Chapter Twenty-One: Dream Up Another Person's Memories
With the mess of the failed invasion over life on Berk easily returned to the way it was. Which meant back to hard work for Hiccup. After the day had ended he sauntered up to bed without a word and went bed. But Hiccup was to soon learn that his life may not seem so hard as others.
Hiccup blinked his eyes, trying to refocus them in the bright light that surrounded him. He felt light weight. Like the wind could take him away anytime. Once his eyes adjusted he gasped. Hiccup was above a land he's never seen before. Strange tall trees huddled together and formed a very large forest. A river snaked it's way through the middle. When Hiccup looked to his right he saw, off in the distance, sand. And lots of it. To his left; a beautiful meadow sat at the edge of the forest. Then suddenly Hiccup started moving. It was as if something-or someone-was controlling him. Before he knew it Hiccup came upon a huge mountain. It stretched so high hiccup couldn't see the top. When Hiccup finished his upward gaze he found himself on the mountain. "What the?" he whispered. Hiccup looked around, hoping to see something out the ordinary.
Then the ground shook. Hiccup grabbed the boulder next to him so he wouldn't loose balance. Feeling the termers Hiccup realized that they were coming from behind him. He turned around just in time to see-"L-Luna!?" he gasped. A mighty white beast stepped forward out the cave that sat almost hidden to Hiccup. But this wasn't Luna. This white beast was far bigger. And it's tail was different too. It looked to be a mix of Deadly Nadder and Gronckle. The beast yawned and stretched t's wings. Then it blinked and turned around. Calling out to someone. Hiccup was met with a sight he'll never forget. Baby dragons, that are of Luna's species! Each of them had something that made them different. Ones crested horns looked like a Monstrous Nightmares. Another had a tail that looked like a Hideous Zippledbacks and a Nightmares. Then a thought crossed Hiccups mind. "This must be Luna's family," he said to himself rather cheerfully.
He quickly scanned the babies to see if he could find her. But he was disappointed when he didn't see her. "This has to be her family, right?" he said to himself. Hiccup watched as the mother dragon counted each baby. When she got to the last one she groaned. Hiccup stood puzzled. Then the mother rose her head and called out again towards the cave. That's when a tiny, white blob popped her head out. "Aww," Hiccup almost shouted. Little Luna sniffed the ground outside of the cave and looked at her mom. Luna looked different. Her crested horns barely spitted into two. Her sabers were barely visible. Her eyes were very large, and it was a deeper shade of blue. She let out a soft squeak and Hiccup almost laughed. Luna was so cute! But that's when Hiccup noticed it, Luna is the runt of the litter. He looked at Luna's siblings and noted at how much bigger they were compared to her. He felt sorry for her. Hiccup knows how if felt to be small.
Luna jumped out of cave with a giggle and tumbled a few feet forward. She shook her head and smiled. Then she stuck her tongue out to the side and panted like a dog would. Luna glanced around, amazed to see this world. Luna put her tongue back in her mouth and sniffed at the air. New smells. "Wait, how do I know that this is Luna's first time outside?" Hiccup thought. He watched as Luna distracted herself while her mother got the other siblings together. The mother sniffed all her babies before grabbing one by it's head with her mouth. Then she lifted her head and dangled the baby over the edge. "Wait! What are doing!?" Hiccup shouted. He rushed over to stop the dragon from whatever she was going to do. But he went right through her. "Waa...?" he said as he tuned around. Then the mother released her grip. Hiccup ran over to the edge, unsure on weather to gasp or hold his breath. The baby plummeted through the air before being caught on a gust of wind and flapping wildly until it landed in a pond nearby. Hiccup sighed a relief. Then he heard a disappointed groan from Luna's mother. She turned around and picked up another baby. "Wait a minute-" Hiccup's sentence was stopped by a sudden foreign thought in his head-she's teaching them how to fly. "Insane way of doing it," he mumbled under his breath. Hiccup stood there helplessly as he watched each baby get thrown over the edge, and fall into the pond. Followed by another disappointed groan from the mother. Hiccup counted five flight attempts with zero victories.
