Hiccup started it off by trying to get a message to the girls he'd been hanging out with. Violet was easy to get it to, since she ended up being in the same class as him for pre-calc. The others? Rapunzel was way too social for him to approach before she went to him. From what he had seen, she would bounce between groups, trying to talk to as many people at once as possible. As a result, he had to either embrace the fact that he'd be dealing with a crowd, or wait for her to be done with her friends…which didn't seem like it would happen any time soon. So, eventually, he'd interrupted her conversation with a small red-head named Anna, to ask her to meet him at his house after school. Lucius probably wouldn't mind, after all. He was going out with his adoptive mother today, since it was their supposed date night or something.

For Merida, he had asked Violet to invite the girl. It wasn't like Hiccup was good friends with her, since they'd really only spoken yesterday at lunch when he made a fool of himself. At least Violet seemed more eager to talk to him than she did yesterday. As nervous as she seemed, he'd take it over the same disbelief in his theory from before. Right now, he kinda needed more faith anyway, if they were going to have any chance of listening to his advice today.

Once classes ended, Hiccup got in the car with his adoptive father, ready to start making a real plan for a change. "Hey, Hiccup. How'd your day go?"

Nodding at Lucius, he shrugged. "Eh, pretty good. I've got a few friends coming over while you're gone, if that's okay."

"Of course that's okay!" Lucius grinned at him, nudging his shoulder. "I told you you'd make friends in no time, Hic. Bet you even made them on your first day."

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup leaned against the window gazing at the passing scenery. "I guess. Maybe it really isn't all that bad, being here." He wasn't as alone, after all. Violet could probably be a decent friend after all of this, and as weird as it seemed, maybe it wouldn't be terrible keeping Jack around either. Sure, the other people at school might think he was weird when he talked to the winter spirit, but that was a small price to pay to give Jack a much needed chance to talk about things for a change.

"That's the spirit! If only I could have the same mindset about tonight." Lucius gave him a half-smile at that, while Hiccup only smiled. The car ride seemed to go fairly smoothly from there on, with Lucius joking about what his wife would probably pester him about when they got home and Hiccup listening with small comments on occasion. Really, he was finding himself wondering if there really was anything to use in his plan. Terrifying others had seemed like a good idea to start with, but now? Now, he was thinking he might have hit a new record for the insanity level of his ideas.

Lucius and his wife were long gone before anyone even got to his house. Violet arrived first, with Merida in tow. "Hey." Hiccup opened the door for them, stepping aside so they could come in. "Uh…come on in, I guess. The living room is right there." He watched them move over to the sofa, taking a seat and glancing around.

"Nice place ya got." Merida turned towards him, smirking. "So, what's this big meeting about? We talking more about yer little friend from before?"

Feeling warmth in his cheeks, Hiccup let out a weak laugh. "Friend…yeah. Uh…maybe?"

"So this is about that white-haired lad." Merida shook her head. "I thought it might be. After what he did last night, I'd almost say we should just let him deal with his own problems. Seriously, he broke into—"

"Merida, it isn't that big of a deal." Violet interrupted, glancing over at Hiccup with a weak smile. "Besides…don't you have something to say to Hiccup before yelling at him about that?" Merida frowned, while Violet seemed to lean closer to her. "About a certain way you acted at lunch?"

Waving her off, Merida rolled her eyes. "Oh, like you were any better. Come on, do you think anyone in their right mind would listen to a story like that? I mean, Rapunzel I get. She'll listen to anything you tell her. But a logical person? Not a chance."

Shaking her head, Violet leaned back with a sigh. "Sorry, Hiccup. I thought she might actually be willing to apologize for being wrong yesterday, but I guess some people can't admit things like that." He still didn't know what had changed, but this might at least make things a little simpler.

Another knock at the door interrupted, and he quickly moved away. "Uh…right. I'll just…be back, I guess." Leaving them in the room, he opened the door for a smiling Rapunzel, who moved passed him before he could even invite her in.

"Hey Hiccup! This is your house? Wow, it's so big." She walked around, seeming to stop when Toothless finally seemed to join them instead. "Aww, and look at this little cutie." Toothless eyed her warily, staying close to Hiccup with watchful eyes. "I remember you from the other night. Are you ready to be friends yet?" She held her hand out towards the cat, making Hiccup blink at her in surprise. Toothless seemed to eye her hand for a moment, before shaking his head and sauntering off towards the living room instead.

"Sorry again. Like I said…he's not really the kind of cat that likes being around people."

She smiled, rising to her feet. "It's fine. I can tell he's a sweetheart anyway, just by looking in his eyes. I mean, why else would he be so loyal to his owner?"

