Chapter 31: Turn and Burn
It was a nice peaceful day on the Edge as Hiccup and Hicca were at the forge with their dragons. They were making some adjustments to Hiccup's Dragon Fly Two. Toothless just yawned while Midnight slept.
"So? What do you think, guys?" Hiccup asked to present it to his sister and Toothless with the two Dragon Fly Two.
'Doesn't look that special to me.' Toothless grunted and looked away.
"You got no love for the old Dragon Fly Two?" said Hiccup.
"Well, in his defense he does spend most of the time flying down to catch you whenever it fails, bro. I'm just lucky that I don't fall like that." Hicca pointed out smugly.
"Oh, come on, sis." Hiccup said, looking above his dragon and his twin. "You two love these wings. They let me fly beside Toothless, they only put us in precarious situations when Toothless always has to save me from falling. And it also helped you out when you fell off of Midnight when you two faced the Skrill."
"You just prove my point." Hicca said, crossing her arms. "Besides it only worked for me and Midnight because we're not you and Toothless." She added smugly.
"Whose side are you on?" Hiccup asked with a sigh as Toothless looked at her with a 'Are you serious' look.
"At the moment, my own," Hicca smiled.
"It's terrific!" Hiccup defensively said. The Haddock twins then made their way back to the forge. "All right, I think this is probably gonna need some welding. Hey, bud, can you fire the forge?"
"I got it!" A voice yelled.
Hiccup and Hicca jumped at the sound of it and looked up to see Snotlout and Hookfang on the roof of the forge.
"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled furiously. "How many times have we told you not to sneak up on us like that?"
"Uh, well, if you count now, I would say—I don't care," Snotlout laughed. "Let me like the forge for you." Hookfang snorted indignantly. "'Us'. Let 'us' light the forge for you. Geez, don't be so needy."
"Yeah, I think we're okay." Hiccup said, knowing how this would end.
"Especially after what happened last time when you let Hookfang lit up the forge. There was so much fire we had to stabilize it from scratch." Hicca said in a deadpan tone.
"Hiccup, Hicca, aren't you always complaining that I never do anything around here?" Snotlout questioned. "Well, here I am. Snotlout 'the Volunteer' Jorgenson. Ready to do Thor's work."
Hiccup facepalmed himself. "And that's what we're afraid of."
"You and I both, brother. This will not end well." Hicca groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Watch and learn, guys. Watch and learn." Snotlout said as he positioned Hookfang towards the chimney. "Hookfang, hit it."
'You got it.' Hookfang said as he readied to fire.
"No, no, no, no!" Hiccup and Hicca yelled at the same time.
"Snotlout, you have to build it gradually!" Hiccup yelled.
Unfortunately they were too late as Hookfang sent a blast of flames down the chimney and at once the forge was set alight. Hiccup and Hicca glared up at Snotlout
"What?" Snotlout asked innocently as Hookfang shot another at the fire spreading it even further.
"Stop spitting fire!" Hicca yelled out.
Snotlout flew away from the burning forge and Toothless and Midnight, who had woken up, began to find the fires with their wings. Then suddenly water poured down on top of the forge putting the fires out and they looked up to find the twins riding on Barf and Belch holding a huge tub.
The Thorston twins looked at Snotlout and shook their heads, upset that they forced them to end destruction instead of causing it. Then they flew off without uttering a word. The Haddock twins then turned to Snotlout, who dismounted Hookfang.
"They've changed." Snotlout muttered.
"No, Snotlout, they haven't changed," Hiccup said, trying to keep his anger at bay. "It's just that this is over the line. Even for them."
"Yeah, because now we have to fix at the forge again," Hicca said while crossing her arms. "I'm surprised there are any trees left in the forest. Because we have been going through so much just to make some weapons and rebuild our huts!"
"Relax, guys." Snotlout said, placing a hand on each Haddock twins' shoulders. "Don't get your tunics in a bunch. Everything's fine.
"Oh yeah, it's fine? Is it fine?" Hiccup muttered questionably looking at the burning forge. "Does this look 'fine' to you?"
"This forge is lucky to be in one piece." Hicca added.
"I guess I'm just an optimist, you two." Snotlout said as he approached the forge and tapped a piece of the burning wood.
"More like oblivious," Hicca muttered under her breath.
"I'm what you call a 'hut half un-burned' kind of guy," said Snotlout as he leaned his hand against the wood.
Then suddenly the wooden wall broke apart and he toppled over.
"Oh, for the love of gods," Hiccup moaned, rubbing his temple.
"Well, unless we come up with a way for fire prevention, this forge is coming apart." Hicca muttered.
