Chapter 10: Have Dragons Will Travel
Somewhere beyond the sea, away from Berk, was a lone dragon rider on a mysterious dragon. This dragon rider guided the dragon towards their target; a sailing ship.
Nearby the ship was another ship occupied by two of Berk's farmers/fishermen; Bucket and Mulch. The latter looked up and saw the dragon.
"Well, that's strange." Mulch said to Bucket. "I don't recall ever seeing a dragon that looked quite like that one." He took out his spyglass to get a better look at the dragon.
What he saw was a metallic colored dragon with a long neck and what appears to spikes covering its tail, similar to a Nadder. And if Mulch didn't know any better, there seem to be a human figure on the dragon as well.
Bucket watched as his friends expression changed from curious to concern. "What is it, Mulch? You have that look. I don't like it when you have that look!" Mulch gave Bucket the spyglass to see for himself.
Bucket watched as the mysterious dragon flew over a nearby ship. And to his surprise, he watched as the dragon started attacking the ship, blasting at it and cutting the sail. This caused the passengers of the ship to jumped overboard for safety as the dragon landed there. The human figure dismounting.
"Bucket, what do you see?" Mulch asked, as his friend stood frozen.
"Something I wish I hadn't, Mulch." The larger viking replied.
(Linebreak)
Unaware of this incident, the Dragon Riders were at Berk visiting to catch up with their families and collecting more personal belongings to take back with them to the Edge. For Raeda, she met up with some clients to take new requests for her business.
"Okay, now remember, gang we're only taking absolute necessities to Dragon's Edge." Hiccup reminded the others.
"I guess we're leaving you behind, Fishlegs." Snotlout jeered.
Fishlegs just rolled his eyes at the Jorgenson boy. "Come on. You're better than that, Snotlout. Oh, wait. No, you're not." He retorted. He put the rocks he was holding in the basket attached to Meatlug, which was already filled with rocks just like the basket attached at the opposite side of the dragon. The Gronckle tried to fly with the added weight, but was unable to do so. "Come on, girl, you can do it. Lift with your legs." He encouraged.
'Too...heavy.' The poor Gronckle groaned before falling to the ground, giving up.
"Fishlegs." Hiccup reprimanded.
"What? Berk granite has a nicer finish." The Ingerman boy explained. "And trust me, you want the nicer finish." Meatlug farted. "Point illustrated."
Ruffnut and Tuffnut were at the side, testing out some of the weapons. More like Ruffnut was testing a mace by using it on her brother.
WHACK!
"Not bad. That's a two." Tuffnut said in a daze. "Do it again."
WHACK!
"Uhm. Yeah, three. I still think we could do better." Tuffnut insisted, even though he was dizzy.
"Yes, we can!" Ruffnut all too happily agreed, holding the mace up high.
WHACK!
This time Tuffnut could barely keep himself up. "Ouch!, Oh, yeah, that is a four. Yep. One, two, three, four." He counted the number of Ruffnut's he could see in his dazed state. He promptly fell to the ground.
"I'll tag it and bag it." Ruffnut said, putting the mace in their basket.
"I'll tell you what... any of you four need anything, I'll be right here." Tuffnut slurred, still on the ground.
Henry, who had spotted the Dragon Riders landing, decided to chat with Hicca a bit. He started being more friendly with Hicca ever since she helped Lockjaw, although he didn't really talk to the other teens.
"Catastrophic Quakens?" Henry repeated as Hicca recounted the encounter with those dragons.
"Yeah, and trust me, that nickname is appropriate." Hicca said.
Raeda was with Sparkfire watching the two converse, trying to hide her smile. It's becoming more clear to her that there is definitely something going on between those two, and she couldn't be more happy for the person she considers her sister.
"Which one of the usual suspects was out sinking boats on their dragon this morning? I have my suspicions." Stoick demanded as he, Gobber, Bucket and Mulch walked up to the teens.
The two Fisherman wasted no time finding the chief and reporting what they saw.
"Sinking boats?" Hiccup questioned.
"Bucket and Mulch saw the whole thing." He gestured to the two men who waved at the teens. "And don't try convincing me that there's anyone else in the archipelago who could pull something like this off! Well? I'm waiting."
"It was me, Chief!" Tuffnut suddenly exclaimed, having recovered from his dazed state. He crawled on his knees towards the chief. "I couldn't control myself. I had to do it. What's wrong with me? Why do I do things like this? Why doesn't anybody do anything to stop me? Can't you all see that it's a desperate cry for help?"
Stoick, knowing full well the confession was fake, gave an annoyed sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose.
"What are you talking about?" Ruff asked her twin, walking to him. "None of that happened."
"I know that. But I always wanted to confess to something." Tuff explained. "I didn't overdo it, did I?"
"Yeah. I mean, overall, you seemed grounded, but still it was a little hard to believe." The female twin commented.
