I hope everyone enjoys this episode. I certainly enjoyed writing this.

NOTE: I OWN NOTHING HERE, EXCEPT FOR MY OCs.


Episode 2: Viking for Hire

Everybody needs a place in the world. Some people are born to theirs like Stoick the Vast, Chief of the Hairy Hooligans. Some people discover theirs much like Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki did when they bonded with Toothless, Stryka, and Embla. And some people make a place for themselves.

Gobber the Belch is one of those people in the third camp. Surviving losing an arm and a leg, the old blacksmith had seen many battles in his life. During the old days of war against the dragons, he crafted swords, axes, maces, and all kinds of dragon-killing weapons. Often times, in the heat of battle, he'd show up with a wagon full of these deadly devices, shouting, "Grab a weapon! No time to be choosy!" as he finished making a new sword. And then, once his brothers-and-sisters-in-arms had their weapons, he'd join them on the battlefield.

That was Gobber's world in the old days – weapons and war.

But then the world around you changes, and the place you've made for yourself is gone.

Now, Gobber found himself all by himself at his forge. With his apprentice busy teaching at the newly-opened Berk Dragon Academy, he was making swords on his own. He smiled as he held up the finished blade, admiring the shine, and then looked around. All the villagers were either flying about on the backs of their dragons or taking strolls with them. There was no need for his dragon-killing gear. In fact, the need had dropped sharply these days.

Sighing, Gobber placed the new sword in his wagon full of weapons and wondered if selling his wares today would be any different from the previous days.


Meanwhile, the eight Dragon Riders of Berk were in the Academy, having a Dragon Quiz-Off.

Hiccup was the Quiz Master and he was currently looking over his quiz notes. "Every dragon has its own unique abilities that give it its special place in the world. Which dragon makes the best welding torch?" he asked.

Team Astrid – consisting of Astrid, Fishlegs, and Zenna – were quick to answer. "Deadly Nadder!" said Astrid. "Its magnesium flame burns with the heat of the sun!" Fishlegs piped up. "Making it the hottest fire in the dragon world," Zenna added.

"Correct! Point to Team Astrid." Hiccup nodded to Erland who drew another line under Team Astrid's name on a rock slab that functioned as the Academy's chalkboard.

"The score is now one hundred to ten," Erland announced before looking at the other team, which consisted of Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut.

"And you started with ten." Astrid smirked at the trio.

"Oh, yeah? Well, the game's not over," Tuffnut declared then looked at his teammates. "Wait, what team am I on?" he asked.

"The losing team, Tuff. Summon your brains and use them," Erland told him.

"Why couldn't you have just joined our team? We'd win with you, Erland," Ruffnut complained.

"True, but will the three of you learn if I answered all the questions?" Erland asked her rhetorically.

"Next question. What is the shot limit of a Hideous Zippleback?" Hiccup asked, wondering if Team Snotlout would take Erland's advice and get it this time.

"I don't think they can count that high," Astrid teased.

"The Twins can't even count past ten," Zenna said, making Fishlegs giggle a bit.

'True, but their minds are sharp as daggers when it comes to causing mischief. Ah, if only they can apply that proclivity for pranks to academics,' Erland thought.

"Oh, really?" Ruffnut smirked. "Let's find out. Barf! Belch!" she called out. At her cue, Barf and Belch poked their heads out from behind Team Snotlout and fired three fireballs at Team Astrid, who, luckily, ducked. The only thing that got scorched was the wall behind them. Not that it made Astrid feel any better.

"Looks like it's about three," Tuffnut said confidently.

"Told you we could count that high," Ruffnut agreed, high-fiving him.

"It's six. You guys are half-right. Five points," Hiccup corrected him.

"It's now one hundred to fifteen," Erland called out only to sigh with disappointment when Ruffnut cheered, "Yes! We're up to 30!"

"Your counting's off by half that amount, Ruff," Zenna informed her. Ruffnut glanced at Erland and he nodded, making her frown.

Astrid smiled at the Twins, blue eyes sharp as ice chips. "All right, it's our turn. What happens when you shoot fire at the owner of a Deadly Nadder?" she asked rhetorically before whistling to Stormfly.

"Hold it! No…" Erland managed to say before Stormfly whipped her tail out and sent a volley of spikes at Team Snotlout that pinned all three members to the wall.

"No physically attacking the other team!" Erland reminded them, sending Stormfly a scolding look.

"Sorry! Just following Astrid's orders," Stormfly squawked.

"No fair! She didn't give us time to answer," Tuffnut complained as he and his sister tried to get themselves off the wall.

Snotlout pushed himself off the wall and glared at Team Astrid. "I've got a question. What happens when I sic Hookfang on you?!" he threatened.

Hiccup stepped in before things got ugly. "Okay, guys, that's enough training!" he said, ending the Quiz Off and training for the entire day. "So… we did some really good work here today."

"Can I be the Quiz Master next time, Hicc?" Zenna asked him. Hiccup smiled and nodded to his sister.

"Perhaps if you two cracked open the Book of Dragons every now and then, you two may learn something and win next time," Erland suggested as he helped Ruffnut and Tuffnut get down. He then smiled craftily. "You know… I heard Loki values tricksters who read," he said, prompting the Twins to look at each other thoughtfully.

Snotlout, still seeking payback and itching for a fight, got on Hookfang. No way was he gonna let Team Astrid take all the glory for today! "Prepare to face some Monstrous Nightmare!" he shouted and patted Hookfang's jaw to signal him to fire.

But, suddenly, Hookfang roared and reared up, his body flaming up and burning Snotlout's butt!

"Ahhh! That's the third time this week!" Snotlout yelped as he jumped off his dragon's back and ran to the nearest water trough. He jumped in and sighed as the cold water soothed his burnt behind. "Ah… sweet relief…"

"That's strange…" muttered Zenna, looking at Hookfang carefully. The Monstrous Nightmare looked pretty fussy and she couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong. She wasn't the only one thinking about that. Erland approached Snotlout's dragon who was shaking his head.

'You alright, Hookfang?' Erland asked through his mind.

Hookfang's response was to lift his head up high. "Of course I am, Loki! Nothing can bring me down!" he replied, boastful as his Rider.

Erland tilted his head to the side, frowning. 'Somehow, I doubt that…' he thought while Hiccup talked to Snotlout.

"Hookfang never flames up when you're riding him. Is he okay?" Hiccup asked his cousin.

"Maybe he just realized who his owner is," said Astrid sarcastically as she approached Snotlout who was still chilling in the water trough.

"There's room in here for two," Snotlout offered her with a suave smile. Astrid merely grabbed his helmet and shoved him deeper into the trough. Spluttering, Snotlout got out of the trough and followed Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut out of the Academy.

Erland and Zenna remained, the both of them looking at Hookfang.

"Did he say anything to you?" Zenna asked Erland. "He just said that he was fine. Though I highly doubt it," said Erland with a shrug.

The two of them approached Hookfang, taking slow and careful steps towards the Monstrous Nightmare.

"Hey there, Hooky. You feeling okay?" Zenna whispered as she and Erland gently patted Hookfang. Just as their hands moved to gently pat Hookfang's chin, Erland and Zenna were startled when the dragon flinched.

"Ow!"

"He's in pain," Erland alerted Zenna, his eyes wide.

"W-well, we gotta help him then," Zenna said and tried to approach Hookfang again. "It's okay, Hookfang. We're not gonna hurt you…" she murmured.

"I'm FINE!" bellowed Hookfang and flamed up again.

"Holy Shields! Holy Shields!" Zenna squeaked as Erland quickly ran to place himself between her and the enraged Monstrous Nightmare, a shield materializing in front of them.

"I think we should leave him be for a while. Let's check on him again later," Erland told her as embers from Hookfang's flaming body bounced off of his shield. Zenna nodded and left the Academy with him, the two of them agreeing to check up on Hookfang before the day ended.


