Jarik POV...

We parked our speedboat by the side of the docks, in an area that is more secluded from the rest, both to not interrupt anything in their schedule and to keep our stuff separate from theirs. As usual, any Viking that was nearby would stop to stare at us, still not fully used to us even after five years, but there was no hostility anymore. At least besides the more radical villagers that even the rest deemed insane. Take Mildew for example.

Anyways, our relationship with Berk is more as an acquaintance type friendship, where we both respect each other and would offer help to the other if require, but we aren't best pals or 'buddy buddies.' That's really only between Hiccup, Gobber and Gothi, Stoick when he's in a good mood, and sometimes the teens. I climbed onto the dock and attached the small rope to the pier, offering a courteous hand to Ahsoka with a charming smile.

"My lady Tano," I said, causing her to look up at me with a raised eyebrow and Mara to snicker.

"Am I supposed to accept your hand?" she asks sarcastically.

"Yes, that's how it goes," I replied.

She considers before declining. "I'll think I'll pass thank you," she says with a smirk, pulling her small travel bag on and climbing onto the docks easily and I rolled my eyes.

"I'll accept the offer!" Mara exclaims, already wearing her bag and I let out a sigh before pulling her up. "Thanks daddy!" she says, grinning innocently and I shooed her on.

"Yeah yeah," I muttered without an real bite.

"You're so easy to tease Jarik." Ahsoka says while I grab my own bag.

"Is that right?" I ask.

"Yup! And you already know how mischievous I can be!" Mara says proudly.

"Speaking of mischief..." I start to say, slinging my bag over my shoulder and walking over to the nearby post, slamming my left elbow into it. The post wobbles considerably, and two forms perched on top fall to the ground in the middle of our circle with startled cries. The three of us let out sighs of exasperation as Tuffnut and Ruffnut get to their feet, straightening their helmets with scowls on their faces.

"Dude, what was that for!?" Tuffnut demands.

"Dare we ask Tuff?" Mara questions sarcastically.

"Dare you ask? HAH! As if you could understand the adventures of a dare!" Tuffnut says in reply.

"Yeah, one time I dared him to put yak dung down his-" Ruffnut started to say before I slammed a hand over her mouth.

"Don't even go there," I warned her, and she pushed my hand away, shoving Tuffnut in the process. Just then I notice Stoick and Gobber approaching us, both with looks of annoyance on their faces.

"RUFFNUT! TUFFNUT!" Stoick bellowed. "What are you two doing?" he demands.

"Oh hey chief! We were just uh, inviting our prestigious Jedi visitors back to our wonderful Isle of Berk!" Tuffnut announces, waving his arms dramatically at us.

"No greeting, no beating!" Ruffnut added in with an attempt of 'welcoming' rhyme, before frowning in confusion. The rest of us, even Tuffnut all stared at her with varying looks of exasperation and calm disbelief at her ridiculous statement.

"You're such a moron." Tuffnut deadpanned.

Gobber sighs. "I'd be surprised if they make it through the first day of training," Gobber says to Stoick, who nods in agreement. "Alright you numbskulls, scram!" Gobber exclaims, and the twins immediately rush out of sight, bickering with each other.

"Is it weird to say I've gotten used to that?" Mara asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Unfortunately," I said in agreement.

"Ahh, they're always like that." Gobber says. "Nice to see you lot back here eh?"

"Anytime Gobber," Ahsoka said with a small smile.

"Let me guess, you guys got raided again?" Mara asks, gesturing to the village as we head up the docks. I notice the recent signs of destruction as well. Vikings rebuilding houses, some wood still smoldering and smoking, numerous scorch marks on the dirt and feels.

"Yup. The devils were more vicious this time around," Stoick said, and the three of us frowned at the choice of words but otherwise didn't comment. "We're actually heading out on another search tomorrow."

"Right now?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't winter almost here?"

