A/N: Wait! Before you read this, you should know that it's a sequel! So if you haven't read my HTTYD-Little Mermaid crossover Out of the Sea, then I recommend you go back and read that one first before starting on this. It will make things much clearer.

That said, even though it's a sequel, it is NOT based on Disney's sequel to The Little Mermaid. It shares the same name, but the premise is entirely different, I promise. As such, I'm afraid it's not going to be a musical like the previous story was. I don't have any songs to fall back on like I did with Out of the Sea, so it's not going to have songs. That means the story might be a little shorter, but I think it will still work and I'm excited to continue working on it. I hope you enjoy it.

HTTYD is owned by Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks SKG. And while this story isn't based on a preexisting source, its prequel Out of the Sea was based on The Little Mermaid, which is owned by Disney.

So without further ado, here's the first chapter!

Chapter One

The World Above

"Daddy? Daddy, wake up! Come on, Daddy! You gotta wake up!"

Hiccup Haddock merely groaned and rolled over in bed, his eyes staying blissfully closed.

But sleep was going to be impossible. There were little hands shaking him vigorously, to say nothing of the sweet, if slightly shrill, voice that continued to say, "Daddy! Come on, Daddy, you promised!"

Hiccup sighed. "Please, Melody, just five more minutes?"

The little girl huffed, and then she backed off. Hiccup hummed quietly in relief, thinking he'd been granted a small reprieve.

He should have known better.

Next second a small body hurtled into the bed, landing squarely atop him where he lay. His eyes sprang open and he grunted in surprise and discomfort, turning to look up at the toothy grin of his three-year-old daughter. "Come on!" she trilled. "Let's go!"

Hiccup glared half-heartedly at her and sighed. "All right, all right, I'm up…" He sat up and stretched, yawning rather theatrically.

In the bed beside him, his young wife Astrid chuckled. "That'll teach you to keep her waiting," she remarked, winking playfully at the little girl.

"Yeah, yeah," Hiccup grumbled, standing up and heading over to his closet to retrieve his clothes. He glanced back over his shoulder at Melody and added, "Go on down, sweetheart. I'll be there in a moment."

"Okay!" Melody replied, hopping off the bed and retreating down the stairs to the house's main level, her shoulder-length auburn hair streaming out behind her.

When she was out of earshot, Astrid said, "I think she's excited."

"Gee, whatever gave that away?" Hiccup replied, pulling a fresh tunic over his head.

"Oh, just the fact that she's refusing to let you sleep in. Again." She smiled at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"What is the big deal about me sleeping? I like to sleep! Is that really so unusual?"

Astrid laughed and stood up, sauntering over to where he stood. "No, it's not. But most people do get up without too much hassle."

Hiccup shrugged but couldn't quite stop the corners of his mouth from quirking upward. "Okay, so I'm a little difficult to wake up in the morning. There are far worse things to be, don't you think?"

"Hmm," Astrid pretended to think for a moment. "Eh, you've got me there." She reached out and wrapped her arms around her husband. Smiling more fully now, Hiccup pulled her into a hug and kissed her. She leaned into his embrace and returned the kiss, though when they broke apart she teased, "You have dragon breath."

Hiccup chuckled. "Why thank you, milady. And your own breath doesn't smell all that great either."

His retort earned him a half-playful punch to the shoulder. He winced but, to his credit, didn't make a sound. "Careful, or I'll set Toothless on you," Astrid warned him.

They both looked over into the corner of the room, where the big black dragon was reclining on his rock bed, watching them with mild interest. His ear fins perked at the sound of his name.

"That ferocious beast?" Hiccup asked in mock-horror. "Oh no, anything but that!" He fell on his knees and pleaded, "My dearest, I'll do whatever you want! Name it, absolutely anything, just please don't set that dragon on—oof!"

While his back was turned, Toothless bounded from his perch and tackled his human to the floor. Astrid laughed, leaning back against the wall. Hiccup twisted around as far as he could and glared up at the Night Fury. "Thank you, you useless reptile. Now please get off!"

Toothless crooned and licked Hiccup's head, leaving a trail of slime through his messy hair. Hiccup grimaced. "Oh Toothless, no! Come on! You know that doesn't wash out!"

Toothless let out a warbling dragon laugh and backed off, letting his human stand up, running his hands through his hair in a vain attempt to wipe the worst of the saliva away.

Astrid was still laughing. "Having a hard time there?" she asked between gasps for breath.

Hiccup looked around at her, and then a sly grin crossed his face. "Not at all, milady," he replied. And then he lunged for her, grabbing her in his arms and running his wet head down the length of her side.

