Chapter 66: Searching for Oswald and Chicken
Heather and Dagur were still trying to search for their father and using his diary in order to locate him. One of these expeditions led them into a cave which then began to collapse on top of them and they were currently trying to fly out of said collapsing cave.
"On your left!" Dagur yelled as Sleuther by the blast destroying a rock was about to hit Heather. "And you're right! And, well, everywhere!"
'I told you this was the wrong place!' Sleuther roared in panic.
"Faster, Windshear!" Heather yelled.
'You got it, Heather!' Windshear roared.
They soon saw the cave entrance and accelerated towards it. They just managed to get out of the cave entrance before it caved in on them, but it was very close.
(Linebreak)
A few minutes later they landed on a nearby island and Heather began to look through their father's diary.
"I'm not sure where we went wrong," she said as she looked through the pages.
"I'll tell you where we went wrong," Dagur said, walking up to her. "We followed another clue from dear old Dad's diary of death, and it led us into a trap. What a shock." He said sarcastically
"We're close, Dagur," Heather implored, closing the diary. "I can feel it. We have to keep looking for him. Father wouldn't have given up on us." She said looking at the diary.
"The only thing we're getting closer to is Valhalla." Dagur stressed to his sister, approaching her. "You're trying to find 'clues' in what is mostly meaningless gibberish."
Heather groaned.
"And trust me, as someone who's spent most of their life in various states of existential crises, I know the meaning of meaningless!" Dagur added.
Heather sighed as she made her way over to Windshear. "I'm heading home," she said as he placed the diary in her saddle bag. "You do what you want, but I'm not stopping until I find our father."
Dagur then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please don't get killed, Heather." He then pulled her into a hug. "I like having a sister."
Once they separated, Heather mounted Windshear and took off, unaware that Dagur had taken their father's diary from her saddle bag.
(Linebreak)
At the Edge, the Thorston twins were doing a little housecleaning putting everything they owned outside their hut while Valerie was helping them. Astrid, Raeda and Snotlout came over.
"Are you spring cleaning?" Astrid asked, surprised.
"Finally getting the mold out of your hut?" Snotlout rhetorically asked, folding his arms.
"Because normally, you two would just let it grow unless it's out of control." Raeda added in surprise as well.
Ruffnut then turned on him as she shoved one of the statues outside. "Oh, if we were spring cleaning, you'd know. We'd be getting rid of this stuff and our hut." She explained.
She leaned too much on the statue causing it to fall off the platform and shattered into pieces.
Tuffnut then emerged from their hut and began looking under every single thing that wasn't nailed down. "I won't leave a single stone unturned, not a corner unscoured, not a rotisserie unrotated until my little egg-laying ingénue is found!" he declared.
"Chicken's missing again." Valerie explained tossing out a box.
"Ooh. Mystery. Intrigue." Snotlout said. Tuffnut was then sobbing uncontrollably and Snotlout chuckled. "I love it."
Valerie then gave Snotlout a hard nudge to the shoulder. "Seriously? Come on man, you know how attached Tuff is to Chicken." She reminded him with a firm look.
"What? Just messing with him." Snotlout said innocently while rubbing his shoulder.
Astrid rolled her eyes and approached Tuffnut. "Maybe she just needed some alone time, Tuff," she said, helping him to his feet.
Tuffnut scoffed. "Chicken hates alone time, unless it's with me. Besides, she's been acting strangely lately. She keeps disappearing, she's tired all the time, and she didn't show up to book club this week." He then picked up a book and tossed it at Ruffnut, who shifted ahead to avoid getting struck by it. "She never misses book club… especially when we're reading chick lit." He then smiled at them. "Get it? Chick. Lit."
"Yeah, we get it." Raeda said boredly.
"Maybe Chicken just flew the coop?" Astrid suggested with a slight chuckle.
Raeda chuckled from that as well. "Good one." She commented.
But Tuffnut was instead brought to tears by that joke. "Oh, no!" he weeped as Astrid and Raeda immediately regretted their laughing. "Really, Astrid? Raeda? Terrible chicken puns at a time like this? You two are better than that!" He said with a glare as the girls suddenly felt like the roles had been reversed with Tuff reprimanding them for a mutton headed comment.
"Really girls, what did I just say to Snotlout?" Valerie asked them. "And you're supposed to be the smart ones on the Edge."
Raeda then glances at Astrid, "You remember all those times we scolded Ruff and Tuff for being muttonheads?" She asked with a bit of embarrassment.
"Now I understand how they felt." Astrid added with an embarrassed look as well.
"But had Chicken really flown the coop, or was there something more sinister going on?" Snotlout said, acting as if he was a narrator. "Only time would tell. Or would it? Ooh."
"Are you narrating?" Raeda asked in confusion.
It was at that point that Dagur arrived on Sleuther, diverting Snotlout's attention. "Whoa, who's scarface?" Valerie asked as she had yet to meet Dagur.
"That is our Berserker ally, Dagur the Deranged." Raeda answered.
"Dag-ster!" Snotlout cried as he rushed towards him.
Dagur then immediately pinned him towards a cage and glared at him. "You know I hate nicknames, Snothat."
"Nicknames are of buds. I thought we were buds," Snotlout quivered.
Raeda then approached Dagur with a dull look, "Dagur, I thought we talked about you using Snotlout's real name from now on." She reminded him.
"Oh, but it's so fun." Dagur whined as Raeda scrunched her face and he sighed, "Fine, I'll work on it."
Dagur then cleaned his throat and released him before he noticed Valerie. "Who's the new girl?"
"Oh, right. We didn't get word out yet." Astrid said as she then gestured to Valerie. "Dagur, meet our latest Rider, Valerie Ragmok."
"A pleasure to meet ya." Valerie greeted with a wave.
Dagur waved back, "Charmed I'm sure. So where's and what's your dragon? Timberjack? Scauldron? Catastrophic Quaken?" He asked, looking around.
"Oh, he's right over there." Valerie pointed behind Dagur and then appearing next to Sleuther was Camo and Dagur turned around just in time for his nose to be mere inches away from the Changewing.
'Hi' Camo chuffed.
Dagur screamed as he and Sleuther leapt back. He then put a hand to his chest as he caught his breath, "Why do Changewings always have to sneak up on you like that?!" He demanded breathlessly as the others chuckled. He then cleared his throat and turned to Astrid "So, uh, Hiccup and Hicca around?" He asked with a smile.
(Linebreak)
Dagur soon met up with both the Haddock twins within Hiccup's hut and showed him Oswald's diary.
"If she keeps following this diary, she's gonna get killed." Dagur said as he slammed it onto the desk. "She's become reckless. And I don't mean that in a cool swashbuckler-y kind of way."
