Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon
Chapter 20: Snow Way Out
Hiccup and Toothless flew high in the sky. The Night Fury was trying on a new Gronckle Iron armour and from the looks of it, he was not comfortable with it because he kept picking at it.
Hiccup noticed this. "Yeah, I hear ya, bud. Wearing metal on skin can be itchy. Trust me, I know." He says this looking at his own metal prosthetic. "But we need to stay focused. There's no margin for error this time. What do you say we go in fast and low? With this new armor and your moves, they won't touch us."
Toothless dove down to fly parallel to the ocean, but he seemed to struggle a little bit due to the extra weight. "I know. It's heavy. Just-" Hiccup suddenly saw a net heading towards them. "Net!" Just as Toothless dodge the net, Hiccup spotted other dangers flying their way. "Hooks! Arrows! Look out!"
Toothless successfully dodged both of them and flew up to try to get more cloud cover. But as he was ascending, pieces of his armour started to fall out. There was one more arrow shot at him, that unfortunately Toothless couldn't dodge and it hit him.
But it didn't pierce him. The arrowhead was actually replaced by a cloth covered sphere that was covered in orange paint, so that when it hit Toothless, it just left an orange splat mark.
"Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi-Oi-Oi!" Snotlout chanted, standing behind a ballista. Fishlegs and Raeda were near him, standing behind a net-launcher and a catapult respectively.
Hiccup sighed. "Nice shot, Snotlout." Then another arrow came at him and hit his shirt, leaving another orange splat mark. "Ahh! Really?"
Snotlout was snickering until Toothless retaliated by firing at the ballista, causing Snotlout to fall and tumble backwards. "Ow!"
(Linebreak)
The sun was setting as the Dragon Riders, minus Astrid because she left for Berk, gathered at the landing pad of the stables.
"Ugh! I really thought we had it this time." Fishlegs said, disappointed that their latest experiment to get a suitable armour for the dragons failed once again.
"On the plus side, this batch of Gronckle Iron armor lasted longer than the last one." Hicca noted, as she scribbled down notes in a journal.
"Yes, but not long enough." Tuffnut said as he and his sister walked out of the stables. "Wait, unless you wanted Hiccup to get shot down."
"Interesting hypothesis, brother." Ruffnut said.
Suddenly the Thorston twins rushed up to Fishlegs.
"Why are you trying to kill Hiccup?!" Tuffnut demanded.
"I'm not trying to kill Hiccup." Fishlegs defended.
"That's exactly what someone trying to kill Hiccup would say." Tuffnut retorted.
"Indeed. We're keeping our eye on you, pal." Ruffnut warned the Ingerman boy.
"Our good eye." Her twin added.
At this point, Fishlegs opted to ignore them and turned to the auburn twins. "So, what do we try next?"
"I think we have to go thinner. That should make it lighter and more flexible." Raeda advised.
"But it won't make it Snotlout-proof. Nothing can. It's a good thing for you guys that I'm on your side." Snotlout commented.
He suddenly got pushed forward by Astrid. "You are? Huh. Honestly, sometimes it's hard to tell." She commented dryly.
"Astrid! You're back from Berk already?" Hiccup said in surprise.
"Never made it there. I ran into Trader Johann along the way and he had some interesting news." Astrid explained. "Hiccup, Hicca, we need to talk."
(Linebreak)
The group made their way to the Clubhouse so that Astrid can discuss her discovery. "Johann flagged me down on the way to Berk to tell me that he'd seen Ryker, Heather and the Dragon Hunters in the Northern Markets buying all the cold weather gear they could get their hands on." Astrid recounted.
"Why would you buy winter gear in the summer?" Snotlout questioned.
"Hello! That's when you get the best prices." Ruffnut answered as if it was the most obvious answer.
"Ruff is an excellent shopper." Tuffnut explained.
"Uh-huh." His sister agreed.
"She actually got both our outfits, two for the price of one." Tuff finished, holding one finger.
"No one's surprised by that." Snotlout said, rolling his eyes.
"Where would the Dragon Hunters be going that would need heavy weather gear this time of year? Did Johann hear anything else?" Hiccup asked Astrid.
"They needed the gear right away. And they were after something rare. A bone or a claw..."
Hicca was starting to catch on. "Or maybe a tooth?"
So was Fishlegs. "The Snow Wraith! Of course! The Dragon Hunters are after the Snow Wraith to get one of its teeth."
Tuffnut snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that. We barely got out of there alive."
"But these guys are armed with dragon-root arrows. They would have a better chance of getting that tooth than we did." Raeda pointed out.
Hiccup took out the Dragon Eye that was in his bag and looked at the tooth still lodged in it. "The Dragon Eye used to belong to the Hunters. They must know they need a Snow Wraith tooth to make it work."
