Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon
Chapter 12: The Next Big Sting
"Oh, my back." Tuffnut groaned as he and the other teens, minus Hicca, made it to the edge of a cliff. They were currently on a different island away from the Edge, having been brought by Hiccup, who has yet to tell them why,
"Okay Hiccup, you dragged us all the way up here." Astrid said to the auburn boy, once they stopped.
"Now what is it you have to show us?" Tuffnut asked. "It better involve food or destruction. Or a combination of the two."
"Does this have anything to do with the reason you kicked me out of my own forge." Raeda asked.
"I bet you're wondering why I brought you here today." Hiccup started to say, Toothless by his side. "And the answer is, to show you my latest invention." He takes the device from the saddle, which turns out to be a kite with six wings, four in the front and two in the back, and holds it up. "Presenting the Dragonfly One. Huh? Huh?" He flapped one of the wings for emphasis.
But the others didn't seem too impressed.
Tuffnut holds up Chicken, who merely clucks.
"The chicken is not amused." He said drily.
"What is it?" Snotlout asked.
"It's a flight suit." Hiccup answered. He was still met with blank stares. "Don't all applaud at once."
"I'm not letting you by yourself in the forge again." Raeda declared.
"Hiccup, I don't need to remind you that we already have flying dragons. Why would we ever need a flight suit?" Fishlegs questioned, putting his hand on Meatlug.
"Well, what if we were to get separated from our dragons mid-flight?" The Haddock boy pointed out. "We might need to solo fly until we catch up with them again."
The others were still skeptical about this new invention. "When this doesn't work, and it clearly will not, can I have Toothless?" Snotlout asked.
"Oh, for Thor's sake." Hiccup rolled his eyes and turned to the edge of the cliff, while Toothless gives a warning growl to Snotlout.
"What are you planning on doing here?" Astrid asked wearily.
"Jumping. Unless someone has a better idea." Hiccup challenged.
That just made the shield-maiden facepalm. "Boys!"
"Really Hiccup? Has there not been enough dangers face that you have to add to it." Raeda asked.
"Now that you mentioned it, it has been quiet this past week." Ruffnut stated.
"Guys, relax! Feel that updraft? That's why I chose this place." Hiccup reassured. "It'll pick up my wings and I'll be floating on a bed of air. He opens the Dragonfly One, but then notices one of the wings didn't open completely. He then grunts as he tries to open it.
"Or crashing on a bed of rock." Snotlout joked.
"Just so you know, I have Hicca and Midnight positioned there in case anything goes wrong." Hiccup said, gesturing to the area beyond the cliff. He then gives a signal to Toothless, who fires a plasma blast in the air.
From a distance, Midnight sees the blast and alerts her human. Hicca gets out her spy-glass and a medical kit. "Am I a good sister or a bad sister for letting this happen?" She asked her dragon as she focused the spy-glass on her idiotic brother.
Back on the cliffs. "Okay, everyone. Dragonfly One, maiden flight." With that Hiccup jumps off the cliff with a scream.
"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed as she and the others ran to get a look off the edge of the cliff.
"I don't know about you guys, but I was under the impression that a flight suit was supposed to fly." Tuffnut commented as Hiccup continues to fall.
"Yeah, that looks more like a plummet suit." Ruffnut chuckled.
After counting till 5 while watching her brother fall, Hicca immediately got on her dragon and raced to save Hiccup. Since they didn't count on the suit not working at all, the two girls were positioned further away from the cliffs and it was up to the female Night Fury to go at her top speed and reach Hiccup before he hits the rocks. Unfortunately, Toothless couldn't help himself and dove after his human.
SPLASH!
The two Night Furies reached Hiccup at the same time and their high speeds ended up with them crashing into each other, sending all four of them into the water, thankfully not hitting the rocks.
"Do it again!" Ruffnut called from above.
(Linebreak)
The group of four made their way back to the others. Hiccup was not deterred from this failure and decided to make a few tweaks, while Midnight was scolding Toothless for not letting her save Hiccup.
Hiccup got up once he finished. "Okay, so I made a few tweaks. Now behold some serious flying."
