Chapter 13: Total Nightmare
"Come on, Toothless! Faster, bud!" Hiccup shouted as they shot out of a tunnel hidden behind a waterfall. They then dove into a forest and raced through the trees.
The others were standing outside the Academy. Astrid spotted Hiccup and Toothless emerging from the cliffs through her spyglass. "There they are!".
"Close the dome!" Fishlegs told the blonde twins, who were standing near the lever.
"And so the drama begins…" Ruffnut said.
"One man, one dragon, one leg, vs one rapidly closing dome." Tuffnut said, as he and his sister pulled the lever.
Hiccup spotted the dome starting to close. "It's gonna be close!" He said to Toothless. The Night Fury continued to zip through the sea stacks. "No way he's making that." Snotlout scoffed.
"Don't underestimate my brother. He's always full of surprises." Hicca defended.
The duo then entered a cavern and raced through the tunnel, finding the path that led to the inside of the Academy.
It was a close call, but Hiccup and Toothless zoomed right through the doors just seconds before it closed. The Night Fury then landed on top of the Academy.
"What?!" Snotlout exclaimed in disbelief as the others started cheering.
"Told you, Snotlout." Hicca said to the Jorgenson boy.
"Great job as always Hiccup.." Raeda congratulated, clapping for him.
"Thanks, Rae. Good job, Toothless!" Hiccup praised, giving his best dragon friend a good rub.
"Alright, we're up." Snotlout declared, not wanting to be outdone yet again.
"Come on, nobody's able to beat the dome except Hiccup and Hicca." Fishlegs stated.
"Nobody 'til now." Snotlout corrected for the blonde boy. He got on his saddle.
"Guys, this was supposed to be a drill, do we have to turn it into a game?" Hiccup asked in exasperation.
"Don't we always?" Raeda pointed out.
"Good point." Hicca said.
"'Twas once a drill, then it became a game, now it is theater." Tuffnut said in a Shakespearean accent.
"Let the drama unfold!" Ruffnut said, in a similar accent.
"What's up with you two?" Raeda asked.
"Whatever it is, it's my turn." Snotlout said before Hookfang took off.
"I'll wager he loses an eye." Tuffnut said to his sister.
"Haha! On the contrary, I predict act one, scene one will conclude with the loss of a gallbladder." His twin disagree.
"Or perhaps a leg." Tuffnut added, before turning to Hiccup as Toothless brought them to the ground. "What say you, young Hiccup?"
"Ook…" Hiccup trailed, not bothering to answer that.
Snotlout and Hookfang were off to a great start as they flew through the waterfall. Suddenly a screech from the distance caught Hookfang's attention. Suddenly his flight got a little erratic as he flew through the forest, causing his rider to hit more than a few branches. "Stay focused, Hookfang. Keep your head in the game. Hookfang!" Snotlout commanded as they flew out of the forest.
Ruffnut spotted him. "He emerged from the forest!"
"And what of his gallbladder?" Tuffnut asked.
"Impossible to say…" She answered as the group watched as the duo flew through the sea stacks.
"The tension continues to build... ahh!" Tuffnut got on the lever to push it down. He then slipped and fell down.
Snotlout could spot the dome starting to close and knew that he and Hookfang had little time to beat it.
"And time runs out for our plucky little anti-hero…" Tuffnut narrated.
"I love a ticking Sundial, don't you?" The female Thorston commented.
"Indeed!"
"Guys, please." Hicca said.
The duo then entered the cavern, only to find a dead-end. Hookfang was so frantic in finding a way out that he didn't seem to concerned that he was causing Snotlout to hit his head against the ceiling of the tunnel. Finally they found their way out, just as the domes were close to closing. "Hookfang, beat the dome!" Snotlout urged.
THUMP!
Was what the rest of the dragon riders heard right before the dome closed. Tuffnut opened the Academy and they went in and found Snotlout lying on the ground with Hookfang nowhere in sight.
"Snotlout, are you ok?" Hiccup asked.
"Ow, define ok." Snotlout grunted, pushing himself off the ground.
"Where's Hookfang?" Hicca asked, looking around.
"That's what I'd like to know. I've got some words for that dragon!" Snotlout said.
They then heard a familiar screech from the distance.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout went to the forest in search of his dragon.
