While the vikings were still trying to process the fact that they have been sitting and talking with the Dragon King, said Dragon King started slowly walking towards the dragons with his arms crossed behind his back. Once he passed through the invisible barrier separating the dragons and vikings he turned around and waited for the vikings' brains to start working again.
What he didn't expect was for all the vikings to just stare at him, he thought they would start spewing insults and calling him a traitor as soon as he was revealed.
The vikings didn't know what to think. Just half an hour ago they were convinced he was a traitor who killed humans with his dragons for fun, but they thought about what he said about the Dragon King before it was revealed that he was the King. He was a traitor, but was he even a viking? He couldn't really be a traitor if he wasn't a viking. Was he an enemy? Probably not, he said himself he could have killed them all if he wanted to and they knew for a fact that he could. They didn't like or accept him, but maybe they could convince him to take the dragons and leave the Archipelago. It was a long shot, but he seemed reasonable so it wouldn't hurt to try.
Since no one did or said anything other than some more traditional vikings throwing him dirty looks he decided to sit down while Toothless and the other dragons surrounded him. "Looks like they listened to what I said before."
The chiefs, their heirs, the teens from Berk and Gobber felt like they knew him from somewhere but they couldn't place it.
At first there was a stunned silence. "Before you get any ideas," the Dragon King said loudly, "at this moment there are 10 dragons sitting on the roof listening very intently, and if they get the slightest hint that I am in danger they were stop at nothing to save me, and if I am killed before they can, no human will get out of this room alive. So leave your weapons where they are and nobody gets hurt."
"Are you threatening us?" Norbert asked. He doubted the King would threaten them since he could just outright kill them, but what did it hurt to ask?
"No, I'm just trying to make sure that your future selves don't make a mistake, and actually listen to me." Hiccup said from where he was resting against Toothless.
Stoick eyed the King's night fury in disgust. That had to be the one who killed Hiccup. Enemy or not, Stoick would kill that night fury and avenge his son.
Stoick's thoughts suddenly turned to another gathering of chiefs where a madman named Drago Bludvist had come with dragons. Stoick had been the sole survivor. He knew other chiefs had heard about that night and had little doubt that they were also thinking of it.
The dragons all cried out fearfully at the mention of Drago. The viking instinctively reached for their weapons before remembering that they didn't have them. They looked at the King, who was calming the dragons down, for an answer.
"What was that about?!" Astrid asked still in a defensive stance ready to attack.
"Drago Bludvist is despised by every dragon, just saying his name is enough to set some of them off into a rage." Hiccup said with venom in his voice when mentioning Drago. Most of the vikings in the room had no idea who Drago was but judging by the Kings, dragons and Chief's reactions he wasn't good.
"So you're not allied with Drago?" Stoick asked apprehensively, he knew what Drago was capable of, and he didn't need another madman who could control dragons.
"Dear gods no! That madman is my sworn enemy!" Hiccup cried out indignantly. The dragons voiced their approval at his statement, while Stoick was slightly reassured.
Finally Gort spoke up. "How did you know about this meeting?"
"You weren't exactly keeping it a secret, Gort. Besides, I have eyes and ears all over the place. It's lucky for you some other people didn't show up uninvited, given how pathetic the security is."
Several vikings looked at the King uneasily, just what kind of info did he get about them from his agents. Others were more concerned about who these other people were. "And who exactly are these other people?" Gort voiced those concerns.
"That would be Drago and his…" Hiccup's voice got a bit darker. "… associates."
The way the King said that made them shudder, and chills run up their spines. Whoever these "associates" were must be very dangerous, and the King seemed to have some bad history with them. They decided that for now they wouldn't ask him about that.
"You mean you've been spying on us!" Mogadon exclaimed.
"I prefer to think of it as 'keeping informed.' And believe it or not, thanks to my agents, I've been able to prevent a lot of dragons from attacking your villages."
"So you're the reason the raids stopped?!" Norbert and a few other viking asked incredulously.
"As I've said before, I'm trying to stop the war and bring peace between vikings and dragons." Some vikings snorted or scoffed at this but most listened with rapt attention.
"And so far it has been a successful effort. If my future self doesn't explain further I'll tell you more once this part is over. Deal?" The vikings and some dragons nodded in confirmation.
Astrid noticed several chiefs shift their weight uneasily. They were clearly wondering what else his agents had learned.
"Why do I feel violated?" One viking asked his friend who shrugged.
Hiccup laughed. "Don't worry, my agents respect your privacy." "Besides, it's not like I want to know everything about you." He said the last part in dragonese. The dragons agreed, they didn't want to intrude too much. This made them sigh in relief, they certainly didn't want anyone to know what they did behind closed doors.
"So," The King said after a pause "I heard about this meeting and I decided to come and offer my terms for peace. I know Dagur doesn't want to hear them, but is anybody else willing to listen?"
"Peace?" Stoick repeated, "Peace! What would a demon lover know about peace?" There were nods of agreement.
Hiccup was a calm person who was hard to annoy, but this really pissed him off. "A lot more than you since I stopped the raids to finally bring peace, but you keep fighting them. The only dragons you fight with these days are the ones that YOU attack first for NO reason. You are the ones who keep dragging out this pointless war for YOUR own selfish reasons." As much as the vikings wanted to refute that statement they knew very well that it was true, even Stoick could admit that.
"What would a Viking know about peace? You lot talk about ending the war all the time, yet still you find reasons to keep fighting."
"That's because the dragons keep coming!" Shouted Mogadon "We need to defend ourselves!"
"Wrong. YOU are attacking them which means THEY are defending themselves from YOU. Ever since the raids stopped the roles have been reversed and YOU have become the aggressors while the dragons became the victims."
"Besides, it's fun!" Dagur added, but everyone ignored him.
The dragons shot blasts at the on screen Dagur but they just magically disappeared once they hit the screen making the dragons and even some of the vikings slump In disappointment.
"It's those blasted dragon's fault! They've killed my wife and son! Those beasts have killed hundreds of us!" Stoick roared.
