"Hiccup? Are you sure he is the key?"

"There's no doubt about it, Astrid. He's the only one among us who can cast fire magic. It must be him."

It did not take long for Arn to summon the riders to the great hall. From the way he looked they could tell that he struck something big. He told them about how the mysterious runes on the last page of the spellbook required the glow of fire magic in order to reveal what they truly say, but the group had their doubts.

"Uh- how would you know that would work?" asked Tuffnut, placing a fist against his waist. "I mean, Gothi knows fire magic so maybe she could-"

Arn shook his head. "Last time I went to her with the book in hand she kicked me out of her hut. Clearly she knows something about it that we don't…"

"Or maybe she just doesn't like it?" shrugged Ruffnut suggestively. "I dunno. I mean- Gothi can be weird."

"Hmm… you actually do raise a valid point for once," Astrid pointed out, surprised at the way that Ruffnut replied.

"I agree. But still, if Arn truly does believe Hiccup is the key, then clearly he's our only hope for finding out what the runes say," stated Fishlegs, though he still remained slightly doubtful. "Question is, how do we get him to cast his fire magic again? He won't even talk to any of us."

"...Not even Toothless."

Indeed it was a tricky question. There was no way for them to make Hiccup communicate with them, even if they tried anything to cheer him up. Again, he would either shun them off or simply ignore them as if they were not even there. Instead, they had to think of something that was out of the ordinary. Something that they would not dare try to do that could possibly further upset or infuriate Hiccup…

But the answer was right there for them.

"Anger," spoke Astrid, catching everyone's eyes as they all said, "What?"

"You heard me," she nodded with her arms crossed. "If we can't hope to get Hiccup's attention through asking or begging him, we'll just have to force him to give his attention."

Fishlegs rubbed his chin curiously. "You know… it actually makes sense," he confidently replied. "Hiccup can only conjure flames if he gets angry. That's what he did last time when we fought that golem during the Battle for the Island of Tomorrow. I say it could work."

"I don't know…" said Ruffnut giving a glance back at Astrid. "Wouldn't he yell at you and possibly lash out? Though then again, you are his girlfriend."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be her," replied Arn as he took a step forward. "There's always me."

"...You?" spoke Fishlegs.

"Aye," he said back. "I'm pretty sure Hiccup trusts you guys more than he trusts me. I've only been here for nearly a month now, and even then we're not that close as friends. I may be trusted in many cases, but not every case."

"But I'd say it's worth a try. I will try to provoke him."

"Very well… So then when should we do it?" asked Astrid.

"Tomorrow perhaps. It's getting quite late," yawned Arn. "When he enters the great hall, we'll follow up behind him with our dragons and as well as with the spellbook, and then we'll get things under way - hopefully before the elves and dwarves arrive."

"So it's decided then," nodded Astrid. "Tomorrow?"

The others nodded. "Tomorrow."

…

The next morning came by peacefully like a breeze, and surprisingly, there was a bit more blue in the sky - as well as some sun. However, that did not change the fact that Hiccup was still in his depressive state.

The group knew that Hiccup usually went into the great hall at an early time, so they waited until he came out of his home.

And eventually, he did.

Astrid stood by the runestone with her dragon down in the crowded plaza, trying to look normal and unsuspicious, and as soon as Hiccup took a step out of his hut, her eyes fell on him from afar.

Hiccup looked around, noticing that the sky was more blue than normal, but he did not have much of a reaction to it. Instead he continued walking, heading towards the stairs leading to the great hall without even minding anything around him.

While walking up the stairs he did not bother at all to look up. His head and eyes were fixated downwards like a slumped tree, but as soon as he entered the great hall and was out of plain sight, Astrid looked around her before giving off a sharp but loud enough whistle for the others to hear.

From the crowds of people and dragons, the rest of the riders along with Toothless and the other dragons swiftly came out and made their way to Astrid. They were in a rush as they knew they had to make it quick.

Astrid glanced at Arn. "Do you have the spellbook?"

"Yup," he said, presenting it out in front of them. "One glow from Hiccup's magical fire, and hopefully the runes will change... or do something."

"Well let's not bother hesitating to find out," sighed Fishlegs. "Let's go."

In an instant the group walked out of there, making way towards the great stairs and up it without drawing any suspicion. Eventually, they made it to the doors of the great hall and slowly opened them as they swiftly went in before quietly closing them from behind.

Upon entering however, they noticed a few things were off.

Much of the lighting in the hall was dimmer. Some of the braziers and bonfires were out, and the only main source of light were from the braziers lit near the chieftain's throne where Hiccup sat, with his head dangling down at the chief's table in front of him, shadowing most of his face.

