Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon
"Nothing like starting the morning with a good ambush." Gobber said to Bucket and Mulch.
For their training today, Hiccup and Hicca had Gobber, Bucket and Mulch and a few other vikings positioned at the catapults, ready to fire at the dragon riders on sight.
Right on cue, the dragon riders flew above them.
"Catapult, fire!" Gobber ordered the vikings on ground as soon as he saw the dragons. Immediately, large boulders were hurled at the dragons.
Fishlegs was the first to spot the boulders. "Ambush!"
"Plasma blast, bud!" Hiccup ordered.
"Midnight, fire!" Hicca ordered.
The two Night Furies were able to hit their targets spot on, clearing away some of the boulders, however, there were still many boulders coming one after another, causing the dragons to dodge them.
One of the boulders came inches away from hitting Ruffnut.
"That thing almost took my head off!" The Thorston girl commented.
"It did?!" Tuffnut asked, getting excited. He then turned to the people on the ground. "Gobber! Do it again!"
"Fall back, everyone! There's too many of them!" Hiccup ordered, as the vikings on the ground reloaded the catapults. At the command he and the rest of the dragon riders flew away from the oncoming boulders.
Well almost everyone.
"You fall back! I am going in to finish this!" Snotlout exclaimed to his retreating team-mates.
"Snotlout, that is not the exercise! Retreat!" Hiccup demanded, but it fell on deaf ears.
"Not again." Hicca muttered.
Snotlout flies right towards the catapults, much to the surprise of Gobber and the other vikings below. "I got your retreat. Right here!" With that, Hookfang fired right at the catapults, causing all the vikings to quickly jump out of the way. Satisfied by the job well done, Snotlout and Hookfang flew back to the group, but what they didn't notice was that the one of the blasts caused a reloaded catapult to launch a boulder. The boulder flew right passed Snotlout and Hookfang, neither of whom have noticed, and towards the rest of the dragon riders and dragons.
Raeda saw the boulder flying right towards Astrid and Stormfly!
"Astrid, look out!" The raven haired girl yelled.
Astrid looked turned back to see the boulder heading towards her and Stormfly. On instinct, the blue Nadder quickly swerved and dodged the boulder, but Astrid was caught off guard by this and wasn't prepared. This caused her to lose her grip and her balance off her saddle and she suddenly found herself free-falling!
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"ASTRID!" Hiccup yelled. Immediately he had Toothless nosedive right after her at top speed, hoping to catch her before she hit the ground. Astrid hit a few branches in her fall, causing her to lose consciousness. The last thing she saw was Toothless flying closer to her...
When Astrid woke up, she was meet with a concerned Hicca
"Oh, thank goodness! You've regained consciousness." Hicca sighed in relief
"What? What happened?" Astrid asked, dazed and confused.
"Snotlout happened." Raeda explained, anything but impressed at the stunt the Jorgenson boy pulled, and she wasn't the only one.
"You have no visible injuries, which I find is extremely lucky, given the fall." Hicca explained. "If Hiccup and Toothless hadn't caught you in time..."
She didn't finish her sentence and she didn't need to.
That moment Hookfang chose to land with the group. Snotlout jumped off his saddle, still feeling the triumph after firing at the catapults.
"Yeah! That's right! That's how Snotlout retreats: he doesn't! Click-click-boom!" He boasted, still uncaring or completely obliviousness at what happened to Astrid. The silence made him notice the other teens and dragons were just staring at him with expressions ranging between disbelief and anger. "What? Why are you all looking at me? I mean, listen, I know why you all are looking at me." He flexes his arms as he says this. "What? It's Hiccup and Hicca's stupid exercise!"
That was the last straw for Hiccup as he got up and stormed to Snotlout. His cousin has pulled off many stupid stunts in the past, no matter how much Hiccup and his twin told him to stop, but this time he has gone too far.
"You have no idea what you did, do you?!" Hiccup demanded in a tone of anger, even the Thorston twins flinched at it.
Snotlout, however, was somehow immune to this. "Yeah. Hookfang and I made the coolest trick shot ever."
"You almost got Astrid killed!" Hiccup exclaimed, enraged.
"Come on, she's fine. Look at her." Snotlout said nonchalantly, gesturing to the Hofferson girl who was leaning on Hicca for support as she stood up.
"No thanks to you." Having recovered from her fall, the Hofferson girl immediately charged at the Jorgenson boy ready to beat him to a pulp. Hiccup stopped her before she could reach Snotlout and held her back.
"Okay, alright. Easy there, Astrid!" Hiccup said, holding onto Astrid. He was still mad at Snotlout, but not enough to want to see him beaten up.
Astrid ignored the Haddock "I'm going to kill you!" She exclaimed, struggling to break free from Hiccup.
Hicca then went to them and helped her brother in calming Astrid down. Astrid finally gave in and walked away with Hicca, angrily muttering something along the lines of taking Snotlouts' helmet and shoving it...
"Honestly, Snotlout-" Raeda began, but surprisingly Hiccup was the one who cut her off.
Seeing that enough is enough, Hiccup knew a certain decision had to be made. "That's it. I am tired of this."
"I'm tired of this! What are you tired of?" Snotlout retorted.
"You always have to do things your way." Hiccup said in exasperation.
"Well, guess what? I look out for number one." Snotlout stated, first gesturing to himself, then to Hookfang. "And one 'A'."
"Exactly. How can we rely on you if you don't do what we ask?" Hiccup said, trying to make his cousin understand.
