Disclaimer: Rift-Raft owns IHHS. DreamWorks owns the HTTYD movies and co-owns the TV series. Cartoon Network (regrettably) co-owns the first two seasons of the TV series. Netflix (thankfully) co-owns the rest of the TV series. Finally, Cressida Cowell owns the original HTTYD books, making all of this even possible in the first place.
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."
I let out a long sigh, knowing that all the stress and tension of the last few days would flow away with it like a leaf in the breeze. I took a moment to relish in the pure joy and freedom that always comes with flying, and to bask in the warmth of the Dragon of the Sun above me. A big smile was set firmly on my face.
I soon turned it into a daring smirk. Glancing back, I checked my position before saying something I would probably regret. "You can't catch me!" I shouted over my shoulder, speeding ahead to put a good distance between us.
Toothless wasn't impressed, and he pumped his wings just a bit harder as he closed in.
I feinted, turning away at the last second so he would just barely miss his mark. Laughing, I cast a glance back as I tried to re-establish my lead, only to see him twirl midair in a quick pivot that set him right on my tail again. With a small yelp I pumped my wings as hard as I could, but it was no use.
Flying overhead, he simply landed on my back, my attempts to avoid him completely useless. "I can't what?" he mocked, a daring grin now on his face.
Grunting, I squirmed as much as my body would let me, which wasn't nearly enough to escape.
Toothless gripped my neck with half-sheathed claws and chuckled as he began to angle us down.
Having just come out of a turn, we weren't flying at a dangerous speed, but it still wasn't very fun to see the ground approach so quickly. "Toothless!" I shouted, obviously not panicking at all.
"Yes?" he replied, putting on an innocent look.
Gasping as I sent another quick glance to the ground, I shouted back up to him, still squirming. "Okay! You can catch me! Now get off!"
He tilted his head, motioning me to continue. "And?"
Despite the near-free-fall, I groaned as he gave me his usual cocky grin. "You win!"
"And?"
"You always win!"
"Better."
Loosening his grip, he slowed us down just as we approached the cove.
Twisting out of his reach, I flapped my wings hard just above the ground, landing even less gracefully than usual, while Toothless lightly tapped down behind me. I sent him a weak glare. "Are you ever going to stop doing that?"
"Hmm, let me think." His face fell neutral in thought, and he took a full minute to respond while slowly pacing around the lake. It was only when I saw he was a few wing-lengths away that I knew he was up to something. "Nope!"
Faster than I could react, Toothless sprung from his pose with a weak flap of his wings, obviously trying to pin me. I batted his paws away and knocked his chin up with the wrist and outer edge of my wing, hoping to take him off-guard. It worked just like he said it would all that time ago, and I leapt out of the way just as his body was about to crash into mine. Judging by his hilarious expression when he turned around, he definitely wasn't expecting me to already be in the air, coming down on him.
I tried to pin his front paws so he couldn't pull off the same escape I just had, but I made the mistake of completely forgetting about his hind legs while I was at it. In an all-too familiar motion, he kicked my torso and sent me flying behind him.
I didn't notice how close we were to the lake. Before I could even realize that I hadn't landed on solid ground, I was sinking into the deep end, the undercurrent dragging me down like an angry sea monster as the light of the Dragon of the Sun slowly dimmed. I desperately began to push my limbs and wings down to escape, but I only sunk deeper – much deeper than the lake should have been. Looking around for anything that could help, I shouted the only thing I could think of when I saw nothing. "Toothless! Help!"
No reply. My lungs were burning; I couldn't hold out any longer. I flooded my thoughts with my best friend, hoping that he would be okay, and voiced two final prayers. "Dragon of the Sun, please look after him. Dragoness of the Moon…"
My second prayer was interrupted by a golden light that flashed to life before me; I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my lips (which filled my lungs with air and not water). I felt a foreign (but not too foreign) warmth on my dripping scales, and, squinting, I tried to make out what the golden light reminded me of.
The light slowly approached, bringing a voice with it. "So we finally meet, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III." The voice reverberated around me, booming and soft and soothing all at once. "It seems you are enjoying yourself in your dreams."
Okay. There's only one way to respond to that. "Oh sure, I love drowning. It's what I always wanted in life."
A sharper, not-at-all soothing chuckle drifted from the light, sending a shiver down my spine that wouldn't stop no matter how much I tried. If the first voice was golden, this one was silver, though the light never lost its brilliant yellow hue.
The first voice returned, curing my sudden shaking, and it didn't sound impressed as it addressed me again. "I did not expect to find my brother's sense of humor in you."
This was followed by a sharp snicker, but it didn't inspire the same chill it had before.
At a loss, I asked the only thing that came to mind. "Do I know you?"
"Not personally." The sharp voice responded.
