Chapter Number: 7 / 9
Book Number: 1 (Lycanwing)
Planned at: 3 April 2022
Book Summary:
History may not repeat itself, but it rhymes with present. This rang true for inhabitants in Meridian of Misery. Stoick learned that keeping secrets would only hurt himself. Furious learned that future could never be set in stone. Wodensfang desperately grasping their long-forgotten past. Hiccup and Toothless came at the right time in the wrong place. It was not surprising that they played with their fate, as destiny claimed the very dragons they were meant to protect.
Pairing:
- Hiccup (Lycanwing Night Fury) x Toothless (Female Night Fury)
Warnings:
- AU and OOC characters with some movie/show canon aspects.
- Book HTTYD aspects and characters.
- Possible psychological horror.
- Female Toothless.
"What is this?" – Normal Speech
'What is this?' – Thought
"What is this?" – Telepathy / Reading / Flashback (Depends on context)
"What is this?" – Dragonese (Dragon speaking)
"What is this?" – Voiceover
Lycanwing – Covetousness Avarice
It had been a week since the first Dragon Training.
Gobber was somewhat dejected. Hiccup was not making any improvements. The boy did not seem to make much effort, but for some reason, he would always come out unscratched. The others had some bruises from debris and injuries, and they had to be treated. He thought that Hiccup might be the luckiest Viking alive out there.
"Gobber, can I talk with you?"
The blacksmith was hammering nails on an anvil at the forge. He glanced back to see the lanky boy he was familiar with. Hiccup was standing at the back door's doorway. "What is it lad?"
"It's… kind of important." Hiccup started as he approached him. "And it's private."
"Well, that can wait lad." Gobber grunted as he went back hammering the nails. "Lots of work to do. Your dad should be coming back tomorrow. Thor knows they need to repair the ships."
The boy winced. He remembered blowing up the Berk's expedition ship when Furious took control of him. He had spent the whole week reinforcing and concealing his mind. Certain dragons, such as tracker dragons, could sense anything with mind at range. Given what happened that day, it was safe to assume that Furious had that ability somehow. It was a mess that he had to deal with.
The Dragon Eye his father had given him were not much help to fight against Furious. It was a tool to project information through dragon fire light. The thing it projected was information in the lens. The device he was given did not have any lens at all. The book contained information on how to make the Dragon Eye and its lens, including how to put information in them. However, it was not something they need. They need information to solve their problem.
As a result, they were stuck. Hiccup needed Gobber to resolve the situation. He was out of lead, and he was sick of being kept in the dark. "Gobber, do you remember that time five years ago? My dad and I were attacked by Monstrous Nightmares."
"Aye. Bad things happen, lad." Gobber grunted as he dumped a finished nail to the pile next to it. "The whole thing changed ye. That's for sure."
Hiccup took a deep breath. "Those were not Monstrous Nightmares." He spoke, making him pause. "Those were Lycanwings."
The blacksmith froze. He slowly turned around. Hiccup was staring at him with serious expression. The boy looked determined. His eyes were more vibrant than before. He wondered how he come to that conclusion. However, if that was truly the case, then it was best to hear him out.
Gobber motioned him to continue. It would be a long day for them.
Hiccup walked down the forest with Gobber and Gothi following behind. The three Vikings were heading down to the place where they found the Lycanwing corpse. It was best that they confirmed on what exactly happened to him.
Upon reaching the place, Toothless and Calian were there. The dragoness was sitting on her hindlegs, and the hatchling was sitting on top of her head. The two adult Vikings were somewhat wary of her. They left them alone since they did not look threatening to them.
"It's here." Hiccup spoke as he reached for the skeletons not far from the dragons. "I think they're Lycanwings."
Gobber and Gothi moved to look closer at the skeletons. It looked like remains of dragon human hybrid. The blacksmith stroked his beard. He looked at the elder, who stared back at him. She nodded; sad expression adorned her face. Hiccup was maimed there that time. It meant that he was a Lycanwing.
Gobber paled at that conclusion. He looked back at Hiccup. "What kind of Lycanwing are ye?"
"Night Fury."
"Thor's curly beard." The blacksmith cursed. It was just as what he feared. Hiccup had been a Lycanwing Night Fury for five years!
"There's a giant dragon behind the Helheim's Gate. He controls dragons." Hiccup explained to them. He was not quite sure where to start. "I changed around three to four times a week. Every time I changed, he made me do dragon raid and fight other dragons."
Gobber and Gothi stayed silent. Hiccup continued speaking. "The dragons called the war: Dragon Rebellion."
The moment Hiccup uttered that word, the blacksmith became white pale. "Dragon Rebellion." He whispered. He remembered Stoick talking about it to him a long time ago. "Just like Hiccup the First…"
The boy was about to continue speaking, until he heard what Gobber had said. "You knew?"
"Hiccup." Gobber started. He looked guilty. "Before your dad left, he made some plans for ye."
Hiccup and Toothless listened to him. The blacksmith continued speaking. "If he died before you knew about this, I had to be the one to tell ya about it."
Hiccup slumped his shoulders. "So, you knew…"
"Aye." Gobber nodded. "So, yer the Night Fury that had been terrorizing the whole archipelago?"
"Toothless doesn't want to be in the Dragon Rebellion, at first." Hiccup replied, somewhat embarrassed. "But then, we became mates together. She became my consort."
The blacksmith grimaced. "So that small dragon there is your kid?"
"Yep."
"Thor's hairy ball-sack." Gobber scratched his head. "Why now? Why not tell us five years ago?"
"I didn't know I was a Lycanwing until weeks ago!" Hiccup was exasperated. "I had to break off from Furious when I found out what he did to me. Toothless helped me do it."
"Furious?" Gobber repeated, eyes wide. "Hiccup the Second's dragon?"
"He's a giant Night Fury that's hellbent on destroying all humans in the world now." Hiccup informed them. "He lives at Dragon Island, which is the nest behind the Helheim's Gate."
"Giant Night Fury…" Gobber breathed out. Then, he realised something. "You've been trying to tell us about this." He accused.
"Why do you think I'm trying to get some time alone with my dad?" The boy asked, exasperated. "He's not listening to me. He never listens!"
"Well, it runs on the family." Gobber scratched his head, thinking about how to deal with the situation.
"And when he does, it's always with this… disappointed scowl." Hiccup complained to him. "Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich."
"Now, you're thinking about this all wrong." The blacksmith reasoned. "He's trying to protect you. He didn't want ye to know until yer ready."
"And look what happened!" Hiccup gestured at himself. He was irritated at the blacksmith. "Look at me! Look at them! All this because everyone kept secrets about me, from myself."
"The danger came from your family, lad." Gobber grunted. "Did yer father not told ye about it?"
"My dad told me about Hiccup the First and Hiccup the Second. He told me that they have Night Fury friend." Hiccup retorted. Then, he gestured at Toothless while looking at him. "Did you know Toothless here is Wodensfang's daughter? She knew who Hiccup the First was. She knew everything what happened to them."
Gobber could only stare at him with horrified expression. Hiccup continued speaking. "When my dad told me about other Hiccup before me, she told me that Hiccup the First was once a dragon." He explained to him. "This is big, and we don't know anything. We're completely stuck. We don't know who else to trust, because everyone kept them a secret from me!"
"Please, Gobber." The boy pleaded. "Forget my dad. I'll take the blame. Tell me everything."
Gobber softened his expression. "… Alright, lad." He spoke, before taking a deep breath.
"The Haddock family were once generations of godlike dragons called Blank Fury." Gobber began telling the tale. "They were before Night Furies. Those dragons led peace for everyone, including humans."
Hiccup and Toothless paid attention to him. The blacksmith continued telling the story. "But half the world didn't like that, and war happened." He explained, remembering the tale. "Folks pushed back to Meridian of Misery."
Gobber stroked his beard, trying to remember the story as best as he could. "Everyone just wanted peace. The chiefs knew this, but they're too stubborn to give up." He spoke. "So, the son of Primordial Alpha – the chief of all dragons – took it on himself. He made a deal with the enemy. He agreed to turn and live as a human, as long those folks would stop and back off."
The blacksmith glanced at Toothless for a moment, before looking back at Hiccup. "The deal went through. They backed off, war is over, everyone went on their merry way, but dragons were locked in Meridian of Misery." He told the story. "Dragons that didn't make it here went into hiding, or they have their own little place somewhere outside. The dragon that got turned into human became Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the First. He's the one who made Hairy Hooligan Tribe."
That explained a lot of things to Hiccup. However, some things did not make any sense. "So, Haddocks have always been dragon this whole time."
"Kind of." Gobber shrugged. "We called them Night Fury blood. It runs in Haddock blood, for the most part. It was dying since almost everyone forgot that their ancestors were dragons."
"It happened since every Haddock married humans. It kept going on until only first born gets the blood." Gobber continued explaining. "Folks like Spitelout never got them, since he's not the first born. That's why only firstborn get to become the chief of the village. Even then, most chiefs or chiefess never awakened their blood."
"Awakened their blood?" Hiccup questioned.
"Aye." The blacksmith nodded. "Ever wonder why yer dad's stronger than anyone else? Ever wonder why you couldn't sneak up on him? That's his blood on him. He awakened it."
"That… explains a lot." Hiccup admitted. He remembered some moments there and there with his father.
"Now, those who awakened the blood gets some… features." Gobber sounded hesitant. "Back then, they get wings or scales. Hiccup the Second turned into a Night Fury that looked like human. Your late granddad got patch of scales on his chest. Yer dad got nothing. We thought he'd be the last one. We thought nobody would get the blood anymore. Until you, that is."
"Why is that?"
"Because yer dad married Valka." The blacksmith continued explaining. "Yer mother's not human, lad. She's a Night Fury."
"It was his Night Fury." Hiccup muttered. He already knew this fact, but the details were not there for him. He wondered how it really worked.
"Aye." Gobber nodded. He scratched his head as he tried to remember the story. "He met her the same way as you did with Toothless. When he was 10, he saw her trapped in a net. He spared her and befriended her. He named her Valka. He didn't tell anyone about it and went on adventure with her instead."
"You told me you went on adventure with my dad when you were young." Hiccup spoke, staring at the blacksmith. "You knew about my dad befriending a Night Fury."
"Aye." Gobber nodded, smiling. "We went on adventure together. Five years of adventure, lad. Best time spent together!" He laughed as he reminisced his old times. "Ridin' Night Fury, finding different dragons, and all that yak. It was the best time!"
"But what happened?" The boy questioned.
The blacksmith calmed himself down. "They fought a witch." Gobber began telling the story. "The troll wanted to kill Valka. They killed the witch, but she turned Valka into human. We couldn't find a way to turn her back, so we went back to the village."
That was a reasonable explanation. It was exciting to go on adventure, but there were always dangers that lurked around the place. Some danger could leave permanent scar. In this case, his dragon mother turned into a human. Hiccup wanted to know more. "My mom lived in the village?"
"Aye." The blacksmith nodded. "Nobody knew about yer father befriending a dragon. Nobody knew Valka was a dragon. Back then, we left for adventure before anyone knew anything about it. Yer father fought for her to stay at the village. Old Wrinkly and Gothi adopted her."
"And years later, my dad married her…" Hiccup whispered, amazed by the story.
"Aye." Gobber nodded. His eyes were soft. "He cared for her a lot. She's loyal with him. They fell in love together. Ye won't see yer father without his wife. It was after you were born that yer mother stayed home to care for ya." Then, he mumbled. "I remember seeing you hatch days after you were born."
Hiccup and Toothless heard that. They choked at that statement. "I hatched from an egg?" The boy asked, completely shocked by that statement.
"Aye." The blacksmith nodded. "Yer mother was a dragon, cursed to be a human. She birthed an egg. That kind of why yer small. Even then, yer father still cared for ye. You're the best thing they ever got in their life."
"I…" Hiccup whispered, still shocked by that statement. "I thought I was born a human."
"Ye did hatch a human." Gobber scratched his head. "But what matters is what happened to the blood. Stoick meant be the last. It completely turned ye into full blooded dragon – as yer dad puts it. That would be like if yer a dragon that just got cursed to become human."
"About this blood…" The boy started. He was not sure what to say. "How did my dad awaken them?"
"We use Lycanwing poison for it." Gobber informed him. "Mix 'em with Scauldron venom and Purple Oleander. It's the cure for Lycanwing, but for ye, it also breaks the curse."
"But I'm a Lycanwing." The boy questioned. "What does that make me?"
"It meant yer unstable. You're stuck being both human and dragon." The blacksmith grimaced. "Yer dad told me about it before. One of yer ancestors once got Lycanwing. Normally, Lycanwing transform once a month. You said ye turned at least three times a week."
Hiccup was utterly stumped. He looked at Gothi, who simply gave him a sad nod. The boy looked back to the blacksmith. "What do I do now?"
"We need to complete the process." Gobber concluded. "You'll be full dragon by the end of it. We've prepared them for ya, but it's not ready. You're meant to have 'em awakened after Dragon Training."
"Why after Dragon Training?" Hiccup questioned. "He told me he wants me to learn how to defend myself."
"Aye. That's the truth." The blacksmith nodded. "We thought you didn't know. We thought you're about to awaken your blood on your own. It almost happened with Hiccup the First. That's why your dad's been busy. He's trying to find out what went wrong with yer fevers."
The boy slumped his shoulders. "He said he'd told me everything after dragon training." Hiccup threw his hands up, before looking away. "I guess that's everything."
"Aye." Gobber nodded. "Don't blame him for it, lad. He just wanted to protect you."
"Well, I slipped through the cracks, didn't I?" Hiccup spoke, sarcastic. "You're busy keeping secrets from me, all the while I spent my time not being myself, blowing up villages and killing Vikings for the fun of it. That sure won't come back to bite my arse by the end of this mess."
"No one's perfect, lad. Don't be too hard on him." The blacksmith grimaced. "He didn't want to lose you like how he lost yer mother."
"What really happened to my mom?" Hiccup questioned.
"Dragons took her."
"That's it?" The boy asked, curious. "No lies, hiding, or keeping things about me again?"
"I'm trying to help ye, lad!" Gobber exclaimed, annoyed at his paranoia. "Yer dad didn't lie when he told ye that. A Stormcutter took her when she found it inside yer room. That's how ye got that scar on yer chin."
Hiccup moved to touch the scar on his chin. It was something that he never really knew how he got them. "A Stormcutter?" He asked, pondering. He never saw that kind of dragon before.
"Aye. Two pair of wings, lookin' like an owl." Gobber answered. "Second rarest dragons, right next to Night Fury."
"… okay." Hiccup nodded. "What now?"