In the village plaza, Gobber beamed at the crowd gathered around him and his array of weapons. Today would be a good day to sell some of his finest wares. Just because dragons no longer needed to be killed, it didn't mean that a Viking could never have too many weapons to defend themselves from enemies. And some of his old weapons could be repurposed to household items.

"Gather around! Come on, one and all!" Gobber called out to the crowd assembled. "You may think these dragon-killing weapons have no more use, but think again!" Holding up a long sword, he took a piece of old toast on a plate. "This long sword is now a lovely butter knife!" he said and tried to spread a teeny slab of butter over the toast only for it to break into little crumbs.

The Vikings looked on in silence.

"Eh, it's also good for making breadcrumbs," Gobber shrugged just as the plate holding the toast cracked and broke.

Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland had just arrived in time for Gobber to move on to his next product presentation. Spotting the trio in front of the crowd, a certain old coot hobbled over. Mildew grinned with malice. He knew just exactly what words would hurt them and he was more than happy to use them.

"Well, this is a dark day. A great dragon slayer peddling his weapons as kitchen utensils?" Mildew tsk-tsked.

"Bother someone else, Mildew," Erland scoffed. Hiccup and Zenna, on the other hand, watched as Gobber continued his sales pitch.

"Up next, how about this…" Holding up a mace, Gobber wondered what he could market the weapon as. Seeing a fly land on the table holding his other weapons, he got an idea. "…handy flyswatter?" he asked before bringing the mace down. The table was instantly smashed in front of a stunned crowd's eyes.

"Hehe… Also good for getting rid of unwanted tables," Gobber chuckled while the fly flew out of the wreckage, completely unharmed.

Hiccup and Zenna inwardly cringed, finding the whole presentation hard to watch, while Erland sighed.

Still determined, Gobber went over to his prized catapult. If none of the handheld weapons made the cut, Big Bertha would surely get a buyer!

"Now, for the lady of the house! When the hubby's off pillaging, how are you to protect yourself from home invaders? No problem when you have Big Bertha!" he said and patted the catapult. Unfortunately, his hand hit the switch and Big Bertha fired a round!

The Three Weirdos winced and watched the catapult round sail through the air and go through Silent Sven's house. Sven wasn't injured but he was looking at the big, gaping hole Big Bertha's round had left in his home in disbelief.

At this moment, the crowd decided that they had seen enough and dispersed.

"Hey, wait! There's more! You haven't seen everything yet! I haven't cleared out my dungeon yet!" Gobber pleaded, but the crowd was breaking up and everyone was going on their separate ways. Only Hiccup, Zenna, Erland, and Mildew were left in the plaza.

Gobber sighed and started packing up. "It's okay, Bertha. We'll find a place for you," he told his catapult and then left.

Mildew let out a mocking sigh. "Ah, it's hard to watch. Especially for you three, eh?" he eyed The Three Weirdos. "I mean, you three misfits put him out of business with your little peace pact with the dragons. You three ruined his life. Bravo," he told them before hobbling away.

"As much as I hate Mildew, I have to admit that that was really hard to watch," Zenna confessed as she watched Gobber lug his cart of unsold weapons home. "Poor Gobber…" she murmured, looking guilty.

"Today was just one bad day. I'm sure he'll find buyers another time…" Erland said but even his tone wasn't optimistic. Mildew's words cut a little and he was beginning to wonder if Gobber's trade as a weapon smith had been one of the many prices they had to pay to get peace.

Hiccup sighed and watched his mentor limp away. Was Mildew right? Had he and his friends really ruined Gobber's life?


Later that night, those questions continued to plague Hiccup as he hung out with Toothless in his bedroom. Looking at his prosthetic, he said to his dragon, "You know Gobber made this for me? He taught me everything I needed to know to make your tail."

Toothless warbled and lightly bumped his snout against the metal and wood contraption that had replaced the leg his Viking brother had lost. He regarded Gobber as a surprisingly intelligent human, but nobody could be as smart as Hiccup who had returned his ability to fly to him. And Gobber had also made his beloved Stryka an eye patch. There had to be something he and Hiccup could do to return the favor for Gobber.

"I've gotta find some way to help him," Hiccup mumbled to himself just as he and Toothless heard the front door open.

Stoick entered the house with a weary sigh. Hiccup and Toothless went downstairs to greet him. Stoick heaved another sigh and took off his helmet, setting it down on the table, sinking into his chair.

"Tough day at chiefing, Dad?" Hiccup asked him.

"I was all over the island," Stoick replied while his son went to a nearby barrel to pour him a mug of ale. I married the Svensson girl to the Odegaard boy at dawn. Then down to the fields where some kids were tipping over yaks. Then back up to the newlyweds to settle a domestic dispute. I guess that honeymoon's over," he told Hiccup, accepting the mug of ale.

Hiccup nodded with sympathy and crossed the room to place a new log in the fireplace while his father spoke.

"Sometimes I wish there were two of me."

Hiccup paused at those words, and then dropped the log into the fireplace. 'Lightbulb moment!' he thought, remembering how Loki once described moments where one has an idea or an epiphany to be like turning on the fascinating future machine known as a lightbulb.

"Dad, th-there are two of you!" Hiccup said, turning around.

"Is that another crack about my weight?!" Stoick slammed down his mug, his eyebrows knit together crossly.

"No, I mean Gobber. He can be the other you," Hiccup explained, while also thinking that maybe his father could lose a couple of pounds.

"Gobber?" Stoick's annoyance gave way to confusion. "But he's way too busy making all those dragon-killing…" he said before noticing the uncomfortable look on Hiccup's face. "Well, used to be, until you- Which is great! Except for Gobber," he said awkwardly.

"Exactly my point!" Hiccup told him.

Stoick weighed his son's idea carefully in his mind. Finally, he remarked, "You know, that's actually not such a bad idea. I could use a right hand!" to which Hiccup replied, a bit jokingly, "Which works out great, 'cause that's kind of the only one he has."

Hiccup looked at Toothless and smiled. This was great! His Dad and Gobber were best friends and had worked together for years. Heck, Gobber had offered his father his counsel during tough times so helping out with his daily chiefing would be the perfect new job for him.

"Let's get some sleep, bud. We've got a full day tomorrow too," Hiccup told Toothless. The loyal Night Fury nodded and yawned, going upstairs to sleep along with him.


Meanwhile, Zenna, Stryka, Erland, and Embla had decided to drop by the Jorgenson abode to check up on Hookfang.

"He's probably just being stubborn, you two. Why bother?" Spitelout, Snotlout's father, grumbled when the two showed up on his doorstep and asked to check on his son's dragon.

"We think there might be something wrong with Hookfang, sir. If you don't mind, we'll just do a quick examination and then we'll be on our way," Erland requested.

"Erland and I couldn't help but notice that he was acting a lot more agitated than usual today. Just give us a few minutes with him, please?" Zenna asked.

"Alright, lass. If you and Erland insist," Spitelout sighed, waving them off.

With their dragons following them, Zenna and Erland made their way over to Hookfang's stable.

"Please be careful…" Stryka warbled, eyeing Hookfang warily.

"Oh, hello there, Serpent Tongue and Zenna One-Eye. What are you guys doing here?" Hookfang greeted the two humans who slowly inched their way towards him.

"Good evening, Hookfang. We're just here to give you a quick check-up." Zenna couldn't help but smile at the little nickname the Monstrous Nightmare had given her upon hearing Erland's translation.

"No sign of external injuries…" Erland mused as he and Zenna carefully looked over Hookfang from tail to wing. He climbed onto Hookfang's back after he'd received permission and began to gently pat his horns, the top of his head, and neck while Zenna checked his belly and sides. Hookfang made no complaints and stayed relaxed…

Until Zenna moved her hand to scratch under his chin.

