A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about the wait. This chapter was actually going to be longer but somethings came up so I had to stick with this length. I hoped it didn't impact the writing quality. As mentioned before this story does that cues from the series as well. But, I've tried to include summaries for those elements in case you haven't seen it before.

Anyways, please review and let me know what you think. And enjoy.

-.-

Hiccup still remembered the incident. Over a year ago, a whispering death had arrived on Berk, scouring the village for Toothless. It ignored everything, the Vikings, the town, even the dragons, the whispering death ignored them all to go after Toothless. And Toothlesss had refused to let Hiccup help, even shooting a plasma blast to tell him off. Hiccup had to throw himself off the edge of a cliff for force Toothless to let him help.

He thought the issue had been resolved. Toothless had defeated the whispering death, who retreated and was never seen again. Well, never seen until now. Here it was, coiled like a snake poised to strike. The whispering death looked at the Vikings, then at the dragons.

Astrid leapt into action, jumping in front of the two Vikings, wings spread, a new flame in her mouth ready to be unleashed. The spikes on her tail stood up on end, ready to be hurled in the direction of the whispering death.

'Touch any of them and I'll rip you apart,' she hissed. Hiccup actually considered this a viable threat. She did just learn how to breathe fire and with how agile she is both in dragon and in human form he believed she could put those talons to good use.

But the whispering death laughed. It was a deep but menacing laugh.

'I recognize that scent,' he hissed. 'Sif the Ruthless. But I know you are not Sif…Astrid Hofferson.'

'You know?' Hiccup asked, unable to believe his ears.

'You addressed her by name, Hiccup Haddock…' the whispering death chuckled, slithering across the ground like a massive snake. Part of Hiccup was intimidated by how intelligent this whispering death was. But he also saw this as an opportunity. When Toothless did battle with his archnemesis, Hiccup had no choice but to accept the fact that he may never no what came between the two. But now, he could talk to them. He could understand them. He needed to know what happened to Toothless, why this whispering death hated him so much. More importantly, he wanted to see if he could fix things. He had convinced Toothless to show mercy, but he wanted to see if he could perhaps form a bond between the former enemies.

'Alright, you know my name,' Hiccup said. 'What's yours?'

The whispering death hissed at Hiccup menacingly. It was obvious it didn't want to talk. It wanted to attack, to fight. But it couldn't for some reason.

'You may call me Harald,' it hissed. 'Harald of the Depths.'

'You were the whispering death that attacked Toothless.'

Harald growled, lowering itself, his eyes wide with anger. Hiccup never realized how deep its hatred for Toothless was. Sure, it wanted to kill Toothless but it seemed the mere mention of the night fury's name filled him with rage.

'Uh…Hicccup…' Astrid remarked. 'What say we avoid angering the whispering death?' Astrid did not like these odds. Sure, they outnumbered the whispering death and while she had begun to get a handle on her fire, she and Hiccup were still not used to their bodies and Stormfly and Toothless could easily become casualties in the crossfire.

'Oh, fear not Lady Astrid,' Harald chuckled almost mockingly, slithering to Astrid, sliding its body to pen her in. 'You and I have no business.'

"Hey!" Stormfly yelled, immediately attracting Harald's attention. "Leave her alone." Stormfly still wasn't familiar with using Astrid's axe but she wasn't going to let her girl be harassed by a whispering death.

Harald lunged down, putting his face right in front of Stormfly's, his spines clicking in irritation. Stormfly didn't even flinch as she came face to face with a dragon that could easily turn her into paste.

"Brother, stop!" Toothless said, stepping in front of Stormfly with his hands out. "This is between us. Leave the others out of it."

'Did he just say brother?' Astrid asked.

'He's not the only one,' Hiccup said. 'When he thought I was Toothless, he called me little brother.'

Harald slithered back to Hiccup, looking at him curiously.

'Yes, that's right…' Harald said. 'You don't know the truth. Yes, I am Svartr's dear brother.'

'Svartr…' Hiccup repeated.

'You didn't believe your night fury always went by your heathenous name did you? What was it again? Toothless?'

"You telling Hiccup all your crazy stories?" Toothless asked.

Hiccup was so focused on Harald that Toothless' suddenly speaking up made him jump. The situation was tense for him. Mere moments ago, this whispering death had tried to kill them. And sure they managed to calm it down into talking, without knowing anything it could easily just change its mind and massacre them.

Hiccup had hoped Toothless had also realized this, but it seemed that the scrawny Viking either didn't realize or didn't care. He continued rambling, insulting Harald.

