What would happen if...?
This is a one-shot for my own entertainment, because I love twisting the plot and trying to take it the same direction. What if Hiccup had a cousin from Hopeless who just happened to... oh wait, maybe you'd better just read the story instead.
Hiccup ran as quickly as possible, dodging vikings who were actually doing something useful in the battle. It wasn't so easy, especially not while he was pushing a wheel-barrow-turned-cannon in front of him.
"Pardon me!"
"Get back inside!"
"Excuse me!"
"What are you doing out here?"
The light of the fire and the sounds of half-drunk vikings doing battle dwindled behind him, and he set up the cannon on a dark cliff-top. He pulled a lever, pulled up the barrel, stuffing it with ammunition. He stood in the silence for a moment, scanning the starry night-sky.
"C'mon, gimme something to shoot at, gimme something to shoot at!" he whispered to himself, eyes glinting with excitement. His heart beat faster; it would be different this time.
Nothing but the echoes of battle.
He turned his head this way and that; surely there was something out there for him to hit. The whistle of the wind through leathery wings caught his attention, and the tower below him exploded in a blue blast of fire. The silhouette of a dragon passed through the flames and disappeared. His heart lurched. A Night Fury! It has to be! He fixed his grip on the handles, aimed at the blackness in the stars and fired.
The force exerted by his invention sent him sprawling, and before he could get to his feet the cry of a dragon pierced the night. He caught sight of it and watched it fall into the forest.
"I hit it," he said disbelievingly. "Yes! I hit it!" Hiccup stood and raised his hands into the air, exhilaration filling his lungs. He turned to the village, asking "Did anybody see that?"
Behind him, the familiar screech of a dragon filled his ears. He turned around to see what he was up against. Please be a Terrible Terror...
"Except for you," he grunted dejectedly, seeing the face of a Monstrous Nightmare about to fry him.
"I SAW THAT!" The dragon's face contorted in surprise—If a dragon could express emotions. The familiar female voice turned into an able body wielding a shield with two hands. "Get away from Hiccup!" It was Maryssa. Hiccup's cousin from Hopeless. She was bashing the dragon's head with her shield, yelling something about "Teach you your manners!" and "Messing with the wrong family!" The dragon shook his head, trying to come to its senses, but Maryssa just kept on bashing it with her shield. "LEAVE you pea-brained beast!"
"Maryssa!" Hiccup shouted gratefully. At family gatherings, they had always gotten along well. Granted, unless you knew you would hardly connect the dots and figure out that they were related—Hiccup was skinny, with brown hair and a round nose, but his dark-haired cousin was tall, strong, and above all beautiful. She always kept her unruly hair tied up in a ponytail, and if her facial features hadn't been contorted in fierce revenge you might have noticed her blue eyes that were more than capable of heart-melting. Unlike Astrid, she didn't rely upon spikes or a heavy axe to portray her prowess; her balled fists were always more than willing for a takedown. She was wearing a leather jacket over a green tunic, with a dragon-hide belt holding up her sword, rough pants and fur boots. Wait a minute... His face changed suddenly as he realized what she had said. "You saw me take down the dragon?"
"That's it! Learn your lesson and LEAVE us ALONE! Oh hey, Hiccup!" she stopped yelling at the retreating lizard and, dropping her shield, grabbed Hiccup in a crushing embrace. "That was a Night Fury, wasn't it? Nice job you little toothpick! Not like anybody's going to believe you," she added as an afterthought.
"How can they not believe me, you're a witness!" Hiccup exclaimed. Finally, my life will get infinitely better!
"Oh, I'm not telling! A Night Fury, that deserves a little bit of secrecy until you can prove that it won't eat you," Maryssa piped. "So what's this? An invention! I love inventions, how does it work?"
"You mean you're not going to tell anyone I hit a dragon?" Hiccup asked dubiously, anger flaring in his chest. But— Maryssa pulled on a piece of a wood, and the whole cannon fell to pieces. Her jaw dropped, and she hid the piece still in her hand behind her back. My life... infinitely better...
"Oops."
"How can you not tell them, my social status depends on this!" Hiccup exclaimed desperately. "If I ever want to get a girlfriend, heck to girlfriends, if I want a date I need to have some sort of merit that you are currently denying me!"