Snotlout got to his feet and glared at the burnt wood in his hand.
"Down, Skullcrusher!" A familiar voice said.
They turned and found Stoick and Skullcrusher flying down towards them as he landed right in front of them.
"Dad!" The Haddock twins cried.
"We need to talk right away." Stoick said.
"Yeah, sure thing." Hiccup said.
"But first, let us just—" Hicca tried to speak next before she was cut off.
"Not you two, him." Stoick said, looking at Snotlout.
Snotlout blinked and placed a finger against himself.
The Haddock twins were just as surprised as he was. "You wanna speak with Snotlout?" Hicca asked in surprise as their father nodded. "Wow, shocking." She said in surprise.
(Linebreak)
Stoick began explaining that they came because of Snotlout's father, Spitelout, and how he was driving the chief crazy.
Stoick was now pacing up and down. "I mean, your father has always been… well…"
"Annoying?" Snotlout offered.
"Well, that's one way for it." Stoick said in agreement. "'Insufferable' is another. I mean, nothing is ever easy with that man. Always second-guessing me. Constantly trying to show me up. He once nearly burnt down the village even though I told him to mind those torches in the gale winds. Can you imagine?" He asked the others.
"Huh. No, we can't imagine that. Even a little bit." said Hiccup with sarcasm as he eyed Snotlout.
"It boggles the mind." Hicca added in equal sarcasm.
"What?" Snotlout blinked.
"Ever since he joined Astrid's auxiliary Dragon Riders, he's become intolerable on a whole different level." Stoick moanedd
Snotlout scoffed. "Tell me about it, Chief."
"The man certainly has ideas on improving everything," Stoick continued. "Most of which are considerably above his place in the tribe or station in life."
"Way above."
"Most recently, he's been pushing a plan for a secret off-Berk cache of emergency food and supplies."
"That's actually not a bad idea." Hiccup said.
"It actually is a great way to have backup supplies somewhere if the ones on Berk run out." Hicca added in agreement
Stoick growled at them. "You're both taking his side now, are you?" He asked, telling them to choose their answer carefully.
"Uh… no, no. Uh, I just—" Hiccup started.
"We were just thinking!" Hicca finished nervously.
Stoick then sighed and finished what he was saying, "It wouldn't be a bad idea if he didn't persist on telling it to me four times a day," He admitted. "I mean, how could he be so unaware and pig-headed?"
"Uh, welcome to my world," Snotlout commentedd.
They all looked at him with emotionless looks.
"Is he serious?" Hicca questioned as her brother shrugged.
Stoick shook his head. "Anyway, I finally told that old pain in my buttocks to go ahead and start searching. He's taken a number of reconnaissance trips as of late. Then, he went on his most recent expedition."
"And…" Hiccup pushed.
"The bad thing is…" Hicca added.
"He hasn't returned." Stoick answered
"Relax, chief. He's a Jorgenson. He can take himself. Snotlout said dismissively.
Stoick then said, "It's been a month, son." He revealed.
That gave Snotlout actual concern, "A month?!" he yelled in surprise. "You didn't say it was a month. That's my dad out there!"
"Okay, Dad, do you have any idea where Spitelout might have gone?" Hiccup asked.
"Any clues of where he went?" Hicca asked next.
"No, he was too secretive." Stoick said in annoyance. "But I did find this." He pointed out a piece of parchment. They looked at it and it had some strain markings on it, but they were readable. "Can you help me decipher it?"
"Now, clearly it's some sort of coded map," said Hiccup.
"I've seen this before," Snotlout said, recognizing the writing. "But it's not code. It is my dad's bad handwriting and terrible grammar. Why would you dangle a participle like that? And penmanship."
Stoick was starting to get annoyed. "Just tell us where to look and—"
"I'm going with you. I can't stay here when my dad is in trouble." Snotlout said firmly. "What kind of son would I be? Besides, I rub it in his face for once. What a muttonhead."
They watched as he went inside the forge to mount Hookfang.
Hiccup then looked at his father. "Right. Uh, we better tag along for back-up."
"Agreed." Hicca said in agreement.
They then mounted their dragons and took off into the air.
(Linebreak)
Hours later they were sailing across the sea and now the sun was covered by a gloomy overcast. Snotlout was leading them since he was the only one who could understand his father's handwriting.
"Snotlout, I'm sure your dad is fine. And we will find him." Hiccup assured.
"I know he's fine, Hiccup," said Snotlout. "It's my dad, and he's a Jorgenson."
However, that didn't stop him from laughing nervously and whimpering slightly.