"Hey, why don't you tell him about shift-wing? A mass murderer of both dragons and humans that can change between the two at will. Or how about the Black Death? The dragon so evil that the air around it can kill anyone who breaths it. Hey, did you know Vikings know about the Lycan Wing too? Do you know what they call it? A fairy tale!"

"Toothless, what are you doing?" Stormfly hissed, acutely aware of the danger they were in.

"I'm not letting him lie and manipulate Hiccup," Toothless snapped. "I might not understand what he's saying, but I bet he's telling Hiccup all sorts of stories. Here's something to put in the Book of Dragons. Whispering deaths paranoid and superstitious. That's half the reason they hide in their holes all their lives. They kept me in their burrow out of that paranoia.'"

'Your confidence is truly unyielding,' Harald scoffed. 'You have laid eyes on the Great One, even served her! You now suffer ancient draconic magecraft. Yet you still dare to doubt what we told you. It was this brazen arrogance that killed my entire family.'

'Wait a minute…' Hiccup said, catching the last bit of Harald's words. 'What are you talking about?'

Harald slithered up to Hiccup, putting its face in front of his. Toothless clearly had enough, reaching to grab Astrid's axe out of Stormfly's hands. Harald notice this move to grab a weapon, whipping around, spines raising. Astrid saw this move as a threat, crouching down, her own spines raising while a fire brewed in her mouth.

"Stop it, all of you!" Stormfly exclaimed. "Look, our customs are clear. Disputes are settled through combat, which Toothless has clearly won."

"Single combat," Toothless pointed out. "I had Hiccup with me."

"But that shouldn't count! All he did was give back your ability to fly. He can't breathe fire and he didn't even have a weapon."

"Does he think that?" Toothless asked, gesturing at Harald.

"Well, he never hunted you down again so…" Stormfly pointed out. Toothless looked at Harald. The only reason he let things go was to protect Hiccup. Otherwise, as far as he was concerned, this issue was not settled. "Look, the dispute is settled, so you can now explain everything without us trying to kill each other."

"I'm not talking anywhere near this guy," Toothless snapped.

'Something the matter, brother?' Harald asked mockingly. 'Afraid to confess your crimes? Afraid to lose your brother? That your dear Hiccup will leave you when he learns the truth?'

"Toothless," Stormfly said.

"No!" Toothless snapped. "His version of events is botched. I'm not letting Hiccup talk to…. Groundshaker here." Toothless had to make up a name on the spot and Groundshaker seemed as good as any.

'I don't understand,' Astrid whispered. 'We heard his name is Harald.'

'In Dragonese,' Hiccup pointed out. 'Remember, we're not speaking our language. We're speaking theirs. And they probably don't have a name for him that a Viking can pronounce.'

Hiccup remembered his mind was practically auto-translating everything he heard. Dragonese was a language of ultrasonic sounds, sounds a human could not make. That meant Toothless, as a human, was going to have to come up with a name they can pronounce.

"Look," Toothless said to Stormfly. "There's a reason I never told anyone this, even you. This came during a bad time during my life…" Toothless glanced at Groundshaker. "Both our lives… But as bad as it was, it wasn't my fault. I just…I just want to bury it in the past."

'Sometimes I wonder who you are trying to lie to, little brother…' Groundshaker hissed. 'It was my family who raised you…nurtured him. And it was you…you are the reason they're dead.'

Hiccup froze when he heard this. At first, he thought he heard wrong. Maybe his draconic hearing had failed him. Or maybe he picked up on some other noise that distorted the word. Then he thought he was misinterpreting what he heard.

'Well, this was during the time of the Red Death…' Astrid said. 'I'm sure that beast made Toothless do a lot of awful things.'

Hiccup didn't like Groundshaker's chuckle in response. The whispering death knew something, something that Hiccup dreaded finding out. It was probably the information that he was sure would destroy his trust of Toothless.

'You give my dear little brother too much credit. He led the Great One right to us.'

Hiccup looked at the two dragons. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't really know that much about Toothless. And he didn't know anything about Toothless before they met. It wasn't his Toothless' fault; humans can't exactly understand dragons. Still, Hiccup had always wanted to know. And now he was given the opportunity, he was almost afraid of what he'll find out.

"C'mon, Hiccup," Toothless said. "We're leaving." He went to pull Hiccup away, but Hiccup shrugged Toothless off. Toothless reached out again but Hiccup stepped back.

