It was just a Nova morning in Rakke Town, and everyone was minding their own business when suddenly, a sheep jumped out of a bush. It quickly ran off, and seconds later, chasing after it was a Terrible Terror.
The sheep was running for its life and was heading straight towards May, who shrieked when she saw it. The sheep tried to stop, but it was moving too fast, and Philip quickly tackled May to the ground.
"What a way to start the morning," May coughed. "Where is this Dragon Whisperer when you need him?"
"Watch out!" Tom yelled as he flew by, closely followed by the other Riders.
"Dragon on the loose!" said Jun.
"Coming through!" D'Angelo yelled.
"Gangway!" James warned.
"I don't have a one-liner!" said Alex.
"Come on," said Tom as they began chasing after the Terrible Terror. "If this little guy escapes Rakke Town, he'll jeopardise the secret."
Olivia quickly jumped out of the way to avoid being run over by the sheep.
"Let's go, team," said D'Angelo as they flew by. "Flanking manoeuvre."
They quickly broke and surrounded the Terrible Terror from all sides.
"All right, let's move in," said Tom.
The terrible Terror began moving towards Alex and Feathers.
"You're all mine, you little devil," said Alex, spreading out her arms.
The Terrible Terror was about to take off when suddenly Tom swooped in out of nowhere and grabbed it.
"Gotcha!" he said.
"Or, you know, you can just grab them," Alex frowned.
Everyone immediately cheered at Tom, and he waved at them, smiling.
"Oh, well, would you look at this?" Eugene muttered. "Tom comes flying in with the glory grab."
"Glory grab? What?" Tom frowned. "Not even!"
"Totally even!" said Eugene. "That was Gonzo's win, and you snaked it."
"It was kind of weird, Tom," D'Angelo admitted.
"And this is not the first time," James added, gesturing to the crowd. "It does look as if you're doing this for the attention."
"Oh, come on," said Tom dismissively. "They're not cheering for me; they're cheering for all of us."
"The Dragon Whisperer does it again!" Pete cheered.
Tom then turned back to Eugene, who narrowed his eyes and raised his hand as if this proved his point.
"Look, it's been a crazy month since the Dragons came up here," said Tom. "I just have to deal with Buzzsaw any more. Now I have to deal with our parents in the town and keep any wandering dragons contained."
"You mean we have to deal with all that stuff, right?" said Alex.
"Yeah, I… we. That's what I meant," said Tom. "Look, I'm just trying to hold it all together."
They then heard all the townspeople cheering, crying out 'boom boom goodbye'.
"Well, while you keep holding it all together, you might as well give your fans what they want," Eugene grumbled.
Tom sighed and handed the Terrible Terror to Jun. He then took off, flying over the town.
"I'm telling you, he's the ultimate glory hog," said Eugene to the others.
"Pot meet kettle," said James, rolling his eyes.
Tom flew high into the air, then Thunder fired a lightning blast and quickly dived into it, disappearing instantly. All the townspeople immediately cheered when they saw this.
"I rest my case," said Eugene walking off.
Olivia was the only one in the crowd not cheering, and she looked up into the sky with concern.
Tom soon returned back to the dome later that night and looked utterly exhausted.
"You okay, boyo?" Olivia asked, sitting next to him on the couch.
"Oh, you have no idea how busy I've been," Tom groaned. "I have to catch another wandering Snowtail and bring it back to the Ice Realm, then check all of Alex's sensors before restocking the fish and crystal food in the Dragon's Lair. I'm totally fried."
"Sounds like you had a big day," Olivia noted as he lay down on the couch.
"That was just the morning," said Tom.
"Tom. It's nice that I don't have to carry the burden of the dragon secret any more, but it seems like now you're taking on too much."
"What choice do I have?"
"Can't the other Riders help out?"
"Yeah, of course, they can," said Tom, pulling out the Book of Dragons. "But I guess since I was the first one to find Thunder, and we have a connection to Hiccup, the whole town looks to me to fix all of the dragon problems."
"I don't think that's true," said Olivia.
They then heard a knock on the door, and when Olivia went to answer it, May walked in and quickly addressed Tom.
