The last thing you'd expect to read first in a chapter is about a mattress hitting a Talon off his ship. But it happened. A large, feather mattress flew out of Terra Gale from a catapult and knocked off a Cyclonian. The man who launched it, Wren, celebrated by dancing in his stove armor.

"Take that, you Cyclonian dog!" he taunted in a strong French/Canadian accent. "That was for Dove!"

Suddenly, he spotted three more Cyclonian ships heading towards his direction. He knew he didn't have time to put something else on the catapult, but he was still standing strong ready for whatever these ruffians had in store for him. But what he didn't expect is a plasma blast that ignited between the Cyclonians pushing them away from each other. From the clouds, the dragon riders from Terra Berk flew on the backs of their dragons and fired a barrage of fire blasts. Taking advantage of the confusion, Wren, continued to fire junk out of his catapult. Eventually, the Cyclonians were either blown out of the sky or retreated.

After that, the dragon riders landed on a large clearing surrounded by other junk. They dismounted their dragons and looked around.

"Wasn't that awesome?" Snotlout praised. "And me. That was cool. Snotlout, Snotlout…"

"Stop, stop, stop." Astrid said.

"So…" Hiccup looked around but seeing no one. "Where's the little old guy?"

"Probably the kitchen looking for more ammo." Tuffnut said. "You know, you gotta appreciate his creativity."

"Indeed." Ruffnut agreed. "Makes you think on what a weapon can be. Maybe a straw or a glove."

"Or even words."

"A net."

"Uh, a net is already a weapon."

"No, I mean there's a…"

It was too late to finish the sentence. The trap was already sprung as the net flew off of the ground snatching all the dragon riders at once.

"That happened." Hiccup said.

"HA-HA!" Wren shouted as he jumped out of nowhere. "I got you now, Cyclonian swine! Now, to drop you in the Wastelands!"

"What?" Hiccup asked. "No, you got it all wrong. We're not Cyclonians."

Wren wasn't listening. He pulled a lever that dropped the net onto the catapult. He was about to launch them until…

"Toothless, don't hurt him!" Hiccup ordered.

Wren was confused for a split second until Toothless appeared out of nowhere and pushed the old man away from the catapult. The other dragons pulled the net off of the catapult and freed their partners. Wren got back up and raised his fists preparing for a fight.

"So, you want to tussle, huh?" he asked.

"Who says 'tussle' anymore?" Fishlegs asked.

"Look, sir, there's been a misunderstanding." Hiccup said. "Johann sent us. We're here to help you fight against the Cyclonians."

"You're not Cyclonians?" Wren asked. "Then why are you working with dragons?"

"Buddy, Cyclonians don't work with dragons." Snotlout said. "And for your information, we help Atmos."

"Who is your commanding officer?" Wren asked.

"That'd be me, Hiccup Haddock. This here is my partner, Toothless."

"So… they are not going to eat me?" Wren asked.

"No." Fishlegs said. "Just give them some fish, and Meatlug here likes rocks and an occasional crystal or two, and you should be fine. But no eels though. They hate the stuff."

"OK, then." Wren said. "Dragon riders, welcome to Terra Gale, home of the Rebel Ducks."

"Rebel Ducks?" Snotlout asked. "And he expects anyone to take him seriously?"

"Hold on." Hiccup said. "You mean you're a Sky Knight? Then what were you doing using furniture as ammo?"

"Oh, 'tis a truly dreadful tale." Wren said dramatically. "Everything used to be peaceful here on Terra Gale. When the Cyclonians built a factory, we could hold our own. That is, until one night when a dragon came. Big as life and black as night. We fought off against it, but every time we try to strike it, our attacks and weapons just keep going through the dragon. We lost our equipment to that phasing dragon."

"Phasing dragon?" Astrid asked.

"Wren, no dragon like that exists." Hiccup said.

"That is what the other Sky Knights said when I reported it. They thought I was playing a joke, but I swear it was real. Without weapons or backup, we were easy pickings for the Cyclonians by day and the dragon who kept coming back to terrorize us every night. When it was down to just me and my precious granddaughter, Dove, we bolted down our home and took deep shelter there while the dragon flew around our terra. Then… Dove was captured by the Cyclonians just last week. It's down to just me now."

"I… think his frying pan is a little crooked." Snotlout whispered.

