"So it doesn't hold as much information as the Dragon Eye?" Hiccup asked the next morning as we all stood in the clubhouse, Heather included. Arrow was happy to see her, curling around her shoulders.

"The lenses aren't interchangeable. and the Dragon eye could shine light through multiple lenses at once, this doesn't." I held up the shield as Windshear fed light into it. "So no, it's not as versatile or elaborate as the Dragon Eye, but it still has its own droves." I noted. With the sunstone gem, coupled with Windshear's fire, it seemed to display information about sharp class dragons. As I shifted from the Sunstone to the Topaz, it showed new dragons.

"I've never seen this dragon before." Fishlegs ran his hand over a shape that reminded me of Cloudjumper.

"That's a Stormcutter. Sharp class dragon, very big, very fast, and remarkably intelligent." I explained. "Also, one of the most silent flyers amongst dragons. Which is strange, considering its size, and the four wings.

"Fascinating! Anybody got any chalk?" Fishlegs asked.

"Maybe later, Fishlegs." Hiccup stopped him. "So, if this, uh, what did you call it?" He asked me.

"The Eye Shield." I said. "It seemed appropriate." I shrugged.

"Well, if the Eye Shield exists, there might be more out there than we thought. Do you think Viggo knows about it?" He asked.

"I don't think so." I shook my head. "I mean, he never mentioned the Dragon Eye either, but the ship this was on flew a different crest. I don't think Viggo's tribe made this." I tapped the Eye Shield gently. "There's more though…" I said, a shudder drifting down my spine.

"What is it?" Astrid asked, an eyebrow raised as she noted Heather sharing my unpleasant demeanour.

"The cages on that ship, the Leviathan." I sighed. "Each and every one was filled… With Strike Class skeletons." I said. Everyone's eyes immediately geared towards Toothless, who cooed with a confused tilt of the head.

"Were…" Hiccup spoke up after a minute, his voice catching in his throat. "Were there any…?" He trailed.

"Just one." I confirmed. "Smaller than Toothless, it was used to keep the Eye Shield barricaded."

"Specialised Strike Class dragon hunters." Fishlegs said in horror. "And I thought Viggo was bad enough as it is."

"Is there a chance these guys are still out there?" Snotlout asked, with a surprising amount of seriousness in his tone.

"I don't think so. I've hunted all over the known Viking world, I've never seen a ship flying the serpentine crest that was on the Leviathan."

"So they're probably extinct." Heather chimed in.

"Good for them, they'd be endangered if they came any near Barf and Belch." Tuffnut slammed his fist into his palm.

"Dude, Barf and Belch are Fear Class, not Strike Class." Ruffnut scoffed at her brother.

"Actually, they're… nevermind." Fishlegs chose not to go down that road. "What are we going to do with this information Hiccup?"

"The way I see it, there isn't much we can do." Hiccup said thoughtfully. "This… Serpentine Tribe is gone, the dragons on that ship were already dead, and we have the Eye Shield now. Best thing we can do is carry on as we have been, and hope this thing can give us the advantage we need over Viggo." He sighed. "Now, enough of that. We still need to resupply the boulders for our catapults. Let's get started." he said. "Heather, you're welcome to join us, or leave again."

"I, uh…" Heather trailed off, suddenly put on the spot. "I can help with the rocks, sure."

"You all go ahead." I spoke up quickly. "Hiccup and I will catch up in a bit." I said. They all shared looks, but nodded, and Heather was thankful to not be the centre of attention again. I'll admit I insisted she come to the Edge in the hopes she'd choose not to fuck off again, but I wasn't going to press the issue. "So, mind telling me what's going on with you?" I asked.

"Huh? I, uh, I don't know what you're talking about." He said unconvincingly.

"Hiccup, you've been tense since we got back last night. Something happened while you were out." I said, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow expectantly. Hiccup took a moment before sitting down on one of the benches.

"I ran into Dagur." He said simply. I narrowed my eyes, saying nothing. There was definitely more to that story. "Toothless got shot by a couple of Dragon Hunters playing possum, and when we went down, Dagur saved us. He even told me the antidote for Dragon Root."

"The exact recipe I gave you?" I asked, getting a nod. "And then?"