"This time Midnight and I are flying alongside you." Hicca declared getting back on Midnight.
Midnight and Hiccup took off at the same time, both opening their wings. "Yeah, baby!" Hiccup cheered as his flight suit.
At least for a few seconds...
That cheer quickly turned into a scream as he plummeted yet again. Midnight immediately dove down after him. Toothless reluctantly stayed back and let Midnight rescue Hiccup. Midnight was able to grab Hiccup, but she was flying so fast that when she took a sharp turn upwards, she accidentally bumped into a sea stack and lost her momentum. This resulted in the three of them falling into the ocean yet again.
As they came back to the cliff side, Toothless started laughing at his mate, since she fell into the ocean without his interference this time. Midnight silenced him with a glare.
Hiccup still wasn't ready to give up. "This time, I absolutely know where I went wrong. You see, it's all in the timing. I just judged the updrafts wrong. I assure you, I definitely have it now." He reassured the others who didn't seemed to convinced, not even his own twin.
Toothless was in position, ready to take over rescuing Hiccup. His noticed this. "Wait, Toothless. Don't worry, bud. I've got this under control." Just then the wind began to pick up. "See? There it is. Okay, now! Come on!" He jumps off the cliff for the third time, but this time his wings caught the air, allowing Hiccup to fly. "Whoa! Wait! I'm flying? I'm flying!" The success seemed to surprise Hiccup himself as he started laughing in excitement. "Woo-hoo! Excellent!"
The others watched in amazement.
"Wow." Raeda said.
"I cannot believe that hunk of junk actually worked." Snotlout said.
Hiccup then spotted another cliff in his direction. "Okay, right turn." But that soon proved to be easier said than done as Hiccup didn't seem to account for the turns in his design. "Okay, well, I might have to work on the steering a little bit." He muttered before shouting. "Toothless!"
Immediately sensing the danger, Toothless took off after him. Hicca and Midnight followed behind.
"Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs gasped, covering his own and Meatlug's eyes.
"What the... Aaah!" Hiccup yelled. Luckily Toothless managed to catch him before he hit the cliff. Once again, Hiccup found himself in the river. Hicca and Midnight lands near the boys as they got out of the water. "Thanks for the save, bud." For revenge, Toothless sprays water and pushes him to the ground "Whoa!"
Hicca then goes to her brother and takes the DragonFly One. "The test is over." She declared.
"I second that." Astrid said as she, Stormfly, Raeda and Sparkfire landed near them. The others followed in suit.
"I third that." Raeda agreed.
"Right. For now." Hiccup decided.
"Oh no, you're not going to be doing this for a long while. I'm confiscating the DragonFly One." Hicca said firmly.
Her brother was about to object when they suddenly heard a screeching sound.
"What was that?" Astrid asked what the others were thinking.
"It sounded like a dragon in distress." Fishlegs inferred.
"Uh, guys? Something about that call seems strangely familiar. Not good familiar. Bad familiar." Snotlout asked, looking at the direction the noise came from. He turns to the others and noticed they disappeared. "Huh? Uh, guys?"
"Snotlout, come on." Hiccup called as the other teens were heading to the direction of the screech.
"You've got to be kidding me." Snotlout muttered, annoyed that the others were heading to what he sensed was danger. He got on Hookfang and reluctantly joined them.
"The calls are coming from up ahead." Hicca said to the others. The screeches got louder as the gang flew further. They soon found the source of the screech.
"A Speed Stinger." Hiccup said.
"Speed Stinger. Why did it have to be a Speed Stinger?" Snotlout groaned as the memories of their last encounter with those dragons came back.
"It looks like a young one." Hiccup noted as the dragons flew above the Speed Stinger. "Why would it be out during the day? They're nocturnal dragons."
"Ah. Poor little guy. Let's head home! It's starting to get dark, and where there's one Speed Stinger, there's usually a whole pack of them!" Snotlout exclaimed.
Hicca watched as the Speed Stinger tried to walk. But as soon as it put weight on one of its leg's, it fell down.
"Hiccup, its leg is badly injured and Speed Stingers can't fly." She said to her brother, before guiding Midnight to land.
