The Dragon Riders had left Duval's base, and it wasn't until several hours later that the Flying Fish Riders regained consciousness.

"Hey, Head! Where are you?" said the squad leader. "Talk to us!"

They then found Duval in the wreckage of the building Ragnar had sent him flying into.

"There here is!"

"Are you okay, Head?" the Fish Riders cried as they rushed to his side. "Are you…"

They stopped in their tracks and realised how beaten up he was.

"Oh, man!"

"This doesn't look good."

"He looks awful."

"He really messed him up."

"Head? Are you still alive?"

They then saw Duval move, indicating that he was indeed alive.

"Look, he's moving!"

Duval groaned as he clutched his head which was throbbing. "Dammit…" He then rose to his. "It's not fair. I finally tracked down Gunslinger, and look what he does to me."

He then revealed his face and his men, and they just stared at him in shock.

"What?" Duval asked, looking at their gaping mouths. "I know that we got our asses kicked, but you don't need to look at that surprised."

"But Head, this ass-kicking is a little different," said one of his men, giving him a mirror.

"Huh?" Duval frowned and took the mirror. When he looked in the mirror, he looked completely shocked. "W-What? My face… w-what the hell happened to my face?"


At the same time, Octron treated everyone to some octopus fritters in the sea. They had attached his stand to the Night Fury with a rope, and he and Camie were hard at work cooking the fritters.

"This is pretty good," said Hiccup.

"Yep, Octron's octopus fritters are the best in the world," said Camie.

"I wish my mouth was bigger," said Tuffnut stuffing his face.

"I wish my stomach was bigger," said Ruffnut stuffing her face.

"The flavour is amazing," said Ragnar as he ate his fritters.

"It's a brilliant idea turning your ship into a fritter store," said Fishlegs.

"This is the first time I've had the pleasure of eating octopus fritters; they really are delectable," said Skull. "My stomach is about to burst if I had one."

It was rather easy for Octron to serve the octopus fritters since he had six arms, which were all that work.

"You can have as many as you want; it on the house," said Octron. "It's the very least we can do to show our gratitude for saving us."

"These have rice cakes in them, and these are made of soup stork," said Camie, holding two plates. "Careful, now they're really hot."

"So, Astrid, what do you think?" Octron asked awkwardly. "Are they good?"

Everyone immediately went tense as Astrid sat silently eating some of the fritters.

"So, uh, does it taste okay?" Octron asked.

"Listen, don't think I'm going to forgive you because something silly like this," said Astrid plainly.

"No! No, of course not!" said Octron. "That's not what I meant; I just want want to know if you think it tastes good, honestly. That's all, I swear."

Astrid then ate one of the fritters. "It's really delicious."

Upon hearing this, Octron burst into tears. "You think so? Do you mean that? That's such a relief; I'm so happy you like it!"

Everyone gave a sigh of relief.

"Now go ahead and eat up," said Octron. "Don't hold back. There's plenty more where those came from!"

"Then keep it coming!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Yeah, I'm nowhere near full," Ruffnut added.

They continued eating their octopus fritters when they suddenly heard a voice in the distance.

"Hey! Hey, you guys!" said the voice. "Young Master!"

"Who is that?" Toothless asked.

"It's those guys," said Heather dryly.

Sure now heading straight towards them were the Flying Fish Riders and Duval.

"Wait, don't go! You can't leave until I say thank you!" said Duval.

Hiccup frowned. "First, he wants to kill us, and now he wants to thank us?"

However, upon closer inspection, he saw that Duval's face completely changed; he was now devilishly handsome.

"It is me, Duval," he smiled.

"Whoa, what happened to him?" Tuffnut asked.

Astrid and Ruffnut looked over the side and looked at him dreamily.

"Who cares," said Astrid.

"I rearranged his bone structure; now the creep has got nothing to gripe and moan about," Ragnar explained.

"Well, Young Master Gunslinger, I was surprised after you kicked my face," said Duval. "But I cannot deny the results are amazing. Look at how ravishing handsome you made me. I'm a completely different person. The ladies are going to go nuts over me."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes as he looked at Astrid. "It seems to be already having an effect."

"Life is starting to look rosy; I love it," said Duval. "I want to do now is head back to the countryside and take it easy, but there's no way I can leave without thanking you. I would be paralysed with guilt if I did. It's your first time in this part of the sea, so if there's anything we can do to help you out, do not hesitate to call us."

He then tried to wink but immediately regretted it.

