Chapter 69: No Bark, No Bite
The Dragon Riders were making their way quickly back to Berk as possible, to warn Stoick and everyone else of Johann's betrayal. The Haddock twins, however, were deeply concerned about how his father would react and predicted that he would overreact.
"Okay, help me out here," Tuffnut started, who was looking confused. "So we're supposed to be mad at Johann for trying to systematically destroy everyone we know and love, right?"
"Correct," Ruffnut nodded as she clenched her fist. "I say we drag him underwater behind a school Scauldrons for 10 miles!"
"Well I say, we smoosh him under a hoard of Quakens!" Henry proposed.
"I say we turn him inside out and feed to Camo and his whole flock," Snotlout suggested.
"I say we burn him into crisp via 10 angry Typhoomerangs." Valerie suggested.
Even Raeda was in on it, "Well I say, we rip him to pieces and throw him down the throat of the Screaming Death!" She declared with a smirk.
"Ooh, now that would be entertaining." Valerie commented.
"Ha yeah, I like it, Raeda," Tuffnut said, and looked at his sister apologetically. "Sorry, sis."
Ruffnut shrugged. "Gotta give credit where credit's due." She admitted.
"Yeah, but here's my question." Tuffnut said as he rubbed his chin. "Why do I have this nagging feeling of admiration for the guy?"
"That's because you're a moron," Snotlout answered.
Tuffnut nodded. "Yes, perhaps. But consider this. The man is a genius." He admitted.
"A genius," Ruffnut agreed.
"A wunderkind." Tuff added.
"Wonder of a kind." Ruff agreed again.
"An enfant terrible." Tuff added again.
"Don't know what that means." Ruff said.
"He fooled everyone—Hiccup, Hicca, Stoick, Alvin, Dagur, Mala, Atali, Chicken," Tuffnut said, counting all the names off his fingers. "He even fooled us."
"Not me." Snotlout stated smugly. "I totally saw this coming."
Fishlegs scoffed. "You did? And you said nothing?"
"You never would've expected that Johann went from trader to traitor." Raeda added before she realizes something. "Oh, yeah. That rhymes. Should've connected that one." She said to herself.
"So from now on, let's call him Traitor Johann." Valerie suggested before glancing at Snotlout in scrutiny. "But, seriously, you knew about Johann and chose to keep your mouth shut for once?"
"There are times when you must learn the hard way, guys," Snotlout said without bothering to look at them. "And I find-"
"Shut up, Snotlout!" Everyone snapped as Snotlout just grunted and remained silent.
"I didn't see this coming myself." Henry committed while rubbing his chin. "I mean, I know my father is a businessman, willing to make deals, but I never realized that Johann was that kinda guy to pay him." He added.
"You think Viggo already knew about Johann?" Raeda asked him.
"If he did, then he did a pretty good job keeping it to himself." Henry commented. "My dad was always known for keeping secrets." He added.
The Haddock twins then immediately turned to each other with a very worried look on their faces and Astrid and Henry immediately knew what they were thinking. They then flew up towards them and tried to encourage them.
"Guys, look, your dad hates being made a fool of," Astrid said. "This we know. But the sooner we tell him and let him calm down, the better for all of us."
"He has the right to know sooner before Johann tries to trick him before he realizes what is up." Henry added. "Besides, we couldn't risk Johann hurting Berk without them knowing that Johann is a traitor. Man, Traitor Johann is really starting to catch on." He said with a chuckle.
Hicca chuckled a bit herself, easing her nerves, "I suppose you're right. Berk deserves to know about the enemy who's been coming to our shores for years now." She admitted.
Hiccup cheering up slightly as well. "I mean, our dad knows everything that's going on in the Archipelago, right? Maybe he already knows and he's cooled down."
"Surely he already had his tantrum after hearing the news by now." Hicca added in agreement.
(Linebreak)
They soon landed on Berk and the Haddock twins immediately made their way to their father and informed him about Johann's treachery.
Apparently their hopes of him already knowing about this were dashed when the other Riders and dragons, who remained outside, heard Stoick's roars of anger coming from the house.
"I'll split his bony butt in two!" Stoick roared in outrage as even the dragons flinched when they heard what sounded to be like Stoick tossing the furniture around.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is the first the chief hears of it." Ruffnut commented a bit frightenedly.
"Yeah, we should've predicted that one." Henry said with a cringing. "And apparently, he is releasing his rage now." He added as another piece of furniture was tossed inside.
Valerie then turned to the others. "Is the Chief of Berk always like this?" She asked nervously.
Astrid let out a small nervous chuckle, "You should see him on a really bad day." She warned.
Stoick then immediately stormed out of his house and looked at everyone. "I want the food gathered from Johann's last shipment. Now!" He ordered as he didn't even wait for an answer while Hiccup and Hicca walked out after him.
Snotlout looked at Stoick as he walked off in a huff. "Hey, Chief? We had a long, slow flight in. A little power nap could really hit the sp—" He started before Stoick then immediately advanced towards him and he stopped as Stoick's fearful gaze fell upon him.
"What? What was that? A power nap, you say?" Stoick asked, daring Snotlout to finish that sentence.
Snotlout looked as if he was going to wet himself. "Who said that? We don't need no stinkin' power naps!" He then immediately saluted and yawned. "I am ready to go, Chief."
Stoick huffed and then made his way down towards the village.
Raeda looked at Snotlout. "Do you need a new change of pants?" She asked.
Snotlout nodded fearfully.
(Linebreak)
The entire village then began to gather all the food they had bought from Johann and gathered in the Plaza.
"And that's everything," Hiccup said as he tossed the last onto the pile.
"Everything that Johann has just delivered before he went rogue is all here." Hicca added after checking the shipping list that was noted from Johann's last shipment.
Stoick then looked at Skullcrusher. "Skullcrusher, fire."
The Haddock twins stared at him. "What?" Hiccup asked.
"W-wait dad-!" Hicca tried to say.
'Gotcha!' Skullcrusher growled then immediately fired at the food pile and immediately set it ablaze.
The Haddock twins looked at their father as they walked off. "Dad? Uh, don't—Don't you think maybe we should have checked it first?" Hiccup pointed out as Hicca nodded in agreement.
"Why?" said Stoick as he stopped to face him. "I assume you did the same on the Edge, as any sane Viking would do."
"No. The plan was to test it and see what was safe to eat." Hiccup explained as Hicca looked at him in shock.
"While that plan is questionable, there was no way that Johann would have poisoned all the food." Hicca added.
"That sounds like half a plan, kids. The second half—needing to figure out what to do with the riders you kill with that poisoned food." Stoick countered stubbornly and then immediately walked off and the Haddock twins narrowed their eyes at their father.
