Chapter 54: Living on the Edge
It had been three months since their victory against Viggo, but all was not well. While they were able to prevent a massive eruption from the volcano, it stopped it from trembling and causing reductions across the island.
It was the middle of the night when one of these eruptions happened much to the annoyance of everyone on the Edge.
Snotlout was snoring loudly in his hut when he was awoken by the tremors. "Hey. I'm trying to get some sleep here." He then grabbed his helmet placed on the side of his head and turned on his side. "Stupid volcano." He grumbled.
(Linebreak)
In the Thorston twins hut, Chicken was walking loudly around the place and immediately jumped into Tuffnut's arms.
"Chicken!" Tuffnut said, cuddling her. "Easy, little Chicken." He then looked to his sister. "I'm sick of these baby ones. I wish it would just volcano-up and start spewing already."
Ruffnut nodded. "Right?" She then turned to the direction of the volcano. "Either get on with it or keep it to yourself." She called out as the shaking happened again.
(Linebreak)
In Raeda's hut, Raeda was trying to get some sleep, but then felt the shaking again, which made her open her eyes.
Raeda groaned from this. "Not again." She said tiredly as she buried her head under the pillow, trying to drown out the noise.
(Linebreak)
Immediately there was a giant tremor and Fishlegs was hiding under his bed with Meatlug.
"It's okay, girl." Fshlegs said as he rubbed Meatlug. "The volcano has erupted in three months. It's not gonna start now." He then looked at her questionably. "Right?"
Immediately there was another tremor.
(Linebreak)
Hiccup immediately exited his hut to meet up with Hicca, Astrid and Henry, who ran over towards him.
"Hiccup." They said.
Then the ground shook violently, catching them completely by surprise.
Astrid looked at Hiccup. "Was that—"
"More intense than normal?" Hiccup finished. "No doubt."
"I think the volcano is finally ready to blow." Hicca commented.
"And it's going to be the big one." Henry added.
Then suddenly there was a massive tremor almost knocking them off their feet. Cracks within the ground across the island began to erupt and lava began to crawl its way down the hill towards them.
(Linebreak)
All around the island, the Dragons found that the lava geysers around them were beginning to erupt.
'Oh this can't be good.' One Nadder said to his friend as they backed away from the trembling geyser before it erupted. 'Whoa!' He squawked, jumping back.
'Yikes! Yikes! YIKES!' A Zippleback roared as it dodged the lava bursts.
The Skrill and Girl-Hookfang were flying over the island as they watched the lava flow, 'This is serious! We need to get to cover!' The Skrill roared.
'Understood.' Girl-Hookfang roared back as the two flew off to warn the other dragons.
(Linebreak)
Back at the Edge, the Riders immediately made their way towards the stables and mounted their dragons, who were outfitted with buckets of melted Gronckle Iron.
Hiccup looked at them. "All right, everyone got their Gronckle Iron?" He asked.
They all nodded.
"Good. Just like we practiced, guys." Hiccup continued.
"And don't spill any of the Gronckle Iron. We can't afford to lose a drop if we are gonna seal those holes." Hicca quickly added. "Dragon Riders, let's ride!"
With that immediately took to the air and found that lava was already spreading across the Edge.
"Guys, this is worse than we thought," Hiccup said.
"The Edge is in danger!" Hicca yelled.
"Yeah, I know!" Snotlout cried looking at his hut, noticing that the 'S' on it was burnt. "Oh, my S. Guys, look at it. You both know how attached I am to my S."
Hiccup immediately turned on him. "Snotlout, no one cares about your S. Just keep pouring Gronckle Iron into the cracks." He ordered/
"We gotta seal these cracks before the Edge burns to the ground." Hicca added.
The Thorston twins were the first ones to reach such a crack and had already poured Gronckle Iron into it. Proud of themselves they immediately high-fived one another.
"Yes." Tuffnut cheered.
Then suddenly there was a massive eruption and the solid lump of Gronckle Iron launched into the air.
"Wait for it." Tuffnut said with a smile.
They then landed right on top of Snotlout's head, knocking him out cold. He then slid off Hookfang and began to fall towards the fiery inferno below him. 'And there he goes.' Hookfang snorted, not even bothering to catch his rider.
"Yak's eye!" the Thorston twins yelled triumphantly.
"Char grilled Snotlout, anyone?" Tuffnut asked.
"He'll have a nice smoky finish from the lava," Ruffnut said, pinching her finger and thumb together.
The Haddock twins immediately turned on them. "Hey, Ruff. Tuff." Hiccup called.
"What did we talk about not leaving riders behind, even Snotlout." Hicca frowned disapprovingly.
Tuffnut groaned as he looked at his sister. "Ugh. Buzz kills."
They immediately dive down towards the plummeting Snotlout and grab him before he has his lava bath. They promptly placed him down in front of the stables where he promptly stayed and mumbled to himself.
"It was such a beautiful S." Snotlout murmured before he passed out.
The Haddock twins were flying around as lava began to erupt into the air and they promptly approached one of the worst of the cracks and jumped their Gronckle Iron into it. Fishlegs did the same in his area as did Astrid, Raeda and Henry.
The Thorston twins then grabbed the water tank next to Snotlout's hut. "Come on, Barf. Come on, Belch." Ruffnut said as they lifted it.
They then tossed the water down on a fiery inferno close to the Edge and doused the flames.
(Linebreak)
The next morning, the Riders surveyed the damage done to the Edge, they met at the stables where Snotlout was still mumbling to himself.
"This is a disaster," Astrid declared.
Raeda looked at her. "That's an understatement from what we saw before, Astrid." She commented.
"Yeah, I've seen worse." Tuffnut said.
Fishlegs turned on him. "You mean you've caused worse." He pointed out.
"Huh, I wish." Tuffnut retorted, "This is Odin's handiwork himself, my friend. But I, I am a mere mortal." he compared.
