Chapter 47: The Longest Day
On an unknown island, a band of Hunters had landed as they were creating a new outpost on the island. Then they notice a wounded dragon on the shore, one that they have not seen before.
It was a medium-sized dragon with iridescent blue and purple scales and wings, as well as light undersides. It had a round head and triangular fin-like spines on its backs and tails, while its feet were armed with long, black claws.
Seeing an easy capture, the Hunters grab their weapons on the net and start to approach the wounded dragon.
"What have we here?" A Hunter asked in interest.
"Never seen one of these before." A second Hunter said.
It then cried in pain and looked as if it had broken one of its wings, which was lucky for them as they gave a smirk to each other.
"Relax, little one." The first Hunter said. "We just want to introduce you to our friend Viggo. You're going to love him."
Then they heard movement within the bushes and turned and seconds later they screamed as something pounced on them.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, on Berk, the villagers were very busy with offloading ships and doing farm work. Strangely technically it was the middle of the night, but the sun was still shining.
It was a bizarre phenomenon that happened once every year. The Vikings could not explain it, but somehow the sun shines during the night for about two weeks. Of course this meant that the Vikings could get very little sleep, but also meant that they could get a lot of work done at the same time.
"Hard to believe it's the middle of the night." Hiccup said, looking up at the sun.
"With the sun still out, it's hard to tell which time it is." Hicca commented.
"I love the Midnight Sun. Constant sunlight for two weeks." Stoick smiled as he placed his arms over his kids. "Our most productive time of the year." He added with a chuckle.
"You're in my way." An angry villager with a beard said.
"No, you're in my way." Another angry villager with a mustache said.
They turned and saw two villages arguing holding bags under each arm.
"Aye, for the first week." Gobber said as Stoick made his way to sort it out. "But we're in day eight, when things can start to get a wee bit crazy."
The two villages were now practically kissing as they glared at each other in the eye.
"Are you calling me a liar?" The bearded villager questioned.
"Yeah, I'm calling you a liar." The mustache villager answered.
"I've had enough of this." The bearded villager said as the mustache villager then pushed him back with his stomach.
The mustache villager glared at him and kicked him in the stomach and then drew his sword. Fortunately, Stoick chose that time to show up and grab the blade.
"Hey. All right, you two." Stoick said as the two villagers snapped out of it as they grabbed the bags. "Back to work. We've got a lot of catchin' up to do now that the trade lanes are open again." He said as he then placed the mustache village's sword onto the weapons rack in Gobber's shop.
"The only downside is that the midnight sun doesn't help other people sleep with the sun still up." Hicca stated, since the Midnight sun may be a protective time, but the only downside is that nobody can get any sleep with the sun still shining. "Which in turn causes sleep deprivation with unique symptoms for everybody."
"Yep. Lack of sleep. It gets to everyone eventually." Gobber said to the Haddock twins as he pointed to a direction. "Poor Gothi, she's been babbling for days now."
Hiccup and Hicca turned and saw that Gothi's eyes were wide open and she had written what looked like an entire book in the Plaza.
"Yeah. we see what you mean," Hiccup nodded.
"I've never seen her like that before." Hicca said in concern for her Healer mentor.
"And Sven's one-out half his flock on the dance floor." Gobber added while pointing to another direction.
The Haddock twins turned and saw that Sven was actually dancing with his sheep and was doing a rather nice tango.
"The lad is pretty normal for him, though." Hiccup pointed out.
"Nothing new there." Hicca shrugged as Sven always did something strange with his sheep flock as he leaned his sheep back, who got bleats in response.
"Yeah, you're right." Gobber nodded in agreement.. "Bad example. Nice move. But lack of sleep gets to us all eventually. Even you young'uns."
"That's why we Astrid and the others back to the Edge to do the simplest job possible. Wash their dragons," Hiccup said proudly. "There's no way they could screw that up."
"Yeah, washing dragons is so simple that even the Thorston twins couldn't mess it up." Hicca said confidently.
(Linebreak)
Unfortunately, the Haddock twins were quite wrong in that regard. On the Edge, the Riders were already suffering from lack of sleep which was proven when Heather ran towards Windshear and toppled over dropping the bucket of water she carried.
"No!" Heather yelled as she fell and Windshear managed to catch her, but ended up completely soaked and the bucket struck her head.
"Oh, so close from that time." Henry commented, leaning against Lockjaw.
The Thorston twins were watching the spectacle with great intrigue.
"Uh, been trying to wash that dragon all day." Tuffnut said. "Poor thing." He said in a sympathetic tone.
"So tired, she can't see straight." Ruffnut nodded as she scribbled something down in her notebook.
Then Astrid came zooming around and shouting excitedly. She was moving so fast that he almost hit the twins and then landed at the dome spectacularly still screaming excitedly.
"Ah, hello, everyone." Astrid greeted joyfully as he jumped off Stormfly and began dancing around. "What a glorious day to groom our amazing dragons." She said
"Technically, I think it's night." Fishlegs said as he was giving Meatlug a manicure.
"Well, then what a glorious night." Astrid said, stretching her arms with a large smile on her face.
Snotlout gave her a creeped out look as he approached the shield maiden. "What's going on with her? She's not this nice, ever." He noted as Astrid danced around.
"Yeah. Astrid's never been this happy in her life and she never dances like she's a pageant dancer." Raeda pointed out in concern, having known Astrid for a long time.
"Uncontrollable euphoria." Tuffnut answered. " sleep-deprivation symptom."
"And you know this how?" Fishlegs asked rather surprised.
"Yeah, how do you guys know what Astrid's suffering?" Henry asked with a raised brow.
"Suffering?!" Astrid exclaimed as she popped up next to Henry, causing him to jump, "What are you talking about Henry?! I feel amazing!" She cheered excitedly while giving a wide smile.
Henry feels creeped out by Astrid as he backs away from her a bit. "Uh, okay, Astrid. If you say so." He said in a little creeped out tone before turning to the Thorston twins. "But seriously, how did you two know about this?"
"Uncle Gorstagg." Tuffnut simply said. "He had insomnia for 27 years."
"Yeah, we're experts on the field." Ruffnut said.
"Well, Hicca's not here so we'll take your word for it." Henry said in agreement.
Fishlegs then looked at Astrid, "Astrid, have you slept recently?" He asked.
"Nope. Not a wink." Astrid said joyously. "But I feel so amazing. It's like I have wings." She then started to flap her arms as if they were wings. "I feel so good. I feel so good!" She cheered.
She then began jumping around the dome wrapping her arms as if she was trying to take off.
"Yep. She's lost it." Raeda declared.
Fishlegs looked at the Thorston twins. "We're not all gonna get all like this, are we?" he asked.
"Hello. Oh, you're so cute." Astrid said and started to make kissing sounds as she fell face first into the ground. She then rolled on her back and began making snow angels, except without the snow. "Ooh, I love dirt. I love dirt." She said as she chuckled.
Stormfly growls in concern for her rider. 'Astrid?'
"Sleep deprivation is a multifaceted disorder." Tuffnut explained.
"Multifaceted, lots of facets, why array of symptoms," said Ruffnut.
"Yeah, take Heather." Tuffnut said, gesturing to Heather, who was having problems with moving. "For her, it's a lack of coordination." Heather gave a confident look as she outstretched her leg, but then she soon toppled over face first.
"Yup, there she goes. Verdict could be anything from mood swings to complete catatonia, you know, cold ankles. A rash around your neck that extends down your back to your buttocks."
