AN: Well, I worked at this pretty hard because I felt bad for taking so long on the last chapter. I've been listening to Two Steps from Hell quite a bit while writing this...not sure if that has an affect.

Anyway, I give you:

Truth and Reconciliation

Dawn of a New Age

Hiccup was thrilled that the village had been willing to let him educate them about the dragons. Vilhehn's approval of the Night fury helped tremendously. Toothless was still wary of the Vikings though; he wouldn't let anyone else touch him or his human. Hiccup was slightly scowled by the dragon's persistence, but he figured Toothless was right, and they were better to be safe than sorry. Toothless already told him that he owed the dragon a long back rub for having to come into contact with Vilhehn.

The Night Fury's actions did present a problem though. Hiccup was having trouble convincing the humans that dragons were safe, but when he couldn't prove to anyone except the chief that even Toothless wasn't harmful; very few people had faith in him. He thought for a few moments how to solve his predicament. Then it hit him. "Do you guys have any dragons caged in an arena or training area?"

Vilhehn looked confused to Hiccup. "We have the Training facility with a Monstrous Nightmare, but all of the others have either died off or escaped."

Hiccup knew what he meant by 'died off'; his village had the same ceremonies where a villager would kill one of the weaker dragons. "Well that should work fine. Could we go to the facility and work with the Nightmare?"

Vilhehn stared at Hiccup slightly amused. "That's fine by me, but I wouldn't say the dragon is as tame as your Night Fury here. Every time we let the creature out of its pen; it takes quite a few men to take him down."

Hiccup looked over to Toothless. "Would you be able to calm down the Nightmare? Well, at least enough to let me work with him."

Toothless looked at his human slightly offended in his unfaithfulness. || I can suppress the Nightmares anger. He will know to listen when he sees the Night Fury in the area telling him what to do. ||

Hiccup nodded and turned back to Vilhehn. "Great! Toothless will make the Nightmare listen and help me in training it…. Now, could you lead us to the arena? Also we will need a volunteer to work with the Nightmare. Do you have anyone that would be suitable?"

Vilhehn started to lead the group over to a small chain covered area off to the side of the village. "I think I know of just the right person for the job." He turned towards the crowd and motioned for another man to come forward. The man was slightly larger than Hiccup, but nowhere near the size of Vilhehn or Stoick. He had a clean shaven face and was about the age of twenty-five. "This is my son, Gunnar. He is a fierce warrior and a very intelligent young man. He should suit your needs."

Hiccup looked up at Gunnar. He was about six inches taller than him, but didn't seem to have the awful ego complex that Snotlout had. "So Gunnar, you want to learn how to work with the Nightmare?"

Gunnar had a somewhat awestruck face. He was careful not to get too close to Hiccup or the Night Fury. "Well, I guess it can't hurt to try. We have been killing dragons for years, but if bonding with them means saving a few lives for our village; then I'm all for it."

Hiccup grinned at the man. They entered the arena and stood near the door that was heavily barricaded shut. The men behind them started to close the gate; Toothless growled viciously at them. "It's ok buddy. I'm sure you could blast through the chains just as easy as you did at Berk."

|| yes, but that takes time to do. Something that becomes very valuable when at war. ||

"I don't think we need to worry too much." Hiccup turned to Vilhehn and his son? "Right guys?"

Vilhehn nodded then turned to his men. "I want you all to discard of your weapons so that the dragons do not feel threatened. You may close the gate once the Night Fury agrees." He motioned for Hiccup to take command.

Once everyone had thrown away their swords and bows Toothless nodded in compliance to the gate keepers. The iron bars were lowered into place and a metal latch engaged. Hiccup turned to the Nightmare's door then looked to person manning the lever. "Open the cage." He braced himself against Toothless' side in preparation for the flaming reptile. "Ok bud, see what you can do."