"Who cares? All it means is that they aren't coming our way." Snotlout said.
"But Raeda is right, it could be easier for them to get the key. And if they do get their own key, they'll be coming for us next." Hiccup said.
"If they can't get their own key, they're going to have a tougher time." Hicca said, looking at her brother..
"My thoughts exactly sis." Hiccup nodded.
"Please, tell me you two are not thinking what I think you're thinking." Astrid said.
"Oh, they're thinking." Ruffnut said.
"That's definitely their thinking face." Tuffnut commented.
"We can't let them get the key. Get a good night's sleep, gang. We leave for Glacier Island at first light." Hiccup instructed, walking out of the Clubhouse.
(Linebreak)
True to Hiccup's words, all the dragon riders and dragons were flying towards Glacier Island at sunrise.
"Hey, can I ask a stupid question?" Tuffnut asked.
"You sure can. Better than anyone I know." Ruffnut answered.
(AN: I wish I could come up with witty dialogues like this)
"Thank you, sister."
"You're welcome."
Tuffnut continued. "Hiccup, Hicca, are we really trying to protect a dragon, that the last time we saw it, tried to kill us, from Dragon Hunters, who every time we see them, try to kill us?"
"And Heather and her dragon. Don't forget them. They like to try and kill us, too." Ruffnut added.
"Heather won't be a problem." Astrid commented.
"Why wouldn't Heather be a problem?" Fishlegs asked.
"Just that we, we outnumber her, right?" Astrid pointed out, though she seemed a little hesitant when answering.
"Look, Heather or no Heather, all we have to do is find the Snow Wraith first and relocate it to a different island where the Hunters won't find him." Hiccup said.
"Oh, that's all?" Ruffnut said sarcastically.
"Uh, that sounds like the sort of extremely dangerous plan I would come up with." Tuffnut commented. "And I do not mean that as a compliment."
"That's honestly a first." Raeda said.
"I didn't think it was." Hiccup said. They soon spotted the island. "Come on. Let's head over to where we found the Snow Wraith last time."
"Oh, you mean where it found us?" Snotlout corrected.
"That's one way of putting it." Hicca said.
"Yes, the only way." Snotlout said.
(Linebreak)
The group soon landed on Glacier Island, where Toothless and Midnight used their echo-location to try and track the Snow Wraith.
"I am so glad I decided to bring a coat this time." Raeda commented, pulling the hoodie up.
The two Night Furies finished using echo-location.
"Anything out there?" Hiccup asked them. They both shook their heads.
"This is summer on Glacier Island? No wonder they don't get any tourists." Ruffnut said, shivering as she crossed her arms.
"What would their slogan be? 'If the Snow Wraith doesn't kill you, the weather will'." Tuffnut mused.
"Hey, that's a good slogan." His sister said.
"That's a terrible slogan. But the good news is, if we run into any Dragon Hunters, they won't have much luck with those dragon root arrows in this weather." Hiccup said
"And the bad news is..." Snotlout trailed, bringing everyone's attention to him suddenly being hugged in between Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston.
"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked.
"It's called 'body heat management'." Ruffnut explained.
"I mean, it does work so..." Hicca said.
"It's also known as the Thorston sandwich, served cold." Tuffnut added.
"Never use that, ever." Raeda said.
Hiccup just shook his head. "Okay. Why don't you guys set up camp? Hicca, Astrid and I will scout the island."
"Gladly." Snotlout said. He struggled to get out of the blonde twins grasp. "Come on. Let go!"
"No, we're saving your life." Ruffnut insisted.
"I don't care." He finally managed to shake them both off and ran far away from them. "I'm outta here."
"I can't believe he'd rather freeze to death than be hugged by us." Ruffnut said, as she and her brother ended up on the ground.
"I blame you. You're clingy." Tuffnut said, pointing to his sister.
"I am not! You're clingy." Ruffnut said defensively, sitting up and hugging her legs.
(Linebreak)
Hiccup, Hicca and Astrid flew through the blizzard on Toothless, Midnight and Stormfly, hoping to find any signs of the Snow Wraith. Turns out it was easier said than done.
"You guys see anything down there?" Hiccup asked the two girls.
"No." Hicca replied.
"I can barely see you half the time. Maybe we should split up. Cover more ground." Astrid suggested.
"Bad idea. Especially after what happened last time we split up here." Hicca pointed out.
Hiccup remembered as well. "I agree with Hicca. Stick together. It's safer. Okay?" He looked to where the two girls were, but found himself unable to see them due to the blizzard increasing in intensity.
"OKAY?" He yelled louder, hoping they were still nearby and they could still hear him. Unfortunately, it looks like they still ended up getting separated.