"That's why we can't leave it to predators'. Come on, Toothless." Toothless followed behind.
"Are they seriously going back?" Snotlout complained.
"Snotlout, meet Hiccup and Hicca. Of course they're going back!" Astrid replied.
"And so are we." Raeda added, before she and the others, minus Snotlout and Hookfang went to join their leaders.
"Oh, come on!" Snotlout groaned, before reluctantly steering Hookfang to land.
Hicca slowly approached the Speed Stinger, who became defensive as soon as the dragon riders landed. It readied its tail. "Hey, whoa, no, no. Easy there. Easy, little fella." The Haddock girl tried to soothed.
"Hicca, it looks like it can defend itself just fine. Let's get out of here." Snotlout insisted.
"Ssh! Quiet down, Snotlout." Astrid shushed.
"You quiet down." The Jorgenson boy retorted.
"Unfortunately this little guy won't be a match for wild boars or dragons. A Speed Stinger without its pack is extremely vulnerable." Hiccup stated.
"He must've gotten separated from the others, and they had to go to shelter before the sun came out." Fishlegs inferred.
But Snolout had no sympathy for the small dragon. "Sounds right. Let's go." He was about to turn around and leave when Raeda grabbed him by the back of his shirt, making him stay.
"Snotlout, we are not leaving him like this!" Hicca argued.
"We'll bring it back to Dragon's Edge, nurse it back to health, then bring it back here." Hiccup proposed.
This suggestion did not please Snotlout at all as he groaned in protest.
(Linebreak)
Hicca quickly recruited Ruffnut and Tuffnut into a plan to treat the Stinger with anyone getting hurt.
"Ruff? Tuff? You understand the plan, right?" She asked, just to make sure.
The blonde twins nodded.
"Yeah."
"Definitely."
"Of course." Tuffnut then paused before shaking his head. "No."
Ruffnut immediately agreed with her brother. "Nope. Nu-uh."
Hicca sighed before explaining it again. "Alright. You secure the Stinger so I can set the splint with the broken pieces of Dragonfly One. And be careful! We all remember what these guys' stings can do to you."
"You don't have to remind me. I know exactly what they can do." Snotlout cut in, being the only teen in the group who got stung by this dragon.
The Speed Stinger snarls and lifts its tail once the three teens start to approach it.
Snotlout groaned. "This plan is insane. You know that, right? If I'm saying it's insane, it's actually insane."
"We get it. You think it's insane." Raeda said.
"Actually, it is insane. And for once, it wasn't our plan." Tuffnut said, looking at his twin.
"I'm seeing a pattern here!" Ruffnut noted.
"First Hiccup and that lunatic flight suit, now Hicca with this. Could it be?" Tuffnut wondered.
"Are Hicca and Hiccup coming over to our side?" Ruffnut asked, voicing what both she and her twin were thinking.
"Oh, Loki, please let it be so!" Tuffnut pleaded. "We will welcome them with open arms. Teach them the ways of the truly disturbed!"
Hicca had enough. "Guys, please. Let's just do this."
The blonde twins smirked and rushed to the Speed Stinger, who tried to sting them
"Come and get me, Stinger. Fresh meat on the grill, right over here." Tuffnut goaded.
"No! Over here! I'm all yours." Ruffnut jumped in. "Turn me into a pin cushion! I'll give it to you as a target. Ooh. It's my butt!" She shook her rear at the dragon.
The injured dragon roared as it continued to try and sting them.
"Is that it? That's all you've got?" The male twin challenged.
"Guys, what are you doing? You're supposed to secure the tail!" Hiccup called to them.
"Hey! We know what we're doing!" Ruffnut replied, turning to him. That was all the Speed Stinger needed to prick her in the arm with its tail. Ruffnut started to panic. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa, what's happening to me? I can't..." Her upper body freezes before she could finish that sentence.
"Talk? She can't talk!" Tuffnut finished for her, moving her mouth. "At least I think that's what she's saying."
"Hmm. Interesting. Only part of her is paralyzed." Fishlegs observed. "Since it's an adolescent, its sting potency must not be at full effect."
