Author's Note: Hello and welcome to the very first part of the last arc in "Sticks and Stones!" =D Yes, "How to Talk to Your Dragon" is the last and final arc for "Sticks and Stones." *Sighs* I still, still, feel like I posted this one-shot collection just yesterday, and I'm surprised that it's already almost done.

Anyway, this arc is definitely one that I've been looking forward to posting, and I had a lot of fun writing too. =) So, I hope you guys enjoy part one of "How to Talk to Your Dragon!" =D

Summary: After being bit by his dragon after a battle, Hiccup gains the ability to talk to Toothless. (DOB.)

How to Talk to Your Dragon, Part One

The battle was rough and full of peril, but that was all part of being a viking. It was an occupational hazard.

Hiccup and the Dagon Riders were flying above Berk, blasting at an armada of ships below. The skies were tinted a dark orange due to the smoke and fire that billowed from the large group of ships below. Ballistas, arrows, and boulders flew from the ships, and the Dragon Riders blasted them away, defending their village. Hiccup didn't expect such an attack; the Berserkers had changed their battle tactics (which, Hiccup guessed, was probably because all of their previous methods had ultimately failed), and now were more prone to attack at night. The middle of the night when no one was awake, everyone was asleep, and no one was expecting a surprise assault. The horn that alerted all Berkians to an oncoming attack was louder than a dragon's roar, and the sound of it immediately jolted Hiccup out of his sleep along with his dragon, Toothless. The two had been enjoying their peaceful rest, so they both were a little upset that their slumber had been interrupted by Dagur and his Berserkers.

"Toothless, plasma blast!" shouted Hiccup, and Toothless obeyed almost instantly, firing a powerful, purple blast down toward a ship below. The ball of fire went straight through the unenforced wood of the ship, leaving a gaping hole in the center. Hiccup heard the other Dragon Riders launching their fire down toward the ships as well. All of them had shot into the air immediately after the battle horn had been blown, and Hiccup and the others had grouped up briefly and discussed a plan that the young viking hoped would send Dagur the Deranged back where he came from.

Hiccup glided over to Astrid, the second in command of the Dragon Training Academy. She was rather good at analyzing battle fields, and always seemed to notice things that not even Hiccup perceived right away. "What's the report?" asked Hiccup.

Astrid swept her bangs out of her face and surveyed the battle below. "Dagur came with a bigger and more defended fleet of ships than he did last time, but I think if we use the right tactics, we'll be able to send them on their way."

The Berserkers hadn't attacked Berk in a while, which left Hiccup feeling both a little relieved but also suspicious. It wasn't like Daugr to stay away from his target for so long; the only reason he would stay back was if he was setting up some sort of plan that would be launched into action once complete. Hiccup told his father, Stoick, but the Chief of Berk said that they should make most of the peace that they have before jumping to conclusions. Now, Hiccup knew that Dagur was upgrading his armada and setting it up with better defenses so that it would be harder to attack and stop them.

But, like Astrid had said, that didn't mean stopping the Berserkers would be impossible.

"I saw several catapults and nets hidden on the ship decks down below," Snotlout added helpfully. Hiccup was surprised that Jorgenson was even listening to his and Astrid's conversation. "The Berserkers are launching an insanely large amount of arrows at us, which honestly seems a little excessive."

"It's hard to get a clear shot with all of them flying through the air," continued Fishlegs. "We need to find a quick way to get past their defenses, or destroy them before advancing further toward the armada."

"We could just blow everything up," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, that would get rid of the armada and Dagur and his Berserkers," said Ruffnut.

"No!" the other Dragon Riders yelled in unison.

Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "These guys do not know pure genius when they hear it."

Ruffnut shook her head. "Sad, really."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and geared his thoughts back to coming up with a plan to get close enough to the ship fleet. The auburn-haired teen's green eyes scanned the battle elbow, and he noticed that none of the Berserkers had left their ships and made a move to step foot on Berk, which Hiccup was glad for. He and the other Dragon Riders needed to keep the Berserkers away from Berk and its people. The young viking then came up with a plan.

"We'll start firing down on the first ships in line," explained Hiccup. Knowing Dagur, he was probably using all of his best weapons and techniques first; the Berserker chief never cared for the term "best for last." To him, the best always went first. "If we destroy Dagur's first line of ships and weapons, we should have a clearer shot on the other ships. Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff, you guys go and give those Berserker ships everything you've got."

"On it!" said Snotlout.