"The Hunters found us. Toothless was safe, but Dagur got away, and I was captured. I thought he was gonna leave me there, but…" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Toothless let Dagur ride him to save me. After that, he sailed off, and I came back here." He let out a deep breath. "I just don't know what to think about that. First Astrid and Heather, now this." he shook his head.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked. He shook his head. "Then there's not much to do until he shows himself again." I gave him a simple shrug.

"That… actually makes sense." He said standing up.

"Sometimes it's ok to not worry about a problem until it actually becomes a problem. And right now, Dagur is not a problem." I said. "Although, I wouldn't tell Heather if I were you." I advised. "Not yet, anyway."

"Agreed." He nodded. Suddenly, a loud, almost pained roar could be heard in the distance.

"What was that?" I asked. Our eyes met, and with a mutual nod, we dashed to mount our respective dragons and took off.

"Is that a Fireworm Queen?" I asked, my eyes wide as Hiccup and I landed amongst the others.

"I've never actually seen one up close." Heather said as the dragons all walked closer to the frantic Queen, who seemed to be having some kind of conversation with Hookfang.

"Whoa, Nightshade, calm down." I tapped my dragon on the side of her neck as the Fireworm Queen hissed at her. She returned the hiss, letting her tusks out, but she mellowed slightly at my words. The Fireworm Queen continued to exchange hisses and growls with Hookfang. "She wants Hookfang to follow her." I deduced, observing her turning around, and then back to Hookfang.

"Being the dragon expert I am, I was just about to say the same thing." Snotlout puffed out his chest.

"Sure." I rolled my eyes. "Whoa!" I started slightly as Arrow made himself comfortable on my shoulder. "A little warning next time buddy." I pet him gently, eliciting a purr.

"Well, since Hookfang and the Queen have a history, I think Seth's right, but why?" FIshlegs asked.

"Think it has anything to do with these wounds?" Hiccup suggested, examining the scratches and gashes on the Queen's body.

"Dragon Hunters?" Astrid suggested.

"They don't look like arrow or sword wounds." Heather observed.

"Agreed. Those came from a dragon." I affirmed.

"She needs help defending herself." Fishlegs concluded.

"And Hookfang's the only dragon she trusts right now." Hiccup added.

"Well, if it's back-up she needs, she came to the right place." Snotlout sneered in determination. "If a wild dragon wants to mess with the Queen, he's gonna have to go through me and Hookfang!" The Monstrous Night snarled in agreement, ready to fly. "Lead the way Queenie." Snotlout said to the Queen, who took the affirmative and cast off, flying into the distance with Snotlout and Hookfang right on her tail.

"So, are we going with him, or…?" I trailed off questioningly.

"Riders, let's go!" Hiccup ordered. And with that, we all took off after Snotlout and the Queen. Even Heather rode along with us.

"You know you don't have to come along, right?" I asked Heather as I pulled Nightshade back to slow down along Windshear's side.

"I know, but if there's a dragon in distress, I can't ignore it, can I?" she asked.

"Well, if you're sure." I gave an understanding nod.

"I am." She confirmed. With that, I nudged Nightshade to pick up speed.

"Great to have you on board Heather." Astrid flew up to Heather, who was about to reply, but was suddenly interrupted by a snarl from Windshear, directed at Stormfly. "Whoa!" She pulled back, putting a bit of distance between the two Sharp Class dragons. "What was that?" She asked, confused as she looked at Windshear.

"I… don't know." Heather said honestly. "You ok girl?" She asked, placing her hand on Windshear's neck. The Razorwhip warbled in response, cruising along, no apparent problems.

"Ok, that's… strange." I said as I nudged Nightshade closer to Windshear. She didn't react, save for her eyes following Nightshade's movements, which stopped when I pulled away again. "Hm…" I gave a small frown. "Hey Fishlegs, cruise a little closer to Windshear will you?" I asked the Gronckle rider.

"Oh, alright then." He said, doing as I asked, coming up behind her. Windshear immediately reacted to his presence, hissing as her tail stiffened, the spines at the tip propping out, ready to fire. "Backing up!" Fishlegs squeaked, pulling back. Meatlug seemed a bit shaken too, but Windshear did calm down when they backed off.

