Illusion

by Sandfire Kat

When Hiccup thought it was all over, Night Furies start to attack Berk in revenge for what he and Toothless had both done to them. It is up to Hiccup and Toothless once more to save Berk before it is too late. Before all of Berk is destroyed. A strange ally is found, and Hiccup realizes that with her help, they could solve everything. But the thought might just come too late.

38. Chapter 38

A/N: Okay, I sincerely hope that I will get this out. I leave in three days, so it's now or never.

BTW: I know my version of the Elder is a lot different than she really is. For one, she….talks. XDD But I feel like this version of her is a little better. I'm trying to bring a little bit more of well-deserved life to this character that doesn't really have a large role at all : )

Let's do this business .

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"Idiots! I'm surrounded by idiots, that's what this is!" The Elder howled with fury, more or less slapping new bandages onto Hiccup as the boy tensed with sharp pain. "I leave for a total of ten minutes to check on other people, and when I come back, I see that you've already gone out and zipped around on your dragon! You were bored, hmm? You wanted a little bit of fun before I could come back and catch you out and about?" Hiccup opened his mouth to reply, but the Elder swept on before he could even start. She reached out, literally smacking another layer of gauze around the gash on Hiccup's forehead. The Viking let out a small gasp, and yet she didn't let up. "Well, how fun do you think it will be when you bleed out all over the island!" She demanded. "I'm sure it'll be a bunch of excitement when you find yourself dead!"

"I've said that I'm-"

"Sorry doesn't cut it, kid!" The Elder snapped, ducking her head and concentrating a moment as she grappled a loop of bandages around the boy's wrists. She muttered crossly to herself, things like 'stupid moves' and 'risky situations.' Astrid stood off to the side, looking a shade between nervous and amused as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her blue eyes were trained fixedly on him, drinking in the boy as if she were making sure that he wouldn't burst into flames spontaneously. Hiccup had tried to shoot her an irritated look, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything of the sort. Instead, he gave her a little grin, trying to assure her as much as he could with the one expression.

He tried to say: 'It's alright. I'm fine. Stop worrying. It'll all work out.'

But when he realized that he might be actually lying to her, he lost the power to do it.

Mistyeyes and Toothless crowded around the window outside, eyes round with unspoken questions. They looked nearly as frantic as Astrid, maybe even a little bit more. Hiccup could tell that they wouldn't be able to sit still for much longer; he had been in here for much more time than he should have. The moment that they had landed on Berk, Hiccup could see the large wave of Vikings rolling down the hill, preparing to tackle the boy down and demand answers to questions. Hiccup had sat on top of Toothless, Astrid mounted neatly on Mistyeyes's back.

He had immediately spotted his father in the crowd, near the back. The two locked gazes, and thinking back to it now, the queasiness twisting his stomach into knots must have shown in his eyes. His father looked at him anxiously…looking…worried. Scared. Relieved. And as soon as those emotions registered inside of Hiccup's head, he immediately wanted to just crawl into a corner and die. His father was worried about him. He cared where his son had gone, and he was ecstatic to find that he had come back in one piece and gotten out and about.

And Hiccup was just going to screw up all those emotions with what he was going to have to say.

He was actually thanking his lucky stars that the Elder had gotten to him before anybody else had, which was usually the opposite of what most everybody in the village felt in relation to the woman. But at least this way, he couldn't be accused to avoiding stares and conversations. You can't really stop and chat as a raging old woman is slapping you with her cane and shoving you up the hill yelling very foul language. Well, you could. But Hiccup doubted that the decision would be preferred.

So he'd managed to avoid everybody for now. But he wouldn't be able to keep up this tactic in a few minutes. It had turned dark outside, the torches that were lit when the stars came out over the island had been set on fire, the flickering orange lights reflecting their way through the window. It gave off oddly-shaped shadows throughout the room, making it seem oddly eerie and serene inside. The place had been rid of most of the Vikings by now, no doubt both from recovery and haste to get away from the place.

The Elder spoke up, sounding much more controlled than she had before. At least she stopped slapping him. She echoed what he had been thinking, though much less bothered by the fact than Hiccup had been. "Dinner will start soon." She sighed tiredly. "You can go off and visit with everybody; I'm sure that they'll be anxious to hear every detail of your 'adventure.'" She eyed the boy as she spoke, and that's when Hiccup realized that she must know. She knew that he would rather not talk about it, why else would she not question the events that led up to his injuries?

