Smoke Gets in Your eyes
It was a cloudy day at Berk, all of the teens were at the docks waiting for Trader Johann's arrival
Eventually, his ship appeared in sight
"Trader Johann is here!" Fishlegs said excitedly "Everyone, Trader Johann is here!"
"Johann, that guy never lets me touch any of his cool stuff" Snotlout complained
"Because you always break something" Blake said
"Hey, how can you say that if you never come to trade with Johann?" Snotlout asked "If fact, why are you even here?"
"Hiccup said he had an emergency and forced me to come" Blake said looking slightly at Hiccup
"I just needed an excuse to make you come. You never come to trade with Johann, so I thought you'd like to give it a try" Hiccup said
"Okay, I'll try it" Blake said
Then, the teens went to see Johann on board
"Berk, the crown jewel of the entire archipelago" Trader Johann said
"Over here, Trader Johann" Fishlegs said excitedly "What did you bring today?"
"Many wondrous things, Mr. Fishlegs. Treasures from every coast and every shore" Trader Johann said as he looked for something between all his stuff. Then, he pulled out a pair of pearl earrings "Like the pearls of Dinjar, perfect for that especial lady in your life"
Snotlout looked at the pearls for a moment before looking at Astrid
"You know those could be yours, Astrid, just say the word" Snotlout said
"Yuck!" Astrid said as she walked away
"That's not the word" Snotlout said just before Gobber got on board
"Mr. Gobber, what can interest you in?" Trader Johann asked
"Why don't you 'wow' me, Johann? Knock me off my feet" Gobber said
"Put me to a test, are you? okay" Trader Johann said
"Hang on" Gobber said as he looked to something that was covered on a sheet "What's under there?"
"Oh, nothing, just a pile of-" Trader Johann began before getting interrupted by Gobber who saw what was under the sheet
"Scrap metal" he said "It's perfect, I've run out of things to pound around here"
"Whoa, that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen" Tuffnut said
"It's just scrap metal" Astrid said
"What's so especial about it?" Blake asked
"No, I'm talking about the mace" Tuffnut said before running towards a shiny mace and hugging it "Hey mace, you want to come home with me, don't you?"
Astrid and Blake looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Tuffnut
"Uh… can we pretend we didn't see that?" Blake asked
"Sure" Astrid said
Meanwhile, Gobber was still analyzing the scrap metal
"I see you're a gentleman that recognizes quality when he sees it" Trader Johann said "This is the finest metal from the furthest reaches from the archipelago"
Gobber took a broken sword and bit it "I'll take it all" he said
Then, Toothless got on the ship and sniffed the scrap metal before growling at it. Also, Toothless accidentally made the pile of metal crash, so Trader Johann turned around in order to see what happened but he only saw all of his stuff smashed and Snotlout sanding near by
"Wasn't me" he said
"I really hate that kid" Trader Johann muttered as Gobber was trying to get his scrap metal off the ship
"Hiccup, can you give me a spare hook?" he asked
"Yeah, we'll help you" Hiccup said
Minutes later, the teens were all getting on their dragons
"Let's do this, Macey" Tuffnut said as he hugged his new mace
Unfortunately for Snotlout, as he was getting on Hookfang's neck, Gobber grabbed him
"Not so fast you, I paid good money for this scrap metal and I'm not having you dropping it into the ocean" Gobber said
They quickly flew back to the village but Toothless was still growling at the scrap
The next morning, Hiccup and Toothless were walking around the plaza where they found Vikings talking worriedly for each other
"I had those ladles when I went to sleep and now they're gone" a woman said
"My grandmother's gablets, gone" a Viking said
"Okay, what did we just walk into?" Hiccup asked to Toothless before noticing the other teens and their dragons not too far away "What's going on here?"
