Not gonna lie, I'm quite proud of this one. I get to show off some of the magic Hiccup has learned. hope you like it.

Dad just has just finished instructing Gobber and me to begin work on a lightning-infused weapon when the alarm begins ringing. The three of us run out of the forge to see a flock of dragons dive-bombing the houses and carrying off our sheep.

Dad turns to us. "You two need to stay here. You're the only two people on Berk who might have the skill to build the weapon." For once, I'm glad to obey my father's command to stay inside. I start by grabbing some dulled weapons and get to sharpening while Gobber prepares the forge.

Gobber tries to defuse the situation with some banter. "I'm surprised you're willing to stay in the forge. Usually, you exploit every opportunity to join the battle."

"Well, Dad just gave us this huge task and while I'm eager to flaunt the skills I've learned in dragon training, I'm going to do the unvikingly thing and do what he says for once." With our banter steadily flowing we get into the usual raid routine of slinging sarcastic remarks and fixing weapons. You could call it a casual Odin's day evening if not for one problem.

The dragons just will not shut up.

They aren't actually speaking per se, but the bloodlust they're emitting is very distracting.

'Sea-prey!'

'Mine!'

'Burn, two-legs big-horns!'

'I will gnaw on your arm-fat and chew on your cheek-meat if you get any closer!'

"Just shut the hel up!" I mentally shout. This is a bad idea however as the presence of another mind tags onto me.

'Found you.'

The next thing I see is an ominous blue light that appears to be coming from above the forge. Then there's a stream of blue fire that blocks the path, preventing other Vikings from getting near. The view of the window is covered by the head of a very familiar Monstrous Nightmare. It's the same one Toothless and I talked to on the way to the nest. Gobber quickly grabs his ax attachment, equipping it and running towards the blue Nightmare. While she is distracted, I run out the back door, knowing I am her target. Thinking fast, I project my mind towards the canyon. Toothless may be in trouble if the Queen has one of her elite dragons hunting me.

"Toothless! A raid has just begun, and the blue Nightmare from before is after me!"

Toothless doesn't take long to respond. "I'm on my way! Run to the forest if you can!"

Somehow I get a good distance from the forge before she sees me running away and gives chase. Due to her larger size she can't fit between the houses as well as I can. I take advantage of my smaller size by ducking into the most narrow of pathways so she can't follow directly behind me. Thinking quickly, I jump sideways into an alley, where I duck under one of the houses. Next, I quickly shimmy under three other houses. Good news is she thinks I'm still somewhere in the alley. Bad news, however, is that she's between me and the forest. I leave her thinking that I'm still in the alley while I make my way towards the food storage. More specifically, where I know a few eels caught this morning are stored.

Unfortunately, before I can get anywhere close to the storehouse, the blue Nightmare notices me and glides above my head. over overshooting me and flapping her wings frantically before hitting the ground hard directly in my path.

'There you are.' She jumps forward, pinning me under her claw.

"Hiccup!" Before she can scoop me up and carry me away however, Astrid slams the blunt end of her ax into the dragon's shin. Astrid helps me up as the blue Monstrous Nightmare shrieks and begins hopping around, distracted by the sudden pain.

When the raid first gets underway, I begin my regular raid routine by pinpointing all the water sources and the best ways to reach them in various scenarios. Due to the surplus of Monstrous Nightmares on this particular raid, I begin a route through narrow passageways towards the nearest water barrel. Thankfully this one's on wheels, so I heft it up and, after finding where I can do the most good, head back down to the forge to quench the odd blue flames that were spewed by an unusual Monstrous Nightmare.

'Found you.'

When I hear, or rather, feel the drive of the blue Nightmare, I fear she's after me. But instead, her attention turns to the inside of the forge. Here, she (at least I think the Nightmare is a she) sticks her head in quickly and leaves just as swiftly. I'd do the same if I'd been faced with the dragon equivalent of Gobber. (I don't even want to think of what that would be.) But her attention changes when she glances to her left. It's then I see Hiccup running out of the forge with the Nightmare hot on his metaphorical tail. I continue to watch the chase (or blue Nightmare specifically since Hiccup is doing all he can to remain in tight alleyways.) When I see Hiccup crawl out from underneath one of the houses close to me I realize where he's going. Hiccup is trying to get his hands on an eel in hopes of deterring the Nightmare. Unfortunately, the dragon in question seems to realize his intentions and glides over him, blocking the road before pinning him under her foot.

Thinking quickly I heft my ax and slam the blunt end to her shin. The Nightmare retreats to the top of the storage building in question. "Are you all right?"

"Bruised but nothing more." I help him up as the Nightmare gets ready to breathe her special fire.

Thinking quickly, I alter the direction of the wind so the liquid fire goes back in the blue Nightmare's direction. Then I heft my ax and run like hell.

'Where are you, Hiksti two-legs sharp-eyes?'

