Disclaimer: I do not own anything from how to train your dragon
Chapter 22: Edge of Disaster (Part 1)
"I could stay up here all day." Astrid sighed as she laid back on her saddle with Stormfly gliding through the clouds. She then sat up. "But, we have work to do, don't we, girl?"
On that cue Stormfly picked up her speed and flew to cover the perimeters of the Edge. Satisfied, with the results, Astrid and Stormfly then head to the watchtower for their shift.
Currently Ruffnut and Tuffnut were the ones at the watchtower. "Hey! Guys! You are officially relieved from guard duty!" Astrid announced as soon as they reached. "Guys!" It seemed that the blonde twins weren't paying attention to her at all. "Stormfly, get me in close, would you?" The blue Nadder descended onto the landing pad of the watchtower.
Astrid got off the saddle. "Why do we have to go through this every single..." Upon closer inspection, she quickly realised why the twins weren't responding, they were actual dummies in the watchtower, wearing Ruff and Tuffs helmets. "Are you kidding me?"
She grabbed the two dummies and went to report this to the Haddock twins. She only found Hiccup and started explaining to him what happened.
"They didn't stand their watch, Hiccup. Those dummies left two dummies in their place." Astrid said, holding up the two dummies.
"You know, those dummies could conceivably be just as effective as the twins." Hiccup said thoughtfully.
Raeda, who was nearby overheard this conversation. "With less explosions." She added.
Astrid was not amused. "Not funny. We built that watchtower so that-"
"I know why we built it, Astrid." Hiccup interrupted.
The fact that Hiccup was too nonchalant about this unnerved Astrid. "I just don't understand how this isn't making you completely insane."
"Because, then there'd be two crazy people in this conversation and we probably wouldn't resolve anything." Hiccup said.
"Yeah, that never works for the Thorston twins." Raeda added.
Astrid was surprised to hear what Hiccup was implying. "Are you saying I'm-"
"Astrid, let me and Hicca talk to the Thorston twins. We'll get their side of the story, then we can figure out what we need to do." Hiccup reassured.
"I guess it's a start." Astrid sighed, still not feeling settled by the matter.
That's when Ruffnut and Tuffnut showed up on Barf and Belch. "Well, if it isn't our crack security team now." Astrid said sarcastically, throwing them the helmets that were on the dummies.
"Oh! Please, please, there's no need to shower us with accolades." Tuffnut said, putting his helmet back on
"Tuff, you left two dummies to protect this entire base. What were you thinking?"
As Astrid was saying that, a Terrible Terror flew to Hiccup with a note.
"Terror Mail. Hm." He said to himself.
Astrid and the twins were busy in their discussion to take notice.
"'Dummies,' you say?" Tuffnut repeated.
"She does. Poor confused thing." Ruffut said.
"What you failed to realize in your foggy morning state, is that those are not dummies. They are scareships." Tuff explained.
Astrid raised her eyebrows at them. "Scareships? You're serious?"
"You didn't see any ships near the island, did you? I think not. And why? They were appropriately scared away. By the appropriately named "scareships"." Tuff said.
"Honestly, if we add some realistic-looking fake dragons to it, it might actually work." Raeda mused.
Astrid was in disbelief at this. She turned to Hiccup. "Are you following any of this?"
"Not super closely." Hiccup admitted, still looking at the note. "I'm actually reading this. It's from Johann. He's in trouble."
(Linebreak)
They gathered the others and as soon as Hiccup explained the situation they split up into two groups; Hiccup, Hicca, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Raeda going to rescue Johann and Astrid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut staying at the Edge.
Astrid definitely wasn't happy with this. "You are not leaving me with these two muttonheads." She said as she held onto the Dragon Eye that was given to her for protection.
"She knows we're standing right here, right?" Tuffnut said to his sister.
"Look, Johann is surrounded by Dragon Hunters, and his ship is taking on water. We have to get out there and help him." Hiccup said.
"Then, let me saddle up Stormfly, I'll be there in-" Astrid insisted.
"Astrid, you need to stay here and hold down the Edge. And make sure nothing happens to the Dragon Eye." Hicca said.
Astrid groaned. "I can't believe what's happening. This actually may be the worst day in history."
"Astrid, Snotlout, Raeda, Hicca and I have the only working dragon armor, and Meatlug is immune to the Dragon Hunters' arrows." Hiccup explained.
"You hear that, girl? Who's a special dragon? Meatlug is, that's who." Fishlegs cooed to Meatlug.
"It just makes sense for us to be the ones to go." Hiccup concluded.
"Hiccup, Hicca please!" Astrid begged. "For all that is sacred in Thor's world, you cannot leave me alone with these two-"
"What do you say? Simpletons? Blockheads?" Tuffnut asked.
"I was always partial to dimwit myself. It rolls trippingly off the tongue." Ruffnut commented.
