This is another instance of me waiting to finally get to an episode, and the time finally coming. Squeal!


Imperfect Harmony:

After the initial shock of the Dragon Eye actually working and revealing something groundbreaking, Hiccup wasted no time in getting her friends and dragging them to her house. Toothless lit the Dragon Eye again, and the same purple projection she and Toothless saw before lit the wall.

" "Whoa" ", her friends all said in tandem.

"Definitely worth getting up for", Fishlegs added.

"Fishlegs, can you make any of it out?" Hiccup asked. On the wall was a projection of various symbols, some with text beside them, though in a language Hiccup didn't know.

"No", Fishlegs said as he came closer, examining the symbols coloring the wall. "These are parts of maps and symbols, but nothing I've ever seen before. And there's writing, but it's in a language I've never read before."

"So we know nothing then. That's always a good place to start", Astrid joked.

"What's that thing?" Snotlout asked, pointing to a flaming fist in the middle.

"Uh, must be some kind of tribal crest or something", Hiccup guessed.

"Ooh, I like that way better than our tribal crest", Tuffnut said.

"Tuff, we don't have a tribal crest", Hiccup looked up from where she sat at him.

"Well we should", Ruffnut said as if obvious.

"Yeah, and it should be that."

"Hiccup, this map", Fishlegs started. "You realize it―"

"Goes beyond the boundaries of the archipelago. Oh, I know", Hiccup finished, absolutely radiating excitement. This… This was what she was waiting for all this time, and here it was. A new adventure. A new world. New dragons.

"So, what's our next move?" Aric asked, and by morning, Hiccup was before the council in the Great Hall.

"Look at this", she gestured to the Dragon Eye's projection. "There are maps we have never seen. Writing we can't read. Dragons we don't recognize!" her voice became more and more excited as she spoke, "I-it's incredible! This Dragon Eye; it is proof that there is a whole other world out there. A world that must be explored."

Her speech finished, Toothless extinguished his flame lighting the Dragon Eye, and the projection behind her faded. Gobber turned to the others at the table, that consisting of Spitelout, Bucket, Mulch, and not-so-silent Sven.

"This sure beats normal council business", he said.

"It's alright, lads; you can speak your mind", her father said, standing to the front of the room, but to the side so Hiccup could have her presentation. "We're a council after all. That's why we're here."

"We've been at peace for three years; best years on Berk I can remember", Spitelout started the discussion. "I think you know as well as I do, that when you go looking for trouble, you usually find it."

"I'm with Spitelout", Sven agreed. "If that Dragon Eye leads to unknown places and new wild dragons, then no good will come from any of that."

"I completely disagree, Sven", Hiccup said. "Look around you; how-how can you say that no good can come from discovering new species of dragons? Now if they're out there, we have to find them."

"If there's anything you and the other riders should be doing, it's hunting down Dagur and putting him back in jail where he belongs!" Spitelout said.

"Another reason to go. Dagur was heading beyond our borders. He thinks we won't go passed them, but that's where we'll find him."

"Stoick, anytime you'd like to chime in, we can put this thing to rest", Spitelout crossed his arms. It was like he thought the decision was final; as if there was no way she could persuade them to let her go.

"You're right, Spitelout", her father stepped up, "let's put this to rest."

"But dad―"

"Let me speak, Hiccup. This is as important for you to hear as it is them."

Hiccup's form deflated.

"Spitelout, you're absolutely right. These have been some of our best years. Nothing is more important than peace. Peace among us, peace with our neighbors, and peace with the dragons."

Hiccup sighed. She already knew where this was going. Tail between her legs, Hiccup stepped away.

"Having said that", her father continued, "let me ask you this, Spitelout. When you and I first had Alvin in our sights and everyone was trying to tell us to leave well enough alone, what did we do?"

"Crushed him! That's what ya did", Gobber exclaimed.

"Thank you, Gobber."

"My pleasure, Chief."

"When Valka was taken and I went in search of her, could anyone have stopped me?"

"Well, technically you're the Chief, so no."

"Yes, Gobber. Fair point. But you know where I'm going. Think of the most important thing in the world to each of ya. Ask yourselves honestly, how far you would be willing to go to get it. What would you risk?"

Hiccup was barely listening anymore. She should have known they would never let her go. They didn't even like the fact she was still flying off to Thor knows where. In their eyes, including her father, she was eighteen and it was time she started learning for when she would eventually take her father's place as Chieftess. They didn't care what she wanted.

That's when Hiccup felt her father's hand on her shoulder, the weight of it heavy but familiar. She looked up at him in question as he then gave her a warm smile.