"Is she maybe a bit skittish? She's never flown with so many dragons before, has she?" Astrid asked.

"No, I've seen her skittish before." Heather shook her head. "This is something else."

"Astrid may have a point about the dragons though." I noted with a frown. "I think it might be best if we keep a bit of distance between Windshear and the others. She seems to be at least somewhat OK with Nightshade, so I'll take Heather's wing." I proposed.

"I'll tell Hiccup." Astrid nodded in agreement, speeding up to catch up with Hiccup, Snotlout, and the Fireworm Queen.

"Take my wing?" Heather asked, looking at me.

"They call it the Wingman position." I explain, pulling back until I was in what would be the equivalent of Heather's blindspot if she were driving a car. "Nightshade and I will be covering you in case something comes up behind, and provide support." She nodded in understanding, and we continued our flight towards the Queen's nest.

"Seems quiet." Hiccup said as we all landed on the island, entering the cave on our dragon's backs. "Too quiet." He added ominously.

"There's no sign of any Dragon Hunters. No arrows, bolas, or traps." Astrid looked around.

"Well she didn't do all that damage to herself." Snotlout retorted.

"Didn't I already say that a dragon did that?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I took my mask off.

"I think Seth's right, but what kind of dragon would do this?" Fishlegs asked, as we followed the Fireworm Queen through the caves. "Uh, guys? I have a sneaking suspicion that whatever did this is still here." He said, looking at his arm.

"What is that?" Heather asked, her nose wrinkling in disgust as Fishlegs pulled a green, goopy substance off of his forearm.

"Looks like some kind of mucus." FIshlegs responded.

"Mucus?" I repeated. Before anyone could respond, the Queen started hissing, her posture defensive as she slowed her stride.

"What's wrong Queenie?" Snotlout asked, stopping Hookfang behind the Queen, who hissed as we all caught up to her, seeing what she was snarling at.

"Is something burrowing?" I asked, hearing the tell-tale sounds of rocks moving and cracking. "Holy crap." I whispered as we all saw what was burrowing into the wall. A dragon, quadrupedal and wingless, with a flat body and thick but short tail. Its scales were black, with small yellow stripes on its legs, and a single yellow stripe spanning all around its body, from the neck, to the sides, down to the tail, and right back up again on the other side.

"What is that?" Astrid asked in a hushed whisper.

"That, Astrid, is a Cavern Crasher." I said, eying the dragon.

"A Cavern Crasher?" Snotlout repeated questioningly.

"Got it!" Fishlegs said, holding a bunch of cards in his hands. Wait, didn't he have those in the movies?

"What are those?" Hiccup asked, guiding Toothless over to Meatlug.

"Dragon cards. I've been working on them for months. All of our dragon knowledge, right at our fingertips!" Fishlegs grinned proudly.

"Nice." Hiccup agreed, leaning his head over to see the contents of the cards.

"You two need a hobby!" Snotlout smiled mockingly.

"Or you could just ask me." I chimed in. "Since, well, I'm a professional Dragon Hunter." I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a chance to show off sooner or later." Heather teased me. I responded with the middle finger, which she returned.

"OK, Cavern Crasher." Fishlegs spoke up again. "A scavenging, Mystery Class dragon, known for pushing dragons out of their nests and taking over." he read from his little card.

"Why would it do that?" Astrid asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. Warmth? Shelter? Protection?" Fishlegs listed off his mind.

"Eggs." I told them.

"Eggs?" Hiccup asked.

"Babies?" Fishlegs squeaked.

"Dinner!" Tuffnut cheered with a grin. "What?" He asked as we all stared at him. "Hey, it seemed to work! You know, rhythm-wise." He huffed, crossing his arms.

"Oh Gods…" Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Continue, please, Seth." He said to me.

"The Cavern Crasher eats the eggs of other dragons, and even the more freshly hatched babies if it's desperate enough." I explained. Arrow gave a scared trill, crawling off of my shoulder and hiding behind my back.

"OK, that is disgusting, and a little disturbing." Hiccup gave the Cavern Crasher a weary look. "But it does explain why the Queen came to us for help." he realised. "She can't drive it off by herself."

"Well then let's get to work, and am-scray this agon-dray." Snotlout snarled at the Cavern Crasher. Since when did Pig Latin exist in Norse?