Stoick then gave an annoyed growl, and then turned to Henry. "Anything you'd like us to know?"
"Dad, it can't be Henry. He was here since we arrived on Berk this morning." Hicca defended.
"We've been together all morning. It couldn't have been one of us attacking the ship." Hiccup explained to his dad.
"And we wouldn't randomly sink ships unless the crew was attacking us." Raeda added.
Stoick believed them. "Well, if it wasn't one of you, I'd say, we have a much more serious problem on our hands."
"Rogue dragon rider?" Astrid questioned.
"Not good, not good at all." Fishlegs said, worriedly.
"No, it isn't. And we need to find out who it is." Hiccup said. He turned to Henry. "Henry, is there someone else out there you know who also flies dragons, or maybe befriends dragons?"
Henry shook his head. "Before I met any of you, I thought I was the only one."
"How much of the ship was left after the attack?" Hicca asked Mulch and Bucket.
"It was still floating before we left. No doubt abandoned." Mulch answered.
"Then we'll start with the boat." Hiccup said. "If you guys could give us the directions."
An idea then came to Raeda as she and her team-mates got on their dragons. "Hey Henry. How about coming with us to investigate? An extra set of eyes is always helpful, right Hicca?" The Haddock girl would definitely thank her for this in the long run.
"Well, if you want to come, that's fine." Hicca said to Henry, as she got on Midnight.
"Lockjaw still hasn't fully recovered. I don't want to leave him." Henry said.
"Oh, yeah. That's probably a good idea." Hicca said.
Raeda tried not to give an annoyed huff at the missed opportunity. Clearly, she's got some work to do with these two.
(Linebreak)
Soon, the Dragon Riders landed on the ship that was attacked by the rogue dragon riders. "Okay, gang, let's spread out!" Hiccup commanded.
Astrid approached the Haddock twins. "I've been thinking about this rogue dragon rider."
"Dagur." Hiccup said, being able to guess what Astrid was thinking.
"It makes sense. If Dagur has a dragon and is attacking ships, then who's to say we won't be next?" Astrid questioned.
"But Bucket and Mulch were in a ship nearby and they weren't attacked. I don't think Dagur would be one to leave any Berkian unscathed." Hicca pointed out.
"Unless he wanted them to send a message back to us." Hiccup suggested.
"Hicca! Hiccup! You've got to see this." Fishlegs called them to one side of the ship.
The auburn twins looked to where he was and surveyed the damage he was pointing at.
"Those are some deep gashes." Hiccup noted.
"Any idea what it could be?" Hicca asked Fishlegs.
"This dragon is extremely powerful. It has the slashing attack of a Speed Stinger yet from the depth of the strikes it appears to be as strong as a Typhoomerang. Yeah…" Fishlegs observed.
"Could be the same slashing attack used to cut the sail." Raeda added, bringing the sliced off half of the sail towards them. "A really clean, straight line, liked the dragon flew fast while slicing it. No burn marks, which means no fire was used. This kind of craftsmanship can only be achieved using something as sharp as a newly sharpened dagger or sword."
Hiccup turned to the others. "You guys, you find anything else?"
"This ship has been stripped of everything valuable." Astrid reported.
At the side, Ruffnut and Tuffnut seemed to be arguing over something. When the blonde twins noticed they have an audience, they turned towards them with Tuffnut keeping his hands behind his back, clearly hiding something.
"You two find anything?" Hicca asked, though it was more rhetorical.
"Nothing over here." Tuffnut lied. "Right, sis?"
"Nope, no-thing." His twin agreed.
"Zilch. Not a thing in front, behind, or to either side of us." Tuffnut concluded, still keeping his hands behind his back.
"You know I can see that, don't you?" Hiccup questioned.
"We can all see that." Hicca added.
Realising they've been caught, Tuffnut caved. "Alright, alright, but we get to keep it." He brought his hands in front to revealed a metallic spike.
"Yeah, finders keepers." Ruff stated.
"Losers...I... losers don't get this 'cause it's way too cool for a loser." Tuff finished.
"Yeah." Ruff agreed.
"A barb!" Fishlegs observed.
"That looks like one of Stormfly's and Sparkfire's."
"Which means the dragon we're looking for could belong to the Sharp Class. In fact, I'd bet my Meatlug on it!" Fishlegs said with full confidence. Meatlug gave a whine at that, not happy that her human would use her as a betting chip. "No, no, don't worry, girl. It's just an expression. I'd never do that." He reassured.
Hiccup grabbed the barb to get a closer look, but Tuffnut refused to let go.
"Tuff." Hiccup said sternly, trying to get him to let go.
But the blonde still refused and the two boys started playing tug-of-war with the barb. Both of them trying to grab the top part of the barb. It ended when Tuffnut put his hand right on the spike, hurting his palm as a result. This showed just how sharp the barb was.