Hiccup sighed, hoping Hicca and Astrid would be okay.
(Linebreak)
After searching for a while and unable to find the Snow Wraith or either of the two girls, Hiccup decided to head back to the others, hoping Hicca and Astrid did the same.
When he came back he saw the tents all set up and Snotlout and Raeda warming up on opposite sides of the fire.
"Wow! You guys got the tents up fast." Hiccup said, getting off Toothless.
"Believe it or not, it was actually Snotlout who took the initiative." Raeda said.
"I had to! It was the only way to keep out of that Thorston sandwich." He said, pointing to Fishlegs, who was sandwiched between Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
"Not sure why they're still doing that when we have a fire now." Raeda said.
"Where are Astrid and Hicca?" Fishlegs asked.
"We got separated in the storm." Hiccup answered.
"Heh. They ditched you?" Snotlout jokes.
"What? No. Why would they do that?" Hiccup questioned.
(Linebreak)
"HICCUP?! ASTRID?!" Hicca yelled as Midnight flew through the storm.
After getting no reply, Hicca sighed and turned to Midnight. "They probably went back to camp, right? There are no blasts, no yells, no arrows or anything flying out of nowhere, so they could have gone back. We should do the same. With our luck we'll run into both the Snow Wraith and the dragon hunters."
After deciding, Midnight was about to turn to the direction of the camp when something caught her attention. Confused Hicca looked to where her dragon was looking and saw a dragon-like figure far away from them. "Is that Toothless or Stormfly?"
Midnight flew to the direction of the dragon, who started flying away from them.
Hicca was feeling uneasy. "Keep your guard up, Midnight. There's a good chance we could be following Windshear or the Snow Wraith."
(Linebreak)
After straying far away from the others, Astrid was relieved to see that the blizzard cleared, giving her a good view of a nearby mountain. Stormfly flew up to the higher parts of the mountain, giving Astrid a good view below. She then spotted two familiar figures.
"Easy, girl. I see 'em. Let's go in another way." She guided Stormfly to a different part of the mountain where she landed and then both she and her human made their way on foot to the area they spotted earlier.
They snuck to the campsite when Astrid drew out her axe. "Well, well, well, Heather. Fancy meeting you here. Surprised to see us?"
Heather calmly stood up and turned to face Astrid. "Surprised? Not really. I've been listening to you stomp through the snow for the past five minutes." She took out her own double-sided axe and took a defensive stance as Astrid does the same.
Both girls glared at each other while their dragons started snarling at each other.
The standstill lasted for a few seconds until Heather took off her mask. "What took you so long?" She asked.
They both put down their weapons and hugged each other.
Stormfly and Windshear also calmed down and started warbling at each other.
"Hiccup and Hicca are not the easiest people to sneak away from." Astrid said.
"Yeah. Ryker thinks I'm out scouting. How did you get them to come here, anyway?" Heather asked as they sat together on a log.
"I just told them what you told me, but let them think it was coming from Trader Johann." Astrid answered. "Any problems on your end?"
"Well, Ryker doesn't trust anyone and Dagur is paranoid, but so far I think I'm okay." Heather said.
"You took care of Dagur?"
"I sent him on a fool's errand, looking for a second Dragon Eye."
Astrid nodded approvingly. "That should keep him busy. So, fill me in."
Heather took out her map and unrolled it. "We've been here for two days, searching pretty methodically. According to Ryker, the Snow Wraith digs itself an ice cave to hibernate in during the summer months."
Astrid raised her eyebrows at that information. "We didn't know that. That explains the rush to get out here, probably to get a tooth from a hibernating Snow Wraith."
"Exactly."
"Too bad we don't know where the cave is."
"But I think I might. Windshear and I spotted a cave on a plateau about halfway up that mountain." Heather informed her. "You find a way to get Hicca and Hiccup up there to check it out. Meanwhile, I'll tell Ryker I didn't find anything and try to keep him as far away as possible."
"Simple plans don't always end up working as expected."
That statement definitely did not come from Astrid. Both girls turned to look at the two new arrivals.
"Hicca." Astrid said in surprise.
"You're right Astrid. Hiccup and I are not the easiest people to sneak away from." Hicca said as Midnight joined the two other dragons.
"Look, Hicca-" Astrid tried to explain.
"Things are starting to make much more sense now." Hicca said. "How could you guys lie to us like that? Especially you Astrid."
"I'm so sorry." Astrid apologies.
"I made Astrid promise not to tell any of you. I was already into my plan before the hunters captured half of you guys and your dragons." Heather explained. "This is the best way to take the Dragon Hunters down, from the inside."
