It was a lovely autumn night around a fire, the group, a blend of Vikings and Scots, were swapping scary stories. Gobber was particularly engaging in his story about the Boneknapper dragon.

"So there I was, all alone, stranded on an island full of bones. I had heard of the Boneknapper, but had never seen one before. Was I to be next in its hunt for the perfect bone to finish its armor? But I couldn't hide forever, I had to get off that island. So, with only a torch and my broom, I set out to find some means of escape. Little did I know I was being watched." His audience gasped.

Eret leaned towards Hiccup. "This is way better than the stories he told us about the Boneknapper."

Astrid snorted. "Guess reality is stranger than fiction."

"Sh," said Hiccup. "Let him finish. If they like it, all the better." He nodded at the Scots. One Scot in particular, the princess no less, seemed really intent on the story, listening with interest. She had been interested in hearing all about the dragons, asking a lot of questions. Her curiosity impressed, and interested, Hiccup. He hadn't met someone so eager to learn, not since Fishlegs, nor someone so eager to get her own dragon. Her fiery red curls cascaded past her shoulders, looking wild and free, while her blue eyes reminded Hiccup of the big blue sky. He wished she would look his way, just once. He was feeling a little lonely with Eret and Astrid getting all cuddly next to him. But her attention was on Gobber.

"So I searched all night long, hoping to find some way of escape, but all I could find were bones. Can't put to sea in a boat of bones, trust me, I actually tried it."

"Of course you did," mumbled Snotlout.

"Sh!" said Hiccup and Stoick at the same time. Snotlout put up his hands and grinned nervously.

"So I had to come up with a different plan, I decided to try and use the Boneknapper itself to fly me off the island. But, how could I do that without becoming another bone on its armor?" The youngest members of the Scottish group, the triplet brothers of Merida, gasped and leaned in, excited to hear what came next. "So I went and found myself the largest pile of bones I could and waited. The Boneknapper finally came, all skeletal and silent." He paused, wriggling his fingers. His audience gasped. "He didn't notice me as he went digging through the bones, so I took my chance and found a spot to hang on to." Gobber chuckled. "Guess I should have worried too too much, that Boneknapper had a couple of blind spots, and I had found one of them."

"But, how did you know it was its blind spot?" asked a Scotsman. Hiccup knows it was one of the three young lords who was seeking the princess's hand, but he couldn't remember which one. Their names all began with young, Young MacIntosh, Young McGuffin, and, oh yeah, it was actually Wee Dingwall. Ruffnut was flirting with Young MacIntosh, who was enjoying the attention.

"Well, for one thing, I was able to ride it off the island without it noticing me. And for another, I saw the remains of a guy who apparently tried the same tactic, and failed." The group gasped.

"Well," said Chief Fergus, rising from his seat. "No offence, but that wasn't quite scary."

Gobber huffed. "Then care to share something that's scarier than a Boneknapper?"

"Oh, yes, my children will know this story by heart. The story of the demon bear, Mordu." The triplets gasped and dashed behind Merida and their mother, but they peeked out from behind Merida's and Elinor's backs with huge grins. "The legend goes that Mordu wanted to rule over all of Scotland, and went to war with his brothers and the other clan chiefs. But Mordu became rather blood-thirsty. If anyone so much as dared to say anything against him, even as a joke, he would have them killed. His own men began to turn on him. He hid to bide his time. A witch gave him a potion as a way to put a stop to his blood-lust, and he turned into a bear. I mean, you would think that since a bear eats honey, fish, and berries that would work, right? But no, the plan backfired, and Mordu used his bear strength to kill many of his men. His brothers managed to banish him, to never be allowed back in the castle. Now Mordu roams the woods at night, seeking for another victim to kill in his maddening desire to rule all of Scotland."

"Th-these w-woods?" asked Fishlegs, a squeak coming out at the end of his sentence.

"Aye," said Fergus with a nod. He walked around the circle. "And there's a way to call for him too, should you ever want to meet him. Just simply call out, 'Mordu, Mordu, I've found a traitor for you'. And then Mordu will come up behind you and RAWR!" Fergus let out a loud roar right behind Fishlegs. Everyone jumped and screamed. Fergus burst out laughing, followed by the other clan chiefs. Merida was giggling.

"Ok, Ok, that was pretty good," said Hiccup, chuckling nervously.

The triplets nearly fell over laughing while Merida pointed at them. "You should have seen your faces!"

"Yeah, Ok, ha ha, yeah," said Hiccup.

"How do you guys come up with stories like this?" asked Valka. The Scots stopped laughing and became dead serious.

"Oh lad, Mordu's real." Fergus propped his peg leg on one of the logs. "It's how I got this beauty. I fought Mordu myself. I barely made it out with my life!"

Merida bobbed her head. "It was pretty scary."

"It was, and I'd rather you not try something so foolish again," said Elinor.

"What? I was only protecting you and Merida, my dear."

"W-wait, M-Mordu's r-real?" whimpered Fishlegs.

"As real as your own dragons," said Fergus.

Hiccup stood up and chuckled nervously. "Well, since we do have our dragons, we should be perfectly safe. And it looks like that fire needs some more wood. I'm going to go get some."

