Another large chapter. I'm sensing a pattern. You? Do you guys like them? The longer chapters/longer wait?

Also, another Aric centric episode. Yeah, he's getting a couple of these. Hiccup had to be written out most of the episode again, but it's fine. She could use the break now and then.


Quake, Rattle, and Roll:

"Oh, wow, nice. I can see straight to the horizon", Aric said as he looked through Hiccup's new standing spyglass outside the clubhouse. From the outside, it appeared to be mainly comprised of two barrels attached to each other, the one in front significantly larger than the other, and all propped up by a stand of wood and metal. Inside was a lens.

"That should make it harder for anyone to sneak up on us", Astrid said beside him.

"Where is Hiccup anyway?" Aric looked up at Astrid. "I half expected her to be here, still tinkering with it."

"Taking a mandatory break with Toothless. We had to practically force her", Astrid said beside Stormfly, and Aric shook his head with a smile. To think someone would have to force Hiccup to go flying.

"So, should we go check on how the twins' tower is failing then?" he then asked.

"Oh, come on", Astrid told him, "Have a little faith."

000

The twins stared at the lookout tower they'd just built; Hiccup had tasked them with it not too long ago. As they stared at it, though, the tower completely made out of rocks, Tuffnut seemed to realize something.

"Hey, does something seem off to you?" he asked.

"Yeah", Ruffnut realized too. "This should have fallen down a long time ago."

"Maybe we actually did something… No, that's impossible."

"Say it", Ruffnut drawled.

"Something…right?"

Ruffnut gasped.

"Ugh, I have a weird feeling inside", Tuffnut doubled over. "Is that…accomplishment?"

"Whoa, I think I feel it too. Quick! Let's go rub it in Hiccup's face before the feeling subsides!" Ruffnut exclaimed, and they ran for Barf and Belch.

Meanwhile, as the twins raced off on their quest, Fishlegs was inside the clubhouse on his own little quest. All morning he'd been studying the Dragon Eye and using the general notes Hiccup had made on it to make his own. Making note of his discoveries so far, Fishlegs dragged a basket of new stones for Meatlug to try.

"Okay, girl. Let's move on to rock-experiment-test subject number three", he said, and Meatlug finished.

"River stones!" she barked, her tail practically shaking her entire body with excitement before she dove right in.

"Hey, what you doing Fishlegs?" Snotlout stood at one of the clubhouse doors, sounding board as he leaned on the frame.

"Oh hey, Snotlout", Fishlegs said surprised. "Well, if you're wondering, I'm testing how different rocks make Meatlug produce different flame, and how that changes the projections in the Dragon Eye."

"It's the best experiment ever", Meatlug said, her mouth full as she swallowed and prepared the lava soon to come.

"Oh, that's right", Snotlout drawled uncaringly, "I just remembered you're boring and I don't care."

As Snotlout turned and left, Meatlug approached the table and spewed her lava. "Yep, couldn't have put it better myself, girl", Fishlegs said. This one glowed more yellow than the others. The Dragon Eye changed, a new projection added to the current one, and Fishlegs awed.

"Even more interesting."

Back with the twins, they were still searching. It couldn't have been more than a minute or two, but they were quickly getting tired of it.

"Ugh, I don't see her anywhere!" Tuffnut whined. "How are we supposed to rub anything in Hiccup's face if we can't find her face?!"

"Hey, bro, look, there's Aric", Ruffnut pointed, Aric, Astrid, and Snotlout surrounding the new device Hiccup had made. "Why don't we just rub it in his face instead?"

"Oh, yeah."

Together they steered Barf and Belch over and landed with a loud thud on the wood.

"Aric!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Drop everything you're doing! And bring your face", he added with a smug smirk. Ruffnut did the same.

"Prepare to be rubbed."

000

Hiccup sighed, the wind blowing through her hair. Sometimes she got so caught up in projects she forgot to take breaks like these. It was a good thing she had Toothless, and occasionally Astrid, to remind her.

Looking to their island below, it was peaceful today. She saw a field with bright pink flowers, and couldn't help herself. She had Toothless dive, and they sped through the sweet smelling flora. She just loved doing that. The only downside was the cleanup afterwards. They were absolutely covered in the stuff, hair, clothes, and scales covered in sweet smelling pink flowers.

The smell itself was starting to make Hiccup's head buzz, feeling fuzzy as giggles bubbled up all of a sudden, though Hiccup couldn't really find it in herself to care. She began to laugh, and beneath her, Toothless was acting much the same. They swept up to the clouds, none the wiser to what was happening beneath the fog that was slowly building, then with a whoop, dove back down.

000

Upon each of the twins' statements, Aric was bewildered at best, but still mounted Shadowstar and followed the two mutton-heads. Astrid and Snotlout followed too, likely just as dumbfounded.

Before they arrived, the twins had them stop and land, apparently wanting whatever they were showing them to be a surprise. The twins went ahead, then came back and led them to a cliff. Aric idly noticed it was the same place Hiccup told them to build a look-out tower.

'This ought to be good', Aric thought.

"Dragon Riders!" Tuffnut started, Barf and Belch covering what Aric assumed to be the look-out tower behind their body and wings. "You asked for it. We built it. Presenting you…"

"Brrt, Brrt-Brrt Brrrrttt!" Ruffnut made trumpet noises.

"With your new rock look-out tower!"

Barf and Belch flew up, and revealed… Nothing. Not that Aric was surprised.

"You guys never disappoint, do you?" Snotlout commented.

"What? No! Wait! It was here a minute ago!" Tuffnut started blathering, when his eyes turned to his sister. "What did you do with it, Ruffnut?"

"What?! I didn't do anything with it!"

"Lying she-beast! You were always jealous of my rock tower."

"Your rock tower?!" And that's when Ruffnut tackled Tuffnut, the two on the ground fighting each other as the others watched. Snotlout was smiling at the show, probably getting a kick out of it as he often did when the twins fought. Astrid's head was down in her hand, shaking back and forth from the stupidity of it all. Aric was watching the entire display blankly, entirely unamused. When Tuffnut began charging with an ax and Ruffnut with a mace, Aric decided he'd had enough of the circus.

"Okay", he stepped in between them, stopping them with one hand to each of their helmets, holding them in place. "That's enough of that." The twins dropped their weapons, and Aric let go. "Gods", he muttered under his breath, when suddenly there was a roar and a scream coming from above.

Aric looked up, and Hiccup and Toothless were there, screaming in exhilaration, and yet crashing straight towards them. Aric jumped back, and the duo crashed.

After a moment, the two burst out laughing.

"Hiccup!" Aric ran over. They were covered in brightly colored pink flowers. At his voice, Hiccup looked up at him from the ground, her laughter turning to quiet giggles as she turned on her back.

"Heeyy!" she said strangely, drawing out the word and voice hiking up. "You're cute", she said next, just as strangely, before turning to Toothless. "And you're cute too. Ah, yes you are. Yes you are!" she spoke like talking to a dog, before bursting into another fit of giggles on the ground. Toothless responded with making strange sounds too, before attacking the giggly Hiccup with a flurry of licks.

