A/N- Finally finished the chapter! Seriously, this was the chapter that kept on going. TWICE I had to rewrite it, either because it the flow sucked or because it created plot issues.
I would first off like to thank everyone who has followed, favorited, and/or reviewed. It means more than you can imagine.
I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 25- Visions of the Past
Toothless's POV
The morning sun had long since begun its daily trek across the sky. The temperature was still freezing however as winter was in its prime. Hiccup was already up however, despite the cold. He had started working in his forge yesterday early in the morning. I don't think he even slept.
He had been building me a new tailfin. Both he and I were ready to feel the freedom of the sky once again. It had been too long since we had flown together.
He wanted me to stay outside as he needed space for one of the Nadder's to help melt the Gronkle iron and he didn't want me crowding him while he worked. The forge only had enough space for him and one dragon.
Finally he came out holding the new tailfin and saddle.
"Hey bud! You ready to go?" he called as he hobbled over on his peg leg. He seemed to be able to walk well enough with it, but he still couldn't run.
"You know that I have been itching to fly. Dragons weren't meant to be grounded you know." I said lightheartedly. I meant it as a joke but the quick pained look that I saw in his eyes told me that he still blamed himself for ripping off my tailfin and grounding me.
I jumped over so that he wouldn't have to walk over to me.
"Knock that off!" I demanded as I hit him on the back of the head with my tail.
"Ow! What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I am talking about. Stop blaming yourself."
Hiccup started putting the straps on that would keep the artificial fin in place.
"How can I not blame myself? It was my fault."
I lifted my tail, with him on it, in front of me so that I could look him in the eye.
"And I forgave you, so stop."
He smiled tiredly before moving to put on my saddle. He fumbled with the straps for a few moments before clabbering into the saddle. He sat there silent for a moment, catching his breath. He started leaning in on the saddle. At first I thought he was going to whisper something in my ear, but as he continued to droop forward I realized he must be exhausted.
"Maybe we should wait until this afternoon? You look like you could use some rest."
He sat up in the saddle. "What!? No, I'm fine, you need to fly."
I chuckled to myself. "Well, I may be crazy, but I don't think you can fly while you are asleep."
He looked like he was going to protest some more so I interrupted. "Just lie down here and rest for a little. I have waited this long to fly, I can wait another few hours."
He climbed down from the saddle while I lied down so he would have somewhere to rest his head and so I could keep him warm.
"Fine you overprotective reptile. If it will make you happy." Within moments he was asleep.
I decided to stay awake and keep an eye on things so Hiccup could rest in peace. Several dragons flew about on their assigned jobs. Gathering food, digging new living spaces, and coming back from patrol. It was amazing to see this many dragons flying about, living together peacefully. And it was all thanks to Hiccup.
If only he could see that.
Even with everything he had accomplished he still doubted himself. Probably because his village had for so long, I thought bitterly to myself.
Luna landed next to me and nodded in greeting. "I see he finished your tailfin. Have you two tried it out yet?"
"No," I replied, "he worked himself into the ground trying to finish it last night. Seeing how tired he was I forced him to catch up on his sleep."
"His insistent hammering woke me up last night. I was surprised that he was still awake. I would have tried to convince him to go to sleep if I knew he would be staying up all night."
"I doubt he would have listened. He is kind of stubborn like that."
Luna laughed a little at my words. "If there was any doubt that he was a Viking, his pure stubbornness sure disproves it." We sat together in companionable silence for a few minutes before Luna continued.
"Sometimes… sometimes, I think he misses it. Being on Berk. I don't even think it's conscious. I found him earlier while he waited outside the forge for some of the metal to cool, staring towards the coves edge as the sun's beams washed over the top. All he said was, 'It would be Snoggletog soon.'"
"When I asked him what Snoggletog was, he waved it off mumbling it was a weeklong Viking holiday of gift giving and feasting. That it was nothing important. But I could hear the longing in his voice." Luna finished.
"I think sometimes we forget that he wasn't always one of us. Parts of him are still very human. It just is what makes him so unique." I replied.
"If it hadn't been for you he would have long since gone mad. You two are quite the pair."
A soft snore from Hiccup interrupted us.
"Well, I guess I will leave you two to your rest." With that, Luna flew off.
