Hiccup pulled up in his motorcycle and went to the garage. The group would be there soon. He wouldn't admit it, but he sort of lost control when fighting Dagur. He wanted to modify the Suppressor Cuff for a Night Fury. He turned on his radio and started to work. He didn't notice the ensemble of cars now parked in his driveway.
Astrid stepped out of her car and stared at the house. It was large, possibly the largest in the town. But it looked like no one was home. Snotlout pulled up behind her in his flashy orange sports car and sent her a wink. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the house.
"Everyone got my text, right?" Snotlout asked. They all nodded, pulling their passengers out of their cars. Stormfly twittered on Astrid's shoulder, and she scratched her neck.
Snotlout grabbed his keys and went to unlock the front door, his orange and red Bearded Dragon resting on the back of his neck. He let everyone inside, and Meatlug the Pig needed help getting up the steps.
"We should, uh, split up and try to find Hiccup." Fishlegs suggested, holding his leash tight.
"Good idea." Astrid told him. The Twins weren't paying attention, but they were trying to take some expensive looking house decor. Snotlout smacked both their heads and put it back.
Barf and Belch, their twin snakes, hissed at Snotlout, who rolled his eyes and turned around.
"Toothless will show us where he is." Snotlout said, pointing to the rumpled cat sleeping on the counter. Snotlout went over and prodded him awake. Toothless shot into the air and landed, his eyes wide and pupils slits in his iris.
"Hey, kitty. Where's Hiccup?" Snotlout asked. Toothless hissed and looked around the group.
"Snotlout, that's a cat. He can't understand you. They aren't like pigs, who actually get what you're saying." Fishlegs reasoned. Toothless turned to him and glared, stretching and hopping off the counter. He took turns sniffing them, skipping right over Fishlegs like he offended him. He stared at Astrid for the longest time, blinking repeatedly. Nothing happened, and he scratched his ear, making an odd shrugging gesture and leading the group to a door. He leapt up, and pulled down the door handle, shoving the door open for everyone to see.
The room appeared to be a garage, and a huge one at that. It was a four car garage, with three spaces empty. In the back sat a tarp over a… something. Astrid couldn't tell what it was, but it wasn't big enough to be a car. The back was was covered in tools, ranging from a pocket screwdriver to a leaf blower, weed wacker, chainsaw and a Dragon Spirit Subduer, a popular gun made by the Haddock Family Company. Rows of tool cabinets filled up the rest of the garage space, and blueprints, spare machine parts and a notebook sat on top of them.
Hiccup sat at one of the two work tables, fiddling with a odd looking bracelet. Music blasted from a radio in the corner, which Toothless walked over to and shut off. Hiccup didn't stir until Toothless walked across the table and knocked the machine out of his hands. Hiccup jumped as it went skidding across the floor and under the tarp. He sighed angrily at the cat.
"A-are you serious? I know you prefer the other fo-." He caught sight of the group and froze, looking back from the cat to the group. Toothless nudged an open notebook to him, looked at Astrid, and back to Hiccup. Hiccup grabbed the notebook, shut it and shoved it into his pocket. He stood, brushing some hair out of his eyes.
"Uh, hey. Sorry, I didn't see you there. I was just… working on something." He gestured to the tarp, where the machine had slid under.
"I figured. What was it?" Fishlegs asked.
"I was… modifying a Suppressor Cuff. I was gonna use it. I sorta… lost control during that fight." He scratched behind his ear, and his hoodie pulled up, leaving a strip of skin visible. Astrid pulled her gaze away before anyone saw.
"How'd you get hold of a Suppressor Cuff?" She asked.
"My dad."
"How do you know how to modify one?" Fishlegs asked curiously.
"Um…" He trailed off.
"He made them." Snotlout said from behind the twins. Hiccup flushed a bright red as the group stared at him.
"You what?" Fishlegs said, eyes frozen on Hiccup's nervous face.
"No way." Astrid muttered as Hiccup scratched the back of his neck.