He then imitated sword sounds before pacing back and forth as Hiccup and Hicca looked through the diary. "I don't know if either of you've noticed, but people in my family can get a little fixated on things, like ruling an archipelago, controlling a Skrill, killing you."
"And you are afraid Heather's got the same obsessive nature," Hiccup concluded.
"Because from what we have seen between you two, you both kinda share some Berserker natures for this kind of thing." Hicca added. "Plus you forgot about Berserker Anger Issues?"
"Anger issues? Anger Issues?!" Dagur yelled before taking a breath and looking a bit sheepish, "Okay, that is painfully true. We're Berserkers. It's in our blood." He then cleaned his throat. "Please, sibs, look through my dad's diary and see if there's anything in there. A clue, a sign, a harbinger of doom. Something!"
Hiccup looked through the pages. "Well, Oswald certainly didn't want anyone to know what he was working on."
"And he does know how to cover his tracks when he first went missing years ago." Hicca added.
"Exactly! So when you tell Heather there's nothing in it worth following, so listen to you!" Dagur said. "She won't listen to me because she is a stubborn, headstrong, stress-inducing—"
"Sentinel," Hiccup said suddenly.
Dagur looked at him. "Well, not the word I would've chosen." He said.
"No, this sketch," Hicca said, showing him a drawing of a Sentinel dragon in the diary. "It's a Sentinel Dragon. And we only know one Island they live on: Vanaheim." She explained with a furrowed look.
(Linebreak)
Soon the Haddock twins and the Riders were preparing to make their way to Vanaheim with Dagur.
"You excited? Because I am pu-umped," Dagur said, looking at the map. "How far is it to this retirement island, anyway?"
Hiccup looked at him. "Look, Dagur, Vanaheim is an incredibly secret place." He said, taking the map from Dagur.
"If word gets out people like Krogan, Viggo and the Hunters won't pass up a chance to get an easy catch," Hicca added looking at him pleadingly, "So for the sake of those dragons, you cannot tell anyone on your island or any other island about Vanaheim."
"Oh, don't worry." Dagur said, reassuringly. "I'm great at keeping things to myself. Anger, frustration, rage." He listed.
"Yeah, those are not secrets." Hicca said in amusement.
"Hiccup, Hicca, look at this!" said Fishlegs approaching them with Oswald's diary in his hand.
Hiccup looked at it and Henry joined them and together they discovered that there was a drawing of some sort of dragon skull.
"Hmm. Never seen a dragon like that before," Hiccup said, not recognizing the head shape of the skull.
"Those bumps on the sides of it, kinda look like the roots of tusks." Hicca noted in intrigue.
"And judging from this drawing of how it is on the ground, it must be huge." Henry added with a thoughtful expression.
"Vanaheim, it's so full of mysteries and mythology!" Fishlegs said excitedly. "This is just a thread in the tapestry of its deep, rich history."
Astrid then arrived meaning that they were all set for the journey. 'Well back to Vanaheim.' Stormfly squawked.
'Here's hoping the Sentinels will be a little more willing to let us leave.' Toothless warbled back.
'And hoping no other unexpected event might hit us where we least expected.' Midnight added with a worried warble as well.
"Looks like we're clear." Henry said.
"Ready, bud?" Hiccup asked Toothless.
"Let's fly, girl." Hicca said to Midnight.
"All right, straight ahead," Ruffnut's voice said. "Now profile. Okay, spin back around. One at a time, I want to hear a squawk."
The Thorston twins along with Valerie were currently in the stables looking at the large range of chickens.
"This is pointless," said Tuffnut. "Look at this pathetic gaggle of wannabes. I mean, that's not even a chicken." For some strange reason there was a Night Terror amongst the chickens.
"You named that Night Terror 'Chicken'?" Valerie asked in confusion.
"It was Chicken's idea." Tuffnut defended.
"So I take it Chicken is still missing," Hiccup assumed as he and the others entered the stables.
"She skipped dinner last night." Tuffnut said. "She never misses dinner, unless it's one of her relatives on the menu."
"Huh, now that you mentioned it, I did notice Chicken looked a little more plump than she usually does." Hicca said. "Maybe you over fed her."
"I would never over feed Chicken. I made sure she gets the right amount." Tuffnut pointed out before he gave a thoughtful look. "Then again, she does eat more than what I usually give her."
"Hmm, perhaps it was… fool play," Snotlout laughed. He then stood up straight and continued his annoying narrator voice. "It was a small town with a checkered past. She was a chicken on the edge who had been pushed to the brink."
"The brink?" Tuffnut panicked. "Oh, Thor, not the brink. I mean, a precipice maybe, but not the brink! We must widen the search!"
With that the Thorston twins scampered off.
"Think on a grander scale!" Ruffnut cried.
"Chicken!" Tuffnut yelled and they began to look through all the crates making chicken impersonations.
Raeda then glared at Snotlout. "Seriously? Again, Snotlout?" She questioned.
Hiccup and Hicca looked at one another and turned to Astrid, "Listen Astrid, I hate to ask you this but," Hicca started but Astrid could read her mind.
"I'll stay behind," Astrid said with a smile.
"And I'll stay as well, to make sure Snotlout doesn't say something he might regret." Raeda added, volunteering to stay as well to make sure Snotlout doesn't make things go overboard.
"Thank you both." Hiccup gratefully.
Dagur sighed. "Can we go? I mean, not that your chicken hand isn't of great importance, but let's be real here, people."
"We're coming, we're coming, Dagur." Hicca called out as the others mounted their dragons.
With that, the Haddock twins, Henry and Fishlegs began to lead Dagur to Vannaheim.
(Linebreak)
"I really hope we find something about Dad on your island of decomposing dragons, sibs, for Heather's sake." Dagur said as they flew over the ocean. "Should I have brought Heather with us?" He then placed a hand over his heart. "Oh. What's that I'm feeling? Ooh. Oh, what is that? Must be guilt. Blah! Ooh, I don't like that."
"Uh, you said her obsession had become dangerous," Hiccup reminded him.
"Not to mention how much you're worried for her." Hicca added.
"I said?" Dagur asked as he blinked. "Sounds about right."
"Then you're doing the right thing." Hiccup said.
"It shows how much you really care for Heather, Dagur. Hiccup and I are that way from time to time with each other." Hicca added as she and Hiccup smiled at each other.
Dagur smiled and turned his attention onto the horizon.
"There it is!" Fishlegs pointed.
They all looked to the direction he was pointing at and once they flew out of the fog bank they saw the island of Vannaheim coming into view.
"Riders, welcome back to Vannaheim." Henry announced.
"All right, gang, here's the plan," Hiccup said. "We land, look for Oswald, and then cover ourselves in fruit."