"Yeah, and we can tell how calm you are." Hicca said in a dull tone after seeing Snotlout's reaction.
Then they saw an island coming into view.
"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled.
They flew down to the island and when they got closer they could see smoke coming from it. Then they saw a storehouse in the middle of a clearing and Toothless and Midnight snorted.
"Yeah, we see it, you two." Hiccup said to the two Night Furies.
"It's just like the one back on Berk." Hicca noted, "Gotta give it to our uncle, he's got some decent building skills."
"Agreed." Hiccup said in agreement with his sister as the Haddock twins then looked at their father. "Uh. I thought Spitelout was only supposed to be scouting.
"He was." Stoick said, narrowing his eyes.
Hiccup nodded in understanding. "Right."
"Looks like he didn't wait for the go ahead." Hicca commented.
"Um, hello? It's called 'initiative'." Snotlout told her.
"It's called 'insubordination'." Stoick corrected the boy.
"Tomayto, tomato." Snotlout shrugged dismissively.
They landed on the ground in front of the storehouse, it looked quite normal except for a large chunk of metal shaved as a red 'S'.
"Spitelout!" Stoick yelled.
"Dad!" Snotlout yelled.
"Are you here?!" Hicca yelled.
They soon dismounted and searched the area, Hiccup and Hicca went up to the storehouse and opened the door. The place was fully stock of weapons, enough weapons to armor an army of Vikings.
They looked back at the others and simply shrugged.
"The place is already stocked with weapons and supplies. But no Spitelout." Hicca noted.
Then they had a noise in the distance and Stoick signaled his children to look around the storehouse.
Hiccup, Hicca, Snotlout and their dragons ran around the storehouse and there they found a yak next to a catapult grazing. The Haddock twins were slightly confused and then noticed Snotlout frowning.
"What is it?" Hiccup asked.
"And having Asia Fondue." Snotlout said. "Something seems oddly familiar."
Hiccup and Hicca looked at each other then back to Snotlout, Hiccup then said, "Snotlout, are you trying to say 'déjà vu'?"
"Yeah, that's what I said," said Snotlout.
"No you didn't." Hicca muttered under her breath.
The Twins then walked up to the yak, still wondering what it was doing around here.
"Of course." Snotlout said as he finally remembered. "It's a Jorgenson Yakmaster! Nice work, Dad!"
"Okay. Uh, care to fill us in…" Hiccup asked.
"Yeah, we don't even know what 'Jorgenson Yakmaster' means." Hicca added. "Care to give us some details?" She asked.
Snotlout and their dragons approached them. "The Jorgenson Yakmaster is specifically designed…" He started to explain.
Then Snotlout tripped on a rope and at once the Riders and their dragons found themselves trapped in a net. Net had to be quite strong to hold three teenagers, two Night Furies and one Monstrous Nightmare. The yak was suspended in mid-air, from its tail, and still eating.
"Dragon trap," Snotlout finished.
The twins and their cousin then struggled as they tried to free themselves.
"Would you stop that? That's not your arm. That's my arm," said Hiccup.
"Hey, don't go pulling my hair!" Hicca warned.
"Kids, are you all right?" Stoick called as he ran up to them.
"No!" Snotlout cried.
"We're fine, Dad!" Hiccup called.
"But we could use a little help here!" Hicca added.
"Get us out of here!" Snotlout yelled.
Then suddenly they heard a creek and next thing they realized the grass the yak was eating snapped and they shot upwards as the yak was sent flying into the air. It landed far off in the distance, but surprisingly it survived the impact.
Snotlout kept on trying to free himself, but ended up making things worse.
"Oh, this is so much worse." Hiccup grumbled.
"Uh, dad? Can you hurry?" Hicca asked nervously.
"Let me think." Stoick said.
"Hey, so, why does your dad have a dragon trap anyway?" Hiccup frowned.
"Yeah, it's not like we're into killing dragons anymore." Hicca added.
Their questions were soon answered when they heard a roar in the distance.
"Oh, my Thor. Dad?" Hiccup yelled.
"Help!" Hicca added.
Snotlout began to panic, which wasn't helping at all.
"Can you keep it together, Snotlout?!" Hicca snapped.
Stoick turned around and saw an unfamiliar dragon flying overhead. It had a wide, flat body and a long tail. It had four wings, like a Thunderdrum, but the bigger pair being lower on its back. It had a spiky face with chameleon-like eyes, as well as several big, sharp spikes along their backs and tails, where smoke was exiting from it.
"Odin's ghost!" Stoick starred in shock
"We're gonna die. We're all gonna die," Snotlout whimpered. Hiccup and Hicca groaned as Snotlout tried once again to free himself. "We're all gonna die!"