"Hookfang, Hookfang, where are you?" The Jorgenson boy called as he continued to walk. He then found his dragon near a cave.
"Finally, there you are." Just as he was approaching his dragon, Hookfang suddenly flamed up, taking a defensive position against his own human. "Hey, woah, what's with the attitude? I'm supposed to be mad here, you know." He argued. Upon realising who it was, the Monstrous Nightmare quickly calmed down. "Ok, Hooky, you've gotta be starving!" Snotlout said, getting on his saddle. "Come on, Hookfang, let's get you back to Dragon's Edge."
Hookfang seemed a little reluctant to leave, but at his rider's insistence, he had no choice but to go.
(Linebreak)
At the stables, all the dragons gathered around to eat their dinner.
Hookfang, though, didn't seem too interested as he was instead looking outside.
Snotlout walked to his dragon with a barrel of fish.
"Here, Hookfang." He said, holding up the mackerel. But the dragon ignored him. The boy then tossed the mackerel up and it landed on Hookfangs snout. But the dragon surprised his human when he threw the fish back. "Ow! What, you love mackerel!" He then grabbed Hookfang's mouth to get his attention and his dragon responded by flinging him to the back.
Snotlout got up and saw the others watching them. "Ow, hey, everybody saw that right?"
"Yes we did, my friend and it was delightful." Tuffnut commented..
"My good sir, can you reenact it for us?" Ruffnut requested.
"No I mean Hookfang, he's acting weird." Snotlout said.
"How's that?" Fishlegs asked.
"Well, he didn't listen to me during the race, he ran away, he just spit fish in my face, and threw me against the wall!" The brawny boy explained.
"And this is weird how?" Astrid asked.
"You have to admit, Snotlout that does kind of sum up your relationship with Hookfang." Hiccup pointed out.
Snotlout glared at him and the others and then turned his attention back to his dragon. He tried again to feed him the fish by throwing it at him, only to once again be hit with the same fish. Hookfang then flew up and started banging his head against the ceiling.
Watching this, the Haddock twins approached Snotlout. He noticed them. "If you two are coming over here to tell me I'm crazy, save it!"
"You know what, Snotlout, you're right." Hiccup said.
"I am?" Snotlout asked, surprised as he turned around to them.
"No one knows your dragon like you do." Hiccup continued.
"If you really think something's wrong with him, then lock him in a pen for tonight so he just doesn't hurt himself. Then we can see how he's doing in the morning." Hicca advised.
Snotlout thought over that suggestion. "Yeah. Yeah. Maybe I'll do that."
(Linebreak)
That night, when the others went to sleep, Snotlout was pulling Hookfang into his pen in the stables. The Monstrous Nightmare was not happy at all about this.
"Don't look at me like that. This is for your own good." Snotlout said to his dragon as he locked him in. "See you in the morning."
As soon as he left, Hookfang immediately tried to break himself out of there.
(Linebreak)
The next morning, Snotlout is up bright and early, carrying a big fish with him as he enters the stables. "Hey! Hookfang, you feeling better? Who wants tuna for breakfast?" He calls, but got no answer. "Hookfang? Hookfang?!" As he got closer to the pen, to his shock he found it open and empty! "Hookfang!"
Snotlout wasted no time finding the others who were all together with their dragons.
"Hookfang is gone! He broke out of his pen last night!" He informed the others.
"Then this might be more serious than we thought." Hiccup said.
"Great. I accept your offer to help in the search." With that Snotlout immediately got on Toothless. "Come on, Toothless. Up, bud. Fly, bud. Do something, bud!" But the Night Fury wouldn't budge, not wanting to take orders from Snotlout.
"Okay! Okay, calm down, Snotlout. We'll help you look for Hookfang." Hiccup said.
"Oh yeah, you will, it was yours and Hicca's idea to leave him alone in his pen in the first place." Snotlout pointed out.
Reluctantly, Hiccup and Toothless allowed Snotlout to fly with them.
(Linebreak)
"Hookfang! Hookfang!" Snotlout hollered while they were in the air.
Toothless was not happy with the Jorgenson boy because he keeps trying to steer him which ends with the dragon jerking into the opposite direction.
"Easy bud. The sooner we find Hookfang, sooner we'll get Snotlout off your back." Hiccup reassured his dragon.