"So, what are you saying, Hiccup?" Snotlout mocked with his arms crossed.
Hiccup took a deep breath. Snotlout would resent him for this, but he seriously needs to draw the line. "I'm saying, until further notice, you're suspended from the Academy."
"What?!" Snotlout exclaimed in outrage.
The other teens were shocked by this as well, even Hicca. They'd never thought they would see Hiccup this angry at anyone before.
"You're grounded." Hiccup stated firmly.
"T-that's- Hicca!" Snotlout immediately turned to the female Haddock. "You're the co-leader here, step in!"
"I have no objections to this decision." Hicca said once she recovered from her shock. As surprised as she was by her brothers burst of anger, she couldn't help but agree with his decision. Snotlout needs to understand the consequences of his decision. He has no idea how bad this could have ended for Astrid and as the healer of the group, Hicca needs to look after the well being of her brother and friends.
"Are you serious?!" Seeing that Hicca wouldn't budge, Snotlout turned his attention back to Hiccup. "You can't ground me! You're not my dad!"
"Yes, I can!" Hiccup countered, determined not to let his cousin get his way.
"Oh, really?!" Snotlout challenged glaring at the Haddock boy. Hiccup glared back, not holding back any anger he felt for Snotlout nearly endangering Astrid. Though Snotlout would never in his life admit it, he did felt a little intimidated by Hiccups' glare, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. "Watch!" He broke the glaring contest and immediately mounted Hookfang before Hiccup could stop him. "Ground this, Dragon Boy!"
"Am I wrong in thinking that grounding means staying on the ground? Because that looks an awful lot like, uh, 'skying'." Tuffnut commented.
Astrid walked up to Hiccup. "You did not have to do that for me, Hiccup."
"If we can't count on him during practice, how can we possibly count on him the next time we run into Dagur?" Hiccup stated.
No one could come up with a reply to that. The young Berserker chief was already a menace to them on his own. It wouldn't help the dragon riders if there was discord within the group.
Speaking of Dagur, the deranged teen was at the Great Hall on Outcast Island, glaring at a drawing of Toothless and Midnight.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Night Fury. How are we doing today? Happy? Feeling 'Hiccup-y' and 'Hicca-y' good?" He said to the drawing in a taunting manner. "Just a big love fest over there on Berk isn't it? Well, that's going to change very soon. That's right. You and I are going to spend some quality time together, ramming it up-"
"Dagur!" Savage called, interrupting Dagurs' monologue. "I have news regarding our latest Dragon Root tests."
"What did you call me?" Dagur asked, turning to glare at his right-hand man.
Savage realised his mistake and immediately corrected it. "Right, sorry. Your, uh, 'Derangedness'."
Dagur calmed down after that. "Ah, rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?"
"Uh, yes. Anyway, the Dragon Root test worked exactly like you thought it would." Savage continued. "The wild dragons fought for it like, well, you know, wild dragons!"
Dagur was thrilled at the news. "Excellent! What shall we do next? So many options!"
"Oh, what if we keep an eye on Berk for the right time to plant it?" Savage suggested.
"So simple, yet, so deranged. I like it!" Dagur exclaimed with a wicked grin. "When the time is right, we will put my plan into motion, and the Night Furies will finally be mine!"
Back on Berk, Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless have just arrived back at the Academy where the rest of the teens and dragons were, except for two.
"So, let me guess, Snotlout is out flying?" Hiccup said with a sigh. It was more of a statement then a question.
"You didn't hear it from us." Tuffnut said, while he and his twin were busy moving stuff into Snotlouts' pen.
"He wasn't asking you." Raeda said.
"Exactly." Tuffnut said, pointing at her before going back to his work.
Hiccup was contemplating on going out and searching for Snotlout, when he noticed what the Thorston twins were doing. Experience taught him not to dismiss any suspicious actions from the blonde twins. "And, what are you two doing?" He asked them.
"Well, we figured with Snotlout kicked out of the academy and our pen next to his, we'd knock down a wall, create kind of a better flow." Tuffnut explained. "It's a Feng Shui, obviously, in remembrance of Snotlout. He will be forgotten. Will-sorry-will not be forgotten."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't kick him out of the academy. He just suspended from the academy." Hiccup said
"Unfortunately." Raeda muttered under her breath
Tuffnut frowned a bit in thought "Well what choice did you have? After his fragrant disregard to both yours and Hiccas' leadership? I mean he deserve to have his pen... merged with another pen."
"Yeah the only remaining choice is total expulsion." Ruffnut agreeing with her twin. "Or you two run the risk of losing the respect of the other dragon riders."
"Wow! They actually have a point." Astrid said surprise
"I know. I don't know whether to be annoyed or amazed that they're the ones who pointed it out." Hicca said.
"I choose amazed, and a little worried." Raeda said.
"And we're not just saying that because we're planning on putting the curtains right here." Ruffnut continued, pointing to a portion on the wall of the pen.
"I'm good with fabric, who knew, I also do some needlepoint." Tuffnut said holding up a well-designed violet cloth.
"Hey, that's pretty good." Raeda said impressed.
(Thank you to snake screamer from Fanfiction.net for helping with this scene)
"Yes! We got the 'Raeda stamp of approval' for this fabric. We're definitely keeping it!" Tuffnut declared, clutching onto the fabric. "We'll hang this up once we knock down the wall."
