13 Get Your Skates O!!!!

13. GET YOUR SKATES ON!!!! Out of the Fire Pit Hiccup climbed he had never climbed so fast before. Camicazi hauled him up the last bit. Fishlegs put out a small fire that had started on his back. They were white and shaking, petrified by that appalling noise. Even in the horror of the moment, Toothless noticed the brown dragon in HIS place in Hiccup's waistcoat. 'Who's that in T-t-toothless's place?' he hissed furiously. 'NEVER MIND THAT NOW! GET YOUR SKATES ON!' yelled Hiccup. 'WE NEED TO GET BACK UP THERE BEFORE THEY START THE SWORDFIGHTING COMPETITION! STORMFLY, LEAD THE WAY!' 'BUT YOU'VE WOKEN UP ALL THE CAVE DRAGONS, YOU FREAK IGNORAMUSES!' shrieked Flashburn, hopping from foot to foot in terrified fury, still whispering, as if that would make any difference when there was the most horrific cacophony going on. 'THERE'S A REASON WHY

I ONLY EVER SEARCH THESE CAVES IN THE WINTER! LISTEN TO THAT NOISE! WE'RE GOING TO BE ANNIHILATED!' The noise was truly ear-splitting, like four hundred Furies screaming all at once. 'He's got it! He's got it! After him, all! The wretched little human boy has got the Crown! Riproarers! Breathquenchers! Brainpickers! ALL! HUNT HIM DOWN, Creatures of this darkness, HUNT HIM DOWN!' screamed the voice of the Red-Rage in a ghastly echo that trembled down the tunnels and echoed back to itself. And the voice was answered by the most spine- chilling, blood-curdling howling of Riproarers and

Breathquenchers and Thor knows what else, as every dragon in the entire cave tunnelwarren appeared to be waking up. 'We have no choice,' said Hiccup grimly. 'And we'll be all right. Something will turn up. Draw your swords everybody.' 'Something will turn up?' shrieked the enraged Flashburn. 'Something will turn up? What do you mean, something will turn up? Why are you listening to this bozo? OW!' This was as he was practically yanked off his feet by Camicazi, who had already set off and was pulling on his chain. They skated like fury through the tunnels, through the darkness. There were no sign of any dragons yet, they must all have been up on the other side of the electrified shield. 'Have… you… got… the… Crown?' panted Fishlegs. 'Yup,' said Hiccup, pointing to his waistcoat. 'I don't believe it,' gasped Flashburn, and the only word for how he felt at that moment is a word in Dragonese, and the word is BOGGLE-SMASHED. 'Twenty years of looking… twenty years… and the

Crown is found by a couple of weirdos and a limping pipsqueak!' 'THIS LIMPING PIPSQUEAK IS SKATING FASTER THAN YOU ARE!' yelled Camicazi, 'KEEP UP, WHY DON'T YOU?' Back they skated to the tunnel where the Electricstickys still clung, glowing, to Hiccup's Roman shield. Above the shield were the most horrific noises of howling, and scuffling, and talons being sharpened. 'Push up the shield with your sword, Camicazi,' said Hiccup.

'What in Thor's name are you doing?' panted Flashburn. 'They're up there! They're all up there!' 'Do it, Camicazi!' said Hiccup. And then Hiccup gave a shriek of his own, at the top of his voice, in Dragonese: 'Aaaaaghhhh! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED BY BRAINPICKERS!' There was a sudden, uneasy silence from above the shield. Camicazi poked the shield with her sword and it lifted up as easily as a trapdoor. A Riproarer thrust its revolting head tentatively through the opening, weird taloned whiskers quivering. Hiccup pointed at Fishlegs, standing there with Horrorcow attached to his head. 'AAAAGHHHH!' shrieked Hiccup. 'BRAINPICKERS!!!' 'AAAAAAGHHH!' shrieked the Riproarer, abruptly disappearing. 'BRAINPICKERS!!!' 'BRAINPICKERS!' 'BRAINPICKERS!' 'BRAINPICKERS!!!'

The tunnel above erupted with the sound of panicking dragons, screaming and running away. Everything, you see, is frightened of something, and Brainpickers are one of the most feared dragons in the Archipelago, because nobody likes the idea of having their brains sucked out through their ears. A couple more dragons poked their heads through, took one look at Fishlegs, shrieked, and disappeared again. Fishlegs twigged what was going on, climbed up and thrust his entire head, with Horrorcow attached, through the trapdoor. There was a final stampede in the tunnel above, dragons screaming, trampling over each other, forked tails disappearing into the darkness… and then silence. 'They've gone,' Fishlegs announced. 'They've gone????' gasped a flabbergasted Flashburn. 'What do you mean, they've gone?' Hiccup climbed up after Fishlegs, and Camicazi tore the Electrickstickys from the shield with her gloved hands, and handed the shield wordlessly to Hiccup, before scrambling up herself, and giving Flashburn a couple of strong yanks on the chain. 'Are you coming, Flashy boy, or are you just