The daily life of a demon teen
Disclaimer: I do not own How to train your dragon
KEY
'Thoughts/memories'
"foreign language/projected thoughts"
"Close-link/Private message"
Emphasis/yelling
"Magic incantation"
(A/N: I've edited the lava-louts out of this story to make it involve the films and series only.)
Review responses
NightHowler0: Yes, it does. All devi-kin have a subconscious drive to cause mischief.
OechsnerC: Thank you.
Arraia: I will.
Mark Andrew: Nya, she's 5'7", the shortest of Hiccup's clan. Only betas have tails, signifying they have an alpha. I'm not sure, still uncomfortable writing explicit material. Probably in the sequel if I can make Ruff's inclusion work.
Umbra Lycan: Here you go, enjoy.
Guest: Thanks, and here it is.
Back to the action!
Chapter 12: Killing giants and saving idiots
Nar POV
Seaside cliff near the cove
Sparks reflected off Hiccup's goggles as he used a welder on a security emplacement, then wiped the sweat off his brow, "Phew, let's see if it works this time". He stepped back and pulled out his tablet, then synced it with the hexagonal platform. It whirled to life and the covering opened, then a tower emerged from underground. The telescopic barrel of the turret folded out, the cannon pitched and yawed to test its limits. "Looking good, now let's see how well it tracks", Hiccup set down the tablet and picked up a stone.
He closed his eyes and forced a small amount of his mana into the rock. Hiccup reeled back and threw it like a curveball. The sentry locked on instantly, PUHTOO, and hit it dead on with a plasma round. BOOM, "Hiccup, are you working on that stupid thing again?!", Zia said with an irritated tone.
"Yep, work's like a charm", he replied with pride. "I'll work on the others after lunch", Hiccup looped his tool bag over his shoulder and shot up into the air.
Meanwhile, Berk's great hall
Lunch was in full swing, most of the tables were full of conversing villagers. Gustav's mother was talking with her fellow farmer, her son was finished with his plate. "Mom?", she turned to Gustav, "Can I go home?".
"Sure son, just be careful", he dropped off his plate and headed out the great hall. Gustav wandered through the village, his mind wandering back to the raid over a week ago. 'Hix and his… I wonder what that girl is to him?', he stopped and thought. 'Maybe she's his girlfriend?', his shoulders slumped, 'Of course strong guys always get the girls'. The boy knew his stature was small, even girls his age were nearly a head taller than him.
He was too distracted by his slump and bumped into one of his 'peers', "Oi, who?!". Gustav pale when he recognizes the bigger blonde, he tried to run but was caught, "Where do ya' think yur' goin'?!".
The bully drags him into an alley and shoves him against the wall. He didn't feel any pain, 'Right!', Gustav remembered his gift.
"Looks like he's trying to act tough or you're gettin' sloppy", the lackey noted his lack of a wince.
"Shut it", he turned and growled at a calm Gustav, "Time to put you in your place runt". The blonde grabbed a fist full of his dark brown hair, then wince when he felt his own scalp sting. He dropped Gustav and shoves his lackey, "Hey, what's your problem?!".
"What?", he looked confused at his friend.
"You grabbed my hair!", the bully shot at him.
"No, I didn't!", he defended himself.
The blonde huffed and looked back to a confused Gustav, "What are you looking at?!", then punched his shoulder. He felt his own arm sting, "THAT'S IT!", he spun around and grabbed his friend collar.
"What the hel are you doing?!", he tore himself free from his grip.
"Don't act all innocent, you coward!", the lackey scowled.
"What did you call me?", he growled out while squeezing his fist.
"You heard me, you attack me while my back is turned!", the blonde accused. His anger swelled as his 'Friend' questioned his honor in front of the growing crowd, "You're nothing but a cowa-". The lackey roared and tackled the pompous blonde, the two exchanged blows as they tussled. Gustav slipped away; the crowd distracted by the two's confusing spat.
A few days later, Otherside forest
Hiccup was putting the finishing touches on a three-meter-tall perimeter post, 'There, the east side is done'. He stepped back and activated it, the emitters on either side of it glowed brightly. A thin film of energy formed between it and the nearby post, layer by layer of hardlight hexagons. Once it fully formed, the barrier pulsed every so often.
An echoing groan of his cove's alarm sounded out, "Hiccup, something's heading our way and fast!".
The teen spread his wings and shot up, "I'm on my way!". Hiccup closed in on his cove, plasma explosions appeared in the sky above his home. Red plasma bolts shot alongside Zia's violet missiles, all trying to hit a familiar black form. 'The night fury, what's he doing here?!', his mask and gauntlets flashed on before his grabbed his rifle. He fired several bolts, getting the dragon's attention. Unexpectedly, the night fury dove and landed inside his cove, outside the range of the sentry turrets.
Hiccup landed hard as both Zia and Cyrai ran to stand beside him, Heather stayed behind her Alpha and his Betas. The three raised their weapons at the crouched dragon, the air grew tense as they held their standoff. The demons flinched, "Wait!", he held up his forepaws and flared his wings.
Hiccup motioned to his Betas, they lowered their weapons, "Why'd you attack us?".
"I didn't, your flame-spitters attacked me while I was coming here", Hiccup still felt skeptical.
"That's why I built them", he shrugged, "Why are you here?".
"I'm not here to fight", the night fury flashed a gummy smile, trying to seem less threatening.
Hiccup raised an upper eye like an eyebrow, 'Toothless, I thought you had-?'. Heather peered from behind Hiccup's fellow demons, causing the dragon to expose his fangs, "Teeth". Once again, they raised their weapons, "What do you want with us if you aren't here to fight?".
"One of my kin was caught by the human nest on the far side of this rock", the fury calmed down.
"So?", Hiccup shrugged, "What's that got to do with us?".
"YOU were the ones who grounded her", the dragon growled irritated, "So you are going to help me".
"No, not our problem", he snapped his rifle to his vest's backplate.
The alpha motioned to his friends, "WAIT!", Hiccup spun around. "Please", he raised an eyebrow, hearing his rival pleading him for help. "Please, help me save her", the fury's wings drooped, "She is the only friend I have".