"Not that I don't appreciate a good bath now and again—I mean, the last one was just…" said Dagur, before he turned his attention back onto them. "Uh, but I don't really see how it's gonna help."
"To escape, Dagur. To escape," Hiccup explained.
"They may not look like much, but they are the toughest dragons in the world," Henry explained. "They may be blind, but they know how to counter every dragon's attack."
"So those statues are really dragons?" said Dagur looking at the Sentinels that remained motionless.
"Yeah. They are in this state to fool outsiders who aren't dragons." Hicca answered.
"Don't worry. They're not gonna bother us all the way in," Fishlegs assured. "Maybe on the way out."
However, at that precise moment the Sentinels sprung to life and headed straight towards them. 'Intruders!' One of them roared.
Fishlegs looked at the Haddock twins. "Uh, Hiccup? Hicca?" He said.
"That didn't happen before." Henry comments
"Are you guys sure this is the right island?" Dagur asked.
The Sentinels were flying straight towards them and immediately they unleashed a powerful wing blast sending them backwards.
"Okay, the Sentinels seem to remember our scent and now see us as threats." Hicca said in surprise.
"Just ride it out!" Hiccup yelled. "They remember our scent from last time! They know we're not sick dragons. They've—"
"Adapted, I know!" Fishlegs said he then looked at the dragons with fascination. "It's so fascinating."
"You know we love a good study section, but now's not the time!" Hicca called out.
The Sentinels then came flying towards them and unleashed yet another wing blast and Dagur was knocked off Sleuther's saddle. Thankfully Hiccup was able to fly and Toothless grabbed him and then dropped him back on Sleuther's back.
"Now what else do I personally find fascinating?" Dagur said. "Not getting killed!"
"Yeah, let's focus on not getting killed and study later!" Henry nodded as he and Dagur soon re-joined the others and that's when they saw another group of different dragons making their way onto Vannaheim.
Toothless immediately growled at them. 'Hey! How did they get through these living statues easily?'
"I see them, bud," Hiccup said, petting him on the head. He then turned to Fishlegs. "Hey, Fishlegs?"
"Are those sick dragons?" Fishlegs asked.
"Must be." Hiccup said.
"Why else would the Sentinels ignore them?" Hicca added.
"Oh! So they're letting those little shifty dragons on but not us?" Dagur said, looking annoyed. "I didn't come all this way not to get Heather some answers. Follow me!" He ordered.
Dagur then immediately performed a loop to loop and began charging straight towards the Sentinels. Hiccup and the others did the same thing holding onto their dragons as they charged.
"Go, girl!" Fishlegs cried.
They were really picking up speed now and the Sentinel performed yet another wing blast. However they were moving so fast that all the wind blasted slowed them down slightly and shot right past them.
Seconds later they all crashed onto the beach with a massive thump. "Not one of our best landings, but at least the Sentinels are gone." Henry commented as he rubbed his head.
Fishlegs chuckled as he picked himself up. "That was brilliant, Dagur! You knew the gust of the air from the wing clap would slow us down just enough so we wouldn't be smashed to bits."
"Yeah. Let's go with that," said Dagur as he picked himself up.
Hiccup and Hiccq noticed that the Sentinels were now retreating, no doubt to their resting place.
Hicca looked at Hiccup. "You know getting out is not going to be as easy as getting out like last time."
Hiccup nodded in agreement.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile on the Edge, Astrid and the others were still hunting for Chicken. They were now looking through the forest and hoped to find any trace of her.
Tuffnut was performing chicken sounds everywhere he went. "Uh, Chicken! Chicken!" He then fell to his knees. "The trail's run cold."
"Trail?" Astrid blinked. "We're following a trail?"
"How can you tell?" Raeda asked.
Tuffnut then gestured to a set of footprints in the dirt.
Astrid shook her head in disbelief. "Those are Snotlout's footprints, Tuff."
Tuffnut looked up and discovered the footprint did indeed lead to Snotlout. "What a muttonhead," he said, folding his arms.
"Tuff, you claim to love Chicken but you can't even recognize her own footprints?" Raeda asked.
"Oh, Duped Again. How will I ever look Chicken in the eye again?" Tuffnut asked, looking down at the ground in shame.
"Ugh! I don't know why they call this a search party," Ruffnut moaned, leaning against a tree. "I've been to funerals that are more fun. Ah, remember the boar d'oeuvres at Great-Uncle Magmar's funeral?" She asked her brother.
"Ah! Do I?" said Tuffnut with a dreamy look. "I didn't leave the bathroom for three days after those. That was a party 'cause I—I took a bunch home with me to eat in the bathroom. Good times. That was—" He then immediately broke down. "Oh, those are three days I wish I'd spent with Chicken!"
"Oh, come on!" Ruffnut groaned.
Tuffnut then walked away sobbing as Valerie came up to him. "Chin up Tuff, you said Chicken knows this Island like the back of her wing. I'm sure she's fine." She assured him.
Tuffnut calmed and nodded, "Yeah, yeah you're right." He said walking to a tree and leaning on it, "She's probably waiting for me to find her."
Snotlout then turned to no one in particular and started using his narrator's voice. "With Tuff spending more and more time away from the hut, Chicken has become an increasingly desperate house-hen."
Tuffnut turned on him. "Would you stop talking about Chicken in the past tense? It implies a finality to the situation that—that I refused to accept."
"Can we please stay on task?" Astrid asked. "What's the plan, Tuff? Ruff? Raeda? Valerie? Annoying narrator?" She listed.
"Shut up, Astrid!" Snotlout snapped before getting into narrator mode again. "He cleverly responded."
"Snotlout please, you're acting more Thorston than the Thorstons." Raeda exasperated with a hand to her head.
The Thorston Twins gasped, "Blasphemy!" Tuffnut exclaimed, pointing at Raeda.
"No Thorston would ever talk in such a humiliating way!" Ruffnut stated while crossing her arms and looking away.
"Am I wrong?" Raeda countered with a look.
The Thorston twins stood in silence to each other as they then gave a shrug. "Okay, fair point." Ruffnut said.
"No argument there." Tuffnut added.
Ruffnut moaned, "Ugh, if only there was a dragon that loves tracking,".
"And Chicken?" Tuffnut added before he went down on his knees and looked to the sky. "Why? Why, Thor? Would it have been so hard to create such a creature?"
Astrid and Raeda just gave him blank looks as they, Sparkfire and Stormfly looked at one another. 'Are they being serious?' Stormfly asked her fellow Nadder.
'To be honest, with those two, nothing ever makes sense anymore. I just mute them out and go with it.' Sparkfire said.
'Sounds about right.' Stormfly said in agreement.
(Linebreak)
A few moments later, Stormfly and Sparkfire were on Chicken's trail and Astrid and the others were running as quickly as they could to keep up with her and Tuffnut kept on making chicken impersonations as they ran.