"And you kept this from us because, what, we'd get in the way or something?" Hicca questioned. "We could help. All of us, we've helped you before!"
"I know, Hicca, and I am forever grateful. But you and Hiccup care too much. If we told you that I was spying on the Hunters, we all know you two would try to pull me out of there." Heather defended.
"You're risking a lot, just to get revenge on Dagur-" Hicca started.
"It's not just about revenge. There is more to it." Heather insisted. "Astrid will fill you in, but I have to leave. Windshear and I have been gone too long. Just please keep this a secret from Hiccup and the others."
"You want me to lie to my brother?" Hicca questioned.
"This is hard for me too. You have no idea how much I've been struggling with wanting to tell you guys." Astrid insisted. She turned to Heather. "If any of the Riders got hurt, or you got hurt because I held something back-"
"Nothing will go wrong. Trust me." Heather assured.
She got on Windshear and they flew off, leaving Hicca and Astrid.
"You have some explaining to do." Hicca said, crossing her arms.
"I know, and once again I am so sorry for lying to you." Astrid said, guilt evident in her voice. "Just please hear me out before you decide to tell Hiccup."
She started her explanation.
(Linebreak)
"So, when Hicca and I spotted the cave from the air, it got me thinking. Last time we were here, the Snow Wraith was on us right away. Remember? Why not this time? Maybe because it's hiding out or hibernating or something in that cave." Astrid explained to the Dragon Riders as they made their way to the ice cave.
The two girls and dragons flew back to camp and wasted no time bringing the others to the cave Heather pointed out.
"Yeah, that's not a bad theory." Fishlegs agreed.
"I'm not so sure about the hibernating part though." Raeda said.
"It actually does make sense." Hiccup said. "I'm just wondering how it was you two came all the way out here when we were scouting in the opposite direction."
"We must've gotten lost." Astrid said, sounding a little nervous.
"Lost?" Hiccup repeated, feeling doubtful.
"After the three of us got separated, I found Astrid and we were about to go back to camp when we spotted what looked like a dragon flying in the distance. We figured it was either Toothless, Windshear or the Snow Wraith, so we decided to follow it and we ended up here." Hicca explained.
After hearing the explanation, Hicca reluctantly agreed to stay quiet on Heather's plan for the time being. She decided to settle on giving a half-truth to her brother.
Hiccup looked at his sister, for some reason was struggling to accept that reason.
"Yeah, we didn't realise we flew far from the camp until we reached the cave." Astrid added, going with Hicca's cover. "I kind of charged forward after the dragon and Hicca followed after me. You know how I am."
"Yes, I do. But, you can't just go off on your own like that, Astrid. I rely on you." Hiccup said. "You too, sis."
That comment made both girls feel uncomfortable, but they kept it hidden.
"Okay." Astrid said.
"We'll be more careful." Hicca promised.
(Linebreak)
At the bottom of the mountain, Heather was working to pull the Dragon Hunters away from the site.
"I think we should concentrate on the coastal areas." She suggested, pointing to an area in her map.
Ryker however, didn't listen to her. "We head for the mountain!" He ordered.
"I told you, I already searched up there. I didn't see a thing." Heather insisted, hiding her panic.
"From the air. I do things the old fashioned way. Boots on the ground." Ryker said, gesturing to a few of his soldiers who were pushing a dragon cage.
"But-"
"We're heading for the mountain. You have a problem with that?" Ryker challenged.
Heather knew the more she pushed, the more suspicious Ryker will be of her. She had no choice. "Of course not. After you."
Ryker turned to his soldiers who were pushing cages. "Move out!"
(Linebreak)
The Dragon Riders were close to the entrance of the mountain, until they heard a sudden noise. The dragons were prepared to fire while the humans drew out their weapons. Fishlegs nervously held out a dagger.
"So much for your hibernation theory." Snotlout said to Astrid.
"Shhh!" Hiccup hushed, causing Snotlout to grumble. He looked in the direction of the sound. "Toothless, make the first shot count."
Toothless was about to fire at the mysterious intruder until they revealed themselves as a mere bunch of boars.
Regardless, Fishlegs still screamed at the sight of them, causing the boars to run off.
Hiccup looked at Fishlegs who just gave an awkward smile.
The group then resumed their journey and soon spotted the cave.
Astrid was the first to speak up. "There it is. I'll go check it out."
"We'll all go check it out." Hiccup insisted.
All the dragons walked towards the cave and Hicca looked at the walls at the entrance.
"Look, claw marks." She pointed out.
"I'd say we found the right cave." Hiccup said.
"It's nice. It's no boar pit. But it's nice." Tuffnut commented.
"All right. Let's take it slowly and quietly." Hiccup instructed. "Snotlout, get the Nightmare gel out."