'Hiccup…' Astrid breathed, looking into his eyes. She couldn't get a read of his expression. There was a look of betrayal in his eyes. Confusion. Even fear. Hiccup loved Toothless. But the idea that Toothless could kill a family of whispering deaths…Hiccup didn't know what to do with that. He wasn't going anywhere unless he knew the truth.

Groundshaker chuckled when he saw Hiccup's reaction.

'So, it's dawning on you…' it chuckled, slithering up to him. 'Maybe now you will see-'

Hiccup whipped around to glare at Groundshaker, hissing at the whispering death. Astrid felt chills run down her spine. She's never seen Hiccup so vicious. Granted she's never seen Hiccup vicious, period. But it was clear. He was confused.

Toothless looked at Hiccup, clearly hurt. But, it wasn't clear if he was hurt by Hiccup's reaction or by what he was reacting to.

"Hiccup…" Toothless breathed. "I don't know what Groundshaker has been telling you... but whatever it is….at least hear my side of the story."

Hiccup looked at Toothless. He needed to know the truth.

"Hiccup…as far as I know…I'm the last night fury," Toothless said. "But I was raised by whispering deaths. You of all people should know what it feels like to want to belong, to find a place for yourself. So, I…went out to look for other night furies."

'A grave mistake…' Groundshaker hissed. 'We warned you. We BEGGED you. Alas, you thought you knew better.'

"Hiccup, you have to understand how paranoid whispering deaths are," Toothless pleaded. "I spent my entire childhood hearing stories. How the planet is round, and the moon is a giant dragon egg floating around it. About Foreverwings: dragons the size of islands. Black Deaths: dragons so evil that the air and land around it becomes uninhabitable."

"What's your point?" Stormfly asked.

"My point is you can't blame me for thinking the world isn't as terrifying as they make it sound. Not when they're telling me there are Wind Whisps, dragons disguised as clouds." Toothless' voice trailed off. He looked away in guilt. "But one of the stories were true. She was real. The Great One, the living mountain…by the time I got back everyone was gone…"

'Fascinating story, my brother…' Groundshaker hissed. 'But a lie of omission is still a lie. How did the Great One know of our burrow? How did it only come to attack after you had left?'

"Hiccup, I know my brother blames me, but I had nothing to do with what happened. I don't know how the Great One knew where we lived. Hiccup…you have to believe me…"

Toothless stepped forward, his hand out. This was the only form of communication they had, the only way he could know if Hiccup believed him.

Hiccup looked between Toothless and Groundshaker. He was beginning to put the pieces together. It certainly put everything in perspective. Why Groundshaker hunted Toothless, hellbent on killing him. Why Toothless wanted to face Groundshaker by himself back then.

Hiccup looked at Toothless. It was possible that Toothless did tell the Red Death. It was possible that the Red Death found out where Toothless and the whispering deaths lived by following him. It was possible they were all gone because Toothless didn't listen.

But there was no proof. The Red Death could have known about the burrow long before Toothless ever left. The timing of the attack could have been pure coincidence, a massive stroke of luck. There was just no way to know.

And that meant he had to have faith that his best friend was telling the truth. Hiccup leaned forward and put his snout against Toothless' hand.

'I believe you…' Hiccup said. He looked over at Groundshaker. The whispering death wasn't quaking with rage as he expected. Then again, Groundshaker internalized his hatred. He would not be trembling with anger.

'Then there's nothing more to discuss,' it said. It turned around and began slithering away.

'Wait!' Hiccup called out. He had questions, so many questions. Even if he believed Toothless, he wanted to hear what else Groundshaker had to say. Hiccup had picked up a lot in their brief conversation. He didn't want this feud between brothers to continue. Maybe there was way to mend what they had. And Groundshaker had mentioned something about a Curse of Perception. Draconic mythology or not, Groundshaker knew something about what they were experiencing, and Hiccup needed to know what it was.

The whispering death paused for a moment, glancing back at the group.

'Hiccup Haddock…' it said curtly. 'Be warned, if you or your dragon show up in my burrow again, I will not hesitate to kill you.'

Groundshaker turned back around, opening his jaw, spinning his teeth and diving into the ground. Dirty sprayed into the air as it vanished into earth.

Toothless looked on at the hole that Groundshaker left. He knew in his mind that he was not responsible. He was not followed. He did not speak to any dragons during his flights. The burrow was in ruins by the time he got back. But in his gut, he could not help but tell himself that it was his fault. The timing was too perfect. Really the only reprieve he had was that Groundshaker had gone after him and was therefore absent during the attack. Otherwise, his entire family would be dead.

