Just another day
Spoiler Warning: this chapter contains spoilers from A new Boy in Berk: Defenders of Berk chapters 17 and 18
A freeze arrived to Berk but it looks like this one has been different than other freezes, even Hookfang and I began to feel the cold. We were all forced to lock ourselves up in the pens at the academy
Hiccup wanted to continue with the training but we've been here for so long with nothing else to do. It's so boring!
Blake seemed to think the same, so I laid on the floor, allowing Blake to sit and lean against me and we both tried to sleep
"Hey, why can he sleep?" a voice asked, it must be Snotlout
"I'm still awake" Blake said
"Then, why can your dragon sleep?" Snotlout asked
"Thunder is also awake" Blake said as I opened my eyes
"Keep it down, would you?" I asked annoyed
"Astrid's right, been locked up in here is starting to affect some of us"
Blake gestured at Fishlegs who was playing and talking to Meatlug's claws
"Oh, Mr. Pinky, don't tell the others but you are my favorite" Fishlegs said
"Uh… Fishlegs?" Meatlug asked worriedly
"Barf and Belch just found out they have tails" Ruffnut said "And it looks like they really hate the idea"
I looked at Barf and Belch only see them walking around in circles trying to catch their own tails
"Stop moving!" Barf said
"We'll get you… eventually, but we'll get you" Belch said
"Yeah, I got the same way when I found out I had a tail" Tuffnut said before starting to run in circles "You can't hide forever from me invisible tail, I'll get you"
Suddenly the door opened and Stoick entered the pen
"Odin's ghost, it's cold out there" he said as he closed the door "Worse freeze in Berks history, my beard is frozen solid"
"So, father. What brings you to the academy?" Hiccup asked
"Trader Johann hasn't reported to port" Stoick explained "If he's trapped in this storm he won't survive the night, so I was thinking-"
"Oh, yes I can go" Hiccup said without thinking it twice as he ran towards Toothless "You know Toothless can help find Johann's ship in the darkness, he's the perfect dragon for the job"
"Hmm, I don't know" Stoick hesitated
"Please let us go! I don't think I can stay here for one more minute!" Toothless pleaded
"Please, dad, if you ever cared for me the way a father cares for his son, then you'll let me leave" Hiccup said trying to find an excuse to leave the pen "Listen, if it makes you feel better, Blake will come with me as backup"
"Wait, what?! I never agreed to that!" Blake said as he stood up
"Thunder, please help me here. Don't want to get out of here?" Toothless said, he's definitely starting to lose it
"Nope, I just want to sleep" I yawned
Stoick thought for a moment before letting escape a sigh "Just close the door when you leave" he said as he left
"Yes!" Hiccup and Toothless cheered before Blake punched Hiccup on the shoulder
"Next time at least make sure that I'm willing to go" Blake said, so Hiccup smiled awkwardly as he rubbed his shoulder "But… still… thanks… neither me or Thunder want or have the energy to deal with this madness"
"So, you really wanted to get out of here, huh?" Toothless said
"I hate to admit it, but my rider's right" I said as I stood up "Well, I guess that stretching my wings will do me good"
Minutes later, we were out looking for Trader Johann but the sun was starting to set
"It's getting too dark even for me" Blake said
"But not dark enough for Toothless" Hiccup said before looking down at his dragon "Do your thing"
Toothless roared trying to find Trader Johann's ship
"You got something?" I asked
"No, Trader Johann must be too far away" Toothless said. Huh, he returned to normal faster than I expected
"Wow, look at that" Hiccup said
We all looked down and saw the frozen ocean creating some kind of bridge. I must say, it's a pretty impressive sight
"Huh, if I remember correctly winters at Outcast Island are pretty cold but not cold enough to freeze the ocean" Blake said "That must be the reason of why Trader Johann haven't reported"
"That makes sense if you think about it" I said
"I guess" Toothless said
"We better find him quickly" Hiccup said
We continued to fly until a cloud of frost passed below us, wait… is there something inside it?