"The girl's life has been dragons", he pulled her to face the council again. "Her life is dragons, and will continue to be. We couldn't stop her from going if we wanted to. So, we might as well support her." Both hands on her shoulders, her father looked down to her with nothing but acceptance. "Go, lass", he said. "Find whatever it is out there that's pulling on ya. And when you find it, Berk will be right here waiting for ya."

Hiccup could barely contain the smile spreading on her face. He was actually letting her go. He was letting her spread her wings and fly as far away as the wind could take her. For what felt like far too long, she finally felt…free.

"Thanks, dad", she said, though it came out as more of a whisper.

"Best get out of here before all this nostalgia wears off and he changes his mind", Gobber advised, and with a nod, Hiccup ran outside, Toothless in tow with the Dragon Eye, and even from inside the Great Hall where the doors were now shut, she was certain they could hear her cries of joy.

000

"WHOO-HOO!" Stoick heard his daughter cheer not too long after he let her run off. He shook his head with a smile, but internally sighed. He knew keeping Hiccup locked up on Berk, or even in the boundaries of the archipelago, would do her no good. She'd be nothing but a caged bird longing for freedom.

A part of her was a dragon; that side of her would always be there, and dragons couldn't be bolted to the ground. He learned that lesson once already when he'd tried to ban flying. No, something was calling to Hiccup, something inside her was pulling at her to explore and see just how far she could fly.

He hoped that by giving her this freedom to fly as far as the wind could take her, go wherever this Dragon Eye would lead her, and find whatever it was that had been tugging at her lately, she'd finally be ready to land again and lead her pack.

000

It hadn't been long before Hiccup was flying off Berk, raring to go. Above the outskirts of Berk's waters, though, Hiccup had Toothless pause.

"You okay?" Toothless asked.

"Yeah, Toothless. I just…" she sighed, then looked down to her brother. "You ready?" she asked.

"Hey! We going or not?" Snotlout's voice bellowed, and turning around in the saddle, Hiccup saw everyone gathered behind her.

"Wait, y-you guys are actually coming?" Hiccup asked astonished. "But, I thought―?"

"Making sure you don't fly off the edge of the world is more important", Aric said, Shadowstar pulling to a stop beside her and Toothless.

"Well, i-if you're sure", Hiccup said, "b-but if anyone has any reservations―"

The twins and Barf and Belch, Fishlegs and Meatlug, and Astrid and Stormfly all rushed passed her.

"Into the great beyond!" Snotlout shouted, him and Aric joining the others.

" "The great beyond!" " everyone else followed.

"Okay, no reservations", Hiccup shrugged. "Let's go, bud!"

"Into the great beyond!" Toothless roared, purely for the fun of it.

Roughly eight hours later, the enthusiasm had long burned out. Everyone was tired. Around them were thick dark clouds.

"Oh, come on, guys", Hiccup said, her and Toothless the only ones still in good spirits. "So we've had a...couple of tough hours. Nothing's that worth anything comes easy."

"Is that one of your riddles?" Tuffnut questioned. "Because now is not the time, my friend. We have to keep saying 'great beyond'. Great beyond…"

"Great beyond…" Ruffnut tiredly followed.

"Oh-kay", Hiccup turned forward. "Toothless, let's see if there's anything out there."

Toothless let loose a sonic-roar, and out the sound waves went, but nothing came back.

"Nothing", Hiccup rumbled, when thunder suddenly sounded, and rain began to pelt at them.

"Ugh, seems like the farther we go in, the worse it gets!" Astrid shouted over the storm as they plowed through.

"Hiccup, I think that we should turn back! We've been flying for most of the day!" Fishlegs reasoned.

"We just have to keep pushing forward until we're out of this!" Hiccup said, when suddenly there was light up ahead.

"Hiccup, is that..?" Aric asked.

"Yeah, it is. Everybody, fly to the light!"

Lightning cracked as they raced towards the light, Snotlout screaming with each strike, but they made it out and into clear blue skies.

The riders all awed at what they'd just flown into; new islands. After hours of nothing but ocean, an entirely new archipelago was opened up to them.

"Look at this!" Astrid exclaimed.

"It's incredible", Hiccup said.

"I know, right?! We made it, Hiccup! We made it!" Astrid laughed and cheered.

"Uh, guys, can we slap each other on the backs later? Meatlug's wings are about to fall off", Fishlegs butt in.

"Oh, sorry guys", Hiccup apologized; she hadn't meant to push so hard. "There's a place up ahead we can…" Hiccup stopped, a sound suddenly catching her attention. It was like…a song. "…set…down."

000

There was this strange hum all of a sudden, Hiccup suddenly going quiet.

"Whoa, whoa, what is it, girl?" Fishlegs asked as Meatlug had suddenly perked up, looking as if she'd collapse before. "Don't you want to rest?"

