Even the murkiest of minds, used to a long life of pessimistic predictions, could, on some days, grow kind of tired of their gloomy look at the future.

Hiccup was presently having one of those days.

He considered himself a realist with a strong urge to fantasise.

The breakfast, fully prepared by his father, had ended some time ago, full of tender words of support and encouragement from the giant of a man. Stoick wore a proud smile the whole time he watched Hiccup play with his scrambled eggs and a piece of burned and iron-hard bread. Hiccup did not respond to his father's comments, one-sided as usual. He smiled an obviously fake grin at the compliments or the stories of what glory awaited him.

It should have been paradise for Hiccup. It was the situation he had always wanted, even more than killing one of the village's biggest pests. He so wanted his father's approval and love. This dream had come true after Berk's leader had returned from the dragon-nest excursion, a man acting so differently that it had caused the boy to wonder if it was still the same person.

Hiccup loved his father dearly. However, both of them had enormous troubles expressing their feelings.

Hiccup knew what he was doing. He was sure of the path he had chosen and that what he was about to do was the right thing.

Nevertheless, it did not make the pain go away from his heart every time he spotted his father peering down at him with renewed energy and bright, happy eyes.

Stoick left to meet with the awaiting villagers in the Kill Ring and as he jokingly called "to make sure the crowd will cheer loudly enough".

He also left with a few words as he closed the door behind him.

"I am proud of you, my son."

Oh, this was not good…

…Not good at all.

However, nobody had ever said that betrayal was easy.

Hiccup went out of his house in his regular clothes, clutching his mother's helmet to his side. There was no reason to dress up for the "ceremony", as the the people he had once wanted to belong to called it. To dress formally, he would have to be excited and enjoy the joyous festivities. Nonetheless, his state of mind was obvious to deduce.

He could not stay gloomy for long,though. Just as he walked down from the steps out of his house, somebody said a soft greeting behind him. He turned back, surprised, and smiled.

"Morning, Astrid," he greeted, his heart beating faster.

"I am not stupid enough to ask you if everything is all right or if you are well... Did you sleep well?" Astrid asked, attempting to sound casual and tough.

"Does it count as a stupid question as well?" he queried with a weak smile. It faded as the concerned look on the girl's face did not disappear.

"I am fine...", Hiccup finally said without any convincing energy behind his assurance, "How about you?"

"I am fine...," Astrid said with mirrored enthusiasm. The boy smirked at his stupidity. If it hurt Astrid as much as it hurt him to hear such a poor lie he certainly he had learned his lesson.

"I typically save the world every day. Thankfully, today I just have one solitary, little old blood-thirsty society to change, you know?" Hiccup quipped, with an attempt at his usual sarcasm.

The bright-haired girl did not follow up on this pitiful attempt at humour.

"Shall we go?" Hiccup queried, taking the first step, head bent low, walking as if to his execution.

A gentle force touched against his hunched back. He immediately straightened his posture and looked behind.

"You look better with your head up...," Astrid said as if it were only a suggestion.

The boy followed the advice and walked forward as proudly as he could. This sort of comfort was so different from the one he had from his time together with Toothless, but it was, nevertheless, satisfying. He was a human, and human companionship had its effect on him. He still had to learn how to act around people: when to speak and how to show love to the girl closest to his heart. He had so much to learn and absolutely no time left to do it.

As long as the war between the Vikings and dragons continued, he would never have his heart at ease. His blossoming relationship with Astrid would have to wait for the right moment to take a step forward. They did not know much about each other for now, and they did not need that knowledge to consider their bond a friendship.

The pair had joined the stream of people going to the Kill Ring, all bowing to the youth with truthful respect, sending smiles and cheers. Hiccup walked as a warrior should, fearless, and bearing an aura of unbreakable determination.

He looked ahead, not showing any weakness on his face.

Yes, indeed, he felt he probably did look better with his head up, after all!

Astrid, on the other hand, appeared nervous and afraid, displaying emotions she had never showed publicly, shooting short glances at the hand Hiccup was swinging as he marched smartly.

The old walls of the Kill Ring showed themselves as the two teens took the last steps up the sloped path and started across the even ground leading to the small bridge and the arena behind it. People,of course, wondered behind the discreet curtain of raised palms to their mouths, what Astrid was doing with the village's current best entertainment.

Neither of the walking duo noticed or registered the remarks.

The building's walls seemed to tower threateningly above Hiccup's head as he stopped, breathed deeply, and closed his eyes.

He promised himself that this would be the last time the arena would be used to spill blood.

As if planned, the whole teenage training class ran down from the stairs and welcomed their champion-to-be. Luckily, nobody asked about Astrid's sudden change of heart. Ever mindful, however, Hiccup still noticed Ruffnut not leaving the shield maiden's eyes for a long moment before turning to him. She wished good luck and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"That's nasty!" Tuffnut commented.

"Luckily, not as much as your face," Ruffnut immediately shot back negligently and moved to the stairs, her brother by her side trying to prove his handsomeness with a barrel full of insults and threats.

Fishlegs wished Hiccup the best of luck, stuttering in excitement, wanting all the details about the Nightmare Hiccup would notice, as he would have a unique "opportunity" of being very close to that dragon species.

Snotlout smashed his fist into the auburn-haired teen's arm with a Viking good luck phrase "Spill your guts out."

He did not seem to notice anything unusual about Astrid and her scrawny companion's behaviour.

Fortunately, after Snotlout disappeared into the crowd, nobody else haunted Hiccup with the prospects of glory and honour.

Hiccup and Astrid entered the small passage leading to the arena, all buzzing with the atmosphere that something spectacular was going to happen, and the audience certainly would not be disappointed.

The pair stood between the entrance walls, one of them decourated with an enormous double-bladed axe. The space hid from the most of the prying eyes, giving them a poor substitute for privacy.

Gobber bustled around the combat space with several dragon handlers, inspecting the slaughtering zone one last time before the event.

"Hiccup...," Astrid spoke behind him, "Don't let that dragon catch you," she said worriedly.

The boy smiled, appreciating the concern and then frowned, looking in his father's direction.