Hiccup pinched his nose, "You can't be serious", asked Cyrai.
"Fine", he groaned, "I'll go ask Gobber if Berk captured any new dragons". The dragon perked up, "But, you'll owe me if we get her out, deal?". Hiccup turns to his betas and gamma, "Wait here". He spread his wings and took off; the night fury did the same and followed.
Sky above the isle of berk
The teen and dragon neared the village, "Stay here", the fury reluctantly obeyed.
A few villagers were out and about doing their jobs, 'BOOM', a dust cloud billowed as something smashed into the main square. "Oi, what was that?!", Ack asked Shamus as they approached the plume. With a flick of his wings, Hiccup dissipated the plume. "Demon, the demon is here!", screamed Ack, causing most of the villagers to panic and flee.
'Huh, where's the rest of the village?', he spots Gustav's bully, who recognizes Hiccup and tries to flee. The teen dashed and caught the boy, hoisting him up by the collar. "Ah, let me go!", he cried as he hung from Hiccup's grip.
"SILENCE!", Hiccup roared, making him quiet down to a whimper. "I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer", he brought the boy close to his horned mask, "Don't you dare lie". He nodded submissively, "First, where are the rest of you Vikings?".
"I-I-I don't K-know!", Hiccup sensed his deceit.
"LIAR!", he bellowed and lifted him high.
Mulch and Bucket rounded a corner and spotted Hiccup interrogating the boy, "Hello Hiccup, watcha' doin'?".
The teen looked over to them, his horns crumbed away as he relaxed. The two were among the handful of adults that treated him kindly in his previous life, he looked back to the boy and released him. "Oh nothing, just wondering where most of the village has gone", Hiccup shrugged and walked over to them.
"Stoick led them on another nest hunt", Mulch replied, finally noticing a shallow crater behind Hiccup.
"Ah, they were bringing the pretty bird back home", Bucket said as cupping his hands together.
"What?", Hiccup squeezed his hands, popping his knuckles.
"Stoick was plannin' another hunt but everyone knew they'd get lost like always", Mulch shrugged.
"Go on", Hiccup motioned.
"They argued for a bit before Fishlegs spoke up. Apparently, he'd been observin' the dragons durin' the raids. The boy noticed how they seemed to know where to go back, even when there was fog or rain. So, he said 'why not strap a dragon to one of our ships and let it guide us back?'".
'They're sailing straight to their deaths', Hiccup sighed, "Who went with him?".
"Most of the village plus the teens…", the Alpha shrugged and turned away, "Oh, and Gobber too".
"What, Gobber went with them?!", Hiccup roared, frightening both Mulch and bucket.
"Y-yes".
The teen breathed in to calm himself, "Ok, how long ago did they leave?".
"Last night, Stoick readied the ships due to the tide bein' low".
"Which dragon did they use?".
Mulch scratched his temple, "Ah, it was that new one we captured durin' the last raid". He turned to Bucket, "It was a dark purple and blue, strange color for a nadder".
"Thanks for the info, I gotta to go", Hiccup extended his wing and flew up.
The night fury spots him flying up, "Was she there?", the dragon asked.
Both dragon and demon flew back towards the cove, "Not anymore, the morons used her to lead them back to the nest".
"The tyrant will kill them and her, we have to stop them!", the fury barked.
"Don't you think I know that, but they have half a day's lead on us", the teen snapped back. "I have to head back and tell the others", the fury grumbled but formed up behind Hiccup.
Later, the cove
"Let me get this straight, you're planning on catching the human fleet before they reach the dragon's nest?", asked Cyrai.
"Yes", Hiccup replied while carrying a chest from his workshop outside.
"You'll never make it even if you use 'Acceleration' and fly at top speed!", added Zia.
"I know", he set down the chest.
"Then why-?", Hiccup silenced his betas by opening the chest. Inside was a collection of magic-imbued armor and equipment. The largest was an angular shade steel plate chest piece with raised collar. A small box built into the upper back, he touched the pack and pumped mana into it. The bottom of the gadget opened to reveal magitek emitter with fins attached to its rim.
It howled out as a weak plasma jet shot out, "I've enchanted this equipment with my 'Plasma jet' spell". Hiccup brought out a pair of boots attached with similar scaled down jets, "With these we might have a shot at reaching the fleet in time". He handed the chest rig to Cyrai and the boots to Zia.
"Wait, what about you?", asked his silver haired beta.
"Don't worry about me", Hiccup formed his gauntlets, now having their own jets built into the outer forearm. He held them out in front of him and triggered the enchantment, the burst of plasma sent him gliding across the clearing.
"Aren't I going?", asked Heather, noticing that she didn't get anything.
"I… I don't think you're ready for a real fight", his gauntlets' jets folded back inside.
"I can hold myself against Zia in training", the gamma put her hands on her hips, "So I'm going!". Hiccup looked to Zia and Cyrai, who both shrugged.
"Fine, but you'll have to ride with either Cyrai or me", Heather looked over to the tall blonde.
Her smile unsettled the gamma, "I'll go with Hiccup".
"Alright, let's get flying!", the teens shot up to the sky. They circled the island while they formed up, Heather flew over to Hiccup. She closed in and landed onto his back, then wrapped her arms around his neck, "Comfy?". Heather looked over to the betas, who were scowling at the two's position.
She smirked back, "Very".
The night fury flew up beside Hiccup, "Can you keep up?", he asked smugly.
"Is that a challenge?", growled the dragon.
He looked to his friends, getting nods, "LET'S GO!". The group used their enchanted gear and launched off into the distance, CRACK, creating sonic booms. Unbeknownst to them, Gustav stood on a cliff, watching them leave behind colorful glow trails.
"Stay safe, big brother", the small boy whispered.
Much later, Dragon island
"WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER!", roared the dragon queen from inside the tunnel. Stoick leapt away as the mountain began to shake, joining the rest of the hooligans running away to get clear of the collapsing rockface.
"Odin help us", Stoick fearfully prayed.