Her eyes flashed for a moment, and Hiccup blinked rapidly as he realized that it was a small glint of affection. Which was…unheard of. Especially when it came to the Elder. The Elder was somebody that you tried to avoid at all costs; if you had to be in the same room as her, you were titled as: 'Suffering Through It.' And that wasn't just about the injuries you most likely had. Or the sickness you were going through. Sure, the Elder was respected; she was held up high in the air and people came to her once or twice for quick little pieces of advice. But there was a big difference between respect and appreciation. She was usually more sour than a lemon, ready to snap out at people and decapitate them if they put one foot out of place.

So for her to look at Hiccup without even a flash of annoyance…that was enough to stun the Viking. But…he guessed that if there had to be anybody for the Elder to get to know, it would be him. He seemed to be in this place every other day back before he knew Toothless. Whether it was from an accident in the Smithy, or just a random accident, (which happened a lot to him) he figured that by now, he should know the Elder better than he did. He felt a flash of remorse at the thought of this, realizing that without this women, he'd probably be dead.

He would have died multiple time without her.

He gave her a smile in return, Astrid's eyes lighting up with a sort of surprise. "Sorry." Hiccup improvised quickly, voice taking on a more sheepish tone. "I guess I wasn't thinking." He winced as the old woman rubbed a stinging juice into his shoulder, cringing away from the sharp prickling feeling that spread through his joints. But it only lasted a heartbeat, a cooling feeling rushing through him after a moment to replace the burn. He gave a small sigh, relishing the feeling that he had nearly forgotten. "I'll be more careful." He said, sincerely hoping that she would say what he was hoping for.

Which she did.

The Elder gave a hum of agreement, the affection getting dimmer and dimmer as she tried to cover it up. "Yes, well, be sure to do that. You can go frolic off with your pals, but be back here right when you're finished. You're not recovered enough for me to leave you to your own devices. I know that much now, at least." Hiccup silently cheered, feeling a wave of relief smash into him at a million miles an hour. That meant the he didn't have to go home.

If the Elder noticed his change in emotions, she didn't show it. She merely stood off to the side, gesturing him to the side and out the door. After a heartbeat, she turned, retreating back into her study as she began to do basic chores. "Don't take long." She warned, throwing a glance back over at the two Vikings before returning to counting out her herbs. "Otherwise you'll make me have to come back down and get you." She glared over sharply at the two, warning them. "You both do not want that."

"We'll be quick." Astrid promised swiftly, grabbing Hiccup's hand and yanking the boy up to his feet. Hiccup winced at the sharp motion, the fresh bandages he was wrapped in scratching at his skin as he moved. But he recovered quickly as he saw Toothless and Mistyeyes start to fall over each other towards the entrance of the home. The boy sighed inwardly, realizing that if he didn't get outside soon, they would trample themselves to death. Still clinging to Astrid's hand and throwing one look back at the Elder, he turned and went outside.

The cold Berk wind immediately blasted right into Hiccup's skinny frame, the boy nearly being toppled over by the gust. Astrid threw out her hands to try and catch him, but Hiccup found his footing on his own. He staggered a heartbeat, putting weight on his bad foot with a grimace. But his head cleared quickly, the boy's green eyes narrowing against the hard breeze as he looked down towards the Mess Hall. People were already streaming into the grand building, voices and yelling reaching the pair's ears from where they stood.

"Are you ready?" Astrid asked, blue eyes clouded with worry as she looked over to him.

Mistyeyes and Toothless bounded over to the two, Toothless leaning down and nosing his new bandages with a satisfied sigh. He purred loudly, pressing his head against Hiccup's. The boy could feel the dragon trembling beside him, and Hiccup let a small frown grace his features. The Night Fury must be more than beside himself. He was being forced to make a decision between being with Hiccup and yet having to watch him potentially be in danger. The boy lifted his hand, patting Toothless's nose softly and giving him a small grin.

The Night Fury leaned back, sitting beside Mistyeyes, who was oddly not looking over at the dragon. Toothless looked a little bit better when he saw Hiccup re-bandaged, but he still looked anxious. His wings twitched ever so often at his sides, the Night Fury shuffling his feet on the grass that was just starting to grow back from the fire. Hiccup looked at Mistyeyes carefully, trying to guess what she was thinking. But the gray Night Fury just gave him a quick smile, odd mood quickly evaporating as the two met eyes.