"It's not the dragon I am worried about...," he said, revealing a small portion of his insecurity.

The gold-headed girl caught onto the emotions resonating through her stronger than she wanted to show.

"Promise me, you will be all right," Astrid said with what seemed as a hint of desperation.

Hiccup thought for a moment, observing the widely, blue-eyes piercing into his heart. Should he give a false reassurance ? Or should he give the truthful answer, which might hurt her further

The short impasse dissolved into Gobber, who materialised behind the preoccupied youths and called softly to Hiccup, "It's time".

Passing a last glance at the girl, Hiccup followed his trainer. "Ya will be fine!" Gobber shot out suddenly after a quick study of Hiccup's face, "Just ' careful around it when it'll start burnin'. They have this nasty habit-," he started his encouraging comment.

"Of setting themselves on fire, I remember," the empathic teen said casually with a helpful smile, "Belive me, anything is better than the Nadder," he spoke quieter.

"Funny ya mention tha' overgrown parrot. Haven't been able to wake it up since yesterday," Gobber gave out a small sigh, "Usually happens around th' time when th' dragon trainin' is finished ...strange," he shrugged negligently.

The crowd was at the threshold of the loudest they could cheer and shout as Hiccup stopped in the middle of the fighting field.

Gobber left after a friendly pat on the youth's back. Eyes focused, the boy walked to the weapon rack and equipped himself with a small shield and a dagger.

There was no use in delaying the inevitable.


Astrid had never felt so powerless in her life. Now even when she kept on losing whilst the dragon training.

Whatever it was that she wanted to do, she strove to do everything to achieve it, whether it was to win something or to voice her opinion without any pressure to restrain herself - as she was usually correct.

Yet, the previous two days had taught her a bitter lesson about areas where her expertise was painfully limited. So she had met the boy in the morning with the solemn goal of lifting his spirits and supporting him.

His pained face threw every idea away from her head. What should she have said or done? There was a lot she had to learn in human relations, and she had been neglecting them for far too long.

She was not certain about how to classify her feelings for Hiccup. She would think about them when she had time.

"Nice t' see ya in a better mood tha' yesterday," Gobber accosted cheerfully, "Let's go upstairs. It will start soon," he said through the clank of the chains as the gate slid down behind him.

"I want to stay here," Astrid said adamantly, eyes locked on the scrawny figure behind the experienced blacksmith.

Yes, it was awful to be so powerless and be the observer, but she wanted to be as close as possible to what would unfold!

"Want t' be as close t' fight as possible, ey?" The massive man said with a knowing smile," Hav' fun then, Miss, and enjoy th' show!" he announced, not asking any other questions and the second, caged door latched down behind.

She had what she wanted, a place closest to Hiccup for a very simple reason. Nobody knew when he might need a hefty axe to his aid and the weapon on the wall by her right side looked as it might be just useful in case of emergency.


"I'm ready!" Hiccup said, sending another wave of cheers through the watchers. He still could sense them. Since he had entered the arena, he could feel the presences brushing against his determined mind.

It's go time, it's go time! He thought to himself, trying to summon more courage for the task.

The lock on the two-winged cage door in front was released. The door immediately busted open with terrifying strength, and a fast and flaming dragon shape jumped out of it.

Seeing a Monstrous Nightmare charging at you was one of the reason why they were called Monstrous and seeing the gargantuous, sharp-teethed, armoured dragon body which was on flames was enough to give you a nightmare.

The fiery mass did not attack the youth,however. Kept in isolation and a constricted space for so long, the Nightmare crawled with a surprising speed up the wall. With ease, the dragon grabbed the chained ceiling, doing a circle around the cursed blockade.

The flames on the Nightmare slowly lowered in volume, revealing the reddish hide.

Not stopping its run, the dragon cast a fiery breath at the excited mob.

Unnerved, the gathered warriors stepped away from the path of the fire. The dragon was obviously panicked and weakened by the captivity. The Nightmare let out a vicious growl and then hung itself from the top of the ceiling, grabbing the chains with its claws. Its slit, yellow eyes caught the sight of the real prey beneath. The powerful and, indeed, monstrous body touched the floor with its frontal talons, still keeping hold of the fence with the hind legs.

Hiccup's face hardened as he took a step back, returning the dragon's stare. He could feel the Nightmare's mind; in fact he could now sense the mind of all the caged reptiles.

However, he could not tell exactly the state in which they were, as if he were looking through a thick mist and trying to discern the shapes within.

This did not stop him from feeling the dragon's rage, as large as its body. As calmly as he could, Hiccup lowered his posture and outstretched his hands, leaving himself defenceless against an incoming attack.

The viewers loved this apparent act of braveness and skill, inviting the enemy to strike first. They shouted in hungry anticipation.

They did not, however, anticipate Hiccup tossing away his smallish weapon and then also throwing his shield away, which clanged loudly in the now silent Kill Ring.

It did not last long as the rabble started chattering, their voices lowered into a conspicuous whisper.

What the young warrior was doing was not brave. It was suicidal.

Carefully, Hiccup took off his "breast-hat",as he called it, and weighted it one last time in his hands, not worried the least of the Nightmare standing a mere few feet in front of him.

He lifted his eyes, looking directly into the dragon's with a hard face and then threw away his mother's protective remnant.

"I am not one of them!" He said to his enemy.

The reaction was immediate.

The imprisoned creature's head followed the last item which could possibly protect this puny human and looked at the scrawny boy with renewed curiosity.

The crowd gasped, and Stoick sprung up from his throne, shocked to the core.

Hiccup outstretched his hand to the Nightmare's muzzle, waiting for it to accept the connection.

"Whot's he doin'?" Somebody said loudly.

"Stop th' fight!" Stoick voice echoed through the walls,and the dragon squinted its eyes at the obnoxious sound.

"No! I want everybody to see this!" the eccentric and strangely defiant teen answered back softly, keeping eye-contact with the dangerous creature, "There is an other way! We do not need to kill them! Let me show you!" he yelled to everybody, his hand almost touching the skin between the large nostrils on the long muzzle.