"I vote for a new plan." Snotlout said as he extended his hand.
Fishlegs then immediately did the same and nodded.
Hicca facepalmed, "Guys, do you really think that I, your healer, would ask you to eat potentially poisoned food?" She asked.
They look at each other in thought for a moment before turning back to Hicca. "Okay, you got us there." Fishlegs admitted.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins followed their father to Gothi's and immediately tossed every one of her medical supplies and potions off her house.
"Yo, whoa, Dad!" Hiccup said, trying in vain to calm their overreacting father down.
"Dad, uh, food is one thing. But all of Gothi's medicine? Don't you think that's a little overboard?" Hicca questioned.
"Anything made from Johann's supply of willow bark," Stoick said, not wanting to take the chance with anything related to Johann and tossed yet another crate off the edge of her house.
Gothi attempted to stop him, but she was struck by the crate and fell off the edge with it.
The Haddock twins stared at their father. "Whoa, Dad! Gothi was in there!" Hicca called out in shock as she saw her mentor falling.
Fortunately, Gothi's Gronckle dived down towards her and grabbed her. He then brought her back to her house and she glared angrily at Stoick.
"It's what needs to be done," Stoick said, looking directly at his daughter. "I assumed that you did the exact same thing with your medical supplies as well, dear."
"Only half the stuff Johann gave me, but not all of it! I did a check of them myself, before throwing them out to be safe! We do need medicine after all." Hicca pointed out.
"Yeah, don't you think you're overreacting, dad?" Hiccup asked.
Stoick narrowed his eyes on them. "You don't see me telling you both how to run things on the Edge, do you?"
"The 'half a plan' and the 'my medical supplies' comments come to mind," Hicca pointed out.
Fortunately they were saved from his father's rage when Gobber immediately appeared.
"Chief!" Gobber cried out as he hobbled as quickly as he could towards them. "Three new traders have just arrived on the docks. Ships stacked high with anything we could ever need." He said eagerly.
Stoick growled in frustration. "Ah! I knew those scavengers would move in once they knew we were helpless."
"Actually, they are free of the most trusted and experienced merchants in the Archipelago," Hiccup corrected.
"And you both know how?" Stoick asked curiously.
The Haddock twins stood their ground and looked at his father. "Because we sent them after we found out about Johann's betrayal." Hicca answered seriously.
Stoick glared at them and growled softly, but then he walked off though he was still quite furious.
"We need supplies, Dad," Hiccup pointed out.
"Just give them a chance. You will find them trustworthy." Hicca added.
(Linebreak)
Grudgingly, Stoick agreed to meet the merchants. Though for some strange reason he decided to examine the traders rather than the merchandise.
"Smells fishy," Stoick said to a blonde haired Viking with a well-groomed beard, called Trader Zachariah. He then looked at the merchant woman called Trader Lena. "Too tall." He then looked at the merchant with the scruffy beard, who remained completely anomalous. "Shifty eyed." He then immediately walked off. "Pack up your garbage and take to the seas. We're not interested."
The Haddock twins stared at his father in disbelief and then looked at the merchants who looked understandably upset and angry. "He's in a bad mood today." Hicca told them as she and her brother turned to Stoick, "Dad, What are you doing?"
"Y-you barely even looked at them." Hiccup added.
"I saw enough." Stoick said without turning to face them. He then turned around and looked at him. "Did you happen to notice that none of those traders had willow bark?"
Hicca sighed. "Gothi's medicine." She realized.
"How can we trust anyone who doesn't consider our health and well-being first?" Stoick asked the two.
Astrid looked at the Haddock twins. "Hmm. He's actually got a point there."
Henry nodded reluctantly. "It is a very common medicinal medicine and extremely easy to get."
Hicca then turned to the two. "Seriously, guys? Can you at least back us up?" She questioned in disbelief.
"We're just saying." Henry stated.
Hicca sighs before turning to Astrid. "You know, Astrid. You talk to us about changing our father's mind in the past like grounding our dragons, but now you agree with his judgments?" She pointed out.
"What?" Astrid asked in defense. "I do give you both advice, but when it comes to the Chief, we have to follow his orders." She said in defense.
The Haddock twins then looked back to their father and noticed that he was gone. "And he's gone. Oh, great. What now?" Hiccup asked.
"No idea. But I have a feeling that we won't like it." Hicca said with a sigh.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins made their way to the arena and saw that their father was busy preparing Skullcrusher with Gobber.
"Leaving to get more willow bark, I assume?" Hiccup guessed as he and his sister entered.
"Because you seem to be prepping Skullcrusher's saddle for the trip." Hicca added.
Stoick didn't bother to answer and turned his back on his kids.
Gobber quickly looked at the Haddock twins. "Uh, that's the general idea." He told them.
Hiccup approached Stoick, for what he assumed to be a pointless discussion. "Dad, maybe now would be a good time to sit down, come up with a plan."
"Already have a plan," Stoick answered and pointed to his head. "Right up here."
Toothless and Midnight looked at Hiccup and Hicca as they turned back to Stoick. "Do you care to share said plan?" Stoick mounted on Skullcrusher and looked at his kids with a forceful gaze. "Yeah. Didn't think so."
Immediately the three of them looked at one another in silence.
Gobber then raised his hook. "Uh, Chief, now that you've got the bark storage well in hand—and—and great plan you—you've probably got up there—perhaps we could give one of the traders a go." He then placed his arm around Hiccup and Hicca together they looked up at Stoick. "It seems such a shame to let all those wonderful spices and silks just float on out to sea."
The Haddock twins smiled innocently and nodded.
"Fine," Stoick said reluctantly, realizing that no wasn't in his kids' understanding. "Pick one. But it's only on a trial basis. And make sure they have everything else we buy—honey, furs, the lot. I don't want to hear the first—"
Gobber nodded. "Right-o, Chief, got ya. It's all or nothing."
Stoick nodded and then immediately took off.
"Okay, then, I'm off to pick a new trader," Gobber said, looking optimistic. "Shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
He then noticed that Hiccup and Hicca were still looking to the distance where their father had flown off too.
"Right. Good luck to both of us," Gobber said and walked off.
Toothless and Midnight approached the Haddock twins and looked as if they knew what they were thinking.
"Hiccup, we gotta follow dad." Hicca said.
Hiccup smiled, "You don't need to tell me." He told his sister.
(Linebreak)
Stoick was making his way to the nearest source of willow bark, but the Haddock twinshad decided to follow him. However unbeknownst to them hiding behind if you see stacks was some Flyers.
The Scout leader immediately looked to his partner. "Okay, they're going. We go to Plan B."
The two of them immediately took off.