"Either way, we can't ignore this man's cry for help." Hiccup said. "I don't know about the dragon, but the Cyclonians are terrorizing this place. Wren, we'll get in that factory and save your squad."

"Excellente!" Wren exclaimed. "We'll show that Dark Ace a thing or two about messing with the Rebel Ducks!"

"Wait, what?" Fishlegs asked in shock. "Did you say the Dark Ace?"

"Oui. He's been assisting in some of the raids lately."

"Johann couldn't have warned us that Cyclonis' second-in-command was here?" Snotlout asked. "No way I'm going!"

"Sounds like he's scared he'll get creamed again." Tuffnut said.

"I wasn't creamed!" Snotlout denied. "I just… Shut up, Tuff."

"Good news, Snotlout." Hiccup said. "You're not coming."

"Really?" Snotlout asked. "Not that I mind, but why?"

"Because this rescue mission needs stealth, especially if the Dark Ace is involved." Hiccup said. "Astrid and I will go in while the rest of you investigate this dragon that keeps showing up at night."

"Us?" Ruffnut asked. "Looking for a giant dragon that nothing can touch? Sweet."

"Fishlegs is in charge." Hiccup said.

"Less sweet." Ruffnut corrected.

"Why Fish-face?" Snotlout asked.

"Fishlegs knows as much about dragons as much as I do." Hiccup said.

"Unless you already know what kind of dragon it is or how to handle it." Astrid continued.

"Well… I… Shut up, Astrid." Snotlout pouted.

Meanwhile, Ravess and Snipe entered a strange camp. Terra Mace was the home of some scary people. There were men in armor all around and on the sides, cages were full of wild dragons. One big man approached the two Cyclonians.

"My name is Ryker. What is your purpose here?"

"Master Cyclonis sent us." Ravess said. "She requests the aide of your boss, Viggo Grimbourn."

"Really?" Ryker asked. "Well, I'm sure Viggo will be happy to see you. Follow me."

Ryker lead Ravess and Snipe through the camp passing tent after tent and dragon cage after dragon cage. Eventually, they approached a big tent. Ryker opened it revealing a shifty-looking man with a beard and mustache combo.

"Welcome, Cyclonians." He said. "I am Viggo Grimbourn."

"Wait, how did you know we were Cyclonians?" Snipe asked.

"Well, your ships and armor don't exactly scream 'Sky Knight'." Viggo said.

"Oh, you think you're so smart?" Snipe asked. "Well, I'm not a grown man playing some silly board game."

"This board game is a way to prepare chieftains in training." Viggo said. "A simulated battlefield. It's called Maces and Talons."

"Well, this is Terra Mace and we are Talons." Snipe said. "So… Common ground?"

Everyone looked at Snipe with looks like they were having aneurysms.

"Sorry about him." Ravess said. "My brother is more muscle than brain."

"I know all about that." Viggo said locking his eyes on his own brother, Ryker. "Well, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes." Ravess said. "You see, Master Cyclonis has a little bit of a problem that needs your particular expertise for. She's willing to pay as much as she needs to."

"As enticing as that sounds, I'll have to decline." Viggo said. "Forgive me. It's just that I need to hear this from Cyclonis' own mouth first. It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of value. I need her to tell me what she wants from me so that I can know how valuable I am."

"Don't you ignore us!" Snipe growled as he began o pull out his mace. He was stopped when Ryker grabbed his wrist.

"Hurt him and I'll send you straight to the Wastelands." Ryker threatened.

"You're making a mistake." Ravess said.

"I hear the deal from Cyclonis herself or there's no point in discussing it." Viggo said. "There's the door."

Without saying a word and frustrated at their meeting, Ravess and Snipe stormed out of the tent.

"What do we do now?" Snipe asked. "If Master Cyclonis finds out about it…"

"I know." Ravess said. "Don't worry. I know what to do."

The sky was completely pitch black when the sun finally set. That was Hiccup and Astrid's cue to leave on Toothless and Stormfly. While they flew towards the Cyclonian factory, the other dragon riders and their dragons stayed on Terra Gale with Wren. The old man noticed Fishlegs looking through a deck of flash cards.

"What is that?" Wren asked enunciating the last word with his accent.

"My own flash notes on dragons." Fishlegs said. "I'm looking for one that matches your description. So far, nothing comes close."

