Riders and Defenders of Berk with The God of Mischief

by GuardianDragon98

The war between Vikings and Dragons is finally over. Now, Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki have to train more dragons than ever before to keep the peace. They'll soon discover that training Berk's dragons aren't the only challenge they have to face. As word of Berk's new peace with the dragons spreads around the Barbaric Archipelago, Outcasts and Berserkers set their sights on the dragons.

1. Episode 1: How to Start A Dragon Academy

Hey, guys! It's been a while. I've just celebrated my birthday and, just my luck, I've finished writing the first chapter of my adaptation of the Dragons: Riders of Berk series for my HTTYD with The God of Mischief collection.

Here is my gift to all my patient readers who have been waiting for this. Enjoy!

---

Episode 1: How to Start A Dragon Academy

The Barbaric Archipelago has had a long and bloody history with dragons. But, out of all the hardy islands in this harsh and unforgiving realm in the North, the island of Berk has the most incredible history. For generations, it was Viking against dragon locked in ferocious battles. And then, one day, everything changed.

Three young Berkians by the names of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Zenna Arrowhead Fiersome, and Erland ended 300 years of bloody conflict when they met two Night Furies and a Changewing. The two Night Furies were called Destin and Erika back during the days when the dragons were ruled by the tyrannical Red Death. Upon bonding with Hiccup and Zenna, they were named Toothless and Stryka. As for the Changewing, she was called Embla and bonded with Erland.

With the defeat of the Red Death at the Battle of Dragon Island, Hiccup and Toothless, Zenna and Stryka, and Erland and Embla were hailed as heroes. Together they've shown the people of Berk that, instead of fighting dragons, they could ride them… live with them, even train them.

---

As part of their daily routine, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland had the rest of Berk's first group of Dragon Riders meet up at one of the sea stacks for a little friendly competition.

Well, Erland did. Hiccup and Zenna had yet to arrive.

"Where are they?" Embla shook her tendrils as she stood at the edge of the sea stack with the other dragons. "It's been ages since they've called us here. Are we doing this or not?" she asked her Rider who chuckled as he leaned forward on the saddle.

"Embla, it's only been five minutes," Erland told her and looked up as two black specks appeared over the horizon. "See? They're here," he announced just as Hiccup and Zenna flew in on Toothless and Stryka.

"Okay, guys. Best Trick Competition. Who's first?" Hiccup asked once Toothless and Stryka had landed.

Fishlegs Ingerman raised his hand to take his turn, but was interrupted by Snotlout Jorgenson loudly proclaiming, "Me!"

"Actually, I think it's—" Fishlegs tried to say but, once again, Snotlout said, "Me!"

"Just let him go first, Hicc," Zenna whispered to her one-legged brother not by blood but by bond.

'Scare him a little on your flight, Hookfang. It might help him learn the value of patience,' Erland smirked at Hookfang, Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare. Hookfang huffed and bobbed his head slightly, a mischievous gleam in his yellow eyes.

"Sweet baby Thor in a thunderstorm, go!" Astrid Hofferson grumbled and pointed at the vast expanse of ocean dotted with sea stacks and rock formations.

Snotlout had a smug grin as Hookfang got ready. "Oh, don't worry, we'll go. And when we go, Hookfang and I are gonna light the sky on…" he managed to say before his dragon suddenly plummeted off the sea stack.

"Sorry, what did you say? We didn't catch that!" Erland hollered as he and the gang watched Hookfang rocket around the sea stacks at blazing speed with Snotlout screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Wow, Hookfang's really giving it his all with the stunts…" Hiccup remarked as Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare spiraled up into the sky.

Zenna glanced at Erland who was quietly snickering as Hookfang dove into the ocean with Snotlout hanging on for dear life. "You told Hookfang to go all out with his tricks, didn't you?" she deadpanned.

"I did no such thing. I merely told him to give Snotlout a little lesson in patience. Maybe, next time, he won't insist on going first in the Best Trick Competition," Erland replied with a mischievous grin on his face.

Zenna just laughed softly. "You're devious, you know that?" Zenna asked her other brother not by blood but by bond.

"Yes. And I take that as a compliment," Erland thanked her just as Hookfang emerged from the ocean and circled back around to the sea stack and landed.

It took Snotlout a few seconds to register that he and his dragon were back on the sea stack. "I'm alive…? I'm alive!" he exclaimed and threw his hands up in the air. 'Thank you, Thor! My crazy dragon didn't kill me!' he thought before noticing the blank stares his fellow Riders were giving him. Wanting to save face, he straightened up and quickly said, "Of course I am."

"It's my turn!" Fishlegs piped up, glad that Snotlout's turn was over. "Ready, Meatlug?" he asked his Gronckle.

"Finally! Let's do this!" Meatlug growled and started flapping her tiny wings.

"Here we go!" Fishlegs grinned as his dragon lifted off the ground. Meatlug flapped her wings as hard as she could, but her enormous bulk didn't pair well with her wings' small size so the best trick she could do was fly around the sea stack in a perfect circle.

But, to Fishlegs, that was already an impressive trick. "Yes! New personal best," he declared and gave Meatlug a hug. Licking her Rider's face in appreciation, Meatlug looked at Erland. "How'd I do?" she asked him.

'A for effort, Meatlug.' Erland gave the Gronckle a thumbs up.

Embla rolled her eyes. 'She could do better than that,' she thought.

'I'm sure she will. Just give her time,' Erland mentally chided her, making sure that his mind's voice was low enough so Meatlug couldn't hear.

Then the Thorston Twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, started arguing while their Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch, looked at each other in confusion.

"Hideous Zippleback's got two heads, you two," Zenna reminded Ruffnut and Tuffnut. At the same time, Hiccup said, "Guys, same dragon."

"Oh, right," Tuffnut muttered before he and his sister got their Zippleback to go. Barely five seconds into their flight, the twins started arguing again.

"Go left!" Tuffnut ordered Belch.

"No, right!" Ruffnut retorted as she tried to guide Barf.

"N-no, right!"

"No, left!"

"Oh, here they go again…" Zenna facepalmed as she and the others watched the Twins and their Zippleback fly straight towards the sea stack.

Poor Barf and Belch got their necks crisscrossed and bumped into each other, their Riders hitting each other as well, before hitting the base of the sea stack. With Ruffnut and Tuffnut screaming and holding on by their horns, Barf and Belch righted themselves, looked at each other, and nodded.

Time for some payback.

Before the Twins could get properly back on their dragon's back, they were suddenly flung high into the air.

"OH, NO! WHOA!" Tuffnut hollered, flailing his arms wildly as he and Ruffnut began to fall towards the ocean. "THIS IS AWESOME AND SCARY! AAAAH!"

Luckily, before they could hit the water, Barf and Belch grabbed the Twins and tossed them up so they could land safely on their necks. Satisfied with their revenge, they headed back to the others.

'Thank you for not letting my two most faithful disciples suffer untimely deaths.' Erland nodded to Barf and Belch, who bobbed their heads at him.

'We wouldn't do anything to upset you, Serpent Tongue,' the Zippleback's two voices chorused in Erland's head.

"You two still alive?" Zenna asked Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the duo slumped forward on their dragon's necks.

Ruffnut was the first to recover from the shock. "We almost died…" she said, out of breath.

"I know…" Tuffnut straightened up and then he and his sister grinned at each other. "Go again?!" he asked eagerly.

"Hey! It's my turn," Astrid told them and then looked at Hiccup with a confident smile. "You might want to take notes."

"Ooh, she's confident," Erland remarked as Stormfly took to the skies. Hiccup smiled back, knowing how well Astrid and Stormfly had improved at working together as a team, and sat back to watch her and Stormfly do their thing.

Astrid waited until Stormfly had made a sharp turn. "Okay, Stormfly, tail flip!" she instructed and her Deadly Nadder flipped her tail into the water, leaving a trail of ocean spray behind her. "Now twirl!" Astrid held on tight as Stormfly spun her entire body counterclockwise.

"I have to admit that that is impressive," Embla trilled as she watched Stormfly soar higher into the sky in a spiral. Erland nodded and patted her horns. "But we've got our own impressive routine, don't we, girl?" he asked, chuckling when Embla lightly bounced him as she got ready.

The other Riders praised Astrid and Stormfly for their run, except for a certain Jorgenson. "Yeah, but can you do it without the dragon?" Snotlout asked her only to earn a hard punch in the arm from Astrid.

Hiccup and Zenna rolled their eyes at Snotlout's jealousy and looked at Erland and Embla, the pair smirking at them.

"Shall we, Embla?" Erland patted his Changewing's neck.

"We shall." Embla spread her wings and shot up into the sky.

"And to think he was afraid of heights before," Hiccup said as they all watched Erland and his Changewing spiral up into the clouds.

Keeping a firm grip on Embla's saddle, Erland said, "All right, Embla. Let's do this."

With a roar, Embla somersaulted and flew towards the sea stacks ahead of them. She and Erland communicated in sync, slaloming through the sea stacks with ease, before diving towards the ocean.

'Three… two… one… now!' Erland tugged on Embla's saddle, signaling her to slant her body to the left. Embla shrieked with glee as she did a sharp right turn at the same time she pulled up, leaving a plume of sea spray in her wake.