"And how do we get it to sting her lower half?" Tuffnut asked, before getting an idea. He turns back to the Speed Stinger. "Here, Speedy. Come on. [whistles] It's the whole lower half of Ruffnut. Come on. Don't you want it?"
The Speed Stinger tries to move, but because it put weight on its injured leg, it fell once again.
Tuffnut saw his chance and pounced on the Speed Stinger, pinning it down. "Ha-ha! Yeah!" That's when he noticed the tail was still unpinned and pointed at him. "Uh."
"Someone, help Tuff!" Hicca explained.
Astrid quickly rushed in, pinning down the tail. "I got the stinger."
Fishlegs also helped by pinning down the head. "I got the head."
Seeing her chance, Hicca immediately rushes to them and puts the injured leg in a splint. "There!"
Astrid, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs quickly gets off of Speed Stinger. Once it's free, it jumps up and runs at Hicca, but then slows to a stop once it realizes she means no harm.
"Hey, okay. Okay. We're here to help you." She said, slowly extending her hand.
Fishlegs immediately recognised what she was doing. "Oh. She's gonna do the hand thing. Please tell me she's gonna do the hand thing!"
"Fishlegs, quiet!" Raeda shushed.
The Speed Stinger sniffs Hicca's hand, then presses snout into it.
Hiccup sighed when he saw the dragon being docile. "Okay everyone, I think we're good. Now let's load him up and get him back to Dragon's Edge."
"You know the pack is gonna do everything in its power to find it, don't you?" Raeda pointed out.
"Yep. And that's why we have to get him back on his feet and back to this island as quickly as we can." Hiccup replied.
What none of them noticed was that the rest of Stinger's pack watched as the Dragon Riders took one of its members away. And they were definitely not happy with that.
(Linebreak)
As soon as the gang reached the Edge, Fishlegs was tasked with the Speed Stingers recovery. A few hours later, Hiccup, Hicca, Astrid, Raeda and Tuffnut went to the Academy to check on his progress.
"Have a look at this." Fishlegs invited. He opened the cage where the Speed Stinger was kept freed the dragon. The dragon ran around the Arena and roared, his leg healed.
"Wow. Nice work." Hiccup praised.
"Yeah he recovered nicely." Hicca agreed.
"Uh-huh. All thanks to the carefully designed rehabilitation program based on trust and understanding." Fishlegs proudly informed them, resting one of his arms on Meatlug. Without warning, Meatlug runs away from Fishlegs to play with the Speed Stinger, leaving the Ingerman boy's arm dangling.
"Fishlegs, what's with your arm?" Astrid asked, noticing it dangling.
"Yeah, let's just say that the Stinger and I may or may not have had a few differences of opinion these last few hours." The blonde boy explained sheepishly.
Tuffnut pokes Fishlegs' paralyzed arm. "Look at that! It's like a dead old fish." He chuckled.
Fishlegs moves away from Tuffnut. "Okay, Meatlug, let's get back to work. And we'll bring this, just in case." He tries to pull a shield off rack, but struggles because he is using his paralysed arm. The shield drops and rolls away from him. He sighs in exasperation and finally grabs another shield with his good arm. He then walks over to the Speed Stinger, where a mini obstacle course is set up. "Come on, little fella, you can do it!" Feeling encourage, the Speed Stinger starts running through the mini obstacle course. "Alright. There we go, little guy."
"Huh! Ornery and stubborn, but it seems like it's actually accepting Fishlegs and Meatlug." Raeda observesd.
"Well, makes sense, they are pack dragons." Hicca stated.
"They can only function as a group. But if they accept you into that group then you have their allegiance." Hiccup finished, the wheels in his mind seems to be turning.
"Wait. You're not actually thinking of trying to train it? Are you?" Astrid asked, noticing this.
Hiccup quickly snapped out of his thoughts. "What? No! No. I-I could never."
"That's too risky considering the rest of his pack are still out there somewhere." Hicca pointed out.