Snotlout finally came around and rose to his feet. Then, completely unsurprisingly, he turned to Hiccup. "You happy now, Hiccup?" He questioned his cousin.
Hiccup stared at him. "Happy? What? What did I do?" He asked his cousin.
"We should have left this pile of rocks months ago, but no." Snotlout retorted, "You wanted to keep exploring. 'Hiccup the Explorer'." He mocked.
Astrid and Hicca then looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, I'd rather plant dragon root under my fingernails than agree with Snotlout." Astrid said.
"Don't waste your time, A. That stuff needs a ton of light to grow." Tuffnut said. "So unless you're willing to stand outside—"
"She was just kidding, Tuff." Hicca sighed as she continued. "But she's right, Hiccup. The Edge is becoming more and more dangerous with the volcano becoming more of a problem." She added.
"I think it might actually be time to head back to Berk," Astrid said.
"I agree." Henry nodded in agreement. "My father and uncle are gone, the Hunters are now finished, the Dragon Eye is destroyed, heck even Mother Nature is telling us to go with the Edge ready to blow."
Snotlout gave Henry a blank look. "Huh?" He asked.
"Uh… Mother Earth. The Earth Mother?" Ruffnut said.
"The earliest roots date back to the Mesopotamian tablets which show the personification of the creative and nurturing sides of nature as a female deity," Tuffnut explained. He then looked at him. "You should read more."
Raeda then places hands on her hips and looks at Hiccup. "Hiccup, we can't stop a volcano and the threat level is down." She said while gesturing to the damage the Edge has received from the lava.
"And as much as I would like to explore even further as you can brother, I would prefer if we did it on an island without an active volcano." Hicca added. "After the blasts from the Shellfire, the Edge's volcano became more active than normal with the cracks bursting at the seams." She pointed out.
Hiccup then looked towards the sky looking very unsure.
Astrid then placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Hiccup, we've won. We can go home now."
(Linebreak)
Later that night, Hiccup flew up to look at the island and could see that the lava was getting very much out of control. Then another chunk of Gronckle Iron launched into the air nearly hitting him and Toothless and he soon realized that they were right.
Toothless growled at his rider. 'Hiccup, there's no we or any of the other dragons can live here anymore.'
Hiccup patted him on the head. "I know, bud. They're right." He said, seeing that his sister, girlfriend and friends are right.
(Linebreak)
The next morning they all gathered at the clubhouse and Hiccup informed them that they were going to be leaving the Edge.
"So it's agreed then, we're leaving the edge." Hicca confirmed what her brother just said to them.
"Really?" Tuffnut asked in surprise. "Awesome news. And just in time for our estate sale."
Hiccup frowned. "I'm sorry. You're what?" He asked.
"State sale?" Hicca added.
Tuffnut then gestured down towards his and his sister's hut. There they saw a gaggle of people gathering around their hut and saw that they were buying certain items that were being displayed there.
Ruffnut was down there trying to get people interested in this stuff. "Listen man. This helmet is a bona fide helmet…"
Tuffnut looked at the Haddock twins. "It's not too late to get in of the lifelike Nutt statues." He told them.
"Nutt statues?" Hicca asked in confusion.
They looked down and saw Ruffnut displaying one of their scareships to a would-be customer.
"You act right now, I'll throw in some free shipping." She said as the customer just urged the tension onto the chest he was holding. "You're breaking my boars here." She told
"Made from our actual hair." Tuffnut said proudly.
"Ew…" said Astrid in disgust.
"Gross. That's disgusting." Raeda added in disgust.
Tuffnut immediately turned on her. "'Ew, Gross, and that's Disgusting' yourselves, missies. You wish you had locks like these." He gestured to his hair.
"We are so glad we don't." Raeda commented as Astrid nodded in agreement.
Hiccup frowned. "Uh, who in their right mind would ever buy a statue of you two?"
"Sold! Statue of us two!" Ruffnut cried.
Everyone just stared open eyed as the customer took the scareships and left Ruffnut behind with two bags of coins laughing.
Tuffnut looked at Hiccup smugly.
"Of course." Hiccup said.
"Okay, we stand corrected." Hicca said with a bored expression.
Raeda then gave Tuffnut a warning glare, "If you two are planning on selling any of my paintings, I'm gonna…"
"Relaxs Rae, we didn't sell any of your paintings. Just our stuff." Tuffnut assured the Henderson girl.
Raeda narrowed her eyes, "Alright, but when I go back to my hut, and if I find even one painting is missing, we're gonna have problems." She warned.
"Hi, question?" Snotlout asked. "When are we getting out of here?"
"When the volcano is stabilized," said Hiccup. "We just need time to find new homes for all the dragons we've relocated here." He explained.
"So let's list all the dragons here: Gronckles, Monstrous Nightmares, Deadly Nadders, Hideous Zipplebacks, Night Terrors, Terrible Terrors, both Smidvarg and Darkvarg's flocks, Scauldrons, Seashockers, oh and the Skrill of course." Hicca listed out the dragons present on the Edge.
They then heard the sound of a horn in the distance and they looked down to see Johann's ship sailing towards them.
Astrid frowned. "That's weird. What's Johann doing here?"
"Let's go and ask him. He usually comes by to either tell stories or give us some news." Raeda suggested.
"From what you guys told me how often you see him, it's gotta be the former." Henry said boredly as they know how Johann likes to talk a lot about his stories.
"If he does, just do what we dod, tune him out." Hicca said as they walked down the clubhouse to go greet Johann.
(Linebreak)
They immediately made their way down to meet him at the dome. Johann was carrying the chest with his hands and looked at the destruction around the Edge.
"Oh, dear." Johann said in surprise of the condition of the Edge. "There hasn't been destruction like this since Emperor Nicephorus and the Byzantines were mostly annihilated in the Battle of Pliska. They say that Khan Krum had Nicephorus' skull encased in silver and drank mead from it." He then shook his head. "Ruthless."