'Nailed it!' Embla thought triumphantly as she and Erland returned to the others who were amazed at their trick.

"That was awesome!" Ruffnut gushed as Embla landed next to Hiccup and Toothless.

"Thank you, thank you. You're all too kind," Erland said and bowed along with Embla, the Changewing chuffed to have executed her trick so perfectly.

Hiccup and Zenna looked at each other, raring to go. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us there, bud," Hiccup told Toothless who trilled softly and unfurled his wings.

"It's finally our turn, girl. Let's show 'em what we've got," Zenna encouraged Stryka, her one-eyed Night Fury growling with excitement.

Toothless and Stryka flapped their wings and, once they lifted off the ground, went into simultaneous power dives. At the last second, Hiccup and Zenna had them pull up and both Night Furies streaked over the ocean, the speed and force causing the waves to tear up as they made for the sea stack maze Erland and Embla had flown through just minutes ago.

"It will be quite a challenge beating their record next time," Embla murmured as she watched Toothless and Stryka swerve in and out through the sea stacks at blazing speeds.

'Well, Toothless and Stryka are Night Furies, Embla. When it comes to speed, they can't be beaten,' Erland told her telepathically and watched his brother and sister fly their dragons toward two conjoined rocks.

Hiccup unhooked his prosthetic left leg from the stirrup and Zenna took a deep breath. As soon as Toothless and Stryka were close enough, the pair jumped onto the narrow stretch connecting the two rocks while their dragons glided under. Hiccup and Zenna ran across the bridge before jumping onto Toothless and Stryka's backs as they emerged on the other side. Once their Riders were safely on their backs, Toothless and Stryka rocketed up into the sky, leaving the rest of the gang amazed and awestruck.

"They're still the best," Astrid remarked as Toothless and Stryka unleashed plasma blasts into the sky that exploded into ripples of blue and light purple.

Erland smiled as he watched Hiccup and Zenna celebrate their win. Even Embla had to admit that they had won the Best Trick Competition.

Toothless and Stryka were looking mighty pleased as they landed on the sea stack. "Another win for us, my love," Toothless told Stryka and gently nuzzled her.

"Four wins in a row. A new record," Stryka trilled.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, you two. Next time, for sure, Astrid and I will win," said Stormfly with a proud squawk.

"Not if I win the next contest!" Hookfang declared, flaming up a little and making Snotlout yelp.

"Oh, yeah?" Barf challenged him. "Well, watch out, Hookfang, because my brother and I will definitely win first!" Belch taunted.

"No way! Fishlegs and I will be the next to win the Best Trick competition!" Meatlug piped up.

"Uh… what are they doing?" Fishlegs asked as his dragon and everyone else's growled and hissed at each other while playfully flapping their wings and swinging their tails at each other.

"They're each insisting that they'll win next time," Erland informed him, patting Embla's head. "Although, I agree with Embla. You two better watch yourselves." He looked at Hiccup and Zenna with a mischievous smirk. "We're gonna break your winning streak soon," he told them.

"Looking forward to what new feats you guys will accomplish," Zenna replied with a calm smile.

The gang then headed back to Berk and split up to do their own things. Only Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland stuck together which wasn't a surprise. They were The Three Weirdos who were never apart for too long, the original trio who had shown that life on Berk was so much better now that the Berkians have made peace with the dragons, and they all made a vow to keep the peace between the two factions.

Unfortunately, dragons are still, well, dragons.

---

"Oh, dear Norns, not again…" Erland muttered as he heard the beginnings of a fight breaking out at one of the hillside farms. Looking down, he saw a Gronckle and a Deadly Nadder getting ready to pounce on each other while a Lothar the farmer tried to herd his frightened yaks away from the scene.

"I'll see you guys later." Erland waved to Hiccup and Zenna before directing Embla to the hillside. The Gronckle and the Deadly Nadder were forced to step away from each other as Embla landed between them, hissing.

"All right, you two. What's all the fuss about?" Erland asked, folding his arms across his chest

"I'll tell you, Serpent Tongue." The Deadly Nadder glared at the Gronckle. "This idiot thought it'd be a good idea to lay claim to my territory!"

"Me?! I laid claim to this spot weeks ago!" snapped the Gronckle.

"Do the two of you not see this fence?" Erland gestured to the paddock they were standing in the middle of. "Neither of you can lay claim to this territory. It belongs to the Lothar and his yaks," he told them, pointing to the poor farmer who was trying to calm down his frightened animals.

"Can't he just move them and put up another fence?" the Gronckle grumbled.

"No, he can't. This is his territory and you two have no right to force him out of it. Now, there's an abandoned rock quarry on the Northern side of the island and a forest to the West. You can make homes for yourselves there. Embla and I better not see you two fighting in this spot again the next time we fly over," Erland said and gave the two dragons a stern glare.

The Gronckle and the Deadly Nadder both had the decency to look ashamed and bowed their heads. "We apologize, Serpent Tongue," they chorused.

Erland gave them a nod and they left, flying separate paths.

Lothar breathed a sigh of relief and guided his yaks back into the paddock. He was a muscular Viking with auburn hair. "That's the fourth time dragons have tried to lay claim to my land, but thank you, lad. My herd and I would have been chased off ages ago if you weren't around to talk some sense into them," he said gratefully.

"The dragons still haven't quite understood the concept of fences, Lothar. I'll keep reminding them until they get it…" Erland reassured him before getting back on the saddle and flying to the village. At the sound of angry Vikings shouting coupled with the shrieks and roars of dragons, he groaned.

"This is far too much work for just the two of us," Embla deadpanned upon seeing the chaos occurring in the plaza. From another Gronckle chasing a yak down the street, a couple of Terrible Terrors stealing chicken meant to be a Viking woman's lunch, and a Deadly Nadder refusing to get off a man's roof… not to mention a Monstrous Nightmare stealing a sack of apples from a market worker and another Nadder chasing chickens while stealing a lady's underwear in the process…

Too many dragons getting into trouble all at once.

Still, Erland tried his best. Once Embla landed in the middle of the plaza, he shut his eyes and, telepathically, in the loudest mental tone he could muster, shouted, 'EVERYONE, STOP!'

And, for a brief moment, upon opening his eyes, Erland saw that it worked. All the dragons had stopped misbehaving. But then…

"Incoming!"

"Look out!"

"Dragon poo!"

"Oh, literal shit…" Embla growled as her Rider quickly put up a shield over the two of them while hundreds of dragons flew over the village to do their business.

"Let's just go to the side, girl…" Erland instructed her. Embla carefully walked through the plaza, avoiding hot dragon dung, until they found themselves huddled next to Bucket and Mulch who were holding up their shields mounted on poles.

At the same time, Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna, and Stryka showed up. "Oh, hey. At least some people gave your 'shield-brella' idea a try, Hiccup," Zenna remarked and noticed Erland. "What held you up?" she asked.

"The usual. Dragons tried to lay claim to Lothar's yak paddock again." Erland shrugged.

Hiccup patted him on the back then turned to Bucket and Mulch. "Sorry about the, uh…" he greeted the two Vikings and then winced as he watched a villager get a face full of dragon poop.

"Every day at three. They're regular at least. A tip of the cap," Bucket commented.

"Better than the days when it was kill or be killed." Mulch looked at Erland. "I don't suppose you can tell the dragons that Berk's not the best place to…?" he tried to ask.

"Believe me, Mulch. I've tried. Honestly, it's like giving instructions to children. You say something and it goes in one ear and then out the other," Erland replied, rubbing his temples as the chaos started up again and the dragons went back to misbehaving once the poop shower was over.

Hiccup and Zenna both looked at Erland and then at each other. While the two of them and their dragons had ushered in peace by killing the Red Death and freeing the dragons from the tyrant's control, Erland was the main person actively maintaining the peace by acting as the dragons' translator. Whenever a dispute occurred between the wild dragons and an unfortunate Viking was caught in the middle, Erland was the one to come in and settle things. But he was only one person. And with the dragons now more comfortable with staying on Berk, his daily routine was packed with having to intervene when dragons got into fights and telling them to leave some poor Viking alone who was terrified of becoming the dragons' next meal.

They saw that it was beginning to take a toll on their big brother and they wanted to help. But before Hiccup and Zenna could come up with a plan, Mulch interrupted their thoughts, saying, "Hey, we've got some fish for your parents. Bucket, give them the cod." Only for his partner to present them with a sack that had the bottom torn off.

"I ate them already?" Bucket looked at the sack, puzzled. "Did I enjoy them?" he asked, having no memory of eating the cod that was meant for Hiccup's father and Zenna's parents. Having lost half his wits to a dragon attack years ago, Bucket earned his name with the bucket he now wore on his head to protect it from further damage. He also suffered short-term memory loss which usually made him forget things that had even occurred just moments ago.

"Um, no, actually, Bucket. I-I'm afraid the…" Hiccup mumbled before a small chirp made the group look at a nearby cart. A Terrible Terror was making off with two cod and a couple more joined it to feast on the stolen fish.

"Well, at least the dragons are enjoying it," Zenna said, looking on the bright side of things.

