Chapter 59: Matter of Perspective
At the Defender of the Wing's island, the volcano had overflowed and lava was almost upon the village. The people began to panic as the lava was getting close to the houses close to the canyon.
"Where is the Great Protector?" A woman cried.
"I don't see the Great Protector," A man panicked.
Mala and Throk were looking at one another with great concern until they heard the roar of the Eruptodon.
"There!" Throk pointed.
The Eruptodon was heading straight towards the mouth of the canyon, but the lava had already reached the first of the houses.
"Fire! My house is on fire!" A woman cried as she ran away from her burning house as lava touched it.
The Eruptodon was making its way as quickly towards the volcano as possible, but it was far slower than normal.
"It won't make it." said Mala. "It's too late."
They then heard a second roar and flying above them was the baby Eruptodon, no longer a baby. It was now five times as big and was flying far faster than the original Eruptodon as surging reached the mouth of the canyon first and began eating the lava much to everyone's relief.
"Oh, praise the Ancestors." One of the Defenders cheered. "The new Protector has saved us all."
The old Protector then landed on the ground just as the new one had finished eating at the lava. It looked at its child and realized that it was now too old and then bowed to the new Protector, 'Well done, my son.' The Old Protector rumbled.
'Th-thank you mother.' The New Protector growled as he bowed back.
The old protected and looked to the sky as if it was drawn to it.
Throk quickly rushed over to it knowing what this meant.
Mala then placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's time. I'm sorry, Throk." She said solemnly.
Throk just stood there solemn looking at his old friend. "Now to tell Henry the news." He sighed.
(Linebreak)
At Dragon's Edge, the Haddock twins were completely covered in darkness within Hiccup's hut. They were looking at certain materials as if pondering on how to assemble them. In truth these were from the parsley they acquired from Johann was working on a secret project, so secretive that they can't tell the others, even Astrid and Henry.
Of course they had no idea how to start their secret project, much to Hiccup's frustration. "Come on!" Hiccup yelled in frustration. "Think, Hiccup. Think."
"Calm down, bro. It's not gonna be easy to work on a project like this." Hicca said, while a little frustrated herself but has more patience than her brother.
"I know, sis. I just wish we knew how to do it." Hiccup sighs as he looks at their design and then immediately coupled it into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder. Toothless immediately awoke from his nap and began to play with the ball of paper and then burn to ashes while Midnight was half awake as she gave a dragon-like yawn.
"Maybe we're missing something to this." Hicca suggested.
Hiccup just sat there thinking. "I agree, but what are we missing? I…" He was startled out of his thoughts when someone knocked on his door. "Gah, gah, gah!" Hiccup yelled as he stepped away from his desk and began stammering. "Just a minute!"
"Better cover them up!" Hicca whispered as she covered the table with a sheet.
Hiccup rushed towards the door and opened it to find Astrid and Henry standing there. He immediately used his body to block a side of his desk, to prevent them from figuring out what they were working on.
"Hey!" Hiccup said, chuckling nervously.
"Hey. Whatcha both up to?" Astrid asked, though she had a pretty good idea.
"Oh, you know. Not much," Hiccup said as he began swaying his body constantly to block a site of his desk as Hicca came next to her brother. "Just, uh…"
"Working on a secret project?" Astrid assumed.
"Hiccup, you're pretty easy to tell that you and Hicca are working on that secret project." Henry said with a smirk.
"We are not easy to tell." Hiccup said in protest.
"Hicca…" Henry said as he looked at his girlfriend.
Hicca looked at Henry as she gave a nervous chuckle. "Uh… I mean… Uh. Okay, you got us there." She said in defeat.
"Hicca." Hiccup sighs.
"What? It's true, we do get nervous when we are doing something that we can't tell the other to know yet." Hicca said in defense.
"Which is true." Astrid said with a smile. "You both are still working on those secret projects?"
"It's not a secret, guys." Hiccup pointed out with a small smile.
"Okay. Astrid said with a smile. "So, uh, then tell me what it is."
"It's, uh, well, you know," Hiccup said awkwardly.
"We're still working them out." Hicca said awkwardly as well.
Astrid then leaned in close, smiling victoriously. "Yeah. Secret." She then leaned back and gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You two can tell us when you're ready."
Hicca sighed in relief, "Thank you." She said before putting her hands on her hips, "So, I take it you didn't just come here to find out our secrets."
Henry then frowned and held out a piece of parchment. "We got a message from Mala." He said, "And it's kind of sad news." He explained.
"How sad? Did something happen?" Hicca asked in concern.
"Take a look at the message and you will find out." Astrid said with a frown as well.
Hiccup opened the parchment as he and Hicca began to look through it. Hicca's eyes widened a bit, "Oh." She said as she placed her hands over her mouth.
(Linebreak)
The next morning they were at the Defender of the Wing's island and noticed there was some sort of celebration going.
"We're so glad you all were able to attend our Changing of the Guard celebration." Mala greeted them as she and Henry shared a hug. "It wouldn't be the same without you."
"We're happy to come, Mala. Wouldn't miss it even for a second." Henry said as they walked on.
Ruffnut then tapped her brother, who was holding a notebook and pencil. "Changing of the Guard celebration." She said to her brother.
"Interesting."Tuffnut said as he wrote something down in the notebook.
Snotlout noticed this and the moment he looked at them, Tuffnut stopped. He rolled his eyes and turned his focus back onto the celebration that was going on.
"Now, how often does this guard changing occur? Hmm?" Tuffnut asked curiously to Mala.
"Once the Eruptodon is unable to fulfill its duties, and let its heir take its place if it can't protect anymore." Henry started while giving a sad expression.
"And it leaves us to live out its golden years on Vanaheim." Throk added, looking a bit heartbroken.
"Ah." Tuffnut said as he wrote in his notebook. He then looked confused. "Vana-what?"
"Vanaheim." Henry corrected as he then looked proudly at the Eruptodon and crossed his arms. "It's the final resting place of dragons."
"This Great Protector has honored us with its presence for four decades." Throk finished.
The Thorston twins just gave him blank looks.
"Seriously you two?" Raeda asked with rolled eyes.
Fishlegs rolled his eyes as well. "Come on. Forty years." He explained/
Tuffnut blinked. "She must have some serious vacation time coming." He commented.
Ruffnut nudged him. "Especially when you consider that most Vikings don't live that long." She added.
Fishlegs looked at them curiously. "What are you two up to?" He asked.
"Yeah, you two have been doing this since we got here." Raeda added, wanting to know as well.
"Nothing." Tuffnut lied.
"More secrets," Astrid said and gave Hiccup a gentle shove in the arm. "Great." She stated.
Hiccup merely rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
Hicca then notices Henry's expression, seeing that he isn't teasing her like Astrid did with Hiccup, which makes her a little concerned as Henry walks up to the Eruptodon as he grabs a rag.
"No secrets here." Snotlout said, snatching the notebook from Tuffnut. Tuffnut tries to grab it back, but Snotlout tells him back as he begins to read from it. "'How to do the great beyond on 10 gold pieces a day'?" He read.
"You two are writing a book?" Raeda asked in surprise.
Tuffnut then snatched it from Snotlout. "It's a Viking travel guide. Just take that in." He explained.
Hiccup rubbed his chin. "The Vanaheim legend, it's the mythical last resting place of all dragons."
