(A/N) HELLO AGAIN! I'M BACK! The Hiatus is over! I originally went on Hiatus so that I could get a fresh perspective on the story and adjust my plot line match with the turn that the story ended up taking. However, when I finished editing my old work to get a firm understanding on where the story was heading and actually started working on fixing the plot line, it ended up being a whole lot easier to scrap what I had and start from scratch, which is why this took so long. Sorry, but what I ended up with I am so much more exited about.
One thing to keep in mind, for those who skipped out on the editing update that I uploaded, go back and check it out. There were a few important changes that I made to the story which I outlined there.
Also… WE HIT 300 FOLLOWS AND ARE ONE AWAY FROM BREAKING 250 FAVOURITES! WOW! You guys are awesome. The support that I get really makes me want to keep going and I can't thank you enough. I also love hearing from you guys and discussing aspects about the story in the form of both reviews and PM's so keep them coming! And if any of you are artistically inclined, I'd love to see any artwork you guys would want to make of this story. I do have a Facebook page that can be found by searching CdnChrgr on Facebook. It's something that I recently created to help prepare the way for a project that I want to take on soon, so that would be a good place to send any fanart.
So, in other words, I'm happy to be back, check out those changes, keep engaging and have fun reading.
Guest Reviews:
Cryptodraconis noctis: No, it will be one or the other very soon. I just won't tell you which one yet.
Brenne: Thank you. It's always nice to get an update out.
jimster3644: No promises either way, but I will say that I am a stickler for a good tragedy in literature.
CajunBear73: Couldn't have said it better myself.
The Artificer42: Thank you.
Little NightFury17: Thank you as well.
Jusen Uzukaze: Thank you. That is one of the reasons I wrote this story to begin with. As I told jimster, I love tragedies. There aren't enough of them.
Guest 1: It's coming.
Samateus-Taal: Thank you. And I agree that talking to all Alphas would help Hiccup out tremendously. That's why I removed the ability.
LameJokeGuy: In some ways yes, but in other ways it makes sense. Astrid was the first person to actually see what Hiccup was capable of and that moment changed her whole perspective on him. But then again, this is a work of fiction so I'm not going to get to hung up on what really would have happened. It can be spun so many ways, which is why we have over 16k fanfictions dedicated to HTTYD on this site.
tefe203: Noted, but Hiccup is still an Alpha, even if he can no longer talk to all Alphas. The fact that he can only talk to Toothless now is just a testament to how close his relationship with the NightcFury is compared to other dragons.
Also, Astrid is still an important part of the story. The whole gang is still actually.
Chapter 36
Once again, she found herself on the verge of falling off the bed when she woke up.
"Lazy Polar Bear" Toklo grumbled. Karpok was currently doing his best to keep his large body on her bed.
"Alright, move over." Toklo grunted as she tried to push the white bear to his own side. The bear opened an eye and groaned, but otherwise did not acknowledge her efforts and went back to sleep.
Toklo sighed. She had to get Hiccup to get her a larger bed. The bed was one of the perks of living with the Vikings, when she wasn't being pushed off it. Up North they always slept on snow covered by furs.
Resigning herself to the fact she wouldn't be getting anymore sleep that morning, Toklo got up and grabbed a comb to straighten her bed head.
The sound of feet shuffling on the floor outside her room caught her attention and she spotted shadows moving underneath the door. Toklo frowned. She was usually the early riser. Hiccup and Toothless were generally creatures of the night and slept in as much as possible. It wasn't uncommon for him to wake up well after lunch. It was unheard of for him to wake up this early. The sun was barely poking it's head up over the horizon.
Though some might see it scandalous for the two of them to be staying in the same house together, it made things much more convenient when it came to governing Dragon's Edge or discussing various political engagements going on within the archipelago. Plus, neither of them really cared much for the Viking's opinion of them.
Ever cautious of the possibility the shuffling feet on the other side of her door wasn't Hiccup, she grabbed her sword and kept it close. Though the bow and arrow was her preferred weapon, it wasn't practical up close and so she had become quite proficient with the weapon, just in case.
Soon, whoever it was had passed, leaving her to her thoughts. Toklo shrugged and continued getting ready for the day.
She walked out into the hall with Karpok following dutifully behind her. Her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted Hiccup's door open and nobody sleeping inside. He was up to something.
Her curiosity piqued, she went looking for him. He wasn't anywhere in the house, nor was he at the shipyard overseeing the final preparations of his new metal ship that he was so proud of. It was only when she started asking around that she learned that he and Toothless had been spotted heading toward the training arena.