Eventually she came to a stop at one of the burnt out trees and pointed at its roots. 'Look!' Sparkfire squawked as Tuffnut gasped in horror as he began to scavenge around the base of the tree.
Tuffnut then showed the others a single chicken feather. "Tail feather! Or-or maybe it from her thigh. A thigh feather!" He declared.
Snotlout then grabbed it and once again put on his annoying narrator's voice. "And that's when the rescue mission became a recovery mission." He then dropped the further and Tuffnut watched as it floated down and then fainted.
Valerie ran over to him, "Tuff!" She said.
"Snotlout!" Raeda scolded as Snotlout flinched in response.
"What? You know I'm in character." Snotlout said in defense.
"Oh, for the love of Thor," Astrid groaned.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile on Vannaheim, the Haddock twins and the others were beginning their search for any clue of Oswald. A search through the entire island and so far have found nothing and soon they made their way to one of the beaches.
"Trying to think positively here, but it feels like we've been walking in circles," Dagur groaned with frustration.
"Wait, I found something!" Fishlegs yelled.
Fishlegs had discovered several sharp teeth embedded in a log. "I've never seen teeth like this before." he said, pulling one of them out from the log. "Maybe Sharp Class?"
"And there are more over here," Hiccup said as he, Hicca and Henry examined a few more logs and rocks.
"The Dragon must have lost a whole set of teeth when he bit down here." Hicca guessed.
Henry frowned in confusion, "But why would a Dragon bite into logs and rocks?"
"Well, whatever dragon it is, it shoots teeth like Nadders shoot their spine shots, but not in a good way." Hicca said as she looked closely at the teeth. "And compared to these, they can really go through dragon hides." She added.
"Great!" Dagur muttered sarcastically. "So besides finding a bunch of dragons' teeth, they lead us to another dead end." He then leaned against the boulder. "Yippee!"
"We've got to be missing something," Fishlegs said looking through the diary.
"Like what?" Henry asked. "We check nearly all the places on the island and so far, only these teeth are a clue of something." He pointed out.
Hicca looked around for any sign of clues before she spotted something on the ground as she then gasped as she ran up to it as the others noticed it.
"Hicca, what is it?" Hiccup asked his sister.
Hicca picked something up in her hands as she then gasped. "You guys might wanna see this." She said to them while not taking her eyes out of her hand.
The others walked up to Hicca as she revealed in her hand, three black scales, "Dragon scales?" Henry asked.
"Not just any scales." Hicca told him and turned to her brother, "Hiccup, you and I both know only one dragon has these scales."
Hiccup took a closer look at the scales before he gasped in shock. "These are Night Fury scales!" He said in shock.
Toothless and Midnight perked up from that as they ran up to them and went in front of Hicca as they saw the Night Fury scales she was holding.
'These are our species scales!' Toothless warbled in shock.
'But we didn't shed the last time we were here?' Midnight warbled in surprise as she turned to Toothless with a wide smile. 'You know what this means, Toothless?' She asked excitedly.
But before Toothless could answer they heard a low growl from the cave. They all turned to it and saw two pairs of glowing cat-like eyes in the darkness.
"What the?" Henry asked in confusion.
"Are those big cat eyes? Are cats related to dragons?" Dagur asked in confusion.
Hicca squinted a bit, "I recognize those eyes," She said, walking forward a bit, "You there, come into the light." She called to the dragons.
After a few moments one of the unknown dragons started walking towards them and the other following behind it. The teens and dragons held their breath as the dragon came into a view.
"Oh my thor." Fishlegs gasped.
"I don't believe it." Henry expressed.
"Oh my Berserkers." Dagur muttered in disbelief.
"I knew it." Hicca started with a wide smile.
"You're a…" Hiccup trailed off as the Dragon before them was an old male Night Fury, much, much older than Toothless "A Night Fury."
The elder male Night Fury has more pointer dorsal plates while having a little pale skin tone and wings are more tattered and sharper as it gave a cooed tone before turning to the bush as it gave a 'come here' gesture as then another Night Fury, which is an elderly female with a little stubbier ears and smoother skin as it came out of the bushes the Riders are shock by that again.
"You gotta be kidding me." Henry muttered in awed.
"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Fishlegs!" Fishlegs cheered in excitement.
"Oh my gods." Hiccup muttered.
"Another one! And it's a female!" Hicca cheered in excitement.
Toothless and Midnight look at the two Elder Night Furies in surprise as they walk up to them as the four furies look at each other in curiosity.
'You're… you are like us.' Toothless breathed in shock.
'So we are.' The Elder male Night Fury said with a small wise smile.
'But, when did you get here? Last time we were here, there weren't any mounds for Night Furies.' Midnight pointed out.
'We thought our kind didn't go to Vannaheim.' Toothless added.
The Elder male then shook his head, 'We don't, we take our final rest, beneath the Great One.' He warbled.
'Huh?' Toothless and Midnight crooned in confusion as the elder pair turned to the cave and gestured upwards.
The two Night Furies looked up and stepped back in shock. 'Whoa!' Toothless gasped.
'Holy Razorwhips.' Midnight warbled in shock.
"What is it, guys?" Hiccup asked.
"Are these Furies showing you something?" Hicca asked as well.
They then looked up at what the two furies were looking at and their eyes widened.
The rock that made up the cave had actually turned a massive dragon skull.
"Oh, my Thor," Fishlegs gasped.
"'Oh, my Thor' is right!" Dagur exclaimed before he then looked at the others. "Wait, what is he right about?"
"The skull. It was in the diary, Dagur." Hiccup explained.
"It proved Oswald was here." Hicca added.
"And possibly still is," Fishlegs added.
Dagur immediately looked uneasy. "Ahh. I hadn't thought of that. Hadn't thought of that at all."
"But still, that has got to be the biggest dragon I've ever seen." Henry expressed, gesturing to the behemoth of skull. "Well, the biggest dead one anyway."
Toothless and Midnight turned to the elder Night Furies, 'Vanaheim is a giant Dragon's skeleton?' Midnight asked.
'Of course it is.' The Elder Female Night Fury answered with a smile. 'This island was formed generations ago. The Great One's remains is a dead give away.' She added.
'What? You two didn't notice it before?' The Elder Male Night Fury asked in amusement.
Toothless and Midnight, along with the other Riders' dragons, look at each other while feeling embarrassed by not seeing it. 'Uh, well. To be honest, we thought it was just weirdly shaped landmarks or were made by the sentinels.' Toothless admitted sheepishly.
The two elder furies look at each other before they give a dragon-like chuckle. 'Well, you two obviously don't know many dragon's origins.' The male said.