The mother yawned and her left ear twitched. Then she turned around looked at her smallest baby, Luna. She was distracted by a butterfly that had flown in. Luna's mother then sauntered over. Her big appearance scared away the butterfly. And Luna, not wanting to take part in the lesson, tried to run off back into the cave. But she wasn't quick enough. Her mother had in her mouth. Luna fought against her mother and cried out in distress. It pained Hiccup to just stand there. But he couldn't do anything. Luna's mother held her over the edge. Hiccup stood nearby, heart racing. Then, the mother dropped Luna. Hiccup watched wide eyed as Luna feel through the air. Wings flailing madly. Luna squinted her eyes. Then, after what seemed like forever, Luna shot pasted Hiccup. She was flying! Her mother smiled gleefully. Her siblings down below grunted in jealously. Luna flew around the air. A giant smile on her face. She flipped forwards then backwards. Then Luna began to climbed higher into the air. Hiccup found himself higher on the mountain. He could barely see anything in the thick cloud. He looked down when the clouds cleared and he heard Luna roaring as she approached. When Luna got to the level Hiccup was at she started circling the air, calling out to someone. Hiccup looked behind him and saw another cave. Maybe another of her kind? Then Hiccup remembered something Elano had told him. C-Could it really be?
And then, almost in a flash, Hiccup ducked as something black flew out of the cave. Then he looked, his heart almost stopped. "...night fury..." he managed to say. Racing around Luna was indeed a Night Fury. It had to be the same one that Elano talked about...the one Luna fell in love with. Hiccup dared to not move as he watched Luna and her friend fly around like crazy. She was obviously showing him that she could fly now. A big smile was on the night Fury's face, he was happy. The two danced in the air before flying off. Hiccup jumped up, wanting to follow them. But he forgot that he was on a mountain. Loosing his balance Hiccup fell over the edge. He would of screamed, but before he could Hiccup found himself on the ground. He didn't have time to figure out what just happened. Black and white shot above him, the force almost knocking him to the ground. Hiccup got up and saw that it was Luna and her friend. Except they bigger. The Night Fury at least. He was almost the same size as Toothless was when Hiccup first met him. Luna was bigger, but she seemed like she would come up to Hiccup's waste. Hiccup looked around confused. This had to be a time jump, right?
Turning his attention back to Luna he saw how her crested horns had grown. And her sabers were much longer. Suddenly hiccup found himself inside a cave. "Whoa!" he gasped. Inside the cave was giant crystals. They lit the cave better than Berks saliva torches. Hiccup went to touch one of them. But, like before, his hand went right through it. It startled him but Hiccup quickly brushed it off when he heard Luna and her Night Fury friend come inside. He frowned. Luna looked so small when stood next to her friend. Thinking to how big Luna is now, Hiccup agreed with himself that she must of done a lot of growing. Luna and her friend shook off some rain water. Hiccup didn't even noticed that it was raining. Luna pranced forward as if she was wanting to wrestle with her friend. The Night Fury shook his head no and walked over to one of the large crystals. He plopped down exhausted. Luna cocked her head and looked at him. Then she walked over and laid down next to him. She sniffed his forehead then licked it. Receiving a tired smile from her friend. Happy to see the smile Luna got up and walked over to one of the crystals. She stared at it, mesmerized by it brightness.
"I wouldn't stare at that for a long time little girl," a voice echoed from deep in the cave. Hiccup instinctively ran and hid behind some boulders. He watched as a giant, blue dragon entered from one of the cave side entrances. He shook off the rain water. And that's when Hiccup saw that the dragon had blue fur. "Come on now," he picked Luna up by the back of her neck," you don't wanna loose your sight. Upon being picked up Luna grunted and fought him. The bigger dragon plopped her down back next to her friend. Luna sneezed then glared up at the blue dragon. "Ah Niremaan," he chuckled," daddy wouldn't want to loose your sight would he?"
