CHAPTER 7

Hiccup and Astrid started towards Dragon Island. Astrid knew Hiccup wasn't entirely comfortable flying so she let him set the pace for both of them.

Toothless however, was so ecstatic about finally being up in the air again, he began speeding up, rising above the clouds and then speeding back towards the ocean.

Though terrified, Hiccup was having just as much fun as the Night Fury and soon, his fear eventually left him, leaving only the thrill of the wind whipping through his hair. Astrid watched them gliding, rising and falling in the air, sometimes getting splashed with water when Toothless dived a bit too close to the frigid water. The look of ecstasy on Hiccups face prevented her from shouting at him and instead she followed his lead and soon, she and Hiccup were racing each other towards the large mass that could be seen looming out of the ocean.

"I win!" Astrid exclaimed as she and Stormfly touched down first on the beach, with Hiccup and Toothless landing only a heartbeat later.

"That's just because I can't remember flying that well," he said sliding off Toothless as the dragon huffed turning away from Stormfly when the walked up to him squawking.

"Yeah, whatever" Astrid said as she, not so lightly, punched his shoulder.

Hiccup winced and grabbed his shoulder, "Why? Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" she asked innocently.

"Hit me?" despite the fact that he knew she wasn't doing it out of dislike or aggression, that didn't take the throbbing sensation from his shoulder, "I thought we were friends!" he pretended to be hurt and turned away from her.

"We are! See?" she said as she punched him in the other arm, "That's Viking for 'Hi friend'."

"Then I'd hate to see what 'Hi arch nemesis' is" Hiccup mumbled, rubbing his other arm.

"That's easy, just watch the twins and you'll get it." She stated.

Astrid walked back over to Stormfly and asked, "So, what do you want to do here? We've still got a while before the sun sets and we have to head back."

"Um, why don't we just go for a flight around the Island?" Hiccup said, eyeing the tree line, slightly nervous.

"Yeah, we can do that." She mounted her dragon as Hiccup mounted his and they both took off.

"So this is the Island Vikings have spent hundreds of years searching for, yet never able to find?" he called to Astrid when they were high in the air. They had almost completed half a lap around.

"Yep! Not even a days flight away from Berk." She said, smiling slightly.

"What exactly happened? With the dragons and stuff, I mean. All I know is that I stopped them raiding the village, but how?"

Astrid paused for a few seconds and thought about it. Guessing she could risk it she replied, "Follow me," and began her descent to the other side of the Island, closest to Berk.

She led him to a beach not far from where they first landed but it looked like it could've been from an entirely different island, judging by its appearance. Hiccup's eyes widened as he took in the sight below him.

Along the beach, the skeletons of a small fleet of ships jutted out of the ocean. Most were almost unrecognizable as Berkian ships. No sails remained on the masts, but the sculpted dragonheads at the bow of some ships, charred and severely damaged, but still familiar.

Stakes and weapons were scattered along the beach, half hidden by sand and dirt. On the side of the mountain, looming over the beach, a gaping hole opened up, allowing no light to escape. Hiccup shivered as he wondered what on earth had made that.

'They defend themselves, that's all!'

Searing pain shot through his head suddenly as Toothless began to land. He grasped his head and squeezed his eyes shut tight as images flooded into his head.

'If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves.'

An enormous dragon, the same size as the hole, was destroying any and all attacks from the many Vikings on the beach.

'It's like nothing you've ever seen.'

It was flying through dark clouds. Turning at the sounds of a Night Fury flying past. Angered, it roared and spouted fire in every direction and Hiccup felt it get uncomfortably close.

'You've thrown your lot in with them.'

Then he saw a huge mace-like tail hit him off Toothless' saddle and Hiccup felt himself falling.

'You're not a Viking.'

He could see the desperation in Toothless' face as he turned mid-air realizing his rider was no longer on his back.

'You're not my son.'

The last thing he saw was Toothless, eyes wide, as he desperately reached for him before the world went black.


"Hiccup!" Astrid shook Hiccup desperately trying to wake him.

She had been in the process of landing Stormfly when she turned back to see him fall to the ground from his own saddle. Thankfully he had also landed so his fall wasn't as bad as it could've been. There was a small bump on his head but Astrid was more concerned with the fact that Hiccup was writhing on the ground as if he were in severe pain.