"Come on," Stormfly said. "It looks like Astrid has figured out how to fly. She can teach you and Hiccup"

The four of them began to walk off. Toothless glanced back at the hole in the ground. That may be the last time he ever saw Groundshaker. That idea was bittersweet. Just laying his eyes on Groundshaker brought back painful memories. And he knew how much his older brother wanted him dead. To be fair, part of Toothless also held some resentment from being hunted for so many years. But, Groundshaker was his older brother and Toothless did miss him.

They had nearly returned to Raven's Peak when Toothless stopped. Thinking of Groundshaker Toothless wanted to tell Hiccup a few things.

"Hey, Stormfly," Toothless said. "Mind if I talk to Hiccup alone for a sec? We'll catch up."

Stormfly looked at Toothless, not sure whether to comply with his request. Hiccup did learn something about one of the darker chapters in Toothless' past. She didn't know how to react. She could only imagine what Hiccup was thinking.

Toothless nodded at Stormfly. This was something he had to do. He couldn't do it as a dragon. He didn't want to miss his opportunity.

"Come on," Stormfly said, placing a hand on the bottom of Astrid's head. "Let's give those two some room.

Stormfly lead the blue nadder away, leaving Toothless with his night fury. Toothless looked at Hiccup, crouching down to be in front of Hiccup's snout.

"Hiccup, I…" Toothless paused and looked away. This was one of those situations where he's always wanted the chance to do it and now that he has the chance, he has second thoughts. There were so many things he wanted to say. They just sounded better in his head.

Hiccup walked up to Toothless and nuzzled him.

'You don't need to say anything,' Hiccup said. 'I know…'

"Hiccup," Toothless said. "As far as I know, I'm the last night fury in existence, a hiccup amongst dragons. I've had families. There were the whispering deaths…which got killed. And you know how my second one went." He would hardly call the Great One family. Afterall, what family threatens to kill you for failure?

Toothless stuttered for a bit, realizing he got off track. "But…my point is…I've never really had a home. I've spent my entire life looking for a place I belong. And…I guess what I mean to say is…I think I finally found one. I finally found another one just like me. I think I finally found the place I was meant to be." Hiccup walked up to Toothless, nuzzling him gently. Toothless wrapped his arms around Hiccup's head.

-.-

The work of a chief was never easy. Everyone only pays attention to the perks. A bigger house. More money. Calling the shots. People never notice the other half. Stoick had spent his entire day busy making sure the village was hard at work, helping villagers whenever they needed help, making sure all supplies were in stock, etcetera, etcetera.

After an entire day of work, Stoick decided to stop by the forge and grab Gobber before heading up the mountain. He had some questions that needed answering.

"You know, Stoick," Gobber remarked. "I've heard you ask some pretty outrageous questions but this…" Gobber threw his head back and chortled. "This one takes the cake. Can a Viking switch places with a dragon?" Gobber laughed again, slapping Stoick's back. If that had been Hiccup (or at least Hiccup's body), that slap to the back would send the scrawny boy flying. But Stoick didn't even flinch.

"I know it sounds crazy, Gobber," Stoick said. "But…I don't know. I think by this point we should've learned to listen to Hiccup. I mean, look at us now! Riding on the back of dragons! All because we listened to Hiccup."

"Well there's a big difference between riding dragons and switching bodies with them," Gobber pointed out. "Besides, if what you heard was true then it'd be Toothless you're believing in, not Hiccup."

"I know that, Gobber. That's why I'm asking Gothi. If there's anyone who knows if this is possible, it'll be her."

Gothi, the village elder, lived at the top of the mountain in a tiny hut that overlooked the village. Wise beyond her years but mute, she resorted to writing in the ground with her stick and sometimes hitting people with it. She spent a lot of her time brewing medicine for the village. And that's what she was doing when Stoick and Gobber arrived.

"Gothi, I've come for your council," Stoick said as he stepped out onto Gothi's tiny porch. The old midget looked up from her brew, glancing in the direction of Stoick and Gobber. Stoick paused, knowing how absurd the question was. This wasn't a question of predicting the weather, curing an ailment, or even identifying an injury. This practically fell into the realm of fairy tale. But, Stoick had to know.

"Gothi, have you ever heard anything about Vikings…switching bodies with dragons?"

