How To Train Your Dragon: Wrath of the Shieldbreaker

by DareDreamer

Zephyr Haddock knows the stories about her father and how his actions changed the world. She longs to be like him one day, but a certain tradition prevents her from doing so. But when a dangerous new enemy kidnaps her parents in hopes of obtaining her people's guarded secret from them, Zephyr must fight back alongside her younger brother, forge alliances, and become her own hero.

17. The Past Resurfaces

Nuffink's POV

Away from the village, Dawn swoops over the forest with me on his back. He briefly rises up before letting himself fall back down, spinning and letting his wings catch the wind to right himself. Quickly speeding in the opposite direction we were just flying in, he darts into a small chasm between cliffs and rolls after coming out of the other end.

Flying close to another cliff, he tilts his body to the side and flies along the vertical, rocky surface as if wall-running against it. When he reaches the cliff's end, he dives back down towards the forest. Being careful not to get too close to the ground, he weaves between the trees while adding in a spin.

"Woo! Okay, this is awesome!" I shout, patting Dawn on the head after he briefly slows down. "For not being up here often, you sure know your way around- WHOA!"

Before Dawn can take evasive action, he flies right into the upper half of a tree, sending leaves and twigs flying. He beats his wings hard to keep us airborne, and we avoid getting smashed into the ground. While I scrub my hands furiously through my blonde hair, Dawn spits out five leaves in his mouth and growls at me accusingly.

"Sorry, my bad!" I admit. "That's my bad, really messed up! Moving on!"

Shrugging that little incident off, Dawn zooms forward with a burst of speed, climbing up to a mountain overlooking the village. He flies close to a flattened surface, and I leap off and break into a run, vaulting over any small rocks in my path. Dawn flies around the mountain in a circle, waiting for me to get into position. Seeing a rocky wall to my right up ahead, I grab ahold and start climbing it. But instead of climbing all the way to the top, I reach the halfway point… and let go, pushing myself off.

Dawn races around the mountain again, catching me on his back just as I finish a somersault. His wings flash open, catching him in a long glide down to the village.

"WOOOOHOOOO!" I yell, my Night Light leaning from side to side to avoid tall trees, incoming flocks of birds and large rocks. As he nears the village, he jumps off a rooftop and flies low, but not too low, and allows me to leap off. Grabbing hold of a tall weather vane, I twirl around it and slide down to the ground, landing with an exhausted exhale.

"And he sticks the landing!" Adrian calls out from nearby. "Not bad at all, rider!"

"Hey, what can I say?" I respond with arms spread out. "It runs in the family!" The marksman laughs and pats me on the shoulder. "I gotta say, you're a natural at that stuff!"

"And your sister?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Um…"

Before he can continue, the sound of flapping wings and a panicked voice from behind him get our attention.

"Right! No, left! I'm sorry, left! Whoa! Go down! I mean up! Aah!"

"Get out of the way! Incoming!" I yell, diving to the side while Adrian runs for cover. No sooner than we do, Dusk crash-lands right where we once stood, a gasping-for-breath Avicia collapsed over his back.

"Okay…" she pants. "Give me… a minute here… and maybe… we can try again?"

Dusk growls and instead bucks her off. "Unf! No? Okay, that's… your choice. But… if you still wanna go…" The Night Light, without looking back, only huffs as he storms off.

"To answer your question, Fink… not so well." Adrian says as both of us get to our feet.

"Hey!" Avicia snaps back. "I just need some more practice, that's all! Riding a dragon is supposed to be easy, right?"

"Wrong," I answer, taking her by surprise. "Dragon riding is more than just hopping on one's back and flying it around. An important thing to have is the dragon's trust. And based on what just happened, I don't think Dusk trusts you enough to take you out for a spin."

"Ugh…" Avicia moans, clutching her head woozily. "Please don't mention spinning…"

"And there are several ways you can get his trust back," I add. "You can distract him with a tiny point of light, you can scratch him on his neck and chin, you can discard your weapons to show him you're not a threat, but most importantly, you cannot give him an eel. Like his dad before him, I'll bet he'll be scared to death at the sight of it. And the only way you know that he trusts you is when your hand meets with his head."

Avicia looks at me like I've lost my mind. "For a Viking, you sure know a lot about dragons."

"You can thank my dad for that. He's the one who, you know, started the whole thing."

"I'll, ah, keep whatever you just said in mind. Even if it was a mouthful…"

"Okay, sure. Hopefully Dusk can cheer himself up soon if you can't do anything."

With a nod, Avicia heads off to another part of the village. As soon as she's gone, Adrian turns to me. "Your old man teach you well about dragons?"

"He sure did. And Mom taught me everything I know about fighting." I reply. "You know… there's been something I've been thinking about that I still need to ask her."

"What would that be?"

"I'm… thinking about joining the Berk Guard. Just like she did."

"The what now?"

"The Berk Guard," I explain. "The island's main defense battalion. My mom wanted to get into it when she was younger, but she had to cut it short when my parents discovered the Edge. But I still need to finish my training before that can happen."

"Does your sister know of this?"

"Nope. Maybe I should let her know, though. Just maybe not right now… after everything that's happened, I can understand the fact that she needs some time to herself…"

…

Zephyr's POV

The treetops jut out like arrowheads, covering the valley below me in a wide sheet of green. Further outward, the blue plains of the ocean move ever calmly and delicate like not even a boulder could interrupt it.

Note to self: Next time you come up to this vantage point, write a poem about what you can see from here.

After I sit down on the cliff and let my legs dangle off the edge, the sound of synchronized wingbeats pierces through the silence and tranquility of the area. I don't even turn to see who it is.

"I thought I might find you here," Twilight says, landing and walking up to me from my right. "So, this is where you come to get away from everything?"

"Mm. Pretty much. I've kinda been expecting you."

"Yeah. With both of us being daughters of leaders and heroes… there's bound to be pressure put on you."

"Well, my dad's not trying to pile everything on top of me. He gave me the choice of becoming Chieftess, after all. But sometimes, I just come around here… just to be me. To take a break. I mean, even looking after my brother can get a little tiring."

Twilight huffs. "Consider yourself lucky, Zephyr. Looking after one brother may be easy, but two of them? Ugh, you wouldn't believe what I went through when we were younger. I mean, just one wingtip to the nose to wake up Pouncer, and he and Ruffrunner are at it. Again." She sighs, lying down next to me. "After days of breaking them up from their squabbles, I could not say no to a little isolation."

"Wow. Never thought a dragon could have sibling problems." I reply with a hint of surprise. "Do they still do that?"

"Sometimes, but not always like they did as hatchlings. Nowadays, the only time I interfere is when they're getting dangerously close to hurting another dragon or crushing an egg. A cliff they can just fly back up from."

I smirk. "Nuffink's not that much of a troublemaker, but most of the incidents he causes are accidents. They don't even get people hurt."

Twilight gives me a stare.

"…uh, most of the time."

"Right. So we both have something to get away from once in a while…" Twilight mutters as she…

"Did… did you just roll your eyes?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Uh, nothing! It's just… strange, seeing it from you."

"I can see why," she replies before her face narrows in confusion. "On another matter, you said you were expecting me?"

My eyes light up. "Oh! Right! Just a second!" Leaning over to my left, I grab a small tarp I had carried up here earlier and set it down between us. Twilight tilts her head at the sight of it.

"You wanted me to see this? A piece of fabric?"

"Not exactly. More like what's underneath." I clarify, taking one end and yanking it off…

…and Twilight's eyes widen. "Are… are those what I think they are?"

"They are, indeed," I answer with a proud sigh. In front of us lies a set of crafted light-brown wings made of leather, string and any durable material I could find. "Made 'em myself."

"You made these?"

"Yeah. My dad's had a knack for making stuff like these over the years. Once, he told me a story about how he had an idea as to what would happen if a rider was separated from their dragon. Well, a flight suit was what he had in mind."

"And how did it turn out?"

"The first few times? Uh… not so great. Toothless had to save him from smashing against the rocks. He almost crashed several times, but that didn't stop him from moving on. Eventually, he crafted a model that allowed him to glide alongside Toothless in mid-flight… although landings were a bit tricky. And he attached a pair of wings to his Night Fury armor and gave suits to the rest of the team."

"Whoa…"

"Yeah," I smirk. "Whoa."

"Does, uh, does he know about this?"

My face goes pale at that question. "Uh… kind of…?"

Twilight tilts her head at me.

"Okay, fine," I sigh in defeat. "He doesn't. But if he did, I bet he'd be proud of me."

"What about your mother?"

"Oh, wow. She's a completely different story." I breathe. "If she ever found out I had this, she'd kill me on the spot."

"She'd WHAT?!"

Twilight's roar of panic almost sends me into a panic myself. "Nononono! I didn't mean that!" I scream frantically. "I'm saying that she'd take this away and punish me bad! Not kill me!"

This seems to calm Twilight down… briefly. "Don't… scare me… like that again." She pants out.

"Noted. Okay…" I pause to catch my breath. "Anyway, my mom was totally not on board with my dad's fight suit idea, and she panicked during several test runs. She even threatened to lock Dad up in the Edge's prison if he made a second model. So, she would absolutely freak out and ban me from using it to ensure the safety of her daughter."

Twilight stares at me curiously. "Your mother is a really harsh person."

"Eh, those who don't know her well enough normally say that." I shrug it off. "Anyway, I figured now would be a good time to test this thing out. And you could help me."

Twilight freezes, her eyes wide. "You're serious? What if you… you…"

"Relax. That's where you come in. If there's any sign that I'm about to die a horrible death from crashing into a rock or a tree, you swoop in and catch me. Sound good?"

"Uh, yeah. Really good."

She sounds uncertain of this, and she never takes her eyes off me as I rise to my feet, taking my creation in my hand. Positioning them behind my back, I secure it tightly while inserting my arms through the top of the wings. After a quick double-check, triple-check and quadruple-check to see if everything's secure enough, I walk up to the edge of the cliff.

Twilight swallows nervously like this is her first time flying. "You're absolutely sure about this?" I laugh it off, turning my head to look at her. "Twilight, relax! It'll be fine! We don't have anything to worry about!" I don't wait for her to reply, because before she can get one more word out… I step off.

