A/N: As promised, I'm integrating the Q/A that I used as a place holder into this chapter. It's at the bottom. On suggestion from , I'm going to give each side of The War a unique feel to their Mechs. Stoick's side will have very industrial feeling Mechs, like what you see in Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends for the Vinci, or like the Clankers from Leviathan. Their opponents (I haven't named them yet) will have more organic feeling Mechs. Stoick's side will focus on being heavy, lots of armor and weapons (I'm thinking ballistic weapons) while the other side is more based on mobility and speed (probably less powerful but lighter energy weapons). This idea goes well with Toothless being an enemy Mech since I'm trying to give him the same graceful but powerful feel he had in the movie. Enough of me droning about my thoughts. Go ahead and read.

It took Hiccup a while to find somewhere to hide the Mech that was far enough to avoid detection but close enough to his home that getting back and forth wouldn't be a problem. They eventually settled on a cave that was a fifteen minute walk for Hiccup. They hadn't talked again, but both knew what was on each others minds. The Mech was thinking about where he was going to get Fuel from, his tanks had been mostly drained when he had been sent to the scrapyard. Hiccup was thinking about what he was going to do when his father found out.

It was only a matter of time. Hiccup knew the turrets had cameras on them, cameras that had seen him go in, but not come out. When news got out that the Mech had vanished, someone was going to review the security footage. Then things could... probably would get bad. Hiccup tried to banish those thoughts from his mind. However, all he could think of was himself and the Mech standing in front of the Admiralty as they declared him a traitor and sentenced him to one of two options. Life in a labor camp, in which Hiccup would last maybe ten seconds before another convict slit his throat, or public execution by firing squad. The Mech would then be scrapped immediately.

As the Mech settled down in the cave, Hiccup turned to it and said, "You need a name." The Mech rumbled back in a questioning manner. Without its Linguistic Processor, it couldn't talk aloud.

"I can't keep calling you... you." The Mech replied with an exasperated but affirming sigh. "Okay, well... You don't seem to have weapons, not at first glance. What about Armless?" A sharp burst of coolant squashed that idea. "Fine. What's an animal with no weapons... An animal with no claws or no... teeth... Toothless!"

Toothless growled his assent having realized the boy likely couldn't come up with anything better and that the naming process could go on for hours. Hiccup grinned at his own cleverness before saying his goodbyes and heading home. The fifteen minute walk was brutal for the boys mind, which was busy coming up with every possible worse-case scenario and more.

/-/

Hiccup quietly slipped in the backdoor of his house. It was silent. Maybe his dad was still on patrol. That thoughts was banished by the voice coming from the kitchen table.

"We need to talk, Hiccup." Stoick said.

"Uh... About?"

"Where you were today."

"Oh."

"Yes. You were in the scrapyard, the military scrapyard."

"I was?"

"Don't play dumb with me boy." Stoick said in a low voice. "You never left, not under your own power."

"Erp."

"So... Where is it?"

"It?"

"The Mech, Hiccup, the Mech. It left, you didn't. Anyone can see that you left in it."

"Uh, ahem, yeah, about that..."

"You have two choices, Hiccup."

"Ulp."

"Option one, you continue to deny it, or hide it, or whatever it is you're doing. I won't try to stop the Admiralty from putting you in front of a firing squad since you're too young for a labor camp." Stoick's eyes softened. "Option two, you come clean with me now, and I'll find a way to keep you alive. Choose."

"This seems quite one-sided." Hiccup whined.

"Choose Hiccup."

"Fine. Yeah, I went into the scrapyard. Yeah, I took that Mech." Hiccup then told his dad everything with the exception of exactly how the Mech worked and the conversation the two had shared. Stoick listened carefully. When he was done, Stoick sat back and looked thoughtful for a minute.

"I've got an idea."

"Does it get me out of dying?"

"It does, and it helps prove your loyalty to our nation. You'll train, like normal, but with your Mech."

"Dad, the Admiralty wi-"

"Don't worry about them. When they hear about how you 'overrode' the Mech's systems and took complete control, they'll be more then happy to have an enemy Mech on our side."

"Dad, are you sure about this."

"Trust me son."

"Last time I trusted you, I got beaten by Snotlout for being a 'mouthy brat'."

"Yes, and he ended up with a month of latrine duty for disorderly conduct. Let me worry about the logistics. Train hard, and maybe you'll get the honor of leading the squad that our current recruits will form."

"Again, feeling one-sided here."

"Now, get to bed. Training starts early, and it's no joke."

"Yes dad."