'Ah youth, so full of energy yet so empty of knowledge.' The female chortled in amusement while Midnight and Toothless raised an eyebrow at them from that.
Henry then frowned. "Wait a minute, he sketched these images in his diary, but somehow it landed in the hands of both Heather and Dagur? Doesn't anyone else think this is a bit odd?"
"The merchant I got it from found it floating in a chest," Dagur said. "Dad must've put it in the chest and sailed it out to sea hoping that either Heather or I would find it."
"Well, no turning back now." Hicca said as she turned to the Elder Night Furies. "Excuse me, you two think you can show us the way if we get lost?" She asked them.
The elder pair nodded and then took flight, though with a little difficulty at first, before they got their barings and led the way while the riders followed.
They then soon entered the skull of the giant dragon.
"Okay, Toothless, Midnight" Hiccup said.
Toothless and Midnight then roared down the huge skeleton and then gestured for Hiccup to mount him. The moment they mounted their dragons they began to fly down the skeleton which was now literally part of the island.
"Whatever this dragon was, it was bigger than the Subripper, the Shellfire, the Screaming Death." Hiccup said as they flew down the skeleton. "Thor, even the Red Death seems small compared to this thing."
"It has to be at least 500 feet long for it to be an island." Hicca said in amazement.
"And it's been here for a very, very long time," Fishlegs added.
"Yeah, I would not want to be in the way of this thing when it was alive." Henry commented as they traveled down what he suspected was its throat, "We could probably get all our allies, human and dragon alike, and the most we could do is tickle this thing."
The Elder Nightfuries kept going as they tried to fire a plasma blast, but for some reason, they couldn't as they pant in effort.
"Uh, are you seeing this?" Dagur asked the others.
"The elder Night Furies can't fire plasma blasts? That's new." Henry asked in surprise.
"They're too old. They might not have the ability to shoot plasma blasts easily at this age." Hicca summarize. "Now this is new info to put in the book of dragons." She added.
Toothless and Midnight flew next to them, 'You alright old one?' Toothless teased.
The old male let out a tired laugh, 'I'm not as young as I used to be.' He warbled.
'Trust us, when you two are our age, you will realize that making plasma blasts aren't as easy as they used to be.' The old female added with a chuckle.
The old male then looked at them. 'How about you youngins do it for us?' He asked with a small smirk.
'With pleasure.' Midnight answered with a small smile.
Toothless and Midnight then fired plasma blasts, creating a hole for them to fly through as they soon found themselves in a forest on the far side of the island. When they landed in the forest they heard noises which made one of them very uneasy.
"Oh, we're close." Fishlegs said excitedly. "I can feel it!"
Toothless, Midnight and the Elder Furies suddenly came to a stop and took up a fighting position as if they sensed something close by.
"What is it, guys?" Hiccup asked.
"You furies sense something?" Hicca asked as well.
Then suddenly flying out of the bushes were the same dragons they saw entering the island a few moments ago.
Now they had a closer look they could tell that these dragons had long, thick serpentine bodies albeit, a small head and four legs. They're necks were thin and crooked like vultures. They had a set of horns on their head resembling buffalo, and more running down their necks and backs. In addition, they had a long nasal horn and a distinct under-bite with small rows of pointy teeth, giving them a sinister appearance. Covered with prominent, iridescent purple scales, they had a paler underbelly but more vibrant coloration on their back and wings.
However one of them was different from the others as it had red stripes on its back and red wings making it most likely the leader of the pack. It then turned to the elder Night Furies, 'Looks like it's our lucky day fellas.' He growled.
Immediately they began to fly over them and Toothless and Midnight quickly fired plasma blasts. However they avoided the attack and landed on the ground and began to surround them. One of them then shot its mouth forward and launched its teeth directly at Fishlegs, but Meatlug quickly spun around protecting him.
The teeth bounced off his skin and impaled the tree next to them and Fishlegs recognised the teeth almost instantly. "Guys, these are the same teeth we found earlier. These dragons aren't sick."
"They're hunting." Hiccup concluded.
"These are predator dragons!" Hicca added as she turned to the old Night Furies. "It's them they're after."
"Of course, predators will always target the weakest prey, the less of a fight they put up the less of hassle." Henry realized.
Suddenly two more appeared directly over them and fired their teeth. Sleuther shot upright quickly in order to avoid them causing Dagur to be flown out of his saddle. Toothless and Midnight then quickly fired a plasma blast, but the dragon's leader quickly shielded them with its wings.
"And these things have durable wings as well." Hicca commented in surprise.
However the dragons soon realized they couldn't get the elder dragons with these younger ones protecting them, and took off to the sky as Wildstar and Meatlug fired their breath attacks in order to scare them off.
'And stay away!' Wildstar roared.
Hicca turned to the elder Night Furies, "You two okay?" She asked as they nodded and she smiled before turning to her boyfriend. "Henry, have you seen those dragons before?"
"No, but have heard of them," Henry told her, "They prey and gang up on sick or old dragons to get an easy meal. Definitely not friendly dragons."
"And apparently they were eyeing gramps and granny Fury over there as their main course." Dagur added while pointing at the elder furies.
"And with them this old and unable to fight back, they're sitting ducks." Fishlegs said while looking at the elder furies in concern.
When the attack was over they saw something in the distance that looked like some sort of man-made shack.
(Linebreak)
On the Edge, Astrid and the others were still tracking Chicken. Astrid and Raeda were now riding on top of Stormfly and Sparkfire and were still following the trail of Chicken with the others close behind.
"They're still on the scent." Astrid said.
"Meaning that Chicken is nearby." Raeda added.
"I can't go on without my fine, feathery friend," Tuffnut sobbed.
"This way!" Astrid calls as she and Raeda are leading them down a pathway.
"I can't look. I can't," Tuffnut said, covering his eyes.
"It's okay, Tuffnut, I'm sure she's fine." Valerie assured holding his shoulder.
"And nobody described anything!" Ruffnut yelled.
A few seconds later they came to a stop and Tuffnut opened his eyes. He then saw Chicken directly in front of them digging in the dirt with her talons.
"Chicken?" Tuffnut said and then dashed towards her. "Thank the Avain gods! You're alive!"
However Chicken was brushing away her footprints with her own feathers in her beak.
"Wait," Tuffnut said, noticing this. "What's she up to?" He then frowned. "Wait, I know that trick. I taught her that trick."
"Is Chicken covering her tracks?" Astrid starred.
"Appears that way. Smart chicken." Raeda said in surprise and impressed.
Snotlout once again put on his narrator voice. "And covering… her lies."
"Okay, what are you talking about, Snotlout?" Valerie asked in confusion.
Chicken then noticed Tuffnut.
"Don't you dare," Tuffnut warned.
