Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.

Sorry to those of you who also read Changing Alliegence, I just ended up with a case of Writer's Block after figuring out that I hadn't considered the follow up all to well. Regardless, I've brought this story, hopefully the other comes in earlier next week to make up for it.

Until then, read this and enjoy.

"Who might you be?" The strange man, this Drago, looked at me, squinting his eyes as if I was some sort of redhaired stepchild. He scanned my busted leg, his eyes full of other questions.

"My name is Hiccup," I said, a little bit afraid. Rule number one of being a runt, everyone else can step on you if you make them angry enough, especially if you're at their mercy.

"Well, ain't you runt of the litter?" It was a common tradition to name the runts "Hiccup", not just something my home island did. He moved his hand to my ruined prosthetic. "How'd you lose it?"

"Uh, a dragon took it," I hastily replied. I didn't recall the exact specifics of my fight against the Red Death, but I think it was to blame. I didn't want to make this guy upset, not when he loomed right over me with a small warband. My senses were finally starting to recover, allowing me to take notice of what was about twenty men and a teenager.

Unfortunately, saying a dragon was responsible seemed to only set the tall man on edge. I could practically imagine seeing steam come out his nostrils. "Dragons…" he said disdainfully. He then turned to the Monstrous Nightmare and shot it a glare, as if it had been responsible. The dragon whimpered, still trapped, but did nothing else.

I felt uneasy, seeing this man cow a dragon like that. He clearly had some… hatred issues about them, enough that he was willing to substitute the nearest dragon as a scapegoat for… whatever issues he had. Somehow, I think Toothless is better off spending some time away from me.

"Is the dragon that did this to you dead?" Drago said, finally turning back to me after glaring down the submissive dragon.

I nodded, mostly out of fear. I was practically like that dragon myself, at the mercy of someone far greater than me; I didn't want him to have any reason to do more.

"Good," Drago replied and then turned to his men. "Tie up that beast so we can take it back with us later, I want us to get a move on before sundown. The Skullrocks deserve a proper demonstration once this is over!" The men and the lone teenager gave cries of cheer and promply began tying up the dragon more thoroughly, binding the creature's limbs to make it nigh impossible for it to escape from the net.

"But what about this one?" The boy, Eret, pointed to me.

Drago grimaced at me, still thinking up what to do with me. "Take him with us, the Skullrocks will be wanting one their own when we arrive at their doorstep, especially once the...festivities start."

"But-"

"But what?"

For a moment, I was going to say who I was, that I was not from this island, but I thought otherwise. I had no idea who this person was. He very clearly implied he wasn't a member of the local tribe, which left me no idea what his stance towards Berk was. For all I know, Drago is one of my Dad's worst enemies and letting him know I was my Dad's son was… potentially life ending. Plus, I didn't exactly have a banner of diplomacy or a Night Fury to protect me in the case things went wrong. Instead, I glanced down at my leg.

Drago nodded, more sympathetic looking than a man seemingly as ruthless as him would appear to be. "Alright, Eret, it'll be your job to carry him until we're at the village."

Eret scowled, not exactly pleased with that idea. "But why me? You've got loads of larger men."

"Because you're a trapper, not a fighter. And right now, we don't need trappers. Now, make yourself useful." Drago then stepped away, apparently no longer feeling the matter needed to be discussed.

Eret turned to scowl at me. I returned a sheepish grin, knowing that while I haven't made Drago an enemy, there was someone who didn't quite like me. "You owe me for this."

I just nodded my head. He might not have been as terrifying as his boss, but I didn't exactly feel like annoying the kindly people who saved my life. No, I only do that to my friends and enemies, most especially my enemies.

Eret picked me up and put my arm over his shoulder, practically trapping me like I was some sort of shoulder bag. We then stepped forward; well, he stepped forward, I just did little hops to catch up. "Good thing you know how to step, otherwise, I wouldn't do this," he grumbled as we went after the other warriors. Drago led the way, taking the rest of us with him. Only two warriors stayed behind.

Still, even as we left, I still couldn't help but turn back, right to the cliff where my best friend had fallen from. I don't know what's happened with Toothless, but I sure hope he's managed to get away from that other dragon. I know he probably survived the fall, since I know he's suffered worse, mostly because of me, but there was no telling if he could beat that strange dragon… and its rider. Making things worse were all of the dragons in the air. Sure, most of them were concentrated over the center of the island, but there was always a few outliers that stalked the forest. Toothless might have been one of the most powerful dragons in the air, but on the ground, that left him a sitting duck.

