Chapter 13: Finding their dragons

Unicra was accompanying the guards that were taking care of the dragon riders. They were taking them to the place where they would die and vanish without a trace. Even Eret was with them. Drago wanted to get rid of him because of his failure. Since he's not a man to forgive and allow a second mistake, Eret was about to face his death very soon for it.

"You have no idea of what you're about to do. You'll regret it once Hiccup comes here and destroys your whole ship." Astrid said angrily while she was walking.

"Quiet, keep moving!" One of Drago's men said who wanted Astrid to stop talking and keep moving.

"And how come you look similar to someone I know?" Astrid continued to speak to Unicra who didn't even answer her.

"Looks like someone doesn't like to talk. I gotta agree with Astrid here. You guys just made a huge mistake. Our friend Hiccup is gonna find us soon and he and his-" Ruffnut started but was cut off by Astrid.

"Shh! Stop talking, Ruffnut!" Astrid hissed towards Ruffnut before she could reveal any sensible information.

"What? I was only saying that those guys are gonna regret messing with us. It's not like I mentioned that Toothless is a powerful Night Fury." Ruffnut said dumbly and unaware that she just revealed something. 

What she had said made the guards stop walking and were surprised and shocked too. The mention of a Night Fury was very surprising since they were some of the ones who thought that this rare species had been extinct for years.

"They have a Night Fury? I thought those things didn't exist anymore." One of the men said in shock.

"Is it true that those things have a powerful fire power?" Another question curiously.

"I heard that they can grab you so fast that you'll be dead without even knowing it." Another said with a thoughtful look.

They were all talking about speculations regarding the Night Fury species. Unicra, who had enough of them babbling about a Night Fury, wanted them to shut up about it.

"All of you, shut up!" Unicra ordered firmly as her eyes glowed dangerously and just like that the guards stopped talking about it in fear.

"Way to go, sister." Tuffnut whispered in annoyance. There goes their element of surprise.

"Yeah I agree with your brother on this one." Astrid whispered angrily to Ruffnut.

Unicra then approaches them both and her eyes glowed with anger. As if she didn't like much of what she had just heard.

"So this Hiccup has a Night Fury you say?" She asked with her voice surprisingly calm but they can sense hidden anger in her tone.

"Yeah and when he gets here, you're gonna be so sorry." Ruffnut said bravely and this made Unicra laugh evilly.

"Hahahahaha. I'm surprised riders like you would resort to this. It's so obvious that you are bluffing. Night Furies had gone extinct years ago. There isn't anyone left." Unicra said  as she didn't seem to believe what was said earlier.

"Uh, I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything but I can confirm that they're telling the truth. This Hiccup has a Night Fury fighting along his side. I couldn't believe it myself when I saw it. It was majestic, fast and powerful too. If you free me, I might be able to help you capture him. I'm sure, Drago would be happy to have a powerful and rare dragon." Eret said to Unicra, who didn't seem to be interested in that kind of proposition as she gave him an unamused look.

"I shouldn't be surprised that a fool like you would believe such stories. And in case you didn't realize it. You're not in any position to make offers. So it seems to me, Eret, that you reached the end of the road and the end of your luck. I would say I would miss you, but then again I won't. Have a nice trip to Valhalla." Unicra said with a scoff.

"Ow, that's hurtful, even from you. I like that. You always knew where to hurt me. I'm gonna miss that." Eret said with a nervous laugh and it was clear that he seemed to have grown a small crush on her when she first arrived.

She didn't like what he said as she grabbed him by the neck and started to strangle him and caused him to panic. Astrid didn't know what came over her and kicked Unicra right in the stomach, who let Eret go with a small grunt at the kick but Astrid was able to save Eret. The guards grabbed her instantly so that she would stop resisting.

"You're a feisty one, I see." Unicra said after she recovered from the kick as she look at Astrid while regaining her composure.

"Not everyone can hit me like that. And what's more surprising is that your kick was meant to hurt me or anything like it. You did it all to save this poor excuse of a hunter. One that tried to sell you out. And still you save his life." She said as she found it rather curious that a dragon rider would save a dragon hunter like Eret.