A group of wild dragons then started tussling in the plaza, causing even more damage to the houses nearby.

Erland sighed and rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Norns, help me…" he muttered as he ran to the middle of the squabble to set things right.

---

By nighttime, things had settled down somewhat but the village had a lot of new repairs that needed to be done in the morning. While most of the Berkians were willing to take the good with the bad, there were others who would never accept the dragons and would do anything to drive them away.

On the outskirts of the village, Mildew woke up to find a Gronckle snoozing on the roof of his house while another group of Gronckles had torn up his entire cabbage field. "That tears it, Fungus," Mildew grumbled. He put on his helmet, took up his staff, placed his pet sheep under his arm, and began the long walk towards the village.

"Store the rest of it in the back. The fishing boats just came in with a big catch," Stoick the Vast, the Chief of Berk, ordered two of his men. It was a busier day on Berk as usual and everybody was pitching in. While Gobber helped Stoick divide the tasks, Edgar and Henna Fiersome were hard at work placing crates of produce in one of the village's storehouses. Their Hideous Zippleback, Serpent and Serpentine, warbled happily as they pushed a wagon holding water canteens into the storehouse.

Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland were helping move some of the heavier loads with their dragons when a certain old coot arrived.

"Stoick!" Mildew shouted as he approached the Chief.

"Oh, not this old grump again…" Zenna muttered under her breath. Erland merely glared daggers at Mildew. The old man had been the only one against the dragons living on Berk after Hiccup and Zenna had defeated the Red Death with Toothless and Stryka. And, while the two young Vikings had been fighting for their lives after losing a leg and an eye respectively, Mildew had had the nerve to say that they had deserved to die. Everyone else disliked Mildew as well but not as much as Erland who had held a knife to the elder's throat when the latter spoke out against Hiccup and Zenna. Ever since then, the two had been bitter enemies.

"Ah, here's Mildew with the complaint of the day," Gobber quipped upon seeing Mildew and Fungus.

"You picked a bad time, Mildew. I'm in the middle of storing food. The freeze is coming," Stoick told Mildew, who merely huffed.

"It's those dragons again. Those demons are not fit to live among civilized men," Mildew complained.

"Neither are you, Mildew. Why do you think we built your house so far outside of town?" Gobber asked rhetorically.

"Aye, the real uncivilized demon has just arrived," Edgar joked.

"Edgar!" Henna chided her husband. Zenna, Hiccup, and Erland covered their mouths to muffle their snickers at Edgar's jab at Mildew.

"Ah, very well, make your jokes. Meanwhile, these dragons are in our village's cod! Turning people's houses into piles of rubble!" Mildew accused, gesturing with his staff at the damage done to the village. Then, he turned his watery blue eyes at Erland. "What's our resident "Dragon Whisperer" doing about it, hm?" he asked.

"I can't expect all of the dragons to fully understand our social mores immediately, Mildew. It will take time, but we'll all learn to adapt in order to coexist in peace," Erland said calmly.

"Well, can't you just cast a spell on the dragons to get them to behave? You're a bloody seidr, aren't you?" Mildew spat at him, making Embla growl as she protectively curled around her Rider.

"I don't have that kind of skill." Erland's green eyes flashed dangerously. "And even if I did, I wouldn't use my seidr to control the dragons. I'm not like the Red Death," he said sharply. Upon seeing the dragons flinch at the mention of their former Queen, he quickly said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Oh, pah! Excuses…" Mildew turned away from Erland to address the villagers. "These dragons are out of control! They're wild and unpredictable beasts!" he ranted.

And, to Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland's concern, a lot of the villagers agreed with him.

Mildew then faced Stoick. "You need to put those dragons in cages. If you don't, they'll eat us out of house and home and destroy the village," he demanded, the villagers loudly and angrily agreeing with him.

Deciding to speak up, Hiccup and Zenna walked to stand by Stoick. "They don't mean any harm. They're just dragons being dragons," Hiccup said, quieting the people down.

"They just need time to get used to all of us. And, like Erland said, it'll take time, but we'll be able to learn how to coexist with them and they'll learn to coexist with us," Zenna added.

Mildew could only glare at the two teens while Stoick stepped in. "Look, Mildew, if there's a problem, I'll deal with it," he said gruffly.

"Oh, there is a problem, Stoick. And I think I speak for everyone when I say you better do something about it," Mildew threatened before leaving.

"That could have gone better," Erland remarked as he soothed the dragons who were now all chittering to each other nervously about being caged.

---

Later that night, Stoick invited Gobber, Edgar, and Henna to his house while Erland went back to Gothi to rest after a long day.

"We can't just let dragons run wild like they own the place." Stoick said, pacing about before suddenly suggesting, "Hey, we could put up signs!"

"Signs? For dragons?" Gobber questioned him. "Do they even know how to read?" Edgar asked in agreement to the blacksmith's query.

"No! For the people." Stoick corrected himself.

"Signs? For Vikings? We're not big readers, Stoick," Gobber pointed out. "Our tribe would be far much better if we were…" Henna said, knowing that most of her neighbors had rarely opened a book.

"Then we'll build a huge net and stretch it around the plaza," Stoick suggested once again.

"Nets? You do know they breathe fire?" Gobber said incredulously. "It could be a net made of iron. It'll be far stronger than a rope one." Edgar offered helpfully.

"But if the dragons breathe fire, the iron could melt. And melted iron is hot, love. Think of the injuries!" Henna chided her husband.

"I know very well they breathe fire, Gobber. Edgar, it might seem like a good idea but your wife's got a point. Maybe Mildew's right…" Stoick sighed, officially out of ideas.

"Erland's doing his best to keep the dragons in line. But it's starting to take a toll on him," Hiccup piped up from his and Zenna's spot by the fire with their dragons. He frowned, remembering the utterly exhausted look on Erland's face before they parted ways at sunset. Glancing at Zenna, he saw that she, too, looked worried for their friend.

"We noticed. Poor dear looked like he was ready to drop dead after everything today," Henna said.

"And we can't rely on him to keep the dragons behaved all the time. He told Hiccup and me once that its range is limited and he can't send out his thoughts to every dragon on the entire island at the same time," Zenna told the adults.

"Hmmm… so even his gifts have a limit. I was beginning to think that the lad could do anything with that seidr of his," Edgar mused.

'If he had all of his magic back, he definitely could,' Hiccup and Zenna both thought, the two of them sharing a secret look with their dragons. With the rest of Berk's dragons, only the two of them knew that Erland was really Loki, the God of Mischief, who'd been banished to Midgard and turned into a mortal by the Norns after committing a crime on Asgard. They'd realized the truth a few months after the battle at Dragon Island and, having accepted Loki, flaws and all, swore to keep their best friend's identity a secret.

Now Loki needed help in keeping the dragons in line before more villagers were swayed by Mildew's complaints and decided to chase them out of Berk for good. There was only one thing Hiccup and Zenna could try.

"Dad, what if Zenna and I deal with the dragons?" Hiccup suggested to his father.

Stoick, Gobber, Edgar, and Henna looked at them. "You two?" Stoick asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, apart from Erland, Hiccup and I are the original Dragon Trainers around here," Zenna replied with a smile.

"Fair point there, love," Henna said, her caramel eyes shining with pride.

"We can help Erland with keeping the dragons from going out of control. I'm the best man for the job," Hiccup said as Toothless nosed his way under his arm, wanting a cuddle.

"And I'm the best woman for the job," added Zenna as she scratched Stryka behind her ears, her one-eyed dragoness purring.

"You're not a man yet, Hiccup," Stoick sighed at his one-legged son. "And you're not exactly yet a woman either, Zenna." Gobber looked at the one-eyed girl standing by the Chief's son.

"Not if you don't give us a chance to be!" Hiccup responded. "We can do it, trust us," Zenna affirmed.

The four adults looked at each other and thought over it carefully. Finally, they nodded. If Hiccup and Zenna wanted to try, they had to at least give them a chance.

"Fair enough, you'll both have your chance…starting tomorrow," Stoick told the two seriously.

"Great." At that, Hiccup and Zenna headed for the door with Toothless and Stryka trotting behind them.

"Where are you four going?" Gobber called after them.

"We gotta let Erland know about our plan!" Hiccup and Zenna said in unison before leaving the house.

---

"…and then I had to break up another fight at Lothar's farm today. What is it about that place that draws the dragons to it like flies to honey?" Loki rested his head on Gothi's table, two ice blocks pressed to his head. Today, like most days, had been mentally draining. He'd lost count of how many disputes between Vikings and dragons he'd had to settle and having a constant chorus of dragon's voices ringing in his ears and brain guaranteed regular headaches.

At least things quieted down at night and he could vent to Gothi, the village elder who'd offered him a place to stay after he ended up on Berk following his fall off the Bifrost.

Gothi was about to answer his question when there was a knock at the door.

"Hi… Um, is Loki still up?" Hiccup greeted Gothi when she opened it, Zenna standing next to him.

Gothi chuckled. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" she asked, dropping her mute act, and waved the Chief's son and her apprentice in.

Loki managed a tired smile and waved, one ice block clutched in his hand.

"Oof… a two-block headache," Zenna commented as she and Hiccup sat at the table.