With the barb now free from Tuffnut's hands, Hiccup was able to inspect it more closely. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked the others.
"Oooh! Good game, Hiccup! You think of something, and we'll try to guess what it is. If we do, we get a prize." Tuffnut said enthusiastically. "Alright? Think away, my good man. And let the game begin."
"Hmm. Let me see. I'm thinking you two are muttonheads." Snotlout sneered at the blonde boy and his twin.
But that flew above Tuff's head. "Yes! I win!"
As usual, Hicca was able to correctly guess what her twin was thinking. "If we find the dragon, we find the rider."
"Exactly. And I have a pretty good idea of how we can find the dragon." Hiccup said.
(Linebreak)
When the Dragon Riders reached Berk, they went to Bucket and brought him to the Great Hall. There he gave a description of the physical features of the dragon, with Raeda sketching out those features on a shield.
"Sharp! Did I say that it's sharp?" Bucket asked.
"You did, multiple times. I got it." Raeda said, getting irritated at having to hear that for the twentieth time.
"Well, it's got a very long tail. And it can tie itself into a knot." Bucket watched as Raeda drew the exact match of the dragon he saw. "Yes. Yes, that's right. And two large wings to slice."
"Here it is." Raeda said, presenting her work to the other teens.
"So, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked.
The Ingerman boy inspected the drawing, trying to recall seeing it from the Book of Dragons. "I've never seen anything like this in Book of Dragons or Bork's papers."
"But there is one place we haven't looked yet." Hicca realised.
That place was the Dragon Eye, which has lenses full of information that was neither in the Book of Dragons, nor Borks Papers.
"So, I'm thinking, since Sparkfire and Stormfly are also Sharp Class…" Hicca said as her brother brought the Dragon Eye.
"Their magnesium blast could possibly illuminate some information about this new dragon." Fishlegs finished.
Stormfly volunteered to use her magnesium blast for the Dragon Eye. "Stormfly, easy now. Just enough to light it up." Astrid instructed.
The blue Nadder complied and the wall was suddenly filled with information on Deadly Nadders.
"Deadly Nadder. I must have missed this the first time around." Fishlegs said excitedly. "Who's got some chalk? I have to translate it."
"Fishlegs, now's not the time." Hiccup said, trying to get the dragon analyst back on track. He then turned the dialed to find the dragon they were looking for. The next slide revealed information on Speed Stingers.
"Speed Stinger! One of my favorites. There's always so much to learn." Fishlegs said, more excited.
"Oh, my Thor!" Snotlout groaned.
"I know, Fishlegs. I got it. Later." Hiccup said. He turned the dial again before Fishlegs gets sidetracked once again.
"That's it!" Snotlout pointed to the slide which has a picture of a dragon that was an exact match of Raeda's drawing.
"It's called a Razorwhip." Astrid read out.
"Okay, Fishlegs, do your thing." Hiccup said.
The blonde boy walked to the wall and read the information out loud. "Okay. Razorwhip. Sharp Class dragon. Long, spiny, barbed tail. Very aggressive. Very dangerous."
"Yeah, we got that. Give us something new." Snotlout said impatiently.
"You want to do this, Snotlout?" Fishlegs challenged.
"Duh! I would…" Snotlout trailed, but then one look at the writing on the wall and realised he couldn't decipher a word. "But I'm just... you know... I don't feel like it right now."
"Ignore him, Fishlegs. Keep reading." Hicca urged.
"Continuing on." Fishlegs said, turning his attention back to the wall. "This symbol indicates that it can use its tail to wrap around a victim and literally squeeze the life out of them. Unless it's in a hurry. Then it just slices you in half."
"Punch me, because I must be dreaming." Tuffnut said in awe. Ruffnut heard that and happily complied. "Ow!"
"Fishlegs, is there anything about this dragon that won't kill us?" Astrid asked.
"How about its eyeballs?" Ruffnut suggested.
Fishlegs read some information about its' eyeballs. "No. Poisonous tears."
"Poisonous! I love it!" Tuffnut exclaimed, getting up.
"Yeah. Poison's fantastic." Hiccup said sarcastically. "Fishlegs, is there anything that might help us locate it?"
"Top speed, mating rituals, oral hygiene, feeding habits…" Fishlegs read off.
"Woah, woah, woah, wait. Go back to that one." Hiccup instructed.
"Oral hygiene?" Fishlegs asked.
"No! Feeding habits. If we can figure out what this thing eats." Hiccup started.
"Then we might figure out where it eats." Hicca finished.
Fishlegs then read the feeding habits. "Mhm. Sea slugs!"
"Where?" Tuffnut asked in a panic. He walked backwards, allowing his twin to trip him from behind just for fun.
"It eats sea slugs." Fishlegs explained.
"Slugs? I hate those slimy monsters. They're just snails without homes. Giant homeless snails!" Tuffnut shuddered.