He then turned his attention to the Haddock twins. "Anyway, it's going to take some cleanup. I have a multitude of items that could assist you in that process. Hmm?" He said.
"There's not going to be any cleanup, Johann," Hiccup said sadly.
"We're making a plan to leave the Edge once we get it stabilized." Hicca added sadly.
"Well, Masters Hiccup and Hicca, perhaps this delivery will cheer you both up." Johann said as he handed Hiccup the chest. "I think you both will like what you see." He then looked at him curiously. "Although what mysterious avocation could you two be working on that necessitates such an odd variety of articles? Hmm?"
"Doesn't really matter now, Johann." Hiccup sighed.
"But we appreciated the gift, Johann." Hicca said with a small smile.
"Sold!" Ruffnut yelled in the distance.
They looked up and saw quite the disturbing sight of a couple of Outcasts wearing wigs that resembled Ruffnut's hair and then gave each a bag of coins.
"Okay, that's just weird and disturbing." Henry commented.
"If you find strange people that can buy anything from the Thorston twins, you find some strange people who want anything these days." Hicca said with rolled eyes as the others nodded in agreement.
(Linebreak)
At the forge, the Haddock twins and Fishlegs were trying to come up with a way of dealing with a volcano problem. As they were doing this their dragons were playing with one another making it hard to concentrate.
"All right. Think. Think. Think," said Hiccup leaning against the forge. "We need something that'll not only hold to the intense heat of the lava, but—"
"Withstanding the extreme buildup of volcanic pleasure." Fishlegs continue.
"And therefore preventing any more lava from running down the hillside so that the island won't either sink, burn to a crisp or explodee." Hicca concluded.
"Exactly," Hiccup nodded.
They then watched as Toothless and Midnight rolled around the floor with Meatlug chasing after them.
"Uh, guys, do you mind?" Hiccup asked their dragon.
"We're trying to think here, so can you keep it down a bit?" Hicca asked as well.
They then returned their attention back onto the problem and the dragons continued to play.
"There's got to be something," said Hiccup.
"I can't think of any material we have that can both withstand the pressure of a volcano and its heat," Hicca frowned.
That's when the dragons collided into the desk knocking the contents over. Hiccup's underwater helmet, their goggles and a melting pot landed on the floor.
'Oops' The three dragons growled sheepishly.
"Really you three?" Hicca lectured. "We said keep it down." She added.
"All right. Pick those up." Hiccup ordered the dragons.
The dragons then went to pick up the contents that they had knocked over and placed it back on the table. Toothless however accidentally tossed the Deathsong Amber goggles right over Meatlug's eyes.
All of them laughed. "Those look great on you, Professor Meatlug." Hicca joked but then she and Hiccup were hit by inspiration. "Wait, you might be onto something girl." She said as she removed the goggles from Meatlug.
"Yeah. Hicca's right." Hiccup nodded as the two siblings inspected the goggles. "Fishlegs, what if we mixed Deathsong Amber with Gronckle Iron?"
"You mean the very same Deathsong Amber that withstood the pressure of water hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the ocean?" Fishlegs asked with a smile, getting what they are saying.
"And the same Gronckle Iron that withstood the very heat of a volcano." Hicca added.
"Yep, those two," Hiccup beamed as he joined them.
"It could work, but we have actually got no idea what the chemical reaction could be." Hicca pointed out.
Fishlegs nodded. "Making the exact quantities of all the ingredients will be key so it doesn't set off a negative chemical reaction."
"So we need to find the right key components so it doesn't blow." Hicca said.
The dragons immediately retreated to a safe distance as Hicca poured liquid Gronckle Iron into a pot and Hiccup added a small chunk of Deathsong Amber into it. They then saw as the pot began to shake and shudder and immediately the dragons tackled them just before there was a huge explosion.
"Next." Hicca said.
They tried the process again this time, Hiccup was holding a larger piece of Deathsong Amber in a pair of tongs. Fishlegs wore a pair of Deathsong Amber goggles and Hicca a Deathsong Amber scuba mask. Hiccup then dropped the piece of amber into the pot and they immediately backed away from it.
A few seconds passed and it looked as if they were in the clear, but then there was another eruption and a large chunk of hot metal headed straight towards them. Thankfully, Toothless shielded them before it actually struck them.
"Next!" Hicca repeated.
They then tried a third time and this time Hiccup was wearing his underwater helmet and Hicca and Fishlegs were each holding a shield for protection. Hiccup then carefully added a large chunk of Deathsong Amber into the mixture and they immediately ran away from the pot as quickly as they could and hid behind the dragons.
However, instead of an eruption nothing happened and three of them merged from behind their dragons and smiled at one another as they had completed their experiment.
"Success!" Hicca cheered as she and the two boys high-five each other.
(Linebreak)
Later that night they poured the mixture into one of the cracks that was spewing lava. The effect was almost instant as the liquid metal hardened and formed a perfect cover around the crack.
Hiccup laughed triumphantly. "I can't believe that actually worked." He cheered.
"We have the perfect volcano clogger now." Hicca declared.
"Well, let's not start slapping each other's yaks just yet." Fishlegs said to the Haddocks twins. "That was the last of the Deathsong Amber. And even if we had more, there's no way Meatlug can make enough Gronckle Iron to stabilize the island."
"So, we need Gronckles and Deathsong Amber." Hiccup concluded. He then turned to face the others. "Well, we know where to find both, right."
Snotlout immediately panicked. "There is no way I'm going to Melody Island. The word death is in the dragon's name for a very good reason."
"It's not like you're going to need the dragon itself to create the amber, we just need to grab some pieces from the island," Hicca pointed out.
Hiccup nodded. "Astrid, Hicca and I will get the Amber." He said.
"Good. I like that plan." Snotlout agreed.
Hicca then turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, you and Henry stay behind and gather the ingredients for the Gronckle Iron and find a place to store the liquid metal." She said to the two.