"We'll blast those ships so far into kingdom that they won't be able to find their way back!" shouted Tuffnut as he and his sister followed Snotlout and Hookfang.

"Okay then…" said Hiccup. "Astrid, Fishlegs, you guys make sure that none of the Berserkers step one foot on Berk."

Astrid nodded and whipped out her axe. She told Stormfly to head down below and Fishlegs and Meatlug followed her. Hiccup turned back toward the armada where Snotlout and the twins had successfully blown up a couple of the ships. The damaged boats were already retreating, but there were still a lot of them remaining.

Hiccup patted Toothless on the head. "Let's go and show them what we've got, Bud."

Toothless grunted and dived down toward the fleet of Berserker ships and fired three direct plasma blasts at three different ships. Each blast hit their mark. Snotlout and Hookfang burned away several other ships while the twins and Barf and Belch sparked and blew up several of them with their explosions. Soon, more and more ships began to retreat, but there was something missing…something that left Hiccup on edge. Where was Dagur?

Suddenly, the young viking spotted a familiar figure down below, far, far away from the armada of ships and away from the chaos and battle: Dagur the Deranged. Somehow, he had managed to slip away from the battle. Hiccup frowned; how did he miss him?

Dagur and Hiccup's eyes met briefly; Hiccup could tell that Dagur was trying to lead him somewhere, and he knew in his innermost gut that it was a trap, but he also knew that this was probably his only chance to catch Dagur once and for all. And stop him from tormenting anyone else ever again, so Hiccup decided to take the risk.

"Cover me!" Hiccup shouted behind him. Astrid looked up toward where he was, but before she could ask where he was going, the young viking told Toothless to fly after Dagur. The Night Fury roared and dived toward the ground, chasing after the Chief of the Berserker tribe. Hiccup and Toothless maneuvered through many buildings, and chased Dagur all the way to the forest, which was far beyond the Berkian village. The Deranged chief was able to dodge Hiccup and Toothless by using fallen logs, trees, and boulders to his advantage. But luckily for Hiccup and Toothless, they both knew their way around Raven Point. The forest flashed by as Hiccup and Toothless pursued Dagur, and they easily managed to corner him at a large rock wall. Dagur turned around and backed up when he realized that there was nowhere else to run. Toothless landed and approached Dagur slowly, growling. Hiccup kept a stone-hard look on his face as he stared at the Berserker chief.

Dagur pretended to be fearful, which Hiccup found anything but amusing. "Oh, Hiccup! Toothless! Looks like you've caught me! And, darn, I have nowhere else to go!"

Hiccup's brow furrowed and Toothless got ready to shoot a plasma blast in case Dagur tried to escape. "This is the end of the line for you, Dagur," said Hiccup gravely. "You can either call off your armada, leave Berk, and never come back. Or you can face the wrath of the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself."

For emphasis, Toothless growled even louder; it seemed as if the Berserker chief was completely cornered…

But unfortunately…that was untrue.

Out from the bushes came several Berserker soldiers, armed with weapons and clothed in heavy armor. Now, it was them who were cornered. Hiccup looked around while Toothless got ready to launch an attack on whoever dared to step close to them. The young viking was completely shocked. How did all of those Berserker soldiers make it past Berk's scouts and patrollers?

Dagur answered all of those unasked questions as if he had read Hiccup's thoughts. "You see, Hiccup, I sent a ship to Berk to the farther side of the island hoooours before we launched our attack. My men hid in the forests in the cover of night, easily doging Berk's incompetent scouts. Seriously, you guys should think of getting better people for patrol."

"When the rest of my wonderful armada came and attacked, I snuck off and caught your attention, led you into this very area of the woods…right into my trap."

Dagur laughed maniacally. "And you actually fell for it! You're way too predictable, Hiccup. And now, that predictableness is going to be your downfall."

The Berserker soldiers pulled out their crossbows and nocked them with arrows. Dagur pulled out his own from behind his back and grinned devilishly. "Now you have to make choice, Hiccup. You can either give yourself up along with your Night Fury, or you can suffer a painful death by pointy arrows."

The Berserker chief chuckled. "A difficult decision indeed, huh, Hiccup? Take your time! It's not like you're going anywhere!"

Hiccup frowned as he weighed out his options. Dying by crossbow arrows was something that he definitely did not want to go through. Nor did he want to give Toothless and himself up to Dagur. He would never give up his dragon, not for the world. What he wanted to do was get Dagur off of Berk, and he quickly concocted a simple, but effective plan that was sure to work if done correctly.