"You don't have to do it, you know." Astrid said suddenly, fishing Hiccup's attention back to her. He turned, green eyes clashing with blue. The blonde squeezed his hand tightly, tilting her head to the side. "We can wait a little bit longer, this is only your first time back with the others." She nodded over to the Mess Hall, angling her gaze in its direction. "You can have this, you know. You don't have to bring up this whole mess tonight."

Hiccup had told her most of what had happened on the way back to Berk. He had started from bringing Toothless back to him with the handprint, all the up to Nightflight saving him from Fleetfoot. The tale seemed short when he told it, it didn't feel like an ordeal that had been going on for months on end. It sounded like one of those fairy tales that mothers told their children to keep them from being too selfish or losing sight of what was really important. Even if he had skipped over some key parts of the situation. Such as the fact that he could hear dragons now.

Hiccup was reminded of a time that he had gone fishing with his father when he was littler. Or the two had tried to go fishing. His father had loaded all the fish they had caught (HE had caught) into one box, and he had told Hiccup to let him open it, and to stay away from it. Hiccup, of course, had not listened. Or had not paid enough attention to it as he should have. His father's back was turned, and Hiccup had managed to finally catch a small little minnow. He turned, ready to call out to his father excitedly and proclaim his victory. But Stoick was busy wrangling with a much bigger fish, grunting and pulling as he tried to snap it back to the bay. Hiccup (being so clever) figured that he might as well just put his fish with the others. So he had turned, snapping the lock off of the caught-box and readied himself to dump his catch inside and shut it quickly.

He hadn't gotten a chance. The box was nearly packed to the brim, and the sight of flopping fish had frightened him out of his boots. The boy gasped sharply, falling backwards and kicking out his legs to try and catch himself. He swung his legs a little too far, kicking the box and watching with horror as their clean fish were swamped over with mud. His father had been furious, raging and fuming as he had to pick up as much fish as he could.

The moral of that story: don't open up a box unless you're prepared to see through the outcome.

He hadn't been ready back then.

He sure as Thor's underpants wasn't ready now.

"Yeah, maybe." He consented, albeit grudgingly. "But I don't know. Usually when I get my hopes up, the opposite happens." Astrid smiled a little bit at this, but nodded once. The girl started forward, Hiccup walking closely behind her as the two made for the Hall. Mistyeyes and Toothless brought up the rear, Shadowclaw and Ludi in front of them. It was like a little parade of the only people who carried a secret.

Shadowclaw was usually as eccentric as Ludi was, at times. The Night Fury and cat had formed an odd sort of friendship that most girls in the village 'awwwwed' at. But it seemed that even Shadowclaw was scared straight by this new plot-twist, the brown dragon humming underneath his breath as he scanned the sky. His green eyes were careful and calculating, and he didn't even bat an eye when Ludi tried to weave around underneath his paws to trip him up. He merely stepped over her carefully, too busy in his own thoughts to bother with her. Looking back on it, Hiccup wondered how the male had gotten so mature. He still had his 'kiddie moments' but for the past few weeks, he'd been a little bit more keen and sharp than he usually was.

Ludi huffed angrily at his lack of attention, lips curling up into a frustrated snarl as she fell back behind the Night Fury. He didn't even notice the feline leave his side. Ludi turned over to Hiccup, blinking widely at him. She seemed to shriek: 'Are you even seeing this?' Hiccup smiled warmly, shaking his head down to her and rolling his eyes. Toothless snorted, one wing uncurling and stretching down to the ground. Ludi blinked, one ear going flat as he looked up at him with confusion. Toothless jerked his head, eyes inviting. The cat's tail whisked happily into the air, gathering underneath herself for a moment before launching herself into the air. She landed neatly onto Toothless's back, lowering herself down and curling up tidily on the dragon's scales.

Mistyeyes giggled a little bit, eyes softening at the sight. "You like handing out piggy back rides, then?" She mused.

Hiccup blinked, eyes flickering over to the two as his interest piqued.

Astrid watched him, eyes thoughtful as she judged his reaction.

Mistyeyes had seemed so closed-off back by the Elder's home. Hiccup wondered dimly what she had been so upset over, if she even was bothered. It must have been his imagination. Or she had just pushed aside her feelings so that she could deal with the task at hand. The first of the two would have been much more preferred, but Hiccup figured it was probably the latter. He didn't want this group to fall apart; they only had one another, and if there were doubts and fights, it would all fall apart. And Mistyeyes was his friend, if something was wrong, he wanted to know what it was.