"Not if we have anything to say about it." Stoick said.
Then Stoick mounted Skullcrusher and took off into the sky just as the dragon shot fireballs from its tail. The fireball slammed into them, but they were able to regain control and began chasing after it.
Skullcrusher then starts firing his own fireballs. He struck the dragon, making it lose control and it flew off.
"Chew on that, you fire-snortin' reptile!" Stoick yelled at the dragon.
'Hey!' Skullcrusher roared indignantly.
Stoick then patted his dragon on the back. "No offense, boy."
The boys were still trying to free themselves from the net and Stoick soon landed in front of them. They looked up and saw the dragon flying overhead, it was quite apparent that they hadn't scared it off.
'He sure is persistent.' Skullcrusher commented.
"I see him, Skullcrusher." Stoick said to his dragon as he then drew his ax and turned to face the kids.
"What are you doing? What is he doing?" Snotlout asked fearfully.
"Stay still." Stoick said as he aimed carefully at the net. "This is tricky."
"Do it, Dad. Take the shot!" Hiccup said.
"No, don't take the shot," Snotlout cried. "Didn't you hear what he just said? He said 'tricky'."
"Just keep your head down and your mouth shut!" Hicca instructed.
"I don't know what's worse, that fire-breathing menace or his dragon." Snotlout said in fright.
The Haddock twins then saw the dragon flying back towards them.
"Dad! Look out!" Hiccup cried.
"He's coming back around from behind!" Hicca cried out.
Stoick then turned and saw the dragon heading towards him.
"You've got to leave us." Hiccup said.
"Nonsense. I'm not going anywhere," Stoick said firmly.
The dragon then hovered above the chief and shot a couple fireballs from the end of its tail. Skullcrusher then shot a blast of fire at the fireballs blowing them up in mid-air.
Then suddenly Spitelout appeared riding his Deadly Nadder. "Yes!" Spitlout cried excitedly. "Come and get me, you hideous beast!"
The dragon turned and flew straight towards Spitelout.
"Dad? Dad!" Snotlout cried.
The Dragon kept on firing fireballs at Spitelout, but he was able to dodge them and they began flying over the forest.
"We've seen that dragon before," said Hiccup. "I just can't remember where."
"We know about this sort of dragon somewhere in the Book of Dragons and from some details from the Dragon Eye before Viggo took it. But I can't remember what." Hicca said with a frown.
"Who cares?" Snotlout yelled. "Whatever it is, it's chasing my dad."
"Go, Skullcrsuher!" Stoick roared at his dragon.
Stoick then took off after the dragon and Spitelout, leaving the boys and their dragons in the net.
"And now our dad is chasing it." Hiccup said.
"Would have been nice if they had freed us first." Hicca sarcastically said.
The dragon was still chasing Spitelout, shooting fireballs at him, but he simply laughed mockingly as he dodged them. Stoick tried to keep up, but they were just too nimble. Eventually, however, he was able to catch up to them.
"No, Stoick! Leave us be!" Spitelout yelled at the Chief. "You don't understand."
"Skullcrusher, fire!" Stoick ordered, ignoring Spitelout's warning.
The two dragons blasted the dragon and that's when they discovered that the dragon was able to turn its eyes three hundred and sixty degrees, so now it was staring straight at them. The chief was stunned by this ability.
"Whoa! Can't say I saw that coming." Stoick said in surprise.
Next second the two of them were blasted when the dragon fired fireballs from the end of its tail. They crash landed into the forest, rather painfully.
The dragon then looked forwards and searched for Spitelout, who had vanished. Seeing that its prey had disappeared it flew off into the distance.
The chief made his way to his dragon, who is growling irritably. 'I'm really starting to hate that dragon.'
"I hear ya, boy." Stoick said in understanding. "Me too."
They looked up and saw Spitelout flying overhead.
"Stoick! That thing won't stay gone for long," he said.
Stoick mounted his dragon and followed Spitelout back to the storehouse, where the boys were still trapped.
(Linebreak)
Moments later they landed in front of the childrens.
"Whoa. Some beast, eh?" Spitelout said as they dismounted their dragons. "Been tangling with it for the last—"
"That's all you've got to say, Spitelout? 'Some beast'?" Stoick roared. "You almost got singed alive!"
"I try to warn you about the tail on the eyes, Stoick." Spitelout said defensively. "But as usual, you paid no attention, and did what he wished."
"I did what I wished?" Stoick roared furiously.
"Singetail!" The Haddock twins cried. Everyone turned and looked at them. "What? We remember the name of the dragon."