(Linebreak)
Gobber meanwhile was examining the merchandise which the free traders were producing and assisting him were Snotlout and the Thorston twins, though they weren't being particularly helpful.
"Man, I'd hate to be in your shoe, Gobber," Snotlout said smugly, folding his arms. "I mean, if you pick the wrong one…"
Gobber groaned in a worrying manner.
"I mean, I didn't think the chief would possibly get into a worse mood," Tuffnut pointed out.
"Hey, what do you think he'd do to Gobber if he made the wrong decision?" Ruffnut asked in a quiet whisper loud enough for Gobber himself to hear.
Gobber then immediately turned on the three of them. "All right, all of you! Out of here and let me think!" He shooed them away.
Snotlout and the Throston twins immediately backed off after he began swinging his hook around.
Gobber then took a deep breath and relaxed. "Come on, Gobber. It's not that hard. You can do this." He told himself.
He then looked at the three traders who were looking at him like a flock of vultures waiting for the next meal and he chuckled nervously.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins continue to follow their father, only to lose him in the cloud cover and immediately come to a stop.
"What?" Hiccup said, wondering how they could have lost a 500 pound man on a 4000 pound dragon.
"You think for a big Viking on an even bigger dragon, you couldn't lose them." Hicca said in surprise as Hiccup nodded in agreement.
"Anything I can help you both with?" An angry voice said behind him.
The Haddock twins turned and saw that their father was flying directly behind him and making him practically jump.
"Hey! Dad, hey!" said Hiccup rather nervously. "Funny seeing you up here."
Stoick just growled as Hicca decided it was best to get right down to business. "We thought you could use this map from Gothi." She then tossed him a map. "It marks all the islands with willow bark on them and my medic expertise would be pretty useful for them." She reasoned.
Stoick sighed for a moment before he spoke. "Fine. But be sure you pick the right one." He said firmly.
Then suddenly they heard a noise that sounded like a herd of dragons and turned and found that it was exactly that. Different types of dragons emerged from the clouds and flew directly past as if they were in a hurry.
"That's not good." Hicca said.
Hiccup looked at their father. "Hey, Dad…"
"I see it!" Stoick said.
The Haddock twins looked at their father after nearly getting hit by one of the panicking dragons. "D-Dad, we might want to go around the wild dragon stampede, as opposed to…" Hiccup tried to explain, Stoick gave him a look and Hiccup sighed. "J-just a thought."
"Watch out!" Hicca called out ahead.
Suddenly heading straight towards them was a Monstrous Nightmare and Stoick quickly slammed into it.
Apparently was quite angry being hit and immediately lit itself on fire and roared angry at him. 'What's your problem?!' The Nightmare roared.
"Oh, you want to play with fire, do you?" Stoick challenged.
The Monstrous Nightmare was about to attack, but Hiccup quickly fired a plasma blast and it immediately distinguished its flames.
It looked up and saw that Midnight was prepared to fire her own plasma blast. 'Don't even try it!' She warned.
'Your not worth the bother.' it growled back and decided to fly off.
Stoick narrowed his eyes at his kids as they, Midnight and Toothless flew down towards them. "Skullcrusher and I had it all under control." Stoick said.
"I'm sure you did." Hiccup said without a doubt. "But think how terrible you'd feel if you hurt one of those dragons instead of scaring them off." He told him.
"Especially after you promised no more needless harming and killing of Dragons." Hicca told him.
Stoick merely grumbled to himself and was looking down.
Hiccup frowned. "Uh, Dad? Are you okay? H-hello?"
"Are you looking at something, Dad?" Hicca asked in concern.
The Haddock twins then followed his gaze and saw what he was grumbling about, because directly below them was an island on fire. To make matters worse, this island was filled with willow bark.
"Oh no." Hicca breathed in shock. "This is one of the islands where willow bark grows." She added while placing her hands over her mouth.
"Strange," Hiccup frowned. "The first place we go happens to be on fire? It's almost like someone-"
"It's not the only island on the map, kids." Stoick said, interrupting Hiccup's trail thought as he looked through the map. "It's just a minor setback. Let's get a move on."
Then before Hiccup or Hicca could say anything Stoick took off and Toothless and Midnight both roared at them with a concerned look.
Hiccup nodded. "We know, guys. We know."
"Hiccup, this might be harder than it looks and I am very concerned about what might happen." Hicca said in concern.
"I know, sis. I am having the same feeling as well." Hiccup said in agreement as the two siblings looked at the burning island before they followed their father.
(Linebreak)
Back at Berk, Gobber was still deciding which trader to go with and had attracted quite a crowd.
"Gobber?" Astrid asked tiredly.
"Do you need any help?" Raeda asked as well tiredly.
"I can't do it!" Gobber cried. "Look at all his fragrant crispy apples. Her sweet golden honey. And these figs. Oh! Have you tasted this man's figs?" He cried.
"Gobber, we haven't tasted anything?" Astrid reminded.
"In days!" Ruffnut added. "Gah, I wish I was a fig-tasting."
Henry folded his arms. "We're not going to be tasting anything until you make a decision! I have a strong feeling that Stoick is not going to be too pleased that you haven't chosen someone by the time he gets back."
The merchants then began looking at one another and nodded with cunning smiles.
"Well, maybe you should have a taste." Trader Lena offered.
"Maybe you all should have a taste." Trader Zachariah said.
"Maybe we should all. Hmm," Tuffnut repeated as he rubbed his chin and smiled at everyone. "I like the way these traders think."
"We'd like to propose a contest of sorts," Trader Lena explained..
"A competition?" Tuffnut asked.
"A competition for what?" Raeda added.
"To display the quality of our livestock, our produce, our spices," said Trader Zachariah.
"A cooking contest," said Trader Lena.
"A cooking competition?! Why didn't you just say so?" said Tuffnut excitedly.
Snotlout frowned as he looked at the merchants. "Uh, hello? They're merchants, not chefs. What is this gonna prove?" He asked.
"Yeah, I agree with Snotlout on this one. How are you gonna prove which ones are the best, Tuff?" Valerie asked as well in confusion.
Tuffnut pulled them in close. "I'm so hungry they could cook like Ruffnut, and I'd still gorge myself until I was sick. Either way you end up sick." He declared.
"Preach, brother," said Ruffnut and then she immediately grabbed a peach from the stand. "Oh, or peach, brother. You know, whichever you prefer. I personally would prefer the peaches. I'm starving."
"Stoick did burn a lot of our provisions," Fishlegs pointed out.
"And hungry people do lead to angry people." Raeda added.
Astrid reluctantly agreed. "Good point."
The merchants began to rub their hands joyously.
"Gather in your Great Hall and prepare for some of the most delicious meals you've ever tasted," Trader Zachariah told the crowd and immediately everyone began cheering, because it was the best news they had heard all day.
