My Little Dragons: Book 2: Riders of Berk

Dragon Training begins and ends with trust. Both the dragon's and the Rider's. So it was no surprise that on this particular afternoon, Hiccup and Zenna decided to take their friends and their dragons out of the Academy to do an extreme version of the Trust Fall Exercise with their dragons.

Hiccup and Zenna both smiled contentedly as they fell through the air, lying on their backs and the ocean rapidly approaching as they continued their descent. Flipping themselves over to face the oncoming water, both teens patiently waited

Just as they were inches away from the frigid ocean, Toothless and Stryka swooped in and caught them on their backs. "Nice catch, bud. A little close…"Hiccup praised his trusty one tail finned Night Fury. "Good job, girl. You always come through for me." Zenna smiled at her one eyed Night Fury. Both Toothless and Stryka crooned in pleasure and soared up into the clouds.

Joining their other Dragon Rider friends, Hiccup and Zenna simultaneously voted on the next one to try the Extreme Trust Fall-Fishlegs Ingerman and his female Gronckle, Meatlug.

"It's your turn. Jump!" Hiccup coaxed the chubby blond Viking. Fishlegs, however, remained on the saddle.

"I don't want to jump! I…" he managed to protest before Hiccup told him, "You have to believe she's gonna catch you! It's a trust exercise."

"You and Meatlug can do it! Just trust each other." Zenna encouraged the husky Viking teen. "I like to do my trusting on the ground, thank you very much!" Fishlegs squeaked nervously.

"Like this, chicken-legs." Snotlout Jorgenson said pointedly and, with a whoop of excitement, slid off of his Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang, and fell.

Seconds passed…and Hookfang made no move to dive down after his Rider.

"So…should we mention something to Hookfang?" Tuffnut Thorston asked while sitting on Belch, his half of the Hideous Zippleback he and his sister shared.

"Let me sleep on it." Ruffnut Thorston, Tuff's twin sister, said nonchalantly.

"I think Snotlout's gonna hit the rocks instead of the water." Zenna observed, seeing the rock spires jutting out from the ocean near the cliffs.

Astrid on her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, then shouted to Snotlout's dragon, "Hookfang! Get him!"

Hookfang lazily turned his gaze to his Rider. "Not feeling the trust!" Snotlout was screaming as he hurtled down towards uncertain doom! Panicking, Hookfang quickly dove down to catch him, which he did. Now the only problem was that they were going too fast to maneuver properly!

"AH! Coming in too hot! AHH!" Snotlout yelled as they crashed through a house's roof.

And Hiccup and Zenna both saw that it was Mildew's house.

"Holy Shields Snotlout, get out of there quick…" Zenna muttered, feeling both annoyed by the black haired bruiser's stupidity and worried for his and his dragon's safety.

Back in Mildew's house, Snotlout and Hookfang were recovering from their crash. Once he managed to refocus, Snotlout nervously looked around the house until his gaze landed on…

"Mildew!" Snotlout gulped once he saw the old coot scowling at him. Immediately getting on Hookfang, Snotlout high tailed it out of the old Viking's house and caused even more damage to the roof.

Mildew glared at the fleeing teen. "You'll pay for this!" he yelled at the Dragon Riders and their dragons. Fungus, Mildew's pet sheep, merely bleated.

As their friends flew with them, Hiccup and Zenna worriedly looked at each other. "Ohh…something tells me we're gonna hear about this…" Hiccup mumbled, already imagining how steamed his father, Stoick the Vast, was gonna be. "Thanks a lot, Snot." Zenna said sarcastically, glaring at Snotlout with her one violet eye. "It wasn't my fault!" Snotlout protested, only to get his butt nearly burned by Hookfang.

That evening in Hiccup's house, Hiccup and Zenna looked at the piece of wood Stoick had set down on the table in front of them, along with a hammer and some nails that Edgar and Henna, Zenna's parents, had placed as well.

"Shingle again? Didn't we have roofing material for dinner last night?" Hiccup said jokingly, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Hammer and nails again, Mom and Dad? That's the fifth time this week." Zenna tried to joke around as well.

But there was no denying the fact that both teens' parents were upset.

"It was an accident, Dad. I'm sure Mildew's making it sound worse than it is." Hiccup said in defense. "That's what he usually does whenever he wants to complain about something." Zenna chimed in.

"A dragon and a huge, obnoxious boy crashed through his roof…twice!" Stoick said sternly. "Well, sure, it sounds bad if you're gonna…stick to the facts." Hiccup mumbled sheepishly.

"And while it was only Snotlout's fault, Zen, it is also partially yours and Hiccup's as well." Edgar told his daughter. "Can't you and Hiccup get him to listen to you two, love?" Henna asked Zenna. "Mom, Dad, trust me. Trying to get Snotlout to listen is like trying to teach a yak how to lay eggs." Zenna deadpanned, rolling her eye.