"Since you've been dragon for five years, there's no point for Dragon Training." The blacksmith concluded. "I'll announce your disqualification later. Gothi should help me on that."
Gothi simply smiled at them. She nodded her head, meaning that she approved the decision. The situation should be easy to resolve when they had the elder's approval for it.
Gobber looked at Hiccup. "How did ye found out about all this?"
"I found out I've been a dragon for five years when I saw Calian." Hiccup spoke, glancing back to the hatchling sitting on top of Toothless' head. "I'm not supposed to know his name, but I do. That's how we know."
Gobber stroked his beard. "We might need to write that down." He decided. "In case we found another Lycanwing."
"Alright, why not."
They noticed that Gothi was slowly approaching Toothless. The dragoness was wary of her. The elder slowly dropped her staff. She reached out her hand to her. Toothless blinked as she leaned forward. Her palm hovered over her snout. After some contemplation, the dragoness pushed forward, letting the elder touch her. "Hrr…"
Gothi silently gasped. Few seconds afterward, she let go of her. The elder looked at the hatchling, curious of the small dragon on top of her. Calian leaned down to see the elder, before jumping off from Toothless' head. The elder grabbed her, embracing him into a hug.
"Ka!" Calian yipped as he looked up to her mother. Toothless gave him a nod. The hatchling buried himself further into the elder. Gothi slowly pet the hatchling, comforting him. "Hrr…"
"Huh." Gobber spoke. He had been watching the interaction with Hiccup. "She's good at this."
"Calian is always curious about new things." Hiccup scratched his head. "We've been teaching him how to survive, but I think he needs to learn from experience."
That reminded Gobber of something. "Hiccup." He started, getting his attention. "Now that ye know, don't tell anyone about this. You'll be putting everyone in danger."
Hiccup nodded. "I don't plan on telling anyone."
"Good." The blacksmith nodded. "Stoick should come back in a day or two. He'll know what to do after you awakened your blood."
"Okay." The boy responded, staring at the blacksmith with a frown. "Let's hope he didn't do anything drastic."
"Aye. There's that."
The news about Hiccup's disqualification spread like wildfire. Gobber announced them at the Mead Hall. Gothi was there to support his announcement. Considering almost everyone was at the expedition, there were not that many Vikings there. The adult Vikings groaned after hearing it, as it meant they had to endure Hiccup not doing anything for the village.
Later that morning, Hiccup was sitting at the Mead Hall. He sat at the corner of the table. Vikings were leaving from the place. Some were throwing Hiccup dirty looks. The boy ignored them as he went to drink some mead. It would be the first time he drank something alcoholic. He hoped that it was strong enough to make him forget.
Unfortunately, that was not strong enough for a dragon in human form. That did not mean Hiccup stopped trying. To outsiders, he looked like he was moping over his disqualification.
"Hahah!" Hiccup looked up from his mead. Snotlout, Astrid, Ruffnut, Ruffnut and Fishlegs had come to him. They were staring at him, taunting him. "Kicked out from dragon training."
"Gobber knows he'll die if he kept going." Ruffnut smirked as she crossed her arms.
"He'll die in the next dragon raid." Tuffnut elbowed his sister.
Hiccup ignored them. He sipped the mead from the tankard, before moving his head to look at the fireplace. It was giving warmth to everyone. The others had always been an annoyance for him. It did not seem to affect him that much, since he had worse situation to deal with.
"Oi!" Hiccup heard Gobber shouting towards them. He was standing near the doorway. "Dragon training! Ye think ye can skip after Hiccup got off it? Up you go!"
Snotlout and the others grumbled. They walked away from the place, moving out from the Mead Hall. Hiccup was left alone at his place. The boy continued to drink mead from the tankard.
"Charcoal, are you okay?" Hiccup heard Toothless' telepathic message. "There's a bit of interference with your mindscape. You look like under influence."
"No, I'm not okay." Hiccup replied to her message. "And for your information, I'm drinking mead."
"… You're doing this willingly." Toothless realised. "Why?"
"It's kind of hard trying to make sense what we just learned today." Hiccup replied as he drank more mead from the tankard. "I was having a good life, both as human and dragon. I have new things to learn, experiments to run, Program to make, hatchlings to raise, tending your insatiable sex drive…"
"Oh, shush." Toothless shushed him. "That's how dragons normally do it."
"Last time I check, other dragons didn't breed eight hours per day." Hiccup dryly responded.
"We didn't do that much anymore since Calian is born."
"No." Hiccup replied as he looked down into the tankard. It was empty. He stood from the chair to get more mead. "That's because you're angry over my job." He continued his response as he headed towards the mead barrel.
"No, I didn't." Toothless denied.
"We could've done it up high in the sky, but you choose not to." Hiccup replied as he stood in front of the mead barrel. He pushed the tap, pouring mead into his tankard. "You're angry over my assignment."
"Okay, fine." Toothless relented. "Yeah, I'm mad at you. But that doesn't matter now. We know it's not your fault."
"Who's making dragons submit again?" Hiccup retorted as he walked back to his table. "You're even afraid of me. I made you shake in fear simply by growling at you. Remember that time?"
"I was just cold. I'm not afraid of you."
"Your paws were trembling. You couldn't even stand properly!"
"You sure that's not the time when you bred me that day?"
Hiccup nearly rolled his eyes. He sat on the table, before sipping mead from the tankard once more. "I'll just get to the point." He responded. "I don't like using mind arts to force someone, so I want you to be honest. Don't sugar-coat it. What do you think of me, Toothless?"
There was no response. Hiccup simply assumed that she was formulating them. The boy sipped more mead from his tankard. He watched Vikings walking in and out from the Mead Hall.
"You are the most stubborn, sarcastic, self-sacrificing dragon that I have ever met." Toothless finally spoke. "But you're also the kindest, loving and most handsome dragon that I could ever dream of. You're not like most dragons, where they put their paws down and stayed firm on their decision and tradition. You're flexible on your belief, and that almost became your downfall."
Hiccup did not respond. Toothless continued. "I love you, Charcoal." She carefully spoke. "I love you with all my heart. It pains me to see the situation that you are in. Furious tried to turn you into a monster, and I think he succeeded on that."
"So, you think I'm a monster." Hiccup sombrely responded as he drank mead.
There was a few second pause. "… yes. I'm scared of you. I'm terrified that you'd end up like most dragon family with power imbalance." Toothless finally admitted. "You have every inch of power to break me and make me your slave, and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. You're my mate, and Night Fury mate for life. I could never leave you, even if I wanted to."
"You are two times bigger than me, and you are far stronger than anyone I've ever met, except my father." Toothless finished. "All I have is power of magic and mind arts, but that won't stop you from making me physically submit. I'm sorry, Charcoal."
"No. Don't be sorry." Hiccup softly responded. He stared at the fireplace. "It's normal to be afraid. I'm sorry for scaring you, Toothless. I promise with all my heart, I will never hurt you. Ever."
There was silence. Hiccup was not sure what Toothless was thinking about. After some time, the dragoness replied. "Thank you." She finally spoke. "It's nice to hear that spoken aloud."
"I promise I will protect you with everything I have." Hiccup thought, determined. "Even if it meant I'll die saving you."
"Charcoal, I…" Toothless sounded hesitated. "I love you, Charcoal. You don't know how much that made me feel."
"You're snooping deep inside my mind again." Hiccup teased her. "I could sense your presence there."
"I just want to feel your devotion to our family."
"And you told me I have trust issues…"
"Oh, shush." Hiccup could feel Toothless rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to say anything if you do that to me too."
"No. I don't need to. I trust you." The boy responded as he drank mead from the tankard. "… Thank you for being honest. It means a lot to me."
"Yeah… Thank you for reassuring me. I need to hear that." Toothless responded. "And… I promise you; I will care for you and our family. Forever."
Hiccup exhaled his breath. He looked down to the tankard. It was empty. The boy stood from the chair to get more mead. He was not feeling drunk yet, and it was his tenth tankard of the day. He probably needed to drink the whole barrel at that point.
"You know, you always have the right cross that would make dragons weak in the knees." Hiccup heard Toothless spoke in his mind. "… in more ways than one."
"And that's the second sex joke of the day." Hiccup dryly replied. "… thanks for trying to cheer me up."
"Anything for you, Charcoal." Toothless responded. "Anything for you…"
Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Fishlegs and Astrid were walking down towards the Dragon Arena. Gobber had arrived at the place and waiting for them. The five of them were still at the bridges, somewhat slow on their pace.
"I wonder what kind of dragon we'll be facing next." Tuffnut spoke his thoughts aloud.
"I want to face the Monstrous Nightmare!" Snotlout exclaimed. He punched his own hand. "I'll break its legs and kill it with my face."
"Good luck." Ruffnut snorted, smirking. "You have to win it first."
Fishlegs noticed that Astrid was silent. She looked deep in thought. "Astrid?"
The petite girl looked up from her thoughts. "Yeah?"
"Y- You don't look so sure about Dragon Training." The large boy nervously commented.
Astrid frowned. "I'm just thinking about Hiccup. That's all."
"Why are you thinking about the useless?" Snotlout sneered at her. He looked offended.
The petite girl scowled. "Go away, Snotlout." She responded, before looking at Fishlegs to speak to him. "Did Gobber give us any reason why he kicked Hiccup out of Dragon Training?"
"Gobber didn't say anything." Ruffnut nonchalantly spoke to them. "Elder Gothi didn't say anything too."
"Ooh…" Tuffnut rubbed her hands together. "Do they know something about Hiccup? Must be something horrible."
"Something horrible about Hiccup?" Snotlout questioned, curious. "What makes it so horrible that Gobber kicked him out?"
"He's probably going to travel." Tuffnut nonchalantly spoke.
"But Gobber kicked him out." Fishlegs pointed out. "He didn't leave willingly. The elder supported him."
"He must be doing something big." Ruffnut alluded them. The others stopped to pay more attention to her. "Something great. Something horrible. Something that will change our lives forever…"
That made Snotlout excited. "I want to know what he's up to."
"I guess it's our job to find out." Astrid crossed her arms, smirking.
Stoick was not having a good week.
The expedition ships were attacked by the Night Fury. He should have included the possibility of that Night Fury looking for revenge after what his village attempted to do to it. If he were to know that they might be attacked, he would not have sent the expedition ships. As a result, three longships were destroyed, leaving one returning to Berk.
Thankfully, everyone survived. There was no other dragon other than the Night Fury. They had anticipated attacks from other dragons when the Night Fury somehow missed. It was as if the black dragon was being attacked. He wondered what might have attacked the Night Fury.
'… Toothless.' Stoick realised. That was a reasonable assumption. Hiccup probably told her about the expedition. He hoped for the survival of his father. It was why they made it back in the first place.
The lone and packed longship finally docked at the harbour. The Vikings were tired and exhausted. When the gangway was in place, they limped their way out from the ship. Stoick was the first one to get off. Spitelout moved to coordinate the others to unload the ship. Stoick was walking around the harbour, making sure that things were coordinated.
While walking down the harbour, he noticed that Gobber was running to catch up with him. The blacksmith reached the chief, nervous. He moved to walk alongside him.
"Well." Gobber started, not knowing how to bring up the topic. "I trust you found the nest at least?"
Stoick shook his head. "Not even close." He muttered as he looked away into the ocean.
"Ah…" The blacksmith muttered. "Excellent."
"I hope you had a little more success than me." The chief suggested.
"Well…" The blacksmith was nervous. "It's a lot worse than you thought. Did the Night Fury blew two of your ships, by any chance?"
Stoick stopped walking. They had not told anyone about it yet. That question was too specific. "Yes." He responded, focusing onto the blacksmith. "But how did you know?"
Several other Vikings came down into the harbour to help. Just as they passed them, some of them spoke their thoughts. "Sorry, Stoick. He tried his best."
"Here's hoping a change for once." Another Viking went past by.
"Going for adventure might help, eh?"
"The rest look promising, at least."
The last Viking went past them. Stoick looked back, puzzled by what the Vikings had said. The chief looked to the side, thinking about what might cause them to say those things. It did not take too long for him to realise what might happened.
Stoick's eyes widened upon realization. 'No…' He thought, horrified. "Hiccup?"
"Aye." Gobber nodded, grimacing. "It's him."
That day, Hiccup was resting at the cove with Toothless and Calian. Hiccup had brought a Maces and Talons board to the cove. The boy and the dragoness were playing. They had been doing that since early in the morning. The hatchling was sitting on top of Hiccup's head like a hat. There was a basket of fishes not far from them.
"Checkmate." Hiccup declared as he moved his pieces.
"Krr…" Toothless let out a groan. "I give up."
"The score is 10-10." The boy pointed out. "It's a stalemate. You're getting good at this."
"I have a headache." Toothless admitted. She voiced this with accusing tone. "You don't. Did you read my mind?"
"I didn't… did you?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes.
"It was tempting." Toothless confessed. "But no, I didn't read your mind."
"Okay. Because if you do, that means you cheated. it defeats the purpose of this game." The boy explained to her. "You're not meant to know what your opponent would do next. You're meant to guess."
"I figured as much." Toothless spoke, before standing up from the ground. "Do you have anything else in mind?"
"Hmm…" Hiccup pondered. He stood from the ground and put some distance from Toothless. "Calian, can you sit on that rock over there?"
"Okay!" The hatchling chirped. He flew up from his head and landed on the tall rock at the end of the cove.
"Toothless, can you help me demonstrate?" Hiccup requested as he picked up a large cod from the basket.
Toothless perked up. "Sure. What do you need?"
"Just follow my thoughts." Hiccup responded, before speaking aloud. "Calian, let's do a scenario. What would you do when you can't fly, trapped, but a human offers you a fish?"
Calian tilted his head, before chirping. "I take the fish from the human!"
"But how are you going to do it?"
The hatchling reared back a bit. He frowned as he thought of the question. "… I grab the fish from the human!" He gave the answer.
Hiccup nodded. He looked at Toothless and moved to offer her the large cod. The dragoness carefully moved forward; maw open to grab the fish. Before she grabbed them, the boy suddenly dropped the fish and pulled the hidden dagger from his side. "AAH!"
Calian jumped in surprise. "AAAH!" He fell backward behind the stone.
Hiccup and Toothless stared with amusement. The boy poked Toothless' forehead with the hilt of the knife. "Boop." He spoke, before concealing his dagger. "The human has a knife and stabbed you in the head. You're dead."
The hatchling jumped up onto the stone once more. He looked curious. "How can I know if the human hid their weapon?" He questioned.
"You smell them." Hiccup answered as he picked up the large cod on the ground. "Weapons have a very distinct smell of metal and wood."
"So, I just attack them if they smell like one?"