"Uhh… Someone want to tell me what's wrong with Hiccup?" Snotlout asked slowly.

"Uh, yeah, Astrid?" Aric looked back to his sister. She just shook her head with a bewildered shrug, just as weirded out. The twins weren't helping by getting in on Hiccup and Toothless' weird antics.

That's when Aric noticed the flowers again. Carefully, he approached and bent to the ground where one of the flowers fell, picking it up. "Hey, Astrid, any idea what these flowers are?" he brought one to her.

"No clue", she said as she took it. "Fishlegs is usually the botany expert. They do kind of resemble the Blue Oleander, though, don't you think?"

"That's what I'm afraid of", he looked back to the two current goofballs playing with the two usual goofballs. He couldn't help but notice how their balance was all off, how Hiccup swayed and stumbled without a care in the world, as if her limbs had a mind of their own, how her eyes seemed so clouded, how her words made no sense. It was worrying, especially since he didn't know what was causing it.

Then Fishlegs began shouting. "Hiccup! Hiccup, come quickly!" he sounded urgent.

"That does not sound good", Astrid said, and Aric agreed, but Hiccup was in no condition to help Fishlegs right now, or anyone for that matter.

"I'll go see what's wrong with Fishlegs", he said, beginning his way to Shadowstar, the dragon already set to take off. "Just get Hiccup and Toothless back to their hut and get to work on figuring out what that flower is."

It took no time at all to fly back to the clubhouse. When Shadowstar landed, though, they were greeted with different colored lava puddles all over the floor. "Fishlegs?!" he dismounted.

"Careful where you step", he got in return, and navigating his way over the lava pools, Aric saw Fishlegs and Meatlug flying over them.

"Fishlegs", Aric said again once he finally reached them, "What's wrong?"

"Wrong?", Fishlegs laughed. "Nothing's wrong. Except, that I may have just made the greatest discovery in the history of Berkian civilization!" His arms tossed up, and Aric's head lifted to what was being projected on the ceiling. It looked to be divided into three pieces.

"Whoa", he expressed, having never really seen the Dragon Eye do that before. "Fishlegs, what…?" Aric trailed off, but Fishlegs had no problem explaining everything, exuding enthusiasm at whatever this new discovery was that he made.

"Okay, okay", Fishlegs seemed to gain his bearings first, Meatlug flying him up closer to the projected images. "So, this is a Gronckle, and here is the boulder", he pointed, "surrounded by water, and the duel mountain peaks! Do you understand what this means?!"

Aric shook his head, a tight smile on his face to let his friend know he was listening, but still had no idea what he was talking about.

"Dark Deep! We found it, Aric! It's real! The ancestral home of all the Gronckles! Oh-hoo-hoo-hoo!" he got all giddy. "Ooh, just wait 'till Hiccup hears about this. Where is she anyway?"

Just then they heard yelling outside.

"Giant Butterfly!" That one sounded like Hiccup.

"Hiccup, wait!" And that was Astrid.

"We're trying to find that one out ourselves", Aric said in answer.

"Huh?" Fishlegs was understandably confused, but before Aric could elaborate, Snotlout walked in.

"Snotlout, shouldn't you be helping Astrid?"

"She's doing fine on her own", Snotlout waved off. "So, what's so great about this?"

"Do I really have to explain?" Fishlegs questioned.

"Your boring discovery? Yes."

"Dark Deep is an island that up until now, we were never really sure existed. It's not in the Book of Dragons anywhere. However, in Bork's papers, there is a mention of it, but only briefly in context to a completely different species. If we were able to find Dark Deep, it could unlock so many secrets, not only for the Gronckles, but the entire Boulder Class of dragons! Do you understand how amazing this is?!"

It was quite the feat, Aric had to admit. Hiccup would have certainly loved it. He could only imagine the smile and look of wonder she would have on her face. Too bad she was currently…occupied. With still no response from Snotlout, Aric looked back to find Snotlout picking at his ear, obviously not listening whatsoever.

Noticing, Snotlout stopped. "Check that?" he said, "I absolutely don't care. Oh, by the way, Astrid told me to give you this", Snotlout pulled out the pink flower Aric had picked up earlier. Snotlout tossed it, and Aric caught it with a glare pointed in Snotlout's direction, the rider already walking out.

"Pink Oleander?" Fishlegs asked, Meatlug flying him down. "Why would Astrid want me to have that?"

"You mean you know this flower? Is it poisonous to dragons?" Aric immediately asked.

"Oh, no. No, Oleanders come in a lot of different varieties. As far as I know, there's blue, yellow, pink, and white. Pink is relatively harmless. Why?"

"Because Hiccup and Toothless fell into a batch. Or, at least it looked that way. They were covered in the stuff. We had a feeling the flowers were why they were acting so strange."

"That would make sense", Fishlegs said, before taking the flower into his hand. "From what I know about them, Pink Oleander flowers have been known to make reptiles extremely hyper. It's sort of like Dragon Nip in its effects, but instead of making them calm, it does the opposite. It's also been theorized that they may have hallucinogenic properties, but it's never been confirmed."

"That explains a lot. Alright, thanks. So, about this Dark Deep", Aric chose to change the subject back to that.

"Oh, right!" Fishlegs immediately perked up. "Well, based on these encryptions", he directed back to the Dragon Eye, "I took the liberty of charting a course; this island is so remote, it's farther than we've ever flown before. But, if Hiccup and Toothless aren't feeling well…"

"No, no, Fishlegs, it's fine. You said it yourself, the flowers are harmless. Besides, I'm sure Hiccup would love to hear about all your discoveries once she's recovered."

"Oh, you're right", Fishlegs said, Meatlug beginning to shake with excitement, Fishlegs nearly doing the same. "Ohh-hoo-hoo-hoo, I've never seen Meatlug this excited", he exclaimed. "Okay, okay, get it together, Fishlegs."

Aric laughed lightly. Fishlegs' thirst for knowledge never failed to amuse and amaze him. He still remembered when Fishlegs first discovered the Book of Dragons. He hadn't been able to put it down. Everyone always teased him for it as kids―Snotlout still does―but the Ingerman family prided themselves on knowledge, so his love for it wasn't all that surprising. The difference between his and Astrid's teasing when they were kids vs Snotlout and the twins was it was never meant to bring him down or make fun of him; it was always as friends. It was just the way Fishlegs got so excited that was so amusing, not the fact he was excited in the first place.

"Just think", Fishlegs went on, "I am going to be the first Berkian to ever set foot on Dark Deep. What an honor."

"Okay, I get it, Fishlegs. But, Shadowstar and I should go with you, just in case you need help."

Fishlegs looked at him perplexed. "You don't want to stay with Hiccup?"

"You're going to need someone as backup, and there isn't much I can do here anyway." Aric couldn't help but look away as he said that.