The sun was already high in the sky by the time she arrived.
The arena was something of an oddity in the barbaric archipelago. Where most training rings the Vikings used were chipped out of natural depressions in the land, the ring and surrounding seating on Dragon's Edge had been carved directly into the face of the Volcano, something that was only possible through the use of slaves and explosive Zippleback gas canisters.
The ring itself was about 200 feet long and 75 feet wide with walls 20 feet high. It was easily bigger than any other ring in the archipelago. It was missing the signature metal cage that most Viking settlements used to keep dragons from flying off during a fight and the floor lacked the traditional stone Vikings used. Instead, Hiccup had brought in many tons of white sandstone he had found on a nearby island and covered it in an inch of sand in order to make it stand out even more from the rest of the archipelago. Dragons were used to keep the ring free of the snow that was blowing everywhere. Overall, it had a look about it that spoke of opulence and power. The power to bend the very earth to your will.
Hiccup stood in the center of the ring practising some more advance moves upon a set of wooden dummies with his sword. As was the norm when he was training, the ring was empty except for the black lizard snoozing off to the side. If you were around when the young man was training, you were likely to get dragged in. A training session with Hiccup the Horrendous often meant a trip to the healers with either broken bones or several lacerations. He had yet to kill anyone yet however.
Toklo walked gracefully through the ring's entrance and made her way over to Hiccup. Karpok quickly spotted his dragon friend and ran over to go rouse Toothless from his slumbering. The movement caught Hiccup's attention and he smiled when he looked up to see her.
"Toklo!" Hiccup greeted cheerfully, "How's it going?"
"Can't complain." She replied, "What has you up so early?"
"Hiccup's grin faltered a little, "Astrid caught sight of my sword yesterday. She became pretty interested in it's peculiar design and wanted to see me use it in action, so she challenged me to a duel as soon as we were both up today."
A twinge of jealousy made itself known inside of her and Toklo quickly shoved it away. After the men stopped coming to the kill ring to train when Hiccup was around, sparing together had become their thing and now this new girl wanted in on it. She looked around and failed to spot the girl in question with some satisfaction, "I don't see her around anywhere."
"Ya, its strange." Hiccup replied, relieved that Toklo had said nothing about his upcoming spar with Astrid. "When we were on Berk she was always up with the dawn to train. I would have figured she'd be here long ago."
"Well, as long as she isn't here, want to give it a go?" Toklo questioned.
Hiccup's grin returned full force as he readied his blade. Toklo took her que and drew her own sword. However, instead of falling into a defensive stance, she walked about 10 feet away and began to draw a circle in the sand. Hiccup knew the meaning. The fight would end when one of the managed to either overpower the other, or pushed them out of the ring. This was not strictly a fight of skill, but of strategy as well.
With the circle complete, Toklo walked back to her starting spot and raised her sword in a defensive stance, ready for anything.
It was Hiccup who struck first with a swift, but strong downwards swing. Deathly black steel met bright silver as Toklo expertly blocked the blow with her own. A normal sword would have been cleaved in two by the strike, but this sword had been crafted by Hiccup and given to her personally by him. It was a beautifully decorated weapon that had the image of a bear connecting the blade to the hilt, was lined with white rabbit fur around the pommel and had been expertly forged out of Gronkle iron. It would not break.
Quick as lightning, the two separated and returned to their defensive stances. Once again, they began circling each other, each of them looking for an opening.
"You know, I wanted to talk to you anyways." Hiccup said.
"Oh?" Toklo questioned as she took a swing at Hiccup's side.
"Yep." Hiccup replied as he sidestepped the swing and lunged at the opening Toklo had left. The young women in front of him would not be beaten so easily however and opted to duck under the blade and took a step into his personal space before quickly standing to hit Hiccup's shoulder with her own. She put her full weight into the shove, intending to knock him to the ground. Hiccup was forced to take the blunt of the blow, but adjusted his stance and pushed off the ground as she hit him, allowing him to turn his newfound momentum into a backwards summersault and jumped back to his feet. He'd lost a few feet, but was otherwise none the worse for the wear and Toklo had been unable to take advantage of his compromised position.
"I wanted to discuss our meeting with Dagur, Alvin and Skuld." Hiccup continued as the two began circling each other again.
"What about it?" She asked as she sidestepped another swing from Hiccup, but was unable to do anything else and fell back to the defensive. The maneuver had cost her a few feet and they were now back to where they had begun.