Stoick carried on with, "Of all the houses on the island, a dragon had to crash through Mildew's! You two know he hates dragons more than anyone else!" Hiccup sighed a bit. "Eh, Zen and I know…You might wanna talk to him about his attitude." He suggested.

"Or you can ship him off to another tribe. Berk will be a lot better off without him." Zenna piped up, only to get disapproving looks from both Stoick and her parents.

"Listen to me, Hiccup. I gave you and Zenna the responsibility of training those dragons. Everyone knows that! All eyes are upon you two, son. Whatever those beasts do reflects on you two. And whatever you two do reflects on me." Stoick explained to his emerald eyed son.

"It also reflects on the tribe's reputation. Zenna, you and Hiccup need to keep the dragons under control." Henna advised her daughter. "Not to mention some of your fellow Riders." Edgar added, referring to Snotlout and the Twins.

"I'm sorry, Dad. You're right." "Okay Mom and Dad. We will." Hiccup and Zenna both mumbled. "You and your friends are gonna go back to Mildew's and fix that roof. Without your dragons!" Stoick, Henna and Edgar both told the two teens sternly.

Hiccup and Zenna glanced at their Night Furies. "Got a break there, bud." Hiccup told Toothless. "Looks like we won't be spending the whole day flying, girl." Zenna shrugged. Both Night Furies purred. Well, at least they could have some alone time.

When both teens turned to leave, Stoick stopped them along with Edgar. "Ah! Not so fast! Aren't you forgetting something?" Stoick asked Hiccup and then removed his boots.

"It's boot night! They need to be aired out." He handed his son his boots while Edgar handed his own boots to his daughter.

"UGH!" Hiccup and Zenna both gagged at the foul stench.

"I think it's going to take more than…air." Hiccup pinched his nose in attempt to dull his sense of smell.

"You said it…" Zenna grimaced as they both carried their fathers' boots outside. Their friends were also outside as well with boots of their own. And they weren't happy either to do the sickeningly gross task of airing out their parents' boots.

"Uck. I hate boot night!" Fishlegs complained, looking a bit green.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were holding a boot each. And Ruffnut was shoving the left boot she had into her brother's face. "Why is his left foot always so much smellier than his right?" Tuffnut wondered out loud, while trying to swat the boot away.

Astrid remained calm and just simply placed her father's boots out on the doorstep and quickly went back inside.

Zenna then quickly rushed to her house to place her Dad's boots in front of her house. Along the way, she caught sight of Snotlout. The poor Jorgenson boy had the boots with him and the smell was getting to him.

"Oh no…" Snotlout mumbled and promptly lost his lunch and dinner as soon as he had placed Spitelout's boots on the ground.

"You okay, Snotlout?" Zenna called out to him.

"No…" the teen Viking replied weakly.

Sighing, Zenna fetched a bottle of medicine and went to the poor boy to give it to him. After that, she went back to Hiccup's house and wished the Chief and his son and Toothless goodnight before going back home with her parents.

The night slowly grew darker as the snow began to fall. The cold winter air would've done good for the all the boots. But in the morning…every single boot in Berk had disappeared.

Stoick was puzzled to find his boots gone when he woke up. Even Hiccup was scratching his head in bewilderment. He placed the boots right where he usually placed them whenever it was boot night the night before. How could they have disappeared?

"Where are my boots?" Stoick asked and then saw Gobber, Edgar, Bucket, Mulch and a few other Vikings come over, all barefoot.

"Where are your boots?" the Chief asked them. "Nobody knows." Edgar shrugged. "They've all been stolen! Every last one!" Gobber told his old friend.

"Oh! That explains why me feet are so cold." Bucket realized, slow as always. "Who could have done such a thing?" Mulch asked.

Zenna had come with her father and was now looking at Hiccup, confused. Boots couldn't just disappear in the middle of the night. Well, unless they were stolen.

That's when Mildew showed up, also bootless. "All I know is that they left a mighty big footprint." He stated, pointing at a large dragon footprint with his staff.

Fishlegs carefully took a look at it. "Oh! Those are Zippleback tracks. You can tell by the half-moon shaped arches. That's Dragon 101 guys, I don't gotta fill you in on that." He said knowingly.

"I never should've given him Dragon Tracking lessons…" Zenna face palmed, knowing that this sort of info was just what Mildew needed to peg the dragons as the criminals.

Luckily Hiccup thought fast and said, "So a dragon walked through here-a Zippleback, according to my friend, Fishlegs. But that doesn't mean he took everyone's boots."

Mildew then replied with, "Well, there's just one way to find out. Follow the footprints."

Everyone then decided to follow the old man. Hiccup and Zenna just looked at each other, praying that the Zippleback had been a wild one and had already flown off. Because if Mildew proved his theory, the dragons were gonna be in trouble for sure.