"Oh, keep talking. This is the best plan." Snotlout smiled eagerly.
"What about us? What are we going to do?" Tuffnut gestured to himself and his sister.
"Rounding up a group of Gronckles from Dark Deep." Hiccup said next.
The Thorston twins cringed upon hearing that.
Snotlout smirked at them. "You idiots. Why did you open your big—"
"And Snotlout, you're going with them." Hiccup added. "Congratulations."
Snotlout's mouth fell wide open. "This is the worst plan I've ever heard." He grumbled.
"I'll go with them to help them out." Raeda volunteered. "To make sure they actually get it right, or trying to turn Snotlout into Quaken Food." She added, looking at the Thorston Twins specifically.
"Okay, liking this plan again." Snotlout said, crossing his arms.
"Good call. Now, let's get moving." Hicca announced. "Dragon Riders, let's ride!"
(Linebreak)
The next morning, the Haddock twins and Astrid found themselves at Melody Island and immediately found something quite unusual. There was no sign of the Deathsong or any trace of dragons trapped within the amber.
"This is strange," Hiccup said.
"And I don't hear anything," Astrid added.
Hicca nodded. "There's not even a single trace that a Deathsong has been here or any other dragon for that matter. Not even their bones remain." She pointed out.
"No Deathsong," Hiccup concluded.
They then heard a familiar ground and turned to find a Deathsong emerging from behind some rocks. Immediately they drew their weapons and Hicca brought out her battle staff as she and Hiccup also ignited their Infernos, which had been modified from some time as the blades extended a bit more and looked like a dragon flame design with the hilts look like a dragon shoot it's flames.
"You were saying?" Astrid asked.
They were prepared to fight the dragon, but then it collapsed right in front of them. It was then that they noticed that there was a chain strap to its neck and it had very deep scratches on its skin.
Hiccup sheathed Inferno and then very gently placed a hand on the Deathsong's snout. The Deathsong relaxed and Hiccup saw that there were several Dragon Root arrows protruding from its body.
"These wounds aren't from other dragons," Hiccup noted.
"Dragon Hunters?" Astrid blinked.
"Not like any we've encountered," Hiccup said, shaking his head. "This is beyond brutal."
"Clearly someone has taken over the Hunters," Hicca said troublingly as she retracted her weapons while looking at the wounds of the Deathsong. "These are fresh, not long ago either. They're recent and there's a manacle around its neck." She said worriedly.
The Deathsong then performed a familiar sounding song and instantly the three of them recognised it at once.
"Wait, we know that song." Hicca started with wide eyes.
"That sounds like… No way…" Hiccup breathed. He then ran up to the dragon's head. "Garff?"
"Oh, my Thor," Astrid gasped. "You're right. It is."
"Looks like he has grown up since the last time we saw him." Hicca said as she now worried for their Deathsong friend they saved from the Hunters when he was in his egg. "I've got some medical supplies with me that should help with the wounds." She said as she reached Midnight's saddle to grab her med kit.
Astrid immediately bent down at Garff. "Oh, you poor thing. What have they done to you?" Astrid then realized something quite important. "Wait a minute, where's the other Deathsong?"
Hiccup sighed. "Must not have been as lucky as this guy." He said.
Astrid stared at him. "'Lucky'?" She asked, she wouldn't call Garff's condition lucky.
"Well, Garff got away. He's still alive," Hiccup pointed out.
"Yeah, barely." Hicca said as she bent down to Garff. He then examined him. "He's very weak and he's lucky to be alive at all. It's gonna be some time before he's back to full strength." Garff let out a mournful cry, clearly calling out for his adoptive father, "Easy, Garff, We're here, we're here." She assured as she gave him a comforting touch.
"Do what you can, Hicca." Hiccup said, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder.
Astrid frowned. "Guys, if Viggo and Ryker are gone, then…" she trailed off.
"Who's leading these Hunters?" Hiccup finished. He then turned towards the empty canyon. "And what's so important that they'd go toe to toe with a Deathsong?" He questioned.
"Whoever leads the hunters, clearly has a way to capture dragons, very brutally." Hicca said as she tended to Garff's wounds.
(Linebreak)
On another island, dragons could hear the sound of a Deathsong and were hypnotically drawn to it. Of course the moment they got closer to the song they immediately found themselves trapped in amber and fell to the ground.
They landed at the feet of Krogan who was holding a massive ax in his hand directly behind him was Garff's father, who was chained up and forced to draw in and down dragons for the hunters.
Now leading the Hunters he had a new, more effective method of catching dragons. But not many hunters were too happy about the change of leadership and hunting tactics while a couple of them lifted an amber Deadly Nadder into a wagon.
"Oh, this is no way to hunt dragons." A Hunter muttered to his friend.
Unfortunately for him, Krogan had heard him. "Not what you used to. Is that it?" He questioned.
The other Hunter immediately backed away from the one that had spoken as Krogan turned to face them with his ax over his shoulder.
"Well, please, do accept my most sincere apologies." Krogan taunted as the Hunter merely nodded nervously. "Now, if you would be so kind as to tell me why the objections?" He questioned.
"Uh, take the sport out of it. Seems like cheating, is all, Korgan." The Hunter honestly said, since they usually captured dragons either with their weapons or their dragon root arrows, which makes it kinda fun for them.
Krogan blinked. "Cheating. Cheating." He muttered to himself, "And you're right, you're right." He said as the Hunter looked surprised.
"Ah, look at us, we are a crooked band of double dealers." Krogan then took a deep breath and looked back at the Hunter. "Well, I suppose if you'd rather do things your way…" He then gestured for the Hunter to leave. "Good luck to you, hmm? And perhaps we'll meet again."
The Hunter was surprised by this gesture. "I can leave? Just like that?" He asked surprisingly.
Krogan nodded. "Just like that. Safe travels, my friend." He said.
The Hunter immediately left, but Krogan's expression instantly changed. The Hunter had at that moment just turned round to wave goodbye and then yelled as Krogan's ax came spinning towards him, ending him when the ax came into contact with his head.