"Depends." The boy responded as he wiped the large cod from dirt. "If they are moving to attack you, yes. You need to defend yourself. However, if you attack them when they are not holding their weapon, you risked yourself being killed by other humans."
Calian tilted his head. "Why is that?"
"Humans have friends, tribes or family." Hiccup explained to him. "They will come looking for the one you killed. If a human is armed but offering you something, make sure you disarm them first."
The boy and the dragoness demonstrated. Hiccup offered the fish once more. Toothless slowly approached him, but upon seeing his knife, she retreated and growled at him. The boy pulled out his knife and dropped them to the ground. The dragon sorceress made a motion to throw them away. Hiccup used his feet to lift the knife and throw them into the pond.
When that was done, Toothless instantly relaxed. Her pupils dilated as she stared at him. The dragoness approached him once more. She opened his mouth, eager to take the fish from him. She occasionally glanced at him, not knowing how to proceed.
While Toothless was moving to take the fish, Hiccup looked to the side at Calian. "If the human disarmed themselves for you, that means they might have good intention. But remember to-"
Toothless went ahead and snatched the fish from him. Hiccup looked back to his hand, which was absent of any fish. "Remember to still be wary of the human." The boy deadpanned as he stared up to the smug looking dragoness. "Because you don't know what they put inside the fish."
That made Toothless choke. "What?!"
"I didn't put anything in it." Hiccup shrugged. He looked back at the hatchling. "And it's unlikely for humans to put something inside. You can tell if they put something in there, like Blue Oleander, by their smell. If the fish is mixed with other smell, don't eat it."
The boy moved to touch the dragoness. Toothless growled, before flying away from him. She landed at the other side of the cove and rested there. Hiccup continued speaking. "Now, why would your mother do that after taking the fish? Why is she avoiding the human?"
Calian thought for some time. "She doesn't know what the human wants." He decided. "And she can't fly away."
"That's right." Hiccup nodded, smiling. "Think before you act. If you can't think, give yourself some space and time. Now that the human showed that they might be friendly, it's safe to say that they might not tell the others about you being grounded and trapped. You should be safe, for now."
"Let's take some rest." Toothless decided, raising her wings a bit. "Calian, come here. It's time to sleep."
"Okay, mom."
Memory flashback of Mimir…
The 2-year-old Mimir was wrestling with his father's paws. Furious was sitting on his hindlegs, smiling at his son. The two were at the top of Dragon Island. It was a small garden for dragons to see. The sky was bright and sunny that day, and various dragons were flying around to enjoy the weather.
"Har…" Mimir grabbed the claw. He chomped it with his toothless maw. "Kar!"
"Hrr…" Furious purred at the sight. He was happy that his son was playing with him.
The hatchling looked up at his father. He still had the claw in his maw. Mimir let out a smile, before spotting something on his chest. It was the stab wound scar on his scales. He let go of the claw and took a few steps back. The hatchling reared, before moving to pounce his father. "Kar!"
Mimir latched onto his father's scales. He sniffed the scar. The hatchling looked up to his father. "Dad?" He asked. "How do you get this one?"
"It was from defending someone that I truly care the most." Furious softly spoke to him.
"Who is it?"
"It was my brother of all but blood." The father let out a soft smile. "Hiccup the Second."
"Hiccup?" Mimir scrunched up his expression. The hatchling jumped off from his father and landed in front of him. "What is he like?"
"Hiccup the Second was half human, half Night Fury."
"Half human?" Mimir gasped, surprised.
"Yes."
"What is he like?" The hatchling grew excited.
Furious mentally sent a Chunk towards the hatchling. Mimir excitedly opened the Chunk. It was his father's still memory of Hiccup the Second. The creature was an adult, anthromorphic Night Fury. The dragon stood tall and proud, smiling happily in the memory. He was large and musclebound, standing at 10-feet-tall with enormous wings and long tail on his back.
Hiccup the Second had a deep, vibrant green eyes. He wore a very dark green tunic underneath thin chainmail and steel armour. The humanoid dragon had steel gauntlets on his arms, and fur boots on his legs. He also wore black leather pants with chainmail armour.
"Hra…" Mimir breathed out as he viewed the memory. "He looks like human!"
"He was a dragon that stands like human." Furious responded, amused.
"What is he like?"
"Hrr…" The adult dragon hummed, reminiscing his time with his brother. "Hiccup the Second was the bravest and most caring dragon I had ever met." He answered. "He was someone I proudly call my brother."
Mimir sat on his hindlegs. He listened to his father telling the story. Furious continued speaking. "We grew up and lived together. Back in those days, we brought peace to humans and dragons together." The adult dragon told the story. "We… had our own flock a long time ago. We had humans that followed us. We showed the world that humans and dragons could live together."
The hatchling tilted his head. "But it's Dragon Rebellion now." He responded. "What happened?"
Furious silently exhaled his breath. "Humans are smart like us." He explained. "But they did not see us as equals. That peace eventually crumbled. What was left was the war of humans and dragons once more."
"Oh…" Mimir looked down. He pondered for some time, before focusing back to his father. "What happened to Hiccup?"
"He was killed by humans, betrayed by his own people." Furious softly spoke. He rubbed the stab scar with his paw. "His own father went to kill him. I was there to take the sword for him, but it went through me and killed him. That's how I get the scar."
The hatchling did not know what to say. "Why would they kill him?" He asked, confused. "Would it be better if they keep him around? It's peaceful for them."
Furious let out a sad smile. His hatchling was smart. "It is human nature that led them to kill him." The father answered the question. "The humans could not accept that they were not the ones leading the flock. They wanted to control the flock for themselves."
The father paused for some time. "… Humans are wild, intelligent creatures. They follow their instincts like us. We are equal to them, with us having claws and teeth instead of swords to fight." He softly explained. "But unlike us, they could not suppress their instincts. They are incapable of mind arts. They blindly followed their own desire. That's what makes them dangerous. They would betray each other for glory, pride and fame. They could not accept that there are others better than them. They could not see past our scales and fire, because that's all they see when they look at us."
"But how do they live if they don't have mind arts?" Mimir asked, eyes wide. "How do they talk to each other when they're so far away?"
"They have humans going back and forth to deliver the message." Furious answered. "Imagine if we don't have mind arts. How would you think dragons would be like now?"
"… I don't know." The hatchling muttered. He shuffled his paws, not knowing what to say. "I guess I can't talk to my friends anymore."
"Yes." The father answered, amused by his answer. "Communication is key to any kind of relationship. Be it your friend or family, communication is important. We have means to do on-demand communication. This is the most important aspect of our lives."
"Humans can't talk like that?" Mimir questioned.
"No. They could not." Furious shook his head. "They have other means to communicate. Letters, books and others – they were equivalent to our Chunks, but they are physical. Their communication is not instant like ours."
"Oh." Mimir looked down.
"Their way of communication is much slower than us." The greater alpha dragon lectured. "This is what makes us different than them. We have more information flowing through our mind. Without any way of communication, they are no better than animals. Our philosophy and way of life are far more advanced than humans, simply because we can communicate more."
"But you said humans are smart. They can communicate. Why would they kill Hiccup?" The hatchling questioned his father. "Can they be reasoned with?"
Furious paused for a moment. His expression grew increasingly sad. Mimir was too innocent to understand evil. He was proud that his son was intelligent enough to try understanding that. "Humans… cannot be reasoned with." He softly spoke. "We have done our best, but they saw us as animals. It's… best to leave them alone. Protect our own home. In the end, it was us, or them. That's why Dragon Rebellion is here. We are protecting ourselves."
"Okay, dad." Mimir answered, somewhat disappointed by that conclusion. He looked away to think about something else. The hatchling looked at the memory of Hiccup the Second once more. He noticed something. "Dad?"
Furious was staring up to the sky. He had been thinking about taking Mimir for another flight. "Yes?"
"Hiccup have that… symbol on his chest." Mimir questioned. "It looks important. What is that?"
"It's the crest of Hairy Hooligan Tribe." Furious told the story. He smiled for his son's attentiveness. "Long ago, that's where humans and dragons were once together. Now, it's simply a human Viking tribe. The tribe was founded by Hiccup the First, formerly Marduk the Night Fury. He was a dragon that became human."
Mimir grew excited. It was a history that his father had. "I want to know more!" He exclaimed.
"Hrr…" Furious purred, pleased by the question. "It started with the first-generation Night Fury named Marduk. He had a friend named Wodensfang. His father was the last Primordial Alpha. His father ruled over humans and dragons with his friends, and everything was peaceful. Half the world supported them, and it was the golden age for them all."
The father shuddered his breath. "Then one day." He whispered with sad voice. "Everything changed…"
"Charcoal. Charcoal, wake up!"
"What…" Hiccup bleared his eyes. He looked up to the dragoness on top of her.
"Come on, someone is coming!" Toothless hurried the boy.
Hiccup quickly stood from the ground. He had somehow fallen asleep near the rock. He looked around to observe the surroundings. Calian was sleeping at the corner. After the boy woke up, dragon sorceress moved to stand next to the boy. They could sense someone was walking in from the cove entrance.
After some time, two Vikings entered the cove. Stoick and Gobber had entered the place. The latter looked apologetic, while the former looked sad and disappointed.
Hiccup and Stoick stared at each other. The boy began to speak. "Dad-"
The chief raised his hand, stopping him. He took a deep breath, before speaking. "Gobber told me everything." He whispered, staring at him. "You've been keeping secrets."
Hiccup gave him a deadpanned glare. "You said Gobber told you everything."
"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?" Stoick questioned.
The boy wanted to blow up on his father. "I keep trying to tell you, but you didn't listen!" He exclaimed, before pointing at him accusingly. "Gobber told me you suspected something about me."
"Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it." Stoick monotoned before walking forward. He stopped and sat cross-legged in front of his son. "So, let's talk about you."
Hiccup exhaled his breath. He sat in front of him. Toothless moved to rest behind the boy. "What do you want to know?"
"Let's start with what you did as a dragon."
"What is there to say." Hiccup threw his hands up. "That I raid villages for over five years? That my ancestor's dragons forced me into this? I didn't even know I was the Night Fury for five years until now. I even got my adult name as a dragon!"
Stoick softened his expression. "Adult name?"
The boy looked away. He scratched his head. "Yeah." He admitted. "Toothless gave it to me."
"What is your adult name?"
"… Charcoal."
"Alright." Stoick whispered, before straightening himself.
"Charcoal." He started, getting the boy's attention. "Tell me everything."
Hiccup was somewhat stunned to hear his father referring him with it. "Okay." He started, thinking about where to start the story. "For five years, I've been raiding and destroying villages in Barbaric Archipelago. I got into a lot of dragon fight, especially for the past year."
Toothless snorted. "Understatement." She muttered.
Hiccup ignored her. "There are some notable ones." He told the story. "I destroyed the Lava-Lout Tribe because Furious ordered them to be destroyed. They were getting close to find the Dragon Island through Helheim's Gate."
Gobber widened his eyes. "So, yer telling meh dragons would take us out if we got close?"
"Yes." Hiccup nodded at him, before looking back to Stoick. "I raided Berk once. That was when Toothless asked me to blow up Mildew's house and not to blow up the forge."
Stoick slowly nodded. He stroked his beard. "That was four years ago…"
"I met her as a dragon four years ago." The boy nodded. "She doesn't want to involve herself into the war, but I kinda pulled her into it."
"If I didn't love you that much, I would've not become your mate and consort." Toothless dryly commented. "I feel that I shouldn't complain. This changed my boring dragon life, at least."
"Did you raid the village a week ago?" Stoick questioned.
"Furious somehow influenced me to try to kill Astrid and the others." Hiccup confessed. "Toothless broke that control right before the finishing blow. Had she not noticed, I would've killed them."
"And the Lava-Lout Island?"
"I erupted the volcano." The boy confessed.
"How many villages have you raided?"
"For five years, I have raided over five thousand villages." Hiccup confessed. He felt like confessing before an execution. "Furious' goal is to starve them. Make them desperate and kill each other. When that time comes, dragons would jump in and finish them off."
'It sounds like efficient plan…' Stoick thought, stroking his beard. "How many villages have you and Furious destroyed?"
"Over the past few years, Furious and his dragons have destroyed six hundred villages." The boy informed the chief. "I only participated in fifty of them."
"And dragon fights?"
"… I lost count." Hiccup admitted. "I stopped raiding villages since last year. Furious moved me to fight dragons and make them submit to me."
"You're underselling yourself." Toothless growled, feeling somewhat anxious by the conversation. "Tell him how you make three titan wing Skrills submit at once! Tell him how you took control of five thousand dragons."
Hiccup glanced at Toothless, before looking back at Stoick. His father had his eyes wide, staring at her. The boy was suspicious. "You understand her?"
The chief shuddered his breath. "Your mother insisted me to learn Dragonese." He admitted. "Yes. I understood her."
Hiccup was incredulous. "All this time, you understand dragons?"
"It was a relic of my past." Stoick firmly spoke to him, before standing up. "But that was beside the point."
The chief walked several steps back from him. "Now." He started. "Change."
"Wha- you mean, here?" Hiccup asked as he stood from the ground.
"Yes." Stoick nodded. "Let me see the real you."
Hiccup grimaced. He had been tuning out that feeling to change. Seeing that it was best to follow, he let himself turn into Charcoal. Stoick and Gobber simply watched as the boy began to grow. His skins turned into scales; his human limbs turned into dragon's. His clothes were torn and rip apart. The experience was painless for him. When that was done, what was once Hiccup was now Charcoal.
Stoick and Gobber could only stare with fear. "Almighty Thor's hairy left nipple…" The blacksmith whispered.
Charcoal was a large, adult Night Fury. In all appearance, he looked like many other Night Fury. However, he seemed to be muscular and stronger when compared to other Night Furies. They could see the musculature through his black scales. There were lots of battle scars on his scales, with some large ones on his vitals. His talons were sharp and his forest green eyes shimmered. He was an exemplary example of a strong male Night Fury.
The male dragon stretched his body. His muscles rippled under his scales. He stretched his wings, showing its impressive wingspan. "Hrr…" He purred, before standing still in front of them, staring at the two humans.
"… Hiccup?" Gobber started, nervous.
Charcoal huffed. "Yeah, it's still me."
"Oh, Hiccup…" Stoick whispered. He was saddened by the situation. The man slowly approached him, raising his palm towards him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"
"This is the result of you hiding things from me." Charcoal growled, stopping him on his tracks. "Did you think I was having a fun time raiding those villages? You think I enjoyed this? Toothless hated me for it. My son is isolated. We were about to desert the war and fled, until we learned what really happened to me!"
"We will fix this." Stoick whispered, staring at him. "I promise you."