"These dragons are becoming too much of a distraction," she said. "Can you do something about that, Tom?"
Before Tom could answer both, Carla and Hazel poked their heads behind the door.
"I hope we haven't come at a bad time, but the dragons seem to have travelled through our garden," said Hazel.
"Tom, can you do something about that?" Carla asked.
Then, before Tom could answer them, both Philip and Clara appeared at the open window.
"Tom, another windmill has been damaged by dragon perching," said Philip.
"We could really use your help to stop that from happening, Tom," said Clara.
Everyone began talking at once, and it was obvious to Olivia that Tom was becoming a little overwhelmed.
"All right, all right, everyone out," she said. "Right now, it's time for the Dragon Whisperer to get a little rest."
She shooed May, Carla and Hazel outside and then approached Tom. She looked up and narrowed her eyes at Philip and Clara, who immediately backed away.
Once they were, she looked back at Tom. "Okay, I see what you mean. Dragons in town has changed everything."
"And it was my decision to bring them up," said Tom as he went to grab his bag. "So it's my responsibility to keep the dragons protected and lead the team."
"What about all that hot dogging? Is that leadership?" Olivia questioned.
"Well, if the people here love the dragons, they're more likely to protect them," Tom argued. "If that means I have to do a little airshow from time to time, it's worth it."
Olivia frowned as Tom made his way into his bedroom.
Once inside, Tom began looking through the Book of Dragons.
"I know how you did it," he said as he sat down at his desk. "I sure wish you'd left some instructions in this book."
He then heard a scratching noise and looked up to see Thunder as his window. He smiled as he drew down the window.
"Hey, Pal, why don't you head back to the Lair and get some rest?" Tom suggested. "We're done for the day."
Thunder growled at him with some concern but then left.
Jun then approached the window, hoping to talk to him. "Hey, Kullersen. Got a sec?"
She then noticed that he was fast asleep at his desk and decided it was best not to wake him.
The next morning, the Riders, apart from Tom, had gathered in the Lair.
"I came as soon as I got the message," said D'Angelo as he climbed down into the Lair. "What's the emergency? And where's Tom?"
"Don't worry about Tom," Eugene muttered. "He's probably off taking credit for the scrambled eggs I made this morning."
"Wait. I made the scrambled eggs this morning," Jun reminded.
"Wa-wa, whatever. Now, it's obvious to me that Tom's leadership has reached its expiration date. So, I called this emergency meeting to formally open impeachment proceedings. Or, if you'd prefer, we can just do a straight-up coup."
"Did you fall off Webmaster and hit your head again?" D'Angelo asked.
"I can't believe I got out of bed for this," Alex grumbled.
"I can't believe any of us came here to respond to a message sent by Eugene," James muttered.
"Eugene, nobody is being impeached or couped," said Jun.
"I'm telling you, Tom is losing it," Eugene argued.
"I agree that something is going on with Kullersen, but one of us should just talk to him," said D'Angelo.
"Great. I'll do it," said Eugene, folding his arms. "I have no problem telling Tom how I feel right to his face."
"Tell me what?" Tom asked as he climbed into the Lair.
James smirked at Eugene. "Well, now's your time to tell him exactly how you feel."
Eugene immediately clinched up. "Oh… Oh, hi. Erm, Gonzo?"
"Don't look at me," said Alex. "I should still be in bed."
Tom looked at D'Angelo. "What's going on here, D?"
D'Angelo looked at Jun and James, and the two of them nodded.
D'Angelo sighed and looked back at Tom. "All right, Tom, here's the deal. We all feel like…"
"Tom," said Olivia's voice, and they all looked up to see her looking down at them from the entrance. "Kids, we have a major dragon problem up here. Hurry!"
Olivia wasn't kidding; dragons of all different kinds had just invaded the entire town.
"It's a dragon infestation!" said Alex.
"Oh, no!" said Tom as he dismounted Thunder.
Olivia then quickly rushed over to him. "They just keep coming up from the fissure."
"Thomas!" said May, looking more than a little displeased. "We're going to have another conversation regarding these dragons."