The Nightmare visibly relaxed, eyes losing their dangerous look.

Stoick looked with unstoppable fury at the helmet Hiccup had thrown away. He did not know what his son was doing. However, he could not let this madness continue!

Grabbing the heavy hammer he always carried for social gatherings and warzones alike, he squeezed the handle hard.

"I said," he shouted at full volume raising it above his head," Stop th' fight!"

He dropped the enormous sledge on the railing. The iron bent under the force, stretching horribly.

It ended Hiccup's almost successful attempt to reason with the creature.

The dragon's pupils constricted an, with a mighty roar, it charged forward at the defenceless human which would barely serve as an appetiser.

Hiccup jumped to the side and rolled away on instinct from the jaws, which snapped on the place where he had stood less than an adrenaline-filled heartbeat ago.

His mind flew into panic quickly as the fearful beast pursued him. He dodged the dagger-long teeth by suddenly changing the direction of his sprint.

He bent down, and a stream of flame flew by his back.

He would not be able to avoid these attacks forever.

If only he could use the power he had felt when he punched the Nadder! If only he had Toothless by his side!

The truth was that, even with his determination and decision to face all consequences by himself, he did not want to die.

Hearing the thuds of the Nightmare following, he screamed as loud as he could, letting all the air out of his lungs out to inhale again and fight for every breath which would follow. Fight until the end.


Toothless had had nightmares again. He had had so many in his life that, in a way,his mind learned to accept them passively. Learned to watch one of his long-gone yet eternally remembered failures, actions or lack of thereof which marked his existence.

He could defend himself against what he could see, shield his mind from the shapes he knew. Yet, there were nightmares he could not protect himself against, and the ones he truly despised. Just a blurry mix of unidentifiable wisps of twisted dreams and fear. He could only endure the terrifying experience and hope to wake up, heart racing and aching and urge himself to slumber again.

And he had always failed in his attempts to reclaim the sweet oblivion of pure bliss that undisturbed sleep offered.

Toothless had just experienced one of the bad dreams he hated the most.

The mix of colours constantly switched and swam before his eyes, a mass of dark colours twisted and stretched, lighting up with every heart beat the Fury produced. Its sound filled his head like the buzzing of an annoying insect.

He knew that he was dreaming,and he knew how terrified he was and that there was nothing he could do to prevent this ugly feeling from taking control over him.

He could already feel his forepaws twitch as he began the process of waking up, the awareness of his psychic form returning to him when the dream changed. The heartbeat resounding in his ears, veins pulsating with a heavy echo overlapped with his own as he realised that the sounds which laced his vision were not his.

An ever stronger sense of terror struck him, his breath quickening.

With an overwhelming sense of urgency he woke up, fully alert, head raised high, letting out a last few quickened breaths before full understanding washed over his scared mind.

That shout! Hiccup!... He is dying!

He immediately rushed to the canyon wall and leaped onto its surface,blindly clawing its smooth exterior, seeking any place to support himself. To no avail his acute talons attacked the steep walls of his hiding place. He jumped again at the wall, aiming for the nearest rock which he could use for climbing to his wanted escape.

His first try failed,though, as he fell down. Only one of his paws took ahold of the cliff's edge.

It was too high to reach, however, he was not in a mood to let go to despair. He would leave the boundaries of his prison since this feeling of absolute dread was far too strong to ignore. With two skilful jumps, his forward paw clawed into the edge, but he had no strength to lift his whole body weight on it.

He dangled pitifully, the screech of his claws against the stone informing him of the loosening, precious hold. He kept thinking of Hiccup and his desire to protect him.

That wish compelled him, filled him with a power he had never felt before at the time he had followed his vengeful yearning.

He forced his leg to work harder. The muscles constricted to their limits, sending a wave of pain as they stretched close to tearing. Ignoring the horrendous ache, he roared as his frontal leg started to tremble.

His eyes constricted into tight slits as he recalled the energy into his body. He never had the courage before to use so much of it for fear of damaging himself.

He had his source of bravery now, he had the means of going beyond his limits, he would break himself and force his body to rebuild again if he had to.

He roared again, life energy filling his body until it became hard to breathe and his lungs burned and heart beat painfully, his whole body in agony.

For the third time he roared powerfully, a single command he had taught himself so long ago.

"Release!"

As if he was made from nothing but air, his paw lifted him with such power that he flew upwards, over the brim, and crashed into the innocent tree which stood by the edge.

Surprised a bit, he gently stood up, stunned by his own strength. He usually could control the energy only for a short time, he was never able to control its flow and keep it steady and fully bound to his will.

Something had changed about him. Without wasting any more time in thought, he ran, leaving behind himself only a billowing cloud of dust and destroyed earth which could not hold against the power of his speed.

The dragon moved so quick that only a blur could be seen of him… a true shade. With such astonishing speed he would reach Hiccup sooner than he ever expected, but not as soon as he ever wanted.


Immediately after Hiccup's plan did not… go as expected, Astrid knew what to do.

Knowing the boy, his plans usually did not go as he expected and usually ended with a few too many explosions. But this time it seemed Hiccup had beaten all his personal records as to how screwed up his plans could be, and as to how many explosions could happen.

She took the axe from the wall and shoved the curved blade beneath the grate. Using it as a lever, she pulled the heavy fence upwards, just enough to slide herself through the narrow opening. The boy's screams doubling her efforts.

She crawled under the bars and saw Hiccup narrowly avoid one of the jaw snaps the Nightmare launched at him.

She sprinted to the nearest weapon stand and took a hammer, throwing it at the combating beast in a swift and precise gesture.

The weapon crashed into the reddish skull as harmlessly as a child's toy, but it was enough to advert the dragon's attention.

"Come on!" Astrid shouted at the gigantic creature.

She did not have to wait for long.

She ducked beneath the weapons rack as the fire consumed the space outside. She waited patiently until the igneous charge ended, and as it did, she lunged out of her hiding spot, trying to spot Hiccup.

She saw him by the wall at the opposite side of the ring. Now, all she had to do was to divert the Nightmare's attention again and long enough for the youth to run away.

"Run to the gate on my signal!" Astrid ordered, readying herself.