"It will be a three-block one if I see another dragon trying to lay claim to Lothar's field tomorrow," Loki sighed, a few drops of melting ice dripping down his forehead and dampening his dark hair. "So what brings you two here at this hour?" he asked them.

Loki listened as Hiccup and Zenna proposed their plan. While he dealt with the dragon troubles happening in the outskirts and far sides of the village, Hiccup and Zenna would wrangle the dragons in the plaza and main neighborhood. After his two best friends laid out their idea, he straightened up. "Are you two sure you'll be able to handle it?" he asked them.

"Positive. It'll be easier for you too since you'll have less area to cover. We know we can't talk to the dragons like you can, but we know other ways to train them," Hiccup replied.

"You've been doing a lot of work. It's time we step up and pitch in," Zenna said.

"They do have a point. You've been tiring yourself out these past few weeks. Berk's got hundreds of dragons, Loki. You can't be everywhere all at once to pacify them when they decide to misbehave," Gothi advised her ward.

"I'd be able to do that if I could make duplicates of myself again. But I don't think the Norns are planning to give me back that skill anytime soon." Loki dropped the ice blocks into a bucket before they melted too much and soaked his hair. He looked at Hiccup and Zenna and then nodded. "Very well. I wish you both the best of luck," he said, approving their idea.

"Don't worry. It'll be easy as pie," Zenna reassured him.

"I don't think it will be, but I admire your optimism," Loki deadpanned.

---

The next day, Hiccup and Zenna strode into the village plaza with their Night Furies. "Okay gang, there's gonna be some changes around here," Hiccup announced. "Starting today," Zenna added as they split up and got to work.

"Get out! Shoo! For the last time, get your nose out of my bread!" yelled a bread-making Viking as she struggled to keep a purple Nadder from stealing her bread basket.

Hiccup quickly ran over to her calling out, "Hold on, I'll help you! Just…" he then faced the misbehaving Nadder and sternly said, "No!" as he placed his hand on the dragon's snout. The Nadder squawked and calmed.

"Alright." Hiccup grinned. This was going to be a snap!

But suddenly a blue-green colored Gronckle burst out of nowhere, Zenna running after it in hot pursuit yelling, "Hold it right there!" startling both Hiccup and the Nadder. The Nadder made a break for it as soon as Hiccup was occupied with the other dragon.

"Sheesh, for a Gronckle, he could run like the wind…!" Zenna panted as the Gronckle evaded her grasp.

Suddenly, roars coming from somewhere up in the village got the two teens' attention. A Monstrous Nightmare and Deadly Nadder were getting into a brawl at a nearby sheep pen. And some unfortunate sheep got their fleece set on fire while the rest of the flock scattered.

"Toothless, Stryka, stop that fight! We'll put out the sheep." Hiccup commanded his Night Fury and Zenna's, grabbing a bucket of water.

The two Night Furies quickly rushed to the two bickering dragons to break them up while their Riders chased after the flaming sheep.

"Stop, drop, and roll! It's stop, drop, and roll you stupid ball of fleece!" Zenna yelled as she and Hiccup were knocked down by the panicking sheep on fire, spilling all the water in their buckets over themselves. The pair chased the sheep into the plaza, where things were no better.

"Get out! Get back here with my cart!"

"Enough of these dragons!"

All the wild dragons were running and flying amok, making off with food, clothing, and personal possessions, and breaking things left and right. There were so many of them that Hiccup and Zenna could hardly keep track of them all nor were they able to calm one dragon down for no more than a minute before another dragon caused trouble.

"Remember when I told Erland last night that this would be easy as pie? He was right. This is anything but easy!" Zenna sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

Unbeknownst to her and Hiccup, the rest of the Riders were watching them fail miserably from one of the village's watchtowers.

"What're they doing?" Snotlout asked curiously.

"Uh, I think they're helping the dragons break stuff," Tuffnut guessed.

"Cool," Ruffnut said, grinning.

Hiccup and Zenna ducked as a dragon dive-bombed, barely missing them both.

"Wow, they could really use our help," Astrid remarked.

"We'll get to it," Tuffnut said lazily.

"In a minute," Ruffnut agreed with her brother, leaning against Barf's head.

Meanwhile, Zenna managed to corner one of the flaming sheep and Hiccup tossed the contents of his refilled water bucket at the frightened animal. The sheep bleated, trembling from the shock of having been set ablaze and then soaked to the bone.

"Sorry about that," Hiccup said apologetically.

"That's one problem solved…" Zenna breathed a sigh of relief.

However, her relief was short-lived when a whole flock of dragons flew over Berk.

"And… it's three o'clock," Astrid sighed as the first wave of hot, bright green dragon droppings fell from the sky.

Zenna was lucky she had Elias's shield. She muttered a quick apology to her brother for disgracing his shield's honor as she held it over her head. "Um, Hiccup…" she warned her one-legged best friend, spotted a big glop of dragon dung headed straight for him.

But she warned Hiccup too late.

"Oh, no..." Hiccup muttered just before he got a face full of dragon poop.

Zenna cringed, quickly taking Hiccup's hand and pulling him into her house to get him and her shield cleaned up. Once that was done and the dragons had finished relieving themselves, Hiccup and Zenna got back out to the village plaza only to fail once again to stop the dragons from misbehaving.

---

"Well…" Embla looked around at the carnage as she and Erland landed in the middle of the plaza. "It looks like they didn't have an easy day either," she remarked. Sighing, Erland slid off her back and approached Toothless and Stryka, the two Night Furies watching as their Riders tried to chase after a few sheep that had caught fire.

'How long have they been at their wits' end?' Erland asked them telepathically.

'About a few hours.' Toothless winced as he saw his Rider get knocked to the ground by a terrified sheep.

'Everything started falling apart at 3 o'clock.' Stryka shrugged her wings.

Erland could only sigh as he focused his already tired mind to reach out to the dragons again. At the same time, he made a mental note to get some ice blocks for Hiccup and Zenna as well. He had a feeling that he wasn't the only one who had a raging headache now.

---

Later that night, once things had relatively calmed down, The Three Weirdos found themselves all gathered in Hiccup's room. Embla was dozing outside the Haddock House while Toothless and Stryka were curled around Erland and Zenna. Hiccup was sitting on his bed, taking off his prosthetic leg.

"Holy Shields…" Zenna sighed and leaned against Stryka, an ice block pressed to her forehead. "If this is what you've been dealing with for these past weeks, Hiccup and I are so sorry we didn't help you sooner," she apologized to Erland who held two ice blocks to his head while a third rested on top of his hair.

"Well, you two tried and I appreciate your efforts. But I did tell you that it wouldn't be easy when you said that it would be," Erland replied, focusing on the cooling sensation of the ice chasing away his headache.

Zenna groaned, pressing the ice block harder against her aching head. Stryka warbled softly and nuzzled her, getting a slight smile from the one-eyed Fiersome girl.

"I've got an extra block that hasn't melted." Erland motioned with his head to the bucket of ice he'd set up near Hiccup's bed. Hiccup gave him a grateful nod and mumbled, "Oh, everything hurts… even this." Holding up his prosthetic. Toothless crooned and gently nudged his best friend's hand.

"Hiccup? Zenna? Erland?" Astrid's voice suddenly came from downstairs, making Hiccup straighten up.

"Astrid?" Hiccup gulped. "Who else could it be?" Zenna told him, a teasing smile on her face.

"Perfect…" Hiccup muttered as he brushed off any dust or dirt on his leather vest. Turning to Toothless, Stryka, Erland, and Zenna, he then asked, "I don't look too beat-up, do I?"

"Ehhh…" Erland gave him a weak-hearted thumbs-up while Zenna tried and failed to smile reassuringly. Toothless and Stryka could only manage identical pity smiles.

"Oh, great. Sibling pity and dragon pity," Hiccup deadpanned before hearing footsteps behind him and turning around to see Astrid walk in. "Hey, Astrid. What a nice surprise!" he greeted the tough Hofferson girl as cheerfully as he could.

Astrid looked at the three Vikings before her and knew that today had been a long, tough day for all three of them. "So, how was your day?" she asked them.

"I had to keep some wild dragons from claiming Lothar's land, again. Why they keep going for his area is a mystery. There's no Dragon Nip growing there anyway," Erland replied, taking out a small piece of linen from his trouser pocket to place over his head as the water from the ice blocks wetted his hair.

Hiccup winced in sympathy before saying to Astrid, "Uh, uneventful… Hung around the plaza with Zen. You know…"

"The usual…" Zenna piped up, not meeting Astrid's gaze.

"Yeah, I do know. We saw you two out there." Astrid picked off a speck of dirt that Hiccup hadn't been able to remove from his vest. "It's hard to believe that you three are still standing," she remarked.

Hiccup collapsed onto his bed with a defeated groan. "I think Zen and I are gonna be seeing flaming sheep in our dreams for the next month," he admitted before he heard the one voice he really didn't want to hear right now.

"HICCUP!"

Stoick came up to his son's room, scowling. "Hiccup, what's going on out there? The plaza looks like a war zone," he demanded, his son quickly getting up from his bed.

"I-I know it looks bad…" Hiccup began as Astrid whispered, "Really bad." Making him cringe a little.

