Chapter 64: No Dragon Left Behind
After the Flyer invasion the Edge had seen better days, the stables and the huts were burnt or destroyed, the walkways were falling apart and the lookout towers were crumbling. The Riders had met up in the clubhouse to discuss repairing the Edge.
"Okay, gang, we have a lot of work to get the Edge up and running," Hiccup said.
"So we have a lot of rebuilding and fixing to do." Hicca added.
"Not to mention we need to improve our defenses to make sure that nothing like this happens again," Raeda added.
"Agreed." Henry nodded. "Knowing my father and Krogan, we need to make sure that we don't lose the Edge again if they attack again so soon." He added, while still shocked that his father, Viggo, is still alive and partnered up with Krogan and took the Dragon Eye from the Edge's volcano.
"And we cannot wait to rebuild our hut!" Tuffnut said, gesturing to himself and his sister.
"We've come up with a few new designs/renovations." Ruffnut said, pulling out a piece of parchment.
Tuffnut took it. "It's very, very now." He then rolled it out to show everyone. "It's very 'Today's Viking.'"
"And Vi-queen." Ruffnut added. "Behold, our second, third, and fourth floors."
"The kitchen. It's huge." Tuffnut said.
"What's that in the middle of it?" Fishlegs asked, pointing at the designs.
"Yeah, that's a weird design?" Raeda asked in confusion.
"So glad you asked," said Tuffnut.
"Since we live on an island…" Ruffnut began.
"I came up with the idea of putting one in the middle of our kitchen."
Snotlout looked at them. "For what?"
Tuffnut laughs. "'For what?' he says." He then leaned over towards Ruffnut. "Remind me, Sister Nut. La isla cocina? Por que es?"
"Beats me, my flaxen-haired brother," Ruffnut shrugged. "But it looks cool. One might say 'bro-fessionally' done!"
Tuffnut laughed. "Like 'brother,' but professionally. Yeah, yeah, 'brother-rated.'"
"'Numero brono.'"
"Okay, great, thanks for that." Hiccup said as he and Hicca approached them. "Uh, whatever all that was, your hut is the only one of the few that actually survived." He then gestured to the Thorston Twins' hut, which were pretty much untouched during the invasion.
"Which is not surprising since your hut is intact from recent events." Hicca said as she then began to roll the designs back up. "So this design is great and all, but it would be a waste of time and resources." She then handed the scroll back to Tuffnut and noticed that both he and his sister were devastated.
Hiccup then has a thought. "Hey, here's a thought. Why don't you put your effort and brilliant ideas into the stables?" He suggested.
"Yeah. The dragons need shelter and the stables need to be fixed up so the roof won't fall on them." Hicca added.
The Thorston twins looked at one another.
"I guess we could put an island in the middle of the stables." Ruffnut said, rubbing her chin.
"'Fan-sister-istic' idea!" Tuffnut said.
"One might say 'marvel-sis.'" Ruffnut added.
Hiccup rubbed his forehead. "No. One might not say any of that."
"Yeah, they really don't." Hicca added with a sigh.
They then heard a distant law that belonged to Garff and everyone groaned.
"Ugh, come on, Garff." Fishlegs groaned.
"Doesn't that dragon ever quit?" Snotlout asked as they made their way to their dragons. "This is the first time this week."
"Apparently, not really." Raeda sighs.
"Come on, let's go before he tries to eat any of the dragons, again." Henry finished after he was the last one out.
(Linebreak)
After they had brought Garff to the Edge in order for him to get healed up and to protect him from Dragon Hunters and helped them deal with the Dragon Flyers to retake the Edge. Unfortunately the moment that he was back to full strength, he began bothering and trying to eat the other dragons.
Garff was currently about to eat Smidvarg, whom he had encased in amber. Until Hunterbolt stopped him, and was currently growling at the younger dragon, 'Kid, how many times have we told you not to eat the other dragons on the edge?!'
'I-I'm sorry. I was just so hungry!' Garff growled feebly, though he was larger than Hunterbolt, the Skrill was still much older than him and was more than capable of blasting him off the island.
Fortunately the Rider showed up at that very point to stop the fight.
"No, Garff, not Smidvarg!" Fishlegs cried.
"And Hunterbolt, don't hurt him!" Raeda added.
Astrid, Hicca, Midnight and Stormfly immediately landed, blocking his path. Stormfly began to growl at Garff telling him to not eat Smidvarg and Midnight at Hunterbolt to leave the younger dragon alone.
"No, Garff, no!" Astrid yelled.
'Smidvarg is not food!' Stormfly added.
"Hunterbolt, leave Garff alone!" Hicca told him.
'He's only a youngling.' Midnight reminded the Skrill.
Then for some strange reason Ruffnut began to sink.
No, Garff, no,
You cannot eat Smidvarg.
For he's our good friend,
And we love him to the e—
Ruffnut then started when all the other Riders were looking at her.
"What? Not doing it this time?" Ruffnut asked.
"Garff is old enough to understand us. So, no singing this time." Raeda pointed out.
"And at least he won't whine anymore with no singing." Henry added as the others nodded in agreement.
Ruffnut scoffed with disappointment from that. "Shame. That is one magnificent song."
Hunterbolt eventually backs off, as Astrid and Hicca stroke their dragons as they jump off their saddles.
"Good girl, Stormfly. You and Midnight tell 'em." Astrid said
"Great talk at lecturing him, Midnight." Hicca said as she gave Midnight a pat.
For some reason Stormfly and Midnight had become very close to Garff and almost acted like two mothers to him. The two dragons then dashed towards him and began to play with him.
Hiccup then pulled out Inferno and ignited his blade. He then very carefully began to melt away at the amber that encased Smidvarg.
"Uh, Hiccup, Hicca, I hate to say it, but this is getting way too dangerous," Fishlegs to the Haddock Twins.
Henry nodded in agreement. "It was all right when he was resting up, but now that he's fully healed, he should go back to the wild where he belongs."
"I agree," Hiccup nodded as Smidvarg brushed off the last of the amber on his scales. "He's following his true nature, hunting like an adult Death Song now."
