Chapter 17: Bad Moon Rising
After recovering from their encounter with the Dragon Hunters, the Dragon Riders went on with their day to day tasks. Hicca and Midnight were currently on Healers Island to restock the medical supplies.
Fishlegs, having finally gotten the formula for Gronckle wasted no time producing the metal. He set up a target dummy made out of the metal for the gang to do a practice run with it.
Gobber was visiting the teens at the time and was standing with Fishlegs, observing the dummy.
"Are you sure you've got the recipe right?" He asked the younger man.
Fishlegs was confident. "Of course I'm sure, three parts limestone…"
Snotlout and Hookfang swoops in, with the dragon blasting at the dummy. "WHOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!" The dummy remained unaffected.
"Yeah, three parts limestone…" Gobber repeated, hi-fiving Fishlegs.
"Uh-huh!"
Hiccup and Toothless then flew in. "Give it all you've got, bud!" Hiccup ordered.
"Two parts sandstone…" Fishlegs continued as the Night Fury fired multiple plasma blast at the dummy, but it remained unaffected.
"Sandstone, check." Gobber said
"One part iron ore." Fishlegs said, giving Gobber another hi-five. They then turned their backs on each other and did a low-five. "Uh-huh, a down low!"
"Yeah-heh…" Gobber said.
"And now...the secret ingredient." Fishlegs said.
Barf and Belch flew in and started stomping on the metal viking. Still not even a dent.
"One giant spoon of cooled and hardened Gronckle lava!"
The Zippleback heads then grabbed the dummy with their mouths and started playing tug-of-war. Ruffnut, who was watching, decided to join in.
"Gronckle lava, of course!" Gobber said, as Meatlug spewed said lava.
"Voila! You have Gronckle Iron." Fishlegs finished.
"Alright, let's see how your Gronckle Iron holds up against a close-range spine shot." Astrid said as she and Stormfly joined them.
"Be our guest." Fishlegs offered.
"Stormfly, spines." Astrid commanded.
The Nadder prepared her spines and locked her sights in on the dummy. Barf and Belch, noticing this, set the dummy down and moved away.
That's when Tuffnut arrived, looking messier than usual, with leaves sticking out of his helmet. He seemed to be in a daze. "Giant, furry…" He was so out of it that he didn't even notice what was going on or the fact that he was walking right in between the dummy and the charging blue Nadder. "Teeth…"
Hiccup, however, realised the danger. "Tuff, no!"
Tuff still didn't pay attention. "Even...teeth were furry…"
That's when Stormfly took her shot. The spine barely misses Tuffnut's head and hits the fake dummy behind him.
"Good thing Stormfly has a really good aim." Raeda commented.
That's when Tuffnut looked at the others, still unaware of the danger he was in. "Thank Loki, you guys are not gonna believe what just happened to me, it was-" Just as he was about to explain, the metal viking, tilted by the spine shot, suddenly fell on Tuffnut , knocking him to the ground.
"We'll talk in a little bit." Tuffnut murmured, before slipping into unconsciousness.
(Linebreak)
Tuffnut was brought to Hicca's Healer hut where he soon regained consciousness. He then insisted they bring Chicken to him for comfort and once Hiccup finally did, he started telling them what happened.
"There I was: me, and my inner Nut." He started.
"Tuff, what happened out there?" Hiccup asked.
"It was dark. So dark it, Hiccup. Not even the moon to light my merry way." Tuffnut began explaining. "And then all of a sudden, out of the darkness. Red eyes! Ferocious teeth! A growl that could peel the beak off a chicken!"
Chicken started clucking, not liking the sound of that.
"Sorry, metaphor." Tuffnut apologised to his pet before continuing. "It grabbed me, and tossed me around like a rag doll, a very handsome rag doll. And then, it left me for dead."
"Tuffnut, can you tell us anything else about what attacked you?" Fishlegs.
"Be detailed so I can get it down accurately." Raeda said, her charcoal and drawing book in hand.
"It was far too fast, too...cagey, too...quick, give me another adjective!"
"Ooh, how about 'imaginary'?" Snotlout snickered causing the others to laugh as well.
"Laugh and guffaw, if you must, but would an imaginary beast give you one of THESE?" He extended his right arm which he was covering, allowing the others to see a big, red bite mark on it.
(Linebreak)
The gang went to the Clubhouse to try and figure out what bit Tuffnut.
"Ugh, there's nothing anywhere that matches this, the Book of Dragons, Bork's papers, even the Dragon Eye." Fishlegs reported.
