We reach Eret's boat before long. We hear them yelling to each other, readying their cannons frantically. I smirk. We're ready for them this time.

Nets fly through the air. Hiccup and I outmaneuver them and dive towards the ship, landing on the deck with a clatter. Eret walks over with a little bit of a swing in his step.

"And here I was worried we might turn up empty-handed," he comments.

"Nope. It's your lucky day," Hiccup says, holding up his hands. "We give up." Eret's crew exchanges confused stares. I sigh and raise my hands too. "That's two Night Furies; a real rarity, might I add. And..." He dismounts Toothless and tosses a net over my head. "...two of the finest dragon riders west of Luk Tuk. That oughta make the boss happy, right?"

I fight back a blush at his compliment about my dragon riding. He takes my knife, hands it to Eret, and escorts me past the men to the open holding cell in the bottom of the ship.

"Excuse us," he says, flashing them a smile. He glances back to me. "Ladies first."

"I'm trusting you right now, you realize that?" I ask in a soft tone.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

I climb down the ladder into the darkness of the cell. He follows. Toothless and Nightstar try to follow us, but Hiccup holds him back.

"Toothless, stay," he orders calmly. He looks to Eret and his trappers. "The dragons don't really care for cramped spaces, so they'll just hang out with you. They won't be any trouble."

Hiccup flips the latch, lowering the grate as Eret watches, confounded. Eret's men nervously point their weapons at our two dragons. They snarl.

"Unless you do that," Hiccup adds. "Wooden boat, big ocean. How's your swimming?"

"Not good..." one guy says sadly.

A burst of flame erupts from the cell, causing both me and the crewmen to jump back. Hiccup thrusts his Dragon Blade through the grate.

"Oops. Almost forgot. Can't have armed prisoners!" he says cheerfully. He retracts the blade and offers it up. A crewman cautiously takes it, looking it over. The pommel of the hilt expels green gas as he examines it. "Just what every dragon trapper needs. One end coats the blade in Monstrous Nightmare saliva. The other sprays Hideous Zippleback gas. All it takes is a spark and..." A curious crewman clicks the lighter, igniting the gas. Hiccup and I duck as the sudden explosion sweeps over the deck. "Oh, yeah, there you go!"

"Great going," I call.

Toothless and Nightstar paw at the embers, their eyes wide and rather adorable.

"Once they see you as one of their own, even the testiest dragons can be trained, right bud?" Hiccup asks.

Toothless gurgles and falls over. Nightstar paws his tummy playfully.

"Give me that!" Eret demands. He snatches the Dragon Blade and hurls it overboard. Nightstar perks up and dashes after it. "What game are you playing?"

"No game. We just want to meet Drago," Hiccup answers.

Nightstar returns in a flash, dropping the weapon at Eret's feet like a fetching dog, tongue wagging. Eret throws it, frustrated. She returns with it just as quickly.

"Why?" Eret asks.

"Because I'm going to change his mind about dragons." Hiccup lifts the grate and steps out, looking confident.

Eret and his crew laugh loudly. I poke my head out, smiling pleasantly.

"He can be really persuasive," I add.

Hiccup pets Toothless thoughtfully. "Once you've earned his loyalty, there is nothing a dragon won't do for you."

"Puh!" Eret scoffs. "You won't be changing any minds around here."

"I can change yours. Right here. Right now." My fellow dragon rider sets Toothless' tail in the locked, splayed position. Eret sneers, suspicious. Hiccup holds his hand out to the trapper. "May I?"

Suddenly, Hiccup is snatched into the air. Dragons blur past far above us, making Nightstar shriek in surprise.

The crewmen scramble to the net cannons as the dragons streak past, puncturing holes in the sails and slicing through rigging. I climb out of the cell, petting Nightstar soothingly.

"Dragon riders!" Eret screams.

Toothless shrieks and bounds up the mast. The three of us look up, spotting Hiccup in the talons of a Monstrous Nightmare. I relax when I see that it's Hookfang.

"Guys! What are you doing?" I hear Hiccup yell.

"Saving you!" Astrid responds.

There's shouting coming from all around. I look up at the twins, who I can plainly hear over everything else.

"Aggh! What is with all the nets?!" Tuffnut shouts.

"Hey, watch it! That was close..." Ruffnut trails off and stares down at the deck, right at Eret, who's firing nets from the deck of the ship.