With Luna gone, I was left with my thoughts once again. I couldn't blame Hiccup for missing being with other Vikings. They may have mistreated him, but he was among his own. I knew as well as anyone here that being with your own kind held a certain allure.
I decided then that I would try to do something to make this Snoggletog special.
Hiccup began to wake up a few hours later. With a yawn and a stretch he started to sit up.
"Ok, I'll admit. I needed that sleep." Hiccup announced with another yawn.
"Told you so."
"Alright, no one likes a smart aleck."
"You ready?"
Hiccup stood up and shook the sleep out of his system. "Let's do this!"
Hiccup jumped into the saddle and strapped himself in. With a pump of my wings we shot into the air.
"Oh yeah!" we yelled in unison. We continued to climb straight up. It felt amazing to be back in the air with Hiccup. We flew high into the sky and swept through the clouds. Hiccup and I coordinated perfectly through our bond executing daring maneuver after maneuver. The peace wasn't meant to last.
Suddenly, Hiccup retreated back into his own mind with a gasp.
"No… you're dead! We beat you!" Hiccup shouted at the empty air.
"Hiccup? What are you talking about? There is no one out there, it's just me!"
"NO, NO, NO…" Hiccup mumbled to himself. Then without warning he flipped the foot pedal and sent us into a dive. Hiccup leaned low in the saddle and continued to mumble to himself. "We can get her Toothless, we have to defeat her!"
"Hiccup! The queen is dead! We beat her." I shouted hoping to get through to him. All the while we continued to plummet. The ground was quickly approaching. Other dragons swarmed about us as they sensed Hiccup's panic.
If something didn't change now, we were both going to die. Hesitantly, I probed Hiccup's mind. The chaos that greeted me threatened to overwhelm me. At first it looked like his mind was going to attack me and destroy me, but as the tendrils of his mind examined me his mental defenses once again retreated before me, leaving me unharmed.
I plunged onwards deeper into his thoughts trying to find the origin of his sudden panic. After a few rushed moments of panic I finally found it. A small part of the queen's mind had infiltrated Hiccup's thoughts and had imbedded itself in Hiccup's memories of us flying. I considered attacking it but decided I didn't want to risk the damage to Hiccup's mind. So I dragged away the tendrils of Hiccup's mind that had been attacking the intruder.
It appeared that Hiccup's mind was struggling with it as it didn't wish to harm itself and thus was wary of striking the invasive fragment of the queen's mind that had latched itself on and had been corrupting his thoughts. I continued to draw Hiccup away from the queen while at the same time trying to get control of his foot so that I could control the foot pedal and stop us from crashing. I quickly found however that controlling someone else's appendages, especially an appendage controlling my own tailfin, was very difficult. My own actions seemed to only worsen the situation as we continued to plummet towards our death. Then, Hiccup seemed to notice our predicament and helped guide us into a more steady descent. His actions didn't feel even conscious. He was doing this on instinct.
While our descent did slow dramatically it was still going to be a crash landing. Hiccup had done everything he could so I flipped him out of the saddle and latched on to him wrapping my legs and wings around him. Then I braced myself for the inevitable.
We hit the ground traveling far too quickly. Darkness enveloped me immediately. Never thought this would be the way I go…
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It was warm. Much warmer than it should have been in the middle of winter. I opened my eyes to be greeted by a very familiar place. The Dream State.
It was more beautiful than I remembered. The perpetual sunrise, the ice capped mountains in the distance, the grass covered plains swaying in the wind, it was just as peaceful as I recalled.
Hiccup! Where was he? After a moments panic I saw him sitting on the cliffs edge overlooking the plains. He was holding his head in his hands. I slowly walked over to him.
"Hiccup?"
"I'm sorry Toothless. I am so sorry. I didn't, I didn't…"
"It's not your fault Hiccup."
Hiccup looked up at me and started shouting, "I panicked! And we almost died because of it!"
"The queen had infiltrated your mind and corrupted part of it. We couldn't have predicted that the queen could be so shrewd. Just be thankful that we got thrown back into the Dream State by some miracle. I wonder if we have a certain number of freebies?"
Hiccup returned to looking back over the plain. "It wasn't a freebie. After you subdued my panicking mind I sensed we were crashing. I remembered this place and threw us into it."