"Well, it's not his fault," said Astrid defensively. "He's just doing what his instincts tell him."
"And he was raised by the Adult Deathsong when we got him to accept Garff as a son of his own. He's just following his father's instructions." Hicca said with a smile, defending Garff as well.
"I understand, girls, but his instincts don't care about the safety of us or our dragons." Hiccup pointed out.
"Not for all our dragons," Astrid reminded him,
"Yeah, I mean, look at Midnight and Stormfly." Hicca pointed to the two dragons playing with the Deathsong
Garff began to sing his song. For some strange reason it didn't seem to affect Stormfly or Midnight in the slightest.
"Yeah, those three have bonded so well that Garff's song doesn't even affect Stormfly and Midnight anymore." Astrid said with a smile.
"Just showed how much our dragons cared for him." Hicca finished with a proud smile at the three dragons.
"Maybe true for you two, but try flying a mile in my saddle." Fishlegs said as he held onto Meatlug's tail bludgeon as she made her way towards Garff hypnotized by his song.
Raeda was doing the same with Sparkfire and Hiccup rushed over to Toothless, who was walking aimlessly towards Garff. Snotlout was pulling back on Hookfang's horns to stop him from reaching Garff while Henry tried to keep his dragons and Hunterbolt back.
"Earplugs, quickly!" Hiccup yelled as he placed the moss earplugs in Toothless.
"Okay, maybe not all of our dragons are immune to Garff's song." Hicca corrected herself sheepishly.
Hunterbolt shook his head, regaining his senses and glared at Garff. The young Deathsong gave a sheepish expression, 'Sorry.' He growled.
Despite all this going on, both Stormfly, Midnight and Garff were playing with each other so much they actually tipped over the edge of the cliff. Garff was hanging onto the cliff as best as he could, but Stormfly gave him a gentle nudge pushing him back onto the ledge as Midnight gave him a lick on the cheeks as Garff gave a dragon-like laugh.
Astrid and Hicca just smiled at the three of them and then turned to Hiccup, who was frowning. Smidvarg then jumped at the sound of Garff's voice and immediately hid behind Hiccup and shuddered. Hiccup then looked at her with a fixed expression.
"What are you thinking, Hiccup?" Astrid asked. "Just say it."
"Yeah, bro. We know that look. It's the one where I know when you make a choice in this kind of situation." Hicca said with a frown, knowing what her brother's going to say.
Hiccup then bent down to comfort Smidvarg. "It might be time to… find Garff a new home. A permanent home."
Astrid and Hicca didn't like it, but they had no other option and they nodded in agreement.
Henry then walked up to them as he gave them an assuring smile as he placed a hand on Hicca's shoulder. "Hey, Garff will be fine. He's a tough dragon after all." He assured them as they nodded in understanding.
(Linebreak)
Soon they were in the air flying to Garff's new home which was hand-picked by Fishlegs.
"I'm telling you guys, it's perfect." Fishlegs assured.
Soon coming into view was an island, but Astrid and Hicca were still not convinced about the island being perfect.
"Are you sure that this island is perfect, Fishlegs?" Hicca asked in concern.
"And what do you mean 'by perfect'?" Astrid asked as well.
"It possesses a very similar climate and vegetation to Melody Island." Fishlegs explained. "Nice canyon walls to hold in the sound. No visible hostile species. I'm telling you, Astrid it is—"
"Perfect," Astrid finished.
"We get the point, Fishlegs. But it sounds like this island would be perfect for Garff." Hicca added while seeing Fighlegs point.
"H-here's a thought. Why talk about it when we can walk about it?" Hiccup jokes. All the Riders just gave him a blank look. Toothless groaned beneath him. "Instead of flying."
"That's not one of your best, bro." Hicca said blankly.
"Yeah. That wasn't good." Henry said with a dull look.
A few seconds later the Riders flew away from him.
"Tough crowd, H." Tuffnut said as he and his sister flew next to him. "Hey, look, I've been there, all right? It is lonely and waits till they turn on you. I mean, they will come at you with heart, molten lava, feathers…"
Then he and his sister flew off chasing after the rest of the Riders.
(Linebreak)
They soon landed on the ground and Garff was making himself at home and was already tasting a piece of fruit from a bush.
Astrid and Hicca looked at Fishlegs. "We have to say, Fishlegs, this really is perfect." Astrid said.
"Agreed. This is a perfect place for Garff to live in." Hicca said with a smile as the two girls then turned to Garff, who was busy stuffing himself with the food from the bushes.
"And you guys are right. As much as we love the little guy, he's not really that little anymore." Astrid added.
"And he's already made himself at home," Henry added with a smile.
Hiccup turned to Astrid and his sister. "Well, I guess, it's, uh, that time."
Hiccup then approached Garff, who approached him in turn. He then placed his palm on his snout and Garff growled gently. Hiccup then walked away and Raeda then approached him.
"You take care of yourself, you hear." Raeda said, patting the dragon. "And don't wrestle with any dragon that is bigger than you." She added with a chuckle.
Once Raeda left, Fishlegs approached him with Meatlug.
"So long, Garff," said Fishlegs. "It's been a pleasure to watch you grow in such a wonderful, handsome, strong—" He then burst into tears. "No, I can't. I can't do it. I hate goodbyes. I just hate them!"
Snotlout then walked as Fishlegs walked away crying. "Blah, blah, blah!" He then looked up at Garff. "See ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya! That's how we say goodbye, Jorgenson style!" He then laughed. "At least that's how my dad says goodbye to me. Snotlout, outlout!"
Henry then came up to Garff next as he gave a smile to the dragon. "I'll see you around, Garff. You may have been tough, but you're fun to hang out with." He said as he walked off.
When he walked away the Thorston twins then approached Garff and they began to sing to him. Ruffnut was the first to begin.
So, Garff, as well as you know,
Our chicken says it's time to go.
Tuffnut then stepped forward and took the next verse.
As much as love can grow,
I cannot love you so.