Tom then looked to the others as he mounted Thunder. "Okay, listen, I'll head to the fissure on Thunder and see if I can figure out why they're coming up. You guys start corralling the dragons. You can't let any dragon escape Rakke Town."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Eugene. "How come you get to solve the problem and be the big hero, and we stay up here and clean up the mess?"
"Eugene's not wrong," said D'Angelo. "It makes sense for me to come with you. There could be an injured dragon down there causing all this."
"I should go too," Jun added. "You have no idea what you're flying into, Tom."
"They're right. You shouldn't go alone," James agreed.
"No," said Tom stubbornly. "Everyone else needs to be here catching dragons. If even one flies away, the secret will be blown. It's too important."
The other Riders looked at one another and watched Pete run past as a Terrible Terror chased him.
"Let's do this, Riders," said Jun.
They immediately took off, and Tom made his way into the fissure.
Once he was in the fissure, Tom immediately began looking for the source of the dragon infestation.
"Feel free to speak up if you see anything, Pal," said Tom, looking down at Thunder.
Thunder roared, telling him that he will.
Tom kept looking around when he was suddenly nearly hit by a flying Terrible Terror. He quickly looked down, looking for some sort of cave, then spotted one.
"There!" he pointed. They then flew down towards the cave, which Tom didn't recognise. "I don't remember this cave. Do you? It might be where the dragons are coming from. Come on, let's check it out."
They then flew into the cave, and Tom found it strange that they had never found it before, considering that it was right beneath the station.
"This cave is right under the station," he frowned. "How did we miss it?"
Thunder growled, indicating that he had no idea.
Then another Terrible Terror flew straight at them, but they were able to swerve out of the way in time before it hit them.
"Looks like we're on the right track," Tom noted. "Come on."
They continued flying through the cave until they reached the exit and found themselves in the Nature Realm but in an entirely new area.
"Look at this place," Tom gasped. "It's a whole new area of the realm."
When they landed, Tom immediately began investigating the area for clues. Thunder, on the other hand, was more interested in the strange flowers on the ground, which were covered in strange sluglike creatures.
"No time to play around, Pal," said Tom. "I have to figure out why dragons are floating up into town."
Thunder growled at him, annoyed.
"Oh, come on. Not you, too?" Tom snapped. "I thought at least you would understand."
Thunder growled angrily, not liking his tone in the slightest and huffed off.
"I didn't mean to snap at you," Tom apologised. "It's just nobody understands the pressure I'm under. How hard it is doing all this by myself." He then approached Thunder, stroking him. "Parents, Riders, the whole town. Seems like everyone wants a piece of me."
Then, suddenly, several spikes struck a tree nearby, surprising them.
They turned around, and jumping out of the forest was a birdlike dragon with a long tail with spikes sticking out of it. Tom recognised this dragon species from the Book of Dragons and remembered that they were called Deadly Nadders.
The Deadly Nadder instantly fired a magnesium blast, forcing them to jump to safety and then began chasing after them.
Back on the surface, the remaining Riders were doing their best to wrangle the elusive dragons.
"Dragons everywhere!" D'Angelo yelled.
"Wu, on your left. Wei, right," said Jun and her two-headed dragon nabbed two Terrible Terrors.
"This is not in the manual!" Alex yelled as he chased after a Hobgobbler.
"What are we supposed to do with these things anyway?" Eugene asked, grabbing hold of a Vine Tail.
"Let's put these dragons in the infirmary for safekeeping for now while we gather up the rest," said D'Angelo, holding a Scuttleclaw, which was the same dragon that caused other dragons into frenzy with the sound of its voice. "Then we'll escort them back to the Realms."
"Once Tom comes back and figures out what's going on," James added.
They proceeded with D'Angelo's plan and began putting the dragons in the infirmary, though it was starting to get a little overcrowded. D'Angelo needed Alex's help in order to put the Scuttleclaw he was holding inside without letting the other dragons out.
The two of them sighed in relief when they started to walk away. They heard something smash inside the infirmary.
"That smash sounded expensive," Alex whispered.
"Well, I sure hope Tom's having fun with his little joyride while we sweat it out a peer," said Eugene.
"He's not on a joyride, Eugene, but it does feel like Tom doesn't trust us to help him any more," Jun admitted.
