Chapter 9: Quake, Rattle, Roll
Today the Dragon Riders were working to improve the Edge's defense against enemy attack. Hiccup and Hicca were working on their newest invention, a large spyglass.
Hiccup hammered in the bolts on one spot to keep it secure. Toothless joined him. "All right. I think one more plasma blast should do the trick, bud." The teen said to his dragon. He didn't need to say anymore as the Night Fury gave one blast right at the spot Hiccup wanted, though he didn't really warn his human to stand back. "Whoo! Great job!" He said, coughing.
Astrid checked the view of the spyglass. "Nice. I can see straight to the horizon."
"That should definitely make it harder for anyone to sneak up on us." Hicca said.
"I wonder how the Thorston twins' lookout tower is coming along." Hiccup said.
"I can only imagine." Astrid commented, crossing her arms.
Of course, with the history of how the Thorston twins handle any task given to them, it was no surprise to assume the worse. What was a surprise, however, was how the lookout tower actually turned out.
"Ah, yeah, oh." Ruffnut muttered as she and her brother took a step back to view their finished tower.
"Hey. Does something seem off to you?" Tuffnut asked his twin.
"Yeah. This should have fallen down a long time ago." Ruffnut answered.
Tuffnut started to get a thought. "Maybe we actually did something... No, that's impossible."
"Say it." Ruff dared.
"Something... right?"
His twin gasped at the realisation.
"Ugh. I have a weird feeling inside. Is that accomplishment?" Tuffnut wondered.
"Whoa! I think I feel it, too." Ruffnut said. "Quick! Let's go rub it in Hiccup's and Hicca's faces before the feeling subsides!"
They immediately got on their dragon and flew to where the Haddock twins were.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile in the clubhouse, Fishlegs and Meatlug were doing a thorough study of all the contents in the Dragon Eye lenses they found so far. "Hmm. Ooh. Wow. Very interesting." Fishlegs muttered as he jotted down notes. Once he finished, he turned to Meatlug. "Okay, girl, let's move on to rock experiment test subject number three... river stones."
"Hey! What you doing, Fishlegs?" Snotlout asked, leaning on the frame of the door
"Oh, hey, Snotlout. Well, if you're asking me I'm testing how different rocks make Meatlug produce different flame and how that changes the projections in the Dragon Eye." Fishlegs explained, while feeding Meatlug said rocks.
Snotlout, however, wasn't that interested. "Oh, that's right. I just remembered, you're boring and I don't care." He rolled his eyes and walked away.
Meatlug spewed some lava on the floor, ready to be used. "Yup! Couldn't have put it better myself, girl." He then positioned the Dragon Eye, so that the lava could reveal the contents on the lens. "Ooh, even more interesting."
(Linebreak)
"Hicca! Hiccup! Drop everything you're doing and bring your faces." Tuffnut demanded as they landed next to the Haddock twins and Astrid.
"Prepare to be rubbed." Ruffnut said grinning.
The blonde twins gathered Hiccup, Hicca, Astrid, Raeda and Snotlout to where they built the tower. "Dragon riders, you asked for it! We built it." Tuffnut announced. "Presenting you…" He gestured to his sister who made a trumpet noise. "...with your new rock lookout tower!"
As proud of a moment this was for the Thorston twins, the others were unimpress. That was because there was no rock tower to look at.
"You guys never disappoint, do you?" Snotlout said dryly.
The blonde twins looked out at the sea and found their tower missing. "What? No! Wait! It was here a minute ago!" Tuff insisted. He then glared at his twin. "What did you do with it, Ruffnut?"
"I didn't do anything with it!" Ruff argued.
"You lying she-beast! You were always jealous of my rock tower." Her twin accused.
"Your rock tower?!" Ruffnut repeated in disbelief. "It was my rock tower!"
She then tackled him to the ground and the two twins started fighting. Astrid, Raeda, Hicca and Hiccup looked at the fighting twins in disbelief, while Snotlout was getting a kick out of this.
The blonde twins then drew a distance between each other, only to draw out there weapons and charge at each other. Hiccup and Hicca quickly stepped in between the two before they could strike.
"Okay, okay, okay. Let's everyone step away from the sharp objects." Hiccup said as he and his sister put their arms up.
