I'm not going to say I called it, but...no, never mind, I called it.

"I'm going back out. Don't follow me or tell my dad," Hiccup tells us. He stands in front of us from where we sit near the ocean. I'm settled in between Fishlegs and Ruffnut, leaning against a post.

"What are you looking for again?" Snotlout asks.

"I saw something, a rider," Hiccup reminds him. "Thora saw him too."

"Right, and you're sneaking out against your dad's wishes to find him," Tuffnut says, flicking something off of his finger.

"A potentially dangerous dragon hunter," Astrid adds.

"I'll be fine," Hiccup says. "I'm trusting you guys."

He gives us a few more pointed looks before he takes off. We watch as Toothless gallops to his side, he mounts, and they take off. The remaining six of us exchange nervous glances.

"Something tells me that the strange rider isn't Drago," I say. "He sure didn't look like Stoick's description."

"You'd know best." Astrid shrugs.

We hang around, playing small games and such to keep us occupied. I feel antsy. None of us want Hiccup to get caught, and because of the dragon lockdown, we're a bit grounded. We wait for what feels like a tiny eternity. Nothing happens that's out of the ordinary.

"He hasn't noticed. I think we're all clear," Fishlegs says.

"WHERE'S HICCUP?" a familiar voice booms, seeming to shake the entire village.

"Spoke too soon." Astrid grimaces.

"Crap, crap, crap," I mumble, running my fingers through my auburn bangs.

Stoick appears from around a corner near where we are and strides to us. He's fuming, his face grim. It's like he's already challenging us to try something.

"Alright. Where is he?" he demands.

"Who?" I ask, pulling the best innocent face I can.

"Hiccup. Where is he?"

"Maybe he's sleeping. At home," Astrid suggests sweetly.

"He isn't. I checked." Stoick fastens his hard stare on Fishlegs. "You don't know anything about this? Do you?"

I can see beads of sweat appearing on Fishlegs' forehead. Stoick keeps glaring at him. All of us hold our breath, hoping that the rotund Viking will keep his mouth shut.

"He went after Drago," he blurts, snapping under the pressure.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut smack their foreheads in unison.

"That boy doesn't listen!" Stoick bellows. "Gobber! We have to round up Hiccup again!"

He storms off. We all turn to Fishlegs once he's out of sight.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't handle it!" he says, wiping his face.

The sound of two sets of leathery wings are heard and the figures of Stoick and Gobber can be seen flying away into the sky.

"I don't like it," I say.

"Me neither. We should be helping," Astrid insists.

"I don't like it either. Eret, son of Eret was the man of my dreams. My everything!" Ruffnut moans.

"But, baby, I grew facial hair for you," Snotlout says.

Fishlegs strokes his peach fuzz beard; meek and dejected. "Me too."

"You guys need to quit it," Tuffnut grumbles.

"What if Drago shot them down? What if they need our help?" I ask. "Let's go look for them."

"What? But Stoick said..." Fishlegs starts nervously.

"It doesn't matter what he said if they've all been captured," Astrid defends me. "Thora is right."

"We'll be there to help him confront Drago," I add.

"Are you insane?" Fishlegs asks.

"No. I'm a Viking." I flash a smile, not showing any teeth. "Come on, you wimps."

"Hey! No one calls me a wimp!" Snotlout says, punching my arm.

"If it means I get to see Eret again, I'm in," Ruffnut says, grinning slyly.

We hop on our dragons and take off. I scan the landscape as we fly, seeing nothing but clouds and churning waters. We move fast, gaining ground with the efficiency needed.

Eret's boat waits in almost the same spot as before, thankfully. I can hear him grumbling and yelling as we get closer. He walks around the deck, swinging his muscular arms with rage.

Quick as a wink, Nightstar swoops down and grabs him before spiralling back into the sky. Eret screams and clings to her paws. Nets whiz past us as we rocket out of range.

"What is this?!" Eret demands.

"A kidnapping," I answer.

Ruffnut grabs his leg, clutching him possessively as Barf and Belch sweep closer to us.

"Yay! Can he ride with me? Can he? Can he?" she pleads.

Both Eret and Tuffnut groan in protest.

"You're gonna show us the way to Drago," Astrid says as she pulls up alongside him.

"And help dragon riders sneak into Drago's camp? Just kill me now," he snaps.