(Linebreak)
As the Dragon Riders started exploring the caves, the hunters arrived at the same place. Ryker then spotted some dragon prints on the ground and immediately recognised them. "Hm. Dragon Riders."
He signalled his men to draw out their crossbow and they slowly approached the same entrance the Dragon Riders took.
Inside the cave, Toothless and Midnight suddenly stopped walking as their ears perked up at a sound.
"Midnight?" Hicca questioned.
"What's wrong, bud?" Hiccup asked.
The same sound grew louder, getting everyone's attention.
"Was that-" Astrid trailed.
Hiccup was the first to spot the hunters. "Behind us! Everybody down!"
All the dragons ducked and dodge to avoid the arrows. Toothless fired a plasma blast back at them.
"Spine shot!" Astrid commanded Stormfly.
The combination of Nadder spines and plasma blasts forced the hunters to take cover.
Ryker narrowly dodged one of the spines. He glared at Heather. "Oi! Can't you control that beast? She gave us away."
"She's a dragon covered in spikes walking on ice. She's gonna make noise." Heather argued as Windshear moved her tail on the ice ground for emphasis, making the same noise from earlier.
Ryker didn't really care about that. "You keep that thing quiet. Or I will." He turned to three of his soldiers. "Go!"
The three hunters charged into the cave. Seconds later shouts and blasts filled the cave and then smoke appeared. The three hunters then walked out of the cave, two of them helping the third soldier walk. Ryker growled in frustration.
Inside the cave, Tuffnut looked at the arrow that got lodged in his helmet. "Oh, shoot my helmet, will ya!"
"Ha-ha! Yeah!" Ruffnut chuckled. She and Tuff banged their heads together.
"Keep it down, will ya?" Hiccup hushed. "We wake up that Snow Wraith, things get a whole lot trickier."
"What do you think Ryker's next move is?" Astrid asked.
"Seal us in." Raeda suggested.
"Surrender?" Ruffnut chimed in.
"Or I guess he could do that." Fishlegs said, pointing to the entrance.
"Dragon Riders! Send out your leader to talk." Ryker shouted.
"It's gotta be a trap. I should go out. See what their game is." Astrid said.
"Yeah, let Astrid go." Snotlout agreed.
"Hiccup Haddock! Let's talk this out, like men." Ryker called out again, digging his sword into the ground.
"Oh! I don't like the sound of that." Fishlegs said.
"If there's one chance to settle this without bloodshed, I have to try." Hiccup said.
"Ryker needs to know that we are co-leaders. I'm coming with you." Hicca insisted.
"Stay here, sis. You too, bud, if this is a trap, I may need you to get me out of it." Hiccup said, taking his shield.
"Word of advice, open with a compliment." Tuffnut advised.
"Yeah, good strategy to praise the guy who likes to capture dragons." Raeda said sarcastically.
Hiccup got off Toothless and walked towards Ryker at the entrance. He stopped and set his shield down, right on top of his prosthetic foot.
"Hmm. Dagur was right. You don't look like much." Ryker sneered.
"Astrid was right. You look like a psycho." Hiccup countered.
Tuffnut had his hand to his ear, listening to the confrontation. "Not exactly the compliment I would have led with."
"What do you want, Ryker?" Hiccup demanded.
"The Dragon Eye."
"Not a chance."
"It belongs to us, the Hunters. You stole it from our ship. And I will have it back." Ryker said.
"Not today, you won't."
"Oh, no? Look around. We're in front of you. The Snow Wraith is behind you." Ryker pointed out. "One time offer. Hand over the Dragon Eye and you're free to go."
Hiccup patted himself, pretending to look for the Dragon Eye. "Hm. Uh, sorry. I must have left it in my other pants."
Ryker growled, not amused by Hiccup's antics. "In that case, surrender and you won't meet the same fate as your dragons."
Behind him hiding in a corner, one of the dragon hunters stood there bow and arrow ready to shoot Hiccup.
Hiccup just stared him down, unaware that he was targeted. "Okay, here's my offer. Leave now and your men won't have to find out what burning flesh smells like."
Ryker sighed. "You really don't have the Dragon Eye with you?"
"No."
"And, you aren't coming out?"
"Not any time soon."
Ryker just smirked. "Don't say I didn't give you a chance." He then picked up his sword, sending a silent signal to his archer.
Heather stood outside the cave, well aware of what Ryker had planned. Thinking quickly, she gave a signal to Windshear, who then hit another hunter with her tail. The hunter was holding a lantern so when he got knocked down, the lantern rolled near the archer, shining a light into his eyes.
"Huh. My eyes!" The archer exclaimed, blinded by the sudden light.
The lantern also lit up the rest of the cave, revealing the archers shadow, which Astrid spotted.
