Author's Note:

Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. Once again, it took a long time for me to get around to writing this, but the arrival of the sixth season of Race to the Edge sparked my desire once more, so here we are. This one has the aftermath of the last chapter and a major plot twist. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Chapter 10

With a groan, Snotlout opened his eyes, deciding that he really had to stop ending up unconscious.

He sat up, dimly registering that he was in his own bed, as he rifled through his memories, trying to find why he'd been knocked out.

Two-week storm, failing at casting Blizzara, snapping at Astrid, Quetzalcoatl, Hiccup…Hiccup!

His eyes snapped to the side of the bed, to find his cousin sat in a chair beside him, watching him carefully. He unintentionally gulped, as Ifrit commented quietly, "Yes, I was thinking this could be a problem."

Snotlout grinned awkwardly, "Hiccup! What are you doing here?"

The other boy was giving him an unamused look, which was mirrored by the ever-present Night Fury behind him, "Because I was hoping you might have a rational explanation for what happened."

Snotlout attempted to stall, "Rational explanation? For what?"

"Oh, I don't know." The boy responded sarcastically, "Maybe the giant lightning-bird, or you flinging fire and ice like crazy, or maybe you could explain how in Thor's name you managed to summon a giant, fire monster from nowhere!"

"Now that's just rude!"

Ignoring Ifrit, the dark-haired teen chuckled nervously, "Actually, 'summon' pretty much sums it all up."

Hiccup glared and growled slightly, and Snotlout sighed, "How many people know?"

His cousin pinched the bridge of his nose, "Right now, just me and Toothless." He looked up at him, "But I need an explanation Snotlout, a truthful one."

"Snotlout." Shiva's voice echoed quietly in his mind, "Its best to tell him, there's no way you can explain it away and having another who knows might help greatly."

Though he didn't speak out loud, Snotlout agreed, Hiccup had seen more than enough, he wasn't going to be satisfied with anything except the full truth…stupid Quetzalcoatl, ruining all his secrecy.

With a deep breath, he told Hiccup everything.

"…and that's just about everything really."

His explanation finished, Snotlout watched his cousin warily. To his credit, Hiccup had remained impassive throughout the whole thing, neither interrupting nor scoffing at him, and now he stared at him thoughtfully. He remained silent for a while, just long enough for Snotlout to start fidgeting uncomfortably, before finally speaking, "You said Shiva and Ifrit can speak to you all the time?"

Snotlout simply nodded.

"Is there any way I can hear him them as well?"

The dark-haired teen gaped for a moment, until his brain caught up and started moving his mouth, "Erm…well…I don't think so, not without me summoning them anyway."

"Actually, there is a way."

Shiva spoke carefully, "If you make physical contact, we can use that to project our voices into Hiccup's mind as well, but it won't work unless you're touching each other."

"Snotlout?"

The young summoner realised he'd spaced out slightly as he listened to Shiva, he glanced at Hiccup, "Shiva say's you can if we make physical contact."

The other boy raised an eyebrow, "Okay…"

They sat quietly for a moment, then Hiccup held out his hand, clearly indicating for his cousin to take it. Slightly hesitantly, Snotlout did so, and spoke out when they were holding hands, "Okay Shiva, go ahead."

"Hiccup, can you hear me?"

The dragon rider pulled a face, "Okay, that is really weird." He glanced at Snotlout, "You have that in your head all the time?"

The summoner shrugged, "Only when they're talking, Ifrit's the worst for chatting away when you really don't want him to."

"Hey! Don't deny that you find some of my comments amusing." He addressed Hiccup, "And you're welcome by the way, for helping save you from Quetzalcoatl and all."

"Quetzalcoatl?"

"The giant lightning-bird." Snotlout reminded him, "I mentioned his name when I explained everything earlier."

"Oh yeah." Hiccup frowned, "So, Snotlout is a summoner, you guys have been training him, and Savage is also a summoner and is after you, is that everything?"

"And there are rogue summonings being dragged into the world by someone and generally rampaging." Ifrit finished, "That pretty much sums it up."

Hiccup looked at his cousin, "And you've been dealing with all of this by yourself? Why didn't you say anything!?"

"Hey, me and Shiva have been helping him!" Ifrit declared indignantly.

Hiccup sighed, "I know, its just…" He looked at Snotlout again, "Why not tell any of the rest of us?"

Snotlout looked away, "Hiccup, before mom died, she told me that I had to keep the mark on my arm secret, the mark that showed that Shiva was my summoning. She made it clear that no one, not even my dad, could ever know." He sighed, "She knew exactly what I was, and I think she was scared of what would happen if people found out. I mean, could you imagine how Berk would react if they discovered I could cast ice magic with just a word, never mind summoning powerful beings." He glanced at the door to his room, "And something tells me that dad definitely won't like it."