"May the merchant with the best victuals win!" Tuffnut announced. He then placed his arm around his sister. "And may Ruffnut and I officiate!"
"Judging, we shall go!" said Ruffnut joyously.
Tuffnut then began dragging her along and whispered in her ear. "What were you saying about peaches?"
Henry gave a sigh as he placed a hand over his face. "Sometime tells me this is gonna be a long day." He muttered.
(Linebreak)
Stoick and his children meanwhile landed at the next closest island filled with will bark and began doing the extracting. Hicca had already removed the piece when Stoick, in his wisdom, decided to knock the entire tree down.
"Whoa!" Hicca yelped as she jumped away from the tree, "Dad!" Hicca retorted.
"Uh, we need bark. Not the whole tree," Hiccup pointed out.
Stoick laughed. "Oh, that's a good one, kids. Telling your old man how to gather bark." He mocked.
He then immediately flew off with the Haddock twins getting more than a little annoyed by their father's attitude. Toothless and Midnight then sniffed the air and snarled angrily, which caught the Haddock twins' attention. They immediately turned and saw forest fires appearing not too far away.
"Dad!" They called as they mounted Toothless and Midnight.
Stoick was too busy selecting the next tree to knock down. "Not now, kids."
"Another forest fire close by!" Hicca yelled out.
That got Stoick's attention as he then turned his head slightly unnoticed the forest fires. "Oh, come on." He groaned.
The three of them then flew towards the forest fires and saw several Flyers setting them on fire with their Singetails.
"Flyers!" Hicca called out.
"We told you this wasn't a coincidence.." Hiccup snapped at his father.
"Hiccup!" Stoick warned.
"Can we talk later and stop these Flyers from burning the forest!?" Hicca snapped at them.
Stoick then immediately charged at one of the Flyers and then immediately grabbed the Flyer and head-butted him. Then before the Flyer knew what was happening Stoick tossed him off his dragon and into the ocean.
Hiccup attacks the other Flyer, firing a plasma blast nearly striking the Flyer. The Flyer was so busy trying to avoid the plasma blast that he failed to avoid Toothless, who knocked him off his dragon.
Hicca attacked a squad of Flyers as Midnight unleashed multiple plasma blasts on them, knocking the Flyers off the Singetails as they fell to the ocean while the dragons flew away.
Stoick yelled in triumph as the Flyers took off. "Ha-ha! Yeah! That's right! Try it again, and you'll know what real pain is!" He then patted Skullcrusher. "Good boy, Skullcrusher." He then looked at his children. "I thought Johann was smarter than this."
"He is smarter than this," said Hiccup on the very verge of losing his patience.
"What are you saying, Hiccup?" Stoick asked.
"He's trying to say that Johann's plan can't just have been to set a couple of fires or ruin all of our food," Hicca explained, a little more calmly than her brother, "There has to be more to it."
Stoick wasn't as convinced. "You're giving the man too much credit, dear. Sometimes a plan is just a plan, even if it's a bad one. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He said before flying off.
He then took off before Hiccup or Hicca could stop him and they groaned in annoyance as they chased after him.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile at the Great Hall, the merchants were beginning the cooking contest in which Trader Lena was presenting her food to the Thorston twins. Her food turned out to be yak chops that were very well done.
"Oh, oh! What do we have here?" Tuffnut asked, examining the plate. "Yak chops with a light dusting of paprika-infused wheatgrass?"
Ruffnut nodded. "A bold move. A bold move, indeed. But let's see how the umami flavors play with the meat's salinity."
The two of them then immediately grabbed the yak chops and began eating them leaving everyone in the Great Hall even more confused.
Gobber rubbed the back of his ear with his hook. "I have no idea what those two are babbling on about." He said.
Fishlegs could smell the dish and immediately lost all his senses. "Oh! Can't say that I really care. This smells so delicious!"
Astrid, Henry and Raeda were at the back observing everything and Snotlout and Valerie went over to join the three of them.
"Ha! Do you believe those mutton heads?" Snotlout asked, looking at the three of them. "Letting the Thorston twins tell them what to eat? Talk about sheep mentality." He commented.
"Well, Tuff did give me some food for half of this contest, which by the way, they are pretty good." Valerie stated while biting a piece of yak chops.
Astrid raises a brow, "Just you?" She asked.
"Well, I'm just as surprised when he gave me some. And I really didn't have much of a meal when I was with Camo out in the world." Valerie said as she took another bite of her yak chops.
Raeda and Henry glanced at each other, "Tuff totally likes her." Raeda said with a small grin.
"On that, we agree." Henry said with a smirk.
Trader Zachariah then stepped forward with his dish. "And now, fresh out of the coal oven, honey roasted boar butt!"
Snotlout then immediately looked up. "Hands off my end! Don't you know that's not the butt's butt?"
Valerie raised an eyebrow from that. "Sometimes, the food is weird but surprisingly tasty if you try them, but still weird." She commented.
Astrid, Henry and Raeda just looked at one another and shook their heads, because they were probably the only sane people in the entire Great Hall.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins were having the exact same feeling as they looked at his father as they watched the next island they were looking for was burning to the ground.
"Once the dragons are rested, we'll get a move on." Stoick ordered.
"The next island for willow barks on the map is halfway across the Archipelago," Hicca said, getting a funny feeling about Flyers burning up the islands.
"Yeah, Dad. It's pretty far." Hiccup said as he looked at the map. He then looked up at their father. "Dad?"
"What now?" Stoick asked, sounding very impatient.
"Just listen to us for a second." Hiccup pleaded. "You've known Johann for years…"
"Not this again!" Stoick grumbled as he continued to fiddle with Skullcrusher's saddle.
"Dad, just listen, Johann knows that we would tell you about his betrayal," Hicca started calmly, "Don't you think all this happening after we tell you is a little too convenient?" She asked.
"Yeah, all of this cannot be about us flying around looking for tree bark," Hiccup added, getting more than a little impatient, which worried Hicca after hearing her brother's tone. "It makes no sense."
Stoick turned on him. "Okay, then, what would you have us do? Stand around, think of a plan, write it on the wall, perhaps? Go over it again and again?" He asked, growing tired of his kids' thoughts and no action attitude.
The three of them approached one another as both of them were reaching their boiling point.
"It'd be a lot better than flying off half-cocked with no supplies and tired dragons," Hiccup snapped as Hicca looked between them.
"Oh, I must have forgotten. I'm talking to the expert in getting duped by Traitor Johann." Stoick stated.
"Maybe. But I was only duped for half as long as you were. So what does that make you or even mom?" Hiccup questioned as Stoick narrowed his eyes.