"Hiccup, it's a trap!" She shouted.
Ryker ducked just as the arrow was fired. Hiccup used his prosthetic leg to kick the shield back up in time to deflect the arrow. Two more hunters came running in to fire more arrows and the dragons started firing back again as Hiccup ran back to Toothless.
Ryker just walked out of the cave to Heather and grabbed her arm. He pulled her away from the fight and gave her a shove. "I saw that. You did that on purpose!"
"Of course I did. How many times do Dagur and I have to tell you that Hiccup is more valuable to us alive than dead?" Heather said, her defense ready.
Ryker rubbed his chin as he thought it over. "Maybe you're right, Heather. Maybe Hiccup can be helpful to us. Shoot the cave."
Heather blinked. "What?"
"Have your animal shoot the cave."
"Why?"
"Just do it!" Ryker demanded.
Heather sighed, having no choice. She was already risking too much with that move she just pulled. "Windshear."
Windshear didn't like this either, but for both their safeties she went with it. She blasted the top of the cave, causing it to come crashing down. The hunters were closer to the entrance and were able to run out in time but the dragon riders and dragons were not so lucky.
The cave was now sealed off from outside.
The dragons were quick to shield their humans from the falling ice.
"Ugh! Is everyone all right?" Hiccup asked, getting up. He was relieved to see his sister getting up as well, with no visible harm.
"Define 'all right'." Fishlegs said, as he laid on the ground with Meatlug and two slabs of ice on top of him.
"We're all still here." Raeda said.
"Why would Ryker seal himself off from the key?" Snotlout wondered.
"He wasn't sealing himself out. He was sealing us in." Astrid stated.
"Astrid's right. Ryker figures we'll fight the Snow Wraith for him and then he'll come in and deal with whoever survives." Hicca said.
"I knew this was going to happen." Raeda sighed.
"Awesome. But we're not gonna do that, right?" Snotlout said, feeling slightly hopeful.
"The plan hasn't changed. We grab the Snow Wraith and get it out of here away from Ryker." Hiccup said, mounting Toothless.
"Oh, is that all we have to do? So easy." Snotlout said sarcastically as the group started to go further into the cave.
The dragons flew through the tunnels and soon reached a cavern where the Snow Wraith could potentially be hibernating.
The teens dismounted and walked into the cavern.
Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs walked together.
"I choose to think positive. We can do this." Tuffnut said.
"Sure. We beat the Snow Wraith before! Sort of." Ruffnut agreed.
"And it won't have a blizzard to hide in." Fishlegs stated.
"And we outnumber him five to one." Tuffnut added.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Astrid said as she and the other five looked ahead. Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff looked and saw what Astrid was talking about. On the other side of the cavern was not one Snow Wraith, but three of them hibernating.
"I am so glad we don't need a Snow Wraith tooth." Raeda whispered.
"Well, at least they're still asleep, and they won't wake up." Tuffnut said.
One of the Snow Wraiths stirred, as if it could sense a disturbance.
Ruffnut quickly clasped her hand on her brother's mouth. "You are the worst positive thinker ever."
"That's a very positive thing to say." He replied, his voice a little muffled through the hand.
(Linebreak)
Outside, Ryker was guiding his soldiers around the cave, paying close attention to the ground. He got down and placed his palm on the surface. He then nodded to himself and got up. "Hm. Here. And here." He directed. His men started to chisel at the ground.
Heather was confused by what was going on. Ryker did not say a word to her since she had Windshear seal the cave. "You want to tell me what you're doing?"
"No." Ryker answered, walking away.
Heather silently prayed that whatever Ryker had planned would fail.
(Linebreak)
Inside the cave, the teens were still trying to figure out their next move, without waking the Snow Wraiths.
"If we don't move, maybe it won't notice us." Tuffnut chimed in unhelpfully. Unfortunately he wasn't quiet enough. One of the Snow Wraith woke up and snarled at the intruders.
"Maybe if you didn't move and kept your mouth shut." Fishlegs hissed at Tuffnut.
"What do we do?" Raeda asked.
Hiccup took one glance at the arrow still lodged in Tuffnut's helmet and got an idea. "Maybe we can put him back to sleep."
"Hey!" Tuffnut protested as Hiccup swooped by him, grabbing the arrow in the process.
Hiccup took the crossbow part of his shield out and quickly loaded the dragon root arrow onto it. He fired, but the Snow Wraith blasted the arrow away and roared, waking up the other two Snow Wraiths!
"Okay, so that didn't work." Hiccup said dryly
The Snow Wraiths fired at the teens, causing them to quickly take cover. They quickly got on to their dragons, ready for a fight. Then, to the surprise of the humans, all three Snow Wraiths dove into the ground and started burrowing.