Hiksti? Oh yeah, the name the Queen uses. But that doesn't matter, if she wants me, she'll have to take me down first. I jump out of my hiding spot onto the dragon's back.

'There you are.' The Nightmare turns her head around to see me on her back, but doesn't get a chance to strike before I swing my ax in front of the approaching jaws. She hisses and draws her head back before I can hit her sensitive nose.

But she doesn't need to get closer. Instead, blue flames begin traveling down her neck toward me. I jump off her back well before the flames reach me, but I still feel the heat nonetheless.

Wait a minute! If she's doing what I think she's doing, well, I'll need to check and hope she's a braggart. 'So hot! How? Why blue?'

Thankfully she is the bragging type. 'Talent. My soul fire burns hotter than any other.'

So it's just as I suspected. It's going to be costly, but with her superior flames, it might be possible.

I start by conjuring some wind. It starts as a small breeze, but it doesn't stay that way as winds keep blowing onto the blue Nightmare. As I do this the heat gets more intense.

Unfortunately, it seems she's figured out what I'm trying to do. 'Burn me with my flames? Pathetic.' I'm surprised when she starts adding more fuel to her flames. 'Need some help?'

I project indignation but internally feel smug, she's even helping me fan her own pyre.

"What the-?" I glance behind me to see several Vikings and dragons watching our war of attrition. The stares burning into my back are almost as intense as the flames I'm using to try burning the dragon breed known for setting itself on fire.

I smirk when I feel she has stopped fueling her flames, but wince when I begin to hear her panicking thoughts. 'Hot, burning, stop, stop! STOP!'

I can feel her pain. Not literally, she's simply projecting it in intense waves. I can't keep doing this.

'Leave, take nothing with you.'

She quickly agrees. 'Yes! Make it stop! It hurts!' She lets out a pained cry, letting both humans and dragons know the intensity of the pain she's in.

Now that she has agreed to leave, instead of simply ending the monstrous gusts of wind, I try removing as much air around her as I can. The blue fire winks out as quickly as a snuffed candle flame. The remaining embers glow a normal orange before fading away.

Bad news is the intensity of the fire has completely ruined my night vision and left me with a splitting headache. From the sound of it, everyone behind me is suffering just as much. The blue Nightmare flees while I and the other Vikings ride out this migraine.

Wait. I just used magic in front of the village. This is bad. But before I can flee, Stoick hails me.

"Who are you?"

What? What's he talking about? I'm his so- wait! I look at my right hand. The ruby-red memory stone glows faintly in my palm. I put my hand up to my forehead and feel a second memory stone there.

I must have fused into Hiccstrid during the battle.

"Whelp, I guess the jig is up."

Before I can unfuse, I hear Toothless's voice on the edge of my consciousness. "Hiccup? Is that you? Something's different."

"Or maybe not." I project in Toothless's direction. "I'm currently Hiccstrid. When I whistle, snatch me and take me to the canyon." Now that my escape is assured, I face my half-father, who doesn't freak out about my having a memory stone. "It seems the Queen is marshaling her forces and sees the approaching threat." Several Vikings, mostly those who have not met Tannski, are baffled by me and my cryptic speech.

Stoick speaks up to clarify his suspicions. "Is that you, Tannski?"

"Yes, well, sort of. Fusion makes names and identities more frustrating than they have the right to be." I think three days should be enough time for things to calm enough for a civil conversation. "I should get going. Listen, meet me at the cliff's edge on Ravens Point at sunset in three days. I'll see you then." I then put my fingers in my mouth and whistle as sharply as I can. When I stop, the whistle continues.

"Night Fury!"

"Get down!"

As everyone crouches, waiting for the Night Fury's attack, I sling my ax to my side and hold my arms up. allowing Toothless to grab and carry me to the canyon. As soon as Toothless sets me down, I unfuse.

I look at Toothless, but he's busy looking at Astrid, who seems to be taking this better than I thought she would. I stare at Astrid, she is the only member of my village who might understand. If any of my plans are going to work, I need her on my side.

"So… I assume you have some questions?"

So hiccup is going to have an awkward conversation soon, Next chapter we see how Astrid feels about Tannski.

7sky: I wanted to try a different approach, something novel, you know?

Papabearstv1: Goodnews, you got a bridge for that cliffhanger, bad news, theres a new one ahead.

Gabrielyalejandra. rengellopez: Glad to know my story is well written, (credit goes to my editor) novelty is something I am trying to work on here. (the biggest example being the queen.) Me tomé la libertad de traducir su crítica al español. cualquier error es culpa del traductor de google. Me alegra saber que mi historia está bien escrita, (el crédito va para mi editor) la novedad es algo en lo que estoy tratando de trabajar aquí. (El mayor ejemplo es la reina).

Soulinvoker: and I am once again glad to hear it.

Eris: I intend to

TiGGs96: I am trying to keep to my pre-set rules.