I do not own Dragons: Riders of Berk. Direct quotes from the series will be bolded.

That's the end of the first season. The second season will be a new installment called Two Defenders of Berk and a Night Fury. So keep an eye out.

I saw the sequel last night, and it was so awesome. Extremely sad, but still awesome.

Forever Family: Part Two

As Sunset walked beside her best friend down the dark passage, hands shackled in front of her, she could not help but wonder why these situations always happened to them. Alvin and Savage were walking close behind them, though she didn't know why they bothered. In their current dragon-less condition, they wouldn't be escaping anytime soon.

"Where did you put Toothless?" Hiccup demanded, casting a glare over his shoulder.

Alvin only smirked. "You'll be reunited with your dragon in due time. But only after I get what I want."

"You may be waiting a while for that one," Sunset muttered under her breath. She glanced at the various cages carved out of the dirt walls and the dragons that occupied them. A Deadly Nadder slammed against the metal bars, roaring angrily. "Poor things."

"Poor us," replied Hiccup. "You know, you have to admit, this was a pretty good elaborate plan."

Sunset stared at the auburn-haired boy in disbelief. "We're praising the bad guys now?"

"He knows where to give praise where praise is due," Alvin spoke up cheerfully.

"But bringing Mildew to the side of the Outcasts was a low blow," continued Hiccup. "Even for you."

"Just keep walking, boy," said Savage, giving him a prod in the back. Hiccup rolled his eyes and continued forwards. He supposed he should be feeling a significant amount of fear. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that Alvin would kill them once he decided they were useless. But he was more concerned for the wellbeing of his dragon and Sunset rather than himself.

He paused in front of a cage and glanced through the bars. A Whispering Death was roped down, but it wasn't enough to keep the dragon restrained. Two guards were trying to keep it at bay with spears, but the Whispering Death easily avoided them by diving under the dirt.

"It's not going to stop doing that," said Sunset. "It's a Whispering Death. It's what it does."

Hiccup walked over to the next cage and peered inside. A Scauldron was drinking from a wooden trough. Upon spotting them, its eyes narrowed. Hiccup and Sunset hastily dove out of the way before they were struck by boiling water.

"You might wanna give it a little less water," advised Hiccup.

Alvin and Savage exchanged looks. It wasn't a lot of information, but at least the brats were cooperating to a certain extent. "Make it happen," Alvin growled softly to his right-hand man.

Sunset looked at the cage across from the Scauldron. Guards were trying desperately to locate the invisible dragon. "Blast! It's gotten out again!"

"Er…it's actually right behind you," cautioned Sunset. "Watch out for the acid."

The guards flattened to the ground in the nick of time. Acid spewed from the Changewing's lips and splattered against the bars, which started to hiss as the metal melted.

"Exactly how much do you know about dragons?" Hiccup asked.

"Nothing at all," Alvin said, clapping Hiccup on the shoulder. "Why do you think we brought you two here?"

"I have a good idea," said Hiccup flatly. "And I don't like it."

"You'll warm up to it, I'm sure," said Alvin dismissively. "You have no choice, after all."

They came upon the last cage. Hiccup and Sunset looked inside, eyes widening with horror. Their Night Fury was in a full body-bind, a steel muzzle wrapped securely around his head. "Oh, Toothless!" Sunset exclaimed.

Toothless started to thrash, but nothing gave way. He was as helpless as they were. "Hang in there, bud," said Hiccup. "Everything's going to be fine. I promise."

"Everything will be fine, so long as you train my dragons."

Sunset turned to Alvin, her heart pounding madly in her chest. "What happens if we don't?"

"Then I have no use for them, and they all get the axe. Your Night Fury included." Alvin smiled evilly. "Savage, take them to their new home."

Savage nodded and led the kids away. Hiccup and Sunset walked in silence, their minds working overtime. They could not allow Alvin to have an army of dragons. But they also refused to allow harm to come to Toothless, or any of the dragons in Alvin's capture.

The man shoved them into their cell, slamming the metal door behind them. "Have a nice stay!" he cackled and strode off.

"Well," sighed Sunset, dropping to the dirt floor and resting her head against her knees. "This isn't exactly how I pictured the day going."

"This is my fault." Hiccup slapped the stone wall in frustration. "I should have been more cautious."