The footprints led all the way to the Dragon Academy. Barf and Belch were there, still sleeping, along with a huge pile of chewed up leather boots.

"Oh Odin, no…" Zenna sighed, seeing Mildew's triumphant look. "So there's a bunch of boots piled around a Zippleback. That doesn't mean…" Hiccup managed to say before noticing the villagers' displeased looks.

"Okay, fine, he took the boots." The one-legged teen said in defeat.

Almost immediately, the villagers began to complain.

"How are we supposed to do any work in this weather without our boots?"

"This is outrageous!" a bunch of Vikings grumbled in annoyance.

"Now how long before something's done about these creatures, Stoick? How much more can we stand?!" Mildew shouted to the Chief.

Hiccup and Zenna were about to try diffuse the situation when Gobber stepped in. "Listen to yourselves…My feet are cold! You're Vikings! Everything is cold! I'll fix your boots for yeh. You'll be back to work in no time." He addressed the crowd.

Stoick nodded his thanks. "You all heard Gobber. You'll be getting your boots back as good as new." He told his people.

While the villagers looked comfortable with that, Mildew was not. "That's it? No consequences for these dragons?" he asked Stoick bitterly. "They took our boots, Mildew. The world isn't coming to an end!" Stoick said sternly.

"If it were, the sky would be ablaze and Valhalla would be opening her doors wide open." Edgar chimed in. "Well said, Dad." Zenna agreed with him.

"Oh, don't be so sure. Dragons are wild beasts. There's no telling what else they'll do behind our sleeping backs." Mildew retorted. "Even dragons need to sleep, Mildew. That's what they all do at night too. I highly doubt they'd be up to something in the middle of the night." Zenna told him off, folding her arms across her chest.

Aline however went over to the boots and found some dragon scales that looked to belong to Barf and Belch, but something was off about them. They were sliced off at one end, which was unusual in terms of shedding.

"They don't destroy things on purpose!" Hiccup decided to speak up.

"Dah!" Mildew grumbled, much to Zenna's amusement.

"But you do have a point, Mildew."

At that statement, Zenna gave Hiccup a shocked look while Mildew said, "Uh-whuh?" in confusion.

Hiccup carried on. "They are wild animals. And they need us to keep an eye on them. And rest assured we will do just that!" he proclaimed, standing tall and proud. Then he looked at Barf and Belch, who had just woken up, and realized that their presence wasn't really helping.

"Will you get out of there?" he gently shooed the Zippleback away and turned to the crowd.

"You heard him, everyone. We'll keep a close eye on every dragon and make sure they don't get into any mischief. You can count on us." Zenna said confidently.

Trusting the Chief's son and his one-eyed friend, the crowd dispersed. When everyone had left, Zenna looked at Hiccup. "Just out of curiosity, how exactly are we going to keep an eye over every dragon on Berk?" she asked him.

Hiccup was already one step ahead of her.

"We're going on night patrol." The auburn headed Viking teen told his friends once they had all gathered that afternoon. "Night patrol! I love it!" Tuffnut exclaimed excitedly.

Then he asked, "What is it?" Zenna gave him a look that clearly said, 'You are such an idiot.'

"It's where we patrol…at night. To keep an eye on the dragons. Make sure they don't get blamed for anything." Hiccup explained to his friends.

Fishlegs raised his hand. "Um, have you cleared this with our parents? Because some of us might not be allowed out after a certain hour." He said meekly.

"Not allowed? Or afraaaaid?" Snotlout jeered, getting all up in his face. "Hey! Things happen after dark." Fishlegs told him in annoyance.

"Don't worry, Fishlegs. Hiccup and I made sure to ask permission to all of your parents earlier. They're all fine with the night patrol." Zenna reassured him. Then Hiccup sternly looked at the other Viking teens.

"Guys! We have to do this. You heard Mildew: he wants the dragons banished." He said seriously. "And that's not okay. If we want the dragons to stay, we'll have to make sure that they aren't blamed for any transgressions of the law." Zenna added, confusing Snotlout and the Twins on the word 'transgressions' but didn't really care to explain the meaning.

The Twins immediately got excited. "Permission to shoot first and ask questions later?" Ruffnut requested eagerly. "Permission to skip the question?" Tuffnut joined in. "Both requests denied!" Zenna told them, miffed.

"We're just patrolling! No one is shooting anyone!" Hiccup reminded the mischievous duo. "I have a question! What's fun about that?" Tuffnut asked, already feeling bored.

"It's not supposed to be fun. It's a "Hiccup" Idea." Astrid told him. "Exactly." Hiccup said in agreement.

Then he realized what Astrid truly meant. "What?" he asked Astrid in confusion while Zenna merely laughed. "I totally agree with you, Astrid." The one-eyed girl giggled along with everyone else.