"We've come across a few islands out there that are just crawling with sea slugs." Hiccup remembered. "Hopefully, our Razorwhip's feeling hungry."
"And hungry for sea slugs, not Vikings." Astrid added.
(Linebreak)
With this new information, the Dragon Riders marked out all the islands filled with sea slugs on the map and set off to check each and every one of them.
"I have a good feeling about this island." Fishlegs said, as they arrived at another island.
"That's what you said about the last five islands!" Snotlout said in annoyance.
"Isn't my fault. I'm an optimist guy." Fishlegs defended. "I'm a "yak bladder half full" kind of guy."
"I don't mean to burst your yak bladder, but does anyone consider what will we're gonna do if we actually find this Razorwhip?" Astrid asked.
"You can marry it." Tuffnut suggested.
"And what if Dagur's riding it?" Astrid asked, unimpressed by the suggestion.
"Well, then Ruffnut can have him." Tuff answered. "It will be complicated, but I will one day learn to love him as my own."
"Um, Tuffnut…" Astrid called, trying to stop his weird 'Dagur-as-a-brother-in-law' rant.
"Like a little babe, a child that I carry in my arms. But he's too heavy." Tuffnut continued, ignoring the Hofferson girl.
Something in the distance caught Hiccups' eyes. "Guys, look! Smoke!"
"A campfire." Raeda realised
"This dragon builds campfires?" Tuffnut asked, much to Astrid's annoyance.
"Give me the 'Thorston Twins serve a purpose' speech again. Quickly?" She pleaded with Hicca and Hiccup.
"Yeah! I've only heard the "Thorston Twins are muttonheads" speech, which is also very good." Tuffnut commented.
"No time for that." Hicca said as they got near the campsite. "Just endure."
Once the group landed at the campsite, they spread out and investigated. They found several crates stacked on one another.
"Could be the loot from the ship." Astrid suggested.
Hiccup then spotted some rocks with gashes on them. "And these gashes look familiar. Alright, gang, let's split up and search the island for our rogue rider and his Razorwhip." He instructed. "He can't be far away."
"Fishlegs, you and Meatlug stay here, signal if they come back." Hicca ordered.
"You got it." Fishlegs nodded. He and Meatlug watched as the others flew off in different directions. The human then picked up some rocks to feed to his dragon. "You know, Meatlug, ordinarily, I would pretend to be upset at being left behind, but to be honest, this time I just feel a lot safer being here with you-" He could finish that sentence as he was suddenly grabbed from above. Meatlug who was off the side eating the rocks her human gave her, didn't notice a thing.
(Linebreak)
The Thorston twins were off in the forest looking for the dragon.
"Alright, sis, you look left and I'll look right." Tuffnut said.
"Wait! My left or your left?" Ruffnut asked.
"We have the same left. We're twins." Her twin answered as if it was so obvious.
"Right." Ruffnut nodded.
After a few seconds of searching, Tuffnut gave up. "Who are we kidding? We're never going to find this thing."
"And all I see are trees!" Ruffnut said.
"All I see is my dream of spending my golden years with a Razorwhip vanishing right before my very eyes." Tuff said sadly. Suddenly the metallic dragon from before shot out of the trees and flew right at them! It bumped into Barf and Belch with a force, knocking the humans and dragon down into the trees. "Help! Oh, ouch, ah!" Tuffnut yelled as he landed into a branch. Dazed, he looked up at his twin who landed on a branch above him. He was so disoriented, he once again saw multiple Ruffnut's in his vision. "An eight? That is way too many Ruffn-"
The branch that was holding Ruffnut suddenly broke, causing the Thorston girl to fall right on to her twin, knocking them both out cold.
(Linebreak)
Astrid and Stormfly were searching on ground near a cave, having spotted dragon tracks of what they could assume belongs to the Razorwhip. "These tracks look pretty fresh. Stay sharp, Stormfly." Astrid instructed, keeping her eyes out.
The blue Nadder did the same until something caught her attention. That something was thrown right into the cave and once Stormfly realised what it was, she ran for in that direction.
"Stormfly?" Astrid called, running after her dragon in the cave. She found her dragon who was happily eating a chicken leg. "Chicken?" She said out loud wondering where on earth did the dead chicken come from. Her eyes widened at a realisation and she turned back to the entrance of the cave. But it was too late as rocks suddenly fell at the entrance, sealing them in. "Oh, no!"
(Linebreak)
Raeda and Sparkfire were near a river, the girl using a spyglass to find the dragon. She then spotted the very same dragon she drew flying right towards them with a cloaked figure on it's back.
"Sparkfire!" She exclaimed, getting her dragons' attention.
Immediately, the purple Nadder flew towards the mysterious dragon, the Henderson girl ready to confront the rogue rider.
As soon as they got close, the metallic dragon suddenly flew upwards, confusing the Nadder and her rider.