"Whoa! I don't know what that was, but I'm glad we're up here and it's down there" Hiccup said
"Uh… call me crazy if you want, but I've got the feeling that we'll find out what that was later on" Blake said
"Toothless, did you see something inside of it?" I asked
"I think so, but we've got to find Trader Johann" Toothless said before roaring again "Wait, I think I found him"
"You found something?" Hiccup asked
"Yes, I did" Toothless said
"Let's take a better look" Hiccup said
We kept flying for a long time, it even fells like we've been flying for hours
"Toothless, how far are we?" I asked
"We shouldn't be too far now" Toothless said
"That's Trader Johann's ship" Blake said, I watched more carefully and saw Trader Johann's ship, so we flied towards it
"Master Hiccup and Mr. Blake, you two are a welcome sight for these wearily eyes" Trader Johann said when we got close
He quickly got on Toothless' back and we began to fly back to Berk
"In all my years on the briny deep I have never witnessed a breeze quite like this one, ice as thick as Thor's hammer. I even considered abandoning my ship and travel into Berk on foot" Trader Johann said
"Well, we've got you now, so I guess you can enjoy the ride" Blake said
"Excellent. We shall pass the time with stories of my granted adventures that are sure to warm your hearts and stoke the fire of your imagination" Trader Johann said
"Well, I wouldn't mind hearing a few stories" Blake said
"I wouldn't mind hearing a few stories either" I said
"Uh… Thunder?" Toothless called, so I looked at him
"What is it?" I asked confused
"You have no idea of the beast you rider has just awaken" Toothless said
Hours passed and the sun was already rising… and… Trader Johann was still telling his stories. At first, they were entertaining an interesting but they quickly got boring and annoying
"But it was not a yak, it was his daughter. I could not believe it, she looked like a yak and her name was 'Yakmine'. And that, young masters, is how the king of Ennuden made me an honorary member of his royal court" Trader Johann narrated
"It was a pretty good story. Right, Hiccup?" Blake asked but we were getting close to Berk
"Oh, good, we're here… Thanks Odin" Hiccup said
We landed at the village but… something's not right… why is everything so quiet?
"Hmm, not the welcome I'm accustom to but none the less" Trader Johann said
"Where is everyone?" Hiccup asked
"And why do I have a bad feeling all of the sudden?" Blake asked
"This reminds me of the time when I landed on the Island of the Red-" Trader Johann began but stopped when Hiccup raised his hand
"Hello?! Anyone?!" he called but there was no answer
We split up and tried to look for anyone else, Blake and I tried to look for any other Viking or dragon at the Great Hall and a few houses but we saw no one
"Did anyone see anything?" Hiccup asked
Blake only shook his head to say no
"The whole town is empty" Trader Johann said
"Even the Great Hall is empty" I said
"I know. It's very weird" Hiccup said as we continued to walk into the village until we heard something
"Johann, stay here. Blake, come with me" Hiccup said
Hiccup and Blake walked into a house leaving me and Toothless with Trader Johann
Suddenly we heard how something heavy fell
"We should do something" Toothless said
"I'll go check" I said
I walked towards the house and heard something
"Fast… really fast… too fast… and their sting… paralyzing sting" a voice said… it sounds like Fishlegs
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you talking about?" Hiccup asked
"Speed stingers" Fishlegs said
"Speed stingers? Here?" Hiccup asked
"Can you tell us how it happened?" Blake asked
"It all started when night fell, as you know they don't fly but they are fast. Faster than any dragon I've ever seen. They hide in the shadows. Scavengers looking for any food they can find, one drop of their venom can paralyze a human or dragon in an instant. They follow a leader who directs them like a war chief. By the time Stoick ordered everyone to the cove, the entire village had been overrun" Fishlegs explained
I quickly walked back to Toothless in order to tell him what I heard
"So, what happened?" he asked
"Well… apparently the village was attacked by speed stingers while we were gone" I explained
"Speed Stingers? Aren't those the dragons that can't fly but can paralyze someone in a blink?" Toothless asked
Then, Hiccup, Blake and Fishlegs exit the house and took us to another where Meatlug was on the roof paralyzed
"How did we miss that?" Hiccup asked
"Maybe we were just tired for flying all night" Blake suggested
"Good point" Hiccup said
"She tried to draw them away so I could escape. I just couldn't leave her" Fishlegs said
"Meatlug! Meatlug!" Toothless called but there was no answer from Meatlug
"You know she's paralyzed, don't you?" I asked
"Just wanted to make sure" Toothless said
"How did we miss that?" Trader Johann asked as he walked towards us
Then, Fishlegs, Blake and Treader Johann tried to get Meatlug down from the roof. I keeping an eye around to see if I saw another Viking or dragon… until I felt how something landed on my back, so I looked up and saw Trader Johann
"Oh… thank you my… Skrill friend" he said as he got off my back
"Uh… you're welcome?" I asked not understanding what happened. When did he even got on my back
Hiccup… little help here?" Blake asked, so Hiccup and Toothless climbed onto the roof
"Uh, where's Johann?" Hiccup asked
"I'm okay, boys, I landed on this Skrill" Trader Johann said gesturing at me
"Can someone care to explain me what happened?" I asked
"Thanks for catching him, Thunder" Blake said before looking at Fishlegs "So, can you tell us anything about this paralysis?"