"Guys, do you hear that?" Aric wondered.

"What is that?" Snotlout asked.

"I have no idea", Fishlegs said, "But the dragons are definitely pulled towards it."

"Yeah", Aric said as he looked to Hiccup. "They're not the only ones. Hiccup!" he called, but she didn't seem to hear as she and Toothless just suddenly dove for the island below.

"Okay…" Aric drawled, a little put off by Hiccup's behavior. "Guess that means we're setting down here", he said, and let Shadowstar follow after Toothless.

000

It wasn't long before everyone had landed on the island, nor before the gang began to enjoy themselves. They were set down at a river, the warm sun relaxing as they sat by the water.

"This place is amazing", Fishlegs said as he explored the area around them.

"Okay, I'm never going back to Berk", Snotlout said as he relaxed in the sand beside Astrid.

"Berk? What's that? 'Cause I forgot", Tuffnut said, he and his sister playing on the rocks in the river.

"Well, I guess we don't have to vote on where we're making camp", Hiccup said, sitting up on a rock with her legs dangling over the side with Aric.

"Haha, I'll take care of the fire", Snotlout said.

Moving to Hookfang on the beach, Snotlout took a jar from his saddlebag. He uncorked it, and out came a slimy green gel, poured into a line upon the ground.

"Hookfang, light it up!" Snotlout shouted, and from one end of the line, Hookfang lit the gel. In no time at all the entire length of it caught on fire in a violent ploom, several almost getting burned in the process. "Monstrous Nightmare gel; never leave home without it."

"Eh…" Hiccup drawled, seeming a little concerned with that fact.

000

Night fell soon after, and while everyone was asleep on the beach, Hiccup and Aric sat before the ocean to where the full moon was shining bright.

"You know, you had me a little worried for bit, spacing out as soon as that hum started", Aric told her.

"I'm fine, Aric. Don't worry. That song was just so beautiful", Hiccup said almost dreamily.

"Song?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear it?"

Aric didn't answer. So that sound they heard was a song, at least to dragon ears. That worried Aric, but he couldn't exactly form a coherent reason as to why. It reminded him of the Red Death, but that was a call, not a song, and that hadn't had any affect on Hiccup. Even now, as that hum started up again, Hiccup seemed fine.

"Isn't it incredible? Being here, I mean", Hiccup's arms rested on her knees. "I knew there was more out there, and it's…beautiful."

"It is", Aric said. He turned to her, a warm smile adorning his face as Hiccup's eyes were closed in content. "It really is."

000

They fell asleep there, the dragons who had moved into the forest gone unnoticed. As Hiccup slept, the night silent for the time being, the song began again, and two green eyes snapped open, pupils slit and unfocused. With a flap of two black wings, she was gone.

000

"Aric. Aric, wake up", Astrid was shaking him. As Aric opened his eyes, he saw a very worried Astrid above him.

"Astrid? What's wrong?" he asked as he sat up. "Where's Hiccup?" he then noticed.

"That's what's wrong. We don't know."

"And she's not the only one missing", Fishlegs said. "The dragons are gone too; all of them!"

"Now, let's not panic", Astrid said, trying to keep everyone calm as much as herself. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. Like…maybe Hiccup went for a little morning fly with them?"

"By themselves? Without telling us?" Snotlout questioned.

"I knew there was something strange about this island", Aric muttered, paying more attention to his own stupidity for not listening to his gut than his sister and the others. "Well let's go in search of them. They wouldn't have gone off the island."

000

She felt stiff and tired, almost as if she'd had a restless night. Her eyes opened, expecting to be on the beach with the others, but when she opened her eyes she saw grass instead of sand, and she seemed to be standing upright instead of laying down. Hiccup's mind eventually caught on to her surroundings and where exactly she was.

She was in some type of canyon, and trapped in some hard amber-like substance unable to move. Looking around, she saw she wasn't alone; Stormfly, Shadowstar, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch, among other dragons, were all in the same boat, all trapped just like her. The only dragon she didn't see was Toothless, until his black form caught her sights, hiding behind a boulder.

"Toothless", Hiccup called quietly, and Toothless perked up at the sight of her, looking around first before racing towards her.

"Hiccup", he trilled. "Are you okay? That thing, he―"

"Toothless, I'm fine. It's alright. Just go find the others and bring them here. Hurry."

With a nod, Toothless ran, and the sound of a dragon erupted, a shadow passing her and the dragons' trapped forms. Looking up, Hiccup's green eyes widened.

000

"Shadowstar! Hiccup!"

"Stormfly!" Astrid called as she searched, meanwhile Snotlout looking to the sky and the twins checking behind rocks. As they looked behind one in particular for about the second time in a row, Aric growled.

