[Normal P.O.V]
Everybody was looking at him. An awkward tension filled the air so thick that it could be cut by a knife. One of the greatest mysteries of Drakos is finally being revealed, and it's happening right in front of them. Right now, they could care less about passing the final exam or landing a hit on Night Fury. One of the biggest questions in the world is being answered in front of them, only for it to be completely blocked by Night Fury's arms.
Right now, Night Fury had both his arms up in a cross over his face. In the eyes of an adult, he looks like a kid trying to copy a special move from his favorite superhero. Night Fury himself knows he looks stupid. In the inside, he's dying from embarrassment.
"Well, uhh. Looks like you passed." Night Fury laughed uncomfortably, shifting his feet. "I guess you're, uhh... officially part of Drakos. Uhm, salute to you and uhh, yeah."
No one could even utter a word. Watching this scene with their bare eyes was more painful than their actual wounds. And they actually felt bad for him.
"Uhm, Night Fury. Do... you want us to turn around or something?" Zythid suggested, smiling awkwardly.
The rest just nodded in agreement. This all feels like one big joke from the gods to Night Fury.
Night Fury laughed nervously. "Uhh, that would be helpful. Yes, thank you."
They tried, but failed, to turn around without making the situation worse. They awkwardly turned their bodies around, sharing the same sheepish look on their faces. Once their backs were turned, Night Fury sighed as he took his arms away from his face. But just to be sure, he pulled up his hood over his face.
And with a sigh, he announced to the room, "Toothless, get my sorry ass out of here please."
[Night Fury P.O.V]
Dagur continued to laugh, amusement and joy taking over his face. His knees buckled down and he fell to the floor, guffawing. The rest couldn't hold their laughter either. Atali and Mala were both snickering, their cheeks flushed red. Even Viggo, a man with barely a sense of humor, was chuckling like an old man in a family reunion.
We were gathered in the common area, which to be honest, isn't that common. The room was dimly lit with the vintage wall sconces that hung on the dark colored walls like earrings. Thick velvet curtains hid the long windows across the walls. Two antique couches, where we sat, stood at the opposite sides of the room in front of the ashen fireplace, accompanied by bronze wing-chairs that stood as sidekicks. A small fridge sat on the corner filled with beer and chips. This was designed only for us five, plus Shatter. So calling it a common room is wrong.
"I, I can't believe-" Dagur tried to say between his breathy gasps but instead burst out in hysterics.
I rolled my eyes at the red-head. I'm not proud of myself at that time. I don't need someone else to tell me that. But if course, they're never going to live that down. This will go down in the history of Drakos. I could already see the article on me, at the records.
'Night Fury's identity has been revealed by a bunch of kids. His last words are, and I quote, 'kill me now'.'
"Aww, is that high and mighty Night Fury pouting?" Atali teased me, with a shit-eating grin.
I gave her a glare that would usually work but this time, it didn't. She continued to snicker while my cheeks burned red. I haven't blushed since forever and this is probably the worst timing.
"My dear, don't worry. I bet no one saw your face." Mala reassured me in a motherly-tone.
I was about to thank her until a loud and annoying voice butted in. "But they did see your most awkward moment yet!"
The rest couldn't hold their laughter. All of them burst out in laughter, their cheeks flushing red. All except for Viggo, who was chuckling silently while shaking his head. He went over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"I'll provide you another mask. I'll make it even better than the last one." He told me, a small smile on his lips.
"Thanks. For the second there, I thought my identity has been revealed." I say to him. "That would've been a disaster."
The others' laughter suddenly faded, as their gazes fell on me. What did I say? Dagur then sat up on the floor with a frown.
"Brother." He started, a serious look on his face which honestly surprised me. "Why don't you want to show your face? I mean, you look gorgeous! I bet all the girls wou-"
"It's not that, Dagur." I interrupted him from going any further. "I just don't want them to see what kind of monster I am."
"A gorgeous monster that is."
"Dagur!" Atali scolded him.
Mala stood up, walked over to me and placed both her hands on my shoulder. Her hands were warm, just like a mother's. A warm smile curved on her lips that radiated calmness and peacefulness. How could one woman be so mother-like, when she isn't a mother herself? Even when I had just came in, she was the first one who warmed up to me. She gave me a blanket, draping it over me and gave me a hug when I was frozen in shock of what I had done. I didn't feel the warm touch of a mother nor a father before, so it was all new to me. But I quickly grew fond of it.
"Hayden, you're not a monster. You've got to stop saying that. It's been years since that night. We know you didn't kill those men without a reason." She calmly told me.
"That's the thing, Mala. I killed those men purposely. I wanted it. I wanted them dead. I wanted revenge. And I can't forgive myself for that. " I retorted with a sigh, removing Mala's hands from my shoulders. I get what she's saying, but it still doesn't deny the fact that I murdered them in cold blood.