"I'm afraid not, there's nothing about it in the Book of Dragons or Bork's papers" Fishlegs said before looking at the sea "How do you think the Speed Stingers got here? They can't fly"
"If I had to guess, I would say because the ocean was frozen solid creating an ice bridge from their island to ours" Hiccup said
"They must have hid themselves in that cloud of frost we saw while looking for Trader Johann" Blake said
"We need to get to the cove right away" Hiccup said
Then, they were able to push Meatlug off the roof who landed on a cart almost crushing Trader Johann in the process
We went to the cove carrying Meatlug in the cart. When we arrived, we found more Vikings paralyzed and for everyone's surprise… Stoick was among them
"Dad" Hiccup said sadly
"He gave as good as he got, Hiccup" a voice said, it was Gobber "It took six of those Speed Stingers to freeze the poor bugger"
Then, Stoick tried to speak but only some none understandable mutters came out of his mouth
"You bet, chief" Gobber said
"How do you understand him?" Blake asked as he walked towards them
"Actually, I don't. I just don't want to make him feel worse than he does" Gobber said
"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say he's relieved that Hiccup's back and he can still move" Blake said
"Thunder, Toothless" a voice said, it was Stormfly "You're back"
"Stormfly, it's good to see that you're fine" I said
"How are the others?" Toothless asked
"They're fine too, only Meatlug was paralyzed" Stormfly said "I guess you two already found out what happened, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I heard how Fishlegs explained everything to Blake and Hiccup" I said
"And how are the riders?" Toothless asked
"Only Snotlout was paralyzed. I think Hookfang is enjoying it as much as Astrid is" Stormfly said
"I'm sorry, Stormfly. Thunder and I should've been here earlier in order to help" Toothless said
"Actually, I'm glad you weren't here when the Speed Stingers arrived, they were too fast even for me and we and we don't really need any more dragons paralyzed" Stormfly said
"But while we were looking for Trader Johann we saw a cloud of frost, the Speed Stingers were inside it and we didn't do anything to stop them" I said
"Stop with the self-pity. What were you supposed to do anyway?" Barf asked as he and Belch walked towards us
"Hit the Speed Stingers with a lighting blast in order to get their attention and be paralyzed?" Belch asked
"Good point" Toothless said
"So… what now?" I asked
"You two should rest now that you can, you were awake all night looking for Trader Johann" Stormfly said
"Yeah, I guess that'll help us to regain out strength" Toothless said
Toothless and I went to sleep, something that we both really needed. We were asleep for the most of the day until Blake woke me up
Apparently, the riders made a plan to get rid of the Speed Stingers. We'll spilt up again and try to find where they sleep since they sleep during the day but there was something that still bothered me
"Meatlug, are you sure you'll be able to fly?" I asked looking at her, half of her body is still paralyzed and she can't really fly properly
"I think I can… at least for now" Meatlug said
"If you say so" I said
"What do we do if we found where the Speed Stingers are?" Hookfang asked as Gustav tried to get a paralyzed Snotlout on his neck
"Tell the others right away, we can't do anything stupid" Toothless said "That means you, Barf and Belch"
"What? when have we done something stupid?" Belch asked but we all looked at him
"Okay… don't answer that" Belch said
Then, we all went to check all around Berk for the Speed Stingers Blake and I went to check some caves at the shore before going to the forest where we found Fishlegs and Meatlug, so we had to help them
Like an hour and a half later we all reunited at the village
"So, anything?" Hiccup asked
"Not a single Stinger" Astrid said
"It's almost like they vanished without a trace" Blake said
"Us neither" Fishlegs said
"I got stung" Tuffnut said
"No, you weren't" Ruffnut said sounding a little annoyed
"Have we checked every cave?" Hiccup asked. However, Snotlout looked really nervous and didn't say anything "Snotlout, did you check your caves?"
"Really, I'm insulted, Hiccup. Of course I did, did you think I fell from my dragon and spent hours trying to get out of the sand" Snotlout said
"He fell from his dragon and we spent hours trying to get him out the sand" Gustav said
"Gustav, make me punch you!" Snotlout ordered angrily but Gustav made Snotlout punch himself
"Never gets old" Tuffnut laughed
"At least we know where to look" Blake sighed
"Let's go" Hiccup said
We quickly arrived at a beach were Snotlout didn't check the cave like he was supposed to. Astrid and Stormfly brought a cage to capture the leader of the Speed Stingers
"Thanks, Gustav" Hiccup said as he pulled out his shied "You stay here with Snotlout and Hookfang"
"Right" Snotlout said giving the thumbs up "Hey, I did that all myself"
"Aw, do you really have to be unparalyzed?" Hookfang asked
"Okay, gang, we have to move fast because it will be sundown soon and we need to get that leader Stinger out of there, without him the pack is useless" Hiccup said
He, Fishlegs and Toothless entered the cave
"So… who's going to is going to lure the Speed Stingers away with their leader when we capture him?" Mealug asked, now she's completely unparalyzed
"I will" I volunteered immediately
"Thunder… are you sure?" Stormfly asked worriedly "I can help you if you want"
"Don't worry, Stormfly, I'll be fine. I'm the second fastest of us, remember?" I said "Besides, if they get to close, I'll shot them lightning blast to keep them away a safe distance from me"
Then, Hiccup, Fishlegs and Toothless exit the cave with a Speed Stinger, that must be the leader
"Get this Speed Stinger into the cage right away" Hiccup said
Then, the Speed Stinger leader released himself knocking Hiccup and Fishlegs to the ground in the process, he also tried to sting Hiccup but he rolled out of the way in time giving Toothless the chance to shot a plasma blast at the Speed Stinger leader
"Stay away from my rider!" Toothless said angrily
"Everyone, attack that Night Fury!" the Speed Stinger leader ordered to the rest of the Speed Singers that were inside of the cave but a fire blast stopped them, leaving a fire wall in the process
We looked up and saw Gustav, Snotlout and Hookfang
"That's right! Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!" Snotlout cheered, he was already recovered from the paralysis but the Speed Stinger leader stung him once again "Oh, come on!"
