As you fly through life, it's important to know who you can trust, and who you can't. I know I can always count on Toothless. And it's important for him to know that no matter what, he can count on Hiccup and I.

I tried to keep myself from screaming as I watched Hiccup fall faster and faster toward the ground. He looked completely relaxed, but as usual, I was still on edge. Sometimes his tricks went a little too far, and while this was an exercise for the other Dragon Riders as well, it was still pretty insane. I had already taken my turn as Hiccup watched from the sidelines, and we had both declared neither of us should be on Toothless when he has to catch the other, as he should be completely reliant on his instincts. We made sure his tail fin couldn't collapse, then were each sent on our way as the other watched nervously from the shore.

Thankfully, the Night Fury swooped in and caught Hiccup, then looped around to get me.

"Nice catch, bud!" Hiccup congratulated. "A little close."

"No kidding..." I muttered. "Granted, that's not Toothless' fault." Hiccup glared back at me as I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Just saying."

"Oh, quiet, you." We made our way back to the others, who all looked equally as terrified. "It's your turn," Hiccup instructed Fishlegs. "Jump."

"I don't wanna jump! I-"

"You have to believe she's gonna catch you. It's a trust exercise."

"I like to do my trusting on the ground, thank you very much."

"Same here."

"Like this, chicken legs." Snotlout let go of Hookfang's horns and allowed himself to fall toward the ocean. I'm sure he expected Hookfang to catch him, but the Monstrous Nightmare wouldn't budge.

"So, should we mention something to Hookfang?" Tuffnut tentatively asked.

"Let him sleep on it." Astrid, on the other hand, decided to take action. She maneuvered Stormfly closer to the large dragon.

"Hookfang! Get him!" The Nightmare looked at Hiccup and I for a moment, almost confused, and Toothless roared at him. His gaze suddenly flashed down to his Rider, who was tumbling closer and closer to the ocean at an alarming pace.

"Not feeling the trust!" Hookfang dove and managed to catch Snotlout, but they ended up crashing through a building and onto the ground.

And that building just happened to be Mildew's house. Just our luck.

"Oh Thor, we're dead..." I sighed. Just as fast as they had fallen in, Snotlout and Hookfang shot back out of the old man's house and sprinted back to all of us.

"Oh, something tells me we're gonna hear about this..." Hiccup looked around at all the others, and I took action.

"Lesson's over for the day, everyone. Just- just go home." Everyone landed, and Hiccup, Toothless, and I started back toward his home. "Reign, I think you should go back home for this."

"No, no. I want to be there to stand up for the dragons." Toothless happily purred and I scratched his head as we walked. We entered his house to absolute peace and quiet, and we thought we had almost gotten away with this.

"Hiccup!"

Or not...

Hiccup took a seat at the table, while I rested my hands on the top of the chair and Toothless curled around both of us. Chief Stoick stormed in and slammed a piece of wood down on the table, causing Hiccup to nervously laugh.

"Shingles again, Dad? Didn't we have roofing material for dinner last night." I smacked Hiccup on the back of his head, hoping to set him straight. "It was an accident, Dad. I'm sure Mildew is making it sound worse than it is."

"A dragon and a huge, obnoxious boy crashed through his roof. Twice."

"Well, sure it sounds bad if you're gonna... stick to the facts."

"Of all the houses on the island, a dragon had to crash through Mildew's... You know he hates dragons more than anyone else."

"I-I know. You might want to talk to him about his attitude."

"Listen to me, Hiccup. I gave you the responsibility of training those dragons. Everyone knows that. All eyes are upon you, son." This was a lot of pressure he was putting on Hiccup. "Whatever those beasts do reflects on you. And whatever you do reflects on me." I sighed. This was really starting to sound like a self-preservation thing. I know he's the chief and all, but he should cut his kid some slack. Training dragons is a process. It's not going to happen immediately.

"I'm sorry, Dad. You're right." Hiccup stood up, pushing me back a little along with the chair.

"You and your friends are gonna go back to Mildew's and fix that roof. Without your dragons." Toothless whined and Hiccup and I gently pet him.

"Got a break there, bud."

"Ah! Not so fast. Aren't you forgetting something?" Hiccup and I looked at each other and shrugged. "It's boot night! They need to be aired out." Hiccup and I covered our noses at the absolutely horrific stench, and even Toothless grimaced.

"I think it's gonna take more than air..." We walked out the door and saw all our other friends doing the exact same thing.

"At least the only thing we have to do it fix the roof," I sighed. "Spending any time within Mildew's vicinity is punishment enough." Hiccup chuckled.

