Hiccup, Toothless, and Lua arrived where some Vikings were pulling a badly damaged boat.
Lua was still without her saddle, which had been left on Dragon Island. Gobber approached them to explain the situation.
"It's that cursed dragon again! That's the second boat it's destroyed this week!" Gobber explained, slightly irritated.
"Hey, what dragon do you think it is?" Lua asked Toothless, looking at him.
"Hm, maybe it's a Thunderdrum. I know they usually have migration and hunting routes around here," Toothless said thoughtfully.
Lua looked to the side, deep in thought. She tried to pretend she didn't know what was going to happen, but sometimes it was difficult. The timing of events was either very far apart or very close together.
Sometimes small adventures happened, or nothing happened at all, making for a monotonous day.
During these calmer days, Lua wondered if she should try telling Toothless again about her biggest secret: that she had been human, that she was from another dimension, and that this world was just an animation created for entertainment. But she had already discarded telling the last part, since that would cause a huge identity crisis—and this was her real life now.
Lua remembered that when she first met Toothless months ago, she had mentioned being human, but the dragon had basically called her crazy and said she had hit her head really hard—which wasn't exactly a lie.
Maybe, after spending so much time together, Toothless would believe her... But that detail would certainly change everything—how Toothless saw her and how their relationship worked.
Lua was afraid of only one thing: a change that would turn her life disastrous after so many happy moments. Of course, being a dragon wasn't easy, but she felt much happier this way than when she was human.
Sometimes, Lua wondered how her father was doing, if he was okay, if he missed her... Maybe he didn't.
"Lua!" Toothless nudged her with his snout.
Lua widened her eyes and blinked.
"Huh?! What happened?" Lua asked, confused.
"Finally. You were just standing there staring at nothing," Toothless looked into her eyes. "You were starting to scare me."
"Sorry. I was thinking about some things... Don't you ever miss... your family?" Lua asked, changing the subject.
"Family?" Toothless fell silent.
"Yes... like a father... or a mother," Lua hesitated when saying mother, as if the word hurt her throat.
"Actually, no. I never got to know them. I hatched in the Red Death's nest, and a loving Gronckle took care of me until I became independent," he explained. "You are my family now—the only one I'll ever have."
Lua smiled softly at that.
Then both dragons looked ahead, seeing Hiccup and Stoick approaching. Hiccup called them and guided them to an open, isolated area.
"So, when do we start flying?" Stoick asked Hiccup.
"Good luck," was all Lua said before flying away.
"Wait—! What do you mean?" Toothless called after her, but it was too late.
o0o0o
Lua slowly woke up when Hiccup called her. She yawned and stretched her wings.
"Lua, have you seen Toothless?" Hiccup asked, giving her a pat.
"I was on my tenth nap, didn't see anything," Lua said as she got out of bed.
The two left the house only to see Stoick flying early in the morning on Toothless, crashing into rooftops all over the village.
Soon, Toothless landed awkwardly and exhausted.
"Dad! What are you doing?!" Hiccup asked, incredulous.
"Kicked his butt and trained flying," Stoick replied with a grin.
"With Toothless?" Hiccup looked at him with pity.
"Save me from this madman!" Toothless begged, looking desperate.
"Yeah! Leading has never been so easy. We crossed all of Berk this morning," Stoick said as he approached the house.
"But Toothless is my dragon!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"You chose a good dragon," Stoick said, patting his shoulder. "I just came to grab my axe—I'll help Iorson cut the fence."
"Y-Yeah, that's good, but Dad—" Hiccup started stammering. "You have to understand that Toothless—"
"You're right! I don't need the axe, Toothless can blast that fence with a fireball!" Stoick said, climbing onto Toothless's back.
Toothless just wanted to collapse and looked as if he were begging Hiccup to do something.
"I promise I'll figure something out," Hiccup assured him.
Toothless grumbled weakly before Stoick gave the command to fly. Toothless took off with Stoick shouting excitedly.
Hiccup sighed, worried.
"Now I actually feel bad," Lua murmured.
o0o0o
The next day, Toothless was even hiding from Stoick, afraid of having to carry him again.
Lua was on the stairs, waiting for Hiccup and Stoick to finish talking.
"Where's Toothless?" Stoick asked.
"I don't know," Hiccup said, briefly glancing toward where Toothless was hiding. "But you look great, Dad! Did you change something about your beard? Cut your hair?"
"Alright, you buttered me up. Now hand over the axe," Stoick crossed his arms.