That night, the seven Viking teens split up to perform their night patrol. Astrid confidently strode to a house nearby and knocked.

"Hello sir!" she greeted the person who answered her door before looking up and noticed that it was a hungry Viking woman instead of a man who had answered her knock.

"Ah, ummm, ah—ma'm." Astrid corrected herself before continuing. "My name is Astrid and I'm with the Dragon United Monitoring Brigade." She said and showed her the sash bearing the group's acronym, which unfortunately spelt…

"Dumb?" the Viking woman asked her. "Yes. That is correct. Not my idea…" Astrid sighed, wondering why Hiccup chose such a stupid name for the group. But then she remembered the group's purpose and straightened up.

"But it is easy to remember. If you have any dragon-related problems, contact us. Just cup a hand on either side of your mouth and at the top of your lungs yell-" the blonde shield maiden managed to say before the woman just slammed the door in her face, clearly not interested.

"Dumb." Astrid deadpanned in defeat.

Meanwhile, Snotlout and Hookfang were doing their patrol. Something moved in the shadows, catching Snotlout's eye.

"Halt! Who goes there!" the Jorgenson boy called out. "Take a wild guess." Gobber answered back, making himself visible.

"I don't think I like your attitude." Snotlout frowned, strolling up to the blacksmith. "Right back at yeh." Gobber fired back. "Yeah…but I'm the one with the sash." Snotlout reminded him, puffing his chest out. "Let me take a closer look at that." Gobber yanked on the sash to inspect it, despite Snotlout's protests.

What the two didn't notice was Hookfang sneaking off to Odin knows where…

"Dumb. Well that suits you." Gobber remarked, looking at the acronym. Snotlout huffed, feeling annoyed. "Okay, I think we're done here." He said, turning to where Hookfang was earlier. But upon seeing that his Monstrous Nightmare was gone, Snotlout groaned and hastened to go look for him.

In another part of the village, Fishlegs cautiously patrolled. Suddenly a small noise startled him. "Oh! What was that?" Fishlegs whispered to himself, already scared.

Just then, another noise came from who knows where! This time it was loud enough to send the chubby Ingerman running and screaming in fright. Little did he know that the noise was just the Twins playing around, as usual.

"Whoa…" The Twins both breathed out, amazed at how well their little prank had gone before looking at each other and asked at the same time, "Did you see me scare him?"

That then started an argument between the two of them.

"No, I scared him!" Ruffnut told her brother.

"No, I scared him!" Tuffnut shot back.

"No, me!"

"No, no, no!"

Ruffnut then chose this time to attack!

"Hey! Ugh!" the male Thorston griped and began to throw punches as well.

"It was me! I did it!" Ruffnut shrieked at him. "Clearly me!" Tuffnut retorted. Barf and Belch just looked at each other and shook their heads, clearly not amused by their Riders' antics.

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna and Stryka were patrolling the town from up above. Stryka crooned, happy to stretch her wings alongside her mate on this beautiful moonlit night.

"Not one dragon out misbehaving, Hiccup." Zenna reported after scanning the whole area. Hiccup looked at Toothless who was also enjoying the cool evening air.

"Well, Mildew will be happy to know what dragons do at night: they sleep like everyone else." He told his best dragon friend happily.

"And he says that we can't keep dragons under control." Zenna smiled at the duo before frowning.

"What is it, Zenna?" Hiccup asked worriedly. The one eyed girl decided to be honest. "Can we please change the name Dragon United Monitoring Brigade to Berk Watch?" Zenna pleaded.

"What's wrong with D.U.M.B.?" Hiccup asked stupidly but then realized the blunder when Zenna give him a deadpan look.

"Ohhh…right…Berk Watch does sound a lot better, now that you mention it…" Hiccup said awkwardly. "It most definitely does." Zenna lightly laughed before they flew their separate ways to get some much needed rest.

But then, in the middle of the night…something happened in the Great Hall…

Hiccup was awoken by Zenna's panicked voice coming from outside his bedroom window.

"Hiccup! Hicc! Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, will you for the love of Thor, WAKE UP!"

Yawning, Hiccup lazily got out of bed and went to his window. Zenna was impatiently tapping her foot, Stryka at her side, looking frazzled.

"Morning to you too, Zen…What's up?" the emerald eyed teen mumbled sleepily. "The Great Hall's been thrashed! That's what's up!" Zenna exclaimed exasperatedly.

The one eyed girl's words immediately woke Hiccup fully. "We'll be down there in a few minutes!" he called out to her before leaving to wake up Toothless and his father.

Soon in the Great Hall, Stoick, Henna, Edgar, Hiccup, Zenna and the rest of the Viking teens were surveying the damage. And the damage was plenty. Posts were covered in claw marks, tapestries were ripped to shreds…yep, the Great Hall had definitely been thrashed.

