This is War

'A How To Train Your Dragon Fanfiction'

-Rated T- Genres Adventure/Fantasy-

-Rewrite.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own HttyD. Rights go to Respective Owners.

X-x-X

Part One: The Night Fury and his Rider

X-x-X

Chapter 02: Choices

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

Of Choices,

both stupid and wise,

good or bad,

Fear, it still rules you and I.

the day they go mad,

the day he forsakes the light.

A rider of night,

he is awake but not alive,

for Pain shall find a way to thrive,

found in forgotten foresight.

Vengeance watches with dark eyes,

Destiny finds a way to brew lies.

Of Choices,

they bow before it in Silence,

and forever at its core,

the dreadful reality of Fate shall seek more…

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

[Approx. 2478_D, May 27th, Morning.]

Hiccup moaned. His eyes fluttering, vision hazy, the waking world began to seep into his conscious. Laboured, somewhat shuddering breaths racked his chest, and a searing pain burned in his shoulder. His skin tingled and itched, and his hands were almost numb- when he looked at them, he frowned, seeing the skin agitated and dry, almost cracked. Feebly, he cautiously licked his lips, finding them parched and chapped from what must have been a freezing night- the morning air wasn't far from being alien, as it was somewhat chilly. Winter, he inwardly cursed, is a devil.

The Rider froze. What had happened? As the memories started to reconcile in his head, his eyes fleeted around to inspect the cave, checking if they were indeed safe (or, as safe as they could be right now) and if they were in detectable hostile territory.

He finally concluded they weren't, and allowed himself to take in their location.

It was just like it was when they crashed in. Although, quite honestly, it looked much larger now. There was a wide, semicircle exit out the cave to the open world on a diagonal from their corner. From his place, Hiccup could see a river and a gravel shore, surrounded by walls of stone. Up above, the sky was gloomy, as if the world wanted to rain, as well as just generally glower at them, and make their situation even worse.

Past experiences told him it wasn't out of the ordinary.

Go figure.

And, it succeeded. Thinking about rain, which was water, made him find a new regret. Wishing for water to sooth his parched throat, and frankly, a bath and a warm bed as well, he groaned, sitting up on an elbow.

Blinking dizzily, he gently rested a trembling hand on Toothless' neck, so, so greatly relieved at the sightofhis best friend, though injured, alive.

"Bud… Wake up…" He murmured softly, his dragon giving a soft drone of a response. Hiccup's fingers slid further down his dragon's body, the beast laying slightly tilted to his left, exposing his underside. Hiccup shuddered, his fingers stopping just at the Night Fury's latest injury- the cut along his chest.

Intriguingly- albeit in the horrible way- it was longer than it was wide, about six inches long, jagged, and it was around half an inch wide in the middle. The edges almost seemed burned, the scales and skin flaked and torn, like it was paper, almost. Hiccup frowned, and hesitantly, reached out, resting the tip of his finger on the hardened liquid's surface- which he presumed was Toothless' blood stains- and shocked, he found it cold, and solid. And that, he concluded, was both interesting and terrifying.

What did that mean? Was it bad or good? His eyes, widened and panicked again, darted to look at the cut itself. It was an angry red, probably infected, but his blood was black- how did that add up? He remembered in his fuzzy recollection of the past events the wound was as dark as Toothless' scales when it had first happened…

It was the Fury awakening that snapped him out his daze. The black pupils wide and glossy, the emerald eyes of his companion that he could easily lose himself in, locked onto his own eyes.

Their gaze held for a while, a silent exchange of fear, worry, and relief. They were both here, and alive- that's what mattered, at least, for now.

"We… We need to get back to the others… Warn them…"

The dragon shook his head, and with a heaving, guttural groan, he pulled himself up so he sat, his wound threatening to start bleeding again. Hiccup eyed it fearfully, and shivering, he moved around, leaning against his companion's side. Toothless' tail swept around, gently draping over his feet and curling around him while an ebony wing folded against his back and side, shielding his legs when he pulled them up against his chest and hugged his knees. The heir settled his head against ebony, smooth scales, feeling his dragon's warmth radiate from underneath his hide.