"But you were still a young-"
"That's the point!" I raised my voice, startling the others. I let out a sigh, and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I mean, that's the point. I was young. I killed hundreds of people, when I was seventeen. Seventeen! What kind of sick person would do that? Oh, right. Not a person, but a monster..."
The rest just looked at each other. Dagur sat up straight and stared at me. This was one of the few times he's actually serious. "Brother. We're telling you right now. No matter what you think of yourself, to our eyes, you're not a monster."
Somehow, a small part of me felt relieved to hear that. But the larger and stronger part of me still felt otherwise. I can't forgive myself for my sins, and I can't do anything to take them back. Nevertheless, I smiled back at Dagur. I was about to thank him, when he interrupted me.
"You're a fucking gorgeous hunk of meat that's what you are!"
"Oh, shut it, Dagur!"
I stared at the glowing blue orb that powered the entire Drakos building. I've always wondered how they got a miniature sun as their power core. The orb was burning blue, white hot flares shooting out of it every once in a while. It was the size of a one-story house, hovering between two nuclear funnels on the either side of the room. Though it was big, the break room is bigger. Gobber designed it that way.
On one side, is the nuclear sun that powers the Drakos building. On the other, is Gobber's forge. Where he uses the power core's heat as a furnace. I know. He's crazy.
I had nothing else to do so I decided to accompany him and help him make all these weapons. I donned a leather apron over my gray tank top and ripped jeans. It's pretty hot in the forge if you haven't noticed.
Gobber was on the other side of the forge, working on a blade. He focused his concentration as the sword ground against wheel. Sparks flew angrily as the blade screamed against the stone, which raced round and round at a blinding speed. Finally he stopped pedaling, and held the edge up to his eye.
"Aye, dis' beauty would make a wonderful Cutter." He announced to himself. "Lad, are ye done wid' the handle?"
"Hold your horses, meathead. I'm still working on it." I use the tongs to pull a short piece of glowing iron from the furnace, and set it on the anvil. I took the hammer, and pounded the iron.
"When ye was little, ye were a lot faster. Being an agent made ye lose some of yer skillz." He commented with a grin.
I stopped pounding to give him a deadpanned look. "Considering the kind of skills needed for this particular job is dated back to the Viking Period and you're probably the only one left with a forge, I can probably say fuck off."
Gobber smiled, showing his crooked teeth. He threw the finished blade in the barrel filled with water as it let out a satisfying hiss. "I see that those sarcastic comments and witty attitude of yours haven't left." He said.
I rolled my eyes. "They never left, unlike your wife."
Gobber's smile immediately left his face, and a scowl instead replaced it. I tried to hide my triumphant smirk but failed.
"Ah, shat yer stupid mouth." He grumbled.
A voice suddenly came out nowhere, echoing through the entire room: "Ohhhhhh, shit! Gobber, your ass just got lit up, my dude!"
Right in front of us, a body began materializing out of thin air. Pixel-like blocks converged into a teenage boy with pointed teeth, spiky black hair, and glowing green reptilian eyes. He wore a punk rock jacket over a white shirt, denim jeans, and a series of silver rings on his fingers. He just keeps getting worse and worse.
"What are you now?" I asked him.
"A teenage hype man in the 21st century. And I probably think that they have the worst fashion." He replied, the furnace's light reflecting on his earring.
"Can't ye just stay normal?" Gobber quipped as he continue to use his prosthetic blowtorch at the piece of arm-guard he was repairing.
"I can, but don't wanna. Oh, have you heard that the Deadly Nadder released a new pair of shoes? I've got to have them."
While Toothless continued on with his spiel, I took off the apron and placed it on the workbench. I grabbed one of the towels hanging on the chair to wipe the grease and dirt off my face. I then took off my tank top, revealing my topless body. Sweat trailed down my body, the heat of the furnace only made it worse. I kept on forgetting how hot the forge is. It's like standing in the middle of the desert.
"Yo, man. Your scars are still visible. I thought after a long time, they would fade." Toothless suddenly commented, grabbing the attention of the blacksmith and myself.
[Normal P.O.V]
The A.I.'s comment made the two freeze up. But he's not lying. Night Fury's body was riddled with scars. Long deep scars ran across his chest like a claw mark. One of them was on his chin, a small nick of a scar that seemed to be the most faded one. Faded gunshot wounds peppered his skin like stars. Multiple other scars were sprinkled along his back but most of them have been covered by his tattoos.
Night Fury has a total of five tattoos. One is a black dragon with its wings spread that's imprinted on his back. Another one is on his right calf. It read 'You're not my son'. He remembered those words from his father one time when he was drunk and he decided to imprint it on his skin to remind himself what a pathetic excuse he is. The tattoo was drawn to resemble blood-written words.