"I just wish people would learn to get along with the dragons..." I crossed my arms.

"It a process, Hiccup. Just like training them is. We have to remember that when it comes down to it, they're wild animals. It'll take time, but it will be worth it in the end. And if anyone can do it, I know it's you." I smiled at him, and I saw him turn red.

"Thanks, Reign. It's been a lot easier having you help out, though." I shrugged.

"It's no problem. I've had a lot of fun doing it. And I've had a lot of fun spending time with you." I realized what I had just said. "A-And all our other friends, of course!"

"Right, right... spending time with all our friends." We both awkwardly chuckled, and I sighed.

"I should go. It looks like there's snow coming."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll see you then." We both awkwardly stood there for a moment, trying to go in for hugs a couple of times, before I waved and made my way down the steps, trying to avoid Mr. Hofferson's boots as I entered the house.

I awoke to the sounds of commotion and chaos. Out of fear that something awful had happened, I quickly got dressed and raced outside. People stood out by their front doors, scratching their heads and looking around. What was going on? I found Hiccup and walked over to him, hoping to get some sort of explanation. He immediately noticed my confused look.

"Everyone's boots are missing. And now we've got to follow what are supposedly Zippleback tracks in order to see if, I would presume, Barf and Belch stole them." I shook my head.

"And who seemed to know exactly what to do?"

"Mildew."

"Hmm..." We decided to follow Chief Stoick and the rest of the crowd. The tracks led all the way to the academy, which revealed... Barf and Belch sleeping next to a giant pile of boots? This wasn't right...

"So there's a bunch of boots piled around a Zippleback? That doesn't mean-" Stoick held up a boot that had been seemingly ripped to pieces. "Okay, fine. He took the boots." I shook my head. There was definitely something strange going on here...

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

"This is outrageous."

"How long until something is done about these creatures, Stoick?" Mildew grumbled. "How much more can we stand?" Everyone began shouting all at once, and Gobber attempted to diffuse the situation.

"Listen to yourselves... 'My feet are cold!' You're Vikings! Everything is cold! I'll fix your boots for you. You'll be back to work in no time." I flashed a grateful look in Gobber's direction and he winked.

"You all heard Gobber. You'll be getting your boots back good as new."

"That's it? No consequence for these dragons?" I was growing more and more suspicious of Mildew by the second. Not that I wasn't just perpetually suspicious of him.

"They took our boots, Mildew. The world isn't coming to an end."

"Oh, don't be so sure. Dragons are wild beasts. There's no telling what else they'll do behind our sleeping backs." I'd had enough.

"They don't destroy things on purpose," I defended.

"Bah."

"But you do have a point, Mildew." I looked at Hiccup in shock.

"What? Hiccup, how could you say that?"

"They are wild animals. And they need us to keep an eye on them. And rest assured, we will do just that." Tentatively, Hiccup took my hand and held it up. "Together." Barf and Belch stood up and trotted over to the other side of the academy. In the process, they managed to step in a pile of snow. I looked at the print carefully and grew more suspicious. It didn't match the ones outside.

"Hiccup, these aren't the same prints as the ones outside." He looked closer and gasped. "I knew something was up. Things just didn't seem right. We need to do something about this."

"I agree. Let's get everyone together. I think I have an idea." Only now did we notice that he was still holding my hand. We quickly jumped apart and blushed. "So, uh.... we-we should get going."

"Y-Yeah..." As we walked out of the academy, I caught smirks on Gobber and Chief Stoick's faces. What was the deal with those two?

"We're going on night patrol," Hiccup announced.

"Night patrol? I love it! What is it?" I rolled my eyes at Tuffnut.

"It's where we patrol... at night... to keep an eye on the dragons. Make sure they don't get blamed for anything else."

"Have you cleared this with our parents?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "Because some of us may not be allowed out after a certain hour."

"Not allowed, or afraid?" Snotlout teased.

"Hey, things happen after dark," Fishlegs shot back, attempting to appear brave.

"Guys, we have to do this. You heard Mildew. He wants the dragons banished."

"Permission to shoot first and ask questions later?"

"Permission to skip the question?"

"We're just patrolling!" I sighed. "Nobody is shooting anyone."

"I have a question: what's fun about that?"

"It's not supposed to be fun," Astrid chimed in. "It's supposed to be a Hiccup idea." I laughed.

"Exactly." Hiccup took a moment to think about what she had just said. "What?"

Astrid and I burst out laughing.