"Empty promise!" Charcoal snarled, baring his teeth. "How are you going to make up five years of identity crisis?!"
"I promised her to protect you." Stoick whispered, staring at his eyes. "… I failed her. If you want to take my life for it…" He looked away. "… then so be it."
Charcoal simply stared at his father. He softened his expression. Stoick was standing there. His hands outstretched to him, as he looked away from the black dragon. He had completely given himself to him. His father was at his mercy. One swipe of a claw and his father would be dead on the spot.
However, he did not. It would be unjust if he killed his own father. He did care for him, and he knew Stoick was not perfect. Instead, Charcoal moved forward and pressed his snout against his palm. He closed his eyes, showing trust.
Stoick gasped upon feeling scales. He looked back to see Charcoal pressing his snout against his palm. After some time, the black dragon opened his eyes. He pulled back from him, before speaking with soft voice. "It's not too late to fix this."
"You've become a whole dragon." Stoick whispered, staring at him. "I don't know how to fix this."
"Gobber told me about fully awakening my blood." Hiccup responded. "That will cure me from Lycanwing. That will make me whole."
"But that means you'll lose everything human about you. You'll have to leave the village." Stoick breathed out, afraid of the consequence. "Hiccup, you will lose everything!"
"What 'everything' do I have in the village?"
"You'll leave your books, your future as chief of Berk." The chief looked desperate. "Gobber would miss you. I would miss you!"
"You're doing just fine without me." Charcoal retorted. He sat on his hindlegs, staring down at the chief. "You treated me like I'm someone you don't want. You got worse two years ago!"
Stoick looked down, regretting his own action. Regret was a feeling that he was familiar with. "I'm sorry." He whispered. There were tears in his eyes. "I was… afraid of what would happen to you. I was afraid of losing you. When nothing changed after you turned 13, I knew something was wrong."
The chief shuddered his breath. He straightened himself. "I thought you'd be weak." He explained. "I thought if I awaken your blood… the moment you fly into the wild, you will die, killed by other dragons. I thought if I… distance myself from you, it would make it less painful for me when you die."
Charcoal simply stared at him. Stoick continued speaking. "I was wrong." He admitted, looking away. "I'm sorry."
The male dragon simply stared down at his father. It was more complicated than he thought. It was nice to finally know the thought process. He pitied his own father. However, it was difficult for him to put him on his shoes. Mostly because he was the victim of his father's doings.
"Dad?"
They looked to the side. Calian had woken up from his sleep. He was staring up to his father. "What's going on?"
"Calian." Charcoal softly spoke to him. "Why don't you fly with your mother?"
Calian looked at the humans and dragons. Then, he looked at his father. "Okay!" He chirped, before bouncing towards Toothless. Upon reaching her, the two dragons took off flying together, leaving Charcoal alone with the humans.
Charcoal looked back at his father. "I have a son and mate to take care of, and Furious is hunting us." He spoke to him. His voice left no argument. "You either cure me and let us leave, or risk him coming here and kill us all. Your choice."
"I…" Stoick hesitantly nodded. "I understand. We'll get the cure."
"Good." Charcoal nodded, before taking off into the sky, leaving Gobber and Stoick behind.
After they left, the blacksmith moved to stand next to the chief. "Hiccup's leaving?"
"Aye." Stoick whispered. He wiped the tears from his eyes, before turning around. "Come. We need to prepare the cure."
Gobber simply stared as Stoick walked to leave the cove. The blacksmith looked at the sky where Charcoal went off to. There was nothing there. Gobber shrugged his shoulders, before moving to follow the chief.
Few days later, Hiccup was at the forge. The boy was preparing himself to leave Isle of Berk. He had been spending the whole day making contraptions for himself. Those would be something that would help him interact with his claws as Charcoal. As a dragon, he would have difficult time reading books, use contraptions and others. He wanted to fix that problem.
There were several contraptions ready at the corner. One example was a leather glove for his paws. His claws would most likely get into ways of grabbing things. Gloves would help on that case. There were other things, such as pinchers, claw sharpeners, carrier saddle and others. It would be useful for him later, since it would be a long trip for him, Toothless and Calian to Hidden World.
The boy was drawing things on the blueprint at the table. He was busy when he heard Toothless spoke into his mind. "I noticed you have another memory Block growing."
"It's Mimir and his father." Hiccup replied, focused on the blueprint in front of him. "They're talking about Hiccup the Second."
Toothless fell silent. Hiccup grabbed a charcoal pencil and began drawing things onto the blueprint. He would have them done before he took off to Hidden World. Hopefully, it should be done at the end of Dragon Training.
"I pitied Furious; you know."
Hiccup blinked. "Why?"
"Well…" Toothless seemed hesitant to respond. "Remember the chunk security Program you gave me?"
"Did you get a response?"
"Amber came back to me. She told me it's great for client confidentiality." Toothless responded to him. "She wanted to use them for her clients for private communication."
"No. It's meant to be a secret between us." Hiccup responded, pausing his work. "I'm not going to stop her if she wanted to give them to other dragons. But if she does that, alpha dragons will notice and most likely block them. Coded Chunk have distinct signature that distinguish them from regular Chunks."
"… makes sense." Toothless responded.
"That's not all there is, was it?"
"Amber came back to me with information about Furious." Toothless answered. She sounded sad. "He's over 700-year-old. Greater Alpha of the Barbaric Archipelago. He was friends with late Hiccup the Second. He had a mate named Delia and son named Mimir."
"We already know that." Hiccup pointed out.
"Yes, but we don't know the details." Toothless responded. "Delia was killed by humans when Mimir was 3-year-old. She was killed right at Mimir's hatch-day. They were celebrating the hatch-day by hunting wild sheep. Furious was busy elsewhere. They were captured by humans."
Hiccup darkened his expression. He clenched his fists, remembering that memory. It was not his own memory. Those were Mimir's memories. However, his mind had claimed them as his own. That made him think those memories were his.
"What happened after that?"
"… some information is redacted. I don't know why, but Delia was reported to have been beheaded by a human." Toothless explained to him. "They used Mimir to make her docile. Furious and his dragons came in just in time to save him."
Hiccup closed his eyes. "Delia was blinded, tortured and skinned alive by humans right in front of Mimir." He added the information. "After they harvested everything from her, they beheaded her."
"I know it's not your memories, but…" Toothless was hesitant. "… I'm sorry."
"… It's fine." Hiccup responded, relaxing himself. He looked down to the blueprint in front of him. "There's no way to erase those memories. I might as well just claim them as my own. I guess… I really am Mimir. Furious made me Mimir. He… rebirthed me to become his son."
The boy paused for a moment. "But if I'm Mimir…" He pondered. "What happened to the real Mimir? I don't have memories of what happened to him."
"Mimir is… dead." Toothless sent back telepathic message. "He died when serving Merciless. He sacrificed himself saving five hundred dragons from a Dragon Hunter base. His body was sent back to Furious."
"Furious is a dragon that lost everything." Hiccup responded, realising the back story. He sobered when he realised the significance of that fact. "That's why he hated humans so much."
"There are reports of my dad visiting him. It happened once every year, but it completely stopped 30 years ago." Toothless spoke to him. "I have no idea how Amber got this one. Security details for someone like my dad is… not exactly public."
"Is that normal for Amber?" Hiccup asked, concerned.
"Amber has this habit of knowing things she was not supposed to." Toothless dryly responded. "Funny enough, she's a pervert. She would ogle male dragons and sneak around alpha meetings to check them out."
Hiccup pondered for some time. He decided to avoid the topic of Amber. "Is there any notable achievement that Mimir does?"
"He was a Combat Mind Arts Specialist." Toothless responded. She sounded envious. "He's one of the dragons that learned how to fully utilise mind art for real time combat. That is something I don't even know."
"What does 'Combat Mind Arts Specialist' do?"
"In addition of doing daily patrol, they have this… habit of multitasking physical and mental fight." The dragoness explained. "According to the reports, Mimir slowed down Speed Stingers with mind arts while chasing them. He brought down a rogue Light Fury by making them temporarily forget how to fly. He always worked with a team when facing against enemy dragons."
Hiccup blinked. That fits some of the achievements that he thought he had. He remembered chasing down a Speed Stinger, but it seemed that the specifics were lost to him. "How did he do that?"
"I don't know. I've heard about live combat branch of mind arts, but there's no information of it anywhere. Not even in Hidden World Archive." Toothless sounded exasperated. "The most confusing part is how he never fully intruded their mind. He just slipped in and run a Program to break something in their mind. It was fixable, but it would take a while. At least, according to the reports."
"That's… quite an achievement." Hiccup replied, surprised at the fact. "I guess that's one mystery to solve someday."
"Yup!" Toothless responded. "I'd love to learn more if I ever found out about it."
"… when was the first time you met me, Toothless?" Hiccup questioned, pondering. "Can you check the date?"
"Date?" Toothless was confused. "You mean how many days?"
"When did Mimir died?" Hiccup questioned. "How long ago was it when compared with the time you met me?"
"… it was just decades after Hiccup the Second died." Toothless sounded somewhat quiet in that telepathic message. "That was around 600 years ago. But there was a report that Furious preserved the body…"
Hiccup pondered that statement. "… could Furious did something to me that… made me become Mimir?" He asked. "He can't get memories from dead dragon… could he? Some sort of… magic?"
"… I don't know." Toothless confessed. "My knowledge on magic is not that large. I only learned from your mind. I- it did cover some necromancy. There's a note on merging a dead body with a live one, but it would mutate the result. You'd look like a strange Night Fury if he did that, but you're not."
"… but that does made sense. Furious probably know different way to do it." Hiccup hypothesized. "If that's the case, then I'm both Mimir and Hiccup. Furious wanted to replace his dead son with me."
"I guess you're now Furious' son, then." Toothless concluded. There was a pause, before she continued speaking. "Skies above, my father would kill us if he knew."
"That's going to be a problem." Hiccup realised. He had nearly forgotten about Toothless' father. "Furious told me he's the one that sent those Lycanwings after me. He wanted me to 'fulfil my destiny', as Furious described it."
"And you trust that dragon?" Toothless retorted.
"Do you trust your dad when he denied it?" Hiccup retaliated.
"… good point." The dragoness replied. "What should we do? Where are we going then?"
Hiccup looked at the side. The furnace was still on. He grimaced as he stared at the firebox. "I don't know." He confessed. "I really don't know…"
Few days passed. Hiccup was watching the teens at the Dragon Training arena. There were other Vikings there as well, watching the whole thing happening. Stoick, Gobber and Gothi were there as well, overseeing the match. It was somewhat unusual for others to watch. What made it special was the fact that it was time for the choosing.
The teens were fighting a Gronckle. It followed the same pattern that he saw on the first few weeks of Dragon Training. Snotlout would be flirting with Astrid; Tuffnut and Ruffnut would be fighting each other instead; and Fishlegs were too afraid to do much against the dragon. Astrid seemed to be the one that was doing anything useful.
As a result, the outcome was expected. The teens had lost, and Astrid was the last one remained. The dragon and the girl were on a faceoff in the middle of the dragon ring. The petite girl was somewhat exhausted, as she had spent her time dodging around the Gronckle. The dragon was glaring at the girl, waiting for the right moment.
Astrid took a deep breath. She raised her shield and axe, before charging forward. "AAAAH!"
The Gronckle fired a fireball at her. The petite girl brought her shield up, and it smashed into it. Astrid stumbled from impact but kept on running. Upon reaching them, she raised her axe and smashed the head with the broad side.
"Grao!" The Gronckle roared, before collapsing to the ground. It looked exhausted. It was finally defeated. Astrid stomped her foot on top of the dragon. She raised her axe, victorious.
The Vikings cheered at her victory. Gothi stomped her staff. Gobber noticed this. He shouted. "Quiet down! The elder has decided!"
The place went quiet. Gothi smiled at Astrid, before giving her a nod. That was the signal. The blacksmith was happy. "You've done it, Astrid! You get to kill the dragon!"
The Vikings went wild. They went down into the ring to cheer and congratulate the winner of the Dragon Training. Hiccup and Stoick stayed there. While the others were happy, the father and son were not. It meant that Hiccup would be leaving Berk soon.
Stoick looked at his son with soft expression. "Have you prepared everything?" He quietly asked.
Hiccup simply nodded. The boy had built everything he needed. It was only matter of time. "I'm ready."
"… Alright." Stoick softly spoke, staring at him. "It should be ready tomorrow morning. Gobber will deliver it to you."
The boy nodded. He looked back down into the arena. He noticed that Astrid was glaring daggers at him. The others were congratulating the petite girl, but she was not paying attention to them. She was more inclined on glaring at him.
'What's her problem?' Hiccup wondered, utterly confused.
Memory flashback of Mimir…
The 3-year-old Mimir was crying alone in his cave roost at Dragon Island.
Horrible, horrible memories of what happened replayed in his mind. The screams of his mother, pleading not to hurt him. The laugher of humans hurting her. The memories were too powerful to be suppressed. It traumatised him that he did not know what to do. He was completely helpless against them. He did not know what to do.
'Why mom?' The fledgling thought as he sobbed. 'I don't understand…'
A pitch-black wing wrapped around him. The fledgling looked up. His father had come to comfort him. His yellow eyes were dull, absent of any emotion. Furious was grieving over the loss of his mate. Delia was someone that he truly cared about, and Mimir had always been close to her. It saddened them that humans had to capture them and killed her.
"Hey…" Furious whispered. Despite being in grief, he was trying to be there for his son. "How do you feel?"
Mimir sobbed. "… Tired." He mumbled.
"Hrr…" Furious exhaled his breath. The adult dragon rested himself next to him. He moved to carefully nudge the hatchling. "Come on. I'll help you sleep."
Mimir snuggled close to his father. He was still crying, but much less so than before. The fledgling felt comfortable that his father was there to comfort him. However, it did not help the thoughts running in his mind. "Dad?"
Furious glanced down at his son with soft, dilated eyes. "Yes, Mimir?"
"Why do humans hurt us?" Mimir asked. His tearful green eyes met the dull yellow ones. "I don't understand."
Furious shuddered his breath. "Humans… are bad in general." He softly spoke to him. "They don't see us as someone that can be reasoned. They see us as animals ripe for the picking."
Mimir was silent. Furious continued speaking. "We're… Night Furies." He whispered. "We're the best in the skies. That's why humans want us. That's why they… hunt us."
"… why does the sky not help us?" The fledgling sniffed. His voice was breaking. "They say the moon and stars helped us. Don't they care about us?"