"Hm, it won't be any of those." Gobber chimed.
"Gobber?" Hiccup asked.
"It's obvious we're all thinking the same thing." His mentor said,
"Well, I can pretty much guarantee we're not, but, uh, why don't you tell us what you're thinking, Gobber." Hiccup asked.
"Lycanwing." Gobber answered. "The Lycanwing dragon is a rare beast, and a vicious one at that. Those who survive its bite are not actually survivors at all. They are doomed to a life as half-man, half-Lycanwing. At the height of every full moon, the condemned viking transforms into a terrifying dragon! Wings the size of a house, teeth stronger than Gronckle Iron! And a thirst...for blood."
Tuffnut yelled in fear at that.
"Tuff, the Lycanwing is a legend! It's not a real dragon!" Hiccup said quickly. He turned to Gobber. "Gobber, have you ever seen a Lycanwing?"
"No…" The older man admitted.
"Has anyone on Berk ever seen a Lycanwing?" Hiccup asked the others.
"Not that I can recall." Gobber said.
"I rest my case." Hiccup declared.
"But then again, the Boneknapper dragon was thought to be a myth as well." Raeda couldn't help but say. "And no one has seen the dragon until we set out to look for it."
That was not something Hiccup was hoping to hear from his sister by bond. "Thanks a lot, Rae."
"Raeda has a point." Gobber agreed. "And the stories...oooh! They'll straighten the hair on a curly-haired yak!"
(Linebreak)
For added effect, Gobber brought the group outside during the night to tell the story. He paced in front of them with a torch on his prosthetic. In front of him were Snotlout, Tuffnut and Ruffnut sitting on a log with the others sitting at the side.
"His name was Kessler." Gobber started the story.
"That's a weird name!" Snotlout commented.
"Weird kid." Gobber remarked. "Bright red hair, eyes as black as night! Naughty as a Nadder in a chicken coop."
"That's seriously naughty. Amirite?" He nudged, who was next to him. He held out three fingers. "High-three!" The chicken just stared at him blankly. "Heh, nevermind."
Gobber continued the story. "One night, little Kessler, against his parents' wishes, went exploring in the forest. Days went by, no sign of him. Only a far away scream, coming from the woods. The little bugger never returned." He narrated as he paced back and forth.
He suddenly turned and faced the teens, scaring them. "AHHH! Or did he?! Every year from then on, when little Kessler's birthday rolled around, a red, black-eyed dragon would fly over his parents' house and pluck one of their sheep right out of the paddock! The dragon would look back, taunting them."
After telling the story, he returned to his normal voice. "But I wouldn't worry, Tuffnut, you're not exhibiting any symptoms."
A mischievous glint appeared in Snotlout's eyes as a devious plan came to his mind. "Hey, hey, hey, can we really say for sure what our pal Tuffnut is exhibiting? C'mon Gobster, lay em' on us! Just for the sake of argument."
Ruffnut caught on to what Snotlout was trying to do and seemed apprehensive about it. "I don't think that's a good idea, Snotlout."
Nonetheless, Gobber started telling them. "Well first off, you'd be looking at sensitivity to light."
"Aren't you always that it hurts your head when you look into the sun?" Snotlout asked Tuffnut, leaning towards him.
"Yeah...I did say that." Tuffnut started to think. He looked at the embers from the campfire nearby and recoiled from the brightness. "Ah!"
Gobber continued. "Unquenchable thirst…"
Tuffnut gasped and started licking his fingers.
"You look thirsty…" Snotlout trailed.
Ruffnut smacked Snotlout's face away from Tuffnut. "Hey! He always looks thirsty."
The Jorgenson boy wasn't fazed. "What else, Gobber? There's gotta be more than that."
"Fidgety arms, on account of the wings starting to sprout." Gobber said.
On cue, Tuffnut's arms started twitching and fidgeting. One of them slapped Ruffnut in the face, knocking her over the log. "Owgh! Watch it, would ya?"
"Geez, sorry. I'm fidgety." Tuff said, arms still twitching.
Snotlout snickered at this, clearly entertained. "What else? What else?"
"Finally, the overwhelming desire to eat fresh fish." Gobber finished.
Tuffnut looks to where Barf and Belch were eating from a trough full of fish and ran to them. He dunked his head in and started eating the fish as well, grabbing some in his hands.
"Yeck, tastes terrible!" He said, though he still tried to eat them.
Tuffnut then ran off.
Snotlout started laughing. "Ahahaha! How awesome was that? What an idiot."
