By the time Chris woke up, he was back in the same bed in the same building. He groaned as he got up and opened his eyes groggily.
"What happened?", Chris asked to no one in particular.
"You lost your mind, that's what happened", Windwalker stated.
His head snapped in the direction of the unknown voice and gasped when he saw it belonged to that black beast who was chasing him.
He scrambled against the wall of the bed, eyes darting to find a way out. Sadly, he was surrounded on all sides by many beasts and people like him.
"Please don't kill me!", Chris shouted.
Noticing his son's distress, Re painfully staggered forward, still sore from the molten rock and covered in bandages.
"Son, calm down. You hit-"
"Son? I'm your son?", Chris asked dubiously. Shocked that he was the son of that...thing.
"Yes you're my son. You hit-"
"How am I your son?", Chris pressed.
"You're adopted. Anyways like-"
"Oh okay. I'm not your real son then. Good", Chris sighed, relieved.
Re was hurt by his son's comment. "You are my real son. My blood flows through your veins. I gave you half of my heart", Re voiced.
"You did? No way you did that", Chris said as he shifted against the wall. His eyes still darted around, unsure what these people were going to do to him.
"It is the truth Chris", Aurora chimed in.
"Who are you?", Chris asked, turning to face the blue dragon.
"I am Aurora, you're mother", Aurora explained.
"Who are they?", Chris asked, pointing to the rest of the group.
"Before we get to that. Answer me this: who are you?", Aurora inquired.
Chris opened his mouth to answer but fell silent. He looked down in thought for awhile before he looked back up at the group staring before him.
"I...I don't know", Chris replied, puzzled.
"So it is true", Re sighed.
"What? What's wrong with him?", Eret asked.
"He has amnesia", Serenity said, appearing before the group.
Everybody turned to her when she spoke, not noticing her before.
"What's that?", Tuffnut asked.
"Yeah what is that?", Chris repeated.
"It means you partially loss or totally lose all of your memory. You don't remember who you once were. Who you still are", Serenity said solemnly.
"Wait wait wait. So you're saying, Chris doesn't know who he is anymore?", Ruffnut asked incredulously.
"Yeah. It happens when you hit your head long enough, like you did Chris", Serenity replied.
Ruffnut got a twinkle in her eye and smirked evilly. She quickly grabbed Tuffnut and Snotlout by their helmets and dragged them outside.
"What was that about?", Astrid asked.
"I honestly don't even know anymore", Hiccup sighed.
"So I lost my memory?", Chris questioned.
"Yes."
"What do you remember?", Hiccup pressed.
Chris looked down in thought. "Well, I remember is waking up in this bed with a throbbing pain in my head."
"That's it?", Astrid voiced.
Chris nodded slowly.
"So what are we going to do with Chris?", Tenor exhaled.
"Who's Chris?", Chris asked.
"You are Chris. That is your name", Re responded.
"I don't like it. It sounds weird", Chris complained.
"Well too bad. That is your name. It is the name we gave you and that will be your name until you die", Re snorted, stepping forward a bit.
Chris immediately scurried back. That caused Re to halt.
"Chris, I'm not going to hurt you. Nor will I ever do so in the future", Re said softly.
"How do I know that? You have sharp claws and teeth and big wings. You are some type of...beast. I don't know what you are capable of. I don't know what any of you all are capable of", Chris said timidly.
That comment hurt Re a little.
"Chris. You will be fine. Nobody is going to hurt you", Valka spoke up as she stepped forward.
Chris looked at her curiously before looking at the others.
"It is true. We are family Chris", Aurora commented. She too stepped forward, but stopped when Chris pulled back.
"Why do you flinch away from me?", Aurora asked, tilting her head.
"Well...it-it's just, how can we be family if we are so different. This one with long brown hair is similar to me, yet you, some beast who has scales, a long neck, sharp claws, big teeth is claiming to be my mother. How can you be my mother? And how can he be my father?", Chris asked doubtfully.
"Family may start in blood, but it sure doesn't end in it, Chris. Give them a chance. When you take away all the wings and scales and they have a soul, just like you, me, and all the other creatures in this world", Valka said.
