Chapter 3

And we're back!

Hiccup inhaled deeply through his nose as Toothless left the forest behind and soared out over the ocean. They were already flying higher than they had on any of their previous flights, and already the view was a mix of breath-takingly spectacular and utterly horrifying. The ocean stretched out in front of them, more vast than Hiccup had ever imagined, the afternoon sun reflecting off the surface to make it sparkle like a giant blue mirror. Towering sea stacks, some with vegetation growing on them, rose out of the water like columns. The faint wisps of low-altitude clouds blocked their vision, only to be blown away by a bracing wind that invigorated the spirit. The sheer enormity of it all took Hiccup's breath away.

The other Night Furies followed their leader, in a perfect v-formation like a flock of wild geese.

"Okay, bud," Hiccup said, patting Toothless on the head. "I'm trusting you not to drop me."

The dragon crooned at him in a reassuring way, as if he were saying, "Don't worry, I won't."

Just in case, Hiccup tightened his safety line, then gripped the saddle and urged Toothless downward. The Night Fury growled in satisfaction and folded his wings in, allowing gravity to pull him and his passenger into a steep dive toward the sea. The other Furies followed suit, and, just as they reached the surface, the whole pack pulled out of the dive inches above the water. A spray flew up as the ebony black dragons skimmed the surface with their wingtips trailing through the water, Hiccup squinting through the droplets as they went.

Up ahead, a colossal stone archway jutted out from a cliff, where ocean waves had carved a gaping hole in the Berkian landmass over the years. The shadow of the arch passed over them as Toothless cruised through, and Hiccup tilted his head toward the arch's ceiling with some measure of worry. Seabirds flocked near the top of the arch, shrieking, and the Night Furies cruised through the spacious gap unhindered, rendering their human companion's concern for naught.

Toothless angled himself upwards, beating his wings in powerful strokes that sent him and his passenger spiraling higher. Harder and harder he flapped, carrying himself further toward the clouds with every wingbeat. Hiccup gripped the saddle like he never had before, his exhilaration climbing the higher they went. He didn't want it to end; for the first time in his life, he felt free.

"This is amazing!" Hiccup cried, laughing a joyous, free-spirited laugh.

In the span of a second, Toothless leveled himself out, and, for a moment, it was like they were floating. Then Hiccup noticed that the Night Fury's wings were folding in, and his stomach dropped.

"Uh, Toothless, what are you doing...?!"

His question became a shout as Toothless dove headfirst towards the ocean far below.

What had been pure ecstasy moments ago was now all-consuming terror. The wind whipped around Hiccup's face so hard he was afraid it would tear his skin right off, took away his stomach and left behind a yawning void in his gut, and although he was screaming with all his might, he was deaf against the white noise filling his ears.

Realizing that his passenger wasn't enjoying the thrill as much as he thought he would, Toothless flared his wings open, and they decelerated so fast that it was like hitting a stone wall. They grazed the treetops of the Berk forest, rapidly bearing down on a mist-shrouded coastline. A treacherous maze of sea stacks lie ahead, and even with the dragon's speed decreasing with each passing moment, any impact on those rocks would spell certain death.

Hiccup shut his eyes, waiting for the collision that would spell his end.

But Toothless had other ideas. He swooped, swerved, dipped and dodged through the sea stack maze with skill like nothing Hiccup had ever seen before. Each sea stack whipped by in a flash, the entire gauntlet passing by in a blur. He heard, distantly, the sound of wingbeats following him. In all the excitement, he'd forgotten the presence of his pack members.

When the mist finally faded and the sun cast its rays down on them once more, Hiccup forced his eyes open. It was like waking up from a dream. Hiccup looked around, incredulous, as awareness returned to him.

A chorus of triumphant roars filled the sky. The Furies flew past their leader, Junior looping around joyously. Bit by bit, Hiccup's shock gave way to exuberance, until it became so great that he flung his arms up in a proclamation of victory.

