Chapter 61: Dawn of Destruction
It was morning and Fishlegs was searching around the Edge for the Haddock twins.
"Hiccup? Hicca?" Fishlegs called. He made his way to the stables in search of them. "Hiccup! Hicca!"
There was no answer and all he accomplished was scaring himself when Meatlug growled next to them.
He then looked for them in Hiccup's hut. "Hiccup, Hicca, are you guys in there? Hello?" He frowned because the place was completely empty and then saw the sheet that covered Hiccup's secret project. "Huh. Interesting." He then shook his head. "No, can't do that. It's a private prop…"
However, as soon as he said that, he started to make his way closer to the sheet and extended his hand to it. "But…" He then pulled his hand away, "no."
He then turned his back towards it and began humming, then 30 seconds later he was looking back at the sheet and immediately reached out towards it.
"Oh! No! No, Fishlegs!" Fishlegs said, pulling his hands back. "Yep… No, no, no, no, no."
He then leaned in closer towards it fighting the urge not to take a sneak peek. Eventually his curiosity won over and began leaning towards the sheet.
"Fishlegs!" Snotlout's voice yelled.
Fishlegs was startled and slammed into Hiccup's desk knocking a few items onto the floor. "Snotlout! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Well, don't sneak around, you won't get snuck up on." Snotlout counted.
Fishlegs began picking up the items off the floor. "I wasn't snea…" He then looked at him. "Have you seen them?"
"Why?" Snotlout asked.
"It's none of your business." Fishelgs said.
"Then, no." Snotlout said.
The two of them glared at one another for about a minute.
"Oh, fine." said Fishlegs finally.
Snotlout yelled in triumph.
"Johann just got here, and he wants to see Hiccup and Hicca." Fishlegs explained.
"Oh." Snotlout said, looking disappointed.
"Where are they?" Fishlegs asked.
"No idea. No one sees Hiccup or Hicca, now that Hiccup and Astrid, also now that Hicca and Henry, are all…" He then turned his back, he himself began making kissing sounds. "Me-likey." He then stopped and looked back at Fishlegs. "Now that they're a couple, they don't care about us anymore. It's all about Hiccstrid and Henicca!"
He then continued making kissing sounds, but only ended up making himself sick. "Eww!"
They then heard Astrid yell coming from the arena and the sound of clashing metal.
(Linebreak)
They immediately made their way down to the arena to find Raeda and the Thorston twins already there and watching as Hiccup and Astrid sparred with one another.
Fishlegs looked at them. "Um…" He started, wanting to know what was going on.
Tuffnut then placed a finger on his lips. "No. Shh. Behold." He said.
"Hiccup actually delaying his inevitable butt-kicking." Raeda added, knowing how this would end.
They then watched as Hiccup's blade, which was on fire, clashed with Astrid's ax. Astrid then spun, performing a roundhouse kick, but Hiccup managed to dodge it. He then slammed Inferno towards her and she blocked it with the handle of her ax.
Stormfly and Toothless watches from the other side as Stormfly gave a squawk to Toothless. 'Hiccup's gonna lose.' She squawked.
Toothless gave a warble to Stormfly in return. 'I don't think he will lose that fast.' He pointed out.
Astrid was then able to push him back in the class once more, but Hiccup then used her own weight against her causing her to fall forwards.
The Thorston twins watched them back and forth not wanting to miss a single thing.
"Yes. Yeah." Tuffnut said stroking Chicken.
Astrid then jumped at Hiccup with her ax held high screaming. Hiccup immediately sidestepped to avoid the attack and then began swinging his blade and she did the same with her ax and sparks flew upon contact. She then dealt him a roundhouse kick which he was able to block and then he swung his fist at her, but she was able to avoid it and avoided his left hand as he slammed his blade towards her.
However as Astrid began to run around him, Hiccup chuckled as he performed a leg sweep. Astrid knew she was not off her feet and landed on her butt. She smiled at Hiccup as he helped her up and Toothless performed a dragon-like laugh at Stormfly.
"Watching these two reminds me of gazing upon the giant water Buffalord as they graze against the tender auspices of wheat fields of yesteryear." Tuffnut said.
"I have to admit, Hiccup is getting better at close combat." Raeda said with a small smile that Hiccup fighting skills are getting more and more great.
Soon Hiccup and Astrid were sparring once again and soon their weapons clashed and they looked at one another with very firm expressions.
"Call it a draw?" Astrid asked.
"Not on your life." Hiccup said. "I got you right where I—"
Astrid then disengaged suddenly and promptly grabbed the hem of his armor. Hiccup suddenly found himself being flipped over her shoulders and slammed into the ground and Astrid finished by placing her put on his chest and pointing her ax at him.
The twins then cheered as Ruffnut tossed flowers down on top of them and Tuffnut then tossed Chicken just as Astrid helped Hiccup. She landed right on top of Hiccup's head, much to his surprise.
"Would you two stop?" Fishlegs asked as he then looked down at Hiccup. "Hiccup, I've been looking all over for you and your sister. Johann is here, and he wants—"
Hiccup beamed. "Johann. Oh, great! Where is he?"
"Uh, at the dock." Fishlegs blinked.
"Of course. The dock." Hiccup said as he then had a thought. "I'll go get Hicca to tell her." He said.
"You know where Hicca is?" Fishlegs asked in surprise.
"Oh, she and Henry are at the other side of the island, giving each other a private lesson." Hiccup explained as he immediately mounted on Toothless and took off.
"I'll come along." Astrid volunteered.
Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Oh, unexpected. All you two along with Hicca and Henry do is hang out together. It's like we aren't even here." He said sarcastically.
Astrid mounted on Stormfly. "Was that jealousy? So not you." She said before smirking at Raeda. "That's more Raeda's department."
Raeda blinked and scowled at Astrid, "That was one time!" She told her as Astrid snickered.
"But I'm just making a point, Astrid." Snotlout called out. "A good one, at that. So good that I don't even have to tell you to shut up, Astrid. So shut up, Astrid." He said with his arms crossed.
"You know, a strong, lasting relationship is a balancing act between work, friends, a stable home life, you know, the amount of jellybeans that you're eating," Tuffnut said, counting each point of his fingers.
However both Hiccup and Astrid then took off as they made their way to get Hicca and Henry.
"Yeah! Fly off! We're just saying!" Tuffnut yelled.
Raeda rolled her eyes. "Give them a break, guys. They are still new to this whole relationship thing, and Hicca even more so since her crush wasn't born when she was a little kid."
"But Raeda, Hiccup and Hicca haven't even told us what they're working on, even though we could help." Fishlegs pointed out.
Raeda knew that he had a point, Hiccup and Hicca hadn't been this secretive since they were trying to hide Toothless and Midnight. However, she couldn't say this to them because she knew that Haddock twins had a good reason.
(Linebreak)
Somewhere at the otherside of Dragon's Edge, Hicca and Henry are doing some sparring hand to hand combat style, with Midnight and Henry's dragons watching from the side lines.
Hicca then threw a punch at Henry, but the Grimborn boy blocked as he pulled back, "Your pushing off with the wrong foot, and you got remember, pull all your weight into the strike so that when it hits-" Henry was cut off when Hicca delivered a strong jab to his chest as the wind was knocked out of him and then she gave him a round-house kick to the ground.
"Like that?" Hicca asked with a grin.
Henry then raised a weak thumbs up, "Good one, Hicca." He wheezed out.
Hicca gave a small chuckle as she reached out a hand to Henry. "Thanks for the training, Henry. You're a great mentor." She said as she pulled him up..
Henry gave a small chuckle as he caught his breath. "I may have defected from the Dragon Hunters, but my dad did teach me some great combat training and some other skills while also happened to have trained under the Defenders of the Wings." He said with a smile before frowning with a far off look.
Hicca frowned as well, "Do you still think about him?" She asked.
Henry gave a hollow chuckle, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about the last moment back at the Snow Capped Peaks." He said as he remembered how after throwing the Dragon Eye into the volcano his father saved him only to fall into the volcano himself. "Sometimes, I wonder if I ever really did save my dad after he saved me. I mean, sure he was a maniacal leader of the Dragon Hunters but he was still my dad."
