrusher with a bottle of her potion in her hand. She forced opened Bonecrushers' mouth and poured the entire content of the bottle in.
The teens waited, holding their breaths, to see if their friend will turn back to normal. But instead of that happening, Bonecrusher, quickly ran and threw up in a nearby barrel.
Astrid cringed at that. "Ugh! What was in that potion?" She asked as Gobber arrived in the hut.
Gothi scribbled an answer, and Hicca went to translate. "It wasn't a potion. Just spiced yak bladder. She says that'll teach him to break her staff."
"Not the most delicate delicacy." Bonecrusher commented, sounding weak for the first time since waking up from his hypnosis.
"What about getting Fishlegs back?" Raeda asked the healer.
This time Gobber translated the scribbling. "She can't re-hypnotize him without her staff."
Hicca suddenly got an idea. "I could give it a shot." The others looked at her. "At hypnotising Bonecrusher. I've never actually done that before but I read about it enough. And I can use my dagger as a substitute for the sword." She brought out the dagger from her bag.
"Give it a shot, sis." Her brother encouraged.
Hicca then went to Bonecrusher who was recovering from the concoction he was forced to drink. "Hey, Fish-I mean Thor, think you can take this on this test of courage? Sounds simple, but it's not."
Bonecrusher scoffed. "Bring on the challenge, other scrawny viking."
"'Other scrawny-'" Hicca huffed before re-focusing on her task. She held the dagger right on larger boy's eye-line. "Just keep your eye on this dagger at all times. Do not break eye-contact." She slowly waved the dagger around in a circular clock-work motion, similar to how her mentor waved her staff earlier. "And everytime this dagger finishes its' circle, you find yourself getting sleepier and sleepier." A few more circles and Hicca gave her next command. "Now just close your eyelids and sleep." She snapped her fingers at 'sleep', hoping it would do the trick.
'Thor' merely scoffed and knocked the dagger out of Hicca's hands. "A waste of time was all that test was."
The auburn girl sighed as she turned to the others. "Sorry guys. Guess I haven't mastered the art of hypnotism just yet."
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Raeda commented, pointing to Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Gobber, who all dropped to the ground unconscious as soon as Hicca snapped her fingers.
"Great, now what?" Hiccup asked.
Gothi written something else in the dirt, which Hicca translated. "Fear. Only a true feeling of terror will shock Fishlegs back to normal."
"But Mr. Thor Bonecrusher over here isn't afraid of anything." Astrid pointed out.
"Truer words were never spoken, my fair Viking lady." Bonecrusher agreed, putting an arm around Astrids' shoulders.
"Ugh." The shield-maiden said, shrugging the arm off. It was bad enough to get this from Snotlout, but now Bonecrusher?
Said man didn't seem bothered by this. "Now, where is that snotty fellow? We have business to discuss." With that, he left the hut.
Hicca then woke up the three sleeping victims before they accidentally get hypnotized as well. As he stretched, Gobber then remembered why he came. "Oh by the way, Hicca, Hiccup, you two may want to swing by the old homestead. Your father is in a bit of a... state."
The Haddock twins went to their house to see the 'state' Gobber was talking about. It turns out that their father was not happy with their new house guest, Meatlug. Especially when said Gronckle was hugging the chief the same way she hugs her human, pinning him down with her weight.
"Get this dragon off me!" Stoick demanded, once he saw his kids.
"Dad, she's just lonely." Hiccup explained.
"That's how she hugs." Hicca added.
"If she doesn't get off me, we'll be having Gronckle for breakfast." Their father vowed.
"We need to get Fishlegs back before this gets any worse." Hiccup said to his twin.
"Hiccup! Hicca!" Raeda shouted as she and Astrid ran up to the twins.
"Let me guess. It's Thor." Hicca deadpanned.
"Yeah, and Snotlout." Raeda said.
"And you're not gonna believe where they're headed." Astrid said.
The two boys in question were flying out on Hookfang trying to find the Scauldron they encountered earlier.
"Ohh! Can't this overgrown lizard fly any faster?" Bonecrusher demanded.
Snotlout gave a nervous laugh before whispering to his dragon. "Come on, Hookfang, you're embarrassing me."
"Onward, Snot-man!" Bonecrusher commanded. "We must find a dragon worthy of my command. My destiny awaits!"
Immediately after finding out where Snotlout and 'Thor' were heading, the four teens found Ruffnut and Tuffnut and quickly got on their dragons and set off to find the two boys as it started to rain.
"They have to be down there somewhere. What was Snotlout thinking?" Hiccup wondered.
"He wasn't. He's in love." Astrid answered, switching for a tone used for babies. "He'd do anything for his big hunk of bone-crushing love."
"Well, we'd better find them before they find the Scauldron." Hicca said.