"If that's the case, then I'm just as much at fault as you are. We were excited, Hiccup. We wanted Toothless to meet a dragon of his own kind."

"Now he's locked in a cell, utterly defenseless," said Hiccup bitterly. "We need to come up with a plan."

"It's going to have to be one heck of a plan," warned Sunset. "Not only do we need to rescue Toothless from his bindings, we need to get out of this cell first. And we need to get Toothless out before anyone notices we're missing."

"I didn't say it would be easy." Hiccup joined his friend on the floor. "How long before someone comes looking for us?"

"Not long. The gang knows where we are. You also left a copy of the map in your notebook. Knowing Astrid…"

"She and the others will be on our tail," realized Hiccup. "That does help matters. But I'd like to free Toothless before they get here, if it's possible."

"It's possible," assured Sunset. "We just have to figure out a way."

"Such as a way out of this cell first," mused Hiccup. He snagged a stick from the ground and walked over to the bars. He experimentally jiggled the stick into the lock, trying to see if it would do any good.

"But I helped you! Why are you doing this?"

The confused, desperate cry caused Hiccup to hastily toss the stick over his shoulder. He and Sunset watched as Alvin and Savage led Mildew towards the empty cell across from theirs.

"You've exceeded your usefulness for now. You'll stay here for the time being." Alvin threw open the cell door and shoved Mildew inside. "And I'm feeling like lamb tonight."

"No!" Mildew shouted as his pet sheep, Fungus, was snatched from his grasp. "Bring me Fungus back!"

Alvin only laughed cruelly and exited the cell, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Come on," cried Sunset, her heart twisting as Fungus bleated fearfully in Alvin's grip. "Give him back!"

"Berkians," sneered Alvin as he walked away, Savage trailing behind him. "As soft as ever. It's disgusting."

Mildew sobbed pitifully, slumping to the ground. "Oh, Fungus, what have I done?"

Sunset's green eyes welled with tears. "Oh, poor Fungus," she whispered.

"It's Mildew's own fault," muttered Hiccup. But the sympathy snaked through his gut and wrapped around his heart, making his words lack the strength they should have held.

"So…are we leaving him here?"

Hiccup hesitated. As much as he thought Mildew deserved to wither away in a cell, he didn't deserve to die at Alvin's hands. "We'll see how things go," he replied. "Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here."

Sunset watched as her friend picked up a rock and start to hack away at the dirt. "What are you doing?"

"Digging a tunnel," answered Hiccup, his eyes not leaving his work.

She tried to think up a nice way to tell Hiccup that this plan was not the best one. It was time-wasting and it would take much too long. It was also pretty noticeable.

"That's just sad."

Sunset glanced at Mildew, who was watching them from his cell. His eyes were still a bit teary, but he seemed to have done what all Vikings did-accept and move on.

"You got a better idea?" Hiccup demanded, glaring over his shoulder.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Mildew leaned against the bars, a flicker of amusement dancing in his eyes. "Give old Alvin what he wants."

The two teens exchanged thoughtful glances. "Not bad," admitted Hiccup. "How good are you at acting, Sun?"

"Decent."

They walked over to the cell door. Hiccup removed his prosthetic foot and hid the leg behind his good one, his hand holding the prosthetic behind his back. Sunset hammered against the metal, wailing rather convincingly. "I can't take it!" she screamed. "Get me out of here! I'm losing my mind!"

A guard came rushing over, eyeing them suspiciously. "We'll tell Alvin what he wants to know," Hiccup cried. "Anything to get out of here!"

Surprise crossed the guard's features, but he went over and unlocked the door anyway. The instant it swung open Hiccup slammed his metal prosthetic against the guard's head. He stumbled back and slammed into Mildew's cage, dazed for only a moment.

"I imagined that going a bit better," Sunset whispered, nerves hitting an all-time high as they tensed, waiting to see what the guard would do.

Nothing, as it turned out. Mildew looped his staff around the guard's head and pulled back roughly, causing the guard to bang into the metal bars and fall unconscious.

"Nice one." Sunset grinned and retrieved the key that had fallen from the guard's pocket. She went over to Mildew's cell and reached for the lock.

"Hey!" Hiccup's exclamation caused her to pause. "What are you doing?"

"Freeing him," she answered, surprised. "We can't leave him here."