"I wanted to let you in on what I'm planning. Most of what I said there was true, but not all of it."
"I don't know why you don't just get rid of them." Toklo pointed out as she aimed a swing at Hiccup's legs. Hiccup jumped over the blade and twisted in the air, allowing him to swing his sword at his opponent with great power. Toklo had to duck back in order to block the blow and was forced to take a few steps back before they both fell back to their defensive postures once again.
"So, which parts weren't true?"
"The parts where we need them." Hiccup replied as he absorbed a few of Toklo's attacks with his blade. "Alvin and Dagur both will have to go at some point."
"I thought you wanted to keep around?" Toklo grunted through gritted teeth as she doubled her efforts, forcing Hiccup back to the center of the circle."
"Right now, they're serving their purpose." Hiccup replied as he feinted right, only to send a kick at her exposed left side, resulting in him regaining some ground. "They're both easily manipulated and give their respective tribes legitimate leaders while keeping us out of the spot light, but they'll dispose of us both the first chance they get. Probably each other as well."
Toklo nodded, before going in for another strike, "So, what are we going to do about them then?"
"We keep them around until we're ready to make our move, then we get rid of them. I have enough influence with the rest of their tribes to take over whenever I want." Hiccup answered as he unleashed a barrage of deadly accurate jabs to Toklo's midsection. It was only a testament of Toklo's many years of combat practise that saved her from impalement, though she did lose several feet in the process.
"What about Skuld?" the young women asked as she aimed another swing at Hiccup's chest.
To her surprise, instead of blocking, he stabbed at her blade, managing to catch it between the two points of his own. He then let the momentum of her sword carry both weapons towards the ground and twisted his blade, yanking her sword from her grasp and sending it flying. It landed stuck up out of the dirt, mere inched from the edge of the circle.
She kicked a pile of sand into Hiccup's eyes, temporarily blinding him. It was a tactic she'd used many times before, though usually she still had her weapon. It had forced him to learn how to listen to defend himself, making him an even deadlier opponent in real battle.
"Ah!" Hiccup yelled and attempted to clear his eyes while Toklo ran back for her blade. "Skuld isn't needed, but he can still be useful." Hiccup answered her previous question through gritted teeth while he cleared the last of the sand from his eyes and raced to pin Toklo against the edges of the circle again. He'd lost a few feet by the time they managed to regain their defensive positions, but he still had the advantage. "He and his tribe owe me a blood debt. Honor demands he obey me. Still, he should be watched."
Toklo nodded, "And what if he does have to be removed from the equation?" She asked.
"That's where things get a little dicey." Hiccup replied as he began striking at Toklo before retreating a few steps and beginning again. Each blow was aimed to be strong and precise, knocking her back a few feet while he himself remained too far away for her to retaliate. He was quickly able to gain back several feet this way, nearly knocking her out of the circle. "His tribe is too loyal to allow for any form of bribery or extortion."
Toklo locked blades with Hiccup in order to check his advance and held her ground. "So, in other words?" She grunted.
"I don't know what we do if that time comes." He replied as he began pressing down on her blade, she'd have to either give in soon or retreat, either of which would make him the victor… finally. She did neither. Apparently, she'd been going easy on him during his training with the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's. Ever since she'd arrived on Dragon's Edge, she'd been giving it her all and now was no exception.
Instead, she dropped and kicked at his legs, forcing him to topple forward, over the line. At the last second before his body hit the ground, Hiccup managed to twist around and grabbed Toklo's wrist, to her great surprise, and pulled her down with him. They both landed across the line in a tangle of limbs, slightly out of breath and laughing to each other.
"Tie?" Hiccup asked while smiling up at the girl who had landed on him.
Toklo returned the gesture, "I don't know, it would seem I still have you pinned to the ground."
Hiccup laughed, fair enough, "I should have seen that coming anyways. One of these days, I will best you."
Toklo rolled off of him to stare up at the sun. It was almost noon by now and there was still no sign of Astrid. "Nice move catching my sword with your own. I never saw that coming. You need to develop that more."
"Thanks, I will."
"Best two out of three?" She asked.
"Your on."
After their fifth match, of which Toklo won all five seeing as how she had far more experience, Astrid finally made an appearance. The battlefield was a mess at that point and so Hiccup ordered some slaves to go and rake the sand back to smooth perfection before his and Astrid's spar would begin. Their efforts were in vain on the far side of the ring however as Quicksand had gathered a pile of sand and buried himself in it. To make matters worse, both Toothless and Karpok were attempting to dig him out and get him to play.