Another is imprinted on his left shoulder, which is a series of dots, eleven to be exact. It symbolizes the years he has been part of Drakos. It wasn't a requirement but he requested it to be tattooed onto him. The last two are imprinted in his chest. It was simple;
'Demon'and 'Monster'
A simple reminder to himself of his dark past. A reminder of what he is. A reminder of his sins.
"Yeah, kinda weird." Night Fury replied, silently giving Toothless a look to drop it.
"Oh, yeah. Right. Hey, so how did the final exam go?" Toothless anxiously tried to change the subject.
"You were there. You literally monitored the entire thing." He replied, rolling my eyes.
"Oh, right. Well, then. Uhh, did you respond to the her confession?"
Silence. One, two, three...
"THE FUCK?!" Night Fury grabbed Toothless by the collar, raised him up, and pushed him against the wall. Even the A.I couldn't be harmed since he has no physical body, he was still scared shitless. No one liked Night Fury when he was mad. Last time he was mad, he brought down an entire organization. "Don't even think about it."
"What are ye yappin' about?"
"Hayden got confessed to by Astrid!" Toothless snitched out before Night Fury could karate chop his neck.
Gobber's jaw dropped. "Wh- wha? When did dis' happin'?" He spluttered.
Night Fury lets Toothless go with a sigh. Toothless' unconscious body slid down the wall, slowly disappearing into a cloud of pixels before he could reach the floor. Once the body was gone, an automated voice reverberated through the room.
"During the final exam. Astrid told 'Night Fury'," Toothless giving a sarcastic emphasis to his alias. "...that she loved her best friend. Which we all know is this guy."
"Damn, snitch." Night Fury grumbled, reminding himself to kill the A.I. later.
Suddenly, Gobber let out a hearty laugh. Then he came running towards Night Fury and wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug.
"Gobber. Oxygen. I still... need them." Night Fury choked out.
Gobber lets him go, but not before slapping him on the shoulder and grinning like an idiot. "I'm so happy for ye, lad!" He cried out with excitement.
Night Fury on the other hand was confused. "Why?"
"Ye finally have the girl of yer dreams!"
"Oh, no."
"Ah' can't wait to be at yer wedding."
"Okay, that's enough."
"Don't worry, ahl' handle the catering."
"Not listening!"
"Do ye want a chocolate cake or vanilla. Probably vanilla."
"Goodbye, Gobber!"
Night Fury quickly escaped the break room while Gobber continued to rant about whether he should invite his ex-wife or not. He then continued to run away from the inevitable chat with Gobber and Toothless. He swore he'll erase half of Toothless' data after this. Once he was about 20 meters away from the break room, he stopped running. He then let out a sigh of relief, wiping a bead of sweat on his brow. He was glad to away from it all, including the mention of Astrid.
He tried to forget what Astrid said during the fight, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. She love him? He knew that he was looking for him. So when he asked what were her reasons for joining Drakos, he intended to crush the thought of trying to find him. He didn't want her to come back to her life. But his intentions immediately vanished once she confessed everything, right in front of him.
He tried to shake the moment off of his head, but the fact that Astrid indirectly confessed her love to him kept coming back, and he hated it. His thoughts then went to the time where he decided to confess his feelings before he got kidnapped. Does that mean if he was able to confess to her, she would've returned his feelings? Suddenly, that was only thing running through his mind.
"Night Fury?"
The sudden voice cut through his thoughts like a knife, and activated all defense mechanisms in Night Fury. He quickly turned around to the source of the voice and threw a reverse kick. Just as his foot was about to connect to whoever it was, a smack of realization hit Night Fury and he completely stopped his kick, leaving his leg bent up in the air. The raven-haired girl was left with her eyes open, shocked to see her former superior nearly kick the shit out of her.
"DeRanged?" Night Fury confirmed with a question, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Y- yes, sir." Heather stuttered.
Night Fury slowly put his leg down to the ground and sighed. "What are you doing here, DeRanged? You need to wake up early tomorrow."
That's when realization smacked him again in the face. He doesn't have his mask! His face is out in the open! And he's facing his student! Panic began welling up inside him. His heart rate grew faster. Multiple scenarios ran through his head.
'What if she faints once she realizes what kind of monster I am? What if she tells the others? What if-'
Luckily, the dark side in him stopped his train of thought and tried to calm himself down. This is one of the few times he thanked himself for having a dark side.
'Don't worry. It's just her. She could probably keep a secret. Plus, she's Dagur's sister. Dagur could probably take care of her' He said to himself.
A blush began tinting Heather's cheeks. "R- Right away, sir. But I was actually going to ask you something."
Night Fury arched an eyebrow at her. He motioned for her to go on. If he's going to be here for a while, might as well give her what she wants.
"Uhh, sir. Are you Hayden Haddock?"