"No one is knocking down anything, we will talk to Snotlout when he gets back." Hiccup said firmly. "He is suspended not expelled so you guys don't get to have his pen."
"You know Hiccup, with these kind of choices you make, it makes me wonder; can you make the right choices with people like Snotlout when you become the next chief." Tuffnut suddenly said.
"Where in the world did that thought come from?" Raeda questioned.
"I don't know. Somewhere along the lines of randomness." Tuffnut answered shrugging.
"Well, it's an unnecessary thought, Tuff, you know very well that my brother will be a great chief when his time comes." Hicca said with full confidence.
"Hicca, don't you think that when your brother becomes chief that he's gonna start treating you differently?" Ruffnut questioned.
"Uh no and why would I think such a thing?" Hicca replied.
"Uh duh, that's what happens with new chiefs, they start treating everyone differently, even their own siblings." The Thorston girl answered.
"That does not happen!" Hiccup exclaimed defensively.
"Yeah Ruff, and even if that was true, I highly refuse to believe that my brother will change like that when he becomes chief and what would make you say something this ridiculous?" Hicca asked in disbelief.
"Well me and my twin would tell you but..." Ruffnut trailed off.
"But what?" Hicca demanded.
"You're just so wrapped up in your sisterly relationship to understand." Tuffnut finished.
"That is not true! And who are you guys to judge me on my sibling relationship with Hiccup, anyways!" With that, Hicca stormed out of the Academy.
Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight glared at the Thorston twins. "Thanks a lot guys, you've just successfully drove my own sister away and just so you two know that I would never ever do that sort to her or any of you." With that Hiccup also left followed by the Night Furies.
(A/N: Thanks to Rachel from Fanfiction.net for this scene.)
"Hiccup!" Raedas' voice called out, making the Haddock boy stop in his tracks. He turned and waited for his best human friend and her dragon to catch up to them. "Look don't take what those two muttonheads said seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if they can't remember this later on." Raeda joked, hoping to lighten the mood. "We all, especially Hicca, know that you'll be a great chief when your time comes and there's no way that this or anything else could come in between yours and Hiccas' bond."
"I don't even want to think of when I become chief. The whole thing is still... well... you know-" Hiccup tried to explain.
"I do." Raeda said, nodding her head in understanding. "And it's not something you'll face on your own. You'll have the support of our friends, our dragons, Gobber, me, Hicca and your dad."
"Yeah, I have a feeling I'll be going to my dad all the time for advice when I become chief." Hiccup said. "Speaking of, I could really use his input on the Snotlout situation. Can you do me a favour and check on Hicca for me? Just make sure that she isn't too upset by the Thorston twins comments."
"Of course." Raeda said. "Come on, Sparkfire, Midnight."
As soon as the three girls left, Hiccup and Toothless made their way to the Haddock Household, where they found Stoick with a large ice-block on his head. It was one of those days...
"Tough day, dad?" Hiccup asked.
"Aye, some days it's not easy being a leader," His father admitted.
"Tell me about it," Hiccup muttered, definitely able to relate. "Think I may have a little situation with Snotlout."
"And what's he done this time?" Stoick asked, handing his son a smaller ice block.
Hiccup took the ice block and placed it on his head. "He disobeyed a direct order, so I grounded him with Hicca agreeing and now he's refusing to obey that order," He explained. "Hicca and I don't know what to do. Do we expel him from the Academy for good?"
"Is that what either of you really want?" Stoick asked placing his ice block on the table before getting up.
"No!" Hiccup said immediately. As angry as he was at his cousin, he couldn't take away Snotlouts' right to fly around. That was just too cruel of a punishment "But I also don't want to put the other riders in risk. Same with Hicca"
Stoick contemplated on his son's situation. "Tough one," He finally said. "Decisions like this, never easy. I've made more than a few in my day."
"Then how do you do it?" Hiccup asked. "How can you be someone's leader and still be their friend?"
"You can't... not always." Stoick replied, his eyes to the ground, as if remembering something. Hiccup was disheartened by the answer, hoping to hear something else. "Son, someday you will be chief and when that day comes you'll have to makes choices not for your friends or for yourself, but all of Berk."
That was Stoicks' final advice and that did not help Hiccup one bit. The Haddock boy had no idea what to do.
Meanwhile Snotlout decided he and Hookfang needed a break away from Berk. He and Hookfang flew a great distance away from their home as the human of the duo searched below for a deserted island. His eyes zeroed in on one. "Right there! Take us down Hookfang!"
The Monstrous Nightmare complied and Snotlout immediately jumped off the saddle and surveyed the area. Satisfied with what he sees, Snotlout turned to Hookfang. "Welcome to our new home Hookfang. I call it Snotland." The Jorgenson boy declared.
Hookfang huffed, not really liking his "new home".
Snotlout didn't really pick up on that. "You like that, don't you." Hookfang snorted at the comment. "Who needs that stupid Dragon Academy and the Haddock twins rules? All of this is ours. That tree? It's ours." Snotlout gestured to one of the trees, the same one the Hookfang sets on fire not a second later just to bug his human, not that Snotlout noticed. "That rock? Its' ours." He then gestured to a rock, which Hookfang set on fire as well. Again Snotlout didn't notice. "That wrecked Outcast ship? Our-" Snotlout started to say, before he realised what he saw.
His eyes widened and his defenses were up, remembering that his last encounter with the Outcasts led to him being kidnapped and taken to Outcast Island. Snotlout and Hookfang began to investigate.