The other Hunters merely looked away at the sight and then looked at Krogan. "Anyone else feel like discussing our method of trapping?" He asked, looking at the Hunters. "The floor is open." He insisted.
Unsurprisingly no one had any objections after what Krogan just did.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout, Raeda and the Thorston twins had finally reached Dark Deep and saw a couple of Quakens and several Gronckle. The Gronckles were at the present busy eating the rock happily.
Tuffnut then looked at his sister. "I can't believe you sold Johann all of our stuff."
"Was that the point?" Ruffnut asked. "What did you want from me?"
Snotlout then promptly called their heads down behind the boulder they were currently hiding behind.
"Will you two pipe down?" Snotlout said as he and Raeda joined them.
"Talk anymore and we're gonna get squashed!" Raeda whispered.
Then they filled the entire ground shaking and looked over the boulder to see the two Quakens smashing a tall stack that the Gronckles were trying to eat. The moment they knocked it down the Gronckles promptly began eating the rocks.
"You know what they call that?" Ruffnut asked the others.
"Imminent death?" Snotlout asked.
"A symbiotic relationship," Tuffnut corrected.
Ruffnut nodded. "Precisely." told her brother.
Snotlout looked at them confused. "Symbi-what?" he asked.
"What are you two talking about?" Raeda questioned.
"Symbiosis is the interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association to the advantage of both," Tuffnut explained.
They then hit behind the boulder once more.
"However, this can often lead to parasitism." Ruffnut continued.
Snotlout looked at her confused once more. "Para-what?" he asked again.
"Parasitism. It's a non-mutual symbiotic relationship between species where one benefits at the expense of the other, the host," Tuffnut explained. He then looked at Snotlout. "Take you and Hookfang, Snotlout. The two of you, if you're flying in perfect harmony, that's symbiotic."
"However, when Hooky benefits at your expense, i.e., you are getting nothing… Parasitic."
Snotlout then remembered all the times that Hookfang had tossed him off while flying and every time that he tried to feed him resulting in him being whacked by his dragon's tail.
Raeda gave a chuckle from what the Thorston twins just explained. "Okay. I gotta admit, that is so true." She said with chuckles.
Snotlout just stands there, seeing that the Thorston twins are right as he then immediately glared at Hookfang. "Hookfang." he growled.
Hookfang just merely narrowed his eyes at Snotlout. 'If anyone's a parasite, it's you.' He snorted.
Snotlout then looked at theThorston twins. "Tell you what. Why don't you two symbiose yourselves over there and get those Gronckle, or I'll 'parasite' the yak dung out of you."
"I agree with Snotlout on this. We need those Gronckles to make enough Gronckle Iron to stabilize the Edge when we get back." Raeda pointed out.
Tuffnut shook his head. "Huh! My dear fellows, although you both are not attempting the gerund form of those some of those nouns—"
"Just do it!" Snotlout yelled frustratingly.
"Get on with the task!" Raeda shouted in annoyance.
"A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Ruffnut said as the two of them walked off.
"Even if it's vacuous, empty, desolate…" Tuffnut said as they mounted Barf and Belch.
They then took off to the sky and flew directly over the Quakens which immediately roared at them.
"Uh-oh," Tuffnut said.
"This is gonna be tougher than we thought." Raeda muttered that since this is gonna be a tough task.
(Linebreak)
In another corner of the world, Krogan and the Hunters were loading the dragons onto the carts. Korgan was looking through the dragons if he was searching for a particular breed.
"No. No," Krogan said as he and a Hunter walked by dragon after dragon. "This is not it."
The Hunter looked at him. "Well, sir, perhaps if you told us what it is you're looking for and why you needed them—"
Krogan immediately turned on him. "I'll know it when I see it. And my use of them is not your concern yet." His eyes then fell upon a Singetail encased in amber and he leaned down towards it. "Singetail," He said with a wide smile.
The Singetail roared and then broke free of the amber, but Korgan wasn't worried in the slightest.
"That's the spirit," Krogan said, still smiling.
The Singetail then ran towards him and he did the same with his hands behind his back. He then sidestepped to avoid its bite, and pinch the side of its neck with a firm grip. They then suddenly collapsed to the ground and Hunter gasped in amazement.
Krogan then bent down towards the Singetail. "Bring me more of these. As many as you can find." He ordered.
(Linebreak)
At Dark Deep, Raeda, Snotlout and the Thorston twins were still trying to get their hands on some Gronckles, but the Quakens were not making that easy for them.
"Here we go." Ruffnut cried as they soared downwards.
Of course a Quaken immediately flew into the air to defend the Gronckles. It turned itself into a ball and slanted the ground creating a massive shock wave that sent the ball flying.
"I thought you said it was symbiotic." Snotlout said, turning to the Thorston twins.
"It is! For them. You ding-a-ling." Ruffnut yelled.
"Hey, name-calling is not going to help the situation, Ruffnut." Snotlout yelled.
"It's helping me plenty!" Ruffnut argued.
"Can you guys just focus on the Quakens right now?!" Raeda demanded.
They continued to fly over the Quakens and Gronckle, but the Quakens took to the air, rolled themselves into a ball and unleashed a massive shock wave. The shockwave struck Snotlout, Raeda and the Thorston twins and they crashed down onto the ground.
"Ow!" Snotlout moaned as they picked themselves up.
"Okay, we're never gonna get those Gronckles off of Darkdeep with those Quakens protecting them." Raeda said, dusting herself off, "So, to get the Gronckles' help we need to earn the Quaken's trust."
"And how do we do that?" Snotlout asked in annoyance.
"Remember how the Hunters subjugated the Quakens in the quarry?" Tuffnut asked, getting a sneaky idea. "They used vibrations to control them."
Ruffnut nodded, catching on to her brother's plan. "They had those hammers they slammed onto the ground." she added.