Because you are not my bro-ther.
Ha ha ha.
How was I to know?
The Thorston Twins then walked off and Astrid, Hicca, Midnight and Stormfly stepped forward.
"Hey, Garff." Astrid said, smiling up at him. "You know, you've really made an impact on our group," she then gestured to Stormfly and Midnight, "Especially on our girls here."
"We're really gonna miss you, Garff. Especially them." Hicca said with a small smile.
Stormfly squawked at him. 'I'm gonna miss you, Garff.'
'We both will. You are a great dragon to be around.' Midnight roared gently next while giving a sad look at Garff, really sad to be leaving him.
"But we will be back to visit," Astrid promised. "You can count on that, okay?"
"We will come to visit when we can. We will never forget about you, Garff." Hicca added with a smile.
Stormfly and Midnightthen approached Garff and nuzzled him like a mother would do and Garff wrapped his wings and tail around them affectionately. Everyone was moved by this, even Snotlout though he was quick to deny it.
Raeda saw this as she gave a smirk to him. "Really this touching moment. Aren't you, Snotlout?" She teased.
"Shut up, Raeda." Snotlout grumbled.
The three of them then parted from one another and Stormfly screeched at him before walking off and rejoined Astrid while Midnight gave him a gentle roar at him next before she rejoined Hicca.
Everyone then mounted their dragons, but before they left they heard rustling in the bushes.
And then the Haddock Twins then had a feeling that something was watching them as they looked around.
"Hey, Hiccup. You're having the strange feeling that we're being watched?" Hicca asked uneasily.
"I sure do, sis." Hiccup turned and bought he saw something slipping past. "Uh, is anybody out there?"
Then suddenly appearing out of the bushes was a very large snake with a very colorful pattern. He could also see quite plainly that it had made sharp fangs and its forked tongue was sticking out as it hissed. He then raised its body and hissed at them angrily.
The dragons immediately turned on the snake and growled.
However, they soon discover that it was not the only one as more snakes appeared out of the bushes. Astrid and Hicca immediately turned on Fishlegs and narrowed their eyes.
"Perfect, huh Fishlegs?" Hicca said firmly.
"What?" Fishlegs asked. It soon dawned on him why they were glaring at him. "Oh, right, l-like I knew that there were giant snakes here. They're my favorite."
However they soon discovered that the snakes weren't actually snakes as one of them rose its body into the air revealing a pair of wings.
"By the way, those are not snakes!" Hiccup yelled. "Those are Slitherwing dragons."
"What?!" Raeda asked in shock.
"Oh, no! Not Slitherwing dragons!" Snotlout panicked. He then blinked and looked at the others. "What's a Slitherwing dragon?"
"Really, Snotlout?" Raeda asked in disbelief.
"They're poisonous. Very poisonous!" Hicca yelled. As Midnight and Toothless quickly backed away to avoid one of these Slitherwing as it left a trail of poison in its path. "And dragons that look like giant snakes!"
"Don't touch their skin," Fishlegs as he and Meatlug quickly took to the air to avoid a Slitherwing that tried to pounce behind them. "It's coated in, well…"
"Poison?" Snotlout panicked as he quickly held his helmet out just as a bit of poison headed his way blocked it.
"Precisely." Fishlegs said.
"Whatever you do, don't get any on you or let them bite you." Hicca said as Midnight quickly backed away from a Slitherwing. "If you do, you're dead by the next moon." She quickly explained.
Barf and Belch were pushing the Slitherwings back with the gas and spark attack. Hiccup watched as Astrid and Stormfly flew upwards to avoid a Slitherwing.
"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled
Suddenly a Slitherwing flew towards them and Stormfly quickly jumped forwards. The sudden movement had caused Astrid to pull off of her and she hit her back hard against the rock.
"Run!" Fishlegs yelled as he blew past with a Slithering hot on his tail.
"Dragon Rider, retreat!" Hicca called out.
Then a Slithering practically jumped out of the bush and began to sliver towards Astrid and Hicca. It would have taken a bite out of her if Hiccup and Henry hadn't grabbed them in time and pulled them to safety.
Astrid then saw that Garff was completely surrounded by Slitherwing. "Garff!"
"Garff, get out of there!" Hicca called out.
Upon seeing this, Stormfly and Midnight took off and flew towards Garff, who then flew into the woods to get away from the Slitherwings. Unfortunately the Slitherwings followed him and Stormfly and Midnightfollowed close behind.
"Stormfly, no!" Astrid cried.
"Midnight, wait!" Hicca cried out next.
'Midnight!' Toothless roared in worry for his mate.
Garff soon reached the clearing, but he was stopped by several Slitherwings. He roared at them together in the back off, but they weren't afraid of him in the slightest. Stormfly then fired several spines while Midnight fired plasma blasts at them, blocking their path towards Garff and landed between them.
The Haddock twins and the others were having their own problems with the Slitherwing and Hiccup and Hicca were trying to scare off a couple with their Infernos. Then they heard the sound of Stormfly and Midnight within the forest.
"Stormfly." Astrid said with a panicked look.
"Midnight." Hicca said in panic as well.
Then they saw two Slitherwing flying out of the trees and quickly all of them charged towards them. They then unleashed their fire attacks on the Slitherwings causing them to retreat and they began looking for Stormfly and Midnight.
Astrid was the first to spot her. "There they are!"
"They're trapped!" Hicca called out.
"We got them." Hiccup said.
"Let's get down there." Henry added as he and Hicca flew down towards the clearing.
(Linebreak)
Once there they found the clearing was covered in amber and spines, but the most troubling thing was that Garff was nowhere to be seen and Stormfly and Midnight were each trapped in amber cocoons. The moment they landed they quickly dashed over towards Stormfly.
Stormfly and Midnight both looked a bit agitated and Hiccup placed a gentle hand on Stormfly's side as he drew Inferno. "Hey, easy girls." Hiccup immediately ignited Inferno as he began to melt the amber around. "Easy."
"I'll get you out of there, Midnight." Hicca said as she ignited her Inferno to melt Midnight's amber.