Snotlout was busy brushing down Hookfang, but then suddenly he tossed the brush away and began to hug him. "I love you, Hooky. You're my everything. You're the reason my heart beats." He then shot up. "Do you hear that? That's all you." He then began to laugh uncontrollably and then started crying uncontrollably. "I want my mummy." He whimpered as Hookfang just gave him a deadpan expression.
"Like I said, mood swings." Tuffnut said. "Though there can be a symptom where someone has become so obsessed with their own hobbies that they get inspired by the most unethical things, hobbies like making weapons, fishing, planning, or maybe…" He trailed off as they heard Raeda painting something on a stone.
"Uh, whatcha doing there, Raeda? Aren't you supposed to clean Sparkfire?" Henry asked in concern.
"No time! I'm just a stroke away from the greatest artwork there is!" Raeda yelled out in excitement as she turned to the others, who flinched at her as she showed her stone, which revealed to be a painting of just a tree.
"A tree?" Fishlegs asked in confusion.
"Not just a tree, but a masterpiece!" Raeda announced as she then gasped in excitement again. "And I got other ideas to do! So many images in my head!" She yelled as she then started painting on the ground, stone or on the wall as the others looked at her a little freaked out.
"Yep. Raeda's so tired that she's obsessed with painting everything around her." Tuffnut said. "Now, there are other symptoms."
"Uncle Gorstaag. He got totally paranoid." Ruffnut said.
"Really? Paranoid?" Fishlegs asked suspiciously. The Thorston twins and Henry gave him a confused look. "Why are you all looking at me like that? Don't look at me." He then began to walk away nervously. "There's nothing to see here. Walk away. Walk away. Just walk away." He told himself.
"Oh boy." Henry facepalmed.
Ruffnut wrote that in her notebook. "Hmm, could've predicted that one." She said with a small smile.
"Yeah, still gonna be fun to watch though." Tuffnut said, folding his arms. "What about you Henry, feeling tired?" He asked the Grimborn boy.
"Actually, no. I'm not tired at all." Henry answered with a shrug.
"Seriously?" Tuffnut asked in surprise.
"Seriously." Henry answered simply.
"How come you aren't tired like the others?" Ruffnut asked in curiosity.
"Do you two muttonheads forget who you're talking to?" Henry asked with a raised eyebrow. "I was out on my own before I was founded by the Defenders of the Wing. I don't know how long I was out on my own, but before that, my father trained me to handle any outcome if I ever lead the Dragon Hunters in his stead, which I don't. And when I defected, I was in the harshest places, so I had to find ways to stay awake or find a way to sleep if something like the Midnight Sun keeps me awake." He explained.
"Wow, that is actually pretty impressive." Tuffnut said in awed.
"Thanks, but what about you two?" Henry asked. "How come you muttonheads aren't acting like the others yet?" He wondered.
"Luckily, our Thorston constitution makes us immune." Ruffnut answered with a smirk.
Tuffnut laughed smugly. "Suckers." He said to the others.
Henry rolled his eyes at them. "This is gonna be one crazy long day, err, night." he commented as he watched the Riders make fools of themselves.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile at Berk, the Haddock twins were having dinner with their father and they too were suffering from sleep deprivation, though it wasn't as noticeable as the other Riders. As the three of them eat, Toothless and Midnight lay down next to each other and try to get some sleep.
"Dad, we need to talk to you about something." Hiccup said.
"It's something we've been thinking about lately." Hicca added.
"All right. What's on your mind, kids?" Stoick asked as he ate.
"We need to borrow the Auxiliary Dragon Riders." Hiccup answered.
"We'll have them back before you even know they're gone." Hicca assured. "It will be quick."
"Is that right?" Stoick asked after taking a stiff drink. "And, uh, why would you both need to borrow my A-team?" He asked
Hiccup placed his mug down. "Oh! Well, we just wanna get them tuned up, you know, checking on their training." He explained.
"Yeah. We just wanna make sure that they aren't losing practice." Hicca added.
"Uh-huh. I see." Stoick said, sounding unconvinced.
Hiccup then stretched his arms tiredly. "Okay, great, thanks. Come Hicca, let's head back." He said as he then got up, but then noticed Hicca didn't move as she looked down at her food before taking a bite of bread. "Hicca?" He repeated.
"Uh, what?" Hicca asked as she got her head up. "You said something?" She asked in confusion as she drank some water.
"I said let's head back to Dragon's Edge." Hiccup repeated.
"Oh, right. Sorry. Didn't hear ya." Hicca said as she got up, which woke Midnight and Toothless up.
"Uh, just one wee little thing, kids." said Stoick.
"Um, okay," Hiccup said nervously, turning towards him.
Hicca however, kept going as she hit the door. "Ow!" She said as she rubbed her head. "I thought the door opened." She said in a tired tone.
"First of all, let me just say, you're a terrible liar, son. And that you aren't focused on your surroundings, daughter." Stoick said.
Hiccup frowned. "I'm not sure we'd follow." He said. uncertainty.
Hicca raised an eyebrow at them. "Yeah, I'm not sure what you are saying, Hiccup." She said, which made Hiccup turn to his sister in confusion.
"What?" Hiccup asked. "Hicca, Dad was the one who said that." He told her.
"He did?" Hicca asked.
"Yeah, he did." Hiccup answered.
Hicca then slapped her cheeks. "Sorry, I'm so exhausted that I can't focus." She said as she yawned.
"And that proves my point." Stoick said. "But I think you both still follow. I think you both follow me just fine." Stoick said as he cut a piece of chicken meat off. "We all know you two want to go after Viggo."
Toothless and Midnight looked between the Haddock twins and Stoick and were starting to look very nervous with the tension in the room. They then decided that it was probably best to stay out of it and tried to sleep again.
"Okay, let's say we did. Could you blame us?" Hiccup confessed. "I mean, he didn't just attack us and the Riders. He went after Berk, after innocent people, Dad." He reminded
"Not to mention that he almost drowned Hiccup when he tried to stop us from freeing the Submaripper that nearly brought all of Berk into a famine. He needs to pay for that, Dad." Hicca added as she remembered what Viggo just did to them just recently almost a week and a half ago.
"Okay, let's say I agree. Let's hear both of your plans." Stoick said.
"Our plan? Simple. Wipe him and his dragon-hunting psychopaths off the face of the Earth. Kaboom!" Hiccup yelled.
"We go in dragon blazing and give Viggo everything we got and take him and the Hunters down." Hicca added with a wide smile.
Stoick continued to eat his meal. "Kaboom, dragon blazing, huh? Interestin'. Not many movin' parts, are there? Not much plannin' in your plans." He commented.
Hiccup shrugged. "Who needs planning? We have dragons." He dismissed with a shrug.
"Yeah, if we get as many of our allies, Viggo will never be able to think of a plan if Toothless and Midnight take the lead." Hicca added as she gestured to the two Night Furies.
Toothless and Midnight just lifted their heads, clearly not liking the plan.
Stoick looked at his kids. "So this basically boils down to revenge?"
"See? I knew you'd understand," said Hiccup smiling.
"That sounds about right." Hicca nodded.
They then were about to make their way to the door, but Stoick coughed. "Hiccup, Hicca." He said just as they opened the door. He then rose to his feet and placed his hands on the table. "There will be no revenge against Viggo Grimborn." He said simply.