"Even after what he did to your mother?" Hicca asked in concern.
"Hey, I may not forgive him for what he did to mom or to all those people and dragons, but he was the only family I had left after what happened to Uncle Ryker." Henry said in defense before frowning in conflict. "I mean, he could've just thrown me into the volcano with him but he still saved me even after all I did to him." He added.
"Maybe deep down, a part of him still loved you." Hicca said as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "Even in the evilest of Vikings, they always have the tiniest good in them, which Viggo showed when he saved you from being thrown into the volcano." She said with a small smile.
Henry then just gave a sigh. "Well my uncle didn't show when he led a coup with the Dragon Hunters and went crazy with power with the Shellfire."
"Well only the smartest Vikings are capable of a good heart then." Hicca smirked as the two snickered. Hicca stopped snickering as she gave a smirk at Henry. "Though, I do have something that might take your mind off of that thought." She said while giving Henry a flirty expression.
"Really? And what's that?" Henry asked with a knowing smirk.
"This." Hicca answered as she gave Henry a kiss on the lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Henry was surprised by this as he kissed Hicca back as he wrapped his arms around the Haddock girl's waist as the two of them enjoyed their love for a moment before separating as they gave each other a loving smile.
"Heh, I should have you keep my mind off things a lot more often." Henry quipped with a small smile.
"You pulled surprise tricks on me from time to time, but you should know that I got some of my own." Hicca countered playfully.
"Touché." Henry said playfully as the two gave each other small chuckles as they looked at each other again and leaned in for another kiss.
Before they could enjoy another moment, they heard familiar roars heading towards them as they looked to the sky and Hiccup, Astrid and their dragons heading their way.
"Looks like Hiccup and Astrid need us if they came all this way to the other side of the Edge." Henry said as he and Hicca broke apart.
Hicca gave a disappointing sigh. "Must be important if they came all this way." She said as Hiccup and Astrid flew above them. "What's going on bro?"
"Johann just arrived and he's waiting on the docks." Hiccup informed.
Hicca widens her eyes from that. "Oh right! He's finally here." She said as she turned to Henry. "Sorry, Henry. But the practice is gonna have to wait, we are expecting something from Johann." She said as she mounted Midnight.
"Mind if I join you guys?" Henry asked as he mounted Wildstar.
"Sure thing." Hicca nodded with a smile as they then took to the sky as they, Astrid, Hiccup and the rest of Henry's dragons flew off to the Edge's dock.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins were at the docks with Astrid and Henry on Johann's boat as he began to offload his supplies.
"I can't apologize enough, Masters Hiccup and Hicca, for failing you both on this endeavor." Johann saidapologetically.
"What happened Johann?" Hicca asked in concern.
"I was unable to procure you both your oil on this recent trip, as I was otherwise engaged with a Northern Native…" Johann then chuckled slightly.
"Oil?" Astrid blinks in curiosity as she feeds Stormfly some cabbages. "For what?"
"You two are making something with Oil?" Henry asked in curiosity as he browsed through the weapons.
"Oh, just a little something we've been tinkering with," Hiccup said with a small smile.
"A little project to be exact." Hicca added.
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Oh, right, your secret project." She said with a small playful smile.
"Astrid…" Hiccup said while returning the gesture.
"When are you two gonna tell us what you both are working on?" Henry playfully asked.
"When it's finished, then you will know." Hicca answered with the same gesture.
Johann then jumped in. "However, I'm ecstatic to tell you that the oil you seek can be found in the rarest of the Sassafras Albidum plants that grow only on the Isle of Thizzain, the current location of which I have included for you in its description." He said, handing Hiccup the scroll. "I had hoped to procure it in the dark markets of Aberdine, but as I mentioned, my trip took the strangest turn."
Soon the other Riders arrived at the docks on their dragons.
"Hey, Johann, are you telling your famous stories again?" Snotlout asked as he hopped off Hookfang. "I've got a spare few hours."
"A few hours would only begin to describe the adventures of my recent past." Johann said, pulling Snotlout towards him. "Wow! And I mean, 'wow.'"
"Oh, I don't care." Snotlout said, shoving his arm aside. "I think you're boring."
"Ooh, what's that?" Fishlegs asked eagerly looking at the scroll that Hiccup laid out.
"A map. An island that has something Hicca and I need." Hiccup said.
Fishlegs looked at him waiting for him to continue.
"For your secret project I assume." Raeda said, folding her arms.
"Uh, yes." Hiccup said.
"And let me guess, the four power couples are going on vacation." Snotlout said hotly. "Well, bon voyage, muttonheads!" He yelled out before Henry smacked him on the head. "Ow!" He cried out as he rubbed his hand.
Hicca gave Snotlout an annoying look. "Snotlout, not all four of us are going to the same island that could only be for oil supply." She told her cousin.
"Wait, you're not?" Snotlout asked in surprise.
"Four is a little too much, so only two of us will go." Hiccup said as gestured to himself and Astrid. "So Astrid and I are going." He added.
"Besides, I don't wanna put the burden of protecting Fishlegs from you and the Thorston Twins on Raeda alone, Snotlout." Hicca pointed out.
"Hey! I'm not completely helpless without you." Fishlegs retorted before receiving deadpans from the other Riders, "Okay, maybe I'm a little helpless." He conceded by tapping his fingers.
"So it's only one power couple, still doesn't seem okay." Snotlout grumbled while folding his arms.
Hiccup just sighs as he turns to his sister. "Hicca, you are incharge of the Edge until Astrid and I get back." He instructed.
"Don't worry, bro. Everything will be fine." Hicca assured as Henry nodded in agreement.
"We'll look after things while you two are gone." Henry added with a small smile.
Raeda then turned to the others. "At least one couple is staying here." She muttered as the other Riders nodded their heads in agreement.
(Linebreak)
Later that day Hiccup and Astrid were packing as they were going to head out to the Isle of Thizzain. Course the other Riders, except Henry and Hicca, weren't exactly too pleased about this.
"Hiccup, we were supposed to begin the annual Dragon Census tomorrow." Fishlegs reminded him.
"Oh, I forgot about that, Fishlegs." Hiccup admitted. "But, hey, we're only gonna be gone for a day or two. It's not like the dragons are going anywhere, right, Fishlegs." He then chuckled.
Hicca then places a comforting hand on Fishlegs shoulder. "Don't worry, Fishlegs. I can still join in." She said with a small smile as Fishlegs smiled at Hicca, feeling a little bit better.
"Forgetting important moments amongst friends and colleagues is the first sign of shifting priorities…" Tuffnut said to Astrid.
"That's leading to doubt creeping in and the loss of emotional fortitude," Ruffnut added. "I love when doubt creeps."
"What does that even mean?" Astrid asked.
"Don't blow people off." Snotlout said, narrowing his eyes at the four of them.
"What?" Henry asked in confusion.
"Why would you say that?" Hicca asked as well.
"Yeah. We're not…" said Hiccup defensively.
Raedar rubbed the back of her head as she looked at the Haddock twins. "Hiccup, Hicca, I hate to say it, but they do bring a point. I think it would be very good for morale if you two actually at least stay for the Dragon Census. At least Hicca and Henry are staying."
"Guys, we'll be back in two days." Hiccup said. "It's not like you're missing anything huge." Fishlegs gasped in shock. "Not that the Census isn't important."
Snotlout and Hicca patted Fishlegs comfortingly.
"Bro, you really are not good at words at times." Hicca honestly said.
"Ugh! Will you please just go already?" Snotlout called out in frustration.
With that, Hiccup and Astrid mounted their dragons and took off.
"They'll be back." Henry assured.
"So, does anyone want to go through all their belongings while they're gone?" Tuffnut asked.
Everyone looked at him.
"No?" Tuffnut asked.
"We are not going through my brother or Astrid's stuff, Tuff." Hicca said firmly. "Just because they're away doesn't mean that you can go through others' stuff."
