OKAY GUYS, HERE IT IS.

MY FINAL FANFICTION IN THE HTTYD ARCHIVE, PERMANENTLY OR TEMPORARILY, I HAVE NO IDEA. I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY THIS FIC BECAUSE I'M REALLY TRYING MY HARDEST TO MAKE IT COUNT! :D

I LOVE YOU ALL! ENJOY RACE TO THE EDGE SEASON 3B EPISODE 2: THE DOWNED RIDER! :D THIS IS SET IN THE RTTE TIMELINE, JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS! :D ENJOY! :D

As you journey through life, it's always good to have friends you know you can count on. I know I've counted on them more times than I can count myself, and they always come through for me. They're crazy and reckless at times, but then again, so am I. I couldn't imagine a life without them; they've saved my life too many times for that.

This is one of the most memorable instances for me, in which they've saved my life; I'm recording it so I can never forget, just how incredible my friends really are.

...

"Give it to me! I said give it to me!" snapped Snotlout, chasing the twins through the Clubhouse, shouting at them all the while. Ruffnut and Tuffnut laughed hysterically, taunting him, Snotlout's bludgeon held over Tuffnut's head like a Thawfest trophy.

"That's been in the family for years!" said Snotlout, finally catching up with the twins and managing to snatch the bludgeon from Tuffnut's hands. "Ah, look what you guys did to it! You got it dirty!" He brushed imaginary dirt from the bludgeon and glared harshly at the twins.

"As if your hands are even remotely clean," said Ruffnut, wiping her hands on her pants.

"Hiccup!" said Snotlout, storming to the other side of the Clubhouse, as far away from the twins as possible. "Can you please tell Mister and Misses Grubby Hands to keep away from my stuff!?"

Across the room, Hiccup, who was seated on a stool in front of their round table, looked up. He had been examining the Dragon Eye all morning, along with listening to the twins and Snotlout fight, and he was beginning to become agitated.

"Um...well, if I recall correctly, Snotlout," said Hiccup, handing the Dragon Eye to Fishlegs, who was standing nearby, "you did steal the twins' spears this morning."

"That was because they wouldn't stop poking me with them!" said Snotlout furiously.

"He was asking for it!" protested Ruffnut, crossing her arms.

"And even if he hadn't been asking for it," said Tuffnut, "wonderful pranksters like ourselves do not simply pass up an offer to prank one of our fellows! Especially one who deserves it!"

"Arrrrgggghhh!" shouted Snotlout, and he stormed towards the door with Hookfang in tow. Just as he opened the hatch, Stormfly soared through the door with Astrid mounted on her back. Snotlout was knocked over by Stormfly, and Hookfang pulled backwards to avoid getting rammed into.

"I patrolled the outer rim of Dragon's Edge," said Astrid, dismounting Stormfly and heading over. "No sign of Dagur's ships anywhere."

"That is good news," said Fishlegs, beaming. "The Night Terrors haven't left their perches. They should alert us if they see anything out of the ordinary."

Across the room, Snotlout got to his feet again, brushing off his shirt. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking," he grumbled, and then, he realized, "Hey! Where's my bludgeon!?"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut giggled, and then, Ruffnut pulled the bludgeon from behind her back.

"GIVE IT BACK!" demanded Snotlout furiously, and he charged towards the lunatics, ready to swipe back what they had stolen from him.

"Okay, okay, okay, guys, calm down," said Hiccup, putting out his hands and rising from his seat. "Ruff, Tuff, give the bludgeon back to Snotlout."

Ruffnut growled. "Ugh, okay," she muttered, throwing the bludgeon to Snotlout. Snotlout caught the weapon, gave the twins one final glare, and made for the door of the Clubhouse once again.

This time, before he had the chance to open the door again, a Terrible Terror suddenly burst through them, slammed into Snotlout, and tackled the boy to the ground. Snotlout was, needless to say, less than thrilled.

"Get it off me!" Snotlout yelled, grabbing the Terrible Terror and shoving him away. "Stay away from me, you crazy dragon!"

The Terrible Terror must have decided Snotlout wasn't worth his time, because he spread his wings and flew over to Hiccup. The dragon landed on Hiccup's shoulder and held out his front leg expectantly.