Hiccup closed the door as he and his sister turned to face him. "What? What do you mean?" He frowned.
"Yeah, Dad. Why not?" Hicca asked in surprise. "You love revenge. Revenge is your thing. Weren't they going to name you Stoick the vindictive before…" She stopped himself and gestured to his stomach. "Well, you know."
"Keep my weight out of this." Stoick warned.
"Sorry." Hicca apologized quickly.
"Look, all we're saying is if anyone deserves it, Viggo does. And we're the only ones that can exact it." Hiccup continues.
"Perhaps," said Stoick as he approached his son. "But what comes after that? Viggo's revenge? Then our revenge on his revenge? It's pointless, kids. Trust me. I know."
"Dad, since Viggo has had the Dragon Eye, he's used it to enslave hundreds of dragons, to attack us and the Riders, time and time again." Hiccup said frustratingly.
"And not to mention he's been using it to make a new formula for Dragon Root, nearly captured the Screaming Death and rediscovered an ancient disease that nearly killed Astrid." Hicca added. "It has to end. We need to get it back."
"Ah! So it's the Dragon Eye you want," Stoick said, nodding as if he finally understood what was eating away at his children.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Hiccup sighed, "But a little revenge would go a long way to—"
Stoick stopped him there and placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "I won't lie to you, kids. A good measure of vengeance can go down a treat." He then chuckled. "I mean, there have been times that I…"
"Uh, Dad?" Hiccup pressed.
"You're trailing off on us." Hicca said.
"Oh, oh, right." Stoick said, realizing that he left the conversation to wonder. "But that feeling is short-lived. And the violence only gets worse. So, I agree. We must reclaim the Dragon Eye, but come back to me with a plan to do that, and that alone."
He noticed the look on the Haddock twins' faces as they made their way outside. Clearly they weren't thrilled that he refused to allow them to exact their vengeance, but he also realized that they were suffering from sleep deprivation.
Stoick then turned to Toothless and Midnight, who had gotten up and were following Hiccup and Hicca. "Keep an eye on them, dragons." He ordered.
'Got it.' Midnight warbled with a yawn.
'Sure thing.' Toothless also yawned as they ran off after the Haddock twins.
(Linebreak)
Later that day, the Haddock twins, Midnight and Toothless, were making their way back to the Edge. Hiccup was still a little annoyed that his father refused to allow him to exact his vengeance upon Viggo while Hicca just looked off in the distance.
"And you know what, guys? Why am we even asking' for permission?" Hiccup asked angrily. "It's our war against Viggo. Our dad just doesn't understand, Right Hicca?" He asked his sister but didn't get a reply. "Hicca?" He repeated.
Hicca wasn't listening as she stared at the clouds, "Wow, the clouds are so white and fluffy today." She commented.
"Oh gods." Hiccup groaned.
Toothless had been hearing Hiccup's conversation ever since they left Berk and he was starting to get tired of it. 'Yeah, he sure doesn't understand.' He warbled sarcastically.
Midnight looked at Hicca in concern as she was too tired to pay attention to anything. 'Toothless, these two are so tired that they can't think right or focus on anything.' She warbled in concern.
'Gee, what gave that away, genius?' Toothless moaned with an eye roll.
'Excuse me? Are you saying I'm stupid?' Midnight asked with annoyance.
'Oh I'm sorry, do I need to speak more clearly?' Toothless warbled at her snidely.
'Yeah, I think you should. Because I think you are not making sense like the Thorston twins.' Midnight retorted with a scowl.
'Well pardon me.' Toothless excused with a grumble. 'Point is, we need to keep these two from killing themselves.'
'That's exactly what I just…' Midnight trailed off as the two Night Furies then heard a distant screech in the distance and turned towards it.
"Whoa! What is it, guys?" Hiccup asked, slightly shocked with the sudden turn.
"What's wrong with you two?" Hicca asked, jolted out of her cloud gazing.
He then heard the distant cries of a dragon. "Sounds like a dragon in trouble." He then shook his head. "I must be tired. I almost missed that." He said.
"Miss what?" Hicca asked before she shook her head. "What am I saying? A dragon is in distress." She said as she shook her head.
They then dive down towards the island below them and there they saw a wrecked Hunter's longboat. There was also wreckage on the beach as if there was a massive battle, but no sign of the Hunters.
"Dragon Hunters." Hiccup said as they landed. "High alert, bud."
"They might still be around." Hicca added.
Then they saw the wounded dragon just off the shore. Where they were it looked as if it had broken away, but he didn't recognise the species.
"All right, watch our backs." Hiccup said to Toothless as he dismounted from him but then noticed Hicca was looking out to sea. "Um, Hicca? Are you gonna get your medical supply or…"
"Huh?" Hicca blinked before shaking her head, "Medical supply? Why? Is there a dragon hurt?" She asked, looking around. Hiccup groaned before pointing to the unknown dragon, "Oh an injured dragon. Why didn't you say something?" She asked.
Hiccup facepalmed himself. "I just did." He groaned.
Hicca then grabbed her satchel as they started to make their way slowly towards the wounded dragon.
"Hey there, little guy. It's okay," Hiccup assured calmly. "Whatever happened, it's over now. We're here to help you." He added
"Is there something wrong with your wing?" Hicca asked calmly. "I'm sure we can fix that."
Then suddenly three more dragons of the same kind jumped out of the bushes and growled at them.
"Uh…" Hiccup said as he and Hicca slowly backed away.
"Hi…" Hicca waved nervously.
They then pounced.
The Haddock twins then saw that Toothless was about to fire a plasma blast "Whoa!/Hit the dirt!" They yelled as they ducked out of the way.
The blast slammed into one of the dragons which was sent flying towards the other two knocking them down. Then Hiccup and Hicca noticed the wounded dragon was getting back onto its feet.
"You're not hurt!" Hiccup yelled.
"You were just playing possum!" Hicca yelled in shock as they jumped away just as it tried to take a bite out of them. Toothless and Midnight then jumped straight towards it.
"Whoa, Toothless." Hiccup eased.
"Easy, Midnight." Hicca said.
The two Night Furies placed themselves between the Haddock twins and the dragon as they growled angrily with their mouth glowing.
'Back off!' Toothless growled.
'You won't hurt them!' Midnight growled next.
The dragon quickly backed away and joined its brethren.
"No, guys!" Hiccup yelled as he and Hicca ran towards them. Toothless and Midnight automatically stopped what he was doing. "They might just be scared, or defending their friend." He explained.
"Remember, we're the ones who're the threat to them." Hicca reminded them that from these dragons' perspective, they were the intruders.
The dragons then retreated back into the bushes clearly not wanting to tangle with Toothless. Toothless then looked at Hiccup and roared at him looking clearly annoyed.
"Thanks for having our backs." Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his head. "Clearly, our reaction time isn't what it should be." He said.
"And my focus isn't as sharp as it used to be." Hicca said as she glanced to the side, "Hey, is that a medicinal plant?" She wondered as Hiccup groaned again.
Hiccup then saw something as he tapped Hicca's shoulder. "Hey, sis. Look." He said as Hicca turned to where Hiccup was pointing.
The Haddock twins then looked to where they were treated and saw the large mountain in the distance. Toothless and Midnight growled at them.
'We need to leave.' Toothless warbled.
'It's starting to be clear that this island is not safe.' Midnight warbled next.
"Oh, come on. You both know we're going after those dragons." Hiccup said. "I mean, we have to help them."