"Ugh, fine. I think I liked it better when you were ignoring us." Tuffnut grumbled as he and Ruffnut walked out.
Fishlegs then spoke after the Thorston twins left. "At least you are here, Hicca." He said with a small smile.
"Yeah. But to be honest, were we really ignoring you guys?" Hicca said on behalf of her, Henry, her brother and Astrid about what the rest of them are saying.
"Umm…" Raeda struggled to say as she rubbed the back of her head and Fishlegs made struggling noises while tapping his fingers together.
"Yes." Snotlout said bluntly.
Hicca and Henry looked surprised by this as they turned to each other before turning back to the others. "Are we seriously not giving you guys much attention?" Henry asked in curiosity.
"To be honest with you, you four do keep interrupting us and not listening to what we are trying to say." Raeda pointed out sheepishly.
"And not to mention forgetting some of our plans like the Dragon Census tomorrow." Fishlegs added.
"And finally, ignoring us and not caring about us anymore." Snotlout finished bluntly.
Henry and Hicca looked surprised by this as Henry then broke the silence. "Okay, wow. We are really ignoring you guys." He said sheepishly.
"Oh sorry, guys. We are still new to this whole relationship thing that we forgot to put time for you as well." Hicca apologizes to them while feeling guilty before turning to Raeda. "I mean, can you blame us? Raeda, you know me and Hiccup a lot longer than the others and I didn't have a relationship before Henry came and Hiccup has kept his crush on Astrid since we were kids." She said in defense.
"And I understand that you two are still new at this, but you guys need to pay more attention and spend more time with your friends since it feels like we don't matter when you two, as well as Hiccup and Astrid, spend more time with each other and not the rest of us." Raeda pointed out, while she is glad that the Haddock twins now have their love interests, they are not spending time with their friends when they are spending time with their lovers.
Henry and Hicca looked at each other as they took Raeda's words by heart. "Okay, we'll make it up to you. We'll make sure to spend time with you guys while also keeping our time on hold for a bit from time to time." Hicca said with a small smile.
"That is great to hear, Hicca." Fishlegs said with a small smile.
"And let's make sure Astrid and Hiccup hear about this as well when they get back." Henry suggested since another couple needs to hear this as well.
"If they'll listen." Snotlout said in irritation.
"Hey, if you guys can talk me and Henry out of it, then I'm sure you will talk my brother and Astrid out of it." Hicca pointed out.
"You are right on that, though your brother can be a bit more stubborn at times than you." Raeda added since Hicca is more reasonable than her brother.
"Good point." Hicca admittedly said, knowing her brother, that is so true. "Then I'll join you to talk him out of it." She said to them.
"Good call." Fishlegs nodded.
"Great. Now come on, let's make sure the Thorston twins won't cause chaos or go through my brother's or Astrid's stuff." Hicca said as the others nodded and walked out of the stables to make sure the Thorston twins won't do anything stupid.
(Linebreak)
It was evening when Hiccup and Astrid had reached the Isle of Thizzain and Hiccup immediately began collecting the plants that would produce the oil that was needed.
"Johann didn't say how much oil per plant." Hiccup frowned. "The extraction process can be tricky." He then looked at Astrid. "What do you think?"
"Hmm, that sounds like a Hicca and Fishlegs question." Astrid said as she approached him. "There again, Henry has been traveling before we met him and knows some islands and the Thorston twins do know some pretty random stuff. They probably had a third cousin who was a Sassafras plant."
The two of them laughed as they approached one another. They then watched as the dragons began to play with one another and then looked back at one another.
"Do you think we should have stayed at the Edge?" They asked in unison.
The two of them then laughed.
"Have we really been doing what they said?" Hiccup asked. "Ignoring them, not being team players?"
"No." Astrid said after taking the plants he was holding his hand. "I haven't been ignoring Snotlout more than I usually do."
"Ah! I just wanna make sure." Hiccup said, pulling her close towards him as they watched the sunset. "That's the one thing I really don't wanna do. But at the same time, spending time with you is important."
Astrid smiled at him and then suddenly hugged him.
"What was that for?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid pulled away and looked into his eyes. "For just being you. I love how sensitive you are."
"Don't tell that to my dad." Hiccup pleaded.
"Oh, I think he knows. Everyone knows." Astrid said with a smile. "It's what makes you such a great friend, a great leader, and, um, a great boyfriend." Hiccup then looked back towards the sea. "But if you wanna head back…"
"No. No, no." Hiccup said quickly. "I mean, they're fine. Hicca got things covered for the others." He then places hands over her. "Just thinking about all the trouble they can get into without us being there, right?"
Then an image of Snotlout being hung upside down on a tree branch with Ruffnut laughing and Tuffnut charging towards him with a bludgeon in his hand popped into their heads. Followed by the image of Fishlegs tied up and rotisserie over a Fire by the Three Muttonheads only for them to be pounced on by Raeda and Henry while Hicca freed Fishlegs.
They looked at one another and chuckled.
"Well, as long as we're staying, what do you say we take a moonlit night?" Hiccup asked spinning Astrid around and she leaned her back onto his chest.
Astrid turned around and placed a hand on his chest. "Thought you'd never ask," She said, tossing the plants aside.
Then to Hiccup's surprise she flipped him over her shoulders and onto the ground and then laughed.
(Linebreak)
Later that night, the two of them were on their dragons flying around the island in perfect formation. They then soared up with performing a perfect corkscrew as they laughed before making a loop to loop and then a figure-of-eight. They then spun around until they were flying on their side's inches apart from each other's heads.
Unfortunately, had they not taken so much time enjoying themselves they could've known the danger their friends would soon face.
(Linebreak)
Morning soon came at the Edge and all the riders were still sound asleep, but that all changed when the entire place shook.
Hicca was still on her bed before she felt the whole hut shake as she immediately sat up right. "What the? What is going on?" She asked herself.
Midnight woke up from the shaking as she went to her rider in worry. 'What's happening'
"We gotta check this out, girl." Hicca said as she immediately jumped out of his bed as she and Midnight went to investigate the source of the commotion.
Fishlegs had been awoken as well by the sudden shaking. "What was—"
Then the entire place shook once again and Fishlegs was now fully awake and looked at Meatlug. "Maybe we should…" The entire place was shocked and Fishlegs grabbed his helmet, "...check that out!"
Fishlegs opened his door and was nearly struck by a burst of flames.
Hicca and Midnight exit from their hut and then witness fire blasts striking the Edge. "What the…!?" She cried out before a fireball was gonna hit her but Midnight shielded her with her wings. "We're under attack!" She cried out as she mounted Midnight as the two flew off.
Henry went out of the hut when he heard the noise and shaking as he saw the Edge on fire. "What the heck…" He yelled about before he dodge from another fire blast as he looked up and saw Hicca and Midnight coming towards them. "Hicca!" He called out.
"Henry, climb on!" Hicca called out as the Grimborn boy climbed behind Hicca as Midnight flew off.
Several shots struck Snotlout's hut and he immediately marched outside furiously.
"Ruff, Tuff! I'm gonna kill you two!" Snotlout roared, however when he got outside, he discovered that it was not the Thorston twins destroying the Edge, but it was an entire squad of Singetails.
"Singetails. I hate those guys." Snotlout groaned, recognizing them. Another shot struck his hut and soon it was on fire. "Hookfang!" He called to his dragon.
In Raeda's hut, the Henderson girl went out and saw the chaos and looked up and saw the Edge on fire. "Who's attacking us!?" She called out before she looked up and saw the Singetails. "Singetails?!" She called out before a fire blast hit near her hut. "Hey, do you have any respect for art!?" She yelled out before she dodge another blast and ran off to find Sparkfire.
The Thorston twins have awoken and we're yawning as they emerge from their hut.
"Tell me, how great are these moss earplugs, right?" said Tuffnut loudly.
Ruffnut then removed her earplugs and gasped at the devastation in front of them. Once Tuffnut removed him he was equally as shocked when he saw the Singetails. Then a fireball heads straight towards them and they quickly dive into their hut.