"Give me your eye thingy." Snotlout demanded.
"You mean my spy glass?" Hiccup asked, taking the object out.
Before Snotlout could respond, the group heard a loud dragon roar from the distance.
"That sound, we heard that before Hookfang weirded out." Snotlout realised. "Go that way!"
He once again tried to take over steering Toothless, much to the annoyance of him and Hiccup. "Would you... Okay. Okay, let me fly the dragon." Hiccup finally took over and the group flew to the source.
"That sounded like a Monstrous Nightmare." Astrid commented as they land.
"This place again?" Snotlout said, looking around. "This is where I found him last time."
The then found Hookfang emerging from the cave, but were surprised to find out he wasn't alone. "Look! There is another Monstrous Nightmare!" Raeda pointed out.
"That's not just another Monstrous Nightmare. That's a female Monstrous Nightmare." Hiccup said.
"A female Monstrous Nightmare?" A thought then came to Snotlout and he chuckled. "Now it all makes sense. My dragon has a way with the ladies! Must have picked up a few pointers from his master."
"I doubt it. She's not dry heaving." Astrid said drily.
"Okay, shush. Hookfang." Snotlout then approached his dragon. "Time's up. Let's go."
"Snotlout, you might want to tread lightly. He's looking wee bit territorial." Hiccup warned.
But Snotlout scoffed at that. "Bit territorial? Thanks for the advice. Like you said, 'no one knows my dragon better than me.' So, when it comes to Hookfang, I handle my own business. Hookfang, Girl Hookfang. What's…"
The others flinched as they watched Snotlout get roasted, literally.
Snotlout walked back to them coughing up smoke. "Yeah, he's really busy right now."
They left Hookfang behind with his new friend and went back to the Clubhouse where Hicca treated Snotlouts' wounds.
The Jorgenson boy was clearly down by the events that transpired today. "Snotlout, it's not that bad. It could have been a lot worse." Astrid said.
"I fear not, fair maiden." Tuffnut interjected, still using his accent. "Hookfang clearly made a decisive choice in that moment, and, thus, acted upon it."
"Mm. Showing, not telling." Ruffnut agreed, also in the accent. "The number one rule in theater. And what better way to achieve that than by setting one aflame!"
"What theatre?" Raeda questioned.
Snotlout got up, not wanting to listen to the Thorston twins any longer. "Kid all you want, but I know that dragon. I know what's in his heart and in his head. He'll come back to me, like he always does." He stated firmly.
Fishlegs seemed a bit hesitant at that, as if he disagreed. "Uh…"
Snotlout picked up on that. "Uh what? You're gonna tell me he's never coming back?"
"Uh…"
"Fishlegs?" Hicca prompted
The Ingerman boy caved in and gave his input. "Hookfang wouldn't follow his training, he wouldn't eat, he ran away twice, he picked another dragon over you."
"Don't forget the fire thing." Tuffnut added.
"Right." Fishlegs continued. "He pushed you away. All the symptoms are here."
"Symptoms of what?" Snotlout asked.
"I think Hookfang is going feral."
Tuffnut gasped. "No, not going feral!"
"The cruelest turn of events…" Ruffnut said in despair, before breaking character. She then turned to her twin. "Wait, what's 'going feral' mean?"
"I have no idea." Tuffnut shrugged.
"It means that meeting this female has reawakened his primal instincts. And he's returning to the wild." Fishlegs explained.
"Shut up, Fishface!" Snotlout snapped, getting defensive. "What do you know?! Hookfang needs me."
"It's nature, Snotlout. You can't fight it." Was all Fishlegs said.
"Watch me." With that, Snotlout left the others.
The Thorstons clapped as he walked away.
"Bravo! Bravissimo! Encore! Ah, what theater!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
"Yes, and what a cliffhanger!" Ruffnut agreed.
(Linebreak)
While Snotlout went back to his dragon, the others went to the stables to groom their own dragons.
"It's a scary idea, huh?" Hicca suddenly commented.
"That one of our dragons might just one day go back to the wild?" Hiccup finished for his sister. He turned to his dragon. "You'd never do that to me, would you bud?" Toothless gave a warble and nuzzled him. "I didn't think so."
"Lesson to learn from this: don't take anyone or anything for granted." Hicca said, hugging Midnight.