"How many times are you guys gonna check behind that rock? Barf and Belch cannot hide behind it", his arms crossed.

"Clearly, you are not aware of the stealthiness of one Barf and Belch", Ruffnut said. "Or, is that two Barf and Belch?"

"Hmm, excellent question. Two heads", Tuffnut started.

"One dragon", Ruffnut finished.

"Two brains…"

"One body."

"Two bodies, half a brain, haha", Snotlout butt in, but now wasn't the time for jokes or playing around. Their dragons were missing and so was Hiccup, and so far they couldn't find anything. He just hoped Hiccup and Shadowstar were okay.

"Astrid, Fishlegs, anything?" Aric asked, and the two shook their heads.

"Nothing", Astrid said.

"I don't get it", Aric voiced. "Where would they go?"

"Oh, my Meatlug. She wouldn't do this, she wouldn't leave me, she would never do this on her own!" Fishlegs panicked.

"She didn't", Snotlout said. "Hiccup took her. Clearly she took our dragons and left."

"Hiccup would never do that", Astrid reprimanded.

"Hiccup is missing just as much as our dragons", Aric said sternly, unable to believe Snotlout would actually blame Hiccup for this. "Whatever happened to her happened to them, and you know as much as I do neither her or the dragons did it on their own. For all we know they're in trouble, or hurt, or both! So, let's stop fooling around and keep looking. We have to find them."

"Aric", Astrid began, her voice soft and eyes creased, but she was quickly interrupted by the sound of rustling bushes.

They all turned to them, just waiting, when suddenly something big and black pounced and landed on top of Aric, a big dragon tongue licking his face.

"Toothless?!" Aric exclaimed. "What are you― why isn't Hiccup with you? Where are the other dragons?"

Leaping off, motioning his head to where he'd come from, Toothless began to roar and screech, circling around them in a hurried and frantic pace.

"Oookay... I think Toothless ate something weird in the woods, because he's out of his mind", Snotlout said, before Toothless just charged at Aric, grabbed his leg, and dragged him into the woods.

"Aric!" Astrid exclaimed in shock.

"Whoa, whoa, Toothless, slow down! Stop!" Aric yelled, and Toothless did, the other riders soon catching up. Aric got up to his knees, hands on either side of Toothless' face. "Toothless, just tell us what's going on. Where are Hiccup and the dragons?"

Toothless spoke again, seeming a little less frantic than before, and Fishlegs listened intently.

"Fishlegs, what is he saying?" Aric asked.

"A song… trapped dragons…?" Fishlegs was muttering to himself, before he looked up to them. "He's saying that sound we heard was a trap. Hiccup and the dragons are in trouble."

"Okay, that settles it", Aric said, before mounting onto Toothless. "Toothless and I will go fly to the others; see if they're still there and survey the scene. You guys stay here in case Hiccup found a way out of whatever trouble they're in and comes back. Lead the way, Toothless!"

With that, Aric controlling his tail-fin, Toothless was up in the air, but before they could get very far, a roar suddenly caught their attention. Below, a purple Thunderdrum was making its way to the others, their backs turned and oblivious to the fact.

Aric turned Toothless back, but the Night Fury fought him, turning back around to where Hiccup and Shadowstar must have been. "Toothless, I know, I know. I want to save them too, but right now the other riders need us. This way!" Aric pulled as Toothless fought, the two locked in a standstill, until Toothless finally conceded and they raced back to the others.

By the time they got back the Thunderdrum was roaring a loud sonic-roar and the riders were behind a bunch of rocks trying to avoid the blast, covering their ears the best they could. Toothless fired a few plasma blasts at the dragon, and all at once the Thunderdrum stopped its roar and flew away scared.

"Good job, Toothless. We better go see how the others are doing. Come on", Aric said, and Toothless went in for a landing, the riders coming out from behind the rocks.

"ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO DRAW TOWARDS US?! CHANGEWING?! OOH, SCREAMING DEATH MAYBE?! I'M SURE THERE ARE ONE OF THOSE AROUND HERE!"

"Snotlout, you're yelling very loudly!" Aric covered his ears.

"OH REALLY?! I CAN BARELY HEAR MYSELF, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET ATTACKED BY A WILD THUNDERDRUM!"

"Okay, we need our dragons. I'm gonna go back out there with Toothless."

The others just looked at him like they hadn't heard a word.

"I said, I'M GOING BACK OUT THERE!" Aric yelled, Toothless cringing.

"NO!" "NO WAY!" "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" everyone shouted at the same time.

"NO WAY, ARIC, YOU ARE NOT LEAVING US ALONE", Astrid said.

"WE'RE DRAGONLESS, AND DEFENSELESS", Fishlegs added.