"That can be arranged," I say, smirking. "Nightstar, drop it."

Nightstar grins, pops open her claws, and sends Eret plummeting. He wails and flails as he hurtles towards the ice far below.

"Good girl!" I praise. "Nightstar, fetch."

She dives after him, just as enthusiastically as before.

"ALRIGHT! OKAY! I'LL TAKE YOU TO DRAGO!" Eret wails.

Nightstar snatches him out of his free-fall just before hitting the ice. I giggle and crack my knuckles, wiggling my fingers as I take a deep breath.

"Hey Astrid! It does work every time!" I holler to her.

Astrid grins. "Told you!"

We keep flying. Nightstar passes Eret to Stormfly, despite the trapper's protests. Astrid takes the lead, following Eret's directions. We approach a cluster of tabular icebergs, collapsed against each other at the mouth of a maze. Stormfly drops Eret to the snow. Before he can flee, she lands on top of him and nests like a hen with her egg.

"Agh! Okay! I got you here, now get this thing off me!" he demands.

"Never take a toy from a dragon," Astrid says.

"Don't you know anything?" I add, clicking my tongue as I rest a hand on my waist.

Stormfly crushes him in place under her weight.

"Gah! Why does this keep happening to me?" he cries out, strained.

Astrid and I climb up to the ledge with the others trailing behind us. Once we reach the top, we see a massive fleet of ships moored together like a floating camp in the deep water between the collided icebergs. Thick chains run deep into the water, where great blasts of bubbles erupt on the surface. The unseen creature rocks the ships, and I swallow nervously. Whatever creature is making those bubbles must be gargantuan.

"What's down there?" Astrid asks.

Fishlegs rifles through some note cards contained in his belt pouch.

"Large diameter bubbles, massive lungs, cold water deep dweller...I'm thinking class five leviathan, maybe six," he concludes.

Suddenly, Nightstar lets out a noise of distress. Stormfly takes flight, releasing Eret in the process. I spin towards my dragon just in time to see blow darts whiz through the air, hitting them. The effect is immediate. They fall to the ground, unconscious.

"Nightstar!" I shout, trying to run to my beloved companion.

Eret springs to his feet and draws his blades. Only then do we find ourselves surrounded by soldiers camouflaged in polar bear furs and poised to fire darts. We're hopelessly outnumbered. Fishlegs raises his hands, dropping the cards in a rain of paper.

We are tied up and forcibly led down to the dock near the flotilla of boats. Snotlout and Astrid are on either side of me, with Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs behind. I look around, seeing no sign of Hiccup or Toothless.

What I do see is a hulking figure draped in a black dragon skin cloak. He crouches over the prow of the fleet's grisly flagship, which is adorned in massive dragon bones and skulls. His scarred face is masked by thick, grizzled dreadlocks, and his chin is lined with a thin black beard. His wide mouth is set in a scowl, and he wears armour, especially on his left arm.

A sledge loaded with Nightstar, Hookfang, Meatlug, Belch and Barf, all still unconscious, is dragged onto the deck by armoured dragons.

"DRAGO!" Eret calls. Drago turns to look at us. Eret shakes himself free from the guards surrounding him. "Get off me!" he snaps as he looks to the dragon sledges. "Always great to see you, my friend! Keeping warm up here?" The soldiers disarm him, pushing him forward as Drago approaches. "Well, as you can see, I'm right on time with a new batch of dragons, just like I promised."

Hookfang awakens, groggily shaking off the effect of the blow-dart. He rears as soldiers struggle to rein him in.

"Watch out!" one soldier warns "He's waking up! Keep him steady!"

"Give me some backup here!" a second hollers.

"Drop the ropes," Drago commands, his voice gravelly and deep.

They do so. Hookfang bucks and roars, chasing off the soldiers, then focusing on Drago as he closes in. The armoured dragons avert their eyes and cower as he passes.

Hookfang hisses a warning, but the man approaches, undaunted. The Monstrous Nightmare spits a blast of fire at him. In a blur, Drago wraps himself in his dragon skin cloak. The fire splatters against the fireproof scales, enveloping him in dripping flames as he persists forward without missing a step. As the blast ends, Drago drops the cloak, closing in and holding a cold stare. Hookfang lets out a ferocious roar.