"Burrowing! That's new." Hiccup commented in surprise.
"I know. And I don't think I like it." Fishlegs said nervously.
Suddenly one of the Snow Wraiths emerged from the ground and fired at Snotlout and Hookfang, who barely dodged in time.
"Oh, I know I don't like it." Snotlout said.
"This is like encountering the Whispering Deaths." Hicca said.
"Quick! Defensive formation!" Hiccup ordered. The dragons quickly formed a circle, facing their surroundings. "Everybody take an angle, fire as soon as you see them." Everyone stayed vigilant in their zones, waiting for the Snow Wraiths to come back up again. The ground below them was trembling as the Snow Wraiths burrowed.
"Feels like they're going left. No, right. Left." Snotlout murmured, feeling the tension of the situation. "Which one's which?"
"Forget that, just cover your zone!"
Just as Hiccup said that, a Snow Wraith burrowed out near Stormfly and Hookfang. They immediately fired, causing the dragon to dive back down. Another Snow Wraith came up to Barf and Belch and the Zippleback was quick to attack, getting the same result.
A Snow Wraith then came up in front of Toothless. "Just stun 'em, bud." Hiccup said. Toothless fired a plasma blast this time, the Snow Wraith was hit and fell to the ground. The other two Snow Wraiths emerged and worked together to carry their friend back into the tunnel they burrowed.
Everyone stayed silent as they waited to see if the Snow Wraiths would try to attack them again. After a few seconds of the ground trembling, it stopped and everything felt calm.
"Anybody feel anything?" Astrid asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Just a profound sense of relief." Tuffnut suggested.
"And perhaps a tinge of sadness?" Ruffnut added.
"Oh, exactly sister." Her twin agreed.
"I think they're gone." Fishlegs said.
"Maybe they tunneled all the way out." Hiccup guessed. "If they did..."
"That could be our way out too." Astrid finished.
They suddenly heard a loud distressed roar echoing through the tunnels the Snow Wraiths just used.
"The Hunters! Let's go." Hicca urged.
The dragons immediately flew into the tunnel and tried to navigate through it. There were so many different passageways that it caused them to split up to try to find their way out. Meatlug nearly ran into Hookfang as she and Fishlegs reached an intersecting tunnel.
She was about to go join them when suddenly-
"Back up!" Ruffnut yelled.
Barf and Belch flew right into Meatlug, leading to her and Fishlegs riding on their back.
"Two heads give us the right of way." Tuffnut said.
The group somehow managed to reconvene amidst the chaos and then they heard the same distressed roar coming from the tunnel above them.
"Follow me!" Hiccup said. Toothless navigated through different passageways with the other dragons right behind him. They finally found their way out and were greeted to an empty sight. There were no hunters and no Snow Wraiths.
What they did see were some discarded ropes, arrows and nets scattered on the ground.
"Ryker knew about the burrowing the whole time." Hiccup said.
"He used us to flush the Snow Wraiths out. Then he captured them." Hicca sighed.
Astrid spotted the trail they left. "Looks like they're headed back to their ship along the south side of the glacier."
"They're not gonna get there." Hiccup said with determination.
(Linebreak)
The group took to the skies once again to find the captured Snow Wraiths.
They managed to find Ryker and the hunters near a glacier, pushing the cage Snow Wraiths towards their ship
"Great time for the snow to let up." Astrid muttered. While it made the place more bearable for them, it also took away their cover from the hunters.
"Okay, we can't get too close. We need to stay out of the range of their arrows." Fishlegs said.
Hiccup looked at the nearby glacier and suddenly got an idea. "Maybe we don't need to. Ruff, Tuff, see that ice sheet up there?"
The blonde twins looked to where Hiccup was pointing and their faces lit up. Ruffnut prayed while Tuffnut crossed his fingers muttering. "Please say avalanche. Please say avalanche."
"We need an avalanche!" Hiccup said, much to their delight.
"Our specialty!" Ruffnut exclaimed.
"Yes! Positive thinking works!" Tuffnut cheered.
Barf and Belch flew towards the ice sheet, starting a line of green gas. One spark later, there was an ice avalanche. The hunters panicked and left the cages to take cover from the falling ice. Ryker emotionlessly stepped to the side just as a large slab of ice plunged to the ground right on the spot he was standing on just a second ago.
"You guys get the Snow Wraiths out of here! I'll deal with Ryker." Hiccup said.
"This time I'm coming with you!" Hicca insisted, not giving her brother any room to argue.
The other teens swooped in and picked up the captured dragons, carrying them to safety.
"Ryker! Looks like you're in the tough spot this time." Hiccup said, as he and his sister flew close to him.
