Chapter 70: Thorston Induction Trials

This takes place duringRace to the Edge, during the episode "A Gruff Separation". Ruffnut and Tuffnut don't know their adoptive sister is still alive, and think she's dead, but this takes place not long before the events of How To Train Your Dragon 2, maybe a few months or so.

It includes Becky's full backstory. Also, Ruff and Tuff will be OOC. Also, anti-mental illness is around in this fic. You'll see what I mean.

This one-shot has been a long time coming. I'm sorry for the delay, I just couldn't think of a proper ending for this one-shot.

Fishlegs has just finished the finishing touches on his – and Meatlug's – birthday decorations for the twins' 19thbirthday.

"What do you think?" Fishlegs asks, landing Meatlug next to the twins.

"Fishlegs, this is our 19th birthday soiree. Not to mention our first birthday without our adoptive sister...not that she was in our family for that long before Hiccup banished her, only about two years. Yeah, we were super close, but..."

"Tuff? Your point?" Ruffnut asks, stopping her twin from delving deeper into his thoughts about their fallen sister.

"Right. So, that's the biggest, the best. It's gonna be the most incredible soiree in the history of Dragon's Edge! Odin will weep in the halls of Valhalla when he finds out he missed it. Not that we didn't invite the big guy."

"Yeah, these accoutrements, although somewhat festive and moderately well conceptualized, are not in line with the epic barn burner we've envisioned." Ruffnut says.

"You need to go back, Fishlegs. Just go back to where this wasn't even something we were thinking about and then rethink your whole theme." Tuffnut says.

"The whole theme?" Fishlegs asks, worried.

"The whole theme." Ruffnut says.

Barf and Belch blow the decorations up.

"Oh! It's okay, girl. I thought your decorations were perfect." Fishlegs tells Meatlug.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut go to Snotlout's hut, where Snotlout is sleeping on Hookfang.

"Where are the meat pies? Where are the meat pies?!"

Snotlout wakes up.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I was gonna make them, but then I remembered that I don't care about your stupid party. Now go away. I'm sleepy."

Ruffnut pushes Snotlout off of Hookfang.

"Hey!"

"You've been officially uninvited."

"Like I wanted to go to your boring, pie-less banquet. Geez, you guys have gotten even more unbearable since Becky's gone."

"What did you just say about our sister?" Ruffnut asks through gritted teeth, turning around.

"I said that –" Ruffnut goes up to Snotlout, real close.

"You can say all you want about us. But leave our sister out of it. We lost our sister. Do you think that we didn't mourn our loss? We'd give anything to bring her back." Ruffnut says.

"Snotlout, did it even cross your tiny brain that we may be a bit quote, unquote 'unbearable' because our sister meant so much to us?" Tuffnut asks.

"She wasn't even in your family for that long. How much could she have meant to you?"

"That may be true, her not being in our family for that long, but she made an impact on us. Oh, how we wish she were alive to have gone through the Thorston Induction Trials." Tuffnut says.

"Your sister probably wouldn't have survived them, if the name 'Thorston' is involved."

"Snot's got us there, Tuff. With what Becky went through before she was brought to us, losing her parents, almost being sold to Krogan, she probably wouldn't have survived the trials. I mean, she didn't even survive banishment!"

"Do we know that for sure?"

"I mean, she's not that strong, physically. She's not that good with dragons, and I'm sure dragons would've been a part of her trials."

"No, I mean do we know for sure she didn't survive banishment?"

"Tuff, I see where you're coming from. And as much as I'd love to believe our sister survived being out in the ocean, alone, lost and scared...unless she was rescued by someone, she might've gotten attacked by Scauldrons. I'm sorry, bro. Let's just try to focus on the party. I know it'll be hard. But Becky lives on inside our hearts. She always will."

"You make a good point, sis."

"Come on, Hookfang." Snotlout flies off as Ruffnut and Tuffnut resume their party talk.

"Okay, where's Astrid? Because we've got changes to make to the guest list." Tuffnut says. Hiccup and Toothless suddenly fly in with Gruffnut.

"Wait a minute. Who invited him?"

~.~

The Riders are interrogating Gruffnut, who is locked up inside the stables.

"If you came here to ruin our party, you might as well forget it." Ruffnut says.

"No, no, no. You've got me all wrong, Ruff. See I've got something very important to tell you."

"Our sister's been found and she's alive?!" Tuffnut exclaims.

"Uh...no...wait, what?"

"Tuff, forget it. Continue." Ruffnut says.

"I've been sent here to administer the Thorston Induction Trials. On this, the nineteenth year of their birth, on the event of the coming of their age, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston must take part in the most perilous trials of all: the Thorston Induction Trials!"

"And you expect us to buy that?" Hiccup asks.

Toothless approaches Gruffnut, growling.

"Stand down, T." Tuffnut says.

"Wait. You actually believe him?"

"Of course I believe him. Hiccup, we've been waiting our whole lives for this...well, this and a piece of good news about a certain family member."

"What kind of ridiculous clan has their coming-of-age ritual at nineteen? The Jorgensons do it at nine months, and we have to kill a bear."

"Most Thorstons don't have that long of a life span, so if you actually make it to nineteen, it's a pretty big deal." Ruffnut states.

"Unlike our sister, who only made it to 18...our poor, poor sister." Tuffnut says.

"Wait, you guys have a sister? And you didn't tell me?" Gruffnut asks.

"Gruffnut, it's a long, treacherous story that we can't mention in front of certain people." Tuffnut says.

"Tuff, it's okay. You and Ruff can tell him why I banished Becky." Hiccup says.

"You know it was for her own protection...granted, it was for protection from me. My jealousy got in the way, and I could've...*ahem* You know what? I won't mention that part. It's a sore subject for all of us." Astrid says.