Well, that was one way to look at it at least. Shrugging, Hiccup guided her towards the others. Toothless had claimed his own chair, while Merida was scowling at him from her own seat. She held her hand to her chest, clutching it tightly and seeming to keep her distance. Glancing towards Toothless, Hiccup hung his head. "Toothless…please tell me you didn't attack our guest."

"He damn well did! At least give a girl a warning before you send an untamed beast upon her."

That…was a bit extreme. Hiccup sighed, picking up Toothless to sit with him in the chair, letting the cat sit in his lap instead. The animal purred as Hiccup began scratching his neck. "Yeah, yeah, fine." He waved it off, glancing at the others. "So…just to clarify before we start talking…you two believe me about Jack now, right?"

"Believe you? He barged in on us in the middle of doing our homework!"

Well, so that was why Jack had thanked him. It seemed like he might have been more convincing than he thought he was. "Oh. He was probably just trying to keep an eye on Violet then. I mean…he's kinda trying to stop the guy giving us all these nightmares anyway."

"Us?" Rapunzel glanced over at him, her green eyes wide. "Wait, are you having nightmares too?"

"Just one." Hiccup shrugged. "It's not that bad." At least, it wasn't yet. "But…I wanted to make sure it stays that way. Jack told me a bit about this guy we're facing…and it isn't the kind of person we can fight directly. For starters, Jack…kinda implied that spirits like him are immortal. So, attacking this spirit head on? It isn't going to do anything but annoy the guy."

"Did you find out what he even wants?" Violet glanced at him, seeming to hug herself on the couch. "I mean…it is just weird that he'd give us all these dreams for no reason…other than to show us our fears."

"Well…that kinda is his goal, actually." Violet blinked at him, while Hiccup laughed nervously. "Uh…well, he's kinda just trying to terrify us. And by us, I mean…any teenager, really. Kinda like Jack, we can't see him without some weird trigger, but that doesn't mean we can't do something about this. He told me that before now, this guy has only targeted children. If he keeps doing that, Jack has some friends that are willing to stop him. It's their job to protect children, after all…but he makes it sound like that keeps them too busy to look out for the rest of us as well."

"So…you basically want to stop our nightmares…by giving children nightmares instead?" Violet stared at him, before glaring harshly at Hiccup. "That's just as bad as he is! We at least have the ability to tell ourselves 'oh, it's just a dream'. Kids don't get that! Everything is real to them, and if they panic, it becomes a disaster!"

What exactly made her think it was that bad? "Aye. When my brothers sleep poorly, you'd think they'd be less energetic and actually stop pulling pranks for a change. But no, they get worse. Much worse." She shuddered slightly, shaking her head. "I'm with Vi on this one. No nightmares for children, not if we can help it."

"I…actually wasn't thinking of doing that anyway." Hiccup stared at them, biting his lip. "See…he wants people to be afraid. My point was that it has always been his goal, and that it won't change, regardless of who he targets. So…if he wants people to be afraid, how do you think he'd react to someone else taking the credit? To someone actually being named as the one terrifying the town instead?"

"Like… a super villain?" Rapunzel blinked at him, before clasping her hands together. "That's perfect! Oh, if this guy has any sense of wanting to be known and feared, we'd just take it away from him!" She paused, blinking for a moment. "But wait…wouldn't that just mean he'd target us more directly? If he really can't be hurt, I don't think that's the greatest idea after all…"

In the sofa, Violet seemed to be slightly pale after his suggestion. "Yeah…plus, it's not like anyone of us is a villain, right? We couldn't pull it off."

"But what if we can?" Hiccup glanced over at Toothless, smiling faintly. "All we need is the ability to make people think we can bring nightmares to life. I mean, doesn't that sound like something a Super could do? Give people nightmares, and making dreams reality…in the end, super powers really aren't that different from magic. People will believe what is more readily available as an answer, and whoever this guy is will realize that he can't get the notice he wants unless he targets people unable to rationalize a plan to fight back."

"So…this once again goes back to getting children targeted? We already agreed not to do that, lad." Merida glared at him, however, that was when he heard a noise tapping at his window. Glancing outside, he saw Jack wave, grinning at them all.

"Hold on a second." Walking towards the window, he opened it to let the winter spirit inside. "Are you really that impatient, Jack? We just talked in class."

"I know." He glanced around, spotting the others and giving them a wave. "But I was bored, and it's not like I plan on leaving the area with Pitch around. So, what's the little meeting for? Having a study group or something?" He walked over towards them, pausing by Toothless with a grin. The cat's green eyes seemed to lock on him, looking playful as he seemed to crouch and prepare to pounce on Jack. Yet, the winter spirit shook his head at the animal, holding out a hand as if to tell him not now.