"Look, maybe this job was just too tough for you to do alone." Hicca suggested. "We can always put Astrid on the project with you."
"Uh. Hicca, let's not be hasty." Astrid said, not wanting to work with the blonde twins.
"Okay, maybe Raeda." Hiccup suggested.
"Um….." Raeda trailed, also not wanting to agree to this.
"But we did build it. Honest." Ruffnut insisted.
"Trust me, H square, no one was more surprised about that than we were." Tuffnut agreed.
"Hiccup! Hicca! Come quickly!" Fishlegs shouted from the Clubhouse.
"That does not sound good." Astrid said.
(Linebreak)
The twins quickly made their way to the Clubhouse
"Fishlegs?" Hiccup called, as they entered.
"Careful where you step." Fishlegs warned.
The twins looked down and saw a floor covered with different colored lavas.
They carefully walked around it. "Fishlegs, what's wrong?" Hicca asked.
"Wrong?" Fishlegs chuckled at that "Nothing's wrong. Except that I may have just made the greatest discovery in the history of Berkian civilization!"
The twins looked up and saw what the projections of the Dragon Eye showed. "Oh, Fishlegs, is that…" Hiccup started to asked.
"Mm-hmm, this is a Gronckle and here is the boulder surrounded by water and the dual mountain peaks." Fishlegs confirmed, getting excited. "Ooh! Dark Deep!"
"The ancestral home of all the Gronckles." Hicca said in awe.
"It's real, guys. And we finally found it." Fishlegs said, getting more excited.
"Yeah. What's so great about this?" Snotlout asked, having walked in.
"Do I really have to explain?" Fishlegs asked,
"Your boring discovery? Yes."
"Dark Deep is an island that, up until now, we were never really sure existed." Fishlegs started to explain. "It's not in the Book of Dragons anywhere. However, in Bork's papers, there is a mention of it, but only briefly and in context to a completely different species. If we were able to find Dark Deep, it could unlock so many secrets, not only of Gronckles, but the entire Boulder Class of dragons. Do you understand how amazing this is?"
Hicca and Hiccup looked back at Snotlout, who was more focused on cleaning his right ear. He then noticed the twins looking at him. "Check that! I absolutely don't care." With that, he left the Academy.
"Hiccup, Hicca, I've taken the liberty of charting a course based on these encryptions." Fishlegs continued, not bothered by Snotlout. "This island so remote, is farther than we've ever flown before." Meatlug then bounded over to them in excitement. "I've never seen Meatlug so excited. Just think, I'm gonna be the first Berkian to ever set foot on Dark Deep. What an honor."
"Okay. I get it, Fishlegs. But Toothless, Midnight, Hicca and I should go with you, just in case you need help." Hiccup offered.
"Yeah, you never know what could happen." Hicca agreed.
"Okay, you can come, too." Fishlegs agreed, though a little reluctant. "But I'm the first one to step foot, remember? You guys can decided who will be the second and third."
"Okay, we promise." Hicca said as her brother nodded in agreement.
"Well, then welcome aboard, guys." Fishlegs said, before turning to his dragon. "Come on, Meatlug, we need to go pack!"
(Linebreak)
The next morning, the Haddock twins and the Night Furies were outside the Clubhouse, preparing their supplies for the trip. They stopped when they heard groans coming from the side. They turned to find Ruffnut and Tuffnut slouched over as they walked.
"Uh, Ruff, Tuff?" Hiccup called out.
"Keep it down, will you?" Ruffnut said, groggily. "We were up all night rebuilding the lookout tower from scratch."
"Hey, great! Well, we should have a look at it then, shouldn't we?" Hicca said, impressed already.
"Get ready to feast your eyes." Tuffnut said yawning.
However when they arrived at the same place, Hiccup and Hicca once again didn't seem too impressed. "Okay, so what should our eyes be feasting on, exactly?" Hiccup asked.
"Well, the tower…" Tuffnut answered as he and his twin turned around, only to find the tower missing again! "Oh, come on!" He then thought of something. "Wait. Maybe we were pointing in the wrong direction. No, that's it. Left of the chicken. Hi, chicken." Chicken clucked in response. "Somebody keeps stealing our tower!"