Erland threw himself off Hookfang just as he roared and reared up, narrowly avoiding getting singed. He landed on the ground with his right elbow making contact with the dirt first, crying out as pain shot up his right forearm.

"Oh, Norns!" Zenna yelped and jumped back. Stryka and Embla both roared and quickly took action. While Embla helped her Rider up, Stryka jumped in front of Zenna and shielded her with one wing before firing a weak plasma blast at Hookfang. Hookfang stumbled back into his stable and his head collided with a wooden beam, knocking him out.

"Okay, that… was a close one!" Zenna breathed out before hearing Erland's pained groan and turned around. "Oh, no… what happened?" she asked and went to Erland who was holding his right arm up in front of him and wincing.

"I think I fractured my elbow…" Erland mumbled and lightly touched his left hand to his right elbow, hissing as a spark of pain shot through his arm.

Zenna cursed under her breath but quickly pulled herself together. "Okay… we gotta get you to my house. I can wrap your arm up there. Just keep your elbow up like that to keep the swelling down until we can get that iced," she advised.

Erland followed her instructions as they quickly walked to the Fiersomes' house, their dragons right behind them.

'You really shouldn't have climbed onto Hookfang's back…' Embla's scolding voice entered Erland's mind.

'Yeah, yeah, I know. Bad idea. I'm paying for that right now in case you haven't noticed,' Erland mentally fired back as he kept his right arm bent and lifted up so his right hand was level with his forehead.

"Hookfang only became aggressive when I placed my hand under his chin, but I didn't feel any injuries in that area… so something must be wrong with him internally," Zenna said as they walked.

"That's what I've been theorizing as well. He might have a broken jaw or a toothache," Erland guessed.

"Shit, I know how to help with broken jaws and toothaches in the case of humans. But I've never dealt with dragon cases before…" Zenna muttered just as they arrived at her house.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Erland told her, smiling a bit in spite of the pain in his right elbow, before being herded inside by Zenna to get his arm wrapped.


The next morning, when The Three Weirdos met up at the Cove, Hiccup was shocked and then fretted over Loki's fractured elbow. "I get that you're worried about Hookfang, but maybe you two shouldn't go near him today," he told them after he heard their story.

"But, Hicc, what if there's something seriously wrong with him?" Zenna pleaded only for Stryka to block her path when she tried to go back to the Jorgensons. The one-eyed dragoness rumbled and chittered, followed by Toothless and Embla warbling and nodding.

"They say that they're not going to let you take any risks after what happened to me," Loki translated, his arm tightly wrapped and placed in a sling. Zenna relented and spent the entire day with the boys coming up with lesson plans for their next training session at the Dragon Training Academy.


While The Three Weirdos planned lessons, Gobber started his new job as Stoick's right-hand man.

"I greatly appreciate your helping me out, Gobber," Stoick told the former blacksmith that morning in the village.

"I'm just glad I could find some time in my busy schedule, Stoick," Gobber said casually, hiding the fact that he had a lot of free time because of his weapons-making business going downhill.

"I've got a full day ahead of me," Stoick told him, tearing a piece of parchment where he had written his to-do list in half. "Here's your half," he said, handing one half to Gobber.

Gobber took a look at the list, which just had the following three tasks written on it:

Welcome a new baby to the Hooligan Clan

Settle a dispute between Bucket and Mulch

Fix broken ship

"Oh, this'll be interesting." Gobber grinned. Only three things! This was going to be easy!

"Now remember, some of these situations are delicate. They require diplomacy," Stoick reminded him.

"Ah, no problem. I'm great at… that," Gobber said, his optimism fading at the end of his sentence.

Stoick looked at him with surprise. "Really? You? You can speak to people with tact and sensitivity?" he asked.

Gobber raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I thought it meant clubbing people on the head and asking questions later. But I can give your thing a shot," he said with ease and left.

Watching his best friend go off to do his part of the job, Stoick sighed and murmured a quick prayer to the gods before leaving as well to do some chiefing.

In the Great Hall, Gobber stood in front of a crowd of people. First thing on his list was to head the naming ceremony of the Thoraldsons' new baby. "Whosoever brings this child forth into the Hooligan tribe, let he be known!" he announced.

Ivar Thoraldson brought forth the fussing infant and Gobber cradled it in his good arm.

"As a representative of the Chief, I welcome this baby into the Hooligan tribe. And I pronounce the name to be…" At Gobber's words, Ivar then whispered the name to the blacksmith.

"Eeh? Hildegard? Doesn't seem like a Hildegard to me." Gobber frowned before brightening up and suggesting, "Let's go with Magnus."

"But she's a girl, Gobber!" Vera Thoraldson protested.

"Don't worry, she's not gonna look like one. Magnus it is!" Gobber then proclaimed, much to the baby's misfortune and her parents' horror.

But that didn't stop there. As it was custom for a Viking chief to give a newly-named baby a gift, Gobber went with what he got. "And please accept this teething toy on behalf of Stoick the Vast," he said and pulled out a gigantic mace.

"NO!" Vera shrieked, quickly taking her daughter back along with her husband. Gobber didn't stick around for too long to hear Magnus' parents complain. Leaving the Great Hall, the peg-legged Viking went up to Bucket and Mulch's house to settle a dispute about Mulch buying a sheep from Bucket without paying him.

"Bucket says you never paid him for the sheep," Gobber told Mulch who was facing Bucket while he stood between the two of them.

"I never bought a sheep!" Mulch insisted.

Suddenly, the three Vikings heard a bleat coming from a sheep just behind Mulch.

"Who's that? A little woman?" Gobber asked, suspiciously raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, Mulch. You're cheating me now?" Bucket questioned his partner, who looked guilty.

"Clearly there's only one way to settle this." Gobber then handed Bucket a hammer and gave Mulch a mace and then left them to fight it out. There was a moment of awkward silence as Bucket and Mulch looked at each other before they decided to just brawl.

"Diplomacy? Check. All right, what's next?" Gobber asked himself, ignoring the sounds of battle coming from outside of the house.

Gobber's last job for the day was to fix a wrecked ship, which just so happened to be Silent Sven's. While Sven knew that Gobber was good at repairs, he really should have reminded the old blacksmith about the materials he preferred for his ship. Unfortunately, his vow of silence prevented him from telling Gobber that he needed his ship repaired with wood, not iron.

But Gobber didn't take the glare Silent Sven was giving him as a hint. "I know the conventional thinking when repairing a ship is wood. But if you ask me, there's nothing like a good old slab of iron," he said and hammered in one last nail. "Ha! Nothing's getting through this!"

That's when Stoick returned, followed by the Thoraldsons, a bruised Bucket, and a black-and-blue Mulch.

"Gobber! What do you think you're doing?" Stoick bellowed, not at all pleased at how his partner had done his part of the job.

"Just checking another item off the list," Gobber said nonchalantly and gave the repaired ship a good thump with his hammer hand. The boat then slid off the ramp it was on, floated onto the ocean… and sank like a slab of iron.

If Silent Sven hadn't been silent, he would have screamed as he tugged at his beard strands.

After a few seconds of silence, Gobber took out his list and muttered, "And adding an item for later. 'Recover sunken ship.' Same time tomorrow?" He looked at Stoick who just held his head in his hands while trying to ignore Magnus' crying.


Hiccup was pretty pleased with the lesson plans he, Zenna, and Erland had created. But, when the three of them returned to the village, they overheard about Gobber's disastrous attempts at chiefing which put a damper on Hiccup's mood. When his father wearily trudged into the house that evening, he had a couple of ice blocks ready.

"Here you go, Dad." Hiccup handed his father two ice blocks. Stoick gratefully took them in his hands and pressed them to both sides of his head, groaning in exhaustion.

"Wow… A two-block headache. You know, Dad, I think you're being a wee bit rough on Gobber. It was his first day. Tomorrow will be way better," Hiccup tried to reassure his father… and himself.

