Summary: It's the first Dreadfall after the defeat of Drago and his army and the village is excited to get into the spirit of things. But after Valka discovers find some strange graffiti some of the buildings, Hiccup follows the clues that lead the dragon riders outside the archipelago and into the unknown. But when they discover the source of the vandalism, Hiccup couldn't be more delighted, but things soon turn awry. (Post httyd 2)

A dark shadow punctured the pale moonlight that shrouded Berk. The entire village was eerily silent as everyone slept in their homes. The shadow dashed past a house and a clawed hand scraped up against it.

Inside, Hiccup and Astrid both quickly sprang up and rubbed their eyes.

"What was that?" Astrid questioned as Hiccup shrugged and slowly crawled out of their bed, growing claws on his nails and preparing a small purple flame in his hand. He jumped outside through the window and switched to his night vision (Night Fury eyes). A twig snapping made Hiccup whip around and growl.

"Who are you?" He questioned as Astrid poked her head out the window and yawned before cracking her neck and following her fiancé.

"What's over there?" She asked as they both strained to see a small flame in the forest. They slowly started to approach it before a dark winged figure silently rose behind them.

"Boo." It said as Hiccup and Astrid both screamed and three laughs echoed throughout the once silent night. Ruffnut and Tuffnut emerged from the forest and laughed their butts off while Snotlout wiped a joyful tear from his eye. Astrid roared and tackled Snotlout as Hiccup noticed Snotlout's wings and the Twins' claws and fire.

"Come on! I need to be up on the morning!" Hiccup complained as Tuffnut laughed.

"Oh dear Hiccup, Dreadfall is one of the best pranking times of the year!" He exclaimed as Hiccup gave them both unamused looks before prying Astrid off of Snotlout, who was weeping softly.

"Well, Dreadfall and of course Loki day. Gods I love Loki day." Ruffnut muttered as Hiccup's eyes drooped and he yawned.

"I'm going back to bed, I'd expect the same for you three." He said as Astrid growled at them against before huffing and stomping away.

"Don't worry, I'll get you back." She hissed as Hiccup put an arm around her shoulder and ushered her back to the house. The twins and Snotlout then started to walk back to their respective homes. Unknown to them, a hooded figure watched them from the woods. It's glowing green eyes became wide before it ran over to Hiccup and Astrid's house and formed a flame in its hand. The figure then burned a message into the wood before growing a pair of wings and flying into the night.

The whole village buzzed with excitement, for Dreadfall was only a few days away. Many people started to put the spooky decorations on their huts and made goods for the little 'swindle-or-sweet'ers to collect and enjoy in copious amounts.

Hiccup rose at around 9 AM along with Astrid. Both of them were exhausted from the previous night because apparently Ruffnut and Tuffnut started a small wild fire in the forest because of their prank. Astrid was the first to wake and she shook up sleeing fiancé vigorously, making him snap awake and fall off the bed.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, making Astrid giggle a bit before she got out of the bed and stretched.

"So, are you excited for Dreadfall?" She questioned with a grin as Hiccup smiled back.

"Oh, yeah, definitely. There's nothing like making tons of sweetbread for kids who already have lots of other sweets." He said sarcastically, but there was an undertone of amusement in his voice. Astrid punched him on the shoulder playfully before getting dressed. Hiccup, much to Astrid's chagrin, slept in his undershirt and pants, so all he needed to do was comb his hair and put on his armor.

"Should I go brown or black today?" Hiccup questioned as his auburn hair darkened into an almost pitch black state. Astrid looked at him for a little bit.

"Brown." She answered before they both walked downstairs, where breakfast was being made by Valka. She was going to move into a cave near the village with Cloudjumper, to not invade on any of the village space, but being the generous person he is, Hiccup gladly offered his mother the extra room in his house.

"Oh, hello you two! I made some breakfast in case you were both hungry." She said kindly before putting down three plates on the table and going to fill up some cups with yak milk. Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other nervously as they slowly descended down the stairs. They got to the table and poked the food with a fork, it was obviously undercooked bread with some type of jelly.

"It's honey, lingonberries, and sea salt combined. I was experimenting with flavors." Valka said as she put the cups down and looked at her son and future daughter in law hopefully. Hiccup was the first brave one to spread the jelly very thinly over the droopy bread. He opened his mouth and hesitatantly bite down. His eyes started to water as he tried to swallow it down.