"I'm no Fishlegs, but the Singetails are Stoker Class dragons that can shoot fire from both the mouth and tail, and not to mention their eyes have the ability to move in any direction to literally always be aware of their surroundings." Hicca explained as she remembered some details.
"That would have been helpful five minutes ago, kids." Stoick said saracatically as he then turned to Spitelout. "But at least it would have actually been helpful."
"You know, I am wracking my brain, Stoick, but I don't recall asking you to come here." Spitelout told him.
"When you disappeared for a month, I took it as an invite." Stoick snapped.
"Oh, don't pretend to care about me. You never have and you never will." Spitelout countered.
Stoick growled and looked as if he was ready to snap Spitelout's head off.
"Anytime you wanna quit arguing, so we could get out of this finger before—" said Snotlout, before Stoick cut the rope above them with his axe.
The children and their dragons on the ground with a massive thud.
"Nice shot, dad." Hicca muttered from the fall.
"Uh, that was a little close, Chief." said Snotlout as he looked over his body for injuries. "Do you see any blood?"
"Doesn't matter, son." Spitelout said as he glared at Stoick. "Stoick is allowed to take whatever ridiculous chances he likes. It's the rest of us who have to stay in line."
"Good point, Dad," Snotlout nodded. He then noticed Hiccup and Hicca glaring at him. "What? You're gonna try and tell me Stoick's not a total control freak?"
"He's the chief." Hiccup reminded their cousin. "And he wouldn't have to be a 'control freak' if others weren't so out of control. Your father's like some kind of reckless renegade."
"And not to mention a completely insensitive loudmouth." Hicca added.
"Reckless renegade and completely insensitive loudmouth? Reckless renegade and insensitive loudmouth!? You know what?!" Snotlout snapped before he then slowly came to a stop. "I like that." He said with a smile.
"Well, you would." Hiccup muttered.
"Why are we not surprised?" Hicca sarcastically added.
"Come, boy-o. I'll show you around the place." Spitelout said. "At least one of you will appreciate my work."
"Yeah, what a jerk," Snotlout said as he ran after his father.
Stoick just narrowed his eyes and growled furiously.
"When I found this place, boy-o, I knew it was perfect," said Spitelout as they made their way to the storehouse. "I was about to head back to Berk when I thought… 'All that's gonna happen is Stoick is gonna insist on seeing it. And then he's going to want to see my plan to construct it. And then he's going to want to change those plans. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again.' By the time all that transpired I could build the darn thing myself. So, I did."
"Ha! That's right, you did," said Snotlout smiling. "Well, I think it's amazing, Dad."
Stoick then walked up to Spitelout furiously. "First off, I wouldn't have picked an island with a fire-happy dragon to build a structure out of wood." He said, reminding them about the Singetail, "Another ill-conceived Jorgenson special."
Spitelout tossed his axe over his head and glared at Stoick. "I checked the island, over and over for anything that might get in the way of the construction." He insisted, "That Singetail only arrived after it was finished! Came out of nowhere. Starting setting fires all over the island."
"Uh-huh." Stoick said skeptically.
"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, it's got the Jorgenson stamp of approval," Snotlout argued pointing at the large 'S' in front of the storehouse, similar to the one on his hut back on Dragon's Edge. "I mean it even got an 'S' on it for 'Spitelout'. Or for… 'Snotlout'." He said, though unsure what the 'S' is for.
Spitelout rolled his eyes. "Uh, storehouse, boy-o. The 'S' is for 'storehouse'." He pointed out.
Snotlout looked slightly embarrassed. "Ha! I knew that." he muttered.
The Haddock twins then approached Spitelout. "You said the Singetail has been setting fire all over the island?" Hiccup asked.
"Aye," Spitelout nodded.
"It's obviously trying to mark its territory if it's causing this much fire on the island." Hicca stated.
"The storehouse was here first!" Spitelout roared.
"You should go and explain that to the Singetail, I'm sure he'll be very understanding." Hiccup sarcastically said.
"Save your breath because we're not staying," Stoick said firmly.
"You would never abandon something you'd build with your own two hands, Stoick." Spitelout spat. "Bit of a double standard, don't you think?"
"Yeah, when was the last time you Haddocks give us Jorgensons any respect?" Snotlout added.
"Respect is earned, son." Stoick reminded Snotlout.
"Okay. Okay. Uh, everyone has their opinions." Hiccup said calmly. "Not saying which ones are correct. Obviously. Spitelout felt this location was a good one."
"It is a good one!" Spitelout snapped.
"Yeah. It is a good one," Snotlout added.