"Completely agree with you." Raeda said, before turning to Sparkfire. "You hear that girl? You are a beautiful, strong amazing dragon and I'd be nothing without. And if I ever made you feel the opposite, I sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart."
"Come on. If it was going to happen to anyone, it's gonna be Snotlout." Astrid said. "I mean, none of us have to worry. Right?" The last part was directed to Stormfly. The blonde girl then sniffed the air. "What smells so good?"
The four of them turned their attention to Fishlegs, who was busy rubbing Meatlug. The Gronckle was in complete bliss because of this. "You're giving Meatlug a rubdown?" Hiccup asked.
"Yeah. With her favorite lingonberry oil." Fishlegs said, holding up the bottle with one hand. "Just letting her know she's appreciated."
(Linebreak)
Snotlout made his way back to the cave in the forest, where he found Hookfang giving food to the female Monstrous Nightmare. The Jorgenson boy hid in a nearby bush and waited until his dragon left.
"Finally!" Snotlout exclaimed in a quiet voice as he watched his dragon leave. "Primal instincts, Thor's butt! My primal instinct is to get my dragon back." He took the basket he brought with and made his way to the other dragon. "Hi, Girl Hookfang! I see, you already got my boy bringing dinner for you. Big step." Still weary of the human, the female growled as he walked closter "Alright, relax. I just wanted to come over and say hello. Maybe bring a little dessert for you? I've got something very special."
He threw the basket at her and when it fell it opened, revealing an electric eel. As expected, Girl Hookfang got scared and started backing away.
"What? You don't like eel?" Snotlout asked rhetorically, feeling smug. "Oops. If I were you, I'd fly away and never look back."
That's when Hookfang came back and used his tail to whip the eel away. The eel hit Snotlout causing him to fall back and get electricuted.
"A... little... help... here!" Snotlout managed to get out during the shocks, now regretting using an electric eel. He finally managed to swat the eel off him and it slithered away. He got up and confronted his dragon. "I have had enough of you, Hookfang! It's time to choose, her or me."
The male Monstrous Nightmare looked between his rider and his female companion. He didn't want to do this to Snotlout, but he knew he needed to stay.
Snotlout was shocked when saw Hookfang walk closer to Girl Hookfang.
(Linebreak)
Feeling dejected, Snotlout walked back to the stables, where the others were still there.
"Any luck with Hookfang?" Hiccup asked.
Snotlout didn't answer and instead walked to the Hookfang's pen. "You give a dragon the best years of your life and then... pfft ...it's over!"
Fishlegs and Raeda got more nervous because of that.
"There's not a day that goes by where I love you any less than the previous day." Raeda said, hugging her dragon.
Fishlegs brought a barrel full rocks to Meatlug. "You want more bauxite, girl?". The Gronckle happily accepted.
"Classic romantic comedy paradigm. Boy gets dragon, boy loses dragon, dragon falls asleep, boy eats, boy falls asleep, dragon eats." Tuffnut mused.
"Oh! Gets me every time." Ruffnut commented.
"I give up." Snotlout announced. "If being with her makes Hookfang happy, I guess I should be happy for him, too. Ugh. If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go lay down for a few... weeks." Shoulders slumped, Snotlout left the stables.
"Wow. It's really not like Snotlout to give up this easily." Hicca commented.
"What can he do? Hookfang hath forsaken him. I, too, would be depress-ed, if Barf and Belch forsook-ed me." Tuffnut said.
"And if I forsaketh thee?" Ruffnut asked her brother.
The male twin shrugged his shoulders. "Eh. That wouldn't bother me."
"We've gotta get him back in the saddle right away." Hiccup decided, turning to the others. "That means we've got some work to do."
(Linebreak)
"What's this?" Snotlout asked, next morning.
He was brought to the outside of the stables where he found the others with three new Monstrous Nightmares. Tuffnut was holding each of them with a rope.
"We stayed up all night wrangling some new dragons." Hiccup explained.
"We figured, maybe with Hookfang going through... well, whatever he's going through, this might help." Hicca finished.
"Guys, I don't know what to say." Snotlout said, looking between the three new dragons.
"Thank Thor." Astrid muttered to Fishlegs.
"Except that you wasted your time." Snotlout finished, surprising the others.