Snotlout smiled at the idea and drew his ax.
Ruffnut nodded. "You may contact, keep them occupied, and the three of us will lead the Gronckels to victory." She told Snotlout.
"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled joyously as he ran.
"Wait, Snotlout! The Quakens…" Raeda yelled out but Snotlout was already gone. "Don't obey the vibrations anymore." She finished worriedly, having heard from Fishlegs that the Quakens don't react to vibration commands after being brought here.
Ruffnut smiled at her brother. "I don't think this is going to be mutually beneficial."
"It will be for us." Tuffnut smiled as they high-fived each other.
"Parasites." They said in unison.
"More like selfish entertainment!" Raeda shouted as she turned to the Thorston twins who flinched at her outburst. "I know you guys like watching Snotlout get trounced around, but this is crossing a line." She threatened. "Because we don't use our teammates as bait or entertainment just to complete the mission!" She added.
The Thorston twins gave nervous chuckles at Raeda from her rage. "We're sure he'll be fine. He's been through worse." Tuffnut assured her frighteningly.
Snotlout then took his position on a ridge. "All right, Quakens, let's make this relationship shine." He declares.
Snotlout then slammed the blade of his ax into the ground sending vibrations into the ground. This drew the Quakens towards him and they began to fly towards him, much to his concern.
"Uh, guys? Little help here," said Snotlout looking around desperately for Raeda and the Thorston twins.
When he turned around he found that the Throston twins and their dragon were gone as he, Raeda, Sparkfire and Hookfang were the only ones still there.
"Hand on Snotlout! Sparkfire, Hookfang come on!" Raeda called out as she and Sparkfire took to the air with Hookfang behind them as the Quakens roared and Snotlout immediately ran away screaming.
The Thorston twins were promptly feeding the Gronckle with some rock.
"Let's get these Gronckle out while we still can." Tuffnut said.
"What about Snotlout and Raeda?!" Ruffnut asked as they flew away with Gronckles.
"Relationships are complicated. They'll work through it." Tuffnut assured
Snotlout was still screaming as the Quakens continued to chase after him. "Help!" He cried out.
"When I get my hands on those Thorston twins, they're gonna get it!" Raeda called out as she chased after the Quakens who were chasing Snotlout.
(Linebreak)
Hiccup was still collecting amber as Hicca and Astrid continued to tend to Garff's wounds. Astrid was able to remove the chain around and Hicca began to rub lotion across the deep scars on his body.
"This is going to sting a little."Hicca said calmly as she applied the lotion to Garff's scars.
Garff winced in pain and Astrid quickly went to comfort him. "I know, Garff. It's okay." Garff was looking weaker by the second. "Hiccup, I don't think I'm gonna make it."
Hicca sighed. "He's been through a lot, I'm concerned that he might not be able to make it through the night." She said in concern.
Hiccup approached them and looked at Garff, not wanting to leave.
Astrid could tell that he was fighting the urge to stay. "Go. We'll stay here with Garff." Astrid and made her way over towards him. "We can't lose the Edge, Hiccup. And we have to stop the Hunters before they can do this to other dragons. You know I'm right."
Hiccup still looked unconvinced.
"We'll be fine, brother." Hicca assured. "The Edge is the priority. And we need to keep it standing and we need to stop the Hunters from hurting more dragons" She added.
"We'll need you back there. I promise," said Astrid. "I'll stay with Hicca and tend to Garff until…" She then stopped.
Hiccup sighed as he rubbed Garff's head and Toothless nuzzled his head as well. Toothless then roared which was quickly followed by Stormfly and Midnight.
Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "We'll be fine." She said to him.
"Just get back to the Edge." Hicca told her brother.
Hiccup nodded and kissed Astrid on the forehead, giving Hicca a quick hug and then made his way over to Toothless. He then took off leaving Astrid and Hicca behind to tend to Garff.
Hicca immediately looked at Astrid. "Astrid, I'm going to need you to do everything I tell you. First we need to keep them hydrated, give him some water."
Astrid nodded and pulled out her water bottle. "All right," she said and began pouring the water into Garff's mouth. "There you go. That's a good boy." She then rubbed Garff's head. "We're here, Garff. We're here."
"We're with you, Garff. We're not leaving you." Hicca said calmly as she continued to tend Garff's wounds.
(Linebreak)
It was night when the Thorston twins returned back to the Edge and found Fishlegs and Henry as they then landed near a pit. The Gronckles immediately flew down and joined Meatlug.
"If we're gonna do this, I suggest we do it now! The lava is getting worse and worse by the second." Henry said as he and Fishlegs began to feed the Gronckles the necessary ingredients to make Gronckle Iron.
"Here you go." Fishlegs said, tossing a few rocks. "Two part sandstone, three part limestone, one part iron ore." When Meatluf barf down to the liquid metal he immediately rushed towards the nearest Gronckle and began to feed it with the same rocks.
"Two part sandstone, three part limestone, one part iron ore." Henry repeated as he followed Fishlegs' lead as he fed the Gronckles.
Fishlegs then turned towards the next Gronckle and panicked. "Ooh! No, no, no, no, no!" He then knocked the stone out of Tuffnut's head before he could feed it to the Gronckle. "This is a very specific recipe. It's three part limestone."
Tuffnut frowned. "I thought it was three part sandstone." He said.
"No." Fishlegs said firmly.
"What do we do with the bauxite?" Ruffnut asked, holding out a stone.
Fishlegs stared at her. "Bauxite? Bauxite?! There's no bauxite in Gronckle Iron!" He retorted.
"Just stir the lava so that the Gronckle Iron will stay liquefied until Hicca, Hiccup and Astrid get back with the Deathson amber!" Henry yelled out to them as he and Fishlegs continues to feed the Gronckles
"Eh." Tuffnut shrugged as Ruffnut tossed the stone away. He then noticed something very familiar with the pit they were working in. "Hang on a minute. I know this pit. Is that our boar pit?!" He yelled in realization.