My arms held at my sides to keep me steady, the wind rushes around me and seems to race upward towards me. The forest is still a ways below, but I know it'll come up fast. I let myself fall a little further… and further… and further…

Now!

I spread my arms open, unfurling the wings and letting them catch the wind like small nets. In an instant, I'm jolted from my freefall… into a calm, gentle glide.

…

Twilight's POV

"ZEPHYR!" I yelp, her body vanishing from sight as she (purposely?) steps right off the cliff. I dart over to the edge, my eyes moving every which way in search of her. When I find nothing… fear begins to creep into my heart.

But that fear fades when my ears pick up an ecstatic whoop.

Looking straight ahead, a winged figure is soaring across the treetops of the forest, looking like it's having the time of its life. I recognize it to be Zephyr when she turns her head around and, with a smile, gestures for me to follow.

I'm still a little nervous at first, but I dismiss it with another eye roll. "Oh, what the heck?" I sigh, spreading my own wings and leaping off the cliff myself. They flash open in moments, and I beat them rhythmically to catch up…

…

Zephyr's POV

Twilight flies in on my right, her sky-blue eyes meeting my own. Noticing how happy I look, she mimics my smile with a gummy grin.

"See? This isn't so bad, is it?" I chuckle. "I told you we had nothing to worry about! Now watch this!" Twilight purrs at me quizzically…

…and I send my body spinning, performing a barrel roll for a stunt. "Cool, right?!" Twilight says nothing, but only coos in wonder…

…before she copies my movements, slowly spinning once before righting herself. Seeing this, I quickly get an idea.

I tilt my body to the left, veering off in that direction. From behind me, Twilight chases after. I lean from side to side, swiftly flying past any tall trees in my way. After a quick bank to the right with Twilight still on my tail, I shift myself upwards to perform a big loop. Twilight manages to mimic that as well, before she blasts a bolt of plasma, flying right through and vanishing…

I pause my aerial maneuvers, scanning for any sign of her… but she reappears right above me, peeking down and smiling. With a grin of my own, I veer off again to another part of the forest. Twilight doesn't give up, chasing after me again.

"WOO! HAHA!" I cheer as I zip through the air. "This is AMAZING!"

Behind me, Twilight lets out a small roar of happiness as she rolls over me in mid-air. I try dipping underneath her, and she soars in the opposite direction. Pretty soon, the two of us fly together in synchronized aerial patterns.

"What did I tell you, girl?" I ask Twilight with happiness in my tone. "It's not so bad, is it? Everything's gonna be just-AH!"

I hadn't realized I wasn't watching where I was going, and by the time I looked back ahead of me, I had flown right into a tree! Twilight yelps in surprise as I fall… but leaves, twigs and small branches are a great help. And by "great", I mean "not so great".

By the time it all stops and my senses come back to me, I am dangling upside down a few meters above the ground. "Ow… okay, no longer amazing…"

Vines are tangled around my ankles, my wings are shredded and my skin is scratched and bruised. Twilight lands on the forest floor with a thump, a smirk on her face.

"It'll be fine, you said. We don't have anything to worry about, you said."

"Ha, ha, ha. Hilarious." I moan, trying to release my arms from whatever's left of my wings. "Now be a good dragon and help me down from here?"

"Hmm…" Twilight says, eyes tilted upward in thought. "Let me think about that…" Instead of walking up to me, she simply turns away with a cheeky smile. "No."

"Oh, for-!" I groan in disappointment, my dragon's "betrayal" taunting me. Grumbling to myself, I fidget with the wings a little more. After a few agonizing minutes, my left arm slips free and I start to work on my other one. "If Toothless was like this with Dad," I mutter to myself. "then he must have found this pretty damn funny if his rider was in a perilous-GYAH!"

The instant I free both arms, I plummet to the forest floor… but the vines wrapped around my ankles stop me from smashing face-first into the ground. Now I'm left gently bobbing up and down, and I'm pretty sure my blood's going to start rushing to my head anytime soon.

Twilight notices my new predicament… but not in a good way. The moment her eyes rest on me, she bursts into laughter.

"Very funny!" I shout through her draconic chuckles. "I could really use some help over here!"

"Nope!" she calls back.

"Grrrrr! You lousy, stinking, good-for-nothing-!" I grumble to myself, patting my skirt to see if I still had… yes!

KLIK! FA-WOOSH!

With a shout, I slash through the vines at my feet, finally freeing myself! Flipping upright, I land on my feet with the cut, singed vines collapsing shortly after. Noticing this, Twilight perks up and slowly makes her way towards me.

"Some help you were, you useless reptile," I mutter with a frown. But instead of making fun of my situation again, Twilight's eyes are locked on the Dragon Blade. "That sword… you used it during the battle."

My frown instantly vanishes, and inside I'm glad she's changing the subject. "Uh, yeah. Not only is the blade on fire, but it could also release explosive gas. It looks cool, don't you think?"

"Did your father make that, too?"

"Yeah. When he was a little older than me. It was originally used for pacifying wild dragons, but he later used it in battle. I heard he even sparred against Mom with it."

"It's… impressive." Twilight whispers, awed. "What can you do with it?"

My eyes light up at her question… and I smile. "I'm so glad you asked. Stand back, girl."

Twilight backs up a few steps, and I assume a ready position. Briefly closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. I start by gently moving the weapon horizontally until it's pointed at Twilight, then again from the other direction. The Night Light's intrigued eyes follow the fiery blade's path.

With both hands steadily gripping it, I raise the Dragon Blade over my head and behind my back, letting it hang there for a moment. After a few seconds, I bring it back down in a swift motion. The blazing arc conjured by the movement fascinates Twilight, who purrs in wonder. Smirking at my dragon's reaction, I twirl the weapon around with one hand… until I'm holding it with a reverse grip.

I slash in several strokes before reverting back to a normal grip, starting to pick up the pace. My mind wanders back to my training days, where one exercise consisted of many trainees all surrounding me, my mother's eyes watching me and a wooden sword in my grip.

I start swinging the Dragon Blade like I'm actually being attacked, alternating between defense and offense in fluid movements. Twilight coos in awe as I dance around with the burning blade. Spinning it around, I thrust, deflect, roll, cartwheel, strike, and defend from all around me.

As I keep going, my movements get faster and more aggressive. The fiery trails snake around my body with every swing, spin and slash I perform with the Dragon Blade. At this point, I let my body flow freely on its own, keeping my breathing steady, my heart pumping and my muscles in motion…

…until I get carried away.

The sound of cracking wood and a sharp hiss snaps me back into awareness. I stumble back, a gasp escaping from both mine and Twilight's throats. In the small tree directly in front of me is an orange, horizontal smoking gash. As wisps of smoke rise from it, I can only stare at what had just happened.

"Well…" Twilight whispers to me. "At least you didn't-"

She's interrupted by more cracking and creaking sounds… then a loud thump as the tree collapses to the ground. Nearby birds fly off and animals my people hunt for run in terror.

"Never mind."

Still cringing from the tree's fall, I back away and turn back to Twilight, holding the Dragon Blade up. "Dad believed this weapon was lost when he fought Grimmel," I explain, my eyes locked on the fiery blade. "But my grandmother recovered it and kept it hidden away for years. It's… not as perfect as it used to be, but it sure is something."

I gently move the weapon around a few more times, watching the burning trail… and it flickers.

"Huh?"

I barely have time to comprehend the situation as the flame flickers for a little longer… and vanishes. I freeze up when it does, knowing what this means.

"What happened?" Twilight asks in shock. "Where'd it go?"

For a moment, I don't respond. I can only stare at the now-metal blade with tiny wisps of smoke rising from it… and all traces of heat and fire fading away.

"It's… it's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?"

"Twilight…" I whisper sadly. "The flame comes from Monstrous Nightmare saliva my dad stores in small canisters. And it needed to be replenished from time to time. After the dragons left, he… he only had one left."

Twilight doesn't need to say anything, I already know her reaction. As if sensing my emotions about my father's best creation, she lowers her head to the ground with a sad croon. "I'm sorry, Zephyr."

"Don't be," I murmur back. "It's not like he'd be upset with me. We… we both knew this would happen."

Twilight stays silent, allowing me to have this moment and understanding how important it means to me. A weapon that served its purpose well… now had its flame extinguished for good.

With a heavy sigh, I press the switch one more time, retracting the metal pieces into the hilt. Reattaching it to my skirt, I make a move to mount Twilight… before wingbeats stop me in my tracks.

Twilight hears it, too. The two of us turn to the edge of the clearing, where a white dragoness gracefully lands before us. As she approaches us, Twilight's eyes go wide. "Mother."

"It is time for the answers the both of you have been seeking to be revealed," the Light Fury states. "Find your brothers, then meet us by the meadow." Before Twilight can ask her where they were last seen, the Light Fury takes to the air, fires off a plasma blast and flies right through, completely vanishing.

Twilight sighs. "Mother did always make things simple with little explanation. Once, when we were all younger, she had us navigate caverns on our own with only saying she'd be waiting at the end."

"Well, we'd better get to it," I say, hopping onto Twilight's back. "Let's head back to the village. They've gotta be there."

…

A few minutes later, Twilight lands in the village square and allows me to dismount her. She heads off to find Dawn, leaving me in charge of finding Dusk. To my suspicion, he's not among the dragons carefully balanced on rooftops, or among the dragons playing with children. It takes me five minutes to look for him…

…and when I do find him, he's where I least expected it.

I notice him by my grandfather's statue, lost in thought as he stares up at it in a sitting position. Quietly, I make my way over to him, careful not to disturb him.

"Hey."

Dusk jolts, snapped out of his thoughts. Recollecting himself, he turns his head to look at me. "Hi."

"Sorry if I startled you. I was just looking for you."

"It's fine, Zephyr, it's fine," Dusk dismisses. "It's just… this statue."

"What about it?"

Dusk pauses for a moment. "I've… seen it before."

My eyes narrow in confusion. "Come again? You've… seen it before?"