I looked at Hiccup shocked, according to Odin it was supposed to be difficult to enter the Dream State. Hiccup however had not only entered immediately himself but had dragged me along as well.
"Don't worry Hiccup. We will find a way to overcome this. We always do."
Hiccup looked up at me tiredly. "Sure bud." His smile was forced and betrayed his lack of confidence.
Hiccup stood up before continuing. "We should be getting back. Don't want everyone worrying about us, do we?"
With that we woke up and returned to the mortal world. Several dragons were crouched around us worriedly. Luna and Sharpshot were the closest, both looking surprised and anxious.
Seeing we were awake and fine Sharpshot leaped onto Hiccups shoulder and started sniffing him out, checking him over to make sure he was okay. Luna gave me a glance over before speaking up.
"Are you two okay? What happened?"
I glanced at Hiccup before responding. "We were flying testing out the new tailfin. Unfortunately the queen has left a fragment of herself in Hiccup's mind and it has attached itself to Hiccup's memories of us flying. So after a few minutes flying, the fragment attacked Hiccup. Normally Hiccup can easily overwhelm the queen, but with the battle raging in his own head things were a bit different. Hiccup's mental defenses were hesitant to do anything lest he damage himself."
I looked around for Hiccup, but he had already returned in side with Sharpshot.
Luna spoke up again. "But how did you two survive the crash without a scratch?"
"Hiccup yanked us into the Dream State again so we were protected."
Luna recognized the significance of Hiccup's feat and looked over at the house with a new found respect in her eyes. "Every day you two do something new that impresses me."
I humphed at her response before returning to the house to check on Hiccup.
Hiccup had already climbed into his bed and had fallen asleep. Sharpshot sat atop his chest, rising and falling with Hiccup's breathing. As I entered Sharpshot looked up and gave me a look over before lying back down.
Satisfied that Hiccup was resting I curled up around the base of Hiccup's bed and went to sleep myself.
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I woke up the next day to the sound of pounding from outside. With a grumble I got up. Hiccup was already up apparently as his bed was empty. I walked outside and was greeted by the usual sight of dragons flying about doing their jobs.
We had started stockpiling a surplus of food and the new caves were coming along nicely. Several more dragons had joined us and had been integrated into our little society.
As I was appreciating the beauty of the new day when I heard Hiccup leave the forge. Turned to greet him when I noticed he was carrying another tailfin. Curious, I ambled over.
Hiccup saw me coming and tried to smile. I could see the pain in his eyes however.
"Hey Toothless. Happy Snoggletog."
"That's today!?"
"Yeah, it starts today anyways, so here."
He presented the tailfin. To me it looked like the old ones with a few modifications.
"Here, let me put it on."
I brought my tail around and let him remove and replace the old one. I immediately noticed that this new one was much lighter than of the previous versions. I worked the muscles in my real fin to see if the new fin would hinder my movement in any way. I watched my as my fin opened and closed.
Then my jaw dropped. The artificial fin was mimicking the real one! I tested it out further, right turn, left turn, up, down. Each time the fake fin worked in conjunction with the real one. It was amazing!
I turned to Hiccup.
"But… I mean. How?"
Hiccup smiled a little. "Toothless, I need to say something. I don't want to you to interrupt, I don't want you to argue. I just… I need to say this."
I simply nodded in response, still stunned by the magnitude of Hiccup's gift, not really comprehending.
"The night I shot you down I stole your flight and with it your freedom. I tried to return some of that freedom with an artificial fin, but it came with price of carrying me, of allowing me to control your actions. I have never enjoyed that aspect of our friendship. Last night only proved my fears. If I wanted I can control your flight against your will. I wanted to free you from that burden."
I wanted to tell him that he wasn't a burden; that I didn't mind him controlling my flight, but he asked for my silence. I could only respect his wishes.
"Toothless… I… I need you to go away for a few days. I need time to think some things through. I just… I…"
I was left speechless. I didn't know how to respond. Why did Hiccup want me to leave? Was something wrong?
"Hiccup… What? Why?"
"Just… Just go Toothless." Hiccup turned and started to walk away.
I started to chase after him. "Why Hiccup? Why…"
Hiccup spun around and shouted, interrupting me. "GO! Just go." His voice was filled with power, his words were not to be ignored.