"Aye, but these attacks are getting more difficult. We need to find and finish the nest before they do us. This is our last shot before winter to make that happen," he says determinedly.

Ahsoka and I glance at each other in concern, but this isn't the first time Stoick has shown his determination and what lengths he will go to in order to defeat the dragon nest. "If you say so," I replied.

"By the way, where's Hiccup at today?" Mara asks Gobber curiously.

"Hiccup?" Stoick says with a raises eyebrow, letting off an almost unnoticeable sigh of aggravation. "He should be at the house," he grumbles. I get the feeling the raid had another, 'accident.'

Mara frowned in annoyance but Gobber leaned forwards. "Ah, don't mind him. He's just upset that part of the village was destroyed by one of our flaming braziers," he said.

"Let me guess, Hiccup?" Ahsoka asked sarcastically, a hand on her hip.

"Eh, a Nightmare may have... chased him across town and burned down the post he was hiding behind." Gobber admitted sheepishly.

"He shouldn't have been ever there in the first place." Stoick said in irritation, his displeasure about the matter obvious, and Mara scowled, holding herself back from the need to defend Hiccup from Stoick. At this point we had arrived at the house that we occupied when visiting Berk. The villagers all helped to build it during our first visit, despite our attempts to politely decline the offer. They wouldn't be denied however, stating that they owed us a debt for using the Force to calm down the dragons and get them to leave the island that first time, and also feeling that we deserved better due to our status as Jedi. Anything more than the simple house we finally had built we absolutely refused, since we didn't want to impede on their lives and takes something from them when it wasn't necessary.

Before anything more could be said, Ahsoka's communicator started beeping, causing Stoick and Gobber to jump in surprise, whilst she merely pulled it out of her pocket.

"What is-" Stoick started defensively.

"Relax, it's just a communicator," she quickly shot him down. Most people couldn't do that to him, but even Stoick had come to realize the danger of getting on the bad side of the shorter 5' 7" Togruta lady.

"One of your... magic speech things?" Gobber questioned.

Mara rolled her eyes. "It's not magic you doofus, just technology. Over a thousand years ahead of your stuff," she said proudly.

Gobber and Stoick widened their eyes before nodding, staring in wonder at the communicator as Ahsoka checked it. I crossed my arms and looked down at Mara with a raised eyebrow. "Need I remind you that a Jedi is humble, my young Padawan?"

She shrugged in response. "What? It's true."

"Did you just quote Anakin?" Ahsoka asked, looking up at me from the communicator. I shrugged in response and she rolled her eyes, looking back down at the communicator.

"Who?" Gobber asked.

"Her old master, not important," I said, waving it off.

"Alright well come on then Gobber! We have our duties to take care of." Stoick said sternly, marching away with purpose. Gobber followed after him, leaving us to ourselves. Ahsoka checked the caller ID and looked up at us.

"Hera's calling," she said.

"Really? Right now?" Mara asked in annoyance.

"Well it's not like the Empire ever takes a break huh?" she asked sarcastically.

"Ok, good point." Mara said in agreement as we headed inside the house. It was simple on the inside, made in the traditional Viking style, although modified how we saw fit. The house was relatively small, about the size of 2-3 huts on Ahch-To, but that wasn't too much of a problem for us. Mara slept upstairs in a small loft which she can reach by climbing a ladder on the side, and on the main floor was me and Ahsoka's bed, as well as a table and small storage cabinet, along with a storage crate we brought from the Knight Hawk to hold food. There was never any worries about the twins taking it because it was bolted to the floor, and locked magnetically so that only one of us three could open it. Besides, even the twins wouldn't dare steal from us. Pranks and trying to make us miserable are one thing, but stealing is a line they won't cross.

Shutting the door, we set our bags on the wall hooks and sat down at the table, where Ahsoka placed the communicator in front of her.

"Looks like this is about the supplies we left for pickup the other day on Fort Anaxes," she said.