"Yeah, and it's not just Tom," said D'Angelo. "I don't think our parents trust us either. When my dad gets frustrated with Plowhorn, he never comes to me. He always called the Dragon Whisperer."
"I thought once the secret was out, my mom would finally see the value in all my dragon knowledge," said Jun. "Nope. It's all about Tom."
"Hello!" said Eugene, looking at them annoyed. "Has nobody been listening to me?! Everything is Tom's fault!"
"To be brutally honest, we pretty much ignore everything you say," James smirked and then looked at the others. "Guys, I will admit that Tom has let this champion of dragons thing go to his head, but our parents go to him for help because he is our leader. It makes sense they looked to him, especially considering his ancestor literally wrote the book on training dragons."
They then were suddenly interrupted when a Terrible Terror flew over their heads.
"We'll figure out the Tom situation later," said D'Angelo. "Right now, these dragons aren't going to cast themselves."
Meanwhile, in the Nature Realm, Tom and Thunder were running for their lives as they were being chased by the Deadly Nadder, who continuously fired spikes from its tail.
Thunder then quickly spun around and fired a lightning blast that stunned it, giving them ample opportunity to hide behind a rock. However, this dragon apparently had a good sense of smell as it moved closer towards their hiding spot.
However, the arrival of a few Terrible Terror turned its attention towards them and instantly began chasing them, firing off magnesium blasts.
"Looks like we found the reason the dragons are heading topside," said Tom. "Why is he so aggressive?"
Thunder gave a small, concerned growl.
"I bet it's Buzzsaw," said Tom. "He and his goons probably try to trap him. Now he's freaking out and doesn't trust humans. There's only one thing for me to do." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a box of fish nuggets. "Going to have a bond with him."
He then began making his way over towards the dragon, but Thunder, who apparently thought this was a bad idea, pulled him back.
"It's the only way, Pal," said Tom confidently. "I have to prove to him that humans aren't all bad. And hopefully, he'll chill out and stop menacing everything that walks past. Don't worry. I got this."
Thunder then watched as Tom approached the dragon, not looking entirely confident.
"Hey, big dragon," said Tom. "Listen, we got off on the wrong foot."
The dragon snarled at him, and Tom then dropped some fish nuggets in front of the dragon.
"Hungry? Come on," said Tom calmly. "I'll even eat on with you."
Looking back at Thunder with a confident smile, he felt the dragon snarling at him. He looked back and saw that the Deadly Nadder looked rather aggressive and roared at him, preparing to blast him. Fortunately, Thunder quickly fired a lightning blast into its mouth, pulled Tom away, and hid behind the rocks again.
"Oh, come on," Tom groaned. "We don't have time for this. Think, think. The Dragon Book! Maybe there's something in there about these types of dragons."
He began scrimmaging from his backpack and discovered that the Book of Dragons wasn't in there.
"Argh! I left it on my desk," he said frustratingly. "Okay. Okay. I don't need nuggets, and I don't need the book." He then placed a hand over his heart. "Everything I need to bond with this dragon is right here."
He approached the dragon again, and Thunder gave another concerned growl. He attempted to follow him, but Tom stopped him before you got too close.
"No, Pal," he said. "If you come, he may take it as a sign of aggression. I've got to do this alone."
He then approached the Deadly Nadder again, who then immediately roared at him furiously.
"Oh, boy," said Tom, knowing this was going to be a lot harder than he thought.
He then took a deep breath and stood there out in the open. The Deadly Nadder then charged towards him, and Thunder got ready to fire a lightning blast.
"Please let this work," Tom begged.
The Deadly Nadder then stopped when it was inches away from him. "Okay. Yeah, that's right. I'm Tom. I'm not like those Dragon Hunters I'm not going to hurt you. Everything's fine. Everything's fine. Let's just be friends."
The Deadly Nadder then began to calm down, and Tom slowly approached it, reaching out his hand. "That's it. You can do it. Everything's okay. Let's just calm down. We're all good."
The Deadly Nadder then looked as if it was about to press its peak into his palm, but then they heard several other roars that drew their attention. Then, suddenly emerging from the trees with another Deadly Nadder, who looked just as angry as the first one, and another soon followed.