He didn't know what he'd do without Toothless, and usually it only took the Fury's presence to spark his genius and create a plan, or figure out their crisis- but not now. Why it wouldn't work now, it could have been for a few obvious reasons, or perhaps another he couldn't find.

Stammering, Hiccup repeated his thoughts. "We need to get to the others… My Dad… The gang… They'll ki-"

Toothless bumped him, snorting a 'no'. Hiccup blinked at him, softly whining as his shoulder stung in the cold air. "B… But…" The dragon snorted again, looking him in the eye. He wanted- needed- Hiccup to think this through. To remember what Gothi said. Sense what grave danger they were in.

Maybe Hiccup did understand this, even if he couldn't acknowledge it. Gothi…

Surely… Surely, she wasn't dead? It horrified him, setting a heavy anchor on his stomach, making it sink to the bottom of the ocean that was his mind. The mere thought of the bloody Typhoomerang, gore dripping from its fangs as it sneered tauntingly at them, the elder's half-choked cry of them to go. Looking back, their escaping moments were a jumbled chaos, and with dread, he couldn't take that green flash out his mind. It must have been a dragon, but what breed?

Hiccup was soon deep in thought. He should have seen the signs… The eerie sounds, the odd temperature, the tapping on the roof… Gothi's unease… The horrid feeling of being watched…

It was his fault.

Emotions, confusion, agony, and grief, suddenly overwhelmed him.

Previously unrecognized tears that stung in the corners of his eyes came in streams, spilling down his cheeks as he sobbed into his dragon's scales.

"B… Bud…" He snuffed, the loud noise muffled by the dragon's flank. "What d… do we do…"

The Night Fury whined, his eyes deep and remorseful. He pawed the stone beneath them, looking utterly helpless. Hiccup took a shuddering sigh, wiping an eye, but he was soon tearing up again, sniffing when his scaly friend brought his neck around. He wrapped his arms around the Fury's triangular head, feeling the cold scales beneath and taking pitiful comfort in his presence.

The young man shuddered. He couldn't bear the thought of Gothi being dead. Even when the village resented him, back before he knew his beloved dragon, she had always been free to give him a soft smile.

She couldn't be dead… She couldn't…

He bit his tongue, trying to stop the frustrated, grief-stricken scream that wanted to break through.

Hearing a sad warble, Hiccup lifted his head a little, meeting an emerald gaze, silently asking what had just come across the heir.

What can we do?

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

[Approx. 2478_D, May 27th, Afternoon.]

Hiccup blinked. His brows pressed together, slightly dazed. Rubbing an eye, he looked at the cave exit, realising with dread he must have fallen asleep again. A single glance at his dragon told him Toothless had followed suite.

His attention was brought back to Toothless' eerie blood. "Gods…" He muttered, for the first time realising how much there was of it…

"I'm taking you've never- until this moment- seen the blood of a Night Fury from his line?"

He froze, eyes widening. Hiccup swivelled his head back and forth, searching for the source of the voice. It had sounded deep and droning, weird and alien- it didn't have much of an accent to it, but when it finished the line it had an almost lisping effect, like a hiss, how he imagined a snake might speak (if it were possible).

"W… Who's there? Show yourself!" He cried. The alarm in his voice awoke the Night Fury beside him, who growled, snapping awake with narrowed eyes.

Another voice, undoubtedly similar to the previous, but also somehow deeper and lower, echoed off the walls. Its tone was blunt, and, the viking believed, amused. "Geez. If we had a head for every time someone's said that totally un-cliché line, then we'd be the most powerful Beast alive."

"Agreed." The first voice replied.

Hiccup stared at the darkness of the cave, annoyed. "Who, and where are you… Or is that plural?"

There were a few different snorts, that sounded more incredulous than anything. "Oh, he did not."

"He did."

"Why are we even helping this dude?"

"You know why, featherbrain."

"Hey! I don't…"

"No one asked you."