The three of them choose to sit on the sidelines as they waited for the slaves to finish and Hiccup noticed something was troubling Astrid right away.
"What's on your mind?" He asked.
Astrid took her eyes off the slaves working below and debated what she should say to him. She had wanted to talk to him privately, but now he had asked and she wasn't sure if she'd ever work up the nerve again. "You've changed. So much." She finally began.
Hiccup laughed, "So have you. You would have been here at the crack of dawn back on Berk."
Astrid smiled, "Ya, well, me and Quicksand are usually creatures of the night. It's easier on his scales. Sorry, I figured you would have been as well with the Night Fury and everything."
"Usually I am," Hiccup replied, "but that's not all, is it?"
"No." Astrid continued after a moment of silence. "You just seem like such a contradiction to the Hiccup I used to know."
"How so?"
"You stand taller, your sure of yourself."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Hiccup smiled proudly.
"But, then there's the slaves." Astrid continued, pointing to the people working down below, "Where… How did you get them?"
Hiccup narrowed his eyes and Astrid noticed Toklo seemed to be studying her, as if trying to figure her out.
Hiccup choose his words carefully, "The Romans came to the Archipelago. They were a threat, so I took them out before they had a chance to do anything."
"And that's just what I'm talking about." Astrid pressed, "You showed a Night Fury mercy. The very creature that instills fear in the mind of all Vikings. The Hiccup I knew would have attempted to talk with the Romans, cripple their efforts even, but he would have chosen violence only as a last measure. Now I fear you've become the very nightmare you once attempted to get rid of."
Hiccup was quiet, not really sure how to answer, so Astrid pressed further. "I just… I don't know what your capable of now, what you value or what your plans are. I don't know you anymore, and that scares me."
Hiccup looked like he wanted to answer, but a pointed glare from Toklo shut him up. Astrid knew she should have waited until he had Hiccup alone, but she had come this far. She was going to get some answers.
"I need an answer Hiccup. Who are you now? What have you become?"
The look on Astrid's face made him want to answer her so badly, but Toklo's warning kept swimming around in his head and if he did tell her, Astrid would hate him and leave him forever. He'd lose one of the few friends he actually had.
"I'm the one who ended the war between Dragon's and Vikings. I'm the one who drove the Romans from these waters. I'm the one who keeps the Outcasts and the Berserkers in check. I'm the one who has brought absolute peace to the archipelago for the first time in over 300 years. I am the one my enemies call Hiccup the Horrendous, and to those who find themselves on my side… well that remains to be seen." It wasn't an absolute lie. He'd actually done all of those things. He'd just left out the part about what it was all building to. One day she'd find out, but for now, she didn't need to know. He just hoped that she would accept the answer.
Astrid wasn't buying it. Nothing about what he'd said told her he was lying, but he was definitely leaving something out. What it was, she didn't know, but he wasn't likely to share with her right now. She'd heard rumors on occasion over the course of her travels, none of which she had believed, but now, it was looking more and more likely that they were true in some form or the other. She just didn't know which ones were true or how exaggerated they had been. She needed to ask him. She'd get down to the bottom of this, but with the way Toklo was glaring at her and attempting to keep Hiccup quiet, she knew the only way she'd get her answers was in private.
"Alright." She finally answered, she'd confront him later. With a glance down to the ring, she noticed the slaves had finished raking the sand smooth. Good, she needed to get away from the northern girl anyways, "I'm going to go warm up." She called as she got up and ran over to the entrance.
"What did I tell you?" Toklo asked when she was sure Astrid was out of ear shot, "She's probing, trying to see what your made of."
"Yeah…" Hiccup replied distractedly.
"You don't want to lose her, do you?"
Hiccup turned to face her and sighed, "No."
"What happens when we start making moves, especially against Berk?"
"I don't know."
The two sat in silence as they watched Astrid warm up with a few practise swings with her axe, some push ups and sit ups.
"Toss the fight."
What?" Hiccup asked, shocked at Toklo's suggestion.
"She wants to know what your capable of. If she doesn't think you can fight well, that's something you have over her. Make it seem like you only know the basics. Don't show off and don't use your sword's special abilities. Just make it more convincing than your 'I'm the one' speech."
Hiccup mulled it over. What she said made sense and he trusted Toklo completely. She wouldn't steer him wrong. "Alright, but afterwards we get the Night Fury ready to launch. We have to meet up with Drago soon and figure out what exactly is going on. The trip will be a good opportunity to test her out."