The father silently grieved over the loss of Mimir's innocence. He still truly believed things that most dragons believed in religiously. "They… guide us." He whispered, trying to explain to him. "They gave us flight. But they couldn't always help us. We are free to do anything we want. It's up to us to do what we have to do with what we are gifted with."
Mimir fell silent. Furious continued speaking. "It's up to us to defend ourselves." He whispered. "It's up to us to protect others in need."
"Is that why we're in Dragon Rebellion?" Mimir asked with soft voice. "Protecting others?"
"Hrr…" Furious exhaled his breath. "… Yes." He responded. "Dragons… look after each other. We protect ourselves against those that wished us harm."
"Can I join the Dragon Rebellion?"
Furious hitched his breath. "No." He responded. His voice was a bit firm. "You're still young."
"I- I have my fire. I can fight." Mimir protested. "I don't want my friend to lose their mom too."
"Mimir…"
"Please?" The fledgling pleaded. He stared at his father with his wide, tearful green eyes.
Furious closed his eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I don't want to lose you. You are the only thing I have left. Your mother wouldn't want you to join."
Mimir rested his head. He looked away from his father. Furious grimaced. "Sleep now. We'll go hunting for fish tomorrow."
"Okay, dad."
Flashback of Furious…
The next day, Furious woke up. It was night-time outside. That was expected, since they were both nocturnal. The adult Night Fury stood from the ground. He blinked his eyes and smacked his lips. "Hrr…" He purred, before looking down at Mimir. "Wake up, Mimir. It's night-time. It's time for a flight."
There was no response. Furious moved to nudge the hatchling. "Hey, Mimir…"
When he nudged him, he felt like nudging a rock. He sniffed the object and came to realisation that it really was a rock. Alarmed, Furious looked around the place. "Mimir? Son, where are you?"
Furious checked his bond with his son. It was severed from the other end. Mimir had severed his bond with him. That made him panic. He ran out of the roost, which led him to the living section of their cave home. "Mimir? Where are you?!"
A Skrill entered the cave clearing. It was Luna, his second-in-command. "Furious! I just got a report-"
The Night Fury was suddenly onto her. "Luna!" He shouted, making her wince. "Where's Mimir?"
"Mimir?" Luna questioned. "I saw him flying out alone-"
"And you didn't find it strange?" Furious snapped at her. "Where is he?"
"I don't know." The Skrill admitted, somewhat concerned of Furious' hatchling. "Do you want me to send a search party?"
"Yes." Furious quickly nodded. "Get everyone in! Search the whole island!"
"Yes, Alpha!" Luna nodded, before flying out from the place. She would be rounding up the dragons to look for Mimir.
Furious saw her depart. After she left, the dragon calmed himself. He checked his mind for any new Chunks. He hoped his son left something for him before breaking the bond. True to his deduction, there was one. He quickly opened the Chunk. It was a Mail Chunk for him from Mimir.
Dad,
I got accepted to serve with Merciless in Greater Archipelago. I'm going for Dragon Rebellion there. I'm sorry, but I can't let dragons die like my mom. Merciless said he'd make me strong, so I can save other dragons from humans. I'll come back home when Dragon Rebellion ends.
Signed,
Mimir
Furious choked his breath. 'No.' He thought, horrified. The message was short, but that revealed what happened to him. There was no end date. Mimir had sealed his own fate. 'No…'
Luna came back to him. She landed in front of him. "I got the dragons-"
Furious quickly looked at her. "Mimir is with Merciless." He whispered, stopping her. "He's serving Dragon Rebellion with him."
The Skrill stared at him with wide eyed expression. "What?!" She exclaimed, shocked. "We have no communication with Merciless! We have no connection for Mail Chunk!"
"Get the messenger dragon." Furious demanded. His voice was pleading. "Please tell me we have some left here."
"T- They're all gone to deliver our messages yesterday." Luna was hesitant to inform him. "We don't have anyone to-"
Furious did not bother to hear the rest. He ran to the volcano and took off into the air. He went out through the top, heading out into the night sky outside. The Night Fury would be delivering the message himself. The Skrill saw him flying away. She ran to the corner of the volcano to follow him. "Alpha! Furious, wait!"
The father did not want to wait. His son was in Dragon Rebellion. His 3-year-old fledgling was participating in the war. He was too young. He had lost his mate. He would not lose his son!
"Wake up!"
"Ow!" Hiccup yelped as he was abruptly awakened. Looking around the place, he noticed that his things were still around. The boy was wearing his flight vest. He had planned to go for a flight with Toothless as a human. He had been waiting for her, until he fell asleep. Toothless and Calian were not there yet.
The boy stood from the ground. He looked at the offender. "Astrid?! What are you doing here?"
"I want to know what's going on." Astrid spoke accusingly. "No one just gets kicked out of Dragon Training. Especially you! Start talking!"
"Er- uh- wuh?" Hiccup was extremely nervous. Astrid was not meant to be here!
"Are you training with someone?" The petite girl accused.
"Wa- training?"
"It better not involve this!" Astrid grabbed his flight vest and pulled them. She let go of him and gestured to the complicated-looking saddle. "And this!"
"I know this looks really bad, but you see… this is, uh…" Hiccup was scrambling for an excuse. He was somewhat relieved that Toothless and Calian were not there. "You're right! You're right. You're right. I'm through with the lies. Gobber kicked me out because I've been making…"
He looked at himself, at the saddle, before getting some idea on how to deal with it. "Outfits!" He exclaimed. "Yeah, outfits. So, you got me. It's time everyone knew. Drag me back. Go ahead. Here we go."
Suddenly, Astrid grabbed his arm and bend them backward. Hiccup stumbled down, not expecting that from her. He crashed onto the ground. "Ow!" The boy shouted. "Why would you DO that?!"
"That's for the lies." Astrid snarled, before hitting his stomach with her axe handle. "And that's for everything else!"
"Oh man…" Hiccup moaned. He glared at the girl. "You're the one that kept stealing things from me!"
"You're the one that doesn't want to share with anyone!" The petite girl shouted. "You're the heir of Berk. You should be more of this instead of being useless!"
"Get away from him!"
Astrid snapped to look at the rocks. Toothless was standing there, growling at them. She was wearing a saddle. The petite girl shouted. "Get down! AAAH!" She raised her axe and charged at the black dragon.
"NO!" Hiccup shouted as he moved to throw her axe away. The boy grabbed it from her and threw them elsewhere. "No. It's okay! She's a friend."
"A FRIEND?!" Toothless asked, outraged by that statement. "Charcoal, she's going to attack me!"
Hiccup moved to stand between them. "It's okay." He soothed her, before looking back to Astrid. "You just scared her."
"I scared her?!" Astrid screeched, shocked by that statement. She paused, before gesturing to the dragon. "Who is 'her'?"
Hiccup exhaled his breath. "Astrid, Toothless." He introduced them. "Toothless, Astrid."
Astrid stared at him with disgust. She turned around and took off running, heading out from the cove. Hiccup simply stared at her leaving the place. The boy threw his hands up. "Da-da-da! We're dead!"
Toothless grunted, before jumping down from the rock. Calian suddenly appeared behind her. The hatchling moved to enter the small cavern at the cove. Hiccup noticed this and moved to stop Toothless.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" He stopped her. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Sleep." Toothless grunted.
Hiccup mounted onto her back. "The last thing we need is dad blowing up on us for this." He spoke as he adjusted himself. "Let's go get her."
"Krr…" Toothless growled, before taking off into the sky.
Astrid was running down through the forest. The village was far from the cove. She was unarmed and there was a dragon. She could not believe that Hiccup had a dragon. Was that why Gobber disqualified him?
Suddenly, something swooped in and lifted her off the ground. "AAAAH!" The petite girl screamed as she went off into the sky. "Oh, great Odin's ghost! Oh, this is it!"
She was dropped right on top of a tall pine tree. The girl looked up to see Toothless the Night Fury. Hiccup was sitting on her back. "Hiccup, get me down from here!"
"You have to give me a chance to explain." Hiccup pleaded as he reached his hand towards her.
"I am not listening to ANYTHING you have to say!" Astrid screamed.
"Then I won't speak." Hiccup calmly responded. "Just let me show you. Please, Astrid."
The girl stared at him for some time. She wondered if there was more into this situation. Astrid slowly grabbed his hand. Hiccup pulled her onto Toothless' back. "Now, get me down."
"Toothless, down. Gently." Hiccup spoke to her. Toothless rolled her eyes as she slowly spread her wings. The boy looked back. "See? Nothing to be afraid of."
"Oh, I'm not going down." Toothless nonchalantly spoke. "The only way is UP!"
The dragoness took off high into the sky. Astrid nearly slipped off her back. The petite girl instantly held onto the boy in front of her. "AAAAAAAH!"
"WHOA!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless went higher. "TOOTHLESS! What is wrong with you?!"
The dragoness began flying erratically. "Getting her off me!" She snarled as she flew onto a loop.
"No! Bad dragon!" Hiccup scolded her, which made her snort. "She's not usually like this."
"I'm trying to help and I'm the bad dragon?" Toothless questioned him, before flying higher into the sky. "Maybe this will change your mind!"
"AAAAAAAH!" Astrid screamed, holding onto the boy in front of her.
"Toothless, what are you doing?!" Hiccup hissed as he leaned down to the black dragon. "We need her to like us."
"We don't need her to like us!" The dragoness retorted, before tilting her tailfins, spinning them in place.
"And now we're spinning." Hiccup spoke with sarcastic voice. "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."
"OKAY! I'M SORRY!" Astrid begged behind him. "I'M SORRY! Just get me off this thing!"
Toothless suddenly went calm. She slowed down and slowly glide above the clouds. Hiccup noticed what Astrid had said that made her stop. "Really? That's all you wanted to hear?"
"That won't make up 15 years of tormenting you." Toothless responded, slowly flying around the place. "But it's a start."
They flew around for some time. Toothless went around the clouds and enjoyed the moment. Astrid slowly reached for them. "Wow…" She breathed out, amazed by the experience. The girl pulled her arms back. "Alright, I admit it. This is pretty cool."
Hiccup and Toothless stayed silent. Astrid continued speaking. "It's… amazing." She whispered, staring up into the sky. "She's amazing."
Suddenly, she came to realization. "Oh, gods. Hiccup." She moaned in frustration. "What have you done to me?"
Hiccup was confused. "I didn't do anything."
"Hiccup, my final exam is tomorrow." Astrid pleaded. "You know I'm going to have to kill a dragon."
"You're the one that followed me into the cove." The boy muttered.
"Is this why Gobber kicked you out from Dragon Training?" The girl questioned. "He knew about this?"
"That's part of the reason." Hiccup admitted. "We're actually planning on leaving Berk after your final exam."
"What? No!" Astrid exclaimed, outraged by that implication. "Hiccup, you can't."
"Why not?" The boy questioned. "Nobody wants me there. Not even my dad. Not even you. All I get is just endless torment with you stealing my things, taking credits whenever I did something right, and just… insist on hurting me!"
Astrid fell silent. Hiccup continued speaking. "Don't think I forget what you did two years ago." He accused the girl. "You and the others stole my gifts that was meant for the chief and heir."
"I didn't do that."
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't!" The girl exclaimed.
"Astrid, I was there. You were there." Hiccup spoke with deadpan expression. Did she think he was stupid?
"Well, you never shared anything with us." Astrid reasoned. She crossed her arms. "You should've, I don't know, make more so we can have some of them."
"Gaslighting." Toothless suddenly spoke inside his mind. "Non-obtrusive mind art tactics to confuse the defender. You don't need to be a dragon to know that."
Hiccup ignored her but heeded her warning. He focused on the girl sitting behind her. "All I want is just for you, Snotlout and others to leave me alone." He spoke to her. "Now, for several other reasons, I have to leave."
"What are the other reasons?" Astrid challenged. "You could've stayed and tell us about all you know. Like how you tamed your dragon."
Toothless snorted. "Does she think you tamed me?" She sounded incredulous.
"You're pretty docile and submissive when I repeatedly 'tame' you."
"Touché." The dragoness grumbled.
Hiccup took a deep breath. He began explaining things to her. "What I am about to tell you should never be told to anyone else." He informed her.
Astrid leaned closer. She wanted to hear more of this. The boy continued speaking. "The other reason why Gobber kicked me out is because I am a Lycanwing. Night Fury Lycanwing, specifically."
"Charcoal, you idiot!" Toothless mentally snarled. "Why did you tell her that?!"
"Toothless, trust me." Hiccup responded back to her.
"… Lycanwing." The girl breathed out, amazed. "Gobber told us about them before. All this time… you're a dragon?"
"For one reason or another, I can't cure myself from this disease." Hiccup confessed to her. "And the only cure we have would make me a permanent dragon. That's why I'm leaving Berk. That's why Gobber kicked me out of dragon training."
"Are you being mind controlled?" Toothless asked. Hiccup could feel her presence in his mind. "I don't see any intrusion."
"I'm not. There are no alerts popping up." Hiccup responded, allowing her to roam in his mind.
"At least tell me how you tamed the dragon." Astrid shrugged her shoulder. "You know, before you leave."
Hiccup glanced back at her. He could see greed in her eyes. She wanted to take the credit of taming a dragon. 'Let's see if she would actually follow the instruction.'
"Everything we know about dragons are wrong." The boy explained to him. "You can be friends with them. One way to do this is by trusting them with your life."
"… how would someone do that?"
"Hold your palm forward and wait for the dragon to touch you." Hiccup gave her the instruction. "Don't force them. Don't carry any weapon, not even hidden. Show them that you really trust them, and they will trust you back. The most important part is not to force them. Be patient."
"… that sounds easy enough." Astrid shrugged.
"Charcoal, why did you tell her that?" Toothless asked, curious and annoyed at him.
"I wanted to see if she would actually do it." Hiccup admitted to her. "You're not… mad for that, aren't you?"
Toothless did not respond. She suddenly swerved to another direction. The boy let out a sigh. "Toothless, what is it?"
Suddenly, they appeared right in the middle of a dragon flock. Hiccup noticed that they were carrying food. The boy recognised them. Those were Furious' dragons. "Uh… Toothless?" Hiccup nervously spoke into her mind. "I know you're mad, but don't you think this is a bit too far?"
There was no response. Hiccup realised that they were heading through the Helheim's Gate. Toothless began dodging rock obstacles as she manoeuvred around the fog. The boy hissed to the passenger behind him. "Get down."
Astrid was nervous. "What's going on?"
They went through Helheim's Gate and into the Dragon Island. Toothless entered through the volcano and landed at the rock balcony. There was no dragon around them. Hiccup and Astrid watched as the dragons from before swooped in and dumped the food into the lava volcano below. The boy knew what that meant. "They're hauling their kill."