"Oh, it will be for me. Because it won't involve Gobber," Stoick told him.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked, shocked.

"I tried to fit a square peg in a round hole, and it sunk a ship and named a baby girl Magnus!" Stoick exclaimed and added, in a frank manner, "Now I'm not saying she didn't look like a Magnus, but try telling that to her parents."

Hiccup stood in front of his Dad, stunned. After a few seconds, he got his voice back. "I can't believe you let him go! Well, we've got to help him!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"We don't have to do anything. You, on the other hand, are going to be very busy finding a job for Gobber," Stoick told him before going to bed.

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. Thinking that Zenna and Loki might have an idea, he let Toothless sleep and went to Zenna's house first.

What he didn't expect to see was Zenna running back to her house with Stryka frantically blowing on a small lick of flame at the back of her tunic!

"Holy Shields! Someone help me!" Zenna shrieked, running circles around Hiccup who luckily spotted a bucket of water nearby and put the fire out before it wasn't just her tunic that got burned.

Stryka sighed a dragon sigh of relief as Zenna shook the excess water off her body. "Thanks… I think…" the one-eyed girl breathed out.

"You went to check on Hookfang again, didn't you?" Hiccup sighed.

"Something is clearly bothering him, Hicc. I can't ignore it when someone's in pain, whether they're a Viking or a dragon," Zenna retorted.

"I know. And I understand, Zen. But you saw what happened to…" Hiccup looked around and lowered his voice. "You saw what happened to Loki. And you just got one of your tunics singed five seconds earlier. If you're gonna try and cure Hookfang, you have to be extremely careful," he advised her.

Zenna nodded and then tilted her head to the side. "So, what's up? You came here to see me?" she asked him.

Hiccup nodded and told her about his father's new task for him. Deciding that walking to Gothi's house might help them with brainstorming, the two of them went on a walk. Just as they reached the cliff where Gothi's hut was perched atop of, Hiccup got an idea. As he rode on Stryka behind Zenna, he could only hope she and Loki would agree with it.


"You're joking, right?"

Loki stared at Hiccup with a slight frown on his face. Beside him, seated on a chair, mouth hanging open, Zenna gaped at the one-legged Hooligan heir. Even Stryka was sporting a similar stunned look.

"I had a feeling you three would react like that," Hiccup sighed.

"That is absolutely ludicrous. Gobber, our old Dragon Killing teacher, teach Dragon Training? It's a surefire recipe for disaster!" Zenna exclaimed.

"The dragons are going to take one look at him and fly away. They and Gobber don't have the best history," Loki pointed out.

"Can we at least try?" Hiccup pleaded. Zenna looked at Stryka, and then looked at Loki, and the three of them then looked at Hiccup. He was looking pretty frazzled and tired. And they knew how much he cared about his mentor.

Finally, they gave him their answer.

"All right, we'll let him in tomorrow. While I'm sure it's going to be mayhem, it's worth a try," Zenna said at last.

"I'll explain your plan to the dragons tomorrow morning. Hopefully, they won't be too stressed," Loki offered.

Stryka warbled and Loki smiled, petting her with his left hand. "Don't worry, Stryka. Even with a fractured elbow, I can still ride and train dragons," he reassured her.


The next morning all the Dragon Riders assembled in the Academy with their dragons. Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch were all nervous. Despite Loki reassuring them that today was going to be safe for them, they still weren't sure about the news of a familiar face joining training.

Their respective Riders were just as apprehensive.

"You're bringing Gobber… here?" Fishlegs asked as he sidled closer to Meatlug.

"He's gonna be great. Nobody knows dragons like old Gobber. He's spent a lifetime, you know… studying them," Hiccup reassured him.

"Just… not in the way we're doing it right now," Zenna added.

"If you count caging them and teaching Vikings ways on how to dismember them as studying," Erland muttered under his breath.

Hiccup decided to look on the bright side. "If we can tap into that, we'll all be better dragon trainers," he encouraged the team.

That's when Gobber burst into the Academy, with a cart filled with weapons. "I'm back! Did you miss me?" the old blacksmith greeted the dragons.

The dragons took one look at the weapons cart Gobber had with him and recoiled in terror.

"And the madness begins…" Zenna muttered under her breath, eyeing the load of deadly instruments warily.

Hiccup, already starting to regret his decisions, looked at his mentor. "First of all, welcome. And second… tiny question, why did you bring your, you know…?" he asked cautiously.

"Killing things?" Gobber replied and began to root through his stash. "I thought maybe we could train them…" Pulling out something that looked like a sword with an axe's blade and mace's spikes, he grinned. "by threatening to kill them. That's how my daddy taught me to swim."

"Your father suddenly reminds me of mine," Erland remarked, grimacing.

The dragons flinched. This was one dragon training lesson they'd prefer to skip!

Gobber hefted his weapon up and sent it slamming down onto the ground, breaking the earth.

"School's in session!" he called out merrily.

"FLY FOR YOUR LIVES!" Barf and Belch roared, prompting Stormfly, Hookfang, and Meatlug to join them in scurrying out of the Academy's doors and taking to the air.

"How long do you think they'll be gone?" Toothless asked Stryka.

"Depends on how long Gobber's teaching career lasts, I guess," Stryka replied with a light shrug of her wings.

"Oh, Norns…" Erland muttered and didn't bother to telepathically call the dragons back. They needed some time away from a certain former dragon killer.

"Eh, I didn't like school either," Gobber remarked casually while Hiccup face palmed.

"Gobber, maybe we should hold off that lesson of yours for now…" Zenna suggested carefully.

"We… need to… go get our… dragons now." Astrid agreed with her, watching Stormfly's shape become smaller and smaller as she flew farther away from the Academy.

"Oh, all right. Suit yourselves." Gobber then sauntered out of the Academy, much to everyone's relief.

As soon as he was out of sight, Astrid marched up to Hiccup and socked him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Hiccup yelped.

"Bringing Gobber here to the Academy! Didn't you think this through, Hiccup?!" the blonde shield maiden exclaimed.

"Not really." "Nope." Erland and Zenna said with knowing looks.

"Guys!" Hiccup looked at them in disbelief.

Astrid sighed and turned to the rest of the teens. "Come on, guys. We need to get our dragons back," she told them. The rest quickly followed and left Hiccup, Erland, and Zenna in the Academy with Embla, Toothless, and Stryka.

"Thanks for defending me earlier by the way. Really appreciated it," Hiccup said sarcastically to his brother and sister.

"I'm sorry, Hicc. But Gobber as a Dragon Training teacher is not exactly an ideal profession for such a violent person like him," Zenna reasoned.

"Gobber's not violent! He's just, well, a little…" Hiccup trailed off, unable to think of anything.

"Crazy and eccentric?" Erland finished for him.

"Exactly," Hiccup sighed.

The Three Weirdos wouldn't see Astrid and the others for a long while so they went over their lesson plans, sparred, and brainstormed potential new careers for Gobber.

"Maybe he can be a repair Viking?" Erland suggested.

"He repaired Silent Sven's ship yesterday with slabs of iron," Hiccup pointed out.

"Ah… okay, scratch that off the list," Erland said in disappointment.

Four hours later, Astrid and the others returned to the Academy just as they were preparing to go on a search flight. To their confusion, their newly-returned friends were all groaning as they dismounted their dragons.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Hiccup questioned.

"You were all gone for a while. The three of us were planning to go look for you," Zenna remarked.

Astrid groaned as attempted to straighten her spine. "Ugh, we've been riding our dragons for four hours. It took forever to chase them down after Gobber scared them away," she said, shooting an angry look at Stormfly as she said the last sentence.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I just don't know what to do with him," Hiccup said apologetically. Then he noticed Ruffnut kicking Tuffnut's butt over and over again.