Toothless did another sweep around the village on Hiccup's command. Night patrol hadn't been so bad. We'd done a lot of talking and even more laughing, and it almost reminded me of the first time I rode on him.

"Well, Mildew will be happy to know what dragons do at night. They sleep like everyone else." I smiled.

"You know what? I've enjoyed myself, Hiccup." He seemed shocked.

"What? On night patrol?"

"It hasn't been too bad. Then again, it may help if you've got someone else to patrol with." His confusion melted into a smile.

"Yeah, this has been kind of fun. It's nice to just talk to someone sometimes."

"As opposed to Toothless? Or yourself?" He rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't going to say that."

"Yes you were. You totally were."

"I wasn't..."

"Oh, oh, my bad. I left out your wall."

"Ha ha, Reign," Hiccup deadpanned. I threw up my hands in defense.

"Hey, I speak the truth."

"You don- that has nothing to do with anything!" I raised an eyebrow at him. He wasn't denying that last one.

"Hiccup!" The boy and I turned our heads to see his father angrily marching toward us. "You and your friends, the Great Hall, right now!"

I glanced at him before we followed behind his father. The doors opened to reveal a shocking sight: scratch marks littered the walls and pillars, banners torn to shreds.

"Who could have done such a thing?" Chief Stoick demanded.

"Well, it looks like a dragon to me." I shot an unamused look Fishlegs' way.

"We don't know that it was a dragon for sure, Fishlegs."

"Sure we do. These claw marks- it was obviously a Monstrous Nightmare. The spacing of the talons is dead on."

"Once again, thank you, Fishlegs," Hiccup deadpanned.

"Oh, thank you. It's just basic stuff."

"But how could this happen? We had every dragon accounted for at all times. Right, guys?"

"When you say at 'all times,' and 'every dragon,' what exactly do you mean?" I sighed while Hiccup face-palmed. He couldn't be serious.

"Okay, what happened, Snotlout?"

"Well, I was detaining a suspect who wasn't showing sufficient respect to the sash."

"I think I showed sufficient respect to a sash that says 'dumb.'"

"We gotta change that name..."

"Anyways, and I was questioning said suspect, Hookfang may have- and I'm not saying he did- but it is possible he wandered off for a few..."

"Seconds?"

"Minutes."

"...hours." Everyone groaned in frustration.

"That's way longer than minutes." The doors suddenly banged open, revealing Mildew.

"Oh, no, it's true. The Great Hall... so many memories. My three weddings, their three funerals. Oh, the funerals."

"He got three people to marry him?" I whispered to Hiccup.

"That's what you're focusing on?"

"The dragons must have gone on a rampage. I hate to say it, Stoick, but-"

"I know what has to be done." Mildew slammed down his cane mere inches from the chief.

"So do I." Chief Stoick placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Starting tonight, and every night, I want all the dragons put in the academy under lock-and-key." I sighed, thankful the solution wasn't something more extreme.

"What? That's it? Look what they did!"

"This just doesn't make any sense. A dragon wouldn't just come in here and destroy the place. I mean, none of the food was even touched." He made an excellent point. If the dragons truly had gotten in here, there should be most, if not all, of the food missing.

"I don't know why dragons do what they do, but I'm not gonna let them do any more damage." The three adults exited the Great Hall as our group moved closer to Hiccup. Gently, I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll figure out what's going on. We always do."

I held tightly onto Hiccup as we all flew our dragons inside for the night, a feeling of betrayal understood throughout the entire group. The companions were reluctant to let us leave, just as the owners were. Fishlegs was quietly singing to Meatlug to calm her down, but to no avail.

"That usually works. Her whole bedtime routine is upset. She won't even lick my feet!" I crinkled my nose at the image that put in my head. "Fix thi-"

"Watch it, Fishlegs. At least my dragon doesn't need a lullaby and a blankie," Snotlout teased him.

"It's your fault that all our dragons have to sleep in jail," Ruffnut protested.

"Yeah, you don't see our dragon going on a rampage and wrecking stuff." Barf and Belch roared and Hookfang and leered forward slightly, crushing a crate under one of their feet. "Well, not any good stuff."

"I don't think a dragon wrecked the Great Hall, or stole the boots," Hiccup finally spoke up.

"None of us wants to believe it either, Hiccup, but you saw the proof." I glared at Astrid.

"What proof?" I snapped. "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 gestured down to a print Barf and Belch had just made in the snow. "I could lie down in them."

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

"Like, hello? He was trying to be sneaky."

"All right. Well, how do you explain the Great Hall?" Hookfang lunged at Barf and Belch and lit himself on fire.