"Yeah, just… not on this island."

Wait a minute… not on this island? Curiosity flowing through my veins, I slowly walk up to him and rest a hand on his chin. "Can you… tell me about it?"

"Uh…" Dusk lowers his eyes to the ground, moving them from side to side in uncertainty before looking back at me. "Okay, but promise me you can't tell Dart?"

"Yeah, why?"

…

Dusk's POV

"It was a year ago," I begin. "Before my father learned of the crisis. Our training was progressing, but slowly. Being the youngest of my siblings, I was eager and impatient to explore the outside world. But Father, and later my sister, forbade me from leaving until our training was complete. But I thought my training was just holding me back.

So one night, I waited until my parents and my siblings were asleep so I could make my move. Once I was sure they wouldn't wake up anytime soon, I flew off and out into the outside world."

I still remember my amazement of it at first. The dark skies that could keep me safe, the calm waters below me and the fluffy clouds above me. I was eager to explore, so explore I did. But after several hours of flying, that's when I saw it.

"I flew for a long time. I wanted to see everything there was to see. I explored small islands, scavenged through wrecked human vessels… but after a long flight, something below caught my eye. An island with a human village on it. Or at least, what was left of it."

I let my curiosity get the better of me that night, but I still remembered what Father had said about the humans. I couldn't risk being spotted. I landed on the docks, which were somewhat weakened from rain, bird droppings, and age. A piece of it even gave out when I stepped on it.

"I crept quietly into the village, but to my confusion… there was no human in sight. No men, no women, no children… nothing. Not even a boat. After further investigation, I realized the place was abandoned."

I found out the hard way that the rooftops of huts were also weak, as one collapsed underneath me as I landed on it, sending me falling into the building below. I also remember pushing open the door to one hut, startled when two birds flew out. Instead of humans living here, there were now birds, squirrels, rats and other small animals my kind would see as light snacks.

"But not only was the village abandoned… it was also attacked. I saw structures toppled over, huts burned down and traces of destruction. There were places huts used to be, but only ashes and burnt wood remained. At first, I believed it was from the Old War, when your kind and mine were enemies. But I soon caught the scent of a lone human. It was faint because of how much time had passed, but I also picked up traces of acid. From the dragons your people call Deathgrippers. So I asked myself 'Was all of this the work of one human? Did he leave any survivors? And if so, did they flee in fear?'"

I kept myself on guard as if the same man would ambush and attack me from anywhere. It was a matter of time before I relaxed, with no trace of the man or his dragons anywhere. And that's when I saw it… at the top of a stone staircase that led to a door within the mountain.

"And there it was. The same statue that's before us now. I've heard stories that humans carve them from leaders and people they look up to. No doubt that this statue is a copy of that one. It's definitely the same person, and it's even in the same pose."

I wanted to see more of the island, to piece together what had happened. But a quick glance of the moon's position served as a warning. I had to get back home before anyone noticed I was gone. So with one last look around the village, I took off and flew back.

…

Zephyr's POV

Dusk's story almost sends my heart reeling. He doesn't know what he saw… but I do. The Night Light turns back to the statue, trying to make sense of everything. "But first… who is this?"

"Dusk…" I whisper, making him look at me again. "That person… that's my grandfather. The great Stoick the Vast, who gave his own life to save my father. Dad's looked up to him all his life, and he still misses him. And I…" I pause, sighing. "…I wish I'd known him. I wish he was here to see his grandkids grow up."

Dusk looks at me quietly before turning back to the statue. "If… if that man is your grandfather, then… does that mean-?"

"Do… do you know the name of this place?"

"O-of course! New Berk!" he answers. "Why?"

"That place you saw… that village… that was what came before."

"Before? What do you mean? What's so special about that place?"

"That place was home to seven generations of Vikings," I explain the instant he finishes. "Seven generations… my parents' among them."

The realization sinking in, Dusk lets me continue with fascinated eyes.

"Berk was one of those islands that most people would dismiss as a wet heap of rock. Located on the Meridian of Misery, it had weather conditions that would make most people relocate. But Vikings are the stubborn type, so we just accepted it. Winters were long and cold, and any summer was just a small light in the darkness. My dad would tell me bedtime stories about it, and he would say that he still missed his old home."

Dusk doesn't speak when I pause. He wants me to go on, the glimmer in his eyes never fading.

"Dragon raids were constant until my dad changed everything. An academy was set up and our lifestyle changed when dragons settled in. But his dream of a human-dragon utopia had some downsides to it: the more dragons he brought there… the more of a target Berk became. And one night, Grimmel the Grisly came.

You would have hated him. He was known for his reputation of killing Night Furies, driving them to near-extinction. His search for the ultimate prize, your father, led him to Berk. He confronted my dad, who refused to give Toothless up. Grimmel's response… was to burn his house and most of the village to the ground."

Dusk gasps, the memory now making sense.

"My dad had no choice. For the safety of his people and the dragons, he decided to relocate to the Hidden World. At first, this island was supposed to be a temporary camp, but when he learned that humans had no place down there, he made it permanent, naming it New Berk in honor of our old residence. Now… Old Berk lies forgotten. Abandoned. Gone."

This talk about my parents' old lives, their home I had never known, almost sends me to tears. Dusk still remains silent, his eyes and mine glancing at the wooden deck beneath us. After a few moments of self-mourning… he speaks up with a hint of determination in his tone.

"Berk isn't gone."

"W-what? What do you mean by that?"

"It may be gone from your people, but it will always exist. Both as that small island with cold weather, and in your hearts. If there's something I know about your people, Zephyr, it's that there's only one home for you. And that home is something you always carry with you. Berk lives on… it lives on in your hearts."

His words bring a smile to my face. "Thanks, Dusk… hey, there's something else you should see here."

"What's that?"

"Here, take a look," I whisper, leading him to the base of the statue. "In the center. What do you see there?" Dusk squints, trying to make the image out… before he reels back in surprise.

"That's… that's my father."

"And mine," I add. "When they were both young, around our own age. This is supposed to represent when they first met."

"Your father looks… looks…"

"Scrawny? Weak? Like a talking fishbone? My people used to ignore him and treat him like a nobody because of that."

"Uh, I was going to say 'different'."

I pause in my tracks. "Um, yeah, sure. Let's go with different."

"Zephyr! What are you doing?!"

The sudden voice makes Dusk and I jolt in surprise, whirling toward the source of the voice. From behind us, Twilight comes in for a landing, an annoyed expression on her face.

"I've already found Pouncer and Nuffink! Stop wasting time and get to the meadow!" she barks, launching into the air as soon as she's done. Watching his sister fly off towards the forest, Dusk turns to me curiously.

"What was that all about?"

"Right. I was looking for you because your mother told me we had to meet in the meadow. There, we'd get answers."

"Answers?" he asks me. "You mean like how you and I can-"

"Understand each other? Yep. Now come on!"

I leap onto his back as he takes a running start… and takes off.

…

Sometime later, the three Night Lights fly down towards a lush, green meadow where my parents, my grandmother, Toothless, Stormfly, the Light Fury and Cloudjumper all await us. Intrigued by a lone flower, Dawn bends down to sniff at it before a sharp grunt from Twilight brings him back to attention.

"You summoned us, Mother?" Twilight addresses the Light Fury formally.

"I assume the question of how this human family is capable of communicating with us has remained in your minds for some time," she speaks before turning her eyes to me. "Young Zephyr, your parents already know the story, and now it is time for you and your brother to be acquainted with it also."

"Alright," Nuffink says as we both dismount. "So how does this start?"

"It starts in a time before either of us were born," Grandma begins. "In a time where a war between our two races was all but inevitable. In the time of our ancestor, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second."

"Whoa…" my brother whispers while I gesture for Grandma to continue.

"Like your father, Hiccup the Second was a runt, someone with un-Viking like qualities. But instead of being ignored and cast aside… he was abandoned by his father on a mountainside."

I gulp nervously. "A-abandoned?"

"Yes. His mother set out to find him, but in her quest it was presumed she died. As for little Hiccup the Second, he was eventually found… but not by a human. A lone dragon that dwelled within the mountain found the young boy… and brought him in."

"He was raised by dragons?" Nuffink whispered. Grandma only nods before continuing.

"He was treated as a son for that dragon, and as a brother for that dragon's offspring. He spent many years among his adoptive family, and as time passed on… something inside him changed. His bond with his dragon family was so great… he began to speak with them. And they began to speak with him back."

"And it was passed down to us." I realize with wide eyes.

"Indeed. But that is not the end of this tale yet," Grandma says. "When Hiccup the Second matured, he decided to prove to humans that dragons did not need to be feared. He held a secret meeting to show his people the truth… but he was betrayed."

"Betrayed?" Nuffink asks. "By whom?"

"By his older brother, who despised him for being a 'weakling'. He told their father that the dragons were creatures that feasted off humans and livestock to make the world theirs, and he believed him. So when Hiccup the Second held the meeting in an old Viking hall, his father attacked him. The strike left him with a scar on the side of his face. Seeing his chance, his brother stabbed Hiccup the Second through the chest with a knife, mortally wounding him.

Seeing their 'brother' in danger, Hiccup the Second's adoptive siblings attacked out of self-defense. Two males and a female were slain, and the humans soon believed that the dragons attacked first as the years passed.

As for Hiccup the Second, he was now believed to be dead. But his dragon father took him back to the mountain and nursed him back to health, although the process took many weeks.

Upon his recovery, Hiccup the Second learned that three of his 'siblings' were killed and his brother had taken the role of Chief after their father had died during a battle with a wild dragon. Out of hatred for the dragons, his brother declared war."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a second!" Nuffink interrupts. "Wasn't it that Bork the Bold guy who started it? On accident?"

Grandma chuckles. "Only a child's tale, little Nuffink. Wanting Hiccup the Second to be forgotten, his brother conjured that story years later to deal one last strike against him, mocking his 'weakness' with Bork the Bold's clumsiness.

Hiccup the Second realized that humans cared for nothing but themselves and exiled himself from them. As the years passed, he unlocked many secrets of the dragons, even deciphering their language that appeared to be marks and scratches to the untrained eye.