The enraged titan shoved her way through the landslide of stone and roared once more, "YOU LOWLY INSECTS, I'LL CRUSH YOU ALL!".
The chief turned to his warriors, "Catapults!".
The siege engines' boulders harmlessly bounced of her armored hide, "YOUR PATHETIC ATTACKS ONLY ANNOY ME!". She snatched one in her maw, crushing it while stomping on the others.
"Get to the ships!", came from within the fleeing crowd.
"No, no!", warned Stoick.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!", the dragon unleashed a torrent of flame at the beached fleet. Vikings aboard drove into the water as their ships were consumed by the inferno, leaving the odd colored nadder chained to the deck. The female helplessly whined as the fire cracked around her bindings.
"Smart tha' one", quipped Gobber as he hobbled beside the chief.
"I was a fool", Stoick turned to Spitelout, "Lead the men to the far side of the island". He looked back, "Gobber, go with the men". Even though they had their differences, mostly due to Hiccup, Gobber was still his friend.
"I think I'll stay, just in case you're thinkin' of doin' sumthin' crazy", he said following behind the jogging chieftain.
Stoick grabbed Gobber's shoulders, "I can buy them a few minutes if I give that thing something to hunt".
The blacksmith caught his arm, "Then I can double that time", then held Stoick's hand. He nods, knowing how underserving he is having Gobber as his battle brother.
"Here!", Stoick bellowed boastfully.
"Ho-ho-ho, no", Gobber raised his axe hand, "Here!". The monster picked up a warrior to eat, but he slipped free before she could snap him up.
Stoick pulled free a wooden spike and chucked it at her face, interrupting her roar. "C'MON!", the dragon queen peered down at the chieftain.
"Fight me!", bellowed Gobber, getting her attention.
"No, me!", Stoick leapt and waved his shield.
The behemoth reared up, "I'll SWALLOW YOU BOTH WHOLE!". A high-pitched howling sounded alongside her growl, growing in intensity. BOO-BOO-BOOM, a series of red, blue and violet explosions erupted behind the giant's crown. "ARGH, THAT HURT!", she roared and shook her head in pain. Three-winged humanoids and a dragon screeched by and banked hard to circle the battlefield.
"Damn, that barely scratch it", Hiccup looked over to Cyrai and Zia. "Cyrai, I need you, Zia and Heather to go down and protect those idiots".
"You can't be seriously thinking about taking on that monster on your own?!", Zia argued.
"I need to concentrate everything on fighting that behemoth, so please deal them?", the two betas reluctantly agreed. The four-winged teen looked over to the night fury, "Me and Toothless here will keep it busy while I think of a plan". The night fury shot a confused glance at him when picked up his muffled voice from behind his mask, "What?".
"Nothing, I wouldn't have chosen that name for myself", the dragon crooned.
"Oh… um, you don't like it?".
"It's not important, we must defeat the corrupted alpha first", Toothless banked to follow the teens closing on the crowd of Vikings.
"Alright, you three go", Heather let go and descended with the betas, "Toothless, you're with me".
The masked three landed behind the stunned chief and blacksmith, "Gobber!", screamed Zia to shake them free.
He turned around, "Zia, wha' are yeh doin' 'ere?", recognizing her dark purple mouflon horns.
"Hiccup brought us here to save you… and the rest of village, I guess", she shrugged nonchalantly. Gobber examined the other two demonesses, staring at Cyrai. "Oh, I guess you haven't met each other", Zia motioned to her peers, "This is Cyrai and Heather".
Although being nearly a head taller than Zia, it was her mask that caught his eye. Its eyes glowed garnet red and unlike Zia's, it had one short sharp looking horn that curve up from its forehead just above their clan's symbol. Gobber then looked over to the shorter demoness, she too wore a mask that glowed green, but hers lacked horns of any kind.
BOOM, an explosion from Hiccup's plasma blast reminded them they weren't safe, "We have to escape!".
"What about Hi-x?!", hollered Stoick as they reached the crowd away from the battle.
Cyrai spun around, "Since when do you care what happens to Hiccup?!", Zia elbowed her, "Sorry".
"Look, Hiccup can't fight if you're in the way", Zia sighed.
Meanwhile
"Damn it, I'm just pissing her off!", the monster shrugged off a couple more of Hiccup's shots, the teen racked back his pump.
A hiss escaped the heatsink as his rival landed behind him, "I have to find my friend!", roared Toothless. Both demon and dragon stood on a sea spire, eyeing the monstrosity shaking off her daze.
"Go, I'll keep this ugly bitch busy!", Hiccup motioned with his head, the dragon nods and flies away. The dragon queen spots him flying towards the burning fleet before more plasma rounds strike her face, "Hey, rockface, don't forget about me!".
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!", the titan roared at the demon, ignoring Toothless and the fleeing Vikings.
Gas billowed inside her maw before she unleashed another torrent of flame at Hiccup, "Frost shield". The inferno churned around his pale blue bubble, cracks appeared alongside the barrier's translucent snowflakes, 'Oh no'. Hiccup blinked to a nearby spire just as his shield shattered, "Ok, there's no way I'm gonna survive a direct hit".
"NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR FOOLISHNESS?", the tyrant grinned, "DIE!". She charged another breath, a lone plasma missile streaked at the gas amassing in her maw, BAM! "PAIN!", she hacked and roared. The monster turned to Zia standing alone, smoke rising from one of the barrels of her wrath launchers, "YOU!". With a swing of her massive club-like tail, she smashed the mountainside and sent a hail of boulders flying towards the demoness.
"Zia, look out!", Cyrai shoves her out of the way and holds hands wide apart in front of her, "Glacier wall". Glowing ice erupted from the ground and formed a massive, curved wall between them and the enraged titan. The boulders pummel the barrier, cracking the strong but brittle wall.
"PATHETIC", the titan smashes the ridge once more.
Cyrai surged her mana to repair the damage as quickly as it appeared, 'I… I can't hold it', her arms wobbled at the strain. Behind her, Heather formed her gifted oversized vambraces in a flash of bright green light. Almost equal in girth to Hiccup's gauntlets, she pumped her mana into them. Translucent green chains emerged from openings near her hands, she whipped both her arms back then sent the links forward.