That's when Snotlout entered the Academy. "Well, well, well, lookie here. Our little friend can stand on his own two claws again. Only a matter of time before it's trying to sting all of us into oblivion." He said, still bitter about their newest guest. The Speed Stinger shrieks at him. Snotlout turns to the others. "My vote is take it back to where we found it. I'll get the cage."
"Snotlout..." Hiccup tried to stop him
"Snotlout, he's staying here, okay? At least for the time being." Hicca stated firmly.
"Having a Speed Stinger around is way too dangerous, especially for me." Snotlout argued.
"It's an adolescent Speed Stinger who is recovering from an injury. It can't do that much damage." Raeda said.
Sensing the hostility from the Jorgenson boy, the[Speed Stinger runs in front of him and tries to sting him. Snotlout dodges the sting and challenges the dragon. "Not even on your best day, pal."
Then Ruffnut runs in, recovered from the venom. "Good news! The Stinger venom wore-" Unfortunately for her the Speed Stinger tried to get Snotlout again, and he dodged it and as a result, Ruffnut got stung again. "Ugh! Off." She fell to the ground.
"Okay, everyone. No sudden moves." Hiccup cautioned, seeing the Speed Stingers bad mood.
"Who's got jokes?" Ruffnut grunted, trying to pull herself on a nearby chest. "Frozen from the waist down. Come on."
Hicca tries to approach the Speed Stinger to calm it down. "Hey, settle down, big fella. I'm your friend, remember?"
Ruffnut got on top of the chest and tried to move her legs in a comfortable position. She succeeded. "Ruffnut, one. Dead leg, zero." The dead leg suddenly sticks out, kicking Tuffnut from behind, who was standing nearby. "Not so dead after all."
Tuffnut turned around, rubbing his back. "Hey. What'd you do that for?"
"Oh! Like I have any control..." Ruffnut started to argue back, before her other dead leg decides to jolt up, kicking Tuffnut again.
The Stinger started growling, turning into a more defensive position. "Uh, guys? Quiet down. I think he's agitated." Hiccup warned.
"That makes two of us." Tuffnut said, turning back to his sister. "You better control that butt before it." The Speed Stinger then tries to sting him. "Oh! Aah!"
"Oh, I was afraid of this. Everyone take cover!" Hiccup exclaimed to the gang.
The teens and dragon scurried away to avoid getting paralysed by the Stinger. Tuffnut runs away, but gets stung. Astrid grabs a shield and blocks the attack before it could sting her. Raeda hides behind the shield rack to avoid the Stinger.
"Please, remain calm. Everything is going to be okay." Fishlegs tried to reassure. Toothless jumps over the Speed Stinger to avoid getting stung. It runs at Fishlegs and Meatlug, who run away from it. "Remain calm!"
The Speed Stinger stings Barf & Belch, causing Barf's side to go limp.
"Barf!" Ruffnut called, extending her upper body towards the dragon. Doing so caused her to topple over the chest
"Stormfly, spine shot!" Astrid commanded.
Stormfly used her spines to herd the Stinger back inside its cage. Midnight then used her plasma blast to close and lock the cage door. The Speed Stinger screeches inside the cage.
Ruffnut grunts as she crawls over to Barf's side "Guys, a little help here?"
"Uh, no." Her twin replied.
(Linebreak)
The gang decided to leave the Speed Stinger in the Academy to calm down and gathered in the Clubhouse.
Barf and Belch were walking around outside the Clubhouse, with Barfs' head being dragged and spilling out gas due to the paralysis.
"That is really unsettling." Astrid said watching the Zippleback.
"Mhm. Exactly as I thought this would end up." Snotlout complained. "That thing is going to paralyze everyone on the island before this is over. And then there's going to be no one to take that stupid dragon back to where we found it."
"Snotlout, the Stinger was fine until you decided provoke it." Raeda argued.
"Alright." Hiccup cut in. "It's too late to argue. We'll talk about this in the morning."
He and the others, minus Snotlout and Ruffnut, who was still partially paralysed and was sitting on the table.
"Hey." Ruffnut called to Snotlout, getting his attention. "If you want to get rid of that Stinger, I'm in. She was leaning too much that she fell off the table. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. I figure it's him or me."