Chicken then dropped her feathers and scampered off and Tuffnut began to chase after her with the others following him. They then soon came to the edge of the cliff and Tuffnut came to a stop and stopped the others.
"No!" Tuffnut gasped.
"She wouldn't." Raeda said in worry.
Chicken then slowly backed away towards the edge.
"She would." Astrid answered.
Snotlout then again put on his narrator voice. "What should have been a happy reunion was about to take a dark, dark turn."
Raeda's eyebrow twitch as she turned to Snotlout, "Okay, if you keep talking like that, I am gonna-"
Tuffnut cut her off, "No, no, no!" He yelled pleadingly, as he kneeled before Chicken. "Don't do this. I'll be better. I-I won't work so late. I-I'll do the dishes. You want massages? You got 'em." He promised.
Chicken then raised a leg towards the edge of the cliff and then fell backwards.
"No! No!" Tuffnut cried.
Everyone gasped in horror as Tuffnut looked over the edge sobbing. However his expression completely changed when he saw what was below them.
(Linebreak)
It was late in the evening when Vannaheim and the Haddock twins and the others were examining the shack they had discovered. The thing that they noticed was the fact that the front door had a symbol of the Skrill.
"This word has been salvaged from a Berserker galleon," Hiccup said.
"And from what remains of a ship that is entirely made into a home of some kind." Hicca added.
"He was shipwrecked." Dagur gasped in realization as he joined the others.
"So do we knock?" Fishlegs asked.
"We have to do something." Henry pointed out.
Dagur chuckled nervously and backed away slowly. "Maybe we should take a snack break before heading in. Anyone hungry? Feeling a bit peckish." He suggested nervously.
Hiccup, Hicca, Henry and Fishlegs looked at one another then back to him.
"I'm kidding!" Dagur laughed. "Gotcha!"
He then approached the door, but found himself unable to open it or even knock it.
He then looked back at them. "I mean, someone has to do it, right, Hiccup? Hicca? The Berserkers needed a leader!"
"Dagur, are you all right?" Hiccup asked.
"You look nervous." Hicca added.
Dagur then places his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "I mean, oh, uh, yeah, sure, maybe it was a bit of a power grab, taking over the tribe the moment dad went missing. It's crazy, but I never really regretted it until just now." He said, drooping his head.
Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dagur, open the door." He said firmly.
"This is the only way for you to see it through." Hicca said. "It has to be you."
Dagur began to shake uncontrollably as he made his way towards the door. "Okay, I can do this." He said to himself.
He then looked back at the Haddock twins and the others and they nodded. He then opened the door and entered the shack. "Uh, Daddy?"
He then looked to the floor, and let out a small gasp. "What is it?" Henry asked as the others entered as well.
The others then saw what Dagur was looking at as they then widened their eyes as they gave silent gasps at what happened to Oswald.
"Oh no." Hicca said silently as she placed a hand on her mouth.
(Linebreak)
Later that night, they buried what remained of Oswald. Sadly they didn't have materials for the Viking funeral and were forced to bury him under some stones. Dagur placed his helmet and shield onto the pile of rocks and knelt down beside it.
"This is all my fault." Dagur said, shaking his head. "He was stranded, sibs. He died here… all alone." He said in guilt for not finding his father sooner.
"You had no idea where he was," Hiccup said, trying to cheer him up.
"Yeah, he disappeared before you lied that you killed him." Hicca added. "You never would have known what happened to him."
"I never said a search party!" Dagur then picked himself up. "I mean, I had a lot going on back then, being evil and all. But I should have tried."
"Dagur, no one even had proof that Vanaheim even existed back then." Hicca told him, "How could you ask your men to find an island you didn't even know the location of."
"You feel guilty. That's totally normal," said Hiccup.
"I was a villain." Dagur said in guilt.
Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, you were a kid—a misunderstood, diabolical, slightly maniacal…" He then stopped himself, realizing he was making things worse. "Yeah, okay, fine, so you were a bad kid. But none of that makes a difference. He was your dad. He loved you no matter what."
"Yeah, if he was still alive right now, he would've told you he still loved you, no matter what person you became back then but into a great man, chief of the berserkers, he would be proud." Hicca added with a calming smile.
"I guess we'll never know." Dagur said, looking at his father's grave sadly.
"Uh, guys? I think you need to see this," said Fishlegs' voice from inside the shack.
"It would seem as if Oswald has left the parting gift," Henry's voice added.
They made their way inside and found several sketches upon the wall of the shack. On the wall was the image of the dragons they met earlier today.
"Look, you were right, guys." Fishlegs said. "They're hunters. Oswald named them Grim Gnashers."
"They prey on the sick dragons," said Hiccup reading the writing.
"And they seem to be able to regrow their teeth practically overnight," Hicca added.
"Making it easy to catch their prey." Henry finished. "Oswald called them 'the Vultures of the Dragon world'."
"And apparently, Oswald would help the Sentinels drive them off," Fishlegs continued as he turned to Dagur. "Your dad was a hero."
Dagur smiled and folded his arms. "Of course he was. He was a Berserker."
"Hey, there's something else." Henry said, looking at another wall with the picture of what looked like a woman in a hood riding on the back of a dragon, "Apparently he had help, from someone called 'The Night Guardian'."
"Night Guardian?" Hicca repeated.
"Not much it says on his research, but it said that this Night Guardian is a protector to Night Furies and Dragons, keeping them away from danger and threats." Henry read as he looked confused. "This is the first I've heard about this Night Guardian, but my guess is that the Guardian was the one who brought these two Elder Night Furies here." He said while gesturing to the two Elder Night Furies outside.
"Wait, if this Night Guardian has been rescuing Night Furies." Hiccup started as he turned to Hicca, "Then, maybe they,"
"They've also met Toothless and Midnight's Cubs!" Hicca beamed in joy at the thought. "That means that they are out there somewhere!" She excitedly said.
Toothless and Midnight then sniffed the air and the Haddock twins took notice. "Guys? What is it?" Hiccup asked
"You two got something?" Hicca asked as well, knowing they had to be looking for something important if their kids being mentioned didn't get their attention.
Toothless and Midnight then jumped onto a desk and stood on his hind legs. They then reached the shelf and pulled out a chest before dropping it onto the ground. It fell open revealing scrolls inside of it.
Dagur knelt down and picked them up. He then noticed that they had writing on them. "One for Heather, and this one's for… me?"
(Linebreak)
At the Edge, Tuffnut and the others had reached the bottom of the cliff in search of Chicken remains.
"This is the worst thing I've ever seen." Tuffnut cried. "It's terrible. The horror!"
It turned out that the cliff was not as steep as everyone thought it was so Chicken was quite alive. However they discovered the reason why she had disappeared, she was at that very moment nuzzling a Rooster.
"Huh, I didn't know Chicken had a boyfriend." Raeda commented.