"Don't wink until your face settled," Ragnar advised. "And as long as you're happy, that's good enough for me. If you really want to pay me back, don't bother us any more."

Duval didn't appear to be listening as he was more focused, looking at his reflection in the mirror. "So handsome… beautiful…"

"Are you even listening to me?!" Ragnar yelled.

"I belong on top of a white stallion!" he said.

"Hey, listen!" Ragnar snapped.

"Uh, hey, Head, listen to the guy, will you," said one of Duval's men.

"Did he say that I'm handsome?" Duval asked.

"I didn't say anything remotely like that!" Ragnar snapped. "You want me to turn your base back to the wanted poster?"

His eyes then suddenly fell upon Astrid, who was now back eating her octopus fritters. When she rubbed her mouth with a napkin, he somehow assumed that she was blowing him a kiss.

"Blowing me a kiss is a bit forward, but nonetheless, I accept," he said.

"I did blow your kiss!" Astrid snapped. "I was just wiping all this sauce off my lips! You're so overconfident that you're delusional!"

Hiccup couldn't help but smile that Astrid was no longer looking at him dreamily.

"Mirror Mirror in my hand, I am the most handsome man in the land," said Duval looking at his mirror.

"You know it really doesn't matter how handsome you are; you're still an idiot," Hiccup pointed out.

Duval then gasped. "Oh, you're jealous."

Hiccup looked at him furiously. "Now I'm not!"

Fishlegs had to hold him back. "Easy, Hiccup."

"Well, Young Master and friends, is my transponder snail number," said Duval handing them a piece of paper. "Call me at any time; you can count on my assistance day or night."

He then tried to wink again despite knowing he was painful. "I owe it to you after all I put you through. I do apologise for all the trouble."

"Just start winking already," they said.

"Ciao for now," said Duval and they sailed away. "All right! Rosy life Riders ho!"

"Aye, aye, Head!" his men yelled.

"Well, that happened," said Hiccup.


After a while, everyone was now full, but no one was more fall than the twins, Snotlout and Chopper, who had all stuffed their faces.

"That was some good eating," said Tuffnut.

"Every bite of it," Ruffnut agreed.

"That was amazing," said Snotlout.

"I'm about to burst," said Chopper.

Octron was also exhausted from cooking all those fritters. "I'm worn out. They sure know how to eat; they must have broken some kind of record. I really could have used six more arms."

"Awesome work, Octron," said Camie as she cleaned the grill. "It looks like they are all satisfied."

"Oh yeah, then I'm satisfied, too," said Octron.

"What a truly splendid afternoon," said Skull as he sipped a cup of tea. "My first taste of octopus fritters and hopefully not my last."

"Hey, Octron, Paggapu and you too Camie!" Ragnar yelled from the Night Fury. "Come and take a break up on deck. I'll make you a cup of tea."

"Sure," said Camie.


Everyone was now back on the deck of the Night Fury, having a nice cup of tea.

"That's some good tea," said Octron.

"It looks like you guys are on the right course," said Camie looking at the map. "First stop, Sabaody Archipelago."

"And we've got to go there first if we want to get to Fishman Island?" Hiccup asked.

"We Fishman and mermaids and died right down and get then no time at all," said Octron. "It's not quite so easy for humans; the water pressure would crush you to bits if you tried."

"Yeah, no joke. It was too much for the Shark Submerged to handle," said Eret thinking back to this morning's attempt. "So then, how the hell was supposed to get down there?"

"Ahem, attention, please; it's clear to me you're downright clueless," said Pappagu. "So allow me to enlighten you about the sea around these parts. First off, there are actually two separate rows one can travel to reach the New World, but for outlaws such as yourselves, only one of them is a viable option."

"And why is that?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, I'll tell you. You see, the first round passes through over the Red Line and through the sacred land of Meridian, which is protected by the World Government and requires their permission to enter. But the World Government is not exactly fond of pirates, so I very much doubt you'd get through."

"You got across the Red Line on foot that way?" Chopper frowned. "How do people get their ships across?"

"The common practice is for people to leave their ships behind and purchase a new one on the other side," Pappagu explained.

Eret immediately spat out his tea upon hearing this. "They abandon their ships!?"

"Yep," Pappagu nodded. "You've got to apply to get permission, so it takes time and money, but it is the safest way to get across. The good news for you, though, the passage you will be taking you don't have to get rid of your ship. And that passages the Great Seafloor Rout straight through Fishman Island."