"People deserve a second chance." Astrid said bravely and didn't show signs of fear towards Unicra who just smirked.

"A second chance, you say? Oh that's so sweet. So sweet in fact that it makes me sick." She said with a small evil smirk.

"You think you scare me? Well, you don't. So go ahead and say that what we're telling you are lies but in the end you'll lose." Astrid glared as Unicra had to give her credits for being fearless.

"Oh, poor little and naive dragon rider. You can have a whole army of Night Furies at your disposal. You won't be able to stop what is coming. After we take care of the nest, Berk is gonna get turned into ashes. Now, I believe we talked enough. Please get rid of them right away. I've had enough of them." Unicra said before ordering the soldiers.

Some of the guards took the riders away so they would meet their end while some stayed behind with the commander.

"You won't get away with this." Astrid sneered before she and the others were out of sight.

It was a rather tense moment before one of the hunters decided to ask.

"Miss, do you really think those guys were bluffing about having a Night Fury in their ranks?" He asked her while turning towards Unicra who seemed awfully calm about this.

"Yes, I do believe it. Those kids are desperate and they will do anything to make us get scared. Not a word to Drago. What he doesn't know won't kill him. Either way, I will not let a silly lie compromise our plans." She said as she turned her back towards them and started to head to her quarters.

"I shall be in my quarters. Do not disturb me under any circumstances. Am I understood?" She said and the men nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." They said as they didn't want a repeat of what happened when Unicra was interrupted in her quarters. Let's just say one of them was sent flying to the icy waters.

Unicra left them be and started to walk to where her quarters were. Before entering, she made sure no one saw her. She likes to keep certain things a secret, even with Drago. She knew more than anyone on this ship and she knew that the riders were telling the truth about that Night Fury since she once saw it with her own two eyes. Before proceeding with the incoming plan that Drago was about to uphold, she wanted to have a meeting with an imminent presence that was awaiting her. She got inside her quarters before shutting the door close and that's where her dragons were waiting for her in the dark yet barely lit room. The Titan Wing Skrill was on guard but it bowed its head to acknowledge her presence. The Smothering Smokebreath was resting on Unicra's table. When it saw her coming, it started to fly to where she was. Unicra put her arm up and the Smothering Smokebreath landed on it before it then climbed up to her shoulder. During that time, the Titan Wing Screaming Death was resting calmly. It was time for a talk with it in the language that only she and certain members can understand.

"Lord Megatron." Unicra greeted with deep respect while she kneeled down on one knee towards Megatron, who was the Screaming Death. 

When he heard her call his name, he opened his crimson red eyes which glowed eerily in the dark room. He got up like a snake and turned around to where Unicra was.

"My lord. As you probably know, Drago's plan is about to be fulfilled very soon. His army is about to attack the dragon nest and with it their Alpha." Unicra informed him.

Megatron looked at Unicra directly. He couldn't speak physically and yet he had some sort of union that helped him speak with the help of his mind. With that bond, his words got through Unicra's mind and she could hear them loud and clear.

"So it seems that our time to strike is near." He hissed.

"Yes." Unicra nodded.

"We should've destroyed that Drago when we had. I will not let myself be commanded by a weak human." Megatron growled dangerously since he didn't like having to obey Drago's every order and Unicra agreed with him.

"Despite the fact that being forced to obey Drago's every order ever since we arrived isn't very pleasant, his knowledge has been quite helpful to understand this strange world around us." Unicra said and she had a point on which Megatron had to agree on.

"Indeed. His knowledge of this world has helped us understand this world and those strange forms we have been carrying. You did an excellent job on earning his trust." Megatron congratulated her with her way of persuasion but only he, Unicra, Soundwave and Laserbeak knew that it was an art of deception that got them this far.

"It wasn't very hard. All I had to do was convince him that we could help him with his plan of conquest and power. In exchange he would offer us knowledge. And thanks to this, we know where our real enemy is. We once had the chance to confirm that they were here and now we also know where they are." Unicra said and reminded everyone inside the room that their true and absolute enemies were here in this world just like them.

This got Megatron's attention as he lifted his head a little to look at her.