"Oh! Hiccup, can you tell your friends to not put graffiti on the house? It's a bit unsettling." Valka asked as Hiccup raised an eyebrow and looked over at Astrid.

"Graffiti?" He questioned, trying his best not to spit it out.

"I watched them go home, where is it?" Astrid asked as Valka gestured for them to follow, allowing Hiccup to spit the food into his hand. They walked outside and he launched it as far away as possible before following Valka and Astrid. They walked to the back of the house and Valka gestured to a message written in black charcoal.

"What?" Hiccup asked as he pushed past and read the message;

Ready to come out of the shadows

"Snotlout and the twins would never write that." Astrid muttered as Hiccup nodded slowly in agreement.

"Well then who did write it?" Valka inquired as Hiccup squinted at the font.

"Chief!" A voice called out as Asmund came running up the hill, panting once he reached them.

"What is it Asumund?" Hiccup asked as Astrid bent down a bit.

"Is something wrong with mom or dad?" She asked urgently as he shook his head.

"Weird graffiti written on the side of the Great Hall, the weaponry, and the infirmary." He explained as Hiccup looked up in shock before quickly taking off towards the Great Hall.

"TOOTHLESS!" He called out as the Night Fury instantly shot from the stables.

"What's going on?" He questioned as they landed by the Great Hall, where a crowd of people stared at the wall in confusion.

"Excuse me, chief needs to get through." Hiccup proclaimed as everyone moved aside. He felt strange, the power aspect of being chief was still new to him.

Toothless got past first and cocked his head to the side in confusion. Hiccup then pushed past and felt a gust of air next to him as Astrid landed. Her dark red, sky blue, and pale yellow scales never ceased to amaze him about how beautiful they were, the way they glimmered in the sunlight was just incredible.

"What do you think it means?" Astrid asked, snapping Hiccup out of his daze before he quickly read the message.

Outside the archipelago

"I have no idea." He muttered before looking over at Asmund, who'd pushed through the crowd.

"Look at the infirmary and weaponry, they have notes too." He instructed as Hiccup stared at it for a bit longer before nodding and running towards the weaponry. He jammed his foot in the ground before reading the third note burned into the wood.

Peak of the mountain

*Runs to the infirmary*

Just east of border

"Someone's trying to come out of the shadows and is just east of the archipelago on the tip of a mountain. There's something off about this." Toothless muttered as Hiccup put his hand on chin in thought.

"But who would be tricking us?" Hiccup questioned as the rest of the dragon riders flew down next to him, and Hiccup was actually a bit surprised to see Eret in the group, but he shrugged it off none the less.

"Maybe Drago. We never saw him actually die, all we saw was him hitting the water, never his body." Astrid offered as Eret shook his head.

"Drago's too smart to make a trap like that, he's not powerful enough to pull it off right now." He concluded as Hiccup wrote down all of the messages in his notebook with his trusty pencil that he always kept in his armor.

"You guys go and check it out." He said before tearing out a page and handing it to a shocked and confused Astrid.

"What? Why can't you come with us? Why don't you want to come with us?" She asked as Hiccup sighed.

"As much as I would love to go, there's too much stuff to do around the village. Dreadfall's only 3 days away." He explained as Astrid flicked him on the temple.

"Just get Gobber to fill in for you. He always did it when Stoick was in charge." She said as Hiccup was about ready to object, but Astrid gave him a stern glare, making him back down.

"Okay, fine. We'll leave at midday." He announced.

"Hiccup, why are we doing this again?" Snotlout questioned as he and Hookfang flew up to Hiccup, who was solo flying next to Toothless.

"Because I want to confront whoever is doing this." He answered as Fishlegs flew up to them.

"So who do you think left the notes?" He questioned as Hiccup sighed and shrugged.

"I have no idea." He muttered as Toothless perked up.

"It could be Hagan and Nightclaw. You two still keep in touch, right? Wouldn't that be a fun little prank to pull on us?" He asked as Hiccup shook his head.

"No, from our air mail, I can tell his handwriting a way neater than the person who wrote those notes." Hiccup dismissed as Astrid flew up to him.