Hicca nodded. "Every Viking in the Archipelago knows that story. It's where all dragons spend their final days there before passing through to Valhalla. Though it was never confirmed that it existed."
"Vanaheim is very real." Mala assured. "It's been part of our culture for centuries."
Hiccup stared at them. "So you've seen it?" He asked.
"By the Ancients, no!" Mala quickly said.
"We've never seen it our whole lives, Hiccup." Henry added as he wiped the Eruptodon's legs. "Not even me."
"Umm. Not to burst your bubble, but you gotta see it for it to be real." Snotlout pointed out.
"We have had no way to follow it." Mala explained.
"Not unt—" Tuffnut said, but quickly stopped. He then smiled towards his sister. "Not until now."
"And nor would we. There are certain corners of the animal kingdom where humans mustn't tread." Mala said firmly.
"Well, we couldn't agree more, Mala," Hiccup said, then looked directly at the Thorston twins. "We have to stay away from dragon culture that pure and undisturbed."
"Which is why, we must all stay away from such places as far as possible." Hicca finished, also narrowing her eyes at the Thorston Twins.
"Are they eyeballing us?" Tuffnut asked, looking at his sister.
Ruffnut scoffed. "They're always eyeballing us."
"Ruff, Tuff." Hicca said firmly as she and Hiccup gave them a firm look and the Thorston twins then placed their fingers over their eyes as if holding a spyglass in each eye.
"If they want a free travel guide, they're barking up the wrong tree," Ruffnut said.
"Ha! Yeah," Tuffnut nodded. He then frowned and looked at his sister. "Hiccup and Hicca barks?"
"With the best of 'em." Ruffnut said. "It's quite regal. More like a howl."
The Haddock twins sighed with exasperation before turning their attention back to Mala and Throk. They then noticed that Mala placed a gentle hand on Throk's shoulder and he started to make his way to the aging Eruptodon with Henry.
"Are Henry and Throk feeling okay, Mala?" Hicca asked in concern. "They seem sad about the old Protector leaving." She added.
"It's going to be difficult for Throk and Henry, Hicca." Mala explained. They then watched as Throk began joining Henry to rob a silk cloth over the dragon's rocky body, giving it a good polish. "They and that Dragon have special bonds. But it is with great happiness that they part."
"Happy?" Hiccup frowned.
"We don't know about that, Mala. If I had to say goodbye to Toothless or Midnight, we'd be pretty sad." Hicca said while looking down at the thought of losing their dragons.
"Yeah, it's sad." Hiccup said in agreement.
"Sadness is a matter of perspective, Haddocks," Mala explained. "It is how you choose to view something that makes it happy, scary, intriguing or sad. We don't view this day as a day to mourn. It's a day to rejoice. This is a well-earned rest for the Great Protector. We should all be so lucky to have lived such a meaningful life."
They then witnessed as the aging Eruptodon nuzzled the younger Eruptodon affectionately.
(Linebreak)
Later that morning they were at the edge of the cliff looking at a sunrise. Throk and Henry were standing next to the aged Eruptodon and each placed a gentle hand on its rocky body.
"Goodbye, old friend." Throk said with a smile on his face. "Until we meet again in Valhalla."
Henry patted the Old Protector, "You were the first one to accept me as part of the Defenders Great One. And I will never forget our time together. And I will never forget you, until I see you again in Valhalla. Goodbye Great One, enjoy your final days." He said as he gave a small tear as he smiled at the Old Protector.
The aged Eruptodon looked at them. 'I will miss you as well, my friends.' She said as she nodded and then took to the sky and flew towards the sunset.
With that done they all started to make their way back to the village, but the Thorston twins just stood there.
"Quick. Look sad." Tuffnut said. Ruffnut did a pretend sob, but Tuffnut nudged her in the arm. "No, sadder."
"This is as sad as I get." Ruffnut said.
Tuffnut responded by slamming his foot right on top of her toes and she winced in pain as tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Throk and Henry then approached the two of them. "Will you be joining us for breakfast?" Throk asked them,
"Oh, my sister," Tuffnut said with sympathy. "I mean, look at her. Look at how this has affected her." He then raised her face to Throk, which was cheering up though that might have something to do with the broken toes she now had. "She's sad. She… This is the saddest she can be, apparently. She's an emotional wreck. She can't even talk."
Tuffnut then pulled her into his chest and she began groaning as she tried to free herself from his grip.
Throk apparently were completely buying this. "Yes. It is a difficult day for us all." He stated.
"Indeed." Tuffnut nodded as Throk walked away. "It is a difficult day for us all. Obviously, for Ruffnut more, 'cause she's, you know, kind of weak and fragile."
"Okay then." Henry said suspiciously to the two as he and Throk walked off.
Once Throk and Henry were gone, Tuffnut released Ruffnut and the two of them chuckled mischievously as they turned towards the Eruptodon flying off into the distance.
Henry stopped as he turned and saw the Thorston twins flying away. "Oh those muttonheads." He muttered as he turned to Throk with a fake smile. "Uh, you go without me Throk, I'm gonna stay and cherish the moment the Old Protector left." He lied, since he needed something to let Throk not know he needed to follow the Thorston twins before they did something stupid.
"I understand, Henry. Take all the time you need. I would've done the same myself." Throk nodded in understanding as he walked off.
Once Throk was out of sight, Henry turned to where the Thorston twins flew off as he growled in frustration. "Those two really can't appreciate the sacredness of the dragon kingdom. No time to get the Haddocks and the others, so I better hurry." He growled as he mounted Wildstar as he and his other four dragons flew off to follow the Thorston twins.
(Linebreak)
The other Dragon Riders were enjoying a meal that the Defenders had produced.
"Hey, has anyone seen the Thorston twins?" Hiccup asked. "I mean when was the last time they missed a free meal?"
"And for that matter, where's Henry? He's usually never this late." Hicca stated.
"Your Thorston twins departed our island at sunup while Henry stayed to commemorate the memory of the Old Protector." Throk explained.
"Departed?" Hiccup stared. "To where?"
"And Henry was there for a long time now, so why hasn't he…" Hicca added.
Then realization struck them like a ton of dragon dung. "Oh, no." Hiccup said with wide eyes.
"They didn't…" Hicca started in a worried tone.
(Linebreak)
They didn't waste any time getting on their dragons and began to follow the twins trail and the Haddock twins were completely furious at the Thorston twins, but mostly to themselves.
"Why did we ever let them out of our sight?" Hiccup roared. "We can't even have a breakfast anymore!"
"And why didn't Henry tell us this first? He usually tells us when those two Thorstons cause trouble." Hicca added while feeling angry that Ruff and Tuff went behind their backs again while feeling conflicted as to why Henry didn't tell them before they left.
"He probably wanted first dibs on knocking those muttonheads heads off." Raeda wagered.
"Good point." Hicca sighed.
Snotlout was enjoying this. "Gee, guys, when you both fail, you two fail big time." he mocked.
"Thanks a lot, Snotlout," Hiccup said through gritted teeth.
"Do you really wanna lose some more teeth like how Hiccup punched some out of you during Barf and Belch dept thing?" Hicca questioned furiously as she raised her fist. "Because Henry's been giving me private lessons, you wanna see what I've learned?"
"No! No, no, no, no. I'm good. Don't need to see what you learned." Snotlout said nervously as he raised his hands in defense as he looked frightfully at his cousins.
"Okay, we know the Eruptodon travels north." Fishlegs said as he began looking through his cards. "So, based on its size and speed, we should be able to close the distance."
