"Take cover!" Hiccup yelled as he jumped into Toothless' wings. Toothless managed to protect Hiccup from the explosion from the Skrill egg. As Toothless let Hiccup go, the pair saw egg fragments everywhere, with electricity sparkling off of them.
"Well, we've got ourselves a bit of a shocking situation." Hiccup remarked. Toothless groaned and let his head fall to the floor, his paws covering his eyes.
"Oh come on! It couldn't have been that bad!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"It was…" Toothless groaned. Hiccup rolled his eyes at his dragon and approached the egg. He saw the baby Skrill come out from beneath its wings. Hiccup examined the baby and determined it to be female. She was the size of a Terrible Terror, with grey scales, a few blue accents and bright yellow eyes.
"Hey there, little one." Hiccup whispered to the hatchling gently. The baby backed away a bit, but when she saw Hiccup's dragon-like eyes, she determined him to be safe. She slowly crawled to him as he held his hand out. She sniffed his fingers before nuzzling his hand affectionately.
"Aw, aren't you just adorable." Hiccup said with a smile as he picked the hatchling up and held her in his arms. She nuzzled his chest and lay down in his arms, falling asleep.
"I think I'll call her Nightling." Hiccup said with a small smile.
"What do you think?" he asked Toothless.
"It fits." Toothless said with a coo. Hiccup smiled and lied down in his bed, falling asleep with Nightling in his arms.
~~Timeskip~~
"Come on girl, you can do it!" Hiccup said with encouragement to the baby Skrill. She was trying to climb up a small wall that Hiccup had built for baby dragons to climb and develop their muscles before they fly.
"Almost there!" He said with excitement as Nightling neared the top. She was barely a foot away from the top when she slipped and fell. She extended her wings and glided down to Hiccup. Her muscles were developed enough to glide small distances, but not enough to fly yet. It's been 6 months since she hatched and she was now the size of a small wolf.
"Don't worry girl, we'll try again later." Hiccup said with a smile as he picked her up. Being with dragons so long has changed him greatly. He has the strength of a Monstrous Nightmare, the speed of a Speed Stinger, and senses that rival any dragon.
"It's just so frustrating." Nightling said in her baby voice that Hiccup simply adored. He wasn't looking forward to her growing up.
"I know, you'll get it soon enough." He assured, scratching her chin. She purred in happiness at the gesture.
Suddenly, a familiar horn could be heard from the distance.
"Johann's here!" Hiccup exclaimed with excitement. He gently put Nightling down and grabbed a chest of Gronckle Iron ingots and some other goods before mounting Toothless.
"Do you want to come with?" he asked Nightling, who looked unsure.
"I don't know… Humans are scary…" She said with a slightly scared look. Hiccup chuckled.
"Don't worry, Johann is a good man. You can trust him. I told him my identity and he hasn't told anyone." Hiccup comforted. Nightling nodded and climbed onto Toothless' back and scootched over to Hiccup, leaning against his back.
"Hold on." Hiccup said as Toothless took off. The trio flew through the fog and saw Johann's ship on the other side. Hiccup waved at Johann and landed.
"Ah Master Hiccup, my favourite customer!" Johann said as Hiccup dismounted Toothless and shook his hand.
"You say that to every leader you trade with." Hiccup laughed. Johann laughed as well.
"Quite right, but you are the only 1 I am truthful with when I say it." Johann laughed. Nightling cooed to Hiccup to get his attention.
"And who's this?" Johann asked.
"This is Nightling. I found her as an egg about 6 months ago. Her mother was sick and dying. She begged me to keep her egg safe and…" Hiccup trailed off. Johann nodded in understanding.
"Well, it is nice to meet you Nightling." Johann said as he approached her.
"And aren't you a beauty." He said as he held his hand out to her. She cautiously sniffed it before letting him pet her. She purred when scratched her behind her ears.
"Hmm… He's nice. I like him." Nightling purred happily.
"She says she likes you." Hiccup said to Johann.
After chatting for a few minutes, they got to their business.
"So, what can I do for you Master Hiccup?" Johann asked.
"Well, I've got those ingots of Gronckle Iron you wanted." Hiccup said, getting the chest from Toothless's saddle and giving it to Johann.
"There're 10 ingots in there. Each one is enough for a single sword, 4 daggers, or 2 axe heads." Hiccup explained. Johann nodded and thanked him. After about 20 minutes of exploring Johann's goods, Hiccup had some paint, a naginata from Japan, a small barrel of mead, and roll of black leather with a big red Skrill figure painted on it. Hiccup wanted use that leather for a new cloak.
"Pleasure doing business with you, as always Johann." Hiccup said with a smile as he mounted Toothless. Nightling, who had been sitting with Johann, enjoying the attention he gave her, hopped onto to Toothless' back.
"Master Hiccup?" Johann called before Hiccup took off.
"Yeah?" He responded. Johann looked at him with a sad look in his eyes.
"Master Hiccup, I highly recommend you go back to berk and tell them who you are." Johann said. Hiccup's eyes widened at what Johann was suggesting.
"Your Father, Gobber, and even the other dragon trainees are depressed since you left." Johann said sadly.
"It's not my fault they think I'm dead." Hiccup said with crossed arms. Johann sighed and nodded.
"I understand Master Hiccup, but please think about it. Stoick is in terrible condition. He hardly eats, he hardly sleeps, and the Outcasts have been giving Berk trouble in recent times." Johann said grimly.