"Hiccup, come on wake up!" She yelled desperately, shaking him again.

She then ran over to Stormfly and reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her water container. She then splashed a small amount on Hiccup's face and he went still.

Astrid paused for a moment, hoping Hiccup would open his eyes but after a few seconds his eyes were still closed. Toothless whined and nudged Hiccups head in his own attempt to wake him but had just as much success as Astrid had.

Then, Astrid noticed Hiccups eyes began moving from underneath his lids. Slowly, they fluttered open.


After the blackness swallowed him, Hiccup thought that was the end for him. He felt dizzy after the onslaught of memories. He slowly recalled them, vividly remembering the heat of the flames and the shrieking roar of the large dragon. The Red Death. The Queen of the Dragons. He could remember how hard it had been to fight it even though Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins were all helping him with their own dragons. It had almost cost Hiccup his and his dragon's life. He recalled feeling only scared for Toothless as he fell towards the Earth. He didn't care about himself as much as he should have. He knew people would mourn, Toothless especially. But overall, it wouldn't take much to fill the space he'd left he was so small. Gobber would get a new apprentice in the forge. Snotlout would become the heir to the tribe. Toothless would find a new rider.

Except, Hiccup realized, Toothless couldn't fly without Hiccup. He would never be able so save himself because Hiccup had crippled him.

If Toothless died, it would be Hiccup's fault.

Pain and regret was all he could feel as the darkness continued to swirl around him. While he was glad he had met Toothless, he wished he hadn't shot him down, that he hadn't tried so hard to be a Viking, knowing he wasn't. His father had reminded him of this several times in his life.

His father.

Those words opened an old wound that Hiccup had thought was healed. When he was younger he knew his father wasn't overly proud of him. He still loved Hiccup but Stoick still tried to keep his son out of sight. He was a hindrance. After His accident, Hiccup thought they had been able to get over it. Even though he didn't remember how and why him and his father's relationship had changed, he had been told it happened when he defeated the Red Death. So what he had just remembered must be from before that. It still cut through Hiccup like a knife though.

An old, blunt and rusty knife, he thought.

Suddenly, he felt a wet sensation spread over his face. Then something bumped his head. Slowly, Hiccup was pulled into consciousness.

He slowly blinked in an attempt to clear his blurred vision. He noticed he was lying on the ground on Dragon Island.

"Hiccup!" he heard Astrid sigh in relief as her face swam into his vision.

"What happened?" He grunted and tried to sit up despite his dizziness.

"I don't think you should get up just yet." She said as she put her hands on his shoulders to stop him from standing and also to steady him, "You collapsed and fell from Toothless and hit your head."

"Oh," he simply said as he saw Toothless' worried face just behind Astrid.

"Are you okay?" she asked tentatively, running he fingers lightly across the bump on his head.

"Yeah, I'm OK." Hiccup said and he staggered upright.

He held onto Astrid for a few seconds as he let the world stop spinning.

"We need to get you home," she said once he was able to stand by himself, "Are you alright to fly?"

"No, I don't need to go home now," he really didn't feel like heading back to Berk right now. Not with everything he just remembered. "I want to stay a bit longer."

He turned and climbed onto Toothless' saddle, and added with a grin "but we can still go for a flight."

With that, he nudged Toothless and they took off into the air, Astrid and Stormfly right behind them.

The cool air managed to clear Hiccups mind. He was able to think clearer.

His father's feelings towards him before his battle on Dragon Island were long gone by now. He was sure, if the last week or so was anything to go by, his father was the proudest father on Berk. While he still worried endlessly about his son, Hiccup knew it had nothing to do with his incompetence. He was just being protective of his only son.

Despite this, those four words still made him sick to his stomach.

You're not my son.

The most important question on Hiccup's mind was what had happened to make his father proud. Did he really mean it and Hiccup had shown he was a Viking by killing that dragon, or was it simply anger and frustration that lead Stoick to disown his son? Did he regret it at all?

Astrid watched Hiccup from behind. He seemed miles away, absorbed in his own thoughts. She knew he had remembered something, but wasn't entirely sure what. She assumed it had something to do with his battle with the Queen, but his expression suggested that there was something else bothering him.

After a few minutes, she couldn't take anymore and urged Stormfly forward to fly next to Toothless.