"Break it up, you two!" Zenna scolded them. Ruffnut ignored her and kept kicking her twin brother's rear.

"Do you guys always have to fight?" Hiccup asked the two Thorstons, a little irritated.

"It's okay. I asked her to do that. Just trying to get the feeling back." Tuffnut explained, straightening up.

"You gonna return the favor, or what?" Ruffnut asked her brother, turning her back to Tuffnut and bent down.

"Numb behinds and aching backs. A common ailment for riders whether on land or in air," Erland said sympathetically.

"Huh, the three of us have flown for hours on Toothless, Stryka, and Embla, and we've never had a problem," Hiccup said confused, glancing at Erland and Zenna.

"That's because the three of you have saddles," Astrid pointed out, gesturing to the saddles the two Night Furies and the Changewing were wearing.

Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland suddenly looked at each other. "Saddles!" the trio said in realization.

"Astrid, you're a genius!" Hiccup told the shield maiden and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before running out of the Academy with Toothless. He had to get to Gobber's smithy and tell him!

Astrid just stood there, stunned and pressing a hand to the cheek where Hiccup had kissed her.

"You okay there, Astrid?" Zenna smirked, her one eye gleaming in mischief.

"Your face is turning a bit red," Erland teased, grinning.

"Don't you two have to go be with Hiccup?" Astrid asked sharply, feeling her cheeks burn.

"Indeed, we do. Shall we, Zen?" Erland started walking out of the Academy, Embla beside him, looking over his shoulder at the one-eyed Viking.

"Later!" Zenna chuckled and hurried along with Stryka to catch up.


When he heard The Three Weirdos' proposal for his new job, Gobber was ecstatic.

"Saddles? I love it! I've got so many ideas!" said Gobber before looking at the design plans Hiccup had handed to him. "But not like these. Good ones." Handing the papers back to his former apprentice, Gobber turned around and went to pick up an old rusted axe. Perhaps he could make this into a saddle part!

"I'm glad you're excited, but I still think there are some things in my designs you could use. I mean, you did teach me everything I know," Hiccup told him.

"Exactly. That's why you should let Gobber do what Gobber does best. I've been making saddles since you were in diapers. In fact, I made your diapers," Gobber assured Hiccup.

"Well, that's one thing about Hiccup I could have gone my whole life without knowing," Zenna said, making a face.

Hiccup regarded Gobber with concern. "I know you know what you're doing. But keep in mind, every dragon is different," he reminded Gobber while the latter got busy with hammering away at the rusted axe.

"So you need to adjust the-" Hiccup began.

"Hiccup," Gobber interrupted him.

"But-"

"Hiccup."

"But, I just think-"

"Hicc. Up." Turning around, Gobber gently pressed his hammer hand against Hiccup's chest. "I may have taught you everything you know, but I haven't taught you everything I know," he told him, patting his own chest for emphasis.

"He's got a point there, Hicc. A master craftsman often keeps his best techniques a secret," Zenna remarked.

"Let's not forget that Gobber was able to reconstruct Toothless' tail fin from your notes and make your prosthetic. Making dragon saddles shouldn't be too hard," Erland chimed in.

"Ah, see? Your sister and your brother understand true brilliance when they see it," Gobber said and got back to work. Seeing that there was no changing his mentor's mind and that Zenna and Erland had both made some pretty good points, Hiccup gave in and left the smithy with his friends.

As dusk darkened to night, a merry tune could be heard coming from Gobber's forge.

"I've got my axe and I've got my mace, and I love my wife with the ugly face! I'm a Viking through and through! Hmmm…"

"Now there's the Gobber we know and love." Zenna smiled, Stryka warbling in agreement.

"It's been a while since we've seen him so cheerful," Erland remarked while he, Zenna, Hiccup, and their dragons watched Gobber work from afar.

"Yeah. You know, he doesn't sing that song unless he's actually very happy." Hiccup looked at his friends with relief. "I think we did a good thing," he said.

"Does this mean we'll get saddles from Gobber from now on?" Toothless asked, Erland translating.

"I guess it'll depend on how well he makes them, bud." Hiccup shrugged.


The following morning, Hiccup stood in front of the rest of the Dragon Trainers with Gobber by his side.

"Alright, this is an exciting day for all of us. Gobber has been working hard to—" he began when Gobber interrupted him, raring to unveil the tarp that hid his creations from view.

"I think they might want to hear from the artist himself," Gobber said proudly.

Astrid, Fishlegs, the Twins, and Snotlout could hardly contain their excitement as Gobber carried on. "I've made a lot of saddles in my day. Horse, donkey and now, dragon. But these saddles are special. They're like my children; that is if you strapped your child to a flaming reptile and rode it. So, without further ado…" Grinning, Gobber took off the tarp.

While their friends were amazed, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland could only stare in silence. The saddles looked like saddles, alright. But, Gobber did make a few… adjustments.

"They look like saddles… sort of," Zenna said uncertainly. Stryka looked at the saddles and whined. She was thankful that she already had a saddle; because, honestly, Gobber's saddles did not look very inviting.

'I'm sticking to my old blue one, if you don't mind.' Embla nudged Erland, her right head tendril brushing against the soft blue fabric of her saddle.

"I don't blame you for not wanting an upgrade, Em'…" Erland mumbled, still trying to find something worth complimenting about Gobber's handiwork.

Hiccup walked over to Gobber, a little unsure of what to say. "Wow, Gobber. This-this is certainly not what I imagined," he said.

"How could it be? I'm Gobber! Nobody knows what it's like to live in here," Gobber said, tapping his helmet with his hammer hand for emphasis.

Hiccup proceeded to examine one of the saddles closest to him and Astrid. One that happened to have a bellow normally used for pumping air onto hot coals in the forge and a bundle of hay with a small flame on it in front of the bellow. "Is-Is that…?" he stuttered nervously as Gobber proceeded to demonstrate.

"Yup! Flamethrower." Gobber pumped the bellow, sending a gust of wind that turned the tiny lick of fire on the hay into a large plume of fire.

"Didn't see that one coming, did 'ya?" Gobber chuckled.

"Uh… no, not for dragons. They come with one built-in, actually," Hiccup pointed out.

"I know, but can ya ever really have too much firepower?" Gobber asked him as Zenna went over to inspect the saddle.

"Sometimes, yes," Zenna answered, looking worriedly at Hiccup.

One pair of saddles with built-in catapults caught Ruffnut and Tuffnut's attention. Strapping the saddles onto Barf and Belch's necks, the Twins loaded a round each. Erland noticed this and tried to intervene.

"Guys, I don't think your positions are suitable for…" Erland managed to tell the pair before they launched the rocks out of the catapults. Since the catapults were situated right behind Barf and Belch's heads, the rocks hit them instead of whatever targets Ruffnut and Tuffnut were aiming at. Down they went, taking their Riders with them.

"Never mind." Erland facepalmed before kneeling down to make sure Barf and Belch were still conscious.

"Uh, catapults for the Twins? Not such a good idea," Hiccup deadpanned while Gobber just shrugged.

"Letting the Twins use catapults is never a good idea," Zenna added.

"You can do it, girl!" Fishlegs' voice caught both Riders' attention. Donning a saddle decorated with heavy iron maces and spikes, Meatlug was trying her best to stay aloft with Fishlegs on her back.

"Think light!" Fishlegs encouraged his Gronckle who, after a few seconds of hovering just a few inches, fell down in exhaustion.

"Oh, come on! You can't tell me my saddle is heavier than Fishlegs!" Gobber huffed.

"My mom says I'm just husky," Fishlegs said in defense.

"She's right about that, Legs. Maybe the maces are a bit too much…" Zenna agreed with him.

Meanwhile, Snotlout was trying to get Hookfang to wear the flamethrower saddle. But no matter what he did, the Monstrous Nightmare always flamed up and roared at him.