(Linebreak)
Hicca, Henry, Raeda, Fishlegs and Snotlout met one another within the plaza avoiding the fireballs raining down on top of them and the flames around them.
"Hicca! Henry! Raeda! Snotlout! Wild Singetails are trying to take over the Edge!" Fishlegs cried.
"Really, Fishface! We haven't noticed." Snotlout yelled in sarcasm.
"Yeah, we are quite aware of the situation." Raeda nodded. "What do they want?!"
"They might be trying to move in on the Edge!" Hicca called out, remembering back on Storehouse Island the Stingetails started fires to lay claim to the island. "But this doesn't make any sense, Singetails will only send 1 or 2 scouts to check out the island, what's the whole flock doing here."
"They must've seen how many huts there were when they saw the Edge and must've called in for backup before firing!" Henry suggested until suddenly several shots landed around them, thankfully none of them actually struck them.
"We gotta get the dragons and get to a safe place!" Fishlegs told the others.
"You think?" Snotlout asked sarcastically.
"But first we need to find the Thorston twins!" Raeda yelled.
"And get our dragons to get us off the Edge!" Henry added.
Then suddenly a fireball struck the ground in front of them knocking them backwards.
"We gotta move! Riders, to the stables!" Hicca yelled out as they all made their way to the stables.
(Linebreak)
They quickly made their way towards the stables which were now in flames. The Singetails fired several more shots, but Hookfang was able to protect Snotlout from the falling debris with his wing.
"Those dragons are relentless!" Snotlout yelled. "We have to take the fight to them!"
"Snotlout's right! We gotta protect the Edge and try to draw the Singetails away from here!" Hicca called out as the others nodded in agreement.
They quickly mounted their dragons and immediately took to the sky and the Singetails immediately fired upon them.
"Hold your ground, guys! They are tricky!" Hicca instructed.
"We need to be unflinching as they are!" Snotlout called out.
"Are you two sure about this?" Fishlegs asked.
"Not really." Snotlout honestly said.
"A little to be honest." Hicca admittedly said.
"What are you talking about? This is epic!" Tuffnut yelled excitedly.
Hicca shook her head. "Guys, we need to lure all of them away from the Edge before they burn it to the ground. Remember that it would have fired every single direction to try and avoid using sneak attacks!" She called out since she and Snotlout had experience with these guys.
Two Singetail then turned around and started to fly towards them.
"We got this, guys!" Ruffnut yelled.
The Singetails fired a couple of fireballs at the twins, but they were able to dodge the attacks.
"Yeah! And if we don't it will be a pleasure knowing you all." Tuffnut said.
"Except for you, Snotlout!" Ruffnut yelled as they died in towards the Singetails.
The four boys and two girls looked at one another and shrugged.
"Well, if you can't beat them, join them." Raeda shrugged. "For Dragon's Edge!" She shouted before she and the others followed the twins.
"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled.
"Charge!" Henry yelled.
"Dragon Riders, Let's Ride!" Hicca declared.
"To Valhalla and beyond!" the Thorston twins yelled.
The Thorston twins then unleashed their gas and spark attack causing the Singetails to separate and soon they started to engage them in combat.
(Linebreak)
It only took a few moments before they actually retreated from the Singetails.
"Bad idea! Bad idea!" Fishlegs cried as they flew away from the Singetails.
"Very bad idea!" Raeda added frantically.
"Should've planned that out better!" Hicca called out while mentally kicking herself for not thinking of a better plan.
The Singetails then began to fire fireballs directly at them as they were treated over the forest. They panicked so much that Fishlegs and Snotlout accidentally bumped into each other, thankfully were able to maintain their balance and flew straight.
"I'm sick of this yak dung." Snotlout said frustratingly. "Why are we running from these dragons?!"
"Oh, I don't know. Because they're ruthless, out to kill, and they outnumber us two the one?!" Fishlegs listed.
"But why are we running from them?" Snotlout asked.
"Snotlout! All right! I like where your head's at." Ruffnut said.
"Where's his head?" Tuffnut asked, looking around. "Did you get blown off? Did we miss it? I hate missing a good cranial explosion." he complained.
"That's enough!" Hicca said loudly. "We can't take them head-on, we need to catch them off guard." She advised them.
"She's right, we gotta outsmart them if we wanna stand a chance against them!" Henry added.
Snotlout nodded. "Let's do this, guys!" He declared.
"Yeah!" Ruffnut cheered.
They then immediately turned around and faced the Singetails. However, when they flew past, Fishlegs saw something that he thought that had to be impossible.
"Uh, guys, I think I saw someone riding one of those Singetails!" Fishelgs said, looking at the others.
"What?" Hicca asked in surprise as Snotlout and Raeda looked behind them.
"No, you didn't, Fishlegs." Snotlout started nervously.
Fishlegs sighed with relief. "Oh, thank Thor." He breathed out.
Only for Raeda to add, "Because there's actually someone riding on all of those Singetails!" She exclaimed.
Snotlout and Raeda were right, because riding on top of the Singetails were men.
The Singetails had dragon proof chains around their mouths and the Riders were holding a horse crop that was clearly designed for the dragons. They were striking the Singetails so that they would obey them and racing towards him as quickly as they could.
"Those guys are forcing the Singetails to fly on them and attack us!" Henry called out in shock.
"That certainly explains a few things," Hicca said, looking at the others. "It makes sense to me why so many Singetails were attacking the Edge in the first place."
"Well, good for you two for figuring that out!" Snotlout yelled as one of those riders then struck his Singetails, firing a shot towards them.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Hicca yelled.
They immediately separated in all different directions, but one of the Riders began chasing after Fishlegs. He continued to fire fireballs directly at him, but Snotlout flew out of nowhere blocking his path.
"Snotlout!" Snotlout laughed.
Two riders were chasing after Raeda and were firing several fireballs at him. She dodge them and find some more closing in on her from all sides but all she did was look at them with a smirk.
"Wait for it. Wait from it," Raeda said as she waited until the Riders were in the right position. "Now Sparkfire, Spine-clone!"
Sparkfire spread her wings out, pulled upwards and spun around, firing spins from her tail in every direction and knocking the men off their dragons. With riders no longer on their backs telling them what to do the Singetails began to fly away as far as they could.
The Thorston twins began to chase after another rider. "Come here. Come here!" Tuffnut said.
Then another rider appeared out of nowhere and fired a fireball at them. If they hadn't avoided it in time they would have been knocked out of the sky.
"No-no-no-no!" Tuffnut yelled as the rider flew above them. He then looked at his sister. "Hey, not for nothing, but these guys are pretty good!" He commented
"They are kicking out butts!" Ruffnut said.
Henry and his five dragons are dodging as many as he blasted the men on the Singetails off their dragons as some of the Singetails flew away once they were free. But for every rider they took out, two more took his place, "Ugh! And they're too many!"
Hicca flew Midnight as the female Night Fury easily dodge the Singetails fire and accurately fired plasma blasts on the men to knock them off without hurting the dragons. "We have to hold our ground! Try and knock off as many men as you can! The Singetails fly away when they're knocked off!" She called out after seeing how the Singetails retreated after losing their riders.
"We'll try, Hicca! There's just so many of them!" Raeda called out.
A rider then came back for another pass and fired a fireball at them once again, but thankfully they were able to dodge it again.
Fishlegs narrowed his eyes as he flew past. "No, you will not!"
He then flew after the enemy ride that was beginning to chase after the twins. Meatlug then fired a lava blast right on the Singetail and knocked him off the dragon and into the water. With now gone the Singetail then flew away as quickly as it could and tossed the chain on its mouth away.
"Good going, Meatlug," Fishlegs said proudly.
He was so busy congratulating Meatlug that he failed to notice a Singetail in front of him firing a fireball directly at him. Fishlegs quickly turned suddenly and fell off his saddle and headed towards the woods.
"Meatlug!" Fishlegs screamed.
(Linebreak)
Viggo was on a ship with Krogan and had just watched Fishlegs tumbling into the forest through his spyglass.