"And Vikings have killed thousands of them!" The King said loudly, "how many mates and sons have you killed, Chief Stoick? How many more will you kill? To what end? Will it bring your loved ones back? Or have you just grown addicted to killing and find dragons a convenient excuse to satisfy your bloodlust?"
The rooms occupants gave little glances at Stoick and decided that what the King said was most likely true.
The man in question knew it was true but he would never admit it.
Stoick visibly forced himself to regain his composure. "I know I can't bring my family back," he said slowly and with great deliberation, "And for a while I did only fight for revenge and hate. But now I know that for each devil I kill, I prevent another husband or parent from going through what I did. By killing dragons, I'm saving lives. Is that wrong?" He looked around the room, "is that wrong?"
"Not at all, Stoick," "It's very noble of you," "And we do the same," Bertha added, "We fight to save lives and defend our homes. Why shouldn't we?"
The vikings wanted to agree with what their future selves said, but after spending time with the King, listening to his motives, reasons and watching the future they realized that there were a lot of things seriously wrong with that statement. They were also acutely aware of the glares they were getting from the dragons.
"But that's not the only reason you kill dragons," The King argued back "What about those dragons you kill in arenas, as part of your 'coming of age' rituals? How is that saving lives or defending homes?" He looked around "I can see that nobody can't give answer that. Don't you see? Vikings may have gotten into this war with noble intentions, but now things have fallen into a blood bath. You stage battles to the death simply for the thrill of it, you treat your fallen opponents as trophies instead of as living and thinking creatures, and you glorify your kills, even when they often amount to putting an axe through a dragon that's trapped on the ground and can't defend itself. Think of that dragon I saved from your ship, Stoick. Where was the honor or glory in killing a creature stuck underneath a net and tied up?"
The more they listened to the King the more their opinion of dragons and killing them swayed. Could they have been wrong this whole time?
The dragons noticed their expressions, it was slow but it was progress nonetheless. "Do you think they are willing to accept us?" "Maybe, but it will take some time for them to fully adjust." "Hiccup, I think your plan is working."
"I hope so bud. I really do." Maybe if they accepted dragons he could reveal who he is and they'd finally accept him too.
"That reminds me. You come near my ships again and I'll put a spear through your heart."
The more diplomatic vikings cringed. Threatening a potential ally who could end the war was a really bad move. Persephone voiced their opinions. "You know threatening someone who is not only a potential ally but also has dragons on their side is generally considered to be a bad idea. And as you are supposed to be a chief you shouldn't let your personal problems get in the way of politics."
The dragons snickered. They called over their resident Snow Demon. "Midnight get over here! I think the chief might need some ice for that burn!" Evictus said sending the dragons and some of the vikings who warmed up to them into uncontrollable laughter. Indeed, Stoick might need some ice since he was fuming.
The more traditional vikings looked at their laughing comrades in shock and anger. Had they gone mad?
"I could have done that to you when I was saving my friend Stormfly. She laid eggs only a week ago, she was just out looking for fish to feed to her babies when they hatch, and you decided to kill her. She was just minding her own business and you trapped her in a net and nearly cut her head off. How was that in any way self defense?"
Those who had warmed up to the dragons at least a little bit had to admit, that did sound horrible. Astrid in particular felt a bit sick, though she couldn't guess why. She imagined a viking mother in that exact scenario, and now that she knew dragons did indeed have feelings – if the King was telling the truth – she felt really wrong about wanting to kill that dragon.
"You talk about dragons like they've got feelings." Gort observed.
"They do! They're kind, friendly, and intelligent creatures when treated properly."
"I really like that hatchling." Commented a random Nadder - Skyblaze – who hadn't had the time to properly meet him yet as he was new to the nest.
"They're devils who understand nothing but killing and eating," someone growled.
Almost all of the vikings disagreed with that statement now. Sure the dragons were still monsters in their opinion, but this viewing had proven that they were intelligent.
"And what are you?" The King demanded, "Exactly what have you done all your life besides kill and eat? But we're getting sidetracked here. I'm not here to debate ethics, I'm here to offer my terms for a peaceful coexistence between humans and dragons. By agreeing to them, we won't need to be 'saving lives' and 'defending homes' from dragons anymore. You want this war to end, right?"
Gobber looked at the King with a raised brow. "Do yer actually think that's going to work?"
"I won't know unless I try." The King shot back. It hurt Hiccup to not reveal who he was to his old mentor - who was basically his father figure - but he just couldn't take the risk.
"Tell you what," Spitelout said with a sly smile "you just tell us where the nest is, and we'll agree to them terms. Ow's that sound?"
"Are you really so mentally retarded that you think I would fall for something so stupid?" Hiccup asked him without any sarcasm, completely serious and curious whether or not he actually was that stupid.
While Spitelout glared at the King with ever increasing hatred those around him laughed at his expense. Snotlout himself was trying to hide his snickering, his father was always a pain in the ass so seeing him get humiliated was something he quite enjoyed.
"The nest you're thinking about was abandoned nearly 8 years ago." He pulled out a map, "it's located right here. You'll find a nest of Smothering Smokebreaths and a few Terrible Terrors living in a giant pile of bones, but that's all."
"I'm guessing that was your doing?" Camicazi asked the King who just responded with a thumbs up in her direction.
"It was abandoned 8 years ago?" Stoick asked, and suddenly he began connecting facts in his head.
While to most this seemed unimportant, it was very important to a certain group from Berk. Stoick, Gobber and Astrid were starting to get very suspicious of the King. First Hiccup disappears, next the raids stop and then the King shows up, that just couldn't be a coincidence.
Stoick came to the conclusion that the King's Night Fury must have killed his son or hell, maybe the King killed Hiccup himself.
Gobber saw the similarities between the apprentice that he raised and the King, both were sarcastic little shits, smart as hell, seemed like they could control dragons. "Could the King be Hiccup-" He thought before he dismissed that thought, he was just giving himself false hope that Hiccup was still alive.