"Yeah, b-but this is only Phase One of my master plan," Hiccup continued. Behind him, Erland and Zenna glanced at each other. While Zenna looked confused, Erland schooled his facial expression into a neutral one and focused his attention on Hiccup. 'Let's see if he can lie as well as me,' he thought to himself.

Stoick looked doubtful. "Oh, so you do have a plan?" he asked Hiccup.

"I do… Of course, I do! It's very complex. Lots of drawings, several moving parts. Yeah, it's uh, pretty wild," Hiccup rambled, praying to the Norns that his father wouldn't call his bluff.

Luckily, Stoick believed him. "Well, this better be real because Mildew's stirred up the whole island." He looked at his son, Zenna, and Erland with a stern face. "And if you three don't get those dragons under control, they'll be calling for their heads," he said seriously before going back downstairs.

Toothless and Stryka rumbled in concern. They couldn't lose their heads! They needed them!

"Don't worry, you two. Your heads aren't going anywhere," Hiccup told them soothingly. "Not if we have a say in it," Zenna added, stroking Stryka's head.

"You guys realize that there are, like, a bazillion dragons out there and only three of you? I hope you really do have a plan," Astrid informed them.

"She's right, Hiccup. Care to share the rest of your so-called "master plan" with us?" Erland raised an eyebrow at his one-legged little brother.

Hiccup thought hard, tapping his booted foot on the floor. True, his master plan was still very much incomplete but he was determined to not fail. Finally, an idea came to his mind and he perked up. "You guys remember the old Dragon Killing arena?" he asked.

"Yeah. Nobody's using it now and I heard your Dad's planning to have it torn down. Why?" Zenna replied, tilting her head to the side.

"We gather the others tomorrow morning. We'll train the dragons there," Hiccup said.

Erland blinked. "A sensible idea. Though I imagine the dragons will be on edge once they set foot in that place," he pointed out.

"True… But, right now, it's our only chance. Mildew's got the whole village riled up. And, Astrid, you're right." Hiccup turned to his blonde maybe-girlfriend. "Berk's got a bazillion dragons. Erland, Zen, and I are outnumbered. But if we have more dragon trainers, we could be able to handle them," he proposed.

"Alright. I'll gather the others and their dragons first thing tomorrow morning. We'll meet you at the arena," Astrid said before leaving. But not before calling over her shoulder, "You work on getting your Dad's permission!"

At that, Hiccup grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Erland and Zenna noticed this and knew what their skinny friend was planning.

"We're going behind your father's back, aren't we?" Zenna asked him.

"Um… maybe just for a little while? A-at least until we can convince him that the plan will work," Hiccup mumbled.

"Cool. I'm always up for youthful rebellion." Erland grinned.

"We're with you all the way, Hicc," Zenna said in reassurance.

Hiccup smiled in relief. Now, all they had to do was head to the arena tomorrow with the others… and do what they do best.

---

The next morning, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs found themselves with their dragons in the old Dragon Killing arena where Hiccup proposed his master plan. While Astrid found the plan potentially effective, the others were doubtful.

"That's your plan? Train dragons?" Ruffnut asked in disbelief while Barf and Belch intertwined their necks around her and her brother.

"Here? Where we used to kill them?" Tuffnut looked around the arena, remembering all the major fights he and his twin had viewed over the years.

"Right… because we don't do that anymore. That's why it's available," Hiccup told them as he, Zenna, and Erland prepared the tools needed for their first training session. Looking around the stone walls and iron railings of the grandstands, Hiccup looked back on how so much had changed in this place. Countless dragons were slain in this very arena until his own disastrous final exam which led to peace between the dragons and the Berkians.

"Actually, the dragons do seem a little nervous," Astrid remarked and gently petted Stormfly who, along with all the other dragons, chittered and fidgeted.

"That's because they're very sensitive," Fishlegs stated, cuddling Meatlug. "Meatlug, especially. She lost a cousin here. We try not to talk about it," he said, whispering his last sentence.

"Dear cousin Rockhide…" Meatlug growled mournfully.

"I'm getting flashbacks, my dude…" Barf hissed. "So am I…" Belch muttered.

Hookfang looked at Erland. "You guys couldn't have picked a different area to train us, Serpent Tongue?" he asked nervously.

"Well, this place was pending for demolition. It'd be such a waste to get rid of the arena when it can still be useful to the village," Erland said after he'd translated the dragons' hisses and growls for their Riders.

"Not to mention that it's the one place big enough to hold all seven of you," Zenna said, looking at Stryka, Toothless, Embla, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch.

"C-can't Erland tell the dragons to stop misbehaving?" Fishlegs proposed.

"I've tried, Fishlegs. True, the dragons respect me but they're all stubborn. That's the one thing they all have in common with the Berkians here," Erland told him, sending the dragons a loaded look.

Despite Stormfly's fears, Astrid was impressed with how quickly Hiccup had acted. "It's amazing your Dad just gave us the arena," she remarked.

Hiccup's cheeks reddened slightly. "Well, it would be, if he did, yeah, but, he didn't, so that's another thing we should try not to talk about," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wait, so we're going behind your father's back?" Astrid looked at him suspiciously.

"There you go! Talking about it!" Hiccup mumbled, still hoping the plan would still work.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at Zenna and Erland. "You two knew about this?" asked Ruffnut.

"Yup," Erland replied with a mischievous smile.

"It's risky, but, hey, we've taken plenty of risks before," Zenna said as if this was something perfectly normal.

"I get Zen being okay with this. She's stuck with Hiccup for years going along with his crazy ideas." Snotlout looked at Erland dubiously. "But I thought you'd be the one to say that this is a bad idea," he said.

"Are you kidding me? Going behind Stoick's back to train dragons and show that old weasel Mildew that we know better than him? I wouldn't pass up on this opportunity for the world," Erland told him, jade eyes bright.

Fishlegs turned to Hiccup. "You got true friends there, Hiccup," he commented.

Hiccup smiled at Erland and Zenna, the latter asking, "What now, Hicc?"

Feeling a little more confident, he faced the rest of the group. "Alright, everybody, here's the thing. The dragons are out of control. We want them to live in our world without destroying it, but they can't without our help," he stated.

The others listened as he continued. "They've been blowing things up in the village… We've gotta do something about that," he said seriously.

"And we need to do it as quickly as possible," Zenna added.

But Ruffnut and Tuffnut misinterpreted the two friends' words. "Got it! Help dragons blow things up. We can totally do that," Tuffnut said with glee.

"No, I believe I said—" Hiccup managed to say before Ruffnut interrupted.

"Here's how we're gonna do it: First, we make them really, really angry," Ruffnut began.

"No problem. We anger everybody," Tuffnut snickered before Zenna approached him and Ruffnut, covering their mouths.

"Ruff, Tuff, now is not the time for jokes." Erland gave the Twins a stern glare, which immediately made them feel thoroughly chastised. Out of all the people in the village, he was the one person whom Ruffnut and Tuffnut listened to without question.

"Mildew wants all of our dragons caged. And I don't know about you, but that's not okay with me," Hiccup said sternly.

"Or me," Zenna agreed, taking her hands off the Twins' mouths.

"You're right. She's sorry," Tuffnut said, smirking at Ruffnut who glared at him.

Deciding that now was a good time to start training, Hiccup approached the baskets he, Erland, and Zenna had placed behind them. "Okay then. Next problem…" He took out a hard loaf of bread from one of the baskets. "The dragons are eating everything in sight. Now, when a dragon grabs something it's not supposed to have…" he said as Toothless sidled closer to him and took the loaf into his mouth.

"…you can get him to drop it by giving him a little scratch just below the chin," Hiccup said as he demonstrated, gently scratching Toothless below the chin. Toothless warbled and dropped the loaf of bread.

"It also helps if you reinforce this with a firm but gentle no," Zenna advised just as Stryka dug her snout into another basket, pulling out an old tunic.

"Stryka, no. That's not for you," Zenna said firmly before gently scratching the one-eyed Night Fury below her chin. Stryka chirped and gave the tunic back.

"What's important is, that when it's needed, you need to put your foot down and show the dragon who's boss – in a manner that still shows that you respect them," Erland added just as Embla tried to play tug-of-war with him using the third basket.

'Embla, no. We're not playing this game right now,' he mentally told Embla who loosened her jaws' grip on the basket, allowing him to take the basket from her. "Thank you," Erland said, patting Embla on the head.

Not quite convinced, Snotlout swaggered forward and took the loaf of bread Hiccup had taken from Toothless. "Maybe those work for you three and Toothless, Stryka, and Embla, but Hookfang and me? We do things a little different," he said and then tossed the loaf to Hookfang.

"Oh, this should be educationally interesting." Zenna smirked.

"Then enlighten us, Snotlout. How do you and Hookfang do things differently?" Erland asked with a playful smile.

Snotlout approached Hookfang. "When I want this big boy to do something, I just get right in his face and—DROP THAT RIGHT NOW! YOU HEAR ME?!" he suddenly yelled at his Monstrous Nightmare.

"Rude." Hookfang dropped the bread before grabbing Snotlout with his mouth and lifting him up, leaving only his legs visible and dangling a few feet over the arena's floor.