"Uh…" Astrid nervously asked. "What does that make us?"
The boy stayed silent. The petite girl continued watching. "… they're not eating any of it." She realised.
"Toothless?" Hiccup called out as he entered her mind. "Toothless, we need to get out of here."
The boy looked down. Her pupils were fully slitted. It meant that she was under mind control. Hiccup quickly moved into her mind and found them breached. He found Furious' presence there. "Furious!"
Furious did not notice. Hiccup began the process to kick him out. It needed to be done at once, and it would take some time for him to charge his own mind. He had Programs to automate that purge. While that was happening, Toothless jumped down into the volcano. She glid down at the balcony and landed in front of Furious' lair. It was a massive, pitch-black cave entrance. Hiccup felt dread as he knew that Furious would be there to meet them.
As expected, a giant yellow eye appeared. Furious looked angry. He glared at them, before uttering words that shook the whole island. "TRAITOR!"
Hiccup was shocked that Furious could speak Norse. Before anything else happened, Hiccup was notified by his Programs that everything was ready. He quickly kicked Furious out from her mind with them. That allowed Toothless to regain her senses. The dragoness shook her head. "Wha-"
"MOVE!" Hiccup shouted as he took control of her. He held onto her mind and made her flew out from the nest as fast as possible. While flying out from the place, dragons around the balcony shot fires towards them. Toothless gracefully dodged the flames, before reaching the open sky above.
Toothless rushed out from Dragon Island. Their life depended on it. Thankfully, Furious' dragons did not fly to follow them. They reached Helheim's Gate, before finally heading out from the dog, flying back to the Isle of Berk.
"No, it totally makes sense!"
Toothless landed at the cove. She was exhausted for flying consistently at her peak. Hiccup let go of her mind after knowing it was safe. Astrid jumped off from the dragoness. She continued speaking. "It's like a giant beehive. They're workers, and that's their queen. It controls them."
"Yeah…" Hiccup spoke, mentally exhausted.
Astrid motioned to leave the cove. "Let's find your dad."
That alarmed him. "Wait, Astrid!" Hiccup called out, stopping her. "No, no! Not yet."
That made Astrid angry. "Why?!" She demanded. "Hiccup, we just discovered the Dragons' nest. The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here!"
"Technically, our tribe is far older than that." Hiccup commented as he moved down from Toothless' back. "Astrid, this is much more complicated than you think!"
"And you want to keep it a secret?! Are you serious?!" Astrid exclaimed, angry at the boy. Suddenly, she paused, as if realising something. "You just want all the glory for yourself, didn't you?"
That confused Hiccup. "What?"
"Oh, I see how it is." Astrid crossed her arm. "You just want to deal with it yourself! You want to kill the dragon yourself, so you get all the- the glory and prestige when you killed that dragon. You just want everyone to praise you."
"Astrid, that's not what I'm saying!"
"Then tell the others about this!" The petite girl shouted. She scratched her head. "Gods. Hiccup, this is your chance! This is our chance! You'll get famous if you kill it! We'll stand behind you and help you! You don't have to run away if you kill it!"
"Astrid, you don't understand." Hiccup explained as he gestured to everything around him. "All this- this is not about pride, or glory, or prestige. This is far more complicated than you think! There's a lot of other important things involving the village and the dragon nest!"
"What's more important than the glory of killing that queen dragon?" Astrid crossed her arms.
Hiccup simply stared at her. He was bewildered. "Glory?" He asked. "You think all this is for glory?"
"Of course! That's what Vikings are all about." Astrid patiently explained. "You wouldn't be Hiccup the Useless. It would change your life! You'll have everyone on your back. Isn't that what you want?"
Hiccup was incredulous. He was too shocked to hear that statement from Astrid. The petite girl continued speaking, looking around the place. "You teach us how to tame dragons, and then we use them to kill that monster in the nest." She suggested. "What do you think?"
"… is that why you steal from me?" Hiccup asked, finally realising the significance of that statement. "Pride? Glory? Prestige?"
"Aren't you?" Astrid challenged.
Hiccup wanted to snap at her. "I spent all my life being thrown around like a yak and you're telling me it's all about glory?!" He snarled at her. "Astrid, you're crazy!"
"You're the one making those crazy contraptions." The petite girl accused him. "You're the crazy one!"
"I did it because I just wanted to be noticed." Hiccup angrily confessed to her. "I did it because I have someone to impress."
"So? Impress the village. That would solve the problem."
Hiccup did not know what to say. He could not understand the petite girl in front of him. "This is… far bigger than me." He slowly explained to her. "It's bigger than the village. It's bigger than the archipelago. The conflict between humans and dragons went far back to 1500 years ago!"
"Even better!" Astrid was excited. She looked giddy. "We'll have the whole archipelago knowing our name! We'll be heroes!"
"Can you stop thinking about glory for one second?" Hiccup was exasperated. "This is far more complicated than that. All those yak dung about glory, prestige, pride – those things didn't matter if you're dead!"
"But you'll leave a mark for everyone to see." Astrid pointed out.
Hiccup scowled at her. "Freya's massive tits!" He cursed, before glaring at the petite girl. "I'm not a martyr, Astrid. I'm not going to sacrifice myself to kill a giant dragon! It's not going to change anything!"
Astrid snapped. "You coward! I thought we're going through with this!" She exclaimed, glaring back at him. "If you're not going to do it, then I will!"
The petite girl turned around. She moved to walk out from the cove. Hiccup called out. "Where are you going?"
"Telling everyone about this!" Astrid shouted.
Hiccup hitched his breath. "Wait, no you can't!"
However, just as Astrid reached the exit, someone came into the cove. Stoick and Gobber had entered the place. They were surprised to see Astrid there. They did not expect anyone else other than Hiccup or Toothless inside the cove.
"What the-" Stoick fumbled his words. "How did you get here?"
"Chief!" Astrid looked happy. "Chief, listen to me! We found the dragons' nest. And-"
The chief raised his hand. "I know." He spoke, stopping her.
"Wait." Astrid was surprised. "You knew?"
"Go back to the village." The chief ordered her. "Tell no one of this. I will handle this."
The petite girl looked around. Her expression was unreadable. After some time, she huffed and stormed out from the cove, leaving them alone inside. Stoick and Gobber slowly approached them. They were still surprised to see the petite girl there.
After they reached their place, Stoick demanded. "Why was she here?"
"I don't know." Hiccup threw his hands up. "I was sleeping, and the next thing I know, she's here!"
Stoick scratched his head. "I will handle her." He spoke as he pulled out a wooden canister from his back. "The cure is ready. When will you be leaving?"
"We'll leave tomorrow." The boy responded, staring at the tube. "What am I supposed to do with that?"
"Err…" Gobber raised his hand. "Ya just need to swallow it as a dragon."
Hiccup looked back at Toothless. She was resting there. The dragoness was still recovering from the mental attack. Calian was most likely resting at the storage cave area. The boy looked back to the Vikings in front of him. "Okay."
The boy closed his eyes as he allowed himself to transform. Stoick and Gobber watched as Hiccup began to grow and change into a Night Fury. His clothes were torn apart. Like before, when the process was done, Hiccup was turned into Charcoal the Night Fury. The male dragon stretched his body, before moving to sat on his hindlegs.
Stoick threw the wooden canister. Charcoal caught it with his maw and swallowed it whole. After it reached his stomach, the black dragon felt something inside him disappear. He felt utter relief for resolving the mental conflict that he had completely forgotten many years ago. He had let go of his humanity. He no longer had any human in him. He was a full, whole dragon. He would no longer turn back into human.
Charcoal breathed the air. He felt completely relaxed for the first time. "Hrr…" He purred. "It's over."
"I have to initiate the final exam tomorrow morning." Stoick informed him, staring up to the black dragon. "Can you wait until evening?"
"We'll leave tomorrow night." Charcoal informed him. "I have to prepare something first."
Suddenly, Calian appeared and sat on top of Charcoal's head. Stoick softened his expression upon seeing the hatchling. The man steeled himself. "We will be here by then." He spoke, before turning around, walking out from the cove. Gobber moved to follow.
After the two Vikings left, Charcoal went to check Toothless. "Hey…" He whispered, nudging her. "How do you feel?"
"Headache." Toothless mumbled, staring up at him. "Thanks for the help. I don't know why my alerts weren't popping up until he's inside…"
"We need to strengthen our mind." Charcoal replied as he rested next to her. The male dragon wrapped his wings around her. "Come on. I'll put my alerts in your mind. You should put some in mine too. I could latch them through our bond."
"Good idea." Toothless cursed herself. "I wish we thought of that before this."
"Better now than dead later." Charcoal muttered. He adjusted his head to make sure Calian did not fall from it. "Better now than dead later…"
Flashback of Furious…
The Dragon Island was quiet that night. Everyone stayed at their nest outside the island.
It was quiet and peaceful. The ocean was calm, and the wind flowed to a direction. There were not that many clouds, as it was not the time for rain. Had the time was day, it would be perfect time for dragons to enjoy the sky. Only nocturnal dragons would enjoy the moment, as they could see the moon and stars shining above.
There was only one nocturnal dragon inside Dragon Island.
Furious was not feeling for a night flight he often enjoyed.
The black dragon was crying. He laid down on the top of the volcano, at the only garden that existed in the Dragon Island. The place was dull and grey, and nothing seemed to shine. Furious the Night Fury was crying in front of a plain, wooden casket. The casket was crude, as it was made from a whole, large pitch-black tree trunk. The simplicity or appearance of such thing did not matter to him, as it was the creature inside that made him grieve.
It was the dead body of his son. Mimir had grown into a handsome and powerful Night Fury. Over the course of 7 years, he served as a soldier for Merciless' Dragon Rebellion. As he grew older, he became one of the elite dragons – the best of the best. He was the bravest, smartest and most courageous dragons in Dragon Rebellion.
At least, that was what the Mail Chunk he received from Merciless said. For seven years, he had been trying to get Mimir back. He begged and pleaded for him to come back to him, promising that he would allow him to join Dragon Rebellion in Barbaric Archipelago. However, Mimir was stubborn. He had become loyal to Merciless.
Furious knew how Merciless worked. He favoured loyalty above all, and his son had given Merciless his pledge of loyalty. Mimir had sealed his own fate. He could not reach to his son anymore, as he had completely moved on from him. He could only watch as his son become the dragon everyone feared throughout the archipelago.
Furious would be lying if he said he was not proud of him. No. He was proud of his son. He did not like how Merciless went far on training and overworking him. Night Furies were powerful, and Merciless knew how valuable they were for the Dragon Rebellion. He kept his promise and made Mimir powerful, but in return, Mimir would go through everything he gave him.
Mimir experienced far more things that no normal dragon should experience in their lifetime. The father had kept track of his progress. Mimir saved countless of dragons. He grieved, argued, screamed and roared tears and blood on each mission given to him. He went far and beyond to succeed. He nearly sacrificed his own flight to free a dragon. His son had become self-sacrificial – an unhealthy habit for a soldier.
It was the greatest fear that any father had. The loss of his son. The loss of his best friend. The loss of his family. The loss of everything. It was the fear that pushed him to start Dragon Rebellion in Barbaric Archipelago. It pushed him to become stronger. He did not want to lose Hiccup, Delia or Mimir. However, despite his best attempts, they were all in vain.
Instead of adventure of spreading peace and prosperity amongst humans and dragons, they were hunted and forced to fight a war. Hiccup the Second had his life ended by his own father. They were betrayed by the ones they were protecting. It was the first tragedy he endured. For the first time in his life, Furious grieved.
But then, Furious met Delia. She brought him joy in his life. They went through courtship for years. When they finally became mates, Mimir was born. However, instead of exciting adventure of exploring more of their relationship, Delia had to leave the world because of tragedy.
Furious truly loved Delia, and he would not trade her with anyone else. Humans had taken her away from him. Furious grieved for the second time.
That left him alone with Mimir – the hatchling that he cared the most. There were times where he thought that he was not a great father – that he would fail his hatchling. It was a type of fear he never experienced before. He did not want to lose his son because of his own actions.
But alas, that fear came true. Instead of adventure raising a hatchling, Mimir had gone up and left to Greater Archipelago. Furious could only watch him grow from afar. Instead of growing up as a dragon, Mimir grow up as a soldier. He was helpless to do anything, as his son was unwilling to go back.
He simply watched for seven years.
He regretted for not doing more.
'I should've invaded them.' Furious thought, staring at the dead body of his son. 'I should've done more to bring him back…'
The black dragon looked up into the sky. the moon was shining down from above. It illuminated the garden, lighting up the place. Looking down into the casket, he saw the black scales of his son reflecting under the moon. Every scar and wounds on the body told tales of his son – the son he could never comfort; the son he could never talked or played with.
A lone dragon landed behind him. It was Luna the Skrill. The dragoness bowed to him. "Alpha."
Furious shuddered his breath. He looked back with his tearful, dull yellow eyes. "What is it?"
"Merciless wanted to know if you need anything." Luna spoke in monotone. Her voice was emotionless.
Furious looked back to the casket of his son. "Seven years ago. I asked for my son back." He whispered. "He returned him in a black tulip."
The Skrill was holding back her own emotion. She shuddered her breath. "Merciless asked if you still need his support for your independence." She informed the black dragon. "He offered some valuables to-"
"I DON'T WANT IT!" Furious suddenly roared. He turned around and glared at his second-in-command. "I just want my son! I don't want any of his pretty trinkets trying to please me for killing my son!"
Luna stayed silent. Furious calmed himself down. "I lost… everything." He whispered, before roaring. "EVERYTHING!"
He rushed to her. "You think I did this for favours?!" Furious roared at her. "You think I started Dragon Rebellion for fun? I just want to protect them."
Luna simply listened. Furious shuddered his breath. "… that's all." He whispered. "I just wanted to live my life. I just wanted to live with my family. I want dragons outside to know that we have hope living in this world. I want them to know that we exist. That we mattered."
Furious closed his eyes. Tears dropped from his nose. The black dragon sniffed. "… just leave." He whispered. "I want to be left alone."
Luna did not need to be told twice. She flew away from the place, disappeared up high into the dark sky. Furious walked back to the casket. Staring at his son, he was reminded of the humans. They had taken his best friend, his mate, and now, his son. He cursed at the unfairness of them all.
Humans killed his friends and family, while they themselves prided over killing them. They treated them like mindless animals for slaughter, thinking that they were superior in the world. They came back home to their pride and joy, ignorant of what they had done to dragons. They relished to the things they did to their kind.
The black dragon reared back and let out an ear-splitting roar into the sky. "KRAAAAAAAAAA!"