Snotlout smirked as an idea came to him.
(Linebreak)
Later that night, Hicca, Midnight, Fishlegs and Meatlug made there way to their guest. "Good news, little guy. Your splint comes off today!" Hicca announced to her patient.
"Nurse Meatlug, if you would do the honors, please?" Fishlegs asked. The Gronckle fired a blast at the splint destroying it.
The Speed Stinger moved the healed leg and inspected it. "Yeah, you see? No more pain." Hicca said.
The Speed Stinger then started speeding around. "Whoa! Wow! You sure had a lot of energy stored up, didn't you." Fishlegs commented. Then he and Hicca realised that the younger dragon was heading to the pond. "Oh, dear! Meatlug, quick, stop him! Speed Stingers can't swim!" Meatlug tried to stop him but was unsuccessful. Midnight tried as well, but the Speed Stinger managed to dodge her as well.
The teens watched in horror as the Speed Stinger reached the river, only to be amazed to see the dragon actually running across the water!
"Fishlegs, do you see what I'm seeing?" Hicca asked in awe.
"Whoa! How did you do that?" Fishlegs wondered. The Speed Stinger ran back to the group and stopped, giving the teens the chance to notice the webbed feet. "Webbing. Of course."
"You can't fly, so you needed a way to island hop." Hicca inferred.
"You adapted, evolved." Fishlegs realised in amazement. "Oh-ho! That's incredible! We have to tell Hiccup about this right away!"
(Linebreak)
The two wasted no time finding Hiccup, who was with Astrid, and telling him their new discovery. The next day the four teens made their way to the Arena to check the Speed Stingers webbed feet.
"This is enormous, guys. Finally, actual proof of dragon evolution. It's historic." Hiccup stated, amazed at the discovery.
"I know, right!" Fishlegs agreed.
"It is incredible." Hicca commented.
"And the Stinger webbing actually inspired me to make a few changes on a little something I've been working on." Hiccup said.
"If you say Dragonfly Two, I'm locking you up." Astrid threatened.
"How did you get the contraption back? I locked it up." Hicca asked.
Before Hiccup could answer, Fishlegs went to check the cage, only to find it empty. "Oh, no. He's gone."
"What?!" Hicca exclaimed.
"How could he have gotten out of this cage?" Astrid wondered.
Hiccup inspected the cage and noted that it was simply unlocked. "He couldn't. At least not on his own. And I think I have a pretty good idea who helped."
"Don't tell me..." Hicca trailed.
(Linebreak)
The two culprits responsible were riding on Hookfang with the unconscious, tied up Speed Stinger. "Oh, how cute! He's dreaming." Ruffnut commented, riding behind Snotlout.
Snotlout turned around to her. "No, he's not." He said, mimicking her. "He's waking up. It's almost sunset!"
"Oh, great. Ruffnut gets paralyzed. Again." The Thorston girl groaned.
"Come on, Hookfang, fly faster!" Snotlout urged. But it was no use as the Speed Stinger woke up. "Oh, no."
"The ropes should hold." Ruffnut reassured, only to be proven wrong when the dragon starts to struggle from its bonds. "I tied them really -"
SNAP!
The Speed Stinger was free from the ropes and was not happy with his captors.
"- tight." Ruffnut finished. "Whoops."
"'Whoops?!' That's all you got?!" Snotlout exclaimed, starting to panic.
"There's other things I wanna say, but none of them are very ladylike."
The Speed Stinger then started to attack, which put the two teens in a difficult position since they couldn't dodge the tail while flying on Hookfang in mid-air.
Ruffnut unfortunately got stung once again, making the right side of her body paralysed. "Uh-oh. Snotlout... Viking going... overboard." Ruffnut managed to say as she slipped off the saddle.
Snotlout managed to catch her by her foot, but the Speed Stinger wasn't finished with them. He then stung Hookfang, paralysing his left side. "Uh-oh. Hookfang!" Snotlout exclaimed. Losing control of his flight, the Monstrous Nightmare crashed landed in the forest below.
Snotlout crashed with the Speed Stinger in his arms. He quickly tossed the dragon and ran to Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare, although partially paralysed, ignited itself as the Speed Stinger approached them.