"We can't take him with us!" Hiccup shot back.

"I know my way around the island! I can help you!" Mildew said earnestly. "Let me make it up to you, please?"

Hiccup bit his lip. As suspicious as he was of Mildew, the man sounded sincere. "Okay," he conceded. "Just do as we say."

Sunset beamed and unlocked the door. Mildew exited and the three hurried down the dirt passage. They left from a metal door, which led out to the dark island. "How do we get to Toothless?" Hiccup asked.

Mildew pointed down the slope, towards a high expanse of rock that was crowded with dragons. "Through there. But there are wild dragons blocking our way."

Amusement crossed Sunset's features. "We're dragon trainers, Mildew. We'll be fine."

They went down the slope and crouched behind a boulder. Hiccup surveyed the dragons for a moment before crawling over the rock. "Alright."

"I'd rather stay here," Mildew said, eyeing the dragons nervously.

Sunset grabbed his hand and pulled him out of hiding. "We've done this before! Just stay with us."

"Wonderful. I've got a ninety-pound boy and girl as my shield," drawled Mildew as he reluctantly followed the teens. "This will go well."

They walked through the barren valley, the dragons studying them intently. A Deadly Nadder sprang up and charged in front of them, roaring fiercely. Mildew yelped in fright and brandished his staff. "No, no," Sunset quickly pulled the staff from his grip and put it to the ground. "They don't respond well to being threatened."

"You have to show him that you mean no harm and that he can trust you." Hiccup walked carefully in front of the Nadder, making sure to stay in his line of sight. "There's a good boy," he praised, patting his side. The Nadder calmed down and folded his wings back against his body.

"Aren't you cute?" Sunset cooed, rubbing his muzzle affectionately.

The Nadder nudged against her palm and then wandered over to Mildew. He sniffed his face, causing the man to squeak and tense up. "It's okay," soothed Sunset. "He just wants to know you better."

After a moment the Nadder nuzzled Mildew's check, cooing softly. Hiccup could not help but grin. "Aw, he wants to be friends!"

"Is that a good thing?" Mildew asked, nervously eyeing the dragon.

"A very good thing. We can use him to get past the guards." Sunset smiled.

"I can't do that."

"Sure you can." Hiccup patted the Nadder. "Just remember, training a dragon begins and ends with trust."

Mildew hesitantly stepped forwards. He placed his hand against the Nadder's muzzle and he purred. "There you go," said Hiccup cheerfully.

"Now you just have to get on," added Sunset.

"What?" Mildew asked.

Hiccup climbed onto the Nadder with Sunset following behind him. Sunset moved back a bit, leaving enough space for Mildew to get on between them. "Alright then," the man muttered. "Can't believe I'm doing this…"

With a grunt he climbed onto the Nadder, settling in between the two teens. "See? Not so bad, is it?" Sunset asked with a smile.

"Mildew, on a dragon!" Hiccup said dramatically. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Believe you and me, neither did I," said Mildew feelingly.

The dragon jerked suddenly, causing Mildew to flail a bit. "Why'd he do that?"

"He's just never had people fly him before," explained Hiccup. He spit on his hand and smoothed it over the dragon's body. "See, a dragon's hide is dry, and the moisture from your hands will soothe him."

Mildew hastily spit on his palm and copied Hiccup's actions. The Nadder cooed in pleasure and stopped wiggling.

They took off into the sky, causing Mildew to yelp and panic and latch tightly onto Hiccup's waist. Sunset giggled in amusement, her own hands holding onto the Nadder's sides. "You can hold onto the dragon, you know," she informed.

"Apparently, he prefers holding onto me," said Hiccup flatly, glancing down at Mildew.

Eventually, the man was comfortable enough to settle back. The Nadder flew them all the way to where the dragons were being held captive. They landed into the passage and the two teens quickly dismounted. Mildew fell off ungracefully, mumbling to himself as he got to his feet.

"He's not here!" Sunset exclaimed, staring in shock at the empty cell. "You don't think…?"

"No," dismissed Hiccup. "Not yet, anyway. I think he must have escaped on his own."

Before they could think up their next move, the gates holding the dragons suddenly opened. Sunset, Mildew and Hiccup watched nervously as the Scauldron, Changewing and Whispering Death crawled from their cells, snarling viciously. The Nadder scampered up behind the trio, growling at the surrounding dragons.