"YEAH!" Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Dragon Rider, cheered to the heavens.

Toothless gave a happy sort of warble and spewed a blue fireball in celebration, which exploded in the air in front of them, leaving a huge nimbus of flames to linger in their path.

"Come on," Hiccup groaned, just seconds before the flames surrounded him.

To recuperate after the exhilarating flight, Hiccup steered Toothless back to their secret cove, but not before making a quick trip to catch some fish for supper. The seven Night Furies and one human boy had a peaceful sort of picnic there whilst enjoying the view of the sunset, whose glow reflected off the surface of the lake, turning it into a mirror of fire.

Hiccup, for the most part, spent the unusual dinner enjoying his food in silence, trying to ignore slight burning sensation that his skin still experienced from flying through the fireball. His hair was scorched and wind-blown, and he was still a little dazed.

The lead Fury broke the serene silence with a familiar retching sound, prompting Hiccup to turn his head toward Toothless. A slimy fish head was deposited on the ground, and the dragon looked at him, muzzle tilted in inquiry. The unspoken question rang loud and clear to Hiccup.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm good," he politely rejected the offered morsel, with the wave of a charred stick that bore the partially-eaten remains of his own meal. He knew Toothless meant well, but if he ever ate raw fish again it would be too soon.

There was a sort of chirping noise, and Junior came bounding up to them. Hiccup had by now learned that wherever the Night Fury dragonet was, his mother had to be nearby.

And indeed she was. Mama came padding up with a scornful look, snarling at her son in a scolding way. Junior shrank under her gaze, with the most adorable apologetic look Hiccup had ever seen.

Now, Hiccup didn't know for sure, but, since none of the male Furies had been acting like a father to Junior, he guessed that Mama's mate must have died at some point before the pack came to Berk. Based on that theory, it was reasonable to believe that she didn't want her little dragonet wandering away where she couldn't keep an eye on him.

Suddenly, there was a series of shrieks that pealed out into the otherwise silent air, and a group of five Terrible Terrors came flying right toward the small pack. The Furies growled as they landed, all scuttling at once toward the pile of fish the larger dragons had been eating from.

Not that the Terrors were in any way intimidated. One pair of them worked together to grab the half fish from Toothless, with one Terror distracting him and the other snatching the fish. That particular Terror sat down a safe distance from all of the larger dragons and began to eat. However, he was pounced on by Junior, who wanted to play with him. But the dragonet quickly fled when the Terror tried to spit a burst of fire at him.

Junior scurried under his mother's wing, and Mama warbled at him, as if to say, "See why I worry about you?"

Toothless had been watching the shenanigan from the sidelines with amusement, when he saw the fish pile move. Hiccup observed with curiosity, and Toothless with annoyance, as a Terror crawled out from the pile with a fish in its mouth. Quickly, Toothless grabbed the other end of the fish and yanked. The fish split apart at the tail, leaving the single fin in the Terror's mouth.

It sat comically on its rump as Toothless gave it a kind of gurgling laugh. The Terror wasn't amused. It spat out the fish tail, clawed the dirt, and rose up on its hind legs with a shriek. A burst of gas appeared at the back of its throat as it prepared to light its fire.

Toothless, with a bored look on his face, beat the smaller dragon to it, casually spitting a small fire bolt straight into the Terror's mouth. The gas exploded, causing the Terror to swell up like a balloon, before it fell headfirst into the dirt with steam whistling out of its nose and mouth. Hiccup chuckled to himself. "Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" he asked the little dragon, which stumbled away from Toothless in a drunken manner. "Here you go," he added, throwing it his own fish.

The morsel landed right in front of the dragon, instantly snapping it out of its daze. The Terror gulped the fish down whole, then approached Hiccup curiously. Hiccup relaxed, slumping down against Toothless while keeping his eye on the dragon.

Finally, its curiosity got the better of it, and the Terror climbed right up onto Hiccup's lap and curled up like a domestic cat.