I felt my wings starting to flap and before I knew it I was flying away as fast as I could. I didn't want to leave. I could tell something was wrong, but the Kaal Dov had spoken.
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Hiccup's POV
No, stop. Stop it. Shut up!
The queen's voice had become increasingly insistent over the past few hours. Ever since my flight with Toothless her voice had pestered, tempted, and taunted me. Whispers of my failures and shortcomings haunted me.
I knew it wasn't a conscious mind. It was only a fragment that feed on my own, using my uncertainties against me. The fragment wasn't powerful or cunning, but the fact that it used my own mind against me made it difficult if not impossible to track and nail down. It was infuriating.
When I had sent Toothless away, I had reasoned it was to protect him from the fragment, but now I knew it was the queen influencing me, trying to weaken me. Now I was alone without my best friend. I didn't seek help from the other dragons as I feared that knowing a fragment of the queen still existed would send them into a panic.
Luna and Sharpshot would probably be willing to help, but I had no idea how they could. Toothless was the only one I knew that helped with my mental powers. He had helped me while we were crashing regain control.
And now he wasn't here.
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Toothless's POV
The sun had reached its crest and was now beginning to fall towards the other horizon. Still I flew. At this point I was going on autopilot. I had forgotten that one of my tailfins was artificial. All I knew was that Hiccup wasn't on my back, with me.
Why had Hiccup sent me away? Was he mad at me? Was it something I said? For the life of me I couldn't deduce Hiccup's reasoning. Could the fragment of the queen be affecting him more than I thought? That idea in particular frightened me.
Lost in my thoughts I barely noticed the growing storm around me. Once I had it was too late to avoid it. I quickly glanced around, desperately searching for somewhere to land. A large island crested the horizon. I raced towards it as fast as I could hoping to reach it before the storm got too bad.
The wind was starting to buffet me around a little when I finally reached the island. At this point it was too dark to see so I landed and hoped I wouldn't hit anything. Thankfully I landed without incident.
I quickly curled up around myself and prepared myself for a long night.
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The storm quite halfway through the night. The surrounding ground had been thoroughly soaked by the squall. My internal flame however had kept me and the ground beneath me comfortably dry. I slept for a few more hours and was woken by the sun breaching the horizon and streaming through the trees.
It was then I found myself in a very familiar area. The cove.
The cove on Berk where Hiccup and I had first gotten to know each other. It couldn't have been coincidence that I ended up here. I took a long look around remembering this place and all the memories it held. For a moment I was able to get lost in the memories of this place.
After a few minutes reminiscent of the past I gave thought to my next action. Apparently Hiccup needed some time to himself. So it sounded like I needed to burn some time. The town of Berk was near, so I decided to give it a look over and see how it faired since Hiccup had left.
I leapt straight out of the cove, a feat I probably wouldn't have been able to complete a few months ago. Another testament to my growing strength. I decided to walk to Berk as it would be dangerous for me to be spotted and it was easier to hide in the dense vegetation than it was in the clear sky.
The forest was peaceful. The intense cold had caused the ground to freeze, so each footstep would cause a quite crunch to be heard. Many of the trees were bent over as there upper limbs had become drenched in the rain and then icy. It was hard to believe an island so peaceful held a people so angry.
It wasn't long before I reached the outskirts of the town. I clung to the shadows, observing. Already the people were beginning to stir. Most of the Vikings were walking up to what I assumed was the Great Hall based on Hiccup's descriptions. From what Hiccup had told me it was most likely the Vikings going there were doing so for breakfast. I decided that I would try to gain entrance.
Hiccup had mentioned that there was a small cave that led into the Great Hall through the roof. It was there to let the smoke from the great fires escape the cavern. It was situated high up on the face of the mountain overshadowing Berk.
I searched the face of the mountain from my shadow. It wasn't long before I spotted the smoke rising from where the cave must be. As stealthily as I could I flew up the side of the mountain not facing Berk and then quickly darted around and into the cave.
It was a bit of a squeeze but I managed to crawl down the cave into the rafters of the Great Hall and there I was finally able to really see the Vikings that Hiccup had grown up with. Based off of their descriptions I was able to identify a few of the Vikings.