"Okay, but I'm the first one to step foot, remember? You can be the second."

"I promise", Aric smiled in amusement.

"Well, then welcome aboard, Aric. Come on, Meatlug, we need to go pack!" At once, Meatlug flew out in a flurry of buzzing wings, Aric needing to duck for a moment for fear of getting hit. Shaking his head, Aric left too, he and Shadowstar heading for Hiccup's hut.

When they arrived, they found Stormfly outside, keeping watch. Inside, Hiccup and Toothless were asleep in the loft, Astrid sitting nearby with a book. When she noticed him and Shadowstar, she closed the book and stood.

"I finally got them to sleep", she said.

"How?" Aric asked incredulously. Given what Fishlegs told him, and the trouble Astrid seemed to be having moments ago, that almost seemed impossible.

His sister gave a smirk. "I'd like to say with a mace, but we both know that's not true", she joked. She must have sedated them with something.

Aric stepped up to the bed Hiccup laid in, bringing the chair closer. He sat and watched for a moment, images of when she was in a coma after the Red Death and sick from the Blue Oleander flashing through his mind for all but a second.

"Fishlegs said it was Pink Oleander", he said. "But other than what we've seen so far, it's relatively harmless."

"That's good", Astrid said brightly. "That means it'll probably wear off on its own. We just have to wait."

But how long would that take, Aric had to wonder. He almost sighed. Why did Hiccup always have to do this to him? Make him worry and feel useless all at the same time? Was he just used to it at this point?

"Think we should dig up the flowers?" Astrid then asked, oblivious to the thoughts in his head.

"Yeah", he stood. "Get Snotlout on that, will you? I'm gonna be leaving with Fishlegs in the morning to Dark Deep. Tell me if anything changes before then?"

As he began to step out, Astrid seemed to smile. "Okay", she said.

000

The rest of the afternoon, into the evening, had gone smoothly. Eventually Hiccup woke up, along with Toothless, but whatever Astrid had done to sedate them kept them rather lethargic, enough to encourage them to stay in bed. By the next morning, Hiccup and Toothless weren't as hyper as the day before, but that might have been due to the potion Astrid was giving them to keep them calm. Hiccup continued to act strange, though. She still said random things for seemingly no reason, answered questions with answers that made no sense, and laughed at nothing on and off. As for Toothless, he would suddenly get up and pace at random intervals, before laying back down on his own, and he would click, growl, and coo randomly. According to Fishlegs, it was just as nonsensical as Hiccup. He would also have fits of just wanting to roll around for seemingly no reason.

In short, they were still out of it, and there was no telling when they'd get back to normal. As far as they knew, no one knew how long the effects of those flowers lasted. At least they were able to get rid of them.

Pretty soon, it was time to go. Aric stood with Shadowstar outside the clubhouse, doing a last minute check to make sure he had everything they would need for the trip. It would be a couple hours until noon, so if they wanted to make it back before nightfall, they'd have to leave before the next hour.

That was when Ruffnut and Tuffnut caught his attention, the two moaning and groaning as they rounded the corner with their dragon in tow.

"Ruff, Tuff, everything okay?" he asked.

"Ugh, keep it down, will ya?" Ruffnut complained. "We were up all night rebuilding the lookout tower from scratch."

"Really?" Aric said. "Well, let's have a look at it then."

"All right, but get ready to feast your eyes", Tuffnut said, and when they arrived to the spot, the twins presenting their 'tower', Aric wasn't in the least bit surprised.

"Uh-huh. And…what am I supposed to be feasting on exactly?" his arms crossed.

"Well the tower o―" Tuffnut turned, and that's when he realized. "Oh, come on!" he shouted.

The tower was once again not there, nothing but empty space, not that Aric was really surprised. It was the twins.

"Wait", Tuffnut suddenly said. "Maybe we were pointing in the wrong direction. No, that's it. Left of the chicken, hi Chicken. Somebody keeps stealing our tower!"

"Oh, come on", Ruffnut said. "You know no one's gonna admit to it. Let's just go rebuild the stupid thing."

"Can't trust anyone on this outpost."

"Yeah", Ruffnut stormed off. "You're all a bag of liars."

Aric shook his head. He would've loved to just build the lookout tower himself, but he needed to leave with Fishlegs to Dark Deep. The tower would have to wait.

Heading back up, he met Fishlegs and Meatlug on the launch pad outside the stables, and they were off. It wasn't long, though, before Fishlegs started singing with excitement. They hadn't even made it a mile in.

"Dark Deep, at last I found you! Dark Deep, the Gronckles surround you!"

Aric couldn't help but laugh. "Fishlegs, I haven't seen you this excited since Snoggletog morning when we were seven!"

"Ooh-hoo, I know. I couldn't even finish third breakfast. I hope I don't get too hungry."

"We've got snacks just in case", Aric assured, Shadowstar trilling with him.

000

When they arrived to Dark Deep, it looked to be all rock, bleak and gray, almost devoid of any life. Although, for a Boulder Class dragon, it was probably perfect.

As promised, Fishlegs and Meatlug were the first to step foot as Aric and Shadowstar hovered above.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah, Fishlegs!" Fishlegs cheered, giggled, and laughed. He was really ecstatic about this. "I can't believe I'm actually here."

Meatlug headbutt Fishlegs' back, barking something to him.

"Sorry, girl. We're here", Fishlegs amended.

Aric almost sighed. It was times like these where he kind of wished he could understand the dragon language, what Hiccup titled Dragonese, too. Hiccup and Fishlegs always seemed so much closer to their dragons for it.

He was just never good with other languages, neither his sister, so trying to learn a complex language that of a completely different species was out of the question for them. Astrid did try for a little bit, even having both Hiccup and Fishlegs helping her, but it became too frustrating, so she gave up. Aric didn't really see the point in trying after that.

"Dark Deep is your home, where all the rock-eaters roam…", Fishlegs sung and flung rocks to Meatlug, the dragon catching and eating them without problem as Fishlegs airily danced around. Shadowstar looked up at him with a light roar, looking at Aric with what he could only assume was confusion, or maybe bewilderment. Or, maybe those were the same thing. In any case, Aric just gave her a heavy shrug, head cocked to the side. Singing made-up songs was just what Fishlegs did sometimes, particularly when he was really happy.

"...Where Gronckles have fun, eating rocks by the ton." Fishlegs signaled them to land, and Shadowstar went in, landing behind Fishlegs as he stumbled through the last bit of his song.

"And the rocks are all rocky with families of rrrocks… And the feeding of their…" Fishlegs cleared his throat. "I'll work on that last part."

"Hey, no, I love the song", Aric reassured him as he dismounted. "It's just one thing. Where are all the roaming Gronckles?" He hadn't really thought about it much, distracted by Fishlegs' excitement, but on an island that was said to be the ancestral home of Gronckles, he'd expected there to be…well, Gronckles. So far, the island looked barren.