"Mala gave me this." Astrid said, holding out the piece of silk that Throk or Henry used to polish the Eruptodon. She then placed the silk next to Stormfly, who began to sniff it. "Although, she was not too pleased we were going."
"Oh, I'm with you on that." Hiccup said. "None of us should be anywhere near that place, which is why we need to catch up to Henry and those two… twins."
"Let's hope that Henry doesn't kill them before we get there." Hicca commented. "He can be pretty mad when those two mess up, especially for the sanctum for dragons." She added.
"Knowing Henry, he's probably tearing those two apart." Raeda commented.
"That's about it." Hiccup nodded in agreement.
Stormfly then squawked. 'I found the scent.'
"All right, she's got the scent." Astrid said. "Here we go."
They then all followed Stormfly as he began to fall the trail of the Eruptodon and hopefully reach Henry the Thorston twins before they reached Vanaheim, or keep Henry from killing the Thorston twins, whichever came first.
(Linebreak)
Sadly that was not proven true, because soon they came into view of a large island and they had yet to meet up with the Thorston twins. They knew that this was Vanaheim instantly, because there were dragon statues littered all over the place.
The dragons however were very uneasy about the statues which Toothless and Midnight demonstrated by coming to a full stop and growling at it. 'I don't like these statues guys.' Toothless growled suspiciously.
"Easy, bud. They're just Sentinel statues." Hiccup said calmly.
"I don't understand," Fishlegs frowned. "If no human has ever been here…"
Hicca quickly caught up on what Fishlegs was getting at. "Who carved those Sentinels if no one has ever been here?"
"Just because Queenie and Throkster haven't been here doesn't mean nobody has." Snotlout pointed out.
"True." Raeda nodded, looking closely at the Sentinel statues. "But I don't see any erosion whatsoever. Staying out here to face the elements they should have been warned away or pieces broken off, but they look as if they'd just been finished, which is not possible."
Snotlout scoffed. "You worry too much, Rae." He told her.
"All I'm saying is, these statues may not be what they appear to be." Raeda pointed out as she looked closely at one of the Sentinel. She then felt a short but hot burst of wind over her hair, "What the…?" She looked around but all she saw was the Sentinel, standing there like the statue it was while the Henderson girl hummed in suspension before she and Sparkfire moved on, not noticing the Sentinel twitching for a second.
They then made their way towards the island and found something quite extraordinary.
Fishlegs gasped upon seeing it. "Guys, check this out."
They were flying directly over what looked like to be mounds, large ones big enough to fit a dragon or several of them. There are more mounds than they could count, but Hiccup and Hicca then saw a very familiar looking Hideous Zippleback, Snifflehunch, Eggbiter, Thornridge, and Sand Wraith pair by a tree.
By said tree were Barf and Belch and Henry's Dragons eating a strange kind of fruit and they appear to be enjoying it. And then screaming can be heard.
The Riders turned and saw the Thorston twins running from Henry, who was looking really furious as he raised his sword at them.
"I'm gonna kill you two muttonheads!" Henry yelled as he continued to chase after them.
"Take it easy! Take it easy!" Tuffnut told him as he and Ruffnut jumped a log and Henry jumped as well.
"I'm gonna strangle you two!" Henry growled as he tried to grab the blonde twins.
"Calm down! Calm down!" Ruffnut yelled in fright as they zig-zagged to shake off the raging Grimborn, but to no avail.
"I'll bury you two! Dig you up and break your bones. And then serve your bones to the Screaming Death!" Henry yelled as he chased them around a confused Barf and Belch.
"20 second timeout! 20 second timeout!" Both Ruff and Tuff begged as they tried to hide behind Barf and Belch but Henry kept cutting them off.
Henry jumped at the Thorston twins as they rolled across the ground before they stopped as Henry was on top of them. Henry drew his sword as he screamed in rage as the Thorston twins screamed in fright, before Henry could make his move, they heard the flapping of familiar wings and two familiar shadows flying over them.
"Uh-oh." Tuffnut said. He looked really worried. "Now we're really in for it." He said as Ruffnut nodded.
Henry then looked down at them before with a glare as he re sheath his sword. "You're both lucky that Hiccup and Hicca are now here, or you two would be dead meat." He growled as he got off of them as the Thorston twins watched him go with frightful looks.
(Linebreak)
Once the Thorston Twins were on their feet again, they were scolded by the Haddock twins.
"We can't believe you two would do something like this!" Hicca scolded as she rubbed her head. "Wait, we should believe it since you two always do the things we told you not to do!" She corrected herself as she brought her face close to them as they leapt back.
"How are we supposed to know what those looks mean?" Ruffnut asked defensively.
Hiccup couldn't believe his ears while his sister felt the same. "Well what did you think they meant?"
"I don't know." Tuffnut shrugged. "I mean, we're not existential."
"Uh, I think you mean extrasensory." Fishlegs corrected.
"You don't know what we mean because you can't read our minds." Ruffnut said as she placed her finger to her head.
"That'd be a curse." Snotlout said, rolling his eyes.
"A total nightmare to what those two are thinking." Raeda commented with a dull tone.
"Yeah. But what if we could? Read minds." Tuffnut pondered.
Ruffnut smiled at him. "Try me." She suggested.
Tuffnut placed a hand on her helmet and they closed their eyes as Tuffnut concentrated. A few seconds later he opened them and started laughing.
"You shouldn't say that about Hiccup and Hicca." Tuffnut said. "'Hiccup and Hicca barks.' 'Which tree?' 'The wrong one.'"
"Not funny. None of this is funny." Hiccup said.
"Now's not the time with jokes." Hicca said dully.
"I knew you both were thinking that!" Tuffnut cheered.
"We shouldn't be here. We can't upset the natural order of things when it comes to dragons, gang." Hiccup said as he then placed his hand over his mouth so that Toothless and Midnight couldn't hear him. "Especially as they transition over into the afterlife."
"This sanctum is only for the dragons and off limits to humans." Hicca added firmly. "I mean, Henry was clearly chasing you two for your stupid move." She added.
"And not to mention, the Old Protector wanted to enjoy her final days here where she can finally rest in peace." Henry added as he turned to the Old Protector. "Sorry for intruding on your retirement, Great One. These two muttonheads clearly don't know respect." He said as he glared at the Thorston twins while patting the aged Eruptodon.
'Do not worry young Henry. I do not blame them for being curious.' The Old Protector growled at Henry as she gave him an assuring nuzzle.
Hicca then looked at them firmly. "Okay everyone, we're leaving. Now."
"Goodbye again, Great One." Henry said as he waved to the Old Protector. "Now let's get out of here before we disrupt the natural order."
The Riders immediately hopped onto their dragons and took off to the air.
Unfortunately they soon discovered that leaving the island was not as easy as one might think. For suddenly the stone Sentinels surrounding the island awoke, it turned out that they were not stone statues, but my real actual dragons.
The way they moved sounded as if rocks were cracking and then they flew into the air and immediately flew towards the Riders. 'None shall leave!' One of them roared.
"Oh, what the Thor?" Fishlegs yelled.
"Those aren't dragon statues!" Raeda yelled in shock.
"They're real dragons!" Hicca yelled with wide eyes.
"Stay together." Hiccup said as the dragons began to fly around them. "There's too many of them to take on alone." The dragons kept on flying around them which was a bit distressing. "Guys, we have to bust through them."