And then were the rest of my friends. I left them at possibly worst time ever, letting them all, my girlfriend included to be swarmed over by like thirty different dragons. Now, I know that each them could stand their ground against most enemies and befriend other dragons, but taming any number of dragons over three was dicey. As soon as they convinced one or two to stop trying to fight them, the others would be launching thirty attacks at once. I've had nightmares that sort of thing could actually happen and now it was coming true! Boy, I sure hope their dragons would protect them. I've had nightmares that sort of thing could actually happen and now it was coming true!

I sighed; it's just like how I used to get when Dad left me, the worst part is never knowing if you'll see each other again. The only difference is that everyone involved is stuck in a warzone; not pretty.

With those thoughts still in my heart, I have made up my mind. As soon as I replace my busted foot, I was going to find my friends and do whatever it takes to make sure we came out alive.

I don't know how long the silent trek lasted. Each step felt like a miniature eternity in the realm of Loki's most important daughter. I hobbled along, Eret and I had mostly gotten used to being stuck in place together. Drago and his men were right in front of us, eyes peeled and watching for danger. More than once, the group had to stop to hide from a marauding dragon, but other than that, nothing happened.

Eventually, we made our way at the village, stopping by a hill within throwing distance of the furthest building. The Skullrock village, though it wasn't at the peak of a mountain, was situated right at the base. Even at this distance, it all seemed like a rather ordinary place, a typical Viking village made of wooden buildings, the usual thing I had come to expect. Which was very bad when dragons wanted to blast the place with fire.

The whole village practically glowed from the devastation the dragons were bringing to the place. Dragons soared overhead, ducking in to steal livestock and fish. Anything that stood in their way was blasted without hesitation. Men, women, and children, didn't so much as flee their homes as much as they regrouped. Anyone who could lift a sword picked up the nearest one they could and swung it at the beast. Yes, Skullrock village was like any normal Viking village; it was Berk's the odd one, doing such crazy ideas like befriending dragons.

I felt my gut sink to my stomach. It's been a long time since I last seen dragons ransacking Vikings, so long that I almost forgot what it all looked like to have the entire village get up in arms to defend itself. Looking at Skullrock, a small part of me couldn't help but remember what things were like before I met Toothless. The dragons had free reign over the skies and there was no one in the air to challenge them. Fires roared chaotically, seeking out more Viking homes to burn, without their creators' aid. The Vikings were simply at the dragon's mercy and hoping for the fight to end sooner. If there were any way to contest their dominance of the skies, like other, friendly dragons, the whole situation would have been far better for the Vikings involved.

And I wasn't the only who knew it. Drago approached the scene, scowling.

Eret followed right behind him, letting me take a closer look at the burning. Boy, how I wish I had Toothless to put a stop to it. Earlier today, I wanted to show up on the Skullrock's door step in style to make a good impression on my first official visit as the so called "Dragon Conqueror", now I just wanted to put a stop to this. "We can't just… stand back!" I blurted out. Sure, I was scared of Drago, but not enough that I wasn't willing to do anything in my power to help.

To my surprise, the man nodded. "No, we can't." He then turned to his men. "Any volunteers?"

Several of the men looked hesitant by what their leader asked them, their faces filled with very clear indecision. Even Eret seemed a little uncertain, stiff as an icicle.

Drago scowled and scanned his men, looking for unwilling volunteers for… whatever he was planning. For a moment, he looked like he was even considering using me for this unknown task, which both crazy and terrifying. What kind of use was a boy with a only a single leg? I mean, it's not like I was the first pick in Bashyball. Good thing he decided against it. Drago then circled around his men and randomly started pointing out a number of them, probably selecting the ones who had their eyes closed at the wrong split-second. "You, you, you, step forward."

The men, though hesitating did as was told. Drago called more forward, gathering them up in a line. Strangely, for men who were going into battle, they were decidedly doing the opposite of preparing; what else do you call leaving your weapons behind and taking off your armor? Even I knew that and I was terrible. And I turned away, just in time to avoid a nasty sight. Okay, that was definitely too far. "What are they doing?" I whispered to Eret, only looking at them with the corner of my eye.

The boy cringed, clearly he knew and he didn't like it. "You'll see."