"Um, yeah. Anyways, you're all here. And… yeah."
"So, did you get my text?" Snotlout asked, changing the subject.. Hiccup shook his head.
"We all brought our pets." Astrid filled him in, right as Stormfly landed on her shoulder and tweeted. Hiccup froze and shared a glance with Toothless.
"Um, was there a special occasion that I missed?" He asked as he went back to the tarp and grabbed the Suppressor Cuff, locking it on his wrist.
"Well, no, but Snotlout thought it would be a good idea. Not sure why."
"I was thinking we could bring them to the Cove!" He told them, grinning. Hiccup flinched.
"Um maybe we won't do that-."
"Sure! That'd be fun!" Fishlegs said, grinning slightly. Astrid glanced at Hiccup, who looked pained as he grinned and agreed.
"Sure. Let's go to the cove. At least people won't be able to see us." He muttered at the end. Astrid frowned, but his grin was back as he led them through his house and out the back door, their pets with them. Hiccup froze right before the woods.
"What?" Astrid asked, looking past him. She saw nothing. "What is it?" She put her hand on his shoulder and gasped. Visions flooded her brain. She saw Hiccup, a tiny bit younger, and in weird clothes, putting his hand out to keep her arms down. She watched as a great beast behind him snorted angrily, and Hiccup introduced them.
"Astrid, this is Toothless." He said warily. "Toothless, Astrid." 'Toothless' roared angrily, and Astrid pulled her hand away, staring in horror at present day Hiccup.
"What was that." She demanded.
"You saw it too?" He asked, unsurprised.
"You saw that?" She asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah. Let's keep moving." He said, the group sharing wary glances. As the walked, Hiccup and Toothless both kept freezing for a second before continuing walking. They shrugged it off, like it had happened a million times.
"Are you gonna explain what that was?" Astrid asked quietly as the Twins argued over who's snake was better.
"Maybe later. It would be too confusing now." He told her. She frowned, but didn't ask again until they reached the Cove.
Astrid gasped. It was beautiful. A big ovular hole in the ground, about twenty feet down. Rocks covered in moss and grass lined the outer rims, some forming a way down and up. The ground was grassy, and Astrid saw some burnt areas which she found odd. A large lake took up most of the space, sitting in the middle of the Cove. A tall, wide rock sat in the middle of the grass, and a notebook sat on it, open to a page. Astrid couldn't tell, but she thought she saw a sketch of the winged beast from the vision. Hiccup led the way down, scooping the notebook off the rock and shutting it before she could get a better look. Everyone let their animals go free, seeing as there was no way of escape, and turned to Hiccup.
"Okay. So, we're here. Now, explain. We only have about two hours of sunlight left, so let's make this quick." Astrid said. He looked over at her, eyebrow raised.
"What am I explaining first?" He asked.
"What is your DSE?" Fishlegs asked excitedly.
"Um… It's a… Okay, you have to promise to believe me, alright? It's gonna sound crazy." He said, looking at them expectantly.
"Fine fine now tell us." Snotlout demanded, eyes wide.
"I have... a… um, Night Fury. Spirit." He said, sighing and covering his face with a hand. Everyone stared at him until Tuffnut broke the silence.
"Well, it makes sense." He said, nodding. Everyone stared at the blonde dreadlocked boy. He looked at them confused.
"What? It does! The purple Plasma, that's what the Night Fury is fabled to shoot. The darkness, he was supposed to be able to blend in with the night sky. The wind, he was supposed to have powerful wings. The speed thing, it was one of the fastest dragons. The aim, they never missed their target, and I mean never missed. It's sorta funny, actually, 'cause one time I-"
"Tuff!" The group yelled.
"Sorry, sorry. As I was saying, it was one of the most feared and powerful dragons ever. Which explains why Hiccup's DSE is so powerful." He told them. They all stared in shock.
"How'd you know all that?" Hiccup asked, amazed.