That was when the rest of the dragon riders appeared, except for Tuffnut, Barf and Belch.
"Hey, Hiccup, Hicca. I got stung again." Ruffnut slurred. "Just the right side this time. I tried to walk it off but I just keep going around in a circle." She demonstrates this by trying to walk. Indeed, walking in a circle.
Hiccup turned his attention to his cousin. "Dragon-napping, Snotlout? I mean, this is a new low, even for you."
"I was trying to save us!" The Jorgenson boy defended.
"And how has that been working out?" Hicca asked rhetorically.
SCREECH!
"Uh. You guys heard that, right?" Astrid asked the others.
"I really wished I didn't." Raeda replied.
"It was an echo. Please tell me that was an echo." Fishlegs muttered.
SCREECH!
"Oh, no. The pack's come looking for it." Astrid said.
"How is that even possible? Speed Stingers can't fly!" Snotlout pointed out.
"Yeah, but we did just discover that these particular Speed Stingers can travel across water just fine."
"What?! How?!" Snotlout asked
"Well if you weren't so focused on getting rid of the Speed Stinger, you would know." Raeda said.
Hiccup shushed the group. "If we keep quiet, we might not give away our location." That plan failed when the Speed Stinger still with them gave out a screech to alert his pack of their location.
"So much for that." Raeda said.
"I'm guessing that very soon I'm gonna wish I could run in a straight line." Ruffnut said nervously.
"You! I knew you'd rat us out." Snotlout exclaimed to the younger dragon.
"Guys! Stand your ground!" Hiccup said, as the rest of the pack approached the group.
The Speed Stingers had them surrounded. Fishlegs whimpered as they ran around them, hoping to not be stung.
Ruffnut and Hookfang had the worst luck. Still partially paralysed, the two could only move in circles as the Stingers surrounded them. Meatlug saw them and noticed one of the Stingers ready to sting the Thorston girl. The Gronckle acted fast and took the sting, become partially paralysed.
"Hey, girl, thanks." Ruffnut managed to get out.
"There... There's too many of them." Hiccup exclaimed. "Our only hope is to draw them away."
"We need to split up." Hicca agreed.
"I'm not leaving anyone behind!" Snotlout suddenly said, surprising everyone.
"Really? Since when?" Hiccup asked.
"Since right now! Don't ask me why, but I'm suddenly feeling selfless and heroic." Snotlout explained. He took a tree branch and started swinging at the Speed Stingers. "Back! Get away!"
Then more Speed Stingers appeared from the forest.
"Uh guys?" Raeda called getting their attention to the new arrivals.
"Uh-oh. Gotta get away. Come on, leg!" Ruffnut pleaded with her paralysed leg, hoping it would miraculously move.
Snotlout once again surprised everyone. He grabbed the Speed Stinger they were taking care of, getting the attention of the rest of the pack. The boy held on to the tail to make sure he didn't get stung. "Don't worry guys. I'll be back. Come and get me, Needle Butts!" With that he ran away from the group, causing the Speed Stingers to follow him instead.
"Go get them, Snotlout!" Ruffnut cheered, still partially paralysed.
"Snotlout, Snotlout. Oi! Oi! Oi! Keep chasing." Snotlout called as he continued to run. Stopping to catch his breath, he turned around only to find that it was just him and the Speed Stinger he was holding. "Gone?" He turned back, only to find the rest of the pack ready to attack him. "And that's because they're all here for the big ambush! This was a bad idea."
He lets go of the younger Speed Stinger in panic. But then, that dragon took the boy by surprised by stinging his own pack members!
"What the... Wait." Snotlout was confused at the sudden turn of events. The very same dragon he was being mean to was now defending him? "I'm never gonna get you, dragon."
The leader stepped up and looked at its' paralysed pack member. He then snarled and charged at Snotlout, only to be stopped by the younger dragon who was protecting him.
"What?" The boy questioned.
That's when the Haddock twins flew in on their Night Furies and surveyed the situation.
"He's torn between his pack and the one that saved his life. Ours." Hiccup explained.