"Maybe we landed on the wrong isla―"

"No", Fishlegs interrupted with a laugh before Aric could finish. "That's Gravel Lake", he pointed, "and that's definitely the dual peaks of Mount Grunt. Aric, this is Dark Deep."

Shadowstar trilled and huffed beside him, mixed with a tone that sounded like she agreed with him rather than Fishlegs. "Tell me about it", he muttered. That is until what Fishlegs said next.

"Shadowstar's right. They're probably all just further inland."

Aric didn't say anything, though Shadowstar seemed to smile sheepishly at him, her ears and crown pinning back.

000

Even as they walked further into the island, Meatlug leading the way ahead of him, Fishlegs was still bouncing. To think, all this time Dark Deep was real, and he was the first Berkian to discover it! It would be one of his greatest research accomplishments yet. Who knew what secrets they could learn?

Meatlug stopped before what looked like a large crack in the ground. When Fishlegs got closer, it was a deep crevice with three Gronckles inside. There was one female with orange scales and red accents, one male with blue scales and green-yellow accents, and another female with purple scales and lighter purple accents. They all stood together, peacefully munching on some rocks.

"Oh, look, Meatlug found some new friends!" Fishlegs called from beside it, Aric and Shadowstar not too far behind. "I told you there were Gronckles here", he continued as Aric and Shadowstar approached.

Meatlug hopped off the ledge and flew down to the small group, and Fishlegs started climbing down.

"Hi!" Meatlug greeted cheerfully, but while normally she'd be responded with cheerful grunts and an invite to join them, his dragon was instead met with hostile growls and warning roars.

Meatlug stumbled back a bit as Fishlegs fell the last bit down, landing on his back.

"That's weird", Aric said as Shadowstar landed behind them. "Aren't Gronckles usually friendly?"

The ground began to shake, before stopping seconds later.

"Oh, well that could be what's doing it", Fishlegs told him. "No one likes an earthquake."

Suddenly, Shadowstar growled too, crouching low.

"See?"

But it wasn't an earthquake that had Shadowstar and the Gronckles on edge. As a new sound reached their ears, a rumbling sort of sound getting closer, Fishlegs suddenly saw what it was.

"Runaway boulder!" he screamed, and the Gronckles screamed too.

Shadowstar leapt forward with Aric, shooting her plasma bolts and spines, but it wasn't doing any good.

"It isn't stopping!" Shadowstar screeched with alarm. "Run!" In the panic of it all, Fishlegs got onto Meatlug and ushered the Gronckles down the tunnel, Shadowstar now trying to out-run the thing behind them.

"Fishlegs!" Aric called, and seeing what Aric was warning him of, he pulled at Meatlug to body slam the other Gronckles into the wall, out of the way as the boulder rolled passed them.

They all landed, each catching their breaths.

"That was close", Fishlegs said, when the 'boulder' suddenly began rolling upwards.

"Hey, uh, Fishlegs? When was the last time you saw a boulder roll uphill?" Aric asked.

"Um…never?"

The 'boulder' sped up, and the Gronckles screamed, flying back down the tunnel.

"How is that even possible?!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"No time! Run!"

Shadowstar ran as Meatlug and the Gronckles flew, the space too narrow for Shadowstar's wings.

"We can't avoid it!" Fishlegs exclaimed, Shadowstar shooting another plasma bolt behind her. It still had no effect. If anything, the 'boulder' sped up.

"Quick, down there!" Aric exclaimed, and dashed into a cave in the wall. Fishlegs abruptly steered Meatlug that way too, followed by the Gronckles. He ended up crashing, he and Aric both thrown off their dragons.

Above, the Gronckles tried to squeeze through a too small hole to the surface.

"It doesn't look like we can fly out", Aric said.

"We're trapped!" Meatlug yelped.

"We're not trapped!" Shadowstar roared to get her to snap out of it, no anger attached. "Besides, I think we lost it. Whatever that thing was."

"You don't think it was another dragon, do you? A…Gronckle eating one?" Meatlug whimpered.

"You mean…you guys couldn't sense what it was?" Fishlegs asked, holding Meatlug comfortingly.

"Yeah, 'cause that definitely wasn't a boulder", Aric jumped in.

"It was all so fast", Shadowstar explained, shaking her head from where she sat. Meanwhile, the three Gronckles came down, their plan of escape given up.

"We're gonna die", the blue male silently screeched.

"We should have left with the others", the orange female said almost too quickly for Fishlegs to pick up.

"How could we have known? We thought it was a myth", the purple female seemed to defend, acting like the voice of reason for the group.

Aric moved over to the exit. "Alright, I think the coast is clear", he said softly. "Let's move out. Quietly."

Silently, they filed out with Aric at the lead, when Fishlegs' stomach rumbled and everyone looked back at him like he'd be the one to get them caught.

"What? That's what happens when you don't eat third breakfast", he defended, though silently told his traitorous stomach to silence. At least until they made it out. It seemed as though his stomach might have actually got them caught, though, because just then that horrible rumbling returned, followed by the sight of the 'boulder' rolling towards them again. "Uh…Aric?"

"I see it, Fishlegs", Aric said, and suddenly the 'boulder' stopped, uncurling to reveal a large menacing dragon. It roared, its mouth splitting into three horrifying parts, then stomped towards them, turning and using its tail in an attempt to bash them. Instead, upon Aric and the Gronckles behind him ducking, the dragon hit one of the walls, causing an avalanche above them. Upon closer inspection, though, that might have been the goal all along, as the dragon continued to bash the walls back and forth with its tail, causing the tunnel to become more unstable and more and more boulders and rocks to fall on them.

As the Gronckles and Meatlug huddled together to protect themselves, Shadowstar jumped to his and Aric's protection, using her wings as shields above their heads from where they already attempted to duck and cover themselves.

Even through all the chaos, Fishlegs still found the dragon's techniques fascinating. "Impressive. Definitely a Boulder Class", he said. "Aric, what do think of Catastrophic Quaken as a name?"

"Seriously?!" Shadowstar roared at him.

"Name it later!" Aric yelled, then got onto Shadowstar and shot plasma blasts and spines, making the Quaken mad more than anything. It rolled up into a ball and went for the attack, but missed as Shadowstar jumped to the ground again, the Quaken making their exit as he crashed into the ceiling.

"As long as it's in that ball, I think we're safe", Aric said. "Fishlegs, get those Gronckles in the air."

At once they fled through the hole, but the Quaken unraveled and followed straight up into the sky before suddenly sinking like a rock, hitting the ground rolled up like a giant boulder. The shock wave that came from the impact thrust them all off course, Meatlug losing control and Fishlegs tossed off with a startled scream. Thankfully, Shadowstar and Aric were able to catch him by his arms and plop him back in his Meatlug's saddle, his girl thankfully alright, if a little shaken up. Seemed they weren't so safe with the Quaken rolled up after all.

"Fishlegs, Meatlug, retreat!" Aric called.