Ruffnut, however, was not amused by Snotlouts' prank. "You have no idea what you've done."
(Linebreak)
The teens, except for Tuffnut, were gathered in the Clubhouse. The Thorston boy then arrived with a wheel-barrow.
"Uhhh...Tuffnut? What are you doing?" Raeda asked.
Tuffnut just gave a sad sigh. He walks to Snotlout and takes out his mace from the wheel-barrow. "I give you Macey." He presented his precious mace to the brawny boy. "Hold her dearly, she likes sitting by the window, looking at the moon...the full moon. Ha! The irony."
"Oh my Thor. That's so thoughtful." Snotlout said sarcastically, taking the mace. As soon as Tuffnut walked away, he tossed poor Macey behind him.
Tuff then walked to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs. I give you my favorite bowl."
Fishlegs took the bowl and inspected it, only to recognise the design. "Hey, that's my bowl!"
"And now, now you've found it. Eat well, my friend. Eat well." He walked past his sister, who was so done with this, and reached Hiccup. "Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup. What do you give the man who has everything?" His answer was to grab Ruffnut and shove her to Hiccup. "Here."
"Hey, you can't give me away!" Ruff protested.
Tuff ignored his twin. "In time, she'll come to you. She's going to take this very hard, and will most certainly go through a prolonged morning period. She's gonna need a new twin brother. I nominate you. It's a terrible job and she smells horrible. You'll have to dress like me and grow your hair long, so there are perks. Oh, and you need to tell Hicca she no longer has a twin. I would but I'd probably be gone by the time she gets back."
"Alright, alright! What did I miss?" Hiccup demanded.
"I'm just...preparing myself." Tuffnut explained.
"For what?" Astrid asked.
"Astrid, have you seen that moon?" Tuffnut asked, gesturing to the moon outside. "It rises to its apex, which I think is a word that means the tip-top. I'm going full dragon, Tuffnut Lycanwing."
"Ahaha!" Snotlout snickered.
Tuffnut got right in his face. "You're a funny guy, Snotlout. I'll eat you first…" He said with a growl.
Hiccup just sighed. "Tuff, we went over this. The Lycanwing is a myth, it's not real, you're not turning into a dragon!" He turned to Fishlegs, hoping the ever-curious Ingerman boy could help. "Fishlegs, will you please tell him?"
But even Fishlegs himself seemed doubtful. "Uhuh? Mmm…" Which did nothing to help.
"Now, I must go and say my most difficult goodbye of all, if you'll excuse me." With that, Tuffnut left the Clubhouse.
Unable to hold it in any longer, Snotlout burst out laughing.
Ruffnut marched to Snotlout, feeling enraged. "What did I tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?! YOU are gonna help me fix this, Snotlout! YOU HEAR ME?!" She walked away angrily.
"Wow, they can really get riled up, huh?" Snotlout said, causing Hiccup to huff angrily.
(Linebreak)
Outside the dragon stable, Tuffnut stood in front of Barf and Belch.
"Barf, Belch. My winged brothers! I'll see you in the friendly skies. Who knows, maybe we'll slide down a rainbow together."
Barf and Belch just growled. Chicken gave a squawk.
"OK, you ready?" Tuffnut asked Chicken, picking her up.
They head into the stables while the the two Zippleback heads looked at each other in confusion. They were trying to figure out what their rider was trying to tell them.
'It sounded like he was saying goodbye to us.' Belch said.
'But why would he say goodbye, if he's sleeping over with us?' Barf wondered.
Tuffnut checked one of the stables. "Hm, this should work. Good view, got a good ventilation. Gotta keep the others safe from me, when I turn." He closed the door on himself and Chicken and sat down.
Chicken bawks at him. "I feel you, my animal brother." He looks out at the moon. "Huh, my last night as me, for tomorrow, at this time, alas, I shall no longer be human. I will be Tuffnut, Lycanwing, Killing-Machine!"
(Linebreak)
The next day was spent with most of the Dragon Riders, minus Snotlout, trying to convince Tuffnut that the Lycanwing Dragon doesn't exist, but the Thorston boy wouldn't budge.
The sun was starting to set as Hiccup, Astrid and Raeda were waiting outside the stables with their dragons as Gobber closed the doors and walked to them.
"Well, I did my best. He's not talking to anyone but that chicken." Gobber said. "And he's convinced the moon didn't apex last night, so it must be tonight."