He reminded himself to ask her what was wrong later. When Astrid wasn't around.

"Yeah, right." Toothless snorted, rolling his eyes dismissively. "I just wanted her to stop growling."

"Ah." Mistyeyes smiled. "That must be it."

Toothless glanced over at her, tilting his head to the side suddenly. His eyes flashed and he looked a little bit edgy. "Are you okay?" He asked, echoing Hiccup's own thoughts as he spoke. The boy was fixed on them, trying to be subtle as he watched out of the corner of his eye. Mistyeyes blanched, surprised by the question as she fumbled slightly.

"O-Of course I am." She managed finally. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Are you sure?" Toothless asked, looking back angrily to Ludi, who kept shifting. "You don't seem like you are."

"Can't you tell I'm fine?" She demanded, fuming.

"No. Not really." Toothless said simply, blinking slowly.

"Hey, guys!" Shadowclaw intercepted, doubling back and standing in between the two. Mistyeyes looked a cross between relived and angry, gratefully changing her look away from Toothless and down to Shadowclaw. Toothless remained staring at her for a moment before shaking his head, as if giving up. His eyes flickered down to Shadowclaw, ears flicking back and forth expectantly. The brown Night Fury kneaded his paws against the ground, head swiveling over towards the edge of the island. "Let's go down to the beach and fish!" He suggested, looking anxious to get the two talking about a different subject. "That way we can eat while Hiccup and Astrid are."

Toothless looked a little torn at the idea. His green eyes went over to train themselves onto Hiccup, a small whine forming in the back of his throat. Mistyeyes shrugged at it, though. "I'm sure that it'll be fine." She said breezily; she must have been talking at Toothless. "We can be up and back with our food before Hiccup and Astrid can even get inside the Hall." Hiccup turned, realizing with a jolt that they were closer than he had first thought to the dining area. It loomed over the rise, the glow of its torches reaching them and casting large shadows on the grass.

"Are you sure about that?" Toothless asked sarcastically, looking over at Mistyeyes a little condescendingly.

Mistyeyes soured at this, wings trembling crossly at her sides.

Hiccup spoke up, glancing over at Astrid carefully as he spoke. "Hey, why don't you guys go fish down by the beach?" He asked, echoing Shadowclaw to try and bend around the situation. The trio looked over at him with a little confusion, before catching on after a moment. "We're going into the Mess Hall; it can get pretty crowded most times. You guys will probably be cramped." He gave a shrug with his good shoulder. "You'll be done by the time we are. You guys just go ahead, we'll be fine."

Toothless still looked skeptical, but Shadowclaw and Mistyeyes seemed comforted. Shadowclaw shot to his feet, crowing something about knowing the best fishing spot before starting to race off. Mistyeyes started after, blinking as she realized that Toothless wasn't following. She turned, blue eyes glinting as she looked him up and down. The dragon was staring at Hiccup with worry, ears slicked back to his head as he shuffled his feet with concern. "Hey, Toothless!" She yipped, snatching the Night Fury's attention back to her. She turned the way that Shadowclaw had fled, lashing her tail back and forth with a small glint as she bunched her muscles. "I bet I can race you there!"

The black dragon looked at her a little despairingly. Hiccup shook his head from side to side, "Toothless, I'll be fine." He pressed. "You go on ahead. I wont do anything too stupid while you're gone." He promised, hoping that the promise would turn out to be truthful. Toothless seemed to think along the same lines, eyeing him closely for a moment. But then he sighed, shoulders going loose as he realized that fighting it would probably be pointless.

He gave a small nod before whipping around, taking up Mistyeyes on her offer as he shot off. The gray dragon yelped a the sudden shoot-off. Her blue eyes went wide, gray wings splaying out at her sides as she squeaked with shock. But then she growled, claws unsheathing as she pushed off the ground. She leapt into the air, barreling through the wind as she flashed by Toothless. The Night Fury increased his strides after her. "Hey! That's cheating!" He howled.

"Do they hate each other, or…?" Astrid trailed off, eyebrows raised.

"I think it's a love-hate relationship." Hiccup commented, starting towards the large building once more.

Astrid smiled, the torchlight making her eyes sparkle. "I guess we both know that feeling."

"Pft." Hiccup rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Ours was a hate-DOUBLE HATE relationship."