"And where are they?" He asked her as she stood up.

To show him better, she approached her table and took out a map and opened it to show the map of the Archipelago.

"Based on what the riders said, they supposedly live on Berk. A small village located in the Barbaric Archipelago. For a small village, they have made huge changes in the last five years." Unicra said as she pointed out where Berk is located as Megatron, who was close to her, took a close look at the map.

"What kind of changes?" Megatron asked as he wanted to know what kind of advantage their enemies had.

"Well, it seems that the dragon riders aren't the only ones that have dragons, the villagers also each have one of their own. They've trained them to become guards and scouts. The use of dragons seems to be the only known military advantage they possess against us. Their leader is a Viking named Stoick the Vast. He's a well known leader, a strong warrior, and a mighty dragon hunter. Or in this case an ex-dragon hunter. Drago seems to know him. He was shocked to learn that he was alive. Which brings us to believe that Stoick is very strong just like his reputation says." Unicra explained as Megatron hissed softly in thought.

"If this Stoick is as strong as they say, I shall be the one to destroy him." Megatron said with a malevolent glint to his eyes as Unicra smirked at this.

"I have no doubt that defeating Berk's leader is gonna be an easy task for us. Not even a strong Viking like Stoick could get in our way. However, I would be careful of the smart ones." Unicra said and was a little distracted with her thoughts which Megatron could sense.

"What are you worried about? Those riders do not seem to pose a serious threat." Megatron said with a hint of confusion. What is she worried about?

"Maybe so, but let's not forget that those who don't seem much are always the ones that rise up to claim victory. Even if those riders got caught, they still managed to keep their hopes alive. And as we know, it can be very dangerous. More to Drago of course but to us too." Unicra said as Megatron coiled his snake-like body around her as she leaned against his body while crossing her arms.

"You worry too much. Hope can be crushed, ripped from them. When they lose it, getting rid of them is gonna be easy." Megatron said

"True but I fear that whatever reason the riders have of not losing hope is justified. From what I can see, they are more resourceful than we thought. There's a dragon rider whose dragon is different from any other species. A Night Fury." Unicra said with a narrowed gaze. 

Soundwave merely turned his gaze towards his superiors since he recognized who his co-leader was talking about. He met them two years ago at Dragon's Edge when they're battling for the Dragon Eye. This got Megatron's attention as he looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"A Night Fury? What kind of dragon is that?" He asked curiously.

"I wish I could answer you, my lord. Unfortunately the only known information about the Night Fury species is that it went extinct years ago. Yet it would seem that one of them survived and found an ally. A dragon rider named Hiccup. He's the son of Stoick The Vast. Leader of the Dragon Riders and the future heir of Berk." Unicra said with a small sigh before her eyes had an evil glint in them.

"And I know that my weakling counterpart is there with them. If she's here, then there's no doubt that her friends are here too. Including the Autobots." She said while looking at her hand which glowed an evil purple aura.

"And if they're here, Optimus Prime is there with them. Hahaha, well if this proves anything, it is that no matter what world we're in. My rival shall never disappoint me. When I find him, I shall rip out his spark." Megatron laughs darkly at the prospect of finally getting rid of his enemy.

Unicra put a calming hand to the side of his head to let him wait.

"Patience, Lord Megatron. We must remain patient. Any Intent to attack the Autobots could let Drago know of our true objectives. And more importantly, our enemies shall soon know or not about what's about to happen. One of the riders escaped." Unicra said before informing him.

"What? One of those riders was able to escape?" Megatron hissed dangerously.

"Yes. There was something about her that surprised me. I saw with my own eyes that she could turn into a dragon. A Night Fury to be precise." Unicra said as she glanced at her leader.

"You mean there are two of them? You said that only one had survived." Megatron said as he was deeply surprised by this. 

Unicra almost chuckled at the surprise look in his eyes. Only she could leave the great and powerful Decepticon leader surprise and speechless.

