Author's Note: Another week another chapter. I really hope this one will be good, as I had to change up things from what I originally planned. I think this one works, but i'll let you all be the judge of that. For now Enjoy.

Chapter 4: More Surprises

Hiccup was still in utter shock and unmoving at what happened, even as Astrid started to shake his shoulder. The whole world went completely ignored as the teen couldn't believe his own dragon hissed at him, and not only that but was ready to attack him...no, he couldn't have attacked him, could he? No, no, that's not true, Toothless would never harm him, not after all they have been through...could he? What in Thor's name could have made him do something like that? First waking up in the forest, and now this? This day was turning out to be an odd one for him.

"Hiccup...Hiccup!" Astrid's voice finally broke through his train of thought, causing him to look at her with his confused expression. "What happened...why would Toothless do that to you?"

"I...I don't know, he has never done that before," Hiccup responded back, still in disbelief. "Well...except for when we first met, but no, never even growled at me."

"What happened to you two last night?" she then asked, now curious as to what caused the dragon to do that.

"I don't know," the one-legged teen scratched his head. "I still can't remember...but...but maybe he just needs some time alone...yeah, yeah that's it, maybe Toothless is having a bad day, and needs to be alone." He tried to excuse his dragon's behavior, mainly to try and explain things. That or to deny anything negative.

"But...hasn't he been alone for quite a while? Since he wasn't with you at all today?" Astrid asked, finding some holes in that statement.

"It's all I have to think about," Hiccup sighed, not wanting to believe in anything else. Mainly as he had no idea what to think of, usually as the one with all the answers he didn't have anything to explain Toothless' behavior...something that frightened him.

"Maybe...Maybe you're right...we can find...him another time," Astrid responded, gently grabbing at her friend's vest, tugging him towards the Great Hall steps.

"Y-Yeah...Yeah...he'll come around," Hiccup responded softly, his body reacting on its own and following his friend, all the while looking back at where his dragon disappeared to...the thought not leaving his mind at all.

Toothless kept running and running, destination unknown, as he just needed to get away a good distance. The Night Fury's mind is puzzled as many thoughts and emotions were going through his mind, yet one of the most important ones he had is confusion.

"Why did I do that? Why did I nearly attack him?" He asked himself once his mind had fully cleared.

When Hiccup was approaching him, the dragon was relieved upon seeing him safe, as he scoured the forest trying to find him. To be honest he had no idea what went on with him, after he and Hiccup found that...that...box on the beach he got very nervous when he approached, as a huge chill went down his spine. Then it was like he couldn't breathe, as he could sense something menacing radiating from it. He had to get away from it, far away from it before he suffocated. Without thinking he just bolted and kept running, the chill and fear still lingering within him. The feeling reached its apex when he arrived at the cove. Trying to endure it the best he could, the dragon then passed out, not waking up till much later in the day.

Thankfully by then the feeling passed from him and he managed to crawl his way out of the Cove and headed back to the village. Remembering about Hiccup, he got worried, and then tried to find him, realizing that the village would be the most logical place to search. Yet, upon finding him, he wasn't sure. That same feeling he felt when he got close to the box ended up radiating off of Hiccup...but different. All of a sudden, his self-preservation instincts kicked in, and he felt like he was in danger….and prompted him to want to attack.

"Why would I do that to him? I've never done anything like that before to him...Did...Did something happen to him last night? That has to be the answer, as my rider never has given that kind of feeling before. There has to be an answer…"

Despite wanting to be with his rider, the Night Fury knew that something wasn't right here, something happened to Hiccup the night before. Why did he have to abandon him like that last night? All the dragon knew is that he needed to find answers, and there was only one place he knew of.

He needed to find that box….

Hiccup was still in a confused state of mind, as his mind is focused on what Toothless did earlier. Being hissed at, and having those teeth bared at him...it was the first time a bit of fear from the dragon could be felt. Feeling only that one time and that was when he freed Toothless, and the Dragon had him pinned down...before roaring inches in his face. He was surprised he didn't go deaf during there, but still baffled him as all he could do is remember all the fun flights they had, times he sketched the dragon, the nights they shared sleeping in his room, and many more. Only for things to take a complete one-eighty like that.