With his hammer ready, Snotlout slowly and quietly approached the wrecked ship, while signalling Hookfang to follow quietly. However, Hookfang was a dragon not known for stealth as he raised his wings up high and stomped as he followed his rider. After a few failed attempts to get Hookfang to be quiet, Snotlout decided to give up and continued to approach the Outcast ship, prepared for any surprise attack.
WIth his hammer up Snotlout ran and jumped into the ships' hull and readied his hammer, only to be surprised to find it empty.
Confused, Snotlout got out of the ship and was about to comment on the empty ship when the ground shook! "What was that?" Snotlout asked Hookfang. Suddenly the ground started shaking again, causing Snotlout to panic. "Oh, great, you had to pick an earthquake-prone island, didn't you?" Despite the situation Hookfang rolled his eyes at his riders comment. It was one of those many times where he wished he could communicate with his human so he can give a snappy retort.
Then from the grounds emerged the Screaming Death, which clearly became stronger and more destructive overtime!
"SCREAMING DEATH!" Snotlout shouted. "We gotta get back and tell the others!" He scrambled to get on his feet until Hookfang picked him up with his mouth, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the Screaming Deaths' spiky tail. Quickly Hookfang tried to fly himself and Snotlout away from the Isle, which proved to be difficult with the Screaming Death at their tail. Trying to avoid the rogue dragon, Hookfang turned to the cliffs, but his sudden steer caused him to get hit, making him lose his grip on Snotlout.
Snotlout fell to the ground and was knocked out cold. The Screaming Death then made a nose-dive to finish off its unconscious victim, when suddenly, a large figure swooped in a pulled the boy out of the way just before the dragon hit the ground, causing it to go underground.
With the Screaming Death underground and out of sight. Hookfang landed and got a look at his riders savior, only to be shocked by who it was...
There were many things Hookfang promised to himself he would never do no matter what, such as never letting Snotlout steer him into the centre of a dormant volcano, again. And with him being the stubborn dragon he is, Hookfang knew he would keep his promises. But right now, with the passenger riding in his saddle along with his unconscious rider, the Monstrous Nightmare definitely broke his self-made promise as Berk came into his line of sight.
He landed in the plaza as Snotlout was dropped from his saddle. The villagers nearby gathered around the unconscious boy.
"Is that, Snotlout?" A Viking woman asked.
"Is he dead?" Another Viking woman asked.
The vikings all looked at one another and came to the same conclusion; Snotlouts' dead. They then yelled 'Viking funeral!' excitedly and started discussing preparations.
Snotlout then got up amidst the noise. "No funeral, not yet." He muttered, loud enough for the vikings to hear. They all sighed in disappointment.
Stoick and the Haddock twins pushed through the crowd to the front when they heard the commotion. "Okay, okay, what's going on here?" The chief demanded. "Who is...?" He stopped in his tracks when he and the others finally noticed the figure who was still saddled on Hookfang.
The shock filled the plaza, for the last time the figure on Hookfang was seen was by Hicca and Midnight back on Outcast Island and he went underwater just before the Skrill electrocuted the ocean. This person should be dead.
The figure was Alvin the Treacherous.
"I captured him." Snotlout said weakly, before he passed out. As shocked as Hicca was at seeing the former Outcast leader, she put that to one side of her mind as she went to check on Snotlout for injuries.
"Alvin!" Hiccup and Stoick both exclaimed, glaring at the man as he got off Hookfang. All the vikings surrounding them grabbed a weapon or anything that can resemble a weapon and had them ready just in case. There was no telling what Alvin would do, and no one was ready to take the chance.
Stoick wasted no time. He had Alvin chained up in manacles and brought him to the Great Hall where Gobber read him his sentence. Surprising, the former Outcast offered no resistance, but that didn't help anyone calm down. It actually made them more on guard.
Gobber read Alvins' charges from a scroll. "Alvin the Treacherous, you are hereby charged with the following crimes; treachery, attempted treachery, premeditated treachery, conspiracy to commit treachery and... well you get the idea." He finished rolling up the scroll. That's when the rest of the vikings started voicing in their opinions.
"Settle down everyone." Stoicks' loud voice boomed above the angry shoutings. As soon as everyone was silent, the chief turned to Alvin. "Alvin the Treacherous you will be remanded in our jail until a proper sentence can be handed down."
"Is this how you treat a man who saved a valuable life?" Alvin asked.
"Valuable?" Tuffnut snorted.
"Snotlout?" Ruffnut said in a questioning tone. Before either of the blonde twins continue to voice their thoughts, they were silenced by Raedas' glare, this was not the right situation for their input.
"I know you Alvin," Stoick said, glaring at the other man as he walked up towards him. "You didn't do this for Snotlout. You did it for yourself."
"What could I possibly have to gain from coming here?" Alvin countered. "I did it for us both Stoick. I have a proposition for ya."
"Not interested," Stoick quickly dismissed. There was no way he was listening to this mad man, not after what he did to his children. He then turned to address the crowd. "That's it everyone, go home!"
Slowly the crowd dispersed, muttering a few choice words about the former Outcast chief, as he was taken to the cells by a few viking guards.
That's when Hicca, Astrid and Fishlegs ran up to Hiccup.
"Hiccup! Snotlouts' awake and fine, but he gave us some news you're going want to hear." Hicca informed her brother.
"Apparently Alvin wasn't the only big nasty creature on that island." Astrid said.