"If there are Hunters here, they're in danger." Hicca told them, "So work with us here and keep both your eyes open." She said as they walked away
Toothless and Midnight rolled their eyes. 'If the Hunters were here, don't they think they would've brought their gear with them?' Toothless warbled.
'I think you mean, we would've seen their gear around here?' Midnight corrected him.
'Of course I did, that's what I was going to say.' Toothless told her.
'No, you said… Oh forget it. Let's follow our riders.' Midnight warbled with an annoyed expression as they reluctantly followed the Haddock twins into the forest and towards the mountain.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, things were still hectic at the Edge, Fishlegs was scrubbing Meatlug, but he spent most of the time looking over his shoulder and even suspicious looks at everyone.
'Oh this, nice.' Meatlug growled at him affectionately, but Fishlegs took the meaning rather differently.
"You hear that? They're out there and they want to know my dragon knowledge." Fishlegs accused, "They're gonna peel my skull open like an onion and extract years of research valuable information."
"Here I come!" Astrid yelled, making him jump. "Whoo!"
Astrid was swinging on a rope holding a maze and was going around the dome like a mad lunatic. She then somersaulted and landed on several stack barrels. She then pulled out two more maces out of nowhere and pointed them at everyone.
"All right, people." Astrid said, looking at them all seriously. "Time to put those whiny attitudes. We're about to turn those frowns upside down." She declared.
Astrid then began to juggle the maces and everyone stared at her without saying a word. Until Henry spoke, "Um Astrid, how is juggling maces supposed to help clean Stormfly?" He asked.
"It's not! It's just for fun!" Astrid cheered as she kept juggling as Snotlout then approached her and smiled at her affectionately.
"Astrid, you're a miracle, a goddess sent from Valhalla." Snotlout said as his expression then suddenly changed and he looked depressed. "Us mere mortals are not worthy to be in your presence." He then fell to his knees. "Not worthy at all."
The Thorston twins just watched with fascination as the drama unfolded.
"You can't put a price on entertainment like this." Tuffnut said.
"I mean, you can, but who would want to?" Ruffnut asked.
Snotlout then looked at Astrid seriously as if he was her father. "Stop right now, young lady! You'll pull an eye out." He scolded.
"See? Mood swings." Tuffnut said.
"Okay, this is getting a lot weirder." Henry said in concern.
Snotlout then gave a mischievous look and began shaking the barrels laughing. Naturally this caused Astrid to slip off the barrels and the maces flew up into the air. She then landed right on top of Snotlout, but before the maces could land on top of her, Stormfly fired several spine shots, deflecting two of them. The last one landed right on top of Snotlout's helmet.
"Ow!" Snotlout groaned.
Henry came to them in concern. "Are you two okay?" He asked.
Astrid then began to laugh hysterically and Snotlout soon joined in and began hitting himself with a mace.
"Alright, forget weird, this is getting freaky." Henry commented as he backed away a bit. "Raeda, are you doing fine?" He asked as he turned to the Henderson girl.
He then saw a bunch of random paintings on rocks and random objects and art supplies scattered, "Hey Henry! Check out my latest Masterpieces!" Raeda yelled out as she showed her art to him with some splashes of paint on her.
"Oooookay." Henry said slowly as he backed away from her as she started work on her next piece.
"Thank goodness," Snotlout smiled. "Let's all hope we never have to go through that ag—"He was soon stopped when the two of them got completely soaked by water.
They looked at Heather, who had tripped and spilled all the water on top of them.
"Sorry." Heather apologized with a sheepish smile.
"Why? Why would you do that?" Snotlout whined.
The dragons turned one another. 'Okay, it was funny at first, but now I'm getting worried.' Hookfang snorted.
'I'm with you, Hookfang.' Sparkfire agreed.
"Well, looks like they've all gone Gorstaag." Ruffnut said, making more notes in her notebook.
"For once, I agree with you." Henry said in agreement.
"Not all," Tuffnut said as he and his sister stood up.
The two of them then looked at each other with smirks.
"Not all, indeed." Ruffnut agreed.
"Are you feeling tired, sis? Eyelids getting heavy?" Tuffnut asked, folding his arms.
They then slammed their helmets against one another and looked each other directly in the eyes.
"I could stay up for weeks," Ruffnut challenged.
"Me too. Months, in fact." Tuffnut boasted.
"Oh, yeah? Looks like it's on." Ruffnut challenged.
"I would say, indeed." Tuffnut said.
Barf and Belch shook their heads, 'They're gonna crack soon.' Barf said.
'Yup, real soon.' Belch agreed as they watched as Heather tripped again and spilled more water from her buckets.
Henry facepalmed himself. "As if these guys are crazy enough as it is." He said as he shook his head.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, the Haddock twins and the Night Mates were still exploring the island looking for the dragons that ambushed them, despite Toothless and Midnight's protests. Hiccup then saw some broken twigs on the ground and then down to examine.
"Ooh, did you find something?" Hicca asked.
Then they heard the sound of a dragon close by and Hiccup pulled out his spyglass. He saw the unknown dragons gathering around close by and judging from the way they were moving they wanted them to follow them.
Hiccup held a hand signal up to inform his sister and their dragons to move out slowly and quietly. They soon reached the clearing where Hiccup saw the dragons, but there was no sign of them. He then noticed their footprints and saw that it led to a canyon.
The two dragons looked at the canyon, 'This is obviously a bad sign.' Toothless warbled.
'What gave it away?' Midnight retorted as Toothless scowled.
"Yeah, I know, it's pretty tight." Hiccup said, reading Toothless' mind while thinking Midnight is the same way. "We better go around it."
"And hope we don't get caught." Hicca added.
They were about to go round the canyon, but the Night Mates sensed something. Seconds later, three of the dragons appeared out of the bushes blocking their escape.
"Oh, what the…" Hiccup groaned. He then realized that they had fallen straight into a trap and that was what Toothless and Midnight was concerned about. "Okay, so this is what you were worried about. Look, guys. They haven't really done anything."
"I agree, nothing bad has happened to us right now." Hicca said in agreement.
A few seconds later the dragons then fired several fireballs into the sky which then exploded sending hot molten lava towards them. Toothless and Midnight quickly raised their wings to protect the four of them and then counter-attacked with plasma blasts.
The Haddock twins noticed that the tree in front of them was burning away from the fireballs they fired. Clearly with some form of lava blast like Meatlug's only lot more refined.
"Now they've done something," Hiccup said.
"Should've kept our big mouths shut." Hicca added as the Haddock twins looked at their dragons.
Seconds later the dragons reappeared and fired at them once again and they jumped back before the fireballs could land on top of them. Then two more jumped out of the bushes joining the three that were already attacking.
"How many of these guys are there?" Hiccup groaned.
"They just keep showing up out of nowhere." Hicca added in annoyance.
They were slowly being backed towards the canyon.
"Looks like a canyon." Hiccup said.
"I don't care what it is, let's just go in." Hicca said as they entered the canyon.
They ran as fast they could and they quickly hit behind a rock. The Haddock twins looked up into the gorge above them, but saw that the trees were too close together to fly out.
"Canopy's too thick to fly out of here." Hiccup said.
"In other words, we're trapped." Hicca added before she looked at something. "Ohh, that's an interesting plan." She commented as she pointed to a simple grass as Hiccup facepalmed himself.
They then turned their heads around the corner and saw the dragons were entering into the canyon as well. Toothless and Midnight were about to jump out to engage them when their riders stopped them.
