A/N: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.
I know that I said I would try to get back to this soon, but it seems that I am not able to keep that sort of thing. It is finally coming out, and as much as I hate to say it, I still plan on trying my best to get the next one out in what I hope to be a more timely manner.
While I was writing this, I was thinking, and now that I have pondered a bit, I am pretty sure Hiccup has ASD and ADHD. It would make sense.
The people of Berk had suffered during the year after Hiccup had left. The raids had been costlier than ever before and intact weapons were worth more than anything else. Even the bravest and most stubborn Berkians had given up on facing the dragons, instead choosing to hide and protect their food.
The fishermen and women were out every day, trying to gather any food that could help feed the village.
More and more pirates had been seen around Berk, and with them came tales of a demon that lurked in the shadows.
#
Over the past year, Hiccup had grown from a runty boy to a formidable warrior, feared by many.
He thought back fondly to his first days training with Toothless, three weeks after they had first bonded.
Toothless looked at him curiously, seeing him struggling to lift the basket of fish he had brought.
The boy was so thin and weak, it was a wonder that he had managed to survive so long among the bigger humans surrounding him.
I decided that he needed to get stronger, and I was going to help him.
I began to chase him around the cove. At first, I easily caught him, but over the following weeks, it became harder and harder. He grew stronger as I forced him to work, making it a bit harder to do what he was trying to do and think about ways to outwit me.
Hiccup was surprised at just how strong he had been becoming over the weeks. Things he used to struggle with became effortless. In a month, he was able to run with a basket full of fish that he was barely able to walk with before.
Once I saw that he was strong enough, I knew it was time to take the next step in preparing him for the world. He needed to be able to fight.
Before I could begin teaching him, I needed to hone his reflexes. When he messed up something, I moved to bat him with my tail, not a heavy blow, but just enough to make it unpleasant.
Each time he noticed my tail moving towards him, he would dodge or duck. At first it was funny watching him fall over as he tried to dodge, but soon, it became hard to even get close to hitting him.
It was time to move on. I just needed to figure out how to get him to understand what I wanted.
After about a month, I noticed Toothless behaving oddly. He seemed determined to show me something, but I couldn't seem to understand what he wanted from me, and then it clicked.
I had tried for days to show him that I wanted him to get a weapon, but nothing I tried had worked. Then I realized that I had the perfect way to show him.
I motioned for him to sit and watch, and put my plan into action. I nuzzled the spot where he had his knife that day he had tossed it into the water, then pointed the best I could to my teeth and claws. He looked puzzled, so I pointed at a rock and pounced on it like I was attacking, then repeated my gestures, and this time he seemed to get it.
The day after that, I brought two swords with me. One steel one, and one wooden practice one. When I walked into the cove and set them down, Toothless gave me a big smile and gestured for me to pick up the wooden sword.
I had seen everyone around me using their right hand to hold a sword, but as I reached for it, he growled, only to calm when I pulled my hand away. Why would he have me bring a sword, only to growl when I tried to pick it up?
When I saw the boy set down the two objects, I was glad that he finally understood what I wanted from him. As I had been watching him write and draw, I had noticed that he used his left hand. When he reached for the sword with his right hand, I wanted to groan—did I really have to do everything for him?
When he looked puzzled, I moved towards him and picked up the sword in my mouth. Once more, he tried to reach with it using his right hand, but pulled it back when I gave a short growl. Hesitantly, he tried reaching for the sword with his left hand, and I gave him a warble of encouragement.
I spent the next month practicing sword fighting with Toothless. As before, his methods were unusual, but there was no doubt that they worked well. It was amazing how much Toothless could use his tail for; from fencing to opening things.
He strapped on his midnight armor and checked Toothless's saddle and tail, satisfied that they were ready to go on their patrol.
#
Shortly after dawn, a fishing boat docked in the harbor and one of the men stepped off and ran to find Stoick and share his tale.
#
Stoick looked at the pirate before him. Normally, Stoick would have just tossed the man in jail for a trial, but he said he had information about the shadow demon.
Impatiently, Stoick demanded the information.
The man began, "My crew and I are from an area to the west of here. We came here to escape the stories of a demon in the shadows.
Last night, we saw your ship and were preparing to take it, but before we could, a black shadow dropped onto the bow and a thin shape leapt onto the deck and pulled out a midnight sword.
One of my men tried to charge the shape, only for the creature's strange sword to slice right through his weapon and cut him down.
After seeing the death of one of their comrades, the rest of my men surged forward, ten of them against the dark shadow. Within minutes, they were all dead, the shadow standing there, unharmed.
It spoke to me in a strong voice, telling me to spread the word that these waters were protected, then climbing onto the large creature on the bow and vanishing into the night.
After that, the men on your ship boarded and took me prisoner. They said that you would want to hear what I had to say."
#
A week later, Hiccup checked every bit of his armor and Toothless's gear. It would need to be in perfect shape for what they were planning on doing. It was time to kill the tyrant.
They headed to the volcanic lair of the monster, striking the side of the mountain with a plasma blast, cracking it open.
The Red Death was furious that something had broken the wall of her home, and she resolved to kill whatever it was. She crawled out of the pit, looking for the troublesome creature.
Toothless launched a plasma blast at the side of the Queen's head, fueling her growing anger. She breathed out a vast stream of fire, close enough that Hiccup could feel the searing heat. He looked back at the tail fin, glad to see that the fire had done nothing to it.
Toothless shot off more blasts, aiming at the wings. He climbed high above the clouds, before diving down and giving a blast so strong that it knocked the Queen off her feet.