"Snotlout, stop!" I yelled after him as Hookfang dashed towards the Crasher. Hookfang roared at it, unleashing a torrent of flame on it as it turned to face them, but the flames did nothing to it, and responded with a blast of green fire, narrowly missing. As Hookfang and the Fireworm Queen leapt towards, it dashed to the side, disappearing from sight. "Everybody watch your backs! These things like to attack from behind." I told them all. "Nightshade, Plasma Burst!" I ordered my dragon as Arrow screeched in fright. Immediately, Nightshade spun 180 degrees and let out a burst of white fire, grazing the beast, but it dashed away immediately.

"Are there two of these things?" Astrid asked as it showed behind her, being driven away by Stormfly's magnesium blast.

"No, these things are just fast." I said, looking around for any sign of it.

"Extremely fast." Fishlegs added with an excited grin. "Especially for its size." He didn't notice the Crasher sneaking up on the wall behind him, like a gecko.

"Fishlegs! Focus!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless shot a Plasma Blast at it, knocking it to the ground. As it ran off again, the twins covered it in a cloud of gas, which they ignited, but it did no damage. Hiccup followed up with another Plasma Blast, but it also did nothing, as did a blast of blue fire from Windshear. Seeing it was grossly outnumbered, the beast stopped for a moment, looking at us all. With a hiss, it tensed its back, and started secreting mucus from its back.

"Back away! Don't let it near you!" I yelled at everyone. They immediately had their dragons back off, but it was too fast. It dashed between and around all of us, leaving behind a trail of its mucus. "Whatever you do, don't-!" I tried to warn them, but Snotlout jumped the gun, or crossbow as it were, and had Hookfang fire at the crasher again, igniting the entire trail of mucus. "Do that." We were all surrounded by flame as the Crasher dashed through the hole it had made, escaping our vision.

"What is that stuff!?" Snotlout exclaimed as the flames hit a little too close to him.

"That is a flaming pile of awesome!" Tuffnut responded with a wide, excited grin.

"It's the mucus. The Cavern Crasher secretes mucus from its back and tail. The stuff is highly volatile and flammable, even more so than Monstrous Nightmare gel." I explained as Nightshade backed away from the flames. She could handle them, but I couldn't, and there was barely room to fly in the cavern. Even jumping over them would be perilous.

"I love it!" Ruffnut exclaimed, just as excited as her brother.

"It's too hot. We can't get through!" Astrid pulled Stormfly back.

"Way to burst the fun bubble Astrid." Ruffnut deflated.

"Whoa!" Hiccup yelped as he dodged a falling rock from the roof. The cavern was destabilising. Suddenly, the Fireworm leapt forward, laying her body over the flames, creating a straight path for the dragons to relatively safely pass over the flames.

"Alright, everybody out, now!" Snotlout yelled, following after the Cavern Crasher. We all followed suit, jumping, flying or running over the Fireworm Queen. We managed to find respite in a stable, flameless area of the cavern, but the Queen just dashed after the Cavern Crasher, disappearing from view in the tunnels.

"Whoo! That was definitely something else." Fishlegs said once were all in the clear.

"Alright gang, the Queen needs our help." Hiccup said, turning to me. "Seth, is there anything you can tell us-"

"No, no, no." Snotlout interrupted him. "No time for talking, we need action, right now." He said seriously. "That's why she came to Hookfang and me."

"Yeah, Snotlout that's fine, but-"

"She saved Hookfang's life, Hiccup. And a Jorgenson always repays his debts, and that's exactly what we're going to do." I have to give credit to Snotlout, he was an idiot, but he had his own sense of honour.

"You can't go by yourself!" Hiccup protested.

"I'm not by myself, I have Hookfang!" Snotlout rebuked. "And we're doing this alone!" With that, he dashed after the Queen, the tunnel collapsing behind him.

"Well that's just great." Hiccup facepalmed. "We need to find him. Let's look for a way around." He said. We all nodded as Toothless took off, the rest of us following suit. "Seth, what can you tell us about the Cavern Crasher?" He asked as we flew.