The chains wrapped themselves around Cyrai's trembling arms, 'What the?'. She looks back to the smaller demoness, "Heather, what are you-?".
"Mana nexus", bolts of electricity arced between the chain links as energy flowed between the tethered girls. Cyrai felt her strength return, "I got your back", Heather said with a determined smile.
"Thank you", she turned back to the irritated monstrosity glaring down at them, easily regenerating their wall.
The burning fleet
Toothless flew above the blazing remains of the Hooligan's ships, 'Where is she?!'. His ear plates twitched as they picked up faint squawking coming from one of the boat, "Help, anyone please help me!". He spots his fellow dragon struggling against her bindings, "I don't want to die!", fire crackled as it closed in on her.
"Spark!", Toothless landed on the flaming deck with a thunk.
"Night?!", the Nadder chirped.
Toothless bound over to her, Spark raised her head and met his forehead with her own, "I'm here".
"How did you find me?", she crooned.
"I made a deal with the fire thief", he looked around, "Here, let me free you".
Toothless blew a jet of his fire and began to melt the chain's floor loops, "The thief, how?".
"Not important", he clawed off the lock of her collar, "He's distracting the evil alpha".
Spark shook off her burned leather straps, "Why is he doing that?", she tilted her head at him.
"He's not so bad once you get to know him", a deafening roar made both look towards the raging dragon queen.
Moments earlier
The titan picked up a shipwreck in her jaws and flung it at the ice wall, CRASH! "How are you holding up, Cyrai?", asked Zia.
"Ugh, between me and Heather, we can maybe keep this wall up for a minute or more at best", The three girls see behemoth growling at them.
Gas swelled in her mouth; Zia launched a full salvo of plasma missiles at her maw, "HA, THAT TRICK WON'T WORK ON ME TWICE!". She lifted her head, letting the projectiles strike her heavily armored jaw. "YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT M-!", a huge plasma explosion engulfed the titan's face. "RAAAAAHHH!", blood rained down as she thrashed her head wildly. "MY EYES!", two of her three left eyes were destroyed, the surrounding flesh was disfigured and bleeding.
Despite her weakened sight, she sees smoke rising out of Hiccup's fury. The rifle's barrel as damaged after firing the supercharged round, large cracks snaked down the length. The three demonettes watched in horror as the titan lumbered over to Hiccup, completely ignoring them.
"YOU!", she unleashed a massive column of flame as she roared, "DIE!".
Orange light bathed Hiccup as the inferno closed in on him, "Frost Shield-Maximize power". Like a wave in a typhoon, fire crashed over the small ice blue bubble. He went down to a knee as his legs struggled to hold him up, 'I… I can't'. His veins darken against his paling complexion, Hiccup's mana was being consumed at an exponential rate. Overwhelming pressure caused parts of the barrier shattered open, spewing flames burned away bits of his clothes and seared his skin. 'Am I… I'm going to die?!'.
"Zia, get back here!", his shield continued to fracture as he turned to see his beta barreling towards him.
"HICCUP!", she screamed as she closed in on him.
"Zia, don't!", she crashed into him. Wrapping her arms around Hiccup as the bubble shattered away, both teens were consumed by the inferno.
"HICCUP/ZIA!", screamed Cyrai and Heather.
?
In a white void, Hiccup floated aimlessly, 'Ahh… crap, I died again'. He looked around, then examined himself. His body lacked his clothes and gear, he was as bare as when he came into the world as a human. Hiccup faintly glowed red as he looked at his translucent arm, he sighed and looked around, 'So, this is oblivion eh?'. The afterlife was a mysterious subject in demon culture, even Cyrai had no knowledge on it.
"Damn it! damn it! damn it", he swung wildly around him, "I couldn't save them!". His eyes widen as he remembered moments before, 'Zia!'. Someone crashes into him, sending both tumbling through the void.
"Hiccup!", Zia snuggles into his chest as she giggled.
"Zia?!", his surprise gave way to shock as he noticed she too lacked clothes. Like Hiccup, her curvy body was translucent and glowed violet. "You're-you're-uh-uh!", she followed his sight.
Zia smiled, "Oh…, I don't mind as long as it's you are seeing me".
Hiccup became sadden, "Why'd you rush in, you could've lived".
Zia embraced him, "What, a life without you?". "I couldn't think …no, I can't", Hiccup deepen their embrace, "I can't be alone again". "When I lived in my village, that loneliness was horrible. Even with my parents, I still felt all alone. The solitude was so bad, I thought about walking out into the desert and letting the sands take me", he gently rubbed her back.
"I guess were not so different, you and I", Zia looked up at him smiling with tears in her eyes. "There were many times I thought to do the same", Hiccup chuckled, "Obviously, it would be the cold sea since I couldn't find a desert".
"I'm happy I got to meet you", she sighed.
"Me too", he broke their embrace. Hiccup reach over and held her hand, "Ready to face the end?".
"Together?", she gently squeezed his hand.
"Together", he smiled, they touched their foreheads together before the two teens were consumed by a blinding light.
Dragon island
"NOOO!", screamed Cyrai and Heather. Toothless and Spark soared above the scene, 'Little thief?!', the fury felt his repressed rage swell. He dove at the huffing dragon queen.
The growing whistle gave her little warning before a powerful plasma blast smashed into her shoulder, "RAGH!". She pushed herself off the cliffside then spots Toothless landing on a nearby sea spire, "DARK STALKER, YOU DARE BETRAY ME?!".
Toothless roared back, "How dare you speak about betrayal to me! You, who have devoured many of my kin just to feed your hunger!". The titan readied herself to burn the defiant fury, only for the roar of the swirling flames where the two teens once stood to draw their attention. The blazing tornado twisted and spasmed as it morphed into a miniature sun. White flaming lines streaked across its surface, dividing the sphere into six sections. The six pieces unfurled and became white glowing wings, revealing the curled figure from whose lower back they sprouted from.