"I will not try to force you into anything. Thor knows I can't." Johann laughed. Hiccup also gave a light chuckle.
"But I think you should know, everyone does miss you, Stoick and Astrid the most." Johann said. Hiccup invisibly rolled his eyes. He didn't believe that last part for a second.
"I'll think about it." He said. Johann beamed.
"See ya Johann." Hiccup said and took off. They arrived at the cave and Hiccup lay down, thinking about what Johann said.
"Do they really miss me?" He asked as he took his helmet off. He recently tied a raven's feather into his hair. It has hanging in front of his right ear. Hiccup continued his musings about Berk and fell asleep with Nightling lying on his torso.
~~Timeskip~~
"I cannot believe I'm doing this." Hiccup groaned as he, Toothless, and Nightling flew to Berk. Nightling was now the size of a Great Dane, but was technically still a child in terms of a Skrill's concept of time. She could now fly by herself without any trouble. She even flew Hiccup on her back every now and then; she was rather strong.
"Hey, if you wanna turn around…" Toothless remarked. Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"You heard Johann's message. The Outcasts and Berserkers have allied and are going to invade Berk. They need us. As angry as I am at them, I won't let them die." Hiccup said sternly. Nightling flew over to them and nuzzled him comfortingly.
"Besides, taking a life is hard enough. Letting a life get taken is not something I can do, even if the lives are my old asshole tribe." Hiccup said. Toothless and Nightling nodded in understanding and streamlined their wings to go faster.
After flying for 3 hours, the trio approached Berk, seeing it being invaded by Outcast ships and Berserker ships.
"Hiccup look!" Nightling exclaimed, gesturing to the lead ship. Dagur the Deranged was standing on the ship's figure head, holding 2 ropes attached to… A Skrill!?
"Oh my gods, the stories!" Hiccup said with wide eyes.
"Stories?" Toothless asked.
"When I was a child, Gobber told me stories about the Berserkers attacking their enemies, with a dragon that summoned the power of lightning." Hiccup explained in horror. Nightling groaned in fear.
"Nightling, I want you hide." Hiccup said sternly. Nightling wanted to protest, but the look in her father figure's eyes left no room for argument. She nodded and flew into the clouds, far enough away from Berk to not be seen, but close enough to watch the battle and rush in if need be.
"OK Bud, let's do this!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless roared and streamlined into a vertical dive, his Fury Whistle echoing in Outcasts', Berserkers', and Berkians' ears alike.
"Night Fury!" A Berkian yelled. Everyone covered themselves as Toothless shot at the enemy alliance, shocking the Berkians. Hiccup hovered above the Berkians and looked directly at Stoick.
"You drive the army back; I'll handle Dagur and his Skrill." Hiccup ordered. Stoick growled at him, but complied. He did owe 'Ryder' after all for the Red Death incident. Hiccup flew towards Dagur and shot at him, only for the Skrill to fly up and take Dagur with it. They landed in the centre of the village, away from the army.
"Hmm… The almighty Night Rider, and his Night Fury, against me: Dagur the Deranged, and his Skrill." Dagur observed. He let out a maniacal laughter.
"I like those odds." He said and pulled on the ropes. The Skrill roared and shot at Hiccup and Toothless. They dodged the blast, and Hiccup threw 2 throwing knives at the ropes, cutting them.
"NO!" Dagur bellowed. Hiccup smirked under his helmet and dismounted Toothless.
"OK, how do you like your odds now?" Hiccup taunted as the Skrill flew away. Dagur growled an drew his axe.
"1 on 1, Night Rider: you and me." He said, gripping his axe tightly. Hiccup smirked and drew his katanas that were on his back. One was pitch black, Nightwing, and the other was white as snow, Cloudwing.
"Alright then." Hiccup responded, taking a battle stance. Both Hiccup and Dagur noticed the crowd gathering. They witnessed Dagur challenging Hiccup, so they were required by law to not interfere. Dagur let out a battle cry and charged at Hiccup. He swung his axe, and Hiccup blocked it, shattering the blade. Dagur looked at Hiccup with wide eyes, before growling and pulling out 2 daggers. He threw them at Hiccup, who deflected them, shocking Dagur and the crowd. Hiccup rolled his eyes and charged Dagur, stabbing him in the heart.
"Not much of a knife target anymore, am I Brother?" Hiccup whispered in Dagur's ear. Dagur's eyes widened in realisation as he saw the forest green eyes through the helmet's lenses.
"Hiccup…" Dagur said inaudibly, before he drew his final breath. Hiccup pulled his blades out of Dagur and sheathed them, only to be restrained and Toothless to be shot at with a bola.
Stoick approached Hiccup and pulled his helmet off, seeing the slitted blue eyes glaring at him.
"You're going to watch as I kill the beast that killed my son." Stoick growled as he drew his axe. Hiccup snarled, showing his fangs. This unsettled Stoick a bit, but he didn't let it show. He turned around and approached the Night Fury. Hiccup's eyes widened in horror.
"NO! He's my best friend! Leave him!" Hiccup yelled. Stoick ignored him and stopped in front of the Night Fury.
"NO! Leave him alone!" Hiccup shrieked as Stoick held his axe up.
"DAD, STOP!" Hiccup yelled as Stoick swung the axe, tears pouring down his eyes.
A/N: Dun dun duuuuun! I am the cliffy master! XP