*Cue "Lift Your Spirit" by Aloe Blacc*

'Cause I've decided that's the theme song for this series.

Special thanks to The Story Of Your Life for telling me about this song!

Chapter 1: Northward Bound

Author's Notes: Yay, episode 3 is here! Unfortunately, you guys won't find out what the big reveal is until the next chapter, but I'll tell you right now, it's a doozy.

Reviews:

mc arno (Chapter 10 of Episode 2, Jun. 28) – When I first read your comment, I started wondering that same thing. I realized that it is no specific movie or book, but rather a combination of many things. The Final Fantasy games, Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books, a little bit of Legend of Zelda (though that comes in later), and another How To Train Your Dragon fic that I haven't published or finished, these all played a part in creating Strays. Plus, one scene that will show up eventually sort of stuck with me, the one that reveals the reason behind the name of this series, but you'll have to wait for episode 4 for that scene :P

The Story Of Your Life (Chapter 10 of Episode 2, Jun. 28) – I know the feeling. Having a connection to characters is always good, because then they become important to you, even if they're technically not real. That's my opinion, anyways.

Disclaimer: This is the only time I'm putting the disclaimer in this episode, so just keep that in mind while I write. I don't own How To Train Your Dragon or any of the canon characters. All I can claim are my OC's and various other changes.

Disclaimer 2: Also, since this chapter features a song I do not own, I need to put the disclaimer for it as well. I do not own the Ballad of Serenity, though I do think they shouldn't have canceled the show. It belongs to Joss Whedon and was sung by Sonny Rhodes, so look it up sometime! If you want to, that is.

Also, curse you, Joss Whedon!

Key:

0*0*0 – scene change

Horizontal line – perspective change

We flew for hours, passing over the forests and villages in the Land of the Rejected, and when we came to the chasm that separated this region from the Northern Deadlands, Hiccup had us stop to hover.

"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said they were everywhere," he said sincerely. I nodded slowly. Even from Faded Dreams, it was hard to appreciate just how big the cracks in the land were. The Myst that flowed into it also obscured it, since it was in greater quantities at the cracks than anywhere else, and the silvery folds of that weird, ethereal substance make it hard to see through the stuff. Now, though, we could see how the Myst flowed into it like a foggy cataract, the strange stuff spilling in from both sides like a cup running over.

"Yup. That's the reason why it's called the Fractured Lands. This entire part of the world is like one big broken plate, and the chasms are where they broke apart. Now, enough sightseeing. Let's go!"

I patted the necks of Snow and Ash, and with an anticipatory growl, they shot forward, Toothless and Hiccup close behind, and together we crossed the chasm.

We had entered the Land of the Old Gods.

0*0*0

"This place is so empty. No wonder you call it the Northern Deadlands."

Hiccup's awestruck voice carried well over the yards we had between us. He was standing on the edge of a huge cliff overlooking the flat parts of the Land of the Old Gods, while I was sitting before a small fire. Toothless was lounging near Snow and Ash behind me, having already had a few dried fish, and Nuts was dozing near the fire.

Night had fallen, the west turning red and orange as its last rays stained the banks of Myst on the horizon, so we had set up camp on what might have once been an island, in the Before-Time. Lola had made us bring some firewood along in our packs, so I was able to build a fire and have Toothless light it, but we would have to be sparing with the wood. There were no fallen branches around to replenish what we had if we ran out. I looked up from the merrily crackling flames, where I was cooking some of the cured meat Lola had given us, and shrugged.

"That's what the Catastrophe did, Hiccup. It killed everything within its boundaries, though it took about a month to cover all of the region now known as the Northern Deadlands. It even did something to the land," I replied mournfully. He turned and joined me by the fire.

"What did it do?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I don't really know. It's kinda like salting the earth, you know, making it impossible for plants to live in some soil, but it's been five hundred years. You'd think, surely something would have started growing by then, but no. They say the Catastrophe broke the connection the earth gods have to this land, that the huge influx of Myst overloaded their link and disintegrated it. That's why it hasn't recovered. No plants means no animals, which means no people or monsters. Only Myst and ghosts are here now." Hiccup seemed a bit puzzled by my answer.