"Niremaan?" Hiccup thought.
"Now you two stay here until the storm ends okay?" he told them. The dragon turned to leave but then he heard Luna stomach growl. Luna started at her stomach, wondering what was the sound it just made. The blue dragon laughed," Your hungry huh?" Luna stared up at him. Then she opened her mouth wide, like a baby bird, waiting for him to regurgitate some food. "uh, sorry honey," the dragon patted Luna's head with his wing," I don't have anything in me." Luna grunted in annoyance. " Here, I'll go find find your mother okay?" The dragon turned to take off but was stopped by what he heard.
"Fish."
The blue dragon turned around," W-What did you say?" He stared at Luna in disbelief. Luna cocked her head before repeating her word.
"Fish...I...wa...want...fish." she struggled to say. The blue dragon almost fell back in shock. He couldn't believe it.
"You spoke. N-None of your other siblings has shown signs of speaking!" he thought for a second," Niremaan, I want you stay here like a good girl I'll bring you back a fish. I'm gonna go get your daddy. Just be good for uncle Rida. I'll be back." The dragon turned and bolted out of the cave.
"Rida!" Hiccup exclaimed. Elano said that Rida was the one who taught Luna how to be a leader. This was that same dragon. But wait, Rida has fur like Luna-or Niremaan-doesn't that mean Rida is half dragon too? Hiccup didn't know how much time had past before Rida returned with other dragons. "Wow," Hiccup said in amazement. One dragon had blue fur like Rida, but lighter. And it looked like a Deadly Nadder but different. Hiccup remembered back to when he saw Luna drawing out different animals she saw while traveling with Elano. One of them was an Ostrich, she called it. This light blue dragon looked like that animal, but still like a dragon. It had a spiked tail like a nadder, but the spines were thicker and much larger. It had a long neck like that bird. This dragon too had a crest on it's head. It was dark blue and wavy. Hiccup couldn't tell if the crest curved or did anything. One thing he did know was that this dragon was beautiful, far more than any nadder.
"You say she said something Rida?" even the dragon's voice was breath taking. The dragon bent down," How's my little girl doing today?" Luna smiled and wrapped her wings around the head of this light blue dragon in a hug. When Luna released her she barked happily. She attempted a play fight with the dragon. The bird-like dragon chuckled," We'll play later okay? Autnie Uki gots something to do right now." Uki rose her head and turned towards Rida. Luna flattened her ears, not to happy to not have playmate.
"Uki?" Hiccup thought," This must be U-Uts-how ever he said that long 'u' name." Hiccup looked up at Uki, " This must be the dragon that taught Luna about medicine. What ever that is.'
"Did she really speak?" Uki asked.
"Yes she did," Rida told, " a whole sentence too. 'Fish, I want fish' is what she said."
Uki turned to Luna," Oh honey, are you hungry?" Luna stared up at her like some starving child. Even though she had eaten earlier. Uki's eyes rolled back, and she regurgitated a few fish. Which Luna happily swallowed in one gulp.
"Eww," Hiccup chuckled. He was use to dragons doing that but that time seemed to slightly gross him out for some reason.
"We'll I'm glad she talkin'," the last dragon spoke up," since speaking is rare for her kind." Hiccup was surprised that he didn't notice this dragon earlier. What with its'-or his, considering the voice-large drill -like horn on his head. But this horn was weird. It looked as if it started from the dragon's back and came up the back of the neck and rested on the head. Then lay across the forehead, stopping a few inches from the nose. The wings were like a Hotburple's and this dragon walked in the same way that a Gronckle does. And yes, this dragon too has fur. Dark muddy brown fur to be correct. While his wings were slightly lighter. Hiccup thought back to his and Elano's conversation.