I guessed at the identities of a few of the teenagers who looked to be about Hiccup's age. It appeared to be Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. I stealthily moved through the rafters until I was above their table so I could listen to their conversation.
"There hasn't been a dragon raid in weeks. I've been itching for a fight for a long time." Astrid remarked as she slammed her mug onto the table.
"For once our food stores have been somewhat stable, no one has died during a raid, and none of our homes have been destroyed. Why don't you be thankful for that? " Fishlegs commented.
Astrid leaned onto the table and gave a noncommittal grunt. The twins (I couldn't tell which was which) looked as if their favorite toy had been taken away.
"But the raids were so cool!" One of them exclaimed.
"Yeah! So much fire and destruction and stuff!"
"The raids have stopped, Hiccup has disappeared to who knows where, and Old Man Havard finally kicked the bucket. Things have gotten boring."
"Nothing has been blown up or destroyed in two whole weeks!"
Fishlegs decided to interject here. "I does seem strange that there hasn't been a raid in so long. It's almost been a month now. Maybe Stoick found the nest this time?"
Astrid mumbled something under her breath about winning dragon training yet not being allowed to go with the other Vikings to hunt the nest. The other teens ignored her. It must have been a common complaint from her.
Fishlegs spoke up again. "Speaking of Hiccup, what do you guys think happened to him?"
"Dragons got him!" One twin exclaimed.
"No, raiders, no, slavers!" interjected the other.
"Don't be stupid, we would have noticed it there were raiders or slavers on Berk, and why would slavers or raiders want with a runt like Hiccup, anyways?" one of the twins said.
I couldn't help but bristle at the statement. How dare they mock Hiccup!
Astrid spoke up again, "Yeah, but with Hiccup gone, Stoick expects me to be the next chief." She sounded a little bitter to my surprise. According to Hiccup it was common place for humans to work hard for recognition and status.
"You don't want to be chief?" Fishlegs asked.
Astrid sat up a little, she looked tired and frustrated. "I wouldn't mind being chief, it's just I never have been one for leading. I would be just as happy letting someone else lead. Stoick however thinks that I have what it takes to lead Berk. It is an honor and a duty I can't turn down. It's a lot to learn though, and I never imagined the weight of responsibility being so immense."
Fishlegs sat silently, before nodding in empathy. The twins looked on however not really understanding.
Suddenly the doors to the Great Hall burst open. A burly Viking crashed in shouting.
"Their back! The fleet has been spotted!"
Immediately everyone in the hall leapt up and rushed the door. It was a miracle no one was trampled. Since everyone's attention was in leaving and reaching the dock I decided I could forgo the smoke and leave through the front door. Silently I leaped to the ground and squeezed through the door before it closed. I snuck through the village and made my why to the docks remaining hidden the whole time.
It was surprisingly easy. I would have thought that the Vikings would have noticed me but apparently they were all too excited seeing their fleet return. I quickly arrived at the docks. I settled into my vantage point high above, tucked into the shadows. Despite the distance I could still hear everything going on below.
I quickly identified Stoick, Hiccup's father, by his immense size and the way the other Vikings deferred to him. He was speaking to a rotund man with a peg leg and a hook for an arm. From what Hiccup had told me he must be Gobber, the only Viking I knew Hiccup missed.
"Had you come back a day later you would have had to walk across the ice." Gobber exclaimed.
"Fate fortuned us this time." Stoick replied, before he addressed the crowd, "We have returned and without any losses, be it man or ship. We can also confirm that the dragons have left the nest!"
The crowd went into an uproar. Some in joy, others in disbelief or confusion.
"How can that be? They just up and left?" one Viking from the crowd cried out. A few of the other Vikings called out in agreement.
Stoick raised his arms placating the crowd, "I don't know how or why, but we reached the nest and it was empty. Let us celebrate the end to the war! Let it be the best Snoggletog we have ever had!"
With a cheer most of the Vikings started up towards the Great Hall to celebrate. Stoick, Gobber, Astrid, and one other Viking I didn't recognize stayed behind. I decided to stay and see what they had to say.
"Something is bothering you Stoick. I have known you long enough to recognize it." Gobber said.
Stoick gave a brief glance to Astrid before replying. "We did find something at the nest. I don't know how to describe it."