"But, Hiccup! Mordu's out there!" said Fishlegs.

"Don't worry, I'll have Toothless with me." Hiccup turned to his dragon. "Right bud?" Toothless nodded.

Fergus chuckled. "I think getting lost should be your biggest worry rather than Mordu. We haven't seen him in years." He turned to his daughter. "Merida, why don't you go with the lad?"

"Oh no, there's no need to . . ."

Merida bounced up, chuckling softly. "Oh, you wee lamb, you'll definitely get lost. Come on." She walked past the stuttering Hiccup.

Hiccup sighed. "Oh fine." Even though, deep down, he was glad it was her. The three walked deep into the forest. There was a thick silence, Hiccup thought it was so thick that it would suffocate him. They began picking up a few sticks before Hiccup decided to try and break the silence. "So, um, ah, Mordu is real, huh? You and your mother saw him?"

"As clear as I see you and your dragon right now," replied Merida.

"You really think your dad scared him off?"

"I certainly hope so, I mean, we haven't seen him in years. Dad's the Bear King now because of it."

"Right, all the bears on your flags and whatnot."

"And you're the Dragon Master, hence why all the dragons on your flags and whatnot," said Merida with a smirk.

Hiccup chuckled. "Yeah, that's right." A moment of silence. "So, um, have you, have you decided on which of the clan heirs you're going to marry?"

"Well, I don't think it's going to be Young MacIntosh, you can thank your friend for that."

Hiccup ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh, sorry about that."

"Don't be, I really want you to thank her."

"Oh, oh!" said Hiccup, suddenly realizing what Merida was getting at. She didn't quite like the Young MacIntosh. "So, what about Young McGuffin and Wee Dingwall?"

"Hmm," said Merida, wrinkling her nose, "if I really had to choose, I guess Young McGuffin. Wee Dingwall's really not my type. He's a nice lad, but I don't love him."

"But you don't exactly love Young McGuffin either."

"Mm, no, not really." Merida huffed. "But I could I guess."

"What would happen if someone else came in?"

Merida glanced at Hiccup, blinking in confusion. "Someone else?"

"Yeah, you know, what if, um, someone else presented himself as a suitor?"

"Well, it would depend on who that is, there's really no one else around our age."

Him squeezed his eyes shut. "Me, Merida, I'm talking about me." He opened his eyes, Merida had turned to look at him in shock.

"Y-you're presenting yourself as a suitor?"

"Y-yeah, why not? I'm a chief's son, well, I am the chief now, but I'm just as good as any of the others. W-well, I mean, I'm not as good-looking as Young MacIntosh, or as Scottish as Wee Dingwall, or, or as interesting as Young McGuffin . . ."

"Yes!"

Hiccup blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I said yes, you silly Viking! Yes!"

"W-wait, really?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself, Hiccup."

Hiccup chuckled nervously. "Sorry, I was just so worried that you were going to say no that . . . um, what's that?" Merida turned as Toothless edged closer towards them, a soft growling emanating from his throat. A little blue light had appeared, it looked like a face was in it.

Merida gasped. "Why, that's a will o' wisp! Legends say they can lead you to your destiny!"

"Oh, Ok, this really seems like a spooky night now. Tales of skeleton dragons and demon bears, and now ghostly lights? Is there anything else that's scary you Scots are hiding from us?" Merida shot him a look before walking closer towards the will o' wisp. As soon as she got close enough to touch it, it disappeared with a soft sigh before a whole line of them appeared. Hiccup grabbed Merida's arm before she took another step. "You're sure you want to follow them?" he asked.

"Why not? There must be something we need to find," said Merida with a shrug.

"But we really should be heading back to the camp. Can't we follow them another time?" The closest wisp seemed to urge them forward. The others behind it frantically echoed its movements.

"No, we should follow, I think something's wrong."

"Yeah, we're following a bunch of ghost lights," muttered Hiccup.

Merida groaned and grabbed his hand. "Come on." They followed the will o' wisps for a few feet before they stopped.

"Ok, now what?" asked Hiccup. They were standing in a small clearing between the trees. Merida stepped closer, noticing something on a branch.

"Ach, what is this? I can barely . . ." She jumped as something ignited behind her and a warm glow filled the grove. She turned, Hiccup had ignited his sword. He grinned sheepishly at her. "Oh, uh, thanks."

"No problem."

She turned back to the thing on the branch and plucked it off. She scrutinized it in the light of Hiccup's sword. She gasped. "This is bear fur."

Hiccup peered at the dark fur. "How can you tell?"

"I've played enough with my dad's fur coat to know how bear fur feels and looks."

Hiccup blinked. "Ok, so we've found what used to be a resting spot for a bear."

"But why isn't it here? Bears sleep at night too. Unless . . . unless it's Mordu!"

Hiccup flailed his left hand, the one not holding the flaming sword. "Hold on, hold on, you can't just expect me to believe that you find some bear fur and think it's this demon bear?"

"But the will o' wisps? They had to have brought us here, to warn us!" Merida grabbed Hiccup's hand and began pulling him towards the camp. "Come one, we have to warn the others!"