Hiccup stared at the sleeping dragon in wonder. It was hard to believe that this creature and its relatives were the very same ones that he had once hoped to kill. That everyone hoped to kill. The idea was absurd now that he'd been spending so much time with what he now knew as quite a lovable beast.

"Everything we know about you guys," he breathed, gently stroking the docile Terror, "Is wrong."

The Terrible Terror, who was obviously not so terrible at all, continued to sleep in Hiccup's lap.

"We are sooooooo leaving!"

Hiccup had run away from the oppressive cacophony of mindless excitement as quickly as he could. It was only when he had left the arena, packed to the brim with every Viking on Berk, and fled to the open silence of the empty village did his breathing finally return to normal. It had been too much - the roaring of the crowd, the admiration of his peers, the excitement in Gobber's voice, and, worst of all, the booming praise from his father.

He didn't deserve any of it. Their adoration was founded on what was basically a lie. He couldn't face any of them, not without all of that nasty guilt tearing him up from the inside out. Forget revealing the truth and ending the war - it was impossible now. He would be branded a villain, a traitor, more of a disgrace to of Viking-kind than he had ever been.

He needed to leave Berk entirely. Maybe he couldn't save Berk, but he could still save himself and his friends.

As soon as Hiccup secured his riding gear and a basket full of fish from the village storehouse, he dashed straight to the cove to find the Night Furies. A quick glance at the lake revealed that the whole pack was asleep together on the far bank. That was fine; they didn't need to be awake right now. They had enough food to last at least a few days - there was no precise destination in mind, and no telling how good the fishing would be outside of Berk - but they might stop at the village to grab some additional supplies before they left. Toothless and his pack mates could continue to rest until Hiccup was certain they were prepared.

"We're leaving!" he repeated. "Let's pack up...looks like we're all taking a little vacation...forever."

He crouched in the shade of a small boulder, slipping the basket's strap off his shoulder. Once he had relieved himself of the weight, he examined his riding uniform, making sure everything was correctly in place. It would be disastrous if there was a mid-air malfunction, especially without a forge to rely on for repairs. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary...

Except for a loud, spine-tingling scrrrrrrrraaaaaaaape from nearby ground.

There, sitting on the boulder and sharpening her axe with a whetstone, as if she didn't have a care in the world, was Astrid.

"What the...!" Hiccup exclaimed, jumping to his feet and stumbling backwards. Once the initial surprise faded, though, he cleared his throat and made an effort to preserve whatever was left of his dignity. Forcing his voice to stay calm, he asked in what he hoped was a casual tone, "Wh-what...uh, what are you doing here?"

Astrid didn't answer him right away, first holding her blade to the light to examined its sharpened edge. Only after she put the whetstone down did she speak, in a much more natural, casual tone than Hiccup was expecting.

"I want to know what's going on," she stated, hopping off the boulder. Her eyes narrowed, and Hiccup found her advancing on him, her axe raised threateningly. "No one just gets as good as you do," she accused in a menacing voice, shifting her axe from one hand to the other. "Especially you."

Hiccup was too busy trying to keep his cool to dwell on the fact that suddenly changing from the worst to the best warrior on the island would definitely arouse suspicion. He backed away in a futile bid to keep his distance, frightened by the amount of ferocity that was radiating in Astrid's eyes.

"Start talking," she ordered. "Are you training with someone? It better not involve this." She yanked on his riding vest.

Futilely, he tried to play it cool. "Uh, I know this looks really bad, but, uh..."

Then a loud, snapping sound echoed off the walls of the cove, and Astrid dropped him, abandoning her interrogation attempt. Hiccup felt relieved for all of two seconds before he realized where she was going - toward the tree under which the Night Furies were hiding.

He scrambled to catch up with her, excuses bursting through his mouth like dragon fire. "You're right, you're right! I'm through with the lies. I've been...making...outfits!" he blurted, jumping in front of her to show off his riding uniform.