"But-," came a hesitant answer.

"Now!" The shield-maiden shouted as the long neck lunged with another vicious jaw-snap.

She dodged it perfectly and rolled in the air over an enormous wing which swung at her. She only had to keep the raging dragon occupied for a few moments more. She could do it!

When Astrid soon ran out of successful diversions, the reddish Nightmare caught a glimpse of the other human, namely Hiccup, trying to escape by the wall.

The spiked tail fell, and the scrawny youth jumped back at the last moment, losing the opportunity to flee.

As Astrid was getting ready to become the primary target again, even if it meant using her fists on the dragon, the massive gate behind her clanged hard as it opened with tremendous force.

Hiccup's father stood there, waving his hand furiously for her to move out, appearing terrified. He was the very first Viking to react after the young female warrior attacked the Nightmare.

"Come 'ere! Fast!" he boomed commandingly.

Astrid took no more chances. If anyone could take care of the scaled problem in the ring better than she, it would be Stoick.

Very soon, she was held protectively in Stoick's safe, powerful hands.

However, Hiccup did not have such luck. The Nightmare's frontal wing-paw's three talons closed around the youth like a cage.

The Chieftain did not take the axe from the ground. As he yelled out a ear-splitting battlecry, he charged at the beast endangering his son bare handed. But he did not have time to attack.


Toothless was losing control over the flow of energy.

He travelled the way to the mountain near the village, following the clear scent of humans as quickly as a thought.

He was almost at the mountain peak, the ground getting a hard beating from his paws.

The noise strengthened, his overly sensitive senses catching more details than he bothered to care for.

He heard Astrid's scream commanding Hiccup to run. Alas, the teen remained surprisingly silent for somebody in life-threatening danger.

The Fury reached the mountain peak without even needing to breathe deeper.

He saw the place from where the commotion buzzed noisily and automatically jumped off the pinnacle, diving at the centre of the construction.

An Eska was in there, and it held his Scalgertar under its paw, its head raised to terminate Hiccup's life.

With a shriek of unstoppable rage, Toothless dived without opening his wings from a height which would have normally killed any dragon.

The distinct cry made the Eska look up, its eyes seeing his demise.

A precisely charged, blue bolt of energy melted through the Ring's nest-celling as if it did not exist and exploded at the crimson, vast back.

The Nightmare shrilled in pain. However, this was only the beginning of the attack.

With terrifying force, Toothless landed on the creature's legs. The bones he had crashed against bent from the pressure,and the Fury's claws dug deeply into the heavily armoured flesh.

The Nightmare lifted its wings and shook its back exactly the way the persistent black dragon had predicted.

He strengthened his grip on his right front paw, and the Nightmare cried in pain. It rolled to the side Toothless tortured, hence releasing its intended human meal.

The Fury did not release his hold on the enemy's flesh as he crashed on the ground. A mass of bodies, claws and scales twisted repeatedly in a mortal embrace, not feeling pain or exhaustion.

For the final strike, Toothless let go and moved forward to slit the neck and make an instant kill in one precise slash.

However, the Nightmare apparently knew one or two things about battling a ravaging Night Fury on its back. Even one who was almost ready to decapitate it.

Toothless felt the energy build up inside the Nightmare's body too late.

Just as he moved his talons in an arc the muscular neck lowered itself, avoiding the strike. The bat-winged dragon jumped at the nearest wall, the leopard-shaped creature successfully aiming his body into the wall as it shattered.

Falling from the wall's newest picturesque depression, the second most feared firedrake twisted on the spot and crashed on Toothless's body, pinning him down with the whole weight of the Fury's body concentrated in its claws.

The medium-sized Night Fury opened his eyes after a short loss of breath and growled gutturally.

Now Toothless noticed that he was fighting a female. They were bigger, stronger and much better at battling than males; and the jaw this dragoness wielded was also much more powerful than his.

However, it was a mistake as big as the Nightmare herself to to assume that she could overwhelm the smaller dragon. She was undeniably able to control her energy and make herself temporarily as an almost even enemy. However, she had the same problem Toothless had had up until a few moments ago.

She could only be powerful for a short moment.

The Fury roared with a vengeance and shoved against his foe with all the power he had.

The hard-scaled dragoness flew, albeit without using her wings, the full length from one side of the Kill Ring to the other. Her eyes slit in surprise as she crashed again onto a wall.

The impact made the whole construction shake so hard that several people had to catch the railing not to lose their balance.

Toothless rose to his feet,panting noisily.

He could not restrain or stabilise the currents from the Tagma racing inside his body. Neither could he release them completely as he would surely go into shock from it and most probably lose consciousness.

He released most of the Tagma-power, leaving only a subtle buzzing beneath his skin and a strong need to sleep. But this waning in his power would not stop him from ending the danger to his clanmate. Permanently.

The dragoness stoop up, flagging, her eyes losing their maddened glow. She was not a danger anymore. Now she was an easy target. The easier the better.

"Toothless! What are you doing here?" Hiccup's panicked voice brought a short-lived serenity to the Night Fury's mind.

"You're hurt!" Scalgertar breathed out as if he was also in pain. Indeed, the most hated dragon in the village was bleeding heavily from the slash-cuts the Nightmare had given him as she pinned him against the ground.

He smirked as his smaller counterpart studied his injuries. It was a real relief to see that Hiccup was alive and well. Except for his now ripped up skin-covers, he did not appear hurt.

"You'd better go!" Hiccup exclaimed suddenly, futilely trying to push the great, black snout away,"Go! Leave!" he pleaded without success.

The reason for Hiccup's haste was swarming in greater numbers around Toothless as the humans started jumping off the walls surrounding them, their weapons appearing from their clothes, some picking from the weapon stands. All eyes were now cold and ready to battle. To be victorious once again.

How fortunate to have prey come on their own will to die! The coal-coloured dragon thought with raising satisfaction.

He was actually tired, after all. The Eska already gotten up to her feet and trotted away to the farthest point of the ring, curling inwards to appear as small as possible. She was more afraid of these petty humans than Toothless was!