"Bah! Worry not about written knowledge, my friend." Wren said. "You'll learn all you need to once you see the beast for yourself."

"If we see it." Snotlout mocked.

"Seeing is a state of mind, my friend." Tuffnut said. "I remember our Uncle Ruchos."

"Oh, yeah." Ruffnut said. "That guy kept seeing a lot of colors on one side of his eyesight. We kept calling him Rainbow Ruchos."

"He didn't take that nickname well." Tuffnut said.

"Seriously, how many uncles do you two have?" Snotlout asked.

"That depends. Who's asking?" Ruffnut asked.

"Rest assured, comrades." Wren said. "We'll all have quite a story to tell when my squad is rescued, and this terra is safe from Cyclonians and dragons alike."

"You still can't expect us to believe there's a ghost dragon, do you?" Snotlout asked.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed from beneath the terra. Everyone looked over the edge and a large shadowy silhouette appeared out of nowhere. The sky was blanketed with wings the size of the very terra and the dragon itself as black as Toothless. The only other scary thing was the white eye looking down at the heroes who were amazed.

"Well… look at that." Snotlout said trying not to scream but is afraid on the inside.

The dark corners of the factory were perfect camouflage for Toothless. When Talons are passing by, the Night Fury would take Hiccup and Astrid to a corner and cover them with his wing. They continued down the halls until they found an empty floor underneath a catwalk. They dropped down and looked around. Astrid stopped when she saw a girl chained to a big, metal ball. She nudged Hiccup with her elbow and pointed at her.

"Dove." Hiccup said. Dove panicked and took out her frying pan for self-defense. "It's okay. It's okay. Wren sent us."

Dove immediately gasped in joy as she lowered her guard. "Grandpapa?" she asked in the same accent as her grandfather. "Wait. We can't leave yet. They still have my comrades."

"If we draw the Cyclonians away, do you think you can free your friends and escape?" Hiccup asked.

"Oui, of course." Dove confirmed.

"Good." Hiccup said. "Astrid, follow me."

After breaking the chain on Dove's ball, Hiccup and Astrid went to the main courtyard to confront a large group of Cyclonians. Hiccup picked up a lead pipe and tapped it on a big, metal pan to get their attention.

"Hi, everyone." Hiccup said. "Do you know where I can find the bathroom?" The Cyclonians readied their weapons. "Guess not."

The Cyclonians were about to fire, but then, Toothless and Stormfly emerged from the shadows and landed in front of their partners. Hiccup and Astrid mounted their dragons and they began to hover.

"Catch us of you can, you bozos!" Hiccup taunted just before taking off with Astrid on Toothless and Stormfly.

As Hiccup predicted, the Cyclonians got on their vehicles and gave chase. While they did that, Dove took advantage of the lack of Talons and went to the prison where her comrades were being held. She then led them to their confiscated aircrafts.

Back up in the sky, Toothless and Stormfly hid in a cloud under the dark of night while the Talons were circling around looking for them.

"They're not very bright, are they?" Astrid asked.

"Well, yeah." Hiccup said. "I mean, they did just send every Cyclonian there to chase two teenagers on dragons."

"Hiccup!" Snotlout's voice called from the handheld radio.

Hiccup picked up his radio and answered back. "Snotlout? What?"

"The dragon's real!" Snotlout shouted. "Is just showed up out of nowhere! And everything we throw just goes right through it!"

"The phasing dragon?" Hiccup asked. "Are you sure?"

"I'M PRETTY SURE I'D KNOW AN UNTOUCHABLE DRAGON IF I SAW ONE!" Snotlout shouted louder.

"Okay, okay." Hiccup said. "Look, Astrid and I are done with the Rebel Ducks. They're escaping as we speak. We'll be back at Gale in a short… while." He was nervous when he saw what was ahead. At the other end of the night sky flying towards him and Astrid, there were three Cyclonian jets in flashing red. In the middle stood a very familiar face: the Dark Ace.

"Is that…" Astrid asked.

"Oh, yeah." Hiccup said. "On second thought, Snotlout, we might be a little late."

"WHAT?!" Snotlout screamed. "Hiccup, we…"

Snotlout was interrupted by the giant dragon's roar. He then dropped the radio and ran inside of the mill where the others were.