"Oh dear…" Henna murmured, sadly looking at the ruined tapestries. She had even helped make some of them and now they were destroyed. "It's alright, love. There'll be plenty more wonderful tapestries for you to make for this place." Edgar comforted her.

"Who could have done such a thing?" Stoick wondered out loud. "Oh, it looks like a dragon to me!" Fishlegs piped up, inspecting a post that was covered in claw marks.

"We don't know for sure, Fishlegs!" Hiccup said, worried that his friend's extensive dragon knowledge would worsen suspicions on the dragons. "Sure we do. Look at this claw marks. It was obviously a Monstrous Nightmare. The spacing of the talons is dead on." The husky Ingerman informed him, completely oblivious to his friends' distress.

"Once again, thank you, Fishlegs!" Hiccup said begrudgingly. "Oh, stop, it's just basic stuff." Fishlegs said, a little embarrassed at the praise he was getting.

"He is so naïve…" Zenna said, shaking her head.

"Hey... look at this!" Aline called and the group went over a saw fainted bootprints along with scorch marks in the shape of circles going in a zig zag line.

"What kind of dragon made this?" Stoick asked.

"Those bootprints obviously belong to a Viking while the scorch are that of a Singetail. I know them anywhere, which means Nova was in here chasing someone out of the Great Hall.

"Nova?"

"I asked her to keep watch being that she's very territorial." Aline replied. "Well, until we figure out exactly who was in here, Starting tonight, every night, I want all the dragons put in the Academy under lock and key." He told them.

Late in the afternoon, Hiccup, Zenna and the rest of the Dragon Riders had to take their dragons to the Dragon Academy to put them there under lock and key. Thankfully, they were only going to confine them in the ring and not in the cages. Stoick was with Gobber and Zenna's parents when the teens flew over their heads. Serpent and Serpentine, Edgar and Henna's Hideous Zippleback, was obediently following Stryka and Zenna. Catching the adults' gaze, Hiccup and Zenna both gave them saddened looks before continuing on their way to the Academy.

"Oh, I hope Serpent and Serpentine don't have a rough night…" Henna said, worried for the young Zippleback following Stryka like an obedient child in the sky.

"They'll be alright, love. After all, Stryka will be there with them." Edgar reassured her but gave Stoick a look that clearly said that he was also uncomfortable with his decision to lock the dragons up.

"You had to cage the dragons, Stoick. You had no choice." Gobber told his old friend upon seeing the regret on Stoick's face. Stoick heaved a sigh. The old blacksmith was right. If he hadn't done it, Mildew would've stirred up the island and the problem would've worsened. But still…it didn't feel right at all.

"I know. But to Hiccup, when I punish them, I'm punishing him and Zenna." Stoick admitted.

"Yeah, that boy and his best friend both think the dragons can do no wrong." Gobber agreed, feeling sorry for his apprentice and one eyed friend.

"I just hope that he understands that while a father does what's best for his son, a chief must do what's best for the village." Stoick sighed. "You had to make a sacrifice for your people, Stoick. We understand that." Edgar told him.

"I just hope that our children will also understand when the time comes. Especially for Hiccup…" Henna said hopefully.

"I'll bet my right arm that when Hiccup becomes Chief, the first person to officially swear allegiance to him would be Zenna. That girl will follow him to the edge of the world if she has to prove her loyalty!" Gobber said jokingly, making the two Fiersomes laugh.

Stoick had to smile at that. He knew Zenna very well. Where he had failed as a father back then, Zenna was there to fill whatever hole Hiccup had when he was alone and needed someone. The one eyed girl had become his son's rock and had stayed loyal to him from the day they met. In return, Stoick remembered that his son had taken up the role of becoming Zenna's surrogate brother when Elias had died.

No doubt that when the time came for his son to become his successor, Zenna would be by his side…and will stay with Hiccup to the very end.

Meanwhile at the Academy, the seven Viking teens were trying their best to make sure that their dragons were comfy. Zenna and Stryka were busily putting together a bed of soft hay and some blankets while Serpent and Serpentine ate their dinner.

"Sleep, little Meatlug in your bed, where yummy little boulders dance in your head." Fishlegs sang to Meatlug only to get sad growls from his Gronckle, who refused to sleep.

"That usually works! Our whole bedtime routine is upset! She won't even lick my feet, thanks to—" Fishlegs whined miserably before Snotlout cut him off.

"Watch it, Fishlegs! At least my dragon doesn't need a lullaby and a blanky." The Jorgenson boy taunted the husky Ingerman before noticing his friends glaring at him.

"Actually, it's your fault that all our dragons have to sleep in jail." Ruffnut pointed out, upset. "Yeah. You don't see our dragon going on a rampage and wrecking stuff." Tuffnut said in agreement before Barf and Belch promptly knocked down a few barrels.