"It's highly intelligent, very durable, and very strong. You all saw how it scaled the walls and attacked from behind." They all murmured in agreement. "The mucus is its primary weapon. If it's not trapping you with it, it'll throw it at you, and trust me when I say you don't want to be covered with that stuff if you're anywhere near even the spark of flame." I warned them.

"That sounds awesome!" Tuffnut grinned widely.

"If you consider literally the most painful way to die known to mankind 'awesome,' then certainly." I responded dryly.

"Significantly less awesome." His grin fell.

"Anything else?" Hiccup asked.

"Wait, let me get this down." Fishlegs interrupted, pulling out a notebook and charcoal.

"Fishlegs, later!" Hiccup scolded him, getting a pout, and actual pout, from Fishlegs.

"Moving on, it can also burrow like you wouldn't believe." I continued. Before I could say anything else, the Cavern Crasher suddenly burst out from the ground. "Case in point!" I exclaimed as we all stopped.

"Where in the name of Thor did he come from?" hiccup was confused. I could see why, the hole the Crasher had burrowed was rather narrow.

"Wouldn't it be cool, if it could flatten its body, and it came through the cracks in the walls?" Tuffnut asked, his usual manic grin on his face again.

"Really Tuff?" Fishlegs facepalmed.

"What? Like that's not cool?" Tuffnut's eyebrows went up.

"He's actually right." I admitted.

"He is?" Heather and Astrid asked in unison.

"I am?" Tuffnut asked, just as confused.

"It has a collapsible skeleton, enabling it to dig through tight spaces. The mucus helps with this, acting as a lubricant." I explained.

"Never doubt the Nutt!" Tuffnut declared in victory.

"The Nutt knows all!" Ruffnut added.

"The Nutt is giving me a headache." I sighed, massaging my temple.

"Yes, some nuts do that. Usually peanuts and pistachios." Tuffnut said matter-of-factly. Now it was my turn to facepalm.

"So how do we catch this thing?" Astrid asked. "Bolas?"

"No, bolas will slip right off." I shook my head. "I have some dragon root arrows, but its hide is too thick. I'd need to hit its belly, which will be especially difficult in this tight cavern." I mindlessly fiddle with the fletching of one of my arrows. "Best thing to do is just shower it in flame before it can see us." I said after a minute.

"But what about the mucus?" Heather asked.

"The mucus only becomes flammable and sticky when it hits the air. If we hit it with everything we've got, right before it throws the mucus, it'll evaporate as it seeps out, and he'll run dry for a bit." I told them all.

"Then that's what we'll do." Hiccup decided. "Seth, Heather, get on the other side of it." he told us, getting a nod. "Astrid, twins, stay on this side. Fishlegs and I will hit it from above. We fire on Seth's signal." he said, looking at me. I nodded in response. "Go!" He exclaimed, and we all jumped into action.

Heather and I galloped our dragons, and they flew over the Cavern Crasher's head. It growled at us, but turned when it heard Stromfly's hiss coming up behind it. The growl in its through rumbled lower as it looked up, seeing Toothless and Meatlug hovering above. It looked around, weighing its options.

"Hold steady." I said as it narrowed its eyes, its jaw quivering as it growled. "Steady." It dug its claws into the ground. "Steady…" It took a deep breath, and it's back inflated. "Now!" I yelled as mucus seeped from its back.

"Toothless, Plasma Blast!"

"Meatlug, Spew!"

"Stormfly, Magnesium Blast!"

"Fire in the hole!"

"Windshear, fire!"

"Nightshade, Plasma Burst!"

Nightshade and Stormfly shot their continuous bursts of plasma and magnesium, Toothless and Meatlug bombarded the Crasher with blasts of plasma and magma, Barf and Belch, respectively, let out a perpetual stream of gas and ignited it over and again, and Windshear let out a perpetual stream of her pale blue fire. Even Arrow was throwing his tiny balls of fiery glass at it.

"Give it everything you've got!" Hiccup yelled over the sounds of the fire. Eventually, the light from the fire was too much to look at, and we all looked away. Moments later, the dragons stopped, and the light died down.

"Son of a whore!" I hissed in English as we all looked at where the Crasher had been standing.

There was a hole where it was supposed to be.

"I don't see any women of ill repute around, mister Bishop." Tuffnut responded, heavily accented. "Nor any with children." He looked around.