"Oh, come on! You know no one's going to admit to it." Ruffnut said. She then started walking away. "Let's just go rebuild the stupid thing."
"Can't trust anyone on this outpost." Tuffnut said, walking with his twin.
"Yeah. You're all a bag of liars." Ruff agreed.
Hicca then stopped them. "Hey, Ruff, Tuff? Why don't you rebuild the tower after taking a nap?"
Tuffnut then yawned. "Huh? Well, I guess we could get a wink or two-" He and Ruffnut promptly fell asleep in the sand.
Hicca turned to her twin. "I haven't seen them this dedicated since Tuffnut set out to find what he thought was a 'yak dragon'. And he wasn't completely wrong."
"Let's go with Fishlegs to Dark Deep right now. Then when we get back and these two wake up, we can resolve this matter." Hiccup suggested.
(Linebreak)
Dark Deep At last I've found you
Dark Deep The Gronckles surround you
Fishlegs sang on the way to the destination.
Hiccup chuckled at his friends enthusiasm. "Fishlegs, I haven't seen you this excited since Snoggletog morning when we were seven."
"Whoo-whoo! I know. I couldn't even finish third breakfast." Fishlegs agreed. "I hope I don't get too hungry."
Dark Deep, here we come.
Soon the group reached Dark Deep and as promised, Fishlegs and Meatlug were the first to set foot on the island. The land was barren with an abundance of rocks and boulders.
"Whoo!" Fishlegs immediately jumped off Meatlug and surveyed the area in excitement. "Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, Fishlegs! I can't believe I'm actually here." Meatlug growled to get her humans' attention. "Sorry, girl. We're here." He corrected, feeding her some rocks from the ground.
Dark Deep is your home
Where all the rock eaters roam
Where Gronckles have fun
Eating rocks by the ton
And the rocks are all rocky
With families of rocks
And they feeding their...
Fishlegs paused in his singing when he couldn't think of any new lines. "I'll work on that last part, guys."
But the song didn't seem to be the problem for the Haddock twins. "Hey, no look, we love the song. It's just one thing." Hicca said.
"Where are the roaming Gronckles?" Hiccup questioned. "You think, we could've landed on the wrong…"
"No. That's Gravel Lake and that's definitely the dual peaks of Mount Grunt." Fishlegs informed. "Hiccup, this is Dark Deep."
Toothless and Midnight both rumbled their concerns. Something was definitely off with this island.
"Yeah, I'm with you, guys." Hiccup agreed.
"There's something going on." Hicca said.
Meatlug gave a roar to get the others attention. The others went to where she was which was in front of a trench and in that trench were three Gronckles of different colors.
"Oh, look. Meatlug found some new friends." Fishlegs said. "Told you there were Gronckles here."
Meatlug flew down to socialize with her newfound friends. However, these Gronckles weren't as friendly as she and Fishlegs thought as they started growling at her once they saw her.
Fishlegs, Hiccup, Hicca and the Night Furies joined Meatlug at the bottom of the trench, with the blonde boy climbing down, then slipping and falling in.
"That's strange behavior for a Gronckle." Hiccup noted as he saw the unwelcoming Gronckles. "They're usually pretty friendly."
Suddenly the ground started shaking.
"That could be what's doing it. No one likes an earthquake." Fishlegs suggested.
The ground shook again and Midnight and Toothless were suddenly on guard. "See?"
But the group soon discovered that it wasn't actually an earthquake that was causing the ground to shake, as a large boulder was rolling towards them at high speed!
"Runaway boulder!" Fishlegs warned running to Meatlug. He and the other two humans quickly got on their dragons and flew away with the other Gronckles from the boulder.
"Fishlegs!" Hiccup called.
Thinking quick, the two Night Furies pushed Meatlug and the other three Gronckles to a side on the wall, successfully avoiding the boulder as it rolled by.
"That was close." Fishlegs said, breathing a sigh of relief.
But he and the others were in for a shock, as the boulder suddenly stopped and started rolling back towards them!
"Hey, Hicca? Fishlegs? When was the last time either of you saw a boulder roll uphill?" Hiccup questioned.
"I haven't." Hicca answered
"Um... never?" Fishlegs answered.
"Yeah. Me, neither." Hiccup agreed.
