Disclaimer: I don't own How To Train Your Dragon, I only own my OC's

How To Train Your Dragon: Twin Edition

Do I really need to explain?

3

Stoick heard the slight creak as the door opened and the tenseness relaxed slightly from his muscles as his children tried to creep around him and up the stairs. "Hiccup. Ashildr." He said, holding his head high.

The twins cringed simultaneously. "Dad, uh..." Hiccup tried to find the words that would explain their absence from the village for so long.

Then Ashildr spoke up, "...We have to talk to you, Dad, there's something you should...probably know." Hiccup's eyes widened before he looked at his sister, his eyes shining with questions. Ashildr merely put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, giving him a look that screamed, 'trust me.'

"I need to speak with you two as well." Stoick said, clapping his meaty hands together.

"We don't want to fight dragons."

"It's time you learn to fight dragons."

Both opinions were stated at the exact same time and created more confusion between the small family.

"Uh, you go first." Stoick spoke, making an effort to listen

'The idiot!' Ashildr thought, when her brother said, "No, you go first." Didn't he see that their father was willing to listen for once.

"All right," Stoick sighed before facing his two children that crawled back down the stairs. "You get your wish. Dragon training...you start in the morning."

The auburn twins reeled back in shock and really regretting the decision for letting their father go first. "Oh, man. We should've gone first. Uh..."

"We were thinking, you know, that they aren't a lot of...bread-making Vikings and small-home-repair Vikings. I mean, surely we've got enough dragon-fighting Vikings, right?" Ashildr cut in before her brother could make even more of a mess.

It seemed, once again, their father hadn't listened when he handed both of them an axe, Ashildr's slightly smaller to fit her petite stature. "You'll need these." Stoick spoke gruffly as the twins groaned under the heavy weights of their axes.

"We don't want to fight dragons." Hiccup burst out with one last hope to convince Stoick that they couldn't go into dragon training.

Stoick chuckled instead, refusing to listen what the twins had to say. "Come on. Yes you do."

"Rephrase." Ashildr spoke as she jumped down from the last step, her axe balancing precariously in her arms.

"Dad, we can't kill dragons." Hiccup spoke loud in clear in a foolish hope that the words would sink into Stoick's head with the intended meaning.

"But you two will kill dragons." Stoick waved them off.

"No, I'm really very extra-sure that we won't." Hiccup protested.

"It's time, you two." Stoick cut in.

"Can you not hear us? Are you deaf?" Ashildr argued.

"This is serious, you hear me?" Stoick said as if they hadn't spoken.

'But can hear us?' Ashildr thought sorrowfully. No matter what they, no matter they said, Stoick never seemed to hear them. And broke her heart even more every time he didn't listen.

"When you carry these axes, you carry all of us with you." Stoick carried on as they twins looked up at him with defeat in their eyes. "Which means you walk like us, you talk like us...you think like us. No more of this...this." Stoick finished gesturing his arms around the general proximity of the twins.

"You just gestured to all of us." Hiccup stated drily, holding his axe upright as Ashildr's dragged against the wooden floor.

"Deal?" Stoick asked firmly.

"Why does this conversation feel very one-sided?" Ashildr asked rhetorically.

"Deal?" Stoick cut in abruptly, effectively cutting of any protests.

The twins sighed before Hiccup spoke for them. "Deal..."

Stoick heaved a packed basket over his shoulder. "Good." He said, lost for words as he looked over his two children. "Train hard." He moved to collect his horned hat that rested near the fireplace and placing it on his head. "I'll be back. Probably."

The twins brushed away the flicker of fear they felt at the possibility that their father wouldn't come back alive. "And we'll be here." Ashildr called.

"Maybe." But Stoick didn't hear and the twins were left to stare at the retreating back of their father.

-xXx-

Gobber hefted the gate to the Dragon Arena with ease and introduced the trainees to the barren and damp Arena. "Welcome to dragon training!"

The trainees stepped onto the stone floor of the Arena for the first time. With multiple dangerous dragons stored in the Arena, the teens weren't allowed to step a single foot into the Arena with the risk of injuries until dragon training began.

"No turning back." Astrid murmured as she took her first step into the Arena.

The teens looked around the aged walls of the Arena, marked by grooves and scorch marks of dragon marks. All the teens remained quiet as they gazed at the Arena, the full force of the burden they were taking on their shoulders being realised.

"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut voiced.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or back." Ruffnut said in a conversational tone.

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Astrid spoke, her eyes still on cages lining the walls and clutching onto her axe tightly.

"You're joking." Ashildr said sarcastically.

"Pain. Love it." Hiccup finished, just as sarcastically.

The teens turned back to the gate where Hiccup and Ashildr stood close by to it, and they were shocked to actually see them in the Arena.

"Oh, great. Who let them in?" Tuffnut groaned.

"Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honour of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village." Gobber explained and sending all the teens into a trance until Snotlout burst out with, "Hiccup and Ashildr already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify them?"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut burst out in malicious laughter. "Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Tuffnut asked as he and the teens walked further into the Arena.

"Don't worry." Gobber said as he slung his arms around the auburn twins' thin shoulders. "You two are small and weak...that'll make you two less of a target. They see you two as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead." Patting the two comfortably as they drew near, Gobber hobbled forward. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight! The Deadly Nadder" Gobber said and pointed to a cage and as Gobber identified its species, grumblings and growls came from the cage.

"Speed 8, armour 16." Fishlegs murmured from his position next to Hiccup.

"The Hideous Zippleback."

"Plus 11 stealth. Times 2."

Ashildr didn't know about her brother, but Fishlegs was really starting to get on her nerves.

"The Monstrous Nightmare."

"Firepower 15."

"The Terrible Terror."

"Attack 8, venom 12."

"CAN YOU STOP THAT?" Gobber shouted at Fishlegs, keeping the young Viking's mouth shut before moving on to the next dragon. "And the Gronckle."

"Jaw strength 8." He whispered as Gobber placed his remaining hand on the lever by the Gronckle's cage.

"Whoa! Whoa. Aren't you going to teach us first?" Snotlout burst out in fear, catching onto to what Gobber was going to do.

"I believe in learning on the job." With that, Gobber pushed the lever downwards and a dirt-brown Gronckle burst out of cage and the teens scattered immediatley at the sight of it. "Today is about survival. If you get blasted...you're dead." As Gobber explained the day's task, the Gronckle crashed into a wall before finding its feet and devouring the rocks that lay nearby. "Quick. What's the first thing you'll need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup and Ashildr asked, both very jumpy.

"Plus 5 speed?" Fishlegs blurted.

"A shield." Astrid stated calmly, cool and collected as ever.

"Shields. Go." Gobber commanded.

All the teens raced towards the shields that lay scattered around the Arena.

"The most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must choose between a sword or a shield, take the shield." Gobber stated as Hiccup struggled to get the shield onto his arm properly. Gobber, impatient and worrying for his apprentices life, forced the shield onto his arm and shoved into the battle with his sister.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut both raced to a shield that was decorated with two flaming skulls. Both managed to grab it and played a mini tug-of-war game with it.

"Let go of my shield!" Tuffnut shouted.

"There are a million shields!" Ruffnut yelled back at him, tugging the shield back towards her.

"Take that one. It has a flower...girls like flowers." Tuffnut jerked his head towards a nearby shield before Ruffnut managed to gran the shield and whack her brother over the head with it. "Aah!" He called out in pain and shock.

"Oops. Now this one had blood on it." Ruffnut smirked at her brother before the blonde twins carried on with their tug-of-war until a Gronckle fired at the shield between them, disqualifying them from the lesson.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut! You're out!" Gobber called across the Arena.

"What?" They cried back, disoriented from being thrown to the cold floor from the blast.

"Shields are good for another thing. Noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!" Gobber instructed and the remaining teens did as they were told. The Gronckle growled as they noise started to effect it.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?"

"Five?" Snotlout shouted.

"No, six!" Fishlegs called out eagerly.

"Correct, six! Almost enough for each of you!"

Fishlegs opened his mouth to say something more, but the Gronckle aimed a blast at his shield, effectively destroying it and sending Fishlegs running and screaming.

"Fishlegs, out!"

The Gronckle flew around the Arena and Hiccup and Ashildr decided to creep out of their hiding spot. "Hiccup, Ashildr, get in there!"

The Gronckle fired at the auburn twins and managed to get at Ashildr, knocking her out. "Ashildr, you're out!"

With one last reassuring glance at her brother, Ashildr ran to where Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut stood. Hiccup creeped back into his hiding spot and the Gronckle lost interest with him.

"So, anyway, I moved into my parents basement. You should come by sometime and work out." Snotlout tried to say to Astrid suggestively. "You look like you work out." He called to her as she rolled away. He screamed as the Gronckle nailed a blast on his shield, sending another teen out of the lesson.

"Snotlout. You're done." Gobber hollered at him. Now only Astrid and Hiccup were left in the game.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?" Hiccup asked, letting his axe fall to the side as he stared at Astrid.

"Nope. Just you." Astrid stated before running by Hiccup. Hiccup furrowed his brows in confusion before he raised his shield in fright when he saw a ball of fire tearing through the air towards him. His shield was knocked out of his hand and rolled across the stone floor. "One shot left!" Gobber yelled at the two teens.

The Gronckle headed towards Hiccup, who was trying to catch his escaping shield.