Astrid was unsure, a mix of both Gobber's and Stoick's thoughts running trough her head. She decided she needed more evidence before she could decide which was true.
"Yes it was, and I will explain why. I will explain exactly why dragons have been raiding your villages, and why they are not doing so anymore. I will explain why this war has been going on in the first place, and I will explain some aspects of dragon behavior and society that no one else here has ever known. Will you listen, or are you all afraid to hear me out?"
The King laid down against Toothless' side with a relieved sigh. "Looks like my future self will do my job for me. Listen up if you want to know the truth!" He told the vikings before he pulled his brother's in all but blood wing over himself like a blanket and went to take a nap.
The vikings looked at the screen with great interest. Will this change their way of how they view the dragons? Find out In the next episode of dragonba- sorry wrong show.
Some looked skeptical, but most looked genuinely interested. Dagur learned forward with the look of a man about to eat a delicious dinner. Gort looked around and then nodded. "Proceed."
"8 years ago, I was flying with my best friend Toothless-he has retractable teeth, so don't laugh about it!-when we came to the nest at Helheim's Gate. Inside it was a dragon the size of a small mountain. If you go there now, you can see its remains for yourself. That dragon, which I have named the Red Death, was the Queen of that nest. All nests have either an Alpha or Beta. Their job is to defend the nest, but every now and then one turns into a tyrant. That was what happened here. That particular Red Death began ordering her subjects to bring her more and more food or else be eaten themselves."
"So that "Queen" is like the dragon version of Dagur?" Tuffnut asked getting nods of agreement and looks of surprise, who would have thought the twins could say something smart?
"And she meant it. I saw her swallow a Gronkle whole, and she had a mouth big enough to probably fit 10 Gronkles. That's how big she was. When I saw her the reason for the war became clear, and so did the solution. If she wasn't the Queen anymore, the dragons wouldn't be forced to feed her, so they'd have less reason to raid villages, which meant fewer chances for humans to fight them. I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't listen. So Toothless and I challenged her for the title. The dragons in the nest joined with us, and we killed her-much to my regret, but she rejected all of my offers for a peaceful solution."
Not a single viking really believed what he said about the size of the Queen, that was just absurd. Little did they know the author had a surprise for them.
"How did you do that?" Bertha asked.
"We got her into the air, where her gluttonous body made her slow and an easy target, and we blew holes in her wings. We led her into a fast descent, and then Toothless fired a plasma blast right into her opened mouth. The blast reacted with the flammable gases inside of her and caused her to combust from the inside out. Furthermore, the holes in her wings prevented her from pulling out of her dive and she smashed into the ground. It was quite an explosion."
"Such a shame we can't see all of that beautiful destruction." Ruffnut said sadly.
"Oh, how right you are dear sister of mine." Tuffnut said sobbing with his twin rubbing his back in a comforting manner which drew a lot of looks.
Then out of nowhere the screen turned to black and the person who brought them here, Kamil, if they remembered correctly appeared out of thin air and asked them with a grin. "But what if you actually could?"
"But how? He said it happened 8 years ago." Fishlegs asked timidly raising his hand.
Kamil just gave him a deadpan. "I am showing you the future, you think I can't show you the past?" No, that made sense, the vikings decided. "Since I know that a lot of you don't believe H- *cough* the King about how big the Queen was I decided to show you just how right he is, and because that fight was epic, and I'm sure the twins will enjoy it." Thank God no one caught onto his slip up.
Both the vikings and the dragons were excitedly chattering among themselves. The vikings because who doesn't love a good fight and they wanted to see if they actually could have won against this "Queen". The dragons just wanted to see that bitch die since most of them weren't present for the fight and the ones who were only really saw the aftermath.
Meanwhile Hiccup, was about to have a panic attack. He didn't have his helmet or armor when he fought the Queen. Kamil appeared next to him almost giving him a heart attack and scaring some of the dragons around them. "Don't worry I made it so the younger you has the helmet and armor that you have now. Your identity is safe... for now." Hiccup nodded in thanks before Kamil disappeared again.
The screen turns on again to reveal dragon island. On the beach we see a bunch of makeshift catapults set up and ready to fire at the volcano in the middle of the island inside of which was the nest. We zoom in to see the King connecting all the catapults with a mechanism that once pulled would fire them all at once.
"Why are you even using catapults? Why not just blast the wall open with your dragon?" Snotlout asked and for once everyone agreed with him, even the dragons.
"I needed something to distract it, buy me some time so I could study it. And yes Fishlegs if your chief will allow it, I will give you some of my notes later." Fishlegs looked at his chief apprehensively but surprisingly he agreed. Fishlegs almost squealed in excitement at the prospect of learning about this Red Death.
Gobber and the other blacksmiths were studying the mechanism he made to fire the catapults at once, it was very complex. Well, what a viking would call complex should be child's play really but they don't really have technology now do they?
Once he's ready he hops onto Toothless' back. "Ready, bud?" He asks getting a nod of confirmation from Toothless. No going back now. He pulls the mechanism and flies to a different location on the beach where he set up more catapults earlier.
The catapults break a hole into the side of the mountain, and Toothless shoots a plasma blast to reveal thousands of dragons inside. The blast startles the dragons and makes them flee in terror, not a single one attacking.
The vikings all stared at the screen in horror. "Just how many dragons are in there!?" Mogadon shouted over the screams of the others.
Once they calmed down a dragon from the old nest answered him. "At our highest the number of dragons in the nest was somewhere around 6.000. We basically had each of your islands populations separately, outnumbered between 10 to 1 and 20 to 1. So if we ever actually fought to the bitter end you wouldn't stand a chance. Not that it would matter since the Queen could take you all out by herself."
The vikings were suddenly very glad they never found the nest, and they haven't even seen the real danger yet.
After about ten seconds of eerie silence during which the King questioned his decision the Red Death, a dragon more that five times the size of a Viking ship, breaks out of the mountain, roaring furiously, looking for whoever dared to attack it's nest.