"Dragon Rider down. Southern forest." Viggo informed, turning to Krogan. "That appears to be Ingerman. We can retrieve him, but take him alive. He knows more about dragons than almost all the Haddocks or any one else."
"Not more than me." Krogan said, jabbing his thumb to his chest. "Besides, all the more reason to finish him." Viggo remained quiet and narrowed his eyes. "I'll take care of this. You do what we brought you here to do." He said before walking off and Viggo glared at him furiously.
"I don't take orders from anyone." Viggo stated firmly.
Krogan turned his head towards him. "You'll do what I say because it's my operation." He told the Hunter leader.
"If memory serves, you came looking for me." Viggo reminded him. "Perhaps we should go back to where things were." He suggested.
The two Hunters narrowed their eyes at one another until Krogan relaxed his face slightly and addressed Viggo in a businesslike fashion. "Viggo… Alone, each of us, in our own right, are, shall we say, dangerous." He addressed Viggo in a businesslike fashion and placed a hand on Viggo's shoulder. "But together, think of the possibilities. We need each other, like it or not." He stated as Viggo frowned.
Krogn then walked off casually. "I'll find this Ingerman and bring him in." He said as his
(Linebreak)
Fishlegs was running as quickly as he could through the forest, knowing it will only be a matter of time before the Hunter's found him. Unfortunately, he wasn't terribly fit and had to stop to rest for a while.
His eyes then shot up to the sky as a Titan Wing Singetail appeared and riding on top of it was none other than Krogan. Fishlegs, of course, was able to recognize him.
"Krogan?!" Fishlegs exclaimed in shock.
"Hello, Ingerman!" Krogan called out with an evil smirk.
"You're the one behind the attack!?" Fishlegs asked the man.
"A shame your friends will never find that out, Fire!" Krogan ordered his Singetail as it fired a fireball at Fishlegs, who quickly ran to the burnt out trees to the base of the volcano.
The Ingerman boy quickly jumped behind the bunch of large rocks to shield himself from the fireballs that were being fired at him.
He then poked his head out of the rock and saw that Krogan was flying off, much to his relief.
"Okay. Okay. I'm gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay." Fishlegs said, panting as he spoke.
He then saw a cave close by and immediately ran to it. Unfortunately, he was wide in the open and Krogan spotted him. "Fire!" Krogan ordered as the Singetail was about to fire upon Fishlegs, but then from out of nowhere Meatlug slammed into him.
"Meatlug! Yes!" Fishlegs cheered.
Meatlug then flew off and the Singetail followed her in anger. 'Get back here Gronckle!' It roared.
"Meatlug! Oh, no!" Fishlegs panicked.
"What are you doing?" Krogan roared trying to regain control over his dragon.
He pulled on the chains to pull the dragon away from Meatlug as he saw her not that important. The Singetail fired a fireball at Meatlug, but she quickly flew up to safety.
"That's a worthless Gronckle!" Krogan roared, pulling on the chains ferociously. He then flew down to the clearing and found that Fishlegs was gone, no doubt he took the divergent the chance to hide.
"Ingerman! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Krogan called as if he was talking to a five-year-old.
With no sign of Fishlegs, Krogan took off to the sky once again.
Once he was gone, Fishlegs popped his head out of the cave that he was hiding in. "How did Krogan pull this together?" He pondered.
Fishlegs then saw Krogan turning to his direction and immediately popped his head back into the cave praying to Thor that he had not seen him. Krogan remained there for about 30 seconds before he took off.
Fishlegs then looked around the cave he had found himself in and saw some familiar looking writing on the cave wall.
"Wait a minute," Fishlegs said, examining it. "I know this cave." He said as he then ventured deeper into the cave.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Hicca and the others were still battling against the Singetails all across the Edge.
Snotlout was currently being chased by two of these Singetails and was trying to lose them within the sea stacks, but they were proving that their riders were very capable. However when he turned around in a particularly large sea stack, the Thorston twins came flying in the opposite direction and unleashed a gas and spark attack upon the riders knocking the two of them off.
"Whoo! Thanks for the assist." Snotlout said gratefully. "Nice shot, you two." Then they saw Meatlug flying towards them. "Meatlug! Hey, girl!"
Then they noticed that Meatlug's saddle was empty.
"Wasn't an oversized human on this Gronckle last time we saw it?" Tuffnut asked.
Hicca then flew down towards them. "They must've shot Fishlegs' down in the southern forest. We need to find him!" She called out in concern for Fishlegs.
They immediately followed Meatlug, but when they turned round the sea stack they saw an entire squadron of Singetails riders heading straight towards them.
"I don't know what's going to happen right now. But good thought, Hicca." Tuffnut said.
"We are seriously outnumbered!" Raeda called out.
"And apparently more kept showing!" Henry added.
"This is gonna hurt. This is really gonna hurt." Snotlout said.
"Brace yourselves!" Hicca yelled.
They were about to attack them when suddenly appearing out of nowhere was a plasma blast knocking them off course. Then flying down towards them were Hiccup and Astrid firing upon the Singetails causing them to retreat.
"Holy Hiccup!" Tuffnut gasped.
"Hiccup, your timing is impeccable, brother." Hicca said in relief.
"I'm sorry, gang, we should have been here." Hiccup said, looking at all them.
"What gave it away? Was it the scorched earth?!" Snotlout roared in sarcasm.
"Doesn't matter! Right now we've got a problem, like a new level of bad problem!" Henry stated, jerking a thumb towards the Edge which was burning and then Hiccup saw Singetails flying towards them with humans on their backs.
"Wait. All those… Flyers?" Hiccup started in surprise. "Wait…How? When?" He sputtered.
"Yeah, caught us off guard too!" Hicca stated.
"Uh, guys, maybe we can have this discussion later," Astrid suggested.
A Flyer then fired a fireball straight at Hiccup, who managed to dodge it just in the nick of time. "All right! Air tactics and defense! Just like we practiced!" Hiccup ordered.
"When did we practice that?" Snotlout asked in panic. "We never practice that!"
"He's right! All we've done is practice how to take out bad guys on the ground, bad guys on the water, but never in the air!" Raeda pointed out.
"Then is a good time to learn!" Astrid yelled.
"Well, considering we face wild dragons in the air, there's no difference, just avoid the blasts and aim for the riders!" Hicca called out.
"Good plan!" Henry nodded.
They immediately charged at the Flyers, unleashing everything they had upon them while being careful not to hurt the Singetails. However, there were just far too many of them and they were all very skilled flyers. The Thorston twins discovered this the hard way when they chased after a Flier who then fired a fireball from his dragon's tail.
"Barf! Belch!" Tuffnut yelled as he and his sister pulled up in time.
The fireball missed them completely and struck a Flier that was following closely behind them. The impact of the attack was so strong that it caused him to lose his grip and the fall of his dragon, who then promptly flew away.
Meatlug was flying around shooting lava blasts all around her, but soon retreated. Raeda was fighting against three Flyers, but a quick spine shot caused them to fall back. Henry and his five dragons faced as many Flyers as they could while dodging their attacks.
Hiccup and Hicca then flew overhead chasing after yet another two Flyers and knocked him off his dragon with each plasma blast.
Then just as he was about to turn away from the huge smoke from the Edge, he saw Krogan emerge from it riding on top of his Titan Wing Singetail. The Haddock twins looked at his face and immediately recognised him.
Hiccup and Hicca were so stunned that they left themselves wide open to a fireball from the Titan Wing Singetail. They probably would have been blown off of Toothless and Midnight, if Snotlout hadn't appeared when he blasted a fireball with a fire blast. Soon the three of them quickly flew away from Krogan as quickly as they could.
"What are you guys doing?!" Snotlout asked.
"We know that guy." Hiccup said.
"Well, good for you!" Snotlout yelled.
"Snotlout, that was Krogan on that Titan-Wing!" Hicca called out.
"What?!" Snotlout asked in shock before he turned and saw that his cousins were right. "Okay. That's bad! But why don't you guys get together and catch up after we get outta here?"
As much as it pains them to admit it, Snotlout was right. There were just far too many of them to fight and they still needed to find Fishlegs.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Hiccup ordered.