Tom then suddenly found himself surrounded by three very angry–looking Deadly Nadder, who was about to blast him with their magnesium breath. Thunder quickly swooped in and grabbed him before he was roasted, but one of them swung several spikes at them. Tom and Thunder roared across the ground until they finally stopped.
"Thunder! Get out of here!" said Tom frantically.
Thunder quickly jumped to his feet, and Tom jumped onto his saddle. They then immediately began running across the ground, but the Deadly Nadder began to follow them from the air.
"Why are they trying to kill us?" Tom asked. "We didn't do anything."
The Deadly Nadders then began firing their magnesium breath at them. Thunder quickly spun around and fired a lightning blast, forcing the Nadder to dodge it. When they looked back, they saw that both Tom and Thunder had vanished.
The two of them had, in fact, hidden behind some rocks and remained quiet as they flew overhead.
On the surface, things weren't much better. The other Riders were finding it difficult to grab and store the dragons they had captured.
"This is ridiculous!" Eugene yelled as he struggled to keep the dragons inside the infirmary. "It's like an endless flow of dragons!"
"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up," said Jun.
"And they're still no sign of Tom," said James.
"This has got totally out of control," said May as she and Philip approached them.
"One of your little dragon friends frowned his way into the general store and munched down on all by emergency rations," said Philip, as the Scuttleclaw responsible ran right past them.
"Where is Tom?" May asked.
"We don't need Tom," said Jun as she blocked the Scuttleclaw and grabbed it. "We've got this."
"Just give us the chance to prove it to you," said D'Angelo.
Both May and Philip looked sceptical and then walked away.
Eugene then looked at D'Angelo. "Yo, D, your dad is, like, super scary. Am I right? I mean, I'm not scared of him, but I can see why you're scared of them."
Jun then pondered as if she had just gotten an idea. "I think I have an idea about how to solve the dragon problem."
She handed the Scuttleclaw to Eugene and ran off quickly, followed by Alex and James.
Jun retrieved the Book of Dragons from Tom's desk and explained her plan to James and Alex.
"I remember reading something about what scares dragons," said Jun as she looked through the pages. "If I can find it, maybe we can set up effigies around the station to spook the dragons and keep them inside Rakke Town."
"I can't imagine anything scaring a dragon," said Alex.
"There are large animals that are scared of a number of things; in fact, elephants are scared of bees," said James.
Eugene then flew overhead, chasing after a Scuttleclaw. "Whatever you're doing, Jun, do it faster!"
"We can't keep this up forever," said D'Angelo as he chased after the Terrible Terror.
The Terrible Terror, then he chased after, suddenly got behind Plowhorn. She began spinning around, trying to shake it off.
"Here it is," said Jun as she found the page. "Dragons are deathly afraid of eels."
"Eels?" Alex frowned. "Why would dragons be afraid of eels?"
Upon hearing the word 'eel', their dragons quickly backed away from them, looking terrified.
"I remember reading something about it in my ancestors' journal," said James. "Hiccup's dragon Toothless accidentally ate an eel, and it made him sick."
"So you're saying dragons have an allergic reaction to eels?" Alex blinked.
"I don't know, but if the dragons are still afraid of eels, we might be able to use that to herd them," said James.
"One problem, where exactly are we going to find these slimy suckers?" Alex asked.
Eugene then walked by, trying to wrangle a Scuttleclaw and saw that James and the girls were looking at him. "Uh, what?"
Meanwhile, Tom and Thunder were still hiding from the Deadly Nadders.
"I don't see them," said Tom, noticing the skies were clear. "Maybe we can make a run for it and try to blast the cave closed on the way out."
He then looked at Thunder and saw that he was looking rather weak. "Thunder. You okay? Where does it hurt?"
Thunder lifted his ring, revealing a spike in bed in the shoulder.
"You're hit!" Tom gasped.
He then heard screeching above and saw the Deadly Nadders flying overhead.
"Come on. We've got to move," he said. "They're looking for us."
Thunder then growled, telling him that he was unable to move.
"You can't fly? What have I got us into? What do I do?" Tom asked, panicking.