Ruffnut glared at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs! Henry!" She yelled in disbelief.
"Very parasitic of you, guys!" Tuffnut glared.
"What?" said Fishlegs looking at them. "Look, I didn't have a choice."
"This was the only pit we had to make enough Gronckle Iron for the whole. Give us some slack okay." Henry pointed out.
"We all have choices." Ruffnut growled. "It's just obvious which one you made."
The Thorston twins immediately removed their helmets and placed them against their chests as they looked down at their boar pit. "Boar Pit, oh, Boar Pit, we shall miss thee," said Tuffnut. "You put the 'symbi' in our 'osis' and gave us such glee."
"Never fear, Mr Boar, as a new Pit of Iron show rises, like before," Ruffnut added. "And we shall grease you and wrestle you into symbiotic heaven. Even if our names were just Shirley and Kevin."
Ruffnut then immediately cried and blew her nose on one of Tuffnut's dreadlocks as Fishlegs and Henry just stared at them with a blank look. Then a split second later there was an eruption. "Whoa!" Ruffnut cried.
Fishlegs looked at them. "Are you two finished?" he asked.
"Three more verses. You're gonna love the fourth," said Tuffnut as the lava suddenly erupted from one of the cracks behind them.
"Maybe you can say, AFTER we avoid getting blown to bits?!" Henry suggested
"Yeah, I never did like that poem," said Tuffnut as they put their helmets dashed over towards Fishlegs.
Fishlegs began to stir the Gronckle Iron when he heard the sound of Toothless in the distance. If you split a second later Hiccup on the ground next to him.
Fishlegs noticed that he was all alone. "Whether's Astrid and Hicca?"
"Melody Island. I'll explain later." Hiccup said as Fishlegs took the pot filled with amber. He then looked at the twins noticing that there was someone missing. "Where's Snotlout and Raeda?" He asked
"Dark Deep," Tuffnut answered as he and his sister began to stir the mixture.
"We'll explain later," Ruffnut added.
Then there was another eruption and lava continued to shoot out from the cracks across the island.
"Fishlegs, Henry, we have to fill the cracks." Hiccup ordered.
Fishlegs then appeared on top of Meatlug, who then spewed the mixture into Toothless' pots. Once they were filled he and Toothless immediately took to the sky.
"We'll be right behind you," Fishlegs called. He then looked at the Thorston twins. "All right guys, we gotta take this show on the road, we might make it on the fly."
"So use the Diving Bell so we can make more." Henry said as he gestured towards the diving bell and the Thorston twins smiled at one another.
They immediately mounted their dragon and grabbed the diving bell and then jumped into the mixture. They along with Fishlegs, Henry and the Gronckle then took to the sky following Hiccup.
Hiccup saw them directly. "That's it," he said and looked down at Toothless. "Take us in low, bud."
They then immediately flew down towards the forest which was almost entirely covered in lava. They then jumped the mixture in their path into the nearest crack sealing it completely.
"Whoa!" Hiccup yelled, pulling up in time just to avoid getting splashed by lava.
The Thorston twins then jumped the mixture right on top of the crack sealing it completely.
"Here comes the limestone," Fishlegs said as he began feeding the Gronckles and Meatlug. He then began to feed them sandstone "Ooh! Oh and here comes your sandstone!" He declared.
They then immediately pour the liquid Gronckle Iron into the diving bell along with the Deathsong Amber.
"Incoming!" Ruffnut yelled as they dive down towards another crack.
Like before they were able to seal the crack completely.
Hiccup once again filled another crack with a combined mixture and it looked as if they were finally making some progress. Fishlegs was so excited that he hugged Hiccup, nearly suffocating him.
"It's working, Hiccup," Fishlegs cried.
"I can see that, Fishlegs." Hiccup wheezed.
Fishlegs immediately released him. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Super excited."
Henry came to them. "The cracks are sealing up and the island is stabilizing." He said with a smile.
However their excitement was short lived as another explosion happened on the mountains and they realized that the volcano was about to erupt. "Oh, right, forgot about that." Henry winced.
"We have to get to the volcano. Now!" Hiccup said as they flew as fast they could towards the volcano and blew down to one of the cracks that was erupting near the crater.
"It's too intense," Fishlegs told the others.
They immediately backed away as lava shot up into the air with a greater magnitude than before.
"This crack is more powerful with the others sealed up!" Henry yelled out.
"I mean we love a good hot smoldering magma blast as much as the next Viking, but…" Tuffnut said before he was interrupted by another burst of lava.
"True that! Tell them, Shirley!" Ruffnut said as they backed away from the stream of lava.
"Can I be Kevin next time, please?" Tuffnut asked.
"All right, everyone, let's do this!" Hiccup called.
Fishlegs immediately fed the Gronckle with the necessary ingredients and they began to refill the containers. They then dive down towards the crack and Hiccup was the first one to dump the mixture into the crack followed by Henry and the Thorston twins.
"Whoo!" Fishlegs cried as he and the Gronckle landed.
"That sealed it!" Henry cheered.
However the eruptions caused a landslide, Fishlegs and Meatlug were able to get away from it just in time. The other Gronckle however were not so lucky and they found themselves completely buried under a ton of rock.
"The Gronckles. Oh, no!" Fishlegs cried rushing towards them.
Hiccup and Henry dive down and try to assist them with moving the blocks, but they were just too heavy for their dragons.
The twins were flying down to help, but then they saw something above them. "Uh, guys?" Tuffnut spoke up.
Flowing down the volcano was a stream of lava and soon Hiccup, Henry and Fishlegs saw the problem.
"Oh, no," Hiccup said.
"Now what do we do?" Henry asked.
They then heard a familiar scream and saw Snotlout and Raeda flying as quickly as they could towards them with three Quakens on their tails.
"Somebody help us!" Snotlout screamed as he then flew directly over Hiccup. "We can't get these parasites off our butts!" He cried, hiding behind the rocks.