"Dragon Riders, retreat!" Hicca added.
With that the Riders immediately flew away from the edge as quickly as they could.
"Let them go!" Krogan ordered his men. "The island is ours. And Viggo needs time."
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins and the others had retreated to the sea stacks of the plan for the next move. Meatlug in particular was uneasy as they had to abandon Fishlegs. 'What if Fishlegs is hurt!? What if he needs help?! We need to find him!' She growled urgently.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Hiccup said, calmly. "Easy, girl. We'll find him. Don't you worry."
"And how are you gonna do that, Hiccup?" Snotlout snapped. "Those Flyers are all over the place and they're trained with Krogan leading them." He then narrowed his eyes at Hiccup. "But you wouldn't have known that."
"Where were you, bro?" Hicca asked, "You've been gone since yesterday, a simple extraction couldn't have taken that long."
Hiccup looked nervously as he looked around with a nervous chuckle while Astrid looked nervous as well as she looked away. "Uh… well… we were a little side-tracked when we went to get the oil." He said nervously.
"How much of a side-track?" Raeda asked, placing her hands on her hip.
"Uh, well, the extracting for the oil per plant took a bit longer than expected since Johann didn't tell us that information…" Hiccup started while looking nervous.
"And…" Hicca pressed on, getting the feeling that the oil wasn't the only reason for their delay.
"And we… Uh…" Hiccup continued before he sighs in defeat. "I figured we still had some time to kill, so we went on a bit of moonlight flyaround." He confessed.
"What?!" Henry called out as Hiccup and Astrid flinched. "So while we've been trying to avoid getting cooked or blasted out of the sky, you spent all that time on a romantic flight around the ocean?!" He demanded, getting in Hiccup's face.
"Uhh…" Hiccup struggled to answer as he chuckled nervously, "When you said it like that it sound so much more-"
"Selfish." Raeda offered while giving a look at Hiccup.
"Well, that's one word for it." Hiccup said sheepishly.
"Bro, seriously?" Hicca asked her brother in disbelief.
"Hiccup, we could've booted those Singetails off the Edge if you'd been here sooner to help Hicca figure out a plan!" Snotlout called out while Hicca looked at Snotlout in surprise for standing up for her.
"Wow, Snotlout." Tuffnut commented, surprised. "The truth will set you free, my arrogant brother."
Hiccup did blame himself for what happened, if he had been there things might have turned out differently.
Astrid immediately stepped in front of Snotlout. "Would you guys leave him alone!" She said to them.
"Hey! Don't pretend you're any more innocent in this whole thing either, Hofferson!" Henry stated, "As one of the most trusted members of Riders, I expected you to tell Hiccup you two should've been back sooner!"
"Why am I the one to blame?!" Astrid questioned. "How could I've known this could happen?!"
"What happened to a real warrior who always expects the unexpected?" Henry stated.
"I didn't know that this kind of thing would happen by the time we left!" Astrid said in defense.
"How long have you been on this team?!" Henry questioned. "I mean, sure I've only been part of this team for a year, but you should've known that something unexpected always happens to us!" He pointed out.
Astrid growled in aggravation and pulled out her ax while Henry unsheathed his sword. "Are you saying that I'm dumb?!" Astrid questioned.
"Considering you didn't talk Hiccup out into coming back sooner, maybe." Henry challenged with a smirk.
Astrid growled as she was about to charge at Henry for the insult as Hiccup came in front of her to block her from doing something she might regret.
"No, Astrid." Hiccup said, pulling her back as Hicca did the same to Henry. "I deserve it. I shouldn't have left. They practically begged us to stay. I should've helped Hicca figure out a plan together and should've known that."
"Huh, that's pushing it." Snotlout said, as he wouldn't say he begged Hiccup to stay..
"You know what I mean." Hiccup told his cousin.
"At least you learned your lesson." Raeda commented with a shrug.
Hicca let go of Henry as she then placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Hiccup, no one could have predicted this attack, besides two more riders wouldn't have made any difference. However what's most important now is that we rescue Fishlegs before those Flyers find him." She said in assurance as she understands how her brother is feeling right now, since she could've done the same thing if it was her and Henry in their place.
Astrid nodded. "Hicca's right. That's all that matters." She said after calming down.
"At least you two are now here. And we need to find and rescue Fishlegs before those Flyers or Krogan find him first." Henry added.
"I just hope that it's not too late." Hiccup said in concern.
They then looked at Meatlug, who was fidgeting uncontrollably.
(Linebreak)
Fishlegs was still wandering through the cave, knowing where it would lead him. He then panicked when he saw something move close to him. He then heard a screeching sound and slowly began to back away trying to remain calm.
He then heard something behind him and slowly discovered red burning eyes looking directly at him. Then suddenly he was tackled to the ground by something small and white.
"Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs groaned.
He then looked at his attack and suddenly realized who it was. It was Darkvarg.
"Darkvarg." Fishlegs said in relief, stroking the tiny dragon. "Oh, thank Thor. I thought, well, never mind what I thought." Darkvarg then jumped off and looked at him eagerly. "I'm gonna need your help, little buddy. Understand?"
Darkvarg nodded excitedly. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah!'
"I gotta hide out for a bit. Is that okay with you?" Fishlegs asked. Darkvarg merely lagged his tail excitedly. "Of course it is. We're old buddies. Remember? Fishlegs and Darkvarg, Darkvarg and Fishlegs!"
Darkvarg immediately rushed to him and began to have him with enthusiasm.
"Those Flyers will never think to look for me down here." Fishlegs said.
"Let's look for him down here!" A voice said at the end of the tunnel entrance.
Fishlegs groaned. "Or will they?"
Without a moment's thought Fishlegs and Darkvarg began running down the tunnel as quickly as they could. As they ran they could see lights emerging from the tunnel corners and shadows of Hunters.
"Hurry, Darkvarg!" Fishlegs said.
Darkvarg then reached a small hole and began to screech inside of it. A few seconds later flying out of it were more Night Terrors and they began to drive the Hunters away.
"Nice move, Darkvarg!" Fishlegs said, petting the small dragon. "I knew you had it in you!"
They then entered through the dark hole that led to the Night Terror's cavern.
(Linebreak)
Out on the sea stacks, the Haddock twins and the other Riders were planning their next move. Hiccup was observing the edge through his spyglass and saw that Flyers were protecting it.
"So, if, in fact, truth does set you free, are you then free to be untruthful?" Ruffnut asked her brother.
"Hmm," Tuffnut pondered. "And it is said and untruthfulness has a hint of veritas, or as we, the Nordics, say, 'veritas.' Is it really untruthful on its face? Or face as the Italians say." He asked.
"Can we focus please? Fishlegs' still missing and we have Krogan and his Flyers all over the island, which by the way is overrunned by them and Singetail dragons." Hicca pointed out.
"Okay, okay." Tuffnut said while raising his hands.
Hicca nodded as she turned back to her brother. "You found anything, bro?" She asked.
Hiccup then looked at all them. "I do. I think I know where Fishlegs is hiding. I don't think they've captured him just yet."
"Can this be independently verified?" Tuffnut asked.
"Well, no." Hiccup admitted. "But if they had him, they wouldn't still be circling overhead." He stated.
"Which is proof that Fishlegs is still alive and not killed or captured." Raeda called out.
"Exactly." Hiccup nodded.
"But how are we gonna get to him? We already got our butts kicked when those Riders first showed up." Henry pointed out.
"Can we not call them Riders? What they're doing isn't anything like how we do things." Astrid asked.
"Agreed. So let's just call them Flyers then. Since all they do is fly dragons and not treat them like how we do." Hicca suggested.
"Okay. But still, those Flyers outnumbered us and we're outmatched before we even got a chance to fight back. And we can't risk hurting those dragons." Henry reminded them.
Hicca then turned to the sunset. "Look, it's getting dark, and Toothless and Midnight owns the night. Which means we will have a tactical advantage. We have to find Fishlegs first, even if it means losing the Edge."