"And… and he says he was on the island first so we should give him the benefit of the doubt." Hicca added..
"'Benefit of the doubt'?" Spitelout glared. "Either you believe me or you don't."
"You two called my dad a liar?" Snotlout asked while looking mad at the Haddock twins.
"Yes," Hiccup said and then quickly tried to collect himself. "I mean, no. "
"What we're saying is, there are five of us and five dragons." Hicca pointed out quickly. "We think that if we work together we can run the dragon off and save the storehouse." She suggested.
They stopped when they heard a whooshing sound and the next second ape barrel was knocked over by a fireball. They looked up and saw that the Singetail had returned and Toothless, Midnight and Hookfang tried blasting it, but it proved too agile.
They watched as it came back for another round and ran for it, but they were stopped when it fired fireballs in front of them and several actually hit the storehouse.
"We have to get into the air! He'll pick us off down here," Hiccup told the others. "Next time he passes by, get to your dragons."
"I'm not waiting for that beast to destroy what's ours!" Spitelout said firmly.
Then he and his son mounted their dragons and took off into the air.
"Okay," Hiccup asked.
"Are you really surprised they didn't listen? Hicca asked her brother.
Stoick walked up to them and looked at his kids. "And what on Thor's green Earth makes you two think they'll listen to you both?" Stoick asked.
"We asked ourselves the same question everyday, dad." Hicca muttered.
They then mounted their dragons and followed after the two Jorgensons
(Linebreak)
Up in the air, the two Jorgensons were battling against the Singetail, but were having very little effect. It was far too agile for them and it was a wood issued fire from its front and rear.
They tried blasting it, but it was as ineffective as anything else and then it fired at them. They were able to dodge the blast and rather that very moment the Haddock twins and their father arrived. It quickly spun around and shot several fireballs from its tail, nearly hitting them if they hadn't been so nimble.
It then spun around and blasted Stoick and Spitelout of their dragons and they began falling towards the island below.
"Dad!" The Haddock twins yelled as the three teens flew down to rescue their fathers.
They managed to rescue the three adults and landed on the ground.
"That thing eyes' are really at the back of its head!" Snotlout announced once they were safely on the ground.
"And not to remind you that it can attack with both its mouth and tail." Hiccup added.
"You've got to admit, this dragon is quite adversarial for something that can look and fire at you from every angle." Hicca commented.
Soon Stoick and Spitelout's dragons landed and they remounted.
"We can take him! Come on, boy-o!" Spitelout told his son.
"No, Spitelout!" Hiccup yelled. "Look, he's an unconventional dragon. Which means we have to fight him unconventionally. It's too strong to take on from the front or behind."
"Meaning, the only place it might be vulnerable is its underbelly, the only place without any scales." Hicca concluded.
"Okay, I'll draw it out." Spitelout said. He then looked at Snotlout. "Boy-o, you get there and take the shot."
"What?" Snotlout blinked. He then realized what his father was planning and nodded. "Yeah. I'll take the shot."
"Guys, Toothless and Midnight are the fastest and have the most accurate blast. We should take the shot," said Hiccup.
"I agree, we've got the best chance with Night Furies." Hicca added.
"I… don't like it. I know this dragon. It should be us," Spitelout grumbled.
"No. Hiccup and Hicca are right." Stoick said firmly. "The five of us draw it out and Toothless and Midnight take the shot. End of story."
Reluctantly, Spitelout agreed with a plan and everyone took off into the air.
As they flew over the island they saw it was now set ablaze.
"See what I mean?" said Spitleout. "The thing sets fires everywhere it goes.".
"Definitely marking its territory." Stoick agreed.
"But if the Singetail were marking its territory, the fires would be more concentrated," Hiccup frowned.
"It looks more random than actually drawing territorial borders." Hicca added in confusion.
"Something's wrong." Hiccup finished.
Unfortunately, the Haddock twins didn't have any time to ponder on this since the Singetail was coming into view.
"There!" Spitelout yelled and rushed straight towards the dragon.
The others, except for Hiccup and Hicca, followed him. The Haddock twins dive down into the forest to get below the Singetail to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. The five riders began blasting the Dragon with their dragon fire, but it wasn't giving up without a fight and kept on firing fireballs at them.
"Keep firing!" Stoick yelled. "Don't let up!"
Hiccup and Hicca flew around them and watched them wearing the Singetail down and they flew down as low as they could go and sword up straight towards the dragon.
"Now, bud!" Hiccup ordered Toothless.
"Go for it, girl!" Hicca ordered Midnight.