"The Screaming Death, it's closing in on Berk," Fishlegs finished fearfully.
"That's just fantastic news," Hiccup muttered sarcastically. He then sighed. Today just wasn't his day. "Come on."
The teens were about to leave the Academy when Hiccup stopped his twin. "You guys go on ahead to the Academy." He said to the other teens who did as they were told.
"What's wrong, bro?" Hicca asked.
"I just wanted to make sure that you didn't think I would treat you differently if/when I become chief."
It took Hicca a second to realise what her twin was talking about. "Oh, that! Bro, you don't have to explain anything. As if I would listen to the Thorston twins before listening to you! Don't worry about that. Ruff and Tuff don't even remember what they said about that!"
"Figures." Hiccup said with a smile. He was relieved to know his sister didn't think any less of him after that discussion. "Great, then let's go join the others."
Once the auburn twins rejoined the others at the Academy, they started doing some serious training to prepare themselves for a possible Screaming Death attack. Well most of them were except for Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who went back to redecorating Hookfangs' pen.
Hiccup saw this and huffed in annoyance. "Come on you guys, focus. We need to figure out a way to stop the Screaming Death from reaching Berk."
Fishlegs and Meatlug were in the middle of practicing another maneuver when suddenly Snotlout and Hookfang flew in and bumped into the former duo, sending them spinning.
"Hey everyone, did you miss me?" Snotlout asked, getting off Hookfang as soon as the Monstrous Nightmare landed. "Of course you did." Clearly the Jorgenson boy has fully recovered from his fall.
"Oh, great! I can't return this fabric." Tuffnut grumbled, having spent hours trying to put a sharkskin rug on the wall of Hookfangs' pen. The blonde boy sat down with his arms crossed and the rug immediately fell on him, much to his twins' amusement.
The others paused in their training and landed as well.
"Snotlout, I'm pretty sure I put you on bed-rest for the rest of the night." Hicca said, though it was more of a statement.
"And I'm pretty sure I didn't like the idea." Snotlout retorted.
Hiccup sighed in annoyance. As relieved as he was to see that his cousin is okay, he can't let go of the fact that Snotlout disobeyed his and his sisters' orders again. "Snotlout, I'm very happy you're okay," He started to say
"Oh, me." Snotlout interrupted, sticking his chest out "I'm more then okay."
"You broke the rules, again." Hiccup continued. "And you almost got yourself killed in the process."
"So?" Snotlout asked, crossing his arms.
"So, you're still suspended," Hiccup announced.
"What?!" Snotlout gasped in disbelief.
"All right, back in business!" Tuffnut exclaimed, jumping up from under the sharkskin rug. He and his sister went back to remodeling, Hookfangs' pen.
"I found the Screaming Death and captured Alvin the Treacherous!" Snotlout argued.
"Weren't you unconscious when you 'captured' him?" Astrid pointed out.
"Unconscious like a fox," Snotlout declared proudly, not seeing the problem.
"Uh, that doesn't even make sense to me and I am foxy like a badger," Tuffnut said before the sharkskin fell on him again.
"I don't know what either of you are trying to say, but those expression don't exist." Raeda said.
"Look, nothing's changed you're still suspended," Hiccup said firmly as he went to Hookfang. "I'm sorry, come on Hookfang."
He guided Hookfang to his pen to ensure Snotlout doesn't fly off again and tossed out the sharkskin rug. Hiccup and Ruffnut then closed the gate to the pen.
"You can't do this, Hiccup!" Snotlout protested. "You can't take away my dragon!" Hiccup ignored him and pulled the lever, locking the gate. "Hookfang." He then turned to the female Haddock. "Hicca, stop him!"
But Hicca just looked away, knowing her brother was doing the right thing.
Snotlout then stormed off, angered at the situation.
Raeda, Astrid, Fishlegs and Ruffnut brought their dragons to their pens before leaving the Academy with the Haddock twins. However, it seemed that everyone failed to notice something.
"Uh, hello Viking in the dragon pen?" Tuffnut called out, still locked inside Hookfangs' pen with the Monstrous Nightmare. "Guys?"
Unbeknownst to them, Dagur and his soldiers were a good distance away from the Academy and was watching everything through a spy-glass.
He gave a smirk at what he saw "Perfect, the dragons are locked up in the arena," He said, looking at Savage and his Berserker soldiers. "Aw, by the time Hiccup, Hicca and their dragon dunderheads get to them it'll be too late."
He looked at the Berserker crate that was placed next to him and kicked the lid opened. He then gave a maniacal laugh as he saw what was inside the crate.
Inside the crate was a dragon root.
Later that day, Hiccup, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight flew to where the jails were and found a crowd of vikings have gathered and were shouting angrily at the prisoner, Alvin.
The two teens and dragons, pushed their way through the front of the crowd and glared at Alvin. They weren't here by choice. Astrid brought prison food for Alvin earlier and was told by the former Outcast chief that he wanted to see the Haddock twins.
"Astrid said you wanted to see us," Hiccup said, causing Alvin to chuckle. The two Night Furies growled in warning. "Want do you want Alvin?"
"I have proposal for you two," Alvin offered, getting up.
"Oh, this should be good," Hiccup said sarcastically, already knowing that he and his sister would say no.
"And you think we'll say yes to this because..." Hicca trailed off.
"That Dagur, he's a bit of a loose catapult wouldn't you say?" Alvin asked.