"Well, not any good stuff." The male Thorston added in defense.

"That still doesn't help our situation, Tuff." Zenna said blandly.

Hiccup, on the other hand, was still thinking hard. "I don't think a dragon wrecked the Great Hall or stole the boots." He said out loud. "You're not the only one, Hicc. Something awfully suspicious is going on." Zenna said in agreement.

"None of us wants to believe it either, Hiccup and Zenna, but you two saw the proof." Astrid told the two as the three of them stood in front of one of the Zippleback prints left behind at the Academy from yesterday.

"What proof? You saw the footprints, too. They were supposed to be made by a Zippleback, but they were no deeper than mine. Look at these! I could lie down in them!" Hiccup said, gesturing to the footprint. Zenna knelt down and began to inspect the footprint from all angles, her eyebrows scrunching up in concentration.

"Well, there could be a lot of explanations why a dragon made shallow footprints." Fishlegs informed the duo.

"Like, hello, he was trying to be sneaky!" Ruffnut chimed in.

"That's true…" Zenna muttered, standing up with a skeptical look on her face as she tried to figure something out. "All right. Well, how do you explain the Great Hall?" Astrid asked.

"That's another thing. I inspected the Great Hall and noticed that aside from none of the food being stolen, the claw marks looked rather strange. I can't really put my finger on it but something didn't look right." Zenna said, looking even more determined to solve the mystery. "Plus you heard what Aline said about the scorch marks and bootprints."

"Where is Aline, anyway?" Fishlegs asked, seeing the Alicorn female was missing. The Riders' musings were interrupted by Hookfang flaming up and growling with annoyance at being locked up. Hiccup looked at Snotlout sternly.

"Snotlout, do something about him, please? We're trying to think over here." The auburn headed teen told his cousin.

"Yeah, I gave up thinking. Never been happier." Tuffnut said nonchalantly.

"I'm not the boss of him. He always does that when he gets angry!" Snotlout shrugged.

Hookfang, still in a peeved mood, walked away. And what he left on the Academy's stone floor got Hiccup and Zenna's attention: A single Nightmare footprint with scorch marks from the Stoker Class dragon's intense fire!

"Or goes on a rampage." Hiccup said in realization. "Of course, there weren't any scorch marks from the scratches!" Zenna said loudly as she realized this as well.

"That's how Zenna and I can explain the Great Hall! We've got to tell my Dad about this!" Hiccup shouted, grabbing Zenna's hand. Along with their two Night Furies, the two teens headed for the Great Hall.

Toothless and Stryka stayed outside the Great Hall while their Riders tried to explain their findings to the Chief.

"Just hear me and Zenna out, Dad. When a Monstrous Nightmare gets mad, his whole body bursts into flames. Look at these walls! Not one single scorch mark." Hiccup pointed out, gesturing to the columns and tapestries.

"Plus if a dragon had gone on a rampage, there would be telltale signs such as the scent of smoke or even more severe collateral damage. And judging by the ruined tapestries and columns turned scratching posts, the damage is surprisingly not as severe as usual." Zenna added.

"Hiccup, Zenna, until I have solid proof that it was something else, the dragons stay where they are." Stoick told the two teens before continuing on with the repairs.

Meanwhile Toothless and Stryka were patiently waiting for their Riders to come out when an unusual scent reached their noses. Curious, the two Night Furies followed the scent to the armory. Not minding the Viking who was now watching them, the two Night Furies went inside. Upon seeing a small flame burning near barrels of explosive fluids, Toothless and Stryka both yelped and went out of the armory as fast as they could.

KABOOM!

It was a good thing they got out of there in time…

Back in the Great Hall, Hiccup, Zenna and Stoick were helping with the repairs when they heard people screaming, "Fire, fire!"

Quickly, they rushed out to see the armory in flames!

"The armory! Grab some buckets!" Stoick ordered quickly but stopped short when he saw two familiar Night Furies looking at the fire in shock.

"Toothless?" the Chief said in shock.

"Stryka?" Henna and Edgar had joined him and were now staring at their daughter's one eyed dragon.

The Viking who had been watching the two dragons pointed an accusing finger at the two. "It was them! They set the armory on fire!" he shouted accusingly. "How dare they?" a Viking woman on the scene gasped.

Hiccup and Zenna had come back with their water buckets when they heard the accusation. They dropped their buckets in shock, prompting their dragons to look at them.

"Toothless?" "Stryka?" Hiccup and Zenna asked them, stunned. But when their dragons ferverently shook their heads and crooned at them imploringly, both of them knew that their dragons were innocent. But before they could prove it, they had to put the fire out-now!

By the time the fire was finally put out, the armory had been razed to the ground. Warriors could only stare at the smoldering ruins of the place where they had all gotten their weapons for battle made and maintained.