The terror and screams were back even stronger than before, even the dragons were fearful at seeing the Queen even though she was long gone. "I think I might have to change my undies." Just this once no one blamed Gobber as a lot of them were in the same boat as him.
The twins were frozen, but not in amazement, rather in fear. They had a thought, the same one that went trough all of the teens heads. Had it not been for the King would the chief send them off to die fighting this thing?
The Queen spots the catapults and goes to crush them only for the King to activate the other ones. The boulders bounce harmlessly off of the Queen, but it has the desired effect, it distracts her allowing the King to fly up in the air and observe the Queen to study her for any weaknesses he could exploit.
The vikings were gobsmacked. Catapults were useless against the Queen? Their best and strongest weapon worked about as well as throwing pebbles at a viking like Stoick. They were outnumbered by the dragons, they couldn't even damage the Queen. They were doomed to fail from the start weren't they?
Once the Queen is done with crushing the catapults it sniffs the air, searching for her attackers scent.
To the vikings watching their strongest weapon get crushed like it was nothing was a huge blow to their ego.
"It's now or never Toothless." The King and Toothless climb, higher and higher. "That thing has wings! Okay, let's see if it can use them!"
"I highly doubt that thing can fly, it must be way to heavy. You said yourself she's been in that nest for how long now? 300 years, and all she's done is eat our food." A random viking in the crown commented. Hiccup just chuckled, oh she could fly alright.
The King pulls Toothless into a turn. They plummet, gaining tremendous speed. The wind buffets them as they target the Red Death at supersonic speed.
KABLAM! Toothless unloads a fireball against the Red Death's head. It goes down with a rumble as they climb anew. From the dust of the fallen monster its wings unfold and extend.
The twins like a lot of vikings, especially the younger ones were staring at the screen in amazement. They imagined what it would be like to have dragons of their own, not even realizing that they were basically committing treason just thinking about that. "I want his painting above my bed." Tuff said to his sister who nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
The King looks back as they put distance between them. "Do you think that did it?"
Suddenly, the enraged behemoth rises into frame flapping its wings furiously. A daunting sight. "Well, she can fly."
"N-Nevermind." The viking from before stammered out.
Astrid's father turned to the King with a look of disbelief. "How are you so calm about this!?"
The King just looked at him lazily. "Would you rather have me panic and get myself killed?"
They dive into the tangled sea stacks weaving through the rocks like rabbits through a briar. The Red Death follows with surprising maneuverability for it's size and weight. It snaps at them but cannot reach. The King and Toothless pull ahead. The Red Death smashes through the canopy of rock and pulls in behind Toothless. She bursts through fifty-foot solid rock formations like they were saplings. We change to the beach's POV and watch the King and Toothless streak past, weaving through sea stacks. A moment later the Red Death smashes the sea stacks to dust in hot pursuit.
"Dear gods." Some vikings muttered under their breaths. Even for a dragon of that size smashing rock formations like that should be either impossible or it should severely damage it. Must be a boulder class.
The King and Toothless can't slow the monster down. The King eyes the clouds above. An idea hits him. He locks eyes with Toothless. "Okay, Toothless, time to disappear! Come on, bud!"
Again the more intelligent vikings (which is to say few) figured out what he meant pretty quickly.
The twins on the other hand. "You can turn yourself invisible?! Are you a Changewing?" But everyone just ignored them.
Toothless pulls into a steep climb, heading toward the clouds. The Red Death follows, closing in fast. "Here it comes!" The Queen opens her mouth and we see gas gathering inside about to ignite into a fiery inferno aimed directly at the two non blood brothers.
Both sides were on the edge's of their seats. They held their breaths for what was about to come.
Hiccup just looked at them all weirdly. "They do realize this already happened and I'm perfectly fire right?" He asked Toothless who just gave his version of a shrug.
BLAST! They narrowly dodge the column of flame and smoke. They reach the low-hanging clouds and pierce them. The monster follows, immediately losing them in the hampered visibility. It roars irritably while looking around, searching.
They sighed in relief, some clutching their chest as if they were having a heart attack. When they thought about it they realized a blast from the Red Death could destroy a village in one shot.
"Hey!" Hiccup yelled gaining their attention. "This happened in the past, and as you can clearly see I'm perfectly fine. So you can stop worrying." They blushed in embarrassment and started making excuses. They totally weren't worried, not at all.
From out of nowhere, Toothless dives at the huge dragon blasting and puncturing a hole in its wing. Toothless and the King are gone again before the dragon can get a shot at them. They keep going in for more hits before disappearing after each one not letting themselves get spotted.
"Smart lad, using the darkness to his advantage." Gort said, the others agreeing with his statement. The King was definitely smart, smarter than most of them for sure. But that also meant he was dangerous.
The camera stares up at the sky listening to the resounding booms and watching flashes light up the clouds. It looks as if Thor himself is fighting the Red Death.
Not a single soul in the room disagreed with that last statement, Night Furies really were the Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death itself.
The King and Toothless dive in again and again, using the clouds to hide and surprise as they puncture the monster's wings. It bellows in frustration and whirls around, unleashing fire blindly, in all directions. The King sees the glow of fire cutting towards them. "Watch out!"
The random blast CLIPS Toothless' tail. It's heavily damaged.
"Wait, why is his tail burning?" Thuggory asked not realizing he called Toothless a he rather than it or beast. This was something they all wanted to know.
Hiccup wasn't sure if he should tell them the truth or not. "Ah, why the hell not?" "Toothless' left tailfin is a prosthetic."
His answer left them speechless, they always thought a downed dragon was a dead dragon. What else would the King prove them wrong about?
"Okay, time's up! Let's see if this works."
He pulls Toothless into a turn flying through one of the holes they made in the Queens wings. They fly directly into the Red Death's face, taunting it. "COME ON! IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?!"
Toothless utters an insult too, and they jackknife into a steep dive. The Red Death pursues. Toothless pumps his wings, racing faster than he's ever gone before. The King and Toothless stay just ahead of the Red Death- no longer trying to evade it.