"Oh really? Didn't we drop those off like, three days ago?" I asked.

"Hmm hmm," she says in reply. "I'm sure you enjoyed touring your old battlegrounds."

"Hey, it's the large battle taking place after I realized Echo was still alive, of course I value it," I retorted.

"I like that story. You should tell it to me in full soon!" Mara said hopefully.

"In a little bit. Perhaps I'll write a chapter in my life story about it," I replied with a hint of sarcasm, and a smile on my face. She grinned eagerly in response before Ahsoka shushes us. Reminding Mara to be quiet with a gesture, we watched her accept the call. A hologram of Hera sitting in a pilot's seat came on. I love how we could see them, but they couldn't see us thanks to my programming. Kinda fun actually.

"Phantom, this is Fulcrum. Come in," Ahsoka said.

"This is Specter-2, Fulcrum." Hera replied. Then she turned to look at someone off of the screen, and I think I heard a girl's voice asking if she could talk to Fulcrum. Hah, if only they knew there was more than one person, and the speaker wasn't even a guy.

"Don't you dare." Hera said quietly as a warning, and Mara raised an eyebrow incredulously at me. I put a hand to my lips, making sure she knew to stay quiet. If she spoke then it would be confusing and suspicious, so thankfully she understood and kept quiet.

"It's already at the rendezvous, Specter-2. Supplies are unloaded and ready. Should I wait there for you?" Ahsoka questions, although we're hoping that we don't have to suddenly leave for an emergency. Then, out of nowhere, a teenage girl about sixteen years old or so pushed in against Hera, speaking into the com. Hera gaped at her in annoyance. I think this was Spectre-5, and she had some colorful armor... oh no.

"Yeah, stick around! Specter-2 and I would love to talk to you," she said, although there was a hint of suspicion in her tone.

Mara rolls her eyes while Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. I eyed Spectre-5 warily, not sure what to think. "Specter-2, what's the problem?" Ahsoka asked.

Hera quickly pushes Spectre-5 back before speaking into the comlink again. "No problem, Fulcrum. Specter-5 decided to help with the supply run," she said nervously.

Ahsoka let off an unnoticeably sigh to them but nodded. "Understood. Fulcrum out."

She closed the transmission and Mara immediately spoke up. "Wow. Talk about suspicious am I right?"

"No kidding... you alright Jarik?" Ahsoka asked, noticed my conflicted expression.

"Yeah I'm fine it's just... you noticed what Spectre-5 was wearing?" I asked.

"What?" Mara questioned curiously.

"Mandalorian armor. And you know how complicated that'll make things," I said pointedly, and Ahsoka widened her eyes before nodding her head in realization.

"Yeah... I see the problem," she said in agreement.

Mara snorted in amusement. "HA! Guess it's a good thing you aren't the talker huh dad?" she teased.

"Oh how funny," I retorted.

"Well, this is only a simple supply pickup so it won't be necessary for me to be there," Ahsoka decided with a shrug. "You think I should've told them about the Fyrnock's now living there?"

Fyrnocks were carnivorous animals that had somehow managed to make a home in the remains of the base, scavenging and eating anything that came their way. Basically they looked like a mix between a large reptile and loth-cat. I thought about it for a moment before shrugging.

"Well it's just a supply run like you said. In and out. Besides we placed those crates in the sun anyways," I decided.

"Fair point." Ahsoka replied in agreement.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna come back to haunt us?" Mara asked rhetorically.

"Usually does, but they'll be fine, especially if one of them is a Mandalorian," I said.

"She's a teenager," she replied with a frown.

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at her. "And your thirteen, younger then her, yet you can fight well. Your point?"

Mara opened her mouth to reply before closing it, looking at us sheepishly. "Ok, that was dumb of me," she agreed.


Hiccup POV...