She suddenly goes slack and throws her arms in the air as a net envelopes her and Barf's head. Barf squeals angrily as Tuffnut tries to steer Belch away.

Hiccup flips upside-down in Hookfang's talons and kicks off, pulling something and making wing-suit flaps appear. My mouth falls open in surprise. Eret takes aim, but I leap forwards and shove him, throwing off the shot.

"Don't you dare," utter.

Hiccup glides unsteadily towards the ship and collides with its sail. He slides down the canvas and drops to the deck. Toothless lands behind him.

"What are you guys doing here?!" he demands as the others land on the boat.

Gobber and his Hotburple, Grump, land on the deck, scattering Eret's crew.

"We're here to rescue you!" he announces.

"We don't need to be rescued!" Hiccup insists.

"ENOUGH!" Stoick bellows from the sky.

The bow dips heavily as Stoick touches down on his large Rumblehorn, Skullcrusher. He dismounts, fuming. Eret blocks him, looking cocky and confident.

"Well, didn't you just pick the wrong ship, eh? I am Eret, son of-" he starts.

Stoick shoves him aside by his face, sending him right into Grump. Before he can react, Gobber clubs him on the head, sending him collapsing to the deck. Grump then sits on him, smothering him into submission. Ruffnut immediately collapses onto her stomach and stares at him dreamily.

"Get...this...thing...off...me!" Eret wheezes.

Gobber turns to the other crewmen with a smile. "Anyone else?" Eret's men eye us, armed and flanked by our dragons. They set down their swords. "That's what I figured."

Stoick glares at Hiccup and I as we stand, flanked by our Night Furies.

"You two are in big trouble." He points to us. "Saddle up. We're going home."

"Dad, this is all my fault. Don't blame Thora," Hiccup says.

Stoick looks at me and sighs. "We're going back to Berk. Come on," he orders. "I expected better from you."

I feel my shoulders droop, hating how I'm being treated like a disobedient child. Hiccup glances my way before looking back at his dad.

"No."

Stoick spins to look at him again. "Of all the irresponsible-"

"I'm trying to protect our dragons and stop a war! How is that irresponsible?" he demands.

"Because war is what he wants, son!" Hiccup glares at his dad, frustrated. Stoick sighs. "Years ago, there was a great gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced. Into our midst came a stranger from a strange land, covered in scars and draped in a cloak of dragon skin. He carried no weapon and spoke softly, saying that he, Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people, devoted to freeing mankind from the tyranny of dragons. He claimed that he alone could control the dragons and that he alone could keep us safe, if we chose to bow down and follow him."

Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins snicker.

"Stupid," Ruffnut says.

"Good one," Tuffnut adds.

"Aye. We laughed too," Stoick says sadly. "Until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried out, 'Then see how well you do without me!' The rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and from it, armoured dragons descended, burning the hall to the ground." His eyes seem to reflect the stinging pain of the memory. "I...was to only one to escape." We exchange spooked glances. Stoick looks to his son. "Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with."

"Maybe," Hiccup responds, deadpan.

"Everyone back on your dragons. Let's go," Stoick commands.

They nod and shuffle to their mounts. I walk over to Ruffnut, who's still lying on the deck of the ship, fondling Eret's biceps.

"Ruff...come on," I say, my voice toneless and flat.

"Ugh, fine..." She pauses, looking down at Eret. "I still love you," she whispers, kissing her fingers and trying to touch his lips. He grimaces and shakes his head as she succeeds.

We take off into the sky. Hiccup trails behind everyone, looking determined. I slow Nightstar down and glide beside him.

"You're still gonna try, aren't you?" I ask.

"Yup."

"You're as stubborn as any Viking." I smirk.

He smirks too, and we continue on in silence, the group pulling far ahead of us.

Something moves and I catch it out of the corner of my eye. From what Hiccup's reaction is, he saw it too. A four-winged dragon can be seen just above the clouds, a figure riding on its back. The figure holds a staff, wearing an outfit of black and blue wood and cloth. We slow down, treading air. The figure and the strange dragon dip below the cloud cover, unfazed.

"What, or who, is that?" Hiccup asks, spurring Toothless towards them.

"Hiccup, you can't go now," I say. "Your dad will just drag you back."

Toothless stops and both boys look back at me with sadness in their eyes.

"Fine. You're right." Hiccup sighs.

Even as we keep moving towards Berk, I can just tell that he isn't going to let it go that easily.