Lunch was an afterthought as the teen lost his appetite, not able to focus on his meal. Astrid stayed with him all along and tried to help him ease away from those thoughts, but it didn't help. Once they finished, they headed for the academy, knowing it was time for Gobber's training. That's where they currently were, the only two inside the academy, Hiccup sitting down on a small crate, arms resting on his legs and head looking down as he was in deep thought.

"Come on Hiccup, things will be fine," Astrid said, standing before him, trying to look hopeful.

"I don't know Astrid, this...this just feels different for some reason," His head shook slowly, voice low but still looking at the ground.

"Ok, I'll admit, this is the first time I saw Toothless do that to you, but there is a first for everything right?" she responded, trying to help lift his spirit.

"Yeah, but...Toothless is my best friend and would never do that to me no matter what. Our bond is strong and no matter what we did to the other, we would never try that at all," Hiccup finally looked up, the confusion still on his face. His expression softened some, understanding his plight as it was all true. "Look Astrid, until we can get a better understanding of this...we best keep this between us...I don't want to know what everyone would think if they found this out."

"I agree with that," she nodded in understanding.

"Especially my dad," Hiccup stated, as a bit more worry got into him. "My dad was worried when I told him about waking up in the forest with no memory...I think he's going to be more protective right now, and if he finds out Toothless looked like he was about to snap at me…"

"I understand Hiccup, I won't say anything," Astrid responded, knowing that was the truth as Stoick might ban her friend's dragon from their house. All in all, despite being the chief Stoick still was trying to be a better father, and protecting his son would take priority over a dragon…and that is the last thing she knew Hiccup would want. "Besides, how should we go from here?"

"From what?" Gobber's voice interrupted, prompting the two to look over and see the Blacksmith hobbling in.

"N-Nothing Gobber, just something later on," Hiccup responded, standing up and trying his best to end the current subject. "Everyone else on their way?"

Gobber stopped a few feet away from them, quiet as he was able to pick up a subtle way Hiccup tried to ignore the subject, a clear sign something was troubling him. That was clearly a red flag, and something he should be on the lookout for, which Stoick informed him to keep his child safe. Still, he knew that Hiccup was confused with what happened earlier and knowing his father was a stressful factor. So, the Blacksmith decided to allow things to slip this time around. "Yes, I saw their dragons flying towards here."

"RRooooaaarrrr!" the screech of a Monstrous Nightmare came, backing up Gobber's words as the others had just arrived.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Hiccup sighed, knowing that one of his least favorite training sessions was going to commence, and had to prepare himself…to be pummeled as always.

"Don't have that sense of mind Hiccup, this is all good for you," Gobber responded, placing his hands on his hips, well hand and claw. That didn't seem to improve his apprentice's mood due to the sour expression. A smirk graced his face as a thought came to mind. "If you have such a problem with it, then I won't match you up with Astrid then."

"W-What!?" both teens said in response, looking at the blacksmith's chuckling face. Hiccup blushed some as he remembered how easily Astrid wiped the floor with him…partly humiliated but also…didn't mind for some reason? Besides other than her, he was sure he couldn't hold his own against anyone else.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Astrid responded, still stunned at what was said.

"Fine, I'll go on my own!" they were interrupted by Snotlout's irritated voice prompting them to look over at the academy entrance, seeing the burly Viking entering with an irritated expression.

"Something wrong?" Astrid asked when he was close enough.

"Hookfang isn't listening to me again," he grumbled.

"Tell us something we don't know," She responded, not finding this surprising.

"He was about to enter but stopped, immediately backing away," Snotlout responded, shaking his head. "Heck, the other dragons are refusing to do the same."

"What!?" Astrid and Hiccup respond in surprise, as they look at one another in confusion.

"Yeah, they are refusing to step inside for some reason," Snotlout responded, not getting it at all, yet finding it a common occurrence to him.

Without saying anything else Hiccup and Astrid both headed for the entrance of the academy, much to Snotlout and Gobber's confusion. They rushed up the ramp to the entrance, finding the others.

"Come on girl, what's wrong?" Fishlegs was next to Meatlug, who is shivering in fright, moving back a bit despite her rider's urging.

"What's wrong with you two?" Ruffnut called out to Belch, pulling one of the heads of the Zippleback.

"Come on, we have plenty of things to blow up today!" Tuffnut said, pulling the last head of the dragon, but the Zippleback is refusing and pulled back, but not too hard so they wouldn't hurt their riders. All the while Hookfang is standing a few feet away, just looking at the scene going on.