But they didn't even have a second to ponder that move when Raeda suddenly noticed a tree being thrown at them by the rogue dragons' tail!
"Look out!" Raeda warned.
Quickly, Sparkfire turned to protect her human from getting hurt, but wasn't able to avoid the tree. She got hit and crash-landed to the ground.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout and Hookfang were searching in the air, when Snotlout suddenly said. "Take us down, Hookfang! Hurry!"
As soon as the Monstrous Nightmare landed, the Jorgenson boy quickly ran to a nearby bush. "I knew we should've gone before we left." A few moments later two trees that were close by the bush were suddenly sliced off, causing Snotlout to raise his head from the bush. "Can't a Viking get some privacy?"
He then looked up in time to see several logs rolling downhill after him!
With a yelp, he ran away from them, while holding his pants up. He reached a nearby cliff. "Hookfang!" He called out, but his dragon was nowhere to be seen. He then fell off the cliff and into a river, where he was swept away by the current. "Oh, no! Hookfang!"
(Linebreak)
Unable to find anything, Hicca joined her brother at a trench.
"Anything?" He asked her.
His twin only shook her head.
Something then caught Toothless' eyes.
"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked. He, Hicca and Midnight looked to where the male Night Fury was looking at spotted who they were looking for.
"The rogue dragon rider and the Razorwhip." Hicca stated.
"Nice work, Toothless!" Hiccup praised. Realising they've been caught, the metallic dragon flew away.
"Hey they're getting away!" Hicca exclaimed.
"Let's get him, guys!" Hiccup ordered.
And the chase was on between the Night Furies and the Razorwhip as the flew through the narrow valley.
Having gotten a good head start, the Razorwhip was able to put a good distance between it and the other dragons. Then it's rider guided it towards a fallen tree and with understanding, used it's tail to grabbed the tree and fly back in the direction it came from. It then passed by the two Night Furies, giving Hiccup and Hicca the opportunity to get a look at the rider, who was wearing a cloak matching the dragon and a mask over the mouth. The only thing they could note was the green eyes of the dragon rider.
Then Hicca noticed the tree. "Guys, look out!" She warned.
Thinking quickly, the Night Furies blasted the tree, destroying it before it could hit them.
With that disaster averted, the group resumed their chase, not losing sight of their targets.
"Toothless, give me all you've got!" Hiccup commanded, the male Night Fury fired plasma blasts at the Windshear to try to deter it, with no success.
"Now, Midnight!" Hicca commanded. Her dragon fired as well. But instead of aiming for the dragon, she aimed at the cliffs they were flying nearby. Taken by surprised by this, the Razorwhip swerved to avoid the blast, causing the rider to fall off. The dragon was able to recover and rescue the human from hitting the ground. They landed and just before the rogue dragon rider could get back on the dragon, Toothless and Midnight landed as well, and the Haddock twins immediately got off. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Hiccup warned.
The figure turned to face them completely calm. The person then took off the hood and the mask, revealing a very familiar face to the auburn twins.
"I wouldn't, either." The girl their age replied, as her braided raven hair fell on her shoulder.
"Heather?" Hiccup and Hicca said in unison.
(Linebreak)
Having recovered the shock of finding their old friend Heather, the Haddock twins had some many questions to ask her, but Heather wanted to put off the explanations until after they round up the others and bring them back to the campsite.
And the others definitely weren't happy with her and her antics.
"You rolled me into a river!" Snotlout yelled.
"You trapped me in a cave!" Astrid exclaimed.
"You hurled a tree at me!" Raeda exclaimed
"You left me dangling in a tree!" Fishlegs exclaimed.
"And I have to admit, the chicken move brought back some memories." Astrid admitted with a small smile on her face.
"Guys, now I'm sure Heather has a really good reason for doing what she did." Hiccup said. He then turned to her as a prompt for the reason. "Right?"
"Look. I've been living on my own out here for years and I made more than few enemies." Heather explained. "I didn't want you guys to be involved. I needed to send you back to Berk."
"You couldn't have just, I don't know, said that?" Snotlout demanded.
"Would you have listened?" Heather challenged.
"She does have a point. We're pretty stubborn group." Astrid admitted.
"I don't listen to anyone!" Snotlout said to Heather, proving his point by ignoring Astrid. This caused the Hofferson girl to roll her eyes.
"Heather, whatever problems you have, whatever enemies you've made, we can help. You don't have to be out here alone anymore." Hicca said.
"Hicca, please, just let this go." Heather pleaded.
"We have a base not far from here. Why don't you come back with us? Nothing permanent. We'll get you some provisions and catch up. You can see how you like it." Hiccup offered.
As he said this, Ruffnut was dragging her twin, who was still unconscious from the fall earlier on. She set him to rest with his back on a tree. The Razorwhip decided to check on Tuffnut just as he started opening his eyes.