"See? He dropped it," Snotlout said, his voice muffled by Hookfang's mouth.

The other Riders looked unimpressed. "Should we help him?" Tuffnut asked the others, watching Hookfang lightly shake Snotlout in his mouth.

"Yeah, in a minute," Astrid replied, amused.

Hiccup decided to move to on-site training. "Alright. We've got a lot of training to do, but together we can keep these dragons under control," he said before he led everyone else out of the arena, leaving Snotlout and Hookfang behind.

"Uh… can somebody do that chin scratchy thing? Hello? You guys still there?" Snotlout asked only to get silence as his answer.

The others had just left the arena when Hiccup turned to Erland who sighed, knowing what the former wanted him to do. Heading back to the arena, Erland saw Hookfang still holding Snotlout in his mouth.

"Spit him out, Hookfang," he commanded and the Monstrous Nightmare obeyed.

"I don't like it when he yells at me. Gives me headaches," Hookfang complained as his Rider picked himself up.

"How come he listens to you?" Snotlout whined as he wiped off his dragon's flammable spit.

"He'd listen to you more if you stopped yelling orders at him," Erland scoffed and dragged him out of the arena to join the others.

---

But when all eight of the Dragon Riders arrived at a part of the village near the area where storehouses were, they were surprised to discover that there were no dragons around.

"Huh, no dragons," Fishlegs said.

"That was easy," Ruffnut remarked.

"Lunch?" Snotlout suggested.

"Is food all you ever think about?" asked Zenna, rolling her eye at him.

Hiccup and Erland, on the other hand, were concerned. "That's weird. If the dragons aren't here, where are they?" Hiccup wondered out loud before turning to Erland. "Can you hear them?" he asked his older brother.

Shutting his eyes, Erland tried to detect the internal voices of any dragons nearby. He opened his eyes and muttered, "Oh, shit…" just as an explosion came from the village's storehouse area.

"Something tells me that way," Astrid told Hiccup, blue eyes looking up at the plume of smoke rising in the distance.

"Oh, this ought to be bad…" Zenna groaned, shaking her head before she and the gang ran to the storehouse part of town. They were all shocked to see that the dragons had blown up the main food storehouse and were eating all of the food the villagers had stored for the freeze. And it wasn't just the wild dragons who were feasting.

"Stormfly?"

"Hookfang?"

Astrid and Snotlout could only look at their dragons partaking in the food while Fishlegs and the Twins tried to get Meatlug and Barf and Belch to come to them.

Stoick was with Zenna's parents, hoping to salvage some of the precious food but to no avail.

"They've eaten everything! We've got nothing left for the freeze!" Stoick exclaimed. Serpent and Serpentine had their heads in two barrels of fish but were immediately caught by Edgar and Henna.

"Serpent, shame on you!" Zenna's father scolded the left head.

"Serpentine, I've raised you better than this!" Henna sternly told the right head.

The maroon Zippleback looked at each other sheepishly and cooed their apology.

And at that moment, Mildew decided to make an appearance.

"I warned you, Stoick. But did you listen to me? No. You put a bunch of teenagers in charge!" he said, glaring at the seven teens in question. "Now look what the dragons have done! Caging is too good for those beasts," he declared.

"If anybody should be put in a cage, it's you Mildew!" Zenna shouted.

"Zen!" both Edgar and Henna exclaimed in shock.

"Dad, I swear w-we can fix this. We-we were just starting to-…" Hiccup stuttered in an attempt to reason with his father but got cut off.

"Enough, Hiccup! How can I trust you, Zenna, and Erland to control all the dragons, when the three of you couldn't even control your own?" Stoick said sharply and gestured to Toothless and Stryka. The two Night Furies were digging into a basket of fish and sharing the bounty.

"Oh, Toothless…" Hiccup sighed. "Stryka, really?" Zenna said, incredulous. The two of them glanced at Erland, who was glaring at Embla. The guilty Changewing had half a fish down her gullet when she noticed her Rider.

"Uh… I was peer pressured by the others," Embla mumbled.

'All of you, get over here. Now.' Erland folded his arms across his chest while all the dragons assembled before him at his unspoken command. Once he had every dragon looking at him, guilt in their eyes, he spoke. "I am disappointed in all of you," he told them. The dragons all bowed their heads.

"W-we're sorry, Serpent Tongue…" Toothless apologized. "So sorry!" Stryka chimed in, her gaze lowered.

"Just… stay here." Erland held up his hand before following Hiccup and Zenna as they desperately tried to change Stoick's mind.

"Bucket! Mulch! Man the boats! We need another catch!" Stoick ordered the two fishermen, tossing them nets.

"It's too late, Stoick. It took us six months to catch all that fish," Mulch said, brow knitted in concern.

"Don't tell me it's too late! We've got to try!" Stoick insisted.

Mulch shrank back and quickly said, "Of course we do!" before elbowing Bucket. "Uh, don't tell the Chief it's too late. You're always so negative!" he scolded his friend.

"I don't know what it is with me," sighed Bucket, unaware that Mulch was trying to save face at his expense.

Hiccup caught up with his father along with Zenna and Erland. "Chief, just give us another chance! We were just starting!" pleaded Zenna. "Dad, please! You gotta listen to me. Zen, Erland, and I know dragons better than—" Hiccup managed to say before Stoick faced him and his friends.

"Not now, Hiccup. I have a village to feed. The dragons have done enough damage. By tonight, I want every one of them caged. Understand?" Stoick ordered.

Before Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland could open their mouths to protest, Mildew butted in.

"Bah! You can't just cage these dragons! You need to send them away now!" the old coot barked.

"Stoick, Mildew's right!"

"Get 'em out of here!"

Hearing his people's complaints, Stoick knew that he had to listen to them. 'A Chief's first duty is to his people…' he reminded himself. "You're right, Mildew," he said, making Hiccup, Zenna, Erland look at him in horror.

"We'll cage them tonight. And, in the morning, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland will send them off the island," Stoick told Mildew before looking at Hiccup.

"I'm sorry, son," he said and turned to leave.

"So that's it?"

Stoick turned around to see Erland approach. Standing before the Chief, Erland scowled. "The battle at Dragon Island? The sacrifices they made to bring peace?" He gestured to Hiccup and Zenna behind. "Does all of that truly mean so little to you now, Stoick?" he asked.

Stoick's eyes hardened at the boy's brazenness. "I'm only doing this because the situation's dire… Not to mention that you've failed to keep the dragons in line with your seidr, Erland," he pointed out.

"I can speak to the dragons, Stoick. That doesn't mean I have the right to control them. They're creatures with their own free will. Who am I to take that away from them?" Erland retorted, giving the red-bearded Viking a cool glare.

Stoick didn't say anything but gave Erland an equally cold look before leaving. Sighing, Erland went back to Hiccup and Zenna, who looked at him worriedly.

"This is so unfair…" Zenna mumbled upon seeing her parents worriedly cuddling Serpent and Serpentine, her parents' young Hideous Zippleback shaking in the couple's arms.

"Did you get my Dad to change his mind?" Hiccup asked Erland who could only shake his head.

"Not even the mention of what you and Zenna have sacrificed could persuade him… All because of some old fool's refusal to change…" Erland muttered, glaring at Mildew who looked extremely pleased with himself.

"What do we do now?" Zenna looked at Hiccup, who, for the first time, had absolutely no idea.

Embla dragged her tail as she and the others left the food storehouse's remains. "I'm really sorry, Loki… I should have restrained myself…" she admitted.

"I know you're sorry, girl… I know…" Erland whispered, patting her side, as he and the gang left to go on what was probably going to be their last flight together.

---

That evening, the Riders were moping around in the Great Hall. With the exception of Toothless, Stryka, and Embla, the dragons stayed outside, dreading going into the cages later. Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland were huddled together at a separate table, trying to come up with more ideas, while the others sat at another table, miserable.

"I can't believe we have to send them away," Snotlout muttered, dejected.

Astrid slowly stirred her cocoa, the cream forming a milky image of a Deadly Nadder. "It's gonna be weird. I got used to Stormfly's face being the first thing I see every morning," she mumbled.

"Every night before I went to sleep, Meatlug would lick my feet," Fishlegs revealed with a sad look, the others staring at him. "Who's gonna do that now?!" wailed Fishlegs, slumping onto the table.

"I volunteer Tuffnut," Ruffnut offered in an attempt to lighten the mood. Her brother was too glum to even protest. "Whatever. What time should I be there?" he asked.

Astrid sighed and stood up. "Come on, guys. Let's get this over with," she said, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the Twins following her.

"This is the worst day of my life! We're never gonna see our dragons again!" Fishlegs whimpered.

"We can't let that happen!" Hiccup said loudly, Toothless lightly bumping his snout against his leg. "Toothless is one of the best friends I've ever had," he said softly, petting his dragon.

"And you're my best friend, Hiccup," Toothless replied in his draconic tongue.

"I don't want to be sent away, Zen! I want to stay with you!" Stryka warbled, her one eye looking imploringly into her Rider's single violet eye.

Once Erland had translated their dragons' words, Zenna and Hiccup hugged Stryka and Toothless tightly. "I don't want us to get split up too, girl…" whispered Zenna.