"Oh! Speaking of those Draaken riders, should I put them on our wedding invitation. If we're going to have it in spring we should probably start sending out the invitations to non-Berkains." Astrid said as Hiccup shrugged.

"I'll bring it up to him next time we send air mail." Hiccuo said dismissively, making Astrid pout and reluctantly fly away.

"Hiccup's just like his father." Valka said as she flew up behind Astrid, scaring her, "Not caring about the wedding until about a week in advance, and then he'll go crazy. The same thing happened with Stoick."

"Lets just wait and see. I think he's a little preoccupied at the moment. He'll probably start to care once we find out who's been leaving those notes." Astrid said as Valka gave her a sly look.

"Okay, just don't be surprised when Hiccup is completely uninterested in choosing the meal, and then wanting to change it 4 days before the wedding." She said before flying off, making Astrid look down as the misty wall between the archipelago and the rest of the world came up ahead.

"Come on everyone!" Hiccup exclaimed as they all rocketed towards the mysterious exit and into the bright blue sky.

"Keep your eyes peeled, we check the first island we see." He instructed as Astrid spotted an island just barely off the horizon.

"There!" She pointed as they all quickened their paces and moved towards the island.

Once they all reached it, they discovered that he was actually relatively big. A single mountain jutted out of the thick forest below. The riders landed on the sandy shores and stared up at the mountain in wonder.

"The peak! He's up there!" Hiccup exclaimed as he raced off towards the highest cave, Astrid and Toothless in close persuit behind him.

"Watch this guy be some idiot that just want to mess with us." Toothless muttered to Stormfly, who shrugged as they landed outside the cave. Hiccup warily walked in while Astrid and Toothless stood guard outside. As Hiccup entered, he was immediately greeted by a warm fire. He almost wanted to put his guard down, almost.

"Hey Hiccup. I haven't seen you in a while." A figure crouched in front of the fire said. Hiccup took a step back and prepared a purple flame in his hand. His guard became even higher as he noticed a rock shift out of the corner of his eye.

"Who are you?" He questioned as the figure laughed and stood up.

"Really? You can't even recognize your own brother?" He asked as Hiccup's jaw dropped and the person turned around and pulled down their hood to reveal... DATHOMIRE?!

He'd grown out his rust colored hair so now it was freely falling down his shoulders, instead of his weathered old getup, he now wore a dark red t-shirt with Screaming Death shoulder pads and a furry hood that laid on his shoulders. His pants were brown and plated with some more Screaming Death scales and his boots were now leather and black. He also looked a lot older. He wasn't that scared little 13-year-old boy that he had seen last, no, this was an 18-year-old man.

"Dathomire?! You're the one who left those notes?!" Hiccup exclaimed as his half brother grinned and nodded.

"Yeah! I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and I've decided that I wanted to take dad's offer and and move into Berk, if that's okay..." He trailed off as Hiccup grinned.

"Oh course it's okay." He said gladly as Dathomire smiled.

"Thanks , it really means a lot." He thanked as Valkyrie leapt from the darkness and tackled Hiccup.

"Valkyrie! It's so good to see you!" Hiccup exclaimed as Valkyrie wagged her tail.

"Same with you. You've gotten so much older!" She commented in wonder as Hiccup laughed and Toothless and Astrid poked their heads in.

"Hiccup, what's happening?" Astrid questioned before her eyes fell on Dathomire and Valkyrie.

"Whoa, wait. Is that-"

"Dathomire?" Toothless finished in shock as both of their jaws dropped.

"Toothless, nice to see you." Dathomire said with a warm smile before he looked over at Astrid.

"Oh gods, wait. I can remember your name... Asra, right?" He asked as Astrid shook her head.

"Astrid." She corrected as Dathomire looked down in embarrassment.

"Sorry." He mumbled as Astrid have Hiccup a shocked look, which he responded with a shrug.

"We ohhhh, we have so much catching up to do!" Dathomire chirped as Hiccup smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, what have you been up to for the last five years?" He questioned as Dathomire laughed.

"I don't want to tell you and dad separately. I hate telling the same story twice. Where is he anyways?" He asked as Hiccup, Toothless, and Astrid's faces all became somber, "What? What happened to dad?"