"That's one way of putting it." Hiccup admitted.
"That's actually a nice way of putting it." Hicca said.
"Well, he fought me off me own island and I want it back," Alvin explained.
"What, so you can get back of the business of destroying our island?" Hiccup asked, with his eyebrows raised.
"Oh, no my boy I was upset," Alvin said, defensively.
"For twenty years?" Hicca questioned.
Very upset." Alvin added. "You know losing everything tense to make a man see things differently."
"So you're saying... you changed?" Hiccup asked, doubt and disbelief clear in his voice.
"I'm saying I'm trying to." Alvin insisted.
"All right, let's say, hypothetically, we accept this proposal what's in it for Berk?" Hicca asked.
"The Berserks gone and the Outcasts your allies." Alvin promised.
The Haddock twins looked at each, both with the same question in mind. Could they trust Alvin? If they trust him and he breaks his promise, all of Berk will face the consequence, the two teens more than anyone else. But, if he comes through with his promise, the war between the Berserkers and Outcast would come to an end.
This was not a decision they could make on their own.
Neither teens said anything as they walked away from the jail, followed by their Night Furies who gave one last warning growl to the prisoner before leaving.
Their walk back home was silent throughout but both twins came to an agreement that in order to make this decision, they need to talk to their dad about Alvin. Which is easier said than done since Stoick always refused to talk about Alvin in anything other than battle tactics.
The twins were staring at their father, trying to figure out a way to bring up the subject, when Stoick spoke up.
"All right, spit it out kids." Stoick said. "Both of you have been staring at me all night."
Hiccup took a breath before speaking. "What exactly did Alvin do to get cast out?"
Stoick looked taken aback, definitely wasn't expecting this question. He quickly recovered and looked away. "I don't want to discuss it." He said firmly, not wanting the memories to come back.
"But we just need to know." Hicca protested. "Where did it all start? I mean—"
Stoick suddenly slammed his fist on the table, making Hicca stop talking and the twins looked at their father in shock. "It doesn't matter where it started! Just where it ended."
"Yes, but we just want to know we... we need to know." Hiccup tried to reason.
"We just want to get a better understanding on the situation." Hicca agreed
"All you two need to know is that Alvin is our enemy!" Stoick yelled get up. "And that'll never change."
He walked away, giving his kids no chance to say anymore.
At the Academy Stormfly, Sparkfire, Hookfang and Barf and Belch were sleeping peacefully in their pens. None of them were aware of the trouble that was about to come as Dagur and his soldiers stood in the stands.
"Dragons, come and get it." The deranged teen said in a sing-song voice. He then dropped the dragon root inside the Academy causing the dragons inside to immediately wake up with its' scent.
Back at the jail cell, the angry crowd finally got tired at yelling at Alvin and left to their own homes. Therefore, the former Outcast chief was surprised to a see a visitor at this time of night.
He chuckled as he saw who it was. "Well, there he is. Looking much better than the last time I saw ya." He said to Snotlout Jorgenson.
Snotlout huffed at that comment. "You know, I could've made it off the island without your help."
Alvin chuckled again "Of course you could of. I probably jumped in too soon, eh." He said, deciding to humour the boy.
"Ha, definitely." Snotlout agreed.
There was then an awkward silence as the teen tried to find something to say. He didn't really think of what he would say to the former Outcast chief, just wanted to make sure the older man knew he wasn't weak.
Alvin decided to break the silence. "You know, boy, you and I are a lot alike." Alvin said.
"Oh, really." Snotlout said in disbelief. Was he actually being compared to Alvin the Treacherous. "How's that?"
"People don't appreciate how you do things." Alvin explained.
"Huh, you know, you're right; they don't, stupid people." Snotlout couldn't help but agree, especially due to recent events
"You know this is wrong, don't you?" Alvin continued.
"What's that?" Snotlout asked.
"Locking me up like this," Alvin answered, gesturing to the cell.
"I don't know, it seems right to me," Snotlout said. "You've done some crazy stuff, Alvin."
"But I also saved your life, Snotlout," Alvin pointed out. "I didn't have to bring you back to Berk. I could have left you on that island and I'll be a free man today, but I didn't."
Snotlout was conflicted about this. The Jorgenson boy would never, ever, in a million years admit to this, not even to himself, but Alvin was right. The only reason the teen was alive and back on Berk safely was because of the former Outcast chief.
"All I want is my island back." Alvin pleaded. "If you let me out, you'll never see me again." Snotlout looked at him, still conflicted on what to do. "You owe me at least that, Snotlout."
Before Snotlout could decide anything, a loud horn could be heard around the village.
"Eh, what's that?" Alvin asked.
"That's the warning signal," Snotlout answered before going outside to see what's going on. There, he saw Vikings running around the plaza. Astrid was running past him but stopped when she noticed him. She ran up to him.
"Snotlout, come on," She said, panting.
"What? What's going on?" Snotlout asked.
"It's Dagur, he's been spotted by the academy and the dragons are in trouble." Astrid explained before running off towards the arena. It also explains why Snotlout was being called despite his suspension, Hookfang is in danger
"Hookfang," Snotlout gasped as the realisation came to him, worried filling his eyes.
He was about to follow Astrid, but Alvin called out to him. "Wait, Snotlout I can help!" He yelled, having overheard what Astrid said. "Dagur hasn't come alone, you need me."
