Ok, here comes the problem with meeting-your-younger-self fics. The thing is I don't really want to give fake names, because it just feels wrong to me. And so henceforth the future riders will be in normal font while the past ones will be in cursive (inclined). This is because I plan to write more from the future riders' perspective.

"No, you don't understand. You have to connect with your dragon, accept it as your equal. This isn't an axe or a sword you swing around; it's a living, breathing, sentient creature that is just as smart as you. You have to start seeing it as your partner, not a tool."

Hiccup has been shouting the same couple sentences for the past two hours. He was trying to instruct three Berserkers and two Outcasts on how to ride dragons and it was becoming just a gruesome of a task, as when he was teaching Berkians.

They were currently hovering above Outcast island, which, thanks to the decline in dragon raids and help from other islands, was finally looking less like a wasteland and more like an actual island.

He glanced around to see the other riders, plus Dagur and Heather, struggling with their own groups of trainees. It terrified him that Dagur seemed to be the one having the most success. Astrid wasn't doing half bad either, at least compared to everyone else. Hiccup was just thankful the twins didn't have anything to blow up.

Astrid noticed him looking at her and flew over, her own trainees following clumsily behind.

"Regret agreeing to train the newbies yet?" she asked in a I-told-you-so voice.

"All right, all right, you were right. Happy?" Hiccup said, gazing lovingly at his girlfriend.

Before either could continue their banter, a yell tore through the sky and everyone whipped around. Two of Ruffnut and Tuffnut's trainees, who have wandered a bit too far from the group, were plummeting towards the ocean, their Zippleback's wings tangled in a bola.

It took Hiccup all of three seconds to locate the ship that the bola was launched from.

"Get back to the ground and tell Alvin! We'll take care of this." was all he shouted at the other trainees before giving Toothless a gentle nudge and they both bolted towards the ship, closely followed by the other riders.

They landed on top of a dragon hunter, and Toothless immediately swiped two other with his tail as Hiccup jumped the third. His friends landed all around him and eagerly joined the fight. In the chaos the loudest was Dagur's maniacal laugh.

It wasn't long before the captured Outcasts were freed and on their way to shore.

The riders then proceeded to storm below deck, freeing the few dragons the hunters had managed to capture, and throwing the remaining hunters out.

Snotlout was in his moment of glory, kicking the last hunter on deck for Hookfang to throw in the ocean, when his eye caught a flash of gold. He retreated a little and peeked inside a locked cage. There on a table sat a beautiful mahogany box with shiny golden engravings.

"Hello gorgeous." Snotlout whistled.

After some cursing, he managed to break the lock and strode over to the box.

"Now you look like you're hiding something worthy of the Snotman."

After striking a pose he gingerly picked the box up, looked it over and, with a bit of effort, pried it open.

"Empty?! Pah, what a scam! Well, guess the box is good enough."

Snotlout heard his friends calling him so he closed the box, tucked it under his arm and ran outside, not noticing the thin layer of white smoke slowly falling the room.

Hiccup just released the last dragon when Astrid walked over to him. "Why do you think would the hunters be so close to Outcast Island?"

Hiccup shrugged. He was really asking the same question.

"Maybe they were hiding. Alvin did say that a few days ago some hunters snuck onto the island, stole some old stuff from his house, and ran away," Fishlegs said as he approached them with the twins in tow.

"What would Alvin have that would interest the hunters so much?" Snotlout asked as he exited one of the cages with an ornate box under his arm. His form was strangely distorted as if he was surrounded by mist.

"Hey, is it just me or is there a lot of smoke here?" Astrid pointed out, waving her hand in front of her face.

As if to confirm her words, the smoke around them thickened abruptly and yells of Fire! could be heard through it. The riders rushed out, bumping into each other on the way.

They burst onto the deck, which was also covered with smoke, and that was when the boat shook and threw them to the ground.

"Hiccup!"

Then, as the smoke dissipated, it became obvious that they were no longer on the ship.

Astrid watched as the group of mysterious toddlers was ushered inside the Great Hall and sat on top of a vacant table. Gothi, who was watching the training before, was there within a second and started looking them over.

There was something... strange about those kids and yet nobody seemed to care.

Did everyone just forget how they appeared out of nowhere? Did no one notice the way they seemed to talk between themselves? She was sure she heard them speaking perfectly back in the arena. And most of all, did no one notice their eyes? Those weren't the eyes of toddlers. They were the sharp, intelligent eyes of experienced warriors who somehow managed to retain a spark of childish curiosity.

These were no ordinary children.

Well, maybe not the black haired one and the twins. Astrid thought that maybe they were supposed to divert suspicion from the other three.

Suddenly a different pair of twins, by the names of Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and a black-haired oaf, by the name of Snotlout pushed past her and to the toddler adorned table. Fishlegs was following close behind.

Astrid was starting to see some strange similarities.