Hiccup and Astrid were at the entrance, looking on in confusion at the scene, yet, they were a bit worried, as they had never seen this before. "You all ok?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, Hiccup!" Fishlegs responded upon hearing his friend's voice, turning around. "Nothing really, the dragons won't come into the academy for some reason."

"They...are being...stubborn!" Tuffnut said as he continued to tug.

Hiccup then took a step forward, "Maybe I can-"

"Roooooooaaaaaarrrrrrr!" Hookfang suddenly roared once that happened, making everyone stop in their tracks to cover their ears due to the close proximity. Meatlug growled, as Barf and Belch hissed, attributing to the sound, combining it together. With that the three remaining dragons flapped their wings taking off into the air and flying away from the academy.

A few seconds passed before the ringing in their ears finally stopped, allowing them to move their hands away from their ears, all of them looking at the dragons flying off. "Meatlug, come back!" Fishlegs called out.

"What in Thor's name was that about!?" Ruffnut said next, looking at the direction of the dragons in confusion.

Astrid and Hiccup took one look at one another, surprised to see that this happened, yet Hiccup also noticed that they didn't seem to get violent until he took a step forward.

Thankfully, they didn't need to give an explanation as Gobber hobbled up, "Dragons are always changing their moods, it's in their nature."

"Never seen anything like that before," Tuffnut then said. "They look like they were spooked."

"They acted just like Hookfang does," Snotlout responded, having followed the others. He found the whole scene typical, only if it was his dragon. But all three of them, that made him confused. "That is strange though."

"Just let them fly it off," Gobber said to them, trying to move on from the current situation. "Now come on, time for your training." That earned some groans from the Riders, who all then followed the blacksmith back into the academy, the small incident soon forgotten. Soon enough they were inside standing around waiting for instruction. "Alright, are you all ready for hand-to-hand combat?"

"Gobber, why do we have to keep doing this?" Fishlegs asked timidly. "I mean I know you said it's good for us, but I don't really see an improvement."

"Believe me, you all will be grateful for this one day," Gobber responded as he looked his students over, and seeing the displeased faces on a few. He didn't pay it much mind as he looked them over once more. "Ok, who's willing to go first."

No one offered, as silence filled the area.

"Ok, I'll pick you all at random," he responded, as he thought over who to do first as he looked over them once more, seeing one real nervous face. "Let's have Hiccup and Snotlout go first."

"What?!" Hiccup's eyes went wide.

"Oh, good pick there," Snotlout smiled at that piece of news.

"Uh, Gobber," Hiccup responded as he got closer to his mentor, keeping his voice down. It was better that the others didn't know about what happened earlier, for now. "Didn't my dad say he wanted me in tacked?" Knowing his cousin would wipe the floor with him.

"Well, I was only doing what I promised you, and didn't pair you with Astrid," he responded with a smirk.

"Actually, I don't mind facing her now," the teen quickly responded and hoped to get a change of opponent.

"Too late lad, go and face him," Gobber responded as he nudged his apprentice along, as the two of them were going to the center of the academy.

"Come on Hiccup, take your beating like a man," Snotlout smirked as he cracked his knuckles, as he's so going to enjoy this.

Hiccup sighed at this as he had to walk to the middle, knowing he couldn't get out of this, "Just like old times, huh?"

"Oh yeah, only this time, it's encouraged," the burly teen responded as he waited for the call to start.

"Ok, remember, no seriously injuring one another, just go and disable the other," Gobber explained, before giving Snotlout a glare. "And taking off Hiccup's prosthetic isn't allowed!"

"Ok, ok, I won't do that again," the burly teen waved his hands around, not wanting to go through that again. Let's say the last time he was pitted against his cousin; he tackled and removed the metal leg and tossed it and continued the fight. Seeing the smaller Viking crawling back without a leg to stand on was priceless to him…but boy the tongue lashing he got from Gobber after that made him cringe.

"Good," the blacksmith sternly responded before looking at the two again.

Hiccup shook his head, heart slowly racing as he knew this was going to be bad, but there is no avoiding it. Hopefully he didn't get beat that badly...oh no it's Snotlout, his cousin is always unpredictable. Moving his legs apart a bit, he got into a stance to get ready to move.

"Fight!" Gobber announced.

Snotlout smirked as he rushed over to Hiccup's side punching his own palm as he's ready to pummel his cousin. "If you know what's good for you, just stay there and take it."