Toothless quietly crooned curiously at the sight of his rider. "Will I be able to speak to him again after this?"

"If it works," Arn assured him, with him being the only one in the group aside from Hiccup understanding Dragonese. "But I'll do what I can. Everyone else, stay back."

"Uhh, but what if he like- gets too angry and like, attacks you?" quietly asked Tuffnut, to which Arn winked back at him and the others.

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

"If you say so," whispered Astrid. "Now let's get this over with."

Arn sighed as he looked back towards Hiccup who was still looking down in a depressive manner, and with calm motion he began walking towards the chieftain of Berk with the spellbook at his side. With every footstep he took, they echoed throughout the silence of the great hall, yet Arn also felt a bit anxious. He just hoped this would indeed work. It had to.

Now standing before Hiccup, he gently called out the lad's name.

"Hiccup."

There was no response from him. He just kept his head down, not bothering to look back up at Arn.

He sighed, clearing his throat before saying his name again, this time louder. "Hiccup." But once again, there was no response.

Arn then added on with, "I need to tell you something. It's very important, and you need to hear it. It's about… the state of the village," he lied.

Hiccup for a moment arched his brow. Wondering ever so slightly what he meant, he looked up at Arn and asked in a monotone voice, "What is it..."

Arn felt his confidence rise. Now he was getting somewhere.

"People are questioning your position as chief," he continued as he begun to pace. "For weeks you have done nothing besides sitting here and in your hut barely doing anything. You eat little, sleep little, and you are not making yourself a confident figure as the chief of Berk. People are-"

"If I knew this I would have been told by now," he replied - seeing through Arn's lie. "I highly doubt what you're saying is true."

"And what makes you say that? You're always isolated from everyone else," Arn stated, still trying to keep it up.

Hiccup's brows slightly lowered. "My mother and Astrid visit me once nearly everyday. Most of the time what they say is irrelevant, but I have not heard anything of that sort so far from them. I don't believe you."

"Is your trust really limited to such a small extent?" questioned Arn with a louder voice. "You can't stay in the shadows like this forever if you're really still going to-"

"I've heard enough from you," interrupted Hiccup as he gestured with his hand in a sweeping motion towards the door. "You've spoken your mind so get out and leave me alone. There's nothing more you can-"

"And what of Stoick?" asked Arn, now dabbling with Hiccup's strings.

"Don't you dare say that name…"

Arn shook his head. "But I'm not finished. Not even the slightest," he said as if trying to provoke the young chief. "Tell me Hiccup, what would he think of you? Hm? Tell me. You sit here on that throne and do nothing while your closest friends run the village for you like puppets. All you think about everyday and night is your father Stoick who sacrificed blood and sweat to protect your tribe and village, yet you have done NOTHING so far while you've been chieftain. What would your father think of you upon seeing his fool of a son who can't-"

"Don't you DARE call me that!" Hiccup spoke aggressively. Now they were getting somewhere with him.

"You come into my hall, and you talk as if you knew my father better than me," he continued, now standing from the throne. "It's not my fault that he died by the hands of an evil that I could not stop! That NONE of us could stop! You talk as if you think yourself better than me!"

Arn stepped forward, still attempting to taunt Hiccup. The trick seemed to be working. "It's YOUR fault that you could not stop him from sailing! You went on with the plan to sail towards the Island of Tomorrow, and look at where that got him! If you had stopped him, he would be standing here right now, alive! And what have you done after that for Berk? Nothing!"

"I GAVE EVERYTHING FOR BERK!" shouted Hiccup as he picked up a nearby chair from the high table and threw it at Arn, to which the blonde lad barely dodged it. "I took us out of the dark ages! I made peace with dragons! I worked, fought, and strived to get us out of the dirt and to where we are! BUT WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US!?"

It was clear that Hiccup was now aggressive. Dabbling and messing with his emotions was the only way they could have reached through to him, and it seemed to be thus far working. Along with that, he was getting angry. Very angry. That meant he could at any time begin to conjure up flames.

"If I had not come here, Berk would already be burning in chaos fire! I told you about the Wings of Midgard! I told you about the Dark Legions! And I even told you about where they are! Does that mean nothing to you!? Are you really that useless!?"

"Tch, you think yourself so clever," he said, pointing a finger infuriatingly at Arn as he advanced around the high table and towards him. "But I'll show you who is clever when I burn you to cinders. You will know how I felt after seeing my father explode in fire… You think you are tough?! YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE WHAT I SUFFERED!?"