"Hey, find your own hiding spot." Tuffnut said.

"What are we gonna do?" Fishlegs asked.

"I don't know!" Snotlout panicked. "Hiccup might be delayed, so it might be up to us."

"Why don't you get on your dragons and fight the beast?" Wren asked.

"We don't know anything about this dragon." Fishlegs explained. "It's not exactly listed in the Book of Dragons. If we go in blind, we could fly into a trap. Besides, dragons have a limited amount of shots they can fire at a time. We need to be smart about this."

"How can we afford to be smart about this, fish-face?" Snotlout asked. "There's a giant dragon out there destroying everything in its path and…"

"No, it's not." Ruffnut said looking outside.

"What?" Fishlegs asked.

"That dragon," Tuffnut explained, "It's not doing anything. It's just circling around us."

Fishlegs looked outside the window and saw that they were right. The giant, black, white-eyed dragon wasn't really attacking. It just flew around Terra Gale in a circle.

"What?" Fishlegs asked. "I don't understand. Unless…" His eyes widened and he quickly bolted outside.

The dragon landed on the ground to rest, which gave Fishlegs the chance to get a closer look. What looked like the dragon's white eye fall out was actually one small, white dragon stepping away. With a good look, the entire dragon was made up of very small dragons.

"Wait, that's what's been scaring us?" Snotlout asked.

"What are they?" Wren asked.

"Of course!" Fishlegs gasped in shock. "It's so obvious! Why didn't I see it before? They're Night Terrors!"

"Night Terrors?" Wren repeated.

"They only come out at night and sleep during the day." Fishlegs explained. "They protect their flock by pretending to be a bigger dragon. They follow the white one as its alpha. They must have nested in some underground tunnels around this terra."

"How does that explain the phasing stuff?" Snotlout asked.

"The stuff didn't phase through, Snotlout." Fishlegs said. "The Night Terrors just moved out of the way to give us the illusion."

"How did I not notice them?" Wren asked.

"The Night Terrors only respond when they sense danger." Fishlegs said. "Perhaps they were trying to be alert about the Cyclonians hoping to scare them away."

"Son of a gun." Wren said. "Seems my fear of dragons has left me sort of embarrassed."

"Perhaps." Fishlegs said. Then, an idea popped into his head. "And I think I have an idea."

"This time, no mercy." The Dark Ace said as he plugged his Firebolt crystal at the hilt of his sword.

"Astrid, deal with the reinforcements." Hiccup said. "Toothless and I can handle the Dark Ace."

"Got it." Astrid said. "Be careful." She lowered herself to break the Cyclonians' formation around the Dark Ace leaving him alone with Hiccup and Toothless.

The Dark Ace started the duel with his energy blast which Toothless dodged. Hiccup then guided Toothless down the clouds and the Dark Ace followed. Toothless widened his wings enough to stop himself and let the Dark Act pass by. As soon as the Dark Ace found out the Night Fury had stopped behind him, he flew straight again hoping to circle back around the dragon, but Hiccup kept outmaneuvering him. The Dark Ace pointed his sword back shooting a firebolt out of his weapon. Hiccup and Toothless kept dodging it.

"You're only prolonging the inevitable, Hiccup." Dark Ace exclaimed.

"Maybe, but you're cutting your further from your team." Hiccup responded.

"You mean my so-called 'back-up'?" Dark Ace laughed. "I couldn't care less about them."

"See, that's the difference between you and me." Hiccup said. "You see your team as a group of pawns, but as for me…" The Dark Ace was caught off guard by the Talon who fell on his hood. "I have every faith in my friends."

The Dark Ace pushed the Talon off and reached for his sword again. He attempted to fire another bolt, but before he could, a large spine shot and knocked the crystal out of the hilt. He turned and saw Astrid and Stormfly flying beside him giving him a confident smirk.

"You think the two of you are enough? You're nothing but barbarians!"

"I know you are…" Snotlout exclaimed as he arose from his dragon the same as Fishlegs and the twins. "…But what are we?"

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. "You're supposed to be taking care of the dragon."

"We are." Fishlegs said.

Suddenly, the swarm of dragons taking the form of a giant dragon figure arose behind them. The Dark Ace was caught off guard by the deceptive size.

"Wow, you actually trained it that quickly?" Hiccup asked. "I'm impressed." He turned his head to the evil Cyclonian. "What's it going to be, Dark Ace?"