The lever actuated the latch to unlock, and the doors burst open revealing a young Monstrous Nightmare with its whole body lit up in fire. It slowly walked out of its cage with its eyes never leaving the three men and the Night Fury.

|| Lower your flame young Nightmare. These humans mean you now harm. ||

|[ How can you be so sure? I've seen that larger one slay many of my kind! ]|

Toothless growled at the Nightmare. || Show respect for your elder! You know not to go against the command of the Night Fury! ||

The Nightmare dropped its flames and lowered his head. |[ My apologies Night Fury. What is it that you ask of me? ]|

Toothless looked down at the Nightmare. || Your cooperation. You will attempt to bond with one of these humans. You are not to hurt them in any way. Do you understand me Nightmare? ||

The dark red dragon eyed Toothless then bowed his head. Hiccup looked over to the Night Fury with a shocked face. "You really do have a lot of power over other dragons don't you?" Toothless nodded to Hiccup then rest his gaze on the Nightmare. "Well, let's see if he's willing to bond." Hiccup slowly moved over towards the Nightmare. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to be friends." He raised his hand towards the dragon's nose and held it in the air. The Nightmare's eyes dilated and he glanced between the hand and Hiccup. He slowly closed the gap and placed his snout in the hand. Hiccup sighed in relief and smiled to the now purring dragon. He turned to the two men leaving his hand on the dragon. "Gunnar. Would you please come over here? You need to show him that you're not a threat."

Gunnar nodded and calmly started towards the red dragon. He held his hands open in plain view of the Nightmare. He lifted the side of his jacket to show he contained no weapons then reached his hand up to the dragon. "It's Ok dragon. I'm only here to ask of a new commencement. We no longer wish to harm you. We would like to make amends and form an alliance. Please, I ask of your understanding."

The Nightmare slowly removed his snout from Hiccup and looked over to Gunnar. He relaxed and placed his snout in the hand of Gunnar. The boy felt the connection immediately. The two stared into each other's eyes and grasped the emotion of the other. Gunnar lost his breath. He knew the dragon no longer felt hatred towards him; only love and acceptance. "Wow. This is amazing. I can feel his heart beat along with mine and his soul working together with my own. It's like he's opened his mind so that I can see inside, and he is able to look into mine. This is incredible…..Is this the sensation that you get with your Night Fury?"

Hiccup turned towards Toothless and took the dragons head in his hands. They peered into each other's eyes. "That's exactly how I feel."

The arena was silent for the moment. The audience stood and took in the sight that was before them. Vilhehn stood in awe at the two young before him with their dragons. "To think, we have gone for all these years killing these creatures; only to find out they are nothing what we thought them to be. This is truly the dawn of a new age, humans and dragons forming a union like never before…. We on the island of Hidra; will never kill a dragon for as long as we live."

Hiccup broke his gaze with Toothless to look at Vilhehn. "That sounds very well Vilhehn, very well indeed."

Gunnar turned to Hiccup. "So when can I ride him?"

Hiccup smiled and looked over to the Nightmare. "As soon as he lowers his head to allow you on his back."

The dragon looked back to Gunnar and lowered close to the ground motioning with his head for Gunnar to hop on. Hiccup chuckled slightly at the dragon. "Well I guess that answers that. Just make sure to hold on tight. Flying can be very intense and we don't want to start this tribe's new relationship with you falling to your death. I was very fortunate the first time I fell of Toothless mid-flight."

Gunnar gently climbed on the Nightmares long neck. "I'll try not to go too crazy."

Hiccup nodded to Gunnar and proceeded to climb aboard Toothless. The gate keepers unlocked the latch and opened the gate. Toothless darted out the opening and into the air slowly followed by Gunnar and the Nightmare. Hiccup and Toothless spiraled up at an incredible rate. Toothless capped his ascent and leveled off to wait for the other duo.

|| The two seem to work well with each other. That's the only way it works; both members of the bond have to give equal participation. ||

"I think your right bud. We really have started something great here."

Gunnar and the Nightmare reached to where Hiccup and Toothless were waiting. "This is awesome! You can see everything from up here. We could see if ships were coming miles away! This is incredible." Gunnar tried to take in all of his surroundings. He reached up into the clouds above him and felt the slight mist on his arm. "Wow! I never could have imagined what it would be like as a dragon. He really does have access to the world." The Nightmare looked up at his rider and Gunner understood what the dragon was trying to say. 'And now so do you.'