"Let's charge together! They may not attack us all at once." Hicca called out.
They immediately charged at the dragons, but one of them flew up directly in front of them and performed a very powerful wing blast. The gust of wind was so powerful that it knocked all of them off course.
"Okay, I'll take that back. They can." Hicca corrected herself in surprise.
Toothless and Midnight quickly recovered and began flying back towards them, but the dragon was soon joined by two other bid brethren and together they performed another powerful wing blast. This time it was so powerful that they were sent crashing towards the ground.
The Haddock had been knocked out cold, but was awakened when Toothless and Midnight nudged them gently.
"Huh. Thanks, bud," Hiccup said gratefully.
"Thanks, girl." Hicca said gratefully as well.
The Haddock then looked up and saw the Sentinels flying around them in a circle.
Snotlout groaned as he picked himself out of the tree he landed on. "Hey, Henry, I'd just like to point out that, once again, you, Mala and Throk have conveniently left out the part where we almost get killed!" He yelled at Henry.
Snotlout was so frustrated that he accidentally lost his balance on the branch and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Hookfang caught him before he hit the ground, but then promptly released him and he struck the ground hard.
"You're blaming me, Mala and Throk for a place where we've never been before, Snotlout?!" Henry questioned in irritation.
Fishlegs then approached them as Snotlout picked himself up. "Henry's right, Snotlout. How could they know that? They've never been here. No humans have ever been here." He reminded
"Still, they should have…" Snotlout said before it quickly dawned on him that the sentence made no sense. "I mean… Shut up, Fishface." He retorted.
"Snotlout, just drop it, okay. You can't win this one, as usual." Raeda advised as Snotlout grumbled.
"Well, at least we know the reason why no one knows about Vanaheim." Hicca said as she brushed the dirt off her clothes.
Hiccup nodded as he looked up at the Sentinels. "Hicca is right, these Sentinels are the reason that no one knows about this place." He said.
"They act like the guardians of Vanaheim, protectors to this sacred place so that dragons can have their final moments in peace." Henry noted.
They then watched as the Sentinels returned to their perches then suddenly became dormant. They looked like ordinary statues again, only this time they knew the certainty that they weren't statues.
"If anyone ever snuck in here, they'd never get out." Astrid said.
"That's it!" Ruffnut cried as he emerged from the bushes. She then quickly brought out a notepad and pencil and began to scribble down in it.
Barf and Belch then pulled Tuffnut out of the bushes and hovered him next to Ruffnut. "Vanaheim. A Once in a Lifetime Adventure." He then looked at his sister. "Jot that down. And also make little hearts over the I's."
"Ooh, way ahead of you. Because I knew you were thinking that." Ruffnut smiled.
"There's no way that's true." Hiccup said with an emotionless look on his face. "We need to find a way out of here."
"We shouldn't be here to begin with and we must not disgrace this resting place." Hicca added.
"Maybe we could, you know, just hang out for a bit." Fishlegs offered. The Haddock twins then gave him the look. "As long as we're here." The Haddock twins kept on giving him the look and he immediately backed down. "Or we could leave immediately."
Hiccup then turned to the others. "All right, I think these guys' power comes from as a unit. So, if we split up, they split up."
"So the way we see it, let's go in two waves, opposite directions." Hicca instructed. "We'll cut them in half first, then take them on, one on one."
"Astrid, you, Raeda, Snotlout and Fishlegs go first." Hiccup continued then looked at the Thorston twins. "And, uh, can you guys tell what I'm thinking?" He asked.
"Yes." Tuffnut said. "Yak barf. Yak lice. Yak nose. Yak breath. Rocks. Water. Trees." Hiccup and Hicca gave him an annoyed look. "Hmm. None of those, huh?" His face then beamed. "I knew it! So I'd rather not say."
Hiccup mentally kicked himself from asking. "That's 10 seconds of my life I'll never get back." He said.
"Ditto." Hicca said before she then looked at the others. "Dragon Riders, let's fly!" She announced.
Astrid launched the first wave and the moment they took to the air the Sentinels awoke and advanced towards them. 'None shall leave!' One of the Sentinels roared.
"Now!" Astrid ordered.
"Break!" Raeda declared.
Snotlout, Raeda and Fishlegs immediately separated from her as did the Sentinels. Astrid then immediately launched several spines at the Sentinel in front of her. However, it skilfully counted by striking them with its tail and deflected them back towards her.
"Stormfly, look out!" Astrid yelled.
The spines then struck Stormfly's wing, thankfully the spines didn't cause any damage, though it did cause it to lose balance and the Sentinel began to advance towards her pushing him back towards the ground.
Fishlegs was running away screaming from another Sentinel who was chasing him down. "Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" he yelled.
He was so busy panicking that he wasn't watching here is going and slammed right into Astrid and Stormfly. They then crashed to the ground as Snotlout flew over and cringed once he heard the crash.
Raeda was being chased by another Sentinel. "Sparkfire, fire!" She ordered Sparkfire as she shot some fire blasts at the Sentinel, but it dodged before he continued his chase before she was blasted out of the sky as they crashed down with Fishlegs and Astrid.
"You guys are so lame." Snotlout smirked. "Watch, you might learn something." They then immediately turned around and faced the Sentinels. "You want a piece of this? Hookfang, fire up!" He ordered.
Hookfang then immediately ignited and roared, 'Eat five thousand pounds of flaming-' He was then cut off when the Sentinel merely unleashed a powerful gust of wind from its mouth. It was so powerful that the flames around Hookfang dispelled and they were sent flying towards the ground. 'Ow.' Hookfang groaned.
"All right, let's make literary history!" Tuffnut said as he and his sister hopped onto their dragon and took to the air.
"A little something to remember us by!" Ruffnut yelled.
Barf then unleashed a burst of gas towards one of the Sentinels, but it perfectly counted by forming a wing blast sending the gas right back at them.
Tuffnut screamed at the gas covering them. "Wait, what?" he asked.
The Sentinel then unleashed a burst of flames of the gas causing it to ignite, the explosion causing them to fall to the ground.
"Looks like it is our turn," Henry noted as he mounted Wildstar.
"Let's go help them out." Hicca added as she mounted Midnight.
Hiccup nodded as he mounted Toothless. "Toothless!" he ordered.
"Midnight!" Hicca called out next.
They immediately took to the air and Hiccup immediately caught the twins.
"That just cost you a star on our rating scale, pal!" Ruffnut yelled as she dotted something down in her notebook.
Henry, on the other hand, kept on flying towards the Sentinels until one cut his path.
"Wildstar, cover them!" Henry yelled.
Wildstar then immediately fired her blast towards the Sentinel, who then immediately stopped flapping its wings and fell about feet avoiding the blast. He then flapped its wings and appeared beneath Wildstar and fired a blast right into her chest causing both dragon and Rider to fall to the ground.
Henry groaned as he picked himself up. "I think you're going to need another plan."
The Sentinels then went their separate directions.
(Linebreak)
Once everyone was recovered, they began to discuss their next plan of attack as their dragons drank from the river.
"All right, if we can't fly out, maybe we can leave on foot." Hiccup said as he tossed one of the pink fruits from the tree in his hand.
"Uh Hiccup, did you forget how we're on an island in the middle of the ocean with Sentinel dragons preventing us from leaving?" Hicca reminded her brother with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe we can swim for it." Hiccup suggested.