"Oh, look, airmail," said Fishlegs, pointing, and Hiccup pulled the small scroll from the dragon's leg, unrolled it, and read.

"What is it, Hiccup?" said Astrid, moving forward to investigate.

"It's from Berk," said Hiccup, reading over the note. When he got to the end, he folded it and set it aside. "They want us to check out an island, just outside the archipelago. Apparently, there's been some weird dragon activity over there."

"Huh," said Fishlegs, scratching his chin, "interesting. What kind of weird dragon activity?"

"It mentioned aggressive dragons," said Hiccup.

"Ha," said Snotlout, crossing his arms. "You mean aggressive, gigantic, fire breathing reptiles. Yeah, big shock."

"Yeah," said Hiccup, frowning. The Terrible Terror on his shoulder leapt to his head, cooing, very proud of himself for having delivered the letter. "And Berk knows that dragons, even trainable ones, are always aggressive at first…"

"Which means it has to be a not normal kind of aggressive," said Astrid. "That's weird. Did it mention what kind of dragons?"

"No," said Hiccup. "Apparently, the Berkians didn't stick around to find out."

"The dragons were that aggressive?" said Fishlegs uncertainly. "That's weird. Even the more lethal dragons, like Typhoomerangs, keep to themselves unless they're threatened."

"Okay, so, let me get this straight," said Snotlout, putting forward his hands. "Berk wants us to check out this island full of these crazy dragons that may or may not tear us to pieces? Normally, when Hooligans turn back from a fight, you can know for a fact the fight is not one to be won easily!"

"We're Hooligans, too, Snotlout," said Astrid, crossing her arms. "And anyways, we're dragon trainers. Dealing with dragons, rogue or not, is what we do."

"But, by all means, Snotlout," said Hiccup, "feel free to stay behind."

"Whoa now!" said Snotlout, chuckling nervously. "Let's not get hasty! When do we leave?"

Hookfang grabbed Snotlout's bludgeon up from the floor and dropped it on his rider's head. Snotlout was, for the third time that day, knocked to the ground.

"HOOKFANG!" he shouted furiously.

...

Hiccup, Fishlegs, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut soared over the open ocean, mounted on their dragons, towards their destination. The wind blew in their faces, and it smelled of salt.

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction, Hiccup?" said Snotlout, leaning over Hookfang's neck lazily. "We've been flying for hours. We have to be getting close."

"We are getting close," said Hiccup, "and I'm positive we're going in the right direction."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other. "This is the perfect moment," said Tuffnut, "for us to get horribly lost."

"Tuffnut!" snapped Snotlout. "We aren't lost!"

"That's what they all say," said Tuffnut, nodding seriously.

Hiccup put his head in his hands. "Someone preserve me from the terminally stupid," he moaned.

"Wait...do you guys smell that?" said Astrid.

"I knew it!" said Tuffnut, sniffing the air. "That, my friends, is the smell of defeat!"

"It smells like there's a fire nearby," said Snotlout. "Does that mean anything?"

"It means," said Hiccup, "we're coming up on the island. Come on, gang! Turn right into the fog bank up ahead!"

The riders turned and did just as Hiccup had told them, using a small mist that hung over the ocean nearby to hide their numbers. The bank of fog soon ended, and when the riders shot back into the clear sky, they looked down on a large, dark, ominous island.

The island was covered in dust and ash, and caves, crevices, and towering piles of rocks from rockslides littered the terrain.

"Dam!" called Snotlout, pointing.

"What?" said the others, staring at him.

"Look!" said Snotlout, pointing more frantically this time. "Below! There's some sort of dam!"

"Oh," said Tuffnut, "you meant a dam. Okay."

"Come on!" said Ruffnut. "Let's check the dam out!"

The dragons zeroed down towards the ground, circling just above it. Sure enough, Snotlout was right. There was a dam, built, but unsturdy, and behind it was a large lake, kept contained by the dam and by the dam alone.

"Huh," said Hiccup, as Toothless circled overhead. "That's interesting. Dragons certainly didn't build this thing."

"And it's old," said Fishlegs, swerving on Meatlug to get a better look. "This island must have belonged to one of the ancient tribes. You see it all the time throughout history. Tribes claim different islands, but then, dragons attack and claim it from them."