Hiccup was staying at the back of the room, glancing at the door every few seconds. He was itching to go back to Toothless, but he had to stay here exactly because of Toothless.

Whoever these kids were, they somehow just appeared inside the arena, and if they started moving around the island like that, they could accidentally stumble upon Toothless and lead the other vikings to him. He had to make sure that didn't happen.

He tried to look at the children through the small crowd of vikings but only managed to get a glimpse of the one who seemed to lead them.

For a second they locked eyes and Hiccup realised that he had seen those eyes before, countless times when looking into the various reflective objects in the forge, but also somewhere else. He was sure that a very long time ago he saw those eyes on a woman.

Then Snotlout shoved himself in front of the table and all hell broke loose.

Hiccup felt small.

He was sitting on a giant table, where he was lifted with his fellow dragon riders, dozens of giant vikings were mulling around, looking at them over their food, while a giant Gothi was prodding and poking him and his friends with her staff. Meanwhile giant versions of Gobber, his father, Spitelout and other vikings were talking about who they could be and what to do with them.

So far it looked like everyone thought they were just normal kids, so they tried to keep their conversation as quiet as possible with the twins involved. They had to lay low, especially since their dragons were nowhere to be seen, which, now that he thought of it, may have been for the best.

"So, anyone has any idea what is going on?" Hiccup asked for the thousandth time. They were pondering this all the way from the arena but so far couldn't even figure out how they got there in the first place.

"Well, we might just be hallucinating. Or this could be a plot by Vigo or Johan or some other lunatic we haven't even met yet." Astrid whispered while scanning the room for anything even remotely suspicious. Her serious visage was ruined by Gothi suddenly pulling her hair, making her yelp.

Fishlegs, who has been hyperventilating half the time, whispered back. "As much as I want you to be right, given the things we've seen so far and the people around us, I would say that most likely explanation would be..."

Before he could finish a group of teenagers elbowed their way towards the table they were sitting on.

"Time travel." The riders finished as one as they looked into the faces of their currently-older-but-actually-younger selves. There was a loud thud as Fishlegs passed out and slammed headfirst on the table.

"Well duh. That's what we said in the arena." Tuffnut pointed out.

Honesty, at this point Hiccup was just wondering whose idea of a joke this was.

He briefly saw his own alternative version, standing at the very back of the crowd, and could tell that he was knew something was up. Astrid looked even more suspicious, which was very bad.

Then Snotlout shoved himself in his face, blocking his view of anything else.

"These twerps snuck inside the arena? Look like a bunch of dragon snacks to me. Especially this fishbone." he said mockingly, pointing at Hiccup.

"Bet I could beat him with just my pinkie, and he wouldn't even..."

He didn't get a chance to continue as Astrid, Snotlout, and the twins jumped him, knocking him to the ground, and started pummelling him with little fists. Snotlout tried getting up but Astrid pinned him down by the neck with her axe.

Whoops and cheers rose from the crowd as a few vikings rushed to rescue him from imminent death.

"Hah, you just got beaten by a bunch of babies!" Ruffnut yelled as Snotlout was finally able to get up, causing a few people to laugh.

"Shove off! Those lucky bastards got the jump on me!" he growled before skulking out of the Hall.

"Honestly I don't know if I should be flattered or horrified." Hiccup whispered to his friends as they were lifted back onto the table. Gothi resumed her probing with much more interest.

"That was stupid. We almost gave ourselves away." Snotlout growled. He was looking strangely sober.

"Let's be fair, Snotlout, no one could ever think our group is normal." Astrid threw a meaningful glance at the twins, who were snickering and whispering among themselves.

They sat quietly for a while, simply watching Gothi trying to dissect the still unconscious Fishlegs, until Snotlout turned to Hiccup.

"Hey Hiccup? I know I never told you this but I'm... I'm sorry. For how I acted when we were kids. Looking at this now I... I was really a jerk, wasn't I?"

Hiccup looked at Snotlout, surprised by the sudden sentimental state his cousin was in. He noticed how uncomfortable he looked, fiddling with the edge of his tunic, his eyes pointedly looking at the table.

He had gone far since they were kids. All of them have.

"It's cool. I was used to it." Hiccup whispered and joined Snotlout in staring at the table.

Since neither knew what to say after that, Hiccup awkwardly punched Snotlout in the shoulder, barely making him move. This made Snotlout chuckle.

"You're still a fishbone." He said jokingly and returned the punch, almost knocking Hiccup over.

Hiccup laughed and only then noticed younger (now that sounded weird) Gothi watching the two of them with a strange look. This reminded him of the situation they were in and made him realise something.

They were in the past, in bodies that could barely walk, surrounded by dragon-hating vikings and enemies from the past, and in danger of being exposed any second.

They needed a plan.

Preferably before the twins got the chance to meet their past selves.

A bit of an exposition chapter but no worries, it's back to the shenanigans soon! Looks like I can fit chapters every two weeks or so but that can change with future chapters so it isn't set.

Yami_nee out!