"There has to be a way to stop this. Think! What haven't we tried?" Erland asked Hiccup and Zenna as Embla wrapped one of her head tendrils around his arm.

"Oh, Toothless, Stryka, Embla, I'm gonna miss you all so much!" A mocking voice sounded from behind The Three Weirdos and their dragons, making their blood boil.

"Oh, joy. He's come to gloat..." Embla hissed as Mildew walked up to them. Hiccup and Zenna noticed Erland's right hand reach for one of his daggers and quickly placed their hands on his right arm.

They weren't going to let their big brother be caged tonight as well.

"You know what your mistake was? Thinking dragons could be trained. A dragon's gonna do what a dragon's gonna. It's their nature. And nature always wins," Mildew told The Three Weirdos and left.

"I hate that guy," Zenna deadpanned, her fingers twitching to take one of her sticks and throw it at Mildew's retreating back.

"Join the club…" Erland muttered but his gaze slowly turned from murderous to thoughtful. Something about what Mildew said was making the gears in his brain turn…

Mildew opened one of the doors to the Great Hall and a cold gust of wind rushed in, putting out the flame of the main fireplace. Toothless and Stryka both shot out fireballs to relight it. "Oh, thank you, Toothless and Stryka," one Viking woman said with gratitude as she warmed herself up by the fire.

"No problem, miss," Toothless warbled.

"Just doing our part to keep the place warm," Stryka yapped.

Hiccup, meanwhile, pondered on Mildew's words. Upon seeing Toothless and Stryka relight the fire, he got an idea. At the same time, Erland found what he was looking for in Mildew's words.

"A dragons gotta do what a dragon's gotta do!" Snapping his fingers, Erland looked at Hiccup and Zenna. "Therein lies the answer," he announced.

"I'm sorry. I don't follow?" Zenna piped up before Hiccup said, "You know what? Mildew is absolutely right!" making her gawk at him. "Okay, are you two thinking the exact same thing or have you both lost your minds?"

"I think we both are." Erland smiled.

"Zen, a dragon's gotta do what a dragon's gotta do because it's their nature! We can use that to our advantage. Look what Toothless and Stryka did." Hiccup excitedly gestured to the relighted fireplace.

Zenna looked at the fireplace and, in a split second, she figured out what her brothers were thinking. "Of course! We work with them instead of against them!" she realized, clapping her hands together.

"Exactly!" Hiccup grinned. "If we can learn to work in harmony with the dragons as they follow their natural instincts, we'll be able to gain their assistance in all sorts of tasks around the village. We just need to do a demonstration," Erland suggested.

With their dragons right behind them, The Three Weirdos rushed out of the Great Hall and headed to the arena.

Astrid and the others arrived earlier and, with heavy hearts, started leading their dragons into the cages.

"Goodbye, Hookfang," Snotlout said, sadly stroking his stubborn Monstrous Nightmare's chin.

"I'm sorry, Stormfly," Astrid apologized to her Deadly Nadder. Stormfly warbled sadly and nuzzled her Rider. "Now, go." She motioned to her dragon with her torch to join the other dragons. Stormfly obediently yet reluctantly followed.

As the dragons went inside the cage, their Riders watched on feeling just as miserable as they were.

"Ugh... Feels like big, sharp teeth are tearing at this thing inside my chest," Snotlout muttered, placing his hands over his chest.

"That's what it feels like when your heart is breaking," Astrid said in a broken voice.

Snotlout looked at her and said, "I don't have a heart! I'm not a girl." But deep down, he knew this to be true. And right now, he was sure his heart was breaking like all the others' hearts.

As the cage began to close, the dragons stared sadly at their Riders and they sadly stared back at them.

But, just as the cage was halfway closed, three voices echoed out in the night.

"Don't close it!"

Toothless, Stryka, and Embla landed in the arena and their Riders quickly got off of their backs to push back the lever controlling the cage door's mechanism. Stormfly, Hookfang, Barf and Belch, and Meatlug chirped and growled in relief as they were let out.

"We are not locking them up," Hiccup told the gang seriously.

"What happened? Did you change your father's mind?" Astrid asked him. She was excited until she noticed Erland and Zenna behind Hiccup, shaking their heads with knowing smirks on their faces.

"Or are we going behind his back again?" Astrid asked, suspicious this time.

Hiccup blushed. "Uh… one of those," he admitted.

"Namely the going behind your father's back part," Zenna chimed in, leaning against Stryka.

"Look." Once he was sure the others were listening to him, Hiccup laid out the plan. "The dragons are gonna do what they're gonna do. It's their nature. We just need to learn how to use it," he said.

"How are we gonna do that?" Fishlegs asked, confused. "We let the dragons do what their nature tells them to do. We just have to be there to guide them so they won't cause any trouble," Zenna explained.

"Wouldn't this be not listening to the Chief's orders?" Tuffnut asked. "Yeah, aren't we gonna get in trouble?" Ruffnut added.

"It's disobedience to authority, yes. And we will probably get into trouble. But what's life without a little trouble?" Erland replied nonchalantly.

"Awesome!" the Twins yelled, banging their helmets together.

"Is this really gonna work?" Snotlout raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, 'Lout. While it is risky, it's guaranteed to show everyone that the dragons can co-exist with us." Zenna pointed out, making the burly Viking teen go, "Okay, whatever works."

"Alright. Tomorrow, we'll do a demonstration," Hiccup said, dismissing the rest of the Riders.

"Make sure your dragons stay hidden until tomorrow morning!" Zenna called after them as they rode their dragons home.

When their friends had left, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland looked at each other. "I sure hope this works…" Hiccup mumbled under his breath.

"It will. Remember, Hiccup, have conviction, and be confident in your plans," Erland reminded him.

"Besides, your plans always work out in the end," Zenna pointed out.

Hiccup looked at her, amused. "What do you mean 'in the end', Zenna?" he asked.

"Well, let's be honest, things usually go wrong in the middle of your plan sometimes," Zenna admitted with a teasing smile.

"True. Your final exam is good proof of that," Erland snickered.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at them. "And… if my Dad catches on and I do get in trouble?" he asked tugging at his tunic's sleeves.

"You go down, we go down with you, Hicc," Zenna vowed, Erland nodding in agreement.

---

The next day, Bucket and Mulch were out on their boat fishing. It would take them forever to catch enough fish for the freeze but, like Stoick told them, they had to try.

"Ah, the nets are empty again." Mulch sighed, pulling up the nets that still hadn't caught any fish.

"Did I eat them already? Did I enjoy it? Oops… Am I being too negative?" Bucket asked him.

Suddenly, Erland and Snotlout arrived on their dragons with Hiccup, hovering over the boat, much to the two fishermen's confusion.

"Erland, Snotlout, scare us up some dinner!" Hiccup told them.

'Just like we practiced, you two,' Erland reminded Embla and Hookfang who both nodded. Holding their breaths, Erland and Snotlout held on as their dragons began to dive right above Bucket and Mulch's heads.

"Dragon attack!" Bucket screamed only for Embla and Hookfang to miss the boat by a hair and dive into the ocean.

'Here, fishy, fishy, fishies!' Hookfang's yellow eyes glittered as he and Embla chased a whole school of fish into the nets. Once they were certain that the nets were full, they surfaced and went back to the sky.

Pulling up the nets with Bucket, Mulch was amazed to find them wriggling full of fish. "Hey, thanks dragons!" he called after Embla and Hookfang.

"That's right! That just happened!" Snotlout whooped as he and Erland high-fived.

With fishing done, Hiccup led the others to Mildew's cabbage field.

Mildew muttered to himself, complaining about how long it was going to take to get a new crop of cabbage planted when he heard Zenna yell, "Cabbage field about to be plowed!"

Stryka circled over the field, alerting Astrid and Stormfly. "Afternoon, Mildew!" Astrid greeted the old grump before Stormfly swooped low over the cabbage field. Her spiked tail left deep furrows in the earth. Then Toothless and Stryka flew behind her, their Riders scattering cabbage seeds into the dirt.

"Three o'clock! Time for the fertilizer!" Hiccup shouted.

"Fertilizer?" Mildew repeated, dumbfounded after what just happened.

"Fishlegs, Meatlug! Let 'er go!" Zenna hollered as the two led a few Gronckles in a formation over the field. Looking down, she said, "You might wanna take cover, Mildew."

Once the Gronckles were in position, Fishlegs gave the signal. "Okay, Meatlug! Let 'er rip!" he encouraged his Gronckle.

Meatlug and her brethren answered the calls of nature, sending hot dragon dung raining down onto the field to fertilize it. Mildew, still too shocked by what was happening, was lucky enough to not get splattered by dragon poop.

"Smile, Mildew! We just saved you three months of work!" Hiccup told him before he and his friends left to do more tasks. "You're welcome!" Zenna chirped as Stryka flew towards the forest where Ruffnut and Tuffnut were at. Barf let out plumes of green gas that Belch ignited with a spark, spooking the wild boars running out of the forest. Seeing the boars out in the open, Hiccup and Zenna got Toothless and Stryka to fire a few plasma blasts into the sky. The sound of the blasts allowed them to effectively herd the wild boars into a slaughterhouse so they could be butchered later.