I looked at my drawn map of the island, covered in X's. I had been searching the island for the better part of the day, yet had found nothing, not even a single sign of there ever being a crashed dragon. All these X's were spots that had nothing. But maybe this place might finally have the Night Fury. I take a deep breathe and peek over the gorge in front of me expectantly. As usual, I see nothing. Exasperated, I add another 'X' to the page. My exasperation quickly turns to frustration and anger as I then scratch my pencil over the whole map, snapping the book closed and pocketing it.

"Uggh, the gods hate me." I muttered hopelessly. "Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon!"

I whack a low-hanging branch in my way, walking forwards. However it snaps back at me, hitting me in the face.

"OWW!" I exclaim painfully, holding a hand up to my face. That was surely going to leave a mark. I glare furiously up at the branch before noticing the tree it was on was broken.

My eyes follow the downed tree to a long trench of up-turned dirt. I widen my eyes in shock before a surge of excitement rushes through me. His must be the dragon's crash landing! I follow the deep trench and then walk up the mound of dirt, suddenly seeing the dragon right in front of me. I gasp in sudden fear and duck back down behind the mound of dirt, expecting it to attack. When nothing happens, I peek my head over the side again to see a downed, black dragon, its body and tail tangled in the bola. It appears dead. I smile widely, approaching the dragon with confidence.

"Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This fixes everything. Yes!" I said happily, striking a victory pose and planting my foot on the fallen Night Fury.

"I have brought down this mighty beast!" I declared.

To my surprise the dragon suddenly shifts, throwing my foot off of him with a growl. I yelp and stumbled backwards against the rock, eyeing the dragon fearfully again. However it doesn't move anymore, still tied up and gives no further reaction. Scrambling slightly, I pull my knife out and point it at the dragon.

Rattled, I creep forwards to stand in front of the weak, wounded dragon, dagger poised to strike. As I looked is body over, my gaze reaches the head, and my heart stops upon seeing the Night Fury staring coldly back at me with wide, green eyes, not blinking. I swallow nervously and try to look away, but am drawn back to its unnerving, unflinching stare. I shouldn't be afraid though with the dragon tangled in the ropes, unable to make a move to attack me. Taking a deep breathe and preparing myself, I raise my dagger puffing up with false bravado, trying to do what I have to.

"I'm going to kill you, Dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking." I say determinedly, before glaring down at the dragon. "I am a VIKING!"

The dragon's labored breathing breaks my clenched concentration, and it growls in response. I lift my dagger above my head, eyes closed, but reopen an eye, uncertainty leaking through as I look down at it. The dragon holds the stare, and I was struck by its gaze... at the terror plainly visible to me through its eye. Nothing and no one has ever been terrified of me before...

Finally, the Night Fury closes its eye and lowers its head, resigned to its fate. Seeing this, I raise my dagger up higher, trying to go through with it, a fierce scowl on my face... fighting myself... until finally lowering it with a frustrated sigh. I look over the dragon's chaffed rope wounds guiltily, staring at my dagger.

"I did this," I said quietly, ashamed of myself. I could never be a Viking if this is what it would take. Giving the dragon one last look, I turn to leave. But a few steps away I pause, glancing back at the dragon, chest heaving. I consider what to do, hesitant, before I finally grumble in annoyance. Check in to make sure no one is nearby or watching, I scurry back towards the Night Fury and kneel be its side. I start cutting though the ropes, and they separate with loud snaps. I glance over my shoulder to check in case anyone is watching. The ropes begin to slacken as more are cut, and as soon as the last rope falls free, the Night Fury suddenly roars, pouncing on me before I could react. It's paw grabs me and then I get slammed harshly into the rock.

