DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from the HTTYD series or any of the ideas to the plots. My ideas are inspired by a collective of stories that I have come across. But I am always open for any ideas that could help with the story. I might also mess up with some details but I will try my best for the story. Without a further ado I will let you get on with the reading, enjoy!
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Astrid was breathing heavily as she followed Stoick and Gobber up the mountain side. Neither of the two men had spoken a head to her the entire trip up. Stoick was completely ignoring her and Gobber casted an occasional glance at her but he didn't say anything. At first Stoick wasn't even going to make the trek up the mountain. But after some convincing from Gobber the trio finally made their way up the mountain. Stoick had to be reminded of Hiccup's warning as well and was very angry at being forced to leave all his weapons behind. However, he went unarmed in case Hiccup stuck to his word and wouldn't stay if he saw they were armed.
They continued to climb higher and higher as the sun continued to drop closer to the horizon. They reached a large flat spot on the mountain side and Astrid looked ahead to see Hiccup waiting for them. He rested his back on a tree stump and was staring at the fire in between him and the trio. Toothless rested right next to him and brought his head up as they approached.
"I'm surprised," he admitted as he looked up at them, "I didn't think you would actually come up here to listen to me."
"You could've chosen a better spot to discuss your plan," Stoick grumbled as they walked closer to Hiccup.
"And risk the chance of you using the catapults, I don't think so," Hiccup told him as he stretched out his legs and folded his hands in his lap. Astrid heard Gobber make a noise and looked over to see an impressed look on his face. Sure enough, Stoick was debating on using the catapults to try and kill Hiccup but he was out of range in this spot. "Come take a seat," he said as he gestured to the logs around the fire. The two men were hesitant to sit but Astrid didn't wait as she took a seat to Hiccup's right. She was tempted to sit right next to him but figured it wouldn't be the best for it. Finally Gobber and Stoick took a seat, Gobber to Hiccup's left and Stoick took the seat right across from Hiccup.
"Why are they here," Stoick asked in a cold tone as he narrowed his eyes on Hiccup, "This should be a private matter, between you and me."
"It should but I don't trust you to keep to the terms if it was just you and me," Hiccup told him as he folded his hands behind his head. "Plus they are also here so you walk away from here alive." Stoick let out a loud laugh as he leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee.
"You think you can kill me boy," Stoick asked, "I could take you on myself with one arm tied behind my back."
"And yet when I was in your 'control' I still got away," Hiccup pointed out. Astrid had to try her best not to laugh at the smirk on Hiccup's face now. She looked over and saw an angered face on Stoick and it seemed like he wanted to strangle him right now.
"Laddie, why did you bring us here," Gobber asked as he tried to clear the tension that was forming now.
"Simple, I want to help take care of the dragon problem," Hiccup told them.
"And how do you propose that," Stoick grumbled as he leaned forward.
"We take out the queen," Hiccup said in a more serious tone as he brought his hands back down to his lap.
"The queen," Gobber asked with a raised eyebrow, "Laddie what are you talking about?"
"You already know about the nest," Hiccup said, "You just don't know about the queen inside it. She controls the dragons, get rid of her and then you'll get rid of the raids."
"You make it sound so simple," Stoick pointed out, "So why haven't you done it yet."
"Because I haven't had a reason too," Hiccup admitted, "Now I do." Astrid saw him glance over at her for a second and a small smile appeared on her face.
"And what do you expect us to do," Stoick asked in an agitated tone.
"I'll need your help," Hiccup told them, "Taking on the nest won't be easy for one man to do it alone."
"Absolutely not," Stoick said as he stood up and shook his head.
"Stoick," Gobber called out as the chief turned back around and threw his arms out.
"I will not have it Gobber," Stoick told the blacksmith, "I will not be helping that devil with anything."
"Fine if you want your people to die you might as well kill them all now," Hiccup told him. "Because I am the only person that can help you with this and you know it." Astrid heard Stoick sigh and he walked back over to the fire. He didn't sit down but he stood close by and watched the fire for a few seconds.
"What help will you need," Stoick asked in a slow voice, obviously not enjoying the idea of helping Hiccup.
"First I'll need an area to stay here on Berk," Hiccup said, "Just a simple space I can work with. Then I'll need the old Dragon Training arena to train some people into riders."