Ahead of the group, Bonecrusher kept a sharp eye out at sea for his new foe, while Snotlout was starting to get nervous every second they were out on their own looking for the Scauldron, though the Jorgenson boy would never admit it. "Just think, Snotlout, at any moment, the giant beast will emerge from the water and I will tame him. Or he'll kill you."
That did nothing to help the shorter boys nerves. "Ha! You're funny, TB." He gave another fake laugh. "Listen, let me throw something out there. What if we... I don't know... head back, call it a day, relax at the Great Hall, tell some more really cool stories. You know, I've heard that a Scauldron's hot water blast can rip the scales off of a Screaming Death."
"What gutless fool told you that?" Bonecrusher demanded.
Snotlout did not have a response for that and Bonecrusher hit him on his helmet with his axe handle.
"Nonsense. Thor Bonecrusher cannot return to Berk dragon-less. Negative, Snot-man. I am not leaving these waters without my prize." That's when the Scauldron emerged from the water, catching Bonecrushers' attention. "Aha! Time to engage my quarry." He then hit Snotlout again with the axe handle. "Dive, dragon, dive!"
Hookfang complied and dove straight for the other dragon with Snotlout hanging on his dragons' horns for dear life. "Aah! My super-Viking's gone rogue!"
"Fire!" Bonecrusher demanded. The Monstrous Nightmare blasted a series of fireballs, which the marine dragon was able to avoid all but one which hit it in the face.
"Okay, that ought to do it, right, TB?" The black haired boy said with hope. But Bonecrusher wasn't satisfied as he jumped off Hookfang and landed right on the neck of the Scauldron. This caused the dragon to fire a water blast, which Hookfang avoided just in time but doing so caused his rider to fall off the saddle and into the ocean.
"Uhh! Dance, big boy."
That's when the other dragon riders caught up to them. "There they are! Come on!" Hiccup ordered.
The four additional riders flew around the Scauldron as it tried to shake off Bonecrusher. "Uhh! Easy, now, big fella." He grunted. On jerky movement took him by surprise causing him to let go of the axe which fell in the ocean.
Looks like Stoick will be looking for a new axe...
In the ocean, Snotlout was struggling to keep his head above water. "Help... me!" He called out.
Astrid spotted him. "Snotlout's in the water!" She yelled.
"Astrid, you, Ruff and Tuff go grab him." Hiccup said.
"Hiccup, Raeda and I'll go after Fishlegs." Hicca finished
"Okay." Astrid said nodding. "Stormfly, let's go."
Raeda and the auburn twins flew to the Scauldrons head, where the dragon was still trying to shake off it's unwanted enemy. But Bonecrusher wasn't deterred. In fact, he was getting an adrenaline rush. "Ah! This is what I live for!"
Meanwhile, Astrid and the blonde twins lost sight of Snotlout and tried to find him.
"Keep looking, he must be here somewhere." Astrid ordered Ruff and Tuff, before she split up to cover more area.
"So, how hard do you think we really need to look?" Tuffnut asked his twin. "I'm thinking some passing glances might do the trick."
"Well, the sooner we rescue Snotlout, the sooner we can watch Fishlegs get eaten by the Scauldron." Ruffnut pointed out.
Tuffnut considered that point. "Well, if you put it that way, let's go!"
Back on the Scauldron, Bonecrusher continued to hang on to the Scauldrons' neck. "It would be so much easier if you'd just submit to your new master." He demanded. Hicca, Hiccup and Raeda tried to find a way to get to their friend without being hit by the boiling hot water the Scauldron was spraying at them. The Scauldron then dove down in the water, with the trio and their dragons following right behind. A few minutes later they all emerged out, with Bonecrusher still on the Scauldron. "Got you where I want you."
Meanwhile, having yet to have been rescued, Snotlout was still struggling to stay above water. "Hookfang!" He called out. "Oh, can this possibly get any worse?" He got his answer when he saw the Scauldron, with Bonecrusher still holding on heading his way! "Worse! Way worse!" He yelled as he started swimming in panic. That's when Hookfang swooped in and rescued his rider, both from the waters and from the rogue. "Whoa! Hey. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. I will never try to give you away ever again!"
Back above water, the Haddock twins and Raeda have lost sight of Bonecrusher and the Scauldron. "What the…" Hiccup trailed.
"Where did they go."
As if answering her question, the duo in question emerged, still locked in a struggle against one another.
"Guys, watch out!" Hiccup warned as the Scauldron started spraying at them once again. Once again, all three dragons were able to dodge in time. "Come Rae, let's get it's attention."
"Right behind you." The ravenette said to the auburn-haired boy.
They had Toothless and Sparkfire blast at the Scauldron, getting it's attention. Hicca and Midnight took advantage of that and flew close enough to where Bonecrusher was still latched onto its' neck.
"Come on, jump over!" Hicca called out the 'Thor'.