Stoick shifted uncomfortably. That question sounded even more absurd out loud. Surprisingly, Gothi didn't laugh. She just gave Stoick an annoyed glare. Not quite the reaction he expected. He watched as Gothi began scribbling in a mat of dirt that she kept on her porch to communicate.

Gobber leaned forward to read the scribbles.

"What do I smell like to you?" Gobber read. He raised a curious eyebrow at this question. "Really, you smell like a wet yak in granny clothes."

There was a sharp ding as Gothi cracked Gobber over the head with her staff, his helmet ringing like a bell.

"Look!" Gobber quickly corrected. "What do I look like to you. Geez." Gobber rubbed his sore head.

"I know you don't specialize in witchcraft," Stoick said. "But I'm not asking you to perform a ritual or anything. I just want to know."

Gothi rolled her eyes. She went over to her hut, opening the door. Stoick and Gobber prepared to follow her inside. But, the moment they reached the entrance, Gothi whipped around and pointed her stick at him like a spear. It wasn't an actual spear. It was just a giant stick. But they've learned that an angry Gothi was scary enough.

Stoick and Gobber waited outside as Gothi scurried into her hut. After a moment she came walking out. She walked over to the table and dropped the book onto it before flipping to one of the pages.

Stoick and Gobber both went up to the book. The article on the page was a short one, a title and a brief description.

"Gobber, what does it say?" Stoick asked. The one-armed Viking hobbled over to the book, scanning the pages.

"The Curse of Perception," Gobber read. Gobber mumbled as he quickly read the article before exclaiming, "Well that doesn't help at all!"

"What is it?" Stoick asked anxiously.

"All it says is that the Curse of Perception switches the minds of dragons and humans," Gobber explained. "Nothing helpful in here at all."

"And nothing to say if such a thing is possible?" Stoick groaned. "How is it done? How can it be reverted? What makes it happen?" He had to be careful about his decisions as chief. Looking into the idea that humans and dragons could switch minds was laughable. Which meant he had to be absolutely certain before he makes a decision. If Hiccup was joking, then he would certainly look like a fool for the whole village.

"I'm telling you, Stoick, even if such a thing existed then there's no way any human in this world could possibly know about it."

"Clearly someone does," Stoick scoffed. "Who else could have written this book?" That's when the question popped up in Stoick's mind. "Gothi, where did you get this book?"

Gothi's eyes widened. She was clearly disturbed by the memory of where she got the book from. She hastily scribbled something into the dirt for Gobber to read.

"Really?" Gobber coughed. "Never took you for the sticky fingers type." Gothi glared at Gobber and raised her staff, causing the husky Vikings to flinch and hold his hands up for protection.

"What is it?" Stoick asked impatiently.

"She says stole it from a hermit when she was a teenager."

Stoick looked at the old woman in shock. She was one of the village elders, known for her wisdom (and her temper). It was almost impossible to picture her stealing anything.

"Gothi!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"I keep telling you Stoick, it's the quiet ones you need to worry about. I mean the wild ones clearly never got to enjoy the perks of youth. But the quiet ones…" Gobber whistled and shook his head. "You never know what secrets they're hiding in their past."

Stoick was sure Gobber was sharing some wisdom but his concern was on the contents of the book and the man Gothi got it from.

"Could you take us to this hermit?" Stoick asked.

Gothi glared at Stoick. It was obvious that whoever she got the book from disturbed her. She violently etched something into the dirt at the end of her porch. Gobber hobbled over to quickly read what she had written.

"I can't say that to him!" Gobber exclaimed. "He's the chief!"

Gothi rolled her eyes. She didn't write it down but Gobber could tell she was, in her head, calling him a pansy. She erased the etch in the dirt and quickly scribbled something else down.

"She says she can't," Gobber read. "She says…are you sure about this? I mean, your eyesight isn't what is used to be." Gothi raised her staff threateningly. "But your swinging is as strong as ever," Gobber whimpered.

"Gobber…" Stoick groaned. Sensing the distress in their chief's voice, Gothi lowered her stick so Gobber could relay the information.

"She says that when she first discovered the hermit, his island had appeared out of nowhere. And when she went back to the hermit…the island he lived on was…gone…"

-.-

Shadows flew over raven point for the next hour. There was the shrill whistle of things streaking through the air at breakneck speeds. As it turned out, having a dragon that knew how to fly really sped up the learning process. After another hour, Hiccup and Astrid had both taken to the skies.