"Riders," Stoick asked as his head snapped up to look at Hiccup, "Why in hell do you need anyone else to ride a dragon?"
"They'll help me take out the queen," Hiccup told him as he tossed a log into the fire in front of him.
"You can't do it by yourself," Stoick asked in a mocking tone, "You have a Night Fury and can't take on this queen by yourself?"
"Because this queen isn't just your typical dragon," Hiccup told him in an angered tone, "How else do you think she controls all of these dragons? I'll only need a few to help, I already have Astrid trained and comfortable with a dragon." Both Gobber and Stoick glanced at Astrid at the mention of her name but then looked back at Hiccup.
"Anything else," Stoick grumbled as he folded his arms across his chest.
"I need you to tell the rest of Berk the plan, or at least the basic parts of it," Hiccup told him. "I also want safe passage for me, Toothless, and any other dragons I bring in to stop the queen." Stoick seemed hesitant as he debated the idea in his head for a few seconds.
"Alright," he finally said, "Your terms will be met, but the people of Berk won't take them lightly."
"I think they'll be convinced," Hiccup said as he placed a hand on Toothless' neck and scratched a spot on it. Stoick didn't say anything as he just watched the two before turning to walk back down to the village. Gobber waited for a few seconds as he watched Hiccup and then turned to face Astrid. He took a deep breath in and then stood up before following Stoick back to Berk. Astrid watched them go and waited for the two to disappear from view before she got up and walked over to Hiccup. She petted Toothless under the chin as she walked past him and then moved over to Hiccup's other side. "How did I do," Hiccup asked her as he looked over at her with a smirk.
"You can be such an ass sometimes you know that," she told him.
"And you love it," he said back as he brought his arm around and wrapped it around her waist. Astrid didn't say anything as she just shook her head and placed it on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few minutes as they watched the sun creep lower and lower to the horizon.
"Do you think this will work," she asked him as she picked up her head to look at him. He had a serious look on his face as he seemed to think of her question in his head.
"Honestly I don't know," he admitted, "All I know is that this is going to be hell."
"Probably," Astrid agreed, "Just know that I'll be right there with you." She looked up at him and saw him look down at her with a smile.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, milady," he said as he leaned down to kiss her. Astrid smiled to herself and she put her head back on his shoulder and continued to watch the sunset. At least in this moment they had a little calm, but there was always a storm waiting for them.
Berk was quiet as Astrid walked around in the early morning. She was enjoying the fresh morning air when she rounded the corner of a house and saw a group of people crowded together. She slowly walked over so she could see what they were looking at and finally spotted it. Far off away from the rest of the village Hiccup was working on some type of project. He already cut down a few trees and had Toothless dragging them over to where he was working.
"What is he doing," one woman asked in a disgusted tone, "Why is he still here."
"I don't know," another woman admitted, "I don't see why we don't just kill him ourselves."
"We can't," a man grumbled, "He got some deal with Stoick so we can't touch him or that dragon." The small group continued to grumble and share their opinions as they continued to watch from a distance. Astrid didn't say anything as she finally moved and walked around them as she headed over towards Hiccup. She noticed that the villagers went quiet as she walked past them and she could feel their stares on the back of her head. She didn't stop as she continued to walk towards Hiccup. As she got closer he looked up from his workbench that he was standing at and smiled as he saw her.
"Good morning," she said to him as she walked around the workbench and wrapped her arms around him as she kissed him.
"Good morning to you too," he said in a slow voice as he smiled at her. "Not that I mind it but what brought this about?"
"What, am I not allowed to kiss my boyfriend," she asked in an innocent voice. Hiccup didn't say anything right away as he looked past her and then a smirk appeared on his face.
"Everyone calls me a devil but they should watch out for you," he told her with a chuckle.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said as she jumped up so she could sit on the workbench. Hiccup continued to laugh as he shook his head and looked down at the table. "What are you working on," Astrid asked as she looked down at all of the papers scattered across the surface.
"Nothing too complicated," Hiccup told her as he pushed papers aside before finding the one he was searching for. On the paper were several well drawn sketches of a simple house.
"You plan to make this," Astrid asked him as she looked down at him.