Gobber was impressed with the teens' work and waved them over after he'd shut the slaughterhouse's doors.

"Whoo-hoo! That was awesome!" Fishlegs whooped as their dragons landed.

"How did you know that was gonna work?" Astrid asked Hiccup, amazed.

"Because they're dragons, and they're gonna do what dragons do. We just have to work with them and not against them," Hiccup told her, glancing at Zenna who winked.

"And to think our plan came from the most unlikely of people," Erland remarked.

Hiccup nodded. "You know who we should actually be thanking?" he asked the others and then heard the very person who'd helped him, Zenna, and Erland come up with a plan in the first place.

"There they are, Stoick!"

"Da-da-da, we're dead," Erland deadpanned at the sight of Mildew hobbling over to them – with Stoick, Edgar, and Henna.

"Zenna, what have you and the others been up to?" Henna asked, hands on her hips. "Nothing bad, we hope not?" Edgar raised an eyebrow at his daughter.

"Nothing at all, Dad. We were just helping with the village's chores," Zenna said brightly. That's when her parents heard the squeals of boars coming from the slaughterhouse.

"Ah, fresh wild boar's meat. That'll definitely help with getting the village's food stores restocked," Edgar remarked.

But Mildew didn't share the Fiersomes' optimism. "Those dragons don't look like they're in cages to me," he huffed to Stoick, who regarded the eight Dragon Riders sternly.

"No. This is not what I asked for," Stoick said in agreement, his gaze like steel.

Hiccup, Zenna, Erland, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were brought to the arena while their dragons were caged behind them. In no time, word went around and almost everyone in the village turned up to see what was going to happen.

Edgar and Henna watched anxiously from the stands while Stoick and Gobber entered the arena and made their way over to the group of young Vikings awaiting their punishment.

"Oh, no! What's Stoick gonna do to us?" Fishlegs whispered.

"I'm too pretty for jail!" Ruffnut complained. "Ha, where'd you hear that?" Tuffnut snickered.

Stoick stood before them, his beard bristling. "You all disobeyed my orders… and there will be consequences," he informed the eight teens, Gobber nodding gravely.

"I told you we were gonna get in trouble. Ugh, you never listen to me!" Astrid whispered to Hiccup who stepped forward along with Zenna and Erland.

"Dad, if anyone's going to get in trouble, it should be me," Hiccup said bravely.

"And if Hiccup goes down, sir…" Zenna looked to Erland who finished her sentence with, "…we go down with him."

"Nope." Stoick shook his head. "You all had a hand in this," he reminded the trio.

Up in the stands, Mildew was giddy. "Oh, this is going to be great, Fungus. It's about to get ugly," he told his pet sheep.

Stoick paced in front of the teens, sternly looking each one right in the eye. When he made eye contact with Erland, he could see the silent judgment in the young man's eyes. Erland's words from yesterday were still fresh in his mind. Sighing, Stoick continued. "You took over this place without asking. You released the dragons against my wishes. Things are going to change around here," he said.

The eight Dragon Riders looked at each other, bracing themselves for their punishment. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too harsh or painful.

"That's why I—" Stoick managed to say before Gobber announced, "You're getting a Dragon Training Academy!" surprising everyone.

Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland looked at each other, eyes wide, while their friends stared at Stoick with their mouths falling open.

"Wha…?" Mildew mumbled, his glee evaporating like morning dew in the noontime sun.

"Gobber! I wanted to tell them!" Stoick exclaimed, glaring at his best friend.

"I'm sorry. You're right. Go ahead," Gobber said, grinning.

"Well, you told most of it!" Stoick told him in exasperation.

"You can tell him the part about how proud you are of them!" Gobber offered only to realize that he'd given away another secret.

"GOBBER!" Stoick yelled.

"There goes his surprise," Edgar chuckled. "And it was a great surprise as well." Henna smiled as Stoick faced the teens once more.

"Hiccup…" Stoick began awkwardly. "Well, what he said. You've all made me proud," he told his son and his friends, who looked elated when he walked over to the cages holding their dragons.

"This Dragon Training Academy is for you," Stoick proclaimed with a smile and opened the cages.

"Freedom!" Embla roared and made a beeline toward Erland, her Rider laughing as she licked his face.

"Serpent!" "Serpentine!" Edgar and Henna rushed into the new Dragon Training Academy to reunite with their Hideous Zippleback. Serpent and Serpentine trotted up to them, their tail wagging happily.

The rest of the dragons rushed to meet their Riders.

"Hookfang! My buddy!" Snotlout cheered as his Monstrous Nightmare lifted him off the ground with his snout.

"Stormfly! I missed you so much!" Astrid cried, hugging her Deadly Nadder.

The Twins immediately rushed over to Barf and Belch and rubbed their heads affectionately.

"Meatlug! Oh, who's Daddy's little baby? Oh, who's Daddy's little fluffy…" Fishlegs cooed to his affectionate Gronckle.

Meanwhile, two Night Furies bounded over to Hiccup and Zenna. "Hey, bud!" Hiccup happily wrapped his arms around Toothless' neck to give him a hug. "Hi, girl!" Zenna giggled, hugging Stryka as well.

Mildew was seething with anger from his perch at the stands. "Oh, I'll get those dragons yet," he muttered as Fungus bleated.

Stoick looked to his son. "Now all you have to do is train 'em," he told him with a proud smile.

"Not a problem, Dad. After all, I've got them," Hiccup said, patting Toothless' head.

"Ahem!" Astrid harrumphed, waiting expectantly along with the rest of the Riders.

"And them, too," Hiccup quickly added, and then looked at his big brother and his sister. "Guess this means the three of us will share responsibilities in running the place," he said, gesturing to the Academy arena.

"This is going to be fun," Erland remarked. "Now we finally have the perfect place to train our dragons and everyone else's as well. I bet, in the next few years, there'll be another generation of Dragon Trainers using this place too with us guiding them. The adventures and possibilities are endless!" Zenna said with excitement.

With the opening of the Dragon Training Academy, the Berkians decided to give the dragons another chance and gradually started to learn how to work with them. They all realized that dragons couldn't completely change who they were. But who would want them to? Their fierce and fiery natures complemented their own stubbornness perfectly.

---

That night, all the Riders relaxed with their dragons, who were feeling more at ease now that there was no danger of them being sent away from their home.

Hiccup finished drawing a picture of the other Riders and their dragons and looked at Toothless, his best dragon friend curling up on his rock slab bed after heating it up.

Zenna and her parents were gathered around the fireplace with Stryka, Serpent and Serpent, exchanging stories and jokes and laughing merrily.

Erland was sitting outside on Gothi's hut's front porch, stargazing with Embla who was perched on the roof.

Snotlout was practicing his sword swings in his parents' basement while Hookfang snoozed and the Thorston Twins were whispering their Loki'ing plans to Barf and Belch. Meanwhile, Fishlegs was peacefully sleeping while Meatlug licked his feet.

The next morning, Astrid woke up to find Stormfly already awake and waiting for her. Throwing off her blanket, Astrid grinned and got ready to start the day with her dragon.

The villagers went about their day while watching Hiccup and the Dragon Riders of Berk help out in storing more food for the upcoming freeze, allowing them to see that dragons were powerful, amazing creatures. Stoick, Edgar, and Henna smiled proudly as their children flew by on their dragons after dropping a few baskets of fish into a storage station.

Later, Gobber came in with a present – a large wooden sign bearing a Night Fury emblem for the new Dragon Training Academy.

"Berk Dragon Academy." Astrid beamed and gave Hiccup a light punch in the arm. "I like the sound of that," she said.

To celebrate the opening of Berk's first Dragon Training Academy, the Riders decided to go a few laps around the island.

"Looks like the age of the Dragon Riders has officially begun," Erland said as they flew over the newly-opened academy.

Hiccup smiled. "And we've got a lot of training to do," he remarked.

"And a lot of adventures to have, too. Race you!" Zenna laughed as she and Stryka flew on ahead.

"C'mon, Embla!" Erland whooped, Embla speeding off after the one-eyed Fiersome girl and the one-eyed Night Fury.

"Let's go, bud!" Hiccup shouted and Toothless roared happily, flying after them.

---

Hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. I'll admit that it's going to be a challenge to adapt the series with Erland/Loki now added into the cast. Some episodes are definitely going to be modified considering his abilities.

I should also post an explanation of why Erland/Loki doesn't seem to have a full handle on all the wild dragons. While it's true that he can communicate with the dragons and the dragons certainly have respect for him, let's not forget that the dragons are wild creatures with their own free will. As for Erland/Loki's ability to communicate with them en masse, there's a limit to how far his mind's voice can reach them. Moments where he's able to communicate with a large group of dragons (much like how he got the dragons in the Red Death's nest in How to Train Your Dragon with The God of Mischief) happen when he's under great stress and are rare. Also, given that this is a new power for him, Erland/Loki is still learning how to fully utilize it. Over time, he'll be able to expand his reach and communicate with more dragons more easily as time goes on.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this first chapter of the new story. Episode 2: Viking for Hire will be written next. In the meantime, read and review!

-GuardianDragon98