Hiccup patted Toothless' head once, and a silent exchange was made between them. Their bond was so strong, that they didn't even need to say or do anything to know what the other wanted. It was as if they could speak telepathically. Read each other's thoughts.

Toothless shifted on his feet as the Berserker soldiers started to circle him and Toothless. Hiccup kept his eyes on Dagur, and Dagur kept his eyes on Hiccup. Then, Toothless let out a loud, almost ear-splitting roar that could be heard all the way from the Berkian village. The jet-black dragon then shot a plasma blast at the rock rock wall behind Dagur, which caused several boulders to tumble down from above. Dagur's eyes widened and he jumped out of the way before the rocks could smash him. He looked up and gritted his teeth, his green eyes full of fury.

"Get them! GET THEM!" he screamed.

The Berserker soldiers immediately went into action, but Hiccup and Toothless launched into the sky before the soldiers could ambush them. Hiccup urged Toothless to fly faster: they needle to get away from the Berserkers before—

Too late. One of the Berserkers managed to shoot an arrow toward Hiccup and Toothless, and it lodged itself into Toothless' side. The Night Fury let out a pained roar and began to fall from the smoke-filled sky. The cord that attached Hiccup to Toothless' saddle slipped off, and the young viking began to plummet down to earth alongside his dragon. Hiccup desperately tried to get back to Toothless, but the ground was approaching fast and there were only mere moments before both of them slammed against the ground. In one final attempt, Toothless grabbed Hiccup's arm, unintentionally biting him, but Hiccup made no sound of pain. Toothless managed to drag Hiccup toward him and wrap his wings around him protectively, and the two braced for impact. They both hit the canopy of trees, snapped several twigs, and leaves slapped against them. Then, finally, they crashed to the ground.

Both of them had fallen unconscious.

…

Hiccup and Toothless only spent a few moments in the realm of unconsciousness; the two immediately jolted back to their senses when they realized that they were still both at risk of being caught by Dagur. Hiccup shakily stood up and rubbed his head. Toothless shook himself off beside him. After recollecting themselves, Hiccup and Toothless observed their surroundings. They were no longer in Raven Point, but somewhere much further.

Hiccup spotted a cave not too far away from where he and Toothless were standing, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank the gods," breathed Hiccup. "Come on, Bud. We'll take shelter there until the Berserkers are out of the area."

Both dragon and viking walked into the cave and sat down. Hiccup swiftly pulled the arrow out of Toothless' side, and the Night Fury curled into himself and let out a weary warble. Hiccup sighed again, and he leaned against Toothless' scales. The young viking took a look at his left arm, which was the arm that Toothless had bit, and saw that it was bleeding. Luckily, Hiccup had a roll of gauze in his saddlebag—

Hiccup turned to Toothless and winced as he flexed his wrist; the young viking guessed that it got sprained in the crash. It didn't hurt too badly, though, so Hiccup ignored the small pangs of pain from his wrist as he looked Toothless over for his saddlebag. Unfortunately, he didn't find it; the saddlebag had been lost in the crash, meaning that the roll of gauze and other supplies that might have been helpful were lost with it.

Hiccup groaned as he laid back against his dragon. Toothless crooned apologetically, and Hiccup rubbed his dragon's scaly, black head.

"It's okay, Bud," reassured Hiccup, his emerald-green eyes fluttering. "We'll just hide out here until it's safe to go out."

Hiccup's eyes eventually slipped closed, and he didn't even realize when they did. The sounds of battle still came from outside, and they slowly faded away over time. Hiccup's breathing slowed down to an almost imperceptible rate. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest told Toothless that his rider was still breathing. The Night Fury examined Hiccup worriedly when he soon came to realize something.

Hiccup had fallen unconscious again.

…

The Berserkers had retreated, which Astrid found extremely peculiar. They had never withdrawn from battle so quickly before, and that was actually what Snotlout himself remarked when the Dragon Riders regrouped at the Dragon Training Academy. Stoick had joined them too after reassuring the people that the Berserkers were gone for the time being, and that repairs to anything that was damaged would soon take place.

"Maybe they realized that we were too big of a fight for them," said Tuffnut. "I mean, we have freaking dragons. And what do they have? A bunch of wood ships that are easily flammable."

Ruffnut nodded. "They ran off like a bunch of scared little kids. What idiots."