"Oh, yeah." Tuffnut agreed. "Watch this. 'What wit dim, would the twins dim wit, if dim wits could wit dim?' Say that five times fast."
Astrid turned to the auburn twins. "You see what I'm talking about, right?" She said in exasperation.
"Hey, it's not like we woke up this morning hoping to spend 24/7 with you either, Astrid." Tuff said. "I mean, you are not exactly a picnic. And I think you know what I'm saying. You have not ever been a blanket on a grassy knoll with delicious food. But, we are team players. We will do what is necessary for the good of the group. Hence, we shall remain behind and enjoy your good company, my fair Astrid. Even if you have no blankets or grassy knolls to offer."
Raeda, who was packing her saddle bag, stopped what she was doing to look at them. She then stepped away from Sparkfire. "You know, I think it would be better if I stay behind. To make sure no one gets killed out of irritation."
"That's a good idea." Hicca said.
"I agree. In that case, Rae, you'll be in charge." Hiccup said.
"Wait, what?" Astrid asked, wondering why she wasn't the one being put in charge.
"We'll be back by tomorrow at the latest. Astrid, do the best you can. Okay? And try to get along with the Thorston twins, please?"
"No need to worry about us, young Hiccup." Tuffnut said, reassuringly.
"We'll be fine. Or at least we'll manage to pull through." Raeda said.
Snotlout walked to Astrid "Oh, Astrid, I know these next 24 hours will be difficult for you. Unable to look into these deep romantic, yet hauntingly beautiful eyes, shimmering like gold dust in the wind-" He went on until Astrid twisted his arm behind him and shoved him at Hookfang. She let him go and Snotlout took that as his cue to leave. "Okay, so we'll see you when we get back. Have fun. Don't talk to any strange Dragon Hunters!"
He flew off, followed by Hiccup, Hicca and Fishlegs.
"Bye. We'll miss you. Write home often." Tuffnut exclaimed as he and his twin waved at the departing group. "Okay, I think the first team building exercise we should perform is that of going back to sleep. I mean, as a team, of course."
"Couldn't agree more." Ruffnut agreed. "What say you, Rae and Astrid?"
"Well, I think we should start-" Raeda started to say.
"I have to go hide this." Astrid interrupted, holding up the Dragon Eye. "And when I get back, I expect both of you to be sweating profusely from hard work." She directed that at Ruff and Tuff.
Once Astrid found a safe place for the Dragon Eye, she rejoined the others and they started working on some defense around the island. For one area near a cliff, they started gathering logs of wood and stacked them into a pyramid. Astrid was checking over a map of the island as Raeda and Sparkfire set another log down.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut walked in carrying their own log. Barf and Belch followed them, both heads carrying a log in their mouths.
"'What say you, Rae and Astrid?' Really? Haven't I always told you it's better to beg for permission than to ask for forgiveness?" Tuff chided his sister as they walked.
"Personally, I think it's the other way around." Ruff said.
"Oh, so now you're the literary authority on the subject of permissions and forgivenesses?" Her twin retorted.
"Quit talking. You lose focus when your mouth is moving." Astrid said.
"I'm Astrid." Tuffnut mocked.
"Real mature, guys." Astried rolled her eyes.
As the blonde twins got closer to the logs, Tuffnut was surprised to see the pile that was already there. "We've done all of these already? Man, we are kicking some serious-"
"No, no, no. That's your first one." Astrid interrupted, referring to the log they were already carrying. "All the others, Raeda and I did. Go, team."
Ruffnut and Tuffnut stopped right next to the pile and tossed the log they were holding. Doing so caused the whole pile of logs to tumble and fall straight off the cliff. Barf and Belch decided to throw the log they were holding off the cliff as well and then headbutted eachother.
As Raeda and Astrid silently watched the logs roll off the cliff, they felt like following after the logs.
Raeda clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. She then opened her eyes and looked at the twins. "Alright, you two are going to get on Barf and Belch and get all those logs back and you will not stop-"
"Forget it . They'll take forever to get it done. I'll get the rest of the lumber myself." Astrid interrupted, She pointed at the Thorston twins. "You two start lashing together some poles for the first level of stairs. Do you think you can handle that?" She walks away as she says that.
"Wait, Astrid..." Raeda trailed, but the blonde girl didn't stop to listen to her.
"She didn't let us answer." Tuffnut said.
"That's what they call a 'rhetorical question'." Ruffnut said.
Her brother scoffed. "Please. Like that's even a thing. And you don't know what it means."
"A rhetorical question is one asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion. Not to elicit a reply." Ruff stated. "Bam!"
Astrid went back to work carrying the logs. She was building up her new stack when she found the Thorston twins who were somehow tangled in some rope with Raeda trying to free them.