"Yes, I did say that. But we do not need to worry about her. Even though she escaped, she got severely injured. Right now she's probably on her way to warn Hiccup and the Autobots. Her injury won't let her get there. And even if she does, by then it will be too late. After Drago destroys the nest and defeats the Alpha. His army of dragons will grow even stronger. The village those pesky riders who are our enemies' friends come from shall be destroyed. With this one attack, we shall destroy the Autobots one by one. They will never rise from this defeat. All we gotta do is wait and see how things play along. Soon the dragon riders shall escape." Unicra said as she closed her eyes as she kept her arms crossed.

"And how would you know that?" Megatron asked her curiously.

"Simple, along with them is Eret. That mediocre dragon hunter. He shall help them escape as a favour for saving his life. That's why I let the guards take them without my supervision. They can't escape this ship. But they'll be able to find their dragons. Pity that soon they're gonna learn that they made one fatal mistake. And that was to think they could stop us. Once we reach our destination, the Autobots will do anything to protect the nest. We shall come at them with all our strength." Unicra said with an evil smile.

"Yes, we will destroy the Autobots. Make them see how their allies shall fall in front of them. Optimus will soon be mine to destroy. He shall never be able to defeat me in this new form. His spark shall be crushed, and his body shall burn." Megatron laughs darkly as his eyes start to glow.

"Yes, my lord. They will all burn." Unicra chuckled evilly before turning to the Smothering Smokebreath who turned to her.

"Laserbeak, fly off. Keep an eye on the riders. I shall join you soon." She ordered as Laserbeak nodded and flew off to where he could see the riders.

"You can take care of the girl and her friends. Along with the other Autobots. But Optimus Prime is mine and mine alone." Megatron hissed dangerously in delight at finally getting to defeat the Prime as his eyes were still glowing.

"As you wish, Lord Megatron. I'll make sure she and her friends suffer from what's about to happen." Unicra chuckled deeply as her purple eyes started to glow red. 

Meanwhile,Drago's ship sails through the water with Drago striking the chain with his bull hook as the dragon under the water pulls them to their destination. At the stern, the riders and Eret are about to walk the plank and plunge to their deaths.

"Could this day get any worse?" Snotlout groaned.

"Uh, let me see. You'll jump into freezing cold water and then die from drowning." Tuffnut guessed it right.

"There's worse." Ruffnut pouted.

"And what could be worse than jumping into a sea of cold water and dying from drowning?" Tuffnut asked her with an unamused look.

"To find out that a hot guy with big arms that you really really liked turned out to be a bad guy! Not even jumping and dying on cold water helps me feel better!" Ruffnut whined and Astrid was getting annoyed by her whining about Eret being the bad guy but she also felt something different than annoyance when Ruffnut said that.

"Now, now, sweetheart. You don't need to cry. At least you'll die with a cool guy on your side, me." Snotlout said with a chivalrous smirk.

"And me." Fishlegs chimed in.

"Now dying in cold water is starting to look a lot better to me." Ruffnut groaned with an uninterested tone while walking away from them and sticking by her twin's side.

"Seriously you two?" Astrid asked them as the two love rivals for Ruffnut's affection couldn't believe she would just walk away.

"What's the matter, Astrid? Getting a little jealous? I can't blame you. Now that we're about to die. You start to realize that deep inside you had feelings for me. It's okay, I forgive you. Seeing how I'm irresistible. And don't worry, we shall catch up, in our walk through Valhalla. Now before we die, how about a little kiss?" Snotlout question while puckering his lips towards Astrid.

Astrid just gave him an annoyed look and kicked him on his leg for even trying. Eret watched the interaction and couldn't help but feel something more than annoyance when Snotlout tried to kiss Astrid. 

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Snotlout yelped while jumping on one leg since Astrid's kick hurts more with her punches.

"Enough fooling around you three. Move!" One of Drago's men ordered and used their weapons to make them walk.

When the whole group saw the cold water they were about to jump and meet their fate. They were all nervous of the fact that this was how it was all gonna end and they didn't even get to say goodbye to everyone they knew. Eret was the first one to check from where he was standing how the water looked. He glanced from the corner of his eye to come up with a plan.

"Looks refreshing." Eret said before turning around to Drago's men who were dragging Astrid to the area.