"You should know by now not to underestimate us." Hicca said.
Suddenly Windshear appeared out of nowhere and picked up Ryker.
"What?!" Hicca yelled.
"Heather!" Hiccup exclaimed
"Sorry, Hiccup and Hicca, we gotta go." Heather said, as Ryker got on the saddle behind her.
Windshear flew away, but Hiccup wasn't ready to give up. Toothless flew after him with Midnight right behind.
"Can't this thing go any faster?!" Ryker demanded.
"Usually she's not carrying this much weight." Heather retorted.
Ryker scoffed. "Excuses."
Midnight then got in front of Toothless and started firing at Windshear. But she was missing all the shots and was instead hitting the glacier nearby, causing a hindrance in both the Night Furies flights.
"Whoa! Careful! Hicca, what's going on?" Hiccup asked. Midnight never had a bad aim.
Hicca said nothing as she and Midnight continued to subtly block the pair behind them. This was the best way Hicca could think of to help Heather escape without making it look like they were helping.
It didn't last because Toothless managed to fly ahead of Midnight.
Ryker then takes out arrows from his quiver and fires at them.
Toothless and Midnight easily dodged them.
"Nice flying, bud." Hiccup said. "Now it's our turn."
Out of nowhere Astrid and Stormfly appear, getting in between Toothless and Windshear. "Astrid! Look out!" Luckily, Toothless managed to swerve out of the way. Midnight stopped and hovered with Stormfly.
Still focused on Ryker, Toothless was preparing to fire a plasma blast.
"Hiccup, no! Heather's with us!" Astrid yelled.
That made Hiccup steer Toothless away, causing the plasma blast to completely miss Ryker. Fortunately for Heather and Windshear they were far enough that Ryker didn't hear what Astrid said.
Hiccup turned to Astrid as Heather, Windshear and Ryker made their escape.
"What did you just say?"
Astrid looked at him guiltily as Hicca looked downwards.
(Linebreak)
There was silence on the way back to the Edge. The others joined them in the Clubhouse after successfully relocating the Snow Wraiths.
Astrid then confessed to the group. "Heather pretended to join Dagur to get close to him to avenge her family. When she found out about his alliance with the Dragon Hunters, she decided to get closer to him to find out more."
"But when Ryker captured us on his ship, you and Heather were fighting all the time." Ruffnut pointed out.
"That's what we wanted people to think." Astrid explained.
"Heather's not evil? There goes that dream." Snotlout said.
Fishlegs was very happy to hear that. "Oh, I knew she was good at heart."
"It never made sense how Heather could possibly by Dagur and the Dragon Hunters, especially with her bond with Windshear." Raeda said.
Astrid looked at Hiccup, who had a neutral expression. "Hiccup, would you say something? Please?"
"We're supposed to be a team, Astrid." Hiccup said, feeling torn by this revelation. He was relieved to know that Heather was still on their side, but it stings to know that she, Astrid and even Hicca kept this from him.
"I know I-I should've told you. I wanted to. I really did." Astrid pleaded.
"But you didn't."
"I'm sorry."
Hiccup turned to his twin. "And Hicca, you knew about this and you lied to me as well."
"Hiccup, I promise you, I just found out about this. What I told about finding Astrid after we got separated was half true. I found her and Heather together and they explained everything to me. I just thought that in the situation with the Snow Wraith and the Dragon Hunters, the safest option to protect Heather would be to go along with it. I was going to discuss more about this with Astrid later."
Astrid noticed Hiccup didn't look appeased so she stepped in. "Without Heather, the Dragon Hunters would have a key to the Dragon Eye right now and those Snow Wraiths would not be safely hidden on another island."
"Still doesn't explain why you wouldn't let me take her and Ryker down. We could have captured the head of the Dragon Hunters." Hiccup pointed out, letting his frustration show.
Hicca looked at Astrid, silently signalling her for something. Astrid understood.
"Hiccup, Ryker isn't the head of the Dragon Hunters." Astrid said. This surprised Hiccup and the others, except for Hicca. "According to Heather, their real leader is somebody named Viggo Grimborn."
"Awesome name. Scary, but awesome." Ruffnut commented.
"I don't know. Viggo Grimdeath would be cooler. Or how about Gore Grimskull. Grimskull!" Tuffnut said.
Astrid ignored the twins. "He lives in the shadows. Everyone's afraid of him, even Ryker. Heather hasn't met him yet, but she's our best shot at drawing him out."
Hiccup walked to the doorway of the clubhouse and leaned on the wall, thinking over the information. If there is an enemy more powerful and tactical than Ryker, then the Dragon Riders are in for a tough battle. "Well, I hope she knows what she's doing. For all our sake."