"That's not how it works, Snotlout," Hiccup responded as he began to back up, keeping his eyes forward and nowhere else. Soon enough his back hit the wall, causing him to look back.

"Nowhere to run!" Snotlout responded as he leapt forward, pulling back his fist before launching it forward….only for Hiccup to duck and jump forward to the side, rolling away from the blow just as Snotlout's hand collided with the stone wall.

*Thud!*

"AH!" The burly teen pulled back his right hand and started nursing the knuckles. "That hurt!"

The other riders started to laugh at that, not believing that happened at all. Well Astrid believed it but it's still amusing to her

"Wow, you have to be an idiot to not see that coming," Tuffnut couldn't help but say.

"Like you?" Ruffnut said.

"Yeah…." the male twin said, before realizing what he said. "Hey!"

"Now, now, no side comments, it distracts them," Gobber said as they watched the fight continue.

"Ok, that's it, now you're going to get it!" Snotlout grunted as his hand still throbbed, but it was easing some.

"J-Just hold on there Snotlout, I just reacted," Hiccup responded, holding his hands up and gulping. Knowing he just screwed up big time. "That was all you."

"I'm going to pummel you!" he rushed over, rearing his hand back, but to his luck Hiccup was still crouched down and wouldn't have enough time to stand up and move about.

Hiccup watched this and stood back up, but then found his cousin right in front of him, launching his fist forward. The one-legged teen saw it and just reacted as he saw it coming towards him.

Only for it to hit air.

"Huh?" Snotlout responded, the straight punch caused him to stumble forward as he didn't hit anything. Thankfully he managed to stabilize himself before he fell flat on his face. Turning around he found Hiccup, standing up and looking relieved as he apparently managed to dodge the strike. This only angered the burly teen more as he approached, "Lucky dodge, I doubt you'll do that again!"

Hiccup stood his ground, part of him still surprised he managed to avoid that strike. Unfortunately, that surprise took up most of his attention as he didn't get knocked out of it until Snotlout was mere inches away from him. Seeing the fist heading for him, Hiccup reacted once more, ducking as the right hook came but hit air once more.

"What the-" Snotlout responded in surprise, everyone else raising an eye as they saw Hiccup dodging the strike. The burly teen scowled as he prepared another punch, rearing his left fist back and doing a straight punch, only for Hiccup to quickly move to the side, dodging the strike once more. Surprised once more Snotlout tried to do an uppercut with his right fist, only this time Hiccup leaned back, avoiding that strike as well. This was surprising and annoying the burly teen as usually he's able to get his cousin easily. "How are you-Stay still!"

"I prefer not to," Hiccup responded in surprise, mainly at himself. He too is surprised at how easy it was for him to dodge the strikes as his reflexes seemed a bit sharper than before. He couldn't describe it but...it's like he could anticipate where the strikes were going to go...or something like that, he wasn't sure.

A growl of frustration came out of Snotlout as he launched a bunch of random strikes, yet Hiccup managed to dodge and weave from the strikes, his feet moving around his cousin as he kept up the defense. Their spectators were stunned as well, all of them not able to believe Hiccup was able to dodge strikes like that so fast and fluidly.

"How is he doing that?" Fishlegs asked loud, not able to tear his eyes off the fight.

"I don't know, but this is unusual," Astrid responded back, her too not able to look away.

"You don't know the half of it," Gobber quietly said, but no one followed up on it. Knowing that this was out of the ordinary, and something Stoick would be concerned for...despite it being a good thing.

"You never used to do this!" Snotlout panted as he's getting irritated, not caring about the surprise Hiccup was giving. His pride is being hurt the more this fight went on and he needed to end it. Looking down, he knew what to do, even though going for his cousin's legs is a low move, he didn't care about it now. Rearing his leg back he did a standing leg sweep. Hiccup jumped up, making Snotlout smirk as this is working out to his plan as he pulled his fist back. "Dodge this!"

Once Hiccup's legs touched the ground, it was then his cousin's hard fist came, and collided with his belly.

"OOF!" pain coursed through his belly, causing the teen to stumble back.

"Ha, it's over!" Snotlout proudly remarked, knowing that one strike was enough to make his cousin crumble, like usual. Yet, the smirk on his face quickly faced as he saw Hiccup is still on his feet, winded but still able to breath.