The illuminated figure rose and floated down to land on the glass topped spire. It wrapped itself in its wings before in a flash of light, its glow dissipated. The person's hair flowed in the wind like fire, its auburn locks streaked with silver. A long flowing black robe covered its towering three-meter-tall body.
'Who?', Cyrai couldn't recognize the person's face, it was neither male nor female but lied somewhere in between. The androgynous person opened their eyes, causing both demonettes to gasp. The left slitted iris glowed vibrant red, while the right bright violet.
"Who… who am I?", the person's voice was too high pitched to be male but not high enough to be female. It looked around slowly remembering moments before, "Am I Hiccup?". "No", the stranger shook their head, "Then, am I Zia?". It looked at their hands while recollecting combined memories, "No, I'm neither… and both at the same time". The stranger stood proud, "I am Zix!".
The dragon queen growled, "FOOL, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT FORM YOU TAKE". She unleashed another torrent of fire as roared, "YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME!". Zix held up their hand as the column of flames barreled down on them, creating magenta colored shield. The inferno broke harmlessly around the sphere, shocking the titan, "IM-IMPOSSIBLE!".
Cyrai looked on in awe, "Incredible".
"Cyrai, what's wrong", Heather followed her sight, "Who-what is that?!".
"It was written, long ago, that the lords at ruled the demon realm sought to rebel against their king. The king, however, was too powerful for the demon lords to best with just their strength. Many of their zealous warriors used a forbidden magic known as 'Soul Merge' to gain immense power at the risk of damaging their magic core. Tens of thousands became these amalgamations, sacrificing themselves to weaken the king", Cyrai spoke in a frightened tone.
"Why was it considered forbidden?", Heather asked, deeply concerned about Hiccup and Zia.
"Using that magic meant giving up control of your will and life to another, many amalgams lost their individuality. Death as one caused the demise of the users as well. After their armies threw themselves at the king to cripple him, the lords struck down the king. The lords then erased knowledge of the magic, fearing that one day it may be used against them".
The dragon queen stopped her attack, her remaining stream of fire crashed into the amalgam's shield and whisked away. Zix sense Toothless and Spark hovering above them, "Toothless, get the dragons outta here!".
"Understood", the fury nods and roars to the scattered dragons, they form up around Toothless and Spark.
"Toothless?", chirped Spark as she flew up beside him.
"Yes, little thief refers to me as such", he rumbled, slightly embarrassed.
The titan sees her workers fleeing, "WHAT, HOW DARE YOUR ABANDON YOUR ALPHA!". She rears up and emits a reverberating bellow, "LITTLE CHILDREN, HEED MY CALL… ATTACK THE TRESSPASSERS!".
Zix senses magic power in the behemoth's howl, 'That monster is using dark magic!'. They look up to see the dragons shaking their heads to resist her will, even Toothless was fighting. 'I've got to help them!', Zix takes in a deep breath, "Greater dispel magic: Mass Cleanse!". A wave of magenta miasma erupts from them and washes over the battlefield, breaking the possession of the dragons.
"Thank you", Toothless turns from Zix to the flock, "Hurry we must flee from the evil one!". He and Spark lead the dragons away from the Dragon queen, still bewildered at having her power shattered so easily.
The titan roars balefully at Amalgam, "YOU, I'LL DESTROY-!".
"Hailstorm-augment: Plasma blast!", a spinning magic circle appeared from Zix's hand, then a script ring formed around it and spun in the other direction. The circle flashed and unleashed bursts of plasma blasts at the enraged monster, the pummeling forcing her back.
"Y-YOU THINK YOU C-CAN DEFEAT M-ME?", the titan rumbled as she wobbled. She shook off her daze and glanced around, trying to find Zix. The dragon queen finally looks up, her rage exploded at the look in the amalgam's eyes. Zix's six wings were glowing bright as they looked down upon the behemoth in pity, "THE GALL TO LOOK DOWN AT ME, I'LL DESTROY YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!".
"So be it", a black mask formed over their face, it's two left eyes and single right eye's glow continuously transitioning between red and violet. Zix outstretch their massive wings that could rival a timber jack's as both addax and mouflon horns reformed. Their eyes flashed and created two lights, one red and one violet. Both lights floated behind the upright horns and began circling each other until blurring into a bright purplish red halo.
Zix flapped their wings and took off into the maze of sea spires, "RUNNING AWAY, I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN TILL TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD!". The monster spreads her wings and breaks through the spires, chasing the fleeing demon.
"Hiccup-err, Zia… uh?", Cyrai spoke from inside their mask.
"It's Zix", the demon responded as they rolled to avoid the pursing titan's fire.
"Do you have a plan or what?", Zix veered up and began to climb.
"Sorta, normal attacks can't punch through its hide", the demon sensed another attack coming. 'Mana void', a sphere of darkness appeared on the ends of Zix's two tails, absorbing some of the fire. "So, I'm gonna use this monster's size against it", they reach the clouds and disappeared.
"HIDING IS USELESS, FOOL!", the titan hovered in place, snapping her head to whenever she heard a whoosh from inside the mist.
"How?", asked Cyrai before she, Heather and the rest of the hooligans see flashes of light from inside. Several moments pass as more flashes reveal the silhouette of the titan, then they spot a glowing light shoot out from under the clouds. "Zix?", seconds later, the dragon queen also emerges, charging after the demon.
"Simple, I'm gonna make it crash into the volcano", Zix avoids another inferno, the dark spheres' absorbed mana forming into crystalline feather-like scales on their wings.
The dragon queen sees Zix flying straight and narrows her remaining eyes, "I HAVE YOU NOW".
Zix closes their eyes until hearing the telltale sign of her charging breath, they snap their eyes open and spun around, 'Plasma blast'. The pinkish bolt shot into her mouth and detonated the gas, making her cough and hack in agony.
"RAAAGGGH!", the behemoth sealed her throat to stop the spread of the fire. The island comes into view as they clear the mist, "I'M GOING TO CRASH!", she spreads her damaged but still functional wings to slow her dive. Zix does the same and whizzes by her hand, they reach out and catch themselves on one of her back spines.