"AND, WE CAN ONLY COMMUNICATE BY YELLING!" Ruffnut said.

"WHICH, ALTHOUGH QUITE ENJOYABLE, IS NOT VERY STEALTHY. ARE YOU HEARING ANY OF THIS?" Tuffnut asked.

"Loud and clear", Aric cringed. "Alright, fine. We'll go together."

No reaction.

Aric sighed, then pressed his hands to Toothless' poor ears. "I SAID, WE'LL ALL GO TOGETHER!" he yelled, and everyone smiled.

"WELL WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY SO? GEEZ", Tuffnut said.

000

With Toothless leading the way, they made their way through the forest, the appeal and beauty of the island slowly becoming lost. The autumn leaves of the trees, once beautiful with their colors, now only appeared dead and ominous. The air seemed to tense the further they went in.

"Uh…guys?" Fishlegs squeaked. "Is it just me, or did this place just get a lot less amazing?"

"Can we get a vote for creepy and weird?" Snotlout said, his and the twins' hands raised.

Fishlegs suddenly gasped at what they stumbled upon next. "Are those what I think they are?"

"Weirdly shaped white rocks?" Tuffnut gave a guess.

"Dragon bones", Aric said.

"Ah, bone yard, yes! I like it!" Tuffnut exclaimed, and everyone turned with a glare towards him. "I don't like it?"

Before them was a giant pile of dragon bones as tall as a small mountain. Toothless growled at them. Then Astrid noticed something at her feet. She bent to pick it up, and in her hand was a clear orange tinted looking rock. It almost looked like amber.

"What is this stuff?" she asked, when a screech suddenly sounded.

"Okay… What. Was. That?" Snotlout asked.

"That, my friend, is a dragon in trouble", Fishlegs worried.

Toothless then suddenly rushed ahead, and that could only mean one thing.

"Come on!" Aric exclaimed, and they ran after Toothless.

Catching up, they entered what appeared to be a canyon, high walls bordering the area. Inside were dozens of dragons all trapped in the same amber-like substance Astrid had found in the bone yard.

"You guys do know what's going on here, don't you?" Tuffnut questioned.

"Yeah, something is trapping the dragons in this amber rock substance and immobilizing them", Fishlegs said.

"Oh. Oh, I had a completely different idea that involved oily fish and bad mutton."

"Then its breaking them out and… and eating them."

"Oh, come on, who would be doing that?" Ruffnut asked.

A screech sounded, and everyone hid behind the rocks as a dragon with colorful butterfly-like wings suddenly flew in and landed in the canyon.

"How about that guy?" Ruffnut stood and pointed. "Yeah, he looks suspect to me."

Fishlegs promptly clamped her mouth shut and pulled her back down. Just then the dragon took a Deadly Nadder trapped in the amber and left, a strange sound in its wake. That was when Toothless' eyes suddenly slit and Aric had to hold him back from running straight for the dragon.

"No, no, Toothless, stop", Aric exclaimed. That sound, it much too similar to the hum, or song, Hiccup had been so entranced by. Once the sound faded, Toothless came back to himself and Aric could let go.

"It's the sound", Aric said. "That song, that's what draws the dragons in."

"Song Wing!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"What?" Astrid asked.

"That's what we should name it."

"Now?! Really, you want to name it now?!" Aric roared.

"We need to call it something", Fishlegs defended, Astrid shaking her head from beside him.

"Yeah, I'm thinking Death Song might be more appropriate", Tuffnut said, Aric's irritation only growing. "You know, 'cause you hear the song, you're dead."

"You know, he makes a pretty good point", Astrid said.

"Yeah, I do. Wait, what was it again?"

"It doesn't matter what we call it!" Aric exploded. "If it's doing it to all these dragons, then it probably did it to Hiccup and our dragons!"

Aric raced off then, needing to find Hiccup and Shadowstar. 'Odin, let them be okay', his mind echoed over and over.

000

"Stormfly!"

"Hookfang! Hookfang!"

"Snotlout, look!" Astrid called.

"Hooky!" Snotlout ran for his dragon. "I am getting you out of there, Fangster."

"Astrid, I've got Stormfly!" Fishlegs called.

"Shadowstar! Hiccup?!" Aric yelled, until he heard it.

"Aric!" Hiccup's voice called, and Aric saw her, trapped just like all the rest.

"Hiccup! You're okay", he ran over, Toothless already with her. "Do you know where Shadowstar is?"

"Over there", she gestured with her head as much as she could. Following, he finally saw his dragon.

"Shadowstar. Toothless, stay with Hiccup", he said, before running over, his dragon crooning to him. "Don't worry, girl, it's gonna be okay. I'm gonna get you out."