If Hiccup was about to answer him, they never discovered what he would've said, for at that moment, the alarm horn blared over the village.

Tumbling out of the house, the two boys rushed over to where Stoick was listening to the babbled report of a scared watchman.

"I'm telling you Stoick, there's a giant heading to the village!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" The chief practically shouted back, "There's no way a giant is about to attack!"

As if to prove him wrong, a massive boulder fell out of the sky and smashed into the ground nearby. People cried out in shock and Stoick turned his gaze in the direction it'd come from. Rumbling footsteps shook the earth beneath them, shaking loose debris left by the recently ceased storm. Remembering Snotlout telling him about Savage's summoning, Titan, Hiccup immediately looked to him for clarification on whether that was what was coming, only to find that the boy had vanished.

He glanced frantically around for the other teen, "Snotlout!"

The gathered people heard him, and the watchman grabbed his helmet horns in fear, "Don't tell me he's gone to face the giant alone!"

"What!" Stoick also looked swiftly around, seeing that the boy had definitely disappeared, he faced Hiccup, "Get the other riders and find him! He's only just woken up after you brought him back, there's no way he can handle whatever is attacking!"

"This is a completely, stupid, reckless, and suicidal decision!"

Snotlout ignored Ifrit's words, pounding towards the arena where Hookfang was waiting.

Shiva also tried to talk him out of it, "Snotlout, you haven't fully recovered your magic after facing Quetzalcoatl, you can't face Savage alone!"

"I have to Shiva!" He snapped back, "If he's summoning Titan to attack Berk, then he's done being subtle. If he's openly using his powers, then I'm the only one who stands a chance."

He charged into the arena, calling for his dragon, "HOOKFANG!"

Recognising the urgency, the Nightmare burst out of his stable and within moments, they were in the air and flying towards where Titan should be. Powering his wings as fast as possible, Hookfang was soon soaring over Berk's forest, and it wasn't long before they spotted Titan's large figure, hurling boulders towards the village.

As they approached, the boy leaned close to his dragon's head, "Okay Hookfang, we swoop down, and you blast him in the face as I throw spells at him."

The Nightmare rumbled in acknowledgement and began to dive, shutting out Shiva and Ifrit's screams of protest, Snotlout focused on the giant, preparing to launch his spells at the right moment. They plummeted like a stone, heading straight for Titan and ready to attack.

Then they heard the sound of a bola launching.

Before they could react, it struck like a lightning bolt, snatching Hookfang out of the air and flinging Snotlout from the saddle. The boy plummeted with a scream, only to be caught by Titan, who flung him at the waiting Savage.

The Outcast Summoner, deftly caught him, and quickly had the boy pinned beneath him, hand clamped over Snotlout's mouth to block his magic. As the teen struggled and squirmed, Savage grinned, "Finally got you! I should've just gone with this plan from the beginning!"

He produced a strange gem and gloated triumphantly, "I didn't realise until recently that I could just use this thing to take your summonings, I thought I had to capture you and then undergo a lengthy ritual. Now though, just a swift grab will do the trick."

He brought the gem closer, "Now, I would say 'this won't hurt a bit' but I genuinely don't know if it will or not."

He pressed it to the back of Snotlout's head.

With the other riders following close behind, Hiccup and Toothless soared over the forest, trying desperately to catch up to Snotlout.

For some reason, the boulder attack on the village had stopped, leaving them to search for their wayward member the old-fashioned way. While good for the village, Hiccup couldn't help but feel that the sudden stop to the assault was not a good sign.

Astrid suddenly gave a shout, "Hiccup, below us!"

Immediately, the boy looked down and saw Savage and Snotlout right below them, Hookfang was tangled in a bola some distance away and it was clear that his cousin was in serious trouble. Swiftly, he gave orders, "Fishlegs, you and the twins free Hookfang, Astrid, get back to Berk and tell my father that Savage is responsible for the attack, I'll get Snotlout."

Without awaiting a reply, he and Toothless dived, heading straight for Savage. They couldn't risk a plasma blast with Snotlout there, but they could slam the outcast off his captive. However, Titan burst onto the scene and swung a mighty arm at the Night Fury, forcing Toothless into a hasty dodge that wasn't quite enough to completely avoid the strike.

The hefty fist glanced off Toothless' side, throwing Hiccup off his back and causing them both to tumble to the ground. Fortunately, they weren't too far up and, while painful, the fall wasn't enough to cause severe injury. Toothless instantly got to his feet and roared at the summoning, attracting his attention with a plasma blast.