"Which is why we must make the hard choice to save Fishlegs and leave for a safe place." Hiccup added as he and Hicca then began to mount Toothless and Midnight. "If we get separated, don't hang around and try taking these guys on your own. Meetup Defenders of the Wing Island. Got it?"
"That's the only place where we'll be safe." Henry added.
The Thorston twins immediately saluted and everyone else noted as they mounted their dragons.
Hiccup then looked at Snotlout, who was looking directly at him with an unfixed expression. "What is it, Snotlout?" He asked
"Nothing. It's just, well, it's nice to have you back." Snotlout admitted.
"I just hope it wasn't too late," Hiccup said as he then turned his eyes back upon the Edge hoping that Fishlegs was somewhere safe.
"We'll get him, bro. I'm sure that he is safe." Hicca assured as she looked at the Edge as well.
(Linebreak)
Krogan was at the mouth of the cave where Fishlegs' was hiding and saw two Hunters running outside scared.
"Get back in there!" Krogan ordered. "You do not stop until we have his head."
Then suddenly flying past him were several spines, immediately turned his head and saw Astrid and Raeda flying over him.
"You said something about someone's head?" Astrid taunted.
"Long time no see, Krogan!" Raeda called out while glaring at him.
Krogan looked at his Flyers. "Take them! And bring me their Nadders!" He ordered.
Immediately the Flyers began to chase after Astrid and Henry, who flew as far away from the cave as possible. They then dived into the woods and they followed suit and began to zigzag their way through the trees before emerging out of the canopy.
"We're gonna have to slow down for these guys, Raeda." Astrid said, looking at Raeda.
"Agreed." Raeda said as she looked down at Sparkfire and Stormfly. "Okay, girls, let's shake them." She said to the two Nadders.
Stormfly and Sparkfire both then began to slow down so that the Flyers could catch up and they didn't suspect a single thing.
"Come on. That's right," said Astrid encouragingly to the Flyers quietly. "You got me. You got me."
A Flyer laughed. "Fire!"
However before he had a chance to fire he was immediately knocked off his dragon by something. The other two Flyers look around wildly trying what attacked the Flyer ahead of them. They soon got their arms as they saw the Haddock twins, Midnight and Toothless flying around them.
Hiccup smiled as he patted Toothless. "Like I said, you Night Furies own the night, bud." He said.
'Own the night? I rule the night!' Toothless warbled.
'Can his highness rule the night with his queen by his side?' Midnight warbled with a dragon-like smirk at her mate.
Toothless gave Midnight a smile in return. 'You know I never rule without you, Midnight.' He warbled as Midnight gave him a lick in return.
"You're both the rulers of the night!" Hicca commented as she patted Midnight. "So let's show them why!" She called out.
While they were distracted, Astrid and Raeda then fired several spines directly at another Flyer causing him to fall off his dragon.
"Got ya!" Astrid said looking at the final Flyer.
"We got you right where we want you!" Raeda added with a smirk.
The Flyer looked around and found that he was completely surrounded by both Astrid, Raeda and the Haddock twins.
"Hey!" Hiccup smiled.
"I think this is the part where you surrender and take the easy defeat." Hicca added with a smirk.
Flyer then held his hands up in surrender.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Fishlegs had finally entered the Night Terror carven and opened the hatch he had created for them. It was now dark and soon the entire cavern was lit by moonlight.
"Quickly!" Fishlegs called out as he tied the rope to the handle. He then turned towards Darkvarg. "Okay, pal. Are you ready for me?"
Fishlegs then mounted on top of Darkvarg, who was struggling under the weight of the husky Viking boy.
"You got this, Darkvarg." Fishlegs said encouragingly. "You got this! Let's fly, pal!" He declared.
Darkvarg then began to flap his wings furiously and they began to rise slowly towards the hole. Fishlegs cheered as they got closer and closer, but the weight was too much for Darkvarg and they crashed to the ground in a heap.
'Sorry, Fishlegs but, you're too heavy.' Darkvarg squawked tiredly.
"It's okay." Fishlegs said, rubbing the tiny dragon, who was screeching apologetically. "We tried. And, hey, you got us this far, right?"
He then heard yells coming down from the tunnel and suddenly charging inside were Hunters holding their weapons high. Darkvarg immediately placed himself between them and Fishlegs and screeched at them.
However, Hunter nearly knocked him aside with the side of the blade of his ax.
Fishlegs gasped in horror and immediately glared at the Hunter. "You can mess with me all you want but you do not mess with Darkvarg!" He said as he charged at them and rolled headfirst into them knocking them aside with an immense force. Fishlegs sighed with relief as he began to pick himself up, but a Hunter had beaten into it and immediately pinned him to the ground with his foot.
Soon the other Hunters were recovering and two of them grabbed Fishlegs and held him up as the other Hunter grabbed his ax. Fishlegs whimpered at the site of this.
(Linebreak)
Meatlug was flying over the forest trying to find Fishlegs as quickly as she could and then she heard Fishlegs' screams. She roared as Henry and the others and immediately dived down to the ground.
(Linebreak)
Inside the cavern, the Hunter was raising his ax, preparing to deal the final blow, but then he was knocked aside by Meatlug, who flew out of the hole in the ceiling knocking him out cold.
Fishlegs had closed his eyes, but upon hearing a massive thump he opened them. "Huh?" His eyes then fell upon Meatlug. "Meatlug? Meatlug!"
Meatlug hovered into the air and immediately grabbed the two Hunters restraining Fishlegs. Not wanting to be the Gronckle's dinner they immediately released Fishlegs and ran out of the cavern screaming.
Soon Henry and the others flew through the hole in the ceiling and Wildstar and Hookfang unleash fire upon the Hunters causing them to run even faster. The Thorston twins probably followed by unleashing gas after them and it was at all possible they ran even faster.
"That's right! You better run!" Tuffnut yelled to the Flyer.
Meatlug flew over towards Fishlegs, who immediately gave her a big hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay, girl!" He said happily.
"What do you say you guys get all lovey-dovey after we get out of here?" Snotlout suggested. He then looked at Hookfang. "How did I become the only reasonable one?"
Henry rolled his eyes. "Snotlout's right. We need to get out of here, it won't be long until this entire whole is covered in Flyers!"
He and Snotlout were the first ones to take off and flew towards the hole in the ceiling. Darkvarg managed to regain consciousness and screeched at Fishlegs as he mounted his dragon.
"You saved me again, buddy." Fishlegs smiled. He then flew off but not before looking back at Darkvarg. "Fishlegs and Darkvarg! Darkvarg and Fishlegs!"
'Hey, what about me!?'Meatlug growled at him and Fishlegs immediately comforted her.
"Don't worry." Fishlegs said, patting her side. "You're still number one, girl." He declared.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins, Raeda and Astrid, were waiting for them outside and were relieved upon seeing them.
"They got him! Yes!" Astrid cheered.
"Thank Thor." Hiccup sighed in relief.
"Glad that he's okay." Hicca added.
However their reunion was short lived as they saw flying around them on his Titan Wing Singetail was Krogan.
"What are we gonna do, Hiccup? Hicca?" Fishlegs asked.
"We gotta get out of here!" Tuffnut yelled in panic.
"We're outmatched and outnumbered!" Raeda added.
Krogan gave them a soft chuckle.
The Haddock twins looked frustrated and then gasped in shock when he saw an entire army of Flyers emerge from the forest.
"Oh, no." Hiccup said.
"Hiccup, there's too many." Hicca said in worried.
The Flyers then immediately fired upon them and with no other choice the Riders one by one flew off. Hiccup just gazed upon the burning site of the Edge until Astrid and Henry approached.
"Hiccup, I'm so sorry," said Astrid.
"Guys, there's nothing more we can do," Henry said gently.
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. You're right."
"Dragon Riders, fall back!" Hicca called out.
Soon the four of them turned and began to follow the others away from the Edge.
But then some Flyers managed to get in front of them, blocking their escape, but before their Singetails could fire, they were struck by lightning bolts as the Flyers and the Singetails fell from the sky.
"What the? Where did that come from?" Snotlout asked in surprise.