"This must be Jimen," he guessed. Then an overwhelming feeling came over Hiccup. These dragoons were HUGE! Jimen had to be at least twenty feet tall, and Uki at least twenty-two feet tall. While Rida looks like he could be twenty-two almost twenty-three feet tall. There bodies were massive in size; large paws, tails and eyes. Hiccup began to shrink back into the wall. He felt like an ant. Then Hiccup heard something, a clap of thunder? No, it sounded different than that. Then he got his answer. Rida, Uki, and Jimen moved aside when he stepped in. Now it was time for Hiccup to really shrink. " T-That must be...her dad," he barely said.
The mighty white beast shook off the rain water that fell on him. He yawned. Hiccup almost panicked. The size of the mouth, all those sharp teeth. But what intimidated Hiccup the most was this guys height. He had to be at least forty-five feet tall. Totally dwarfing his fellow dragons in the cave. Hiccup gulped. He hasn't felt like this since his dad had chased after him to Eret's boat and told that story about Drago. Hiccup scooted closer to the wall, fearing that he'd be crushed by his feet. Hiccup saw how instead of sabers, her father had tusks like a Bewilderbeast. Then the white beast looked at Luna.
He chuckled," There's my little girl." Luna barked happily. Her tail wagged wildly and her tongue stuck out to the side. When her father bent down Luna growled and pounced on his blunt nose. As he lifted his head she growled playfully. Snapping her toothless jaws at him. It only made him laugh. "You silly little girl. You'll grow up big and strong for me won't ya?" Luna acted as if she didn't hear him. Luna climbed onto his crested horns and began gnawing at them. Hiccup was amazed to hear how deep and intimidating his voice was, but at the same time it was light and soft.
Rida bowed in front of Luna's father, "Oh mighty king, great ruler of thi-," Rida didn't finish before receiving a smack from the king's wing.
"Come on man no need for that boring stuff," the king told him.
"Ah, yes sir. But you are the king and-"
"Who cares?" Luna's dad laughed," Just 'cause I'm king doesn't mean you need to treat me like some God."
Rida waited a few minutes before answering," Yes sir," he stood up.
"Huh, I can see where Luna gets her attitude," Hiccup said to himself. Father and daughter chuckled at each other before the king saw the Night Fury leaving the cave.
"You don't have to leave son," the king urged. Obeying his king the Night Fury turned around walked up to Jimen. He sat down. The king looked at his smallest daughter," Nire, do you know what your friend is? Can you say 'night fury'?" he slowly said the last part. But Luna didn't hear him, or she acted like she didn't. She just continued gnawing on her father's crested horns. The king chuckled. Then, to get his daughter's attention, shook his head from side to side. For Luna, it was like an earthquake. When he stopped shaking her Luna flattened her ears and glared at her father. Which only made him laugh. Then Luna growled playfully and pounced on the king's horns, making her tumble over and land on his back. Only being stopped by the large spines on his back. Rida, Uki, and Jimen laughed. The king turned around and picked up Luna by the back of her neck and sat her on Jimen's head. " Can you tell daddy 'fish'?" he asked politely.
Luna sat still before moving her lips in an attempt to repeat her earlier word. "Fish?" she guessed.
"That's right!" her father chuckled gleefully. Luna wagged her tail and gave a big, toothless smile, with her tongue out. She loved the laughter and smiles on her bigger friends. Hiccup covered his mouth, attempting to hush his laughters. Seeing Luna like this, and her relationship with her father was the most sweetest and cutest thing he's ever seen. But then, sad reality came over him. Hiccup glanced down. Then back up at Luna and her father. He died, saving Luna from a fire she started. The guilt must be hard on her. Hiccup wiped away the tears that started to form. Then, as if the dream knew his thoughts, a bright flash of light filled the cave. But it wasn't lightning. Hiccup fell sideways and covered his eyes.