The two of them glared at one another and Hicca, Toothless, Midnight and Skullcrusher looked at one another with very concerned looks.
"Dad," said Hiccup.
"Don't apologize," said Stoick as he turned his back on his son. "Too late for that."
"I wasn't going to." Hiccup retorted.
Stoick then immediately snatched the map from his hands. "Do what you like. You know where I'll be."
Stoick then immediately mounted Skullcrusher and took off.
Hicca looked at her brother with a disappointed look, "Seriously bro, bringing up mom? That's a low blow." She said as Toothless and Midnight looked at him to apologize to Stoick.
"Oh, yeah? Well, you guys try talking to him." Hiccup retorted as he mounted Toothless and took off after Stoick.
Hicca gave a sigh as she looked down. "Why are men in this family so muttonheaded?" She questioned as Midnight warbled in agreement as she gave a very concerned growl. "Tell me about it girl." She said as she mounted Midnight and took off after her brother and father.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile in the Great Hall, the Thorston twins were still eating and judging from the moans they're meals were quite delicious.
"After a seven-course meal and a palate-cleaning aperifif…" Ruffnut started as she and her brother immediately drunk down some mead in their tankards.
Seconds later the two of them belched.
"We are ready to announce the winner," Tuffnut continued as he rose to his feet.
This was probably a good thing, because the three traders didn't look particularly pleased. Of course that might have something to do with the fact that the twins kept on asking for more food.
"The winner who is…" Tuffnut then cleaned his throat. "Nobody! It's a tie!"
The traders immediately glared at the Thorston twins while the crowd erupted into hunger and exasperation as they had yet to have anything.
"Wow! Who could have seen that one coming?" Snotlout muttered to the back of the crowd.
Gobber immediately stepped in to avoid a frenzy. "How about a sudden-death? Best cheese plate wins!"
"Cheese plate? No," Trader Lena said as she looked at the others. "Sudden-death? Coming right up." Immediately they drew their weapons.
"Served cold," Trader Zachariah sneered.
Then suddenly the doors of the Great Hall opened and Hunters merged charging towards them.
"Dragon Hunters!" Henry yelled as he, Astrid, Valerie and Raeda quickly sat up and Snotlout was about to join the fray, but one of the Hunters struck him in the back of the head knocking him out cold.
"Snotlout, out lout." Snotlout grumbled.
Gobber and Fishlegs found themselves completely surrounded with Hunters pointing swords and crossbows at them. The Thorston twins also found themselves at sword point and immediately raised their hands and Tuffnut belched.
Astrid quickly turned behind her chair and kicked it towards one of the Hunters and Raeda grabbed the plate and tossed it at a second. The third hunter came charging in at Henry, who dodged his swing, grabbed a metal plate and slammed it on top of his head. Another Hunter was about to get Valerie, but she did an air-kick to the Hunter, knocking it back as she landed on her feet.
Then the four of them quickly rushed out and the two of them found that Berk was completely under siege. The traders had distracted them with the cooking contest leaving them open for the Hunters and Flyers to move in and invade.
The sudden attack had caught the soldiers completely off guard and without a leader to command them, they were quickly taken down. The four teens saw many of the houses were burning down due to Flyer attacks and turned to their dragons that had been netted, chained and captured as well.
'Help!' Stormfly cried with a net over her and Sparkfire while Hookfang and robe over his mouth and Lockjaw was pinned down by more Hunters.
"Oh! No, no, no!" Astrid yelled as she saw Stormfly trapped.
"Our dragons!" Raeda yelled in panic.
"We need to free them!" Henry called out and yelled as he followed them.
Valerie followed after, preparing her cloak as she raced to them.
Four hunters came charging in towards them, Astrid jumped over one and kicked one in the head and then grabbed the arm of another and tossed him right into him. Raeda leaned back to avoid the blade of a Hunter and quickly performed a powerful spin kick that knocked him out cold, Henry then jumped avoiding the spear of a second hunter and dealt a powerful knee right in the head knocking him to the floor while Valerie did a spin kick, knocking a hunter to the ground.
Astrid then immediately grabbed the battleax, Raeda grabbed a crossbow, Valerie grabbed a spear and Henry grabbed a sword.
"Nobody messes with our dragons!" Astrid yelled as the two of them charged into battle.
However, before they could get anywhere close to either dragon, a fireball landed straight in front of them stopping them right in their tracks. They looked up and saw standing on one of the houses was Krogan on his Titan Wing Singetail.
"Krogan!" Henry sneered.
"How gallant," Krogan sneered. "Risking everything for your miserable island and your worthless dragons."
'Hey who are you calling worthless?!' Sparkfire retorted.
Astrid then immediately tossed her ax at Krogan, which he caught. "Johann was right. So predictable." Krogan mocked
"Astrid!" Raeda scolded as she tried to take aim before several Hunters grabbed her, Astrid, and Henry as they held them down.
"Guys!" Valerie called out as she saw a couple of hunters coming at her before she then did a split kick at them, knocking them down.
"Valerie! Run!" Henry called out to her.
"Come on, I can't leave you guys!" Valerie protested as she punched another Hunter down.
"Just go!" Henry snapped as Valerie nodded as she covered herself with her cloak, turning invisible as the Hunters looked around for any sign of her while touching the spot she was at, only to find that she wasn't there.
Just then Camo shot an acid blast at the chains holding him and then disappeared much to the hunters' shock.
"What are you fools standing around for? Find that girl and that Changewing!" Krogan ordered as the Hunters scrambled around to find Valerie.
Astrid glared up at Krogan. "You might as well save the men, Krogan. You'll never take Berk! And you'll never catch Valerie and Camo!" She stated as she tried to break free.
Krogan smirked at her. "From the looks of things, we already have taken Berk." he told her.
"But how long do you think you can keep it?" Henry glared as they were dragged away.
"You'll find out that taking Berk and holding onto it are two completely different things." Raeda added.
"Oh, we'll see about that, Riders." Krogan said with a smirk as the three Riders were dragged away.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, unaware of the events that were happening at Berk, Stoick still stubbornly made his way to the next island of willow bark. Surprisingly, the Haddock twins decided to follow him though neither one of them were talking to one another or even looking at one another.
Toothless and Midnight attempted to pull Hiccup and Hicca closer to Stoick, but they pulled them back. Skullcrusher then attempted the same and Stoick pulled back on the reins. Though the three dragons finally succeeded in bringing them a few feet away from one another. The family looked at one another briefly, but finally neither one could take the silence.
Stoick looked at his children. "Hiccup, Hicca—"
"Dad?" The Haddock twins said at the same time.
The three of them looked at one another a little shocked that the other one was talking to the other.