"Whoa. Razorwhip." Tuffnut said, slowly regaining consciousness. "This is the best dream ever. Like I can reach out and touch it." As he said this, he reached out his arm at the dragon and felt the smooth metallic snout. "I can reach out and touch it!" He got up and started petting the dragon, who didn't seemed to mind too much. "Mmm. Cold, scaly." Tuffnut then got on one knee. "I, Tuffnut Thorston, take thee, Razorwhip, whatever your last name is, insert it here, to be my…" That's when he noticed Heather as she walked towards him. "Oh, hey, Heather. And what are you doing in my dream? At my wedding. I didn't put you on the list."
"You're not dreaming, Tuff." Heather said in amusement.
Realisation started to come to Tuffnut. "Oh! Well, in that case, Razorwhip attack! Run!" He yelled as he ran away from the Razorwhip.
This caused Heather to laugh. "I see nothing has changed."
"Yep, same story, different year." Hicca said, chuckling.
"Let's head over to Dragon's Edge." Hiccup insisted.
Heather looked at the auburn twins. "You two are not gonna give up, are you?"
"Not likely." They replied.
Heather smiled, deciding to give in. "Okay, Dragon's Edge it is."
"You're gonna love it!" Hiccup reassured, happy that he and his sister won.
(Linebreak)
Evening came when the Dragon Riders brought Heather and her dragon to the Edge. Once they landed, they brought her to the Clubhouse, where they had so many questions to ask.
"So wait, where did you find her?" Tuffnut asked, referring to the Razorwhip dragon.
"More importantly, can we ride it?" Ruffnut asked, also referring to the same dragon.
"Did you miss me?" Snotlout jumped in, wasting no time at all with flirting. "I think you did. That's why you threw that tree at me. Isn't it? Playing hard to get. Me likey." Heather pushed him back with her finger, which was good enough. Astrid who was behind Snotlout, acted fast and tripped him from behind, causing him to fall to the ground. "Aah!"
The two girls hi-fived at that.
"Never mind him. How did you train a Razorwhip?" Fishlegs asked "It's incredible!"
"Actually, I owe a lot to you, guys." Heather answered.
"To us?" Astrid questioned.
"To me. She meant to me." Snotlout said, getting up. He wasn't at all deterred by the trip up. "I mean, how much more obvious can she be? Ahh, women. I totally understand them."
He got tripped up again, this time by the Razorwhip using her tail. "Okay, great. Check you later!"
"When I found Windshear…" Heather started to explain.
"Awesome name!" Tuffnut interrupted. "I bet you ride like the wind, shearing through it! Get it? I used both of the words in its name to explain why he's called that."
Heather was unimpressed while Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Oh, gods." He said under his breath.
"Tuffnut." Hicca chided, before turning to Heather.. "Please continue Heather."
Heather continued. "Anyway, when I found her, she'd been hurt in a fight with a Typhoomerang. Windshear held her own. Didn't you, girl?" She patted her dragon affectionately. "But she needed to be nursed back to health. Then when she was better, I used the training you guys taught me on Berk. We've become the perfect team. We're unstoppable. I mean, look at her! No one can take us down. And if they try, they'll be sorry for it." Windshear readied her tail for emphasis.
Snotlout didn't seemed too impressed. "Ha! I guess she's pretty cool, but not as cool as this. Hookfang, flame up!" On cue, Hookfang set himself on fire.
Heather just smirked. "That's cute. Windshear, tail slice!"
Swiftly, Windshear moved her tail to slice the floor around Snotlout, causing the boy to flinched and cover his eyes.
When he saw nothing happened, he regained his composure and laughed. "Oh, gah! Ha! What's so great about-" He didn't get to finish that sentence as the area of the floor Windshear sliced suddenly gave away, leaving Snotlout to dangle on a lone plank. "Okay, we'll call it a draw."
The others were very impressed by this. "Whoa. What else can she do?" Fishlegs asked.
"Her breath can burn the flesh off a human from 100 feet away." Heather answered.
"You're gonna get me outta here?" Snotlout called, still hanging from the plank.
The others ignored him as Heather continued. "One single blade of her tail is as deadly as the sharpest battle-ax." Snotlout started to climb back up just as Windshear showed her sharp tail for emphasis for her human. Taken off guard, the Jorgenson boy lost his grip on the floor and fell back on the plank.
Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Raeda circled Heather and Windshear in awe of the dragons abilities while Hiccup, Hicca and Astrid were at the side. "Great having Heather back. She's so... I don't know, intense, hardcore. I love it!" Astrid said to the Haddock twins.
"Yeah, it's great. She's definitely grown up since the last time we saw her." Hiccup said, though the tone of his voice showing that he felt there was something off.
"Hiccup, it's been three years. We were just kids. We've all grown up." Astrid pointed out.