"Snotlout, do something about him, please," Hiccup sighed. "We're trying to think over here."

"Yeah, I gave up thinking. Never been happier." Hookfang got closer to us and roared.

"Snotout..."

"I'm not the boss of him. He always does that when he gets angry." Hookfang began to stalk in circles, leaving smoldering prints in the stone ground.

"... or goes on a rampage," Hiccup muttered, starting to put pieces together. A smile suddenly spread onto his face as he made his way over to Toothless. "That's how I can explain the Great Hall." He jumped on the back of his dragon. "I've gotta tell my dad about this." I shook my head as the pair flew away.

"I believe him, but I don't know why he's still trying..." I sighed. "It's pretty clear people aren't going to easily change their minds. Besides, Chief Stoick's going to want proof."

"Hiccup has proof."

"Physical proof, Ruff."

There was sudden commotion from the village. Looking around at each other, we rushed toward the source of the noise, smoke rising along the horizon. We reached the crowds to see the armory nearly burnt to the ground, the horrid smell of ash penetrating our nostrils.

"Every one of our weapons... gone!" Chief Stoick lamented.

"Prudence... My poor darling." Gobber cradled a charred and bent sword. "So sorry. You should have had a long, bloodletting life."

"She didn't have to die, Gobber. Hiccup's dragon left us utterly defenseless." I flashed a suspicious look at Mildew.

"Dad, you know Toothless wouldn't do this."

"Sure, listen to your boy, Stoick. That's what got us into this mess. See what happens when you leave your dragon all alone, waiting outside."

"What... did you say?"

"Sadie! Oh! I guess your throat-slicing days are over." Chief Stoick shook his head and faced his son.

"These dragons have done too much damage. It's no longer safe to have them on Berk. I want them gone." My eyes went wide.

"What?"

"Finally!" Mildew happily pranced away.

"Round them up, and take them all to Dragon Island." I watched Chief Stoick leave, crossing my arms and shaking my head.

"We've done this dance before..." The chief turned to address the rest of the people around us.

"By the end of the day tomorrow, there will be no more dragons on Berk." Gasps rippled across the circle.

"Oh, what a glorious day that will be." Mildew drew in a deep sigh. "Party at my house!" People groaned and walked away. "Don't forget, boy. Right after you drop off your dragon, you're fixing my roof."

"This is wrong."

"I know," I sighed. "It's horrible."

"It's the worst day of my life."

"No, Astrid. Something here doesn't add up," I corrected.

"All I know is I'm losing my dragon."

"For now... yeah, okay, but I- I just need time to fix this."

"What are you talking about? It's over."

"Forget it, it's over."

"Yeah, forget it." Everyone left us in the dark silence.

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup," I muttered. "I wish there was more I could do."

Dragon Island came into view as the sun began to disappear over the horizon. Ships followed those on dragons so that they would be able to get home. Everyone said their goodbyes as we landed, trying their best to keep from having complete breakdowns. Hiccup gently removed Toothless' saddle and held the Night Fury's chin.

"I'll be back for you," he stated. "I promise." He hesitated before beginning to walk away.

"Bye, bud. I know I'll see you soon." I reached out for Hiccup as we made our way back to the ships, but Toothless followed, growling as though he didn't understand.

"No, bud. You've gotta stay here, and take care of the other dragons. It's gonna be okay, Toothless. Trust me." He extended his hand out and Toothless nuzzled his nose into it, before Hiccup lost momentary control and crouched down, hugging the innocent creature. There was shouting from the ship, causing me to sigh.

"We have to go..."

Hiccup broke away and nodded at me, setting down the saddle on some rocks before we made our way onto the ship. As soon as everyone was accounted for, we shoved off, and I rested against the mast, staring at the island as it got smaller and smaller in the distance. After brief hesitation, Hiccup leaned against it as well, stealing glances at me as though I couldn't see him out of the corner of my eye.

"There's something Mildew said that I can't stop thinking about. He- He said 'see what happens when you leave your dragon to wait outside?' He knew Toothless wasn't with me before the armory fire." I raised an eyebrow.

"So...?"

"So- So he lives on the other side of the island. Why was he in town? And how would he know where we were before the fire." I looked down at my feet for a moment before stepping closer to him.

"You really think he set that fire?"

"I think he did all of it, and I think he did it so that my dad would get rid of all the dragons." We leaned back against the mast again.

"That's a pretty serious accusation. How are you gonna prove it?" Hiccup went silent, thinking things over for what seemed like an infinite amount of time.

"I have an idea."