"Oh, not good," whimpered Sunset.

"Let's see how you two do against these wild dragons!"

Sunset and Hiccup glanced up to see Alvin watching them from the dirt ledge, his hand resting on the wooden lever that controlled all the gates.

"Mildew, you're going to have to do exactly what we do," warned Sunset as the lot of them pressed close together.

"Okay," Mildew managed to say.

The Changewing fired acid and they dove out of the way. They hastily climbed onto the Nadder, avoiding the snapping jaws of the Whispering Death and the boiling water of the Scauldron. The Whispering Death disappeared under the dirt and Mildew breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's one gone."

"Not quite," Sunset said, clinging to Mildew's waist, her eyes darting about. "Changewings spew acid, Scauldrons shoot hot water, and the Whispering Deaths hunt underground."

Hiccup nudged the Nadder and the dragon charged, sprinting down the passageway. The Changewing and the Scauldron followed them and Hiccup halted at the end of the passageway for a brief second. The Nadder shot in the air a second before the Whispering Death surfaced. The Scauldron and the Changewing could not halt in time and collided into the Whispering Death, ending up in one dragon tangle.

"Okay," breathed Sunset. "That went well."

The Nadder flew out of the holding cell and through the sky, eventually landing on a large, smooth piece of stone. "Alright, kids, you certainly know your dragons," admitted Mildew.

"Hiccup! Sunset"

Startled, the trio looked up to see Stoick and Gobber flying down on Thornado. The rest of the dragon riders were not far behind, all landing in a semi-circle around the Nadder Hiccup, Sunset and Mildew were perched on.

"Are you alright?" Stoick asked anxiously, climbing off of Thornado.

"We're fine," answered Hiccup, jumping off of the Deadly Nadder and helping his best friend down. "But I think Toothless is in trouble. We need to find him."

"Um…guys?" Tuffnut said in a stage whisper. "Mildew is on a dragon."

"We know, Tuff," said Sunset patiently.

Tuffnut blinked at them. "You know that's really weird, right?"

Before Mildew could say anything to that remark, Gobber charged over and hauled him off of the Nadder, his stone hammer prosthetic raised threateningly above the elder's head. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't run you through here and now," he growled, eyes flashing with anger.

"I'll give you one," Sunset snapped, rushing over and forcibly prying Mildew from Gobber's grip. "He saved us. We owe him our lives."

Everyone stared at her in bafflement. The redhead couldn't really blame them. It was difficult to believe that the man who had wanted them gone for so long went out of his way to save their lives.

Hiccup shook his head. "I know this all weird, and we'll explain everything later. But right now we really need to find Toothless."

Astrid put her hands on her hips. "I'm pretty sure you didn't put us through hours of dragon call lessons for nothing."

Sunset grinned sheepishly. "Oh. Right. Let it rip, Hiccup."

Her friend obeyed, opening his mouth and letting loose with a Night Fury roar. It echoed through the stony, barren land. In no time at all, there was an answering roar, and everyone scrambled to climb on their dragons. They followed the accompanying roar and found the Night Fury a few yards away.

"Toothless!" Sunset exclaimed as they landed. She and Hiccup raced for their dragon, who tackled them in a hug and licked them happily.

"We're really happy to see you too," laughed Hiccup, patting Toothless on the head.

Toothless purred. But his contented expression quickly morphed into one of suspicion and he whipped his head around, causing his two riders to climb to their feet. "What's wrong?" Sunset asked in concern, following his hard gaze. Her green eyes grew wide upon spotting the source of his uneasiness. "Uh oh."

Alvin stood atop the looming cliff. "Running away before we've finished what we started?" he boomed. "Just what I expected from Berk's runts."

He laughed mockingly, the sound sending ripples of anger through the two teens. Despite what they've accomplished with the dragons, their stature and un-Viking-like nature were still sore spots. It was difficult to dismiss years of self-hatred and insecurities.

"Don't!" Stoick boomed, noticing the frustrated glint in their eyes.

Sunset climbed onto Toothless, right behind Hiccup. The mocking tone in which Alvin spoke his words brought up horrible memories of the treatment her father, Moonlight, gave her. She was tired of taking verbal abuse. She was going to do what she should have done to her father before he left Berk.