A few years into adulthood, he crafted a terrifying mask and set of armor should he reveal himself to human eyes once again. He was respected by dragons and even became the right hand of the Alpha. But in the remainder of his days, he entrusted his work to be guarded by the dragons so that no human would ever find them and use them for selfish purposes.

Now, after three hundred years, he rests in the very same mountain he was raised in, sitting on a throne of stone with armor and helmet still equipped."

"Wow…" I whisper in awe. "But… how do you know all of this?"

Grandma smiles. "Because many years ago, before your father found me, I searched for that mountain after recovering whatever legends I could…"

…

Thirty years ago

Valka crept quietly through the dark, rocky tunnels with staff in hand. Her search's end was finally in sight, and all clues pointed her in this direction. This had to be the correct mountain, the resting place of her ancestor from three centuries ago.

Carefully moving past stalagmites and sharp rocks, Valka noticed a small hole just up ahead. She was close. She knew it.

With a grunt, she used her staff to push aside a large rock covering half of the hole. Stepping through and into the large cavern, she looked around for what she was looking for…

…and when her eyes swept the rocky floor, she found it.

On a throne made of stone, an unmoving figure sat at attention as if expecting her. The black helmet and armor covered up every trace of bone, so one would believe it was still alive.

Climbing down a rocky slope, Valka landed at the bottom with a grunt. There he was; the man partially responsible for everything that has happened for the past few centuries. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second.

Carefully stepping over small pebbles and bones, Valka's eyes never left the armored figure that seemed to be watching her…

"You do not belong here…"

Valka whirred behind her, where tiny rocks were dropping from the ceiling. Glancing upward, she noticed a bright yellow eye opening up and staring at her. A puff of smoke arose from a nostril, and a dark-red Monstrous Nightmare emerged from the shadows, its claws gripping the rocky walls of the caverns. Scars covered its face and chest, presumably from past encounters.

The creature climbed down to the rocky floor, its eyes locked on Valka. "Your feeble disguise is impressive…" it snarled, with Valka recognizing the tone to be female. "But it will not be enough to save you."

Something cracked beneath Valka's boot, and she directed her gaze downward… to see a human skull splintered to pieces.

"Do you see?" the dragon hissed. "You are not the first to discover this place, and I can assure you will not be the last. I have guarded the remains of a human who has severed all ties with his kind… and has pledged himself to my own. And you dare defile this place with your presence?"

Valka's only response was to twirl her staff above her and smack it against the ground, the bits of shell and bone rattling on impact. But to her surprise, the dragon did not stop. Instead, she only chuckled in amusement.

"Did you believe that would work?" she growled, crushing a human skull beneath her front talon. "I have been taught to resist such sounds that would interfere with my task. That may succeed with other dragons… but not for me."

Valka broke into a run, determined to subdue the dragon… but the creature only smacked her aside with her tail, sending the woman flying into a stalactite that smashed on impact.

"So be it."

The Monstrous Nightmare reared back, the back of its mouth an orange glow. Valka whipped out her shield just as the dragon lunged forward, a jet of flame erupting from its maw. The shield absorbed the incendiary assault, and Valka rose from her defensive position… to see the dragon's jaws lunging for her.

She dove to the side as the dragon's mouth closed on nothing but rock. Tearing it from the ground, the Nightmare crunched it to pebbles with a snarl. Valka ran for cover as the dragon roared angrily.

"You cannot hide forever!" she snarled, her claws crushing any bone and small rock beneath them. "Your scent betrays you!" Smashing her head against the rock wall, she caused loose rocks to fall from the stone ceiling. Despite the shower of stone, Valka kept her head down and didn't move from the boulder she hid behind.

"Hmm. Interesting." The dragon remarked, sniffing the ground to find Valka's location. "Most humans who come here scurry about like the rats they are. But you… you're something else, indeed. And most humans don't survive this long… but you won't be lucky any longer."

Using her head to make the boulder roll off into a ditch, the dragon opened her mouth to snatch up the bothersome intruder. At the last second, Valka rolled out of the way and made a sprint for Hiccup the Second's throne…

…but the Monstrous Nightmare summoned forth a mighty gust of wind with a single flap of her wings, sending Valka sprawling to the ground with a pained grunt. Before she could rise to her feet, the dragon's talon slammed against her, the claws pinning her in place like small prey.

"You've put up quite a struggle, little rat," the dragon snarled. "But I grow tired of your antics. I would die before any human desecrates the resting place of the right hand of the Alpha himself. Now, your story… comes to an end." The Nightmare drew its head back, the inner flame glowing a bright orange…

"STOP!" Valka shouted, hands gripping the dragon's claws.

The glow dimmed and the dragon's mouth closed. The yellow eyes widened in surprise, staring down at Valka in disbelief. "I have survived this long… because I'm no ordinary human." Valka told the dragon. "I, too, have lived among your kind. Just not as long as him."

"You… understand me?" The Nightmare asked curiously.

"That's right, I do."

The Nightmare only huffed, smoke flowing from her nostrils. "Impossible. No human has spoken to any dragon since the time of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second, whose voice still echoes in my own ears when he instructed me to watch over him. Surely, you must be deceiving me."

"I am not," Valka protested. "And I can prove it to you. I have not come to desecrate this sacred place."

"Then who are you?" the Nightmare purred, releasing Valka from her talon. "And why have you come here?"

Reaching up to her mask, Valka pulled it over her head and shook her hair loose. "My name is Valka Haddock."

"Haddock?" the dragon repeated, briefly glancing at the remains of Hiccup the Second. "His blood is your own?"

"That is correct," Valka replied. "I am the descendant of Hiccup the Second and thus, his ability to communicate with your kind has passed down to me. Although, due to little connections between your kind in these times, the ability has become dormant. I discovered it when my friend Cloudjumper conversed with me. Since then, I have searched for answers. And my search has led me here: to the same mountain my ancestor once resided in."

The Monstrous Nightmare settled with an exhale. "I am called Blazestone, entrusted with guarding the remnants of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second, along with this entire mountain."

"So this mountain, the same one home to the dragons that took my ancestor in, is now your domain?"

"Correct. For a human, the journey here is difficult, and I have never ventured out for decades. You've sought your ancestor out at last… so what do you wish to do now?"

…

Zephyr's POV

"I had Cloudjumper take the armor of Hiccup the Second to my sanctuary, where it has been given a proper send-off," Grandma finishes. "Blazestone agreed to join my flock, and she resided in the Hidden World. Sadly, I am afraid that she was one of the many dragons greatly wounded in the battle against the Shieldbreaker. She was forced to withdraw if she was to survive."

"She served her purpose well, old friend," Cloudjumper adds, with Grandma nodding in appreciation.

"So… I assume your offspring will have this ability as well," Dawn brings up, turning to me. "And maybe their offspring, and their offspring, and their-"

"Yeah, yeah! We get the point!" Dusk growls, slapping his brother with his wing. Dawn snarls, preparing to retaliate… but a stern glance from Twilight makes both brothers step away.

"You said something about the ability being dormant," I say to Grandma. "Does that mean it can fade away?"

"Indeed, but not entirely," she replies. "Ever since Hiccup the Second's time, the ability to communicate with dragons will forever be embedded into our family's blood for generations. If a link with dragons does not come, it will dwindle and will only reawaken once contact is reestablished."

"So… I guess we don't need to worry about losing it, then?" Nuffink asks. Grandma only shakes her head.

"You need not worry at all."

…

30 minutes later

Twilight's POV

It's been some time since I finally got those answers. Well… most of the answers. There's still something I need to know.

For some odd reason… I know New Berk. And not just because Father told me about it. It's like… I know this place like I've been here before.

But I've never been here in my whole life… haven't I?

Hiccup and the other humans are preparing for their last goodbyes to their fallen friend. From what I've heard, she's made an impact on him and everyone else. It's going to take some time before it's ready, so until then I'm going to find what I'm looking for.

But how do I do that if I don't even know what to look for? And yet… it's all around me.

The buildings (is it just me or do some of them look like dragon heads?). The trees. The sculptures. Those strange white creatures that look like walking clouds (they seem terrified and scatter off in panic whenever I approach them). Everything here is so familiar.

I'm not sure I can take much more of not knowing. Just what happened here, and why are me and my brothers involved? (Speaking of my brothers, I left them by other dragons our age so they could play around. I just hope they don't get too rough, the last thing I need is damage severe enough for Father to be upset with me…)

No, Dart! You need to focus!

Growling, I shake my head in an attempt to get rid of any other thoughts. All that matters now are answers, and so far I've come up with nothing. Still, it's not like I can ask Zephyr or Nuffink, I doubt they'll be much help. They probably don't know what's happened either…

There's a group of human children nearby, and they don't seem to notice me. One of them has a stick in his hand, and he's drawing something in the dirt. Curious, I squint to get a better look.

Upon closer inspection, I can make out the drawing. It's a depiction of… an adult human.

…

I leap off and land near Papa and the picture he's made in the sand. It looks fascinating… I've never seen anything like it.

Several squawks make me look up, and Pouncer lands on top of the picture after Ruffrunner bucks him off. Noticing the picture, my brothers scamper around and dig while Mama approaches us, nuzzling Papa lovingly.

My brothers move away, and I see they've added horns and wings to the picture. Taken aback by these new additions, I tilt my head in surprise. But instead of keeping the picture as is, Papa wipes at the sand with his front foot, with some of it getting in Ruffrunner's face. Once it's gone, he uses the stick in his mouth to make another picture.

Not only does he redo the first picture, but he also draws a series of jagged lines and what looks like himself flying through the air. "Papa… what is this?" I squeak curiously.

"That's my friend, Dart," Papa begins. "Someone I've known long before you were hatched. His name was Hiccup."

"Hiccup?" Pouncer repeats. "That's an odd name for a dragon."

"That's because he wasn't a dragon at all. He belonged to a race called humans."

"Whoa…" Ruffrunner whispers.