"Actually, we're talking about your little villain pal in town." Violet glanced over at Hiccup shaking her head. "This idiot seems to think that it would be best if we got him to just target someone else."

"Actually, that wouldn't be a bad plan." Jack put his hands inside the pocket of his hoodie, glancing around. "My friends won't help out unless kids are in danger. They've got…a lot of other things to deal with, usually after all. So, this is kinda up to us to fix right now. The main thing is…it isn't like he'll just give up that quickly."

"I was thinking we could take credit for what he's doing, actually." Hiccup glanced over at Jack, scratching his neck. "I mean, the whole point is so that he, specifically, is feared. So, what not create a super villain of our own to replace him? It'd fit with kinda what Violet assumed about you at first, and people would believe it."

"Wouldn't Supers target you too then?"

Rapunzel blinked at Jack's response, tilting her head. "Right…and it's not like we can put up a real fight against them or anything."

"Speak for yourself, lass. I've got plenty of skills to take care of myself whenever I need to."

Glancing at Toothless, Hiccup nodded slowly in agreement. "And…I've got my own ways of getting out of rough situations too." He paused, petting his cat. "Plus, it really only has to be one of us playing the role of villain. Since it was my idea, I figured I'd take the risk and actually do that. I just wanted others to kinda…help with the broadcasting of a new villain kinda thing. Setting up more events that look like some nightmares come to life type of thing."

"I could definitely help with that." Jack glanced over at Hiccup, grinning. "You wouldn't believe the kinds of things I can make out of ice, let alone frost. Just tell me what you need, and I'l get it ready."

"If you need an archer by your side, I've got the best aim you'll ever find." Merida seemed to meet his gaze. "So long as there is someone out there to make sure the nightmares stop once we're free of this guy, I've got no problems with helping out."

"Sounds like we're all on board then." Hiccup clapped his hands together, rising to his feet. "Let me just get some stuff out of my room, and I can start making a design of—"

"Wait." Violet spoke, looking up at him. "You're…we're concerned about actual Supers interfering, right?" Hiccup nodded, making Violet swallow. She took a deep breath, standing up and meeting his gaze. "Then…let me be the villain. I…out of all of us here, I'm the best suited to dealing with…other Supers, I think."

"Really? Have you met them or something?" Rapunzel stared at Violet, who kept her gaze focused on the ground in response.

Jack watched her, slowly flying towards her instead and frowning. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you're probably right on being able to handle it…but we can manage with someone else."

Meeting his gaze, Violet nodded, dropping her hands to her sides. Hiccup still had no idea what he was missing, but she seemed determined anyway. "I can do this. Those dreams…I need to face them, somehow. This? This plan, as ridiculous as it is…it is my only way of facing it head on."

"Alright. Then I guess we'll need a costume of some kind for you…plus, some kind of grand entrance for a villain…" Hiccup trailed off, trying to come up with a plan. However, Violet looked up with him, slowly giving him a small smile.

"I…might know someone who could help with the costume, actually. Leave that much to me."

Nodding, Hiccup glanced at the others. Rapnzel smiled, nervously reaching into her bag and pulling out a frying pan, of all things. Hiccup frowned at her, seeing her approach Violet and hand it towards the girl. "And this could probably be the best weapon you've ever used. You'd be surprised how useful it can be." Violet blinked at the pan, taking it and glancing at Hiccup who shrugged.

"Uh…thanks, I guess." Rapunzel smiled, but Hiccup had a feeling there was more of a story involved in using that pan than they were seeing. The girl smiled, taking a seat and watching over them again.

Staring at Toothless, Hiccup realized that maybe there was something he could contribute as well. Though, his pet likely wouldn't appreciate it all that much in the end. "Hey…Violet?" The girl glanced towards him, but Hiccup was focused on Toothless' green eyes instead. "How exactly do you feel about heights?"

She followed his gaze, laughing for a moment and shaking her head. "I don't think I stand a chance of getting close enough to him for that. No offense, but Toothless kinda hates all of us, Hiccup."

"He doesn't hate me." Hiccup blinked, glancing towards Jack who grinned, crouching down. "And if we're creating nightmares…why not have a little bit of fun with a dragon too? I think this is going to be a blast after all." He looked towards Violet, smiling at her. "Get your costume ready, because we're going to be taking this town for ourselves with our own personal nightmares." Violet nodded with a faint smile, and Hiccup could only grin with them. This could work. He had to believe that. Really, they didn't have any other options anyway, not against something they still hardly understood.

And they have a plan in place to deal with Pitch! I do hope you are enjoying the story thus far. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!