"How is that possible?" Hicca questioned.
"No time to find out!" Hiccup yelled.
The dragons once again flew away from the boulder.
Fishlegs looked up to find a way out from above, unfortunately the space was too narrow for the dragons to fly out. "We can't avoid it!"
Midnight and Toothless fired plasma blasts at the boulder to try and stop it, but it had no effect. Luckily Hiccup managed to spot a side tunnel.
"Quick, down here." He guided.
The dragons quickly took a sharp turn following Toothless in the tunnel and once again avoided the boulder, with the three Gronckles falling into a pile.
Hicca looked around hoping to find a way out from there, unfortunately couldn't find one. "It doesn't look like we can fly out, guys."
Fishlegs checked the tunnel they came from. "It's okay. I think we lost it."
"Then let's move out. Quietly." Hiccup said.
The group cautiously and quietly walked out from the tunnel, eyes sharp on the boulder. They got a jolt when they heard some rumbling, only to discover it coming from Fishlegs' stomach.
"What? That's what happens when you don't eat third breakfast." He defended in a low voice.
They heard some more rumbling which this time was not coming from Fishlegs stomach. The boulder once again was coming back towards them!
But they were once again taken by surprise when the boulder started slowly down, revealing what it was really was.
"Uh, guys?" Fishlegs called.
"We see it, Fishlegs." Hiccup said.
"Not a boulder." Hicca added.
The "boulder" unwraps itself to reveal a dragon. A large dragon with a rocky skin, a large tail and spikes all over its body. But what was most distinct about it was that its jaw was split in half, revealing two tongues.
It then let out a loud roar and smashed its tail at them, causing the rocks to fall from above. The teens quickly took cover under their dragons.
"Impressive. Definitely a Boulder Class." Fishlegs noted. "Hicca, Hiccup, what you two think of "Catastrophic Quaken" as the name?"
"Well I think, we should name it later and focus on not getting killed by it now." Hiccup suggested.
"I agree with that." Hicca said.
Toothless fired at the Quaken once again, but it only served to aggravate it. "As long as it's rolled up in that ball, I think we're safe. Fishlegs, get those Gronckles in the air." Fishlegs and the Gronckles didn't waste a second flying out of the trench, which expanded thanks to the Quaken causing the rocks to fall.
Hiccup and Hicca quickly followed after them.
But then the Quaken followed them out. It then, rolled back into a ball and slammed its body on the ground, causing the sending everyone flying in different directions.
"Okay, we are definitely not so safe at all. We need to get out of here." Hicca said to her brother.
She didn't need to tell him twice. "Fishlegs, Meatlug, retreat."
"I thought you'd never ask." Fishlegs said. He and Meatlug quickly flew to the three Gronckles.
"Okay. Come on."
Fortunately, they managed to safely escape the island with the three Gronckles in tow.
(Linebreak)
"Really? More Gronckles?" Snotlout complained, once the group made it back to the Edge
"Just a few stray Gronckles. We should be able to handle that." Hiccup said.
"Just a few strays, he says." Ruffnut scoffed.
"Yeah, you should really have a look at this." Astrid said.
"Yeah this island is starting to get a little crowded." Raeda agreed.
Hiccup, Hicca, Fishlegs and their dragons followed the others and were surprised to discover a herd of Gronckles that were inhabiting their island.
Which could explain what happened to the Thorston twins rock tower.
"So this is where all the Gronckles from Dark Deep went." Hicca said.
"Can you believe they flew all this way?" Fishlegs asked in awe. "Gronckles may be slow, but they are tenacious."
"Yeah. Tell me about it." Tuffnut muttered. He then noticed one of the Gronckles eating a boulder. "Hey! Don't you put that rock in your mouth. You have no idea where it's been, mister. Shoo!" He then started chasing after the Gronckle.
"Hiccup, these guys are out of control. We have to get them back to their island." Astrid insisted.
"There might be a problem with that. They've been chased from their homeland by a giant Boulder Class dragon." Hiccup explained.
"The Catastrophic Quaken, to be exact." Fishlegs added.
"Quaken Shmaken. You let one lousy dragon take over Meatlug's entire island?" Snotlout questioned.
"It's not that simple, Snotlout." Fishlegs tried to explain.