"I thought you'd never ask", Fishlegs said relieved, and after gathering up the three Gronckles, they led them off the island and back to the Edge. The Gronckles never looked more relieved when they landed.

Snotlout wasn't exactly happy with the arrival, though.

"Really?! More Gronckles?!" he exclaimed.

"It's just a few stray Gronckles", Aric said. "What's the big deal?"

Ruffnut chuckled. "Just a few he says."

"Uh yeah, bro, you might want to have a look at this", Astrid said.

000

When Ruffnut and Astrid told him there were more than just 'a few', Aric wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't a giant pack of Gronckles around the twins' boar pit. There must have been at least thirty, maybe more.

"So this is where all the Gronckles went", he said.

"Can you believe they flew all this way?" Fishlegs awed beside him. "Gronckles may be slow, but they are tenacious."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Hey!" Tuffnut suddenly reprimanded an orange Gronckle. "Don't you put that rock in your mouth; you have no idea where it's been, mister!"

"Aric, these guys are out of control", Astrid told him. "We have to get them back to their island."

"Uh, yeah, there…might be a problem with that", Aric uncomfortably started.

Just as fast, Fishlegs jumped in to elaborate. "They've been chased from their homeland by a giant Boulder Class dragon. The Catastrophic Quaken, to be exact."

"Quaken Shmaken!" Snotlout barreled through, literally pushing himself between them from behind. Aric took a deep breath, controlling himself. "You let one lousy dragon take over Meatlug's entire island?"

"It's not that simple, Snotlout", Fishlegs tried to explain, but of course, Snotlout was Snotlout.

"Oh, sure it is. Quaken one, Meatlug EH! Pathetic."

"Okay, let's just drop it!" Aric exclaimed. "Alright? We have a bigger problem here than your needless taunting. First, we need to round up all these Gronckles. Any volunteers?"

"How 'bout the twins", Astrid offered. Aric turned to her like she was nuts. "I mean the Gronckles were the ones eating their tower."

Aric sighed. "Fine", he rolled his eyes. "Ruff, Tuff, you're...in charge."

"Awesome!" Tuffnut exclaimed, holding the rock that orange Gronckle had had before. "It'll be nice to get to know these guys better. We got off to a little bit of a rocky start on our relationship", he continued with the awful pun, then laughed at his own joke. "You see what I did there? I'll explain it later. My humor can be quite complex."

As the twins left to their job, Aric turned to Astrid. "Any changes?" he asked. She knew exactly what he meant.

"No", she frowned, looking puzzled. Together, they walked away from the group. "I tried giving them a bath, thinking maybe they still had some pollen residue on them, but so far there's been no change. It's the oddest thing."

Aric frowned. It was strange. Why wasn't it wearing off? Nothing should have been taking this long to wear off, especially if it was as harmless as Fishlegs claimed it was. There had to be something they were missing, but what? Astrid must have mistaken his contemplation for worry, because she suddenly put a hand to his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll figure this out", she said, and for her, he smiled.

000

"Back in line, Tuffnut Junior! You too, Junior Tuffnut!" Tuffnut was shouting.

Fishlegs sat with Meatlug at the sidelines, watching from a distance as Ruffnut and Tuffnut rounded up the Gronckles with Barf and Belch.

"What was that? Don't tell me you didn't just back-sass me, Junior Tuffnut, Junior!"

"What do we do now?" Meatlug barked sadly.

Fishlegs pet her reassuringly. "Don't worry, girl. We'll figure out how to get those Gronckles back home. There has to be a way."

"Sounds like someone has a problem that needs some solving", Snotlout and Hookfang appeared then. "Well, consider this your lucky day, Fishlegs. Because the answer-man has arrived."

"Snotlout?"

"That's right", Snotlout declared. "And I'm going to help you get Dark Deep back for those Gronckles."

"You don't understand", Fishlegs stood.

"Yeah. Look at me, then look at you. You're much bigger than me, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh, but your boot's untied."

"Huh?" Fishlegs looked, only to suddenly be shoved to the ground. "Ah!" He looked to Snotlout annoyed. "Hey, my boot doesn't have laces!" he exclaimed, but Snotlout practically ignored him as he continued.

"There's only one way to get rid of this Quaken, and that is to push him off Dark Deep", he said as Fishlegs got back up. "And the only way to do that is to fight dirty."

"Oh, I-I don't think so."

"Fishegs! Do you want to be you, or do you want to win?"

Fishlegs looked back to Meatlug, his dragon gazing at the others with so much sadness.

"I want to win, but not your way", he decided, and stepped away with Meatlug. They'd figure something out together, without Snotlout's help. Maybe Aric even had a plan already. Still, he heard Snotlout shouting behind them.

"You'll be back! They always come back!"

The next morning, Aric was outside cleaning Shadowstar's scales. He looked to be in a good mood, all things considered, and given he and Meatlug had come up empty the night before, seeing him like that made him confident Aric had something to defeat the Quaken.

"Hey", Fishlegs greeted, "What are ya up to?"

"Oh, you know, just giving Shadowstar her weekly cleaning", Aric said.

"He always forgets behind my ears", Shadowstar laughed, nudging Aric a bit and causing him to laugh.

"Yes, girl, I know. I know", he placed a hand to her head. "So, what's up? And might want to make it quick; Shadowstar just loves the brush", he chuckled in response to her nudge.

Fishlegs didn't bother correcting him. "Well, I was just wondering what the plan was", he said instead.

Aric immediately frowned. "The plan…" he drawled, as if confused by the question.

"For Dark Deep? The Quaken? How are we gonna get rid of it?"

"Oh, that", Aric's arms crossed. "Fishlegs, I don't think this is something we should be getting ourselves involved in."

"What?"

"Hiccup and Toothless aren't getting better and we have no idea why", Aric said matter-of-factly. "More than anyone, I need you focused on helping them, not a group of Gronckles who can pick any other island and be just fine; you know this flower best."

"Yes, but―" Fishlegs started, but Aric went on as if he hadn't heard.

"Besides, I'm not exactly sure it's our place to begin with", he shrugged. "I mean, this kind of stuff happens in nature all the time, right? For now the Quaken has taken over the island, and one day some bigger dragon might come along and take over next. It's normal."

"But when has that ever stopped us before?"

"Fishlegs", Aric interrupted. "Look, if you want to bring this up to Hiccup when she's better, I don't care, but until then it's my decision, and my decision is no. I'm sorry."

The decision was final, and there was no swaying it. Aric went back to scrubbing Shadowstar's scales, but his answer still didn't sit right with Fishlegs. He understood Aric's concern with Hiccup and Toothless, but that didn't mean they couldn't still help. Hiccup and Toothless were stable; they were fine. The Gronckles from Dark Deep weren't; they'd just been uprooted from their home and they had to help them get it back. How could Aric just decide they shouldn't get involved? What? Just because it wasn't their dragons in trouble it suddenly wasn't their right to intervene?