'Attract', the soles of their boots stick themselves to her scales, allowing Zix to resist the pull of the rushing air. They hold their hands out to their sides and launch bolt after bolt of plasma at her wings' membrane, tearing holes in the skin.
The dragon queen realizes what they were doing, "NOOO!", her plunge gained speed. "HOW… HOW CAN I FALL TO YOU?!", flames whisked by her eyes, "I WAS PERFECT… ABSOLUTE!".
"You're absolute something alright!", she looks back over her shoulder at Zix. The amalgam raised their hands in front of themselves, "Summon supreme magic weapon: God-slaying lance!". The demon's wing scales dissolved and swirled like embers between their hands, forming into a giant glowing golden lance. "ABSOLUTELY DEAD!", Zix roared as they bring their hands down, driving the weapon into her shoulder.
The titan's scales shattered as the tip pierced into her flesh but couldn't go deeper. 'Damn it!', Zix growled trying to force the lance deeper. 'I'm almost out of mana but I have no choice!', they took a deep breath, "I call upon the strength of the ancients to crush my enemies, be it heaven or hell: Titan's might!". The amalgam's arms shined as massive ethereal arms appeared above them and gripped the spear, "Time to face your demise, Tyrant!". Zix roared and drove the weapon clean through the monster's shoulder and chest.
The lance missed her heart, but the pain caused the dragon queen to open her throat. Fire spread deeper into her body, "CURSE YOU DEMON!". Zix dispelled 'Attract' and spread their wings, pulling away from the roaring impaled titan. They watched the behemoth crash headfirst into the volcano, its body fell into the caldera before detonating in a fiery explosion. Zix looked on as the blast made the mountain erupt, sending lava spewing up and around it.
Zix was broken free from their gaze when themselves felt drop slightly, 'What?!'. The six wings flickered as the amalgam's mana became dangerously low. The glow dimmed, sending them falling, "No!". The rush of the wind made Zix's hair flutter wildly as they tumbled. The demon's body became blindingly white and lost its form, separating into two smaller figures.
Hiccup woke first, looking around until he spots his silver-haired beta, "Zia!". He maneuvered his body as the rushing air fluttered his hoodie, glided over to his unconscious clanmate. Her eyes fluttered open just as he reached her.
She flipped over and reached out to him, looks down then back at him, "Hiccup, what do we do?!". Both tried to force mana into their wings but neither had any luck, "We're not going to make it!", Zia started crying.
Hiccup brought her close and hugged Zia, trying to comfort her. He closed his eyes as tears started to flow off his face, then a growing whistling made them shoot open. He held her out and wiped the tears from her eyes, "You'll make it".
"What do you mean?", Hiccup held Zia's hand and transferred the last of his mana to her.
"I'm sorry", he put his foot between them, Zia realized what he was planning.
"Hiccup…, no don't!", He kicked her away just as Toothless swooped in. The fury caught her, and Hiccup gave him a knowing smile, the dragon nods and pulled away.
"HICCUP!", Zia screamed as the alpha teen watched them fly off.
Hiccup let tears flow freely, "At least one of us will live". He relaxed and accepted his fate, smiling as he fell into the inferno.
Meanwhile
"Stop, Toothless, we have to go back!", Zia struggled in his grip, "We have to save him!".
"It's too late", flaming bits of rock fell pass him, "Hold on!". Toothless veered, dove and spun to dodge the flaming hail, pushing his body's maneuverability to the limit. They manage to clear the worst of it and spot Cyrai, Heather and the rest of the hooligans. "Gah, I'm hit!", several stones puncture his wings, he realizes how low they were and wraps himself around Zia. Toothless smashes into the stony beach, snapping his wings as he skips across the ground. They came to rest a little ways from the approaching crowd.
"Did you get them?!", screamed Cyrai, Toothless unfurls his body to reveal frantic Zia.
"Oh Zia, thank goodness you're aright", she brings her into a hug. Cyrai holds her shoulders after they break their embrace, "Wait, where's Hiccup?". She looks around before noticing Zia crying, "Zia?".
"He's-sniff-he didn't-", she choked as she began sobbing.
Heather approached the two betas, "You d-don't mean…?".
Gobber hobbled over to the trio, "Zia?", she looks up with tears streaming down her face. She runs to him and clings to his tunic, burying her face into his fur vest. "Oh… oh lad", he too starts shedding tears, realizing the fate of his nephew. Heather wobbled as sorrow overwhelmed her, Cyrai rush over and held her. The hooligans arrived and from how they were crying, knew Hiccup wasn't going to appear.
Snotlout was shocked for an instant before scowling and walking away, angry that he owed the village runt his life. Ruff felt tears welling in her eyes, "Sis, are you… crying?", her brother asked.
"What?!", she wiped them away, "No-sniff-I'm not". Fishlegs stood behind the twins, his shoulders slumped knowing he wouldn't have the chance to thank Hiccup for saving their lives. Astrid showed grief at his apparent death, but inside it was tearing her up, 'Why… why would he sacrifice himself for fools like us?!'. Stoick felt the worst out of them, his vendetta against the dragons came at the cost of Hiccup's life.
Moments earlier
He could feel the heat below him grow hotter, 'Well, it was good while it lasted'. He closed his eyes before he felt the air around him stop rushing.
"Boy, you know one of these days I'm not going to be around to catch you", he heard the familiar voice quip.
His eyes snapped open and locked on to an identical one, "Dad?!".
"Hello son", Hiccup broke free from his hold and latched on to Grayson. "Woah, easy there, son", the elder demon chuckled, "We aren't on solid ground yet!".
"Dad, oh man, you don't know how much I've missed you!", cried Hiccup. He pulled back and smiled, "What… why are you here, how'd you find me?".
"Well, I sense you were in grave danger", Grayson shrugged, "Call it my fatherly instinct". "Hiccup, son I know I said to get stronger, but I didn't mean you should take on a supreme magical beast", he said in a slightly scolding tone.