It certainly wasn't as graceful as Toothless and Stormfly, but they were airborne. And Toothless had never been more terrified. As a dragon, he had full control during flight. Ok, not full control. Ever since he lost his tail fin, Hiccup shared some of the control. Either case, he felt physically reassured about his flight. But as a human, all those reassurances went out the window. He was only attached to Hiccup via a rope. If he fell, it was a lethal plummet to the ground. And speaking of the ground, it has never looked so terrifying. Heights that usually never fazed him now looked menacing in his new helpless form.

But, in a way, it was amazing. It actually felt good having most of the control taken away. It felt like a burden was lifted from his shoulders during flight. He wasn't being hounded by a million inputs from his draconic senses. He didn't have to pay constant attention to his body, his altitude, his breathing, or his wing movements. And yet, there was still a sense of familiarity, probably because even as a dragon he didn't have full control. He never carried Hiccup or flew for Hiccup. He flew with Hiccup. They had developed their own system of communication, two minds but flying as one. And while the scales of control have tipped to Hiccup's favor, Toothless still had some control.

As for Hiccup, it felt like he was liberated. He always felt that way flying on the back of Toothless. But now that he was the dragon, the last of the shackles had been removed. The ground, gravity, these things did not exist. Sure, he had to move in very certain ways to stay in the air, but he was in control. He decided to fly, to dive, to land, and to steer. Nearly everything a Viking couldn't do, he now could. He was free, not restrained by anything. Not the trees. Not the ground. Not even gravity could hold him down.

Toothless looked over the saddle and at the ground.

"Oh, we're high up…" Toothless whimpered. Heights were so much less scary when he was the one with the ability to fly. He guessed this was the human instinct part of him, fearing the sheer height they were at since humans are not meant to go this high.

Toothless and Hiccup both looked up when they heard someone laughing streaking through the skies beside them. It seemed Astrid and Stormfly had a hand on this flying business. They seem to be even better at it them Hiccup and Toothless, though not having an artificial tail may have something to do with that. Hiccup and Toothless not only had to learn how to fly but how to communicate in flight. And night furies didn't fly the same way nadders did so Hiccup had to figure out quite a bit on his own.

The two girls pulled up beside them, slowing down to match their speeds.

"Hey, Toothless?" Stormfly mocked. "Going a little slow. Don't tell me the big bad dragon is afraid of heights."

Toothless smirked. He knew a challenge when he saw one.

"C'mon, brother," Toothless said, stroking Hiccup's cheek. "We can't let your girlfriend show us up."

Hiccup will admit he had some pride on the line. Dragon body or not, he couldn't let the Dragon Conqueror get shown up. Hiccup looked at Astrid, who gave him a wink. It was clear they had the exact same idea.

'Try to keep up!' Astrid jeered, flapping her wings and darting skyward. Hiccup didn't even hesitate to follow. Toothless let out a nervous whimper as his center of gravity shifted. They were coming up at a steep angle, which meant he had to squeeze his thighs and tighten his grip on the handlebars to stay on Hiccup. The two dragons beat their wings against the air, going higher and higher, past the clouds.

Finally, the two of them dove toward the ground. Toothless yelped in shock while Stormfly cheered. The sudden change in direction had briefly lifted the two Vikings off their saddles. And for a brief moment, they were airborne. And as they dove for the ground, the Vikings readjusted their grips. Astrid and Hiccup tucked in their wings to make their bodies as streamline as possible. Stormfly and Toothless had to grip the handles as tight as possible to make sure they didn't fly off the back of their dragons. Toothless especially had to do this as Hiccup's vest turned into a miniature parachute, catching the air as they dove down.

"OOHHH, CRAAAAP!" Toothless screamed as the island of Berk suddenly when from the size of a large dinner plate to an all-encompassing landmass. The wind was blowing past them so fast Toothless didn't even hear his scream. He couldn't even hear Stormfly's cheering. He had to squint since it felt like the wind blowing in his face would dry out his eyes.

Suddenly, both dragons opened their wings. Their drop came to very sudden stop as all their vertical speed turned horizontal. The trees directly beneath them shook from the wall of air shoved upon them, the two dragons soaring past. Aerodynamic or not, they shoved so much hair that even the trees below them felt the gusts of wind. But the forest was not their destination. They headed out for the coast, flying past the beach and toward a maze of sea stacks. Within a moment, the small stacks of rocks turned into massive stone columns. They veered through the sea stacks, barely a fraction of a second to decide whether to move left or right at each turn.

Finally, they burst forth from the sea stacks and out to the open ocean. They expanded their wings even further, slowing themselves down. Astrid glanced at Hiccup and immediately burst out laughing.