Raeda then flew next to Hiccup. "These guys are seriously overprotective with the Gronckles and are really ticked when they found out they were off the island!" She called out before she looked at the Quakens again and flew off.
The Quakens were now hovering directly above Hiccup and Toothless immediately took a fighting stance. However, they heard the Gronckles beneath and turned their attention onto them and then saw the lava heading down towards them.
One of the Quakens growled and soon led the others towards the volcano. Then one by one they dive down towards the volcano rolling themselves into a ball and striking it. Lava then began to pour out of the hole they had created and the volcano subsided before it reached the Gronckle.
"Of course, they're releasing the volcanic pressure." Fishlegs realized.
"They're trying to make the volcano stable." Henry added.
Snotlout and Raeda, along with their dragons then poked his head over the rocks. "Ah, I knew they were gonna do that." Snotlout said, "We're tight like that. Symbiotic tight."
"Sure you were, especially when they tried to smoosh us." Raeda said sarcastically as she, Sparkfire and Hookfang scowl at him.
They then heard the Quakens growling and quickly ducked behind the rocks.
Hiccup and Toothless flew away from the pile of logs as the Quakens flew down. They then began to remove the blocks surrounding the Gronckles, freeing them. They didn't look worse for wear and immediately they cheered and watched as they flew away back to Dark Deep.
Raeda then stepped out from behind the rocks, "Good, now that they're gone." She said, dusting herself off before glaring, "Where are Ruff and Tuff?!" She demanded, not noticing the Thorston Twins and their Zippleback sneaking away.
(Linebreak)
The next day Hicca and Astrid had returned to the Edge and soon discovered that Garff was now with them as Chicken came next to him without knowing, but once she noticed, she clucked and ran off in fright.
"I can't believe that Garff made it. He was not looking too good." Hiccup said, looking at Hicca.
Hicca rubbed the back of her head. "It was easy, believe me, bro, it was a simple touch and go. He is a very"
Astrid nodded. "Good thing you were with us Hicca, or Garff probably wouldn't have made it."
"Truthfully I think we can hand most of that success over to Garff." Hicca said, folding her arms.
Astrid nodded in agreement. "That dragon has a lot of fight in him." She complimented.
Hiccup then placed a hand on Astrid's shoulder. "He's not the only one."
Astrid smiled and looked at him. "Hiccup, we can't let what happened to Garff happen to any other dragon."
Hiccup nodded. "You're right. And we're not going to." Hiccup then immediately turns to the others. "Listen, gang, the Dragon Hunters are still out there. I know you all wanna go home, but—"
"Uh, who said that I wanted to go home?" Fishlegs frowned. "I don't wanna go home."
"Not me. I surely don't wanna go." Ruffnut said.
"And I, Kevin-ly, would never give up the chats to live in a place that blows up all the time," Tuffnut said.
"Now that the volcano is stabilized, I don't see any reason why we can't stay here." Henry said to them with a small smile.
"The Edge is our home too, Hiccup. We aren't going anywhere if the Hunters are still out there." Raeda told her best friend, while crossing her arms.
"And remember our motto, bro." Hicca said with a smile as Hiccup smiled knowingly.
"Where one goes, the other one follows." The Haddock twins said in unison as they shared a quick hug.
Snotlout just folded his arms, scowling. "Fine. I'll stay." He then gestured to the Thorston twins. "But keep me away from those two." He then walked up to Hiccup and Hicca. "They put me in front of the Quakens, and thank Thor I'm that tight with them."
"And symbiosis is alive and well in Dragon's Edge." Tuffnut said, folding his arms proudly.
"You think Johann will let us buy any of our stuff back?" Ruffnut asked.
Tuffnut shook his head. "Nah. He's a bit of a parasite, no?"
"He surely is." Ruffnut said.
"Which reminds me…" Raeda said as she then came up to the Thorston twins with a glare as she grabbed them by the shoulder, which made them flinch. "As a symbiosis punishment for using Snotlout as bait and leaving me and him behind, how about you two clean up mine and Snotlout's huts…" She started.
"Cleaning?! Well two huts isn't so bad." Tuffnut shrugged as his sister nodded in agreement.
"With only your bare hands with no help, no tools and no Barf & Belch." Raeda finished with a smirk.
"What?!" The Thorston twins yelled in shock.
"Hiccup, Hicca, back us up here!" Ruffnut pleaded.
"This is cruel and unusual!" Tuffnut added.
Hiccup and Hicca gave each other a smirk before turning to them. "Sorry Ruff and Tuff, but you did use Snotlout as bait and leave him and Raeda behind on Darkdeep." Hiccup started with amusement.
"So it seems like a fitting punishment for doing that to them, even if the Quakens followed them when they helped stabilize the volcano." Hicca finished with a smirk.
"What?!" The Thorston twins yelled out in shock.
Raeda gave a smirk at the Haddock twins as she winked at them as they winked back. "You heard them, get started! The sooner you get started, the faster you will finish!" She said as she dragged them away as they tried to break free from the Henderson girl, but to no avail as the rest of the Riders laugh at this, finding it funny after an intense lava emergence on Dragon's Edge.
(Linebreak)
At the old Dragon Hunter arena, Krogan was looking at the cage that contains their new Singetail. It immediately erupted into flames, but Krogan wasn't concerned in the slightest. He then jumped on top of the cage and a Hunter nervously held onto a lever.
Two Hunters were looking at each other as they watched the entire scene.
"Any idea who takes over when this thing kills him?" One of them asked the other.
"I suppose it'd be a vote. That seems the most logical thing." Another hunter suggested boredly.
Krogan nodded at the Hunter signaling him to open the cage and he jumped inside it and landed directly on top of the Singetail. Unsurprisingly, the Singetail then tried to pull him off wildly and the Hunter opened the cage. Krogan held onto its head firmly as it kept on trying to shake around shooting flames in all directions and taking off around the arena.