Thunder then nudged him, telling him the first thing to do was remove the spike on his shoulder. "You, you want me to pull it out?"
Thunder nodded.
Tom sighed and grabbed hold of the spike, but the moment he did, Thunder cried out in pain, and he quickly released it. "Oh, sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry."
He then heard the Deadly Nadder getting closer; all this noise was starting to draw their attention. "I wished D'Angelo was here."
He attempted to pull the spike out again, but it only led to the same result. "I don't think I can do it, Pal. I can't do any of this any more. It's just too much for one person. Maybe Hiccup could do it. But I am not a Viking. I'm not a chief. I'm just Tom."
Thunder growled softly and nudged him encouragingly, telling him that just being Tom was enough. Tom smiled and hugged him but quickly pulled away when they heard the sound of the Deadly Nadders.
Thunder then pulled him back, telling him to remove the spike again.
Tom took in a deep breath and grasped it. "Okay. Okay. On, three, one… two…"
A Shadow then covered him, and when he looked back, he came face-to-face with an angry-looking Deadly Nadder. It snapped at him and Tom Jen back in surprise so much that he yanked the spike out of Thunder's shoulder, and his lightning blade fell to the ground.
Thunder quickly placed himself in front of the Deadly Nadder, growling at it, and then fired a lightning blast, knocking it back. However, the other Deadly Nadders soon arrived to back up the first one.
Thunder launched himself at them, finding another lightning blast, but this time, they were there already and dodged it. One of them retaliated with a magnesium blast, which knocked him back. Thunder rolled across the ground and fired a second lightning blast, hitting one of them dead on. He then began to gauge the other two, but one of them pushed him back with a magnesium blast.
"Thunder!" Tom yelled, realising he was in trouble.
Thunder fired a lightning blast, knocking one of them down, and quickly jumped back to avoid the spikes from the other and countered with a lightning blast.
"Another one behind you!" Tom yelled.
Thunder looked behind him and saw that another Deadly Nadder had snuck up behind him and quickly flew off to avoid its magnesium blast. Thunder prepared to fire another lightning blast but then quickly jumped out of the way to avoid a magnesium blast.
"No!" Tom panicked as he saw them surround him. "THUNDER!"
A Deadly Nadder then fired spikes at Thunder, but Tom jumped in, swinging his sword as if letting them. He quickly moved in to engage one, avoiding getting snapped at it, and went between its legs.
He then quickly jumped to the side to avoid being snapped at and raised his blade to block as it came at him. He pushed with all his might to push it off him and then quickly moved in.
Thunder saw everything and rose to his feet but quickly ducked to avoid a magnesium blast. He fired a lightning blast at one of the Deadly Nadders and then the second one as it snapped at him. Tom was still fending off the third one when he tripped in order to avoid its magnesium blast.
He quickly got to his feet and swung his sword, but the Nadder swatted him aside with its tail. He then hit a rock, and his sword fell out of his hand and skidded over towards Thunder, who was fending off the remaining Nadders. He saw that Tom was in trouble as the Nadder advanced towards him.
Tom closed his eyes as he awaited to be devoured by the angry dragon in front of him. Before that happened, Thunder charged himself with lightning and roared as loudly as he could. This caught everyone's attention, and everyone looked at him as he flew up into the air.
He then unleashed a powerful surge of electricity and fired a lightning blast at the feet of one of the Nadders. The remaining Nadders cowered in fear as Thunder landed on a protruding rock. He roared loudly at the Nadders, and they lowered their heads, looking ashamed. Thunder then roared at them softly, and they immediately fled.
Tom looked at Thunder in amazement. "How did you do that? There are three of them, and you just went like full alpha."
Thunder gave a small walk, clearly indicating that he had absolutely no idea.
Tom then bent down to pick up his lightning sword. "You did what I couldn't do."
Thunder climbed off the rock and nuzzled him affectionately.
Tom then rubbed his side where the spike had been. "How's your side? Can you make it home? We've got a go and help the other Riders."
Thunder roared in agreement, and Tom mounted him.