He would make sure to rectify this false belief once he had slaughtered every attacking human here and then slashed the Eska's throat.

A powerful yell caught his attention over everybody else's. He knew this sound, he knew the posture of the man charging at him with a heavy axe.

How delightful! He would kill the leader and then the others would scatter and become an easy game.

Raising thrill, muscles quivering from weakness, hum of the blood in his ears.

How he missed brushing with death, how he missed the feeling of his claws slashing through flesh!

His wrath raised as Stoick ran at him.

Here was the cause of Hiccup's misery, the cause of his fear and alienation. Toothless knew that the huge Viking would not hesitate to use his weapon on his son after killing the Night Fury. Those creatures did not have any concept of mercy.

Toothless snarled and charged forward, the warriors at once running at him, each trying to get a hit.

The first two tried to block the sleek dragon's negligent paw swipe with their shields. They crashed on the wall, their bucklers shattered. With a sharp tail swing, Toothless caught three of the yelling hulks, making them airborne before they crashed hard against the stone floor.

How weak! The Fury thought, sweeping his tail two times more, and two more Vikings were thrown away.

Weak!The dragon repeated in his mind with blinding rage. He jumped quicker than Stoick could react, bringing both man and dragon to the ground, rolling violently.

You're all weak!

He was triumphant. His enemy was lying below him, dizzy from the shock, unarmed as the axe had left his hand.

Toothless charged a bolt in his throat to vanquish and put an end to the danger once and for all.

"No!" Hiccup shrieked, so desperate and powerful that it caused Toothless's energy to disperse and the killing intent to leave the dragon.

Toothless looked back at the boy who had let out such dire scream, eyes relaxed, whimpering softly, his whole posture asking one question.

Why?

He only had time to take a glimpse at the terrified face of his cherished clanmate.

Then a rock hard fist struck him hard in the jaw, the bright light flashed before his eyes, taking away his vision and numbing his brain for a precious moment. The humans used the opportunity perfectly, jumping on him in great numbers, pressing his every limb to the ground while one of them closed his jaws shut forcefully making sure with his dear life it would stay that way.

Suddenly, the air became disgustingly scented with the smell of male human sweat.

When Toothless regained his full awareness, he could only move his eyes and growl throatily, promising vindictive retaliation from between locked jaws.

The Chieftain was already being helped to stand by one of his subjects, wobbling and rubbing his head.

He very soon recovered as a dark-haired man with shiny, emotionless eyes, was trying to give the dropped war hammer back to the village chief.

"Please don't hurt him! Please don't do it!" Hiccup shouted as a plea, freezing Toothless's heart with its sincerity at how the boy had shed all pride, desperate to save the Night Fury.

It moved the Fury, but he did not expect any mercy from the people surrounding him.

Stoick looked at the proffered hammer briefly and then at his son, hand moving towards the weapon.

And you consider me an emotionless beast, Toothless thought with dark satisfaction.

"Put him with th' others," the Chieftain decided suddenly, gesturing the weapon away with a wave of his hand, "I want th' dragon alive... I hav' somethin' t' discuss first."

He raised his strikingly green eyes from the Fury and picked up the fallen helmet from the ground with movements the captured dragon could only consider as careful and measured as the human leader put the head protection on his head carefully.

He did not march to Hiccup at first, but bent over another helmet, very similar to his and looked at it for a moment with a blank face before grabbing his offspring by the arm and dragging him away.

The boy passed the Fury with a few short glances, but remained quiet and passive.

Toothless tried to roar and get free, but the dark-haired man immediately hit him in the head with an axe's handle.

That human knew where to hit to take away strength.

Hiccup's scaly rescuer had no power left to summon any of his life energy. The side effects of the abuse he had imposed on his body to control a force he was not ready to wield, were beginning to take their toll.

He would try to keep himself awake as long as possible before his consciousness faded into darkness. Perhaps he would see Hiccup one more time, hear his voice once more...

He was lifted and placed into a contraption, bracers wrecking of iron and blood closed around his legs and muzzle. He then saw a the familiar face staring at him from the narrow opening in the wall.

The female with hair Hiccup described as golden was keeping her eyes on his and then, almost unperceptively, Toothless nodded.

Astrid's face hardened and she nodded back secretively.

She left then in a hurry, leaving the dragon with his captors.

That was a bit of relief. Hiccup still had allies, and Toothless would use this opportunity to gather his strength as fast as possible and break free.

He was still alive and therefore, the fight still continued.


"I should've known! I should've seen the signs!" Stoick said to himself loudly, pulling open the enormous iron door and then released the traitorous excuse of a son in front of him. The boy stumbled from the hard push but soon recovered his balance, facing his father uneasily.

Stoick's voice echoed clearly in a narrow, but tall passage in the mountain dug decades ago by the first settlers and now used to keep the livestock secure in case of dragon raid.

This place also provided the privacy the Chieftain wanted.

He was furious, shocked, hurt, disappointed beyond belief.

This was not one of his boy's customary pranks that would make everybody talk about it in an uproar for a while but then settle down and let things get back to normal.

Nothing would get back to normal anymore.

Where had Stoick made a mistake? Should he have guided his son more? Been more patient? Or harder? Not let so many things go unpunished?

It was Stoick's fault.

What a shame. Shame on him. Shame on his clan's name.

"Dad-!" Hiccup started, obviously fishing for an excuse.

"We had a deal!" Stoick exploded, pacing nervously from one side of the corridor to another, his cloak flapping with every sharp turn he had made. He did not know what to say besides relating to a simple deal they made as Hiccup had agreed for him to participate in the dragon training.

To be strong, to fight with honour. To kill dragons. To be a Viking. To be like everybody else.

"I know- but that was before... It's so complicated," Hiccup bit his lip to think of what to say next, pulling his hair in absolute frustration, a subtle gesture compared to the tormenting emotions he had felt.

Stoick rolled his palms into tight fists. That was too much for him to handle. Never in his life had he imagined that all of what his son had ever exhibited would transform into... this.

"So everythin' ya did in th' arena durin' trainin'...a trick? A lie?"He shouted, towering over his child.