'What?' Hiccup asked.

'Hiccup, your tongue!' Astrid giggled. Hiccup was so busy enjoying himself he didn't even realize his tongue was dangling from his mouth. And at this point, he didn't really care. He looked at Astrid with his toothless smile, his tongue flapping outside his mouth.

The two of them headed for a sea stack in the distance. It was as good a perch as any. The moment they were over the sea stack, they sharply aimed upward, stretching out their wings to catch as much air as possible to come to a stop midair. Then, they came down, landing on the stone column.

Toothless and Stormfly dismounted, still high off adrenaline. They stared at each other, smiles on their faces.

"I'll admit," Stormfly panted. "I thought flying would suck since I'm not the one doing it. But that was AWSOME!"

Toothless could only laugh. He was filled with equal parts excitement and fear. His feet were still wobbly beneath him. And with his peg leg, he felt like he could topple over at any moment.

Hiccup and Astrid were also excited. Hiccup bounded around Astrid while Astrid flayed her wings out, eagerly bouncing her head up and down.

'Hiccup, that was amazing!' Astrid laughed, suddenly leaping up and kicking Hiccup back with her feet. Hiccup fell on his back laughing, his paws curled up above him like he was expecting a belly rub.

'See, not so bad being a dragon,' he said. Astrid stood over Hiccup, pawing at him with her foot while he pawed back at her.

'Hiccup, don't you see!' Astrid said excitedly. 'We can fly! We can go to Varren and get our bodies back!' Hiccup could feel some of his excitement wane. Was Astrid really that eager to just abandon all this? In two days, Hiccup was in awe by how much he learned. He learned dragon flight techniques. He learned dragon fire breathing techniques. He was learning dragon culture. Hiccup still wanted his body back but he could only wonder what he'll miss if he turns human again.

'Alright, slow down Astrid,' Hiccup said. 'We're still a long way before we're ready to go back to Varren.'

'What're you talking about?'

'Think about it. You thought Varren was up to something when we first met him. If he is, then we should probably be more familiar with using our dragon bodies. Besides, it's sunset and we still don't know if it's safe with those Berserker spottings.'

Hiccup knew he was rambling. But he couldn't miss out on this opportunity. Varren said he would be there for seven days. Two days had passed so that meant five days left. And this wasn't a total lie. It was true that if Varren was the villain Astrid suspected him to be, it would better to be prepared. The sun had nearly set and a round trip to Varren's island and back would go late into the night. And Dagur's fleet was still out there.

But, if there was one fear, one thing that stopped him from announcing to Astrid that they were heading back to the island, even if he didn't admit it to Astrid, even if he didn't admit it to himself, it was the loss of all the dragon knowledge. He had questions. Her had questions about questions.

The conversation with Groundshaker kept replaying in his head. Hiccup couldn't hate Toothless from what he's heard. But, he empathized with Groundshaker. If Snotlout had gotten his father, Toothless, or even Astrid killed, Hiccup would probably never forgive him. That wasn't to say Hiccup thought that Toothless was anything like Snotlout, but Snotlout has had close calls in the past, even once nearly killing Astrid during a training exercise. Every ounce of love Groundshaker felt for Toothless back then has turned to hate. And add that to the pain he felt from losing his family…

It wasn't just that though. Groundshaker had mentioned something called 'The Curse of Perception'. It was certainly an odd name. But it seemed the whispering death knew a thing of two about what was happening. Toothless had said whispering deaths are superstitious. Well, the Red Death, or the 'Great One' as they called it, was true. So maybe Groundshaker knew the details about this curse. And in the process, he could learn more about dragon culture. Either way, Hiccup had to get back to Groundshaker and talk with it.

'What are you suggesting?' Astrid asked.

'Just give it a few more days. I just need to make a few last-minute preparations and we'll go. I promise we'll get our bodies back.'

Astrid looked at Hiccup suspiciously. She knew there was a possibility that Hiccup would get distracted by this new position, this exposure to dragon knowledge. Even she had to admit how much they've learned just from these past few days. Technically, it was just one day since the first day was just them getting their bearings. And she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious. But her first and foremost concern was getting her body back. Thought, she could not help a sinking suspicion that Hiccup had other priorities.

Astrid shook these concerns from her mind. Hiccup had earned her trust.

"So, guys!" Toothless said, clapping his hands together. "Ready to try to fly to the island?"

Hiccup grumbled, giving the two Vikings an annoyed glare. He knew they were trying, but they always came up with ideas after he and Astrid did.