Hiccup's voice echoed as his left hand came down to his side in an aggressive motion. His eyes immediately burnt brightly with fire as he made his hand into a claw and quickly summoned up burning hot flames. Though Arn was nervous, he was also surprised. After all, how did he manage to cast fire magic so quickly?

"I'm going to teach you what real pain feels like… I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU SUFFER!"

Hiccup let out a loud scream as he threw a fireball towards Arn without even having to chant, which shocked both Arn and the rest of the group who stood near the doors of the hall - watching what was going on, and as the fireball closed in on him he immediately rose the spellbook up in defense and allowed the spell to hit it which in turn bursted and set the book on fire, but it did not protect him entirely.

Though the book took most of the hit, Arn was knocked back by the force of the spell's impact. But as he fell hard to the ground, the spellbook suddenly flipped to the last page with the runes, and out of shock, the book swiftly absorbed the flames into the runes like snow disappearing into the wind.

But both of the young vikings were too busy to notice. As Hiccup in his blind anger was about to cast another fireball, he heard someone call out from the shadows near the doors of the hall.

"HICCUP, STOP!"

"A- Astrid…!?"

Multiple footsteps along with the sound of dragon paws hitting the stone floor could be heard, and as the rest of the group came into view they ran to gather around both Hiccup and Arn.

But the sight of Astrid's face and the sound of her voice nearly broke the anger that blinded Hiccup. She was like a spell to him, and upon seeing her he felt something spin in his stomach. It was a feeling of guilt for what he was doing; something he had not felt in a long while. And slowly, his anger began to drop. He had no reason to be mad at the one he loved, yet he was also very confused. Why was she here? He looked around, wondering what to say as a result of the situation he put himself in. What had he done?

Hiccup stuttered in his words, noticing the serious look on his girlfriend's face. "A- Astrid, I- I can explain-!"

And yet as Astrid went up to him, rather than blocking Hiccup from Arn and the others, or holding him back, she met him with a tight hug in a warm embrace, to which Hiccup slowly but surprisingly embraced her back. Feeling Astrid in his presence again made his realization and senses come back to him. His anger started to clear up upon feeling her arms around him.

Fishlegs and the Twins on the other hand went up to Arn, helping him to his feet.

"Are you alright?" asked Fishlegs, receiving a nod from Arn in response.

"Y- Yeah. I'm fine… but what about Hiccup?"

They all looked back at Hiccup who was wrapped around Astrid's hugging arms, but soon he backed up as he looked down at his hands, nearly stumbling to his knees as he quickly came to realize what he almost tried to do to Arn.

"What have I-?" he quietly asked himself. "...I- I nearly killed him… Arn, I-"

"Hey- it's okay… it's not your fault," said Astrid assuringly as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "We... We were purposely trying to provoke you, Hiccup. It was the only way we could reach you."

"Huh? What do you mean by purposely provoke? Don't you think he's right about what he said?" he asked. "Or... are you saying all those things he said were a lie?"

"Yes, they were…" sighed Arn as he approached Hiccup. "Hiccup, you know I would never call you useless, because you are the opposite of that. You've made your father proud for as long as you have been with him. But now that he's gone, you must move on from him and take up the mantle of a chieftain. Be the true chief that Berk deserves…"

"I agree. Hiccup, you've done more than what Stoick could have ever done in his life, and it was just in half his lifetime," spoke Astrid. "Although there was no way you could have saved him, or stopped him from sailing to face Drago, you still managed to save Berk time and again… and now we need you once again."

"Will you lead us, chieftain?"

Astrid took a step back with a smile, happy to see Hiccup's face once more as he looked upon the group and their dragons. The young chieftain knew that they were right. He had to move on. There was no way he could keep up with living in the shadows, and soon he felt a smile spread across his face for the first time in a while.

He nodded his head. "Y- Yes… I will."

"Now that's the Hiccup I know," grinned Astrid as she reached in, giving Hiccup a quick but loving kiss on his lips. "Welcome back, Hiccup."

"Hey, you're forgetting about me!"

A familiar draconic voice caught Hiccup's attention as the lad felt himself get knocked to the floor from the side, flat on his back, and as he looked up he saw a familiar black dragon on top of him, warbling happily.

"Toothless!" chuckled Hiccup as the Night Fury pounced around him, making him laugh. "Oh bud… I'm sorry for shunning you after what happened, but oh how I've really missed you! Do you miss me?"

"A lot!" gargled Toothless. "It's good to see you again, Hiccup! Oh and hey, when can we go flying? I want to-"

"Uhh- guys?" said Tuffnut. "You might wanna look at this."