Then, Toothless and Speed Stinger leader began to growl and circle around each other
"Get out of this island it's our home" Toothless growled
"This island is ours now, and you're not welcomed here" the Speed Stinger leader said
"He's too fast, Hiccup" Fishlegs said
"Not for a Night Fury" Hiccup said
The Speed Stinger leader jumped and tried to sting Toothless who jumped back and shot several plasma blasts back
"So, you're trying to protect that human, huh? Let's see if he's fast as you" the Speed Stinger leader said before trying to attack Hiccup who protected himself with his shield but the Speed Stinger leader also threw it off his arm but Toothless caught it and threw it back at Hiccup
"Thanks, bud" Hiccup said
The Speed Stinger leader jumped onto some rocks trying to avoid Toothless' plasma blasts. However, the fire at the cave's entrance was starting to lit out, so the other Speed Stingers jumped it and went to help their leader
"Astrid, follow me!" Hiccup said as he got on Toothless' back
"I think I know where you're going with this" Astrid said
Toothless shot some plasma blasts at the Speed Stinger leader pushing him towards the cage
"Okay, Stormfly, time to spike that Stinger" Astrid said, so Stormfly shot some spikes at the Speed Stinger leader pushing him into the cage. Toothless took the opotunity to shot a plasma blast at the cage's door locking the Speed Stinger leader inside
"Yes! Got him!" Hiccup said
"Hey, let him go right now!" a Speed Stinger said
"You won't get away with this!" another Speed Stinger said as they ran around us
"Hiccup, there's too many off them" Astrid said
"We won't be able to even start flying" Blake said
Suddenly a sonic blast blew the Speed Stingers away, we looked up and saw Stoick and Thornado
"Sorry, but if we had known where you were we would've arrived earlier" Thornado said as he landed
"Well, thanks for the help" Toothless said
"Dad, you're okay" Hiccup said obviously relieved
"You didn't think I'll let you take all the fun, did you?" Stoick asked as he walked towards the cage "Remember me?"
"The leader of the humans, I was hoping to never see you moving again" the Speed Stinger leader growled
"Now, get him off my island" Stoick said
"Thunder and I will take it from here" Blake said as I grabbed the cage with my paws
"Someone, stop that Skrill!" a Speed Stinger said as I flew off, so they all started to chase me
I know I could easily escape from the Speed Stingers but it's kind of hard since I have to make sure the Speed Stinger leader doesn't sting me or breaks free
"Let me go right now!" he said as he tried to break free
"If you continue like that, I'll throw you into the ocean" I threatened before realizing the other Speed Stingers were getting too close, so I shot them a lighting blast
That… that was a mistake because one Speed Stinger used the extra impulse to reach and stung me
"Oh no" Blake said
It hurt but I've been through worse, so I kept flying but this time I flew even faster. However, I felt how I couldn't feel or move my leg… I don't know how to describe it… it was almost like I was losing control of my body
Eventually I got completely paralyzed and crashed on the ice and dropped the cage and to make things worse… the other Speed Stingers are coming and I can't do anything to protect my rider
Luckily, Barf and Belch created a gas explosion around us keeping the Speed Stingers away
Toothless grabbed the cage where the Speed Stinger leader was and flew away. Now all Blake and I can do wait because the other riders and dragons went to help Hiccup and Toothless
"You did good, Thunder. you did good" Blake said as he petted my head, even though I can't feel it, it was comforting
Minutes later they returned, so Hookfang grabbed me and helped me to return to Berk, Blake had to ride with Hiccup
"Thunder, can you hear us?" Toothless asked before looking at Meatlug "He can hear us, can't he?"