Fishlegs frowned. "I don't understand. Garff is an excellent shot. I mean, how could he miss the Slitherwings but hit Stormfly and Midnight?"
"Maybe he was surrounded so that he couldn't aim right?" Henry suggested in concern.
The Haddock twins then shattered through the amber cocoons, freeing Stormfly and Midnight. However, upon being freed, they began walking around frantically and screeching uncontrollably.
Astrid and Hicca immediately worried.
"Stormfly," Astrid said, dashing towards her dragon and placing her hands upon to comfort her. "Come here. Calm down."
"Midnight, easy girl." Hicca said in worried. "What's wrong?" She asked in concern.
Stormfly and Midnight then immediately spun around and struck Astrid and Hicca with their tails.
"Ooh," The Thorston twins winced.
"That's something Midnight and Stormfly never do to them before." Raeda said in surprise.
"Guys. I think the Sitherwings took Garff." Fishlegs said, examining the amber on the ground.
Everyone then turned to Stormfly and Midnight as they quickly realized what was upsetting them.
"They may have taken Garff…" Hicca started as she is now more worried.
"But not before they poisoned our dragons." Astrid finished.
They then watched as Stormfly and Midnight kept on walking around frantically and uncontrollably.
Astrid immediately turned to Hiccup. "Hiccup, I've never seen Stormfly like this before. Just look at her eyes."
Astrid looked right, Stormfly's pupils were a lot sharper than they usually were.
"And look at Midnight, she's more anxious than I've seen before." Hicca added as Midnight is moving around with her pupils slit like Stormfly as well.
"They seem disoriented," Hiccup said. "They might be in shock from the poison."
Toothless warbled worried at Hiccup as he was worried about his mate. 'Those dragons poisoned Midnight and now she's not well?' He asked, hoping that he heard right.
"I know, bud. I'm worried about her too." Hiccup said as he gave a gentle rub to Toothless to calm him down. "But don't worry, we'll cure her." He assured him.
"But how does this venom work? There's not much we know about it." Hicca pointed out
Fishlegs then immediately began looking through his cards. "Slitherwing, Slitherwing. Come on, where are you?"
"Hurry, Fishlegs!" Astrid yelled, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Fishlegs jumped up in surprise and dropped his cards. "My nerves are already shot, Astrid! You are not helping right now."
"I'm sorry," Astrid said apologetically. "I-I'm just—"
"Scared." Fishlegs finished as he began picking up his cards. "I know. We all are. But we're gonna figure this out." He then looked directly at her. "Look at me. We're a team. And if one of us goes down, we all go down."
"He's right, Astrid." Hicca said as she came towards them. "I'm as worried and scared as you are, but we must keep calm and focus on helping Stormfly and Midnight, okay?" She said as she placed a hand on Astrid's shoulder.
Astrid nodded and looked down at the card and recognised the one they wanted. "There! The Slitherwing!"
Astrid immediately handed it over to Fishlegs. "Okay, okay, okay, okay. Um…" he said as he examined the card. "Not much is known about how the poison works." Astrid and Hicca both looked crestfallen. "But, but, but…"
"But what?" Astrid asked.
"Come on, Fishlegs, keep going." Hicca urged the Ingerman.
"There is an antidote!" Fishlegs announced excitedly. "Yes, yes, yes! It's a combination of angel fern root, pine sap, and… oh."
The Haddock twins had a feeling they knew what the final ingredient was judging from Fishlegs' face. "Let us guess, Slitherwing venom." Hiccup guessed.
Fishlegs nodded.
"Yeah, I should've known that this wouldn't be easy." Hicca said with a facepalm, should've guessed that this wouldn't be too easy.
"Hey, we've milked many nasty dragons and, per my recollection, an eel or three," said Tuffnut. "So, it shouldn't be that hard."
"Except that we can't touch the subject of armor he desires, 'bro-fessor,'" Ruffnut pointed out.
"Does present quite the conundrum," Tuffnut admitted. "We need of a 'bro-llient… sis-covery.'" He then looked at his sister. "Is it too much?"
"Not for me," Ruffnut shrugged.
"Guys, we don't have much time here," Hiccup recalled. "Plus we need to find out what happened to Garff, so…"
"Let me guess. We're splitting up and putting each group in equal yet perilous danger," Snotlout guessed.
The Haddock twins just looked at him with a blank face.
"What? Isn't that what we always do?" Snotlout asked. "The only question is who draws the short straw?"
"And is there really a straw? Or a stick with a hole through it?" Tuffnut asked.
"Henry, you, Fishlegs and the Thorston twins find the ingredients to the end you don't and get it going," said Hiccup looking at Henry, who nodded in understanding. He then turned Astrid and Hicca. "Hicca, Astrid, you two stay with Stormfly and Midnight. They need you both right now."
Astrid and Hicca looked at their dragons, who were still looking at the sky and growling.
Hiccup then looked at Snotlout. "As for you, Raeda and I…"
"Do ice cream?" Snotlout asked hopefully.
Hiccup gave him a blank look. "If by 'ice scream,' you mean going to find Garff, then yes."
"Yak dung. Short straw," Snotlout grumbled.
"Sorry, Snotlout. But Hiccup said it and Hicca needs to stay here to make the antidote." Raeda said with a shrug as she walked up to Sparkfire as Snotlout growled in annoyance.
Hiccup then placed a comforting hand on Astrid's shoulder. "We'll be back. Stay strong, girls. They need you two."
"You two just keep your dragons calm while we get the ingredients and find Garff." Henry assured while placing a hand on Hicca's shoulder.
Astrid and Hicca nodded as they made their way over towards Stormfly and Midnight to try to calm them down.
(Linebreak)
Hiccup, Raeda and Snotlout had mounted their dragons and began to search for Garff in the forest.
"Now that it's just the three of us—" Snotlout began before Hookfang growled at him. "The six of us. Can I get a break, Hookfang?" He then looked back at Hiccup. "Anyway, all kidding aside, Hiccup, do you really think Garff is alive? I mean, look at the effect that poison has on Stormfly and Midnight."