Gesturing to the other Viking next to him he continued, "Spitelout and I were searching the far side of the island while the other Vikings tried to find a way into the massive mountain that centered the island. We found a carcass of a dragon, but it wasn't like any either of us had ever seen. The carcass was the size of the Great Hall!"
Gobber and Astrid looked at the two of them in disbelief. The one who Stoick had identified as Spitelout confirmed what his chief had said. "Ay, the beast must have been the leader or something of the dragons. Something, and I dare not imagine what, must have killed it. With the death of their leader the other dragons must have scattered."
Stoick nodded and continued, "If we ever had found the nest, I doubt we would have survived. WE were lucky something else beat us to it."
Gobber and Astrid were struggling to come to terms with it.
"Never the less we are safe now, so let us celebrate!" Spitelout cheered as he clapped Astrid on the shoulder and started towards the Great Hall. Astrid looked miffed about Spitelout's excessive attitude. She glanced at Stoick who responded to her silent question. "Go on Astrid, celebrate a little, we have earned it."
"Yes Sir." With that she turned and followed Spitelout.
"Did you find any trace of him?" Gobber asked Stoick quietly.
"There wasn't a sign Hiccup had been taken there, and we searched the whole island, caves and all."
Gobber looked at the ground dejectedly. "Not one scrap of evidence? How did he just disappear?"
"I wish I knew. On the bright side we didn't find any evidence that he died there either and I doubt a dragon can digest things like leather boots or metal belt buckles. Come, let us celebrate! We are safe from the dragon menace."
Gobber smiled and followed Stoick. I was about to move on when I sensed that someone was standing behind me. I quickly spun to see who it was that I sensed. To my surprise an old woman stood there, hunched over and leaning on her staff. From what Hiccup had told me this must be Gothi, the village elder.
I stood there not knowing what to do. On the one claw, she could raise the alarm and force me defend myself or to flee. On the other claw she was an elder and was mute to my understanding, thus presenting little threat. What she did next took me by complete surprise.
She put a finger to her lips in a motion I knew from Hiccup meant to be silent. She smiled before beckoning for me to follow her. At first I feared a trap but something told me I could trust this human and so I decided to see where this strange human would take me.
She moved at a very sedate pace, but I didn't mind. I took the time to better appreciate the village that Hiccup had grown up in. Slowly but surely we moved on. Much to my surprise she led me out of the village. We wandered deep into the forest. At this point I was starting to wonder if she was senile.
It wasn't much longer before I recognized where she had taken me. We stood on the edge of the cove. How did she know about this place? I turned to face her. Again she was leaning on her staff. After a moment she held out her hand and looked me in the eye. It took me a moment to figure out what she wanted.
With a slow nod, I lowered my head and allowed her to touch the side of my head. She stood there for a moment running her hand against my scales, rubbing soft circles. Then she stepped back and started gesturing. She would point at my head before pointing at her own. I starred at her in confusion, not understanding what she wanted.
This time she pointed at her lips before repeating the original motion. This time I thought I knew what she wanted, but I was a little surprised by it. I tilted my head to the side questioning if she was sure. She replied with a slow nod.
So I reached out with my mind and tried to find her own. It didn't take long as her mental presence was quite impressive. It wasn't the brute power of the queen nor the clever and intricate mind of Hiccup. Instead it was almost, simple. No that was the wrong word. Her mind was calm but held great knowledge and wisdom.
We both took a moment to acclimate to the others presence and then she spoke to me through our minds.
"I am Gothi, elder of the human Tribe of Berk, speaker for the gods. Who do I have the honor of addressing?"
I was little shocked by the very formal greeting. Nevertheless, I responded in kind.
"I am Toothless, formerly Obsidian, heir to the Tribe of Night, and now I am the friend and guardian of the Kaal Dov, who you know as Hiccup."
I could sense her shock at my words. I admit that it was relieving as it meant so she didn't know everything.
"So Hiccup is alive!?"
"Very much so, and in better care than he ever was here." I let a little of my anger slip into the mental link.
Gothi sighed before continuing. "Hiccup did deserve better treatment than he received, I will admit, however I feared that if I intervened he would have only received more of the ire of his peers. In hindsight, yes it was the wrong choice, but I never meant to hurt him."
We remained in silence for a few moments before continuing, "So Hiccup is the Kaal Dov? I must admit the visions the gods gave me never revealed that."