"Yeah, he just can't move" Meatlug explained
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that we got rid of the Speed Stingers, so you don't have to worry about them" Toothless said
The next morning, I was outside of the forge still paralyzed but I think it's starting to wear off because I can move my eyes and head a bit. However, I'm still not able to talk
Toothless is here with me, he's telling me how did he and Hiccup got rid of the Speed Stingers so I wouldn't get bored
"And that's how it happened. It's a better story than Johann's stories, isn't it?" Toothless asked, so I nodded as an answer "Anyway, I'll check on you later, Hiccup and I have to get Johann to his ship"
Toothless began to walk away before encountering with Stormfly
"Hey, I'm not interrupting anything, right?" she asked "It's just that I'd like to talk with Thunder alone for a moment"
"Don't worry, I was just about to leave, see you two later" Toothless said as he left
Then, when we were alone, Stormfly looked angrily at me
"You just had to reject my help, didn't you?" she asked "If you had let me help you, you wouldn't be paralyzed!"
I wish I could apologize to her, but for obvious reasons I can't, so I just looked to the ground sadly
"But still… that was pretty brave of you" Stormfly said, that took me completely off guard "Just accept our help next time, okay?"
"S-s-sure" I said… wait! Did I really just say that?!
"Thunder, you just talked! That must mean the paralysis is wearing off" Stormfly said
"I-I-I… t-t-t-think so" I said "S-s-still… hard… t-to talk"
"Well, I'll leave so you can recover. Good bye, Thunder" Stormfly said before flying away
"G-g-good bye" I said
Well, what else can I say? This is just another day at Berk
Time passed and things go back to normal, maybe too normal… no one has heard anything about the Screaming Death for a while
Hiccup was a bit worried, so he thought we should do a Screaming "Death attack drill" in order to know what to do if we are suddenly attack by him
When we did the drill it all went fine until Snotlout and Astrid began to fight and they crashed at the Great Hall
We all reunited at the plaza in order to be scolded by Stoick
"When you told me you'll be running a Screaming Death attack drill I assumed you wouldn't actually try to destroy the entire village!" he said
"Technically, Chief, it was-" Fishlegs got interrupted when Blake covered his mouth
"Please don't say it, Fishlegs" he said
"Dad, this was supposed to be a practice but it got out of hand" Hiccup said "I'm sorry"
"Uh… a sorry doesn't unborn Silent Sven's chest hair" Gobber said, so they all looked at Silent Sven and realized it was true, his chest was still smoking
"No, it certainly does not" Stoick said before looking back at the teens "What brings me to your punishment"
Minutes later, we arrived at Mildew's old cabbage field which is in a pretty bad state
"Yuck, Mildew's cabbage field" Astrid complained
"It smells pretty bad" Stormfly said
Fishlegs picked up a cabbage and sniffed it but he dropped it and covered his nose in disgust "This is revolting" he said
Then, the twins grabbed one cabbage each and began to eat them
"Seriously?" Barf asked
"How can you be eating without us?" Belch asked
"Actually, it's not that bad" Ruffnut said
"Yeah, don't judge until you try it" Tuffnut said before looking like he was about to throw up
"They are kind of right, it's not that bad once you get used to it" Blake said, so we all looked at him "What? it's hard to plant stuff at Outcast Island, so much of the vegetables are not it a good state, so…"
"Please don't tell me you have eaten cabbages as disgusting as these" I said
"Uh… right… so, my dad wants this field cleared and ready for planting by the end of the week" Hiccup quickly said "Snotlout, Astrid, you break down and clear out the big boulders on the edge while-"
"Actually, that sounds more like a man's job" Snotlout interrupted proudly
"You're right, better give me Fishlegs instead" Astrid said
"Uh, Astrid, what do you see when you look around over here?" Snotlout asked before flexing his biceps and posing
"Is that a serious question?" Astrid asked unamused
"You see 5,000 pounds of boulder crushing power" Snotlout said as he hugged Hookfang's head
"Just make sure you don't slow me down, boulder boy" Astrid said before Hookfang shoved him away
"Don't do that again, you know I'm not a hugger" Hookfang said angrily
We all began to work, Blake and I were helping Hiccup and Toothless to get rid of the rocks all around the field. It was all going fine until we heard some fighting
"I told you to stay out of my way" Snotlout complained "This is Viking work"
"Exactly, so what are you doing here?" Astrid asked
"Ugh, can't those two stop fighting for a moment?" I asked
"Get out of here, Stormfly!" Hookfang said as he shot a fire blast at Stormfly
"You'll regret that!" Stormfly said as she shot a fire stream back at Hookfang
"Oh, that's productive" Hiccup said sarcastically "Toothless, plasma blast"
"The two of you, stop it!" Toothless said as he shot a plasma blast before placing himself between them. However, he also joined the fight
"Hookfang, stop!" Snotlout ordered trying to keep Hookfang under control but he wasn't paying much attention
"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled but Stormfly wasn't paying much attention either
"Guys, back your dragons away from each other!" Hiccup yelled
"I'm trying!" Snotlout argued
"Well, try harder!" Hiccup yelled
"Uh… Thunder, do you mind?" Blake asked
"I'll take care if this" I nodded before shooting a lighting blast "Enough!"