"I hate to say it, but Snotlout's right, Hiccup." Raeda said while having a thought. "We don't even if Garff is…" She stopped herself as she couldn't even say it.
"Look, no matter what, we don't leave a dragon behind, alive or dead," Hiccup plainly said. Snotlout then looked at Hookfang with a concerned expression. "Snotlout, are you okay?"
Raeda saw this as well. "Yeah, Snotlout. You seem concerned, and you're rarely concerned at times like these." She pointed out.
"I was just thinking about Astrid and Hicca." Snotlout said. "I remember when Hookfang was with the Fireworm Queen, and I was so scared and mad. I mean, I was lost. Completely lost." He then gave them a stern expression and folded his arms. "But if you two tell anyone I said that, I will deny it."
Hiccup and Raeda just laughed.
"Don't worry, we won't tell." Raeda assured with a chuckle.
Toothless then came to a complete stop and growled. 'I found Garff's trail!'
"Whoa, bud! What is it?" Hiccup asked.
Then he saw in front of them a trail of amber.
"Hey, maybe the little guy managed to fight 'em off after all," Snotlout said, noticing the trail as well.
"Garff never goes down easy." Raeda said with a smile, glad to find a clue that Garff is still alive.
"That's the spirit," Hiccup nodded. He then watched as Snotlout and Raeda began following the trail and looked down at Toothless. "Oh, I really hope that's the case, bud."
'I hope so too, for Midnight's sake.' Toothless growled in agreement as they followed Snotlout and Raeda.
(Linebreak)
Elsewhere in the forest Stormfly and Midnight were still moving around anxiously, even despite Astrid's and Hicca's best attempt to calm them down.
"Stormfly, you and Midnight have to keep still." Astrid said calmly. "The more you two don't, the quicker the poison will spread through both your bodies."
"She's right, you two." Hicca said calmly as she tried to calm Midnight down. "The better you don't move, the better the poison won't quicken." She added.
Stormfly and Midnight both then rushed forward knocking them to the ground before running off. Astrid and Hicca picked themselves up and began chasing after them.
"Stormfly." Astrid said, jumping in front of her.
"Midnight, please stop moving." Hicca said next as she got in front of the female Night Fury.
The two Riders knocked to the ground again when the two dragons dashed off. "Stormfly, no!" Astrid called out.
"Midnight, come back!" Hicca called out as she and Astrid raced after their dragons.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile Henry and the others were gathering the ingredients needed for the antidote.
"Here you go, you sap," Ruffnut said as she stabbed a tree with a knife and began to pour out into a cup. "Sap for the sap."
Fishlegs then pulled out an angel fern from a bush. "And an angel fern for…"
He then stopped in mid sentence as he and Ruffnut looked at each other with blank looks.
"Ew," Tuffnut said,popping his head over Fishlegs' shoulder. "'Sap for a sap'? Kind of, uh, 'sis-connected' from your 'bro-barian.'"
"You got a point." Ruffnut said and looked at Fishlegs. "He's got a point."
Henry then looked at Tuffnut. "Okay. True, but Tuff, did you by any chance get Slitherwing venom?"
"No." Tuffnut bluntly said as pulled out some angel fern. "I got the fern root of an angel from my angel."
Henry facepalm is himself. "Thanks for putting that image in my head that I'll never forget now."
"Ew!" Fishlegs said, equally disgusted.
Tuffnut looked at them. "See what I mean? Kind of gross, right?"
Henry shook his head. "You were supposed to get the venom so we can cure Stormfly and Midnight, Tuffnut," He reminded the Thorston boy firmly.
"No, I specifically recall you telling Ruffnut to get the venom," said Tuffnut putting his hands on his hips. He then looked at Ruffnut. "Ooh, ouch. What a 'sis-appointment.'"
"Sorry to spoil your game, 'bro-cano.' 'There was a 'T' and not a 'R' that received the 'uffnut.'" Ruffnut said.
Henry rubbed his forehead. "Look, I don't care which one, but one of the Nuts needs to extract some Slitherwing venom or we're all…"
He was then interrupted by the sound of Stormfly and Midnight, who were rushing towards them. Quickly they all jumped out of the way as she passed them and quickly their dragons blocked her path. Astrid and Hicca then approached them just as Stormfly and Midnight rushed off.
"It's the poison," Astrid pants from the running.
"It's getting worse and making them more anxious." Hicca panted as well as she was out of breath. "We need to help them before it's too late."
"Don't worry, girls. We're on it," Henry said determinedly.
"Sap," Fishlegs said.
"Angel," said Tuffnut.
"El venom," said Tuffnut. "We won't let you both down. At least, I won't."
"Let's move it, Riders!" Henry yelled.
Immediately they ran in order to get the last ingredient and Astrid took that moment to catch her breath. However, a few seconds later they came running back.
Fishlegs stopped to look at Astrid and Hicca in embarrassed. "Okay, well, in all the excitement, we, um…"
"Forgot your dragons?" Both Hicca and Astrid finished as they gave them a bored look while placing their hands on their hips.
"Forgot our dragons." Fishlegs nodded before he ran off with the others.
"Ugh!" Astrid and Hicca groaned.
(Linebreak)
Hiccup, Raeda and Snotlout were still following the trail of amber scraps which led them to that of a boneyard and soon they reached a narrow cave. "This does not fill me with confidence." Raeda noted as she wasn't sure that Garff was okay.
Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and drew Inferno. He then ignited and looked down into the cave entrance and then he saw a chunk of amber inside of it.
Snotlout could read Hiccup's mind and realize that it was his last to dissuade him from going in. "Listen, I'm all for the 'no dragon left behind' thing, but if one of the six of us get stung by those things, who's gonna—"
"We are going in there to find Garff, Snotlout," Hiccup said plainly as he climbed into the cave.
"Or what's left of him. Just saying," Snotlout replied.
"We have to be sure, Snotlout, we owe it to Garff." Raeda told him as she climbed in after Hiccup.
Snotlout groaned and followed after them.
