AN: Helloooo all.... I'm back to my normal fit and crazy self. :) So here is a new chapter for all of you. As you may have noticed I have included in previous (and upcoming) chapters some Easter eggs from all the Mummy movies. Let's see if you can spot them all at the end of this story.  

Chapter 24

The group stood in shock when the young man uttered 'The living dead'. It was Snotlout who broke the silence with a shout of "Are you kidding me?!"

"Snotlout calm down." Valka said. "I'm sure there is a logical explanation for all of this."

"I think the lad was pretty blunt with the living dead statement." Gobber mumbled, which did nothing to slow Snotlout's pacing.

"First mummies, now zombies." Snotlout exclaimed. "What's next flying pigs?"

"Well, we already have flying reptiles." Fishlegs mentioned.

"Not helping Fishlegs." Stoick told him. Fishlegs let out a sheepish laugh.

"Why is the fool talking about zombies." Dagur huffed from his position on the ground. "Anyone knows that a beautiful woman and living death equals a vampire!"

Snotlout stopped mid pace and stared at Dagur like he had grown a second head before continuing pacing. "Vampires..... Just great."

"Look we don't know what exactly it is that is abducting the men...." Hiccup started to say while trying to calm down Snotlout "but we can't just leave them."

"Son you can't seriously be thinking of going after whatever this is right?" Stoick asked.

"Dad there are people missing and we might have just found a big clue as to where they have been taken." Hiccup reasoned. "Who knows what could happen to them over time."

"So are we are going vampire hunting?" Ruffnut asked in excitement.

"No you doofus we are going zombie hunting." Tuffnut countered.

"Vampire"

"Zombie"

"Vampire!!" The twins continued to bicker back and forth amongst themselves while Hiccup looked at the others.

"I won't leave any innocent people in danger." Astrid told Hiccup with conviction. "If there is a possibility of finding them then we must act."

"I'm going with you as well Hiccup." Fishlegs said, surprising everyone. Valka and Stoick knew Fishlegs was timid and a bit of a pacifist, so seeing him as one of the first volunteers was surprising. "These people gave us shelter and they believe that our dragons would bring them good luck during this time. If we know where their children are, we should do everything we can to rescue them." He reasoned.

Snotlout huffed "Well then I'm in. You all need someone to keep you safe." He boasted.

Hiccup, already used to Snotlout's boasting, nodded as he looked at his friends. "Fishlegs, can you ask Jun if he would be willing to show us the way?"

Fishlegs gave a nod and started talking to the boy. "Son when will you all head out?" Stoick asked while Valka was biting her nails. She didn't say anything but her nervousness showed.

Hiccup thought for a moment. "As soon as possible." He guessed. "But first we have to do something about our unwanted guests."

"Wait... what do you mean DO something about?" Dagur shouted incredulously.

Some time later Dagur found out what Hiccup meant about doing something and he was less than pleased.

"Get us out of here!!!" He shouted as the wooden cage, they had been thrown in, dangled above the ground. The cage was constructed out of bamboo and was big enough to hold all three of them. Heather was glaring at the group from where they hung in the tree while her brother was shouting profanities. Eret was the quietest of them all. Hiccup guessed that this was better than being crushed by a dragon.

"Don't ya worry lad. Your parents and I will guard these guys." Gobber assured. "You just be careful."

"Aren't I always Gobber."

"You're kidding right lad?" Gobber laughed as he clapped Hiccup on the back. Fishlegs had managed to convince Jun to show them the way and after resting for the rest of the night they set off into the jungle just as the morning sun peeked along the horizon.

It looked like the jungle went on forever. They had been walking for nearly two hours now as Jun lead the way. "Are we there yet?" Snotlout asked as another low lying branch hit him in the face. "Fishlegs can you ask how far still?"

"Will you stop whining." Hookfang grumbled from within the tattoo.

"Is Snotlout afraid of the big bad vampire?" Tuffnut laughed as he walked past Snotlout with Chicken under his arm.

"I am not afraid of any vampire!" Snotlout defended.

"You were the one who asked Hiccup to leave once the sun went up." Ruffnut mentioned.