As Fishlegs turned and left, he heard Snotlout's voice in his head.

Do you want to be you, or do you want to win?

He wanted to win, and if Aric wasn't going to help him do it, he knew who would. Finding Snotlout napping atop some barrels, he asked what he never thought he would.

"I can't believe I'm actually gonna say this, but…" Snotlout moved his helmet from his eyes "…teach me everything you know, Snotlout", he said, and Snotlout's eyes widened in surprise.

"You came back?" he sat up all too fast, the barrels he was perched on toppling underneath him with a wavered shout. Snotlout stood back up with mock confidence. "Of course he came back. I knew he would."

"Liar" Hookfang huffed, spraying steam in Snotlout's face.

"Hookfang", Snotlout griped.

"And, let's just keep this between us?" Fishlegs suggested. "We don't want to bother Aric with any of this."

"I feel you on that. Now, it's time to get dirty."

000

While Astrid continued to try and figure out why Hiccup and Toothless' recovery was taking so long, and the twins took care of the Gronckle situation, Aric picked up the slack with chores. It would have helped if he could delegate some to Fishlegs and Snotlout, but as he was out collecting things from the forest, he found the two up to something.

They'd frozen for a moment when they saw him, a pile of rock before them, before Meatlug swept it all away and Fishlegs and Snotlout flopped to the ground on their backs in the attempt of what he could only assume were supposed to be crunches. Aric had raised a brow at it, but with more important things to do decided to move on.

The second time he caught them, he found them playing what looked to be some kind of hide and seek tag. Aric growled at first, feeling nothing but utter annoyance and frustration at the fact the two were playing around while he was left with all the chores that needed to still get done, but then he hummed. While blowing off work was definitely something Snotlout and the twins would do, it wasn't something Fishlegs would do; he was far more considerate. Something was definitely going on, and Aric was going to find out what; chores could wait.

He decided to stick around, hiding behind the trees and watching, beginning to gather that Snotlout was training Fishlegs and Meatlug for something. The exercises seemed completely nonsensical, though. Then Snotlout and Hookfang stood before the two, two cotton balls stuck up his nose to stop a nose bleed from when Meatlug had rolled him over, and Aric was sure he knew what was going on.

"Well, I didn't think it was possible", Snotlout started in a nasal tone from the cotton balls, "What with you being all you and all, but you're actually ready."

"Do you really think so?" Fishlegs asked, and that was enough for Aric. He stepped out.

"I knew you were up to something", he called their attention. "Fishlegs, have you been training to take on the Quaken?" he accused. He hadn't wanted to think Fishlegs would actually go against him behind his back and turn to Snotlout of all people, but it certainly looked as if he had.

"You don't have to answer that", Snotlout was quick to say.

"Oh, yes he does", Aric countered. "Fishlegs?" he crossed his arms, waiting. It didn't take long.

"Fine", Fishlegs exclaimed. "Yes, we have."

Snotlout groaned.

"But only because we can't just sit by and let the Quaken take over Dark Deep. We all know the Gronckles can't stay here; this isn't their home, Aric. You want to talk about nature and what's right and who belongs where?"

Aric wanted to interrupt and say Fishlegs was completely missing the point, but Fishlegs wouldn't give him the chance.

"The Dragon Eye! It says the Gronckles are supposed to live on Dark Deep, and we are going to make sure they do. We're ready for it this time, Aric. Look! Meatlug, battle ready!"

Meatlug crouched into a fearsome battle stance, a threatening growl to match, until Shadowstar, unfazed, simply blew a small plasma blast the size of a pebble at her. It hit and took Meatlug completely out of her stance, no longer so threatening anymore. His dragon looked quite smug about it.

"Battle ready?" Aric questioned. "Come on, Fishlegs, this isn't you. It's him!" he gestured towards Snotlout.

"I know. Great, right?"

"No, not great!" Aric yelled at him. "You can not listen to Snotlout", he turned back to Fishlegs. "That has disaster written all over it!"

"Hey, I resent that!" Snotlout objected. "When has anything I've ever done ended in disaster?"

"Do I really need to answer that?" Aric shot back. "You're all brain and heart, Fishlegs, not brawn and bragging. That's what we like about you."

"But Aric―"

"I agree, Fishlegs. They should be back on their own home island, and we'll figure out a way to do it, but you have to be patient and trust I know what I'm doing. Can I trust you to do that?" he placed a hand to one of Fishlegs' broad shoulders.

A moment passed where Fishlegs just looked at him, and then nodded. Stepping away, Aric gave him a smile, then climbed on Shadowstar.

000

As soon as Aric flew off, Fishlegs turned back to Snotlout.

"I can't believe you just gave up like that. And after all the work I did", Snotlout complained, but Fishlegs didn't waver. Instead, he smirked.

"Oh, I didn't give up", Fishlegs told him.

Snotlout looked at him confused.

"We are taking on that Quaken, whether Aric likes it or not."

000

Aric sat by Hiccup as she seemed to play with her hands, reaching up into the air and mumbling something about them being flowers, her fingers the petals as she stretched them in and out.

How long had he been watching this? He wasn't sure, but pretty soon Astrid came in and she didn't sound too impressed.

"You know, sitting here watching her isn't going to magically make her better any faster", she said.

"I know", he told her pointedly. He knew he couldn't do anything, so this made him feel better. He knew Hiccup was okay, even if mentally out of it. Astrid just didn't get it. Or, maybe she did, and that was why she was bugging him about it. Why did she have to be so nosey?

"I really don't understand what you're waiting for." And there it was. Aric wanted to sigh, but opted for a glare instead. "It's been three years. Just tell her you want to take the next step already. Tell you what. It's a great idea. You'll love it. After this is all over, you tell Hiccup how you feel, you guys get together, and finally live happily ever after. Sound good?"

"No. Life isn't a fairy tale, Astrid." He knew Astrid was just teasing him, but it really got on his nerves. Why couldn't she just mind her own business? His relationship with Hiccup was his own to deal with. "It's not that simple, and you know it."

"Yeah, well how's doing nothing working out for you so far?" she challenged, and then her face softened. "One day, you may not get the chance, don't you realize that, Aric? What do you have to lose?" She stepped up to Hiccup and brought her hands from her face. "You're so afraid of moving too fast, you're moving too slow."

Aric didn't say anything as she checked Hiccup and Toothless to make sure there were no negative changes, then Astrid left for their dinner.

Her words wormed their way into his head like they always did. As Hiccup laid back, now very interested in her tail between her legs, Aric sat back in his chair. Yes, he was afraid of moving too fast, but didn't he have a right to be? He'd almost scared Hiccup off with that stupid kiss he pulled her into after her coma. In front of the entire village, no less. At the time, she seemed to like it, but then it was like she was avoiding the topic completely. Nothing came of it after. He'd had to directly confront her about it after Snoggletog, and if it weren't for Astrid convincing him to, he wasn't sure if he would have. He'd started avoiding the topic too, beginning to feel embarrassment every time the memory of that kiss came back to the forefront of his mind. He still felt it now, but worse.