"Oh. Sure it is. Quaken, one. Meatlug-" He made a buzzer sound with a thumbs down sign. "Pathetic."
"Okay. Let's just drop it. We have a bigger problem here. We need to wrangle all these wild Gronckles." Hiccup said.
"And since Hiccup and I unfairly doubted the Ruff and Tuff, they should be in charge." Hicca finished.
"Awesome." Tuffnut said, joining the group with a rock in his hand. "It'll be nice to get to know these guys a little bit better. We got off to a little bit of a rocky start on our relationship." He laughed at his own joke, but stopped when he noticed the others weren't laughing. "You see what I did there? I'll explain it later. My humor can be quite complex."
The blonde twins gathered all twenty Gronckles into the Academy and worked with Barf and Belch to keep them in line.
"Back in line, Tuffnut Junior. You, too, Junior Tuffnut." Tuffnut ordered. He then noticed another Gronckle growling at him. "What was that? Tell me you didn't just back-sass me, Junior Tuffnut, Junior."
"I got you now!" Ruffnut exclaimed.
"Bad dragon!" Tuffnut exclaimed
Fishlegs and Meatlug were sitting outside the Arena, watching the situation. Meatlug warbled, looking worried. "Don't worry, girl. I'll figure out how to get those Gronckles back home. There has to be a way."
"Sounds like someone has a problem that needs some solving." Snotlout piped in, he and Hookfang joining the boy and Gronckle. "Well, consider this your lucky day, Fishlegs. Because the answer man has arrived."
"Snotlout?" Fishlegs questioned.
"That's right. And I'm going to help you get Dark Deep back for those Gronckles." Snotlout declared.
"You don't understand." Fishlegs said, getting up.
"Yeah. Look at me, then look at you. You're much bigger than me, right?" Snotlout asked
"Yes."
"But your boot's untied." Snotlout pointed to Fishlegs boots.
Fishlegs looked down to where Snotlout was pointing, allowing the shorter boy to use the hand he was using to point to smack him in the face, causing him to fall backwards.
"Hey, my boot doesn't have laces!" Fishlegs realised.
"The only way to get rid of this Quaken and that is to push him off Dark Deep. And the only way to do that is to fight dirty." Snotlout informed.
But Fishlegs was a bit reluctant about that idea. "Oh-oh. I don't think so."
"Fishlegs! Do you want to be you, or do you want to win?" The Jorgenson boy questioned.
"I want to win, but not your way." With that he walked away to look for Hiccup and Hicca.
"Oh, you'll be back!" Snotlout said to Fishlegs retreating form. "They always come back! He'll be back." He addressed that last sentence to Hookfang.
(Linebreak)
Fishlegs found Hiccup at the forge hammering at the rod part of Toothless' prosthetic tail. "Hey, what are you up to?"
"Uh, just strengthening the iron in this tail-piece. Toothless keeps bending it when he makes turns." Hiccup explained. "Don't you, bud? So what's up?"
"I was just wondering what the plan was." Fishlegs asked.
"The plan?" Hiccup repeated.
"For Dark Deep? The Quaken? How are we gonna get rid of it?" The blonde boy elaborated.
"Oh, yeah. Hicca and I have been talking about that, Fishlegs. And I'm not so sure we should, get rid of it, that is."
"What?" Fishlegs questioned, not believing what he was hearing.
"Well, we're not sure that we have the right to interfere. I mean, that's what happens in nature, all the time. The Quaken has taken over the island for now. And one day, maybe a bigger dragon will come along and the Quaken will be chased off. You know, who's to say?" Hiccup explained. He noticed the dejected look on the Ingerman boys face. "I'm sorry, Fishlegs."
Fishlegs walked away disappointed in Hiccup and Hiccas' decision.
(Linebreak)
Fishlegs couldn't stop thinking about the Gronckles who were being chased out of their island by the Catastrophic Quaken.
That night, he dreamt about being back on that island trying to get two Gronckles away from the Quaken who was rolling after them.
"Come on! Follow me, hurry, hurry! This way! Come on! Keep up!" Fishlegs urged, running as fast as he possibly could.
Suddenly, Snotlout appeared at Fishlegs side, seeming to skid backwards."What did I tell you? You'll be back. They always come back." He laughed before disappearing.