"Oh, come on, Snotlout, at least try them out." Hiccup insisted.
"As awesome as Hookfire, Fangmaster and Hook Blazefang are, and yes, I named them all already, I can't look at them and not think of Hookfang." The brawny boy explained.
"Another cruel twist. Snotlout rejects the new suitors." With that, Tuffnut drops the ropes and shooed the Monstrous Nightmares away. "Begone, pretenders, and never return! I hast forsookenst thou."
Hiccup turned to his cousin as the three dragons left. "Snotlout, I know you're hurting, but we need you up there with us."
"Dagur's out there looking for us. We can't be down a rider." Astrid stated.
"What if you tried riding a different kind of dragon?" Fishlegs suggested.
Snotlout wasn't too enthusiastic at that. "I don't know. Maybe."
"Yeah! There you go! How about a Nadder? Uh, Astrid? Raeda?" Hicca asked, turning to the two girls.
Raeda quickly jumped in front of her dragons and held her arms out, not wanting to let Snotlout ride her dragon.
Astrid tried to come up with an excuse. "He doesn't want to ride Stormfly again. He's already…"
Snotlout made her job easier. "Too small." He dismissed the two Nadders. He then went to Meatlug. "Too slow." Fishlegs comforted his dragon as Snotlout walked to Barf and Belch. "Two heads."
"Okay. You don't like any of these dragons. So maybe we try some new ones. A Thunderdrum or a Timberjack?" Hiccup suggested. "Or how about…"
Snotlout cut him off. "Listen guys, I don't want to come off as thankful or anything, but you taught me a lesson today by offering me your inferior dragons."
"What are you saying?" Hicca asked.
"I'm saying that if I can't fly Hookfang, I don't want to fly any dragon." Snotlout said.
"How can you be a dragon rider and not ride a dragon?" Astrid questioned.
"You were always the smart one, Astrid." Was all he answered with.
Realisation came to Hiccup. "Wait a minute, you're…"
"Quitting." Snotlout said. "That's right. I shall be a dragon rider no more."
The others were stunned by this.
"Time to call in the understudy." Tuffnut said to his sister.
Ruffnut nodded and turned to Fishlegs. "Hey Fishlegs, how's your Snotlout?"
"Oh, come on Snotlout, you're just hurting now, that's all. Give it some time." Hiccup said.
"No, Hiccup, my mind is made up. I'm going to say goodbye to Hookfang, and then sail back to Berk for good. It's over."
The others watched as he walked away, at a loss on what's happening.
(Linebreak)
"Hello, Hookfang? Girl Hookfang?" Snotlout called once he reached the cave. "I've come to say goodbye. Hookfang?" He got closer when he discovered his slumped on the ground, unconscious. The female Monstrous Nightmare was standing next to him. "What did you do to him?" He demanded. "I knew you were bad news!" Enraged, he drew out his sword and pointed it at Girl Hookfang. This caused the dragon to take a defensive stance. "Make your move, she-devil!"
The two charged at each other, ready to attack, when Hookfang suddenly got up and roared at both of them to stop, still feeling a little weak.
The female dragon dropped her defense and went back to her cave. That was when Snotlout noticed what she was protecting. "Eggs? What's going on here?"
A roar made them look up to find another wild Monstrous Nightmare, but not just any Monstrous Nightmare. This particular dragon was much larger than the other two and had a striking red and black color with spikes on its body. And it did not look friendly one bit.
Snotlout was able to recognise this type. "A Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare? Come on! Could this get any worse?" To his surprise, Hookfang got up and challenged the Titan Wing dragon. "Whoa. I'd stay away from that guy." Snotlout warned, but his dragon didn't listen. Instead, Hookfang flew up and attacked the Titan Wing dragon, only to get knocked down again.
"Hookfang!" Snotlout exclaimed. "What are you doing?!" The larger dragon landed and seemed to have its sights set on the cave, particularly the eggs. Girl Hookfang moved in front and held a defensive stance. "I don't know why I'm doing this, but here goes nothing." Snotlout said, holding up his sword to the Titan Wing. "You want Hookfang's girlfriend, you got to go through-"
He got interrupted when the larger Monstrous Nightmare got blasted from above. The surprise attack caused the intruder to leave. Snotlout looked up and saw that the rest of the dragon riders arrived with their dragons.