"Please, ladies first." He said in his last moments tried to be gallant and gentlemanly. 

He wanted Astrid to be the first one to jump before him but he just needed to time it right. Astrid grunted and gave him a glare for what seemed like one last time.

"You are a steaming heap of dragon-" Astrid started but Eret cut her off when his expression turned serious.

"Duck." He simply said and was quick.

Astrid saw that he was about to kick and ducks down quickly as Eret knocks Drago's soldiers unconscious and unchains himself while catching another weapon and now that he's free. He was gonna be able to fight off Drago's soldiers and stop them from raising the alarm as the riders watched in amazement, especially Astrid.

"Warn the others!" A soldier shouted.

"Get 'em, you son of an Eret!" Ruffnut cheered.

Eret was able to knock every single one of Drago's men that was with them and stopped one from sounding the alarm with a single tranquilizer.

"Okay, I love you again." Ruffnut said with a dreamy look and rushed to Eret to get him to untie her.

Snotlout looks hurt by this as he just watched in shock and disbelief.

"Ugh. Pathetic. You can still jump." Tuffnut said as Eret untie Ruffnut.

"So? Are we going to save your dragons and get out of here or not?" Eret questioned them and Astrid nodded with an impressed expression.

"Good. Oh before I forget I'm sorry about what I did. You know, the cat hung you guys, trying to give you to Drago and all of that." Eret said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah, it's no big deal. I forgot about it." Ruffnut reassured him with a sweet smile.

"Seriously? What does this guy have that I don't?" Snotlout question as he was still clueless.

"I would say he's a little cooler than you. And a lot hotter than Fishlegs." Tuffnut said and he didn't bother to correct any of his words and that kinda offended both rivals that's fighting for Ruffnut's affections..

"Hey!" Both Snotlout and Fishlegs yelled.

"I'm sorry." Snotlout said as he grew annoyed.

"Do you mind?" Fishlegs was equally annoyed.

"I'm talking here. Stop repeating after me! Stop it! I said stop!" Both of them started to shout but Astrid was able to stop them before they're caught.

"Shush up, you two. Do you want someone to find us?" Astrid whispered.

"Don't worry." Eret said as he removed her binds as she rubbed her wrists to get the feeling back in them.

"With any luck, we will find your dragons before anyone finds out." He whispered as he then started to free the others from their binds.

"Oh really? So tell us. How are we gonna get out of here?" Snotlout asked sarcastically as Eret had to stop himself from cringing. He hadn't thought of that.

"Well… I really didn't think of that one. I'd figured you guys would fly away on your dragons and escape to go get your friend, the Dragon Master." Eret said as he freed Snotlout and moved on to Fishlegs.

"I'm not really sure this tactic is a very good idea. Those guys have weapons of all sorts. Our dragons wouldn't have a chance against them. Not to mention that the girl who looked awfully a lot like our friend Emily has two of the most dangerous kinds of dragons ever known to mankind. We all saw what happened." Fishlegs said nervously and just thinking about what they said earlier only scares him. 

Who knew Emily has such a scary twin and she seems more dangerous than their friend. Luckily for him, Eret had freed him from his binds.

"Maybe we could find your dragons and hide with them." Eret whispered.

"Hide with our dragons?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Yeah, oddly speaking. It's better than trying to fly away. I doubt Drago would get worried for a small group of dragons." Eret said.

"We should try and see what he's planning. Drago mentioned something about a dragon rider's nest and an Alpha. What could that possibly mean? Any ideas, Fishlegs?" Astrid said as she turned to the brains of the group.

"Well he could've referred to the leader of a dragon nest. Then this means…" Fishlegs said but trailed off with a worried look as everyone realized what it meant.

"That Drago is planning to attack a huge dragon nest. And if he defeats their leader, his army will grow even stronger." Astrid realized as her eyes widened in worry.

"We gotta move on. Someone could find us." Eret said as he motioned for them to start moving.

"Right, let's move out." Astrid agreed. 