"The story of how I met him is a long one, which I'll tell you another day. But our time together is something I'll never forget. We were unstoppable, able to prevail against anything the world above could throw at us. But after six years of companionship, circumstances forced us to go about our own ways. After ten years of living our own lives, I still haven't forgotten him… and sometimes I still miss him."

"Is he dead, Papa?" Ruffrunner asks, making Papa's ears perk up.

"Dead? No! I'd never believe that for an instant! Instead…" Papa draws a line from the picture of him to the picture of this "Hiccup" person. "Instead, he lives on an island called New Berk, far from here. He leads his people just as I lead the dragons. And sometimes, when I have some time to myself…" he drops the stick into the sand. "I sometimes dream of flying over there to visit, just to see him again. Maybe he misses me too."

"I can tell you this," Mama purrs. "He certainly does. Now come."

I hear Mama and Papa walk away, but I can't take my eyes off that picture. Pouncer and Ruffrunner also find it interesting, but I wonder if there's more to it. Maybe I can visit this "New Berk" and see Hiccup. Maybe we'll be friends just like he was friends with Papa. Maybe…

"Dart!"

I glance away from the picture, noticing my brothers are gone. Realizing Papa's already called us, I quickly take one last look at the picture… before running off to join my family.

…

That picture. It made me remember something. Now I know that those drawings were of Zephyr's father and New Berk… but what did that have to do with New Berk and me and my brothers?

Before I can look for any other clues, something on a nearby hill catches my attention. A house. Not like any of the others, but perhaps checking in there could bring up something. It's worth a shot.

I run up the hill until I reach the entrance to the wooden building. Hopefully, it's empty because I don't want to frighten anybody inside. Slowly, I climb up the steps leading to the front door…

…and just as I approach it, a fish on a string drops down in front of me.

"Huh?" The sight of the fish lightly startles me and my eyes watch it dangle from side-to-side. As I eye it, I realize I hadn't eaten since we came under attack. Maybe one snack wouldn't hu- wait a minute.

A fish on a string. That definitely screams "trap". I shouldn't do it… but this is the only thing standing between me and answers. And besides, my training has prepared me for stuff like this. So, what's it gonna be? Hidden blades? Secret arrow shafts? Floor spikes? Maybe even nets and razor wire?

Grabbing the fish in my jaws, I tug it back hard. The moment after I do so, I hear something activating. I let go of the fish and leap off the porch, bracing myself…

…as a single log swings past where I once stood.

"What? That's all they could think of?" I ask aloud, puzzled. Climbing back up the stairs, I push the log aside. Honestly, out of all their weapons and tools in the world, and yet they chose something so…

"OW!"

Another log smacks me right in the face, making me stumble back. Rubbing my head with one paw, I groan and open my eyes. There's another log right at the door. One with an image of a fish on it.

Okay, for that one I gotta give them some credit. A backup in case the first log didn't work.

But logs are logs, they can't stop me. Gently moving my way past it, I manage to squeeze my body in tight to fight through the door. It takes me a while to get through, but soon enough, I'm in.

Alright, now where? Maybe a look around before trying to sniff something out? I stand on my hind legs to get an overall look at the house's interior…

…and my head bumps against something hanging from the ceiling. Something round and metal with places for tiny flames (candles, I think they're called) starts swaying back and forth, almost looking like it's going to fall off. Gently, I take a corner of it in my teeth and hold it in place to keep it from falling. Once it stops moving, I gently let go and lower myself back down to all fours.

Okay, that was a close one. Now, time to look for anything that might trigger my memory without any further…

CRASH!

…issues.

My tail had just bumped against something on a wooden shelf, reducing it to sharp-looking pieces. My eyes widening in panic, I sweep the pieces aside with my tail to hide them from any human eyes. Gotta be careful in here. One wrong move and my talons are gonna be full of disaster…

Apparently, I don't watch where I step, because my left front foot slips out from underneath something on the floor (a… rug, I think?) and I barely have time to regain my balance. With a panicked shriek, I crash to the floor, the impact strong enough to make a candlestick fall over and bonk me on the head. Out of the corner of my eye, spare weapons on the wall fall to the floor with a clatter.

I quickly scramble back upright, pushing the candlestick back up. Unfortunately, I only make it lean against the wall. They won't notice that, right? With a relieved sigh, I start making my way deeper into the house…

…only to notice my claw caught in the fabric of the rug.

My blue eyes widen in panic. "No, no, no! Get off, get off!" I whine, shaking my foot in desperation. The rug gets all scuffled up and I end up moving backward… right into something big.

My ears perk up in alarm and I slowly turn around, hearing the sound of whatever I had just bumped into starting to fall over. Smaller objects filled with paper fall to the floor…

…and whatever was holding them collapses right on top of me as I yelp in panic.

A huge weight pins me down and I hit the floor again. Thankfully I'm not hurt… at least not a lot. Still, it feels very uncomfortable. I gotta stop wasting time and be more careful if I'm ever gonna find anything!

With a grunt, I hoist myself up, pushing the large wooden object off me. A bunch of the smaller objects slide off me as I push the object (a wooden shelf of some kind) back against the wall. It takes a lot of my strength to do so, and by the time I'm done, I need to catch my breath.

Okay… that was crazy. Just need to watch myself. I slowly open my eyes, looking around at the damage I'd caused. The candlestick leaning against the wall, the paper things scattered on the floor, the rug with a torn spot from where my claw once was, Zephyr staring at the scene in horror at the door…

Wait, what?

Oh no…

…

Zephyr's POV

All I had to do now was wait. Heather's funeral wouldn't be ready for at least half an hour. Maybe to pass the time, I could work on some weapon designs, hang out with Finky and the Night Lights, or perhaps something else. Climbing up the porch steps, something instantly catches my eye.

"What the?" I whisper, running my hand across the carved log suspended by a rope. Was this… this couldn't have been…

"My old dragon defense system?" I mumble to myself, feeling it to make sure it's real. "I… I thought I took it down. Disabled it. But… who could've activated it?" Walking over to the winch that I used to reset it, I take it in both hands and crank it until the logs and fish-string are back into place.

And just as I finish, a loud crash echoes from inside my house. A startled gasp escapes my throat and panic fills my bloodstream. I bolt over to the door, rush inside… and my heart drops down to my feet.

The interior of my house… is a complete wreck!

The iron chandelier on the ceiling is swaying back and forth, two knives and an axe lie on the floor, the rug is all messed up, a candlestick is leaning against a wall, and a bookcase has just toppled over with books spilled out!

I can hardly move or speak. What… who could've… what just happened here?

Something pushes upward against the bookcase it's trapped under, and my jaw just about falls to the ground itself when I recognize it…

Twilight pushes the bookcase back against the wall with a grunt, stopping to catch her breath afterward. She opens her eyes, looking around at the scene before her… before her eyes rest on me.

They flash open in panic and she almost stumbles back with a screech. A small book falls on top of her head, covering her eyes. Shaking her head to get it off, she slowly starts to back away.

"Twilight…" I whisper, my voice now coming back to me. "What… did you DO?!"

The Night Light flinches at the tone and only whimpers at me.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THOR HAVE YOU DONE!" I scream, my heart beating like mad. "HOW DID YOU EVEN GET IN HERE?!"

"Zephyr, it wasn't my fault! Honestly!" the Night Light whines in panic, covering her face with both front paws.

"NOT YOUR FAULT?! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY HOUSE! MY PARENTS ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO KILL ME NOW!"

"I'm sorry, Zephyr! I'm so sorry! I was just looking for…" Twilight pauses, her eyes reopening and her paws moving away from her head. "Wait… this is your house?"

"YES!" I shout in exasperation. "This was a separate building away from the rest of the village! Who did you THINK was living here?!"

Twilight doesn't respond, her mind clearly on something else. "Then… who set up that-"

"Hey, what's all the yelling about?" Dusk's voice calls from outside. "Zephyr? Dart? Is that you?"

I spin on my heel, catching sight of Dusk right on the porch… and the fish on the string close to his face. "Ooh! Don't mind if I do!" he chuckles, opening his mouth…

"DON'T-"

THWAM!

The log swings out from behind the door, smacking into Dusk and sending him flying off the porch with a startled yell and onto the ground below. I cringe at the sound of the impact.

"…eat that."

Gesturing for Twilight to stay, I rush over to the door and peek outside. Dawn and Nuffink, having arrived due to the commotion, see Dusk pop his head out of the ground… which is now covered in dirt.

Seeing his brother's situation, Dawn's eyes go wide… and he bursts out laughing. Perking up at his reaction, Dusk narrows his own eyes and bares his teeth.

"I'll show YOU something to laugh at!" he roars, tackling his brother and wrestling him to the ground while Nuffink dives to the side to avoid it. In the scuffle, the dirt falls off Dusk's head as he threatens to rip Dawn to pieces…

RRREEEEEEAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHH!

…until a commanding roar from their older sister (still inside the house) breaks up their squabble. Climbing off each other, the two Night Lights look toward the house while Nuffink walks up to me.

"Zephyr?" he whispers, eyeing my old creation. "Is this your…"

"Mm-hm."

"But I thought you said-"

"I thought so too," I sigh. "Finky… I think it's time we told them something about us."

"Told us what?" Dawn asks, he and his brother climbing the steps to the porch. Dusk eyes the fish again, unsure if he still wants it.

"Nuff, head inside and get one of the knives," I tell my brother. "And after that, get the Night Lights something to eat."

"Uh, yeah, sure," he replies before making his way inside… and gasping.

"WHAT THE F- WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!"

"Just get the knife!" I groan, burying my face in one hand.

"O-okay!" he stammers before I hear him shuffling around while muttering something to himself. After a moment, he comes back a little shaky.

"We're dead, we're dead, we're dead, we're dead, we're SO dead." He mumbles in a panic, handing me one of the knives that fell onto the floor.

"Just relax. They won't know about this." I whisper to him. "Twilight didn't do anything major."

"Wait, Twilight did this? But why?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we'll find out eventually. Now go get some food for them. I'll handle cleanup."

With a nod, he nervously heads back inside. As soon as he's gone, I use the knife to cut through the rope holding the fish. Dawn eases his way inside the house while I toss the fish to Dusk, who snatches it up in his mouth. He soon follows Dawn inside, trying not to add to the destruction Twilight wreaked.