They soared into the air, much to the displeasure of their guardians. "He's baiting you!" Stoick roared after them. "Ignore it!"

"I'm right here!" Alvin shouted louder than Berk's leader. "Hit me with all you got!"

When the trio got closer, Alvin grinned victoriously and shouted, "Now!"

Three bolas came flying, snagging the dragon and his two riders. They dropped hard to the ground and Outcasts swarmed towards them.

"To the dragons!" Astrid cried in panic.

Tuffnut glanced over his shoulder. "Um…I would, but my dragon seems to be missing."

Mildew clucked his tongue. "This is what you get for trusting the beasts."

Ignoring him, Astrid frantically scanned the area. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "Look!"

The dragons had taken to the sky of their own accord. Their riders watched in awe as they took out the Outcasts and rescued Hiccup, Sunset and Toothless with no guidance.

Once the trio was placed back on the ground, away from the Outcasts, Stoick and Gobber ran forward and cut the bindings. Hiccup and Sunset hastily rolled off of Toothless and got to their feet. "What was that?" Hiccup asked in bewilderment.

"They saved you without orders!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "It's a whole new level of training!"

"We'll discuss it later!" Stoick snapped, warily eyeing the charging, recovered Outcasts. "Let's move out!"

Everyone climbed onto their dragons, with Gobber and Mildew settled on the Deadly Nadder. They took to the skies, but Mildew soon lost his grip and found himself holding onto the Nadder's tail for dear life. "What are you doing?" Gobber snapped. "Get up here!"

Mildew only looked at him. "Don't you do it!" Gobber ordered, suddenly knowing what the man was about to do.

"Tell them I'm sorry," Mildew whispered before letting go. He dropped to the stony surface below them, and was quickly captured by the Outcasts.

"Mildew!" Sunset shrieked and Hiccup quickly turned Toothless around to rescue the captured Berkian.

"Don't come back!" Mildew snapped. "Get away!"

Stoick quickly flew in front of Toothless to keep him from getting too close. "He's right," he informed stiffly. "It's too dangerous. We have to leave."

With heavy hearts, Sunset and Hiccup cast one last look at Mildew before reluctantly flying off.

"We'll get him back one day," Sunset said optimistically.

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We will."

Admittedly, he was a bit uneasy about the whole thing. Mildew looked a bit unconcerned about being left behind, and he had a feeling something wasn't quite right. But he wasn't going to let Sunset know about his suspicions just yet. She held trust in everybody, a trait that often got her in trouble, but one he admired greatly.

He'd worry about Alvin and Mildew later. Right now, he just wanted to get back home, rest, and celebrate Borc Week.

…

After a few hours of rest, Hiccup and Sunset stood in front of the blazing fire in the Haddock household. Hiccup held the phony map in his hands. "Well, that didn't go as expected," he muttered.

"Could have gone worse," Sunset said with a slight shudder. "Though I hope the trapped dragons got free. I can't exactly see Alvin and his group successfully luring a Whispering Death, Scauldron and Changewing back into captivity."

Hiccup nodded in agreement and tossed the map into the fire. "I suppose there's nothing wrong with being one of a kind."

"We definitely know what that's like," agreed Sunset, rubbing Toothless' muzzle fondly.

The wooden door slammed open, causing the three to jump. Astrid stood in the doorway, an impatient expression on her face. "Will you two get going?" She demanded. "You're leading the parade!"

"Right, Borc Week." Sunset and Hiccup hastily hurried outside with Toothless at their heels. "Are the rest of the dragons in formation?"

"Yes," Astrid confirmed. "As always, we're just waiting on you two."

Sunset mounted Toothless with Hiccup behind her. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked cheekily. "Let's go!"

They joined the rest of their friends, and soon the parade got underway. The Vikings cheered as they took to the sky, and Hiccup could see his father and Gobber beaming proudly. The wind rushed through his hair, and he stared at the friends that surrounded him, his best friends.

"Hey, Sun?"

"Yeah?" she called back.

"We have one heck of a family, don't we?"

Sunset glanced at the twins, who were flying beside them. They were currently knocking their helmets together as hard as they could. She grinned. "We got some characters, that's for sure. But I wouldn't change them for anything."

And neither, thought Hiccup, would I.