The twins had officially seen enough. The King was a true Disciple of Loki. They both stood up from their seats and faced the King while bowing to him. "Oh, great almighty Dragon King, for thou art the one, true Disciple of Loki, we hereby swear our allegiance to you and swear to become your loyal followers!"
Safe to say not a single person in the room wasn't weirded out by their actions. Some of the vikings saw this as treason before they remembered these were the twins they were talking about.
Hiccup in particular didn't know what to say. Had they just compared him to Loki? Did they intend to worship him or something? "Uh.. that's… great? Thanks."The twins bowed once more before returning to their seats.
Toothless and Hiccup locked eyes. "Well, looks like your somewhat of a God in their eyes now Hiccup." As if his life couldn't get any crazier.
The King glances back to check the tail. It's disintegrating. "Stay with me, buddy. We're good. Just a little bit longer."
The Red Death closes the gap. The King tucks in and holds Toothless steady allowing the monster to set its sights on them. It narrows its eyes. "Hold, Toothless."
"Just what are you planning?" Went trough the vikings minds, the dragons already having figured it out.
The Red Death opens her mouth. The familiar gas hiss emanates from her throat. Ignition is coming.
"NOW!" He hits the pedals hard as Toothless extends one wing. They pivot in place, hurtling directly into the Red Death's mouth. Toothless fires point blank down the monster's throat. Its amassing gas is ignited, backfiring into the monster, erupting in a chain of blasts throughout its body.
The heroic duo burst from the clouds, the Red Death hot on their tail, exploding from within. It glances forward and sees the ground rushing up. It throws open its wings, attempting to put on the brakes, but the punctured, damaged wings can't stop it's momentum. As the Red Death chokes on the expanding fireball, she sees Toothless suddenly pull out of the dive, streaking up, past its head.
The vikings eyes widen and not long after cheers erupt from both sides, dragons and vikings celebrating the demise of the Queen who caused them so much suffering.
The Red Death hits the ground, head-first. It explodes like the Hindenburg. The King and Toothless weave through the monster's massive back plates, wings, and flailing legs, a high-speed slalom run. The expanding fireball races toward them, about to swallow them.
The vikings had to admit, the King and his dragon must be extremely skilled to just fly through all of that so easily.
They manage to clear the obstacles. The King glances back. They're outrunning the fireball. He looks forward just in time to see the monster's massive club tail careening toward them. He tries to shift their direction. The last shreds of Toothless' tail tear away. The pedals go dead. "No! NO!"
The cheers died down quickly once they realized what was about to happen. Again they forgot this was in the past.
Toothless can't maneuver, they're dead in the air. The giant club tail clips Toothless, tearing the King from the harness and sending him tumbling against the backdrop of the fast-approaching fireball.
Toothless struggles with all his might to reach the unconscious King. But the fireball swallows them both. We watch in horror as they disappear into the boiling inferno.
The bewildered vikings and dragons turned to look at the King. "How in the hell did you survive that?!" Was the general outcry along with shouts of "Loki must have saved him!" from the twins.
"Toothless saved me." He pointed at his prosthetic. "But as you can see, I didn't make it out completely unscathed." The amputees winced in sympathy along with the vikings that warmed up to the King.
Astrid could imagine the Thorsten Twins reverently saying "Awesome."
The twins grinned. "It really was oh, great Dragon Lord."
Hiccup was about to tell them to stop worshiping him like some kind of god, but before he could Toothless slapped him in the back of the head with his tail. Watching them treat Hiccup like a deity was something Toothless really enjoyed, he wondered what they would do once they found out that under the mask was the one who they used to call Hiccup The Useless.
"So now, because he had been the challenger, Toothless became the leader of the dragons, but since it had been my plan, the dragons also saw me as their leader. And they still do." He added rather proudly.
It's a lot to take in, Astrid thought, but is he telling the truth?
"Given what we saw, I think it's safe to say he is." Gobber really hoped that under that mask was his apprentice, he knew it was ridiculous, but the evidence was all there. Ha chalked it up to his mind playing tricks on him.
"You said this Queen was controlling these dragons," the shortest chief in the room said, "how?"
That chief sulked. It's not his fault he was shorter than the rest.
"Mind control. All Kings and Queens of Dragons have this ability. They can order any dragon to do anything they want, and they have no say in the matter. Toothless could order Stormfly to smash her eggs, and she would do it, though she wouldn't know what she was doing."
Some vikings turned green at that. Fishlegs was amongst them. "So that's basically the equivalent to the chief telling parents to kill their own children and them doing it without any questions?" He asked the King.
"Pretty much, yeah. Although they wouldn't know that they're killing you until the chief releases them from the mind control." His answer made them glad vikings didn't have any abilities like the dragons.
"T-That's horrible." Snotlout knew his father didn't like him all that much, but he couldn't imagine that even his crappy excuse of a father would kill him.
They heard clapping and looked over to see the King slowly clapping for Snotlout. "Wow, you actually said something intelligent. Everyone clap for him. Clap sarcastically." For whatever reason they actually did. The dragons tried but quickly realized that clapping with laws and wings was really hard. "No, that sounds too sincere. Slower, more demeaning." They did exactly that. "There we go." (If you get the reference you're a legend)
Snotlout was confused, he was sure the King insulted him, he just didn't know how. To him it just seemed like all the King did was clap and say some words he and most vikings probably didn't even understand.
"But how did you attack it if this beast could control minds?" Gort asked.
"It's a bit complicated, but mind control only works under certain conditions. The first time it is used on a dragon it has to be through eye contact. Stormfly is subject to Toothless's mind control now, but if she went to another nest, she would be completely free until she looked that nest's monarch in the eye. Once she did, she would always be subject to that monarch's call, provided she was within range. Mind Control only works within a specific but substantial radius"
The vikings were nodding along. That was similar to how if you were in a different village you had to listen to that village's chief.
"But why didn't the dragons just fly out of that radius and escape, if this Queen was so bad?"