Hiccup snapped his focus on Savage, the Outcast was pressing something against the back of his cousin's head, causing the boy to squirm in pain. Without thinking, Hiccup charged.

Regardless of the clear size and strength difference, the boy sprinted towards the Outcast, determined to get him away from Snotlout. He launched himself at the man, grabbing the object in his hands and attempting to wrestle it away from him. The moment he touched it, a strange power surged through him and he yelled in shock, Savage screamed equally loud and the power surged violently.

It flung them all back.

A deathly hush fell over the forest.

Savage, Snotlout and Hiccup lay sprawled on the ground, somewhat stunned but awake.

Snotlout groaned, whatever Savage had done, it had felt like his innermost being was being ripped apart, and while physically unharmed, his body felt like it had been beaten to a pulp.

"Gods that hurt."

Wait, what was that voice, it wasn't Shiva or Ifrit, who was it? It seemed to be inside his head.

"Who is that?"

"What?"

He hauled himself up, to find that Hiccup had just done the same, his cousin was rubbing his head as Toothless nuzzled him in concern, Titan having apparently vanished.

"Did I imagine it?"

"Imagine what?"

Snotlout clutched his head, "I think I imagined someone other than Shiva and Ifrit speaking in my head."

Wait a minute, he hadn't said anything out loud. He looked up in horror and then did something completely ridiculous, hoping he was very wrong, "Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

Snotlout gaped, then pointed wildly at his cousin, "You're reading my thoughts!"

"What! There's no way I can be!"

Snotlout stubbornly shut his mouth, and answered only in his mind, "Yes, you are!"

This time, Hiccup gaped, then he too, slammed his mouth shut, "Can you hear mine?"

"Yes!" Snotlout stared at him, "I totally heard that in my head!"

Hiccup clutched his head in his hands, "Oh Thor, please tell me this isn't happening! It's just a ridiculous dream."

"Sorry to add to the insanity, but me and Shiva seem to be somehow connected to both of you."

As Ifrit's voice echoed in his mind, Snotlout watched Hiccup react and felt fear grip him once more, one which was confirmed by his cousin, "Snotlout, I just heard Ifrit in my head."

"And I'm here as well." Shiva added, "I'm not sure how, but whatever happened when you leapt at Savage has caused your minds to connect up, me and Ifrit can now speak to both of you, even if you're not touching."

"Savage!"

At Hiccup's exclamation, Snotlout remembered that the Outcast summoner should be nearby, he swiftly scanned the area around them, only to find the man long gone.

"Of course, he got away."

Hiccup's thought sounded in his head, and Snotlout sighed, "Yep, and he's taken that weird gem with him."

"Typical of our luck." He thought.

"Our luck isn't that bad, Snotlout."

As Hiccup replied to his thought, Snotlout gave a sound of frustration, "Okay, this is stupid. Having two summonings talking in my head I can handle, but having a four-way conversation, where half of it is in my mind is way too confusing!"

"How do you think I feel!" Hiccup snapped, "I've never had anyone talking in my head until today. You're at least experienced with it."

"Okay boys, calm down." Shiva mediated, "This is incredibly difficult for all of us, but getting freaked out and shouting at each other is not going to solve anything. Both of you take a deep breath and relax."

They did as she asked, and she sighed in relief, "Good, now, let's firstly sort out if it is only thoughts you two are sharing. Hiccup, pull up your sleeves."

"What, why?"

"Please, just do it."

Slowly, he obeyed, and gasped at what he saw, "What, where did these come from!?"

He showed the marks to Snotlout, and the boy also gasped, "But, those are Ifrit and Shiva's marks, why do you have them?"

He immediately wrenched off his bracers, finding the same marks where they'd always been on his own arms. Shiva spoke softly, "Yes, it seems my suspicions were correct." She paused before continuing, "It seems, you somehow both have me and Ifrit junctioned."

"But, how? Hiccup isn't even a summoner!"

"I don't know Snotlout." She answered, "But whatever happened with that gem has caused you both to have us junctioned. Nothing like this has ever happened before, and I can't tell how connected it has made you two. We are dealing with entirely unknown territory here."

"Great!" Snotlout threw up his hands in the air, "Is there any way to fix it?"

Shiva hesitated before answering, "Until we know more, no, there isn't."

"Of course, there isn't."

Realising they'd both thought the exact same thing at the same time, Hiccup and Snotlout looked at each other, and groaned.

PS-So, Savage's hit-and-run plan went completely belly-up, and Hiccup and Snotlout are now a little bit more connected than they'd like. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.