"Every one of our weapons…gone!" Stoick muttered in disbelief. Gobber picked up a ruined sword.

"Prudence! My poor darling, I'm so sorry. You should've had a long, blood-letting life." He said mournfully as he cradled the twisted up weapon.

Mildew then chose that time to make an appearance. "She didn't have to die, Gobber. Hiccup and Zenna's dragons left us utterly defenseless." He said in mock condolence while glaring at the two Dragon Riders.

"Dad, you know Toothless and Stryka wouldn't do this." Hiccup tried to reason with his father. "They're innocent, Chief. Please believe us." Zenna pleaded while her parents looked at each other and at Stoick worriedly.

Mildew scowled. "Sure, listen to your boy and his friend, Stoick. That's what got us into this mess!" he exclaimed, the villagers also shouting angrily in agreement.

As he began to leave, Mildew looked at Hiccup and Zenna spitefully. "See what happens when you leave your dragons all alone to wait outside?" he sneered. While Zenna could only glare at the old man, Hiccup carefully considered Mildew's words. Something the old man said didn't sound normal…

"What…did you say?" the one legged boy began to question Mildew when Gobber held up another destroyed sword and exclaimed, "Cindy! Oh, I guess your throat slicing days are over." In sheer regret.

Tired of all this, Stoick heaved a sigh and looked at his son and his best human friend. "These dragons have done too much damage. It's no longer safe to have them on Berk." He said.

If that was already hurtful enough, the next few words Stoick had to say were like daggers to Hiccup and Zenna's hearts.

"I want them gone."

"What?!" both teens shrieked in horror. "Finally!" Mildew shouted in triumph.

"Round them up, and take them all to Dragon Island." Stoick told Hiccup and Zenna before they could even protest.

Facing the crowd, Stoick announced, "By the end of the day tomorrow, there will be no more dragons on Berk!"

While some villagers were somewhat relieved, almost half of the entire village population was stunned speechless and horrified at the mere thought of never having dragons with them ever again. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were shocked and could only gasp. Henna and Edgar held onto each other, terrified of the idea of having to send Serpent and Serpentine away.

Mildew, on the other hand, was really pleased. "Oh, what a glorious day that will be…Party at my house!" he whooped before grinning wickedly at Hiccup and Zenna. "Don't forget, you two. Right after you drop off your dragons, you two will be fixing my roof." He reminded them before leaving.

However, "WAIT!" Aline suddenly came flying down with her dragons by her side.

"The dragons did none of the vandalism and I know who really did!" Aline claimed.

"You do?" Gobber quipped.

"Yes I do.... the real culprit of all this vandalism is.... Mildew!" Aline exclaimed, looking at him while the villagers gasped.

"Perposterous!" Mildew scoffed.

“How could Mildew have done everything the dragons did?!” Stoick exclaimed.

“Let me explain. I didn’t want to believe that you would purposely want to banish the dragons but when I took a look at Barf and Belch’s scales near the chewed up boots, I could tell they didn’t fall off naturally. They were cut off! I’ve been with my dragon friends for more than a year; long enough to know no dragon loses scales in a large chuck like this. Plus, the ends of the scales all end with straight lines, meaning that they were cut off with scissors which means somebody planted it!

Then, in the Great Hall, I noticed that the so called Monstrous Nightmare claw marks were two inches wider than what they usually are, indicating that something else clawed up the tapestries and walls. Plus I smelled something on them as well, Dragon root and dirt, Mildew’s signature scent. Then, I noticed scorch marks in the shape of some here’s going in a s-shaped pattern along with fainted boot prints indicating that someone was in the Great Hall at that moment being fired upon by a dragon.

Plus one tapestry was completely torn off of the hanger it was attached to indicating that it was pulled down with a great force by someone, perhaps after they ran away from a dragon and threw away the fake claws?” Aline questioned, glaring at Mildew.

“Oh please all Vikings around here smelled like dirt and anyone could have been in the Great Hall.” Mildew scoffed.

“Precisely why I questioned my territorial Singetail. She was at her post at the Great Hall all night, watching for any intruders, like the territorial dragon she is except for a small window of opportunity when she told me that a small pile of Ice Tailed Pike came flying over his head and away from the Great. Ice tail Pike are Singetails favorite fish to eat. But what Nova also told me was that, with her 360 degree vision she saw a scrawny Viking man with a cane and fake claw heading into the Great Hall. He was inside the Great Hall and caught him using the claw to mark up the walls and tapestries. Nova roared and chased him off while launching fireballs at him but not before the damage was done, explaining the marking in the Great Hall." Aline explained before going over to Mildew,

"And I couldn’t help but notice Mildew that you're hiding some of your beard for a reason? And why is that?”

“What I can’t change how I look now?” Mildew questioned.