"I don't even know how you managed this, I only turned my back on you for a few seconds." Raeda said, trying to figure out the knots. She looked up and noticed Astrid there. "Hey, Astrid. Can you help me with this?"
"I can't. Too busy trying to get some actual work done." Astrid grumbled as she walked away with the log she was carrying. Raeda watched in disbelief as the blonde girl walked away.
"Not too teamly, if you ask me." Tuffnut commented.
"Not in the slightest." Ruffnut agreed.
With a huff. Raeda grabbed the ropes and called to her dragon. "Sparkfire, spineshot." The purple Nadder shot her spines, some of them succeeding in cutting through the rope.
"Whoa! That was a little dangerous." Ruffnut said, not expecting that. "Do it again!"
(Linebreak)
Astrid had just finished gathering the logs near a zip-lining post, where she found Raeda, drawing in the ground with a stick.
"Where are the twins?" She asked.
"They said they had an idea they wanted to test out." Raeda answered.
"And you thought that was a good idea?" Astrid said. "They could be out burning down half of the island right now!"
Raeda quickened her drawing pace, not even looking at Astrid. "I think you're exaggerating a bit."
"Right, cause they're not the type of people to do something like that." Astrid said, sarcasm evident in her voice. "I don't understand why you would let them out of your sight after what they've been doing. What were you thinking?"
"Astrid, try to have a little faith in me as a leader." Raeda said, still not looking at her.
"Whoo! Yeah!"
"Ha-ha! Look out!"
The two familiar screams, caused the girls to look up. The Thorston twins were ziplining right towards them!
They were high enough to avoid hitting Astrid and Raeda and ended up hitting the post and falling to the ground. Their fall actually caused all the logs Astrid gathered to tumble away once again, ruining her hard work.
Tuffnut jumped up. "Astrid, you have got to try this. The landing's a little rough, but-"
"Astrid, we know this wasn't what you were planning, but we really think we're onto something here." Ruffnut continued. "The stairs have their own use for sure, but this can truly come in handy."
Astrid was fuming but she was keeping herself from lashing out. "It can, huh?"
"Yes. In the right situations."
"And what situations would those be exactly, Ruffnut?" Astrid asked, mentally holding back her rage
Ruffnut tried to find an answer. "Well, I mean, we could, if we were in a-"
Astrid interrupted her. "You have no clue, do you? Didn't think so."
"Is that a retalkrical question?" Tuffnut asked.
Raeda tried to diffuse the situation. "Okay guys, before we say anything we regret, let's all just-"
"NO! Uh-uh! There's no way I'm just going to ignore this! You two don't have no clue at all! And do you know why? Because, the two of you don't think. You don't plan. You just come up with these crazy ideas and you forge ahead, with no regard for logic or what you're even supposed to be doing. What am I gonna do with you guys? Seriously. Tell me!"
Ruffnut took a deep breath and looked Astrid straight in the eyes. "Well, you can start by being kind. Oh, wait, you can't do that because kindness is nowhere in that scrawny little body of yours."
Astrid was taken aback. "What?"
Tuffnut tried to step in, putting a hand on his sisters shoulder. "Easy, sis..."
Ruffnut shook him off. "Back up, bro! I got this."
"Do you know what your problem is, Ruffnut?" Astrid asked.
"Okay, Astrid hold on..." Raeda tried, but was ignored.
"Oh, you bet I do." Ruffnut answered. "I've got a list of problems so long, I can't even keep track. Question is, do you know what your problem is, Astrid?"
"My problem? Are you serious?"
"Allow me to lay it out for you, my flaxen-haired friend." Ruff said. "You have no respect for the people around you who are just trying to help and be a part of the team. You have no respect for Fishlegs or Raeda, certainly none for Snotlout, and you couldn't have less respect for the two of us! Now, you can go ahead and shame the others. You can mock this entire island of dragons if you wish. But I am not gonna stand here and listen to you insult the entire "nut" family tree!"
With that Ruffnut storms away, leaving the other three to stare at her, speechless.
Astrid turned to Tuffnut, clearly not expecting Ruffuts response. "She's wrong, you know. I do. I... r-respect you guys."
Even Tuffnut could pick up on the hesitance. "Oh, please. You can barely even say it. So sad, Astrid. So, so sad."
Tuffnut walks away as well.
That just leaves Astrid and Raeda. "Am I really the one wrong here? After all of their antics?!"
Raeda sighed at that. "Astrid the Thorston twins are destructive idiots. Everyone knows that, even they themselves know that. But even with their faults, they always manage to pull through when it counts the most. Because of that I have no problem saying that I respect them. So why can't you say it."
"I-uh-I well-" This one of the few times Astrid struggled to come up with a response.
"I'm not taking anyone's side here. I am well aware that those two have been making this day unnecessarily tough on both of us, but you've also been testing my patience."
"How have I been doing that?"