"Oh, I'm sorry… are you mad?", the teen asked worryingly.
Grayson chuckled, "Just as reckless as your old man". The father patted his son's head, "No, I'm just happy you're okay". He looked under Hiccup's arms, noticing his four wings, "So, when do I get to meet them?".
"Who?", the teen was genuinely confused.
"Son", his father sighed, "Only kin with minions or partners grow extra wings".
"Ohhh…", Hiccup hardly notice his extra set, "We might as well go now".
Grayson formed his wings, whose wingspan was nearly twice as wide, "After you, son".
Dragon island beach
Both Viking and Devi-kin were in deep mourning for the apparent death of the alpha teen. Gobber gently rubbed Zia's back, "Oh lass, I knew 'ow much 'e meant to ya".
"I j-just-sniff-can't believe h-he's gone", she continued to sob into his fur vest.
Hiccup landed on the beach with a crunch, "Who's gone?". Everyone stared on in shock, some had their mouths agape. He looked behind him, then back at them, "What are you looking at?".
"HICCUP!", both Cyrai and Zia flew into him, sending the three falling to the ground. The betas peppered his face with kisses, Heather jumped into the fray to join the girls' assault.
Grayson coughed, "Ahem, well you're certainly a popular one, aren't you son?". The three demonettes stopped their display of affection and looked up at the elder demon dressed in a business attire. They immediately took note of the striking similarities between their alpha and his father.
Hiccup carefully pushed off his clanmates and stood, "Sorry, Dad".
"It's quite alright son", he examined his boy's collection of partners, "I'm glad to see you're working on restoring our bloodline". Grayson chuckled as Hiccup became beet red and literal steam leaked out his head.
"What, that's not wha-what I'm doing!", the teen uncontrollably waved his arms around.
"Oh, then why are they all girls then?", Grayson raised his non-covered eye's brow.
Stoick stepped ahead of the crowd, "Son", the elder demon's eye twitched in silent anger. The chief took one more step, "You're-".
"YOOOUUU MOOOROOON!", Hiccup roared while subconsciously casting 'Banshee's Howl'. His bellow created a rush of wind, tugging at hair and beards of the Viking army as it blew around them. The three girls and his father behind him look on in awe at his powerful display.
"W-wha?!", Stoick mumbled flabbergasted.
"Shut up!", Hiccup breath heavily, "I don't give a damn if you want to waste your life for your vendetta!". The chieftain was about to speak up, "You want to go on a suicide mission, by all means be my guest". He composed himself, "But don't drag the last few people I care about with you, alright?". A few dragons landed behind the devi-kin group, drawn by the powerful sounding roar earlier.
"Dragons!", several from the crowd hollered while readying their weapons.
"That reminds me, you idiots owe me a blood debt", Hiccup's declaration cause many of the hooligans to mumble amongst themselves.
"Wha, why?!", yelled Spitelout.
"Well, I did just end the Dragon-Viking war, didn't I?", the teen snarked.
"'ow, tha dragons are still breathin' be'ind ya!", a few of them hissed back at the Jorgensen.
"Not true, that monster that I just killed, she was the one behind the three centuries of war. That thing forced the smaller dragons to raid to feed her, lest they themselves became her meal", Hiccup motioned to the large chunk missing from the volcano's rim. "The same thing that nearly annihilated you all without putting any effort at all", he stomped his foot to emphasize his statement.
"He's right", Stoick groaned.
"Good, now all I want is for you people to stop hunting and killing dragons", this brought an indignant outcry from the crowd.
"What, you expect us to just let the devils kill us without fightin' back?!", screamed Burnthair.
"QUIET!", Hiccup's roar silenced them, "I want you to end all malicious attacks on them". Still the hooligans rumbled against his request, "Okay, how about I just fly to every tribe in the archipelago and inform them that the Hairy Hooligans willingly chose to dishonor the blood debt, hmm?". "Let's see just how long you'll last without them", he threatened with an evil grin. The teen notice hushed whispers, "If anyone here violates the debt, I'll know and will gladly punish them". Hiccup's form gradually became more monstrous as he unleashed his suppressed killing intent, "They'll endure unimaginable horror and pain until they beg me for the escape of death!". The hooligans paled and were drenched in cold sweat, like small rabbits cowering at a looming bear.
"We understand 'iccup", Gobber was the only one spared from his aura.
"Good, you should head back to berk now".
"We'd love ta' do tha', but our ships are burn beyond repair", the blacksmith sighed.
"Cyrai, Heather", Hiccup looked to both of them, "Can you open a gate, I want them out of my sight". The two nod and flew up, magic circles appeared before the beta and gamma. A rift manifested and grew until reaching ten meters tall and stretched from the shoreline to the mountainside. A distorted view of the village square shone from the rift.
'Oh my, these girls are quite strong', Grayson smiled at his son's choice in partners. The hooligans were ushered through before the two demonettes collapsed the rift.
Spark lands and rushes over to Toothless, "Night, are you okay?!".
"I'm afraid not", He struggled to lift his mangled wing, "I may never fly again but I'm alright with that".
"What, why?", she trilled.
"It's a small price compared to freedom for us, our hatchlings and our hatchling's hatchlings", Toothless warbled contently. Spark lays her head over his neck, whining sadly at his injuries.
"Toothless, are you sure you want to give that up?", Hiccup approached the pair.
"Why, can you restore my wings?", this immediately made Spark perk up.
"Please, if you can heal him, I'm willing to do anything you ask!", the female hopped and fluttered her wings.
"Well, I doubt my level of healing magic can fix his wings good enough to fly", Spark groaned sadly. "However, I recently learned new magic that may be able to restore him back to normal", the teen shrugged, "It really depends on Toothless, if he's willing to accept".
"Okay, tell me", the fury readjusted his aching limbs.
"It's a high level dark magic spell called 'Black Thread', which soul binds the promisor and promisee".
"You plan on enslaving me?", Toothless growled.
"Not really, all it does is grant an exchange of power. The stronger you grow, the more power I get and vice versa, not a bad deal, eh?", Hiccup tilted his head.