"A bunch of stuff got stolen from the village last night" Snotlout said
"Some of us are taking it pretty hard" Astrid said gesturing at Tuffnut who couldn't stop crying
"Macey! Macey! She's gone! Noo!" he cried and fell to his knees before looking at Ruffnut "You! you were always jealous of her. You knew I loved her because I told you so often and I wrote it in your room on the wall"
Then, Stoick walked towards the teens
"We've got quite situation on our hands" he said "Axes, shields, helmets, drinking goblets, all gone"
"Axes, shields, helmets, drinking goblets, what do all those things have in common?" Hiccup asked
"Obviously, duh, they're all gone" Snotlout said as he banged his helmet
"No, they're metal. Everything that's missing is metal" Hiccup said
"Hiccup, everything we own is metal" Astrid said
"But he's got a point. For example, things made out of wood weren't stolen" Blake said
"Whatever is going on I need to find whoever is responsible before panic gets any worse" Stoick said just before Gobber ran towards him
"Stoick! Bucket and Mulch are slapping each other with sturgeons" he said as he pointed at said Vikings
Stoick looked at them and noticed that indeed they were slapping each other with sturgeons
"What happened to their bludgeons?" Stoick asked
"Stolen" Gobber said
"In some ways I think that's probably better" Stoick said
"Uh, dad, what do you say you take care of the sturgeon slapping while Astrid, Blake and I do a little investigating" Hiccup said, so Stoick nodded and walked away with Gobber
"And how are we supposed to do that little investigating?" Blake asked
"To turn to the scenes of the crimes and see if we can find out something about this metal thief" Hiccup said just before Tuffnut walked pass them
"I miss her!" he cried
They first went to the forge where they began to look for clues
"Gobber, Blake, any of you remember who's been here the last couple days?" Hiccup asked
"Hmm… not really, it's hard to say when a lot of people have been coming, we've been too busy because of that" Blake said rubbing the back of his head
"Yeah, business has been booming. There's only 41 shopping days left until Snoggletog. Don't wait until the last minute" Gobber said, so Hiccup began to look for clues too
"No footprints" he said
"This metal thief won't get the best of me, I've set up a trap that's guaranteed to nab him" Gobber said
"The same trap you almost hit Thunder with while you were setting it?" Blake asked as his dragon growled when he remembered it
"That's the one" Gobber said before stepping on something, so he froze
"What's the matter?" Astrid asked
"Uh… it would appear like I've trapped myself with my own trap" Gobber said as he looked at all of the crossbows pointing at him "No one move a muscle"
"Just give me a moment to help him" Blake sighed as he facepalmed himself
Then, Hiccup, Astrid and Blake went to the twins' house where they found Tuffnut crying next to an altar he made for Macey
"This is where Macey was before her disappearance" Tuffnut said as he slightly glared at Ruffnut
"I didn't take your stupid mace!" she said angrily
"It was her favorite spot. She just loved to watching the sunsets or this wall depending on which side I left her on" Tuffnut said
"This is weird" Astrid said
"Yeah, even for the twins" Hiccup added
"Hey, leave me out of this one" Ruffnut said
"Okay, this is weird even for Tuffnut" Blake said
"Much better" Ruffnut said as she crossed her arms
A few minutes later, Hiccup, Astrid and Blake finished to check on the house but they didn't find anything suspicious
"That's odd, it's like every other place we've checked today" Blake said
"No forced entry, no footprints and no eye witnesses" Astrid said
"I don't get it" Hiccup said
"I do" Ruffnut said, so they looked at her "It's so obvious and you call yourselves detectives"
"We don't call ourselves detectives, and what's so obvious?" Blake asked
Ruffnut did a sign telling them to get close, so they did it "What you're looking for is not a metal thief, it's a ghost metal thief" she said
Neither Hiccup, Astrid or Blake said anything
Then, they left the house and realized the sun was starting to set
"Well, that was as helpful as usual" Hiccup said sarcastically