When all three Night Lights settle in, I look around at the scene… and sigh nervously.

"Please let Mom and Dad still be working at preparing the funeral…" I mutter to myself. "Because if not… then I am so screwed."

…

Several minutes later, I place the last book back on the shelf, finally eliminating all traces of Twilight's havoc. The Night Lights are near the fireplace with a picture of their father above it. Nuffink sits in one of the nearby chairs with a bowl of fish nearby. Reaching into it, he tosses a fish to Dawn and it vanishes in his mouth. The other two wait patiently for their turn.

As I arrive with a nervous expression on my face, I probably know what's gonna be asked about first. Twilight looks at me expectantly.

"Zephyr… if this is your house…" she begins. "Does that mean that your father made that log trap thing?"

"He didn't make it," I quietly admit as I sit cross-legged with a small book in my lap. "I did."

"You?" all three Night Lights reply.

"Yes," I nod. "I thought I took it down long ago but… there's some explaining I have to do. And looking back, it's… not easy to talk about. And it starts with this."

Staring down at the book in my lap, my eyes focus only on the tribe's symbol on the front leather cover. The sight of it sends me back to another time, and voices from my own past echo in my head.

"I found this in the attic. It was Grandpa's… how come you never told us the truth about dragons?"

"We did. Dragons are wonderful, they're our friends."

"Tell me this: are they giant?"

"Well, yeah."

"Razor-sharp teeth?"

"Uh-"

"Breathe fire?"

"I suppose so."

"Claws?!"

"That would be a yes."

"What happened to your leg?"

"Oh! Uh…"

"That's what I thought."

"Zephyr? Hello? Midgard to Zephyr? Are you gonna stop staring at that thing and tell them?"

Nuffink's voice jerks my eyes from the book and my breath catches in my throat. "Huh? Oh! Right! Um…" Gods, I don't even know where to start. It's been years since that day, and ever since I started loving dragons, I tried burying it. I tried to forget it. It's like a deep, dark secret I'm too embarrassed to share with anyone about. But I've gotta do it. I just hope… they'll forgive me.

"This book belonged to my grandfather," I begin. "And when I was eight years old, I found in the attic. After paging through it… I started thinking that my parents… were lying about dragons being our friends, along with the promise that I would protect them. I didn't know that this book was written during the war between our races, and things had changed since.

So, in case the dragons returned… I built that log trap if any dragon tried to break in. I called it my dragon defense system… and my father was the unlucky test dummy for it."

Dusk snickers at this, causing me and Twilight to shoot him a look. "Sorry," he whispers, lowering his head to the ground.

"So… you hated dragons?" Dawn asks me, his tone telling himself to not believe this. Staring right into his forest-green eyes… I nod. Immediately, the Night Lights all gasp and draw back.

"I told Nuffink about the book and he agreed to help me out. We planned on setting up traps all over the village… and that made our parents extremely worried."

Dawn seems distraught and conflicted about my hating dragons, and he looks like he's about to attack out of anger… but instead, he closes his eyes, lets out a deep breath and spreads his wings.

"In the past…" he speaks to himself. "…there are some things that matter and some that do not. You must embrace what truly matters and let go of what is insignificant. Only you decide which is which."

He folds his wings in and opens his eyes, calmer than he was earlier. Dusk taps him with his own wing, and his brother turns to face him. "What was that?"

"You don't remember some of Cloudjumper's teachings?" the white Night Light asks curiously. "Personally, I think those were really important in our training."

"Uh, yeah! Of course I remember!" Dusk replies. "Just… never thought the old dragon's words would be so useful one day. Even if they were confusing and hard to understand."

Dawn sighs. "Ruffrunner, you really should have started listening to him earlier…"

"Quiet, you two!" Twilight hisses at them. "Let her finish!"

When the Night Lights go silent again and watch me, I clear my throat and open my mouth again. "Worried that my generation would think of the dragons the wrong way like previous generations, my parents decided to host a special event to keep the friendship between human and dragon alive. A play my people call the Snoggletog Pageant was a perfect choice."

"Snuggle what now?" Dusk asks, tilting his head in confusion while Twilight seems transfixed on something.

"Snoggletog," Nuffink answers. "It's some sort of a holiday tradition we have during the wintertime. Although, we haven't had the Pageant for a long time back then."

"Zephyr…" Twilight whispers, her voice curious. "Tell us more about this 'play'."

"Of course!" I answer with a smile, secretly glad my least favorite memory was out of the way. "It was supposed to portray the day our fathers met and ended the war, making peace between our two races and honoring my grandfather. My dad had built a mechanical puppet of your father, and his job was to operate it from inside."

"Puppet?" I hear Twilight mutter under her breath, but I decide to hold off on asking her what's up until I'm finished.

"When it started, I wasn't that interested in it at first, but Nuffink was really caught up in it." Hearing himself getting mentioned, Nuffink flashes the dragon trio a thumbs-up. "Unfortunately, the stage ended up catching on fire near the end of the play."

My words seem to have some sort of effect on the Night Lights. To my confusion, Twilight looks completely lost like her mind is somewhere else while Dawn and Dusk look around as if trying to piece something together. Nuffink, however, gestures for me to finish up.

"Thankfully, the play resumed and had a great effect on the kids, who respected Stoick the Vast's legacy from that day forward. But as for me, I had noticed Dad's suit going completely haywire, so I went backstage to check on him… and then I saw something completely remarkable.

Not only did I see the mechanical suit of Toothless back there… but I also saw him for real."

Nuffink gasps in surprise. "Wait… you SAW Toothless that day?!" He gasps. "You really did?! How come you didn't tell me?"

"Because you saw him later, now hold on a minute!" I reply with a chuckle. "I'm almost done! Anyway, I don't know what he was doing here, but I thought Dad brought him here as a surprise. In that brief moment, I saw in his eyes the same thing my dad saw on that very day. And after he helped Dad out in the suit, he took off… leaving nothing but a giddy, proud feeling in my heart."

"So that's what you were all happy about," my brother whispers. "I just thought the play finally got to you."

"It definitely got to you," I answer with a giggle. "You even pretended to be Grandpa!"

"So, my parents were finally happy that we changed our minds about dragons," I tell the Night Lights, who still look a little confused. "However, when I asked Dad about why he never told me about Toothless, he didn't know what I was talking about… until we got home. When we arrived, all of the fish Dad left out for Toothless was gone, and there was…" I pause, a questioning look on my face. "Hang on, I think it's still here somewhere."

"What was it?" Dawn asks frantically as I run off to a nearby chest. "Please don't leave me in suspense!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure my family still has it! I think it's right about… yes! Here it is!" I take the object and rejoin everyone… and the Night Lights gasp in wonder when they see what I'm holding.

A green glowing stalagmite.

"That's… but I don't… how did you get that?" Dusk stammers. "That's from our world!"

"Your dad must have dropped by and given this to my family as a Snoggletog gift," I answer. "The rest of the night was peaceful… and later, my parents had a suggestion."

"A suggestion that changed our lives for the better," Nuffink added.

Nodding at him in appreciation, I continue. "Just as Toothless visited us… we would go and visit him. And that day was the best day of our lives. Quite possibly yours, too."

As I finish that last sentence, Twilight shoots up into a sitting position, her blue eyes as big as dinner plates. She looks like she's just had a panic attack because I can see she's breathing heavily.

"Twilight?" I ask. "What's wrong?"

"That's it," she whispers to herself. "It all makes sense now… I-I could have just asked her this whole time!"

"Uh, what is your sister talking about?" I ask Dawn and Dusk, who both shrug at me. "I have no idea," Dawn answers. "But that story… what you just told us… it sounded really odd."

"Yeah, like something strangely familiar," Dusk adds. "I just can't piece it all together."

"That's because I just did!" Twilight shouts, surprising all of us. "Did you two feel strange when we landed here?"

"Yeah, why?" Dawn asks her. "When we touched down, I could have sworn there was supposed to be something different…"

"I know!" Twilight says in excitement. "Zephyr's story… that was the answer I've been looking for this whole time!"

"Looking?" I repeat. "That's why you trashed our house? Looking for something?"

"Yes! And thanks to you, I've found it! The play! The puppet! The fire! The visit!"

"Dart, would you please calm down and tell us everything already?!" Dusk growls. "You're acting like Sharpshot when he sniffed that strange mushroom that made him hyper!"

"Right! Sorry, I just got a little excited. Okay…" Twilight takes a deep breath and stands up.

"Brothers… I know why we feel so strange about this place. Why the feeling's been in our minds ever since we've arrived. And I just figured out the answer to everything. I remember all of it now."

"Well, what is it?!" Dawn asks, unable to take any more. Twilight only smiles calmly.

"We've been here before."

"WHAT?!" Dawn and Dusk shriek at the same time. Nuffink and I turn to each other with shocked expressions. The Night Lights had been to New Berk?!

"It's true!" Twilight says. "We've been on this very same island nine years ago during the winter season!"

"I knew it!" Dusk shouts before his excitement falters. "Well, I sorta knew it. I mean, I don't remember much of it."

"Of course you don't remember!" Dawn growls in annoyance. "You kept falling asleep! At least that training made you less lazy!"

"I what?"

"Be quiet and let me explain!" Twilight roars. "You all might want to listen to this… Zephyr, Nuffink, you too."

With a silent nod to each other, Nuffink and I take a seat on the wooden couch with a blanket on it. Once we're all comfortable, Twilight lies down near the fireplace.

"It was when the three of us were hatchlings," she begins. "I was bored with the daily routine of home when I noticed Father using a stick to make lines in the sand. When I grew curious, he told me that this was a drawing of his best friend, Hiccup."

"Aw…" I add. "Toothless missed his old buddy too, huh?"

Twilight nods at me before turning back to her brothers. "Then you two and Mother came along, and you added wings and horns to the drawing."

"Oh yeah, I remember that now! Heh heh!" Dusk snickers. Nuffink is greatly disturbed, however, the image of our dad with wings and horns now engraved in his head.