"When Hiccup put me in charge, I could see it in your face; you were against the idea of me being given such a role like that. I let you take over setting up defences on the Edge, but you still kept going against every input I tried to give without any consideration. Is that your idea of respect?"
"I wasn't trying to defy you like that, I was just..." In truth, Astrid really didn't have a good reasoning to give.
"Well, this kind of goes without saying, but we all need a little time to ourselves to cool down. Let's try to meet up at sunset and settle our dispute. If we want to stand a chance against the Dragon Hunters and any other threats out there, we need to be united."
Astrid watches Raeda walk away and looks out at the sea. "Hiccup, where are you when I need you?"
(Linebreak)
Far away from the Edge, Hiccup and the others flew above the clouds in search of Johann.
"Okay, from what the Terror mail said, Johann sent it from this general area." Hiccup said.
"And it said his ship was incapacitated." Fishlegs added
"Correct. So, he should be right below us somewhere." Hicca said.
"Good thing Meatlug is immune to those arrows, huh? Too bad you aren't." Snotlout taunted to Fishlegs. "Snotlout!"
"Don't listen to him, girl. I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Right?" Fishlegs said, mostly for himself.
Hicca was the first to spot Johann's ship. "Uh, I'm not so sure about that."
In the middle of the sea, was Johann and his ship. Only thing was that it wasn't surrounded by Dragon Hunters, it was surrounded by dragons!
Johan was currently trying to hit the dragons away with a broom, with little effect. "Get away! You, don't come near!"
"Hey, I thought he said it was Dragon Hunters." Snotlout said.
"Not actual dragons." Fishlegs continued.
"He did, but you know Johann." Hiccup inferred.
Snotlout understood. "Dragons, Dragon Hunters, what's the difference?"
"No, no!" Johann yelled.
"Either way, he still needs our help." Hicca said.
The teens flew down towards the ship.
"I wonder what Johann did to get them so mad." Fishlegs asked.
"Probably told them one of his dumb stories." Snotlout snorted.
Hiccup wasn't amused. "Not funny, Snotlout."
"I wasn't even trying to be funny."
They started getting closer to the ship. "All right, let's just get Johann out of there, and be careful. We don't want to hurt any of these dragons."
"What about them hurting us? That never seems to enter your mind." Snotlout pointed out.
That's when Johann noticed his rescue team. "Master Hiccup! Miss Hicca! They're everywhere!" Just as he said that, he had to dodge a fire blast from one of the wild Nadders.
Hiccup decided to call the wild dragons attention away from the ship. "Yoo-hoo!" That got some of the dragons attention and a group of them immediately started targeting the dragon riders.
Toothless, Midnight, Meatlug and Hookfang all split up.
Toothless had to take several sharp turns to spines from a few wild Nadders. "Okay, all right, never mind, never mind, never mind! Wow, bud! We really must have caught these guys on a bad day."
A wild Monstrous Nightmare got in front of Hicca and Midnight and instantly flamed up. The Night Fury doved downwards to avoid the fire blasts. "Now I really want to know what Johann did to get this many dragons against him." Hicca said.
Johann was still trying to protect himself against the dragons still surrounding his ship. "Ah! Hoo! Back! Back, I say! This reminds me of the time I was attacked by a flock of rabid wild fruit bats off the coast of Palau."
Snotlout regretted flying close enough to hear that. "Be quiet! You're only making them more angry. And us, too." Hookfang blasted at some of the dragons, causing them to fly away from the ship.
"Master Snotlout! Thank Thor!"
The same dragons then started attacking Snotlout and Hookfang. "Hey! What'd I do? It's Captain Fruit Bat you want, not me."
A group of Monstrous Nightmare then started attacking Johann. "No, no! Oh, come on! They're very mean!"
"Johann, look out!" Fishlegs exclaimed. He and Meatlug flew at the Nightmares and Meatlug fired a lava blast at them to get them away from the ship. Then one of the Monstrous Nightmares flew straight towards them.
Meatlug wasn't fast enough to fly away and the Nightmare ended grabbing Fishlegs right out of his saddle!
Snotlout watched as Fishlegs was carried away by the Nightmare. "Hey! Fishlegs! Where are you going? You know, we're not done here."
(Linebreak)
Back at the Edge, Ruffnut was still fuming about her fight with Astrid, as she walked up the watch-tower.
"'Astrid, Astrid, Astrid!' Everyone's always talking about Astrid. How pretty she is. How smart she is. How muscular and shapely her upper arms are." She made it to the top where the dummies she and her brother used earlier were placed. "How can Astrid not see the genius in Stuffnut and Fluffnut?"
Just as she said this 'Stuffnut' suddenly fell over, causing the Thorston girl to sigh.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile in the forest, Raeda was still trying to settle the dispute between Astrid and the Thorston twins and now she was talking to Tuffnut.