"How do you know of the Kaal Dov?"
"I am an old woman and have spent many days in communion with the gods, speaking as their voice for this tribe. You learn things."
"You didn't answer the question."
"Neither did you."
"Yes, Hiccup is the Kaal Dov." I answered tersely.
"Well these are indeed interesting times."
"It's your turn."
"So it is," she paused. My anger at this little woman was starting to mount. Finally, she answered. "When I was much younger I had vision that lasted several hours. During it I saw a prophecy speaking of a human that would guide and protect the dragons into their greatest hour."
"You are still holding something back old woman."
"Am I?" she responded merrily. "I am an old woman. I am prone to forget things."
I let my anger and mental power continue to leak into the mental link. "I will protect the Kaal Dov, and right now you have information that he deserves to know!"
"My apologies Toothless, I needed to know if you really meant it when you said you were Hiccup's friend. Unfortunately I still can't tell you the rest of what I know. Neither of you are ready, but I will tell you, some day."
She meant what she said. It was hard to lie through a mental link as you could feel the emotion behind a person's thoughts. I let my anger subside a little.
"I will hold you to that Gothi. Now, I imagine you didn't bring me out here to find out about Hiccup, well, not the only reason." I relented.
"You are correct, Toothless. The gods gave me a vision long ago. It wasn't until today that I knew who I was to share it with. Toothless, darkness is gathering all around us. The death of the queen at Helhiem's gate has delayed it but only for a time. Together you and Hiccup must unite the dragons or we all might fall. In all my years I have learned only one thing for sure. The world is far stranger than any of us realize."
"And just how are Hiccup and I supposed to do that? Dragon culture is not very friendly to outsiders. Individual nests have their hierarchy, but nests never work with other nests. It just doesn't happen."
"I don't know Toothless. I wish I did, honestly I do." She sounded tired all of a sudden. I had forgotten how old the woman before must be. Her body couldn't handle the stress of our mental conversation for much longer.
I sighed before responding. "Thank you Gothi. I will think more on your words." With that I broke the connection. When I opened my eyes I saw Gothi leaning heavily on her staff. She wouldn't be able to reach the village on her own in her current condition. With a grumble I settled down and signaled for her to climb onto my back.
She smiled and slowly climbed on. I carried her back to her home at a slow pace so as to not jostle her. By now the sun was beginning its descent to the west. She guided me to her home where I let her off. With a final nod of good bye we went our separate ways.
I could hear the celebrations continuing in the Great Hall. Vikings singing drunkenly, eating merrily, and telling outlandish tales of past deeds. I could understand this might be why Hiccup would miss the Snoggletog celebrations. It was clear the Vikings were having a swell time.
I decided I would spend a short while longer wandering the empty village to better understand where Hiccup grew up. I saw the alleys where he would run from his tormentors, I stood witness to the cold home where he was raised, and finally I came to the village blacksmith. Hiccups one bastion. His place of solitude and protection. The only place where he could almost be himself.
As I admired the place where Hiccup's fondest memories of this village came from, I heard a quiet sound from within. Curious, I crept forward to investigate. As I approached the sound became clearer. It sounded like crying!
'Why would someone be crying during such a festive time?' I thought to myself.
It was a slow, racking sob that was interrupted every few minutes by the swish of liquid. Even from here I could smell the alcohol. By now, all thoughts of danger had fled. I had to know what was going on. I sneaked to the entrance of the smith and glanced around. At first it appeared empty until I noticed a light coming from the room in the back.
From Hiccup's descriptions, I knew it to be his workspace, but why would anyone be back there?
I decided it was time to leave. The longer I stayed only increased my chances of running into a very hostile Viking. As I turned to leave my tail hit some tools hanging from the rafters. The loud clanging broke the quiet night.
Immediately, the sobbing in the back ceased and all was silent. Before I could react, a large Viking burst from the back, lantern in hand. We both froze, sizing up the other. After a moment I realized it to be Gobber.
He continued to stare at me. Several expressions flying across his face. Shock, confusion, anger, followed by utter bewilderment. I decided to take advantage of his hesitance to flee. As I turned to make my escape however, Gobber spoke up.
"Wait!"