"You can't keep Toothless, he's mine!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"Fair enough," Stoick then looked at the Skrill. "What about Lua?"
"Me?!" Lua blinked in surprise.
"L-Lua?" Hiccup was startled. "T-That wouldn't be a good idea. Lua isn't used to having someone riding her, and she releases a lot of electricity through her body."
"Hm," Stoick didn't seem interested in getting shocked. "Then get me another one."
"W-What?" Hiccup was shocked.
"Get me another dragon, Hiccup. That shouldn't be hard for the head of the Dragon Academy," Stoick said with a smile.
Hiccup didn't look so confident.
o0o0o
None of the dragons—or rather, the representatives of the species found in Berk—pleased the chief.
They were either too sharp, too slow, had multiple personalities, or were too hot.
None of them were like a Night Fury, and there were no other Night Furies.
"Are you sure we can't train Lua?" Stoick asked his son.
"Train her? I guess so, but..." Hiccup couldn't think of a good excuse.
"Great. Then I'll start training with her tomorrow," Stoick looked at the Skrill trying to sneak away. "And her saddle?"
That gave Hiccup a great idea.
"Lua still needs a new saddle! And the materials for it can only be obtained when Trader Johann arrives!" Hiccup said, relieved to find the perfect excuse.
Stoick accepted it but sighed. He urgently needed a dragon.
Lua sighed in relief when Stoick gave up on the idea of having her as his dragon. She didn't even want to imagine what her life would be like with someone like Stoick on her back—not to mention not being able to travel far from Berk with Hiccup and Toothless in the future.
"Stoick! It's that dragon again! It's attacking another ship!" Gobber came running into the arena.
Both Hiccup and Stoick went to step onto Toothless's saddle supports, but Hiccup quickly backed away awkwardly, letting his father take the lead reluctantly.
He couldn't ride Lua until he made her a new saddle.
o0o0o
The two dragons arrived where the ship was under attack, and the mysterious dragon was a... Thunderdrum!
"Ah!" Hiccup gasped in surprise. "I can't believe it—it's a Thunderdrum. They say it steals the power of Thor himself!"
"Just a warning shot—show it this is war!" Stoick ordered Toothless.
"Toothless, plasma blast!" Hiccup commanded.
Toothless obeyed, and Lua circled around, ready to provide cover. The Thunderdrum flew upward, dodging the plasma blast, then dove toward Toothless with its mouth open.
Toothless didn't flinch and fired again, forcing the Thunderdrum to retreat into the water.
Lua preferred to observe from afar and stay away from the water, since water was her only weakness. She watched with pure admiration as Stoick fought the Thunderdrum hand-to-hand—one thing was seeing it in animation, another was seeing it in real life.
Soon, Stoick managed to capture the Thunderdrum for training, leaving everyone on the ship in shock.
o0o0o
Lua was peacefully flying alone, enjoying a well-deserved break, when something came flying toward her at high speed.
"My goodness!" Lua barely dodged Stoick and the Thunderdrum. "Oh my God..."
o0o0o
Lua watched Toothless and the Thunderdrum—still unnamed—slowly lower their friend down to Gobber so he could be treated and healed.
She unfortunately hadn't seen or participated in that event, but it wasn't like her presence was strictly necessary.
o0o0o
A few days of pure peace followed: one dragon causing trouble here, rescuing a Viking there, or avoiding scoldings.
"Looks like Trader Johann has arrived," Lua said to her friends.
Everyone was near the dock while their riders ran toward the merchant ship.
"You know, I think that's one of the weirdest names for a Viking—Trader—right after Snotlout, of course," Hookfang grumbled quietly.
"You know his name is Johann, right?" Stormfly glanced at him.
"Huh?" Hookfang blinked, confused.
Stormfly sighed and shook her head.
"Hm, I hope he..." Barf began.
"...Brought delicacies!" Belch finished.
"You two aren't going to try blowing up his ship again, are you?" Lua raised an eyebrow.
The two heads looked at each other and then giggled.
"We promise nothing."
Toothless moved away with Hiccup toward the merchant ship.
"I hope I finally get my new saddle. It's been so long—I feel weird without it," Lua said to Stormfly.
"I've gotten so used to my saddle I can't live without it anymore. Astrid always cleans and polishes it!" Stormfly said proudly.
"Look at the peacock showing off its feathers," Hookfang teased.
Stormfly growled at him. Lua quickly placed herself between them, pushing them apart with her wings.