"No, guys. It will only make them madder." Hicca said.
Let me try something." Hiccup said as he then stepped out and drew his Inferno. "Let's see what you guys think of this."He said as he then ignited the blade and stepped up to the dragons waving it. The dragons looked at it in wonder. "There you go. Everyone loves the Dragon Blade." He said.
"They do seem awed at it." Hicca commented.
"See, we're just trying to help you, okay?" Hiccup said calmly to the dragons. But then they opened their mouths with the intention to fire at him. "Oh, for the love of… Toothless!"
"Midnight! You can defend now!" Hicca yelled.
Toothless and Midnight then jumped down from his hiding place just as the dragons fired down on top of the Haddock twins. They slammed into Hiccup and Hicca, knocking them to the ground and shielding them from the fireballs the dragons fired. They then fired a plasma blast straight about them and they scattered.
Unfortunately the plasma blast struck the canyon walls causing a cave in blocking their path outside, but on the bright side, the Haddock twins and their dragons are safe.
"Sorry, I guess not everyone loves the Dragon Blade," said Hiccup looking at his sister and their dragons in apologetic.
"Well, at least you tried." Hicca commented before turning her head. "Ooh, look at that." She said while pointing at nothing while Hiccup just groaned as the Night Mates rolled their eyes.
'This gonna be impossible.' Toothless grumbled.
'Don't say that. Nothing is impossible.' Midnight warbled to her mate.
Toothless glanced at him, irritably. 'Well, I guess this should be called nothing.' He retorted as Midnight hissed.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile on the Edge, the Riders, except for Henry, were now suffering greatly from insomnia. Which was proven with Heather who was busy scrubbing a rock thinking that it was Windshear.
"Quick moving, girl," Heather said in frustration as she scrubs the rock. "You're making this impossible. Stay. Stay." She orders.
The real Windshear was actually right behind, 'Um, Heather?' She growled in concern.
Henry sighed and grabbed Heather's shoulders, "Heather, Windshear is over there." He said, turning her to her dragon.
"Oh." Heather said in embarrassment.
Heather wasn't the only one that was suffering, Fishlegs' paranoia was growing even worse as he was now hiding behind several crates Glaring at practically everybody.
Heather then turned to him, "Fishlegs, can you give me a hand with my dragon?" she asked.
"Hand? What do you mean by that?" he asked suspiciously.
"What do you think I mean?" Heather frowned in dully.
"What do you think you mean?" Fishlegs asked, narrowing his eyes.
Heather blinked, unable to think of a reply so Henry spoke for her. "Um, I think she's asking for help cleaning Windshear, since Meatlug is already good?" He explained, pointing to Meatlug who was scratching herself.
"And what does she intend to do with me to clean Windshear?" Fishlegs asked suspiciously.
Henry groaned and walked away as Heather slowly decided that she was better off on her own.
"Ha! Exactly," Fishlegs yelled. "Why don't you think on that for a while?"
He then screamed when he heard Snotlout laughing and then suddenly he began crying.
"Aw, come on, Snotlout." Astrid said, giving him a hug, which was completely out of character. "Dry those tears. You're too handsome to be crying all the time."
"I am?" Snotlout asked, looking at her.
Stormfly and Hookfang looked at the two of them with confusion and then looked at one another. 'Did she just?' Hookfang growled.
'I think she did.' Stormfly squawked in surprise.
"Of course," Astrid said. She then placed a hand on his cheek. "Now, let's say that Joragenson smile." She then placed her farms on his lips and made a smile. "Come on now. There we go. There's a little granny-grin. There it is."
Henry saw this as he gave a weird out expression. "Okay. That is a disturbing sight that I'd never wanna think about again and-AHH!" Henry said before he yelped at the sight of a painted Whispering Death's jaws behind him. "Holy dragon scales! That was creepy."
He then saw Raeda was painting like crazy as her area is covered in art, some on the floor, some on crates, barrels and even some on the wall while she was completely covered in paint. "I just keep getting more ideas popping up in my head! These are the greatest works of art I've ever made!" She cried out insanely as she kept painting as her right eye twitched. She then turned to Sparkfire, who looked at her in confusion, "Now for my next masterpiece." She said as she approached her dragon with her brush up.
Sparkfire realized what her rider was doing and backed away, 'Now, Raeda. Don't look at me that way.' She squawked before running away with Raeda right behind her.
Henry was getting really freaked out now, "Ruff, Tuff we gotta do something, they're getting worse." He told the Thorston Twins but didn't hear a reply, "Tuff?"
"These guys are ridiculous," Tuffnut said amusedly, shaking his head. "Now, wait. What was I doing? Oh, yes. Oh." He then began laughing and appeared to be chasing something that was completely invisible. "No. Stop it."
It was becoming clear that Tuffnut was now suffering from insomnia as he was seeing things. "That tickles. No. no. Not there. Never there." Tuffnut said as he ran around the dome and then looked at the dragons. "Hey, don't you just love fruit bats? They're so cuddly. And they're playful and loyal, like flying yak rats. Remember those old things? Adorable. I used to have a flying yak rat when I was a kid. But you have to put in a catapult before a blue one and it doesn't have wings." He laughed.
The dragons and Henry looked at one another and were now starting to get very concerned with the Riders. "Looks like the Thorston twins are now next. Looks like it's me and you guys." Henry said to the dragons, being the only ones who aren't suffering from insomnia as the dragons nodded in agreement. "Hey, where's Ruff?" He asked, realizing the Thorston Girl was gone.
Ruffnut then walked by carrying a boar. She had been spending the past few hours stacking boars on top of Barf and Belch's heads. It was clear that she too was suffering from insomnia as she was losing the reason she had to begin with.
"Now remember, whoever moves first loses and has to fly a lap around the island, backwards, blindfolded, we talked about this," She said looking at the two-headed dragon.
'Umm,' Barf and Belch said, looking at each other in confusion.
"Fruit bat!" Tuffnut yelled running past.
This startled both Barf and Belch, even Henry, and caused the boars to all and instantly they ran away.
"Yikes!" Henry said as he dodged the boars and then scowled at Tuffnut, "Watch it, Tuff!" He retorted.
Ruffnut then glared at her brother. "Thanks a lot! You just ruined our game of Yak Stack. You are so obviously losing it from this lack of sleep."
"Oh, yeah? You've already lost it," said Tuffnut turning towards his sister.
"Oh, really? How so?" Ruffnut challenged.
"You're playing Stack the Yak, which you play with sheep, not boars." Tuffnut scoffed and turned his back on her. "So obvious. I'm embarrassed, Ruffnut."
"What about me, Tuffnut?" Ruffnut asked. "Everyone knows that fruit bats don't come out of hibernation until the third day of spring." She then held out her fingers. "It's the first day of spring today! Ergo, you are clearly herding dwarfed split-nosed bats. No wonder they're not listening!" She yelled.
Barf and Belch looked at the Riders and then to each other 'Well, the Thorstons are officially lost to us.' Belch stated as Henry looked a little worried.
"Okay, those two are toast." Henry said as he turned to the dragons. "I guess I should make sure no one tries jumping off a cliff or something." He sighed, "Let's just hope I don't go cuckoo too."
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, the Haddock twins and their dragons were still trying to find a way out of the canyon and away from the dragons that had been attacking them.
"All right, let's hold up here," Hiccup said, panting. "We gotta rest."