Inside the stables, Tuffnut shaking Chicken. "Talk to me, chicken. Talk to me. What did they say? What are they saying?" Chicken seemed to be getting dizzy.
"Well that's great." Hiccup muttered.
"Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" Raeda asked, pointing up at the sky.
The others looked to see Hookfang flying towards them. But it wasn't Snotlout flying him.
"Is that...?" Astrid trailed.
"Ruffnut...flying Hookfang?" Hiccup finished.
"Where's Snotlout?" Astrid asked.
"How did he let Ruff fly Hookfang?" Raeda wondered.
Gobber spotted the Jorgenson boy sitting behind Ruffnut, and he seemed to be in distressed. "There he is. Big lump behind her. Tear-stained face."
With Ruffnut guiding him, Hookfang crashed onto the landing pad of the stables, causing the two passengers to fall off, onto the ground.
"Oh, rough one." Ruffnut said, straightening up.
Not happy with how she took control of the flight, Hookfang blew smoke at Ruffnuts back before walking away. Snotlout gave a loud groan.
"What are you two doing?" Hiccup asked. "We could use you right about now."
"We've been gathering samples." Ruffnut answered.
"Samples of what?" Astrid asked.
She got her answer when Ruffnut showed Snotlout's arm to the group, causing them to recoil. Snotlouts' left arm was covered with bites of different shapes and sizes.
"Dragon bites. One of these has to match Tuff's and convince him that this Lycanwing deal is just another one of his paranoid fantasies." Ruffnut explained.
"Aaand...why is Snotlout...?" Hiccup started to ask.
Ruffnut understood enough. "He started this stupid thing with his impressive yet sinister powers of suggestion. It's all Snotlout's fault my dopey brother thinks he's turning into a dragon."
Snotlout groaned as the female Thorston moved his injured arm with vigor.
"Well looks like you're in this one, Snotlout." Hiccup said to him.
"You reap what you sow." Raeda agreed.
"Not so funny now, is it?" Ruff demanded from Snotlout.
"No, Ruffnut. Not funny at all." He whimpered.
She then grabbed his arm and pulled him to the stables. "Let's go, pal."
"Hicca chose the wrong time to leave." Snotlout groaned.
That's when Fishlegs and Meatlug flew in. "Hiccup, Hiccup!" Meatlug landed and Fishlegs jumped off the saddle. "Oooh, you're not going to believe this! I was at my wit's end, trying to think of something, anything, that could help with this, when my perfect little angel crushed my desk-" He gestured to Meatlug. "-and look what I found!"
He took out a Dragon Lens. "It's the one you found in the caves with Gustav! I've been meaning to give it back to you, Hiccup. I'm usually not so irresponsible with priceless artifacts."
"We might find something about the Lycanwing from the lens." Raeda concluded.
"Fishlegs, we have got to go see what's on it!" Hiccup said. He was so ready for this Lycanwing insanity to be done with.
(Linebreak)
Inside the stables, Tuffnut was in the middle of a discussion with Chicken.
"I'm telling you, it's not flat, it's gotta be round, or oblong, at the very least." He said, pacing. "Think about it. The moon, round. Sun, round. My head, oblong."
That's when Ruffnut and Snotlout arrived, with the former cutting in. "Uh...I hate to interrupt this fascinating debate, but…"
"Stand back, sis! It's not safe to be around me right now. I could go at any minute." Tuff warned.
Chicken starts bawking.
Ruff just stares at her brother. "Yeah...whatever. Just hold out your arm we need to check something."
She holds out Snotlout's arm forcefully, causing him to groan. "Oh, for the love of Thor, do it. I'm pretty sure I need serious medical attention."
"Whoa, what happened to you?" Tuff asked Snotlout.
"Ask her."
The blonde boy turned to his twin. "What happened to him?"
"He's helping me find out what happened to you." She said,
Tuffnut waved it off. "I think we all know what happened to me…"
"Any day now!" Snotlout interrupted.
"Hold...still!" Ruffnut grabs her brother's arm and holds it close to Snotlouts. After comparing the bite marks, she sighed "Well, we can cross Terrible Terror, Night Terror, Wild Nadder, and Gronckle off the list. Let's go."
"I'm not going anywhere with you! You're stark raving mad!" Snotlout exclaimed.
Ruffnut just grabbed him by the ear and walked off. "Let's go, I said!"
"Ugh, okay okay okay I'm coming ow ow ow!"
(Linebreak)
Snotlout rubbed his ear as the two continued to look for more dragons. "This is the last one, and I'm officially paid back. And anyway, how was I supposed to know that he'd go this crazy?"