(Linebreak)
Henry and the others had managed to locate a Slitherwing that was drinking from a lake.
"Slitherwing in sight." Henry whispered quietly to the others.
"Okay, so how are you guys gonna get it?" Fishlegs asked.
"Uh, guys?" Tuffnut said, looking at him. "I thought we were a team. What happened to the sap, angel and venom thing? I make jackets."
"Well…" Fishlegs whimpered.
"Yes, and those were awesome, but forget it." Ruffnut said, looking at her brother. "Looks like it's just me, Henry and you now, 'bro-tacular.'" She then turned her gaze upon the Slitherwing. "Now, how are we gonna extract it without touching it?"
"A tough question since we don't have protection gear to even get a sample." Henry added since they can't get the venom without getting poison, and they can't cure Midnight and Stormfly without the poison.
"Ha. Simple." Tuffnut said as he performed some hand movements. "We put a jug underneath. Slitherwing drinks." He then imitated slurping sounds. "Slitherwing slobbers." He then made slobbering sounds. "We're in. We're out."
"And if it touches our skin?" Ruffnut whispered.
"Ruffnut, that's collateral damage." Tuffnut said.
"Uh, you're talking about us 'bro-crastinator.'" Ruffnut pointed out.
"I've got a better idea, we knock it out quickly and then we sweep the venom off it before it wakes up." Henry said plainly.
The Thorston twins blinked.
"I like that plan much better," said Ruffnut.
Tuffnut shrugged. "Though it takes all the fun out of it."
Fishlegs then whimpered and grasped onto Henry's shoulder.
"Oh, I love this game!" Tuffnut cried.
"Oh, yeah!" Ruffnut nodded excitedly. "The one where we describe what you're thinking without speaking."
Fishlegs then fainted and their dragons began to hiss.
"Oh, great, now they want to play," Ruffnut grumbled looking at them.
"I don't think they're playing, muttonheads." Henry said, tearing open eyes at what was in front of them.
The twins turned and saw that the Slitherwing they were watching was now directly above them and spat a lot of its poison at them. Thankfully, their dragons pulled them to safety before they got struck by the poison.
(Linebreak)
Astrid and Hicca were with Stormfly and Midnight, who then collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious. They then heard screams and saw Henry and the others being carried by their dragons by the helm of their shirts.
"What happened?" Astrid asked as she and Hicca rushed over to them.
"These guys." Tuffnut said, pointing at Barf and Belch. "They ruined our game."
The two-headed dragon growled.
"And saved our lives in the process." Henry retorted, rolling his eyes at the Thorston twins.
Hicca looked at them. "Did you at least get the venom for the antidote?" She asked hopefully.
Henry and Fishlegs shook their heads.
Astrid and Hicca then turned and saw Stormfly and Midnight were growling weakly when they realized that the poison had spread over her body completely.
With determination, Astrid rushed over to Stormfly and embraced her head and then looked at the others strongly.
"We can't lose them." Astrid said as she then immediately dashed off before anyone could stop her.
"Astrid, no!" Fishlegs cried.
"You'll get yourself killed if you touch them!" Hicca yelled in worry.
Astrid ignored them and kept on running in the direction of the Slitherwing. A minute later, she came across it slipping on the ground and upon seeing her raised its body into the air and hissed at her loudly.
Astrid then screamed and did the most unexpected thing anyone could have dreams of. She charged it and rolled even before he could bite her and then slammed her fist into it chest. The Dragon screeched in pain as the poison began to cover Astrid's hand.
He then began to look around for her, but she had completely vanished.
Astrid was running back towards the others clutching her hand which was now covered in the poison. She could only feel the poison taking effect on her and when she climbed over a long she fell face first into the dirt. She picked herself up and painfully made her way towards the clearing.
Hicca and the others approached her as she came out of the forest, looking as bad as when she caught the Scourge of Odin. "I hope you can make three doses," Astrid said before she collapsed.
"Astrid?" Hicca cried as she bent over towards her. "Astrid, stay with us." She then looked at the others. "Guys, Go get some water." She then looked at Astrid. "Astrid, listen to me! Stay with us!" She cried out in worry.
(Linebreak)
When Astrid opened her eyes she found the burning sensation she had experienced was gone. She also found a dragon while the others were looking down at her with relieved looks.
"Easy there, Astrid." Hicca gently said. "The antidote is still working its way through your body while clearing out the poison in your system."
"I'm fine, Hicca," Astrid assured as she pulled herself up. She then looked at them. "How's Stormfly and Midnight?" She asked hopefully.
They all looked at her with grave looks.
Fishlegs wiggled his fingers. "For some reason, it's working on you, but with them…"
"There were no effects of the antidote on them." Hicca said in sadness.
Astrid's eyes widened as he turned around to find that Stormfly and Midnight still looked quite sick on the ground.
"Oh, no," Astrid said, dashing towards Stormfly while Hicca dashed towards Midnight.
Tears began to form in their eyes that they feared that their dragons were going to die.
"Is Astrid crying?" Tuffnut starred in surprise. "I've never seen anything like that before. I mean, Hicca crying, nothing new but Astrid," He then looked at his sister. "How are we supposed to deal with that? Nobody's ever prepared us for anything like this."
Ruffnut then approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's, uh, dust in the air," she said. She then immediately turned on the boys. "Always gets me this time of year. Astrid doesn't cry! The wind kicks up and then all sorts of stuff blows through. It's the dust. I'm telling you, it's the dust!"
"No, no, no, no," said Tuffnut shaking his head. "I know allergies, and I know crying. And those?" He pointed at Astrid's tears. "Those like there are definitely tears of sadness and regret, folks. I'd know those salty suckers anywhere."
Astrid then got to her feet and marched up to Tuffnut furiously. "How would you feel if you were losing your dragon?"
Tuffnut stared at her and then completely broke down. "I'd ruthlessly punish… whoever was responsible!" He then began weeping.