"It will keep me busy," Hiccup said with a shrug, "Plus it gives me a reason to be away from all of that." Astrid nodded her head as she looked back at Berk where the people were finally moving around now.
"Seems like you already have a decent start to it," she told him as she examined what he already had done. The base was completely laid out now and he had the corners of the house in place.
"Yeah I didn't sleep much," Hiccup admitted as he looked back to admire his work for a second.
"Why not," Astrid asked in a slightly concerned tone, wondering if he was having nightmares again.
"Well the constant thought of thinking Berk would come for my neck at any time isn't something that allows you to sleep," Hiccup said with a soft chuckle.
"Stoick made a deal with you," she reminded him, "He told everyone about it as well."
"Just because there is a deal in place, doesn't mean they will respect it," Hiccup pointed out to her.
"Well if they want to get to you they'll have to get through me," she told him and then heard a snort from Toothless. "Toothless can help too," she added with a small smile.
"Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have a kickass girlfriend like you," he said with a smile. Astrid smiled as well and enjoyed the small peaceful moment despite the amount of chaos that seemed to fill their lives. However, the moment was ruined as a loud roar cut through the quiet morning. The two looked at each other and didn't say anything as they took off towards the direction of the noise. As they approached the arena the roaring grew louder and more often. Astrid stopped at the railing and looked down to see Snotlout face to face with a Monstrous Nightmare. He held a sword tightly in his hand and was slowly backing up as the dragon approached him.
"What is he doing," Astrid asked in a quiet voice as more people continued to gather around the arena.
"Trying to get himself killed it seems," Hiccup grumbled as he looked down at the interaction. "Come on," he said as he pulled her by the elbow and led her somewhere.
"What are you doing," she asked as she followed him around to the gate to the arena.
"Trying to make sure nobody dies," he told her in a serious tone as he approached the gate. He looked around and finally found the crank to open the heavy wooden gate. Astrid ran over to help him and they quickly opened the gate.
"What's the plan now," she asked as Hiccup started to enter the arena.
"I'll go in there and get the Nightmare out," he told her, "You stay here." Astrid was about to protest his decision but the look on his face told her it wasn't a debate. She just nodded and then he turned back to the arena. Snotlout was now backed up against a wall and the Nightmare was about ten feet away from him. Astrid watched as the dragon drew back it's head and opened its jaws, preparing to strike at the young viking. A sharp whistle rang out and Astrid looked up to see Hiccup standing in the center of the arena now. He lowered his hands to his sides and stared down the dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare cocked it's head to the side and slowly turned around to face Hiccup.
"Easy now," Astrid heard Hiccup say in a calm voice as he held out his hands to his sides. The dragon continued to slowly approach Hiccup who started to lower himself closer to the ground. By the time the two were within a few feet of each other, Hiccup was crouching and had his hand extended out towards it. The Nightmare seemed hesitant but then took a slow step forward and rested its nose in Hiccup's hand. "Alright let's get you out of here," she heard Hiccup say after a few seconds of silence. Hiccup slowly led the Nightmare towards the gate and Astrid watched as it seemed calm the whole time. Once the dragon was fully outside it turned back to Hiccup and seemed to nod its head at him, almost as a thanking gesture. It then spread its wings and took off into the sky.
"That could have gone a lot worse," Hiccup admitted as they both watched the dragon continue to fly through the sky.
"I wouldn't have minded that actually," Astrid told him as she looked back towards the arena. Hiccup raised his eyebrows at her but didn't say anything as he followed where she was looking. As soon as he realized what she meant his mood changed as well and his face changed into a scowl. Snotlout was walking up the ramp from the arena and was eyeing Hiccup with an angered look on his face.
"I didn't need you to step in there," he said as he stopped right in front of Hiccup. "I had it all under control."
"Really," Hiccup asked, "If that's what you call 'under control' I sure would like to see when you lose control. And if you call that under control this place is doomed then when you become chief." Hiccup didn't add anything else as he started to turn away but Astrid saw a look of anger wash across Snotlout's face.
"You know I'm sick and tired of how you act like you're invincible," Snotlout called out. Hiccup didn't say anything but he came to a stop and turned around to face his cousin. "Stoick may have made a deal with you, but you better not act like it protects you from any crimes you commit here."