I turned to Drago who thankfully got in between me and his men. The leader of this small warband was sizing up his men, making sure they were… ready. I failed to see how unequipping everything got men ready for a fight but apparently, the large man approved of that. Then, with his right hand he began touching each and every man on the shoulder, listing out the names of different types of dragons as he did so. "Nadder, Gronckle, Timberjack…"

I could only stare at the odd ritual. Was it some sort of good luck rite? The kind of strange things some Viking clans did for good luck? I mean, I guess it makes sense that no one would be willing to do it, especially if it was so… demeaning.

But before I could think on the strange ritual further. Drago turn back to his men and said one final word. "Change."

Then, all of the men suddenly fell on to their knees, grunting and groaning as swift pain overtook them. It wasn't hard to see why. The men… changed before my eyes, taking on scales, their faces elongating into snouts. Feet remained feet, but their hands didn't always remain hands. Bodies enlarged, spines became as clay. Screams changed from words into caws and cries.

It was a terrifying sight to behold several men change into dragons before my eyes, one that I was sure I was never going to forget. I had once dreamt about maybe turning into a dragon to fly beside Toothless, if only for just one day. It would have been a great time, being able to do something like that with my best friend. Who hasn't had dreams of flight? I just added something a little extra.

But this on the other hand, I found as distasteful as Drago's handling of the Nightmare. None of them clearly wanted to go through this, but their leader had other plans in mind. The remaining men, those Drago hadn't selected, appeared thankful not having to endure that fate. Thankfully, the screams and shouts soon ended, as each man finished their transfigurations. Where a man once stood now was a dragon of the type dragon called out, all of them still looked quite frightened of their leader.

"This is all I ask of you," Drago said firmly, surveying the new dragons, his grin so menacing that I could see it through the back of his head. "Aid the village and take back the skies, do you still understand that?"

The dragons all nodded, apparently still able to understand Norse. Several immediately took off, giving out calls and shouts that were practically indistinguishable from the ones real dragons gave. It wasn't long before the former men left us behind and went into the skies. Odin, I don't know if it was because they were brave… or just that scared of failing Drago. I mean, they were practically outnumbered maybe twenty to one, not a fun situation; I should know.

Drago turned back to the rest of us, those that hadn't been turned into dragons. Hopefully, the word "yet" was not part of that sentence . The man's expression was gaunt, a little paler than it had been a moment before. "We take back this village at any means possible," he said, still managing to sound intimidating.

Everyone nodded, including me, who really had no business in a fight without Toothless.

"But first," Drago said, his eyes focusing on me. He then put his hand on me and I immediately feared he might end up turning me into a dragon to go out and fight the other dragons. Sure, I was a dragon rider, but that didn't mean I knew the first thing about being a dragon. Hopefully, I'd end up being a Night Fury and not a Terrible Terror, though I guess when it comes to running and hiding, both had their perks. "We're taking you back home."

I blinked in stunned silence. "Uh- what?"

"You heard me," Drago said, his expression grim as he scanned into the village. "We'll get you to a shelter, you're not going to survive out here, in the open."

I could only stare at the man, unsure of what to really respond with. I had no idea what to make of Drago. Sure, the first thing this man did when I met him was pretty much crush a Nightmare's own will to live so utterly, but he did so to save my life. The next thing he did that really made me feel uneasy was turn his own men into dragons, but then he turns around and says his first action is to get me somewhere safe. Just who was this guy?

Eret was a little stunned as well. "Uh, sir…"

Drago frowned at the teenager holding me up. "You heard me," he insisted, pointing out the order for his men to march. "Now, go!"

Several of the men hesitated, but did was instructed. Eret turned to me, his expression uneasy. "Thor, what makes you so special?"

I grimaced, it wasn't every day someone "Well, I was born on a leap year, so I'm technically three and a half. Also, I'm left handed, plus a whole bunch of other things. But, no, I don't know what makes me so special." Aside from the fact I ended a war between Vikings and dragons, ride a Night Fury, and run a school despite being a little shy of fifteen, but there was no way Drago knew that.

Eret didn't find it particularly funny and instead he just grunted and carried me forward, into the fire.

So, immediately, Hiccup sees Drago use his special gift. I decided against it originally, but I thought it'd make sense not to hold it off and use it at as soon as it was neccesary. So, I figure now was the right time.