Toothless and Midnight prepare to defy each of their plasma blasts, but then they discover something quite unexpected. The Singetail was able to shoot fire from its underbelly as well, through special gills it had on it's chest.
"Toothless! Midnight!" Hiccup yelled as he pulled Toothless back.
"Break off!" Hicca yelled as she pulled Midnight back as well.
They lost control for a brief moment, but two Night Furies were able to stay aloft. The Haddock twins looked over their bodies to make sure that they weren't struck by the flames, but it was perfectly fine.
They watched as the Singetail flew off, though they knew that it would be back again.
Annoyed, Stoick led them back to the storehouse they landed just in front of. He then dismounted Skullcrusher and made his way over to Spitelout, narrowing his eyes.
"What were you doing up there?" Stoick demanded.
"What are you going on about?" Spitelout demanded as he dismounted.
"You said you knew this dragon. Yet you conveniently forgot to tell us about it underbelly."
"Oh, you think I knew about that and would set you up?" Spitelout accused.
"I never know how far you Jorgensons will go." Stoick implied.
"Dad," Hiccup said. Stoick raised a hand to silence him and keep his sister quiet.
"Well, there it is, then." Spitelout said.
"I've had enough of this dragon and this place." Stoick firmly said. "We leave at first light." He then walked off. "Contrary to other thinking, our lives are not worth an empty building."
"Go, then. The four of you. We are staying." Spitelout firmly said.
"What?" Snotlout stared at his father. "Dad?"
Spitelout crossed his arms and put on a firm look. "Jorgensons don't go where they're not trusted or wanted. We'll stay here, protect what's ours."
"Fine, if that's the way you want it." Stoick said.
"It's the way it has to be." Spitlout said firmly in agreement
The three teens watch as their fathers move away from one another. Spitelout headed back towards the storehouse as Stoick mounted Skullcrusher. Reluctantly, the three teens went to join their fathers.
"Hey, Dad? Do you think we should reconsider?" Hiccup asked, looking up at Stoick.
"Yeah, we can't just leave them on their own." Hicca added.
"Nonsense." Stoick said to his kids. "Tired of his pig-headedness. Gets us nowhere, and puts us in danger."
Hiccup and Hicca looked at the Jorgensons. "Snotlout, Spitelout, this is ridiculous," Hiccup cried.
"Yeah. You both are gonna get yourselves killed if you face that dragon on your own." Hicca pointed out..
However the two Jorgensons didn't move a muscle.
"Right." Hiccup said and he and his sister mounted their dragons.
"You two wouldn't want all this to go to waste." Hicca sighs.
They then took off and left them to fend for themselves. Spitelout marched back to his storehouse while Snotlout glanced back at his cousins and uncle.
(Linebreak)
It was evening now and the Haddock family were riding in silence. The Haddock twins then flew up to their father, hoping to persuade him to go back.
"It's him, right?" Stoick asked, as if he was reading Hiccup's mind. "Taking unnecessary chances time and time again."
"Well, but does have a familiar ring to it," Hiccup admitted.
"All-too-familiar." Hicca muttered.
"Well, maybe this will teach him a lesson," said Stoick. "He has to learn, you know? Like a child all you want. But you're a grown man. And grown men must deal with the real consequences of their actions."
The Haddock twins, however, kept on looking at their father and Stoick got a feeling that he wanted to say something.
"What is it, kids? Speak your minds," Stoick said to his children.
"Look, Snotlout is pretty much the same way as Spitelout," said Hiccup.
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Stoick said.
"That we can agree." Hicca said in agreement as she continued. "And it certainly seems he's constantly doing the opposite of what we want him to do." She added.
"Disobeying every single order." Stoick said next.
"Trying to 'one up' and show off." Hiccup said next.
"Couldn't have put it better myself." Stoick said in agreement.
"The thing is, in this particular case, who are they trying to show off to?" Hicca questioned.
Stoick frowned, it was true there was no one around on that island to show off for.
"Well, what we're trying to say is, what if all their craziness and disobedience had nothing to do with them and everything to do with us?" Hiccup suggests and notices their father frowning again.
"Look dad. Just… just think about it." Hicca said. "Snotlout's incident with the forge, that can be directly tied to his desire to prove himself to me in his own twisted way. And Spitelout—"
"What? Puts us all at risk over something so insane as a storehouse that could have been built anywhere at any time?" Stoick question skeptically.
"No, Dad, don't you get it? Spitelout built the storehouse to prove himself to you." Hiccup finished as Hicca nodded in agreement.
Stoick looked to be thinking for a moment and then roared in frustration, seeing their point.