"Like Berk almost was," said Astrid, moving in on Stormfly. "A few hundred more years of dragon raids and Berk would have been reclaimed by the dragons."

"Exactly, Astrid," said Fishlegs.

"That would explain why the dragons were hostile towards the Berkians on the ship," said Hiccup, overlooking the island. "They must have thought we were trying to claim their island from them again."

"That's weird," said Astrid, shaking her head. "We killed the Red Death, right? Why would there still be dragon problems like this if the Queen is dead?"

"Technically, Astrid, we killed one Queen," said Fishlegs, "of one nest. There could be hundreds of Queens still here. Maybe there's still one controlling the dragons on this island."

"Well, if that's the case, then we have a bigger problem than I thought," said Hiccup seriously. "Come on. Let's see if we can find the dragons mentioned in the airmail. Maybe if we can learn more about the dragons, we can learn more about their Queen."

Astrid and Fishlegs nodded, and they, their dragons, Hiccup, and Toothless soared back into the sky and circled the island. Meanwhile, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout stayed closer to the ground.

"If the dragons live near the dam, they're dam dragons," said Tuffnut, scratching his chin. "And this place has a dam, so it must be a dam place."

"Tuffnut, would you quit that!?" snapped Snotlout furiously.

"All I'm saying is," said Tuffnut, "that with this ominous of a dam hanging over our heads, we should think about proceeding with caution."

"Or, on the other hand," said Ruffnut, "we could do what we normally do and kick caution out the window."

"Huh," said Tuffnut, and then, he grinned. "You always did have the brains of the family, Ruffnut."

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Not a very big accomplishment, unfortunately," he muttered under his breath.

"I don't see any dragons, Hiccup!" said Astrid, flanking Hiccup and Toothless on Stormfly. "I think it's safe to land!"

"Agreed!" said Hiccup, nodding. "Come on, gang! We're going down!"

Toothless was the first to land, and after him came Stormfly, Fishlegs, Barf and Belch, and finally, Hookfang. Their riders dismounted, looking around.

"This place gives me the creeps," said Snotlout, glancing upwards at the towering mountains of stones from rockslides and ominous cliffsides. "Ugh! I knew coming here was a bad idea! There aren't any dragons here at all!"

As if on cue, a long, loud, RRRROOOOOAARRRR that sounded more guttural than anything rang clear across the sky, and the riders clapped their hands around their ears. Even the dragons clawed at the ground and shook their head, hating the grinding, gravelly sound.

The roar faded into a horrendous echo, and Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Hiccup whirled around to face Snotlout, glaring.

Snotlout threw his hands over his head. "What!? I didn't do it!"

"Well, whatever did do it didn't sound happy," said Astrid snappily. "Come on, we have to go see what it is!"

"Agreed," said Hiccup. "Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you three stay here and send up a distress signal if you see any sign of the dragon. Fishlegs, Astrid and I will look for the dragon from above."

"Now wait just a minute!" said Snotlout furiously. "I see what you're doing! You just want to take the sky because you're a scaredy cat! You know the sky is safer than the ground!"

Hiccup sighed. "Then, by all means, take my place," he said.

Snotlout paused, thinking. "Are you trying to confuse me!?" he demanded.

"DRAGON!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut suddenly shouted, pointing upwards.

The other riders turned to look, and sure enough, there was a dragon, flying straight towards them like a dive-bombing bird. Snotlout screamed in an octave that didn't sound physically possible and leapt onto Hookfang; Hookfang instantly shot into the sky, wings pounding.

"SNOTLOUT IS OUT-LOUT!" shouted Snotlout. "OUT-LOUT! AGAIN!"

"Everyone, mount up!" Hiccup said. "The first thing we need to do, is find out what kind of dragon this is-!"

The dragon suddenly swooped, flying between two tall towers of rocks, wings spreading to their full length, and then, the dragon turned and flew on.

It seemed for a moment that nothing was wrong.

But then...

The two towers of rocks it had flown between suddenly crumpled, having been sliced in half by something, and the rocks tumbled down, straight towards the dragons and riders. The dragon swooped and sped out of sight.

"TIMBERJACK!" screamed Fishlegs.