And just like that, they all started to move out and carefully avoided anyone who could see them and raise the alarm. So far they avoided the sight of Drago's men. But unknown to them, a close watchful eye was on them. Laserbeak was with the girl that looked similar to Emily was spying on them above but from the shadows. As they moved on, he followed them. So far the riders didn't have any trouble avoiding Drago's men but the way to where the dragons were locked away was a bit tricky. One false move, one loud noise and that would be the end for them.

"I don't like this. It's too easy." Astrid whispered as she couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched.

"I would beg to differ. Since we're a large group, we're bound to make more noise and get caught more quickly." Eret whispered as he was in front of her.

"Does Mr son of Eret have any idea of where we're supposed to be going?" Snotlout asked in a sarcastic and interrogative tone.

"They're in the area for special prisoners of course." Eret whispered.

"Right. And where's that?" Tuffnut asked since they don't know where they're going but they just have to follow Eret to get to their beloved dragons friends.

"Dumb brother. What kind of stupid question is that? What are special prisoners? Now that's a smart question." Ruffnut said and this just proves that the Thorston Twins don't know what Eret is talking about.

"Oh Thor…" Astrid groaned softly in annoyance and was wishing right now that she didn't have to hear or see this.

Eret decided to give them an explanation since the one named Astrid seemed to be getting annoyed.

"Well, special prisoners here are dragons. Drago has no use for human prisoners. That's why he wanted to kill us. To him dragons are precious. So yours would be in that area. A place with big dragon traps." Eret explained and he had a feeling that they were getting closer.

"How big are we talking about?" Fishlegs asked as he wanted to get the right size of said traps for when they would find something that looked like traps.

"Big enough for a dragon." Eret answered.

"Enough talk. We gotta keep moving." Astrid said but Eret stopped her before she could take a step.

"No wait. We gotta be smart about it. To avoid attention we should try to reach that other side. One by one. In silence." Eret told her.

Astrid looked into his eyes to see sincerity in them and decided that he should go first.

"Good idea. You first." Astrid said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Who, me?" Eret asked in surprise. 

He was really surprised that Astrid have chosen him as the first choice and Snotlout didn't like this one bit.

"Hold on a minute. If anyone should be first, it's me. I'm the best rider, and everyone knows the best riders get to go first. And not to be offensive but this guy is not one of us." Snotlout whispered as distrust was clear in his voice.

"I must agree with Snotlout on that one. We do not know if Eret can be trusted. We could be walking right into a trap without even knowing it. It would be unwise to trust him. He is a dragon hunter." Fishlegs whispered in agreement.

"I agree with him." Tuffnut agreed.

"Me too. But I still love him." Ruffnut as well.

Eret felt a little hurt by that. Maybe he doesn't deserve a second chance, but why can't they see that he's trying to help them? Sure he did try to sell them out to Drago but after the Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, protected him from getting killed, his view on dragons have finally changed.

"Right, so that's that. So long, Eret, son of Eret. See you never. Now make way. The cool is about to go." Snotlout said smugly and was about to move but was stopped by Astrid who gave him an angry look.

She saw the hurt look in Eret's eyes when she heard the others agreeing that he's not one of them. But to her, he deserves a second chance. He's literally risking his life to get them reunited with their dragons.

"No, Eret is the first one to go and that's final." Astrid sternly and won't change her mind about the decision.

The others were kind of shocked about how Astrid could trust Eret so easily after what he did to them. Even Eret was shocked that she would trust him so easily.

"How can you trust that guy? After what he did to us?" Snotlout asked as he was very concerned about all of this.

"Because right now, he's the only one who can help us get out of here and get back our dragons. I know it's hard but I know that if Hiccup and Emily were here, they would trust him. Despite what he did, he deserves a second chance." Astrid said firmly. 

She knows both of her friends that act as leaders would give Eret a second chance if they were here with them.

"Thank you." Eret said with a grateful tone to Astrid and she gave him a soft smile. 

He was happy to see that she saw well on giving him a second chance. But now is not the time to get all sappy. They need to hurry before they get caught.

"Okay, we gotta move fast. Since I'll be first. You guys must do what I do. Move slowly and quietly." Eret told them and started to move out.

He used most of the areas to move and hide without getting noticed. He moved very well and that kind of impressed Ruffnut.

