Author's Note: Hey guys, it's me, Thomas! If you don't know already, this is the sequel to my previous story, The Airship, which you can find on my profile. You should most definitely read that first if you want to get an understanding of what's going on in this story, since it is a sequel.

As always with a new story, I've posted just a chapter and will take a look at some of the community (that's you!) feedback. If its positive, then I'll continue and if not, then I'll not. Anyways, please have a read, I hope you enjoy and please leave some feedback, I appreciate very much!

Thanks,

-Thomas

There was little he could think of as he sat there, tinkering with the delicate mechanical fingers of the automata. Outside, the wind blew harsh and cold across the vast stretch of ocean before buffeting of the cabin. The room was spacious enough, with several furs laid in front of a crackling fire, the burning logs occasionally sending up sudden eruptions of embers up the chimney, the iridescent red, orange and yellow flames dancing to an unheard tune. Large windows were cut into the walls, where thick panes of windows sat as they were beaten by the wind and gently touched by the falls of snow. If it wasn't for the wind, Hiccup might've even heard the crashing of the waves on the pebble beach, the rocks rudely clacking against one another as the water shuffled them backwards and forwards, again and again.

Hiccup sat in a small stool, in front of a body made of metal. It had no mouth or nose, only a pair of optic lenses that sat widely apart from another, separated by a band of metal on a face made of leather. Hiccup had just installed a metal grille, placed just below the eyes in the centre of the face so that the machine could articulate. It was placed at the centre of the room, hoisted upright by a series of chains and rope. It was a silent guardian, watchful and ever present. Little Lyra had grown accustomed to its presence, thankfully. Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle when he remembered those little fits of childish panic whenever Lyra had seen some of Hiccup's inventions. Soon, a rumble of deep laughter rolled from his lungs when he thought of when Lyra had met Toothless. Tears of mirth appeared at his eyes as he set his tools down, his body racked with laughter. The poor little girl! She kept thinking that Toothless would eat her!

"Is everything okay?" A lyrical voice asked, the words drifting into Hiccup's ears were more musical than anything he could ever hope to produce. He tried to calm himself down, "My goodness, you're certainly happy about something."

"Do you remember... heheh, when, er, when Lyra first saw Toothless?" Hiccup managed to say between bouts of laughter.

"Oh yes," that beautiful voice started to laugh too before Astrid plopped herself into Hiccup's lap, arms around his neck. The two stared into each other's eyes as if they had seen them for the first time all over again, "I remember. She was so afraid, even after everything you did. Even after she got used to him, she had nightmares!"

And for a moment, the two enjoyed themselves, laughing away by the warmth of a burning fire, the winds and the snow be damned. Winter had descended on Berk rather ferociously this year, arriving earlier than the village Elder had expected. As a result, the village was thrown into disarray. Food hadn't been properly stored, stocks still unfilled and winter clothes still not patched up yet. Crops had died still in the bitter, frozen ground and the ships were stranded at dock, the storms too ferocious to risk at this time of year. Toothless was doing his best to help feed the village, making daily trips into the waters surrounding Berk in search of fish. So far, it had worked well but Hiccup knew it was putting a strain on his friend, who would often return to the cabin on the outskirts of Berk soaked and immediately retreating to his rocky den, collapsing in an exhausted heap. Hiccup made sure that Toothless was okay, to which Toothless would nod tiredly and close his mechanical eyes, before proceeding to make an imitation of snoring.

"Still working on him?" Astrid wondered.

"Yes, I'm just seeing if I can make his fingers more dexterous." Hiccup explained, holding up the hand for Astrid to see. She took a quick look at it before turning her attention to the automata. Her fingers traced invisible shapes across the machine's metal armoured body, finding the hidden latches that opened the automata's protective chest and revealing its inner workings. In the years that the two of them had been married, Astrid had been thoroughly educated in the workings of machinery and mechanics. Admittedly, she was never good at the stuff but at least she wasn't left in the dark as she was when the two had first met, all those precious years ago, "That's new, you've added in a core receptacle for him."