"Wait, you speak English?" I asked, confused. "Nevermind." I stopped him before he could respond. "We need to find that Crasher." I said. Suddenly, the Cavern Crasher burst out of the ground behind Heather and I, and ran off into the distance.

"After it!" Hiccup yelled, and we all took off. As it ran, it looked behind, seeing us in pursuit. As it turned its gaze forward again, it let out a large blast of green flame, hitting the ceiling above it right as it ran by. "Whoa!" We all pulled back as the area it hit collapsed, blocking the passageway right as the Cavern Crasher dashed through, preventing us from following.

"Well fan-fucking-tastic." I cursed, again in English.

"I find your use of profanity most exquisite, my dear Seth Bishop!" Tuffnut grinned at me, speaking in English.

"Most exquisite indeed!" Ruffnut added, also in English.

"We can discuss my foul mouth later. For now, we need to figure out how to catch this thing." I frowned at the collapsed tunnel.

"Hey Fishlegs, you still got that mucus on your arm?" Hiccup suddenly asked.

"Yeah, it's really sticky. Not coming off any time soon." The stocky viking answered, holding his arm.

"Astrid?" Hiccup turned his attention to the Nadder rider.

"Yeah, we'll give it a shot." Astrid trudged her dragon over to Fishlegs. "Stormfly, track." She pointed at the arm. Fishlegs held out his arm for the Nadder, who sniffed at it for a few moments, before letting out a high pitched squawk, scraping her claws against the ground. "She's got the scent, let's go." Astrid said, taking off.

"Right behind you!" Hiccup responded, and we all followed after.

The cavern was surprisingly elaborate, but Stormfly was able to navigate us through with no trouble. She soared through the bends and curves with complete confidence, and within a matter of moments, we came across a trail of Cavern Crasher mucus, trailing deeper and deeper underground and into the caverns.

"Alright, everybody watch your step." Hiccup said as the cavern tightened to the point where we had to transition the dragons to running. "Keep an eye on the slime, we don't want to ignite it."

"Shouldn't we keep an eye out for that instead?" Tuffnut asked, pointing down the cavern. The slime was igniting on the far end, the flames getting closer and closer to us by the second.

"Whoa!" Hiccup yelped as Toothless suddenly pulled to the side, throwing his rider off of his back and engulfing him with his wings. The other dragons did the same, keeping us all safe from the flames.

"We must be getting close." I said as the flames subsided, hopping back onto Nightshade's back.

"Waah!" A brief scream echoed through the cavern.

"Snotlout!?" Hiccup yelled through the cave as our dragons dashed forward once again.

"Hiccup! Don't come in here!" Snotlout's voice yelled back.

"Too late for that." I said as the light at the end of the tunnel became visible to our eyes.

"Dammit! This guy just won't give up!" Snotlout's voice was laced with frustration and rage as we got closer.

"Then maybe you need some back-up!" Hiccup said as we all entered the much bigger cavern. With room enough to fly, our dragons all pushed off, circling above the Cavern Crasher, who seemed to be lacking his mucus.

"Haha! Yes!" Snotlout cheered at the sight of us. "But remember, you guys are only back-up!" He said as Hookfang took off, joining us in the air.

Nightshade, Hookfang, Toothless, and Windshear all circled over the Crasher, laying down fire on it in intervals, keeping its attention split. It tried to fire at us, but couldn't line up a decent shot. Stormfly, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch flew over its back, hitting it as well before all of us settled in front of it, bringing fire down on it like an infernal blaze. The sheer power of the flames pushed it back, and the heat was beginning to get to it. It let out a loud cry of pain right before the flames stopped. When they did, it immediately took the opportunity to escape, dashing out the way it came.

"Haha! Yes!" Snotlout cheered with a wide grin as the Fireworm Queen's babies all came out of their hiding spot, the Queen leaning forward and nuzzling her babies. As we all stepped off our dragons, admiring the scene, Snotlout suddenly looked guilty. "I know, I know, I disobeyed orders again." He said to Hiccup.

"You did." Hiccup nodded.

"Put me and Hookfang in real danger."

"Very real."

"We could have gotten killed."

"Quite possibly."