"Oh, it was in that notebook you left on the table. This one." He held up the notebook that was previously in Hiccup's pocket. Astrid studied it. It was very worn, and very old. It looked to be made of leather. Hiccup's eyes widened.
"Um, Tuff? Can I have that back please? Considering it's my property." He said, holding out his hand.
"Um, no. I haven't finished looking through it yet." He said, as if it was obvious. Hiccup closed his eyes for a second as if he was in pain.
"Tuffnut, I really don't want you looking through that." He warned, but Tuff was already flipping through the pages, reading and narrating everything to the group.
"Yeah, he has sketches of dragons in here. Every one. Like, here's the Monstrous Nightmare, and here's a Gronkle. And if I skip ahead, he has drawing of people in weird clothes. Like, here's Gobber in his weird clothes, and here's his parents dancing in their weird clothes and… Oohoohoo, what is this doing in here?" He grinned evilly at Hiccup, who groaned and swiped for the book.
"What is it?" Astrid asked.
"Nothing!" Hiccup said quickly. Tuffnut clucked his tongue.
"Um, no it isn't. It's a picture of you-."
"Stop!" Hiccup said.
"And Hiccup-."
"Tuffnut I'm warning you!"
"Having a little-."
"Say one more word and you won't like what's coming next." Hiccup warned.
"Make out session." Tuffnut finished evilly. Hiccup's face flushed, from anger or embarrassment, Astrid wasn't sure. Hiccup elbowed Tuff in the gut and took the notebook from his hands. He shoved it in his pocket and stared at the ground.
"Um, Hiccup? Did you draw that?" Fishlegs asked. Astrid didn't meet anyone's eyes.
"No. I didn't." He said finally.
"Who did?" Astrid asked quietly.
"I don't know." He said.
"How do you not know?" She said, looking at him finally. He looked pale now, very pale.
"It wasn't… originally my notebook. I haven't drawn any of those. They, all the sketches and 'Dragon Facts' they were all in there previously." He told them. He was about to say something else, but a roar from behind them all made them freeze. Hiccup groaned, breaking into a sprint.
"Oh no. Not now!" He raced past Astrid and to Toothless, who was… growing? It was sort of terrifying, watching the cat's body shift and change, his fur smoothing out and his body growing bigger each second. The group stared as the cat became something else.
"Toothless, can you… uh, stop it? Is that possible?" Hiccup asked desperately. Toothless roared, and Astrid froze. It was the same roar that the beast in the vision made. She backed up as Toothless stopped changing and Hiccup groaned.
The beast from the vision lay on the ground, grumbling and moaning uncomfortably. The group stared, horrified at what Toothless had just become.
"I'm sorry, guys. This shouldn't have happened." Hiccup's face was buried in his hands.
"That's a Dragon." Snotlout stated, his voice an octave higher than normal.
"Yes."
"That's your cat. As a Dragon."
"Yep. You're catching on." Hiccup mumbled.
"How?" Fishlegs asked.
"Um, it happened last night. I, well, I was walking in the woods, and I kept hallucinating, seeing things that weren't actually there. First, this notebook and an ancient looking pencil next to it." He pulled out the worn notebook. "Then, a huge ditch from something that had crashed. Next, I saw a Dragon, one that looked just like Toothless here, tied up with rope. Without moving, the, uh, vision brought me next to it, and then it woke up and almost ate me… A bunch of things happened. Then I found some scales that lead me here. I saw the Dragon again, which after it disappeared was in the same place Toothless was. I finally pet my cat, without realizing that when I said his name and pet him simultaneously that he would turn into a Night Fury. Then, my DSE ignited and here we are." Hiccup said, breathing in a huge breath, gesturing to the Cove.
"Wait, what?" Ruffnut asked. Hiccup sighed.
"I am not repeating that." He said with a finality they couldn't argue with. Toothless rolled over and stood up, shaking his head to wake himself up. He warbled something, and Hiccup nodded.
"Yeah, you're a Dragon again. Sorry, I don't know the side effects of changing you back while you're changing or else I would've done it."