However, before they left, Tom saw the Deadly Nadders around what appeared to be the remains of the nest. It was completely destroyed, and the only fragments of dragonsite were on the ground. And he realised what had made them so angry.
"All of their dragonsite's gone," he said. "It looks like someone ransacked their nest."
There is only one person capable of such destruction that he knew of. "Buzzsaw."
They then took off to make their way back to the surface.
On the surface, the sun was beginning to set, and the Riders were about to put their plan into action. Eugene quickly rushed over towards them, carrying a box.
"Box full of fake eels coming up," he said, dropping the box at their feet.
"Where did you get these?" D'Angelo asked as they opened the box.
"I raided the supply closet," Eugene explained proudly. "They have all sorts of holiday decorations in there."
"These aren't eels," said Alex as she pulled out a rubber snake. "These are rubber Halloween snakes."
Apparently, they looked just like real-life eels as upon seeing it, Feathers screeched in fear and backed away.
"See? Eel, snake—what's the diff?" said Eugene.
"Quite a lot, actually, that we don't have time for a biology lesson," said James.
Philip then ran right past them as a Terrible Terror chased him. "Hey, the dragons have escaped the infirmary. It's a jailbreak."
"Quick," said Jun, handing everyone some rubber snakes. "Everyone grab some eels."
The Riders immediately began placing the eels around town, making a quarter. They even use them to scare the dragons off when they attack them. Similarly, they began herding the dragons away from the town and back towards the fissure, where they began flying back down towards their home.
"It worked!" Jun cheered.
"We did it!" Alex cried.
"And they're all heading back home," D'Angelo added.
"Bonus," said Alex.
"Looks like we didn't need Tom after all," said James.
"Let's not forget who raided the storage closet," said Eugene.
The townspeople then immediately cheered for them.
"Incredible! Way to go, Dragon Riders!"
"The Dragon Riders do it again!"
"Great job, guys!"
"You guys are the best!"
The parents also joined in the cheers, congratulating them, and Eugene couldn't help himself by doing a few little tricks.
Tom arrived just a few seconds later but remained hidden, knowing that his friends deserved this. However, he still felt guilty about going solo and abandoned them.
Later that night, they were all in the Lair, and D'Angelo began to tend to Thunder's wounds.
"He's all good," said D'Angelo as he made his way back to the others.
Tom then looked at everyone. "So, I'm not a very good leader. A leader doesn't try to do everything. They understand the strength of the group. I've been trying to live up to this Dragon Whisperer legacy. Chasing a ghost from the past. It fractured the team. And it almost cost me and Thunder everything. We needed you guys today. And you weren't there because of me. I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I hope you can forgive me."
The Riders looked at one another and smiled, except for Eugene.
"It's okay, man. We get it," said D'Angelo as he went over to shake his hand.
"Apology accepted," James nodded.
"Meh, I'm sure it's really hard whispering to dragons," Alex shrugged.
Eugene looked at everyone dumbfounded. "Wait. We're forgiving him? How many free passes does this group hand out?"
Jun then approached Tom.
"You know, Kullersen, I'm sure it took the great chief Hiccup some time to figure this out, too," she said as she pulled out the Book of Dragons and showed the page of the original Dragon Riders. "And you remember these other Vikings? Rose told us that this was the team that helped him."
Tom smiled at her. "You're pretty smart, Jun Wong, you know that?"
"Don't tell the others… but I'm still the brains of this outfit," she whispered.
Tom nodded, and they made their way to join up with the other Riders.
Meanwhile, on the surface, Linda was sneaking around town.
"Psst!" a voice hissed, making her jump. Then, stepping out of the shadows was Sledkin with a duffel bag around her shoulders. "Ssssh!"
"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry, Dr Sledkin. Sorry," said Linda.
Sledkin opened the bag, revealing a massive amount of dragonsite.
Linda gasped. "Are those the gems from the dragon nest we raided?"
"They sure are," Sledkin smiled as he handed her the bag. "And we need to find a safe place to hide them. We'll also need more explosives if we're going to keep blasting holes in the fissure. As long as everyone is so worried about what's happening up here, we'll keep mining gems down there, right under their noses."
She then grabbed a shard of dragonsite and looked at it greedily.