The small group flew high into the clouds; gasping at the sights before them. The sun was starting to lower to the horizon and the rays reflecting off of the water were giving a distinct red orange color. They flew for about an hour practicing aerial flips and twists; all while the dragons were firing blasts of fire into the distance. They circled the island and came in to land next to the town hall. Vilhehn and a few others gathered to see what the flying experience was like. Toothless lowered gently; his wings causing a quick breeze to the villagers. Gunnar and the Nightmare followed suit and landed beside them.

Vilhehn glanced between the two riders. "So, how was it?

Gunnar had an excited expression on his face. "Truly amazing. I never thought the village looked so beautiful until I saw it from the air."

Vilhehn nodded to Gunnar then turned to Hiccup who had just leapt off of Toothless. "So would you like to stay at our place? We have an extra bed and I'm sure we could fine a nice place for your Night Fury."

Hiccup looked over towards Toothless whom was eyeing him disapprovingly. "Haha, no I think we will be ok. We have a nice private island not too far from here, and Toothless doesn't want me out of his sight."

Vilhehn turned his head to the dragon. "Very protective I see. Well that's completely fine, but I do ask that you stay for some dinner; we have an astounding amount of food that should please you and Toothless very well. Plus, you're so skinny that a slight gust would blow you away."

Hiccup looked down at his noticeably pathetic looking body and grimaced. "Ya I guess we could get some food before we head back."

Vilhehn nodded and led them into the town hall. He was right; there was enough food to feed the small village three times over. There wasn't a large crowd eating like Hiccup expected. Just a few men and women eating their fair share in fish.

|| Yes. There is cod in the room; not for long.||

Toothless made his way over to were a barrel of raw fish was and threw his face into it. The villagers stared at the Night Fury as he devoured every bit of Icelandic cod and salmon. Vilhehn chuckled slightly watching the dragon eat a full drums worth of fish. "Do you ever feed that dragon? I have never seen anything inhale that many fish that fast."

Hiccups face grew slightly red. " Well, he normally doesn't have quite the selection. We normally just make do with what we can find or hunt."

|| You need to learn how to fish like this tribe. || He said as his head was buried deep into the barrel of fish. || These people know that fresh fish in much more desirable. ||

Hiccup shook his head and turned to Vilhehn. "You know your spoiling him right? I'm never going to hear the end of how terrible of a fisherman I am."

Vilhehn stood with pride. "Our fisherman work very hard to provide us with plenty of food. I'm sure they could give you a few tips."

Hiccup nodded to the chief and found a plate of food for himself. Once the Night Fury was content with eating two full barrels of fish he walked over to Hiccup and curled around him. Hiccup leaned back against Toothless and enjoyed his meal. Gunnar walked over to where the two were and sat down near them; The Nightmare followed close behind. "So where did the name Toothless come from? I mean he very clearly has teeth."

Toothless opened his mouth revealing his perfect teeth. Then with a quick motion he retracted them fully. Gunnar leaned back surprised. "Oh…." Hiccup chuckled at the Night Fury's odd talent. "That's where the name came from."

Gunnar was still wide eyed looking at Toothless. "So what is my Nightmares name?"

Hiccup looked questionably at said dragon. "I'm not sure; I guess you'll have to come up with that yourself."

Gunnar gained a confident looking face. "Hellfire. It will be perfect for him. When he gets angry; all hell breaks loose." He looked up at the dragon for confirmation. "What do you think bud? Will Hellfire work for you?" The Nightmare nodded approvingly; looking rather pleased with his title.

|| Toothless…. That's the best you could come up with? ||

Hiccup turned back to his dragon. "Hey! I like your name, and it reflects you and you only; considering there aren't any other Night Furies out there."

Toothless chuckled at his human. || Its ok. I like it too…..I just like giving you a hard time even more. ||He proceeded to give Hiccup a long lick up his face; covering him with wet slobber. Hiccup death stared Toothless; whom which had an accomplished smile on his face.

Gunnar was rolling on the floor laughing. "It's obvious who is in control of your relationship." Hellfire got a maniacal look on his face; he lowered his head to where Gunnar was now laying and gave him an equally slobbery lick to the face. "Hey! What was that for?"

Hiccup was now laughing hysterically. "He's just showing you that he's in charge."

Gunnar just starred at Hiccup and sighed. "When will I be able to talk to the dragons?"