"Do you know why I get so angry when someone messes with my artwork? It's because it gets very frustrating knowing that I spent so many hours perfecting my craft and it takes someone else just a few seconds to ruin it. That's how Astrid feels when you and Ruffnut mess with the defences she sets up for the Edge. Can't you just try to give you suggestions without ruining her hard work?"
"Is that retrical question?" Tuffnut asked.
"A what question? You've been using a word like that the whole day, and I have no idea what you mean by it." Raeda said.
Tuffnut was about to explain it to her when both of them suddenly heard some frantic cluckings. Tuffnut looked to see his beloved pet Chicken running towards them. "Chicken! What is it? What's wrong?" Chicken stopped at their feet and took some deep breaths, seemingly ran quite a distance.
"Shh, shh Relax, Chicken. Easy, little chicken. Now, gather your strength." Tuffnut soothed her. "Is it Ruffnut?" Chicken immediately started clucking. "Oh, it is. Is she in trouble?" More clucks came ftom Chicken. "Oh, you have such a way with words."
Raeda just stood there, baffled by the exchange. "There's no way she's actually saying that. And how are you so sure of what she's saying?"
Tuffnut paid no attention to her, focused on Chicken. "Raeda and I will find her and bring her back. You, you rest, Chicken. Don't ruffle your feathers. We shall return."
Tuffnut quickly ran off, leaving Raeda with no choice but to follow him.
She caught up with him to a cliff and once she lined her field of vision with his, she was shocked to see Dragon Hunters on the shores of their island! And they have just captured Ruffnut.
"Help!" Ruffnut called, her voice muffled by the sack over her upper body. Her hands were chained together, leaving her unable to do anything but be shoved forward.
"Ruff! No!" Tuffnut exclaimed, as he watched his sister get taken to the boat. Unfortunately he and Raeda were too far away to catch up to the hunters to rescue Ruffnut. "The Dragon Hunters. Astrid. We gotta get Astrid."
But it looked like Raeda was more perplexed with Tuffnut and Chicken's earlier exchange. "How on earth can you communicate with a Chicken?"
"Raeda! Dragon Hunters! Here! Sister! Kidnapped! Astrid! Go!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
That snapped Raeda out of it and she realised the reality of their situation. "Oh, oh, right! Quick, run, run, run!"
Despite her situation, Ruffnut showed no fear. "When I get out of these chains, I'm gonna-"
"You're gonna what?" One of the Dragon Hunters challenged.
Ruffnut had to think of a good response. "Uh, I haven't decided yet, but rest assured, you are not gonna like it!"
Another hunter laughed as they got on the boat. "Feisty, isn't she? I like it." They started rowing away from the island.
(Linebreak)
Far away from the Edge, the wild dragons finally retreated. No one was harmed in the attack, but now the group had a new mission; rescue Fishlegs.
"And they just picked Fishlegs up and flew off?" Hiccup asked as he, Hicca, Snotlout and Johann flew towards the islands they saw the dragons fly off to.
"Yeah, definitely, that's how it happened." Snotlout answered
"Johann, did the wild dragons take anything from the ship? Food, fresh water, anything?" Hicca asked.
"No, Miss Hicca. They seemed only interested in terrorizing me until you lot came along, then they started terrorizing you." Johann answered. "Which was a bit of a relief, if I'm being honest. I've always been a great friend to the dragons. That they would turn on me like this, it's inconceivable."
"This doesn't make any sense. Nightmares, Nadders, Gronckles, even in the wild, these dragons shouldn't be this aggressive." Hiccup said, thinking it over. "I mean, from a Speed Stinger or a Changewing, those dragons I could understand, but maybe these guys have just never seen humans before."
"All I know is that we've been around these guys in the wild. None of them have ever acted like this." Snotlout said.
"Snotlout, I hate to admit it, but you've got a point." Hiccup agreed.
(Linebreak)
The sun was setting and Astrid was in the Clubhouse by herself. She hasn't any of the other three since the fight which left the blonde girl to wonder if they were still mad at her and if she was truly the one at fault.
That's when Tuffnut and Raeda came running in, both out of breath.
"Rae, Tuff, you guys okay? Guys, breathe. What's going on?" Astrid asked.
"This was the wrong time to be without our dragons." Raeda muttered.
"You have got to do something about those stairs." Tuffnut pants. "I mean, there must be hundreds of them, there's over ten at least.
Astrid raised her eyebrows. "That's it? The stairs?"
"Oh, no. It's Ruffnut. They got Ruffnut!" Tuff finally explained after catching his breath.
"Who did?"
"The Dragon Hunters. Tuff and I saw them just as they brought Ruffnut to their boat." Raeda finished.
Astrid eyes widened.
The three of them quickly ran to their dragons. Without his sister to fly Barf and Belch with him, Tuffnut flew with Astrid on Stormfly. Using the clouds for camouflage, they tried to find the boat that had Ruffnut. "This is all my fault." Astrid lamented.