"What if those Sentinels know Tidal Class dragons since this is the resting place for all dragons? Since they are already tough in the air, they might be tough in the water too." Hicca pointed out again.
"Huh, I've never heard of a Boulder-Class dragon that was good in the water." Hiccup said with a thought in his head.
"Meatlug can obviously swim, so yeah." Hicca said while gesturing to Fishlegs' Gronckle.
"Yeah, we need a well thought out plan for this to work, guys." Henry said as he leaned on the tree.
"We're trying. But we need more time to think." Hiccup said as he placed a finger on his chin.
"In the meantime, it will take us a little longer to investigate this place," said Fishlegs eagerly.
The Haddock twins and Henry gave him the look."Fishlegs." Hicca said in a warning tone.
"What? Guys, the dragon knowledge we could find here could be immeasurable." Fishlegs reasoned in defense.
"And that knowledge, my friend, could make its way into…" Ruffnut began.
"The Idiot's Guide to Secret Island Crashing?" Snotlout said and took a bite of the fruit he was holding.
"Ha. That's not bad, you know." Tuffnut said. "Don't expect a piece of the pie though." he told Snotloutt
"Yeah. Don't expect a piece at all. Don't even expect to see pie. Ruffnut nodded.
The Eruptodon was close by and had just roared.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Hiccup said, getting to his feet approaching the dragon. "What is it? You okay?"
"Is she okay, Henry?" Hicca asked the Grimborn boy.
"What is it, Great One?" Henry asked as he came to the Old Protector as it roared before he then looked at the others. "It's almost like she's warning us."
"Great timing, GP." Tuffnut grumbled. "Could have used that morsel of information yesterday."
"Leave her alone, Tuff." Henry said as he glared at the Thorston boy while giving the Old Protector a comforting pat. "She's already reached the point where her warning is slow, like how she couldn't reach the lava in time. Age has really caught up to her so don't blame her." He added as the Old Protector purred at Henry's touch.
"Okay, okay, Henry. Sorry." Tuffnut quickly apologized before he then leaned towards his sister, who immediately began to scribble in her notebook. "However, it will make it into the book. And also, the word 'morsel…' I'm hungry for a piece of pie."
"10 more seconds of my life I'll never get back," Hiccup groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He then focused on the others. "Look, the number one priority is getting past the Sentinels." He said.
"Let's split up again so we can cover more ground." Hicca added before she turned to the Thorston twins. "And don't touch anything! This place is sacred. It's not meant for human interaction." She firmly added.
The Thorston twins then raise their hands informing them that they swear not to touch anything. However when they all separated, the Thorston twins held out the hands they had put behind the back, which had their fingers crossed. Even Barf and Belch at the necks crossed.
(Linebreak)
The Thorston twins went with Raeda, Henry and Fishlegs as they soon found themselves in what appeared to be the burial mounds of the dragons.
"Whoa," Fishlegs said, staring at the mounds. "Amazing."
"You took the words right out of our mouths, Fishlegs." Raeda said in awe.
"Whoever formed these mounds, though was probably the Sentinels, really made a great burial for each dragons." Henry commented in amazement.
The Thorston twins rushed towards the nearest mound and judging from the spikes they were protruding from the entrance, it was the final resting place of the Deadly Nadder.
"Ha-ha!" Tuffnut said as he looked around the mound and of the bones in the far corner.
Raeda, Henry and Fishlegs knew exactly what they were going to do next. Just as they predicted, the Thorston twins then immediately rushed into the mound and began playing with the bones.
"Guys, seriously?!" Henry questioned in slight anger.
"Did you guys not hear what Hicca literally just said?" Fishlegs asked.
"Yes, I heard, but chose not to listen." Tuffnut said.
Ruffnut then placed a skull over her head. "Or did you listen but not hear? Hard to say." She added.
"Guys, show some respect!" Henry demanded angrily.
"Yeah, you're standing in the final resting place of what appears to be the Deadly Nadder," Raeda added in disgust. "And those could be the remains of Sparkfire's ancestors you're playing with!" She yelled out that the Thorston twins are messing with her dragon's final resting place.
Sparkfire came behind them as she squawked in rage. 'Hey! Those are my great grandfather's ribs!' She told Tuffnut.
"Yeah! You can't just walk around in there. That's sacred ground!" Fishlegs pointed out.
"The fact remains we're talking about bones here, people." said Tuffnut placing his hands on his hips.
He then immediately leaned back and landed in the bones and soon reappeared at the top of the bone. "Bones piled to the ceiling. Bones on top of bones." He then whacked Ruffnut on the head with a bone causing the score on ahead to spin around wildly causing it to topple off her. "And skulls! Then bones on top of the skulls. Skulls and bones!"
Raeda had enough as she came to them and knocked them right to their heads as they fell to the floor while taking out the bones they were messing with. "That's enough! No more messing with the sacred grounds, and no messing with the remains of our dragons' ancestors!" She scolded before turning to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, take these two out of here." She ordered
Fishlegs nodded as he came to them and immediately grabbed the two of them and carried them outside on his shoulders.
Tuffnut looked at his sister. "I did know he was so strong. Did you know that he's that strong?" He said in disbelief.
"Uh, yeah. I was married to him." Ruffnut recalled.
Once they were out of the mound, Fishlegs tossed them onto the ground. However, before he could scold them he heard Meatlug growls and ran up to her. He found her staring at another mound and judging from the bones they belonged to Gronckles.
"Gronckles." Fishlegs gasped. "The bones in there must go back centuries. I bet some of them are even related to Meatlug."
Meatlug then whimpered. 'Um, this doesn't mean I'm gonna…' She trailed off.
"Oh. You're a long way from this, girl." Fishlegs assured and fed her a rock. "But it will be such a nice way to spend your elder years."
'Thanks Fishlegs,' Meatlug snarffled and then licked him in joy.
Raeda then noticed Sparkfire looking at the Deadly Nadder mound with solemn expression. She looked at the mound and realized what was going through her dragon's mind as she smiled sympathetically and placed a hand on her Dragon's leg.
"Don't worry girl, you'll be with these guys someday." She promised as Sparkfire turned to her, "But let's not rush anything, okay? I want to enjoy a lot more days with you." Raeda requested as Sparkfire growled in agreement and Raeda hugged her head.
Henry just looked around as his dragons were close to him. "Too many mounds to check them all, but if I had to guess, all your ancestors are here as well." He said as he gave his dragons a good scratch before he gave a smirk. "But I gotta say, Mala and Throk are gonna be a little jealous that I'm the first of the Defenders to ever set foot on the final resting place of all dragons." He finished with a small smile.
The Thorston twins were now making their way to another mound and found that the bones were covered in fire.
Ruffnut was holding her notebook and writing as she walked. "I'm guessing that this is—"
"Wait! Don't tell me," Tuffnut yelled.
He then leaned his head over to his sister and began to concentrate.
"The monstrous Nightmare tomb," Ruffnut said.
Tuffnut was mumbling at the same time she was talking. "…tomb!"
They immediately high-fived one another.
Raeda, Henry and Fishlegs were now in the middle of the burial mound looking at all the mounds with intrigue.
"The organization is uncanny," Fishlegs noted. "And the fact that the dragons do this on their own, that they can understand abstract ideas, this place indicates a structure to the dragon world we never knew existed."
