Chapter One: The Dig Site
"Dr. Haddock, Dr. Hofferson, we're ready to try again," one of the interns called to the two paleontologists. Hiccup rolled his eyes as he wiped the dirt off of his hands onto his tattered jeans. Astrid readjusted the bandana across her forehead, her makeshift headband to keep her blonde bangs out of her eyes. As the pair walked towards the tent, Hiccup snaked his arm around Astrid's waist.
The team of interns shot a radio wave into the ground as Dr. Haddock and Dr. Hofferson gathered in front of the computer monitor. Slowly but surely the radio waves bounced off a skeleton of another Night Fury, relaying the fuzzy image onto the computer screen. Hiccup, excited, pointed to a section of the skeleton, but upon touching the screen the computer monitor went blank. "H-hey what happened?"
"You touched it," the intern said as he touched a few buttons on the keyboard, which caused the image to reappear. "Don't touch it."
Hiccup scowled and pointed with his pinky again, being careful not to actually touch the screen. "Look at the size of this one. And take a look at its vertebrae full of air sockets, just like a bird. Look at the pubic bone, turned backwards just like a bird. Astrid, I think our theory might have something to stand on."
"This one's spines are doubled," Astrid observed. "I wonder if that means it's male?"
"Probably helps with maneuverability," Hiccup ventured. "Take a look at his skull, Astrid. There's extra space in his jaws for the teeth, just like the last one. I bet they were retractable."
He continued to oogle over the Night Fury skeleton. "This was definitely the unholy offspring of lightning and death."
"That doesn't look very scary," a child said behind them. "More like an oversize poodle to me."
Astrid forced a small smile and walked over to the kid. "What's your name?"
"Gustav Larson."
"Well, Gustav. I want you to image you're a Viking on Berk." She began to circle the child. "It's the dead of night and the entire village is under attack. The Night Fury is perfectly camouflaged against the night sky. The only warning you have is a shrill sound of its plasma blast charging up just before it strikes. And a Night Fury never missed. Now you're in a clearing and you see this Night Fury land and you stand perfectly still because you think its vision is based on movement like the Nadder. But when you stare at it, it stares right back at you. And before you have time to process, the Night Fury charges a second shot and wham!" Astrid smacked her hands together for effect, "You're blasted ten feet away into a pile of rocks. Dead. You never stood a chance."
"So, try to show a little more respect. Okay?" Gustav gasped out a startled 'okay'. Astrid patted the child on his shoulder before returning to the monitor. "Let's finish with our current Night Fury before we dig this one up." Hiccup nodded.
"You know, Astrid, if you wanted to scare the kid, you coulda just pulled a gun on him," Hiccup said as they walked away from the tent back towards the partially uncovered Night Fury fossil.
Astrid rolled her eyes, "I mean, I guess. Hiccup, you actually want to have one of those?"
"Well I don't want that child in particular, but a breed of child could be intriguing."
"Intriguing?" Astrid mocked and Hiccup shrugged. "I dunno, babe. Kids are loud, annoying, expensive, icky…" Hiccup watched her with his eyebrow raised, amused until she said, "And they smell."
"Oh gods, Astrid! They do not smell!"
"Babies smell!"
"Fine. We'll have a kid and call him Icky." Astrid punched her boyfriend in the upper arm. "Ow, must everything be violent with you?"
"It's not violence. It's communication," Astrid replied. "Besides I could have given him a scenario about a Red Death. That woulda done the trick too."
Hiccup rolled his eyes, but smiled. "C'mon, let's see if we can't finish uncovering this Night Fury before the sun sets."
The pair continued to use a variety of brushes to uncover the Night Fury skeleton. "Hey, Astrid," Hiccup ventured. "Do you remember that replica book my uncle got me for Snoggletog the one year?"
"The crazy one-legged, one-armed uncle?" Astrid asked, not looking up from her digging.
"Yeah," Hiccup said. "Anyway, I was reading through it and apparently there were some Vikings that believed that the dragons weren't vicious at all and that they could be trained, the same way a dog can. Maybe that kid wasn't so off-base. Maybe the Night Fury wasn't truly the unholy offspring of lightning and death but really a lovable oversized poodle."
"How would you prove that theory though? Hiccup, we have a better chance proving that the Red Death and the Bewilderbeast had mind control powers. We have to publish something that will help us get funding, so it's gotta be based in facts. Not speculation."