Toklo nodded. After this meeting they would have the full picture and be able to figure their next steps out from there.
o~0~O~0~o
Skuld watched as a boat silently ground to a halt against the icy snow on a secluded beach on Dragon's Edge. A proud, but ruff looking man jumped out and strode up the shore line. Alvin the Treacherous. Following him onto the beach was his second in command, Savage.
Nervously he glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching. The only person he saw was Dagur the Deranged and a few of his men, who had arrived under the cover of darkness only a half hour before. The only reason he was attempting this at all was because both Hiccup and Toklo were off the island. They had left to go meet with that Drago fellow along with that new girl.
With everyone accounted for, Skuld called Dagur over and met up with Alvin.
"My apologies for not going to meet with you on one of your islands. Hiccup's been keeping a watchful me on me lately."
"Le's skip tha pleasantries, What 'ave ya called us tagether fer Skuld?" Alvin drawled.
"I wanted to discuss the problem that Hiccup has become."
"The problem? What problem?" Dagur asked. "Seems to me he's doing a pretty great job of things."
"He's reckless and power hungry. The Lava Louts may no longer be subject to the might of Rome, but we've traded one slave master for another. Ever since we've returned to the archipelago we've been confined to our island. He's kept our entire tribe a secret from the world. My people are getting restless and I can't do anything about it." Skuld lamented, "And I know you for one don't like him either." He accused as he pointed to Alvin.
"Aye." Alvin agreed, "He seems ta think he has power over me. He already has power over you." Alvin pointed to Skuld, "It's only a matter a time before he turns on you too Dagur."
"Hahahaha, let him try!" Dagur challenged, "Then he'll be met with the force of my 50 Berserkers ships filled to the brim with warriors. He won't know what hit him!"
"He took on Rome and won!" Skuld yelled, "He's sunk armada's far larger than yours. He's powerful, that's for sure. The problem is, he doesn't finish the job. He angered Rome and challenged Nero directly, but then he let him go. Its only a matter of time before the archipelago faces the full wrath of Rome and he admitted to me that he isn't yet ready to fight them fully! He's left too much to chance if you ask me. He saved our tribe and doomed us to destruction at the same time."
"So, what do we do then?" Dagur asked.
"We get rid of Hiccup."
"Yer speakin' my tune there Skuld." Alvin laughed, "But what then? Without Hiccup, taking over tha archipelago will be nearly impossible. Even with all yer ships Dagur, if they all band tagether as one they'll outnumber us. An' wha' do we do once Drago or tha Romans come?"
"We ban together with the Romans. There coming anyways and no one will be able to stop them once they arrive. It would be better to work with them rather than be destroyed by them. At least then we'd live with at least some security. We'd most likely earn positions of power inside Rome's new province once everything's all said and done."
Alvin narrowed his eyes, "Trade 'iccup fer tha Romans? I don't think so. Alvin tha Treacherous bows fer none. I'll fight 'iccup an tha Romans if I 'ave ta."
"And you'll likely be put to death for your troubles." Skuld pointed out.
"Better ta die honourably than ta submit like a coward."
Skuld rolled his eyes, "What do you think Dagur?"
"I'm not sure about the Romans. As for Hiccup, we'd lose the dragons if we betray him, which would hinder any attempts to defend ourselves, let alone take over the archipelago, but it sounds like his ambition is dangerous. I agree, he has to go."
"So, it's settled then. The first chance we get, we assassinate Hiccup, then figure out what to do from there." Skuld suggested.
Alvin and Dagur nodded in agreement.
"There's a few flaws however." Dagur pointed out as he contemplated how to go about killing the young man. "That dragon of his is by his side constantly. We might be able to take Hiccup by surprise, but that Night Fury of his will kill whoever lays a hand on him and even if we somehow managed to kill the Night Fury first, Hiccup is almost as deadly as that dragon. That's even before we get to his girlfriend."
"As far as I know, there not together. I think Hiccup has feelings for someone else, but I'm not too sure what's going on." Skuld talked to himself absentmindedly. "You are right however; his dragon will be a problem. I don't think it has to die though. We just kill Hiccup when the Night Fury isn't around. It's a dragon, how will it know what happened to it's master if it wasn't there. Toklo will have to be disposed of soon after though, she'll easily put two and two together and come after us. At the same time, we can't kill her first without tipping Hiccup off. But if she finds out we killed him, I fear the three of us would be dead men."