But the blonde teen merely scoffed at that. "Retreat? In my moment of glory? Never!"
Before Hicca could say anything else, the wild dragon suddenly noticed her and Midnight. The female Night Fury quickly got herself and her rider to safety, but they were now too far away to help Bonecrusher.
Finally the Scauldron managed to shake its' opponent off its neck, but then Bonecrusher ended up on its tail instead. The rogue dragon was prepared to give him a water blast when Meatlug suddenly came out of nowhere and head-butted the Scauldron right in the face!
"Yes, Meatlug!" Hiccup cheered. The enraged Scauldron then set its' sights on the Gronckle and went after her. "No, Meatlug!"
"Stop, dragon. I, Thor Bonecrusher, command you to stop." Bonecrusher demanded as he stood on the tail, trying to get its' attention. But it didn't work and Bonecrusher watched as the dragon got closer to Meatlug and got ready to spray her. "No!" Suddenly in that moment, when realising the danger Meatlug was in, the real Fishlegs emerged from within the shell of Thor Bonecrusher, restoring him back to what he once was. His old voice even came back. "No! Not my Meatlug! You leave my dragon alone! No!" He quickly ran to towards the head of the dragon and jumped off towards Meatlug. Luckily for him, the Gronckle caught him just in time. The Scauldron was getting ready to spray again, when it was suddenly trapped in a net, courtesy of Raeda, Astrid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
"Just as planned." Raeda said.
Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, glad that this craziness was over. "That was a little too close."
"Speak for yourself. That was freakin' awesome!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
The Scauldron roared in anger inside the net.
Fishlegs gave his dragon a big hug, and got a lick in response. "Oh, I'm so sorry, girl. I don't know what happened to me. I just... I wasn't myself. Oh, I missed you! Oh!" He then turned to Hiccup. "How did I-"
"Long story. we'll explain later." Hiccup reassured.
"Let's just say that if we ever have to hypnotize you again, we're not going to have Snotlout in the same room." Hicca said.
That said, the Dragon Riders moved to relocate the Scauldron before heading back home, during which Tuffnut decided to add some music for entertainment.
Hooligan tribe Won't you come out tonight?
Come out tonight Come out tonight...
Once they got back to Berk, Hicca and Hiccup went to inform their father of what happened. "So, what happened to the Scauldron?" The chief asked.
"He's been relocated." Hiccup reported.
"And my axe?" The chief then asked, not seeing the weapon in either of his kids hands, like they promised.
"Uh...Also relocated." Hicca admitted
"But what of Thor Bonecrusher?" A villager asked, before Stoick could say anything else.
The whole Bonecrusher fan-club were gathered and waiting for their hero to come and tell all about his latest adventures. They cheered once they saw him land. "Yeah, Bonecrusher!"
"I miss him!"
"Woo!"
Fishlegs got off Meatlug and walked to the crowd when he suddenly tripped and face-planted. He quickly got up, looking at the crowd nervously. "Hello."
The crowd grumbled and dispersed, knowing that their hero was gone. Meatlug, on the other hand, was happy to have her rider back and went to lick him. He responded with a hug.
"You know, Fishlegs, you didn't sneeze once the whole ride home." Hicca pointed out.
"Yeah. And my legs don't itch anymore." Fishlegs stated, once he realised this.
"And Meatlug isn't wearing her saddle." Hiccup noticed.
"Maybe you were never allergic to her, you were allergic to the saddle!" Hicca said.
"But why, all of a sudden, would I become allergic to her saddle?" Fishlegs wondered.
Gobber then walked up to the group. "Well, uh, I've been using a different kind of wax on the saddles." He admitted. He then used his finger and picked out a large chunk of earwax out of his ear, much to the teens and dragons disgust. "Look at that." He then noticed the disgusted looks on the teens and dragons faces. "What? I never run out of the stuff. It's coming out of my ears."
"Looks like you and I need to have another talk on what's sanitary and what's not." Hicca said to the older man.
Fishlegs started sneezing again once he got close to the earwax. "Well... ah-choo! I'm allergic to Gobber's earwax? Ohh. Ha! I am both relieved and disgusted." He said moving away from the man. He turned his head to find Snotlout still sitting on Hookfang, staring at him, looking disheartened? "What? What is it?"
"I'm just thinking of what might have been." He then grabbed Fishlegs' face in his hands. "You broke my heart, Thor. You broke it right in two." With that, he kissed Fishlegs on the cheek and flew off, leaving Fishlegs feeling both confused and disturbed.
"Okay, that was creepy, right?" The blonde boy asked the others, who had the same reaction as him.
"You don't know the half of it." Hiccup said.
"And you're better off not knowing any of it." Hicca added.
"Oh, I miss you, Thor." Snotlout sobbed as Hookfang continued to fly in the air.