Hiccup looked down to the ground. "Well, most likely never. I had a little help in being able to talk to Toothless. I still can't hear any other dragons though."

Gunnar was disappointed. "So you can't hear Hellfire either?"

Hiccup looked up at the Nightmare. "Nope, the only dragon I can hear is Toothless. It's not like a normal conversation either; considering he doesn't use his mouth to speak. It's like I can hear the thoughts he wants me to hear."

Gunnar looked up to Hellfire. "Well, maybe one day bud." He reached up and placed his hand on Hellfire's snout. The Nightmare gave a resounding purr and his eyes dilated. Hiccup raised himself up off the floor and walked over to the window. "It's starting to get pretty late." He turned to the dragon that had followed him. "What do you say we head back? It's still a long flight, and I don't want to be up all night." Toothless nodded; he was ready to get back to the island that he knew was safe once again.

Hiccup tuned back to Gunnar and Hellfire. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. We're going to go back to our island now."

Gunnar looked up at the boy. "Ok Hiccup…..I just want to say thanks. You have changed this village from here forward. We really appreciate what you and your Night Fury have done here."

Hiccup nodded to Gunnar. "It's our job now. This is Toothless' destiny and I have to help him fulfill it." He proceeded out the door of the town hall followed by the midnight black dragon. Toothless lowered his head and allowed Hiccup onto his back. Hiccup waved goodbye to Gunnar and the few remaining villagers. Hiccup clicked the tail into the ascent position and they were instantly airborne.

They flew in silence each of them feeling accomplished. The flight back didn't take quite as long as the flight to Hidra. They flew at a gentle, but quick speed. As they neared their island Hiccup adjusted the tail so that they could land. Toothless circled the camp and landed next to the old campfire. Hiccup slid off the Night Fury's back and went to gather some more firewood for the night. Hiccup gathered some kindling while Toothless uprooted another tree and dragged it to the camp. Hiccup arranged the wood into a neat pile then nodded for Toothless to light it. The Night Fury shot a bright blue blast into the center of the pile of wood; the fire sprang to life immediately providing a warm heat for the two friends.

Hiccup adjusted some of the sticks then leaned back against the Night Fury.

|| What the Hell do you think you're doing? ||

Hiccup turned towards the dragon. "What? So now I'm not allowed to sleep here anymore? I thought this was where you wanted me to sleep."

|| Yes it is, but you owe me a long back rub remember. I suggest you get started. You said it yourself that you didn't want to be up all night. ||

Hiccup scoffed and turned away to lay down against the Night Fury. "No. I want to go to sleep. I can give you a massage anytime."

Toothless raised himself up causing Hiccup to fall on the ground. || No. You're going to do it now. I have been waiting all day for this, and now you're going to please me with a great back rub. ||

Hiccup huffed and got up from the ground. "Fine, let's get this over with then."

Toothless lay back down next to his human and spread his wings so that Hiccup could give him a proper massage. Hiccup got to work on un-strapping the saddle and removing the pulley system. He cast them aside and began to work the tense muscles of the dragon. Toothless was purring exuberantly as he was enjoying the boy's fingers work at his scales. || That's the spot. You have no idea how hard it is to scratch yourself when your legs can't reach your back. ||

Hiccup chuckled from how much the dragon was enjoying this. "Well, don't expect this kind of treatment every night. I'm not going to have you get all spoiled." Hiccup continued rubbing the black hide on the dragons back until his muscles seemed to relax. He moved up to the Night Fury's shoulders and tried to relax his friend's front left foreleg. He paused for a moment as he noticed a deep scar running down the front of the Night Fury's leg. (1) "Toothless…How did you manage that scar?"

The dragons purring seized and he looked over at his leg. The scar was deep; running from past his elbow down to his claws. He sighed remembering the event vividly. || It happened in a battle. It was a terrible day. ||

Hiccup ran his hand down the wound; being able to fit his finger within the gap. "That's awful. What could have done such a thing?"