I let out a quick shout of fear as the dragon pins me against the rock, and start breathing heavily, looking up at its head in terror. It glares down at me with narrowed eyes, pupils into slits with a furious gaze, yet I can see some sort of intelligence in them. It looks absolutely furious, like it's about to kill me. I'm paralyzed from fear, able to see myself reflected in the dragon's eyes. The exchange is intense, terrifying, and I continuously scream in my mind that releasing the dragon was a huge mistake, one which I'm about to pay for. The dragon then raises its head in a snarl, teeth glinting, as though it's about to blast me. I shut my eyes tightly, wishing for it to be quick. Instead, an ear-piercing shriek comes from its mouth as it roars in my ear. As soon as it does so, it turns and takes flight, flapping violently through the canopy of trees. It bashes against a nearby mountain side, recovers, and drops out of view some distance away.

I reopen my eyes and watch it go, hyperventilating before exhaling in shock. I can't believe I'm still alive... and it left me alone as well. I slump against the rock before slowly trying to get up, dagger in hand. Staring in the direction it traveled, I can hear its roars off in the distance, which still shake me immensely. I turn around, deciding to finally head back to the village, but I still couldn't believe what had happened. Stunned and shocked, I stumble slightly, letting out a pitiful moan and dropping my dagger before falling to the ground, fainting.


I don't know how long I was out, but eventually I reawaken, slowly opening my eyes with a groan. I realize I'm still laying in the dirt and slowly push myself to my feet, rubbing my head. Was all of that just a dream... or did I actually just free a dragon, a Night Fury no less, and survived without a scratch?!

No, a quick glance at the pile of cut bolas showed that I wasn't dreaming, and that I actually did free a dragon, a Night Fury no less, and survived without a scratch. Oh... everyone's gonna kill me if they find out. With that happy though in mind, I put away my dagger and begin walking back to the village. I notice how low in the sky the sun seems and quicken my pace, also feeling the effects of practically no food in my stomach the whole day as well. I could eat something back at the house. At some point in the forest I hear Mara's voice calling my name.

"Hiccup? You out here somewhere?" she says.

"Hiccup?" she asks in bewilderment.

"Mara?" I reply dumbly, getting to my feet awkwardly and straightening my vest. "W-when did you get here?"

"Just this morning. What're you doing in the woods all day?" she asks in confusion, looking me over at all the dirt covering me from laying on the ground for hours.

"Oh uhh..." I say hesitantly, thinking of a reply. I don't think she'd hate me if I told her about the Night Fury, but I do not want to take any chances. "Just... exploring the woods. Raid happened last night, so I had nothing to do today..." I lied through my teeth, smiling with a nervous laugh.

By the look on her face she doesn't belief it one bit, but thankfully she doesn't press the issue, sighing in exasperation. "Whatever you say fishbone," she said, and we start walking back to the village.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "Yeah... so what were you doing in the forest then?" I ask.

"When you weren't at the house, like I expected you to be, or even in the village I came looking for you after Mom and Dad said I could," she replied. "Quiet places in the forest are your usual preferences right?"

"Uh huh," I responded. "I even have a whole map of the island," I admitted proudly with a small smile, something I couldn't do much around other people.

"Cool. My dad already had a full scanned map of Berk for a while," she said bluntly, and my expression fell.

"Way to kill my self-esteem," I deadpanned.

She smirks at me in reply. "I do it to everyone, something I picked up from dad. But it is cool that you managed to draw the whole thing by hand, not many people can do that," she says, punching my arm lightly.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. At this point however it was getting really dark out, and we almost couldn't see in front of us. "Won't matter though if we can't see where we're going," I sighed.

"Not a problem," she said. Pulling her lightsaber off of her belt, she activated the purple blade, which hummed gently, bathing us and the surrounding area in a violet glow, enough to see a couple feet in front of us. Even though I've seen it before, I'm still in awe of the idea of such a weapon existing.

"Oh right, lightsaber. Of course," I said sarcastically.

"When you're a Jedi, you never need a flashlight- well torch I guess, to see in the dark. Our lightsabers already do that for us," she said with a grin, taking care to remember I'm not familiar with the terms she might use. Like what the heck is a flashlight?