"You know, he, er, he does have a name." Hiccup said, nodding.

"Oh right, yes, what was it?"

"Erm, his name... well, he doesn't have one per se. I just call him Prototype."

"Not a very good one, is it?" She wondered aloud, frowning at him.

"No, not, not at all but it will do, since that is what he is. And yes, I've added in a core receptacle." He admitted, pointing out the hollow space underneath the wiring and the gears that made up the Prototype's chest. Several cables had been left unattached to anything, instead hanging freely inside that empty space.

"What are you up to now?"

"I... I've been working on him for years now... and... I've never really stopped. I don't know but something's missing. He seemed to not, be, er, he didn't seem... he wasn't finished to me. I thought that..." Hiccup ranted, unable to properly voice his thoughts in a way that frustrated him to no end. He was always so skilled with his words, always seeming to be able to find the right words. Worry was weighty on his mind. Something had been happening to him these past few months. Memories were starting to go missing from his head, events in the day simply vanishing, words escaping him. Astrid was starting to notice it too.

"It's okay, I understand what you're talking about." Astrid said, laying a hand on his before pulling his lips into hers. The feeling of her flesh on his, the feeling of their lips together and their tongues mingling, speaking their secret talks, her scent filling his nose made his head spin, just as it did when they first kissed, back in that dark forest not too far from here. The worry slowly faded away with every moment longer they kissed.

With great reluctance and greater thoughts of doubt, Hiccup and Astrid pulled away, her delectable taste still on his tongue.

"Can he still work without the core?"

"Yes, the core isn't meant as a source of power, that's why the receptacle is smaller." He said, reaching forward and closing the protective hatch to the Prototype's chest. He then removed a few cables leading off of automata's sides and arms. A few flicks of some hidden switches later and a gentle humming filled the air. The chains that held the machine upright were loosened and finally pulled away as the Prototype activated. Its two mechanical eyes blinked once, twice and then looked down at the two. It made a very stiff wave.

"Damn, I... I forgot to put the arm back on," Hiccup remarked. He shook his head, "Its fine. Prototype!" The machine looked down at Hiccup and made a series of grating noises from behind the metal grille.

"Well, he certainly has a way with words." Astrid noted, raising an eyebrow at her husband.

"Core's not installed yet, he won't be able to say anything properly yet."

"I assume you'll be making this core yourself?" Astrid said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Most likely." Astrid didn't like this answer, Hiccup could see it clearly in her face, "Don't worry, sweetheart. It'll leave me exhausted and tired but so long as I go into the process healthy and ready, I should come out perfectly fine. Okay? It's all going to be alright. It's all going to be perfectly fine."

"Captain! A ship, sir, off to starboard! Looks abandoned!" Shouted the Perrin the lookout, perched like a crow, watchful, on the mast. His eyes were exceptionally suited to the darkness of the night. His thin clothes offered little protection against the cold and the blasts of water and rain. He shivered uncontrollably most of the time but he did as he was told, since that was what kept him alive among this band of brigands. The crew rushed over to the side, craning their necks to try and get a peek at what the lookout had spotted. They hadn't spotted a single merchant ship for the past few weeks and the coin was starting to dry up. They cursed the winter and they cursed the weather. Here, however, was a chance for them to make some money.

The door to the Captain's quarters suddenly slammed open and the entire crew turned to look at him. He was an imposing figure, built like a mountain. He had thick, shaggy hair that he never bothered to cut and a beard that easily went down to his chest. At his hip was a sword that was heavy enough to take a man's head off clean with one swing.

"What in the fuck is going on here?" He roared, voice carrying loud over the howling winds and the crash of the sea.

"Sir, a ship! Off to starboard! There doesn't seem to be anyone onboard!" Perrin repeated, fear building in his chest at the very sight of the Captain. He was a man that was to be feared, a man with a death sentence with 12 nations. Perrin made sure to keep out of the Captain's way.