Hiccup moaned, and pressed a hand to his head tiredly. He couldn't even distinguish the voices anymore! "Alright," He muttered audibly, "So how many voices are we dealing with. Is there more than one mysterious, somehow invisible, identity we're dealing with? I'm starting to get a bloody headache…"

"Oh." The voice that answered him was somewhat softer, worrisome, sad, and was almost feminine. "Oh dear, I am sorry, love."

It paused, it's tone more seething, as two or so (at least, that's what he thought) grumbles echoed her- it? He hadn't a clue as to what to call it all… He didn't want to be disrespectful. "These idiots are being as rude as ever."

"Hey!"

"I am quite insulted."

Hiccup frowned. He was absolutely baffled at this stage. "Idiots…? So…?"

"Oh, screw it…"

Hiccup looked around. "Where are you? Can you come into sight, so we can talk face-to-face?"

"Face-to-FACES, you mean. There's more than one of us, don't you know?"

He growled under his breath and slapped a hand to his forehead. Muttering, he glared at the ground. "No, I didn't. I've been asking it for ages. How wonderful, that you finally told me the mysteries of how many damn people I'm talking to."

The female sounding voice spoke again, as soft clicks of what he presumed were claws on stone sounded. "We're not people, either, young ones."

Hiccup frowned. In the back of the cave, lurking in the shadows, he could faintly see the outline of a large creature. "Come into the light, then," Hiccup murmured, fascination now taking hold of him. "Let me see you- all of you…"

"Very well." To his surprise, and apparently, Toothless' as well, the multiple voices harmonised to say it.

Just as it spoke, into the light a paw emerged. His eyes narrowed curiously at its form- it looked like that of a cat (a lion), with silver-black claws, but the fur was replaced by a shiny, smooth, dark blue-grey skin that gleamed and shone like metal in the light.

Following it came a muscular, relatively thick leg of the same colour, although hints of dark brown with overlapping grey stripes were painted on the sides.

The rest of its front emerged, revealing it had the general structure of a dragon- something between a Monstrous Nightmare and a Hideous Zippleback. It had wide and strong front legs, while its underbelly was lean sloping and its hind legs more fit for jumping. It was followed by a long tail, that had a tuft of purple-red hair on the end. From its back sprouted two wings, which appeared big and like a Night Fury's in structure, but fledged with shimmery white-grey feathers. The beast itself was covered in sharp, triangular scales that were shiny. For the most part, the creature was a shade of dark green and blue.

And from its chest, came the truth behind the many voices; they came from the multiple heads, four, in total.

It was an awesome, yet bizarre sight. Each head was unique. They were quite dragon-like, with a familiar shape throughout- a thick but squared snout, wide set dragon eyes (like Toothless'), two nostrils, and a prominent jaw. It was the details that set them apart.

One, the furthest to the right, had softer, curved edges, with smooth scales, but sharp, pointed spikes on its jawline and on top its snout. The eyes were narrow, a brilliant emerald green like his own, and full of doubt, fear, sadness, and longing. Two downwards pointing horns with sharp tips, but soft edges came from the crown of its skull. In all, it looked quite depressed and shaken.

The next, placed in the middle of the four heads, was more so scary. Lean muscle across the gaunt features, sharp and defined cheekbones, and an edgy jaw. Sharp spikes littered its jawline, as well as a few down its forehead between two sharp, jagged, menacing black horns. Underneath those were long, pointed ears, oddly enough. It had sharp teeth lining its mouth, slightly agape, the narrow nostrils flared, and a curious, yet frightened and angry gleam to its narrow, orange-red eyes.

Beside it to the left, came a head that looked more like the furthest to the right, although it didn't look all that scared, and far more desperate, pleading. Its scales were more blue than green. It reminded him of his desire for his father and his embrace- the miserable revelation made him pause and blink, but he shook it off. It had two short, thick horns that curved inwards on top of its head, and beneath it, ears made of tufty magenta fur.