Hiccup saw the Queen's wings begin to unfurl, wondering whether or not she could fly, but that question was soon answered when he saw the colossal dragon begin to climb into the air. He and Toothless raced into the clouds, the Red Death in pursuit. They struck her from every angle, enraging her.
The Queen saw them, and Hiccup yelled out, "Toothless, dive!"
They dove down through the clouds. Hiccup saw the Queen's mouth beginning to fill with gas. He and Toothless then turned, and shot a blast down the Queen's throat, setting the gas alight.
When the Queen was dead, Hiccup was amazed that he had remained unscathed by the fight against the monster.
#
A month later, a silent shadow flew over Berk.
Hiccup looked down upon the village and saw the devastation. He knew that the people of Berk were in trouble, and despite the pain they had caused him, he couldn't just stand by and watch them suffer.
He knew that if he was going to do anything that he needed to take out the last defenses. They swiftly destroyed the defenses Berk had left, vanishing before anyone could make a move.
#
The next morning, Stoick was working to begin repairing the damage to their defenses, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow land on a cliff at the edge of the village and saw it was a dragon.
He bellowed, "Kill that dragon!"
The village surged forward, only to stop when a slim figure slid off the dragon's back and spoke.
He said in a cold voice, "I am not here to harm you right now, but if you hurt my dragon, I will kill everyone on this island. You know what I am capable of, so I would advise you to think for once in your lives about your actions."
The people of Berk stumbled back a bit, feeling like they had just seen a demon, but that did nothing to prepare them for what it said next, "You have made a grave mistake, casting out Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the former heir to Berk. I have come to help, seeing as you will most likely die of starvation without me, but there are three conditions. First, you will not harm my dragon. Second, when I go into the woods, you will not follow me. And third, you will have to prove that you deserve my help. I will return tomorrow morning to hear your decision," then climbed back onto the dragon and took off towards the forest.
Snotlout, arrogant as always yelled, "We do not need the help of any man who rides on the back of a dragon!" Before being punched in the jaw by an irritated Astrid.
She said, "I do not like this any more than the rest of you, but the figure was right, if we do not accept his help, we will all starve to death, and that will be the end of Berk. He made it clear that he could kill us all, but he offered us help. I don't trust him, but we should at least hear him out."
Stoick sadly stated, "I do not think we have much of a choice. Whatever the figure was made it clear that he knows what we did to Hiccup, and I think that part of proving that we deserve his help will be to put aside our egos and listen to what Hiccup said before. Is there anyone who wishes to oppose me in this matter?"
The village grumbled, not liking the idea of asking for help, but not wanting to go up against Stoick.
#
The figure and the dragon returned the next morning, as promised, asking, "Have you made your decision?"
Stoick replied, "We do not have much of a choice. What do we need to do to prove ourselves worthy of your help?"
The stranger stated, "You have already made the first step, asking for help. In order to prove yourselves, you will have to release the dragons that you are holding captive, then beat me in single combat."
Stoick blanched, nervously saying, "Why would we release the dragons? They would only kill us, and return to raid us."
Calmly, the figure stated, "I know that you have not had a single dragon raid in this past month. This is because I killed their Queen. The dragons are not mindless killers, so you will release them. Hiccup knew this before he left, but he knew you wouldn't listen to him. Now, you should have enough motivation to listen to someone who does not share your views."
Stoick grudgingly replied, "Fine. We will do it. But if a single one attacks, we will have your head."
The small party trudged down to the arena, preparing to release the captive dragons.
The figure said to his dragon, "Tell the dragons in the pens that we have come to free them, and that their Queen is dead. Warn them not to attack." And the dragon relayed the message.
When the pens were opened, the dragons calmly exited, moving towards the exit before flying away. The figure stated, "That wasn't so hard, was it? I told you that they would not attack. The last thing you must do is beat me in single combat. The rules for challenges are as follows: no killing blows and only one challenger each day. Armor will be allowed, and each challenger will have their choice of weapon. Does anyone wish to be the first challenger?"
The village stood for a moment, eyeing the slim figure.
As arrogant and predictable as always, Snotlout stepped forward shouting, "This should be easy, I am the best warrior in this tribe!"
The stranger calmly replied, "I accept your challenge. Prepare yourself for combat."
An hour later, the stands surrounding the arena were packed with vikings, eager to see how this fight would turn out. Stoick stood and stated, "This match will last until one party either yields or is unable to continue. At the sound of the gong, the match will begin." And with that, the gong rang out.
#
Snotlout had chosen to use an axe in this battle. When the gong rang and the battle began, he gave a war cry, charging at the figure standing calmly in front of him. As the axe came down, Hiccup moved slightly to the side, avoiding the stroke, before turning and giving Snotlout a powerful hook to his jaw. Snotlout stumbled back with the power of the blow, and suddenly found himself staring up at the figure, a sword held to his throat.
The figure coldly asked, "Do you yield?"
Snotlout grumbled a yes, unhappy that he had been defeated in under 30 seconds.
The figure then asked, "Are there any more challengers?"
Astrid stepped up, challenging the figure, who said, "Good, we will fight in the morning."
#
The gong rang out again, and Astrid slowly circled Hiccup, before swinging her axe at the space that his head had been a fraction of a second earlier.
Before he could land a strike, she whirled out of his reach, preparing for another strike, but before she could strike, she saw his sword flash for a second, slicing the handle of her axe.
She threw the wooden handle at him, but he caught it, sending it spinning back at her, catching her in the forehead.
Moving forward, Hiccup pointed his sword at her throat, asking, "Do you yield?"
She had no choice, angrily yielding.
The next person who stepped up was Stoick himself, bellowing out his challenge.
A/N: Hiccup is still going to lose his leg, this is just not the time for that...