"You know, what Ruffnut said left me thinking. What if we're not looking for a person but a dragon" Blake said
"You might have a point" Hiccup said as they got on their dragon
"It's getting late, we'll start again in the morning" Astrid said before they flew to their homes
That night, Hiccup and Toothless were peacefully sleeping until something pulled Hiccup upside down in mid-air
Of course, Hiccup woke up and saw a lot of smoke in his room and something hiding in it that was pulling his metal leg
Toothless quickly helped him down and flapped his wings getting rid of the smoke and revealing some dragons
"Smothering Smokebreaths?" Hiccup asked
The Smothering Smokebreaths began to fly around Hiccup's room grabbing every metal they could find
"Get your claws off that!" Hiccup said as he tried to pulled away his helmet from a Smothering Smokebreath
Toothless shot a plasma blast that scared the Smothering Smokebreaths, so they flew out through the window
"Well, bud, looks like we found our thief" Hiccup said as he looked at Toothless
The next morning, Stoick was walking through the village's plaza where more metal things were stolen, even Fishlegs and Snotlout's helmets were stolen such as Astrid's shoulder pads
"The thief hit you guys too, huh?" Fishlegs asked
"I feel naked without my helmet" Snotlout complained
"Me too" Tuffnut said as he and Ruffnut walked towards them. Also, both of their helmets were missing "But I made a sketch of the thief. It came to me in a dream"
"Uh… how can you be so sure your sketch is accurate to the thief?" Blake asked
"You see, my subconscious is working overtime, like a sports team that just can't win" Tuffnut said as he pulled out a scroll which had his sketch but it was a picture of himself
"Tuffnut, that's you" Astrid said
"No, it's not" Tuffnut said
"Yes, it is" Fishlegs said
"No it isn't, I think I would recognize myself if…" Tuffnut stopped when he looked at the image of himself "Uh… I guess it is"
Then, Hiccup and Toothless landed next to them
"Hey, guys, I think I know who the thief is or should I say who the thieves are" Hiccup said "Adolescent Smothering Smokebreath dragons"
"Of course, Smokebreath steal metal to build their nests"
"But why would Smokebreaths be on Berk?" Stoick asked
"Chief, coming it with the big win. Smothering Smokebreaths don't surely stay far away from Breakneck bog" Fishlegs said
"That's the part I'm still unclear about" Hiccup said
"I've been robbed!" Gobber suddenly yelled as he ran towards them "The thief evaded my traps and took all the metal I bought from Trader Johann, even Blake's helmet was taken"
"Wait, but I don't even use a helmet. In fact, I don't even have a helmet, but I should though if I consider how many times I've hit my head" Blake said
"I was making you one for Snoggletog" Gobber said
"Dad, I think I might know how the Smokebreaths got here" Hiccup said
Meanwhile at the Great Hall, Trader Johann was telling one of his adventure stories
"That's when I said 'What's for dinner?' and the Chief of the Moreyory tripe licked his lips and said 'You are'" Trader Johann narrated before noticing how Hiccup and Stoick were walking towards him "Master Hiccup and the great Chief, what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Well, Johann, we were wondering, where you may have got that scrap metal you sold Gobber?" Hiccup said
"Unfortunately, old friends, I can't possible reveal my sources" Trader Johann said but Stoick growled angrily at him "Of course, there are times when it's best to share. I procure it from a Berserker who was offering it a price I couldn't refuse. He had just come from an island we both well and deeply fear"
"Breakneck bog" Hiccup said
"You didn't hear that from me" Trader Johann said
"That wasn't just a pile of metal, that was a Smokebreath's nest with hatchling inside it" Hiccup said
"Well, that's unfortunate" Trader Johann said nervously, so Hiccup and Stoick walked away, even Toothless gave him a short growl
They quickly left the Great Hall and began to walk back to the village
"Well, that answers how the Smokebreaths got here" Hiccup said
When they returned, it didn't take long for Stoick to notice how the lack of metal was affecting the whole village. Benches and carts were falling apparat with the slightest touch and bucket handles came off pretty easy