When the light faded, Hiccup blinked a few times before standing up. He found himself on top a cliff in the middle of the forest. Hiccup looked around. "Is this another time jump?" he asked himself. And then Hiccup heard the familiar roar of a Night Fury. He turned towards the sound and saw Luna and her Night Fury friend flying towards him. This was totally a time jump. The Night Fury was as big as Toothless is now. But Luna, well, she looked as if she barely grew. She looked no more than two feet tall. They flew high into the air. And even though they were far away, Hiccup could still hear Luna.
"This is awesome," she giggled. Her Night Fury friend smiled and made a noise in agreement. Then the Night Fury made some sounds. "Oh, uh. Remember, I did say that you didn't need to come with me," Luna told him," but were going to where the Whispering Deaths live." Her friend growled, not to happy. "I know Night Furies and Deaths don't like each other, but my daddy told me I gotta spend time with the different dragon breeds that I'm related to. You didn't have to come with me," Luna told him. The Night Fury only grunted and rolled his eyes, making Luna laugh. "Come on man," Luna and her friend turned to continue but then the ground began to shake.
"Whoa!" Hiccup fell on his butt as he tried to climb down from the cliff. And then a Screaming Death busted out of the ground. Luna growled. She tried to luge forward but her Night Fury friend grabbed her horn, making her stop. The Screaming Death glared at them, growling. Something Hiccup skimmed over in Elano's Journal came back to him.
' I don't know why, but Luna told me that there were some dragons that didn't like her father. They didn't just wanted him dethroned. They wanted him dead.'
And then it clicked," Oh no," Hiccup gasped. He raced down the cliff as fast as he could. He now knew what memory this was. The Screaming Death roared out at them.
"What you mean that we're not going any farther?" Luna growled. The Screaming Death smiled pridefully at them. Then more Screaming Deaths appeared. And other dragons that Hiccup has never seen before came. So did some Changewings. Luna and her friend were surrounded! The Screaming Death made some grunts and groans. Which ether must of been an insult or a taunt, because that's when Luna lunged forward and smacked into the Death's face. The two fought while the other dragons attacked the Night Fury. He easily fought them off. Smacking them with his head, tail, and wings. But then they dog piled on him. And then a bright flash of blue exploded from below them. The dragons flew back and hit the ground hard. The Night Fury roaring out while glowing blue like Toothless did. He looked over and saw the Screaming Deaths closing around Luna. Then he shot a few of them with a Plasma blasts, getting their attention. The Night Fury turned and flew off with them following behind. Hiccup wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do. He only watched as Luna fought the much larger Screaming Death. She was focused right on him.
Hiccup happened to glance over and see a Flightmare sneaking up on Luna, and it looked like it was ready to paralyze her. "Luna look out!" Hiccup shouted. And as if she actually heard him, Luna turned around just as she's sprayed by it's blue mist. Luna stood, paralyzed. Hiccup heard her friend cry out. When he looked over he saw the Night Fury get thrown to the ground. Then all the dragons dog piled on him. Leaving his head exposed. The Screaming Death that had been fighting Luna slithered over and smiled. It opened it's mouth, preparing for a final strike.
"No!" Hiccup heard Luna scream in anger. Luna's eyes turned red and then her body flashed with a bright red light. When the light faded Luna was no longer paralyzed. In fact, she was covered head to tail in fire. All Hiccup could see was her blood red eyes. When she roared Hiccup covered his ears and dropped to the ground. It was worser than any Screaming Death's shriek. Before he could understand what happened Luna shot towards the attacking dragons. Despite being so small Luna sent them flying high. The Changewings turned and flew away in fear. Then the night Fury was free he looked up and watched as Luna and the lead Screaming Death face off. Luna shot some Plasma blasts and then some fire. All missed of course. Her misfires ignited some large boulders. That's when the Screaming Death smiled. Then it released gatling shots. Fire rapidly escaping it's mouth and set the forest on fire. Then it smiled again and turned around, it flew off. Luna went to chase after it but was stopped by her friend.