"What? Have you met my brother?" Ruffnut asked rhetorically.
"Fine. Whatever! Man, I am so glad you're not my sister."
Ruffnut stopped him. "No. You wish I was your sister. You think I'd be dragging your monkey butt all over the jungle risking your life if my brother weren't the most important thing in the world to me? Think about that!"
With that she pulled him forward, ignoring his groans.
(Linebreak)
At the stables, Tuffnut decided to take some flying lessons from Chicken to prepare for his "transformation". He used his elbows as wings and flapped them in rhythm to Chickens own flapping wings.
"Haha, yeah!" He jumps off to fly only to fall face-first onto the ground.
That's when Ruffnut and Snotlout came back. Ruffnut pulls out Snotlout's right arm which has more bites.
"Whoa, awesome! I love the pus! What kind of bite is that?" Tuff asked.
"Sea snake." His sister answered.
"Oh, I don't feel so good…" Snotlout muttered.
Ruffnut compared the two bites. "Another no match."
Tuffnut then remembered something. "Hey, aren't those things supposed to be poisonous?"
Ruffnut disagreed. "Don't think so."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure they are."
"Nope, you're wrong,"
"I'm pretty sure I'm not."
"Oh guys, there's ever pus…" Unable to take it anymore, Snotlout collapsed onto the ground.
"Ha! Told you. Do I know my sea snakes or what?" Tuff said to his sister.
Snotlout groans and writhes in pain, his face twitching.
"That is seriously creepy. Should we check his breathing?" Tuff wondered.
"Ehhh wimp." Ruff called Snotlout. She grabbed him by his foot and dragged him away.
(Linebreak)
Hiccup, Fishlegs and Raeda were in the Clubhouse trying to find anything on the Lycanwing dragon.
"Ugh, well that's it! That's every combination I can think of." Fishlegs sighed in frustration. He set the Dragon Eye down on the table. The moons' rays shining through the doors were able to reach the Dragon Eye, shining through the lens.
The glow caught Raedas' attention. "Wait, look!"
Hiccup got an idea. "Let's try this. Toothless?"
The male Night Fury got up from where he was lying down and stretched before walking to the Dragon Eye. He lit a low light in front of the object and that, combined with the moonlight, created a new projection on the wall.
There was one image that caught the trios eyes. "Now am I crazy, or is that a man with dragon wings instead of arms?" Hiccup asked.
Sure enough, there was an image of a human skeleton with dragon wings on either side.
"Not crazy." Raeda reassured, copying the drawing.
Fishlegs spotted another one. "and there he is again, with a tail to go with the wings. Guys?"
"Can you make out what this says?" Hiccup asked.
Fishlegs read the words. "'No man shall tread on these shores lest he become what he is most feared.' That must be Lycanwing Island."
"And that, my friends, is why we always listen to Gobber." Hiccup said.
"A lesson well learned after the Boneknapper incident." Raeda commented.
"Hiccup, Raeda, this Lycanwing, it could be, well, not a myth." Fishlegs said to them.
Hiccup studied the map on the projection. "That island's not far from here." He looks at the other two.
"Why do I get the feeling we're going on a little Hiccup-Fishlegs-Raeda recon mission?" Fishlegs asked nervously.
"We definitely are." Raeda said.
(Linebreak)
The three of them stopped by the stables get everything they need for the trip.
"OK, guys. If we do happen to run across a Lycanwing, we need to have a really good plan." Hiccup said to Raeda and Fishlegs.
"A dragon with the ability to turn humans into dragons. Sounds everyone for themselves if you ask me." Raeda chipped in.
"How about, 'don't get bitten'?" Fishlegs suggested. "That sounds like a good one to me."
Hiccup agreed to that. "Yup, me too. OK. Lycanwing Island, here we come."
"Lycanwing Island?" He was surprised that Hiccup was a part of this discussion considering the other teens skepticism over the dragon.
Taking a deep breath and making sure the coast is clear, he turned to his beloved pet, ready to confide his secret. A secret that he definitely should have let his sister in on because if Snotlout ever found out, he would strangle him.
"OK, don't tell anyone, but I didn't actually believe it before, I was just trying to mess with their heads, you know, be quirky and eccentric, by giving away my stuff, and locking us in here. Plus, I get along with you." He paced around, now faced with the possibility that the Lycanwing dragon actually exist along with the curse. "How could I know it would come to this? How could I know it was real?!"