"No... Yes, I was wrong, I should've told you before- please be mad at me! Be mad at me! Just don't hurt Toothless!" Hiccup begged, holding his ground.

"Tooth- th' dragon? You're worried about it instead of the people that beast almost killed?" Stoick bellowed immediately.

…Had the boy actually named one of those beasts. Things had gone much too far! How could his son not understand such basic elements of the life on this island?

"He was only protecting me! He is not dangerous!" Hiccup howled.

The Chieftain grinded his teeth together and made a hard step forward, standing almost toe to toe with the small boy.

"They hav' killed hundreds of us!" The gigantic leader shouted in his deep voice.

"And we have killed thousands of them!" His son screamed back immediately, finally finding his arguments, "They only defend themselves...They have to raid us, they are forced to! There is that thing in their island, that's the one causing the trouble! It's something-,"

Hiccup rushed his explanation to which Stoick did not pay any attention except for one detail.

"Island?" he chimed in, his eyes glistening menacingly like those of a beast of prey," So ya'vebeen t' th' nest?" he hissed in a calmer and much grimmer tone.

This helped him to regain focus. It was his obsession, the one, true and only way to end this devastating war.

"N-nest?" Hiccup stammered, "…Did I say nest? I meant..."

"How did ya find it?" Stoick interrupted, not raising his voice over a dark tone which conveyed with crystal clarity that lies and stalling would not work.

" I didn't. Toothless did. Only a dragon can find it" his son said, imprisoned by his father's green stare, throwing all pretence away.

This was an invaluable piece of information! The Berk Chieftain finally had what he needed, thanks to his child. He now had a plan all ready in his mind. Such a simple thing and one so obvious on retrospect.

"No-no dad! You don't understand!" Hiccup ran past his father and tried to block his way to the door, "You can't win this-I promise you! Dad!" Stoick passed him completely ignoring his words, "Dad it's something you've never faced before, you have no chance to win this!" he ran and grabbed the enormous hand to stop the steps of Berk best warrior, "For once in your life, will you listen to me!" Hiccup wailed, his voice breaking.

The Chieftain swung the hand with small palms on it, casting the youth onto his back and breaking the contact between them.

"You've thrown your lot in with them...," Stoick said quietly, already grieving because of what he had to say next, words that Hiccup- and he- would remember for the rest of his life.

"You're not a Viking...you're not my son."

In one swift moment, Stoick had become the last of his line, a man who had no wife or heir.

Heavy hearted, he stepped over the door and swung them close. He wanted to close this chapter of his life as easily and painlessly as these doors behind him.

His words were final, incontrovertible and rightful.

However, the great leader stopped his march to victory and for a little moment, during the time of a heartbeat, a crazy thought flashed in his mind. To take his words back, to ran past the thick layer of wood and iron, separating him from the person he loved…

For the truth was, nothing Hiccup did or would have done could end his feelings for his child.

During that single heartbeat, he dreamed, he wanted, then pushed away his desires and mourned what he had now lost.

Then he died a bit inside.

Pushing away tears, changing his heart into the shard of ice, he lifted his head and, putting on a expression of fake calmness, he faced the day with the strong resolve to end his people's suffering.

"Ready the ships!" He yelled to the small group of warriors, gathered at the foot of the stairs he was descending.

The men mumbled something between them, only Spitelout not joining the discussion. He held the helmet Hiccup had thrown away in the Ring in his hands.

As the Chieftain neared, he took his wife's memento and frowned dangerously when nobody rushed to fulfil his order.

"Sire," Stoick's younger brother started in a soft, but determined voice," Might ya be tellin' us what of th' boy first?" he asked measuring the red-bearded men's eyes as if evaluating if they still held the charisma and power needed to command.

"I'll announce it on th' gathering I'll hold with ya an' village wardens," the Chieftain announced darkly," I've found a way t' find a nest an' I don't want to waste it on fruitless chatter'," he said through his teeth.

"Indeed. However, we can't start another excursion without the Elders permission... which you will work on as we ready th' weapons an' transport," he added, catching his relative's though-flow," Ar' ya certain of it?" he said quizzically.

"Don't ya dare t' ask me that!" Stoick exclaimed, the fury of emotions showing for a moment as a few of the gathered warriors trembled.

"My apologies," Spitelout said sincerely. If anything, he was feeling excited. His brother was still useful to the village and had a knowledge which might end the war, "Ready th' ships!" he repeated the order to the men which at once ran off leaving them alone. Before he could leave as well however, Stoick put his hand on his shoulder.

"Sent fo' Gobber. Tell 'im t' take th' traitor t' th' Council Hall t' wait fo' th' meetin' an' th' verdict," he said to the First Commander.

"Immediately," Spitelout agreed calmly, bowing his head.

"I'm not ready t' surrender my leadership position yet... but after this mission...," Stoick said in a clear suggestion.

The dark-haired men put his hand over his brother's strongly.

"We will end this war an' we will do it together," he promised.

The talk concerning power and village status would have to wait," Won't yer son try t' run?" he asked, as delicately as he could.

"Run? Where to? We ar' on an island," he said as evenly as he could and finished with a truth he had learned long ago, "There's no way of escapin' this place."


"Why does it have a saddle on its back?"

"I'm tellin' ya, he was riding th' bloody thing!"

"Ride? Phooey! I want t' puke 'bout touching tha' beast with nothin' bu' my hammer!"

"Aye. What is tha' dragon anyway? Never seen one like this."

"I don't care what is this...bu' whatever it is, I don't fancy tha' look in his eyes."

One of the guards hunched down to take a better look at the unknown creature.

"It's a Night Fury, yer heard its screech an' saw its fire as it fell on our heads,and I would not get yer handsome any face closer to the beast."

"Chains hav' a few eyes loose," the new, commanding and powerful voice joined the conversation.

As if to prove the point, Toothless' muzzle shot forward and hit the human in the nose. Had a belt not closed the powerful jaws, the Viking would now be missing half of his face.

"Told ya," the powerfully-built male stated dryly. The sentinels did not need to be told twice and they stepped away with amazing speed at the word "Night Fury", cursing under their breath about deviltry and cursed breeds. The small crowd around took a hasted few steps away.