"I was being strategic!!!" Snotlout defended.

"You are holding a stake Snot." Ruffnut remarked as she looked at the wooden stake in his hand.

"Honestly I don't think we're dealing with a vampire." Fishlegs remarked. "Jun never mentioned that it was hopping." The entire group stopped to look at Fishlegs. Hiccup and Astrid quizzically, the twins confused and Snotlout just rolled his eyes. "What?!" Fishlegs asked at the stares he got.

"Hopping vampires, Fish?" Hiccup asked.

"It's an old Chinese legend dating back to the Qing dynasty." Fishlegs told them as they decided to rest for a bit.

"A my feet were killing me!" Snotlout exclaimed as he took a seat on a tree root. He then turned to look expectantly at Fishlegs. Even the dragons who were in their tattoos decided to listen in.

"As I was saying. It's an old Chinese legend. The hopping vampire, also called a Jiangshi." Fishlegs explained. "A Jiangshi is seen as a reanimated corpse which kills living creatures to absorb their life force."

"So where does the hopping part come in?" Hiccup asked. Toothless mentally cocked his head and wondered that as well.

"The corpse would be so stiff that the Jiangshi couldn't move unless it hopped with its arms outstretched. I guess you can say it was both a vampire and a zombie, but I don't think that this is what we are dealing with."

"And what makes you say that?" Tuffnut asked.

"Jun described the person who mesmerized them as a beautiful woman. A Jiangshi is an animated rotting corpse, I doubt beautiful would describe it."

"So basically we don't know what we are dealing with." Hiccup mumbled as Astrid gave him a concerned look. Fishlegs asked Jun how much farther it was and just as the young man was going to answer some rustling bushes caught the attention of the group.

"Hiccup we have company." Toothless warned as he let out a mental growl. Hiccup formed a plasma ball in his hands, startling Jun, and shot it at the rustling bush.

"OUCH!!" Was shouted as Heather and Dagur crashed to the ground while Eret tumbled over them as his sleeve was on fire.

"Didn't we leave them..... hanging?" Tuffnut asked not at all worried that Eret was on fire. Astrid rolled her eyes and proceeded to put out the fire by having Eret roll on the ground. She then pointed her very sharp axe at his throat while Snotlout and Ruffnut restrained Heather and Dagur.

"What are you three doing here?" Hiccup sighed as he rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

"Do you actually think we were going to let you get away!" Heather growled.

"You better hope Gobber and my parents are alright." Hiccup muttered. He was already regretting leaving them to guard these three and he hoped that they were alright.

"They are fine. Our objective is you lot after all." Heather muttered angrily.

"Are we turning back?" Ruffnut asked. "Otherwise I have no trouble leaving them tied up to a tree..... Preferably naked... for the men."

"EEEEuuuuuw SIS!" Tuffnut gagged.

Jun suddenly spoke up in rapid sentences as he pointed in a particular direction. Hiccup caught some of what was being said and turned to Fishlegs who was telling them all that Jun recognized the path and that they were close. Hiccup looked at Dagur, Heather and Eret and with a sigh told the others that they might as well take them with them then.

Heather smirked but then frowned when Hiccup stated that they weren't going to be given weapons.

"How will we defend ourselves from whatever this is?" She then asked.

"You run" Hiccup told her dryly. "If that doesn't work then you pray. It was your choice after all to follow us."

The three looked at each other for a second as their weapons were taken from them before reluctantly following Hiccup and the others. Jun lead them to the side of the mountain and then pointed to a small hole in the side. Fishlegs translated that that was where Jun escaped from.

"It's small." Astrid murmured as she looked at the hole.

"I doubt that all of us will fit through it." Hiccup added as he thought. There was a giant boulder covering part of the hole and Hiccup felt along the sides. "Astrid think we can move this?" He asked. "It seems like the hole is bigger than it seems."

Astrid took a look at what Hiccup was pointing to and nodded. She used the armguards and started to push the boulder out of the way. The boulder gave way easily, revealing a tunnel which was filled with darkness.