Hiccup held his belly, breathing elevated but was shocked that his airwaves wasn't cut off, as he shouldn't be breathing at all. Yet the most shocking thing is that the usual pain from one of Snotlout's punches wasn't there. Yes, it did hurt but not as much as it should, almost as if that was halved. "What in the...what is going on, a punch like that would usually take me out."

"How did he do that?!" Tuffnut responded in shock.

"Hiccup never was able to stand after strikes like that," Ruffnut responded in surprise as well.

"What is going on with him?" Astrid asked, dumfounded, this only adding to the list of questions of what is going on with her friend. First Toothless roaring at him, then the other dragons flying off when he approached, and now being able to dodge and take one of Snotlout punches? Just more questions with no answers are coming up and making the situation weird.

"I don't know, but I'm not sure whether to stop this or not," Gobber responded back as he wanted to stop things before it got worse, yet he found that it could help if he watched more so he could report it back to Stoick. His apprentice's performance came out of the blue, and is only making everything unbelievable if he wasn't witnessing it.

"H-How are you standing?" Snotlout responded, still flustered at his still standing cousin. Normally when he usually whaled on Hiccup one punch was enough to make him keel over, which is another reason why he had the twins hold him up. Yet, seeing this…it just shocked him.

"I don't know any more than you do," Hiccup said, still confused at the turn of events.

The burly teen shook off the shock as anger flooded him, "I just need to use my full strength then!" he rapidly rushed over, rearing back his right fist again before launching it forward.

*Clap!*

Gasps came out as Hiccup winced in slight pain, yet it wasn't from being struck by his cousin's fist. Snotlout is in disbelief as his mouth dropped, not believing what he saw.

Hiccup caught his fist!

The smaller hand and fingers of his left hand wrapped around the larger fist, both limbs trembling as both seemed to be applying an equal amount of force and trying to push the other back. To Snotlout he was in utter disbelief at this move, and shocked that his cousin was able to not only stop the attack but is able to keep his fist in place. To Hiccup, pain coursed through his hand due to the impact but was surprised that he was able to hold the burly teen's limb. Yet another thing became apparent as he felt...more power in his arm? Utterly confused at this Hiccup then acted and gripped the fist some more and started to turn his hand counterclockwise.

"W-What are you-" Snotlout said in alarm as he felt his wrist being bent to his right, slowly but surely forcing it to twist in a way his wrist wasn't supposed to turn. "A-Argh...ugh!" He cried out as pain started to course through his wrist, feeling a few pops along the way. He tried his best to turn in the opposite direction but wasn't able to!

Hiccup was shocked at what was happening, he was actually moving Snotlout's wrist easily and without trouble. How was this possible as he was much weaker? There's no way his cousin was faking it due to the painful sound coming out of his mouth, and the trembling limb. By now Snotlout's fist is flipped so his closed palm is facing up, the angle making him fall down to one knee, closing his eyes as it seemed to be painful. He wasn't the only one that was shocked as everyone else looked on in silence, too stunned to say or do anything.

"H-Hiccup!" Snotlout cringed as his free hand went to his arm to try and help turn his arm back, but it was no use. For some reason Hiccup saw this as an opening as his right hand then balled up into a fist. He wasn't sure why he was doing it, his mind just telling him to. Despite it not being his dominant hand, the one-legged teen pulled and launched his fist in a right cross. "OOF!"

And just like that the hand was released as Snotlout's head jerked to the side, pain surging through his face as it caused his body to spin in a complete one-eighty before landing on the ground, on his back. Sprawled out and unmoving as both of his eyes were closed, and with that silence filled the academy as everyone was shocked at what happened. All of them looking at the down teen and not seeing any movement.

Is...is Snotlout knocked out?

All eyes then looked up at an equally shocked Hiccup, who looked down at his cousin and then at his hand, taking a couple steps back, before feeling eyes staring into him. Looking he found everyone looking right at him, almost as if wanting an explanation. The one-legged teen had no idea what to do or say, as this was all new to him. Shock and disbelief were still coursing through him, so, he went with the first thing that came to mind.

"So...does this mean I win?"

A/N: Hope you like. Strange turn of events right? Toothless not feeling comfortable around his rider and Hiccup managed to beat Snotlout with unexpected strength. A lot of odd things are happening to him and things will only get better from here. Like I said I had to deviate away from the original planning so i'm hoping the new line of events flow better. Please, tell me what you think as feedback is always welcomed. Till next time.