"Okay, everyone, to that rock pile!" Hiccup ordered
Stormfly, Hookfang, and Toothless were able to listen to their riders and flew towards the rock pile
"What's wrong with you and your dumb dragon?!" Snotlout asked
"Guys" Hiccup called but neither Astrid or Snotlout listened
"My dumb dragon?! Your flaming Snotmare was trying to barbeque us!"
"Guys!" Hiccup called louder but still none of them listened
"Snotmare?! Snotmare?!" Snotlout yelled before looking back at Hookfang for a moment "I kind of like that"
"Ugh, you would" Astrid said
"Guys!" Hiccup called yet again but with the same results
"I would, huh?" Snotlout said
"Yeah, you would" Astrid said
"How about I call your dragon ugly?!" Snotlout asked
"I'll tell you who's ugly!" Astrid yelled
"Toothless" Hiccup said
"Stop it!" Toothless roared
"Thank you" Hiccup said looking at Toothless before looking back at Astrid and Snotlout "Now, would someone mind telling me what happened out there?"
"Simple. Hookfang and me were just trying to do our job when Stormfly went crazy and started shooting at us" Snotlout explained
"You gotta be kidding" Astrid said glaring at Snotlout "Hiccup, Stormfly and I were doing our job when this lunatic and his overgrown fire pit started attacking us"
"Stormfly, Hookfang, Toothless, what happened?" I asked
"I… I don't know… I smelled something and I lost control over myself" Toothless said
"That happened to me too, I don't know why I wanted to hurt Hookfang so bad" Stormfly said
"I don't really know what happened" Hookfang said
"You gotta be kidding" Astrid said glaring at Snotlout "Hiccup, Stormfly and I were doing our job when this lunatic and his overgrown fire pit started attacking us"
"Oh, come on. When have we ever started a fight just for the sake of starting a fight?" Snotlout asked, so everyone stared at him
"Did he really just ask that?" Blake muttered
"Let me rephrase that" Snotlout said
"Never mind. Do you two think you can work together yes or no?" Hiccup asked
Then, Astrid and Snotlout got on their dragons and flew away
"I'll take that as a no" Toothless said
The next day, Blake and I returned to the cabbage field like we were supposed to but for our surprise, Astrid and Snotlout were working together
Fishlegs and Meatlug quickly arrived and were just as surprised as us
"Uh… did I hit my head or is that really happening?" Blake asked not believing what he was seeing
"No, you didn't. I'd notice if you hit your head" I said
"It's really happening. Honestly, I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes" Fishlegs said
"Huh, I guess my dad was right. Then again, I did my own 'Hiccup' spin on it" Hiccup said… wait, he didn't just say that, did he?
Blake seemed to think what I was because he gave a few steps back "What are you doing?" Hiccup asked
"No offence, Hiccup, but most of the times when you do your own 'Hiccup' spin on things they don't end good" Blake said
"What makes you say that?" Hiccup asked "I just did what great leaders do, they take an idea and they shape it"
Blake didn't say anything and just pointed at something as an answer, Hiccup and Fishlegs looked where Blake was pointing and saw how Hookfang and Stormfly were fighting again
"Okay, maybe you were right, Blake" Hiccup said
He and Toothless had to stop the fight and took them to the academy
The rest of us had to stay at the cabbage field in order to continue with our work. However, Blake and I decided to check on the academy just to make sure everything was okay
"You two are going to swap dragons for the day" Hiccup said we heard Hiccup said
"What?!"Astrid, Snotlout, Stormfly and Hookfang asked
"Hiccup, are you sure it's a good idea?" Blake asked as we entered the academy "Don't you remember what happened when you and me did it?"