"I feel so exhausted." Hicca breathed out with her hands on her knees as she turned to Hiccup, "Hiccup, maybe we should stop here for a break." She suggested.
"I just said… Oh yeah sure." Hiccup said tiredly, too tired to even complain.
They then heard the sound of screeching above them and saw the dragons flying overhead.
"Man, these guys don't give up." Hiccup moaned.
"Don't they ever get tired?" Hicca asked exasperated. "Guys, I think they wanted us to follow them down here."
"Really?" Hiccup asked sarcastically.
The dragons then dropped a fireball down into the canyon and it bounced off the walls and had finally reached the floor. They quickly ran as quickly as they could and seconds later there was an explosion.
They kept on moving through the canyon hoping to find a way out, but so far they were having very little luck. Until they reached an opening, but found that it led to a ravine with no way out.
"A dead end. Great," Hiccup moaned. He then picked up the ruined helmets and weapons on the ground. "You know, I'm startin' to think the Dragon Hunters were the ones being hunted."
"I'm thinking the same thing. I don't think those Hunters even stood a chance against these dragons." Hicca added.
The Haddock twins then noticed there was a breach on the canopy which meant they could fly out.
"Aha! There's our way out, guys. Let's fly," Hiccup said as he mounted Toothless.
"Fly? What do you mean Fly?" Hicca asked before Midnight bumped her, "Oh you mean we ride while you and Toothless Fly, why didn't you say so, girl?" Hicca asked as she mounted onto Midnight.
'Oh gods.' Midnight moaned, rolling her eyes.
They then took to the sky, Toothless and Midnight fired plasma blasts in order for them to enter the canopy, but they were finally out of the forest.
"We're gonna make it!" Hiccup yelled. Then he noticed the dragons were flying right in front of them. "Maybe not."
"What do you mean…?" Hicca trailed off as she looked ahead. "Oh." She said with wide eyes.
The dragons then fired at them and they quickly made evasive maneuvers to avoid the fireballs which in itself was a tricky thing to do. Then they dived right back into the forest much to the confusion.
"Wait, they're leaving?" Hiccup frowned.
"After all the chase and attacks they did to us?" Hicca frowned as well.
Then they heard a noise behind them and Toothless and Midnight quickly dived down just in time to avoid getting bitten by a large dragon. It was a large green dragon with wide jaws, body, its wingspan was massive. Its legs also were quite stocky, and it had spaced out triangular spines that run along its back. Its head also slightly resembles a whale's.
It then turned around to face them and sent a powerful sonic blast straight at them. It was almost as powerful as a Thunderdrum, but it was enough to give them a massive earache.
Then the dragons that attacked them earlier flew out of the forest and then did something completely bizarre. They attached themselves to the large dragon wings until there were five on each wing and judging from the way the mouth was going about to fire at them.
"They were herding us towards the big guy the whole time," said Hiccup as they turned around to fly away.
"Gotta give to those dragons, they are good." Hicca commented.
The large dragon began to follow them while the smaller ones began to fire everything they had at the Haddock twins and the Night Furies. Of course, with the overwhelming firepower they were firing that was quite tricky to do.
Toothless and Midnight were having a hard time avoiding the blast and no matter what kind of maneuver they did they ended up being blasted. It was only a matter of time before each of them actually knocked Hiccup and Hicca off their dragons' back.
"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.
"Midnight!" Hicca yelled next.
Toothless and Midnight roared and flew down towards the Haddock twins, but then were blasted by each of the dragons, rendering them unconscious. Now the four of them were falling down towards their death.
"Toothless, come on, it's me!" Hiccup pleaded.
"Wake up, Midnight! I need you!" Hicca pleaded next.
The two Night Furies suddenly regain consciousness in time to catch Hiccup and Hicca before they land right into the trees. The four of them then landed on the ground hard as Toothless and Midnight rolled themselves into a ball to protect their riders.
Then they saw three of the smaller dragons heading down towards them and Toothless fired a plasma blast at them. He not one aside and then hit the second, but the third managed to avoid being hit and slammed right into Hiccup.
The impact caused the dragons to bounce off them and the two Night Furies used their tails to swat them away into a tree.
"Nice shot, bud." Hiccup smiled.
"Great job, girl." Hicca smiled next.
Then they noticed the large dragon flying overhead and they quickly ran in the opposite direction. As they ran, the Haddock twins noticed they never cavern and saw that it had camouflage tarp and decided it was probably the safest place on the island they turned towards it.
"Well, talk about a lucky break." Hicca said.
"In here." Hiccup said.
They made their way inside the cave and Toothless lit a torch illuminating the cavern. That's when they saw crates, work desks and weapons lying around. He then saw a map on the wall and noticed that it had several red x on it.
"This was an observation post." Hiccup noted. "They were spying on Berk from here until they ran into those dragons."
"They were planning on a strike while scouting Berk before those dragons took them out before they could even think of a plan." Hicca added.
Suddenly the cave shook and the Haddock twins realized that the dragons were trying to find a way inside or else trying to drop the entire ceiling on top of their heads.
"Whoa, who's idea was it to come into this cave?" Hicca asked.
"Oh for the love of…" Hiccup groaned but was trailed off when they noticed that Toothless was sniffing a piece of chicken leg. "Looks like they sure left in a hurry." He noted.
"Those dragons sure made quick work of the Hunters, if they escape that is." Hicca added as she gave a worried concern. "Okay, okay, what do we know about these dragons?" She questioned.
Hiccup grabbed an arrow head. "Big dragon." He then shook his head. "Wait, we gotta call these things something. All right. All right, so what do they do?" He then pointed the owl head towards the map in order to get some inspiration. "They follow, they herd, they shadow." He listed off of what they learned from them.
"That's it, yes. 'Shadow Wings.'" Hicca called out. "We'll call them Shadow Wings dragons. All in favor?" she asked, raising a hand.
Hiccup raised his hand too as the Haddock Twins looked at the Night Mates. Toothless and Midnight looked at them until the Haddock twins gave them a gesture, but they didn't raise a single thing.
"Good. It's unanimous," Hicca shrugged. "Now, let's think about this." She then bent down towards the ground, next to her brother. "So what's your plan bro?" She asked.
Hiccup looked at her in surprise. "What? Me?" He asked his sister.
"You're the only one who is sane enough to even pay attention to surroundings. I can't even focus on the tiniest detail." She said before looking to the side, "Wow, look at that!" She said in amazement.
"Good point." Hiccup said as he thinked really hard to try and come up with a plan. "Okay, the big one isn't as fast as we are all as maneuverable. So we have an advantage there." He then placed the owl head onto the ground next to a few others as he made his battle plan. "But even if we have a chance, to get past it, we have to get past ten of the smaller Small Shadows. And they are quicker than we are, plus, they're smarter. And they work as a team." Hiccup facepalmed himself and whimpered slightly. "So how do we beat them?"
Toothless then nudged him and gave him a comforting growl and Hiccup rubbed him beneath the chin.
"You're right. What we need…" Hiccup then looked around at the cavern looking for anything useful. "It's a plan." He then grabbed the map on the wall and then started to get to work. "Hicca, I got an idea." He said to his sister, who is looking at some weapons.
"What? You said something?" Hicca said as she dropped a spear. "You said you got a plan?" She asked.
"I sure do." Hiccup said with a smile.
(Linebreak)
It was night now, or as night as it could be during the Midnight Sun and the Riders were starting to get out of control while Henry was trying to keep as much order as possible.