"OK, why are you agreeing with everything I say?" Snotlout backed away from Hiccup, looking a little disturbed. "And why didn't you try to stop me?"

"Would you have listened?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"Probably not." Snotlout responded, sheepish.

"Then why are we still talking about it?" Hiccup asked with an amused smirk, shaking his head. "You did good today, Snotlout. This was all you." He gestured to the baby Fireworms surrounding the Queen.

"Thanks for the back-up." Snotlout said sincerely.

With that, returned to Dragon's Edge, Heather included, and we all continued cutting boulders from the cliff and transporting them to the catapults. I was surprised by how efficiently Nightshade's Plasma Burst was able to separate the stones, and Windshear's Tail Slice was rather helpful too. For reasons I didn't really care to ask for, the twins had apparently carved their own faces into the cliff in a Mount Rushmore-esque style earlier this morning, just before the Fireworm Queen arrived. Hiccup decided to just let them do as they wished while we worked, since the stones they offset in their carvings were conveniently sized for a catapult.

"So, you're off again?" I asked Heather as she and I sat at the edge of the cliff, away from the cutting and carving, snacking on some yak jerky.

"Yeah." She said softly. "I don't think I'm ready to…" She trailed off.

"Stay in one place? Mingle? Socialise?" I suggested with a wry grin.

"Yeah, that." Heather gave a laugh.

"Just make sure to give everyone a goodbye first. Snotlout was unbearable, and Fishlegs was so depressed last time." I gave a light-hearted roll of the eyes.

"Will do." She smiled as we stood.

"And promise me you'll come to visit?" I asked.

"Seth…" She gave me a look.

"I know you don't need anyone looking after you, but I worry." I said sincerely. "I'm not a people person either, but a life of complete isolation is one nobody should live."

"I'm not isolated, I have Windshear." She reminded me.

"It's not the same thing, and you know it." I gave a sigh. "If nothing else, don't stop writing?" I asked, getting a slow nod in response. "And if you really need it, I'm sure we can find something work-related for you and Windshear to do." I added, making her shake her head.

"Thank you Seth, for being concerned." She smiled at me. We hugged briefly before she strode over to her dragon, giving Arrow a quick goodbye as he lay on Nightshade's back. With that, she mounted Nightshade and took off towards where the other Dragon Riders were working to say her goodbyes. I stayed behind to finish off the yak jerky I'd been snacking on before I hopped back on Nightshade and went back to join the stone cutting.

"Seriously?" I asked as I approached, Nightshade hovering in the air before the Twins' latest creation.

"Seth! You've arrived just in time to witness our new masterpiece!" Ruffnut said happily.

"Only we could have made something this brilliant!" Tuffnut cheered. "We call it…"

"The Ballad of the Lout vs the Crasher!" The twins announced in unison. Right next to the carvings of their faces, there was a large carving of Snotlout, full bodied, with his foot up on a small platform.

"It's breathtaking!" Tuffnut grinned.

"Not quite the word I would use." I said dryly. Nightshade chuckled beneath me.

"Isn't a ballad technically a song?" Astrid asked.

"No! S'not!" Ruffnut gave a grin before bursting into laughter.

"Get it? It's snot? See what we did there?" Tuffnut echoed his sister's sentiment. "That's why we called it a ballad!"

"Well, I love it!" Snotlout praised them with a wide grin. "Although, Astrid, would you say my likeness is handsome and chiseled enough?" He asked the blonde with a flirtatious grin, getting a groan from her. "I mean, just off the top of my head, they got my hair wrong, they got my eyes wrong, my eyebrows…" He continued to list little nitpicks of the statue.

"You know what Snotlout?" I interrupted him. "You're absolutely right."

"I am?" He asked in confusion.

"Yes." I nodded. "The statue is much better looking." I commented offhandedly as I nudged Nightshade to fly back to our hut.

"Hey!" Snotlout yelled after me. I could hear the others laughing as they flew after me.

I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't able to get Heather more involved in this chapter. I think I deviated from the events of the episode well enough, with Seth being around with his advanced dragon knowledge, but Heather didn't play a big part. I considered just cutting her out, but that would have required going over the whole chapter again, which I was too lazy to do.

Anyway, Happy New Year all! Let's make 2025 a good one!