“Hmm well I think it’s to hide….” Aline revealed the covered part of Mildew’s beard with had a large scorch mark on it. “The burn mark from Nova's fireball!”

Everyone in the village gasped in shock. “Pfft. This is ridiculous. Stoick, you don’t believe this girl, right?”

“Oh just admit it Mildew, you're guilty of framing the dragons for your crimes as you are of getting your butt kicked by Inferno.” Nova stated.

Mildew growled, “Fine, you caught me. I did it” everyone gasped again.

“But why?” Astrid asked.

“Easy because he knew that if he convince fed Stoick that the dragons were too big of a danger to people he would do what’s best fit his people which meant sending the dragons away, taking advantage of his duties as Chief and leaving you all vulnerable to attack by your greatest enemy, Alvin and the Outcasts, which he has secretly allied himself with.” Aline explained.

“What?!” Stoick exclaimed while Mildew growled.

“How do you know all of that?” Hiccup asked.

“I’ve been through enough family deception and treason to recognize both when I look into someone’s eyes." Aline stated.

“But then how do you explain the Armory?” Gobber asked.

“Simple, during the day he planted gasoline into the barrel and lit a small flame towards it, which is what Camo said he saw. The flame took until nightfall to almost reach the barrel. At the same time when Toothless and Stryka entered the armory having smelled the gasoline the flame was touching the barrel and the two bolted before it exploded. Thanks to Eclipse, I know that Night Furies aren’t stupid enough to light gasoline knowing the severe consequences of the explosion. So the explosion was caused by Mildew's gasoline and flame, not Toothless and Stryka!”

“You can’t possibly believe her! She’s lying!” Mildew exclaimed. “And why are you standing up for the dragons anyway?”

“Because…. I know how it is to be different from everyone around you and the hate you get when someone doesn’t like you very much.”

“Pfft. How? You’re a Viking in disguise?” Mildew mocked.

“No…. I’m an Princess.” Aline admitted boldy, earning gasps from everyone, even Hiccup and his friends.

“What?!” Mildew exclaimed.

“No way!” Stoick added.

“You’re kidding, lassie?!” Gobber stated.

“It’s true. I’m the Princess and the Alpha of all Dragons in the world, because of my real parents, including this world, which is part of the reason why I’m so good with them. I knew if I told everyone the truth, it would just bring danger to you all and your dragons. I didn’t want to risk that, but now I see that I shouldn’t be afraid to show who I truly am, no matter the consequences. If a place like this and a person like me can accept my dragons, then you Vikings can accept Toothless and the other dragons, despite all of the troubles that come with it.

It’s a part of living in peace with one another, dealing with each other's flaws, strengths and weaknesses like I do with all my dragons friends who have become my family. We are who we are and we must accept our friends; all of our friends. There is a home for every dragon cause a wild dragon is just a dragon who hasn’t found a home to love them yet. There’s a family for every creature in the world.” Sarah explained before she turned to Mildew, “And as Princess and Alpha, it is my duty to protect all my subjects; human, pony and dragon so Mildew as of tonight you are hereby banished from Berk. Now leave and never return.”

Mildew snarled at the Princess. “Your skills as a detective are very impressive, this isn’t over, Princess! I will get those dragons yet!”

“We’ll see about that.” Aline said before she used her magic to create a sonic wave that sent Mildew far far away from Berk.

The villagers cheered for Aline as she stopped and smirked at her work. “Aline, I can’t believe you just told everyone you're a Princess and the Alpha Dragon.” Hiccup breathed.

“We are who we are. We just need to find the courage to accept it… in any world. I accepted it in my world and now.. I’ve accepted it in this world as well. And you vikings need to learn to accept who the dragons are. You can’t force them to change who they are just like they can’t force you to change who you are. You must accept the ups and downs of living with dragons if you want to live in peace with them.” Sarah said sternly. “Just like I’ve accepted the ups and downs of my Princess and Alpha duties.”

The villagers looked ashamed and somewhat embarrassed by their behavior towards the dragons, even Stoick.

‘Once again, Aline has proven that we can no doubt trust her, even when the situation with our dragons seems hopeless, she always comes through for us and our dragons. By revealing the truth about herself to the whole village, she’s proven that she will always be there for us no matter what the situation.’

Meanwhile, Mildew had landed in Outcast Island and told Alvin and the Outcast about Sarah finding out his plan for them to attack Berk. “She saw tight through you?!” Alvin exclaimed.

“Yes. That Princess is more intelligent and powerful that you think Alvin. She has about 20 dragons with her, all of them trained. And some are ones we’ve never seen before including a Night Fury and it’s family.” Mildew explained. “She’s also the Alpha of all dragons of this world, so all dragons follow her command.”

Alvin smirked evilly. “Well then… looks like we found what we need. A real Dragon Conqueror…. we need that girl….”

To Be continued...