Just then, the screech of the Death Song sounded, and Toothless did exactly what Aric told him not to do. He left Hiccup's side.

" "Toothless, no!" " Aric shouted as Hiccup roared the same.

Nevertheless, Toothless ignored their protests, and leaping on some stones to gain higher ground, tried to pursue the Death Song. It did as much as they expected. Toothless fired a plasma blast, and then the Death Song fired some type of orange goo, hitting Toothless and trapping him in the same amber as all the other dragons.

000

"NO!" Hiccup roared in distress. Not Toothless too. "Guys, get your dragons free, now!"

"What about you?!" Aric asked, looking torn between helping Shadowstar and helping her.

"Don't worry about me! Just save your dragon!"

Aric didn't listen, though. Instead, he left Shadowstar for her.

"Aric, what are you doing?!"

"If I can help you then Toothless will have someone to help him."

Hiccup didn't argue any further. She just let him try to break the amber with his ax, just as everyone tried, but it was harder than iron. Then the amber spitting dragon began firing, hitting every one of the riders one by one. First the twins, then Fishlegs, even Snotlout.

"Ah, I can't move! I'm totally stuck!" Fishlegs panicked.

"Me too", Snotlout said, stuck against Hookfang. "I can't believe that thing got me. I'm usually so limber."

"Yeah, well at least you got your own cocoon", Tuffnut complained.

"Aw yeah, like this is a picnic for me", Ruffnut said.

Meanwhile, Aric was still trying to get her free. "Aric, go, hide!" Hiccup told him, but he wouldn't give up.

"No way! I'm not leaving you to that thing!"

"Aric, it's coming for you!" Astrid's voice rang, and looking up Hiccup gasped.

"Aric, look out!" she screamed.

The dragon fired, but instead of hitting Aric, Astrid pushed him out of the way, trapping herself instead.

"Astrid!" Aric exclaimed, but there was no time.

000

"Aric, run!" Astrid shouted, anger in her tone, and this time he listened. He ran straight through a crack in the walls where the Death Song couldn't follow, but losing footing, he was suddenly sliding down a hill. He launched off a cliff into another deeper part of the canyon, catching himself with a front handspring and landing on his feet. That was when a growl reached his ears, and before him was the same the purple Thunderdrum from the forest.

"Oh, great", Aric muttered. "Hey there, big guy", he rose as the Thunderdrum continued to angrily growl. "Look, I think we might have just gotten off on the wrong foot, so what do you say we let bygones be bygones and call a day, huh?"

"Whoa!" The Thunderdrum fired a sonic-blast, Aric dodging. "Note for Fishlegs: Thunderdrums carry a grudge."

Then the Thunderdrum pounced, and Aric had no time to dodge. Aric landed on his back, and as the Thunderdrum's focus went to the Death Song above them, Aric saw the splotch of amber goo the Thunderdrum just saved him from.

The Thunderdrum flew up for the Death Song, but the Death Song just swatted the tidal class dragon away, straight into the canyon's walls, before pinning the Thunderdrum onto its back on the ground.

"Don't worry, I got your back!" Aric took his ax from his back. He threw it, the Death Song forced to fly off the Thunderdrum in order to dodge it. Grabbing his ax back, and with no time to lose before the Death Song dove for an attack, Aric did something pretty crazy.

"Alright, you're not gonna like what I'm about to do, but trust me, it's gonna work out for the both of us", he said, then proceeded to jump onto the Thunderdrum's back. As expected, the dragon freaked out, flying straight into the air in spirals with Aric clinging to its back. "WHHOOOAA! Ugh, I'm gonna be sick. STOP! AHHH!"

They crash landed into the forest, and Aric was thrown off. He really was not having a good day.

"Well, that hurt. Thanks a lot", he said as he got up. "But, at least we lost the Death Song", he looked to the Thunderdrum for assurance, but got none, as expected.

"What is wrong with me? I knew something was wrong the moment Hiccup went quiet! I knew something wasn't right about that song! But did I say anything? No! So then, lesson learned, right?" he looked to the Thunderdrum. "Follow your gut next time? No, because then, I make things worse!"

Aric crossed his arms, just glaring at nothing, but when he stole a glance back to the Thunderdrum, he caught it looking at him with a no nonsense expression similar to his sister's.

"Don't look at me like that", he said. All he could see was Astrid in it. "I know; I was stupid."

The Thunderdrum didn't listen, just continuing to stare at him, Astrid's voice within that stare.

You let your emotions cloud your judgement. Just admit

Aric couldn't take it.

"Ergh, I get it okay?! I'm an idiot! I messed up! Now would you quit looking at me like that?!"

When the Thunderdrum did nothing, Aric sat with a sigh. "Just another thing I messed up", he muttered to himself, hand to his face.