Snotlout stood there, looking back and forth between Alvin and the direction of the Academy. The Jorgenson boy was even more torn between what decision to make. 'It could be a trick.' His mind said. 'Alvin could have rescued you knowing that he would be captured and thrown to jail the second he steps foot on Berk. Bringing you back could be a way to ensure he could be free and able to do whatever he wants with nobody expecting it.' But then Snotlout remembered what Hicca said about Alvins' last encounter with Dagur and how the younger chief betrayed him and tried to kill him. Snotlout knew that as much as Alvin hated Berk, he definitely hated Dagur more and would do anything to get revenge.
While Snotlout struggled to make a decision, the rest of the teens and Meatlug, Midnight and Toothless were gathered outside the Academy and they watched as Stormfly, Sparkfire, Hookfang and Barf and Belch were inside causing a rampage.
Something in the middle of the Academy caught Raedas' eyes and she immediately figured what was causing the dragons to act this way. "Dragon root!" She exclaimed, pointing to the piece of dragon root in the Academy.
The others looked and saw that, indeed, a lone piece of dragon root somehow ended up in the Academy.
"This is definitely Dagurs' doing." Hicca said. "He's probably somewhere around here enjoying the show."
"We'll worry about him later, sis." Hiccup said. "Right now, we need to focus on getting the dragon root out of there."
That's when Snotlout caught up to the group, with a guilty expression. "Hiccup, Hicca, listen I need to tell you two something," He said, unsure of how to tell them what he did.
"Snotlout, not now," Hiccup said.
"It's important I—"
But Hiccup stopped him before he could speak any further. "I said not now," Hiccup then turned to Fishlegs and Meatlug. "All right, Fishlegs, this is all you. Hicca, Midnight, Toothless and I can't go in there because our dragons will be affected by the root. You and Meatlug have to fly in and get that root out there while the others distract their dragons."
"You hear that, girl?" Fishlegs asked Meatlug. "It's up to you and me."
She responded with a lick on her riders cheek, saying that she was ready to do her best.
Hiccup opened the gate to the Academy before stepping aside with his sister and their dragons. Raeda, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut cautiously walked inside and towards their respective dragons, while Fishlegs and Meatlug hovered above them.
"Stormfly, no!" Astrid pleaded, hoping her dragon would try to regain some control for her. No such luck as the blue Nadder fired a stream of fire at her, which the blonde girl luckily dodged in time.
Snotlout was having similar problems as he ran up the wall to avoid getting burned by Hookfangs' fire. "This was a bad idea!" He yelled as he ran.
Raeda tried to get behind Sparkfire to smooth out her tail, a method known to calm Nadders down. However, Sparkfire spotted her and readied her tail before firing her spines at her rider. Raeda quickly got out her bow and deflected the spines.
The Thorston twins were running away from Barf and Belch as the Zippleback started spraying out its' gas at both his riders. Neither humans were appreciating this kind of chaos.
Fishlegs found an opening and quickly had Meatlug dive down. The Gronckle grabbed the dragon root and flew towards the exit as fast as she possibly could. Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran along with the Gronckle duo, ready to get to safety. Just as they were a second away from reaching the outside of the Academy, the gates suddenly closed on them!
Two Berserker soldiers appeared on the other side of the gate and started laughing at the trapped teens.
The Haddock twins and the Night Furies then appeared in front of the Berserker soldiers. Midnight and Toothless growled at the two soldier, their pupils narrowed into slits.
"Open the gate!" Hiccup demanded. "Or else-"
"Or else what?" An unfortunately familiar voice challenged.
The four of them looked to the source of the voice and found none other than Dagur the Deranged with a smirk. And with him were many Berserker soldiers, positioned around the group of four with their crossbows aimed at them. "You were right, Hicca, I was definitely enjoying the show."
"Dagur, what do you want?" Hiccup asked.
"What I always wanted... the Night Furies." Dagur answered. "Hand them over and we'll leave peacefully, that's your choice. Your dragons or your friends." He then gave a maniacal laugh. "Isn't this exciting? What will they choose, ladies and gentlemen?"
"I can't believe he actually thought this plan through." Hicca gritted, looking back at the chaos in the Academy.
"Better decide quick. Your friends won't be able to survive very long with those out of control dragons." Dagur taunted.
And unfortunately, Dagur was right. The teens inside the Academy were struggling to dodge the attacks from their own dragons
Meatlug was flying around, trying to dodge the dragons who were coming after her for the dragon root, which was a struggle for her going against the faster dragons.
"Can't keep this up much longer." Fishlegs yelled to the Haddock twins.
Stormfly fired some spines at Astrid, who cartwheeled to a shield before using it to cover her seconds before it got covered in spines. "Neither can we." She admitted. She didn't want to make this difficult for Hicca and Hiccup, but she couldn't pretend everything was okay.
"You can't let Dagur get what he wants. There's got to be another way!" Raeda yelled, before throwing a barrel up to take a blast by Sparkfire.
"Speak for yourself!" Snotlout yelled to Raeda as he continued to avoid the line of fire by Hookfang.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut were clutching on the locked gate, trying to find a way out of there
"So, Hiccup, Hicca, what's your answer?" Dagur asked, knowing he would win either way.
Before either one of the twins could think of something to say, a loud voice caught everyones' attention. "The answer is we run you through and opened the gates ourselves!"
Everyone turned to see Stoick, Gobber along with many viking soldiers all armed and ready for a fight. At the Berkian chiefs' signal, the Berk soldiers charged at the Berserker soldiers, starting an intense battle to free the teens trapped inside the Academy.