"Next time, you won't be so lucky." The Dark Ace growled as he turned the ship around.

As soon as they landed back on the ground, Fishlegs told Hiccup the truth about the dragon. Hiccup approached the leader of the Rebel Ducks.

"Well, that factory won't think twice about bothering you anytime soon now that the Dark Ace got a good look at your 'ghost dragon'." Hiccup said. "And remember, you don't have to attack the Night Terrors. This is your home as much as it is theirs. They want to defend it as much as you do."

"Thank you for your contribution to the resistance." Wren said. "I don't know how to repay you."

"There's pay?" Snotlout asked before getting elbowed by Astrid.

"The chance to help others is reward enough." Hiccup said.

"Well, if you insist…" Wren said.

Suddenly, Dove hit her grandfather on the head with his hubcap hat. "I'm sure you can find something, Grandpapa. Don't be cheap."

Chuckling nervously, Wren investigated his bag and rummaged around. "Aha!" he exclaimed. He pulled out two things. One was a green crystal. "This is a Gale Crystal, able to shoot a terrifying tornado. The next time you see those Cyclonian swine, blow them a kiss from the Rebel Ducks. And…" He held up a circular frame with a crystalized glass in it. "I don't know what this is. But it looks valuable. Why don't you take it?"

"Thank you, Wren." Hiccup said accepting the gifts.

"Ooh!" Tuffnut exclaimed picking up a chicken. "Can we take the chicken too? I feel a strange connection to it."

"Uh… I suppose." Wren said. "Really, you'd be doing me a favor. All that thing does is stand around."

"We'll take it." Tuffnut said. "And I shall name thee… Chicken." He held it up with a visible ray of sunshine raining on it.

"Well… at least it wasn't an explosive." Astrid said.

Viggo looked down at his Maces and Talons board. The day was quiet so far. That is, until a young, sinister voice came from the front.

"Take two pawns to the left and you'll kill the traitor." Viggo looked and gazed his eyes at Master Cyclonis approaching the table. "That is what you're trying to do, isn't it?"

"Master Cyclonis, what an honor." Viggo said. "And here, I thought those two goons wouldn't be brave enough to give you a call."

"Viggo Grimbourn." Cyclonis said taking a seat. "You've got a lot of nerve refusing a generous offer by demanding to see me."

"Apologies, but you're the only one I could negotiate with." Viggo said. "The muscle-head is obviously duller than a used butter knife and the girl with him seems a tad impulsive."

"You may have a point." Cyclonis said. "Very well. Let's talk. As you may have heard, there are a group of teenagers who have taken the liberty of… riding dragons."

"Yes, I have heard rumors." Viggo said. "And you believe my dragon hunters will give you the necessary force to counteract them. Why not simply destroy them yourself?"

"Our knowledge of the dragons and their behavior is limited." Cyclonis said. "We need the expertise of professional hunters."

"Hmm." Viggo said with thoughts parading around in his head. "You know, there may be a way that could benefit all of us."

"Go on."

"My tribe has an ancient legend about a certain tool of knowledge." Viggo said. "It is called the Dragon Eye. With crystalized lenses and a dragon's breath, it can reveal hidden knowledge about dragons lost to us. There may even be some information on the elusive Night Fury."

"Intriguing." Cyclonis said. "And where is this Dragon Eye?"

"Sadly, it has been lost for years." Viggo said. "The ship that was carrying it, the Reaper, had crashed into the Wasteland and it's filled with traps. It's going to take some careful planning to take it. Still, there are still the lenses to consider. I'm in the middle of tracking them down, so it could be a while. But it might go a lot faster if we had Cyclonian resources at our disposal."

"I see. So if I help complete the Dragon Eye and we collect enough lenses, then we could know everything about the dragons."

"Indeed." Viggo confirmed. "Still, there are still the riders themselves to consider. If I am to help against them, I need to know about them. I can't exactly confront them blindly."

"You'll need a situation where the dragon riders will have to interfere so we can study their behavior." Cyclonis said. "I believe I can think of something." She extended her hand. "Does this mean we have a deal?"

Viggo paused for a moment. "Consider the dragon hunters at your beck and call." He grabbed Cyclonis' hand and they shook sealing their evil alliance.