Damn it, now it's in mine! Thanks a lot, Twilight!

"Father told us Hiccup lived on New Berk, and that one day he wished they could be reunited. And that got me an idea."

"Oh, I like where this is going…" Dawn whispers while Nuffink and I lean in closer.

"That night, when all of you were asleep, I looked at the drawing some more and decided to wake you two up. As soon as I poked Pouncer in the nose with my wing, the two of you started fighting as you always do.

I quickly stopped you before you could wake up our parents. I told you that I wanted to go to New Berk to find out more of Father's past, and to see this Hiccup person for myself. So off we went. It was a long flight, with Ruffrunner falling asleep in midair."

"You're lucky I was there to catch you," Dawn tells his brother with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, In the future, please do that instead of roaring in my face."

"Hey, it was hilarious!"

"Enough! Now, where was I? Oh, yes! We landed on New Berk, which was covered in a bunch of white stuff."

"You mean snow?" I ask, cutting into the story.

"Huh. So that's what it's called." Twilight mutters. "Anyway, you two quickly discovered it could be thrown, and you were smacking each other with it with your tails."

Dawn turns to Dusk with another smirk. "I'd gladly do it again if I had the chance."

"But I'm gonna do it when you least expect it!" Dusk counters.

"We were in human territory, so we had to keep a low profile. We snuck through the village and made our way underneath wooden floorboards. When I peeked out… that's when I saw him. The same person from Father's drawing."

"Wow… you saw our dad." Nuffink whispers while I smile warmly.

"But there was something else with him. Something that looked like our own father. Thanks to Zephyr, I now realize that was the puppet Hiccup was using for the Pageant. But at the time, I mistook it for my real father… but if you two didn't pull me back out of sight, we would have been caught."

"You're welcome." Both of them answer.

"We had to fly up to a cliff to avoid giving out our location. A crowd of humans was assembled near a wooden stage, and it looked like something was about to start."

A gasp escapes my lips and I shoot up from the couch, my eyes locked on Twilight. "You… you watched the Pageant?!"

"Yep, and I didn't even know what it was. And to think you and your brother were somewhere in that crowd yourself…"

Nuffink and I both smile at each other, now knowing that our new three dragon friends shared the same memory of that day as we did…

"But just before it could start, Pouncer tapped me on the back with his wing with his eyes full of fear. When I turned to see what he was looking at… I froze, whacking Ruffrunner with my tail to wake him up so he could see for himself.

It was Father and Mother. And they looked none too happy that we had snuck out of home."

"Ooh, busted!" Nuffink whispers to me, and I sock him in the arm with a grin.

"You probably don't remember this," Twilight says sheepishly. "But I told them that this whole thing was-"

"Your idea." The three of them say in unison. Twilight jerks back and gasps in response.

"Yeah, that's right. The old blame game." Dusk says with a cheeky smirk. "Not falling for that one again."

"Rrrr… I hate you both right now." Twilight growls. Nuffink and I have to hold back our giggles. "Okay, moving on. Father was absolutely mad, but before he and Mother could scold us, the Pageant began… and we decided to watch.

Everything was going well until something that was not supposed to happen… well, happened. There was fire and smoke, and Father rushed off to save Hiccup from falling off a cliff while still in his mechanical puppet. With the smoke covering him, he took Hiccup's place and ended the play. It took a little bit for him to return, and when he did we made a quick stop at this very house."

"And then we ate all the fish in that bowl…" Dawn says in realization.

"And left that stalagmite for you two and went home!" Dusk finishes with a grin, turning to me and Nuffink. I clear my throat, making the Night Lights turn to me.

"Were your parents still upset about you leaving when you got back?"

The Night Lights all glance at one another uncomfortably. "Uhhh… yes?" they answer at once. Twilight steps forward, my question had triggered something inside her. "But fortunately, they weren't upset as they were before. Just disappointed. In fact, that was what got Father to start training us in the first place. To move quickly and quietly throughout the human world."

Nuffink stands up from the couch, about to ask his own question. "So… do you guys like it? Moving around swiftly in the night?"

"LIKE it?!" Dusk roars in excitement, jumping up to a standing position. "Are you kidding?! I LOVE it! It's the most awesome feeling I ever have! Whenever I'm out there with my brother and sister, I feel completely invisible! Like a shadow in the night, completely unseen with no eye being able to rest upon- hey, what the?"

Unbeknownst to Dusk, his tail was right underneath the blanket on the couch, having flung it upward when he jumped… and it lands right on top of his head when he's excitedly talking about not being seen and stuff.

The four of us burst out laughing at his predicament as he whips his head around in confusion. "Hey! What's everyone laughing at? Why's everything so dark? AH! I can't see! Get this thing off me, get it off!"

Taking a corner of the blanket, Dawn whips it off a still-confused Dusk, who blinks to readjust his sight. As our laughter dies down, his emerald eyes narrow into a frown. "Alright, very funny!" he growls. "I was talking about my enemies being unable to see me, not me being unable to see my enemies!"

"But still-!" I giggle, a hand on my stomach while I try to keep myself from passing out. "Okay, guys, I think you've found the answers to all the questions you were looking for, so… why don't we go kill some time before the funeral?"

"Wait, time can be killed?" Dawn asks in surprise.

"She means, let's go find something to do until everything's ready! Gods!" Nuffink groans, apparently sick of how dragons have such a different perspective of the world. "So come on!" He rushes out of the house with Dawn and Dusk quickly taking off after him. Dusk ends up bumping into a stand with a vase on it, but I manage to catch it before it hits the ground. Placing it back on the stand, I turn to follow them outside when…

"Zephyr? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

I turn back to Twilight with a puzzled face. What else did she need?

Walking back to her, I kneel down on the floor. "What is it?"

"It's… about that you hated dragons."

Oh no. Oh, gods no! Maybe I can dismiss it with something!

"I… was just a kid, Twilight, okay? Just a kid who… who didn't know any better!"

I beg for that to be the end of it… but Twilight isn't letting me off that easy.

"So it's hard for you to discuss with anyone," she says. "I can't imagine. It's just like if dragons hated humans… but in reality, they were just getting in the way of our survival. And you felt that way all because of a book?"

I hesitate to answer, but Twilight is just so persistent. My mind screams at me to hide everything, to respond with false feelings… but she'd see through it easily. If Toothless was smart for a dragon, so must his daughter.

"Twilight…" I begin sadly. "What I felt back then… I thought everything I knew about dragons was wrong. Looking back, it… it just wasn't me. I was… I was throwing everything away, even my promise to my dad. I thought it didn't even matter."

"You can't deny destiny, Zephyr."

"I know that! I just… just… I'm scared. Scared of looking back to that day… Because every time I do, I not only see myself as a little girl with her father's creative talent… I see someone without a soul." I whisper, my eyes slowly glancing at the ground. "I feel… guilty… for doing what I did."

"But all you did was build a trap by the main entrance," Twilight explains. "How fatal can a simple log be, anyway?"

"It wasn't just logs," I whisper, catching her attention. "I also put up a trap involving a swinging mace and arrows."

"I was sort of expecting something like that when I saw the bait. What did you do with them?"

"When my family came back from the Hidden World, I dismantled them," I explain. "But I decided to leave the log trap intact in case any human intruder tried to break in. I thought I disabled that as well… but apparently not."

"So why regret all of that? From dragon hater to dragon lover, you want to get rid of everything you thought about?"

"It's… it's more than that, Twilight," I explain, trying to keep the tears from breaking out. "Can… can I tell you something?"

"You can tell me anything."

"Okay, it's just… I've never told anyone about this, not even my parents or my brother."

Twilight watches me closely, ready for me to begin.

"When I was fifteen years old… I had a dream. A terrible dream. I dreamt I was protecting the Hidden World just like my dad did, striking down my enemies with the Dragon Blade and wearing his own helmet and armor… modified for my own feminine body, however."

"Well, that doesn't sound so bad."

"You haven't heard the worst of it yet…" I whisper, the haunting dream seeping back into me…

…

The soldier yells as I impale him with the Dragon Blade, sending him crumpling to the deck with a burning hole in his chest. My blue eyes shining through my father's old helmet, I charge forth on board the enemy ship with several dragons flying onward to defend me.

An entire wave of enemies rushes me, and I parry each strike, block every weapon aimed at me, somersault over deadly blades and slash at every one of them, their cries of pain echoing across the ship.

As soon as I slay the last one, I search the ship for any dragons in distress… and that's when I see it. Their leader. Dressed in completely black armor and helmet with red streaks of paint… but on closer inspection, I realize that it's not paint… but blood.

Whoever this is, they're not hurting one more dragon!

The figure, feminine in shape, draws a weapon from behind her back. It looks like a folded sword. She presses something on the hilt, and the second blade draws back on a hinge to form a double-bladed sword. Her weapon now ready, she charges at me.

I rush at her back, my blade meeting hers with a sparking clash. A green color dots her blades: oxidized copper, a dragon-proof metal. With a snarl, she pushes me away and attacks with fueled ruthlessness.

As I dueled her across the ship littered with bodies and small flames, I notice something about her attack pattern. Something familiar. But I can't focus on that right now.

I swing for her, but she rears back and flips over an attack to her legs. Spinning her weapon above her head, she brings it down on the Dragon Blade and locks me in a clash. Before I can shove back, she headbutts me, sweeps my legs out from underneath me and prepares to stab me through the heart…

…but I roll out of the way at the last second and the dragon-proof blade meets nothing but wood. Standing at a ready position, I lunge for her again.

She blocks and deflects my strikes with ease, and on her final block… she refolds her weapon, trapping the Dragon Blade and kicking me to the ground. She raises her weapon to strike me… but a roar of agony echoes out.

A dragon crashes to the ground wrapped in netting… and my heart drops when I see who it is.

Toothless. The Alpha of all Dragons. Soldiers quickly surround him with weapons drawn. Turning to face him, the figure dismisses the soldiers with a single hand movement and unfolds her weapon.

No! I won't let her do this!

With a yell, I grab the Dragon Blade and charge at her again… but she whips her head towards me. Effortlessly, she blocks the fiery sword again, our blades meeting again and again.