The flying fire-breathing lizards rolled their eyes. Of course they'd think it was that easy. "Trust me, had it been that easy we would've been gone a long time ago." Meatlug told them.
"Many did, but there was a catch: nobody knew how far the Queen's mind control could reach. These powers can strengthen with time, and that Queen had been alive for over 3 centuries. About all any dragon could do was pick a direction and start flying as fast as they could for as long as they could, and hope that the next time the Queen sent out her summons they would be far enough away to hear it. But suppose they weren't far enough away? Then they'd be forced to go back and explain what took them so long and why they were trying to desert their Queen. Toothless later told me that she often just ate the latecomers regardless of what they had been doing. And those dragons that did manage to escape her powers weren't going to return and tell others how far they had to go to reach safety. That would have been suicide."
"Yeah, yeah that makes sense." "I mean, I wouldn't come back either if I was in that situation." "Well, spoken lad."
"But how did you challenge her, if she could control the mind of Toothless?" Astrid interrupted "unless he was from another nest?"
The King turned to face her. "I remember that night we saved you," he said softly, "Yes, I remember you very well… Astrid,"
"I never really got to thank you that night so, thank you."
"Not a problem M'lady, I aim to please." Astrid's cheeks darkened slightly and she looked at the screen trying to fight the blush.
"Aim to please, eh?" Toothless wiggled his eyebrows, or tried to anyway.
Hiccup just ignored his non blood brother in favor of fighting off his own blush. At least no one could see his face due to his helmet.
All Astrid's parents could think was. "Did-did the King just flirt with our daughter?"
Astrid felt chills running down her spine. "How do you know her name?" Stoick said sharply.
"Like I told you, I have eyes and ears everywhere. Besides, you've said it several times during this very meeting. Anyway, to answer her question, Toothless was from that particular nest, but when a dragon challenges a monarch for the title, in that instant, all mind powers are lost, and they do not return until the contest is decided. I'm not certain why, but I imagine it's so that the monarch can't use that power to keep the title. Dragon monarchy is determined by combat, and to be able to control minds and movements gives one side an extremely unfair advantage. Of course, monarchs can, and do, use their powers to prevent their subjects from challenging them, but they can't control every dragon all the time, and there's always the chance a dragon from another nest might come for the title. It's rather like how humans fight for titles by single combat: you have to choose certain weapons and must follow certain rules in order to claim victory legitimately."
Most vikings were completely lost at this point so the smarter ones dumbed it down for them.
It was a good thing Fishlegs isn't here, Astrid thought, he'd never be able to stop asking questions about dragons.
Fishlegs was going to deny that statement, but eventually conceded. Yeah, that was something he would probably do. That was something all of Berk agreed on.
Marva spoke up for the first time. "So you're controlling dragons through mind control?"
"I don't control any dragons,"
"Then how do you get them to do your bidding? Through intimidation and fear?"
The dragons already hated Marva, she seemed like a mini Drago to them. Some of the vikings saw the dragons growling and looking at the on screen Marva with hate, they could guess why given what she just said. They probably didn't like their king being compared to someone who they saw as a monster.
"No-" but Stoick interrupted him. "Are you in league with Drago Bludvist?"
The roof suddenly shook and they heard the dragons on it cry out fearfully.
"The man you just mentioned is one of the few people most dragons here are afraid of. He also happens to be one of my most frequent opponents." The King said grimly.
"So you've seen him?" Marva asked excitedly, "what was it like?"
The vikings looked at her in disbelief, did she idolize this Drago? From what Stoick and the King said he was a madman without mercy. They looked at Gort who looked devastated, he knew exactly what would happen. Marva was an heir so she knew a lot about their islands, she had information and she idolized the enemy. They just couldn't take the risk even if Gort would hate them for it.
The Owl Gut's tribe members actually looked quite pleased, they always wanted to get rid of Marva because unlike Hiccup who was a good blacksmith she offered absolutely nothing to the tribe and really was a nuisance. And now they had a good reason to get rid of her.
"What do you mean by most frequent opponents?" Stoick said over her.
"I mean that for years Drago has been trying to capture dragons to create a dragon army." Stoick paled. His worst fears were being confirmed.
The other vikings paled as well. After seeing all the dragons in the nest they knew that winning against a dragon army of any size would be impossible.
"My friends and I have been doing our utmost to stop him. And we've had good success on that, haven't we?" he directed his voice towards the ceiling, "didn't we drive him out of the archipelago just under two months ago?" They could hear the dragons make noises that sounded like they were agreeing. "Chief Stoick, I understand how you feel about that man, but for the time being you have nothing to worry about. At the moment he's gone, but if he returns I will certainly warn you."
Stoick knew Drago was more of a danger than the King. He'd let go of his hate for the King for now and deal with that madman first. After that he will confront the King about what happened to his son.
"You drove him away?" Marva was aghast.
"Yes we did. We smashed his machines, freed his dragons, and burned most of his boats. He had to flee for it and we pursued."
"But he escaped?" Marva asked eagerly.
Grimm growled. "Can I kill her?" He asked Hiccup slowly, calmly. Too calmly.
Normally Hiccup would disagree, the vikings and dragons thought so too. So they were surprised when they heard him say. "I won't agree to that, but I won't disagree either. Just make sure to clean up the mess."
"… Yes, he escaped. I received a message 10 days ago that my scouts lost track of him in the Normandy region of France. We're still searching, but for the moment he's gone."
The vikings were confused. What the hell was Normandy and France? They'll just ask the King once they get a break.
"Some bunch of scouts you've got" Marva sneered.
"Marva, if you say one more disrespectful word you shall have to leave."
"And are you going to make me, Father?"
"I could if you want, Gort," Dagur offered.
"I, for one wholeheartedly agree." Hiccup, the dragons and a lot of the vikings in the room knew exactly what Dagur meant. They didn't agree with beating kids but Marva was an exception. Hell, even Gort agreed on that one, and he was her father for crying out loud.