It was the same question every time. Why did he do that? It was so stupid, just like that night in the cove where he'd just suddenly kissed her on the cheek. Stupid. Thankfully, his impulses hadn't pushed her away―Hiccup had just felt nervous and awkward about the whole thing―but it still put a wedge between them. How did they move forward? They decided to stay friends until they were ready, or more specifically, until she was ready. Three years later, and he had no idea how Hiccup felt anymore. Was she ready? Or, did she figure she only liked him as a friend and that's all they'd ever be?

He knew it wasn't that way for him. If anything, as time had gone on, his feelings had only grown. Looking back, he had always felt something for Hiccup, from the day he first laid eyes on her big green ones, but he'd never been ready or aware enough to admit it. Now, he could. He loved her. He admired her like no one else. He loved her determination, her resourcefulness, her love of dragons, flying, and exploring. He loved her laugh, and her smile, and the way her eyes just had this way of lighting up whenever she talked about dragons. He even loved her crave for freedom, and yet, it was also that same craving that held him back.

What if she saw courtships as a way of getting tied to the ground? Hiccup was so happy right now, he couldn't just pour his heart out to her and put her in a place that would put them right back where they'd started. He was waiting for the right moment, but Astrid didn't understand that. Yes, maybe he was wasting time, maybe he was just making up excuses out of fear of losing the relationship he and Hiccup had right now, but he couldn't do it. He just couldn't.

He wished Astrid could understand that and leave her nose out of it, but he knew she wouldn't. She was a hopeless romantic, though she'd never admit to it, and butting her nose into other people's love lives, particularly his, seemed to be one of her most favorite pass times.

It was then he noticed Hiccup looking up at him, a smile on her face. She just stared. "I like your eyes", she then suddenly said. "I like you. Mm, no, like isn't the right word. Love. Yeah, I love you. I've loved you for a long time…" she trailed off, and Aric felt his body seize for a moment. He didn't know how to respond. She'd just blurted it out, right as he was thinking about how much he loved her.

It was the flowers, he reasoned. For a split second he'd almost tricked himself into believing it was real, that she'd somehow read his mind, but it wasn't. Hiccup didn't know who she was talking to or what she was saying. They'd tried to have conversations with her before, see just how far off her mind was, but every time it was like she was in her own little world separate from this one. She might have thought she was talking to Toothless for all he knew.

And yet, still, Aric couldn't help himself from what he said next. "I love you too", he said softly, butterflies swarming through his stomach. He knew Hiccup wouldn't remember it, wasn't even paying attention as her focus drew to something else only she could see, but hearing himself say it made him feel good, even if Hiccup didn't.

That was when Astrid burst in, racing up the stairs towards him. "Aric!" she exclaimed. "We have a problem."

000

Fishlegs and Snotlout were heading to Dark Deep behind Aric's back. Fishlegs felt guilty for it, but he also knew it was something he had to do. Aric was wrong.

"I feel bad sneaking away, but Meatlug and I, we're the Gronckles' only hope", he said as they landed.

"You did the right thing, Fishlegs", Snotlout assured him. "You can take this dragon, and reclaim Dark Deep for the Gronckles!"

It was then that rumbling from the Quaken started. Snotlout turned towards it in fear, but Fishlegs held himself firm, determined to face the dragon head on. The dragon revealed himself up on a rock outcrop like a perch, wings out to make himself look bigger, and roared.

"Leave!" he claimed the territory as his, and Snotlout started freaking out.

"You never said he was this big. What were you thinking?!"

"I thought you said I did the right thing", Fishlegs said, confused as to why Snotlout was backing out.

"Uh, yeah, that was before I saw it!"

The Quaken roared again, this time meaning it.

"Um, I'm going to go get some help!" Snotlout began backing away. "Yeah! Get some help! Oh, he's really big." Snotlout ran and jumped on Hookfang's back away from the island, and Fishlegs felt his revere dwindle as well, but he didn't retreat on Meatlug.

Still…

"Aric was right. This isn't us", he confessed to Meatlug. He normally ran away from danger, not towards it. He couldn't blame Snotlout for running away; there was still a very strong part of him that wanted to too, but he didn't.

"Fishlegs?" Meatlug asked. She'd trained for this as much as he had, even more. After looking to the Quaken eyeing them like a hawk one more time, Fishlegs made up his mind.

"But what other choice do we have?" he said, and climbed on. Meatlug readied herself. "For the Gronckles of Dark Deep!" Fishlegs roared, and the Quaken leaped off the rock. As the dragon's form shadowed them, Fishlegs felt his revere slip once again. Meatlug shook under him.

"Help", she whimpered.

000

"We need to find those mutton-heads before they get themselves killed!" Aric voiced as he and Astrid raced on their dragons to the island of Dark Deep. Thankfully the twins had seen them leave, and given he'd told Astrid what happened between him and Fishlegs, they were both able to put two and two together very quickly.

Aric was furious about it. He'd immediately raced down the stairs, called Shadowstar, and shot into the air after them, quickly followed by Astrid and Stormfly. He'd told Fishlegs to trust him, and Fishlegs lied to him right to his face. They were supposed to be friends, and as far he knew, friends didn't go behind each others backs!

"When we find those two, I swear―" he began to mutter, when Astrid called.

"Mutton-head incoming!"

"Snotlout!" they stopped at each other, Snotlout and Hookfang coming from the island but Fishlegs and Meatlug nowhere in sight. "Where's Fishlegs?!"

"You know, that Quaken was a lot bigger than he said it was", Snotlout said.

"So you just left him?!" Aric yelled, then with growl, Aric signaled Shadowstar with his foot and she raced with urgency in their speed.

000

"Oh Thor! Oh Thor!" Fishlegs exclaimed as he and Meatlug were chased down by the Catastrophic Quaken. Meatlug flew low to the ground, weaving back and forth in an attempt to keep away from the dragon's massive jaws.

Then, like lightning, a magnesium blast came down from the sky, Meatlug swerving with the suddenness of it as the Quaken was shot.

"Fishlegs!" he heard Aric yell, and turning around, he saw Aric, Astrid, and even Snotlout, the Quaken no longer chasing them, but after their friends instead.

They met eye to eye in the sky, seeming to be staring the other down, when suddenly the Quaken dove to the ground, rolled up into a ball, and crashed, causing a massive shock wave to erupt which threw everyone away. Fishlegs himself was thrown off of Meatlug, and when he sat back up, he found the Quaken looking at him and Meatlug again.

They screamed, and Fishlegs scrambled back up onto Meatlug as she began scrambling away. They were back to trying to weave out of the Quaken's way, but they weren't able to keep away as long as before, the dragon hitting Meatlug's flank and throwing them completely off course. Meatlug swerved and tumbled, Fishlegs thrown out of the saddle, and the two were tossed down a crack in the rocky terrain. When they looked up, the Quaken was above them, but the hole was too small for him to get through. Looking around, they found they were in a cave, the entrance right behind them, and a pile of rocks before them.