Toothless sighed once more at his persistent human. || Keep rubbing my back and I will tell you of my misfortune. ||

Hiccup went back to scratching his Night Fury's back and wing. "If it's too hard, you don't need to tell me."

|| No. You need to know. It played a major role in my life. ||He starred down at the scar seeing the images that played out that day with his guardian. || I told you that when a Night Fury dies a new one will take its place. || Hiccup nodded. || When the Night Fury before me died he made his companion promise to take care of me until I was matured. Even as a Night Fury we still are just hatchlings when we are born, so we still need to have some sort of parental guidance…That companion of his was a Skrill. She was beautiful, loving, strong and determined. All the characteristics a dragon looks for in a mate. She promised the other Night Fury she would raise me until I was grown. She was my mother as you would say. ||

Hiccup was listening intently to his friend. "So, then what happened to her?"

Toothless turned back to his scar; a constant reminder of what happened to her. || Like I said. There was a battle. I was practically fully grown a few winters after being born when it happened. We had just finished flying for the day and we were resting near a pond. A large Whispering Death approached us fully enraged. He went up to my guardian and started to roar at her. I stayed behind her as she didn't want me involved. He was talking to her; saying terrible things. He knew that the Night Fury always had a strong, life changing destiny and he thought I wasn't worth the risk in changing the world. He thought the dragons were fine the way they were and they should be left alone. ||

Hiccup paused for a moment. "What did he do?"

|| He was telling her to kill me. He said 'You know what that Night Fury is capable of. He is too dangerous to be left alive. You need to slay him, or I will take care of it myself.' She was filled with anger towards the dragon. She said that she would never let that happen. She knew that my purpose in this world was much more important. They started to lash out at each other. He was very powerful and taking my guardian down would be little hassle for him. I knew that she could not beat him alone. I had to step in and try to save her. The Whispering Death used his muscular tail to shred her to the side. She was bleeding profusely. I leapt onto him and used my claws to rip at his skin. He managed to throw me off; in doing so his spiked tail tor a deep gash into my leg. He gathered a blast of fire within his chest and took aim at the Skrill…..I saw nothing but rage take over me. I let out a blast of plasma straight into his throat. The combination of the two blasts blew him to pieces. ||

Hiccup shook his head astonished. "So like when you shot that Terrible Terror that day?"

|| Yes; only on a much larger scale. There was nothing left of him except ash. I limped over to my guardian fearing the worst. She looked up at me have lost too much blood. She said' You remembered what I taught you…..You will change this world Night Fury. You're just as strong-willed as the one before you.' She made me promise to fulfill my destiny whatever it may be. She taught me everything from flying to hunting to looking for a suitable mate. She was admirable in every way possible. Her last words were 'Trust in your heart; it will lead you down the right path. May the Gods be with you Night Fury.' ||

Toothless raised his head to look at Hiccup. || That is how I met you. The day I nearly killed you, the day you were watching me from that rock perch in the cove, and the day you placed your hand on my snout. I could feel it within my heart telling me to do everything I was supposed to do. ||

Hiccup shed a tear for his friend. "Your guardian died trying to protect you?"

|| She had to. She made a promise to that Night Fury before me. She couldn't break that promise; not even for her life…..I've made the same promise to myself. I will never let you die Hiccup. I will prevent every possibility of you dying that is within my power; even if that means taking my life to save yours. ||

Hiccup laid his head against the Night Fury dropping tears from his face. "I love you so much bud. You can't go and die for me though. If you died; I wouldn't know what to do. You gave my life a purpose, and losing you would make me fail at my destiny."

|| I already told you. When you die; I will be right there along with you. When your heart stops beating, so will mine. ||

The two sat in silence with each other as they watched the fire fade. Hiccup rest his head against his friends foreleg. "I will always do my best to protect you bud; no matter what it takes."

Toothless unfurled his wing and stretched it over his magnificent human. || It's time for you to sleep my human. There is still much work to be done. We are only getting started. ||

Hiccup nodded then closed his eyes. Within minutes he drifted off to sleep with Toothless watching him protectively. The Night Fury glanced across the land for any potential threats. He tucked his head underneath his wing to watch his human. || I will not break my promise Hiccup….Never. ||

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(1) The scar on Toothless is real. If you can find a good quality picture of him that shows his front left leg; you will see the gash.

AN: What did you think? I like the bonding chapters more that focus on just Hiccup and Toothless.

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