Astrid's eyes widened in shock and bewilderment, and then her face scrunched in disgust. "Ew! Ewww! Hiccup!" She wriggled out of his grasp, pulling her now-damp clothes away from her skin. "That's so gross!"

But now Hiccup was the one laughing, and she'd always found his laughter to be rather contagious. So she had a hard time maintaining her revolted, miffed expression, and in just a few seconds she was laughing with him. Toothless chortled too, adding his voice to the mix so that the house positively rang with the sound of their mirth.

"Come here, you," Hiccup said, drawing Astrid close for another kiss. Astrid's laughter died in her throat as his lips met hers, and in that moment she thought she'd be perfectly content to stay in his arms for a long, long time.

"Ewww!"

Hiccup and Astrid broke apart and looked around toward the entrance of the bedroom, where their daughter Melody stood, her face wrinkled up at their display of affection.

Hiccup chuckled. "You won't always think so, sweetheart."

Melody looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Yes I will!" she insisted. "Kissing is so gross!"

Astrid laughed. "Go on, you two," she said, reluctantly extricating herself from her husband's arms. "Have fun. And be safe!"

"We will," Hiccup replied, heading for the door. Glancing back, he added, "When are we not safe?"

Astrid raised her eyebrows.

"Er…don't answer that," Hiccup said, grinning sheepishly.

Melody grabbed his hand and tugged impatiently, leading him down the stairs and out the front door. Toothless, ambling along behind them, crooned happily in anticipation, but Hiccup paid him no mind. He was gazing down at the village below, smiling faintly.

The Isle of Berk. A small island in the middle of the North Sea, home to a town of Vikings. And up until quite recently, it had been out of Hiccup's reach, for instead of legs he had possessed a fish's tail and a pair of fins. He was the son of Stoick the Vast, King of the underwater kingdom of Hyacinth, and he'd been a merman. For the first sixteen years of his life, he had swam beneath the waves, forever dreaming and yearning to learn about the world above. He'd had to keep his desire a secret, for his father hated humans and forbade his son from venturing anywhere near the creatures that had been responsible for his wife's death.

And then, on one of his covert trips to the surface, he had met Astrid Hofferson, the heiress of Berk. He had saved her life when the boat she was sailing on sank in a terrible storm, and as he sang to the barely-conscious girl on the shore he fell hopelessly in love with her. So he'd visited Excellinor, the evil Sea Witch, and traded his voice for legs with the condition that he had to win Astrid's heart in three days' time.

Of course, it hadn't been easy: he hadn't realized that Excellinor was secretly plotting to bring down his father and put her son Alvin on the throne in his place. They'd very nearly succeeded too, but through a combination of quick thinking and sheer luck, Hiccup and Astrid had destroyed the witch and her son. Stoick, seeing how much his son loved the human girl and realizing that his hatred was unfounded, allowed the prince to marry the heiress. Not long afterward, Hiccup had ascended to the role of Chief of Berk.

That was four years ago. Four years of peace and prosperity for the little island. Hiccup and Astrid worked together to lead the village, and everyone agreed that it had been a long time since they had been so fortunate.

And Hiccup had never been happier.

He looked over at Melody, watching as his three-year-old daughter scratched Toothless fondly under the chin. She was a perfect mixture of her parents: she had his green eyes and auburn hair, but her facial structure came from her mother. She had her father's sarcastic sense of humor and her mother's fierce bravery. She was sweet and kind and would never dream of harming another living creature. She had a thirst for knowledge and was surprisingly bright for her age. As he gazed at her, Hiccup felt his heart swell with joy. He hadn't known it was humanly possible to love a person as completely as he did his daughter.

Melody was still doting on Toothless, and the Night Fury purred happily and leaned into her hands, his eyes half-closed in bliss. Hiccup smiled at the sight. He had everything he could possibly want in life: a wonderful, loving wife; a beautiful, perfect daughter; a dragon who was his very best friend; a father who cared about him and visited every chance he got; the respect of his peers…yes, everything was pretty much perfect.

His musings were interrupted when Melody looked over at him and said, "Come on, Daddy! Let's go!"

Hiccup chuckled. "All right, sweetheart." He picked her up and sat her gently on Toothless' back. The dragon quivered excitedly but otherwise held still as the little girl situated herself, giggling with anticipation. Hiccup then climbed on behind her, wrapping one arm protectively around her. "You ready?"

Melody nodded excitedly. "Yeah!"

"Okay then," her father said, and then he tightened his legs against Toothless' sides and added, "Let's go, bud!"

Toothless needed no further persuasion. He spread his wings and launched into the air. Hiccup instinctively tightened his hold on Melody, but the little girl squealed with joy, her hair blowing back as they shot skyward. Toothless leveled off and dove, and Hiccup felt his heart rise into his throat. He couldn't contain a whoop of delight from bursting out of his chest. "This is fun!" Melody cried. "Faster!"