"I take it as a no…" Toothless said, trying to read Hiccup's expression.

"Why're we even asking them?" Stormfly asked. "We're the Vikings here. We're in charge and you're the alpha here."

"One, I'm not the alpha," Toothless corrected. "I'm just filling in for Hiccup. Two, we're in this together so we only go when we're all ready. Besides, it's getting late anyways." Toothless gestured toward the setting sun, which had turned a burnt apricot as it vanished behind the horizon. But as he did that, he noticed something else. "Stormfly…is that?"

Stormfly turned to look at the horizon. She could see a dark shape moving across the water. It shakily lurched back and forth like an injured animal, half sunk and struggling to stay afloat.

Toothless went over to his saddle bag. After a moment of rummaging, he took out the spyglass Hiccup always kept. He only needed to peer through it for a second to identify what it was. He then handed the spyglass to Stormfly, who also looked to see what had appeared on the horizon.

It was a ship, a warship with a dragon skull mounted on the front, an orange emblem of a scraggily Viking with a horned helmet on its sails. But the ship, or what's left of the ship, struggled to move across the water. Its hull was punched full of holes and the back end was already half sunk.

"That's an Outcast ship," Stormfly said. "What're the Outcasts doing here?"

"One way to find out," Toothless said, mounting Hiccup. "Let's go, brother!"

Former enemies of Berk, the Outcasts lived on a decrepit distant island. Its occupants: rough and often unhinged. And their leader, Alvin the Treacherous, embodied all these things. The Outcasts had been at war with Berk for years, even back during the dragon raids. But while the war was over, the Oucasts didn't lose their edge. Said edge just want being used to threaten Berk anymore. Still, it was strange to see Outcasts ships not only this far from Outcast Island but this close to Berk.

With a flap of his wings, Hiccup was up in the air, expanding out his membranes to catch the air and glide forth. Astrid did the same, following right behind them. As the ship on the horizon got closer, the details of the destruction became clearer. There was a clear trail of debris behind the ship, planks, barrels, and crates floating in the water. But as they finally neared the ship, they realized just how extensive the carnage was.

It wasn't just one ship. The remains of two, perhaps even three more ships covered the water, debris extending as far as the eye could see.

"By the ancestors…" Toothless breathed. "It's a massacre."

"We should go down and look for survivors," Stormfly suggested.

"Good idea," Toothless said. "Hiccup, Astrid, use your roars. That way they'll hear us looking for them."

Hiccup had to admit he didn't think about that. Maybe Toothless could pick up on this 'being alpha' thing faster than he thought. Hiccup and Astrid flew in different directions, carefully combing the sea of debris and destruction. They both squawked and screeched, their roars echoing across the ocean. Hiccup even let out a few ultrasonic cries in some desperate attempt to find someone alive down there.

'Come on…' he muttered. He didn't need to know the people face down in the water. The fact they were there was all he needed to see to make his heart sink.

Hiccup's ears perked up. He just heard something that didn't belong in the ocean.

'What was that?' he wondered aloud, looking around for the source of the sound, his pupils dilating into slits.

"What is it, brother?" Toothless asked. Hiccup answered by directing Toothless in the direction of the sound. Toothless let Hiccup take the lead, adjusting the tail to help him reach his destination. Hiccup dove for the water, stopping right above its surface. This was where the sound came from, he was sure of it.

"Down there!" Toothless called out, pointing at the water. Hiccup immediately saw what Toothless was pointing at. Desperately clinging onto a driftwood was a massive Viking, his wet beard splayed out on the wood he clung onto for life. Hiccup dove at the Viking, swooping him up in his paws and flying back toward the half sinking ship they saw earlier.

Hiccup gently dropped the Viking on the deck before landing. Toothless dismounted, rushing over to the giant Viking's side.

A giant with a massive beard that covered his chest like a bib and a helmet with horns so long that it could be used as a coat rack. Toothless knew only one Viking that fit this description.

"Alvin!" Toothless cried out, kneeling back the half-conscious Viking. Alvin the Treacherous wearily opened his eyes.

"Hiccup," he chuckled when he looked upon Toothless' face. "You have no idea how good it's to see you, boy."

"Alvin, what happened?" toothless asked. Alvin may not have been an enemy anymore, but Toothless had experienced his ferocity firsthand. Anything that could give Alvin a run for his money was a threat.

"I need to talk to Stoick," Alvin wheezed. "Dagur's broken out of prison."