Raeda nodded. "Every dragon in the archipelago must come here when they reach a certain age. It explains why we have not seen very old dragons before. I always assumed that they died from injury or sickness before reaching that age, but now it's obvious that's not the case."
"They have some sort of instinct to come here automatically and seek out this place of tranquility before they take their final rest, like the Old Protector did even though she's never been here before." Henry finished with a proud smile.
"Abstract organization. Place of tranquility." Tuffnut said as his sister continued to write in her notebook. "Man, this book just writes itself."
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins' team were wandering around the edge of the island in order to find a safe place to take off. Snotlout climbed onto a few rocks and approached the Sentinel and waved his hand in front of it, but it did not move an inch.
"Hello?" Snotlout asked, trying to get a reaction out of it. "What's the deal with these things?" He then took a bite of his fruit and looked back at the Sentinel. "Hey!" He then smote a familiar smell and recognised the same aroma from the fruit he had been eating. He then bit down upon the fruit once more. "Fruity. They smell exactly like this stuff."
Hiccup and Hicca then mounted Toothless and Midnight, but the moment they did the Sentinel came to life. It roared so loudly that Snotlout rolled off the rock and collided with the others. Astrid caught the fruit even holding, located in disgust and then tossed it to Hookfang, who immediately ate it.
"Wow, these dragons react fast." Hicca said as she quickly hopped off Midnight with a nervous chuckle.
Hiccup also chuckled nervously as he hopped off Toothless. "Don't worry. We're not going anywhere."
Astrid then carefully made her way over to him. "Guys, sneaking out isn't gonna work."
"Clearly." Snotlout added.
"These dragons are quick to react, even if we tried to mount up on our dragons." Hicca noted.
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, I agree. We just need to out-strategize them."
"So how are we gonna do that?" Snotlout asked.
"I have no idea." Hiccup honestly said.
"Same here. These guys are pretty smart." Hicca added in agreement.
The Sentinel then immediately relaxed and became a stone statue once more.
(Linebreak)
It was night and none of them had come up with a plan to get past the Sentinels. Meatlug was spewing lava for the Eruptodon, but for some reason she didn't want to eat it.
"What's her problem?" Snotlout asked as the Old Protector walked away.
"Well, clearly, she's unsettled being here." Fishlegs said.
"The Great One never turns down lava." Henry noted while scratching his head.
"Or it's unsettling that we're here." Hiccup said.
"And maybe she's trying to get a new diet since this island doesn't have any volcanoes." Hicca suggested.
"Well, she may have to get used to it." Astrid pointed out. "There's no walking out of here either."
"On the bright side, we've found evidence that dragons can be organized at the deepest level." Raeda mentioned optimistically. "Though I don't see how that's going to help us considering that being stuck here for what seems to be forever." She said dully.
Hiccup frowned as he realized something. "Hey, have you guys noticed that no matter what dragon attacks, the Sentinels always have the perfect defense?" He asked.
"Considering that this is the final resting place of all dragons, not surprising." Hicca commented.
Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah. It's because they've seen every type of Dragon over and over. They've learned all their strengths and all the weaknesses."
Tuffnut then cleaned his throat and tossed the piece of food at Fishlegs. "Point of order, my good man. We beg to differ." Then he and Ruffnut jumped off the dragon's head and landed next to Hiccup. "We've been compiling a list of dragon tombs for our book."
Hiccup had had just about enough from the twins. "Yeah. That's great, guys, but—"
Ruffnut interrupted him by slamming her notebook into his face. "Look closer, my one-legged comrade in arms."
"It's not what's on the list, but what's not on it," Tuffnut explained as Hiccup looked through it. "Think, Hiccup! Use the brains Thor gave you and disregard how he gave you puny stick-like biceps." He encouraged him.
Hiccup looked at the list and realized that one dragon wasn't on the list. "The Night Fury. There are no Night Fury bones." He gasped.
Hicca widens her eyes from this. "What? Let me see that." She said as she took the book from Hiccup as she checked out the book herself she noticed it as well. "You're right, there's no mounds or Night Fury bones here. There is no trace of any Night Furies at all." She said in surprise.
Toothless and Midnight warbled in surprise by that, no mound for their species, sure this is the final resting place for dragons but not for Night Furies, that's a shock.
"That raises an interesting question: if the Night Fury doesn't come to Vanaheim, then where did they go for the final resting place?" Henry frowned.
"An excellent question for another time," Hiccup said as he and Hicca looked through the notebook. "Right now this is proof that the Night Fury does not come to Vanaheim."
"Or even go to it at all from what we can tell." Hicca added.
"Which means if Vanaheim isn't the last resting place for the Night Furies, then they might not try and stop you both, Midnight and Toothless from leaving," Fishlegs said.
"And even if they do, they won't have deployed the same defensive tactics that they have in all the other species," Hiccup finished.
"That's right, if we can make it out of here, we could go and get help to get the rest of you guys off this island." Hicca added.
Hiccup then tossed the notebook back to Ruffnut and immediately mounted Toothless while Hicca mounted on Midnight.
They then watched as they immediately took to the sky.
Immediately the stones Sentinels awoke and dived down towards the Haddock twins.
"Just keep climbing, guys." Hiccup said. They waited until they got a little bit closer and then acted.
"Toothless! Midnight! Barrel roll, multiple blasts!" Hicca ordered.
Toothless and Midnight immediately spun around and unleashed a barrage of plasma blast. The Sentinels were ill-prepared for such an attack and two of them were knocked off balance. The Haddock twins were still climbing when the final Sentinel dived down towards them.
They quickly turned to avoid the Sentinel, but as they passed, Hiccup and Hicca noticed something about the dragon. Its eyes were completely pale and they soon realized that it was blind, they were all blind.
"Look at that," Hiccup gasped as he passed the Sentinel.
"They're blind. These guys can't see a thing." Hicca said in shock that the Sentinels can't see a thing.
Now they had gotten past the Sentinels they flew up to safety hoping that they wouldn't chase after them.
"All right, guys," said Hiccup as he looked down at the island. "Let's go to Berk and bring back some help." He then started to make his way south
Hicca then realize something as she got in front of her brother. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. Wait a minute, bro! We can't do that." She called out.
"What are you talking about, sis?" Hiccup asked in confusion.
"Remember, sacred ground to dragons only." Hicca reminded her brother.
Hiccup thought for a moment when he realized something. "Oh, what am I thinking?" He asked himself as he and Hicca then looked back at the island. "We can't tell anyone about this place. It belongs to the dragons, not to us, or any other humans."
"Anyone could blab the secret out to anyone that might take a shot of getting weak and old rare dragons." Hicca added.
The Haddock twins then looked at Toothless and Midnight. "We're gonna have to figure something else out, guys." Hiccup said.
"So we need to find a way to help the others without giving away this location." Hicca added.
Toothless and Midnight roared in agreement.
Hiccup patted Toothless on the side. "Mala was right. We need to find a new perspective. And we need to find something quick."
"And a well thought out one if we are ever gonna help the others get off that island." Hicca finished as she patted Midnight on the head.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins then took up an advantage point on one of the nearby sea stacks that overlooks the entire island.
"Okay, what do we know so far?" Hiccup asked his sister as he pulled out his spyglass and began to observe the Sentinels.
"The Sentinels run this place with an iron fist. They eat nothing but that fruit. They've never encountered Night Furies before, and that would be about the only dragon they haven't seen." Hicca listed out while bringing out her spyglass to observe as well.