"Funny enough it actually does," Hiccup said with a short laugh, "And besides the deal I made wasn't really to protect me, it was just to make sure I didn't kill anyone while I'm here."
"Why are you even here," Snotlout asked as he tried to get under Hiccup's skin but it didn't work as Hiccup just smirked at him.
"I'm here to try and save Berk from your biggest problem right now," Hiccup told him, "A job you can't get done. And just so you know, I'm not going to help you when you fail at something again."
"That's it," Snotlout said in an angered tone and Astrid even saw a few veins popping in his neck. "If you want to act like some sort of big shot then let's settle it in the arena."
"If my memory serves me correctly, I already beat you in a fight," Hiccup pointed out.
"Scared to go in on a fair fight," Snotlout said as he tried to taunt Hiccup.
"No, I just have better ways to spend five minutes of my life than beating you," Hiccup said. Snotlout didn't say anything as he just turned and walked back to the arena and the crowd that had been gathering around them went back up to the railings to spectate.
"You don't have to do this," Astrid told him as Hiccup watched Snotlout enter the arena.
"You are right there," he told her, "I don't 'have' to do this, I want to." With that said he kissed her on the cheek and then walked into the arena. Astrid moved closer to the gate to get a better view and so she wasn't in the crowd gathering around. Snotlout tried to eye Hiccup down as he walked over to the weapon rack but his attempt to be threatening didn't work. Hiccup pulled a sword out from the rack and held it out as he tested it. He seemed satisfied with it and then turned to face Snotlout. "You can back out now," Hiccup told him with a smirk.
"Do you actually know how to fight or do you just talk the whole time," Snotlout taunted.
"I guess you'll find out soon," Hiccup told him as he started to circle around Snotlout. Astrid watched as the two took different stances, Hiccup seemed more relaxed and Snotlout seemed a lot tenser. Snotlout charged forward and Hiccup quickly sidestepped and stuck out his leg, tripping Snotlout in the process. Astrid held back a laugh as she watched Snotlout get up and turn back to Hiccup who was leaning on the sword as he dug it into the ground. Snotlout charged again and this time Hiccup left his sword standing up and rolled away as his cousin ran past again. Hiccup quickly got up and went back to his sword as Snotlout turned to face him again.
"Quit running around and fight like a man," Snotlout growled.
"What's wrong with having a bit of fun," Hiccup asked as he flipped the sword over in the air and caught it again. "If anyone is to blame for making this boring it's you. You predict every move of yours ten seconds before you even do it." Snotlout remained quiet as he began to circle again and Hiccup watched him as he did the same. This time Hiccup made the first move and stepped forward towards his cousin. He quickly lunged forward and managed to nick his side. Snotlout tried to retaliate but Hiccup pulled back his sword to block the counter. Hiccup didn't hesitate as he swung hard at Snotlout's side but Snotlout managed to block it. Snotlout again tried to get a quick counter in but Hiccup easily blocked it. Hiccup kicked out at Snotlout who stumbled backwards but managed to stay on his feet.
"How about we change this up a bit," Hiccup asked as he switched his sword to his other hand. Astrid smiled as she realized what he was doing and sure enough he placed his other hand behind his back. Snotlout's anger did not ease as he realized what Hiccup was doing and Astrid was sure he was thinking back to the raid a few weeks ago at Berk. Hiccup slowly walked forward as he swung the sword around in his hand and waited for Snotlout to make the first move. Snotlout lived up to the expectation and raised his sword high above his head as he took a big step forward. Hiccup quickly stepped in as he flipped the sword in his hand and ducked down low. He drove the hilt of the sword into his cousin's gut, causing him to grunt in pain and double over. Hiccup stood up behind him and then kicked out his leg so he dropped down to one knee. Snotlout tried to get up but as he turned around Hiccup drove a knee into his chest, causing him to fall back so he was laying on the ground.
"I think this is the part where you yield," Hiccup said as he held his sword over Snotlout's throat.
"I think you are too quick in making your assumption," Snotlout said with a chuckle. With a sudden move Snotlout reached over and dug his hand into the dirt. Before Hiccup could react Snotlout threw his hand up, sending dirt into Hiccup's eyes. Hiccup reeled back as he tried to wipe his eyes. The crowd around the arena cheered as Snotlout got up now as Hiccup was still blind. Snotlout quickly moved forward as Hiccup continued to slowly walk backwards.