"I believe," Bertha said loudly to interrupt them, "you offered us terms for peace. What are they?"
The Dragon King clapped his hands together. "That's more like it! Now, I have told you already that there is no more need to fight. The Queen is dead and her former subjects have no reason to raid you so much. There is no reason to continue this war except for vengeance, which will solve nothing. All we can do now is declare peace and ensure the fighting stops."
"And just forget about those who've died?" Stoick growled, "Just forget about my wife and son?"
"Why should forgetting your son be hard now? It wasn't 8 years ago," the King mumbled softly.
"What was that?"
Stoick tuned to the King sharply. "What do you know about my son?!"
Most people would cower in fear but the King just casually said. "What everyone else knows. He's dead."
Astrid narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "But how did you even know he was dead?"
Hiccup had to make a convincing enough lie to get them off his back, he certainly didn't want them to know he was still alive. "I told you, I have eyes and ears everywhere. It's not exactly hard to find out an heir to a tribe died when my agents tell me everything about you."
"Oh, nothing important. But to answer you, certainly don't forget them! All the same, as I said earlier, can you bring them back? What good does it do to fight in someone's memory forever? Will your wife thank you for it later? Wouldn't your lost ones feel happier if they knew that the fighting had stopped forever, rather than seeing you always fighting to avenge them? Or…"and here he looked Stoick square in the eye, "are you reluctant to stop fighting because you're afraid of change?"
"I fear nothing." Stoick told him coldly.
"Literally one minute ago you went pale, because you are afraid of Drago building a dragon army." Any laughter this statement provided was quickly silenced by Stoick's glare.
"Oh I think you do. I think everyone here is afraid of things being new and different. You've all succeeded in your current way of life, you've found it comfortable and enjoyable, and now that I have come to tell you it's time to change it, you don't want to listen. I think that's the other reason for why you keep fighting: it's something you know and understand, and you're used to it. You live in the past because you're afraid of a different and unknown future. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but we can't let fear control us. Things are changing whether we like it or not, and the question for all of us now is this: are we going to change with it or be left behind?"
All of the vikings, except for the ones with the biggest hatred for dragons decided that maybe it was indeed time to change and stop fighting with the dragons and finally live in peace. It's not like they would have to LIVE with them… Right?
"So here are my terms for peace: in the first place, I claim several islands as a home for dragons. Don't worry; they're far enough away from your villages that you won't desire them later if your islands get too crowded. They're also fairly inaccessible for humans. My second term is this: all dragon killing must stop, save in self defense. There must be no more battles with dragons in your kill rings, and no more hunting them for sport. In return for this, I give you my solemn oath that I will do my utmost to stop any raids from happening. I excuse any deaths in self defense, for I realize you will naturally fight to defend yourself. I completely understand and forgive that, but I would like to remind you that dragons will defend themselves too. My third term is this: my islands are opened to any ship in need of a harbor, though we don't have one yet, but my tribe will not take sides in any Viking conflict. If the Berserkers and Bog-Burglars go to war tomorrow, that is their affair, not ours, and we will not step in unless it comes to us, in which case we will fight to defend ourselves, but nobody else. As for my fourth and final term, nobody will integrate dragons into their village."
"Why on earth would we do such a thing?" Mogadon exclaimed.
They agreed with Mogadon. Stopping the war and the fighting they could easily accept, but living with them? No, thank you. Not today, or ever really, for that matter.
"For power. I know some of you here would capture dragons and use them for selfish reasons. You'd use them as Drago Bludvist would: to conquer, to control, and to spread fear. I won't have that. Until I see proof that people are willing to see dragons for what they truly are, it's best that we keep dragons and humans separate. Do you agree to these conditions?"
That was one thing Stoick was glad for. He knew for sure that a few of his villagers would do exactly that. Mildew would definitely try something like that, he was sure of it. At least the old goat wasn't here to get any information about those beasts.
"In return, what will you give us?" Gort asked.
"As I said, I shall prevent dragon raids. Think about it. No more raids means no more burnt houses, no more destroyed crops or stolen livestock. You won't have to worry about rationing during the winter, or waste time and resources rebuilding. You won't have to go to sleep fearing the next raid will come that night. You won't have to give feed the dragons in your cells because there won't be any. You'll see fewer deaths by dragon fire, more children will grow into grandparents, and they won't see their parents die before they've grown up. The losses Chief Stoick has fought to prevent others from going through can become a reality. All that is yours for agreeing to four terms which have little impact on you anyway."
The chiefs present in the room looked at each other and silently discussed if they should really agree to these terms. In the end it was decided that this conversation should be held once they had a break from watching the future.
His words had struck a chord, and Astrid could see many chiefs were starting to realize what agreeing to these terms might mean.
"Where are these islands you're claiming?" Bertha asked.
"Yes," Dagur added eagerly, "if we're to know what islands to avoid, we must know where they are."
Everyone looked at the screen in disappointment and anger. Looks like Dagur would drag them into an unnecessary war with the King. They were sure the King would win, he had dragons on his side after all, but the destruction a war like that would cause would harm them all one way or another.
The King, rather reluctantly, pointed to a spot on his map. "It's right here. See, I am showing you where it is as a gesture of faith that you will not attempt to conquer it." He slowly started moving towards the door, "I'm sure you'll want some time to think this over and discuss it amongst yourselves, so I'll leave you to it. Keep in mind, though, that I'm going to carry out my side of these terms whether you like it or not."
"The location you showed us is fake isn't it?" Fishlegs asked the King.
"Oh, definitely. I would never give you the true location, I know people like Dagur would wage war almost immediately if he knew where I lived." They sighed in relief, at least Dagur or Alvin wouldn't be able to ruin their chance at peace.
"And how can we contact you if we do agree to them?" asked Gort.
He shrugged, "just say it out loud in a public place, and I'll send a letter by Terror thanking you." He formally bowed his head. "Thank you for your time. I sincerely hope you all will agree to peace, if not for your own sakes, than for the sake of your future generations."