"But what if-"
"If it fear of the what they could do to you, then you should fear what I could do. Even if I may look like you, you don't know what I am capable of doing. You don't know what a single person in this room is capable of doing. Don't judge someone based on what they look like. Looks can be very deceiving", Valka described.
Chris was silent as his eyes scanned the room.
"Give them a chance, Chris. They are good people. I know it's a lot to take in but give them a chance", Valka said softly.
His eyes finally landed on his family, who in turn were returning the gesture.
"Yeah. You're right. Sorry, it's just a lot to wrap my head around. All I ask is that don't expect me to adjust so quickly", Chris sighed as he got up.
"It's fine Chris. We understand. We will do our best", Windwalker nodded.
It had been a week since Chris lost his memory. Everyday he was learning more and more about himself, his family, his friends, and his surroundings. And everyday, he grew less afraid of the beasts he learned to call dragons.
It all still seemed like a bizarre story to him, especially about how Re shared his heart with him and can now feel whatever his father feels. One could only imagine his confusion when learned that he and Hiccup were chosen as Sol's champion to fight in the Tournament of the Gods in a couple of months.
When all that was happening, the dragon hatchlings continue to play and frolic without a care in the world. They knew what happened to Chris but were assured by their parents that everything would be fine.
Currently, they were playing Hide-and-Hunt with Edelweiss and Eider. Eider was purple whippertail-blackfang hybrid. His parents died when he was young but Serenity's guardian dragon and his mate Aurora took him in as one of their own. They decided to swing by for a visit when they heard Chris lost his memory. They would've asked Hagen to play but he was still too young to do much of everything besides giving Astrid and Hiccup grey hairs.
Apollo was looking around suspiciously. Him and his friends were out in the woods so Apollo had to look everywhere to find them.
He snorted in annoyance. It had been about 15 minutes and he still couldn't find one of them! He couldn't use his nose to pick up on their scents, as that was one of the rules. He had to rely on only his eyes and ears.
He was about to give up when out of the corner of his eye he saw something shift. He slowly turned his head around and focused his eyes on the forest before him.
All he saw was green. Different shades of green mixed with hints of brown here and there. A graceful wind blew across the forest and all the leaves and trees swayed gently to the right. However, Apollo noticed that one particular branch stayed immobile. In fact, it seemed to have swayed the other way. He was perplexed by this until he remembered who in his family had dark green scales.
He crouched low and pounced high. His hunch was affirmed when he came into contact with his sister who let out a surprised yelp. They both landed on the ground with Avalon under Apollo.
"Ha! I found you!", Apollo cheered.
"Whatever! Get off of me!", Avalon hissed.
Apollo got off his sister and began searching for the other 3, hope reenergizing his spirit. Avalon, being caught, had no other choice but to follow her brother in his quest to find the others. She scowled all the way over there, angry that she was found out. Now she had to help him find the others.
After a couple of minutes he found Black Widow and Eider in a cave and under a bush respectively. All that was left was Edelweiss.
"Edel! Come out, come out where you are!", Apollo sang.
They looked everywhere and they still couldn't find her. They were all surprised that she was the last to be found. Usually they would find her first since she was a human. This wouldn't have bothered them, except that the sun was almost setting.
"Oh where is she?", Black Widow asked, worried.
"I'm sure she is fine Black Widow. We will find her", Avalon reassured.
"I hope so. It's getting close to dark now", Eider added.
"I'm not gonna risk getting yelled at by my parents for this", Apollo decided, "Everybody track her down by her scent."
After about 30 minutes of sniffing and searching, they eventually wound up back at the village. By then, the sun was 3/4 of the way set. It was quieter than usual–most of the Vikings and Dragons were preparing to go to were surprised, as well as scared, wondering what would happen if their parents found them returning without Edelweiss.
"Oh man, I hope mother doesn't find out we couldn't find Edelweiss", Black Widow said timidly.
"You what?", Toothless asked.
The dragonets froze in fear and slowly turned around. They immediately met the harsh gaze of the Night Fury alpha.
"Did I just hear that you lost my Serenity and Chris' daughter?", Toothless asked apprehensively.