Only one man stayed, and gazed at the most terrifying dragon species in existence with mild interest.

"Exactly as in Hiccup's drawings...," he mused to himself, his voice audible only for him and his unexpected fire-breathing "guest".

Toothless identified now the stranger as Scalgertar's master, the one he always spoke with high respect and smile. His clanmate's smile was good, therefore the blacksmith was good as well.

He had to be, as all of the techniques Hiccup had used to make him fly again had been taught to him by that person.

That fact automatically earned Gobber a dragon's regard.

The scaled dragon warrior's eyes dilated and he stared back at the blacksmith curiously. This touching get-acquainted session was disturbed as Toothless started to shiver and muscles constricted uncontrollably.

Not even a shadow of pity slipped past Gobber's face as he spoke to the guards.

"Somethin's wrong with th' dragon! Bring some blankets an' cover th' Fury with 'em," he turned to the guards. The reaction was obvious, both of them scoffed however, their face expressions melted under the dragon handler's eyes.

"Stoick wants tha' beast alive and I will do everythin' t' make it so," Gobber declared coldly.

"Nicely said, my friend," Spitelout said as he entered the scene from the side," I must apologise, but I'll require yer assistance with a certain..ah- very small, matter," he said gently, raising a hand to embrace the forger by his shoulder and spoke to him in a whisper.

Toothless did not understand a word as sudden buzzing engulfed his hearing. It became almost unbearable, splitting the skull and dispelling his thoughts.

Whiteness filled his vision, not gradually but with the speed of his claws there was only a bright, warmly lighted colour around him.

There were no more sounds, no more pain. He could think again and felt light as if he had had a good rest. It all did not make sense. Was he dreaming already?

No. His dreams were never so peaceful and dull.

Unless he was not dreaming his dream.

To take hold over one's mind required some time and it was never absolutely painless or at least undetectable.

However, rules cannot apply to something one has never experienced before.

"It is about time you showed your rotting self," he growled at no one in particular.

"Indeed," a softly voiced answer came to the dragon's surprise, speaking in Norse and in a tone he knew. All too well. It could not be. A clearly visible human appeared in front of him. Not in a mirage or from a distortion. It was as sudden as the blink of an eye.

"I've yearned to... ah, meet you... not the best use of this word as we do not have a physical contact right now...," Hiccup's image said, musing with a hand on his chin and a raised eyebrow. He no longer appeared scratched up with torn hide covers from the ring battle.

"Who are you?" Toothless snarled, however, not with the violence he would have wished.

Whoever this was, it was infinitely more powerful than he was.

"I've wanted to know more about you! That certainly fits better," the Hiccup imposter said excitedly and continued with a smile, "As you have ingeniously noticed, I am not your cherished human, but I have taken this form to keep you from being stressed than you already are... Tagma overuse is dangerous, and I'm happy to see that you now feel more at ease," the stranger took a quick breath, sporting a self-satisfied smirk, "By asking who am I, do you supposedly mean my identification code, or name? I've never had a clan to begin with, and I have had more names than I cared to remember. But you can call me 'Seven'," he enunciated gregariously, "My turn now. Who are you?"

Toothless kept silent.

"I would prefer to give you some sort of a name ... how about…" Seven pondered again, and Hiccup's face lost its beaming expression and his eyes glistened darkly, "…the Monster? Or the Viking would be more fitting. You've certainly slain more dragons in your life than any of the humans populating this island," the cryptic being said grimly, "There are stories of a very young Night Fury who one day slaughtered almost the third part of the whole Nest in one night, filling the beach with dead bodies."

Toothless's eyes narrowed. However, he did not answer back.

"We both know it was not an ordinary occurrence. A famished, weakened and inexperienced youngling could not have possibly done what you did. Even your fight today was far below the power you would need to possess to claim such a high victim count. How did you do it?" the being using Hiccup's image asked.

"What would the answer achieve?" The Fury asked, going along with this talk he felt had no purpose.

"Satisfy my curiosity for a start," Seven said naturally," However, the only answer I could come up with is that you were trained, nourished with knowledge and ability. I would love to hear more about your relationship with... sorry, how do you call your Master?" he asked with interest and turned back as Toothless slashed at him.

As the dragon learned, attacking in the space he was in was just like slashing through the air. Just without the presence of any air.

"I have no master! IT was a mere savage! A destroyer! Not a master!" He roared mightily, "How dare you insult me! You possess detailed knowledge of me, so you must know what annihilation crossed me and my clan!"the Fury hissed venomously. At this point he understood that he was not using his vocal cords to convey the message, but his own thoughts.

Seven sent no thoughts forth of his own, looking at him studiously, Hiccup's face as emotionless as the blank space around. It made the projection -or whatever it was- look inhumane, bearing a dead expression the real Hiccup never had.

The scrawny youth was everything but blank and emotionless.

At that very moment, Toothless started to feel afraid of the thing in front of him with the kind of fear he knew the best.

"I was thinking of when you would appear again, monster," the Fury stated as emotionlessly as he could. He noticed that his legs were shaking even in this mind-created world. How quaint. "You may take any form you want, but you cannot deceive me! Torment me, but I will never crumble. You are weakening and I will end your life soon!" he snarled.

Seven's face livened at those words.

"I have been called a monster and a destroyer many times, but...," he took a breath, "you must mistake me with somebody else for, you see, I am not the monster you absolutely hate and want to bring doom to... I'm … well… another kind of monster," he said quite happily for somebody who declared himself a monster.

"I said you won't deceive me! You feel the same! As-," Toothless howled with ferocity.

"As nothingness?" Seven suggested, merely raising a reddish eyebrow, "As an oblivion? As a dark abyss in which you look and you can't see through the darkness to know what is at the bottom of it while the darkness is looking back at you? That sort of feeling?" he said with the tone Hiccup called irony.

The image sighed, seeing a deadly stare.