"And, speaking of seeing, they don't. But they seem to track very well for something that's blind." Hiccup finished.
"So we need to find out how good they are and find a weakness to it." Hicca stated.
Toothless and Midnight merely roared.
(Linebreak)
A few hours later they were still observing the Sentinels and Toothless and Midnight were starting to get tired as they just yawned. Hiccup and Hicca too were dozing off until Toothless and Midnight nudged them.
Hiccup immediately sat up panicking. "Huh? What?" He asked.
"What's happening?" Hicca asked as she got up as well.
They then quickly grabbed their spyglasses and looked down. they saw that the Sentinels had vanished and saw them flying over the others as they were sleeping. "What are they doing?" Hiccup asked.
"It looks like they're going to attack!" Hicca thought aloud in panic.
"No! No, no, no, no. Come on, guys, wake up!" Hiccup called out.
The Haddock twins then quickly mounted onto Toothless and Midnight and they flew down towards them. They then noticed something that caused them to stop just-in-time.
"Wait a minute," Hicca said as he landed on a rocky ledge. "They're not attacking." He then saw that the Sentinels were cleaning up the place and sorting the bones out.
"They're working. They're tending to the island." Hicca said in awed at how the Sentinels work and how they tend their island. "Henry is right, they are like Protectors and Guardians." She added.
They then watch the Sentinel drop several fruits next to the Eruptodon. 'Eat, you have earned it.' The Sentinel growled as it ate one of them and looked at the Eruptodon, who then began to lift them up.
"And that explains the smell," said Hiccup. He then struck his forehead as he realized something. "Oh, gods! How could I not think of that before? I guess it really is all about perspective."
"Mala is right. When we find a new perspective, we can see another way to find the solution." Hicca added.
"Yeah." Hicca said as he then looked at his sister and their dragons. "Come on, guys. When those dragons are done working, we begin."
"I think I know what you're thinking, bro." Hicca said with a knowing smirk.
(Linebreak)
The next morning, the Haddock twins arrived at the campsite with a large sack, which they placed down on the ground. This caused the other Riders to wake up and Snotlout was the first to approach them.
"Aw, thank Thor!" Snotlout said with relief. "Where's the help?"
"No one's here. And no one's coming." Hiccup said.
"We never left the island." Hicca added.
"What?" Snotlout roared as he put on his helmet. "You can't be serious." he yelled at his cousins.
"It was too risky Snotlout," Hicca explained, "The less people know about Vanaheim, the better." She pointed out.
"So, we brought something way better than backup." Hiccup said as he opened up the sack they brought with them.
Hiccup then reached inside and held out a piece of fruit.
Snotlout wasn't very impressed. "Really, guys? Sorry, but that fruit isn't going to be my last meal, no matter how delicious or juicy it is." He then turned his back on him and folded his arms. "And it is juicy and delicious." He then held out his hand. "Give it to me. I want it."
"We're not gonna eat these, Snotlout." Hicca pointed out.
"Then why did you two pack a sack full of these if they are for eating?" Raeda asked in confusion.
"Yeah, I'm drawing a black here myself." Henry honestly said, finding this confusing and weird.
"Listen, the Sentinels' dragons ignored us, but reacted to the sound of me and Hicca getting on Toothless and Midnight." Hiccup explained.
"But the Sentinels easily picked the fruit from the tree, not because they could see it, but because they could smell its scent." Hicca added.
Fishlegs then caught on. "Oh! They're blind, so they must hunt using other senses. Smell, sound—"
"Exactly." Hiccup nodded and held out the fruit. "So, we cover ourselves in this stuff, and there are dragons in it. We'll smell just like the Sentinels."
"And should be able to fly outta here." Fishlegs finished.
"So long as we remain quiet." Henry said, looking at the Thorston twins.
"Why are you looking at us?" Tuffnut asked.
They then each grabbed a food and Hiccup began to rub himself with it. However the skin proved to be quite hard as Fishlegs discovered when he tried to slam it into his chest. Snotlout was trying to squeeze it to no avail, but the twins discovered how to apply it. Raeda tried to peel it, but nothing while Henry smacked it on his head but nothing.
"Wow, these fruits have tough skin." Hicca commented while looking at her fruit.
Ruffnut has slammed the food right on to warn of Tuffnut's helmet. She laughed until Tuffnut slammed the fruit in her face, covering her in the juice.
Snotlout laughed as he tossed the fruit at Hiccup, who quickly ducked in time. The fruit, however, slammed right on Astrid's shirt and much to her annoyance.
"Oh no, you did not." Astrid said with a playful murderous look.
Astrid then tossed the food right at Snotlout but he ducked and it went splat on Raeda's face.
The fruit slid off as Raeda looked pretty steamed, "So, you wanna play, huh? Eat fruit!" Raeda called out as she threw one at Astrid, who rolled out of the way as it hit Hicca in the back.
"Raeda! Alright, this is war!" Hicca grabbed the fruit and tossed it, but the Henderson girl ducked as it hit Henry. "Sorry, Henry!" She quickly apologized.
"That's okay! To be honest, this is kinda fun!" Henry said as he threw a fruit to Snotlout as it hit his face and he soon found himself flat on his back.
Hiccup laughed as he tossed the fruit and soon they were all tossing food at one another.
(Linebreak)
They kept on going through to one another until they ran out, but thankfully they had managed to cover themselves and their dragons in the juice. It was sticky, but they would do anything to escape the island.
Fishlegs took a taste of the juice and smiled at its taste.
"This stuff is sticky, but delicious and great to cover our scents." Henry commented.
Astrid then looked at them. "All right. Let's do this." She declared
"Now, remember, we have to act like them or it won't work." Hiccup clearly said as he mounted Toothless. "That means no talking, no playing around, no firing." Hiccup then looked at Tuffnut as he was about to open his mouth as Hicca noticed this as well.
"And, yes, Tuff, most of those after you and your sister to make sure you follow along with this one." Hicca finished firmly as Hiccup nodded in agreement.
"Here I thought profiling was beneath you, guys," Tuffnut said.
(Linebreak)
They immediately took to the sky and almost instantly the Sentinels awoke. They began to fly around, but unlike last time they were. It looked as if they were in the clear, but when a few of the Sentinels got too close to Snotlout, he allowed his temper to get the better of him.
"Hey, we're flying here!" Snotlout yelled.
'Back off!' Hookfang roared as he ignited, burning the juice off of him. 'Oops.' He said, realizing what he did.
'A Nightmare is attempting to leave the sanctuary!' A Sentinel roared to his brethren.
'Stop him!' Another order as they start to close in around Hookfang.
"Oh for the love of… Doesn't he ever keep his mouth shut?" Hicca asked in annoyance.
Hiccup shook his head. "Keep going. we'll get Snotlout."
Astrid stared at him as he turned around. "But—" She tried to argue.
"Just go, Astrid." Hiccup ordered.
"We'll get him!" Hicca added.
"Not without me you two aren't." Henry called out as he followed the Haddock twins.
The others began to follow Astrid as the Haddock twins and Henry dived down towards Snotlout, who was completely surrounded by Sentinels.
"Toothless, now! Multiple blasts!" Hiccup ordered.
"You too, Midnight!" Hicca added.
"Follow their lead, Wildstar!" Henry instructed.
Toothless and Midnight then each performed a barrel row and fired multiple plasma blasts at the Sentinels while Wildstar provided cover fire. The Sentinels quickly separated to avoid the last, creating an opening for him to dive to Snotlout. Unfortunately, they quickly sealed the gap and began to surround them.