Astrid didn't even glance his way, so focused was she on investigating whatever had made those noises.

"So, you got me," Hiccup tried to sound repentant. "It's time everyone knew. Drag me back, go ahead, here we go -"

Astrid tried to see over his shoulder, and Hiccup leaned hastily back into her field of view. The third time he attempted to obstruct her, he grabbed her hand to prompt her into dragging him off. This ultimately backfired as Astrid wrenched his arm up and backwards, a burst of pain flooding his appendage, and she used the momentum to push him onto his back.

"OW! Why would you do that?!" he demanded, cradling his throbbing arm to his chest.

Standing over him, Astrid viciously kicked him, sending him flat against the ground. "That's for the lies," she growled, "And that's..." She dropped the blunt end of her axe onto a...sensitive area, earning a strangled squawk of pain from her victim. "...for everything else."

There was an ominous growl, and Astrid looked around cautiously.

"Oh, man," Hiccup muttered. The pain in his junk was now the least of his worries.

When Astrid saw the Night Furies, she let out a horrific gasp. "Get down!" she cried, throwing Hiccup to the ground. He barely felt the pain when his body struck the dirt, because a numbing chill was coursing through his body at the sound that came next.

With Toothless in the lead, the ebony dragons all charged forward with a chorus of screeching roars. Over the noise, Hiccup heard Astrid shout for him to run, and he looked up in time to see her readying her axe. She started to swing, but he was already moving, leaping at her and tackling her aside. He reached out, finding her axe and tearing it away from her grasp. Flinging the weapon away as far as he could, he whirled back around to face Toothless, now rearing back on his hind legs and screeching protective fury.

He felt Astrid grab his arm, and when he turned to ask why, he realized he didn't have to, because he could see exactly why.

The entire pack was surrounding them in a circle, each of their faces a mask of fury. Except for Junior, who looked more like an adorable cat than a ferocious dragon.

"No, guys, it's okay!" Hiccup pleaded, desperate to protect Astrid. He waved his arms above his head to bring the Night Furies' attention back to him. The dragons took turns lunging this way and that, but Hiccup threw himself into their path each time, refusing to budge even a half of an inch.

"It's okay, she's a friend," Hiccup reassured the Furies.

Finally, Toothless backed off and landed on all fours. His roars softened to a growl and his body language calmed. Around Hiccup, the other Furies followed their leader's example. He stepped up to Toothless's side, to stroke his head and neck, where he felt the Night Fury's body still taut and quivering with agitation. He cast a concerned glance over to Astrid, who stood several feet away on trembling legs.

"It's okay," he said, "You just scared them."

"I scared them?!" she exclaimed in response, more shaken than Hiccup had ever seen her. She froze, her breaths becoming slower and her eyes narrower, fear shifting to suspicion as her sharp mind started to piece the puzzle together. "Who...are they?"

Hiccup gulped nervously, realizing what thin ice he was on right now. He stepped forward and, hesitantly, introduced, "Uh, Astrid...this is Toothless. That's Starstreak, Mama and Junior, Greenweb, Lightning, and...Feathers. Guys, this is Astrid."

The lead dragon glared even more ferociously and snarled loudly, his gleaming fangs contradicting his name.

Astrid recoiled at the sight of the dragon's teeth and turned tail, running for the cove's exit without a single look back. Her axe lay forgotten.

Hiccup felt a horrible sensation of impending doom press down on him. She was going to the village. And as soon as she got the word out...

"Da, da, da, we're dead," he moaned.

The adult Furies apathetically turned around and padded back to their hiding spot under the big tree.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hiccup protested, "Where do you all think you're going?"

I can't say for certain how many more chapters there'll be before we finally get to the video game portion of this fanfic, but hopefully it won't be too many. Don't worry, I won't leave out the romantic flight, it's the best part of the whole movie! (Well, one of my favorites, anyway.)

Reviews aren't required, but they are appreciated.