Toothless was only too happy to comply. He beat his wings harder, increasing his speed. He did not, however, do any of the aerial stunts he might have if Hiccup had been his only rider. He knew better than to try anything too dangerous with such a young passenger, for which Hiccup was immensely grateful.

After a while, Toothless leveled off, allowing Hiccup to relax his hold on Melody just slightly. Together they looked down at the village below, which was starting to wake up for a new day. Hiccup could barely make out the burly shape of Gobber making his way to the forge, his big blond mustache visible even from their height.

Melody sighed happily and leaned back into her father. Hiccup smiled. "It's beautiful, isn't it sweetheart?" he murmured.

"Mm-hmm," Melody agreed, nodding. "The sea is so pretty."

Hiccup followed her gaze out to the ocean surrounding the island, and his heart gave a small pang. Despite his happiness, he did sometimes miss his old home beneath the waves. Oh sure, his father, his sister Camicazi, and his best friend Fishlegs did visit from time to time, and Stoick had even changed him back into a merman a few times so that he could drop in for a few hours every once in a while. But still, there was something about waking up every morning in the palace that he kind of missed.

But he just smiled and held his daughter close. He had no regrets.

"It certainly is, Mel," he said softly, and then he bent over and kissed her on the head. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Yep," Melody replied, twisting around slightly so that she could look up into her father's eyes. "And I love you too, Daddy."

There had been several times over the past few years when Hiccup had thought his heart might simply burst from too much joy. This was one of those times.

Toothless slowly banked around so that they faced the harbor, and all at once his ear fins went up, and his entire body stiffened. He let out a little bark to get Hiccup's attention. "What is it, bud?" he asked, leaning over slightly to follow his dragon's gaze.

At first he saw nothing out of the ordinary. The harbor was fairly empty, and nothing of interest was happening in the village as far as he could see. "Daddy?" Melody said nervously. "What's wrong?"

"I don't…"

He broke off, for he'd suddenly seen what Toothless had. His eyes moved away from the island and out toward the ocean.

Where an armada of ships was sailing, their destination obviously Berk.

"Come on, Toothless," Hiccup said. "I'm afraid we have to cut our flight short."

Toothless warbled and descended to the ground. The moment his paws thudded into the dirt, the young chief jumped from his back, pausing only to help Melody down. "Let's go, sweetheart," he said, trying to keep his voice light and unconcerned as he took his daughter's hand. "We have to tell Mommy that we have visitors."

Let's just hope they're friendly, he added silently.

He might as well have said it aloud, for Melody's face was drawn in worry. "Are they nice, Daddy?"

"Probably," Hiccup answered easily, opening the door of the house and ushering her inside. "But just to be safe, I want you to stay with your mother, okay?"

Melody nodded. He had to hand it to her, she was handling it very well. She was a little paler than usual, but her face was set in determination. He smiled and ruffled her hair fondly.

"Astrid?" he called as they entered the house, closing the door behind him. "We have company!"

Astrid poked her head out of the kitchen, her eyebrows raised. "Oh? Who is it?"

"I don't know," Hiccup replied, picking up a spyglass he'd made for looking at something from a great distance. "I'm going to take a closer look. Stay here with Melody, I'll be right back."

"Wait a second!" Astrid said, laughing a little as she stepped into the den. "Let me see. I might know them."

Hiccup hesitated, but he had to admit that she had a fair point. He'd only been human for four years and he still didn't know everyone in the Archipelago. The newcomers could very well be friendly, he supposed. So he nodded and handed her the spyglass, leading her back outside. "Wait here," he said to Melody, who nodded again in assent.

He and Astrid stepped out onto the hill, and Astrid raised the spyglass to her eye. "Wow," she remarked. "That's a lot of ships. Hmm…" She paused, and then she said, "Oh! I recognize the symbol on their sails! It's the Berserker Tribe."

"The Berserker Tribe?" Hiccup repeated uneasily. Just the name made him feel nervous.

"It's no big deal," Astrid said, lowering the spyglass and turning to face her husband. "They're probably coming to renew the peace treaty they've had with Berk for the past couple of decades. Their chief is Oswald the Agreeable, and believe me, he didn't come by that name by accident." She put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "I know, I had the same reaction when I first met the Berserkers. But despite the name, they're not a bad crowd. They come here every five years or so to renew the treaty, they stay for a few days, and then they leave. No big deal." She jerked her head back toward the house. "Come on, let's go get ready to greet them. We can bring Melody along: Oswald loves kids."

Hiccup allowed himself to smile. If his wife knew these people, that was good enough for him to relax. "All right." Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "And the dragons?"