He roared for the unfairness of them all. He roared for the loss of his family. The loss of his friend. He roared for the tragedy. He roared to his heart's content, as he begged and pleaded for the nightmare to end. It was the worst feeling of them all.
Furious was left gasping his breath. Something had snapped inside him. This time, he was filled with anger. The wrath was curling, trashing and tearing something in him apart. Some of his appendages began to glow blue. He did not notice any of this. The black dragon reared once more, before letting out a louder, ear-piercing roar.
"KRAAAAAAAAAA!"
It was a roar of anger, and it was heard throughout Barbaric Archipelago. His appendages shimmered blue, as he suddenly felt stronger. His furnace burned hotter than ever. His scales began to heat up. Dragons around the world felt the power coming from him. Furious could sense every living creature around him. It was the ultimate feeling of power and control.
Furious gasped his breath once more. It was then he noticed something. Parts of his body parts were glowing blue. 'Did I just…' He thought as he tried to find out what happened. It was from the archive of Haddock family that he realised something. He had heard of it before.
Alpha dominance: the most powerful ability a dragon could ever have. No dragon would ever defy his will. It would be his will and his will alone inside their mind.
Furious had gained alpha dominance. The power dragons could only ever dream of. Not even Wodensfang, the Arch Alpha dragon, had them.
The black dragon looked down to the dead body of his son. There were tints of blue light on his scales. It came from the shimmer of Furious' alpha dominance. Furious' eyes were slitted. He stared at the peaceful expression of his dead son.
"I promise you…" The alpha dragon whispered. His yellow eyes were full of anger. "I will end this. I will end them all."
At the Dragon Island, there was a massive black rock the size of a house inside. It looked like it was absorbing the lights around them. this rock was placed right in front of Furious' lair. The giant dragon knew what the object was. It would be his final deed for Charcoal.
Furious had evacuated the dragons away from Dragon Island. He was alone inside the place. A giant yellow eye stared at the mysterious rock with anger and determination.
'I promise you… I will wipe them from this world. You will become their executor.' Furious thought as he stared at it. 'I have foreseen the future. You will become the most powerful of them all.'
'It will be done. So shall it be.' Furious closed his eye and pulled back into his lair. The eye disappeared into the darkness. 'I'm proud of you, Charcoal.'
'Even if I won't be there to see it.'
The next day, everyone at Berk prepared themselves for the final exam. At the Dragon Arena, there were a lot of Vikings standing on the balcony, just outside the cage. Stoick was sitting at the chair, giving speech to everyone. He was holding a hammer.
"Today, we will celebrate the coming age of our Viking!" Stoick boomed his voice. The Vikings listened. "Today, Astrid Hofferson becomes ONE OF US!"
The petite girl was standing right at the entrance of the arena. She tuned out what the chief had to say. Instead, she thought about what Hiccup had told her. Astrid was angry at him for not allowing her to tell the others. She was irritated at the fact that their chief knew but did nothing about it. She wanted to take things into her own hands.
'If I could show them…' Astrid thought, before realising something. 'Wait, I can show them!'
Gobber appeared from the cage. "It's time, Astrid." He encouraged her. "Knock him dead!"
The others appeared behind her. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut came to support the petite girl.
"Show 'em how it's done, my girl!" Tuffnut shouted.
The Hofferson nodded. She smirked, confident that she could do it. After all, Hiccup had done it before. She was sure she could do it. The credit would be given to herself. It would completely change their lives forever.
Astrid entered the arena. She casually grabbed her axe, before looking up at the crowd. "I'm ready!"
The dragon pen flew open. The Monstrous Nightmare carefully entered the arena. It was a male. He sniffed the air, before looking down to the shieldmaiden in front of him. "… What are you doing?"
It was a good question. Astrid had her hand outstretched. Her axe on her side. She was confident in her pose. It was confusing the dragon.
"It's okay…" Astrid soothed, remembering what Hiccup had told her. The shieldmaiden moved closer, not looking away from the dragon. "I just want to be your friend."
The dragon was nervous. "What are you, befriending me holding an axe like that?" He spoke, incredulous. His eyes flicked between the axe and Astrid, before growling to make her back off.
It was then Astrid remembered one of the steps. She had forgotten to disarm herself. The petite girl was nervous. She was not quite sure if it was a good idea. 'For glory!' She thought, before throwing her axe away.
The axe clattered onto the side. Astrid moved closer. "It's okay…"
It was then Stoick realised what she was doing. "Stop the fight."
"No! I need you all to see this." Astrid called out, staring at the dragon. "We can tame these dragons. They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."
"Wh- tame me?" The Monstrous Nightmare whispered, somewhat incredulous. "You think I'm an animal?"
"I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!" Stoick roared and smashed his hammer onto the railing.
"That's it! Back off!" the Monstrous Nightmare snapped, almost biting Astrid's hands off.
The shieldmaiden quickly backed off. She went to reach her axe. Before she reached it, the Monstrous Nightmare breathed liquid fire and destroyed the axe. The petite girl rushed to run out from the arena. She was panicking. Her mind screamed to run away from the place.
"ASTRID!" The girl heard her friends shouting at her. They were standing at the entrance, frozen in fear. She took off running towards the entrance, hoping for anyone to do something.
"Tryinna trick me again?" The Monstrous Nightmare roared in challenge. "I'll end your life right here!"
The shieldmaiden saw the red dragon breathed his fire. It was heading towards her. It was something she never experienced before. All the training she ever did was forgotten. There was only one thing in her mind.
Astrid screamed.
At the cove, Charcoal, Toothless and Calian were resting. The adult male dragon was playing with a metal cube puzzle that he was given four years ago. He was wearing the saddle that had pockets in them. Charcoal was experimenting with the contraption he made to help him hold stuff. He wore them on both of his paws.
The contraption was a pair of leather gloves. It protected the object he was holding from his claws. It was durable enough for him to hold things. The tip was intentionally made sharp, so he could grab smaller things.
The cube sprung open, revealing a certain light blue coin inside. It was shimmering. Charcoal stared at the Coin of Mithril. He picked it up with his new gloves. The coin was supposedly priceless and invaluable. The man had told him that before, and the books did reinforce that idea.
Mithril could not be mined – it could only be made with magic. It typically requires a whole magic leyline to make one gram of Mithril, and any mistake during forging process would be catastrophic. It would be the greatest alchemy work for any sorcerer.
The coin was definitely more than a gram. He assumed it was roughly 30 grams. It meant that, whoever made Mithril Coin, they had drained around 30 magic leylines to make it.
Charcoal let out a sigh. He pocketed the Mithril Coin into his saddle. "This is stupid."
Toothless perked up. She had been tending Calian to sleep. "What is?"
"This whole thing about our journey." The adult male dragon complained. He closed the cube and throw them to the side. It dropped right into the basket of things they would be carrying at their flight later. "I still couldn't think of a place where we could run off to."
"Hidden World is actually a massive underground cave network." The dragoness informed him. "It stretched all around the world. Once we get to Caldera, we can fly deeper into Hidden World. Hiding there is easier than you thought."
"Yeah, but we'll most likely be intercepted at the entrance." Charcoal pointed out as he pulled out the gloves from his paws. He threw them off into the basket. "Your dad is looking for you. Furious is hunting us. Other alpha dragons most likely searching for us to earn their favour. I'm not sure if we should take our chances flying for our lives deep into Hidden World."
Toothless cursed herself. "You're right." She admitted, remembering her time in Hidden World. "The Caldera is the only entrance that I know. He's the Arch Alpha. His throne room is right by the entrance."
Charcoal shook his head. The dragoness pondered for some time. "We can always get to a different Hidden World entrance." She suggested.
"And how are we going to look for them?" Charcoal asked with deadpan expression. "We have no way of knowing where another entrance might be. We don't even know where to start. I don't want to fly around aimlessly looking for one. As great as an adventure might be, we have no lead as to where to go. We can't even get out of Meridian of Misery!"
"Hrr…" Toothless let out a sigh, displeased with the conclusion. "I'll think of something."
"Aaaaaahh!"
Charcoal and Toothless perked up. "Did you hear that?" She asked.
"I did. That sounds like…" Charcoal widened his eyes. "Oh no."
Toothless seemed to realise as well. "Charcoal." She threatened. "Don't you dare."
Charcoal did dare. He took off into the air, heading off to Berk. The dragoness shouted. "CHARCOAL!"
"Mom?" Her shout had woken up Calian. "What's going on?"
Toothless wanted to snap. She exhaled her breath, before moving to comfort the hatchling. "Nothing." She assured him, silently fuming at Charcoal. "Come on. Let's get back to sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us."
Astrid was running for her life.
She ran to the entrance. The others were gesturing for her to come. The shieldmaiden could see Stoick and Gobber running down towards her. She was unarmed. She needed to get away. She needed to run!
Liquid fire went bursting behind her. It hit the wall right next to the entrance, which forced her to stop. The Monstrous Nightmare suddenly appeared and came bouncing right between her and the entrance. "Got you now!"
The red dragon smashed his claws and pinned the girl onto the ground. Astrid could only stare at him with wide, fearful eyes. The dragon was getting ready to finish her off. The shieldmaiden cursed herself for trying something like that. She cursed Hiccup for making her do it. She cursed the blasted boy for getting her killed!
Suddenly, a loud piercing shriek echoed throughout the sky. Vikings realised what was about to happen. "NIGHT FURY!"
BOOM!
A loud, resonating blast exploded right onto the steel railing. A black dragon swooped in and entered the arena. Charcoal used his momentum to smash the dragon away from Astrid. The Monstrous Nightmare roared in pain as he was suddenly kicked away from her. The smoke finally cleared, revealing two dragons fighting in the arena.
Charcoal was standing on top of Astrid, protecting her. The Monstrous Nightmare was growling and snarling at him. "Move! She's mine!"
"Back off!" Charcoal roared at the Monstrous Nightmare.
The two slowly paced around the place. Astrid had climbed out from underneath Charcoal. She quickly ran off to the entrance, disregarding everything that happened there.
The Monstrous Nightmare saw this. He jumped to reach the petite girl, but Charcoal was faster. Right as he dashed towards her, the black dragon tackled him to the ground. The red dragon lit his body into flames, but Charcoal was unfazed. The Night Fury pinned him with his weight. He stomped onto his neck, choking him.
"GRRK!" The Monstruous Nightmare choked his breath, unable to breathe. He was not expecting his opponent to simply ignore his intimidation, let alone keep a hold of him. He looked up to see the Night Fury rearing at him. He looked ready to finish him off with his fire. The red dragon could not move under his weight. He was going to die!
Instead of killing him, Charcoal let out a loud, bellowing roar of dominance. "KRAAAAAAAAAAA!"
That silenced the entire arena. His roar echoed throughout the island. The Monstrous Nightmare could only stare at him with fear. His body was shaking, fearful of the angry black dragon on top of him. Few seconds later, the red dragon let go of his bowel. He had quite literally shit himself.
Charcoal smelt this. He looked down to see what happened. He looked up and simply stared at the red dragon. "Really?"
The Monstrous Nightmare instantly went limp, showing complete submission. "Please let me go." He pleaded like his life depended on it. "I'm sorry! I won't touch her! Please!"
A bola went flying and wrapped itself around his tail. Charcoal screeched as he quickly jumped off from the red dragon. "KRAA!"
Vikings rushed into the arena. It was then Charcoal realised what Astrid had tried to do. She was trying to tame the dragon, and she completely blew his plan to run away!
Charcoal moved to light his body on fire. He needed to burn down the bola. However, before he could do that, Vikings rushed in and threw themselves at him. The black dragon could not do anything, as any action might actually harm them.
"Take it alive!" He heard the Vikings shouted. Charcoal tried to shake off the Vikings off his back, but after countless Vikings jumped and went to pin him down, he was brought down to the ground. Restraints were put and set onto his body. The black dragon felt himself muzzled, bound and tied from front to back. After that was done, he was dragged away into the dragon pen.
Charcoal saw his father at the back. Stoick was looking at him with disappointed expression. "Put it with the others!"
The black dragon knew that was it for him. The humans had captured him. He hoped that would not be the end of him. His father had too much leverage for that. However, he was not quite sure what Astrid would do, considering she was glaring at him with angry look behind his father.
Charcoal was thrown into the dragon pen. The iron gate slammed shut, preventing him from escaping. The black dragon simply stared at the gate, contemplating what just happened that day.
Later that evening, Charcoal was still in the dragon pen. He was tempted to burn the restraints from his body, but that would mean he would burn down the pocketed saddle that he made. It was difficult enough to make them. he did not want to burden himself by making another saddle like that anymore.
And thus, the black dragon remained inside. He attempted to contact Toothless, but she seemed to be asleep. There were times when she was exhausted and slept like a rock. Typically, it was best not to disturb her. In this scenario, however, he was afraid of what might happen to her. Unfortunately, it also meant that Charcoal was on his own; captured and bound by Vikings of Berk.
'Why did I bothered to save her?' The black dragon thought, wondering. 'It's not like she ever treated me right anyway.'
Suddenly, the gate flew open. Charcoal squinted as light entered his eyes. When it finally adjusted, he saw Stoick the Vast in front of him. There was no one there, and based on the time, it was evening. He knew he was in trouble now. His father had a scowl on his face.
"I should've known." Stoick mumbled as he paced to reach the black dragon. "I should've seen the signs…"
"Dad-"
The chief grabbed onto his muzzle. "We had a deal!"
Charcoal simply glared at him. "I know we did. I've did my best and prepared everything!"
"You told Astrid how to 'tame' a dragon." Stoick fumed at him, reaching his own conclusion. "So, everything at the cove… a trick?! A lie?"
Charcoal was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You told her you're a Lycanwing! You told her everything about that giant dragon at the Helheim's Gate." The chief roared at him. He was glaring angrily at the dragon. "You made me explain everything to the village. Now they know about us. About our mother. Is this what you want?!"
"What?" Charcoal was horrified. "No! I didn't tell her anything!" he paused, before speaking. "Well, I simply told her that I'm a Lycanwing. Furious took control of Toothless and led her into his lair. I was there to get us out!"
"That's not what she told everyone." Stoick responded, somewhat calmer than before. He let go of him. "She told us that she tamed you. She wanted to show the others how to tame dragons. That's why you came into the dragon ring."
Charcoal was incredulous. "I came to the dragon ring because I heard her scream." He explained to his father. "Yes, I told her how she could befriend a dragon. But I came because I thought she was in danger!"
"Why did you save her?" Stoick demanded. "You told me several times that she always steal things from you. Are those lies too?"
"I saved her because she doesn't deserve to die. Of all things she did to me, I'm not going to leave someone to die." Charcoal confessed to his father. "I didn't realise what she tried to do at the dragon ring until I put that Nightmare into submission!"