"You call the being... IT," Seven now emitted the name in dragon tongue, even though the warbled hiss was impossible to pronounce with human speech abilities, "It means 'the one without any presence'. There are three... kinds of …beasts which can leave such an impression. You were unlucky enough to meet one kind of them. Maybe it will be a bit of a consolation to you, but IT is the last of his kind," Seven said evenly.

"What are you?" Toothless asked, taking a step back, his decision to look prideful forgotten.

"Me? I've told you, I'm Seven," the human-appearing being said as if it were something obvious.

"You can understand me, therefore you are not human. You know about me and my past. You must be one of my kind, though you take the form of a human" the dark Fury said quietly.

Seven smiled sadly, "I'm neither human nor dragon... I am something in between... not here or there, stuck in between...," he spoke and looked as if he were deep in thought. His face brightened quickly, though, as he looked at Toothless again, "Whether you believe me or not, I will leave it to your judgment. For now, let's talk more about you," he proposed openly.

"Why would you want knowledge you already know. I also do not trust you," the crippled black dragon said with a meek spite, retreating a few steps. For reasons unknown to him, the silhouette of his interlocutor always was at the same distance across from him even if Toothless never saw Seven walk after him. The latter spotted the dragon looking briefly at his static legs.

"Space is such a quaint thing in here," Seven gestured at the arena, "Your mind is so used to having a ground beneath that you already have the belief that you are walking on something flat. How can you see a distance in a place where such a thing does not exist?" He asked. At the same moment, he disappeared and immediately flashed in front of Toothless's eyes. The Fury roared in surprise and started sprinting away. Seven followed him by his side, looking as strolling, putting step after step without any haste.

"Seeking direction is also futile," he added with humour and appeared upside down as if he walked on something in the white space, matching the running dragon's speed.

Toothless stopped his escape, seeing it as senseless and a tad impossible.

"One last thing," Seven said casually. And Toothless grew then sure that whatever he would be informed about, it would not be pleasant, "It is correct to assume that you stand on something... but as you are kept in place only by your faith how you can be sure you are not constantly falling?" Seven said with an angelic toothy Hiccuppy smile.

The word falling rang inside the Fury's mind as he discounted shortly such possibility. As the thought that his captor might be correct, he felt the well-known pull of the gravity on him, and his body began rotating as he most certainly began falling.

He issued a less-than-dignified shriek, cursing Seven's way of toying with him.

"Stop it at once!" he cried desperately, revolving without any co-ordination. He felt as if he was constantly in one place, not getting nearer or farther from anything. However, the gut-wrenching sensation of gravitation having its pull on him was too realistic. As if it was something hilarious, Seven swam calmly on his back through space to near the panicking dragon.

"It might help if you thought of someplace safe... just close your eyes, relax and imagine a place you would like to be in right now," the Hiccup-lookalike who was neither human nor dragon suggested casually.

Following the advice, Toothless closed his eyes and tried to think of anything safe with all his might. He did not expect anything to happen; he just craved for this dropping experience to end.

"Much better now, isn't it?" Hiccup's voice said.

The iridescent scaled beast opened his eyes to the view he really wanted to see.

"It's quite beautiful in here," Seven said, inclining Hiccup's head in appreciation, semi-sitting on the grey boulder that was partially submerged in the lake.

"That's my canyon," Toothless stated instantly as he sat on the spot by the fire-stone he used to warm Hiccup.

For reasons unknown to him, he felt sad as he looked at the boy's face by the lake, looking identical as his clanmate's. Even if it was not real, it still hurt.

"I want to see my human again. Let me go...please," he said calmly.

Seven looked at the sky, red from the sun in dusk, the Fury's favourite part of the day, and the dragon sensed a strong wave of sadness.

"You will see him, young drake...," the being using the Viking boy's image said gently, "You will see him as the sky pours with fire and the ground yells and cries with the pain and violence you crave so much."

He then turned his head to Toothless, and his eyes had an unreal glow to them, capturing permanently the Fury's mind, "You will fight the IT-monster with your Soul-Giver and, most certainly, both of you will die in that fight. Knowing that, would you still choose to let yourself be lead- to your death, young drake?" he asked.

Toothless had to answer the truth. His answer was immediate, and not once did his heart waver.

"I would," he said adamantly, "I want to kill IT. It is the most important thing to me. It is my life goal. I value it more than anything, even, I am sad to say, more than my human."

This was how he felt. He felt and would feel strongest about killing his biggest enemy. His life, his mind would never feel tranquil. He would be haunted so long as he did not eradicate this being from existence.

And he also knew Hiccup would choose to follow him.

Seven adverted his amazing gaze, for the moment appearing as red as the sky reflecting in them.

"Then, go. You've made your choice, young drake. I hope you will find serenity in your life, whether in eternal darkness or in the brightness of a new day," his calm voice soothed.

"We will meet again, I think, " Toothless trilled a statement.

Seven put a peaceful smile as if pushing away the ugliness of the thing he was about to say.

"I really hope we won't."

The scene disappeared, only the light was the same, the same sun dyed the horizon with red as the light attacked his eyes. Pain and exhaustion returned to the dragon. He whimpered once, getting used to the sudden invasion of stimuli.

"It is still alive, I've told ya!" One of the guards with a mean axe, standing next to the chained Fury said to his friend, a guard as well, jerking his head to the struggling dragon.

"Thor almighty! I thought tha' th' beast is dead. It did not blink even once! Gobber would kill us if something happened t' th' devil," he said with a bit of worry and then spit plentifully at the Ring's floor as he voiced his opinion about having to keep the village's most hated dragon alive.

Toothless breathed deeply, listening to the pain in his muscles, feeling pulsations as if he had his whole body on fire.

He mastered the excruciating feeling by dreaming of meeting Hiccup once again and killing IT.

He let himself be fully consumed by the yearning for revenge. It was what he was lived for. Seven's message was a happy one. He would die, but he would have his chance to end the gigantic beast's life. And IT was the last of its kind.

How he would manage eliminating it was not his concern. When the time came, he would be ready. And there was no doubt in his mind that Hiccup would be as well.


AN: One more chapter (or so)... I can do this! And then I will be free to write whatever I want! Freeeeeeeeeee!

Until next time.