"I don't think that's the case," said Fishlegs. "Something must have happened."

"But what?" wondered Astrid. "The Berserkers never back down from a fight. They just…keep on fighting until they get what they want. They're insane."

"Or maybe they were hungry," Tuffnut said. "They probably went to go and get a snack."

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, the Berserkers went to get some biscuits and tea," Snotlout mocked. "I wonder if they went out to get a five course meal too."

Stoick looked around and noticed that Hiccup wasn't with the Riders. "Where's Hiccup?" he asked.

"I saw him fly off and chase after something during the battle," answered Astrid. She felt her worry begin to rise. "I haven't seen him since then."

"The only person that we didn't see the entire battle was Dagur," said Fishlegs. "Maybe he went after him."

"Wait, wait," said Snotlout. "Does this mean Dagur is still on Berk?"

"It's a possibility," said Astrid. "But then again, Dagur would never let his armada leave without him."

"Then that means Hiccup is in trouble," stated Stoick. "We need to go and look for him immediately."

The Dragon Riders nodded and each of them mounted their dragons and left the Academy, heading toward the direction that Astrid last saw Hiccup fly.

…

Stormfly had picked up Hiccup's scent halfway through the search, so Astrid took the lead in the search party. The Dragon Riders followed the blonde and her Deadly Nadder over Raven Point and eventually reached a clearing. The Riders and Stoick landed, and upon taking a closer look around, it looked as if something had crashed. Several branches on trees were broken, and leaves were scattered across the ground like dust. A large dent in the dirt confirmed the search group's suspicion of something crashing.

"Hiccup and Toothless must have crashed here," remarked Astrid.

"That means he can't be very far," said Stoick.

Stormfly squawked and everyone continued to follow her. The Deadly Nadder led them to the cave in which Hiccup and Toothless were taking shelter in. Astrid felt her worry grip her even tighter at the sight of Hiccup. He was pale, his left arm was bleeding, and he seemed to be unconscious. Toothless' side was leaking blood too, but he was still awake. The Night Fury was relieved to see the others, and he watched as Stoick picked up Hiccup and announced that they needed to get him to Gothi. Astrid volunteered to fly Toothless since she was the only one who knew how to properly use his tailfin, and the Dragon Riders took off into the sky and headed back to the village, hoping that Hiccup would be alright.

…

His arm was stabbing with pain and unconsciousness was so sweet, but Hiccup managed to open his eyes and found himself back in his room, safe and sound. The young viking guessed that his friends must have found him and brought him back home. Gauze was neatly wrapped around his left arm, and Hiccup felt much better than he had back while he and Toothless were hiding in the cave.

Hiccup looked around, wondering where his dragon companion was. Worry built up inside of him, but he soon heard the creaking of floorboards and the heavy footsteps of Toothless come from the stairs. The Night Fury soon reached the top, and when he saw that his rider was awake, Toothless grinned and ran up to Hiccup's side, licking him like crazy. Hiccup laughed and tried to shove Toothless' head out of the way, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice that sounded familiar…and yet not at the same time.

"Oh, thank Thor you're okay! I thought you'd be unconscious for a lot longer, but I'm really glad you weren't!"

Hiccup blinked. Where had he heard that voice before? The young viking managed to push Toothless away, and he asked, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Toothless looked around in confusion. "I didn't hear anything, human."

"That!" exclaimed Hiccup. Toothless blinked at him.

"Umm…are you sure you're feeling okay? Maybe we should go and get that healer lady to check you out again."

Hiccup looked around his room wildly. Where was that voice coming from? "Is anyone there? Hello?"

"Hiccup, seriously. Are you okay? I know humans are weird, but this is beyond weird."

Hiccup's gaze finally rested on Toothless. His dragon cocked his head curiously and Hiccup's green eyes widened.

"Uh, why are you looking at me like that? I know I'm magnificent and I do deserve to be admired, but this is really uncomfortable."

Hiccup was completely dumbfounded. "T-Toothless?"

"Yes, human?"

Hiccup's breathing quickened. "W-What…What in the…"

"Hiccup…?"

The young vikings stared into Toothless' green eyes.

"Bud…I think…I think I can understand you."

Author's Note: Dun...dun...DUNNNNNNNNNN!

Hiccup can talk to Toothless? Dang, I wish I could talk to a dragon...if only they were still here...

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this first part of "How to Talk to Your Dragon," and I'll see ya in the next one! =D

Until the next chapter!

-BeyondTheMoon1203