"Okay, clearly cleaning dragons is too hard, so let's try something a little easier, okay?" Henry suggested.
"Feeling. I think we should talk about our feelings." Astrid said, approaching them. "Our deepest, innermost thoughts. Oh, Ruffnut, you go first." She said to the Thorston Girl.
"Yeah, Ruffnut, you go first." Ruffnut said, looking at no one in particular. "Ruffnut? Ruffnut? Go first!"
Henry sighs as he facepalms himself. "Oh my Thor." He muttered.
"I'll go." Snotlout said, and cleared his throat. "When I was young…" His mood suddenly changes as he can bear to look at anyone. "Oh, gosh, I can't do this! I'm getting too embarrassed, but I think you get the idea. Right?" He then started to make his way over to Hookfang in order to hide
Hookfang blew fire at him, 'Leave me out of this!' He growled before flying off.
"No, no! My friend!" Snotlout cried.
Fishlegs meanwhile was hiding behind several crates looking at everyone with suspicion. "No, Meatlug." He said looking at his dragon. "If I say something, they'll use it against me. And they'd like that, wouldn't they?!" He screamed.
Meatlug flinched from her rider's outburst, not liking how Fishlegs is right now and is concerned for him.
Raeda, who finally caught Sparkfire, then worked on the Nadder as she gave Sparkfire some flowers and dragon symbols of each type they know. "There, girl! You look amazing!" She beamed widely as Sparkfire looked disturbed by her rider's work.
Tuffnut then laughed hysterically as he pointed at Ruffnut.
"What's your problem?" Ruffnut asked.
"No, nothing, nothing." Tuffnut said, clutching his chest, because to his eyes Ruffnut looked like a large chicken with blonde hair wearing a Viking helmet. "All good here. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers." He laughed again, unable to control himself. "I mean, look at us. We're all cooped up. I don't know about you but I'm eggasperated! Egg… exasperated!"
Ruffnut then tackled him to the ground and started to punch him.
"Oh! Oh, no. No, stop, stop. It's too much," Tuffnut laughed as he watched chicken Ruffnut swatting her wings at him. "I can't! I simply can't take it."
"Tuffle feathers. Tuffle feathers." Ruffnut said over and over again as she punched him.
Henry had his eyes closed as he frowned, listening to the Rider's insomnia for a long while that it's getting on his nerves.
"Feelings. I wanna hear about feelings." Astrid said cheerfully.
Snotlout was walking around looking quite upset and then he heard a wooden beam. "Will you be my friend?" He asked.
"Art! Art! I must make the world see all of my Masterpieces!" Raeda declared, holding her brush up to the sky.
"It's a trap, Meatlug," Fishlegs panicked. "Don't listen to them. This is exactly what they want." He then pointed out the other Riders threateningly. "I'm on to you. I am on to all of you!"
The dragons and Henry looked at one another and they clearly had enough of this foolishness.
"Okay. That's it! I'm putting my foot down!" Henry yelled in expiration as he turned the dragons. "Is there any way to get these Vikings contained or to get them to sleep so that they can stop acting crazy before I grab my sword!?" He questioned angrily.
Windshear used her tail to lift the wooden boards of the crack in the dome. Henry looked down and saw that the crack in the dome was completely dark.
"Oh, I see." Henry said with a smile. "Get these crazy Riders into the darkness of this crack and they will finally get some shut eye and finally get some sanity back." He said with a triumphant laugh as she turned to Windshear, holding her head. "Windshear, you beautiful metal dragon. You're a genius." He said to the Razorwhip.
Windshear gave Henry a nuzzle as she purred in response. 'Thanks.'
Astrid approached the crack. "I love the darkness." She said, hugging herself. "It's like a big, fluffy blanket of darkness." She described.
Henry then snuck up behind her, "Well if you like it so much, then say hello to a lot more of it!" He declared before giving her a double fist hit on the head, knocking her out as she fell into the hole. "Boy, did that feel good to get her to stop acting like that." He said to himself before looking at the dragons. "Get the others in there too, quickly." He ordered, clapping her hands.
Meatlug began to drag Fishlegs towards it as he frantically tried to grab hold of something. "It's a coup!" Fishlegs panicked before Henry knocked him out too and Meatlug tossed him in.
Barf and Belch grab the Thorston twins and are making their own way towards the crack. "Don't you mean a coop?" Tuffnut jokes. "Chicken coop."
"Shut up!" Henry told him as he knocked out him and Ruffnut too before Barf and Belch then dropped them into the crack.
Windshear then brought over Heather, who was still holding a bucket.
"Sorry, Heather. But even if you were just falling, you need to sleep too." Henry said as he grabbed the bucket from her hands.
"No, wait, I got this! I can still-" Heather argued before Henry slugged her lights out.
"You'll thank me later." Henry said as Windshear dropped Heather.
Sparkfire then came by, carrying a struggling Raeda as she tried to break free from her Nadder's grasped.
"Let me go! I got paintings to do and masterpieces to create!" Raeda cried out as she struggled to break free. "You cannot stop art! It is the essence of life itself!" She declared as she waved her paintbrush and held a bucket of paint as she shook them around.
Henry then came up to her as he dodged some paint that Raeda was spilling as he gave a deadpan expression. "And sometimes, life has a way of resting after a while." He said as he punched Raeda's head as the Henderson girl was knocked out. "You'll do a lot better after a good rest." He said as Sparkfire dropped Raeda in the hole.
Hookfang had grabbed hold of the wooden beam which Snotlout was hugging.
"Okay, Moodlout, time to go night night." Henry commented.
"Why would you want to hit me?" Snotlout cried. "I thought we were…" He whimpered before Henry socked him right in the face, as the Jorgenson boy made a dopy face before he let go of the beam and fell into the hole.
"Above all, hitting Snotlout didn't seem that hard to do." Henry commented as he looked down at the Riders. "You guys rest now. I'll take care of your dragons and everything while you all have your well deserved sleep." He said as he then closed the hatch, leaving them in the darkness to finally sleep.
Henry then whipped a brow in relief. "Phew. Finally, I can hear myself think again." He said as he looked at the other dragons. "Now, how about I clean you dragons up?"
The dragons then lined up eagerly as they just dawned on Henry that he had to clean eleven dragons, all by himself.
"Now, don't worry. Each of you will get your turns." Henry said as he raised his hands to calm them down. "I spent my time and washed five dragons, so six more doesn't seem like a chore for me." He assured them as he grabbed some water and a scrub. "Now, let's get started. You first Sparkfire since Raeda got some of her work on you." He said while pointing at the purple Nadder who is still covered in paint.
Sparkfire pranced in joy. 'Yes. Please wash this off. While I love Raeda's paintings, I don't want them on me.' She squawked in pleaded.
"Okay, girl, settle down." Henry eased as he got to work and then noticed the other dragons waiting expectantly as he sighed, "Hiccup, Hicca. Where are you when I need you?" He asked as he began scrubbing Sparkfire.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Hiccup was drawing up a plan of attack so that they could escape the island without being killed by either the Shadow Wing or Small Shadows while Hicca and the Night Mates paid attention, or as much attention as possible in Hicca's case.
"All right." Hiccup said, turning towards the others. "I have no ideas."
"Oh, Hiccup. Really?" Hicca sighed tiredly.
"I'm still a little tired to even think of our next move, give me a break." Hiccup said in defense.