Judging by the silence that followed, I could almost hear the glare from the first one.
After what felt like hours of staring at the light, the soothing voice answered. "Yes and no. You know of us, but it has been a long time since we have met one of your kind."
"One of… my kind?"
The sharper voice snickered again, much louder and more pronounced this time. "Technically, I have never met one of your exact kind before, though my brother has. I still do not see the point to this, but then, there rarely is a point to fun things."
I mulled over his words before making the only guess that made sense. "You mean a hybrid?"
"Yes," they responded in unison.
I tilted my head. "But I'm not one anymore."
"Really?" the golden voice asked, now much more curious than before. If a voice could raise an eyebrow, this one just did. "Would you show me your hand?"
I raised my hand, only to find a paw in its place, claws half-sheathed and still dripping.
"You no longer see yourself as a man," it carefully explained. "You may walk like one now, and talk like one, and think like one, but you are simply not."
I shook my head in frustration. "But Toothless said I could never change back! I can't handle another transformation, and it took me weeks to understand that's what he was even saying in the first place! How am I supposed to be a dragon if I can't even hear my best friend anymore? How am I supposed to be a hybrid if I can never change back?!"
There was a long moment of silence in the wake of my outburst, but the golden voice eventually broke it, speaking just as calmly as before. "Your friend said that he could never change you back, that your body could not handle another sudden transformation, that you would die if he even tried. Unfortunately, he is right. That leaves us in a difficult position."
The sharp voice interrupted in what seemed to be as rude a way as it could. "Correction. That leaves YOU in a difficult position, Brother, not me. I still do not see the problem with welcoming him into our halls when his time comes. He fits all the criteria. He is brave, stubborn, resilient, and a hero of Vikings. He is even called a Savior-"
"By dragons." The smoother voice cut in, almost as rudely as its brother.
The silver voice huffed. "I still do not see the problem."
"You do see the problem, you just choose to ignore it so you can accept someone of your liking into our halls."
"No, actually, I do not."
"Yes, you do."
Both voices sounded amused at this point, but I cleared my throat to remind them that they had company. I felt like Spitelout trying to get Dad back on track when he gets distracted by Gobber.
"Regardless," the golden voice continued, its authority clear and commanding. It reminded me so much of my father in the town hall, only it sounded more genuine, like I was listening to the one he learned it all from.
I didn't dare interrupt.
"We cannot hold sovereignty over one who no longer looks to us. You know this, Brother."
The sharper voice must not have gotten the authority memo. "You are not exactly able to prove that he does not."
"As a matter of fact, I am. I invited you after observing him in what he thought were his last moments. His final thoughts were of his friend, and in his last breath, he prayed to dragon deities."
The sharp voice turned on me with a hint of disgust and sadness. "Is this true?"
Just as I was about to respond, I felt the weight on my shoulders. It was heavy, like the weight of the world. Or of the heavens. I barely managed a nod.
And just like that, the weight was gone.
He sighed, and seemed to turn away. "Very well."
The smoother voice sighed too. "Do not be disappointed, Brother. You know our laws are final."
His brother responded almost in a fit. "Why is it that they always prevent my kind of Vikings from the Halls?"
"It does not seem like they will prevent Dagur, do they?"
Alright, I'm not going to just let that slide. "You mean that maniac that threw daggers at me when I was little?!"
Both ignored me, and the sharp voice chuckled in the same way it had when I had first heard him. "You have made your point, Brother. I suppose I have the patience to wait a few more years."
The golden voice addressed me once again. "According to our laws, we may do nothing to interfere with your mind or body. Our only concern lies in the soul. I can do little to reward your efforts in bringing an end to a centuries-old war, one that unjustly took countless lives before their time, as I can no longer allow you into Valhalla."
What?!
"I can only assist your soul in finding its true nature, when the time comes." The golden light began to fade, and the voices slowly receded with it.
I tried to make sense out of what they said before they disappeared completely. "Wait, did you say Valhalla?!" I didn't get the answer I was expecting.
Both voices spoke in unison and harmony. "May you find hope in despair, peace in strife, friendship in enemies, and life in death. Farewell, Savior." Their voices flared with the light when they finished, ending not in a slow fade, but a bang.
Once the light was gone, I noticed a new glow, very faint, right beneath me. I looked down to see myself standing on a very blurry surface. Squinting, I could just make out the jagged edges of a single puzzle piece – the one that, long ago, I desperately tried to hold onto – planted firmly beneath my feet. I slowly placed my paw in the center, and in the same instant, the silver moonglow of the piece spread to my body through my arm. Then, everything around me vanished.
I bolted upright in bed, immediately bringing my hands to my head on instinct. I barely found my voice, muttering only one word. "What?"