/-/

Hiccup was up bright and early the next morning. Toothless had some impressive weapons hidden underneath that unassuming black shell, weapons that would make even the hardiest soldier think twice about attacking if he knew what they were. Hiccup got into his jumpsuit, leaving the neck unzipped and the collar down so Toothless could interface with his body. Then, he began to walk to where Toothless was hidden. He knew the Mech had enough Fuel left to get to the training ring.

Toothless greeted him with a low rumble. Hiccup sighed as he climbed up the Mech's leg to get into the cockpit. The link-collar snapped into place and Hiccup's world went dark for several seconds. Then the HUD snapped into place and he felt Toothless sifting though his memories of last night.

I don't like the idea of this 'training'.

Me either, but we got no choice. It's this or death.

I trust that you know what you're doing Hiccup. I'll go where you say.

And I trust you to tell me when I'm being an idiot. I'll listen to what you say.

We make a good team. Let's go show these 'recruits' what a real Mech and its pilot can do.

Agreed. But first, are you a guy or girl?

Mech's have no gender.

I know, but I don't want to call you an it.

Very well. Let us go with me being male.

Works for me. You've got enough Fuel to make it to the Ring. There's a supply station there.

/-/

"Well?" Snotlout said.

"Well what?" Astrid snapped back.

"Isn't Hiccup supposed to be here?"

"Yeah, I heard his dad said he had to show every other day or else." Ruffnut snickered.

"No, that's what I heard." Her twin brother, Tuffnut, replied.

"Lies!"

"I'll show you lies!" Tuffnut shouted, lunging at his sister. The two were shortly rolling on the floor trading blows.

"Come on, kids, get yur asses off the floor." Gobber shouted. "Yur cadets, not pit brawlers! Act like it!"

"I wonder if Hiccup changed Mechs?" Fishlegs pondered. "Maybe he got one with plus ten balance instead of one with minus 5 mobility."

"Hiccup? He doesn't know the first thing about Mech piloting." Astrid replied smugly. She was currently the leader in training, which meant she would lead their squadron when they finished training.

"Well, we're not waiting any longer. Gear up!" Gobber shouted, getting into his own Mech.

The cadets all ran to their Mech stations. Fishlegs had a Tank-class Mech, short, broad, and tougher then anything on the battlefield. It actually need four legs instead of the regular two to remain upright. Snotlout's Mech was a Storm-class, a Mech designed for unleashing raw firepower. It was armed to the teeth with multiple missile pods, rotary cannons, and two rail drivers. Ruffnut and Tuffnut shared a Hydra-class strike Mech, built for covering all angles. The Mech had two cockpits. One piloted the main torso while the other controlled the auxiliary weapons that gave the Mech such a wide firing range. Astrid mounted her Viper-class Mech. Lighter and faster then the large Mechs, but armed with an impressive amount of auto-cannons and missile racks. She had even acquired a plasma flamer for it. None of the cadets' Mechs were under fifty tons, as compared to Toothless, who was possibly ten tons, probably less.

"Today is a standard melee. Your weapons have been loaded with stun rounds. They'll slowly scramble your Mech's systems until they shut down. When that happens, you're out!"

Suddenly, the hanger doors opened and Toothless tromped in. Hiccup started his radio and tuned it to the right frequency.

"Sorry I'm late. Had to Fuel-up."

"Wow Hiccup!" Snotlout snickered over the radio. "If I knew you would be bringing a tin can, I would have brought a can crusher. As it is, I guess I just have to step on you."

"Standard melee rules Hiccup." Gobber said. "You need stun ammo?"

Hiccup checked Toothless' weapons. They did have a EMP mode. He would use that. "No, I'm good." He said over the radio.

"Perfect. Less work for me. NOW GET IN THERE!" Gobber shouted, sending the Mechs into the Melee Ring.

A/N 2: Q/A is below. R&R.

Q: Where do Hearts come from?

A: From the Core. This will be explained in later chapters. Suffice to say that there are a limited number of Hearts, so both sides have to make choices about where they are used.

Q: What is Fuel?

A: Every play Gears of War? Think Immulsion. Fuel bears several similarities.

Q: Why does this bring to mind MechWarrior?
A: MechWarriors 4 is available for free from mektek(dot)net. I played it a lot, and took some inspiration from it.

Q: What does Toothless look like?
A: I know my description was lacking. The leg design for Toothless was inspired by the Ed-209 from Robocop. The body is square in the back and tapered in the front. The whole front is mounted on a ball-joint so it can move (about 35 degrees in any given direction) independent of the legs which are mounted on the rear of the chassis.

Big shout to for their great reviews. My brother is reading Leviathan, I'll read it when he's done. I drew some more inspiration from Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends. Good game. So is StarCraft (I've yet to play 2).