"You have a Dragon. As a pet." Astrid stated.
"Well, sometimes he's a cat." Hiccup shrugged.
"A cat-dragon. This is ridiculous."
"I've sorta come to terms with it. I mean, I can change him back, but he keeps changing into a Dragon again. It's sorta hard to keep up with." He paused for a second.
"I've been thinking." He started. Snotlout moaned.
"This isn't gonna go well for us."
"Why is it that none of your pets have changed into Dragons?" He asked, ignoring his cousin.
"Because if we ignite our DSE near them, we were told they'd die." Fishlegs piped up. Astrid nodded along with him. Hiccup raised an eyebrow.
"You're kidding, right? That's not true. Clearly that's not true. I did that last night, and Toothless turned into a Dragon." Hiccup said skeptically.
"Well, no one's ever had a Night Fury Spirit, maybe they're different?" Astrid asked.
"No, I doubt it. A Night Fury is still a dragon, and a Dragon Spirit. I don't see why it would be different." He said, shooting her idea down. She tried not to be disappointed that he shot her down so quickly. Then she felt mad that she felt that way. She didn't need to impress him, it's Hiccup. Even if he was hot and had the most rare and powerful DSE ever… and those abs…
She mentally punched herself and focused back to reality.
"Maybe… maybe someone figured out that if you ignite your DSE near your pet they turn into a Dragon?" FIshlegs asked questionably.
"That would make sense. Then that would be why they told you guys never to ignite your DSE near your pets. Then they'd have Dragon's roaming around everywhere. That would cause a bit of chaos." Hiccup said, nodding.
"So that means... " Fishlegs whistled and Meatlug came trotting over. She nuzzled her nose against his leg and he brought her away from the group, putting a considerable distance between them.
"Hiccup, if this kills my pig, I'll kill you." Fishlegs said sternly. Hiccup raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it.
Fishlegs fired up his DSE and looked at Hiccup for directions.
"Um, how do you normally touch her? Like, petting her in a certain spot, or hug her a certain way…" Hiccup trailed off as Fishlegs picked Meatlug up and hugged her tightly. He looked back at Hiccup.
"Say her name." Hiccup shrugged when Fishlegs raised his eyebrows in questioning.
"Meatl-." He started
"Wait!" Hiccup said, holding his hand out. Fishlegs froze.
"What?"
"Are we sure we want to do this? I mean, Toothless keeps changing into a Dragon, even after I change him back. You'll have to hide her from the world. From what I've seen, Toothless can only stay as a cat for about 24 hours. You'd have to build a completely separate house for her. All of your supplies for her would be useless." Hiccup warned the group. Fishlegs was quiet for a moment.
"Couldn't I keep changing her back?"
"Sure, but what happens when she changes inside your house? I mean, we know she'll be a Gronkle, but what size? How big will she be? Heck, she could be a Titan Wing! We don't know the side effects!" Hiccup told them.
"I'm still gonna do it. I could just keep her here, couldn't I?"
"I guess…" Hiccup said, defeated. Fishlegs nodded.
"Okay. Meatlug." He said. With a mighty blast, Fishlegs was thrown back and Meatlug exploded.
Hiccup was flattened to the ground. He scrambled up, watching the others clutch their heads and Meatlug slowly writhing on the ground. She grew large. She grew fat. She grew… pimples? She became scaley, with large bumps across her skin. Her tail was two bulbous lumps and her wings were small. She lay on the ground, her breathing labored as the group stared at the new Dragon. Toothless bound over, sniffing her curiously. He looked up at Hiccup and shrugged.
"So that's what a Gronkle looks like." Ruffnut said.
"Yeah." Hiccup said, slightly out of breath. Fishlegs sat up slowly, blinking and grabbing his hair.
"What happened? Where's my Meatlug?" He asked, looking around. He gasped.
"Wh-what? Is that-?"
"Meatlug." Hiccup said darkly. "She's a Gronkle, and we don't even know if she can change back."