"Hey! Don't fight here! Remember last time? If you're going to fight, do it in the arena," Lua shuddered, remembering the disaster their last fight caused. "You can kill each other there."
Both snorted and turned away, refusing to look at each other.
"Why are they like this again?" Lua asked Meatlug.
"Nadders and Nightmares don't have a good history together," Meatlug replied.
Lua turned her attention back to Johann's ship, watching him roughly grab a Terrible Terror and toss it aside. Toothless reacted immediately, roaring and lunging toward Johann.
Luckily for Johann, Hiccup was there to calm Toothless before things got ugly.
"I feel like I'm forgetting something," Lua said, resting a claw under her chin, then shrugged. "If I forgot, it must not be important."
o0o0o
Now everyone was in the Dragon Academy arena. The twins had bought a statue of Trader Johann to place there.
"That's what you got from Trader Johann?" Hiccup asked the twins.
"We traded our great-grandfather's skull. We kept the clavicle," Tuffnut explained.
"It's about time you took pride in this place," Hiccup said, pleased.
"Duck!" Tuffnut shouted, without explanation.
"What?" Hiccup blinked.
Suddenly, Barf and Belch fired their flames at the statue, barely giving Hiccup time to dodge (Tuffnut had already moved easily, smiling).
"That's awesome! I want to try too! Fire!" Snotlout commanded Hookfang.
Stormfly launched her spines, Meatlug spat lava.
Electricity crackled along Lua's jaw before she fired a lightning bolt at the statue.
Toothless was next, but he sneezed before hitting it. The shot went wild, and the second blast nearly hit Snotlout.
"That's strange," Hiccup said, approaching Toothless.
"Hey! Can you tell your dragon to cover his mouth when he sneezes?!" Snotlout snapped, irritated—and this time, rightfully so.
"S-Sorry, that's never happened before," Hiccup said, worried.
Lua stared at Toothless, tilting her head, trying to remember why he was sneezing, but it was hard to be sure.
o0o0o
Hiccup flew on Toothless alongside Lua and Astrid on Stormfly. Suddenly, Toothless's flight became unstable.
Lua growled in concern and tried to grab Toothless, but it was useless—the dragon crashed to the ground.
"Dude, are you okay?!" Lua asked anxiously.
"I think..." Toothless looked dizzy, like he had a fever. "...I'm not."
"What happened?!" Astrid asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it's... a cold? Can dragons get colds?" Hiccup wondered.
"Look at this," Astrid pointed to a Terrible Terror that had fallen, completely disoriented, and picked it up. "Whatever this is, it affected him too."
Lua was already worried about Toothless—and now even more so. She approached the Night Fury, gently nudging him and rubbing against him affectionately.
Toothless purred softly, grateful for the comfort in his miserable state.
Hiccup also petted Lua, worried she might get sick too.
o0o0o
Lua thought maybe there was a chance she wouldn't catch the mysterious allergy affecting the dragons. Since she had once been human, maybe that influenced her dragon biology.
"Aa-choo!" Lua sneezed, and a small lightning bolt shot from her mouth, hitting the ground in front of her.
"Oh no, you too," Hiccup lamented, feeling helpless seeing both his friends sick.
Lua had been wrong—very wrong.
Whatever was affecting Toothless was affecting her too, and it was terrible. She felt weak, her throat felt tight, her spines trembled as electricity leaked out in random waves.
The danger of those electric surges forced her to sleep outside so she wouldn't endanger anyone inside the house.
She had never felt so awful before and truly thought she was going to die—and that scared her.
Scared her for the first time since she had somehow appeared in this universe.
o0o0o
Hiccup approached carefully and placed something in Lua's mouth, which she immediately swallowed. The liquid was cold and slightly bitter, but incredibly refreshing, and Lua began to recover.
The random shockwaves stopped, and she managed to open her eyes.
"What happened?" Lua asked, still confused.
The antidote's effect was almost immediate. Hiccup hugged Lua, catching the Skrill by surprise.
"Did I die?" Lua asked.
"We almost did," Toothless said, approaching. "But the Vikings—our family—saved us," Toothless smiled.
Thornado, Stoick's Thunderdrum, approached after recovering as well.
"That was a near-death experience, youngsters! But we survived this illness like true warriors!" Thornado exclaimed with a roar.
Stoick approached the dragon and stroked his snout.
Lua smiled, relieved to still be alive and able to take part in the next adventures.