The chief scratched his head. The dragon looked away from his father. They stayed silent for some time. They were not sure what to do in this situation. "… what now?"
"Because you are my son, I will personally send you off in a ship." Stoick rumbled, staring at him. "It is technically execution, but I know you can release yourself from this. When you're far enough, fly off and never come back. I do not want to see your face here."
With that said, Stoick moved back and closed the gate, leaving Charcoal alone inside the dragon pen once more.
That same evening, Charcoal was being carted off from the dragon pen. He was in an iron cage, still bound with leather, shackles and iron chain. The black dragon was surrounded by Vikings moving him. They were heading to the harbour. Charcoal could see the loading dock from there.
While being carted away, Charcoal heard the teens shouting at him. "Hahah! Turned into a dragon!"
"How does it feel being bound like that?" Snotlout jeered at him. "You turned from Hiccup the Useless to Hiccup the Useless Dragon!"
Charcoal glanced to the side. He glared at the petite girl standing amongst them. Astrid glared back at the black dragon. Charcoal thought that it was all her fault. They maintained the glare, before the caged dragon disappeared around the corner.
The teens stayed silent after that. After some time, the burly teen decided to ask. "What now?"
Ruffnut suddenly became excited. "Snotlout! You know what this means?"
"What?" Snotlout asked, confused.
"Hiccup is not here anymore!" the female twin exclaimed, smiling at him. "You'd become the next chief of Berk!"
"O- Of course!" The burly boy quickly recovered. He puffed up his chest. "I'm the heir now!"
"Err…" Fishlegs carefully called out, getting their attention. "You still need to prove yourself to the village to become the chief."
"Oh, that's easy!" The burly boy boasted. He was smirking. "I'm big and strong. That's good thing about me!"
"Yeah, sure." Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "You'd get a lot more hair as an heir."
"You'll burn down the village faster than Hiccup." Ruffnut snorted. "And he's a dragon!"
Snotlout snorted. "As if he can do anything."
Fishlegs noticed that Astrid was quiet. She was staring at the empty street ahead of her. "Astrid?"
That got her attention. "Yeah?"
"You don't look too sure." The large boy pointed out.
"I've been thinking…" The petite girl spoke aloud, getting their attention. "What if we tamed our own dragons?"
"Yeah, sure." Ruffnut snorted as she crossed her arms. "We could run around the village instead of dragon ring. You know, without dragons chasing us."
"Did you know that Hiccup tamed a Night Fury before he became a Lycanwing?" Astrid revealed the fact to them. "If he can do it, then we should too!"
Snotlout scoffed at that idea. "For someone who tamed a dragon, he sure got himself turned into one."
"Snotlout, this was his biggest secret!" Astrid explained to the burly boy. "He tamed a dragon. Imagine if we tamed those dragons. We can teach others how to do it! We can end the war!"
"That sounds easier said than done." Ruffnut commented, unsure about that idea.
"We're Vikings! It's an occupational hazard." The petite girl boasted. "Don't tell me you're backing out now. Imagine the prestige we'll get!"
"Now you're talking." The burly boy smirked as he focused onto the petite girl. "What's the plan, babe?"
Astrid scowled a bit. "Don't call me babe." She focused to the rest, before speaking. "We wait for Hiccup to go. Then, here's what we're going to do…"
The loading dock was located right on top of the dock. It was the large open wooden hut with cranes to reload cargo from ships below. That made things easier when they wanted to load large and heavy things into a longship, such as dragon cage used to restraint and contain a large and heavy Night Fury.
Charcoal grumbled as the cart stopped. The Vikings were preparing the crane to load him into the longship. He could sense his own dragons at their own nest. It would be best not to involve them, as things would be all over soon. For him, at least. However, he felt that something would go wrong somehow.
True to his thoughts, he sensed something in the water down below. There were Scauldrons there. Scauldrons were sea-dwelling dragons with large belly, thin long neck and massive bottom jaw that shaped like a pouch. They had somewhat large wings and a pair of tail fins at their long, slender tail. Unlike most dragons, they breathe scalding hot water. It was said they could control how hot the water could be.
Charcoal reached his mind onto the Scauldrons. It was a way of identification. His eyes widened upon seeing their mind. They were bonded with Furious. Those were Furious' dragons!
Suddenly, several Scauldron heads appeared from the ocean down below. They sprayed hot water up onto the loading dock. That made everyone wet. "Ow!"
"HOT! HOT!" Vikings began scrambling around, not expecting to be sprayed by water. Thankfully for them, those were not hot enough to boil their skins. It made them reconsider getting close to the water.
Charcoal felt the water touched his scales. They were not that hot, at least by his standard. It was most likely that that water did not stay too long inside their stomach. However, what made him concerned was the event that was about to come. He could sense more dragons coming in.
Different dragons swooped into the place. They surrounded the loading dock, where the Vikings were all damp and wet. Monstrous Nightmares, Deadly Nadders and other assortments of dragons jumped them. The Vikings shouted. "DRAGONS!"
Stoick looked at Charcoal. "Hiccup." He ordered. "Stop this."
"I can't." Charcoal told him, staring at the dragons with wide eyed expression. "They're not mine. They're Furious!"
Charcoal could breach into their minds and make them submit. He was capable of that through alpha dominance. However, it would take him a while if the dragons were still healthy. They needed to be downed or knocked unconscious first.
Stoick was about to bark an order when a male Skrill landed on top of the loading dock. His body was crackling with electricity. It was then everyone realised what was happening. The dragons were not attacking, merely forcing them to stay guard and put. That was fortunate, considering that there were not that many of them carrying axes or weapons.
However, the presence of the Skrill changed that. They were fearful, mostly because they were wet from the Scauldron spray. The chief quickly ordered his men. "Nobody move!"
"SKRAAA!" The Skrill roared, which made everything fell silent. The Vikings held their breath, terrified.
The elusive lightning dragon looked down at Charcoal. "Army General Charcoal! You've been sentenced for Desertion and Treason against the Rebellion." The dragon ordered. "Submit yourself and bond with Furious!"
Charcoal growled. He called upon his dragons. They would be coming soon. He simply needed to stall their time. "Eat a dung, you eel-eating fake!"
The Skrill ignored the insult. "Furious told me we need a leverage." He informed him. "This should change your mind."
Two black dragons dropped down in front of him. They were restrained and covered with hardened yellow amber. Charcoal widened his eyes upon seeing them. Those were Toothless and Calian!
"Toothless!" Charcoal roared, struggling to release himself.
"Charcoal!" Toothless shouted back. "Don't bond with him. Please."
"Dad, I'm hurt!" Calian pleaded. He was crying. "I can't move!"
Charcoal could not let go of himself. He needed to use his flames. The Skrill landed on top of the ambered dragons. "Submit yourself and bond with Furious."
"No…" the male black dragon growled angrily at the Skrill.
The enemy dragons began advancing. Stoick quickly responded. "Form ranks!"
Vikings with weapons quickly moved to the front. They prepared themselves for the worst. The Skrill raised his claws and slammed them onto Calian. The hatchling roared in pain. "Kraaa!"
"LET GO OF HIM!" Charcoal roared as he forced himself off from the restraints. That worked for his muzzle and legs, but his wings were still restrained.
"Submit yourself and bond with Furious!" The Skrill roared.
"Charcoal, please." Toothless pleaded.
The male black dragon growled. His dragons could not reach them in time. "Eat shit and die!"
The Skrill was silent for some time. Then, he spoke. "Very well." The lightning dragon raised his claw some more. He swiped down towards Calian and sheared off his left tail fin clean.
The hatchling roared in pain. "KRAA!"
Charcoal was horrified. He had taken his hatchling's flight. "No! Stop! Please!"
The Skrill raised his claw once more, ready to cut off Toothless' tail fin. It was then Charcoal finally break. "PLEASE! STOP! I SUBMIT! Don't hurt them, please!"
The lightning dragon stopped. Charcoal limped his body, submitting himself. He felt Furious' calling for him. He allowed his mind to be captured, bonding himself onto the greater alpha once more. Toothless could only stare, as she was horrified at what happened to them.
Charcoal felt Furious' presence in his mind. "Hello again, Charcoal."
"Please… don't hurt them." The black dragon pleaded.
"I never hurt your hatchling, Charcoal." Furious soothed inside his mind. "Nobody was hurt during the process. It was all just in your mind…"
Suddenly, Charcoal's mind became clearer. The Skrill and other dragons disappeared in instant. Toothless and Calian were still covered in amber, trapped at the place. Calian's left tail fin was still there. The Vikings were left confused. They did not know what had happened. The dragons had disappeared.
It was then Charcoal realised what had happened. 'Illusion.' He realised. It was an offensive mind arts technique to trick their opponents after entering their mind. He did not realise that Furious managed to enter their mind!
Furious had violated Calian's mind!
"Your Program worked wonderfully against humans." Furious purred inside his mind. "But alas, it was not my right to control them. It was fun making you control those humans. But let's keep it between us, don't we?"
Charcoal had the Mind Analyzer installed in his mind. There was another experimental project that was finished, but untested. It was related to Mind Analyzer project. That allowed him to control humans through alpha dominance. He had completely forgotten about it, since he was preparing to leave the place. Furious managed to take control of that Program in his mind and run a task to it. That task gave illusion to those humans. He had unwillingly put Vikings on Berk under illusion.
The male black dragon could not believe that it worked. Furious was extraordinarily pleased. "The future god of this world should not remain caged." He whispered into his mind. "Release yourself."
Charcoal felt the command. He bowed his head, before forcing himself out from the cage. The strength of his body quite literally torn the restraints apart. The cage exploded at the strength of his wings. Stoick could only watch as Charcoal released himself from the restraint. It did not look like it took him much effort to do so.
After that was done, Charcoal gasped his breath. He spread his wings wide, free from physical restraints imposed onto him. Furious purred inside his mind. "See? You're stronger than you think."
"Go fuck yourself." Charcoal snarled.
"Don't be like that." Furious whispered, amused. "Is that how you're going to speak to your father?"
"You're not my father. I'm not your son." The adult male dragon growled. "I'm not Mimir."
"But you are Mimir." The greater alpha dragon whispered. "When I gave you his body, you absorbed him. You took his mind as your own. You were compatible – you are Mimir just as you are Hiccup, Charcoal."
That made Charcoal confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Shush. You will know in time." Furious hushed him. "Now come to me, my son. We have work to do."
Charcoal took off into the sky. He flew far from the place, heading off to Dragon Island.
Stoick simply watched as Charcoal flew away from the place. The Vikings relaxed from their stance. Spitelout came next to him. "What do we do now, Stoick?"
The chief looked at the loading dock. Toothless and Calian were still there, covered in amber. Stoick moved to grab Calian from the ground. The hatchling simply whimpered at his touch. "Hrr…"
He glanced to the side and saw Gothi walking towards him. He offered the hatchling to the elder. The hunched elder carefully grabbed the hatchling. The chief thought Calian would be safe with her.
After that was solved, he turned to his Vikings. "Prepare the ships." He ordered. "We're going for the nest."
"How are we going to get there?" Spitelout asked, somewhat afraid.
Stoick glanced to the side. Toothless was staring at him with fearful expression. The chief looked back at his second-in-command. "She will lead us." He answered. "Get her to the ship. We head for Helheim's Gate."
The Vikings rushed to get themselves ready. Stoick approached Toothless. He placed his hand on her snout. "Let's get Hiccup back."
Toothless knew that this was Charcoal's father. The dragoness lowered her head. She hoped that they were not too late to save him.
Author Note
Did Wodensfang really send Lycanwings after Hiccup to awaken his blood?
Well! When you're a Night Fury that can see into the future, it's hard not to push your own agenda. After all, you know what's going to happen if you do them. It's going to happen like what you'd expect... right?
Luna is a Skrill?
Originally, I thought about making her a Night Fury. In book canon, she's also a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus, like Furious. However, during the planning phase, there's this show episode about Frozen Skrill. I realised that this is an opportunity to get her back.
There was a thought of Furious x Luna. Have their kid as Charcoal's best friend that's courting Amber, while Charcoal courting Toothless. It sounds like a lot of romance involved, drama and all that kind of stuff. But then I remembered what kind of story I'm writing and decided that it was best not to dwell into the mess that is dragon edition of teenage drama.
Tell me more about how dragons grow up.
There are four phases of dragon maturity; hatchling, fledgling, adult and elder. For dragons, adult could be called broad wing. Elder is called titan wing. But that's beside the point. Dragons generally grow up and mature quicker than humans, and they went through each phase at different paces.
The hatchling phase is usually the shortest one. Most dragons went through hatchling phase for roughly a year or two. It was usually signalled months after gaining their fire. Night Fury go through this phase in two years.
The fledgling phase would be the phase where they learned to become independent. They can't always be together and rely on their parents. This phase is usually the longest one - taking double the time than hatchling phase. At this phase, they will grow up considerably faster than before. Night Fury go through this phase in four years.
The adult phase is the longest phase. It is usually signalled by either of them getting their adult name or leaving their parents completely. At this stage, they are considered an adult. This phase usually spanned as long as their life, until they die.
The elder phase is somewhat rare. Upon reaching elder phase, they would grow bigger into, you called it, titan wing dragon. They need to go beyond their lifespan first before reaching titan wing phase.
Toothless mentioned that she left her parents early. Mimir left their parents early as well. Does that mean she suddenly jumped into adult phase?
Kind of. It depends if they got adopted or not. If they left their parents completely, regardless of which phase they were at, they would be considered an adult dragon.
Any dragon that left their parents regardless of their phase will be considered an adult dragon. It meant that they would be left to fend by themselves. This could be revoked if the dragon had yet reached adult phase, and willing to be adopted by another dragon.
What does "black tulip" refer to?
It's a reference to a Soviet Union transport aircraft; Antonov An-12. It was infamously known to carry bodies of deceased soldiers from Afghanistan to Tashkent. Because of this, Soviet soldiers gave it a nickname; "Black Tulip."
In this context, Furious refers to the coffin that was used. Pitch black trees signifies death, as dark as a black tulip.
While proofreading this, I couldn't find another way to write them differently. I guess it's kind of symbolic, given the context in the story.
How big is Hidden World?
According to wiki, it's a massive cave network that stretched all over the world deep underground. Basically, it's a whole new world. It's probably why, despite HTTYD happened somewhere in Nordic seas, The Nine Realms happened somewhere in Canada. There is more than one entrance to the Hidden World.
At least, that's what I assume. I could be wrong.
End Note
Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for leaving reviews and comments.
Next chapter will be posted around 24-25 August 2022, depending on the time zone.