"What? I haven't denied anything! Besides. I just saved your life! What are you complaining about?" She lifted her hand in the air as a gesture, upon realizing the wooden handle was still in her hand she hid it behind her back hastily. "Look, thanks a lot for the warm welcome. And I am sorry I destroyed your contraption. And I would gladly tell everyone you are amazing, but I, mister Hiccup, am in hiding. That means I don't want anybody to see me."
"Oh, so does that make me nobody?" Hiccup asked sarcastically.
"That makes you the island's fail that nobody believes," Maryssa explained gently.
"Thank you for summing that up," Hiccup exclaimed exasperatedly. "Now why are you in hiding?"
"You can't tell anyone—promise me you won't tell anyone!"Maryssa grunted, pointing her finger at Hiccup's nose.
"Why—I swear it, oh Odin, I swear it, I swear it, I swear it I won't tell anyone!" Hiccup was about to ask a question, but thought better of it when he found himself dangling over the edge.
"Okay," Maryssa sighed, putting Hiccup back on solid ground. "Look, You know how when we were little at the gatherings we used to have that 'Misfits' club with Tate and Mirinow?"
"Yes..." Hiccup responded slowly. Misfits. What a misfit they all were. Granted, had they been born in different families they would have fit in perfectly—Maryssa, with all of her raw power and fury would have fit right in Berk, Hiccup, with his inventive tendencies would have been more than welcome in Freezing-To-Death. Tate, being as ugly as a toad would have fit as a hand to the glove in Hopeless, and Mirinow was a black adopted slave from the south, so nowhere but home would house her; she was an outcast everywhere except with the other Misfits. "What about it?"
"Well, weird things have been happening to us, Hiccup. Weird as in—wait a second, is that your dad?" Maryssa asked with a panicked look in her eye.
Hiccup turned around, but only saw his mentor bashing a Nadderhead.
"That's Gob—" he began, but stopped when he saw his cousin had disappeared. "As much as I want one for a date, I really hate girls," he grumbled with frustration.
Dragons started flying overhead, leaving with their spoils. The raid was over for now. Rebuild would follow, and probably another "let's find the nest" adventure. Hiccup sighed, and started walking towards Gobber.
"Hey there, Hiccup! Say wait a second—what are you doing out here?" Gobber let the Nadderhead fly away.
"I hit a Night Fury," Hiccup was excited again—If anyone will believe me it will be Gobber.
"You hit your head a little too hard, I think," Gobber retorted, patting Hiccup on the back.
Stoick rushed around the corner.
"HICCUP!" He shouted in relief upon seeing his son safely with Gobber. "What the devil are you doing out here?"
"Hunting Night Furies," Gobber said before Hiccup could save himself. The gang of teens rounded the corner, surprise etched on their faces. Great. There's no stopping it now.
"I thought I told you to stay inside!" Stoick exclaimed, his nose reddening in anger.
"At least I actually hit a dragon this time," Hiccup muttered to himself.
"Oh sure, you hit a Night Fury," Stoick grumbled.
"He says he hit a Night Fury," Snotlout snickered from behind Hiccup.
"And I saw Maryssa, but since you don't believe me, I might as well tell you that I danced with some fairies and they turned all the dragons into sand and gave this island a beach," Hiccup added.
That got him a round of laughing from behind, but Stoick's glare silenced it to a few snickers, and Gobber planted his forehead into his good hand.
"Come on kid," he said. "Best get you home before you hurt yourself."
"Yeah," Hiccup muttered under his breath. "Hitting my head and dreaming about fairies. Sure, Gobber."
He ignored whatever Snotlout and Tuffnut tried to tell him as he passed, and focused on remembering where that dragon had landed. He would show them. A secret Night Fury could make it all better. He could kill it, skin it, and bring it back and prove them all wrong. Heck, with a Night Fury he could do anything. They'd be back on their knees when they figured out he wasn't bluffing.
Okay, the fairies were totally a bluff, he admitted to himself. But a pretty good one at that. Berk could use a beach. Maryssa would like that. And maybe he could find her and figure out what the devil was going on. Maybe my life is getting better—just not infinitely.