"No, you," Stoick offered.
"Go ahead," Hiccup said at the same time yet again.
The two of them looked at one another once again trying to figure out which one of them was going to start things off first as Hicca sighs from this.
Hiccup looked at his father. "No. You're the chief."
"But you are next in line," Stoick pointed out.
The three of them looked at one another.
"I may have rushed to judgment," Stoick admitted.
"I could have been more decisive," said Hiccup at the same time.
Hicca finally had enough, "Oh for the love of Thor!" She snapped as the two Haddock males flinched, "Would one of you two just start already!? I'm seriously tired of being between you two at each other's throats!" She yelled in frustration.
Stoick and Hiccup look at Hicca in shock and surprise. "Whoa, Hicca, calm down." Hiccup said to his sister.
"Easy, dear." Stoick said calmly as well.
Hicca took a breath as she calmed down a bit. "Sorry, but seriously, will you two just talk this out and just speak already! This routine is really getting old because I kept records over the years." She pointed out in irritated.
Hiccup and Stoick then look at one another yet again and this time they are smiling, realizing that Hicca is right.
Hiccup looked at his father. "Look, Johann's got us so turned around, we're spinning out of control."
Stoick nodded. "Aye, he does indeed."
"He got us so worked up and really tense of his true self that he got us arguing in circles and not thinking things clearly." Hicca added.
"Okay. Full disclosure. I had no idea how to test the food for poison back on the Edge." Hiccup admitted.
"Isn't that what Snotlout and the Thorston Twins are for?" Stoick jokes.
The three of them laughed.
"Yeah, that is so true." Hicca chuckled as she then spoke. "Well, I would look at the food closely and see if there was anything unusual in it." She said while rubbing her chin.
"And I should have just picked one of those lousy traders, even though they had no bark and all the same fish," Stoick admitted.
Hiccup and Hicca looked down even though they're father said that. "Out with it." Stoick said, recognizing their faces.
Hiccup and Hicca looked at each other as they looked at him. "Well, it seems like a pretty big coincidence. No bark, the same fish." Hiccup said.
Hicca then looked at them curiously as a horrible thought appeared in her head. "Wait. Dad, bro, that fish… what kind was it?" She asked them.
"I was so busy acting like a child, I only saw it for a moment." Stoick admitted.
Hiccup looked at him curiously. "It wasn't Ice Tail Pike, was it?" He asked hopefully, already thinking what his sister was thinking.
Stoick rubbed his chin. "Hmm. Indeed it was." He said.
The Haddock twins' fears were then immediately confirmed, "That's Singetails food." Hiccup then looked at his father. "Oh! You were right not to trust them after all!"
Stoick got the gist of it. "Ah, Johann's sent us on a wild-goose chase to get as far away from Berk!"
"And without us to lead, the other Riders and the people, they don't stand a chance against a Hunter attack!" Hicca continued, "We need to get back Berk, now!" She called out.
"Let's go, guys," said Hiccup.
They quickly turned around and made their way as quickly back to Berk as possible.
(Linebreak)
At Berk, the Hunters had gathered everyone in the great Hall and had tied them up. Astrid and Fishlegs were tied to chairs back to back, Snotlout and Raeda were tied to a post side-by-side and the twins were each tied to a table leg while Henry was tied up single handedly.
Gobber, however, had a small smile on his face. "Leave it to those fools to forget about Gobber's old hook-hand," he said a bit too loudly as he attempted to cut through the rope with his hook. Then he felt someone removing his hook. "Wha—"
He turned and found that a Hunter had heard him and had snagged his hook. The Hunters smirked at him and tossed it to one side far away from anyone else, before he returned back to his colleague.
Snotlout narrowed his eyes at Gobber. "Way to go, Gobber. Way to say your plan out loud. I'd clap, but—" He then gestured to his hands which were tied. "Oh, wait. My hands are tied."
Raeda grumbled. "Snotlout, can we not start now?" She asked in annoyance from beside him.
"What, just stating the obvious, Raeda." Snotlout said in defense.
Gobber was still slightly confident. "Of course, they didn't count on my secret weapon."
He then tapped his peg leg on the ground and immediately a small knife appeared at its tip.
Tuffnut stared at him. "You've been holding a peg blade? Hope you have a permit for that." He said in awe.
"Hiccup and Hicca made it for me last birthday," Gobber explained. "Handy."
He then turned his gaze upon the Hunters, who were busy muttering to themselves and very carefully he lifted his leg towards his hand. He then removed the blade and began to cut the ropes gently not to arouse suspicion.
"Gobber!" Astrid hissed.
Gobber came to a stop when he saw two Hunters appearing around the pillar that Raeda and Snotlout were tied to. They then looked at him suspiciously and it didn't help that Gobber was looking at them rather nervously.
Fortunately, they just shrugged at one another and walked off with none the wiser. Gobber then managed to cut his ropes and immediately tossed the blade over towards Astrid, who caught it. She then carefully began slicing through the ropes that bound Fishlegs' hands.
"Fishlegs," Astrid warned.
Fishlegs immediately stopped in time as more Hunters approached.
"That's right. Keep walking. Nothing to see here," Snotlout said. "Certainly not saying our plan out loud, right, Gobber?" Raeda then bonked Snotlout's head with her own. "Ow!" He yelled.
"Can you just stop talking already, Snotlout!" Raeda yelled.
A Hunter then immediately looked at everyone. "Does this one ever shut up? How do you all stand it?"
Henry looked at them. "He's as complicated as trying to tame a wild Screaming Death, believe me, it is far worse." He said.
"Actually training a Screaming Death isn't as hard as you think," Raeda commented, "I should know, I actually did it."
"It's true. I was there." Snotlout said in agreement.
"Ha! You think Snotlout talks a lot? You have no idea," Tuffnut said as he looked at the Hunters. "Try spending a day with me."
The Hunters immediately grumbled and made their way over towards the Thorston twins. This gives Fishlegs a perfect distraction to continue cutting through Astrid's ropes.
"Yeah, that's right." Tuffnut continued. "I'm world-ranked and peer-reviewed as the best blatherer in the Archipelago."
Fishlegs managed to free himself and once freed he immediately tossed the knife towards Ragnar, who managed to catch it in his mouth. He then dropped it into his hand and began cutting the ropes.
Tuffnut continues to talk in order to distract the Hunters. "So if you think I'm gonna take being implied as a tier-two talker and not think twice, you are sorely mistaken, monsieur! I demand an apology forthwith, henceforth, and with force."
The two Hunters looked at one another and immediately chuckled. One of them then raised his mace and prepared to strike Tuffnut, but then Astrid knocked him in the back with a cooking pot. Fishlegs then pounced on the other putting his full body weight into the tackle crushing him.