"Toothless can you lend me some of your senses?" Hiccup asked mentally. The others were doing the same with their dragons. Astrid conjured some of Stormfly's fire in the palm of her hand and illuminated the way. They're dragon sense were effective as Jun lead them through the tunnel. Once they reached the other end they gasped at the sight. There before them stood a closed off mountain range with a tranquil lake in the middle. But that wasn't the most amazing part. On the side of the mountain wall stood a majestic Chinese styled palace. It's red and golden roofs glittered in the morning sun. The foot of the palace extended all the way towards the lake.

"This........ This is impossible." Heather gasped as she looked at the sight before her.

"Not impossible....... Just improbable." Fishlegs mumbled. "A lot of Chinese ruins are still being excavated."

"This doesn't look much like a ruin." Hiccup commented.

"Either it is perfectly preserved or someone is living here." Fishlegs nodded as they noticed that the part surrounding the large palace was neatly kept. They walked carefully through the entrance. The regal palace looked deserted. There wasn't a soul in sight.

Jun however was eagerly pointing to one of the large buildings. "This place is almost on the scale of the Summer palace." Fishlegs commented as he inspected the place with a childlike curiosity. "I'd say, judging by the architecture, that it might date back to the Qin dynasty. It might have even been build just as China was unified for the first time." Fishlegs looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

"How can such a place just sit here and not be discovered?" Snotlout asked as they passed through the large square.

"Well, so far not everything has been discovered. Why last year alone another palace was found by archeologist who think it might date to the Sui dynasty. Several mass graves were also uncovered in another province which belong to the Warring states period." Fishlegs explained. "I doubt anyone knows exactly just what secrets the jungles hid for centuries."

"Right" Snotlout mumbled.

They walked into the largest building after passing through several large gates. The large red pillars stood tall on both sides of the hall. At the end stood an elevated throne, which was empty. It was then that Hiccup turned to Jun, his palm glowing with a plasma ball. Astrid readied her axe as well as she kept her eyes on the young man they rescued.

"Hiccup, Astrid what are you two doing?!" Snotlout exclaimed. Fishlegs held him back by placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Think this true Snot." Fishlegs told him. "They had a right to be suspicious."

Jun started saying something in Chinese as he held up his hands defensively.

"What is going on?!" Snotlout asked perplexed. He was thoroughly confused.

"Snotlout think of it like this." Hiccup stated. "This guy comes out of nowhere and gives us a lead on the missing villagers. He expertly leads us to this place, through a dark cavern which we needed our enhanced senses to navigate. If he escaped in a hurry there would have been no way that he remembered the way in such detail."

"So we decided to make him think we were fooled by his act." Ruffnut spoke up. Snotlout looked at her in confusion. "You knew?!" he exclaimed.

"My brother and I are masters of destruction." She boasted. "Honestly if Jun was fleeing through the forest along the path we traveled then his clothes would have been in worse shape." Snotlout just blinked openmouthed at the explanation while Tuffnut nodded in agreement.

"Am I the only one left in the dark here?!" Snotlout then shouted.

"We honestly thought you knew." Fishlegs mumbled.

"Well I certainly didn't see that coming." Eret muttered to Dagur and Heather who were watching the scene unfold. Jun still had his hands up in apprehension and was looking around the room as if something was supposed to happen.

A white mist started flowing through the room. It flowed along their feet. "What is going on?" Hiccup asked in Chinese.

Jun cocked his head slightly before saying "The Empress is coming."

"What?" Hiccup asked and tried to move but found that he and the others couldn't. The mist must have some paralyzing and sleeping effect he surmised as his eyelids were starting to feel heavy. The sound of drums filled the room suddenly as a large door to the side opened. Their eyes widened as a regal looking woman entered along with several women who looked to be her servants. She wore the clothes of a Chinese noble woman. Black and embroidered. A silver headdress adorned her head with six tassels hanging from it and she wore a white faceless mask.

"Empress!" Jun exclaimed breathlessly before bowing low.

The woman whom he called the empress looked at Astrid and the others impassively before removing her mask. Hiccup and the others gasped upon seeing the true face of this woman, bones and dried flesh. There before them stood another living mummy.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Hiccup heard Snotlout groan before his world went blank.