He then locked into a staredown with the Chicken. The farm animal, following her instincts tried to move away, only to be grabbed by the blonde boy.
"How could I know?!" Tuff growled, shaking Chicken. "How could I know…"
(Linebreak)
Hiccup, Raeda and Fishlegs reached the island and stood at the entrance of the cave shown from the Dragon Eye.
"OK, Toothless. Give us some light." Hiccup said.
The Night Fury fired a plasma blast into the cave. This caused a bunch of bats to fly out, scaring the three Dragon Riders.
"Hopefully the bats were the only things living in this cave." Raeda commented. She walked into the cave first.
"Let's go, Fishlegs." Hiccup whispered. He then noticed the worried look on Fishlegs' face. "Don't worry. I'll be right next to you the whole time."
(Linebreak)
After a third round of collecting bites, Snotlout, with his right eye covered in bandages, was now leaning on Ruffnut as she brought him back to the stable.
"Alright, this better match 'cause I don't know how much more he can take." Ruffnut said. She then called out to her brother. "Tuff?" Her eyes widened when she saw the room he was staying in. "Do you see what I see, Snotlout?"
"I don't know, I think I've gone blind from all the venom…" Snotlout groaned, collapsing onto the floor.
Ruff paid no attention to him as she stared at the empty room. "He's out, Tuffnut on the loose. This is bad...This is very bad…"
(Linebreak)
Tuffnut and Chicken were in the forest. Now fully convinced that the Lycanwing dragon exists, the Thorston boy isolated himself in the forest and started making noises from the back of his throat. Chicken stared at her owner, wondering if he is sick.
"I can't be contained, Chicken! Look at that moon!" Tuff exclaimed. "A matter of hours, it will finally apex, and I will be transformed into a great scaly beast! With nothing to do but feast on my prey!"
He sniffs the ground and gave out a roar. "Oh! It's like all my senses are alive for the first time! I can feel things! See things! Hear things I've never been able to before! You know what I mean, Chicken?"
"Yes, Tuffnut. I understand."
The Thorston boy gave a yelp in fear as he stared at Chicken. Yes, he always talked to Chicken as if she was someone who could talk back, but with him losing his grip on reality, he is now imagining her with a voice.
"What's the problem? I thought you wanted to converse with Chicken." Chicken continued.
"Ah...oh Chicken, I did! I've longed for this moment…" Tuffnut, picked Chicken and hugged her. "If only it could last forever. But only a fool lives his future in the past. Our time is short, Chicken. Come, our fate awaits."
He took off.
(Linebreak)
Back at Lycanwing Island, the three Dragon Riders and their dragons continue to venture into the cave, with no signs of the Lycanwing or any other dragon.
They did find some writings on the wall. "Beware the beast. Turn back before you become him. Your fate is sealed!" Fishlegs read. He gulped. "Did you hear that, guys?! Our fate is sealed!"
"Our fate was sealed multiple times in the past, but we're still here." Raeda pointed out.
"Fishlegs, we're fine. It's just an old cave drawing." Hiccup reassured him.
Fishlegs didn't listen to either of them. "I can't believe we're gonna die chasing an imaginary dragon."
A rumbling sound caught their attention. They looked up and saw what appeared to be a figure of a dragon.
Fishlegs started trembling. "Guys? There it is!" He gave a tight hug to Meatlug. "If I have to go girl, I'm glad it's with you."
Raeda got her bow ready. "Be ready girl." She gave the signal to her dragon to be on guard, which Sparkfire did.
"Alright, Toothless. Light." Toothless fired a nearby stalactite, giving light to the cavern. This allowed the group, minus Fishlegs who had his eyes closed, discover that they were looking at a shadow of a dragon. A dragon that didn't even move an inch.
Hiccup and Raeda turned back and were surprised by what they saw.
"Look, it's eyes…" Hiccup trailed.
"Definitely wasn't expecting this." Raeda said.
Fishlegs still had his eyes closed. "I am not looking into that thing's eyes, do you know me?!"
"Fishlegs! Would you just look?" Hiccup urged.
"There's no dragon but ours." Raeda added.
Now curious, Fishlegs opened his eyes and looked to where the other two teens were looking. What he saw was a sculpture of a dragon made out of rocks, which was what created the statue. But what caught his attention were the eyes of the sculpture "Hiccup, Raeda, are those...?"
"Dragon Eye lenses…" Hiccup finished.
(Linebreak)
The group made it back to the Edge and found Gobber, who was standing outside the stables.
"Gobber, how's Tuff doing?" Hiccup asked.