The firey rage in her quickly settled down when she saw her friend. Luna jumped when a burning tree fell. "Wa...d-did I do this?" she asked. With the fire gaining strength around them. Luna shot up into the air. Her Night Fury friend tried to follow but fell back down to the ground. Luna turned around and landed beside him. "Your wings, it's injured!" she said over the roar of the flames. The two friends turned and ran through the flaming forest, trying to find a way out. Burning trees fell in front of them, making them halt and change direction. Luna whimpered in fear. When she looked back at her friend she almost screamed. He was gone! they must of gotten separated. Tears started to from in Luna's eyes as she ran scared throughout the dying forest. She halted every time a burnt tree fell in front of her.
Luna skidded to a stop when she came upon a cliff. With panic setting in she turned back towards the fire. Hiccup could see the phobia of fire setting inside her. The fire raged closer to her, making Luna step back. Suddenly she lost her balance and fell over the cliff. Hitting her head on every rock. After she hit the ground Luna rolled a few feet before she caught herself. She looked back up, the fire climbing down the cliff. As if it's following her. Luna backed up and tripped over a tree root. She was paralyzed by fear. Then Luna felt someone grab her by the back of her beck. When the figure picked her up and turned to run Luna saw that it was her father. " Daddy!" she cried.
Her father looked at her with reassurance. After running for two minutes he stopped and bent down. He placed her inside a small burrow. " Now honey, daddy needs you to stay here. Okay?" he told her.
"But, daddy!" Luna protested.
"Look, daddy is going to go look for your big brothers and sisters, but I need you stay here where your safe," her father said. Luna reluctantly shook her head in agreement. Her father smiled then pushed a boulder in front of the entrance, protecting his daughter. Luna peered out between the small crack and saw her father take off. Both Hiccup and Luna didn't know how much time had passed before the fire finally died. Luna shot the boulder with a Plasma blast. When she crawled out and was met with a terrible sight. Every thing, both forest and living things, were dead. All gray. Lifeless. Disbelief overwhelmed Luna, it was easy to see it in her face. Luna walked around slowly. Taking in all the death that surrounded her. Then she came upon her mother, dead. "Ma?" Luna called out. She sniffed and fought back the tears. " Mommy please. Wake up." Luna pushed on her mother's head with her front feet. But her mother laid dead. Luna almost broke down right there. But when she glanced over Luna saw her grandfather laying dead a few feet away. Luna ran over and repeated her actions. But he too was dead. Now she could control the tears that were falling own her face.
Luna looked around, and that's when her heart stopped. She saw her Night Fury friend. Luna ran over to him. Luna nudged him before she fell down crying. Out of the corner of her eye Luna then saw her father. She fought with herself on if she should go over to him or not. Luna slowly walked over to him. Just the same-dead. Luna saw her older siblings under his wings. He was trying to save them. Luna dropped to the ground. "This is my fault," she cried," my fault."
"What, no. No. Luna it wasn't your fault," Hiccup said to her. Suddenly he felt himself fading away. The environment around him fading. "No wait!" Hiccup protested," Luna! It wasn't your fault!" Hiccup's voice echoed as he faded farther and farther away. He saw Luna break down crying before every ting went white.
"No! No!" Hiccup screamed.
"Hiccup wake up!" Hiccup's eyes flew open. He grabbed his chest. His heart racing. When Hiccup looked around he saw that he was in his room. Valka and Toothless looking at him with a worried face. "Hiccup what's wrong?"
"Ah, nothing. J-Just a bad dream," he told his mom. Hiccup felt that it was smart to not tell her about the dream. After Valka went back down stairs Hiccup stood up in his bed and peered out the hatch in the roof. He looked to where Luna laid asleep right now. "Did she want me to see all that?" Hiccup asked himself. For whatever reason, Hiccup was one hundred percent sure that he had a new understanding about Luna. Or better yet, Niremaan.