"The thing is, the Seafloor Rout is pretty dangerous," said Camie.

"How dangerous are we talking here?" Eret asked.

"Dangerous as in Sea Kings eating ships and people inside them all the time."

"Yeah, that counts. Definitely dangerous."

Chopper and Fishlegs suddenly lost the excitement of visiting Fishman Island.

"You know, I don't want to see Fishman Island after all," said Chopper.

"Yeah, me neither," Fishlegs nodded.

"You're saying that ships get eaten down there?" said Astrid.

"That's right," she nodded.

"What kind of ship will get us across the sea floor?"

"This one is fine," she said.

Everyone stared at her.

"Nah, this ship is not equipped to travel underwater," said Eret.

"Sure, but it will be," said Camie.

"Huh?" Eret frowned.

"The thing is, the Red Line may be the massive wall in the whole world, but it's not totally solid. And there is one small hole that passes through it. Well, small and the big picture, to ask it's super huge and insight that hole is Fishman Island."

"It's actually right beneath the sacred land of Meridian," said Octron. "All you do is dive down 30,000 feet, and there it is in all its glory."

"That far?" Astrid stared.

"Trust me, it's worth the trip," said Octron.

Astrid sighed. "There again, I suppose we did go 30,000 feet up in the air to get to Skypiea?"

"Huh? But taking this ship underwater, how is that possible?" Eret asked.

"Oh, we're going to get the ship coated when we reach the island we're headed to," said Camie.

"Coat it with what?" Eret asked.

"You'll find out when you get there," Camie promised.


They then continued sailing, with the mystery of going underwater still unsolved.

"Hey, look ahead!" Pappagu yelled. "We're here, everybody!"

Everyone gasped as they could see what appeared to be massive trees covered in bubbles.

"It's beautiful," said Astrid.

"It sure is," Fishlegs agreed.

"What's all that stuff floating around?" Ragnar asked.

"Oh my," said Skull.

"It's like a dream," said Heather.

"Bubbles?" Toothless blinked.

"This is it, the Sabaody Archipelago," said Pappagu.

As they got closer, they found that the trees were all on a single island, and every single island was nestled together but still separate.

"This place is amazing," said Hiccup.

"I've never seen so many bubbles in all my life," said Ruffnut.

"Me neither," said Tuffnut.

"So pretty," said Astrid.

"It's just an endless barrage of them," said Snotlout. "Where the heck are they coming from?"

"The island makes them," said Camie.

"Wait, what?" Snotlout frowned.

"Care to explain?" Hiccup asked.

"Sorry, not meant to be rude, but what does the log pose say?" Heather asked, looking at Fishlegs.

Fishlegs looked at the log pose. "The needle is still pointing towards Fishman Island. Let's just hope that this island isn't going to reline the log on us."

"Oh, it's fine," said Octron. "The Sabaody Archipelago is just a cluster of trees; there is no magnetic field."

Fishlegs sighed with relief upon hearing this.

"So those islands aren't really islands?" said Ragnar.

"Right. Are you guys familiar with mangrove trees?" Octron asked.

"Mangroves? Trees with roots above and below the water depending on the tides, right?"

"Yep, you got it, but the tide never rises high enough here for the roots to be submerged. The Sabaody Archipelago is home to the largest is home to the largest mangrove trees in the world. These colossal giants are Hassle Muscle Mangroves."

"The largest mangroves in the world?" said Hiccup looking at the trees in fascination. "Simply incredible."

"There is a total of 79 trees, and each one serves as its own little island," Octron continued. "Filled with tiny towns and facilities. The cluster of all these trees are known as the Sabaody Archipelago."

"Look, they've got numbers on," said Chopper.

Everyone looked, and indeed all the trees had numbers on them with the letters G R below them.

"Yeah, all the trees are designated by numbers, so it's pretty easy to find a way around," said Octron. "Grove 44 is a private residence and entrance, so we need to go a little further in."

They continued sailing, passing underneath the giant roots of these enormous trees.

"Wow, when you see them up close, these routes are huge," said Hiccup.

"Look how dark it is beneath them," said Chopper.

"It is quite fascinating," said Skull and then noticed a bridge that connected to two of the groves. "Is that a man-made bridge?"

"It is," said Octron. "Bridges connect each one of the islands."

"I see; that does make sense."

"All right, we're here!" said Octron as they reached Grove 41. "This is a good spot to drop anchor. Welcome to Grove 41."