"He, uh, he died." Hiccup said slowly as Dathomire's smile crumbled and you could almost hear his heart shatter.

"What?" He asked quietly as Valkyrie made sure Dathomire didn't trip over something by gently guiding him to a chair with her tail.

"Yeah, a few months ago he was killed." Astrid said as Dathomire looked up at her.

"How?" He asked sadly, bracing himself of the answer.

"An evil Bewilderbeast took control of both my mind and Toothless's. The Bewilderbeast was getting ready to have Toothless kill me, and I was in a submissive state, so I couldn't even object. Dad pushed me out of the way right before the blast came out. He saved my life, but sacrificed his in the process." Hiccup sighed as Dathomire looked at the ground sadly.

"Did he at least die happy?" He asked as Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless al nodded.

"Definitely. He died right after he found Hiccup's mom and got reenaged." Toothless explained, and almost as if on cue, Valka flew up on Cloudjumper.

"Is everything okay up here?" She asked before jumping off of Cloudjumper and walking inside, inciting an awkward silent from Hiccup, Toothless, and Astrid.

"Is this the boy that's been leaving those messages?" Valka questioned as Dathomire nodded and held out his hand.

"Dathomire, you're with them I trust?" He asked as Valka shook his hand and nodded.

"Yes, I'm Hiccup's mother, but you can call me Valka. Now who are you?" She asked as the trio braced themselves for the full force of awkwardness.

"I'm Hiccup's half brother." Dathomire explained as the trio winced.

"Half brother?" Valka asked as Dathomire nodded.

"Yes, Stoick had another son after you 'died'. Didn't Hiccup tell you?" He asked as they both looked at Hiccup, who's face was bright red and he giggled nervously.

"Well it never came up in conversation." He said sheepishly as Valka looked back at Dathomire.

"Who's your mother?" She asked.

"A woman named Quila." He answered as rage bubbled in Valka's chest.

"Quila? Stoick ran around with Quila?!" She snarled as Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless inched away.

"What do you have against my mother?" He questioned as Valka paced around the cavern, seething with anger.

"She was the most 'perfect' woman in the village! She had a perfect figure, cooked excellent meals, and could take down a Monstrous Nightmare! And the way she treated all the other women in the village was terrible! She once walked up to me while I was out with Hiccup when he was a baby, and told me that Hiccup should have been her child! And Stoick should have been her husband!" Valka hissed as Dathomire's expression darkened.

"You left my dad! You're the one that gave my mother an opening. I will not stand here and let some stranger chastise me about my own mother!" He snarled as Hiccup nervously ran in between them.

"Okay! How about everyone just calm down. Once we get back to the village, we can make amends." Hiccup mediated as Valka huffed angrily before walking over to Cloudjumper.

"I can't believe him." She muttered with anger, but there was a bit of hurt in her voice as she took off, making Hiccup sigh.

"You know, dad made me think that your mom was a nice person." Dathomire hissed before he took off on Valkyrie.

"She is! I don't know what's up... with... her." Hiccup sighed before falling back and sitting on the stone floor.

"So now what?" Toothless asked as Hiccup looked in between Valka and Dathomire.

"Let's just get back to Berk. There we can try and sort things our between them and then hopefully celebrate Dreadfall in peace." Hiccup said as Astrid walked up to him.

"I'm not so sure it's a good idea to bring him back to Berk." She admitted as Hiccup and Toothless gave her a surprised look.

"Why would you say that?" Toothless inquired.

"Because bringing him back would get on your mom's bad side, you know that." Astrid said as Hiccup played with a small flame in his hand.

"But if I don't bring him back, then it looks like I'm a bad brother." He sighed as Toothless put a wing on his shoulder.

"Do whichever one feels right." He assured with a smile as Hiccup shook his head and started towards the cave exit.

"Let's get going." He muttered as Astrid and Toothless looked at each other before following him.

Hey guys! So a few things... Sorry this chapter is so late, I was trying to make this land on Halloween (even though I'm an idiot and didn't get it done in time). And I'm even more dumb bc this is a two-parter, so it didn't even matter if it landed on Halloween! Ugh, whatever.

QOTD: Do you like Halloween?

AOTD: Yup! I love it! XD