Astrid however was more concerned for Stormfly and rushed over to her. However as Hicca looked at Midnight, her sorrow was replaced by confusion when she realized something.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile Hiccup, Raeda and Snotlout, along with their dragons, were walking down the cave with only Inferno lighting their way. As they got in deeper into the cave they discovered that there were tons of Slitherwings sleeping.
Snotlout whimpered at the sight of them. "Oh, my Thor. They're even scarier when they're asleep." He cringed as one of them snored. "Little creepers. They're so creepy."
"Snotlout, if you don't stay quiet, they won't be asleep for long." Raeda whispered while giving Snotlout a 'shushed' expression.
They then waste any time and rush over towards Hiccup and Toothless.
"The amber looks like it's piling up," Hiccup noted. He then looked directly in front of them and stared. "Uh, is that what I think it is?"
Snotlout and Raeda looked up and he too was staring.
"Oh thank Thor." Raeda said with a wide smile at what they saw.
(Linebreak)
Hicca and the others meanwhile were still confused about why the antidote didn't work on Stormfly and Midnight.
"I am so sorry, girl." Astrid said, hugging Stormfly. "We tried. You know we tried."
"I just don't understand it." Henry said, scratching his head. "The antidote worked on you, but it did work on Stormfly or Midnight."
"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense." Fishlegs agreed. "Our body systems aren't so different that they wouldn't react the same."
"Remember when Great-Uncle Magmar died?" Ruffnut asked, looking at her brother.
"Yep," Tuffnut nodded. "At first, he refused to accept it, even though both his arms and one legs were cut off." He then tucked in arms behind his back and lifted one of his legs.
"What a visual."
"It really was unforgettable."
"But then he got super mad at everyone, which was also unforgettable."
"Yeah, seeing him hop around on that one leg, telling people he was gonna bite their tongues off." Tuffnut then began jumping around and imitating biting sounds.
"Then he stopped eating, which was good for us, because we couldn't let all that sympathy food go to waste."
"And then he just laid there and accepted his fate." Astrid finished.
"Yeah, but that—that was completely forgettable," said Tuffnut. "Kind of boring, in fact."
Ruffnut placed a hand on her hips and narrowed her eyes and Astrid. "Thanks a lot, Astrid. Thanks for ruining our moment of reverie."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Hicca suddenly said as she then had a thought in her head as the others turned to her. "Astrid when we found them in the cocoon, they were stunned. Then they got really angry and lashed out."
"Tell me about it." Tuffnut said.
"Then they refused to eat, and now they're listless and unresponsive." Hicca said with a smile forming.
"Do you think maybe the antidote didn't work on her because she was never poisoned in the first place?" Astrid asked.
"Astrid, I think you and Hicca are right," Fishlegs said. "They're not poisoned at all. They're grieving. They're grieving the loss of Garff."
"The loss of their friend." Astrid said.
"Like a mother who lost her son." Hicca added.
"That explains the cocoon they were trapped in and why Garff hit them." Henry said.
"Garff must have covered them in amber in order to protect her from the Slitherwings." Hicca theories. "He was trying to protect them."
Astrid then approached Stormfly, relieved that she was not dying. "I'm so sorry, Stormfly," she said apologetically. "I know what you're both feeling now, girl." She then grabbed a stick and began to draw in the dirt. "Garff was a great dragon and such a good friend. He saved you and Midnight's life, and will always remember him and always honor him."
"Yeah. And we don't know if he's alive or not, but I'm sure that Garff is alive, Midnight. I'm sure my brother and the others are looking for him now." Hicca said as she gave Midnight a pat as the female Night Fury purred at the touch.
Astrid revealed that she had drawn a picture of Stormfly, Midnight and Garff together.
"Wow. Inside that angry little body, who knew she had that kind of artistic ability? Did Raeda teach her how?" Tuffnut asked, stunned.
"The scales, the perspective, the shading, it's bang on," said Ruffnut. She then looked at her brother. "You think she could do one for us?"
"No harm asking."
Astrid shook her head and hugged Stormfly, who was looking a lot happier now. Astrid then looked into her eyes and saw that her slits were now back to normal.
"There's my girl," Astrid smiled. She then placed a hand on Stormfly's head. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this."
Astrid then hugged her again, 'Thank you Astrid.' Stormfly purred softly.
"And don't worry, we'll be there for you when going through some tough times like how you've been there for us." Hicca said with a smile.
Midnight gave a cooed at Hicca with a dragon-like smile. 'You're the best, Hicca.' She cooed as she nuzzled her rider.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile Hiccup, Raeda and Snotlout were staring at a large wall made of amber.
"Is there something inside there?" Snotlout asked in a panic voice.
"Not something, Snotlout, someone!" Hiccup snapped.
"And thankfully, someone friendly!" Raeda added.
They made their way closer towards the amber wall and there on the other side of it was none other than Garff.
"Garff! Hey, there!" Hiccup waved.
'Hiccup, Guys! I knew you found me!' Garff sang happily.
"I knew it!" Raeda cheered as she shook Snotlout by the shoulders and gestured to the wall. "He must have cocooned himself a wall to protect himself from the Slitherwing venom, that must be why he cocooned Stormfly and Midnight too!"
Snotlout frowned. "Yeah, except that didn't work out too good." He pointed out.
Hiccup thought for a moment and his eyes lit up. "Or did it?"
Snotlout gave them a puzzled look. "What are you two talking about?"
"Yeah, nothing." Hiccup said, shaking his head. He then turned his attention back onto Garff. "We need to get him out of here."
"All we need to do is get out of here before these dragons wake up for breakfast in bed," Snotlout said. "And we're the breakfast."
"So let's be quick before we're the ones being poisoned." Raeda added.
Hiccup then pierced the amber with Inferno and very carefully began to melt his way through it. Snotlout and Raeda quickly grabbed the shards that fell from the cracks so that they didn't wake the Slitherwings.
"Any day now." Snotlout said in a panicked voice.
"I'm going as fast as I can, Snotlout." Hiccup snapped. "If I hurt him it kind of defeats the purpose."