Once they had parked the ship and they hopped onto the island.

"All you make sure to remember the Grove number, okay," said Octron. "Like I said earlier, the whole archipelago is connected by a series of bridges, so you won't get lost if you remember the number you're docked at."

Then suddenly, they saw a bubble being formed out of the ground.

"A bubble popped out of the ground!" Ruffnut yelled.

"That's weird; I like it," said Tuffnut.

"Awesome!" Chopper yelled.

The twins then jumped onto a bubble and didn't pop.

"I'm riding it!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Same here!" said Ruffnut.

"That is one strong bubble," said Hiccup as he approached.

"Wow," said Chopper.

The twins then began jumping from bubble to bubble, climbing higher up into the air.

"These soap bubbles, I'm curious how exactly did they get produced?" Heather asked.

"I've got this one," said Pappagu. "It's a chemical reaction from the Hassle Muscle Mangroves roots. They secrete a unique resin that causes it."

Heather bent down and rubbed her hand across the ground, and she could feel a sticky liquid on it.

"Ugh, it's really sticky," she said.

"You see, when the roots of the trees breathe, the air inflates the resin as it rises out of the ground," Pappagu explained.

"Interesting, I never would have thought trees sat could float," said Chopper as he watched another bubble being created and floated up into the air.

"So all of this is a hundred per cent natural," said Hiccup.

"Hey!" the twins yelled from above.

They looked up and saw the twins nearly at the canopy's top.

"Ruff! Tuff! When the two of you get all the way up there?" Hiccup demanded.

"There's an amusement park over there!" Tuffnut pointed.

"Let's go! I really want to write that Ferris wheel!" said Ruffnut.

"Oh my gosh, really?" said Chopper excitedly.

"Yeah, that's Sabaody Park," said Camie. "Oh wow, I'm so jealous. You see, I've always dreamed job riding that Ferris wheel."

"You have? Why don't you just ride it?" Chopper asked.

"Not a chance!" said Pappagu strictly. "Don't you even think about it!"

"Yeah, I know, don't remind me," said Camie disappointingly.

"If she can't ride it, does that mean I can't either?" Chopper frowned.

The twins continued jumping from bubble to bubble until they were at the very top of the treetops.

"We're so high," said Ruffnut.

"You can see everything from here," said Tuffnut.

Then suddenly, they saw some of the nearby bubbles pop one by one.

"Why are they popping?" Tuffnut asked.

"I don't know, but I think we are about to get back to the ground soon we would like," said Ruffnut.

She was right; the bubbles they were standing on them popped, causing them to plummet back down towards the ground.

Camie looked up and saw them falling and screamed.

Fortunately for the twins, Hiccup took on his animal form and flew up after them, and they landed on his back.

"Thanks for the save, H," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, really, for those can be the end of us," said Ruffnut.

"Just try to be more careful," Hiccup sighed as he flew down back to the ground.

Camie gave a sigh of relief.

"So, Octorn, what's our objective on this island anyway?" Fishlegs asked. "Did you say something before about getting the ship coated here?"

"We'll meet up with one of the island's coating specialists and have them slap a coat of this resin on your ship," Octron explained. "That's all it takes; after that, your ship will be fully equipped for underwater travel."

"Seriously?" said Eret surprised.

"Yep, the process works wonders, and it's the only way I know of that humans can reach Fishman Island," said Octron. "But you don't want an amateur to do it. If it's not done right, the water pressure will crush the ship and everyone on it. I've got one specialist that I really trust, though, so you will be in good hands."

"Thank you for your help," said Skull. "You really are a good man, or should I say octopus."

"But first, in exchange for my help, promise me one thing," said Octron.

"Sure, what is it?" Hiccup asked.

"Once we cross the bridge into town, there's a chance we might run into the World Nobles."

"Okay, who?" Chopper blinked.

"Yeah, who were they?" Tuffnut asked.

"The World Nobles there from the holy land of Meridian," Heather explained.

"Okay, but why would that be a problem?" Ruffnut asked.

"This is difficult to ask, but no matter what happens in town, you must promise that you'll do nothing to defy the World Nobles."

Everyone just fell silent.

"No matter what happens?" said Astrid breaking the silence.

"Just ignore it?" Ragnar blinked.

"Exactly," said Octron giving them all a seriously dark look. "Even if they kill someone in front of you, just look the other way. Just try to pretend that nothing happened. I'll say one more time, no matter what, you act like you didn't see a thing."