The laughing came to a stop as Hiccup and the others turned their heads to where Tuffnut was pointing; towards the spellbook which was still wide opened. They saw that the runes on the last page were glowing with fire magic.

"That's odd…" said Hiccup as he quickly stood to his feet. "Is that suppose to happen?"

"It would seem so," replied Arn as he slowly approached the book and picked it up. "But I guess it makes sense now. The spell hiding the words on the last page was magic locked. It did not need a glow, but rather a bit of a blast from the element needed unlock it."

"I nearly killed you with that spell though!" stated Hiccup. "How was that even a bit of a-?"

"Wait, look!"

Arn's eyes widened as he saw before him the glowing runes re-arrange into words, finishing off the rest of the chapter, which meant that they could finally read it.

Hiccup approached him to ask what was going on, but he was quickly handed the book so that he could read for himself what the last page had to say. The others then grouped up around him, eager and excited to see what there was.

"Hiccup," said Astrid. "It's all yours. What it does it say?"

He cleared his throat, with his eyes stuck on the glowing words. "I'll uh- read from the last sentence we read before…"

And thus, he began to read aloud for the others to hear…

…

"What happened to the Wings of Midgard afterwards is unclear. What is certain however is that the Dark Master, Maldragor, was locked away by them with the help of the Allfather himself."

"After order was brought back to Midgard, and the damage done to the world was reversed by the gods, the leader of the Wings of Midgard, Horren, as well as the others, were granted incredible powers by Odin for their valiant victory against Maldragor, who had nearly destroyed us all."

"The Allfather said; "For as long as you hold these powers to bring order, they shall pass on, but only to the best of your descendants. You may have a son or daughter, but it may be that they will not be worthy to carry them." And with that, he bid the Wings of Midgard farewell as he returned to the halls of Valhalla…"

"...At least, that's what my grandfather Horren Haddock said-"

…

"Haddock!?"

Everyone's voices rose up at the name Hiccup read. Horren Haddock. Which meant only one thing.

"H- Hiccup, I think Horren Haddock was your ancestor," said Fishlegs. "And that would mean that your ancestor was a Wing of Midgard! He was their leader!"

"But what else does it say?" asked Astrid, almost shakingly.

Hiccup's eyes fell back onto the book, and continued reading.

…

"At least, that's what my grandfather Horren Haddock said before I was born, and now I carry his powers."

"With it, I have glanced many hundreds of years into the future, and saw a vision of what is to happen. All I can say is that he is returning. Maldragor is returning, and he wants revenge for his humiliating defeat…"

"...But I also saw that the third generation of the Wings of Midgard, a descendant of mine along with his best friends, will stand against him."

"And so it has led me to making this book. To the one who successfully managed to unlock this last page, congratulations. By breaking the lock, you have proven yourself as a Wing of Midgard, for only a clever Hiccup could have done it. And now I leave the fate of this world to you and your friends. Save Midgard, young Hiccup, and help your friends awaken their powers..."

-Sincerely, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock I

…

Everyone, especially Hiccup, stood in shock. Dropping the book to the ground as his hands were quaking, he looked back at the others with his eyes widened. Not only had they found out that Hiccup's ancestors, Horren and Hiccup Haddock I, were formerly the Wings of Midgard, but it also led to one conclusion.

"Do you guys know what this means…?" questioned Hiccup.

"Hiccup," spoke Astrid. "You're a Wing of Midgard!"

"No, not just me, Astrid," he replied. "I believe WE are the Wings of Midgard. All this time, and we never knew it! Though... I can't say for certain that Arn is-"

"It doesn't matter," the blonde viking interrupted. "...What matters is that I've at long last found the Wings of Midgard. They were here in front of me all along. This means my search is complete! This means we can-"

Before he could get the rest of his words out, the doors to the great hall were bursted opened as Valka, Gobber, and Eret came rushing in with Cloudjumper, Grump, and Skullcrusher at their side. They looked quite serious.

Hiccup's eyes immediately turned towards them. "Guys?" he called out. "W- What are you doing here?"

The moment he spoke to them, they gave each other quick glances as they first wondered what changed, but then realized that Hiccup was back to his normal self. Regardless however, they had to tell him the news.

"Hiccup," said Valka. "You may want to come outside. And quickly."

"Why, what is it?"

"It's the elves and dwarves. Our scouts spotted their ships from afar. They're-"

The loud noise of two horns bellowed from outside the great hall, one as deep as a mountain's depths, and the other as high and bright as the opened skies. It became apparent to everyone that the elves and the dwarves had now arrived.

"...They're here."