"Why Myst? Isn't that what goes into the chasms?" he said questioningly.

"It is. This is where most of the Myst in the world came from, since this is where, supposedly, that crack in the sky I told you about appeared and let it all in. It comes back up in special wells after it's processed by the elemental gods," I replied grimly. This was also the region where most of our ancestors had come from. The Fractured Lands were where the survivors had gone after the Catastrophe. Even the Winterstorms were descended from this land. Now it was dead, a shadow of its former self. Nothing remained but the Myst around us and the spirits of those who died, unable to rest, unable to join the sky gods in Himinn.

I had heard stories about the Before-Time, where the Land of the Old Gods was once covered in saltwater, with a bunch of islands scattered across the blue ocean. The Catastrophe had taken all of that away and had severely crippled the Vatn Guðir, though they still had power over the rivers, lakes, and ponds. It had made all of the oceans and seas boil away because of its fiery wrath. Maybe those stories were why Hiccup said he was from an island called Berk.

"Hey, Hiccup? Have you ever heard any stories... you know, about the Catastrophe?" He shook his head. "Only what you've told me, Cog. Other than that, I know pretty much nothing about it."

"Really..." There went that theory. Although, there was another thing I could teach him about that terrible event. "You know, there's a song about it."

"The Catastrophe?"

"Yeah. The guy who wrote it said that it sorta came to him through a crack in the world, just like the Myst and monsters did. Only, he said all that came through were words and music, like the Himinn Guðir were giving it to him," I said quietly. The song was well-known throughout the Fractured Lands, and even some parts of the world. It spoke to many of us, since it described what happened very well, yet there were some parts that were confusing.

"Can you sing it?" he asked. I shook my head rapidly. Yes, I could sing, but I didn't like doing it in front of others. It made me self-conscious, and that never works out well. Same reason why I didn't like the days when the teachers at the Academy had the students teach part of the lesson. I hated being the center of attention of so many people.

"I-I know the words, but I'm not that good a singer," I lied awkwardly. The look Hiccup gave me told me he knew I was lying. I let out a heavy sigh. Fine. You win, Hiccup.

"Okay. I'll sing it. It's short, though, so don't get too excited," I warned. If he wanted to hear the song dubbed the Ballad of Serenity by its creator, then so be it.

Cog cleared her throat before she began. Hiccup hadn't heard many songs before – Vikings weren't exactly the type to sing a lot, except when Gobber was in a good mood – but he did have to admit that this song was different from what he had heard on Berk.

Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me.

Take me out to the black, tell them I ain't coming back. Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me.

Leave the men where they lay; they'll never see another day. Lost my soul, lost my dream. You can't take the sky from me.

I feel the black reaching out. I hear its song without a doubt. I still hear and I still see that you can't take the sky from me.

Lost my love, lost my land, lost the last place I could stand. There's no place I can be, since I found Serenity.

And you can't take the sky from me.

When Cog finished, she seemed lost in thought, so Hiccup decided to leave her alone to contemplate what he had learned. Myst seemed to be at the heart of the matter, affecting everything and everyone, and most of it had come with the Catastrophe. If he could just find out what was at the heart of the Catastrophe, the very center of the Northern Deadlands, maybe he could figure out how he had gotten here – and how to get back home.

'Do I really want to go back?' he thought suddenly. Yes, Berk was his home, where he had grown up and where the people he knew lived, but if he went back, he would have to confront his entire village. Eventually, they'd find out about Toothless and him. What would happen then? Would they kill Toothless? Would they banish him... or worse? He couldn't kill that Monstrous Nightmare, he knew that much, so how would Berk react? How would his father react to learning the rising star that was his son wouldn't kill a dragon?

Hiccup knew the answer to that. They'd hate him. They'd consider him an enemy of Berk, of everyone in the Archipelago, and they'd do what they always did to their enemies. He couldn't go back.

"Hiccup? You okay?" Cog's voice cut into his grim thoughts, and Hiccup looked at her gratefully. She had reminded him that, right now, there was no point in worrying about what would happen when he got back to Berk. Right now, he was going to help her find her sister.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine," Hiccup replied, somewhat weary. It was getting late, after all. The corner of her mouth twisted wryly, but she didn't say anything about his tone. Instead, she showed him the bedrolls and blankets she had set up.