And the last, and furthest to the left was a head he could explain in one word; plain. It was fully a grey colour, had no horns or spikes, no fur and barely an expression to its yellow eyes- but if there was, he simply knew that it would be full of question and absolutely no certainty.

"So, you still haven't figured it out? Seriously?"

Hiccup jumped, his attention turning to the head that had spoken; the one with jagged black horns. It seemed rather frustrated.

The light blue head with furry ears, turned its gaze to the rude voice source.

"Oh, stop it. He's hurt and lost and confused, he n-" The head chided, but in a voice too deep and booming, and familiar. Hiccup whined softly, eyes wider. They all paused to look at him, the one with his father's voice having an understanding glow to its mesmerizing green eyes. It reminded him of…

"Dad…?"

The creature smiled weakly, and shook its head sadly. "No, young one, I am not the father you so seek. I am the desire, and the want for your father."

Now it was Toothless' turn to be completely confused.

Hiccup was a part disappointed, part relieved, and a part- that ultimately overwhelmed the others- utterly confused.

He sunk into Toothless' warm side and stared at the massive creature. Was it a dragon?

"I still don't get it… What are you? And who are… Do you have a 'combined' name?"

The four heads looked at each other, then three of four nodded. "Choices."

Hiccup frowned. "What?"

The creature lifted a paw and pointed a claw to its chest, before waving it at the heads as they spoke in unison. "Call us Choices. Does that help?"

"Eh… Not really…" Hiccup couldn't describe how awkward he felt. "I mean, shouldn't all four of you count as separate entities? And it was technically plural, for the questions. What are you… Wait… Are you the fabled Chimera?"

While most of the heads sighed, the jagged-horned head gave a barking laugh, before seeing his claim legitimate, and he got a bit insulted, actual steam exploding from the sides of his head as he snarled furiously. Hiccup flinched and stared, both baffled, amazed, and frightened.

"By the stars and Hel's name, no. We are Immortals, us Beasts! Do I look like a silly, overgrown firebreathing kitty with too much hair on my face, like, double Stoick-the-Hairy-levels, or have a goat- a LITERAL goat head- constantly hanging over my shoulder- with a snake out my ASS?!"

Both dragon and rider blinked. Hiccup wouldn't admit he desperately wanted to laugh his head off, and he barely managed to stifle the many giggles wanting release.

The one with his father's voice rolled its eyes, and bent down to speak directly at their eye level. "Forgive him, he's an idiot. But no, we aren't, although your nerdy acknowledgement of mythology has me intrigued. Your fishy friend with legs told you?"

Hiccup blushed and nodded. "Every Saturday night, Toothless and I tend to go over to their house, and we have a 'geek night'… One night we were up 'till dawn, reading about mythology in other lands." He smiled warmly at the nostalgic thought, and Choices purred, seemingly approving of his vast knowledge and friendliness.

"But no, we are not the legendary Chimera. We are of a sort, called Immortals. What he should have said," she gave the still huffing head a pointed look, "Is that no, we are the only member of a certain breed, in a family of immortal- so, forever living- creatures known as the Beasts."

"We are the Beast of Choices." They then paused, and added with a quip, "But, you can just call us Choices."

They nodded, processing their situation smoother now.

Another of the heads, the furthest to the right, spoke, although its voice was quiet. It blinked its intelligent eyes as Toothless crooned in what must have been a question. "…Yes, Night Fury Toothless, we are the first and last of our certain kind."

The one with furry ears elaborated. "Considering most Immortals descended from the first dragons, we are something of them, but ultimately, we are our own. We Beasts represent certain things. To explain our name- for us, we live off the decisions and choices- voiced aloud or not, but only those that are recognised- of all living creatures, from the tiny shrew to the grandest Bewilderbeast. We can go off one mind or multiple at a time. For this moment, we are living off your choices."

Hiccup nodded slightly, gazing upon the awe-inspiring creature.

He then attempted to put some of the puzzle pieces together himself, although it was all very, very confusing. "So… Each of your heads represents a recognised choice…" He trailed out, continuing when they all gave a confirming nod. "…That I have in the current moment…?"