"Yeah, but she was so sweet, and now she's so... I don't know." Hiccup tried to find the right word.
"Edgy?" Hicca supplied.
"What's wrong with that? I like it." Astrid said.
"Astrid, there's edgy and then there's destroying ships." Hiccup pointed out.
"Speaking of which, we still need to ask her about that." Hicca said, reminding them of their mission.
"Well, do me a favor and wait until after I ask her about her battle-ax." Astrid requested as she watched Heather take out said weapon, which was a double-sided, foldable axe. "I want her to show me how to make one for myself."
The Thorston twins decided to test Heathers fighting skills. Each twin stood opposite sides of Heather, with their swords in hands.
"Let's do this!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
The blondes charged and attacked from both sides. But Heather surprised them by proving to have fighting skills that could match up to Raeda and Astrid. She swiftly dodged their attacks with ease while managing to get a few jabs in. Tuffnut tried to strike, only to hit the folding part of Heathers axe that was made of metal with his sword.
"Come on! Is that all you got?" Heather challenged.
Astrid was very impressed by that. "See? Hardcore." She said to the Haddock twins. She then drew out her own axe and joined in the fight, leaving the twins.
They were then joined by their dragons.
"I don't suppose you want to talk to her, do you, bud?" Hiccup asked Toothless. The Night Fury responded by running toward Heather, tripping Hiccup on the way. Hicca and Midnight chuckled at that. "Yeah, thanks again for everything." Hiccup said on the ground.
(Linebreak)
After catching up with everyone, the teens let Heather and Windshear left for a bit. They showed her the stables, which was where she and Windshear currently, with the former feeding the latter.
"Eat up, girl. You'll need all your strength for what we've got coming." Heather said to her dragon, her mind deep in thought.
"Heather?" Hiccup called, breaking her out of her thoughts. He and Hicca entered the stables. "Uh, we should probably talk."
"Sure, about what?" Heather asked.
"About the ship, the one that you and Windshear destroyed." Hicca prompted.
Heather looked down. "Oh. That ship."
"Heather, what are you doing out there?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm just taking care of business, Hiccup. Nothing either of you need to worry about." Heather explained, hoping they would leave it at that.
"Yeah. But we do worry about it, Heather. If dragons are attacking ships, we worry." Hiccup said.
"And what business involves you needing to attack ships?" Hicca questioned.
"Look, Hiccup, Hicca, a lot has happened in the last few years. We're not kids anymore. Everything's changed." Heather said, suddenly getting defensive.
"This isn't you. It can't be!" Hiccup said.
"It is now. The last time you guys saw me, I-" She suddenly stopped herself. She wanted to tell them why she was like this, but she couldn't, it was too much. "Never mind. I-If you want me to leave…"
"We didn't say that." Hicca reassured. "No, whatever it is you're going through, we can help."
"All of us. There's always another way." Hiccup agreed.
"You're both so sweet. Thank you." Heather said hugging them both. Despite the moment, she had a sad look on her face that neither of the twins could see. "You've always been a great friend to me."
(Linebreak)
Night time came and all the teens were asleep. Heather was given a place in Hicca's medical hut which has a room full of beds. But the ravenette was not asleep. Instead she was out at the stables locking the pens that the dragons were sleeping in.
Her actions caused Stormfly to wake up and gave a squawk.
"Hey, hey. Sssh! It's okay." Heather soothed. At the sight of her old friend, Stormfly relaxed and went back to sleep. Finished locking the cages, Heather got up and looked at the sleeping dragons she locked in. "Sorry, guys. Nothing personal." She whispered to them, even though they couldn't hear her.
She got on Windshear, who was waiting at the entrance and they took off. But what the two of them didn't noticed was two black dragons, with wings wrapped around themselves, dangling upside down in the stables. As soon as the human and dragon left, Toothless and Midnight unwrapped their wings, revealing to be hiding Hiccup and Hicca.
"Okay, guys, let's get some answers." Hiccup said, watching the retreating figures.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins followed Heather for a while until she reached a lone ship docked at an island. The Night Furies hid themselves and their humans behind a nearby cliff and they watched as Windshear landed on the ship.
They saw a figure, a man it seems, approach Heather. The two seemed to be having a calm conversation. "Come on, just turn around. Let us see your face." Hiccup muttered, referring to the stranger.
However when the stranger did turn to get a scroll, the twins discovered that he was no stranger at all.
"Johann?" Hicca questioned.
"Okay, this is getting strange." Hiccup said.
Johann hand the scroll to Heather. "Thank you, Johann. It's always a pleasure doing business with you." She said, getting back on Windshear.
"Ah. The feeling is quite mutual, Miss Heather. I can assure you, I enjoy our every transaction." Johann said.
Windshear then took off and flew in the direction where Hicca, Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight were hiding. Luckily the group hid themselves away from sight just in time as the duo flew by. They waited until Windshear vanished from their view then they set their sights on Johann.