"Hiccup!" she called.

Hiccup snapped his head towards her.

She pointed towards the ground and yelled, "We need to talk!"

He sighed and drove Toothless back towards the ground.

When they landed, Astrid strode up to Hiccup just as he was dismounting Toothless.

"What happened back there?" Astrid asked him, crossing her arms across her chest, "I know you remembered something, so what was it?"

"Nothing" he mumbled, "Just bits of fighting the Red Death."

"Besides that though," she said, moving her hands to her hips, "I know that's not the only thing you remembered."

He didn't really want to talk about it, but Hiccup knew Astrid wouldn't let up. She'd probably end up hitting him until he told her. She'd probably hit him anyway for not telling her right away.

"Fine," he sighed, "I remembered something that happened just after all of that stuff that happened in the arena before." He hoped she would be satisfied with that.

Who was he kidding? This was Astrid.

"And?" she said impatiently, her eyes widening dangerously.

"And, it was just a conversation I had with my father," Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck and continued, "you know, I tried to get him to let Toothless go but he wouldn't and he decided to go after the nest."

Astrid didn't doubt that Hiccup was telling her the truth. It was well known that he was a terrible liar.

"Hiccup, I know there's more. You wouldn't be acting like this if that were really all that happened." She said sternly. Then her face softened, "Why won't you tell me?"

"I-" he paused, thinking. Was she even aware of what his father had said to him? He exhaled and decided to just tell her. Looking at the dirt, he said, "I remembered that…my dad, when I tried to stop him, he told me…I wasn't a Viking. That I wasn't his son."

He glanced up at Astrid to see how she reacted.

Her face was stony. Her eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. She knew Stoick had been angry at Hiccup when he left for Dragon Island, but she never would have thought the chief would disown his son.

"Astrid?" he said after a few seconds of her not responding.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, coming back to her senses.

"I don't know. I don't remember anything else." He shrugged his shoulders, acting as if it still didn't affect him much.

An act she saw through immediately.

"Hiccup," she placed her hand on his shoulder, and then pulled him in for a hug, "you know your dad loves you don't you?" she pulled away, still holding his shoulders. He still refused to look at her and continued to stare at his feet, "It's different now between you both. He knows you're not going to be the kind of Viking he thought you were going to be, but you know what? He loves the Viking you are."

Her gripped tightened and he finally met her eyes. She could still see the pain in his green eyes, but now he seemed more hopeful.

"You manage to impress him everyday by doing things he never even thought were possible. You were able to shoot down and train a Night Fury!" she scoffed, "You managed to overcome three hundred years of prejudice. You fought the Red Death and won!" she gestured towards the mountain where the gaping hole held testament to the battle that raged there, "He knows he was wrong to force you to become something you're not, and I know it's one of his biggest regrets. He loves you for you and nothing will change that."

A small smile crept onto his face as he let her words sink in. She was right of course. His father had accepted him for who he was. While he couldn't remember every detail now, Hiccup knew that things had changed for the better between them. It still hurt that his father had said what he did in in his anger, but to hear someone else say his father was proud of him made his spirits soar.

"Thanks Astrid," he said, "I just got a bit carried away with the memory." He wrapped his arms around her in a quick hug.

"No problem," she said returning the hug, "If I'm not here to knock some sense into you, who will?" she added with a laugh.

"I suppose Snotlout and the twins would be more than happy to try," he pulled away and shrugged, "but I'm not sure if they have enough sense between the three of them to knock any into me."

"Exactly!" Astrid said stepping away and sitting down against a boulder.

Hiccup joined her and there was comfortable pause between the two, during which the only sounds that could be heard were the waves lapping at the beach and the grumbling of the dragons behind them.

"You want to go back?" Astrid asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, okay," Hiccup replied and he pushed himself up from the ground, stretching his back as it had become stiff against the hard rock.

"Race you back to the village!" Astrid yelled as she lightly shoved him to the ground and ran to Stormfly, leaping quickly and gracefully onto her back and took off.

Hiccup took a few seconds to recover.

"You're on!" he said then, just as quickly but not as gracefully, mounted Toothless and the pair took off after the retreating shape of the blue Nadder and her rider.


This one took a couple of tries as it kept coming up full of coding and garbage. should be good now!