"Yes!" The orange-red eyed head triumphantly, and with a wing, must have taken sole control of it, to whack the back of the plain one's head. "See? Told you he'd find his smartie side and figure us out."

Hiccup managed to crack a small smile, despite the weight of the situation. The plain head gave a grumble, while the others sighed.

Then, to his bafflement, Choices casually sat and started to almost engage a gossip session.

"So, what's the latest for the ol' Berk? Kinda disappointing you have yet to meet the Draconians, but meh, we'll let it slide… For now, that is. Whatcha been doin' for the last twenty years? Come on, we're curious and haven't gotten to have an actual conversation in years! Decades, actually!"

Hiccup blinked, and held up his hands. Drawling out slowly, he stared. "How did you know I was twenty…? Draconians? What or who the f-"

The sulkiest of the heads- who really hadn't said much- gulped and shrank into his neck, somehow. It was almost comical, but now Hiccup abruptly felt bad. The red-eyed groaned. "Your-softie-worry-mushy-affection has manifested into this head, who apparently requires you to pay attention to that tongue of yours, Hiccup."

"Yes!" The voice peeped shyly. "Please watch the language?"

Hiccup sighed, smiling faintly, and shaking his head. "Okay, big guy." He then froze and stared, hard. "HOW DID YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"

"Hush, hush…" The black-horned head gave a rather smug, sly smile, lifting a claw, and waving it in front of him. "Every beast needs its secrets. No telling, child. You'll see someday."

Hiccup sighed. Considering it already knew his father, and his options for the next course of action, why should he even be surprised? Deciding to go against the absurdity of it, he shook his head and offered a smile. He reached forward, giving the creature's pale head a scratch. The contact made the beast purr, although it sent a magical, strange tingle down his nerves that struck his very core.

He shuddered, but it was more of a good shudder, in an unexplanatory way. "So let's-"

The stubborn, arrogant black-horned head interrupted him cold with a slight twinge of that charming, yet quite annoying smugness in its expression.

And as he continued to rant on, completely overriding everyone else, frequently about things he wasn't honestly connecting the dots to, Hiccup not-so-briefly let his mind wonder if this head was the representation of something savage buried deep in his core… Yes, he could even picture it; Presented to his foes by a savage, vicious red-eyed Buffcup with a lust for kicking evil butt, taking stupid names as pre-mentioned, and having a berserk rage through Hysteria…

Wait. He stopped. In both mind and body, he became still and utterly confused. Where did that come from…? He quietly asked himself, before noting that Toothless was now staring him down, as usual, seemingly able to tell his every thought and emotion.

However, right now, all that he could find in those vivid green eyes was the silent question of his rider's current sanity, and at this stage, he was starting to question if Hiccup needed Gothi herself to whack his head and talk some sense into him... And as in 'starting', he meant that he was seriously considering it…

The Night Fury gave a miserable whine, already regretting that train of thought, and bringing up the village elder. Damn you, guilt.

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

ShoutOuts:

aslan333- Thanks! Happy Snoggletog! :D

Introvert-Dragon [Beta]- Thank you so much! It's really been a pleasure to work with you for this story, and I look forward to the next round of beta'ing! And for what type of author I am? Well… *Laughs maniacally* XD But that aside, happy Snoggletog, and thanks for the review!

martatkaczyk920- Haha, thanks! I'm glad to hear I've improved… But what of Gothi? Have a wonderful holiday, and happy Snoggletog! Thanks a ton for the review! ;)

And, as always, my personal thanks to everyone who's been involved with this story, from its followers, to my inspirations, and my betas. A special thanks to Introvert-Dragon for being this chapter's beta! Thanks a ton!

NOTE: I've got a lil' One-Shot coming as a Snoggletog Special, called 'Wraith', if you're interested. ;)

So, last thing before I close up here, I'd just like to wish you all a very special Snoggletog (Christmas)- this year has been amazing. Thank you all! :D

Happy Snoggletog, and as always… Dragonites Unite!

-Crystallion12