"Oh, tell me about it." Tuffnut agreed.
"No this isn't your fault Astrid. There's no way you could have known that some of the Dragon Hunters would come to the Edge."
"No, but I shouldn't have been so hard on her." Astrid said.
"You were way too hard on her, on poor, poor sis." Tuffnut added.
"She's just Ruff being Ruff. She can't help it."
Tuff nodded his head. "Truer words, A. Truer words."
"Tuffnut! Quit it already!" Raeda reprimanded.
"Sorry. Just trying to help Astrid work through, you know, the shame, all the bad things that she did, all the things she should feel bad about, you know, get some closure."
"Listen, what happened earlier is not all on you, Astrid." Raeda said. "Our main focus right now is to rescue Ruffnut. Once we're all safe, you guys can apologise to each other and put an end to the dispute. Right Tuffnut?"
Look at the Thorston boy for confirmation but his eyes were drawn to the sea and he was looking uncharacteristically worried.
"What is it?" Rae asked.
"There may not be a Ruffnut to apologize to. In fact, there may not be any of us at all." Tuffnut said in a serious tone.
Raeda and Astrid were looking at where he was looking and found the boat carrying Ruffnut. They would have swooped down to save her if they hadn't realised what Tuffnut meant. The boat was currently rowing towards and fleet of Dragon Hunters ship, enough to invade the Edge!
(Meanwhile)
After seeing the oncoming threat. the three of them were forced to retreat back to the Clubhouse to plan their next move.
"Rae, I don't want to be disrespectful or anything but-" Astrid started to say.
"You definitely know more about battle strategies than me, especially in a situation like this. I have no problem letting you take control." Raeda said.
"Okay, what's the plan? We have to get my sister back." Tuffnut said.
Astrid grabbed a parchment and charcoal and scribbled a quick note before tying it onto her Terrible Terror. "First thing is to send an SOS to Berk. We need reinforcements, fast. The auxiliary team."
Tuffnut watched as the Terrible Terror flew away. "How do we know he'll get there in time?"
"We don't."
"Well, how do we know they'll get back here in time?" He asked.
Astrid's reply was the same. "We don't."
"Okay, there is a terrifying lack of clarity in those answers." Tuffnut said.
"It's all gonna be okay, Tuffnut. We're gonna hold down the Edge, defend this base, and we will get your sister back." Astrid reassured him. "Okay? Say, 'Okay, Astrid'."
"Okay, Astrid." Tuffnut said, but he was still uncertain.
"It won't be easy, but we're used to overcoming adversity." Raeda said.
Astrid nodded her head. "Now, there is no possible way we can defend the Edge against an all-out assault with only one flyable dragon. But maybe, we can slow them down until help gets here if we use our spears and arrows sparingly."
Tuffnut's eyes lit up. "Wait! I know an even better way we can slow them down."
"Not now, Tuff. I need to think." Astrid said.
But Tuffnut stayed persistent. "No, seriously, Astrid! You need to hear this. Listen to me!"
Astrid conceded. "All right, what? What is your idea?"
"Okay, well, as you know, tricking is my area of expertise. I am the official Dragon's Edge Trickster. Trickster extraordinaire. The Mayor of Tricksville." Tuffnut rambled.
"Yeah. I get it. We all know how tricky you are." Astrid snapped.
"Get to the point." Raeda urged.
"But, they don't! So, I figure, we trick them into thinking there are more of us than there are." Neither of the girls were really following along with this plan. "We can start with our scareships, and then build our own little tricking army. It'll be awesome! Wait. I think I just had another idea. Whoa! Do you know how many Loki-ish thoughts are running through my mind right now?"
"Tuff." Astrid interrupted.
"It's like a hurricane of practical jokes pounding on the inside of my head! Whoa, here comes one!"
"Tuffnut!" Astrid exclaimed.
"Yes?"
"This is not the time for pranks, or Loki-ing. This is a time for strategic thinking and precise preparation. There are times in life when you have to be serious. Deadly serious, or people can die. We can die. Ruffnut can die. Do you understand?" Astrid asked him, while Raeda thought over his suggestion.
"Yes, I understand. I am taking it seriously. I'm seriously a trickster. And I seriously have some ideas that can help." Tuffnut replied.
"Tuff, listen to me. You know all those times early in the morning when it's still dark outside, and I'm out by myself on Stormfly?" Astrid asked calmly.
"Uh, well, I do now. Wait, is this gonna get weird?"
"No. What I am doing is training. Day and night, I train myself for situations just like this. That's why we're gonna do it my way."
"But, I have ideas. Good ideas." Tuffnut insisted.
"And, I believe you."
"No, you don't. The only thing you believe is that I'll mess this up and get us all killed."