Some of the Berserker soldiers fired at the twins and the Night Furies, but thanks to Toothless and Midnights' plasma blasts and Hiccups shield, none of them got hit. The two Night Furies then fired at the soldiers, knocking them down
With his hammer, Stoick knocked down several Berserker soldiers through before reaching the gate. He grabbed the chain and was about to pull it, when suddenly a voice called to him.
"Stoick!" The chief looked and was shocked to see none other than Alvin the Treacherous charging towards him. On reflex, Stoick ducked and Alvin jumped... and kicked Savage right as he tried to attack Stoick from above!
Alvin elbowed his former second-in-command and gave another kicked that sent him staggering back.
"You!" Dagur exclaimed at Alvin, not believing what he was seeing. He thought he electrocuted the former Outcast chief to death.
"Me." Alvin responded with a smirk, glad to have caught the deranged teen off guard.
"Alvin!" Stoick yelled getting his attention. Alvin turned and caught a sword that was tossed to him by the Outcast chief himself. He just looked at the sword in surprise before looking back at Stoick. Was Stoick actually going to trust him?
"Well, don't just stand there!" Was all Stoick said, before charging at some more Berserker soldiers. To say that he was taken by surprise by the sudden turn of events was a complete understatement. But that matter can wait until they deal with the Berserkers. Stoick could only hope he wouldn't regret handing Alvin the sword.
Alvin gave a smirk and joined the Berkian chief in battling against the Berserkers. This gave Stoick the chance to finally open the gate to the Academy, freeing the teens and Meatlug. Hiccup, Toothless, Midnight and Hicca then flew in.
"Fishlegs, this way!" Hiccup shouted to the Ingerman boy, pointing to the now opened exit.
"We'll cover you!" Hicca reassured.
Meatlug immediately flew towards the exit. The other dragons tried to go after her, but were herded away thanks to Toothless, Midnight and their plasma blasts.
Fishlegs and Meatlug, flew as fast as they could, and were so intent on getting the dragon root out of there that they didn't try to manoeuvre around Stoick as he was fighting a Berserker soldier. Instead, the boy and Gronckle accidently rammed into their chief and the soldier, knocking them both to the ground.
"Sorry, chief!" Fishlegs yelled, as Meatlug flew away to find a safe place to dispose of the dragon root.
Bruised from the battle, Savage came up to his chief. "Our plan has failed. We must retreat," He said to Dagur, knowing that they will now be the ones at a disadvantage.
Angry by the turn of events, Dagur shoved the older man aside. "I am not leaving Berk empty-handed!"
His eyes then went to Stoick who was struggling to get up after getting hit by Meatlug. A smirk came back to the young Berserker chief as a new idea came to his mind. "Follow me." He instructed his soldiers who were standing nearby.
With the dragon root finally far away from the Academy, the other dragons were able to regain their senses and return from their hostile states. Their humans came out of hiding and slowly approached their dragons.
Astrid and Raeda were the first to go close to their dragons. Seeing that neither dragons are attacking them anymore, the two girls smiled and hug their respective dragons.
"Come here, you stupid dragon, I love ya." Snotlout said, giving Hookfang a hug, glad that the threat of becoming barbecue is gone.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut both hugged the heads of their Zippleback. "Ah, you guys, thanks for not killing us," Tuffnut said to Barf and Belch. He then used his hand to hide his mouth from his twin and spoke in a low voice to the dragon. "Well, thanks for not killing me... could have done with one less Nut, if you know what I'm saying." Ruffnut, who overheard that, just rolled her eyes.
"Thank goodness everyones' okay." Hicca said, as she, her brother and their dragons watched the exchange.
"Hiccup! Hicca!" Gobber yelled, getting the twins attention. The auburn twins and their dragons ran to Gobber, concerned by the alarm in his tone. And they saw why. At the cliffs stood Dagur, Savage and some Berserker soldiers who had Stoick bounded and at swordpoint.
"Dad!" Hiccup and Hicca yelled.
"Nobody make a move," Dagur threatened, holding the sword closer to Stoick, stopping everyone in their tracks.
"Dagur!" Alvin growled glaring at the younger chief.
"You coward!" Hicca yelled.
"We'll be leaving now and if I see one dragon following us, rider or not, you're going to be looking
for a new chief," Dagur said laughing madly.
The Haddock twins could do nothing but watch as the Berserkers left. Both were hoping for some glimmer of hope where they could rescue their dad, but sadly, none came.
"We'll be in touch, bye-bye," Dagur called as they set sail.
Hiccup quickly turned to the others who were gathered behind him and his sister. "Okay, we take the south pass, cut them off at the beach and smash their boats before they—"
"Don't do it, boy," Alvin interrupted. "You back a man like that into a corner you may not like the outcome."
"Especially when that man travels with a hundred ship armada," Gobber agreed.
"But we have to save our dad!" Hiccup protested, sounding frantic.
"Dagur is not going to hurt your father... yet." Alvin informed them grimly. "Stoick is not what he wants."
"He's right," Gobber said.
"You want us to trust him?" Hiccup asked Gobber, gesturing at Alvin.
"If there's one thing Alvin knows, Hiccup, its treachery," Gobber answered.
The Haddock twins walked to the cliffs and looked at the direction where the Berserkers left. Silently, they held onto each others' hands as tight as they could. They were going to need each other now more than ever.