"But he hates me!" Snotlout pointed out.
"But you're one of us. It's his instinct to protect you." Hicca said.
"Now get out of here before he realizes that he has to choose a side." Snotlout was a bit hesitant as he looked at the small dragon trying to protect him.
"Okay, guys. Let's get them back in the water." Hiccup said, turning to Toothless, Hicca and Midnight.
The two Night Furies swooped down towards the pack, blasting at them to provoke to a chase. It worked and the group of four started leading the Speed Stingers to the beach. During the chase, some of the Speed Stingers changed their minds and turned around, only to be stopped by a fire blast and a line of spikes. This forced the Speed Stingers to run to the ocean.
"We're back!" Raeda announced.
"And we brought backup." Astrid added.
The back-up came in the form of Tuffnut riding on Barf and Belch. Barf's side was still paralysed. His head was still hanging and he was spewing gas uncontrollably. No matter, he was still able to help create a wall of fire, which Belch immediately ignited. The wall of fire continued to make the Speed Stingers run away.
"Woo-hoo!" Tuffnut hollered. "Yeah! Nice, Barf. I mean, freaky, but nice just the same." His celebration was cut short when the lead Stinger, refusing to leave, leapt up and stung Belch. "Oh, no." This caused Tuffnut and the now fully paralysed Zippleback to crash into the ground.
"Barf and Belch are down. We need to get rid of that Stinger chief." Hicca said.
Hiccup seemed to have an idea and directed Toothless to fly right at the Speed Stinger.
"Hiccup, what are you doing?" His sister demanded.
The lead Stinger, seeing them fly towards him, started charging at them as well. He leapt up, and got his tail ready for another sting. But Hiccup had a trick up his sleeve as he quickly fastened some straps onto himself.
"Toothless, separate!" The dragon tossed his rider over the Stinger while he flew under. Then to others amazement, Hiccup opened up his new pair of wings. It was different than the first one. It was less stiff, seeming to resemble the webbed feet of the Speed Stinger. "Dragonfly Two, go!" This new pair of wings allowed Hiccup to glide away from the Speed Stinger.
Taken by surprise by this sudden move, the lead Stinger then crashes into the sand.
"Excellent!" Hiccup exclaimed in triumph.
"Okay, I'll hand it to you. That was pretty impressive." Raeda admitted.
"Yeah good choice Hiccup." Hicca praised.
The Speed Stinger got up and, seeing that he was outnumbered, decided to give and ran to join the rest of his pack.
"Yeah! Swim away, Stingers!" Snotlout hollered at the retreating Stingers, having joined the group.
The younger Speed Stinger growled sadly as he watched his pack leave him.
Hicca noticed this. She approached him and extended her palm to him to create a bond. The younger dragon pressed his snout against her palm. Looking between the dragon and his former pack, Hicca took her hand back. "No. I'm sorry, but, little guy, you need to go back with your own.
"What are you doing?" Snotlout demanded. "We can't let him go back with them!"
But Hiccup understood his twin. "Snotlout, it's where he belongs. That's his real pack."
"And just when we were starting to get along. Why does this always happen to me?!" Snotlout complained, walking away.
The Speed Stinger looks out at the ocean, where his pack ran. He then gave a loud roar and ran after them.
Astrid joined the Haddock twins. "Can you believe what that dragon did for us? He helped us, over his own Alpha."
"For that little time, he was part of our pack. And we were part of his." Hiccup said.
"Even Snotlout, somehow." Hicca noted.
The three of them looked at the boy in question, who was talking to the blonde twins.
"Scared?" Snotlout scoffed at the question he was asked. "Ha! That Stinger was more scared of me than I was of him."
Tuffnut then looked out to the ocean and seemed to have spotted something. "Hey, look! Isn't that them swimming towards us?"
"Maybe they're coming back for you, Snotlout." Ruffnut suggested.
"What? No!" Without a second thought, Snotlout ran away as fast as he could.
The blonde twins started laughing at his retreating form.
"They weren't swimming this way." Tuffnut revealed.
"Look at him run. Stupid." Ruffnut snickered.