28Dreamworks Dragons: Defenders of Berk
Episode: When in Berk…
Chapter One: A Stranger Comes to Berk
People as a rule are always cautious around strangers, Vikings especially. I have always taken the view of giving people the benefit of the doubt; as long as they aren't actively threaten the people I care about. It's one of the reasons I believe I was able to get close to Toothless and begin the practice of training dragons. However, one can sometimes forget that not every enemy will come at you with their swords drawn…
Hiccup and Toothless were on the landing platform to the Dragon Academy, waiting for the others to comeback from patrol. Due to the speed of the Night Fury, Hiccup and his dragon usually arrived before the others were done with their patrol. Thus, it was Hiccup's duty as team leader to wait for the others. Thankfully he didn't have to wait too long as Astrid and Stormfly, her Deadly Nadder, flew up and landed in front of them.
"No sign of Outcasts or Berserkers, Hiccup!" exclaimed Astrid, in the tone of a soldier reporting to her commanding officer. When it came to patrols Astrid was usually very strict and serious, knowing how important it was to Berk's security. Of course, Hiccup usually preferred things being a little informal whenever possible.
"Just like the last time…and the time before that…and the time before that…" drawled Hiccup in a bored tone. Ever since Dagur the Deranged took over the Outcasts, Berk was on high alert in case of a massive invasion. Yet weeks dragged on into months and other than a trap Dagur set for Hiccup and Toothless, there had been no sign of an invasion! Dagur never seemed the type to delay an attack unless there was a good reason! So where was he?!
"You know…most people would be happy not to have the combined forces of the Berserkers and Outcasts bearing down on Berk." Astrid said sarcastically. While she understood Hiccup's frustration at Dagur's lack of appearance, Astrid thought Hiccup was worrying a little too much about the situation. Dagur had shown that while he could be tricky, he was fixated getting Toothless (which was bad, but made Dagur predictable)!
"Sorry, it just…you ever know that something bad was coming and just…wanted to get it over with already?!" exclaimed Hiccup in frustration. Toothless closed his eyes and moved his head up into Hiccup's hand, which Hiccup scratched behind the ears. It helped calm Hiccup down and Toothless got comforted too (a win-win in Toothless's mind)!
"Hiccup…" began Astrid about to say something which she hopes would ease Hiccup's mind. However, the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, crashed in between them on their Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch. As per their usually behavior, the Twins were laughing the whole way, making Astrid worry about what they were doing on their own!
"So…find anything?" asked Hiccup almost afraid at the answer. Hiccup realized he probably should have sent someone with the twins to keep them in check!
"Well…we went near Outcast Island like you said to. Nothing on the island or around it, by the way." explained Ruffnut, in a bored tone. Unless it involved explosions or battle, the Twins usually were not excited about any mission they were sent on.
"But on the way back…" started Tuffnut, pausing for dramatic effect. The silence continued on for about one or two minutes.
"Well!" exclaimed Astrid, a little sick of the silence.
"Oh," said Tuffnut, apparently he had forgotten he was talking about something, "but we saw, on the way back…Trader Johan! We did a little…sprits and boom while he wasn't looking! The look on his face was hilarious!" Tuffnut and Ruffnut began laughing in the rather obnoxious way they always did after a prank.
"Is Trader Johan…?" asked Hiccup nervously. He and Trader Johan had developed something of a friendship in the trader's many trips to Berk. He always managed to bring Hiccup a fresh batch of squid ink nearly every time they met. Not to mention Trader Johan was a friend of the whole village!
"What kind of monsters do you take us for?!" asked Tuffnut in an offended tone, "We just gave him a little scare! Trust me, we made sure!" Tuffnut and Ruffnut usually weren't that careful when it came to their pranks, which usually cause some unintentional damage. Hiccup believed that this time, however, the Twins really did try to be careful.