"Wow, by Thor. That's a real Viking right there. Roar." Ruffnut said dreamily.

"Is this for real? I'm a real Viking." Snotlout whined.

"How come he gets the roar?" Fishlegs pouted and wanted answers about all of this sudden attraction of Ruffnut towards Eret.

Meanwhile, Eret was still on the move before he had finally reached the other side without problems. He used his hands to give Astrid the signal that someone else could come and join him and he was hoping that it was Astrid. Astrid saw the signal and nodded.

"Okay, I'll go next. You guys stay here and wait for my-" Astrid said but was cut off.

"Don't bother, sister. I'm going." Ruffnut cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

Ruffnut didn't bother hiding and she just made a beeline to where Eret was and joined him much to his annoyance.

"So how did I do, Eret son of Eret? Pretty nice huh?" Ruffnut asked and was eager to hear what Eret was gonna say.

"It was rather… impressive. Yeah, that's the word." Eret said hesitantly and was very uncomfortable with the present situation as he made sure to put some distance between himself and Ruffnut.

"If this goes on, we won't get very far." Astrid said with a facepalm.

"Right, I'm next. Watch and learn, guys. I'm gonna do this way better than Ruffnut." Tuffnut said before he laid down on the floor in a sleeping position and started to roll all the way to where Ruff and Eret were. 

Everyone could not believe what was going on. Astrid wished that she could just die under a rock right now to avoid seeing this. Finally Tuffnut had reached the other side, believing that his style was cooler than his sister.

"This is how it's done sis. I hope you took notes." Tuffnut said smugly as both Eret and Astrid just facepalm.

"Okay, that's it. I'm going next." Astrid said and started to move out. 

Unlike the two others, She used the proper zones to hide and move faster. Eret was mesmerized by how fast and agile she moved. He then blinked in surprise. 

What the hell? What was wrong with him? No, he just met her. There's no way he grew a crush for her. 

Just like Eret, she had no problem reaching the other side. In a matter of seconds, she was already on the other side as she sighed in relief.

"Good work." Eret said with an impressed smile and Astrid had to cool her cheeks down. 

What the heck is wrong with her? Is she crushing on Eret? No way. They just met!

"Nice try, Astrid. But everyone knows I was better than you." Ruffnut said as she was seething with jealousy and made it clear to Astrid that she didn't want her close to her Eret.

Why is Astrid trying to steal her man?! She's better than Astrid Hofferson!

"Of course you were." Astrid said while rolling her eyes before she signaled to both Snotlout and Fishlegs, telling them to come.

"Finally my turn. Check it out, Fishlegs. I'm gonna show Ruffnut how a real Viking does it." Snotlout said pridefully as he started to move. 

He used the hiding zones as well only until he hit himself with a steel bar and then another and another and another and another. Eret and Astrid both wince and cringe at every hit until he reached the others and when he did, he fell flat on his face.

"Was I cool or what?" Snotlout groaned.

"How do you deal with this?" Eret asked Astrid, who just shook her head at Snotlout.

"You get used to it." Astrid said and gave Fishlegs the signal to come and join them quickly.

"Oh my turn. Okay let's see. I need something to hide in. Something that can allow me to move. Oh this should do." Fishlegs said before he saw a barrel he could use to hide and move at the same time. 

He lifted the barrel and got inside it. Luckily the barrel had a hole that allowed him to see where he was going. Fishlegs was being very careful on his movements but sadly he tripped and fell over and made the others wince at that. That must've made some noise.

"Great, this couldn't get any worse." Astrid said sarcastically. 

Eret tense up and looked in front of them and noticed some shadows walking towards their area and he panicked. 

"Oh no, someone's coming! Quick hide!" Eret whispered urgently.

He and the others began to hide so the guards wouldn't find them. Astrid and Eret were hiding behind a crate. Snotlout was hiding behind a barrel with the twins. They listened in on the conversation while being careful and they were talking about Unicra and the dragons that she owns

"You saw what that dragon did to that guy? It fried him." One of Drago's men said.

"I saw it. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps. And to think that this girl, Unicra, controls it. She's a real freak." The other one said.