"I know, I know," Hiccup said. "I just think it would have been amazing to have a dragon as a pet. Could you imagine flying?"
The sun was beginning to set and Hiccup's team was covering the dig site with a tarp to ensure that their progress wouldn't be undone by the unforgiving night winds. One of the interns ran up from the tent, "Dr. Haddock, Dr. Hofferson! There's someone here who says they represent our funders."
"Odin's ghost," Hiccup swore. He glanced at his raggedy green tee shirt and Astrid's blue tank top, both covered in dirt and mud with more holes in their jeans than either of them cared to admit. He and Astrid always tried to look presentable in front of the investors, but this surprise visit would not allow for that. "Tell him…"
"She's already in your trailer waiting for you."
"Sweet baby Thor in a thunderstorm," Astrid exclaimed. "We are so dead." The couple hurried over to the camper to meet the investor. Upon opening up the camper door they saw none other than the eccentric Dr. Joanna Hammond dressed in her usual pure white sundress. Her greying hair was in a high bun and she sat on the counter in the kitchenette area.
"We weren't aware you were coming." "Sorry we are underdressed." "We didn't mean to keep you waiting…" A flurry of excuses and apologizes fluttered out of Hiccup and Astrid's mouths. Hammond simply smiled.
Hammond held up a bottle of champagne she had pulled from the fridge. "Champagne?" she offered and the couple muttered that they had been 'saving it for something special.' "You were saving it for today, I guarantee it."
As Joanna began to pour the champagne she explained her unannounced visit, "I'll get right to the point. I like you, both of you. And I can see my 50,000 a year is well spent. I own an island off the coast of Costa Rica. And I've created a sort of…" Joanna paused for a moment, thoughtfully, not wanting to give everything away at once, "…biological reserve. It's fabulous and I spared no expense."
"You own a lot of islands," Astrid observed, knowing that the billionaire had a certain weakness for spending millions and millions on extravagant and sometimes outlandish investments.
"Yes, well, unfortunately my investors feel that I need some outside opinions before we can open the park fully. And they insisted on you two."
"Why us?"
"Well, you, Dr. Haddock are the most celebrated dragon paleontologist this world has to offer. And you, Dr. Hofferson are unmatched as a paleo-botanist. Combined your expertise are exactly what I need to get back on schedule. I just need you two to come for a 3-day weekend, let's say, take the tour and give the park your endorsement and we'll all get back to our lives." Joanna handed the pair their champagne glasses.
"We really…" "It's just…" "We uncovered a new Night Fury…" "Our interns aren't…"
"I could fully compensate you for the weekend…"
"That's really sweet of you…" "But we really can't leave…"
"And further fund your digs for an additional five years."
Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances. "Where's the plane?" Astrid asked.
Hammond smiled. "I knew you come around, Dr. Hofferson!"
Eret sat at a table in the middle of the patio. Upon seeing his second employer he waved and called, "Drago, Drago!" The man frowned and stormed over to Eret's table.
"You shouldn't use my name here," Drago warned.
"Why?" Eret pointed and shouted behind him, "Drago Bludvist! We've got Drago Blud…ah!"
His mockery was cut short as Drago reached across the table and squeezed his massive palm around Eret's neck. "I said, don't use my name." He released Eret forcibly, allowing the poor blighter to gasp for air.
Eret glared at his new employer. "What's with the dragon scaled cape? You trying to look like a super villain?" Drago scowled before presenting Eret with a bottle of shaving cream. He unscrewed the bottom, revealing a secret compartment to store the embryos. "There's enough space to hold all 15 species. The container holds enough coolant inside for 36 hours. Remember you'll be paid extra for the Red Death, Night Fury and the Alpha embryos."
"The Alpha embryos haven't been fully developed yet…" Eret protested.
Drago grabbed Eret's chin and pulled him mere inches from his face, "I said bring me the Alpha embryo." Eret's eyes widened and he nodded feverishly.
The waiter came by with the check, and Eret glanced at it quickly before saying, "Don't get cheap on me, Drago. That was Hammond's mistake."
Drago begrudgingly took the check, paid enough cash including tip, but before leaving he took Eret's fork and stabbed the unsuspecting InGen employee's hand. "That's the last time you order me around. The next time it will be your head."