"Boy do we have news for him." Raeda said.
"Gone." Gobber answered. "He and the Chicken flew the coop last night, said something about taking flight off the tallest cliff when he went 'full dragon'."
Hiccups eyes widened. "You didn't try to stop him?"
"I was a bit busy." Gobber said.
"Doing what?" Fishlegs asked.
"Extracting sea snake venom from Snotlout." The blacksmith explained. "You should have heard him. He sounded like a yak being turned inside out."
Raeda couldn't help it. "How in the world do you know what that sounds like?"
"Please don't ask him that." Hiccup pleaded. "Well, we better go tell Ruffnut."
"Gone too." Gobber said. "Went to go look for her brother. She seemed to think whether he was a dragon or not he wouldn't survive 'the flight'. Dragged Snotlout with her. Personally, I'm surprised he made the trip. The boy's not looking so well."
(Linebreak)
Ruffnut and Snotlout were in the forest trying to find Tuffnut.
Even though he had the venom extracted from him, Snotlout still wasn't feeling better. "I don't know if Gobber got it all." He groaned. "I'm starting to feel a little woozy, and all I see is fog."
Ruffnut was just getting annoyed with him. "It's foggy, you muttonhead. Hurry up, Snotlout, before Tuffnut jumps off a cliff or something!"
"You think he needs a full Lycanwing to remember all the nasty stuff I said to him?" Snotlout wondered.
Despite the situation, the Thorston girl couldn't help but smirk. "Well, he did say that he was gonna eat you first. Hopefully he'll be quick. No, actually I hope it'll be slow and painful."
Without warning, the man they were looking for suddenly pops down from a nearby tree and roars at them. "I am Lycanwing! Run, run for your lives!"
Unable to take anymore, Snotlout ran away. "Ah! Ah no get away from me!"
"Ugh, oh god." Ruffnut rolled her eyes at the retreating figure before turning to her brother, who was running away. "Tuffnut! Get back here! I command thee...Lycanwing!" She ran after him as she yelled, only to lose him because he was faster. She started slowing down. "Oh...slow down! Slow down…"
(Linebreak)
Having created a large distance between himself and the blonde twins, Snotlout stopped running to catch his breath. He then hears some growling and rustling from a nearby bush. "Huh, is that you? Buddy?"
Suddenly, a creature jumps out from the bushes and lunges at him!
(Linebreak)
Tuffnut and Chicken made it to the Edge of the cliffs. "The apex is upon us! C'mon, do it with me, Chicken! It feels so good!" Tuffnut exclaims.
He looks up at the moon. "And we only have a few moments left till we can fly! FLYYY! Riding high! The currents of the wind blowing through our hair!" He quickly corrected himself. "Ah, I mean, your feathers, you have feathers, not hair-" He went back to shouting. "FREE from the bonds that bind humankind!"
He looks at Chicken. "We have to fly away, right? I would never forgive myself if I ate the other dragon riders. I mean, on the other side though, I'm sure as a dragon I would find them delicious, especially that Fishlegs, good Thor he looks like a marshmallow! Flesh-colored in with a little hair on the top."
He starts making animalistic noises. "Ahhh! It's happening, it's happening, I can feel it! Are you ready, Chicken? Are you finally ready to be free?!"
Chicken was definitely not ready for this. Even though she had wings, there was no way she was going to survive a cliff drop. Unfortunately for her, Tuffnut couldn't pick up on that.
He held Chicken high in the air and extended one of his legs out towards the edge when.
"TUFF! DON'T DO IT!"
Tuffnut took his foot back and glared at Chicken. "Ughhh! We've been through this, Chicken! Don't try and impersonate my sister. We made a pact! I'm doing it and you're coming with me."
Ruffnut pleaded behind him. "Tuffnut, it's me! Look at me, bro! You can fight this!"
"I can't, sis. You don't know the hold it has on me. It has its claws on me." Tuffnut said clutching onto Chicken.
"What if we fight it together?" Ruffnut offered desperately. "We do everything together, we always have! Look, I refuse to spend the rest of my life doing anything alone. Do you hear me?!"
"You always were the brave one. Mom should have named you Tuffnut." He admitted.
"But she didn't. She named you Tuff." Ruff retorted. "I'm begging you! And you know how much I hate to beg, just get down from there!"
But Tuff was still adamant. "It's too late to stop the metamorphosis, can you not see what I've become? MEEEHEHEHE!"