"Finally, a fucken ship to fucken loot! I've been getting tired with all this shit. Helmsman! Make way! Everyone else, get your shit in order, swords, pikes, you know what to fucking do!" The Captain shouted, the men quickly getting to their stations. No one dared to oppose him.

As they drew closer to the ship, they knew something was wrong. The hull wasn't made of regular wood, they would know. Instead, the hull and the entire ship was made of pitch black iron. This was a warship. Some of the men took long, hard swigs from bottles passed around, steeling themselves. Despite this, not on dared to question the Captain. Perrin, from his perch on the mast, could see bodies on the deck and they weren't a pretty sight at all. Their raiding ship, the Cutter, was absolutely tiny compared to this iron-hulled warship.

The Cutter drew up alongside of the warship and the men stormed up onto the deck using ropes thrown up onto the ship. With fierce battlecries they pulled themselves up and were quickly silenced at the sight of the massacre before them. Bodies lay strewn across the deck like a boy discarding toy soldiers. The blood had long since been washed away by the harsh winds, rain and waves but it didn't dull the scene at all. In the fearsome dark of the night, the crew of the Cutter stumbled upon a total slaughter. Some bodies had limbs missing, necks snapped like so many twigs. Fear was engraved into their features, their hands tightly gripping their weapons in the picture of their deaths. The worst, however, were the bodies that were burnt. Their skin was blackened, charred and crackled, like pig's skin left over the fire. Their eyeballs had popped in their sockets and blood gently oozed from the cracks in their sizzled skin. It was sickening, even for some of the hardened men, long into their years of piracy. Perrin look around, both horrified and amazed that this much carnage could be wreaked. However, there was something that made Perrin think. This was the sign of a massive battle but all of the bodies here had the same armour, wore the same uniform. Where was the enemy?

"Spread out! I want this damned ship torn apart!" The Captain shouted, taking in the carnage with delight. He relished the sight of blood.

Perrin made his way through the bodies cautiously, his feet trying to find a piece of deck that wasn't covered by a corpse. What could've done this? Who? He saw great dents in the deck, in the shape of footprints. What on this Earth could be so powerful? He crossed by a raised metal platform that looked so odd in the middle of a ship. There was only a single body on the platform. Perrin looked closer and was shocked. The body wasn't a man but a woman! She looked beautiful too, despite the scarring on her face. Perrin suddenly felt something inside him he had never felt before. He quickly scaled the platform and knelt beside this woman who looked more like a girl than anything, she was just so young! He parted the strands of hair that blocked her face and looked down at this girl's face. Her back had been broken but her face looked so serene. He reached out to touch her cheek...

Suddenly, the world around him went dark, as if all of the light in the world had been taken away. He scrambled backwards, pushing himself to his feet. The girl's corpse had disappeared. An eerie, frightening and distinctly female laugh rang through the air. He looked all around him and found no way out. He felt something brush against his shoulders and he screamed, breaking into a run. No matter how fast he ran, nothing seemed to change, it was all dark.

"Why are you so frightened?" A voice shrill and demonic cried out, "I know what you want, child. I know you want power, to be powerful. I know you want to be rid of your Captain."

Indistinct images flashed in front of his eyes. A tall man with a missing leg. A blonde-haired girl. A mechanical beast.

"I know that you want to be strong, Perrin Regnarson. I know you want to be free of this life. I can help you."

"WHO ARE YOU?" Perrin screamed, his heart pounding in his chest, his mind frozen in terror, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"All that I want, Perrin, is that you..." The next few words he couldn't quite hear but his mind understood them, somehow, "Agreed?"

"I... I..." Perrin stuttered, "I... agree."

"Good," The voice cackled, "Good. Here, take the power from my body and you will be the strongest man alive, the most powerful man in this damned place. You know what you must do."