"Well, can't you be careful and fast, these guys could wake up any second!" Raeda told him as she noticed the dragons started stirring.
Garff was on the other side of the wall giving Hiccup the small growl.
"I know, Garff," said Hiccup as he continued to melt his way through the amber. "We missed you, too, but we need to get moving before…"
Then suddenly there was a large cracking sound as dozens of very large cracks creeped all over the amber wall.
"Oh…" Hiccup said, unable to think of anything else.
"Spoke too soon, Hiccup." Raeda said dully.
Then suddenly the amber wall shattered and the fragments bailed to the ground with a mighty crash. Snotlout and Raeda could see there was no need for them to hold the amber shard they were holding and drop them to the ground. All of them winced until the final shard struck the ground and turned to find that the Slitherwings were now wide-awake.
Soon they began hissing and slithered their way towards them and immediately Garff roared. His roar was so loud that it actually reached all the way to Stormfly and Midnight, who immediately got up. 'Garff?!' They roared.
Toothless immediately fired a plasma blast that the Slitherwing knocking it back, Sparkfire shot some spine shots at them to push them back, and Garff fired a chunk of amber at another. Unfortunately when it made contact with the Slitherwing's skin it just rolled off of it.
"That's why his amber didn't stick to these guys earlier." Hiccup said in realization. "Their skin coating protects them from it."
"It's like they're the natural predators of the Deathsong." Raeda commented in shock.
Toothless, Sparkfire and Hookfang immediately unleashed there by a breath attack upon the Slitherwings, but he easily dodged the attacks. Soon they found themselves completely surrounded and were slowly backing away from them. Hiccup was using Inferno in order to scare them off, but there were just too many of them and one of them was about to pounce Garff.
However, just as it pounced a burst of white flames came out of nowhere striking it. They looked up and saw flying towards them and were asked on top of Stormfly and Midnight as they soon landed in between them. Stormfly then unleashed a burst of flames that were white and looked to be far hotter than normal and Midnight unleashed a barrage of plasma blasts at the Slitherwings, which knocked them back but surprisingly, Midnight was past her six shot limits as she kept blasting. The combined attacks were enough to cause the Slitherwings to fall back.
Hiccup stared at Astrid and Hicca in surprise. "Oh, whoa! What was that?"
"Stormfly's new thing," Astrid said, looking back at them. "Pretty nice, huh?"
"Uh, very." Hiccup nodded before turning to her sister. "What about Midnight, that was definitely more than six shots, how did she keep firing like that?" He asked in surprise.
"I don't know. But it looks like Night Furies can push the limits of their abilities for their loved ones." Hicca said with a smile at Midnight.
Toothless looked at Midnight with wide eyes from what he just saw from his mate as he began to drool in awe with his tongue out while Midnight gave her mate a smirk in response.
Then the Thorston twins arrived on Barf and Belch spreading gas down the tunnel.
"Here we go!" Ruffnut cried.
Belch then ignited the gas causing an explosion that scared off the Slitherwings. Henry and Fishlegs then arrived and assisted with scaring off the remainder of the Slitherwings. With the coast now clear they Hiccup and Snotlout were able to get off their dragons and Garff rushed over to Stormfly and MIdnight as the three of them growled happily at one another and began nuzzling one another, Garff is glad to be with Stormfly and Midnight again while the two ladders are relief that Garff is okay.
They then took off with Hicca and Astrid in the lead, who then unleashed Stormfly's new dragon fire and Midnight's multiple barrage of plasma blasts down the tunnel in order to scare off any Slitherwings that blocked their path. They soon managed to fly out of the cave and flew away from the island as quickly as they could.
Once they were safe Hicca and Astrid laughed and gave a sigh of relief as they laid their bodies against their dragons' back.
Hiccup then flew over to her. "I'm glad they're back, too, girls." He said to his sister and girlfriend.
"We're glad they're back too, bro." Hicca said as she gave Midnight a rub on the head as the female Night Fury purred.
Toothless then flew towards Midnight as he gave his mate a smile. 'I'm glad that you are alright, Midnight. But wow, that was an amazing move you did back there. I didn't know we could move past our own shot limits.' He warbled in amazement.
'I didn't either. It just sorta came out of me after hearing Garff was in trouble.' Midnight said as she was just as amazed as herself from what she did.
'Like instincts kicked in if the ones you cared for are in danger.' Toothless guessed with a smirk.
'Yeah, something like that.' Midnight nodded as she had a feeling they might have more abilities than they thought.
"Well, we still have one thing we have to do." Fishlegs said, pulling out the map. "And I promise I will be better about doing it."
"But let's make sure to scout the island first before landing." Henry suggested, since after that incident, they need to be extra cautious on an island before landing.
"Good call." Fishlegs said as the Dragon Riders and Garff flew off into the sunset.
(Linebreak)
The next day, they managed to find another island which was completely Slitherwing free and Garff was enjoying his new home. He was currently playing with Stormfly and Midnight as everyone just watched as the three dragons nuzzled one another.
"This place is perfect, Fishlegs." Hiccup said.
"And no dangerous dragons in sight this time." Raeda commented with a smile
"Let's give them a minute." Astrid said.
"Yeah. They've earned it after what just happened." Hicca said with a small smile.
Hiccup nodded. "It's tough to say goodbye."
"Let's not call it 'goodbye,' Hiccup." Astrid said, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "It's 'see you later.'"
"She's right." Hicca said in agreement as she placed a hand on her brother's other shoulder. "We'll see Garff again. Maybe we'll visit him sometime." She said with a smile.
They then continue to watch as the three dragons nuzzle one another.
"That's so beautiful." Ruffnut said.
"One might even say 'bro-tiful,'" Tuffnut said.
"Touché. Touché." Ruffnut said.
"Just stay quiet you two. And enjoy it." Henry called out to them.
"Buzzkill." Ruffnut said while folding her arms.
"Fun-ruiner." Tuffnut added with a look.
The rest of the Dragon Riders watch as Garff, Midnight and Stormfly play with each other for a little bit before they leave Garff at his new home, knowing that he will be safe here.