That's when the rest of the Dragon Riders, minus Snotlout, arrived on their dragons. "Tuff, stop!" Hiccup exclaimed, as they landed. He got off Toothless. "There is no metamorphosis, alright?. You are not turning into a dragon. Fishlegs, please tell him."
This time Fishlegs was ready to back him up. "It's true! We found the cave of the Lycanwing."
"There is no Lycanwing dragon. It was just a myth to keep people away from these!" Raeda said, showing him the two Dragon Eye lenses they found.
Tuff still wasn't ready to believe them. He turned towards them. "No. No! I don't believe you. Look at me. I'm hideous, I'm terrifying!"
"Tuff! You're not hideous! Terrifying at times, yes. Hideous? No." Astrid interjected.
"Well, then how do you explain this?" He showed them the bite mark that started this all. None of the others had an answer to that.
That was all Tuffnut needed. "Can't do it, can you, hm? That's what I thought." He turned back to the cliff. "Now, it's time to fly!"
"Wait wait wait wait! Wait! I can explain! I can explain it!" Snotlout shouted. He actually looked worse than before if it was even possible and he limped towards the group carrying a tied up sack with him.
"Whoa, you look worse than I do." Tuffnut commented.
Hiccup noticed the sack. "Uh, Snotlout? What do you have in that bag?"
"I have what did this!" Snotlout showed them his arm, which had a new bite mark. One that was identical to Tuffnuts'!
"Ah! The Lycanwing got him too. Save yourselves!" The Thorston boy exclaimed.
"It's not a Lycanwing. It's not even a dragon!" Snotlout exclaimed. "It's a wolf. And I caught him. You're not turning into a dragon, Tuff."
Tuff's eyes widened. "I'm not? I'm not!"
"That's what we've been trying to tell you." Hiccup said.
"I just made you think that! But it's not true. It's funny, but it's not true." Snotlout added.
Relief came to Tuffnut as he finally believed them. But before he could take a step forward, the ledge he was standing on suddenly broke, causing him and Chicken to fall.
Toothless acted quick and used his gummy mouth to grab Tuffnut by his ankle. Chicken gave a balk as she started to fall.
"No!" Luckily for her, Tuffnut quickly grabbed her by her claw.
"Don't worry, buddy! I've gotchu." He reassured her, hugging her. "We're going home Chicken. We're going home."
Toothless pulled them back up to safety.
"Oh, thank Thor." Hiccup sighed.
Ruffnut runs up to her brother and hugs him from behind.
"Oh I know what you're gonna say, you realized how much you love me, you were scared, you were gonna lose me, and I better never do that again." He said to her,
His twin just smirked. "Actually, I was just going to tell you what an idiot you are. Come here."
She turns him around and in a rare moment in Thorston history, the blonde twins fully hugged each other.
Ruffnut looked past her brother's shoulder, down at Chicken. "Thank you." She whispered. Chicken clucked back, unsure of what she did.
Hiccup looked at the bag containing the wolf and noticed it was empty. "Uh, Snotlout, where's the wolf?"
"Huh?" Snotlout looked at the bag.
The wolf managed to break free and lunged straight at Snotlout, determined to get revenge for its imprisonment.
The air was filled with Snotlouts' screams.
(Linebreak)
"So why is Snotlout getting a two month vacation." Hicca questioned as her brother led her to her Healer hut. Midnight and Toothless stayed behind to catch up on what's been going on.
"You'll understand when you see him." Hiccup said as they entered the hut.
Hicca's eyes widened as she saw the state of the unconscious boy lying down on one of the beds.
"What in Thor's name happened, while I was gone?!" She demanded in a low voice to not wake Snotlout.
"It's a long, crazy story." Hiccup sighed.
Hicca saw the bite marks on his arms. "I don't understand. I left for three days and he got bitten by a Terrible Terror, a Night Terror, a Wild Nadder, a Gronckle...and a wolf. I didn't even know there were wolves on this island."
Hiccup was surprised. "You know what bite mark that is?" He asked, pointing to it.
"Yeah. I know a lot of different bites, which ones are poisonous and how to treat them. I have a whole book filled with information on each bite mark." She pointed to the shelves on the wall filled with different medical books.
Hiccup rubbed his temple. "Snotlout was right, you left at the wrong time." This whole craziness could have been avoided if she was here, or if they looked through her book. Then again, they wouldn't have found the two lenses otherwise.
"When did he say that?" Hicca asked, taking out her kit and medicines.
"Nevermind. For now, let's just keep this conversation and your knowledge on wolf bites to ourselves."