"Well, let's eat dinner and go to sleep, then. At this pace, we should make it to the center by tomorrow afternoon, if we start early. After that, we just need to head northwest-west to find Bolt and the ruins of Drekis."

She served up the two pieces of meat that had been slowly sizzling above the fire, handed him a chunk of soft bread from the food supplies Lola had graciously bestowed upon them, and the two of them ate their dinner in comfortable silence.

When they finished, Cog went over to the bedroll closer to Snow and Ash and flopped down on her belly, supporting herself on her forearms, then pulled out a familiar book.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hiccup asked curiously, taking up a similar position on the other bedroll. She nodded with a grin and showed him the cover. It was the Book of Dragons, Revised Edition.

"Lola gave it to me. Let's see what's on the first page," she said eagerly, opening it up and skimming past a few pages that didn't talk about any dragons, and stopping when they reached the first dragon. It was very familiar to him: the Deadly Nadder.

The Deadly Nadder, while once considered part of the Sharp Class of dragons, is now a member of the Tracker Class of dragons. It is best known for its magnesium fire and its tail of sharp spines, and its preference for chicken. They are a common species around the world, more commonly found in the Fractured Lands and surrounding segments of nearby lands, and humans frequently bond to them.

While Deadly Nadders can be very touchy, they react well to most methods of training dragons, including the scratch behind the jaw, dragon grass – better known by its common name, dragon nip – and the reflected light trick. It is best to approach them from behind and gently stroke their tail, brushing down the spines at the same time, as this earns their goodwill and trust. They can be very vain, preening and cleaning their scales often, but, like with most dragons, are willing to do anything for someone that has earned their trust. This is one of the reasons why many of those bonded to Nadders are performers or soldiers, since these lives are compatible with the natures of both dragon and rider.

In terms of appearance, Deadly Nadders generally have pale underbellies, one main body color, and a secondary color that appears in the mottled pattern of their wings and on the tips of their spines. Eye color is some shade of yellow-orange. While variations in their general structure do exist (though they are exceedingly rare), they usually have a frill of horns at the back of their heads, one large horn on their nose, smaller talons on the backs of their legs, near their feet, and long, whip-like tails with many spines. On average, body length is 30 feet at full growth. In terms of diet, Nadders are partial to chicken and will eat several other things, such as fish and certain ferns, but they refuse to eat eels, like most dragons.

Common Myst Magics are Fireball, Heat Resistance, Longevity, Fire Wings, Float, and Accuracy Boost. Uncommon Myst Magics are Bloodhound, Reflex Boost, Fireproof, and Summon Allies. Rare Myst Magics are Merge and Flight. If a person bonded to a Deadly Nadder is also bonded to another monster that shares one of these potential Myst Magics, they will not have a repeated Magic and will receive the full three Magics allotted to them for each bond animal.

There were other notes, below the excellent images of Nadders on the pages, but they didn't read those. All they read were the main paragraphs, carefully written in that same strange script Hiccup could read, even if he didn't understand how. For tonight, he had had enough new things.

Hiccup fell asleep quickly, but I was too busy thinking to fall asleep. I had gotten my wish. I had my bond animal, and I had a partner for the first time in my life. Yet I still didn't know why he had shown up on my island. Things like that didn't just happen. There are no accidents. The sky gods, or whoever had influence over Hiccup's fate, had obviously wanted him and Toothless to crash into my house. The real question here was why? Why me? Why now? Why them?

I had too many questions and not enough answers. And since I couldn't do anything about them right now, I decided to follow Hiccup and the others' example and sleep. Morning would answer, if not all, at least some of those questions.

Author's Notes: The elemental gods better watch out. Cog's got her eye on them, and she's willing to do what it takes to get her answers. She's got three dragons on her side, if you count Toothless (and I am), and she isn't afraid to ask them for help!

As for the song I put in, I considered it appropriate for this story, even though it technically goes with Firefly. I'll let you guys decide what it means in context of Strays.

As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated, and also... I love all of you guys! Even if you don't review, I love you anyways!

XD Wild Cat 214, out!