"And what if we refuse your peace?" Dagur asked scornfully.
"Then I'll let all dragons know to never go near your island again, and consider you an enemy. Please keep in mind, if you attack us, we will defend ourselves. You might win the fight, but will the cost be worth it?" He headed for the door.
"No it wouldn't." Went trough the heads of all the room's occupants.
"By the way," Stoick said suddenly, "you said your dragon fired a plasma blast. We only know of one dragon that fires plasma, so does that mean you ride a Night Fury?"
"Yes it does."
"And have you ever seen any other Night Furies?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
"How do you control it?" Dagur interrupted eagerly.
"With one foot pushing a pedal," chuckled the King, though nobody else understood the joke.
This time around they got it. How were their future selves supposed to know Toothless had a prosthetic tailfin if the King hadn't told them.
"But seriously, I don't control Toothless. I repeat: I don't control any dragon. If I ride Toothless, it's because he lets me. If I am a King of Dragons, as you say I am, it's only because the dragons I live with do as I ask because they want to. Not because I have some kind of power over them."
"What do those creatures call you if not King?" Marva asked scornfully.
"Aye, what is your name?" asked Bertha.
"Behind my back, the dragons mostly call me 'The Hatchling,' though they think I don't know that!" he added loudly, and they heard what sounded like the dragons on the roof laughing, "As for my name, I have many names. Vikings alone have given me about a dozen. Dragon Emperor, Demon Lover, Traitor, and Sorcerer, to name a few, in India I'm known as the Friend of the Emperor, and in China I was known as the Emperor's Dragon's Dentist."
"That is a lot of titles, but what is your actual name if I may ask?" Inquired one of the more civilized vikings.
"I once had a name, long ago." That was the only answer he gave them, which did nothing other than increase their curiosity.
"But what do you call yourself?" Gort asked.
"I don't,"
"What did your parents name you when you were born?" Spitelout asked impatiently.
"I forgot it a long time ago."
"Who were your parents?" One Chief asked eagerly.
"I'm afraid you will never get the answer to those questions."
"They're dead far as I'm concerned, so it doesn't matter. The future, not the past, is what I came here for, and I have presented it to you all. What you choose to do is your affair now, but I deeply hope you'll agree to my offer of peace." With those final words the Dragon King left.
One Viking rushed after him but came back seconds later and exclaimed "he's gone!"
"Well, I wasn't going to stick around, I said my piece and now it's time for you to make a decision. I hope your future selves won't disappoint me." The vikings got a little worried, what would he do if they "disappoint" him?
"Well, that's to be expected," Gort sighed, "he does have dragons, after all."
"I'd love to get my hands on those," Dagur grinned.
Hiccup and the dragons snorted. "As if he'd be able to."
"A strange man," mused one Chief, "'dead as far as I'm concerned,' which implies they're still alive but estranged from him."
"But is he even a Viking?" "He speaks and understands Norse perfectly!" "And he couldn't have learned it when he came here?"
"Stoick, out of curiosity, why did you ask him if he's come across any other Night Furies?" Big-Boobied Bertha asked over this discussion.
"Yes, why is that important to you?" The King asked Stoick, though he already knew the answer. Stoick stayed silent, his future self would probably tell him the reason anyway.
"Because if he rides one and has never seen any other, then that means that Night Fury was the one that killed my son." Stoick replied darkly.
"That makes literally no sense. Just because I ride a Night Fury and have never seen another one doesn't mean others don't exist. I'm from far away and I have no idea what exactly happened to your son but I can tell you that Toothless definitely didn't kill him. I befriended Toothless long before I came to the archipelago and according to what I have seen and heard, by the time I arrived here Hiccup was already dead." Stoick still stubbornly didn't believe him.
"And what does that mean for you, Stoick?" Gort asked sharply. Stoick looked around the room uneasily. "It means nothing. He was right: nothing I can do will bring ma boy back." He was actually lying, in case the King was still listening to them.
The vikings, especially the chiefs were sweating nervously. It looked more and more as if Stoick rather than Dagur or Alvin would ruin their possible peaceful solution.
"Well, this meeting certainly didn't go the way we were expecting," one chief remarked, "so what are we going to do now?"
"I can't accept any terms until I've presented them to my people," Bertha said, "they have a right to know about this."
"I agree. I say we postpone any decisions until we've had a chance to see where our tribes stand on these matters," Gort said formally.
The members of the various tribes looked at each other. There were no downsides to these terms, maybe they really should accept them. The vikings from Berk were more hesitant, they knew how deep their chiefs hatred for dragons ran, and they highly doubted he would ever accept this.
"I decide what my tribe will do, not you, Gort, and not anybody else here," Dagur growled, "What I decide is my business, and I will not accept these stupid terms."
Mogadon nodded approvingly "I agree. My tribe is not subject to anything the rest of you agree on."
Gort sighed. "I was hoping perhaps we could unite and form a strong coalition, but you seem to want to go your own way and remain divided."
"And who would lead such a union? You, Father?" Marva sneered.
"Marva, would you please not use that tone here?"
"I'll use whatever tone I like. What are you going to do about it?"
"Beat her, Gort. That's what I'd do if I had kids. It's the only way they learn respect." Dagur commented.
"It's a good thing he doesn't have kids then." Thought every single dragon and viking in the room.
Stoick cleared his throat for silence. "Getting back on subject, I agree we should leave any decisions until we've talked it over with our tribes. I also agree that what the Berserkers or Lavalouts decide makes no difference to what the Hairy Hooligans decide. But I've got a notion in ma old numbskull. This island of his seems none too far from Berk. Suppose I sent some people to this place to have a look at it?"
"It would help to know what we're up against," one chief observed.
"But Stoick, what if he kills them, or takes them prisoner?" Bertha exclaimed.
"Then we'll know we're up against a monster who should be killed at once," Stoick replied grimly.
The Berkians looked unsure, they might not hate the King anymore but watching this had proven that he was a lot smarter than the rest of them. Who knew what else he had up his sleves.