"No. That's not true." Astrid promised. "The only thing I believe right now is that we're wasting time arguing, when we should be preparing. Come on, there's a lot of work to do."
"That's my sister out there, Astrid. And if this goes wrong and we don't save her, I couldn't live with myself." Tuffnut said, with the seriousness that neither of the girls have ever seen from him before.
"Astrid, I know I let you take charge of our defenses but with our situation, we can't afford to be picky with our tactics." Raeda added.
Astrid considered it for a second. "You know what? You're right. You do what you have to do, and I'm gonna set up our defenses. Then we'll come together, and when the time is right, decide which one to use, okay?"
Tuffnut nodded. "Awesome plan. I like it! And we'll definitely end up using mine. So, it's great."
"Good, just so long as we understand and agree that I lead the counter-attack and you follow me." Astrid said.
"Sparkfire and I will help both of you." Raeda said.
And they immediately went to work with the defenses. Astrid was working on some makeshift when she saw Tuffnut and Raeda making some more dummies, this time with the Henderson girl painting the face for added effect. Astrid was restraining herself from going over there and demanding the point of this.
As soon as she set up the ballista, she started carrying a barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel from Snotlout's hut with Sparkfire's help. That's when she spotted Tuffnut placing some scareships around. Tuffnut noticed her looking and gave her a thumbs up. She returned it with a thumbs up of her own and a smile, though hers was fake.
Later on Astrid found Raeda and got her help in setting up some traps in the forest. As they were working, they heard rustling coming from a bush nearby. Both girls were on their guard until they saw Tuffnut coming out of the bush, wearing boots on both hands to make footprints in the ground.
Astrid turned to Raeda. "It's him, right?"
"Just keep working and trust Tuffnut." Raeda said.
(Linebreak)
The Dragon Hunters settled at a nearby shore. There Ryker, Dagur and Heather watched as Ruffnut was shoved towards them, still with the restraints and sack.
"Well, guess you don't know the Dragon Riders as well as you thought, eh, Dagur?" Ryker taunted Dagur.
"You don't know 'em at all." Ruffnut agreed, even though she couldn't see them.
"Hey, at least my brother had a plan to get the Dragon Eye. It's not his fault they didn't take the bait." Heather defended. Internally, she was relieved. It was hard for her to find a way to warn the Dragon Riders with Ryker getting suspicious of her. Knowing them, she knew they would never ignore a call for help, but Ruffnut being here means they must have split up. That gives her hope. Now she just needs to keep Ruffnut safe.
Ryker didn't come to the same conclusion Heather. "They never left to rescue Trader Johann from those dragons. The girl proves it."
"Yeah. I prove that you have all been fooled." Ruffnut said.
"Then I guess we better leave. Come up with a new plan." Heather suggested.
"No new plans. We'll just have to deal with all of them instead." Ryker decided.
"Listen, if you all want to go on a suicide mission, that's your problem, buddy. But don't say I didn't warn you!" Ruffnut warned.
For some reason, Dagur didn't buy it. "She's lying! She's trying to confuse us."
"I'm always lying! Wait, now I'm confused." Ruffnut said.
"Or she's telling the truth to confuse us." Heather pushed.
"Gather the men. We move slowly." Ryker ordered his soldiers. "Destroy anything in our path, until we get our Dragon Eye. Then, we destroy whatever's left."
They went to the boats to row back to the ships to prepare for the invasion. Ruffnut was pushed onto a boat with Dagur, Heather and Savage.
"Uh, excuse me, sir. Oh, and ma'am. But there's something I've been wondering about." Savage spoke up as he rowed them to the ship.
Dagur rolled his eyes. "A daily occurrence, but go ahead."
"In regards to this Ryker fellow, it seems as though he's taken on the role of leader. And, well, I was always under the assumption that this was your role."
Ruffnut overheard this and started laughing. "Pfftt! That's not his role."
Dagur gritted his teeth. "It is, you dunderhead."
"We're just using Ryker for the time being." Heather explained. "When he leads us to the Dragon Eye-"
"We figure out the most painful and horrible way to get rid of him and the rest of his crew. Duh!" Dagur finished.
"Ah! That's a relief." Savage said. That's when they reached the ship.
"Once we get the Dragon Eye, Ryker and his men? See ya!" Dagur gloated.
His smug feeling was cut short by Ruffnut's commentary. "That really is the single worst plan I have ever heard-"
"Would you stop talking!?"
(Linebreak)
Hiccup and the others reached the island where the rogue dragons went to and walked on foot to search for Fishlegs. They reached the edge of a cliff when Hiccup held his arms up. "Stop. Don't move."
Snotlout sighed. "Oh, finally. Do you know how long we've been walking? My feet are swollen to the size of watermelons."
"Shh!" Hiccup shushed. He quickly laid down on his stomach with the others doing the same.
They looked ahead at the canyon in front of them and saw the same group of hostile dragons who attacked them earlier.