The other Hunters immediately charged towards them, but Raeda quickly tripped one of them up and Snotlout slammed his fist right on top of his head knocking him out cold. The other hunter was taken by surprise and failed to notice as Gobber got to his feet and punched him across the face.
Henry then flipped a hunter over his shoulder as he then elbowed another and punched a third one to the face. "You Hunters forget that you are messing with the son of Viggo Grimborn!" He taunted with a smirk.
With all the Hunters down everyone then began making their way to the doors, but not before Gobber picked up his hook. Raeda and Fishlegs were the first to want the door and the two of them began pushing them, but they wouldn't budge.
"Locked from the outside," Fishlegs stated.
"They must have barricaded it in case we did escape," Raeda said..
Snotlout groaned. "After all that, we can't get out of here? Who said the idea out loud? Huh? Who did it? Gobber?"
They then heard shouting and banging on the other side of the door. "Well if there's one plus side, not all of us are stuck in here." Astrid said, and she wasn't referring to the Haddock Twins and Stoick.
(Linebreak)
Outside the Great Hall, the Hunters were barricading the door with anything they could find. Krogan landed on the ground and smiled at the site, because to him victory was all but assured now.
A Flyer then approached him. "No sign of the Dragon Eye Lens or the Changewing Girl."
"No matter." Krogan dismissed. "By the time the Haddocks return, we'll be reinforcing with troops, our defenses will be fortified, and with all of Berk as our bargaining chip, we'll get everything we want."
He then pulled on his reins and his Singetail then took off.
While at the corner of a hut, Valerie was watching the whole thing while still wearing her cloak as her head revealed with the hood off her head as she watched Krogan fly off.
"Not if I get to them and tell them." Valerie said as she then covered her head again to turn completely invisible as she got on Camo, who was also invisible as well as they flew off the island to find the Haddock twins and Stoick before things get worse.
Fortunately she found the three of them on a sea stack observing the situation with their spy glasses.
"Guys!" Valerie said as she landed and decloaked, "Thank Thor your back."
"Valerie, you escape." Hicca said in relief.
"Barely, they got the other riders locked up in the Great Hall." She said pointing to said building, "Krogan thinks there's a lens here."
"Most of the guards are outside the Great Hall," Stoick noted.
"They took us by surprise when you three left." Valerie added. "When Berk had no leader, they caught us by surprise when everyone was distracted and unprepared."
"This was all a trick to get us off Berk to take it for themselves." Hicca finished while looking down at their home.
"Then why's he taking that ballista to the arena" Stoick frowned as he handed Hiccup his spyglass.
Hiccup looked through it and saw that his father was indeed right and he soon realized what he had planned. "Because that's where the dragons are. He's gonna use it on them." He said in horror.
"Oh no! We gotta stop them before that happens!" Hicca called out in panic as she and Hiccup then quickly mounted Toothless and Midnight, but Stoick quickly stopped them.
"Ah, wait, kids," Stoick said. "My island, my plan."
"What plan do you have in mind, chief?" Valerie asked in curiosity.
"That's where you will join me, Valerie." Stoick said with a smirk.
Valerie took interest as she gave a smirk in return. "Okay, I'm listening." She said as the three listened to Stoick's plan.
(Linebreak)
Flyers were patrolling the borders of the island and then suddenly one of the Flyers got struck down by a fireball and was immediately knocked off his Singetail. Then speeding towards Berk was Stoick and he fired another couple of fireballs at two more Flyers, knocking them into the ocean as well.
He then immediately flew up the cliff and several Hunters saw him rising into the air and he began heading straight towards the Great Hall. Once he was in position he prepared to fire at the barricade.
"Give it all you got, Skullcrusher!" Stoick ordered.
Skullcrusher was about to fire, but then he had to pull back slightly so that he wouldn't get struck by a surprised fireball that came from Krogan.
Stoick then immediately turned towards him and saw him smirking. "You might want to turn around. We don't take trespassing lightly on our island."
Stoick glared at him. "Your island? Your island?!"
Stoick then fired a fireball but Krogan's Singetail blocked it with its wing and then fired a fireball directly at them. Skullcrusher thankfully was able to dodge it before it could hit, but it was a very close thing indeed.
Stoick then immediately positioned himself directly in front of the barricade. "That's it. Let's see your best."
The Singetail was about to fire, but Krogan immediately realized his plan and pulled on the reins. "Clever ruse, Stoick. I fire, and the door caves in, freeing everyone inside."
Stoick grumbled. "Not as dumb as he looks, unfortunately." He said.
However this did give him the advantage, because Krogan was now refusing his Singetail to fire and he promptly fired back. Once again though the Singetail blocked the attack with its wing and then immediately fired a fireball, making sure not to hit the barricade.
The Flyers behind Stoick were about to sneak attack him, but then, they were suddenly knocked off as the Singetails flew away.
The Hunters on the ground were surprise by that, but then one of them was hit in the gut and then face all of a sudden before falling to the ground as the others were taken off guard by that as they were then kicked, punched or flip over to the ground as two more were then kicked to the head as they fell down.
Once the area was clear, Valerie appeared as she lowered her hood as she got her spear ready. "I really love this plan." She said as she looked around before racing off into the other part of the village.
(Linebreak)
At the arena, the Hunters were preparing to fire the ballista at the dragons and all of them were preparing for the worst. 'Oh this gonna hurt.' Fanghook growled while looking away.
"Like fish and a barrel," A Hunter gleamed.
The two of them laughed, but stopped when they heard a noise above them. They immediately looked up in time to see the Haddock twins, Midnight and Toothless flying down and firing plasma blasts towards them and striking the ballista.
"That should do it," said Hiccup. However, when the smoke cleared the ballista was unscathed as it was covered in dragon proof armor. "What?"
"They dragon proof the ballista!" Hicca said in surprise. "Man, I wish Valerie and Camo were with us." She cursed.
Immediately the Hunters took aim towards them.
"Fire!"
A bolt speeded towards them, but Toothless and Midnight quickly performed a barrel roll avoiding the bolt. However, the Hunters quickly reloaded and took aim once again and began firing constantly.
"Toothless, Midnight, look out!" Hiccup screamed.
"Duck!" Hicca yelled out.
The two NIght Furies then quickly performed some abrasive maneuvers avoiding the bolts and began to fire down on the ballista once again. However, it had the same result as before and the Hunters have now removed the ballista from the arena to get a better shot at them.
"Oh, come on, come on, there's got to be a way to disarm this thing." Hiccup groaned.
"We should've asked Camo to lend us some of his acid before we went on with the plan." Hicca groaned as well, mentally kicking herself for not thinking this ahead.