Was he crazy for yelling at a dragon for things it didn't say? Probably. Did he care at the moment? No. There were more important things to worry about. What was he supposed to do now, for instance? All he had to fight the Death Song was an ax and a Thunderdrum.

"Wait a second", Aric perked at that thought. "How come you haven't been captured by the Death Song like all the other dragons?"

The Thunderdrum didn't answer.

"What was it that Hiccup said about Thunderdrums? Stubborn, loud but of few words, apparently grudge carriers", Aric added that last one. "But there was one more thing. Ugh, what was it?" Aric gasped.

"Wait, I've got it!" he stood and faced the Thunderdrum. "Hard of hearing. Thunderdrums are hard of hearing, which is why you couldn't hear the Death Song's song, and it couldn't lure you in. That's why you haven't been captured! So what do you say we team up? You help me save my friends, and we help you defeat that Death Song."

Carefully, Aric extended his hand, getting closer to the dragon's snout, then closed his eyes and looked away, hoping his hand wouldn't become lunch. It didn't. Instead, there was only the simple feeling of a Thunderdrum's nose pressed against his skin.

000

"Ngh, ngh", Snotlout struggled in his cocoon, much like everyone else besides Hiccup. She'd given that up hours ago. It was like being trapped in solid iron; there was no breaking out on your own. "Where's Aric?!" he then exclaimed. "I knew he'd leave us! I have to pee."

"He didn't leave us", Astrid defended. "He'll be back. If I could just reach my knife…"

"It wouldn't matter, Astrid", Fishlegs said. "Whatever this is, it's really strong. I don't think we can cut through it."

"Trust me, Toothless has tried biting through it, clawing at it, even ramming his body against it; not even a scratch", Hiccup confirmed.

"Well, if we can't cut it, then how do we get out of here?" Snotlout questioned.

"Yeah", Tuffnut butt in, he and his sister laid sideways with Tuff at the bottom and Ruff at the top, her hair spilling to Tuff's face. "You can't tell me that my last breath is gonna be inhaling her stinky fish hair."

"Oh yeah, that's real original!" Ruffnut shouted. "You know what, I hope it eats you first. At least I'll have something cool to watch before I die."

"You just stay on your side of the cocoon, missy. Whoa!" Their cocoon was suddenly rammed into and tossed a few feet, the twins now on their backs.

"Aric!" Hiccup exclaimed, Aric atop a purple Thunderdrum beside the twins' cocoon.

"Okay, plan A, ramming it open, is a no", Aric said.

"Please tell me you have a plan B", Astrid said.

"If it involves cutting, ramming, or ripping, you might as well forget it, Aric", Fishlegs said. "Once it cools down, this stuff is harder than any rock I've ever seen."

"Wait", Hiccup's ears perked up. "Cools down… Yes, of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner?! Nobody move, I have an idea."

"Oh yeah, that's funny. A real comedian", Tuffnut drawled.

"Aric, see if you can reach into Hookfang's saddlebag", Hiccup simply continued. Aric slid off the Thunderdrum and made his way to Snotlout and Hookfang.

"Where exactly are you going with this, Hiccup?" Aric asked.

"Just trust me. Now, find a jar of Hookfang's Monstrous Nightmare gel."

"Got it", Aric showed the jar he pulled out from one of Hookfang's exposed saddlebags.

"Great. Now here's the plan…"

000

Per Hiccup's instruction, Aric went around and spread a trail of Monstrous Nightmare gel over each and every one of their cocoons.

"Are you insane?" Snotlout whispered quite worriedly as Aric poured the gel onto his cocoon.

"Don't worry; I know what I'm doing."

"Says the man about to set me on fire", Snotlout stressed.

"Well you said it only stings a little."

"I was lying. You know I'm a liar!"

"You'll be fine", Aric said, continuing the trail to Hiccup. "Um, you sure this will work?" Aric asked hushly to her.

"I'm sure. Trust me", she said, and Aric gave a nod, before moving to his sister.

"You want to tell her or should I?" Astrid whispered. "You know, before we die?"

"You're hilarious", Aric sarcastically whispered back.

Just then, the Death Song came back and Aric had to hide. Luckily, he'd just finished.

'Now where is that Thunderdrum?'

000

The Death Song left as soon as it had landed, another dragon trapped in an amber cocoon taken by it. Fishlegs screamed.

"AH, hurry up, Aric! He just took the appetizer. I think I'm the main course!"

"Fishlegs, relax", Astrid said. "It could take hours for him to eat that dragon."

That's when the Death Song returned, heading straight for Fishlegs.