Hesitantly I turned to face him once again. Gobber seemed surprised that I had actually heeded his words.
"Your tail, one of the fins is a prosthetic." He said pointing.
I responded with a slow nod trying to gauge where he was going with this line of thought. Again he seemed a little surprised that I actually responded.
"May… May I see it?"
Tentatively, I brought my fin around and raised it up for his inspection. He held the lantern high and appraised the craftsmanship.
"Hiccup made this!"
My brows raised in surprise that he recognized Hiccup's work. Again, I slowly nodded.
"So he is alive?"
Another nod of confirmation.
"Why did you kidnap him?!" Gobber suddenly yelled in a drunken rage. He started swinging his hook as if to hit me. I quickly pinned him to the ground to make sure neither of us would be harmed in his drunken state. I growled in his face hoping to calm him.
Unfortunately it didn't work. Gobber continued to yell and tried to free himself. I stood up and gestured with my head to the saddle on my back.
Thankfully Gobber seemed to get the message.
"He wanted to leave?"
Again I nodded.
Gobber seemed to contemplate my response for a moment before he continued under his breath.
"Can't say I blame him…"
We sat there in silence for several more moments. After a while I moved to leave as it seemed Gobber was done.
"Is he happy?" he whispered under his breath.
Once more I turned. After a moment's thought I nodded. There was a moments silence before Gobber responded.
"Thank you."
With that I shot up into the air and disappeared into the evening sky. I flew above Berk for a while longer taking it all it. I watched as Gobber joined his fellow Vikings in the Great Hall.
I still worried about Hiccup. I had no idea why he had sent me away. I couldn't return yet though. The magical compulsion he had used when he had ordered me to leave hadn't yet worn off. Until it did or Hiccup called for me I couldn't return, no matter how much I wanted.
Then a wave of magic crashed through the air. With it a single mental thought, yelled in anguish and misery.
"TOOTHLESS!"
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Hiccup's POV
After Toothless's departure, I returned to the forge. I didn't really know why. I sat on the edge of one of my work benches taking it all. Several of my designs hung on the walls and were scattered on the work benches. Tools that I had brought with me from Berk and had bought on Droutt cluttered the room. The forge gave a low glow to the room and kept it comfortably warm.
The fragment of the queen's mind continued to harass me. Refusing to give me a moments rest. As the battle had raged I quickly learned that keeping another's mind out was far simpler than fighting the same mind once it had entrenched itself. Especially since I couldn't focus on the fragment.
Hours past as I sat there, fighting a battle raging in my own head. A headache quickly set in. It became harder and harder to concentrate on the task at hand. At some point Sharpshot had joined me in the forge. He didn't say anything, he instead sat next to me and stayed awake with me. He gave me his support in the only way he could. I could tell however that he hated that he couldn't do more. I could feel the other dragons about our island.
They could feel my pain and I could feel their fear. Fear that I would fall in this confrontation. Fear that the queen might once again wreak havoc on their lives, and yet they stayed, lending me their moral support.
And so I fought. I fought for the dragons that had put their faith in me.
The pain grew steadily as time wore on. I knew now that mental combat was far more difficult than physical. The stakes were also much higher. Death may well be preferable to the loss of my mind.
The queen's voice echoed through my mind.
'Failure, unwanted.'
'You hurt your only friend.'
'Traitor!'
'You turned on your own people'
'You think you can lead and protect these dragons?'
I ignored the voice as best I could. It was relentless and unending. The voice knew my fears and played on them.
For two days I fought and I was losing. The strain of our combat was taking a toll on my body. The splinter of the queen's mind had no such limitations. The pain was becoming unbearable as I steadily began to lose ground.
By now I was on my last legs of energy and will and we both could sense it. I knew I had to get Toothless back if I had any hope of fighting this battle any further. Yet I had no way to do this.
I knew I didn't have long. The mental conflict had waged to long. I had expended my energy.
As the pain took over and a started to dip into unconsciousness my latent magic exploded carrying with it one thought.
"TOOTHLESS!"
A/N- That was one long chapter. I hope I was able to satisfy those that wanted some perspective of what had been going on at Berk. Anyways the plot thickens.
Again, thank you all for your reviews. I love reading them and always try to respond if I can.
Next time, the final battle with the queen and new threats come to our duo's shores.