"Master Hiccup, I realize that you and Miss Hicca are the dragon experts among us-" Johann started to say.
Snotlout interrupted him. "I wouldn't say the dragon experts, I'd say-"
"Shh!" Hiccup, Hicca and Johann shushed.
"As I was saying." Johann continued. "It appears to me that this island is occupied by a rather unfriendly pack of wild dragons."
Hicca got out her spyglass to get a closer view. "You're right, Johann. But it's worse than that."
"Oh, ho-ho, you and you're brother are full of good news, aren't you?" Snotlout said sarcastically. He snatched the spy-glass from her. "Gimme that." Looking into the spy-glass he spotted Fishlegs among the hostile group.
"One good news is that it doesn't look like he is hurt." Hicca noted.
"So, this means we get to go rescue him, I suppose." Snotlout said, giving the spy-glass back.
"It does. And thank you for volunteering. But it's not gonna be easy." Hiccup said, using his own spy-glass to scope the place out.
"With you two as captains, I know it won't."
"Right, you see up there?" Hiccup said, pointing to a few dragons who were on the higher grounds. "Dragon sentries. They look like they're ready for anything. It's gonna be really hard to get anywhere near Fishlegs."
"Well, I suppose the life of a Dragon Rider is shorter than most. I'll miss him dearly." Johann said.
"Good point, Johann." Snotlout agreed. "Let's get out of here."
"No, no, we're not going anywhere." Hicca insisted.
"I said it's gonna be hard, not impossible." Hiccup corrected.
Johann and Snotlout were definitely not happy to hear that.
(Linebreak)
As dawn came, Astrid and Stormfly were finished setting up the last pile of logs at the edge of a cliff. "This is our last line of defense, Stormfly. If they make it this far, hopefully, these will take them out."
Stormfly rubbed her snout at Astrids arm in a reassuring manner. Astrid looked and saw Tuffnut tying some balloons to his hut. He was holding too many balloons that he started floating upwards, which definitely did not seem to be a part of his plan, judging by his expression.
With a sigh, Astrid got on Stormfly and flew towards Tuffnut.
"Uh, regardless of how this looks right now, I can assure you I have a master plan for these balloons." Tuffnut said, once Astrid and Stormfly got close enough.
"I'm sure you do." Was all Astrid said.
"Um, but Astrid, just a little quick thing. Can you bring me back down to Earth, before I fly into the sun?" Astrid got Stormfly to pull Tuffnut to the ground. He then finished tying the balloons to his hut.
"Is it time?" He asked Astrid.
"It's time." Astrid nodded.
Knowing that the Dragon Hunters ships will soon come into their view, the group decided to gather in the Clubhouse for one final check before the fight for their island begins.
Astrid was already there with Stormfly. "This is gonna be a rough day, Stormfly. Whatever we have to face, I'm glad we're facing it together." She said to her dragon.
That's when Raeda and Sparkfire came in.
"Did you finish setting up?" Astrid asked.
"It's all ready." Raeda reassured her, putting a hand on Sparkfire for comfort.
That's when Tuffnut came in pushing a wheelbarrow with a cloth all over it.
"Hey, whatcha got there?" Astrid asked.
Tuffnut lift opened the cloth, revealing the wheelbarrow to be filled with weapons. "Ta-da! Only the solution to all our problems." He picked up his favorite mace. "I call Macey, but you can have any of the others, except maybe this sword and this axe." Astrid and Raeda just looked at him "Can't decide, huh? Yeah, I can understand that."
Astrid decided to explain it to Tuffnut. "Tuff, these weapons are all for close combat. If we get to that point, there's three of us and we're done."
Tuffnut didn't not think of that. "Oh. Well, no, I know that, but-"
"Listen, we don't have time. Just do me one favor." Astrid requested.
"Fine, but-"
"The ballista on my roof, you know how to use it, right?"
"Uh, it's a massively destructive weapon, isn't it?" Tuffnut asked back.
"It is. So, get up there, and massively destroy things. But on my command, not before. Got it?"
"Got it. Come on, Macey." Tuffnut said to his mace before running off.
Astrid turned to Raeda. "Raeda, you use the ballista you set up."
"Got it." Raeda nodded. She was about to leave when she looked back at the weapons. She thought about it for a second before looking through the weapons. "If the worst case scenario happens and I'm out of arrows, it's better to be prepared."
"Hold on." Astrid said. She took Raeda's place and started looking through the weapons. She pulled out a flail. "You're pretty good at using this, definitely go with this one."
Raeda took the flail and swung it around with full control and ease. "Perfect. Good luck Astrid."
"You too."
Both girls and dragons went to their positions.
(Linebreak)
Ryker stood next to Dagur on the ship and watched as the Edge came into view. "You feel the air? That's fear. Soon it'll be death."
To Be Continued