Fishlegs woke up from his bed screaming. "Nooo!"
Taking deep breaths and recovering from his nightmare, Fishlegs decided at that moment that he could not follow Hiccup and Hicca's decision. He is going to do something about the Quaken.
(Linebreak)
The next morning, Snotlout was lying down on a few barrels, snoozing under the sun. He opened his eyes, when he noticed a shadow in front of his face.
"I can't believe I'm actually gonna say this, but teach me everything you know, Snotlout." Fishlegs said.
"You came back?" Snotlout asked, sounding surprise. The barrels he was lying on then tipped over, causing the teen to fall. "Ahh!" He quickly recovered. "Of course he came back. I knew he would." Hookfang snorted some smoke in his riders face. "Hookfang."
"Um, let's just keep this between us, we don't wanna bother Hicca or Hiccup with any of this." Fishlegs said.
"I feel you on that." Snotlout agreed. "Now, it's time to get dirty."
The two boys and their dragons went to the forest to avoid getting caught by either of the Haddock twins.
"The key to fighting dirty is never face your opponent." Snotlout explained. "Look at the sky. Your boots. Anything but their eyes. Then lower the boom when they least expect it!"
One of the training exercises included Meatlug trying to push a large rock with an picture of an evil dragon painted on it. Unfortunately she couldn't get it to budge.
"Come on, girl." Fishlegs encouraged.
Meatlug then decided to charge at the rock. That resulted in the Gronckle getting a headache and the rock getting pushed an inch, although it did break into pieces.
Unfortunately, what the two boys didn't take account of was Hicca walking in the forest as well, doing a few tasks. She stopped when she noticed them. The guys quickly ran off to pretend to do other things, while Meatlug ate the broken pieces of rock before flying away as well.
Shrugging, the Haddock girl continued on with her tasks.
Once she was gone. Snotlout and Hookfang walked back into the clearing and were ambushed when Fishlegs and Meatlug fell on top of them.
"Bull's-eye." Snotlout breathed out.
Hicca walked back to the clearing when she spotted Snotlout and Fishlegs running in circles around a tree with Hookfang and Meatlug doing the same around another tree. She couldn't think of what they could possibly be doing, so she just decided to walk away.
The boys went back to the first exercise, with Meatlug trying to push the rock. The Gronckle once again charged after the rock. However, this time, Fishlegs stepped in front of the rock, causing Meatlug to change her direction and tackle Snotlout instead.
And once again, this was witnessed by Hicca.
"Well, well, well, I didn't think it was possible... what with you being all "you" and all." Snotlout said to Fishlegs, with tissues plugging his nose. "But you're actually ready."
"Do you really think so?" Fishlegs asked, so hopeful
But before Snotlout could answer, another voice startled him, causing him to snort out the tissues. "I knew you were up to something." Hicca said as she and her brother came to the clearing.
The Haddock girl concluded that Fishlegs and Snotlout were acting to weird and secretive in front of her, so she decided to go to Hiccup and to compare notes. The two then concluded that from the events of yesterday, Fishlegs might still be thinking of going after the Quaken.
"Fishlegs, have you been training to take on the Quaken?" Hiccup questioned.
"You don't have to answer that." Snotlout quickly said to the blonde boy.
"Oh, yes, he does." Hicca firmly said. "Fishlegs?"
"Fine." Fishlegs caved, much to Snotlout's annoyance. "Yes, we have. We can't just sit by and let the Quaken take over Dark Deep. You all know the Gronckles can't stay here. This isn't their home, guys. You wanna talk about nature, what's right and who belongs where? The Dragon Eye, it says the Gronckles were supposed to live on Dark Deep and we're gonna make sure they do." Fishlegs defended. After what he learned today, he wasn't ready to give up because Hiccup and Hicca wanted him to. "We're ready for it this time. Look. Meatlug, battle ready!"
Meatlug quickly took a more aggressive look, ready to strike.
Toothless was unimpressed though and quickly fired one plasma blast at the Gronckle, who didn't dodge in time.
"'Battle ready?' Whoa. Fishlegs, this isn't you, it's him." Hiccup said, pointing to Snotlout.
"I know. Great, right?" Snotlout agreed.