Then, Gobber and Blake walked towards them
"Gobber, what's the latest?" Stoick asked
"Just as I feared, Stoick, almost no metal is left on Berk" Gobber said
"And what of the armory?" Stoick asked
"Most of the weapons are gone and the ones left are just the handles" Blake said
"Watch this" Gobber said as he walked towards a catapult, he gave it a tap with his hook and that was enough to make the catapult fell apart
"Without weapons, Berk is vulnerable" Stoick said
"Dad, we still got the dragons" Hiccup said
"And Dagur has an armada, six dragons are no match for a large-scale attack" Stoick said
Later that evening, the teens were at the academy trying to find out a solution for the Smothering Smokebreath problem
"We have to find that missing metal, especially the weapons" Hiccup said
"Macey must be so scared and alone out there. It's hard out there for a mace" Tuffnut said as he continued to cry
"Maybe the Smokebreaths took the metal back to Breakneck bog" Astid suggested
"I don't think so, Smokebreaths can't fly a long distance carrying a lot of weight" Fishlegs said as he read the Book of Dragons
"Hey, Snotlout, how'd you get your helmet back?" Ruffnut asked
"Ha, it's my spare. A real warrior is never without his helmet" Snotlout said as he banged his new helmet
"Can't say the same for his brain" Astrid muttered
"So, if the Smokebreaths can't go back to Breakneck bog with all that metal, they must have built their nest here" Blake said
"Awesome!" Tuffnut said making everyone look at him "Not awesome?"
"Definitely not awesome" Astrid said before looking at Hiccup "How are we going to find them, they could be anywhere?"
"Well there's only one way to catch a metal thief and that's-" Hiccup began before getting interrupted by Tuffnut
"Wait, don't tell me, with a net? No, no, no, with a rope? No? Okay, don't say it, with a ropey net?" Tuffnut asked
"I was just going to say 'metal'" Hiccup said
"Oh, was on the tip of my tongue" Tuffnut said before looking at Ruffnut and stuck his tongue out "Flick it, come on, flick it" Ruffnut happily flicked Tuffnut's tongue with a finger
"We need to gather all the metal from the academy and use it and bait a trap the Smokebreaths won't be able to resist" Hiccup said
"Hiccup, sorry to be the one who says it but… you're aware that if we fail there won't be much metal left, don't you?" Blake asked as he crossed his arms
"I know but we have to take the risk, it's the only way we have to make them get us to their nest and our missing weapons" Hiccup said
"You did say all the metal, right, Hiccup?" Astrid said looking at Snotlout
"What?" he asked before realizing what Astrid was thinking "Oh you got to be kidding me. What about his leg? That's metal"
"Snotlout!" Hiccup said in a warning tone
"All I'm saying fair is fair" Snotlout said
"Snotlout, please!" Hiccup said
Later that night, the teens reunited all the metal they could and placed it at the village's plaza
"I say we should have flipped a yakpie for it" Snotlout said not to happy about his helmet also being used as bait
"Would you please shut up?!" Blake almost yelled before some fog arrived and covered the pile of metal
"It looks like they've taken the bait" Hiccup said "Okay, every important, no one do absolutely anything before I give the signal"
"Get them!" the twins yelled as they got in the fog with Barf and Belch before there was an explosion
"Yet, another plan perfectly executed" Hiccup said with some obvious sarcasm "Dragons, everyone!"
In the fog, the twins seemed to be fighting the Smothering Smokebreaths
"I got one!" Tuffnut yelled
"I got one too!" Ruffnut yelled
"Its skin feels all sweaty and clammy like a girl" Tuffnut said but when the fob disappeared, he and Ruffnut realized they were holding each other, so they quickly pushed each other apart
"There they go, follow them!" Hiccup yelled
All of the teens quickly flew behind the Smothering Smokebreaths until they arrived at the forest
"Okay, don't lose them, bud" Hiccup said just before the fog split "Everyone, split up"
Everyone began to follow one fog cloud but, Hiccup and Toothless were chasing their own but when Toothless shot it a plasma blast it stopped and disappeared
Hiccup was confused but another fog cloud flew pass them "Toothless, over there!"