"Hiccup in front of you," Astrid called out as Snotlout was about to swing his sword at Hiccup's midsection. Hiccup managed to bring up his sword and deflected the blow but he was still on the defensive.
"What's wrong Dragon Master," Snotlout taunted as he circled Hiccup who was spinning in several directions now. "All of a sudden your toughness goes away with your sight."
"This will be a fun story to tell when you lose after that cheap stunt," Hiccup called out. He went quiet then as he tried to listen to his surroundings. Snotlout tried to sneakily creep around Hiccup but his footsteps were loud and heavy. Astrid noticed that Hiccup caught onto this but he acted as if he didn't have a clue where his cousin was. Snotlout charged forward and right as he was about to bring down his sword, Hiccup ducked so and reached back to grab Snotlout. Astrid watched as Hiccup flipped Snotlout over his back and sent him crashing onto the dirt. He lost his breath on impact with the dirt and slowly raised his head up. "Yield," Hiccup said in a threatening tone as he held the sword over Snotlout's neck again, now being able to see again as well.
Snotlout seemed to try and pull another trick but Hiccup pressed the tip of the blade harder against Snotlout's throat. With a sigh Snotlout threw away his sword and held up his hands, signaling he had given up. Hiccup stood over him for a few more seconds before he threw the blade a few feet away and walked towards the arena gate. As he walked closer Astrid saw that he wasn't happy. His face was emotionless but Astrid could see in his eyes that he was upset. He didn't stop walking as he passed her and Astrid turned to see that he was heading back over towards his private spot away from the rest of the village. Astrid sighed as she watched him go, knowing that there was going to be some stress coming from this. Hopefully things would turn around for them, because if they didn't, Astrid didn't know how long Hiccup could keep up with all of this.
Ayo, it's me, hopefully everyone enjoyed the chapter and the little bits and pieces of story development. Just kinda experimented with the idea for this chapter and this is what it came out to. Slowly moving to the ideas I have planned out but I just need a slight jump to get over to them.
MeoW: Thank you for correcting for history, I didn't really look into 'proper use of execution' I guess and just decided to go with the guillotine to add some flair to it. As always thanks for the compliments to the story.
ValtierraPao: Thank you for the compliments of course, always appreciate them. My plan for Stoick is basically like how he was in the first movie right before they left for the nest. Basically treats Hiccup like crap and then later sees him as his son again. Of course this will be expanded more and have a little bit more to it, hopefully anyways.
INFERN0BOLT: That is an interesting thought to try and go through and I honestly don't know how I would play it out. Definitely could be something that could be fun to work with if given enough thought.
crazybicyclist: Thanks for the review and hope that your exams went well for you. Safe to say that I want to try and have it so Hiccup doesn't necessarily look down on the Berkians, maybe a disapproving way in a way. Not completely sure how to explain it but it follows some type of idea.
Angel Talon: I noticed it was a clear setup for Hiccup's plan after I just reread through it. I will say Valka isn't completely removed from the story but I have a rough idea of when she'll come back.
amongussucks, RERESNIPER, wilBear, ThotForFood, matbascote, and GravityBeam: Thank you all for the positive reviews and compliments. Like before I could have done individual little sections but it would have been the same so I lobbed them all together. Still appreciate each one, thanks as always.
Of course thank you to all the follows and favorites that came around along with the reviews as well. Always appreciate each and every review, makes my day when it goes to crap. I'm giving discord a second run because I don't why the first attempt crapped out on me for some reason. Here is the link: /h77fMeZ39y To get it I found it best to download discord, hit the plus button that will prompt you to create a server. At the bottom of the window that will pop up it will ask if you want to join a server instead. Make sure to put the 'http' and all of other stuff at the front because for some reason that part doesn't copy over to the docs. It won't expire so it should work. If it doesn't and you want to join just private message me or leave a comment and I'll sort it out. You don't have to join obviously, just something I decided to do just cause why not. As always if you have any thoughts, reviews, and/or questions please leave them as they are always helpful and peace out!