"No, not great! You can't listen to Snotlout. That has disaster written all over it." Hiccup warned.
"Hey! I resent that!" Snotlout protested. "When has anything I've ever done ended in disaster? Right, Hookfang? Hookfang?" When he didn't get a response, he turned to find the Monstrous Nightmare flying away from him. "Hookfang!"
"Do you want the whole list Snotlout or part of it?" Hicca asked rhetorically.
Hiccup turned back to Fishlegs. "You're all brain and heart, Fishlegs. Not brawn and bragging."
"But, Hiccup…" Fishlegs started to protest.
"You're right, Fishlegs. They should be back on their own island and you know what, we'll find a way to make that happen, but fighting the Quaken, no, that's not it." With that he and his twin walked away with their dragons and once they left, the Thorston twins appeared on their dragon.
"Um, you didn't happen to see five or twenty wild Gronckles run through here by any chance?" Ruffnut asked the two boys.
"Not that we lost them or anything." Tuffnut said quickly. "Even if we did, we'd deny it."
"How could you lose twenty Gronckles?" Snotlout questioned.
"I know, right? We built a whole new pen for them." Tuffnut said.
"Yeah. Out of rocks." His twin added.
That's when it came to them. "Oh. Right. Rocks. Gronckles." The said in unison.
At least the Gronckles got a good meal.
"Hey. Would you guys might give me a lift back to the clubhouse?" Snotlout asked the blonde twins. "Hookfang is otherwise engaged."
"We'll give you a ride back, Snotlout." Fishlegs offered. "On one condition."
(Linebreak)
The condition was for Snotlout and Hookfang to accompany Fishlegs and Meatlug to Dark Deep.
"I feel bad sneaking away." Fishlegs said to Snotlout once they landed at their destination. "But Meatlug and I were the Gronckles' only hope."
"You did the right thing, Fishlegs." Snotlout reassured. "You can take this dragon and reclaim Dark Deep for the Gronckles!"
Suddenly the ground started shaking. From the cliff above the group rolled down a large boulder. But just like before, the boulder was actually the Catastrophic Quaken in all it's terrifying glory.
Snotlout was in shock when he saw the large dragon unwrap itself. "You never said he was this big! What were you thinking?!"
"You said I did the right thing." Fishlegs pointed out.
"Uh, yeah. That was before I saw it!" Snotlout retorted. The Quaken let out a large roar, terrifying the Jorgenson boy even more. He started inching towards Hookfang. "Um, I'm going to, uh... go get some help! Yeah! Get some help! Oh, he's really big." He jumped on his saddle and got his dragon to fly away without even waiting for Fishlegs. "Retreat! Retreat!"
Fishlegs got a little discouraged when Snotlout left. "Hiccup was right. This isn't us." He said to Meatlug. "But what other choice do we have? For the Gronckles and Dark Deep!" With recharge determination, he got on Meatlug, ready to face the Quaken."
Meatlug roared at the Quaken to challenge it, the Quaken responded by flying towards them with a powerful roar of its' own. "Oh, dear." Fishlegs squeaked.
(Linebreak)
Hiccup and Hicca soon noticed Fishlegs, Snotlout, Meatlug and Hookfang were missing from the Edge and it didn't take them long to realise where the four of them went. The two of them, along with Raeda and Astrid, got on their dragons and flew to Dark Deep as fast as they could.
"Snotlout, I was expecting this from, but Fishlegs? They need to stop spending time with each other." Hicca stated.
"Let's just find these muttonheads before they get themselves killed." Hiccup said.
Astrid spotted something in the distance. "Look there! Muttonhead incoming!"
"But where's the other muttonhead?" Raeda questioned.
"Snotlout! Where's Fishlegs?" Hicca asked, once Snotlout and Hookfang flew close to them.
"You know, that Quaken was a lot bigger than he said it was." Snotlout tried to explained.
"So you just left him?" Hiccup asked in disbelief. "Oh, my gods."
The four wasted no time getting their dragons to fly towards Dark Deep.
Snotlout tried to fly back to the Edge, but Hookfang would let him. Instead, the dragon faced the direction of Dark Deep. His rider could tell what he was thinking. "Oh, fine! But my death is on your horns, Hookfang!"