"Not a problem," Astrid replied. "Oswald thinks they're magnificent creatures and would never dream of hurting them. And I'm sure he'd be delighted to see a Night Fury."

So they headed back into the house to hurriedly put on their chief and chieftainess finery, dressing Melody in a pretty blue dress the same color as the sky. Then, daughter and dragon in tow, they headed down to the docks to greet the visitors.

"I didn't know the Berserkers were coming today," Gobber remarked as they passed the forge on their way. "Strange. Oswald usually sends a letter in advance telling us he's coming."

Astrid shrugged. "Maybe he forgot this time. Or else the letter got lost somewhere in transit. It happens."

Soon they had all reached the harbor, just in time for the first boat of the armada to arrive. "He sure didn't pack light," Gobber muttered, but no one replied.

A Berserker soldier shoved a plank off the rail, connecting the boat to the pier. He cleared his throat and announced to the crowd, "Presenting the High Chief of the Berserker Tribe, Cracker of Skulls, Slayer of Beasts, the Great and Fearsome…!"

"Oswald the Agreeable?" Gobber inquired, sounding bemused. Hiccup also found the introduction more than a little contradictory.

But their confusion cleared when the soldier finished, "…Dagur the Deranged!"

There was a stunned silence as the soldier stepped aside, revealing a skinny young man only a few years older than Hiccup. He had a fierce demeanor, from the tip of his helmet with its foot-long horns to the soles of his thick boots stained with what might have been blood. He grinned at the watching crowd, an expression that suggested he enjoyed watching the sufferings of others. He chuckled darkly, his eyebrows coming together to complete his savage appearance.

"Dagur?" Astrid repeated, stunned.

"Deranged?" Hiccup choked, looking over at his wife.

"Uh-oh…" Gobber sighed.

Dagur didn't seem particularly worried by the shocked reaction of the chief and his wife. He stepped onto the plank and sauntered down to the pier, spitting unconcernedly into the ocean. "Ah, Berk!" he said, breathing deeply. "It's been so long."

"Dagur," Astrid said, stepping forward to greet their guest. "Where's your father?"

Dagur looked down at her, raising his eyebrows. "My father has been…retired." Hiccup frowned. He didn't like the way he'd said that. But he remained quiet as Dagur continued, "He lost his taste for blood. I, on the other hand, am starving!"

He chuckled, and then his eyes moved over to Hiccup…and then to Toothless, who stood just behind him. Dagur's eyes widened. "A Night Fury!" he breathed. "Well, well…what a surprise…"

"His name is Toothless," Hiccup informed him, hoping to divert the man's attention. The look in the Berserker chief's eyes was quite unsettling. It was like he was planning on eating Toothless for lunch.

His ploy worked: Dagur looked swiftly back to the young chief. "Hmm," he said, eyeing Hiccup up and down. "And you are…?"

"Hiccup Haddock," he replied, inclining his head slightly, but never taking his eyes off the man before him. "Chief of Berk."

Dagur blinked. "Oh! Well, so the heiress found a husband after all, huh?" He directed this at Astrid, who flushed slightly but maintained her cool composure. "I was beginning to think you were going to be a spinster for the rest of your life."

Astrid replied quietly, "I'm just full of surprises, aren't I, Dagur?"

Dagur merely hummed in reply and looked back at Hiccup. "I don't believe I've ever seen you before. Where are you from?"

Hiccup barely glanced over at Astrid before answering, "Hyacinth. It's a kingdom pretty far away."

Dagur hummed again, looking bored.

And then his eyes fell on Melody, who was holding on to her father's hand and trying to make herself invisible.

"Well!" he crowed, bending down. Melody shrank into Hiccup's side. "You two got busy, huh?" He chuckled. "And what's your name, dearie?"

"This is our daughter Melody," Hiccup answered for her, bending down to pick her up. Melody hid her face into his shoulder. "She's shy," he added for her benefit.

"Sweet," Dagur remarked. Then he clapped his hands together. "Well then! Let's get on with the treaty, shall we? Where are the guest cabins?"

Both Hiccup and Astrid looked over at Gobber, who caught their pointed glances and nodded almost imperceptibly. "Right this way, Dagur," he said, and he started back up the ramp toward town. With one last look at the chief and his family, his gaze lingering perhaps a second longer on Toothless, Dagur followed, leading a handful of soldiers from the boat in his wake.

Neither Hiccup nor Astrid said anything, but from the worried look they exchanged Hiccup knew his wife was thinking the same thing he was.

They were going to have to be very careful for a few days.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! More will be coming soon. :)

And for those of you following Hiccup the Useless, don't worry, I haven't abandoned it for this story. I'm working on the next chapter, so it will hopefully be up here in a few days. Thanks for your patience!