"What? You almost murdering her because of your jealousy? I'm surprised you didn't try to murder Heather." Snotlout says.

"Almost all of us."

"A near murder, a Thorston I didn't know about, a banishment for protection. Sounds intriguing. But it will have to wait for another time. It is time for the Thorston Induction Trials."

"Gruff, the sooner we tell you about our fallen sister, the sooner it'll be a weight lifted off our shoulders...well, it'll be a weight not as heavy on our shoulders. Maybe about half as heavy? A quarter maybe?"

"Tuffnut? You were saying?" Ruffnut asks.

"Right. But to tell you, we'll have to go all the way back, back to before Becky was even brought to Berk. Her home was Ludia Island. It was a dark and stormy night. Dragons were running amok...well, they weren't running, more like flying...anyways, 16-year old Becky Nielson was on the island with her real parents." Tuffnut starts.

"Suddenly, a ship comes to the docks. Mysterious. Intriguing. Dark. A man comes off the ship, his only goals to find women on the island and take them, after finding and capturing dragons." Ruffnut says.

"A dragon raid was that night. Becky's parents told her to stay hidden, where the dragons couldn't find her. She could only watch in horror as her parents were killed by dragons. She stayed hidden as this mysterious man came upon the house, searching for any women he could take. He spotted her, grabbed her, and forced her onto his ship."

"His purpose for her was a dark one. She was to be his slave. His sex slave. She escaped his ship, soon drifting to come across a smaller island in the archipelago." Ruffnut says.

"Berk."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut look at their cousin.

"Just a guess. Continue."

"Becky treaded the waters of Berk, not knowing what else to do. She called out. Someone heard her. Hiccup rescued her, took her to Gothi. She was given a clean bill of health. Hiccup then took her to his dad, and then she fell asleep." Tuffnut says.

Astrid picks up the tale.

"The next day, Becky met us. She was kind of scared of Fishlegs at first, because of his size. Little did Ruff and Tuff know that they would grow closer with Becky in the coming weeks and months."

"Soon, a romance blossomed between Becky and Hiccup. They started dating, much to the dismay and disgust of Astrid. But that happy time was not to last. Soon, the pressure of Becky losing her parents and almost becoming a sex slave to someone, took a toll on her none of us could have ever expected." Tuffnut says, sadly. Ruffnut puts a hand on her brother's shoulder, knowing this was a difficult subject for him to talk about.

"One day, about two or so years ago...we...we found her in the bottom of the lake in the Cove. Tuffnut swam down and rescued her...saved her life."

"She was lifeless and so cold...Ruffnut was the one who administered CPR...we could've lost her. We almost did...and...and now..."

"Tuff...it's okay."

"Ruffnut, it's not okay! Our sister is...she's dead. We couldn't protect our sister."

"The fact that you had a sister that tried to commit such a disgusting act…I'm surprised you guys took her in, with your rough and tumble attitudes." Gruffnut says.

"She needed us, Gruffnut! We couldn't abandon her when we were the ones that saved her life." Ruffnut says.

"So, you took her in because you pitied the girl."

"No! We took her in because she had no one else…and we loved her so much. We would give anything to see her again." Tuffnut says, tears forming in his eyes.

"Wow. I've never seen you guys so worked up about someone who wasn't even a valid human being."

Toothless, having also been close to Becky, fires a warning shot at Gruffnut.

"Whoa! What gives?"

"Telling us something that's not true about a girl we loved and lost…don't you have a heart?" Tuffnut asks.

"You're asking me this, when you should've asked your late sister that very same question."

"She had a heart!"

"And that was her problem! Having a heart caused her to try to kill herself! I still can't believe you'd take someone in that wasn't even human!"

Ruffnut suddenly grabs Gruffnut by the collar.

"Tuff's and my sister was more human than the way you're acting. She was totally valid, and, as far as we're concerned, you, Gruffnut, are the one who's not valid. Our sister is dead, and you…you're dancing on her grave. Come on, Tuff. Let's get out of here." Ruffnut says, beckoning to her twin.

As he's walking out, Tuffnut glares at Gruffnut.

"I hope you're happy with yourself."

After flying in circles for a while, Ruffnut and Tuffnut land on a sea stack, and Ruffnut dismounts, and Tuffnut can hear her shakily sigh, and he gets off of Belch and sits next to his twin.

"Ruffnut, you okay?"

"Do you think she's looking down on us from Valhalla?"

"Maybe."

"Do you think…do you think she'd be disappointed in me?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I said nothing when Gruffnut said that her having a heart caused her to try to kill herself."

"Ruffnut Eugene Thorston…you said what you could, but our cousin…he's heartless compared to us, and our late sister."

"They probably would've hated each other, considering her mental health issues."

"Probably. We'll never know."

"Tuffnut?"

"Yeah, sis?"

"I miss her. So much."

"I miss her, too, Ruff."

"I wish we could've seen her before she was banished. It was all so sudden. Being awoken in the middle of the night, Hiccup tearfully explaining what he had to do to save our sister's life…and now she's gone."

"I think seeing her before she'd been banished would've made it that much harder, Ruffnut."

"I understand why Hiccup did it. Because of Astrid. But he could've at least tried to talk Astrid down."

"Jealousy is a monster, and it can take the best of you, and turn you into something – or someone – you're not."

"Like it turned Astrid into a near-murderer?"

"Exactly. Come on, sis. We'd better get back. I'm sure the others are worried about us."

"We're not doing the trials, are we? Because of what Gruffnut said about our sister?"

"No. I'd rather be an outcast than let him win, especially after what he said about our sister."

"Me, too. For the outcast thing, I mean."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut hug and, with one last look towards the sky, mount Barf and Belch and head back to the Edge, knowing that Gruffnut will someday pay for what he said about the late Becky Thorston.