Fishlegs heard them talk and were able to get up and hide quickly. He got down so that they wouldn't see his legs as he listened to the conversation.

"I would be careful if I were you. The other guy got electrocuted because he laughed at her. This girl doesn't like when someone disrespects her." The first one said with a shudder while making sure he wasn't heard but someone did hear him and it hissed quietly in anger. 

Laserbeak will have to inform Unicra about that later.

"So I've seen. I wouldn't get too worried. Drago's gonna get rid of her once this is all over." The second said with a small laugh.

"Good riddance." First one said with a laugh.

The two men walked away before disappearing from view and didn't even see the barrel that Fishlegs was in.

"Oh, thank goodness. That was too close for comfort." Fishlegs said in relief before he got up and started to move to the other side.

He had successfully joined the others as they came out of hiding.

"I'm here." Fishlegs said as he took the barrel off him.

"Good, now where do we go?" Astrid asked Eret.

"We go that way." Eret said as he pointed in the direction opposite of where the two guards came from.

"And how do you know?" Snotlout asked as he was curious to know how Eret knew which way to go.

"Call it a hunch. Now let's go." Eret said with a shrug.

And just like that they resumed their search for their dragons. Even Snotlout who still couldn't believe what was going on. They finally reached the area where all dragons were locked and chained as the traps were covered in large sheets of blankets.

"It's here." Eret said as everyone looked around in shock.

"Those are some big traps." Fishlegs said. 

He was oddly impressed by it but scared too. He just hopes Meatlug is okay.

"What are they used for?" Astrid asked in shock.

"Those traps are designed to capture dragons by using bait. Captured dragons. That's one other reason Drago keeps them alive. No dragon can escape it." Eret explained sadly. 

He still can't believe that such amazing creatures would need to be hunted down. The riders couldn't believe a word he was saying. For them, it was horrible to know that someone would go to such lengths. This was just so horrible.

"That's so terrible. Can I have one?" Tuffnut asked.

"I want one too." Ruffnut agreed with him.

"Stay focused, guys. We need to find our dragons fast." Astrid reminded them.

"She's right. Now remember, guys. The plan is to hide with the dragons and stay quiet until they reach their destination. Check every trap. They're here somewhere." Eret said and they all nodded.

Everyone split up and started to check every trap to see if their dragon was there. Astrid opens one and checks the trap and finds Meatlug. She was shocked to see the condition she was in.

"Meatlug?" Astrid called in shock

Despite being chained and muzzled, Meatlug recognized Astrid's voice and looked up to her pleadingly for help. Astrid quickly got down and looked around for Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs, I found Meatlug." Astrid called him as he heard that.

Fishlegs started to run to where Astrid was and climbed up the trap. When he saw Meatlug, he was very happy to see her.

"Meatlug." Fishlegs almost cried out in relief.

He jumps inside the trap and gives Meatlug a hug to comfort her when she starts to whine for comfort.

"It's okay, girl. We're gonna be alright." Fishlegs reassured her as Meatlug was happy to see him too while nuzzling his beloved rider. 

Meanwhile Eret was opening one trap with Ruffnut doing nothing but watching him.

"Anyone coming?" Eret asked as she was supposed to be the lookout.

"I don't know. You just keep doing what you're doing. Keep cranking." Ruffnut said dreamily while watching Eret's muscles. 

Eret noticed that and was a little disturbed. She was definitely off his girls-to-date-one-day list and was definitely not his type.

When the trap was open enough for him to go in, Eret climbed up and got inside and walked slowly towards Stormfly who woke up and squawked softly upon recognizing him. Eret kneeled down before her with his hand outstretched.

"Thank you for saving my life." Eret said gratefully with a smile.

Stormfly pushed her snout to Eret's outstretched hand as a sign that she trusts him completely. Eret was completely breathless by the act. This was just amazing.

"Now let me return the favor." He said in determination. 

He was able to help the riders reunite with their dragons and Astrid was very happy to see Stormfly again. She had been worried sick but was grateful that Eret managed to find her. Now all they can do is hide with their dragons and wait until they can attack against their enemies.