"Come on Hookfang, what's wrong with you?" Snotlout asked, annoyed, and tried again only for Hookfang to snarl and turn away from him.

"That's it, someone's trading with me," Snotlout complained, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, sure. I'll trade my perfect dragon for an angry oven," Tuffnut said sarcastically as he sat on Belch.

Astrid had placed a regular-looking saddle on Stormfly's back and tested it out, her Deadly Nadder flying a lap around the Academy. "This saddle's actually pretty good," she remarked after Stormfly landed.

"Wait 'til you try the horn!" Gobber told her happily, making Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland look at each other. The three of them quickly covered their ears as Astrid blew on the small horn attached to the front of the saddle. The horn suddenly tripled in size and volume, startling Astrid's Nadder into shooting out some spikes that impaled Snotlout to the wall.

"Really? Again?" the Jorgenson boy asked in disbelief.

"Ah, I almost had high hopes for that saddle…" Erland mumbled.

"This has not gone well…" Zenna sighed, putting a hand to her forehead.

Hiccup turned to his old mentor, worried. "So, anyway, I-I think we're really gonna need to make a few—" he stuttered.

"Changes! I'm way ahead of you! I've got so many ideas!" Gobber interrupted.

"I bet you have…" Zenna mumbled nervously.

"What kind of ideas they are, I'm sure they're… something," Erland commented, his stomach sinking at the thought of more outrageous saddles.

Gobber nodded and looked at the trio and said to them, "It's gettin' crowded up here." Tapping on his helmet.


Dragon training that day proved to be a messy affair. By the time the rest of the gang and Gobber had left, the arena was a mess of scorch marks and Snotlout was still pinned to the wall by Stormfly's spikes. Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland were left to clean the Academy. While Hiccup and Zenna swept the floor, Erland had the lighter job of putting Gobber's failed saddles away in a corner with the help of their dragons. Hiccup and Zenna had just finished sweeping one spot when Stoick, Edgar, and Henna entered the arena.

"My Odin! This place looked better when we were killing dragons here!" Stoick said as he surveyed the damage.

"Did Ragnarok come here early?" Edgar asked, eyeing the scorch marks on the floors and walls.

"Yeah, we sort of got 'Gobbered'." Hiccup shrugged.

"It's Ragnarok with Gobber's well-intentioned but mostly disastrous ideas," Erland elaborated, adjusting the sling around his arm.

"It does look like this place has seen better days," Henna remarked as she took up a broom and helped Zenna sweep the floor.

"Well, you know Gobber. He means well, he just doesn't always do well," Stoick admitted before looking at his son. "So what are you going to do about him?" he asked.

"I'm going to clean up his messes and redo his work," Hiccup replied as he and Zenna kept on sweeping.

"And, hopefully, you'll only need to do it once," Zenna chimed in while her parents helped Erland carry bags of rubbish out of the arena.

"You two can go home. I'll handle the rest of the cleanup," Hiccup told her and Erland.

Erland nodded and glanced down at his right arm. 'I hope the three weeks it'll take for this to heal will fly by…' he thought as he headed out of the Academy arena with the Fiersomes, Stryka, and Embla.

Hiccup watched them go before continuing cleaning. Seeing his son's predicament, Stoick decided that it was time for some fatherly advice. "Look; Gobber's like family," he began only for Hiccup to exclaim, "Yeah, I know he is! That's why I can't say anything to him!"

"No, son. That's why you have to. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to Gobber," Stoick told him, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Why do I have to say something to him?! You didn't! You just passed him off to me!" Hiccup retorted, shrugging his Dad's hand off.

"That's what the chief does; he delegates." Stoick made sure his son was listening before he continued. "Look, I gave you this Academy because it's the best thing for Berk. Now you have to do what's best for the Academy. And I'm sorry, son, but what's best is very rarely what's easy," he said wisely.

Hiccup listened and had to admit that his Dad was right. As he, his father, and Toothless left the Academy, he noticed that Snotlout had already fallen asleep, still hanging on the wall.

"What about him?" Stoick asked, also looking at Snotlout curiously.

"Leave him. He's going for a record," Hiccup replied.

"Enough said." Stoick decided to just leave his nephew be. The boy had accumulated a rather lengthy record for misbehaving way before the Dragon Academy came to be.

To Hiccup's surprise, Zenna and Erland were waiting for him and his father outside the Academy.

"I thought you two went home." Hiccup blinked in surprise.

"Stryka wanted to walk home with Toothless and… she and Embla heard everything your Dad said," Zenna said, nodding to Stoick.

Hiccup then looked at Erland, who smiled encouragingly at him. "Do you want us to come with you when you need to break the news to Gobber?" his older brother asked him.

Hiccup nodded.


After they all had dinner, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland headed to Gobber's place with their dragons. For some reason that Hiccup couldn't understand, Zenna had brought her shield. "Just in case Gobber doesn't take things too well," said the one-eyed Fiersome girl.

"Or in case one of his saddle ideas involves explosives," Erland joked as they neared the blacksmith's workshop.

Hiccup chose to look on the bright side. "Hey, you never know, guys. Maybe Gobber finally looked at my plans and is actually making the saddles better," he said before a loud crash came from inside the smithy.

"Or not." Hiccup glanced at his two best human friends who looked as apprehensive as he did.

"You gotta do what you gotta do, Hicc. It's the only way," Zenna told him.

"Just be straight to the point. Like ripping off a bandage," Erland suggested.

Hiccup went to the door first and pushed it open. "Gobber?" he called out. He expected the forge to be a mess, which it was. What he did not expect was Gobber turning around and aiming a crossbow at him!

"Don't shoot!" Hiccup yelped, holding his hands up, while Zenna lifted her shield. Then, to their surprise, a golden shield materialized in front of them. Looking over their shoulders, they saw Erland with his one good hand held out in front of him and his brow scrunched in concentration.

"I would never shoot you and your friends, Hiccup. Unless I absolutely had to," Gobber chuckled.

"Well, that makes me feel so much better, Gob," Zenna said sarcastically, still keeping her shield up.

"Yeah…" Hiccup chuckled nervously. "Still, if you could please put the crossbow down, I know we'd feel better," he said, gesturing to himself, Zenna, and Erland.

Gobber looked at the golden shield still separating him and the trio, and then looked at Erland who slowly lowered his left hand. The shield dissolved into golden sparkles.

"Huh, I thought you needed both hands to conjure up shields, lad," Gobber remarked.

"I… honestly thought that too, Gobber…" Erland mumbled, looking at his left hand in amazement. 'So I can make shields by holding just one hand out. Interesting,' he thought to himself.

Gobber hummed in response and hobbled over to his workbench. "You know, about the weapons," He glanced at Hiccup as he put away his crossbow. "maybe the catapults were a bit much for some of the dragons today. So I've gone a different way. I've gotten rid of the two big ones," he said thoughtfully, making Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland perk up slightly.

"Oh, thank Norns…" Erland whispered. "What a relief," Zenna breathed out. "Gobber, that's great!" Hiccup said, glad that his mentor was making better progress.

"And replaced them with six little ones!" Gobber then turned around, showing a sample mini-catapult to the trio.

"That's a spoon," Erland said blankly while Zenna facepalmed. Hiccup stared at Gobber with a slightly open mouth before deciding that it was time.

"Yeah, um, Gobber we need to talk. Uh… I think it might be time for you to take a little break," he told his old mentor.

"In case you hadn't noticed, the only time a Viking takes a break is to die," Gobber informed him before turning around to start working on the saddles again.

"Maybe "break" is the wrong word." Hiccup sighed. "What I mean is, I'm not sure things are working out," he clarified.

Gobber paused from hammering for a brief moment. Then he said, "Well, get back to me when you're sure." And went back to work.

It took a light nudge from both Erland and Zenna for Hiccup to finally just be blunt. "Okay, I'm sure," he said and delivered the final blow.