"Well the name certainly fits," I agreed, referring to the fact that it is called a 'light,' saber. We chat with each other a little bit, and I almost forget about the Night Fury and what happened during this morning's dragon raid until we reach the village, and Mara turns off her lightsaber, the torch light from the village enabling us to see again.

"Well, see you tomorrow Hiccup," she says, heading over to her house. It was stationed on the hill above the others, closer to the forest and by itself, similar to mine, but obviously not as large as my house.

"See you," I call out, watching her head off to their house, her fur cloak ruffling lightly in the breeze.

Turning back towards my house, I let out a sigh, not anticipating the possibility of talking to my dad, especially after releasing the Night Fury. I'd much rather not be visible at all to him tonight. Entering the house, I notice him sitting at the fire, stoking the flames and close the door as quietly as I could. I scamper past him, rushing up the stairs as fast as possible. I almost make it, thinking I'm in the clear when...

"Hiccup," he says.

"Dad! Uh..." I stammer nervously.

He stands up, taking a deep breath as I slowly move back down the stairs to stand before him, shuffling nervously and awkwardly.

"I, uh... I have to talk to you, Dad," I admit.

"I need to speak with you too, son," he says, claspin his hands together.

I take a breathe and straighten up, about to just admit it from the get go that I won't be able to kill dragons at all, not after what happened today. I don't have to tell him about the Night Fury, just that I can't kill dragons.

"I've decided- I don't want to- I think it's time you learn fight dragons- to fight dragons," we both say at the same time before glancing at each other in surprise. "What? What?"

I shuffled, feeling very awkward and he clears his throat, feeling the same. "You go first," he says.

"No, you go first," I immediately reply. Better to let him get what he has to say off his chest so that my words won't affect what he has to say, if they do.

"Alright. You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the morning," he declares.

I widen my eyes in surprise at what he said and internally screamed to myself. "Oh man, I should've gone first. Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough bread-making Vikings, or small home repair Vikings-" I stammer out, but he interrupts me.

"-You'll need this," he says, handing me a massive single-blades axe. I stumble under its weight and try to hold it up, groaning at the irony of this situation.

"I don't want to fight dragons," I tell him again.

"Come on. Yes, you do," he chuckles in amusement, not believing me. But seriously, who can blame him? For the longest time I've tried to go out a kill a dragon to impress him, only to fail of course, yet now that he's offering me the chance I'm turning it down. Of course he notices now.

"Rephrase. Dad I can't kill dragons," I tell him again, desperately.

He chuckles again. "But you will kill dragons!"

I shake my head again. "No, I'm really very extra sure that I won't."

"It's time, Hiccup," he says sternly, his amusement leaving him.

"Can you not hear me?" I exclaim pleadingly, irritated.

"This is serious, son!" he says, correcting the way I'm holding the axe. Its weight drags me down slightly before he straightens me up.

"When you carry this axe... you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us. You talk like us. You think like us. No more of... this," he says, gesturing with a hand in my direction. This time it hurts more than when Gobber said it, because that was still more of a tease. Dad actually meant what he said literally.

"You just gestured to all of me," I said glumly in response, hurt.

"Deal?" he says.

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided," I point out.

"DEAL?!" he exclaims, giving me a stern look.

I glance back down at the axe in my hands, wanting to scream or break something right now because of his stupid one-sided deals. Instead, all I do is slump forward, a resigned and glum look on my face. There's no getting out of this one.

"Deal," I say in resignation.

Satisfied, he grabs his helmet and a duffel bag heading for the door. "Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably," he says, and despite how empty our relationship is, I once again feel the same worry I get from every dragon search at the idea that he might not come back from this one.

"And I'll be here. Maybe," I said quietly, watching as he left the house. I let out a sad, and tired sigh, looking back down at the heavy axe in my hands.


Man, poor Hiccup having a tough time huh? Also did anyone notice the joke at made at my expense relating to the unfinished Clone Wars episodes? ;)