"I do remember it and for what I saw it didn't go well" Astrid said crossing her arms
"Tell me about it. I think Blake and I crashed like 20 times that day" Toothless said
"Well, it wasn't that bad for me" I said
"Okay, I know that could've been a lot better but I'm sure it'll work this time" Hiccup said
"But Stormfly is a girl dragon" Snotlout complained
"Hey! You've got a problem with that?" Stormfly growled
"If you learn to understand each other's dragon, then maybe you can learn to understand each other" Hiccup said
"He's got a point" Blake said
"Please, I'm sure I could ride any dragon without problems" Snotlout said smugly
"Right… I'm sure he wouldn't last more that ten seconds on a Gronckle. Am I right, Hookfang?" I asked
"Huh, totally" Hookfang said
Then, I felt how someone got on my back, it's probably my rider, so we'll probably return to the cabbage field now
"See? No problems" Snotlout said… but why does his voice sound too close? Wait a second
I looked back and realized Snotlout was the one riding me instead of Blake
"Get off me!" I said as I threw Snotlout off my back "Only Blake is allowed to ride me"
"What was that, Snotlout? That you could ride any dragon without problems?" Astrid asked
"Shut up, Astrid" Snotlout said angrily as he got up
"Listen, just take the day off to get to know your new best friend, okay?" Hiccup asked
With no other choice, Astrid and Snotlout got on the other's dragon and flew away
"You know, if it doesn't work, we can always go for the fourth Outcast option to deal with Vikings who don't get along" Blake said as he walked towards Hiccup
"Which is?" Hiccup asked but he was sure he was going to regret asking
"Hitting them on their heads with a mace in order to leave them unconscious and hoping they don't remember why they were fighting for in the first place and if they still remember it, we'll just have to hit them again" Blake said before stopping to think in his own words "Actually, now that I say it out loud that kinda explains some stuff"
"Toothless, is there a way to get rid of Blake's memories from Outcast Island?" I asked
"How should I know? I'm a Night Fury not a healer. Besides, you know you'll be giving Blake amnesia again, right?" Toothless said
"Good point" I sighed
The rest of the day we continued to work on the cabbage field without any more incidents. Fishlegs and Meatlug went to talk with Blake and me before we left
Apparently, Fishlegs thinks there's something in the field that could be making Stormfly and Hookfang want to hurt each other
So, the next morning, Blake and I went to the field once more with Fishlegs and Meatlug
"So… what are we doing here again?" Blake asked as he got off my back
"We're looking for clues. Maybe we can find out what really happened to Stormfly and Hookfang" Fishlegs said
"Did Stormfly, Hookfang, or Toothless tell you something?" Meatlug asked looking at me
"Well, they only said they smelled something around here" I said
"Nadder prints, excellent" Fishlegs said
"There are some Monstrous Nightamre prints here" Blake said
We followed the prints until we arrived where the fight between Stormfly and Hookfang began. Wait, what's that smell?
"Meatlug… do you smell that?" I asked
"Smell what?" Meatlug asked
"You can't smell it? It smells… good… pretty good actually" I said
I don't know what could gave off that smell but… I want more of it… it has to be mine… Meatlug… she must be planning to steal that from me, isn't she? I can't allow that
"Uh… Thunder?" she asked
"STAY AWAY, MEATLUG!" I roared before shotting a lighting blast at Meatlug and Fishlegs. Unfortunately, they dodged it
Then, I felt how someone was trying to push me back… is that my rider?
"Thunder, calm down!" he said
It doesn't matter how much I want more of that smell, I don't want to hurt my rider, so I gave a few steps back
"What… what happened?" I asked as I shook my head
"You said you smelled something before starting to attack me and Fishlegs" Meatlug explained
"Oh… now I remember it, I'm sorry, Meatlug" I apologized before nudging Blake's hand "I'm sorry too, Blake. I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"It's okay, Thunder, no one was hurt" he said
"Well, I guess you gave us the clue we needed, Thunder" Meatlug said before starting to dig "I found something, it looks like some kind of root"
"Blake, I think you should come and see this" Fishlegs said, so Blake walked towards the hole and looked inside
"We better tell the others about this" Blake said
We quickly flew off to the academy where the other riders were, apparently Stormfly and Hookfang weren't in their pens like they were supposed to
"Hiccup, Fishlegs and I might know where they are" Blake said as we got in
We had to return to the cabbage field as fast as we could, Astrid had to ride Toothless with Hiccup and Snotlout had to ride me with Blake, I'm not too happy with that but there's nothing much I can do
It wasn't hard to find Stormfly and Hookfang, they were circling around the hole Meatlug made earlier
"We need to break this up" Snotlout said
"Who knows what they'll do to each other" Astrid said
"I'm open to ideas" Hiccup said
"Drop me in" Astrid said
"Me too" Snotlout said
Toothless and I flew down in order to drop Astrid and Snotlout like they asked
"Fishlegs, Blake, how did you know they were going to be here?" Hiccup asked
"Meatlug found something in the field, look" Blake said pointing down
Hiccup looked down and saw something in the hole, it was like some kind of plant or root
"Dragon root" Hiccup said
"Not dragon root, that's terrible" Tuffnut said
"You don't actually know what dragon root is, do you?" Hiccup asked
"Not even slightly, not even the faintest. I mean, I think I know what dragon means" Tuffnut said