They began to follow the fog cloud until it began to cover them
"Oh, not this again" Hiccup said
Toothless turned around and shot at plasma blast but that only stopped it for a few seconds, so Hiccup used his shield to throw a bola and he caught one Smothering Smokebreath but more came out, even one of them was able to reach Toothless' tail and steal the connecting rod
They were about to crash but Hiccup used the grappling hook of his shield and it warped in a branch just in time before they crashed, they hanged upside down for a few seconds before the branch broke
They were staring to get up but they saw another fog cloud
"Follow that fog!" Hiccup ordered as he got on Toothless' back but since he couldn't fly, he had to run behind the fog cloud "Get me close enough, Toothless!"
Toothless began to run even faster and eventually got closer to the fog cloud
"You want some metal?!" Hiccup asked as he aimed his shield at the fog cloud "Here you go!"
Hiccup shot his grappling hook at he caught a Smothering Smokebreath. However, the Smothering Smokebreath pulled the line and Hiccup was thrown off Toothless' back, at least he caught the same Smothering Smokebreath that stole the connecting rod
"Maybe this was a bad idea!" Hiccup said as he bounced on the ground
Luckily, Toothless bit Hiccup's boot in order to help Hiccup. The Smothering Smokebreath didn't have a choice but to drop the connecting rod and bite the line in order to escape
Hiccup rolled on the ground and grabbed the connecting rod, he was getting up when Toothless caught up with him and began to growl at something
"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked before looking at and noticing something in the trees "Give us some light, bud"
Toothless shot a plasma blast at the trees revealing a chuck of metal that was wielded together
"The Smokebreaths' nest" Hiccup gasped
"Hiccup!" a voice said, it was Blake who landed in front of him and seconds later Astrid landed next to Blake
"Thank Thow we caught up with you" Astrid said
"Guys, I found the Smokebreaths' nest" Hiccup said
"Hiccup, we now have bigger problems than that" Blake said
"What do you mean?" Hiccup said
"We spotted something on the horizon" Astrid said
That morning they arrived at the village where Hiccup used his spyglass just to see Dagur's Berserker armada sailing towards Berk
"What is this guy, the king of armadas?!" Hiccup asked
"Apparently, he is, I don't even think he leaves his island without one" Blake said
"It's like he knew we'll be defenseless" Astrid said
"He did" Hiccup said
Moments later, all of the teens returned and were warning the whole village about what was coming
"Trader Johann said he bought the scrap metal from a Berserker" Hiccup said
"And it was from Breakneck bog" Fishlegs said
"Dagur planted those dragons, he knew what they'll do" Astrid said
"Hiccup, you found the Smokebreath nest, you and the other riders go to it and get our weapons" Stoick said
"They'll be protecting it by now, we don't have enough time to fight the Smokebreaths and get back before Dagur attacks" Hiccup said
"Then I say we head out and blast those Berserkers with what we've got" Snotlout said
"There's just seven of us against a whole armada, we're completely outnumbered" Blake said
"Well, if we cut ourselves in half, we'll be… twice as many" Tuffnut said
"Jut once try to stop between here and here" Astrid said gesturing to her head to her mouth
"No, he's actually on to something" Hiccup said
"See? I'll get an axe" Tuffnut said
"What? no, we don't need an axe, we don't need more of us, we need more dragons" Hiccup said
"What are you saying, son?" Stoick asked
"Why fight against the Smokebreaths when we can fight with them?" Hiccup asked but everyone still looked confused "Everyone, bring all the metal you might still have in your houses, it doesn't matter how small it is!"