"The only dragon who can fire lightning. Look!" Hicca called out as she pointed down below.
Below them is the Skrill, who came out of his spot to aid the Riders when he saw the Flyers, Hunters and Singetails invading the Edge.
"It's the Skrill!" Henry said with a small smile.
'Stay away from my friends!' The Skrill roared as he shot his lightning at multiple Singetails and Flyers.
Some of the Singetails fired at the Skrill, but his lightning blast neutralized them as he shot them down.
"His Lightning! The Stingetails can't counteract it." Hiccup called out after seeing this.
"Who could counteract lightning? No other dragons we know can do that unless it's a Night Fury." Henry pointed out.
"But I think there's more Singetails than it can take." Hicca pointed out the Skrill is being surrounded by Singetails as they circled around him as he blasted more lightning at them as he could.
Krogan actually looked disappointed. "Surprising. I thought they'd put up more of a…" He stopped when Hiccup suddenly came flying straight towards him.
"Hiccup! What are you doing!" Hicca called out in surprise when she saw her brother turn around.
Krogan smiled and immediately his Flyers began to chase after Hiccup and Toothless. However, Hiccup proved that he was the better rider as he and Toothless avoided the fireball fired from the Singetails and began to pick up speed towards the Edge. They were heading a beeline towards Hiccup's hut and showed no sign of slowing down.
"Now, bud! Do it." Hiccup yelled.
Toothless then fired a plasma blast which immediately set his heart alight destroying whatever was inside. They then immediately turned around and flew back towards the others leaving behind a smoldering hut.
"Now we can go!" Hiccup said to his friends.
Hicca nodded as she looked down at the Skrill. "Hunterbolt! See if you can clear a path!" She said as the Lightning dragon roared and fired lightning at the Flyers, making a safe path for the Riders as they flew off, "Good! Now save yourself and protect the other dragons on the Edge!" She called out to the Skrill before she and the other Riders flew away in the distance.
'I will make sure they are safe from them!' Hunterbolt roared as he flew back to the Edge and struck down as many Singetails as he could while using his lightning to speed off into the forest to hide from the Hunters and Flyers while the other dragons followed him.
(Linebreak)
It was late at night until they finally reached the Defenders of the Wing Island and Henry explained everything to Mala.
"And once Hunterbolt managed to clear a path, we escaped by the skin of our teeth." Henry finished, "We decided to come here, as it is one of the few islands we know is safe for both us and the Dragons."
"Well, consider this your new home, brother." Mala said, placing a hand on Henry's shoulder and waving her other hand to the Riders. "You are all welcome to stay as long as you need."
"Thank you, Mala," Hiccup said gratefully and Mala walked away. He then turned to Hicca and the others. "Listen, guys…"
"We know," Tuffnut said. stocking Chicken, whom he managed to rescue, in his arms. "You're incredibly sorry for allowing your personal relationship to fracture the precious bond that is a Dragon Rider."
"And if we're going to compete with this new and improved enemy, we all need to focus on one." Ruffnut finished.
"You're right." Hiccup said, slightly surprised. "And I know I'll have to earn back trust."
"You got that right," Snotlout said. "I was crushing it out there as Hicca's wingman while you were gone."
Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "You were indeed, Snotlout." He said.
"Though we are in tougher spots now." Hicca said as she got the others' attention. "Krogan is back and he appears to be the new leader of the Hunters." She said while feeling dread about this.
"I was just as surprised when he attacked him." Fishelgs said while shuddering at the memory.
"How could Krogan become the new leader of the Hunters? After what he did and tried to do, this makes no sense." Raeda called out.
"He must've wormed his way into the ranks after my uncle and father kicked the bucket. And must've been showing them a few more tricks without us knowing." Henry said while looking down in thought.
"Well, the Singetails are a sign that they've been busy." Ruffnut pointed.
"And I gotta say, they are really good." Tuffnut commented.
"They must've been collecting and preparing those dragons for this attack, that's why we haven't seen any activity from them for a while." Hicca said while remembering something. "That must've been the reason why the bandits on Outcast Island were trying to get those Pikes, they must've been the main food source for Singetails." She called out.
"Looks we're gonna have to read up on Singetails if we're gonna get the Edge back." Raeda pointed out.
"So with that taken care of, care to address the gigantic yak in the room?" Astrid asked her boyfriend.. "Your hut. What was that about?"
"There were things in there that were just too important," Hiccup said. "Things I couldn't let those Flyers get their hands on."
Hicca then pulled out a blanket and tossed the content onto the ground. "You mean, these?" She asked with a small grin
Hiccup stared at his sister open eyed. "How did you… I mean, when…"
"When the attack began, I risked life and limb to grab your and Hicca's secret little stash," Snotlout explained.
"Wasn't it you who was trying to talk us out of going back for it?" Fishlegs asked.
"And if memory serves I was the one who insisted on grabbing Hiccup's stuff." Hicca added with a small smile.
"No," Snotlout snapped. He then folded his arms and glared at the two of them. "Shut up, Hicca. Shut up, Fishface."
"Truth hurts huh?" Raeda mocked, nudging the Jorgenson boy with a smirk.
"Shut up, Raeda." Snotlout grumbled.
"Anyway, when the attack started, the first thing I thought about was our project and how it is important. So as quickly as me and Midnight could, we raced back to your hut and grabbed our project before we lost the Edge." Hicca said as she smiled at her brother.
Hiccup smiled back in return. "Hicca, you are the most amazing sister ever." He said.
"I know. I try." Hicca responded with a smirk while placing her hands on her hip.
Henry then looked at the diagram he was holding. "Wait a minute, these are the schematics for a…" Henry trailed off as he frowned and raised a brow while looking at the Haddock Twins, "You two have been trying to build another Dragon Eye, haven't you?"
Everyone then stared at the Haddock twins as Hiccup gave a nervous laugh.
"To be clear, we were gonna tell you guys, but it was incomplete and we were planning a surprise." Hicca told them while giving a sheepish look. "Turns out, creating a Dragon Eye isn't as easy as it was until Mala taught us to find a new perspective after what happened on Vanaheim." She explained.
"Yeah, it was taking us longer than it had to be. Which is why we haven't told you guys about it yet." Hiccup added as he turned to Henry, who was still frowning. "Look, I know you said that the Dragon Eye was better off destroyed, Henry. But ever since the Hunters returned and we've been seeing new dragons, we thought if we recreate the Dragon Eye, we could figure out some clues or some new information so that we can have an edge over them."
Henry just sighed and crossed his arms, "Well, the one silver-lining is that the Hunters don't know there's another Dragon Eye while the original one was destroyed. So at least we have something that they don't." He said.
Hicca looked at Henry in surprise. "Wait, you're not upset, Henry?" She asked.
"No. Actually, I am just glad to be one step ahead of the Hunters for once." Henry said.
"Well at least there's one thing that'll make this battle with the Hunters easier than the last one." Raeda spoke up, "This time, Viggo and Ryker aren't around as a threat." She added.
"But we mustn't underestimate Krogan. He is much tougher and ruthless than Viggo or Ryker from what we saw when we encountered him in the past and saw how skilled he is as a fighter." Hicca pointed out.
"There's one thing that still doesn't follow, why go through all this trouble to just take the Edge from us? What's their game?" Henry questioned as he placed a finger on his chin.
"That is curious. Why would they take the Edge so badly and not follow us to take us out when they should?" Hiccup questioned as well as he is having the same feeling as well.
(Linebreak)
Back on the Edge, Viggo was on the edge of the volcano as his men set up a crane that went deep into the volcano. Krogan then arrived riding on top of his Singetail.
"Are you sure that thing didn't melt inside this volcano?" Krogan asked.
"Not to worry. It is here." Viggo assured. "And it won't be long until the Dragon Eye is back in its rightful hands." He said as he then took out his sword that Henry managed to save it when he found it back after the Sandbuster incident and found it in Henry's hut when they took the Edge. "And I must thank my son for taking good care of my sword. He must've missed me so dearly." He said with an evil chuckle.