Drago yells back with a fierce, savage scream, interrupting Hookfang and causing him to recoil. Drago whirls his bull-hook overhead and stabs it into the deck planks. The dragon stirs, his aggression fading in the face of Drago's show of dominance.

After a moment, Hookfang averts his eyes and lowers his head in submission. Drago places his boot upon Hookfang's snout, pressing it into the deck planks.

"No! Hookfang!" Snotlout yells. One of our guards smacks the back of his head, shutting him up.

"What are you doing?" Tuffnut demands.

"Yeah!" Ruffnut adds.

"You belong to me now," Drago growls down at the dragon.

I look to my companions, and we all wear the same look of shock and disbelief.

"And as an added bonus, I also caught you their riders. No extra charge," Eret cuts in, smiling nervously.

"What?!" Astrid screeches.

"You were so perfect..." Ruffnut whines.

Drago's cold eyes travel to the saddles on Hookfang, Meatlug, and lastly, Nightstar's backs.

"A Night Fury?" he asks, shocked.

"Oh yeah! Now that's a real catch," Eret comments, patting Nightstar's shoulder. I growl, making one of the guards smack the back of my head. "Turns out, there's a whole bunch of them out there. They-"

In a flash, Drago steps toward Eret and seizes him by the throat.

"How many?" he demands.

As Eret chokes, stammering, Astrid whispers to us, "Drago doesn't have them after all."

"HOW MANY?!" Drago yells.

"Hundreds! A whole island full!" Astrid answers.

His grip tightens around Eret's neck as he turns to her.

"I wouldn't worry about it. My men are hunting them down as we speak. They won't know where you're hiding. I promise you that," Eret wheezes.

Astrid nods a covert signal to us. I smirk.

"Oh, yes they will!" she exclaims.

Drago drops Eret as Astrid advances, staring Drago down. Eret tries to signal her to stop, but it's no use.

"They know we're missing and they have tracking dragons. If you so much as touch us, Hiccup is gonna kick-" she threatens.

"Hiccup?" Drago interrupts.

"He's not a problem. Really. Trust me," Eret pleads.

"He's only the son of Stoick the Vast..." I add, a coy smile on my freckled face.

Drago's eyes narrow upon hearing Stoick's name. Astrid shoots me a "Good job" look.

"His heir to the throne of Berk!" Tuffnut yells.

"And the greatest dragon master this world has ever seen!" Astrid finishes.

"Dragon master? I alone control the dragons!" Drago insists.

"Nope," Snotlout says.

"Sorry!" Fishlegs apologizes.

"And unless you let us go, right now, he will blast through here on his other Night Fury and blow your entire fleet of ships to splinters!" I yell.

Drago turns to Eret again. "There's not only one, but TWO NIGHT FURIES?!"

"Uh...uh..." the raven-haired trapper sputters, his face red.

"Then they'll be crying like babies!" Ruffnut adds, taking the attention off of Eret.

"Funny and beautiful," Snotlout compliments.

"Good one, babe!" Fishlegs giggles.

Ruffnut groans, exasperated by their smarmy advances.

"Yeah. Like babies. They always cry. Real tiny ones..." Tuffnut sticks his tongue out.

Drago grabs Eret by the face and bears down on him.

"First there was one rider, and now all of Berk," he snarls. "And you led them to me!"

He throws Eret across the deck. I wince, feeling a twinge of sympathy towards the man.

"Drago!" Eret exclaims in fear.

"CEASE ALL PREPARATIONS! WE MUST ATTACK THE DRAGON RIDER'S NEST AT ONCE!" he bellows. He pauses, savouring the moment. "WE WILL TAKE DOWN THEIR ALPHA...AND THEN WE WILL TAKE BERK!"

Soldiers cheer in the thousands, rumbling through the icy cave as though Thor himself sent thunder through the area.

"You're overreacting!" Eret shouts.

Drago points to the trapper. "And get rid of him."

"Drago, please..." he pleads.

The soldiers hurl throwing knives at Eret. Before they hit, Stormfly lands in a blur of wings, shielding Eret from the flurry of blades. She whips her tail, throwing spikes in all directions.

"STORMFLY!" Astrid squeals.

Stormfly roars protectively, hiding Eret within her wings. A well-blown dart sinks into her neck, bringing her down and revealing Eret, gawking in shock.

"No!" Astrid cries.

Drago looks to us, a grotesque smile flickering across his scarred face. I can't help but gulp.