"Gobber, I'm gonna need to take you off the saddle project."

At those words, Gobber put down his hammer and turned around, looking hurt.

"Are you gettin' rid of me, Hiccup? Now I see why you had me put down the crossbow," the old blacksmith said in a hushed tone.

"We don't mean it that way, Gobber," Zenna said in an attempt to comfort him, failing miserably.

"It's just, well, maybe this isn't the right project for you to work on, that's all," Erland reasoned, internally wincing when he saw that his words just made Gobber feel worse.

"It's just the saddles! We'll find something else for you," Hiccup tried to reassure Gobber who waved them off.

"I don't need your pity. I've lost an arm and a leg. I think I'll survive losing a job," the old blacksmith said brokenly.

"I'm really sorry, Gobber," Hiccup apologized, meaning every word. 'Mildew was right… We really did ruin his life…' he thought as he and his friends left the forge.

"That was painful," Zenna sighed and hugged Stryka.

Hiccup turned to Toothless with slumped shoulders. "Well, that was awful. I don't know what could be worse than that," he said dejectedly.

That's when a bunch of villagers came running, yelling, just as fire came shooting out from just behind a house nearby.

"You jinxed it," Erland told Hiccup with a pointed look.

"Norns, why?" Zenna looked up to the heavens, exasperated.

"Okay, it looks like we're about to find out," Hiccup remarked fearfully and then spotted Snotlout sprinting towards them.

Stopping in front of his cousin and his friends, Snotlout took a minute to catch his breath. "I never… thought… I'd say this… but Hiccup, Zenna, Erland…" he wheezed out and clutched Hiccup's shoulders.

"Help!"

The Three Weirdos looked at each other and their dragons before following Snotlout to the village plaza.


"Everybody back away! The dragon's out of control! It's not safe here!" Stoick yelled to the people as Hookfang rampaged around the plaza. People quickly gathered what belongings they could take and fled. Hookfang roared and unleashed another fire blast.

"What the hell did you do to Hookfang?!" Zenna yelled at Snotlout as they ran past the fleeing crowd of Vikings.

"I don't know what happened! I was just rubbing his head. He usually loves that! But this time he went crazy. My dragon hates me," Snotlout whimpered the last sentence as they arrived at the plaza.

Hookfang was furiously spouting flames and, strangely enough, rubbing one side of his head against the ground.

"Owww! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OOOOWWWWW!"

"His pain's gotten worse." Erland winced and put his left hand to his head. Glancing at Zenna, he could tell that she was extremely worried about Hookfang.

"They do say that a pet starts to take on the characteristics of its owner," Fishlegs said, looking at Snotlout, and added, "I think that's what's happening here."

"Hey!" Snotlout shouted and elbowed Fishlegs in the gut. The husky Ingerman boy winced and wheezed out, "Yep, I rest my case."

Hiccup approached Hookfang and looked over his shoulder at Snotlout. "When was the last time he ate?" he questioned his cousin.

"Not for days." Snotlout shrugged.

"Even when you tried to get him to eat?" Zenna asked to which Snotlout nodded. She and Erland glanced at each other.

"Toothache?" Erland guessed.

"Toothache." Zenna nodded, their suspicions almost a hundred percent confirmed.

Hiccup looked down and took out a fish from an upturned basket. "You hungry, boy?" he asked, holding the fish out to Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare looked almost relieved to have something to eat and took the fish into his mouth. But after a few seconds of chewing, he roared and spat the fish out, which landed right in Stoick's bushy red beard.

"Oh, sorry, Dad." Hiccup said apologetically.

Stoick sighed in frustration, pulling the fish out of his beard. "We've got to bring this dragon under control," he muttered.

"Let me try to calm him down, sir," Erland offered. Hiccup and Zenna looked at his right arm and stepped forward as well.

"We'll help," Hiccup told Erland. "We're not gonna let you break any more bones alone," Zenna added. Erland nodded grimly and everyone else backed away as the three of them slowly approached Hookfang.

"It's okay, Hookfang. We're here to help you..." Zenna murmured softly as she gently placed her hand on the Monstrous Nightmare's snout.

"Just relax… There you go… It's gonna be okay…" Hiccup said soothingly as he did the same.

'Now, Hookfang… let's just stay calm. And we'll figure out what's ailing you,' Erland telepathically told Hookfang but then noticed Hiccup about to place his right hand on the Monstrous Nightmare's lower jaw.

"Wait, Hiccup, don't…!"

Too late.

The moment Hiccup's hand made contact with Hookfang's lower jaw, he freaked out. Throwing his head back with a roar of pain, Hookfang flamed up!

"Run!" Astrid yelled to Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland.

"Way ahead of you!" Hiccup hollered as he and his brother and sister backed off.

"You must have touched his sore spot," Zenna told him.

"If it's a toothache that's bothering him, fixing that now is going to be a challenge," Erland muttered as Hookfang resumed his rampage.

Enraged at Hookfang for attacking their Riders, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla lunged at him. Embla hissed as Hookfang's flames licked at her scales but she succeeded in giving Toothless a boost so he could pin Hookfang down by the neck while she and Stryka stepped on his wings to keep him from flying away. Hookfang growled and managed to grab Toothless by the throat and throw him off of him and shook Embla and Stryka off. Their Riders quickly rushed over and got them to calm down, but Stoick was tired of standing around and watching his son and the other young ones get into more danger.

"I've seen enough, you three." Stoick approached Hiccup and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. We tried it your way," he said before leaving.

"What's he gonna do?" Zenna asked fearfully as she and her brothers watched the Chief leave the plaza. Erland and Hiccup could only look at each other, eyes wide with horror, knowing where Stoick was headed.


While the others stayed in the plaza, wracking their brains for a solution (in Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland's case), Stoick quickly went inside the forge to find the man they now needed for the job.

"Gobber! We need you!" Stoick shouted upon seeing his old friend slumped on his workbench.

"No, you don't. Nobody needs me," Gobber sniffled as he got up and walked to his collection of weapons. "Nobody needs any of us. Not even you, Bertha," he said and patted his catapult, wiping at his eyes.

Stoick looked closely at Gobber's face and asked, "Are you crying?" upon seeing the tears welling up in his friend's eyes.

"Course not. Just chopping onions," Gobber said, using the lamest excuse he could think of.

"There are no onions." Stoick pointed out.

"Not anymore. Look what I used to chop them with." Gobber then held up his left arm which now had a mace attached to it.

Deciding to cut to the chase, Stoick looked at the old blacksmith seriously. "There's a dragon in the plaza that's out of control," he said.

"Then why don't you call Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland?" Gobber asked gloomily, knowing that his former apprentice and his two best friends could do the job better than he ever could.

Stoick placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "No, Gobber. We need you," he implored, hoping his friend still had some fight left in him.


Back at the plaza, the other Dragon Riders were kept away from a still rampaging Hookfang by Toothless, Stryka, and Embla. The three dragons faced off against the Monstrous Nightmare, only prowling around the perimeter but ready to attack if need be. Erland kept his gaze fixed on Hookfang but eventually sighed in frustration and looked away.

"It's no good. He's in too much pain. I can't reach him," Erland told Hiccup and Zenna.

"Come on, guys! Hurry up! Think! What haven't we tried?" Hiccup looked to his friends, hoping one of them had an idea. Then he spotted Snotlout point at something behind them. "Snotlout, you have an idea?"

"Gobber!" Snotlout gulped.

"Oh, no..." Erland paled upon seeing Stoick arrive with Gobber. The old blacksmith was no longer moping and, instead, was geared up for battle.

"Stand back. I came here to do what I do best," Gobber warned the group. To Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland's worry, he was armed to the teeth with a shield, a spear, a mace, bolas, and a crossbow.

"He's gonna kill my dragon," Snotlout mumbled in despair.