"I didn't know we had roosters on the Edge." Astrid added.
"Oh, look!" Tuffnut said, gesturing to the two birds. "There they are, doing all the things we used to do together."
Astrid and Raeda stared at the Rooster, began to prick Chicken's feathers and gave Tuffnut a weird look. "Um… you preened Chicken's feathers?" Astrid asked.
"What does he give you that I can't? Huh? Huh?" Tuffnut demanded.
"Tuff, you have issues." Raeda commented with a weird look.
That question seemed clear as day as one towards the two lovebirds were eight newly hatched chicks.
"Aw, Chicken has a family!" Astrid said, putting on an adorable face.
"They are so cute!" Raeda squealed in joy.
They and Ruffnut then bent down and began to touch the cute little chicks.
"Well, at least this explains why Chicken's been away for so long." Valerie said as she picked up a chick, "She's been taking care of these little nuggets, which I think you would have hard time giving her."
"Okay. Yeah, other than that." Tuffnut defended. "I can't lay an egg."
Snotlout was leaning against a tree and then put on his narrator's voice. "Chicken loves life and her family, but the most dangerous thing she loved was having two of each." He recited.
"Snotlout, will you quit it already." Raeda said in annoyance before turning to the chick she was holding and smiled. "Looks like our family on the Edge just got a little bigger."
"I don't understand why anyone would want a second family," said Ruffnut as he picked up the chicks. One of the chicks and picked her finger. "Ow! Stop it!" She then looked at the others. "I can barely handle having one brother."
Tuffnut then turned to Chicken who clucked at him. "Don't give me that look. I thought we agreed, if we were gonna lead secret double lives, we would tell each other!"
Snotlout then immediately grabbed Chicken and then spoke in his annoying narrator's voice. "Secrets. Passion. Poultry. Three things that had nothing in common until they did."
He then hung the chicken upside down and released it.
Then one of the chicks went up to Tuffnut and chirped. "No," he said, folding his arms. The chick chirped at him once again and began packing at his boot. "Oh, yeah, right. No. No. I will not be swayed." He then picked up the chick. "Don't you think that just because you're the—the fluffiest, yellowest…" The chick then ruffled its feathers, "...cutest, most adorable little thing ever…"
He then scratches under the chin. "I'm gonna read you bedtime stories, and I'll tuck you in at night. And I…" He cooed then rubbed the chicken soft feathers against his cheek. "I shall call you Chicklet."
Snotlout then once again placed on his narrator's voice and placed a hand on Raeda's shoulder. "It all seemed like it was a happy ending until…" Raeda then drives a powerful elbow right into his chest, causing him groaning pain. "Okay. Okay, fine, it was a happy ending." He then turned around. "Or was it?" He asked with a smirk to Valerie and Chicken, who were looking at him in confusion.
"I think it is, Snotlout." Valerie answered dully.
(Linebreak)
The next day, Dagur climbed onto the lookout tower that his father had created. It was so tall that he was able to see the entire forest and then he pulled out the scroll that was addressed to him.
He then opened it up and began to read, but not before taking a deep breath.
Dagur
If you're reading this, it is likely too late. I most certainly have perished in pursuit of the answers to questions that may never be revealed. But I assure you, I rest peacefully.
I want you to understand that I always loved and missed you every day. You did what I would have done. You took care of our people. I'm proud of you for that.
Dagur looked at the letter and was almost teary-eyed. "'Proud.' He said 'proud.'"
He then looked back down at the letter.
I can only hope you've outgrown your crazy destructive stage.
Dagur looked slightly uneasy upon reading that part.
As for me, this island has become my home. My only regret is that I didn't get to see you and Heather grow up together. But I'm confident you took good care of her and protected her from the evils that lurk within the archipelago.
"Oh-oh, he got that one wrong," Dagur said with a small smile, knowing that part his father wrote was not the way he thought.
Always remember, you are Berserkers. It's in your blood. I only hope you and Heather can find the same peace that I have here in Vannaheim and perhaps in Valhalla.
Dagur lowered the letter. "Whoa. That was heavenly."
He then looked up and saw several dragons flying around Vannaheim and smiled, but then he heard a roar in the distance. He turned and found the Grim Gnashers had surrounded a Gronckle.
Dagur then whistled and then jumped off the lookout tower. He then landed directly on top of Sleuther and then flew down towards the Grim Gnashers.
"This is for you, Daddy!" Dagur yelled.
A Grim Gnasher then pounced on the Gronckle, but Dagur came out of nowhere and struck the dragon so hard that it was sent flying into the ocean. The other Grim Gnashers then turned their attention onto him and then fired their sharp teeth at him and the leader led the others in the pursuit.
However, before they could get anywhere close to Dagur, Toothless and Midnight fired plasma blasts from out of nowhere pushing them back. They all looked up and saw the Haddock twins and the others flying down towards them firing them by breath attacks on top of the Grim Gnashers causing them to scatter.
"Dagur, aim for the leader!" Hiccup yelled, pointing at the red scaled Grim Gnasher.
"They follow in packs like Speed Stingers, target their leader, the pack follows!" Hicca called out next.
Dagur nodded. "On it!" He then took off after the leader of the pack.
"Fishlegs, Henry, you two cover the Gronckle!" Hiccup said, looking at Fishlegs.
Fishlegs looked at Meatlug. "You heard him, girl."
"Let's protect that sick dragon!" Henry called out.
They then flew down towards the Gronckle, who were surrounded by three Grim Gnashers. They then fired lava blasts at them, scaring them, but then they noticed they were scared to look from the Gronckle. Fishlegs and Henry dodge just in time to avoid several teeth being fired at a Grim Gnasher and then begin to chase after it.
One of the Grim Gnashers was about to hit one of the riders, but then the elder male Night Fury flew in and tackled the Grim Gnasher away as it rolled across the floor before hitting a wall.
Another Grim Gnasher was about to pounce on the elder male Night Fury, but then the elder female Fury flew in and headbutted it away as her mate turned to her as the two furies looked at each other before the male tailed whipped another.
Henry saw this as he gave a smirk. "Even without your plasma blasts, you furies still put up a fight, huh?" He asked them as the two Elder Furies gave a nod.
"They're Night Furies, they are the toughest dragons even in old age." Hicca called out as she rubbed Midnight's head as her dragon purred at the touch.
Dagur began to pursue the leader and started to fly towards the cliff and then stopped and turned to face him.
"Surprise!" Dagur yelledm firing a fire blast at it.
It quickly flew down to avoid the blast and Dagur began to chase after it, but two more Grim Gnashers were right on his tail and nearly struck him with their teeth. Fortunately Hiccup and Hicca arrived in time to scare them off with their dragons by a breath attack.