"But how can you be so sure that, that . . ." Hiccup gulped as a large form rose from the shadows, right in front of them. "That's him, isn't it?" The bear had broken arrows and weapon hilts sticking out of its fur and scars all over its body. One eye was white. It certainly looked like a demon bear.

"Y-yup," said Merida. The bear roared. The two screamed. "Run!" Merida pulled Hiccup through the woods, the two dashing back towards the camp. The bear was hot on their heels.

"Aah! Toothless!" Toothless let out a roar and rammed into Mordu. Merida and Hiccup kept on running.

"What took you so long? And where's the firewood?" asked Fergus when the two burst into the camp.

"Mordu! We saw . . . Mordu!" Merida said between gasps of air.

"What?" the group cried out.

Fergus quickly picked up his sword. "Where is he?"

"Toothless is fighting him!" said Hiccup. At that moment, Toothless crashed into the camp, snarling. He quickly righted himself. Mordu stepped into the fire's glow, the light danced maniacally on his face as he roared, his one good eye turned red. Toothless roared in reply, staying between Mordu and the group.

"Everybody, back to the castle!" shouted Fergus. Everyone ran pell mell out of the clearing, screaming, towards the castle. Fergus pushed Merida and Hiccup towards that way when they didn't move. "You heard me, move!"

"I'm not leaving Toothless!" shouted Hiccup.

"He stands a better chance against that bear than the rest of us!"

"He stands a better chance if he's not alone!" retorted Hiccup. He swung his fiery sword. "And no offence, Chief Fergus, but Mordu hasn't dealt with a fiery sword yet."

"I'd rather you not try your luck, lad."

"It hasn't failed me yet," said Hiccup, walking towards Toothless.

"Hiccup!" called out Merida. Mordu glanced at Merida and Fergus before glancing at Hiccup.

Hiccup blinked. "Uh, what's with that look?" Mordu growled before charging at Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" screamed Merida. Hiccup yelled and swung his sword, the flames singeing the bear's fur. The bear took a step back then charged again, this time Toothless jumped him. The two rolled around the clearing, snarling at each other all while clawing and biting at each other. Mordu swung at Toothless, sending him rolling on the ground. Mordu turned towards Hiccup and charged again. Fergus shouted a war cry before charging Mordu. Merida let loose a couple of arrows, but the bear didn't seem to notice. Fergus's sword broke upon impact.

"Is there nothing that can take him down?" asked Hiccup.

"Well your sword didn't seem to have a problem," said Merida, dashing to stand by Hiccup before letting loose a couple more arrows.

"But he didn't have a problem with it either!" said Hiccup as Fergus joined them while Toothless and Mordu locked in fierce battle again.

"Why don't you have your dragon shoot him with a fireball?" asked Fergus.

"And risk burning down the whole forest?"

"Oh, right," mumbled Fergus, glancing around at the wildfire just waiting to happen.

"Well we need to do something soon!" said Merida. A roar answered.

Hiccup glanced up and whooped. "Mom! Cloudjumper!" Valka and her large dragon descended on the dueling animals. Cloudjumpeer picked up Mordu. Toothless untangled himself from the bear's claws and fell to the ground. He quickly righted himself. "Actually, I think now is a good time. Toothless, fire!" Toothless opened his mouth and shot a fireball straight into Mordu's chest. The bear seemed to shiver and went limp. There was a moment of anxious silence as they waited to see if the bear would move again. He didn't. "Mom, drop him!" Toothless quickly moved out of the way as Cloudjumper let go of the bear. It hit the ground with a huge thump. Hiccup stepped cautiously towards the mound of fur.

"Careful, lad," warned Fergus. Merida raised her bow. Hiccup touched the bear, but a blue light left the form.

"Why, that's a will o' wisp!" whispered Merida. The light revealed the face of a man. He nodded before it faded away.

"I, I think that was Mordu when he was a man," said Hiccup, turning to Fergus and Merida.

"I think so too," said Fergus. "But you do know what this means, right?"

"What?" asked Hiccup slowly.

"A party! You and your dragon defeated the demon bear!" shouted Fergus, picking up Hiccup and swinging him around. He put Hiccup down and began walking back to the castle. "This is going to be one awesome alliance!"

"Good to know!" shouted Valka with a chuckle before following on Cloudjumper.

Hiccup shook his head. "Whoa, wow, glad we made such a good impression."

"Well, there's only been one other person who faced Mordu and survived, and that was my dad. You're quite the hero."

Hiccup ran his fingers through his hair. "Uh, yeah, great, um . . ."

Merida chuckled before kissing his cheek. "It will certainly give you quite the leg up on the other suitors."

Hiccup blushed. "Well, that's good to know." Toothless chortled. "Oh be quiet, you useless reptile."

Merida laughed as she wrapped her arm around Hiccup's. "Come on. Can't have the hero's party without the hero. And you can announce your intention to be one of my suitors then too. Best time to do it."

"Oh good to know," said Hiccup as they walked back to the castle, Toothless walking behind them, feeling quite proud of himself.