"Dragon root is like dragon nip but more powerful, dragons want it but instead of making them happy and calm, it makes them…" Fishlegs said
"Want to rip each other apart wing from wing" Tuffnut said
"Exactly" Fishlegs said
"Cool" Ruffnut said
"Sounds good, do they have it for people?" Tuffnut asked
"I don't think it'll be bad to be affected by it, right?" Barf asked
"Not really, I was affected by the dragon root and it's not something I'd like to repeat, so it's better of you stay away from it" I said
"We can't leave Astrid and Snotlout down there, we have to help" Hiccup said
"But how? When Thunder was affected by the dragon root one of the first things he did was shooting a lightning blast" Blake said
"Please don't remind me that" I said
Then, Stormfly shot a fire stream at Hookfang who stopped it with his wings, Stormfly was about to charge at Hookfang but stopped when Astrid got in the way
Hookfang wanted to take the opportunity to attack Stormfly, but Snotlout got in the way
Slowly, Stormfly and Hookfang began to walk away from the dragon root while the other teens saw everything from the sky
"What are they doing?" Fishlegs asked
"I'm not sure, but I think they might be acting like a team" Hiccup said
"Okay, maybe the stew I ate last night wasn't in a good state because I think I'm starting to see things" Blake said rubbing the back of his head
"And maybe the fish I ate wasn't in a good state either" I said
"They did it" Hiccup said "We need to get down there but none of us can get close to that root without our dragons going nuts" Hiccup said
"That's not exactly true, Hiccup. Meatlug didn't go crazy" Fishlegs said
"I didn't even smell anything when I got close" Meatlug said
Maybe Meatlug's rock diet makes her immune to the dragon root effects" Hiccup said just before Barf and Belch attacked them with a small gas explosion
"What are you two doing?" Fishlegs asked
"They are out of control!" the twins said
"The dragon root will be ours!" Barf and Belch yelled
"I told you to stay away from it!" I said
"You're too close to the dragon root. Pull up!" Hiccup said
"Pull up?! Are you crazy?!" Ruffnut asked
"This is awesome!" Tuffnut said
"I'm going for the root, cover us!" Fishlegs said as he flew down
"Don't you dare to take it!" Belch said as he and Barf were about to dive at the dragon root, so Toothless and I had to stop them with a plasma and lighting blast
"I'm so sorry about this" Hiccup said
"We're not!" the twins said
"This is the best day ever!" Tuffnut yelled before Barf and Belch attacked us with another gas explosion
"Uh, Fishlegs, we'll thank you if you hurry up" Blake said
"She can't do it by herself" Fishlegs said
"It's stuck!" Meatlug said
Barf and Belch began to spread gas around Fishlegs and Meatlug until Stormfly zoomed pass them
"Astrid! You're a sight for sore eyes" Fishelgs said happily
"Who are you calling Astrid?" Snotlout said… from Stormfly's back?!
"Snotlout?! What?! where's Astrid?!" Fishlegs asked
"Looking for me?!" Astrid asked, she's riding Hookfang?!
"Astrid?" Hiccup asked "What are you-?"
"We switched dragons again, it's the only way we can keep them from fighting with each other" Astrid explained
"He can sniff all dragon root all day but Hookfang would never attack Snotlout, he respects him too much" Snotlout said
Barf and Belch quickly began to spread more gas around Fishlegs and Meatlug but Astrid saw this
"Do it, Hookfang, wing blast!" Astrid ordered, so Hookfang used his wings to create a gust of wind powerful enough to send Barf and Belch to the ground. The twins also cheered before fainting
"Hookfang, since when you can do that?!" Toothless asked
"I just found out I could do it" Hookfang said
"What was that?" Snotlout asked
"You mean this?" Astrid asked before Hookfang created another gust of wind trying to help Meatlug to pull out the dragon root
"It's still stuck!" Astrid said and to make things worse, Barf and Belch were recovering
"I'm on it! Stormfly, single spine shot" Snotlout said as he placed his hand on Stormfly's neck, so she shot one spike that freed the dragon root from the ground
Meatlug began to fly with the dragon root but Barf and Belch were about to follow her
"Oh no you won't" Toothless said as he bit Barf and Belch's tails
"Good job, guys" Hiccup said
"Fishlegs, do you mind taking that away from here?" Blake asked
"Dragon root, flying out" Fishlegs said as he flew away
"You do realize what happened, right?" Hiccup asked looking at Snotlout and Astrid as they all flew to the village
"We totally kicked butt" Snotlout said
"Exactly, and you did it together" Hiccup said
"I never thought this day would come" Blake said
"Huh, not me, I try not to think" Tuffnut said
Then, Astrid and Snotlout looked at each other awkwardly
"That was some fancy flying on my dragon" Astrid said
"You know how it is, chicks dig me" Snotlout said
"Yeah, that must be it" Astrid said
"Ha, Hookfang isn't always the easiest dragon to fly, Astrid. I have to admit I'm impressed" Snotlout said
"So… do you think I can have my dragon back now?" Astrid asked
"I thought you'll never ask" Snotlout said, so he and Astrid jumped to their respective dragons
"Good to see you again, girl" Astrid said patting Stormfly
"I missed you, Astrid" Stormfly said
"Did you miss me?" Snotlout asked as he hugged Hookfang
"Okay… maybe one hug is not that bad" Hookfang said
Yeah, like I said: just one more day at Berk
A/n: Hi, it's really been a while since I wrote a chapter for this story, hasn't it? Like I said, updates will be slower but that doesn't mean I'll stop working on it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter
See you on the next chapter!