"Thanks," Dagur said appreciably as the Haddock twins joined him.
"Anytime brother." Hicca said.
However they soon discovered that they were actually leading them to the rest of the pack.
"Oops." Dagur said.
"We need more dragon power!" Hiccup yelled.
"This is all we got!" Henry yelled.
"And the Elder Furies can't fight much longer!" Hicca added as the Elder Furies are panting, already tired out from the fighting.
The Grim Gnashers then fired razor sharp teeth directly at them and probably would have been skewered to death if the Sentinels had appeared out of nowhere blocking the attacks. With a single roar the Grim Gnashers retreated and Dagur began to chase down the leader.
"Work from me, baby! Work for Daddy!" Dagur said. They then blasted the leader, who immediately retreated. "Yeah, that's right! This is Oswald's island, you shifty sky vermin!"
The Haddock twins and the others began to attack the remaining Grin Gnashers that tried to retreat back to the island, but they were blocked by the Sentinels. They were forced to fly off and for good measure a Sentinel unleashed a powerful wing blast to scare them off.
"Whoa!" Dagur laughed triumphantly. "Whoo! Yes!" He then looked at the others. "Hey, for a battle with no fatalities, that was actually pretty fun!"
They then watched as the Gronckle found them before flying off.
The Elder Night Furies then looked up at the Riders as they gave grateful smiles and a nod.
'Thank you all for getting those Grim Gnashers off the island.' The elder male fury warbled to them gratefully.
'Now we can finally enjoy the peace of our remaining time together without them trying to prey on us.' The elder female fury added as she and her mate gave each other a nuzzle.
'Your welcome.' Toothless warbled to them.
Midnight then had a thought as she then spoke up. 'Wait, can we ask one more question before we go?' She asked them.
'Sure.' The elder female fury answered. 'What are you gonna ask?'
'Does this Night Guardian know where our kids are? We have five of them but we haven't seen them in years. Do you know where they are?' Midnight asked, hoping to get some clues on where their Night Fury cubs are.
The two elder furies look at each other in thought before the elder male speaks. 'We may not know about your children, but the Night Guardian has been around longer than we could remember, and the Guardian has saved our kind more times than we can remember. So perhaps she might have your kids hiding somewhere.' He warbled.
Midnight just sighs as Toothless gives her a quick comforting nuzzle as they turn to the two elder furies. 'Well, at least it gave us some assurance that they are out there somewhere. Thank you.' Toothless said to them.
The two elders nodded and flew back to the Island.
Midnight looked down solemnly as Hicca, as if knowing what she was thinking about, placed a hand on her head, "Don't worry Midnight, we'll find them someday, I promise." She comforted her with a smile.
"But for now it feels like it's probably time to go." Hiccup spoke up, looking up at the Sentinels flying around them.
They then began to fly off, but Dagur headed back for a second to look at his father's shack.
"Uh, Dagur?" Hiccup called.
"You good?" Hicca added.
Dagur looked at them and then went back down to the island and closes eyes. "Yes, sibs. I believe you are right."
They began to fly off the shores of the island when suddenly they were blocked by the Sentinels.
"Uh, Hiccup? Hicca?" Fishlegs asked worriedly. "We might need to go back down for the fruit."
"Should've remembered that." Henry muttered.
The Haddock twins looked at the Sentinels and realized that it wouldn't work a second time. "I don't think it'll work this time." Hiccup said.
"Because I don't think these Sentinels won't be fooled by the same trick twice." Hicca added in concern.
Then the Sentinels did something completely surprising, they bowed and flew aside allowing them to pass. 'You have protected our sacred home and the denizens we protect. Please feel free to return and leave at your wish.' The Sentinel growled.
"Uh, what are they doing?" Dagur frowned.
"Looks like it's they're way of thanking us," Hiccup assumed.
"For protecting the dragons from the Grim Gnashers, they're granting us permission to leave." Hicca said in surprise.
"Whoa," Fishlegs breathed.
"Well, let's go before the stone heads change their minds," Henry said with a smile.
They then carefully and gradually they flew past the Sentinels
"As you were!" Dagur saluted.
Hiccup looked at him. "Y-you know they're all blind, right?"
"Just let it go, bro." Hicca said with rolled eyes. "They make it hard to remember that they are blind." She added.
(Linebreak)
Soon they began flying back to the Edge and Fishlegs had gathered every piece of material that Oswald had left behind in his shack.
"Whoo-hoo-hoo! Look at this!" Fishlegs said, gesturing to the collection of books and parchment he had collected. "Hundreds and hundreds of fruit recipes."
"You know, Fishie, your commitment to discovery is unparalleled," Dagur noted.
"I know." Fishlegs said.
"To be fair, not surprising on how we found other discoveries before." Henry pointed out.
Dagur then flew over to the Haddock twins holding the scroll address to Heather in his hand. "I need to get this to Heather." He said, knowing Heather had a right to see this.
"Well, maybe sometime you could bring her back here." Hiccup suggested. "Seems like we've burned the Sentinels' respect, which is pretty impressive."
"Yeah, and you were the one who led the attack to protect that sick Gronckle from the Grim Gnashers. We just followed your lead." Hicca recalled with a smile. "And I know the Sentinels would want Heather to visit your father's grave, to say goodbye to him and know the truth of his fate." She added.
"Oh, wait, so I earned respect?" Dagur blinked in surprise. "I'm so used to just demanding it. It's crazy."
"You know what, Dagur? Going in there may have been the bravest thing we've seen you do." Hiccup said.
"It took a strong heart to do something you thought you might not have done, but you did it for how much you care for your father." Hicca added.
"Well, I couldn't have done it without both of your Haddock-y guidance." Dagur said with a smile. "And, you know, if you two ever go on a seemingly impossible wild-goose chase and a little company…"
"Happens all the time." Hiccup commented.
"All too often through our experience." Hicca sighed fondly.
"…you two can always count on this ax, sibs." Dagur finished.
"Hiccup, Hicca." Fishlegs said, holding out a piece of parchment. "Is this what I think it is?"
Hiccup and Hicca looked at the parchment and then saw that the sketch on it was the Dragon Eye lens.
"What?" Hiccup gasped.
"Dragon Eye lenses?" Hicca asked in surprise. It would seem that by solving one mystery they had uncovered another.
(Linebreak)
Heather meanwhile was on board Johann's ship as he had very important information to share with her.
"I have news that is precipitous, fortuitous, and most of all felicitous," said Johann. "I was just returning from a visit with the most highly exalted Sultan in Zim—"
"Get on with it, Johann," said Heather impatiently.
Johann then placed a gentle hand on her arm. "I met a man in the Northern Markets who's seeing your father… alive."
Heather's eyes widened, not realizing that she was being lured into a trap.