"What are you guys doing here?" Snotlout asked. "Not that I'm complaining."
"We came to convince you not to quit." Hiccup explained.
"Looks like we came just in time." Hicca said.
"You wanna tell us what's going on here?" Astrid asked.
"It looks like two male dragons fighting over a female." Fishlegs observed.
"Yeah, I've heard male Vikings do it too, but I've personally never seen it." Ruffnut commented.
"But the Titan Wing heard the female's mating call, too and was drawn to it." Fishlegs continued.
"Ah-ha! A love triangle!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
"An intense love triangle." Raeda commented.
Wrong. Girl Hookfang has three eggs in that cave. Hookfang has been helping her protect them from giant jerk dragon.
"That wasn't a mating call Hookfang was answering, it was a distress call!" Hiccup inferred.
"Well, we taught him a lesson then. He won't be back." Astrid said.
"Yes, he will." Fishlegs disagreed. "They're probably the eggs of a rival. Titan Wings won't give up until they're destroyed."
A thought then came to Snotlout. "So Hookfang didn't go feral after all?"
"Apparently not. He's trying to establish dominance over the Titan Wing so he'll leave the eggs alone." Hicca said.
"I knew it!" Snotlout exclaimed.
"A true underdog story." Tuffnut commented.
"Yes! The apex of dramaturgy!" Ruffnut agreed.
Snotlout went to his dragon and gave him a hug. "Ha! I'm proud of you, buddy. Girl Hookfang just became an honorary Jorgenson."
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Oh boy."
"Lucky her." Raeda said sarcastically.
"Uh, Hiccup? Hicca?" Fishlegs called.
"Yeah?" The twins answered.
"Remember what I said about the Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare coming back?" The blonde boy asked, looking upwards.
"Yeah?" Hiccup replied.
"Well…" Fishlegs points above him, alerting the others on the return of the Titan Monstrous Nightmare!
Hookfang got ready to fight the enemy again.
"Hookfang can't take on that Titan Wing alone." Hiccup stated.
"He won't be alone." Snotlout said with determination, as he got on Hookfang.
"Neither will you." Raeda said.
"We've gotta do this ourselves." Snotlout insisted, before anyone else could go to their dragons.
"No way! That thing will tear you apart." Astrid objected, before turning to the others. "Saddle up, everybody."
"You heard Fishlegs. That Titan Wing will only stop if it's dominated by Hookfang." The Jorgenson boy pointed out.
"He's right." Hicca agreed, surprising everyone except her twin.
Astrid continued to object. "But Hicca, look at that thing. It's…"
"I know. Gigantic, scary, angry." Hicca described.
"Bloodthirsty!" Tuffnut piped in.
"Thanks, Tuff." Hicca said sarcasticastically.
Tuffnut picked up on the sarcasm. "Sorry. Writer's embellishment."
Hiccup agreed with his sister. "Get him, Snotlout! You guys can do this."
Finally seeing that no one else is going to stop Snotloiut, Astrid gave in. "Hey, be careful. He's pretty nasty."
"Whatever happens to us, promise me you'll protect those eggs." Snotlout said, for once not bragging about his 'warrior skills'
"We will." Hiccup promised.
"Good luck." Raeda said.
The others watched as the boy and Nightmare duo took to the air face off against the threat.
"He's crazy." Astrid said.
"He's Snotlout." Raeda countered.
"True."
Snotlout and Hookfang charged straight to the Titan Wing, who fired at them. Hookfang was able to dodge it and countered with his own blast, which hit the Titan.
"Nice move!" Astrid cheered along with the others.
"Hookfang is smaller but he's more maneuverable." Fishlegs pointed out.
"The climax approaches." Tuffnut narrated.
They watched as Hookfang continued to dodge blast after blast. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to avoid the Titan Wings tail which struck him, causing him and Snotlout spiral down. Luckily, Hookfang managed to recover before they hit the ground. They looked up and saw the Titan Wing charging at them at high speed, getting ready for another blast.
"This is gonna hurt!" Snotlout yelped as he and Hookfang tried to shield themselves. But the Titan got caught off-guard when it was blasted from above by Girl Hookfang. "Way to go, Girl Hookfang! I always did like you." This gave Snotlout and Hookfang the chance to get up in the air again. That was when the brawny boy got a new plan. "Okay, Hookfang, time to play Beat the Dome!"