"Guys! We need more delicious and juicy fruit!" Snotlout panic. "Do any of you have any more delicious and juicy fruit?"
The Sentinels then dive down towards them. 'None shall leave!' A Sentinel roared.
"Oh, no." Hiccup said.
"We're surrounded again." Hicca said.
"And no time to cover you and Hookfang up, Snotlout!" Henry called out.
The Haddock twins had no idea how they would get out of this one, but then they heard a roar. They looked down and saw that the Eruptodon was flying towards them, it then blocked the path of the Sentinels causing them to hit straight into it. It then looked at them and roared.
"Great One!" Henry called out in surprise with a smile at the Old Protector.
"Uh, guys?" Snotlout asked.
The Eruptodon then flew away forcing the Sentinels to chase after it. 'Come and get me, you flying statues!' She roared.
"What is the Old Protector doing?" Hicca asked in surprise.
"She's redeeming herself by protecting us one last time!" Henry called out, understanding what the Old Protector was doing.
"Henry's right, she's leading the Sentinels away," Hiccup gasped. "She's protecting us!" He then looked at the others. "All right, let's go, guys. Who knows how long that'll distract them?"
They immediately flew into the air avoiding the Sentinels completely. As they left, the Haddock twins and Henry looked back at the Eruptodon and smiled.
"Thank you for protecting us one last time. I will never forget you, old friend. Enjoy your retirement." Henry said to the Old Protector with a smile of joy.
The Old Protect gave one last roar in response. 'Safe travels young Henry.'
Astrid and the others had seen the entire thing from a safe distance away.
Tuffnut then began to jot down something in his notebook. "And, to the end, and for all eternity, it shall be known as the Great Protector. Our Great Protector."
"Nice, Tuff. Very nice." Hiccup said as he, Hicca and Henry flew up to him and his sister.
"Fit very well." Hicca said with a smile.
"And it's true that she will always be our Great Protector." Henry finished as he smiled at the Old Protector, who is still having Sentinels around her.
"Now, I just need to finish the chapter on the island's charm, and how it's impossible to leave," Tuffnut said, pondering. He then gave a large smile. "Get it?"
Hiccup rolled his eyes and Toothless gave him a quizzical growl while Hicca just sighs while Midnight rolled her eyes while Henry just gave a deadpan expression.
"Like I said, this being writes itself." Tuffnut said, holding out the notebook.
Just then, a plasma blast was fired, destroying the notebook.
Tuffnut then glared at Toothless and Hiccup, having seen that they are the ones who did it. "Hiccup, the profiler, and Toothless, the censorship chieftain." He told him
"Maybe," Hiccup shrugged. "But no one can ever know about this island."
"So sorry, but that book can never be published." Hicca added.
"Vanaheim will forever remain secret to the world, no humans will ever know it secret. This will remain our secret." Henry finished.
With that they all flew back home and then Eruptodon flew back to its new home being guided back down by the Sentinels.
The Eruptodon flew back to the ground and then entered into a deep dark cave which was actually the inside of a massive skeleton that looked as if it was the size of the entire island. It was hard to tell what kind of dragon it was, but it appeared to have very long tusks.
The Sentinels then took their positions on their perches and then immediately returned to their stone-like position.
On the ground floor in Vanaheim's surface, there is a big hole on the ground at the hidden secret part of the island with a crystalline glow coming from it as a hooded figure with its hood made from Night Fury scales came out while looking around as a female Night Fury with grayish lightning bolt-like markings over her eyes scanned the area.
Once the hooded figure thought it was clear they looked behind them and made a come here gesture. "It's all good. You two can come up now." The hooded figure said as her voice sounded like a female.
Coming out of the hole are two elderly Night Furies, who both look like they are ready to spend their retirement.
"Vanaheim is the most secretive place in the world, no humans will bother you two to spend your final days here." The hooded figure said before she clenched her fist. "Especially my brother." She growled.
Just then, the hooded figure then saw an empty sack in the distance, which made her curious as she went up and picked up as she inspected it. "Weird. What's this sack doing here? Shouldn't Oswald have passed on by now?" She asked herself, since she knows only one person that was on Vanaheim and was certain they were gone by now. "This is interesting. But whoever it was must really respect the dragons if they left this place undamaged." She noted as she looked around and saw no damage to Vanaheim as she saw the Sentinels were still in place and unharmed.
The lightning-marked Night Fury came to the hooded figure as she warbled to her as she gave her a nuzzle.
"It's okay, girl. I don't think we have to worry. The Sentinels are still here and still going and strong, and the rest of the island seems undamage." The hooded figure said to the female Night Fury in assuring. "So it's probably some good people who respected dragons, but who?" She asked herself as she inspected the sack while giving some thought of who was here and left the island intact and not damaged.
(Linebreak)
Later that evening on Dragon's Edge, Astrid and Henry were curious how Hiccup and Hicca discovered the Sentinels' weakness.
"So, tell us again how you two figured that out." Astrid said as they walked back to the huts.
"That was pretty ingenious. Even I wouldn't have thought of that." Henry said in an impressive expression.
Hiccup turned and looked down at the Edge. "It's all about perspective, my good friends." He said with a smile.
Hicca looked down with her brother with a smile as well. "That's right, Mala showed us that when you look at things differently, you see things that you might never have seen before. It's pretty cool when you think about it."
Hiccup then grasped Astrid's hand and she gave it a good squeeze.
Astrid then looked at him. "You know what? I've had enough thinking to last me an entire week. I'm going to get some sleep." She said as she then kissed Hiccup good night and made her way to her hut.
Henry then came next to Hicca as he looked off in the distance with a smile. "Mala showed you to view things in a perspective way, she always has a way with words." He said with a smile.
"She sure does." Hicca said with a smile before turning to Henry with a little concerned look. "Still thinking about the Old Protector, Henry?" She asked.
"I am, but I am happy." Henry said with a smile still on his face.
"Really. How's that?" Hicca asked with an interesting smile.
"That no matter where we go, and no matter what happens, those close to us will always be with us." Henry said proudly. "There are times when those close to us come and go, but we will always cherish the memories we had with them until our last day, to remind ourselves that they will always be with us right here." He then places his hand to where his heart is. "The Old Protector has done her duty for the Defenders, now it's time she enjoys the rest she deserves after the last four decades protecting us. And I will never forget those times for as long as I live." He finished with a proud smile.
Hicca smiled at Henry as she placed her hands on his as she kissed his cheek. "I'm glad you see it that way, Henry. We all will never forget those close to us." She said with a small smile.
Henry smiled back before he gave a kiss in return on Hicca's lips. "Well, I'm gonna head to bed. Been a long day. See you guys tomorrow." He said as he walked to his head.
"Goodnight, Henry." Hicca waved with a smile.
The Haddock twins turned to each other with a smile as they then made their way over to Hiccup hut and immediately sat down at the desk.
"Okay, guys, what do you say we take a look at this like we never have before?" Hiccup asked, looking at Hicca, Midnight and Toothless.
"Let's get started, bro." Hicca nodded in agreement with a smile.
Hiccup then promptly tossed one of their designs into a ball and tossed it over to Toothless, who immediately started to play with it.
The Haddock twins then got set to work on their secret project, with a new perspective in their minds as they worked together to get their project completed.