"Please accept, I want to fly with you like you promised me you would if we ever broke free from her", Spark whined.
"Fine, I'll accept", Toothless raised his head as Hiccup approached.
The teen rested his hand on the dragon's crown, "From now till our end, we will share our triumphs and failures". A red glowing mark slowly etched into his scales as miasma flowed down his body, painlessly snapping bones back into place and regenerating flesh, "No matter where we are, our link will span mountains and seas: Black Thread". Hiccup locked eyes with Toothless, "Do you agree?".
The fury breathed in, "I do". The rune mark flash, lighting up the dragon's hidden veins for an instant. His nostrils, back spines and the surrounding scales glowed red, demon script appeared on his legs, chest and shoulders, "I… I feel amazing!".
"Good, it's best you lead your flock to a new nest. I will call upon you if I need your aid, as can you call upon me", Hiccup gave Toothless a bow, the dragon returned the gesture.
"I will answer if you call to me…, brother", the fury trilled respectfully.
"Likewise, brother", he held out his hand for the dragon to place his snout in. Toothless gave him one last nod and took to the sky, he roared and lead his new flock towards the sunset.
"Well, we best head back", Hiccup turned to Grayson, "I can't wait to show you my home, Dad".
"I look forward to it, son", the five demons spread their wings and shot up. They flew pass the caldera but stopped when they see Hiccup hovering over the volcano, "Son, what is the matter?".
"There… there's something down there", he dove down towards the mountain.
Inside the former dragon nest
Lava was spattered all over the crater walls, adding to the sweltering heat already present. The five landed on the perimeter ledge, several stone formations dotted the lava lake. Large slabs of flesh and bone lied on or in between the islands of rock. Heather wiped her brow, "Oof, it's a bit hot in here isn't?".
"Compared to where I lived in my past life, ehh… kinda", Zia shrugged. Grayson and the three girls followed Hiccup as he navigated the ruins of the dragon's nest.
Squick, Cyrai cringed and closed her eyes, "Ugh, what did I just step in?!".
Zia looked down at her feet, "You don't want to know". She looks around and spots Hiccup gliding over to another part of the ledge, "Hiccup?". The group flew over to him as he clawed away the burned flesh with his gauntlets. The burned bloody mass shifted, "Look out!", he hopped back just in time to avoid the collapse. "That's so disgusting!", Cyrai and Heather shared Zia's revulsion, "Why did-?".
A bright red glow cast on Hiccup's relaxed face, Grayson moved to get a better view on the light source, "Oh my, look what you found". The girls move to stand beside the elder, their eyes landing on a large red glowing crystal.
"Is that… what I think it is?", Zia asked what the others were thinking.
"Yep, it's another mana stone", Hiccup picked up the crystal, his gloves' enchantment helping him carry it pass the others. Although slightly smaller than the one in the cove's mana siphon, both Hiccup and Grayson sensed a high amount of energy stored inside. 'Gate', a portal appeared, Diggy and Zia's constructor flew through. Both automata clamped onto the crystal and lifted it out of his hands. The elder demon watched the pair carry the gem into the rift, 'My son sure has kept himself busy'.
"Hiccup, can we please get out of this smelly place", Heather held her nose.
"Sure, let's go-", he stopped mid-sentence and looked over his shoulder, "Did you guys feel that?".
"I didn't feel anything", she looked to Zia and Cyrai.
"Me neither", shrugged the taller demoness. Hiccup walks off the ledge floats down until finding a tunnel opening. The group joins up and walks down the hollow together, "Is it me, or did is it getting... cooler?".
The passage became darker the deeper they traveled, 'Magic light', a small ball of red light floated out of Hiccup's hand. "We're getting closer", Zia summoned her own light, casting a pale purple light around her.
"How much long-?", crunch, something shattered under Heather's boot.
Hiccup and Zia brighten their lights, "I think we found it", revealing hundreds of broken eggshells all around them.
"Were these… dragon eggs?", Heather picked up a big piece of shell.
"They're huge", Zia took the piece from her hand, "Wait, if these were eggs, where are the babies?".
They slowly started to get an idea, "You don't think that giant dragon-?".
"Yeah, I do", Hiccup growled.
"Oh… oh, I think I'm gonna be sick", Heather leaned on Cyrai.
"Looks like whatever was here is gone", Zia rubbed her back to comfort the smaller demoness.
"No… I feel something's… something is still here", he searched the hollow, tossing around rocks and shell fragments. Hiccup's ear twitched when a stone struck the wall, hearing a hollow sound.
"What is it son?", he reeled back and shattered the section of wall, revealing a small hollow. The teen walked in and emerged a moment later with something in his hands. "Hmm, this one seems smaller than the other eggs", the egg in his hands was almost as big as him.
Grayson placed his hand on it, sensing a trickle of life inside, "It's weak, I don't think it will survive".
"Maybe…", Hiccup looked at his hand, "Maybe I can try something". He sets the egg down and goes to touch it.
"Son", the teen stopped his hand close to the surface, "Are you sure about this?".
"Yes", he turned to face his father with a look of pure determination. Grayson smiles and nods, letting him touch the egg. Hiccup channeled his mana from his palm and through the shell, his eyes moved under his closed lids as he guided the miasma inside. 'There, I hear it', locating the weak heartbeat and contacted its form. The ethereal tendril wrapped itself around it, seeping into the lifeform. His hand etched a print on the egg surface, rings upon rings of demon script imprinted around the mark. The egg's murky green color slowly faded into a dark grey, the pattern on the shell flashed and shimmered.
'Don't worry little one, daddy will make sure you grow up big and strong', Hiccup smiled as he felt the humping steadied, 'Yes… he… will'.
Zia, Cyrai and Heather approached him, "Hiccup... what's that?".
He stroked the egg and smiled deviously, showing his fangs, "New beginnings".
(A/N: Looks like Hiccup will give new meaning to the name "Red Death", He-he-he. I wanted to break this long chapter into two parts, but I didn't want to leave you guys with another cliffhanger. Next up, the epilogue.)