"Okay, Johann, let's see what we can get out of you." Hiccup said.
"Definitely a lot more than we need." Hicca pointed out.
The four of the flew to the ship and wasted no time asking Johann about Heather. They sat Johann down with Hiccup sitting across from the table and Hicca standing near her brother while the dragons were on either side of Johann.
"I'm sorry, Master Hiccup and Miss Hicca, but I've been sworn to secrecy." Johann said firmly. "The Chief of the headhunting Asmat tribe from Papua New Guinea couldn't part these lips!"
"Really? How about Stoick the Vast of the Hooligan tribe from Berk?" Hiccup challenged.
"Do you know what trade sanctions are, Johann?" Hicca added.
"Two words that should never be used in the same sentence?" Johann offered, starting to get nervous. The dragons growled threateningly at the older man. "Right then! Where shall I begin?"
"Let's start with why Heather is out attacking the ships all by herself." Hicca prompted.
"I suppose it would have something to do with her entire village, including her own family, being decimated by a rather nasty group of undesirables." Johann explained, causing the twins eyes to widen in shock. "She's made it her personal mission to avenge her island and her family."
"By sinking and looting ships?" Hiccup questioned.
"She's not looting. She's redistributing back to the victims of those horrible crimes." Johann explained. "Every ship that Heather attacks means they'll get back some of what they've lost. Of course, lost loved ones can't never be replaced."
"But why? Why now? Why her?" Hiccup asked.
"Many 'whys', Master Hiccup. None of which I can address at this very moment." Johann said.
Hicca gave an annoyed groan while Hiccup put his head on the table.
"Johann, why do we do this?" Hiccup asked, lifting his head up.
"Sorry?" Johann blinked.
"You know you're gonna tell us. We know you're gonna tell us." Hicca said in exasperation. "So why not save us all the trouble and just…"
The dragons growled once again.
The trader gulped and continued talking. "I suppose you do have a point. Picture, if you will, a brilliant sunny day on the Emerald Isle of Karantha when I received a mysterious correspondence from a little boy. Yet again…"
"Johann!" Hiccup exclaimed, banging his fist on the table. "Where. Is. Heather. Going?"
Toothless and Midnight emphasised his pointed by drawing out their sharp teeth right in front of Johann.
With a gulp, Johann finally got straight to the point. "It's not merely where she's going, Master Hiccup, it's who she's going after."
(Linebreak)
As the Haddock twins listened to Johann's explanation, Heather and Windshear set out on the course that the trader marked out for them.
Heather was on high alert as she scan the ocean below them with the clouds as her camouflage. She then narrowed her eyes when they landed on a particular ship. But it wasn't just any ship, it was her next and final target.
"There!" She pointed the ship out to her dragon. "There it is, Windshear. Remember, girl, we're doing this for my mom and dad. For our whole village." She glared at the ship, wanting to see it burn. "I want my face to be the last thing Dagur ever sees." She was ready to attack the Berserker ship, when she noticed that it wasn't just one ship. "What in the name of Thor?"
And unfortunately for her, the cloud camouflage was rendered useless when Savage suddenly noticed Windshear. "Sir, that dragon's been circling up there for a while." He informed the young chief.
Dagur looked up and saw the dragon. "Hm. Never seen one of those before."
"Nor have I. What should we do?" Savage asked.
A smirk then appeared on Dagur's face. "Well, you know what I always say. When in doubt, take it out."
Nodding, Savage turned to the rest of the soldiers. "Fire!" He ordered.
The Berserker soldiers wasted no time getting their crossbows and firing at the dragon. Luckily for Heather, Windshear was able to dodge them all.
Dagur then turned to the ship next to his. "Wait for it, wait for it…" His eyes kept track of the dragons movements until he found the perfect opportunity. "Now!"
The other ship then fired up a chain that was able to wrap itself onto Windshears' legs, capturing her.
"No!" Heather yelled as her dragon struggled to escape the chain.
"Reel in that spiny menace!" Dagur commanded.
As the ship pulled Windshear closer, the Berserker chief got a better look at the rider and seemed to recognise her. "Well, hello, Heather. Pull harder!" He shouted to his soldier. "She can be useful to us! Very useful."
"We got this, girl!" Heather encouraged her dragon who was still fighting against the chains. That's when she spotted the other Berserker ships circling them from below. "Or not." The other ships then fired chains at them as well and succeeded in trapping Windshear's wings and pinning Heather onto her dragon, making it impossible for her to escape.
When all hope seemed lost for the human and dragon duo, that was when the Haddock twins and the Night Furies arrived, having finally got the explanation and the directions from Johann.
They arrived just in time to see Heather and Windshear being pulled down to the Berserker ships by the chains.
"Oh no!" Hicca exclaimed.
"Heather!" Hiccup shouted.