The duo then joined the others, much to Snotlout's reluctance.
(Linebreak)
Back on the island, Meatlug flew herself and her human away from the larger dragon who was rolling after them. Clearly, Snotlouts' lesson didn't seem to help much.
"Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs breathed out, trying to find a way out of this situation. But he and Meatlug couldn't just leave. They still wanted to reclaim the land for the other Gronckles.
The Haddock twins and their group soon arrived at Dark Deep and found Fishlegs and Meatlug being chased. "Fishlegs!" Hiccup yelled.
The group landed and the dragons fired at the Quaken, catching its attention. The larger dragon flew to them and then body-slammed the ground, causing a shockwave sending them all to fly backwards.
Fishlegs then saw the Quaken rolling after him and Meatlug. The duo quickly jumped in a nearby trench for safety.
They ran along the path and soon found a tunnel leading to a cave. Fishlegs looked around the cave and noticed it has been occupied. "The Quaken's cave. It looks like he lives here by himself." Fishlegs then realised it would be better if he and Meatlug left the cave. "Meatlug, let's get out of here."
They exited the cave, only to find that the Quaken found them and was charging after them!
But instead of getting on Meatlug to fly away, Fishlegs took a deep breath and stood his ground. Even after the terror he faced with the Quaken, the teen didn't want to give up. He didn't want to give up on the Gronckles and he didn't want to give up on himself.
The others flew to where they were and noticed Fishlegs wasn't moving. "What is he doing?" Astrid asked.
"It looks like he's getting himself killed!" Snotlout exclaimed.
"This is insane!" Raeda exclaimed.
"Fishlegs, get out of there!" Hiccup yelled.
"You're going to get crushed!" Hicca yelled.
"No. We aren't going anywhere, right, girl?" Fishlegs looked to his dragon for support, which was received. He then stared down the rapidly moving boulder that was heading there way. "I'm not backing down, I'm not backing down, I'm not backing down!" The Quaken then jumped off a boulder in its path and propelled upwards. It landed close to Fishlegs and Meatlug, creating a dust storm.
Once the dust cleared, Fishlegs opened his eyes to find himself intact. "I'm not smushed!" That's when he noticed Meatlug in front of him, glaring at the Quaken, ready to protect her human.
The Quaken unwrapped itself and glared back at the Gronckle, who didn't flinch. Both dragons exchanged growls with one another before the larger dragon starts to relax, much to the surprise of the others. Meatlug then went to snuggle with the Quaken, now that she saw it being more relaxed and friendly.
Fishlegs then carefully approached the Quaken and extended his hand to bond with the larger dragon. And thankfully the dragon nuzzled into it.
"It's working." Fishlegs said.
"It's working." Hiccup and Hicca both said.
That's when the Thorston twins showed up with the twenty Gronckles they managed to find and bring with them. "Hey! I thought everyone said that thing was tough. Doesn't look so tough to me." Tuffnut commented, looking at the Quaken.
The Gronckles on the other hand, where happy to see the Quaken more friendly and approachable and flew towards their new friend.
Toothless and Midnight landed near Fishlegs and the Haddock twins got off. "Fishlegs, that was just about the craziest and bravest, but mostly craziest, thing I have ever seen anyone do." Hiccup said.
"Just when you thought you've seen it all." Hicca commented.
"You were right, Hiccup. Fighting dirty isn't me." Fishlegs said. He looked to the Quaken and the Gronckles, all of whom were ready to put the past behind them. "That was me."
"It sure was." Hicca agreed.
They watched as the Quaken body slammed into a large boulder breaking it down into smaller pieces of rocks for the Gronckles to eat. "The Quaken was just being defensive. It was scared and all by itself. It wasn't angry at all." Fishlegs concluded.
"Oh! Fishlegs, that was awesome! Just like I taught you." Snotlout bragged walking to them. "No need to thank me. Success is its own reward."
The auburn twins just rolled their eyes at their cousin while Fishlegs seemed nonchalant.
"Oh, really, Snotlout? Tell me more!" He said in fake enthusiasm. But he didn't let Snotlout speak. "Oh, yeah, that's right. I just remembered I don't care." With that he walked away.
Snotlout, however, wasn't to deterred or dismayed by that. "I taught him too well."