As Fishlegs picked one of the rocks up, it didn't take him long to figure out where they'd landed.

"The Quaken's cave", he shook.

"It looks like he lives alone", Meatlug said with a slight whine.

" "Let's get out of here!" "

They rushed out the cave, but they were too late, quickly cut off by the Catastrophic Quaken rolled into a boulder-like ball. He slammed the ground in front of them, then ever so slowly, began rolling down towards them.

Fishlegs was tired of running, though. It was getting them nowhere. No, it was time to make their stand.

"Fishlegs, get out of there!" he heard Aric yell, but Fishlegs refused.

"No. We're not going anywhere, right, girl?" he looked to Meatlug.

"Right", she affirmed, and stood battle ready beside him.

Fishlegs' eyes closed, arms out and palms open in the motion of stop as if he could stop the Quaken with brute force. He heard the Quaken roll closer and closer, Fishlegs beginning to shake.

"I'm not backing down, I'm not backing down, I'm not backing down", he repeated to himself like a mantra, then opened his eyes to find the Quaken above them. Fishlegs turned his back on protective instinct, the Quaken about to smush them both, but as he heard the crash, he also found himself okay.

Fishlegs opened his eyes and looked at himself. "I'm not smushed", he said, then noticed Meatlug in front of him.

She stood firm against the Catastrophic Quaken, growling in threat to protect him. They sized each other, growling lowly as they looked straight into the other's slit eyes, but neither saying a word, until finally, after minutes of waiting, the Quaken's narrowed eyes relaxed, and it was over.

Meatlug relaxed in turn, and hovered up to the Quaken's eye level, a grin plastered on her face. He huffed at her, clearly unhappy he lost whatever battle had just been silently going on, but then Meatlug kindly nuzzled his snout, and the Quaken's hardened shell melted. It almost looked like…he was smiling.

"It's working", Fishlges muttered at the sight, the once fearsome dragon nothing more than a sweet, lonely puppy dog. A group of Gronckles flew in from the distance, and the Quaken welcomed them with open wings and bright eyes, before walking off with them.

Aric came up beside him, and Fishlegs prepared for the fury that was sure to come from his friend, but it never did. Instead, he got a hard pat on the shoulder.

"Fishlegs, that was just about the craziest and bravest, but mostly craziest, thing I have ever seen anyone do. And that's saying a lot", Aric added.

"You were right, Aric. Fighting dirty isn't me. That was me."

"It sure was. Though, I'd give Meatlug most of the credit if I were you. Whatever she did, it worked."

"Oh, don't worry. When we get home, I'm gonna give her the biggest pile of quartz and granite I can find", Fishlegs assured.

Using his tail, the Quaken smashed a boulder into a pile of rocks, and the Gronckles happily dug in.

"The Quaken was just being defensive", Fishlegs explained. "He was scared and all by himself. He wasn't angry at all."

"Whoa, Fishlegs, that was awesome!" Snotlout walked up, the apparent coward who left him to face the Quaken on his own. "Just like I taught you", he boasted anyway, as if it'd been part of his plan all along. "No need to thank me. Success is its own reward."

"Oh, really, Snotlout?", Fishlegs said sarcastically, "Tell me more. Oh, that's right. I just remembered I don't care", he finished, then calmly walked off, Aric's laughter behind him.

"I taught him too well."

He stopped where Astrid stood, humming in thought as she idly watched a small group of hatchlings playing, when one suddenly dropped to the ground in a tired heap.

Astrid gasped. "I got it!" she exclaimed.

"Got what?" Fishlegs asked.

"The answer" was all she said, before suddenly running to Stormfly and taking off.

"What― Astrid?! Where are you going?!" Aric noticed and shouted after her.

"You'll thank me later!"

000

Astrid hadn't been able to wait and explain her epiphany. Hiccup and Fishlegs might have liked wasting time providing long-winded explanations, but she was a girl of action. Besides, she could always ramble on about it later.

When she saw that Gronckle hatchling crash like a child at the end of a sugar high, it stuck her like a bolt of lightning. She'd been going about Hiccup and Toothless' condition all wrong. Pink Oleander made reptiles hyper, so maybe instead of treating the condition like that of Eel Pox or Blue Oleander where they need to rest to replenish energy, they need to expel it. By having them rest in their restless states, what if she'd been prolonging their recovery, not helping.

It was a theory, and there was really only one way to test it out. When Astrid arrived back to the Edge, far ahead of anyone else, though she was sure the others had left Dark Deep not long after her, she had Stormfly land outside Hiccup's hut.

000

By the time Aric got back to the Edge with the others, his immediate attention was brought to their mini-arena. Inside, Hiccup and Toothless were roughhousing, playing and laughing like two crazy hatchlings. Outside the arena stood Astrid and Stormfly, watching the whole thing.

Shadowstar landed, along with the others, and they met up with Astrid for an explanation.

"Alright, Astrid, what's this all about?" Aric asked, when Astrid lifted a finger to his face.

"Wait for it…" she drawled, and then not even two seconds later, Hiccup and Toothless completely stopped, crashed into a tired heap on the ground with Hiccup on top of Toothless.

"What?" Aric stood surprised and confused.

"Okay, what just happened?" Snotlout asked.

"You monster!" Tuffnut accused.

"Relax, they're fine", Astrid said. "They've just finally crashed. Uupp", she interrupted before anyone could respond. "The Pink Oleander wasn't wearing off because they needed to burn it off. And, now that they have, they should be back to normal. You can thank me later", she finished with an arrogant smirk, particularly towards Aric.

They all helped get the two back into their hut, and though Astrid and Fishlegs both assured him they'd be fine, Aric stayed with them anyway, just in case Astrid's plan failed. He fell asleep on the floor with Shadowstar, and the next morning, he was woken by the sound of Hiccup's voice.

"Aric?" it said softly, and it sounded completely normal. He opened his eyes, and found Hiccup crouched over him.

"Hiccup", he sat up all too fast, surprising Hiccup for a moment. He noticed the sun from the sky light. "What time is it?"

"Still morning, don't worry", she said. She was dressed in her riding gear, which meant she'd gone out for her usual morning flight with Toothless. "Astrid told me what happened. I didn't say anything too weird while I was out of it, did I?"

Hiccup looked a little nervous as she said that, and though she had, her love confession coming to mind, she also hadn't been in the right frame of mind. He didn't want to worry her over nothing.

"No", he told her, and Hiccup sighed in relief.

"Good. So, want to see the clubhouse's new spyglass?" She stood and offered, extending her hand for him to take.

He already had, but he didn't want to disappoint her. Aric agreed, and let Hiccup take him outside the clubhouse and explain every little detail she wanted of her newest and grandest creation. She was animated and long-winded, and just so…Hiccup. It was perfect.