She deflects the Dragon Blade's swing for her head and strikes at my own, sending me tumbling to the ground. I hear the sound of something shattering before I hit the deck.

The soldiers all move away from us, looking for more dragons to kill. As for me, I reach out to my helmet… and feel nothing but my own skin. Glancing towards a shield resting against the railing, my eyes widen in horror when I see it.

The left side of my helmet… Dad's helmet… is shattered and exposing my face. I stare into my own eye and half of my mouth, strands of auburn-brown hair flowing outward.

Ignoring the damage, I attack at the figure again. She seems irritated at my constant interference, so she holds nothing back. Switching from defense to offense, her wild-yet-deadly strikes force me back. Desperately, I swing the Dragon Blade for her helmet, but with one fierce swipe…

…she cuts it clean in two!

My blood freezes as the top part of the Dragon Blade stops burning and falls to the ground, leaving me with only the lower half of the blade and the hilt. Before I can think of my next move, an armored boot slams into my ribs, sending me stumbling…

…before a bola wraps around my torso, pinning my arms to my chest. Another one is fired at my legs, trapping them together. The figure lowers her arm, the bolas having come from a device on her wrist.

But nobody could ever design and build a gadget like that! No one but Dad or… or…

The figure moves over to Toothless with me finally out of the way. She kneels down, staring into the helpless Night Fury's eyes.

"Don't do this!" I scream at her. "There's more to him than what you think!" She ignores me, her gaze only on her victim. The dragon, given his captive state, scowls at her with fearless audacity.

"Look at what you have become," he growls. "Something that no one ever wanted out of you. Not even your own family."

The figure slightly retreats before curling a fist out of anger. I, however, listen to Toothless' words.

"You don't know it, but I was there that day. I saw what you did to them; what you did to my greatest friends. How you betrayed them and everything they stood for. How you embraced an era they worked so hard to put aside. You went so far as to kill them so that they wouldn't stand in your way."

Just what did this person go through? Can… can I truly change her mind like my dad changed the minds of many people? Or is she too far gone?

"I know you can hear me," Toothless continues. "I know that you're no longer the sweet little girl I saw that night. You killed her too. You've ignored all sense of reason the moment you hid behind that mask. And now it's too late for you, isn't it? I won't try to talk you out of this… because you wouldn't listen to a single word of it. So instead… I give you a warning.

If you go through with this, a new Alpha will be chosen. One that has the heart and courage to lead us through the dark times ahead. And one day, you will be stopped. All of this madness will finally end. But stop this, and you won't have to hear from us anymore. The choice is yours."

The figure rises to her feet, and after a moment's pause, places one end of her weapon on the side of Toothless' throat. The Night Fury's eyes never move away from her head.

My heart stops beating, a chill runs up my spine and my eyes go wide with horror. As for Toothless, he only narrows his eyes.

"Then you've brought all of this upon yourself."

And then… in the blink of an eye… the figure slices the blade across the Night Fury's throat, ending him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

My shriek of horror echoes across the entire ship and airborne dragons turn and screech in terror when they see their Alpha… dead.

"I've made that choice long ago… beast."

The figure's voice is oddly strange, but it doesn't quell the despair in my heart. Tears leak from my eyes and sobs escape my throat. All I can think about is Dad's sorrowful reaction to this…

I gasp in terror when a boot places itself against my chest. My moist eyes stare up at the figure before me, her blade stained with Toothless' blood.

"WHY?!" I scream in sorrow. "Why would you do that?"

Without directing her gaze away from me, the figure snaps her fingers. A soldier with no weapons marches up to her, hands her a small book, and leaves. Without a word, she tosses it to the deck, where it lands inches from my face.

I turn to see what it is… and my body shivers in realization.

The Dragon Manual. The very same book I found in the attic. The source of my temporary hatred for dragons. What is she doing with it?

Suddenly, something else clunks to the deck alongside the book… the figure's helmet. Slowly, I turn my head back to the figure… and my wet eyes grow as big as saucers, my mouth in a silent gasp.

The face staring down at me… is my own face.

Blue eyes full of hatred, auburn hair speckled with bloodstains. A scar on the lips and a small burn on her right cheek. It's the face of a real monster. I can hardly speak.

Suddenly, the screams of dragons fill our ears. Turning towards the battle, fear begins to overpower me when I see it. Dragons falling in slow-motion towards the sea, dying. And some of them… are dragons I know from stories.

Stormfly with a ballista bolt through her stomach. Hookfang with shredded wings and smoke coming out of his mouth. Barf and Belch with one of their heads cut off. Meatlug with one wing missing. All of them… gone. They splash into the sea, forgotten and never to fly through the skies again.

I turn back to myself, who gives me that sly smirk only Mom would give. She speaks, her voice chilling and cold.

"Don't be afraid of who you are."

And then, with her teeth clenched and her eyes searing with anger, she spins her double-bladed sword… and slices me across the neck.

…

Twilight stares at me blankly while my eyes are once again casted to the floor in sadness. She says nothing, her reaction to my dream taking its toll.

"My people hated dragons for so long," I continue, my voice on the verge of cracking. "That version of me thought nothing could change that." I sniffle, wiping my eyes.

"I… I never should have found that stupid book!" I punch the wooden floor on that last word. "Then the traps, those feelings… none of them should have happened! I was supposed to hold on to the promise I made to Dad! That I should have protected the dragons!"

"Zephyr! Zephyr, listen to me!" Twilight shouts. "You can't change the past! It's a part of you, so you have to accept it! But you can't let it define you!"

"I… I know it doesn't," I sniffle. "I learned that lesson before about not being Chieftess. But this… this is something different."

"No, it's not," Twilight objects. "We all have our secrets, some more painful than others. And for me… it's taking the title of Alpha." I turn my eyes to her, yet don't raise my head from my curled position.

"According to draconic tradition, the only way to claim the title is to defeat the current Alpha in a battle to the death. And there is no way I want to kill my own father. But Cloudjumper told me the story of how my father claimed the title by letting the former Alpha live. He told me that sometimes, the traditions need to be pushed aside. And tradition, like our pasts and our fears, can't take control of us. We won't allow them too, so we must confront whatever pains us."

"B-but, Twilight…" I sob. "I couldn't confront mine. I was too afraid of it. I… I wasn't brave enough. I kept it hidden from myself for as long as I could, I tried to bury whatever would remind me of it… but when you came here, I couldn't hide it any longer. I… I was too scared to tell you."

"Zephyr…" Twilight purrs, lowering herself to the ground. "Being brave isn't just about not being afraid."

"I-it's not?"

"No. It's about doing what you have to do, even when you are. So don't focus on all of this dragon-hating stuff, alright? Because that's not you, Zephyr."

"It's not me…" I repeat to myself.

"No," Twilight says encouragingly. "The Zephyr Haddock I know, my one true friend since my hatchling days, loved dragons with all her heart and she still does. So that dream? It's nothing to you. The book? Old and dusty like the era it came from, as well as being outdated. The log trap? Well… you can keep it around for a good laugh or two."

"Y…you really think so?"

"Only if you want to."

I chuckle, but it only comes out as a half-sob. "Thanks, Twilight…" I whisper, raising myself to a sitting position. "I… I'm glad we had this talk."

"And I'm glad I could help." She replies with a smirk. "Now, what say we-" She suddenly freezes up, her eyes locked on my face.

"Twilight?" I ask, rubbing my faces of tears. "W-what is it, girl?"

The Night Light doesn't reply. Instead, she quietly creeps up to me with a look of curiosity and sadness alike. It's not until I get close do I see what she's looking at.

In her sky-blue eyes is my own reflection. My cheeks are red and tear-stains streak down my face, my eyes still a little moist. Twilight leans in close, but not too close… and asks a question that sounds like she's wanted to know for a while.

"What is this?"

I sniffle again, wiping my face on my arm. "You… you don't cry? You don't have tears?"

"No… how does this happen?"

"When… when we're sad," I reply. "Loss of a loved one, a bad dream, a very hurtful insult… they make us cry."

"When you're upset?"

"Not all the time. Sometimes we cry when we're happy. Very happy."

"How do I know the difference?"

"Trust me, girl," I whisper, reaching out to touch her on the side of her face. "You'll know."

"Alright. I'm just… sorry, Zephyr. About your feelings, about the dream… everything."

"It's okay, Twilight. I'm glad you helped me get through this. Fight one of my greatest fears and help me face it. I'm okay now… honestly."

Twilight purrs, pulling away from me as I stand up. "So am I, sister."

I pause for a moment. "Sister?"

Twilight takes a step back. "Sorry, it's just that… one time, when I asked Father what Hiccup was like, he said that he was like a brother to him. So I thought… you could be like my sister? I mean, we do have a lot in common… so if you're okay with that?"

"I like it," I say with a smile, placing my hands on my hips. "Twilight, as of this point forward, you are now an honorary member of the Haddock Clan."

"And my brothers…?"

"…are now my brothers."

She coos warmly. "Thank you."

"No," I respond. "Thank you. For being my best friend and for helping me out when I needed it."

"Heh. Much obliged." Twilight says. "Now, as I was saying earlier, why don't we see if the funeral's ready? Then we can go say goodbye to your friend."

"Yeah, we probably should," I agree. "And we should tell the boys the news too. Even though Dawn and Dusk won't probably understand."

"Oh, they will understand," Twilight says. "I'll make them see it."

I smile, turning and heading out the door. "Then let's go!"

(A/N: I decided to once again chop this chapter in two, so the funeral and reveal scene will be next. Having Zephyr, Nuffink and the Night Lights revisit the events of Homecoming after nine years felt so satisfying for some reason. Also, I thought that because Zephyr once hated dragons, she would have faced a secret conflict within her after the trip to the Hidden World. And having to deal with that on top of the becoming/not becoming Chieftess situation was bound to put her under pressure.

P.S. Can't believe winter break is over. *groans* So not ready to go back. But on the bright side, 2020 is finally here! Have a Happy New Year and as always, leave a review if you can and let me know what you think of this! Over and out!)