"You heard my son!" Stoick said, so all of the Vikings ran to their houses to do as they were told
The teens also got on their dragons but Gobber walked towards Hiccup and Blake
"I gutted my first Outcast with this" Gobber said as he gave Blake his hook "Take good care of it"
Blake wasn't really sure what to say since he used to be an Outcast
"We will, Gobber" Hiccup said before he and Blake flew off
Moments later, the teens were flying towards the Smothering Smokebreaths' nest, each of them also had a net full of metal objects
"Ruff, Tuff, sound the dinner bell" Hiccup said looking at the twins as they flew near to the nest
The twins wasted no time and began banging some pans together
"Come and get it, Smokebuts" Ruffnut said as she dropped a pan
"Yes, Smokebuts, come and get it!" Tuffnut said as they flew away, so the Smothering Smokebreaths began to chase them
"Okay, they there are" Hiccup said as he looked back "We need to pick up the pace, if they get this metal we're done"
Back at Berk's cost, Dagur was waiting for the teens to attack him but he was getting inpatient
"Come on already, they should be boot kissing by now!" he said, so Savage began to kiss Dagur's boot "Not you, that's disgusting"
"Just trying to be helpful, sir" Savage said
Then, Dagur saw something flying towards his armada "It's time" he said
"Berserkers, prepare to fire!" Savage ordered, so the Berserkers began to arm the catapults
At the docks, the Vikings of were waiting for the attack, each of them had an improvised weapon, even Bucket and Mulch had sturgeons as weapons
"Arm yourselves with whatever you can find" Stoick said as he picked up a wooden log "We'll battle to the end"
"Stoick, look" Gobber said pointing up, so Stoick looked where Gobber was pointing and saw how the teens flew towards Dagur's armada with the Smothering Smokebreaths not to far away
"Dagur's fleet up ahead!" Hiccup said
"What is that?" Dagur asked when he saw the cloud of fog behind the teens
"It looks like fog" Savage said before Dagur hit him for no reason
"Sir, we can no longer see the Berk mainland, we have no target" a Berserker said
"What?!" Dagur yelled just before the fog covered his entire armada
"Okay, gang, metal away" Hiccup said
All of the teens dropped the nets and the metal began to land on Dagur's ships, he even grabbed a falling spoon
"A spoon? They're dropping spoons. Why are they dropping spoons? What does this mean? Could this be a spoon of surrender?" Dagur asked just before a Smothering Smokebreath took the spoon out of his hand
Then, the Smothering Smokebreaths began to steal every metal object they could find, including the Berserkers' armor, shields, weapons and the ships' nails
Eventually, the fog disappeared and revealed the Berserker ship that were still standing
"Uh… did it work?" Blake asked
"I thought they were supposed to-" Astrid began before getting interrupted by Hiccup
"Wait for it" Hiccup said
Nothing happened for a few seconds but then the ships began to break apart
Only Dagur and Savage were left floating on a piece of wood away from Berk, but Dagur pushed Savage off it
"This is not over, Hiccup! You hear me?! Just you wait! You'll kiss this boot!" Dagur yelled but some Smothering Smokebreaths stole his helmet and one of his knee pads "You'll kiss this boot"
Later that day, the Vikings were walking back to the village, even Tuffnut who got Macey back
"Oh, Macey, let's never be apart again" Tuffnut said "Life is an empty void without your spikey face"
"Well done, son" Stoick laughed proudly as Hiccup and Toothless landed in front of him
"We'll turn everyone's metal as soon as we get the Smokebreaths back to Breakneck bog" Hiccup said
"And you are you planning to do that?" Stoick asked
"I think I know someone who should be happy to help us" Hiccup said
Minutes later at the sea, Hiccup, Astrid and Snotlout placed the scrap metal on Trader Johann's ship while he sailed towards Breakneck bog not too far away, the Smothering Smokebreaths were following the ship
"But… Master Hiccup, this can't be the only solution" Trader Johann said
"Think of the stories you'll have to tell" Hiccup said "Next stop: Breakneck bog"
They sailed back to Breakneck bog as the Smothering Smokebreaths began to steal Trader Johann's metal objects
A/n: hi, I'm back with another chapter, I'm really excited for continuing to write, I'm just three chapters away from finishing this story, it's been a long journey and I couldn't have enjoyed it more
See you on the next chapter