"Or minutes! AH―"

"HEY!" Aric's voice stole the Death Song's attention. "Remember us?!" he exclaimed, flying in on the Thunderdrum with his ax in hand.

The Death Song leaped into the air after them, chasing them up into the sky, before Aric had the Thunderdrum double back towards the Death Song. They dove straight passed him, Aric then leaning heavily over the side to skid his ax against the Monstrous Nightmare gel covered stone. The fast contact created sparks, those sparks enough to cause the gel to catch fire and run down the trail he had made over each and every one of his friends' cocoons.

000

One by one, as the fire reached them, everyone was breaking free.

"Yes!" Hiccup exclaimed as she broke free of her cage, her wings spread wide as chunks were flung away. "It's working!" she continued as Astrid broke free next, standing up and brushing the flaming chunks off. Toothless ran up to her then, and Hiccup threw her arms around him. "Hey, bud. Glad you're alright."

"Shadowstar", she heard Aric, her friend running to his dragon as the Thunderdrum kept the Death Song at bay so they could escape. They reunited with a hug too, Shadowstar even giving him a few licks.

Hiccup smiled at the display. "Let's go, bud", Hiccup said and mounted up, when she noticed a baby blue Thunderdrum trapped in the Death Song's amber.

"A baby Thunderdrum." She looked up to the grown Thunderdrum fighting the Death Song, realization suddenly dawning on her. "Aric, handle the Thunderdrum; I'll handle the Death Song", she called.

000

"What are you…?" Aric started to ask, but then he noticed the blue baby Thunderdrum not too far from where Hiccup and Toothless stood. "That's why you never left", he muttered, before Toothless leaped into the air with Hiccup. "Just be careful!" he shouted after her.

000

Flying between the mother and the Death Song, they gained the Death Song's attention and began to chase them down.

"What do you say we relocate this guy, eh bud", Hiccup said, when she spotted the mountains up ahead. "And I've got just the place. Okay, Mr. Death Song! Welcome to your new home!"

"Hey!" Toothless yelped when Hiccup pulled on the reins, the two suddenly corkscrewing downwards and into a cave. The Death Song followed.

"Okay, bud, get us out of here. Oh, and uh, sorry about before. Got a little caught in the moment."

Toothless let out a sonic-roar, and before they knew it they were back into blue skies. The adult Thunderdrum from before then roared her sonic blast, and the entrance to the cave collapsed, the Death Song trapped inside.

"Yeah, nice going!" Hiccup roared to the Thunderdrum. "No one's gonna hear his song in there."

That was when the riders showed up, their dragons' forms flying towards them in the distance. With them was the blue baby Thunderdrum, and as soon as the mother saw him, she flew straight for her hatchling. They nuzzled each other with their reunion, showing just how much they loved the other. Hiccup smiled with the display.

"If I were you two, I'd maybe find another island", Aric told them. "There's no telling how long that trap's gonna hold him."

"Uh…You know they can't hear you, right?" Tuffnut said.

Aric sighed. "Yes, Tuff, I know", he said, and Hiccup laughed.

"Let's get out of here", she said, and so they did. There was just one thing left on Hiccup's mind after all this; something she couldn't shake.

"Hey guys", she started, the island behind them now as they headed further into the Great Beyond. "I just want to say I'm sorry for getting you all into this. If you want to turn back, I―"

"Are you kidding?!" Astrid exclaimed.

"No way", Ruffnut followed.

"This is the most fun we've had in years!" Snotlout said.

Hiccup couldn't really believe it, though. After all the trouble they'd just been through because of her, they didn't want to go back? She turned to Aric.

"Aric?" she asked.

"Hey, when they're right, they're right", he shrugged. "But there is one thing we need to do."

"I'm all ears", her ears perked up.

"We need an island. Our own island."

"Aric's right, Hiccup", Fishlegs said. "We're way too far out to travel back and forth to Berk."

"What we need is a base of operations", Hiccup surmised.

"Exactly", Fishlegs said. "But this time, we don't let dragon instincts pick it."

"Agreed", Aric said.

"Alright, Aric you're the man of the hour for training the Thunderdrum and getting us out of there", Hiccup said. "You choose."

"Hey, wait a minute", Snotlout quickly objected. "I'm the one who brought the Monstrous Nightmare gel. Without me, we'd still be Death Song chow."

Looking back to Aric, the two shrugged.

"Alright then, Snotlout, you choose", Aric said.

"Seriously?" Snotlout, surprised, asked.

"Yeah seriously, go on", Aric prompted, and so Snotlout did.

"Alright! What do you say, Fangster?"

Hookfang gave a loud roar screaming enthusiasm.

"Ha, couldn't agree more. Into the Great Beyond!" Snotlout shouted.

" " "The Great Beyond!" " "


Stay tuned ;)