He then suddenly turned around and looked at the three of them. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
The Haddock family then pulled back towards the island, where they could see more smoke emanating directly where the storehouse was.
(Linebreak)
At the storehouse, the Singetail had returned. Snotlout and his dad won the dragons on top of the storehouse ready for fight.
It was then that Snotlout saw the yak that was used for the trap, he looked from the dragon to the yak. He groaned in frustration, knowing he couldn't let him get killed.
The Singetail then fired several fireballs straight at the storehouse and always hit the yak. The Singetail saw the yak below it and flew down straight towards it, but before I could get anywhere near it Snotlout and Hookfang grabbed it.
"Gotcha." Snotlout said.
The yak did even look phased by this, it even acknowledged the attack and simply kept on chewing the grass in its mouth. Snotlout sighed and placed the yak down.
"Now don't move! Stupid yak." Snotlout said, before flying off back to his father.
He soon landed back on top of the storehouse and Spitelout looked at him. "When did you go?"
Before Snotlout could answer, they saw the Singetail soaring down closer towards them. "Wait for it! Wait for it… Now!"
The two of them then blasted the Singetail with their dragon fire causing it to retreat.
"Yeah! That's it, Dad!" Snotlout cheered. "We got him on the run…"
Then suddenly there was an explosion and they saw the Singetail flying overhead shooting down fireballs with its tail upon the storehouse. It was then that they realized that this wasn't the same Singetail, it was a second one.
"Watch out, there's two of 'em!" Snotlout yelled.
"I see that! Keep firing!" Spitelout ordered.
They kept on blasting the two Singetails, but there were just simply too much for them. They just kept on shooting at them until finally the storehouse was set ablaze.
"We're losing ground," Snotlout cried.
The two Singetails then fired more fireballs at them and this time they barely dodged in time. It was then that they saw through the smoke the Haddocks returning.
"Is that… Dad, look! Behind you!" Snotlout cried.
Hiccup, Hicca and their father began blasting at the Singetails causing them to fly off. Spitelout just stared at them as they landed on the storehouse.
Stoick looked at him. "What? You wanna save what's yours or not?!"
The five and then took off and flew straight at the Singetails.
"Another one?" Hicca asked in surprise.
"Where did the second one come from?" Hiccup asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it was drawn to the fires?" Snotlout suggested.
The Haddock twins then have the same idea from what Snotlout just said. "Yes! That's it, Snotlout." Hiccup cried.
"Of course, why didn't we see this before?" Hicca said as they then looked down at the forest which is now ablaze. "It wasn't marking its territory with the fires. It was calling for back-up!" she pointed out.
"Well, the five of us can take down two Singetails," Stoick said firmly.
"What about three?" Snotlout asked, pointing as a third Singetail appeared.
Hiccup looked around and saw them heading their way. "Or four?"
Hicca then saw one more heading straight towards them. "How about five?"
They tried to fend off the Singetails, but there were just too many of them.
"Dad!" Hiccup cried.
"Father! We need to retreat!" Hicca cried out.
"No! We stay! We hold! We fight!" said Stoick firmly.
Spitelout then flew towards him. "There's too many of them, Stoick."
"We can do this, Spitelout!" Stoick insisted.
Spitelout looked into the sky and saw how their boys were getting overwhelmed by the Singetails. "No, we can't. And we won't." They looked down at the burning storehouse. "It's okay, chief. We will find another island."
"And we'll build another storehouse." said Stoick.
"Together." Spitelout finished.
"Skullcrusher!" Stoick yelled and they began to fly away from the island.
Snotlout gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Thor! Now, let's blow this yaksicle stand!"
"Couldn't agree more, Snotlout." Hicca said in agreement.
"Right behind you!" said Hiccup.
Then they follow their fathers.
Then Snotlout heard a mooing and looked down to find the yak still grazing, despite the forest around it on fire. He grumbled and flew back down and grabbed the yak.
They all looked at him as he returned with the yak in Hookfang's claws.
"What? I had to go back for the Yakkity," said Snotlout defensively. The yak mooed. "Hey! What a reseller talking back?"
"Wait!" Stoick said, coming to a halt.
"What is it, Dad?" Hiccup asked.
Stoick then flew back towards the island they all looked at each other confused, they had no idea why he would return. The answer soon came clear when Stoick emerged out of the smoke holding the metal 'S' in Skullcrusher's claws.
"Can't rebuild a storehouse without the 'S', right?" Stoick smiled.
"Even though it stands for 'Spitelout'." Spitelout muttered under his breath and then laughed.
"Good one, uncle!" Hicca laughed.
They all laughed and flew away from the burning island behind them.