"Toothless wait! We can explain!", Apollo pleaded.
"You most certainly will explain. Especially to your parents. Now march!", Toothless hissed.
The dragonets hung their heads in shame and trudged up the hill to the hospital. When they got there, the rest of the Draconians stopped their conversation to regard Toothless and their children.
"What's this?", Re asked.
"I think it would be best to have the children explain it themselves", Toothless stated.
The Draconians all looked toward the children, waiting for an answer.
Apollo hesitantly stepped forward. "We were playing Hide-and-Hunt all day and on our last game...we lost Edelweiss", Apollo murmured.
"We didn't mean to! Honest! We followed her scent back to Berk so she can't be too far away!", Eider interjected.
"I can summon Skullcrusher right now", Toothless commented.
"Oh, there is no need, but thank you Toothless. We do not need to search for her", Re smiled.
Toothless and the dragonets stared at the king in disbelief.
"What do you mean we don't need to search for her?", Black Widow asked.
The Draconians all smiled at each other before Aurora unfurled her wings to reveal Edelweiss.
"Surprise!", Edelweiss beamed.
The 5 dragons were taken aback by this.
"Edel, where were you? We were worried about you!", Black Widow asked, running up to her rider and nuzzling her.
"I was right here all along", Edelweiss replied.
"What do you mean?", Avalon asked.
"This is where I've been hiding! When the game started I found my way back here and hid here. It's actually not that far from here. I figured you would've found me sooner but you didn't! They all asked why I was here and not with you guys, so I told them I was playing Hide-and-hunt. They promised me they wouldn't tell you guys. So I took a nap, ate some apples, and took another nap. And here you guys are!", Edelweiss explained.
"Hey that's not fair! You cheated!", Eider exclaimed.
"How did I cheat?"
"Yeah, you weren't suppose to come back. We were playing in the woods, not Berk!", Apollo whined.
"Did you set a boundary line? Any place off-limits?", Tenor asked.
"No, but-"
"So then how did she cheat if you all didn't set any place that was off limits?"
"Well..."
"You just didn't expect to find her here in Berk", Tenor deduced.
"Well yeah, she's a human. She can't get far", Eider voiced.
"You are right, she can't. However, you didn't expect her to be in Berk. She hid right under your noses, somewhere you would least expect her to be. Don't underestimate a human. They can be really cunning and smart, like Edel is", Aurora said.
When she heard her grandma praise her, Edelweiss blushed.
"Anyways, it's time to turn in", Re declared.
The dragonets all vocalized their disappointment.
"But dad...", Avalon sighed.
"Not buts little one. It's best to be well rested than tired the next morning", Re said.
With little else to do the dragonets all laid down besides their parents and prepared to go to sleep. Toothless returned down the hill, noting that he too was getting tired.
Elsewhere on another island, 3 Night Furies landed on an island far from Berk. 2 of them were about 1/2 a size bigger than Toothless, Raeya, or Windwalker, signifying their adulthood. One of the 2 was slightly thinner than the other, making her a female. The last one was smaller but slightly bigger than the 3 Night Furies on Berk. They all had green eyes and were searching for a particular dragon.
"How much further?", Rhyax complained.
"You have just as good a nose as I. Your sister is less than a day away", Sylerion answered.
"Yes, my sister. The one who decided to get caught in a storm and postpone our plans to rob the royal family", Rhyax exhaled, rolling his eyes as he did so. "How do you know she isn't running away again?"
"Don't speak ill of your sister. I'm sure she has a logical explanation as to why she hasn't made an attempt to find us", Moonfyre hissed.
"Your mother is right. She wouldn't do that to us. We are family. Always have and always will be, no matter what anyone says", Sylerion stated. He sniffed the air once more to ensure he hadn't lost his daughter's scent.
"Anyways, we should rest here for the night. We flew all day and all night. We could use the rest", Moonfyre decided as she plopped down.
"As you wish mother", Rhyax sighed as he settled down as well.
Sylerion looked down at his mate and son, noticing that they weren't going to change their minds. With a snort, he lied down beside Moonfyre and within a couple of minutes he dozed off along with the rest of his family.