"Well, look it up to me to come up with a plan." Hicca declared before she looked confused, "Um, what were we talking about?" She asked.
"Oh gods." Hiccup muttered.
Suddenly the cavern shook once again and Toothless sneezed due to the dust while Midnight shook some off her. This caused the arrowheads to move in all different directions and that gave Hiccup an idea.
"That's it. Yes!" Hiccup yelled and looked at Toothless. "Toothless, Midnight, you are both geniuses!"
Toothless and Midnight looked slightly confused, 'We are?' They warbled, unsure of what they did.
Hicca looked at her brother in confusion. "What are you talking about, bro?" She asked.
"Here's what we're gonna do, sis." Hiccup said as he explained the plan simply so that Hicca could understand in her tired state.
(Linebreak)
Moments later, The Haddock twins were making their way out of the cavern and they made a run for it. They made their way towards the lake in order to get some water, but this was a ruse in order to get the Small Wings out in the open.
"Come on, we know you guys are out there." Hiccup said.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Hicca said.
Hiccup then took a sip of water and then tossed the jar into a bush, but still there was no sign of the Small Wings. Sadly they had snuck up behind him without him noticing and pounced.
However, this was all part of Hiccup's plan, because the next second they found themselves extended into the air by another trap that Hiccup had made.
"Yes! Ha-ha!" said Hiccup victoriously. "Don't you know the trapper's trap can trap the trapper?" He then frowned realizing what he just said. "Oh, gods. I must be losing it, I'm quoting Dagur."
"To be honest, we're all losing it at the moment so not surprising." Hicca shrugged.
"Good point." Hiccup said in agreement as the dragons were screeching loudly. "That's it, guys. Call for help." He said.
"Bring in your boss." Hicca encouraged.
Suddenly there was a loud roar and the Haddock twins knew instantly that it came from the Shadow Wing and he made a run for it while some Small Shadows chased after them.
They soon turned round the corner and the Small Shadows ran into the cavern, leaving him running inside. They then saw him amongst the crates and attacked them only to find that they were dummies.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins and their Night Furies were in fact outside and Toothless and Midnight fired plasma blasts causing the entrance to cave in.
"Six down, four to go." Hiccup said as he mounted Toothless.
"So let's finish this." Hicca added as she mounted Midnight.
They then took to the air and saw the Shadow Wing flying around with the Small Wings attached to its wings with two on each side. The Shadow Wing must have sensed their presence, because it turned around and headed straight towards them.
The Small Wings then fire fireballs directly at them, but this time there were a few of them which meant that Toothless and Midnight could easily outmaneuver them.
"We have to time this just right," said Hiccup as they got closer towards them. The Small Wings tried a few more blasts which they avoided and were preparing to fire another round of attacks.
"Now!" The Haddock Twins shouted.
Toothless and Midnight fired plasma blasts at the same time as the Small Wings on the Shadow Wing's left-wing fired. This caused the fireballs to explode on impact, knocking them right off its wing and leaving only two of them left.
They flew over the Shadow Wing, but it struck them with its tail causing them to fly out of control and towards a cliff. Hiccup looked around and saw that the tailfin had been knocked out of alignment and he quickly pressed down on the stirrup. This caused them to fly along the cliff edge at the last second.
The Haddock twins saw that the Shadow Wing had turned around and was making its way towards them on their left. The last two Small Shadows detached themselves from its wing and flew towards them. Hiccup and Hicca saw this pulled Toothless and Midnight upward so they were climbing vertically and the three dragons behind them followed.
Then the Small Wings grabbed hold of Toothless' wings and no matter how hard he flat he couldn't shake them. This added weight to load Toothless down giving the Shadow Wing a chance to catch up.
"Hiccup! Toothless!" Hicca yelled out as she and Midnight tried to push the Shadow Wing off Toothless, but they realized that this dragon is strong. "We can't blast it without hurting you two!" She added.
"And not to mention we'll never outrun him like this." Hiccup said. The Shadow Wing opened its mouth, nearly biting off Toothless' tail. "Whoa! Give me a second, I'll think of something."
"I don't think you have a second bro! Or Toothless might lose another tail!" Hicca cried out in panic.
Midnight warbled to her mate in concern. 'What do we do Toothless?!' She asked in panic.
'I'm thinking! I'm thinking!' Toothless warbled, trying to think of something as fast as he could. However, I didn't wait and had an idea. 'I got it!' He yelled as he made a nosedive towards the ground and the Shadow Wing followed them as he looked at his mate as Midnight nodded her head, understanding what Toothless was saying. The Night Mates were making a nosedive down towards the lake and showed no attention to pulling up.
Hiccup looked down at Toothless. "Toothless, what are you…?"
"Midnight, what is this?" Hicca asked.
Toothless and Midnight then began to spin ferociously knocking the Small Wings off and then fired several plasma blasts straight at the lake while Midnight followed. This caused the water to shoot upwards and created a nice bit of cover, but the Shadow Wing was still on his tail and was opening its mouth wide.
"Any time now," Hiccup urged.
"While we're still alive and young here!" Hicca added.
Toothless and Midnight then roared so that they could see what was ahead and pulled up just before he hit the water surface. The Shadow Wing wasn't so lucky and went headfirst into the lake.
"I wasn't worried." Hiccup said, as he began to fly away from the island. "I knew you had it the whole way."
"Yeah. We weren't scared or worried at all." Hicca said in agreement.
Toothless roared. 'Hiccup!'
'Hicca!' Midnight warned.
"Okay. We were a little worried. Let's head home, guys." Hiccup suggested.
"Agreed. We had enough excitement for one day, or night or whatever." Hicca added with a yawn.
They then set course to the Edge leaving the island far behind them.
(Linebreak)
When they arrived at the Edge they found the dragons were just laying around in the dome, Henry slumped against Hookfang, looking completely exhausted and the other Riders nowhere to be seen. The Haddock twins also noticed that the place was a mess/
"Henry, where is everybody?" Hicca wondered.
"And did you scrub all the dragons by yourself?" Hiccup asked in surprise.
Henry panted and looked at them, "Bit of advice, you do not want to know where Hookfang's claws have been." He said tiredly as Hookfang just licked his claws.
"Okay." Hicca said in a little disturbing way. "But, where's the others?" She asked.
Henry then breathed out, moved over to the hatch and opened it, "Over here." He said, pointing down.
The Haddock Twin looked down and saw the other Riders inside fast asleep, and splashed with paint.
"They're asleep." Hicca said boredly.
"Of course, everyone gets to sleep but us," Hiccup moaned as he heard their snores. "Typical."
"Then why don't you and your sister join them then?" Henry asked as he got behind them, and knocked their heads together.
As the two wobbled, Henry gestured to Toothless and Midnight to push them in as the two gave the Haddock Twins a gentle nudge and they toppled inside.
Hiccup then felt his eyelids, getting heavy. "Thanks, guys."
"Goodnight, girl." Hicca yawned before zoning out.
Henry gave a tired smile, "Finally, everyone's asleep, the dragons are clean and I'm still sane, not bad am I right?" He asked, turning to Toothless and Midnight as they gave him blank looks. He then sighed in defeat, "Oh who am I kidding? See you in the morning guys." He yawned as he passed out as he landed next to Hicca as he went to sleep while Hicca grabbed him unconsciously.
Toothless and Midnight looked at each other with a shrug as they then closed the hatch and joined the other dragons as they too fell asleep.