"No, he's not," Hiccup tried to reassure him but was interrupted by the Twins.

"Uh, yeah he is," Tuffnut corrected him. "You don't use that stuff to butter toast," Ruffnut added, pointing to all the weapons Gobber had with him

"Well, I mean, we would, but you don't," Tuffnut clarified.

"Not helping, guys," Zenna said, rolling her eye at them.

Hiccup and ran up to his father. "Dad, you can't be serious! Hookfang is Snotlout's dragon," he pleaded. Stoick could only shut his eyes and look down at the ground. He didn't want to do this as much as his son did. And he knew that Snotlout, his nephew, was going to have his heart crushed by what he wanted Gobber to do. But there was no other way.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup, but sometimes you have to fall back on the old ways," Gobber said what Stoick couldn't say and moved forward only to have Erland and Zenna block his path.

"But the old ways aren't good ways!" Zenna protested.

"Gobber, please, you don't understand! Hookfang isn't feeling well! That's why he's on a rampage!" Erland exclaimed, gesturing to the out-of-control Monstrous Nightmare.

"They're right. Hookfang's a good dragon," Hiccup joined his two best human friends' side and tried to reason with Stoick and Gobber.

"He's a good dragon!" Snotlout repeated, close to bawling his eyes out.

"We have to try to help him. We can't just get rid of him because he's having a bad day," Hiccup insisted.

"A bad day for a dragon can be a disaster for us. That's not a risk I'm willing to take," Stoick said gravely before nodding to his old friend.

"Gobber."

At Stoick's command, Gobber marched forward, swinging a bola. Years of dragon killing were finally put to good use once more as he threw the bola at Hookfang. The dragon snarled as the bola wrapped around his wings. Another bola thrown at him tied up his legs. Desperate, Hookfang tried to use his flaming breath to burn the ropes tying his legs together. But he only succeeded in letting out a small spurt followed by measly sparks.

"Ha! You're all out of fire!" Gobber smirked and unsheathed his sword. 'I'm sorry, Hooky. But I'm going to have to put you down,' he thought with a twinge of regret as he approached the dragon.

"Oh, hell no." Erland ran over to Gobber and planted himself firmly between him and Hookfang. Hiccup and Zenna also ran over to stop the blacksmith.

"I can't let you do this," Hiccup said as he grabbed onto Gobber's arm.

"Neither can I," Zenna agreed, latching onto Gobber as well.

"There's no choice. It has to be done," Gobber said grimly and tried to free his sword-wielding arm from Hiccup and Zenna's combined hold.

At that moment, Hookfang managed to ignite his entire body long enough to burn the ropes binding him. Erland turned around and conjured a shield as he advanced toward them. Hookfang bumped his snout against the shield and roared, which gave Gobber, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland a good view of his mouth.

"Aha!" Erland couldn't help but smirk.

"Do you see that?" Gobber asked Hiccup as they stared into Hookfang's gaping jaws.

"I do…" Hiccup answered, shocked.

"See? Erland and I were right!" Zenna exclaimed, relieved that her and Erland's suspicions were proven true.

Gobber sheathed his sword and rolled his shoulders back. "Time to put this beast out of its misery," he declared and started towards Hookfang while The Three Weirdos stood by.

"Hiccup! What are you doing?" Astrid ran over to Hiccup while Snotlout approached Zenna and Erland.

"You guys are gonna let him kill Hookfang?!" Snotlout wailed.

"No, we're not," Erland replied, watching the unfolding events keenly.

"Don't worry, Snotlout. Gobber's got this," Zenna reassured Snotlout, who was close to hyperventilating at this point. Hiccup held up his hand, silently telling Astrid to trust him and to just watch. Behind them, Tuffnut covered his eyes, not wanting to see the fight only for Ruffnut to lightly smack him.

Gobber let out a war cry and jumped onto Hookfang's head, and Hookfang didn't like that one bit! Roaring, he shook his head in a vain attempt to get Gobber off of him. But Gobber held on even as a wild shake from Hookfang left him dangling from the Monstrous Nightmare's lower jaw. Driving his hooked hand into Hookfang's mouth, he located the problem and yanked. Hookfang shrieked and tossed his head forward, sending Gobber flying.

Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland quickly helped Gobber to his feet while Hookfang, to everyone's relief, calmed down.

"Ah, you didn't kill him!" Snotlout said to Gobber, glad.

"For a toothache? What kind of lunatic are you?" Gobber asked him in disbelief, turning around and revealing the half-hollowed out Monstrous Nightmare tooth hanging on his hook hand.

Toothache finally gone, Hookfang was back to his old self. Seeing Snotlout, he went over to him and affectionately bumped his nose against the Jorgenson's chest. Snotlout giggled as his dragon scooped him up with his head, overjoyed that his dragon was finally okay. Then he noticed all the others looking at him.

"Stop it. Stop it," he whispered urgently to Hookfang who put him down. "Ugh, I don't know where that came from. Can you train that out of him or…?" he said, pretending to be tough, while Hookfang rolled his eyes at him.

"You can stop it from happening again by paying attention to his oral hygiene, Snotlout," Zenna suggested before muttering under her breath, "And, while you're at it, pay attention to yours, too…"

Hookfang approached Erland and lightly nudged his good arm. "I'm sorry for injuring you, Serpent Tongue. How long is your arm going to be in that state?" he asked, looking at Erland's arm sling.

'Just a few weeks, Hookfang. Don't worry about it,' Erland replied telepathically while Embla protectively curled around him.

"But you better watch yourself. If you hurt Loki again, I will end you," hissed Embla.

Hookfang let out a snort and bowed his head. "Understood. If you ever need any assistance while recovering, Serpent Tongue, I am yours to command," he offered.

'Thank you for the offer, Hookfang. But, really, there's no need,' Erland reassured him and gently patted Hookfang's head.

Meanwhile, Hiccup approached Gobber, relieved at how things turned out.

"Thank you, Gobber. A bad tooth. I can't believe I didn't think of that." Hiccup then looked at Zenna and Erland as they joined him and his mentor. "You two were the ones who knew something was wrong with Hookfang before the rest of us did," he said.

"True, but we weren't daring enough to stick our hands in Hookfang's mouth to try and get that rotten tooth out," Erland replied humbly.

"That's because you're not Gobber! I've forgotten more about dragons than most men will ever know," Gobber chuckled and turned to his weapons. "Well, better go put the girls away."

"I think I have an idea on how Gobber can put those things to good use again," Zenna told Hiccup and whispered her idea into the one-legged Viking's ear.

Hiccup's face lit up at Zenna's suggestion. "Gobber! Not so fast!" he called out to his old mentor, who turned around and smiled, knowing that his former apprentice had a new and better plan for him.


It took a few days to get everything in order. Weapons had to be shelved or re-purposed and the blacksmithing stall needed to be expanded to accommodate a new workspace. While Gobber still kept his position as Berk's blacksmith, the weapons he now made were more suited for battling human enemies. After all, Vikings were Vikings and they loved to fight each other as much as they used to fight dragons.

Gobber then saw Fishlegs and Meatlug fly over his shop and smiled as the pair landed to take their place in line. After the tussle with Hookfang, he'd found his second calling as Berk's first-ever Dragon Dentist. Now, whenever one of the dragons had a toothache or wanted their teeth filed or sharpened, their Berkian companions went to him. And Gobber was more than happy to help.

Filing a Hideous Zippleback's teeth, Gobber started humming before singing, "I've got my axe and I've got my mace, and I love my wife with the ugly face! I'm a Viking through and throouugghh!" happy to finally have a place in this new world where Dragons and Vikings lived together in peace.


Well, this was a fun episode to write. Feel free to review. Constructive criticism is appreciated and will help me write better. Thank you for taking the time to read this new chapter. Until the next one.

- GuardianDragon98