"Alright, just need to wait for Snotlout and Fishlegs and we figure out what to do next." stated Hiccup. It was expected that Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare would be the next to arrive. While Snotlout had the slight longer patrol, Fishlegs and his Gronkle were well known as the slowest of all the dragons. This time, however…
"Hey guys!" Fishlegs shouted while he was still a fair distances away. Surprisingly, Meatlug was hovering slowly towards the gang! The Gronkle had a problem moving fast because of her small wings (which fluttering almost as fast as a hummingbird just to keep it aloft). It did allow the Gronkle to land with remarkable precision, allowing Fishlegs to report directly to Hiccup, "The cost was clear on Dragon Island…you know except for the dragons! Though I guess if the coast really was clear, than we might have to worry! Or would that just mean the dragons were somewhere else! Or maybe…"
"Alright Fishlegs! We get the idea!" exclaimed Hiccup, stopping Fishlegs' roundabout report before asking, "Hey Fishlegs, did you see Snotlout on your way over here? He usually…well…"
"Beats here? No I didn't see him! Though he could have just gone further out to sea!" said Fishlegs, both excited for beating Snotlout back and a little worried. Snotlout had a tendency of performing risky maneuvers to impress or out show the others, specifically Astrid!
"Look, we'll wait another few moments, than Astrid and I will go over Snotlout's route and see what happen." stated Hiccup wearily. Hiccup hoped Snotlout had not done anything stupid…though he didn't count on it! It was really annoying how often Snotlout overestimated his own abilities! It got him and the gang more often than it should!
"Hey looks like old Snotty coming in for a landing!" exclaimed Tuffnut while putting towards the sky. Indeed, Snotlout and Hookfang were coming in for a landing…rather awkwardly! It seemed that Snotlout had been pushing Hookfang to ride without rest again! This got the other a little worried (except the Twins, they were just looking forward to Snotlout's epic crash)!
Crashing more than landing, Hookfang slide across the ground from the platform into the former dragon-fighting arena turned classroom! The others rushed in, Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs to see if Snotlout and Hookfang were alright, while the Twins wanted to get a better look at the 'carnage!' Inside they saw that Hookfang had finally landed in a flop on the ground, while Snotlout had been sent flying into the chalkboard Hiccup had set up! Normally hilarious, everyone save the Twins held back on the laughter until they could get answers from Snotlout!
"Snotlout what the Hel happened!" asked Astrid rather derisively. Snotlout was known for doing a lot of stupid things and this did not look any different! However, rather than respond to Astrid's taunt, Snotlout struggled to his feet with a look of…terror on his face! Snotlout was not the type to allow his fear to show fear to anything!
That's why Hiccup stepped forward and asked, "What did you see Snotlout? Was it…Dagur?" As stated previous, an attack from Dagur and his combined Outcast/Bezerker forces was expected. Dagur the Deranged was obsessed with the destruction of Berk and more specifically, Hiccup and Toothless. Which is why they were surprised when Snotlout shook his head!
So Hiccup asked, "Was it…the Screaming Death?" Next to Dagur, the Screaming Death, a huge white specimen of the subspecies of Whispering Death, was the biggest danger to Berk. Born out of one of Alvin the Treacherous' schemes to conquer Berk, the Screaming Death had an instinct to destroy the place of it birth…in this case Berk! One of the largest and most powerful dragons the Berkians had ever come across, a dragon anyone would be afraid to face…which is why it was puzzling when Snotlout again shook his head!
"Then…what did you see?" asked Hiccup being unable to think of any other threat Snotlout could have come across. Snotlout looked left to right, as if expecting a spy to be listening in, and then motioned for Hiccup to lean in closer. Hiccup did so, as did the other riders. When Snotlout had his head next to Hiccups ear, Snotlout gave his answer,
"ROMANS!"
Before promptly 'passing out' leaving the riders confused, and Hiccup with a sore ear!
Disclaimer: I don't own Dreamworks Dragons: Defenders of Berk. I truly wished I did! For those of you who have read my previous work in other categories, thank you for your loyalty. For new readers, welcome! This is my first attempt at How to Train Your Dragon, so be honest in your reviews (just no flames please)! This will mostly take place after "A View to a Skrill" though I might place information from the following episodes in the story as I see fit. I should be able to put up the next chapter soon, so read and review!