"HICCUP!" Ashildr screamed as she saw the dragon get closer and closer to her brother. The boy was cornered into a wall and the Gronckle went right up close before opening its mouth. Hiccup saw the bright glow becoming brighter and closed his eyes and curled into the wall. Gobber managed to hook his replacement of a hand into the Gronckle's gums, making the blast hit into the wall right above Hiccup. Ashildr raced towards her brother and wrapped her arms around him.

"And that's six. Go back to bed, you overgrown sausage!" Gobber shouted as the Gronckle as it fought him before he successfully managed to get it back into its cage and locking it securely. "You'll get your chance, don't you worry. Remember, a dragon will always," Gobber loomed in the twins faces, reeking of mead. "always go for the kill."

-xXx-

"So why didn't you?" Hiccup asked himself as he examined the bola that had bound the two Night Furies. Ashildr stared at the direction the Night Furies had fled in, her gut telling her that if they wanted answers, they'd find them in that direction. Tugging at her brother's jacket, Ashildr stumbled through the forest, Hiccup not far behind. Eventually, the two tumbled upon a gap between two rocks and slipped through the gap to see a cove with moss and leaves crawling up the walls and a shallow lake resting in the middle. "Nice place for a holiday." Ashildr muttered.

"Well this was stupid." Hiccup sighed, catching no sign of the Night Furies. Noticing a flash of black in the corner of his eye, Hiccup looked downwards to spy a cluster of black scales, ranging in size. Bending downwards, he tugged on the end of Ashildr's dress and picked up one of the larger scales in his hand.

"Hiccup, you don't think..." Ashildr breather, looking into her brother's eyes.

The two were suddenly interrupted a dark mass and they both scrambled backwards in fright. Almost immediately, Hiccup shot to his feet and viewed a Night Fury scrabbling at the side of the cove, trying to find a grip and flapping its wings fruitlessly. The Night Fury eventually fell and glided across the lake to be greeted by a slightly smaller Night Fury. Hiccup's mouth quirked upwards in a grin before noticing a small stone jutting from the wall to create a ledge. Waving a hand at his sister to tell her to follow he jumped onto the ledge, Ashildr not far behind.

The twins watched as the dragons conversed in their own language that consisted off growls, grunts, moans and groans. Hiccup whipped his journal and stick of charcoal out and watched as the female (he guessed from her size) Night Fury took a run and jumped into the sky before she fell gracelessly to the ground in a black-scaled heap. Hiccup quickly did a rough sketch of the female as his sister watched the Night Furies in awe. She had never seen a dragon up close before. Well, at least one that wasn't trying to attack her or Hiccup. The male Night Fury suddenly leaped onto a log and jumped into the sky and pounded his wings hard and manage to nick a wall before falling to the ground. The female Fury ran up to the male and the two began to converse again and Hiccup took his chance and began to create a sketch of the male Night Fury.

"Why don't you just fly away?" Hiccup murmured.

Ashildr suddenly tugged on Hiccup's sleeve and pointed at the tail of the male Night Fury. "Hiccup, look."

Hiccup did and was shocked to see that left tailfin on the male had been ripped away. Scrubbing the left tailfin off his sketch of the male Night Fury, Hiccup looked up again and saw that the right tailfin on the female had also been destroyed.

Making sure his sketches were correct, the twins watched as the male took another leap into the sky before crashing onto the ground, the female Night Fury sprinting towards him. The female nudged the male who only groaned at her. The female lowered herself to the ground and pressed herself against the male as the Night Fury looked hopelessly onwards. A sudden splashing of water caught the male's attention and he moved forwards and lunged into the water, but coming up with no fish to eat for either of them.

Hiccup lowered his arm as he and Ashildr realised that the Night Furies couldn't fly and without the ability they were dead. The stick of charcoal slipped from Hiccup's grasp and rolled right of the ledge before the twins could snatch it. The sound of the pencil clattering on the ground drew the Night Furies attention and the dragons looked up into the twins' eyes.

Hiccup once again found himself locked in a staring battle with the male Night Fury. Nothing was said, but Hiccup somehow knew that the Night Fury was just as curious about Hiccup as he was of the Night Fury. He was surprised the Night Fury hadn't shot him yet, but then he eyed the missing tailfin and the implications of his actions hit him. 'Oh, Gods.' He didn't know why he cared, he just...did.

Ashildr found herself gazing into silver eyes lined with light green once more. The eyes held sadness and so, so much pain and once again...resignation. Ashildr frowned, not knowing why she cared about what a dragon felt, but despite her best efforts not too, she did. Her main reason for freeing the Night Furies is because she didn't want the Night Fury to have resignation in her eyes again, but here she was. Her heart dropped as she realised why the Night Fury felt this. It was because of her. By shooting them down, Hiccup and Ashildr had ripped away the ability of flight and with it, the will to live.

In that moment, the Haddock twins swore they would find a way to bring the Night Furies flight back, but first they needed to get a bit closer...

Hey guys!

So what do ya think of this chapter?

- See ya next chap!