Toothless and Midnight looked at each other before they nodded and then immediately guided them down towards the arena, much to the Haddock twins' surprise.
"Toothless? Midnight?" Hicca asked.
"You two got something?" Hiccup asked next.
The two Night Furies kept on flying down and the Hunters immediately aimed at them. Toothless and Midnight touches wings in to accelerate relate and the Hunters immediately fired, but they quickly performed a barrel roll and avoided the bolt. The Haddock twins then realized what their dragons had in mind and screamed as they slammed right into the ballista.
They struck it so hard that it collapsed and several Hunters backed away in panic and ended up falling off the edge and into the sea and the will followed quickly by the ballista.
"Ha-ha!" Hiccup cheered. "A page right out of Stoick the Vast's playbook!"
"Dad would be so proud." Hicca added with a smile
They then saw several fireball exchanges going between his father and Krogan and realized that their father could only hold Krogan and Velerie could keep the Hunters back for so long.
(Linebreak)
Krogan had managed to get inside of Stoick's guard and his Singetail struck him with his tail. The two of them then crashed into Stoick's house destroying the figurehead on the roof and Skullcrusher was too injured to keep fighting. Valerie was still invisible, but then she tripped when a hunter's weapon fell to the floor, causing her to be visible again as her cloak was slightly off her as the Hunters then aimed their weapons at her as she then saw Camo being surrounded by Singetails as he got tied up.
"Oh great." Valerie muttered by breath.
Stoick patted the dragon reassuringly and stepped towards Krogan. "Well, come on already! Let's not drag this out!" He dared.
Krogan was happy to oblige and immediately his Singetail got ready to fire, but then something struck him causing him to misfire.
"Just in time, kids!" Stoick cheered.
Hiccup slammed into the Singetail at the last possible second causing it to misfire and he was currently flying above them cheerfully. "Heck of a plan, Dad!" Hiccup smiled.
"Yeah, very Haddock crazy." Hicca added.
Krogan looked at the two of them. "Do you think two more of you is going to make a difference? This is finished."
"Who said it was just the two of us?" Stoick asked.
"We were just a distraction." Valerie answered with a smirk.
Krogan turned and noticed that appearing directly behind the Haddock twins, Midnight and Toothless were all the Berkian dragons that he had held captive in the arena.
"Now, guys! Fire!" Hiccup commanded.
"Every dragon, fire everything!" Hicca added loudly.
Toothless and Midnight then immediately fired plasma blasts and seconds later the other dragons fired, blasting the barricade at the Great Hall to pieces. Then storming outside was Astrid leading everyone else and Krogan watched as all the dragons began to chase after his Flyers and he knew that he didn't stand a chance.
"You're right about one thing, Krogan. This is finished," Stoick said.
"You're outnumbered and outmatched, Krogan. Your attack was a bust." Hicca taunted. "The problem of having an army of Singetails, is that you'll always be an army of one."
"Enjoy your remaining days." Krogan glared at her. "We will do what we set out to do!"
They then watched as he immediately flew off and his Flyers followed him as quickly as they could.
Hiccup then looked down at Astrid and the others. "Everyone okay?"
Astrid nodded and Henry gave a thumbs-up.
"Johann has no idea what he has started. "Stoick said.
(Linebreak)
The next morning everyone began working on restoring the village and restoring the food supply. A happy turnabout with Hiccup and Hicca inviting the traders is that they left in such a hurry that the leftmost this applies behind.
"Well, nice of those traders to leave all these leftovers." Stoick said as they walked into the Great Hall ,carrying crates of food.
"You make it sound like they had a choice," Hiccup jokes.
"And don't worry, Alvin said that he'll be sure they're given good treatment on Outcast Island." Hicca added.
Stoick chuckled as they put the crates down and then the three of them looked at one another awkwardly.
Hiccup and Hicca were about to leave, but Stoick stopped them. "Hiccup, Hicca, I said a lot of things yesterday that came from a place of anger and were not meant for you two."
"Yeah, us too," Hiccup nodded. "You know, for the first time in a while, we had no idea what to do."
"We were so caught up in Johann's true colors that we let our emotions get the better of us, again for my case." Hicca said in guilt, remembering how cold she talked to Hiccup when she thought Henry and Dagur died during Viggo's shipyard trap and had a feeling that it happened again after Johann's betrayal..
"Kids, you both have been at the Edge a long while now. And you two have done amazing things together. Things I could never have dreams of." Stoick said to his children. "But if I've learned one thing in the last 24 hours, it is that you both and I—we're better together than alone." He then placed his hands on his children's shoulders. "Berk needs you, kids. And Berk needs its next chief and Healer. I need you both. Just think about it."
Hiccup and Hicca gave their father a smile as Hicca spoke. "Okay, Dad. We will." She said. "To be honest, the Hunters were the only reason we stayed on the Edge. You know the distance between Berk and the Edge, we couldn't just leave the Hunters to keep hurting others and dragons alike."
"Yeah, Dad." Hiccup said in agreement. "Actually, we were planning on going home months after the Shellfire attack. But after finding out the Hunters and Krogan returned, we knew we couldn't risk it." He added.
"Well, maybe once Johann is finished and this King of Dragons quest is over, you and the Riders should think about coming back home." Stoick said with a proud smile.
Hicca and Hiccup nodded as they smiled at their father.
The Thorston twins then arrived carrying more crates.
"I can't believe Dagur has the gall to send us a box of flavorless wood chips for, quote unquote, aid," said Tuffnut in disbelief.
Ruffnut then pulled out a piece of bark from one of the crates as Tuffnut began biting down on one of the pieces. "I mean, have you tried choking this stuff down? It's like, well…"
Stoick rolled his eyes. "That's willow bark, you knuckleheads."
"And right now, the bark isn't exactly medicine material yet." Hicca said dully.
"Wait. So this is actually bark," said Tuffnut as he pulled the piece of bark from out of his mouth. "This isn't bark flavored food?" He asked in surprise.
The Haddock and Stoick then both laughed and Ruffnut soon joined them.
"I have would pulp stuck in my teeth! That means I have to brush my teeth!" Tuffnut panicked as he and Ruffnut both ran out with Tuffnut spitting and Ruffnut laughing.
"Well, there's one problem solved," Stoick said. He then shook his head as he looked at the crates of willow bark. "That Dagur, he sure has changed, hmm?"
"You have no idea what's going on outside the Archipelago," Hiccup said.
"Yeah, and Dagur going good, and Valerie being our new rider is just a scratch on the surface." Hicca added with a giggle.
Stoick then led them outside. "Then tell me, kids. I'm all ears." He said.
The Haddock twins then began to describe all their adventures while they and the other Riders were at the Edge and Stoick listened intently to his children.