The group below heard what he said. "Beat the Dome? That's his great idea?" Astrid wondered.
"Whoa, whoa. Snotlout's never beaten the dome." Fishlegs said.
"And even if he did, how's that going to stop the Titan Wing dragon?" Raeda asked, as they watch the pair fly to the waterfall..
"You're right, about that." Hiccup said, deciding to step in. "Okay, Astrid, Rae, Tuff, Ruff, you're with me. Hicca, Fishlegs, stay with Girl Hookfang and defend the eggs."
"Are we actually going to call her that?" Raeda wondered as they got to their dragons.
Snotlout looked back to make sure the Titan Wing was following them. To his satisfaction, it was. "All right, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming." The duo flew straight into the waterfall while the Titan Wing stopped and hovered, knowing that there was no other way out than the way they went in.
Snotlout and Hookfang emerged from the waterfall and flew past the Titan Wing. They flew through the same route from the training exercise with the larger dragon following them. "Woo-hoo!" Hookfang made a sharp turn towards the forest, which the Titan Wing couldn't replicate. "Oh, you couldn't make that turn? Man, you're gonna hate this." Snotlout said, as Hookfang dove straight into the forest.
A forest with so many trees in filling the path that it would require a dragon to make many sharp turns to navigate through it. One that was difficult for a large dragon like a Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare to navigate through. Nonetheless, it still chased after Snotlout and Hookfang.
Hiccup, Astrid, Raeda and the Thorston twins quickly flew to position at the academy waiting for the duo to appear.
Hiccup quickly spotted them. "Start the dome, now!" He commanded the blonde twins, who were at the lever.
Snotlout grinned as he saw the dome closing. "Yes, they got it!" He looked back and saw the Titan Wing gaining on them. "Oh, no!"
Hookfang picked up the pace and entered the tunnel leading to the inside of the Academy. Once again the Titan Wing had trouble navigating through because of the narrow path, but it still wasn't ready to give up the chase.
Hookfang made into the Academy just as the dome was almost closed. The teens outside were waiting for the duo to emerge, only to watch the dome close.
"They didn't make it!" Astrid said.
The Titan finally made it to the inside of the closed dome, only to find it seemingly empty. Unbeknownst to it. Snotlout and Hookfang were scaling the wall behind it. Hookfang then fired a blast at it, taking it off guard.
"Got you! Ha!" Snotlout exclaimed. The Titan Wing turned around, but Hookfang was quick to move away from its sight and blasted it from behind again. "Great shot, Hookfang."
The others could watch blast after blast being shot from outside.
"Wait a second, what if Snotlout's plan wasn't to beat the dome after all?" Raeda wondered.
"Hookfang's using the Titan Wing's size against him!" Hiccup realised.
"He's trying to wear it down." Astrid said.
Suddenly the blasts stopped. "Quick, open the dome!" Hiccup said to Ruff and Tuff, who quickly did so. The group went to the inside to find the Titan Wing on the ground, defeated, while Hookfang and Snotlout were still standing.
"Wow." Raeda said, couldn't help but be impressed along with the others.
"Now, that's what I call domination. Boom!" Snotlout exclaimed in triumph. Hookfang screeched at the defeated dragon. "You tell him, Fangster."
The Titan Wing accepted its defeat and flew away, leaving the island.
(Linebreak)
Hicca and Fishlegs ran to the others as soon as they reached the cave.
"We saw the Titan Wing flying away, great job Snotlout." Hicca praised.
"And look. They hatched!" Fishlegs exclaimed, pointing to the eggs. The teens, except for Snotlout went to the eggs to see the baby Monstrous Nightmare.
"And to think I saved them." Snotlout said to his dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare growled at him. No way was he letting his rider take all the credit. "Okay, okay! We saved them. We saved them." Satisfied, Hookfang flew off, leaving Snotlout. "Snotlout, Hookfang! Oi! Oi! Oi!" He chanted
Hiccup noticed Ruffnut and Tuffnut suddenly crying. "Uh, what's wrong with you two?"
"Nothing." Ruffnut wiped her tears.
"You just don't see enough happy endings these days." Tuffnut sniffed. "Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi!"