"Good point." Astrid sighed, the two stopping in sync as they stood in front of the double doors. Astrid craned her neck, looking up to the top of the Hall with a small frown. Her blue eyes were calculating, and finally, she backtracked, pulling Hiccup back down the stairs as the Viking fumbled with confusion. The blonde pulled him back around the building, behind bush that was just now starting to grow back from the fires. Hiccup fixed her with an odd look, one eyebrow tilting up.

"You know this isn't the way to get inside." Hiccup pointed out fairly.

"I know that." Astrid sighed tartly, finally letting go of his hand. She pointed over to where they had stood a moment before. "I don't want you in there." She said, Hiccup twitching at the words. But she went on, ignoring the reaction for the time being. "We need to figure out what we're going to do, and right now, we have no idea. Not everybody will listen to you as well as I did." The boy shrugged at this, nodding reasonably. "So…I'll just go in, get food, and then come back out. You just…wait here."

"I love sitting behind bushes." Hiccup sighed sarcastically. At Astrid's put-out look, Hiccup quickly put his hands up in a surrender. "But you're right, you're right. I never said you were wrong." She relaxed more at this, hands slipping down to rest back at her sides. "I guess I'll just…go back to Elder's house." Hiccup offered, glancing back the way they had come. "And, maybe you should bring something back for her too. It'd be nice."

"…Sure." Astrid said. "I'll just have to learn to juggle before I go."

The blonde turned, glancing around a few heartbeats before rounding the corner and walking up the steps. The slam of a door signaled her leave, and Hiccup hit his wrists repeatedly against his sides as he realized that he was all alone. His hair buffeted every which way in the wind, and Hiccup could hear a small rumble of thunder in the distance. The night suddenly seemed really big and dark, Hiccup small in comparison to his shadow. He'd never been technically afraid of the dark, but at times like this, he suddenly found himself yearning for daytime.

He leaned against the wall of the Hall, blinking sadly at the voices of happy people that leaked through the walls. He could hear the clattering of plates, friends greeting each other, and he could have sworn he heard Snotlout shouting his own name at the top of his lungs. It was just like a regular night at Berk, and Hiccup suddenly found himself wanting to be apart of it. But he shook his head quickly, getting off from the wall and turning around pointedly. He had a tough situation at hand to think about, he couldn't get sidetracked.

He started back a little slower than he had come, eyes downcast as they fixed themselves on the ground. His feet dragged tiredly as he walked, the boy wincing every so often as he put weight on his bad foot. He supposed that he should have thanked Astrid a bit more for her plan. He probably wouldn't have been able to hold his own plate, his shoulder was still infected. He tried to rotate it experimentally, only making it halfway around before grimacing away from the pain. He still had a long way to go to be fully recovered and functional.

And he had no idea what would happen if he found himself in danger.

He was halfway to the Elder's house, when suddenly he became aware of something else behind him. Footsteps. They were a long way off, but they were slowly getting closer and closer to him. The boy froze for a moment, limbs locking together tightly as his breath caught in his throat. His wild mind immediately flew to the worst possible things that could be hiding in the shadows. A stray Night Fury that had been missed. Somebody that had seen Nightflight. Alvin. It even went as far to think about ghosts that were rumored to be floating around the tallest hills of Berk.

But what he got was much worse.

"Hiccup!" The boy turned slowly, cursing himself a million times over with every step. Stoick approached him wearily, the shadows throwing weird shapes all over his father. "There ya are." He said a little awkwardly, Hiccup still stiff as a board as he looked up at him. Stupid! You're an idiot! Come on! Really?! You're that dumb!? I'm a little surprised! He yelled at himself over and over, screaming mentally as he just grinned tensely at his dad. "I saw ye a little while ago, I didn't get to catch ye." Stoick went on when Hiccup didn't say anything. "Glad to see you…to see you up." He managed.

He looked at Hiccup expectantly, and the teen immediately launched himself forward, knowing he had to reply. "Oh! Yeah! I'm- I'm fine. Yeah…I was a little…uh…busy before." He grinned painfully, rubbing his bad shoulder out of a nervous habit. The movement caused flashes of pain to lance all across his limb, but he pushed it away roughly. "Uh- Astrid is just getting my food for me, and the Elder kinda wanted me back! So…I think I'll just…go now…" He murmured, voice getting quieter and quieter as he started to walk backwards.

"Son, are you alright?" Stoick asked suddenly, Hiccup stopping in the words. His green eyes flashed, the boy wincing a little visibly. His father went on, eyes narrowed as he watched his son. "You look a little…worse off than you normally are."

"Well, that would indeed make sense." Hiccup offered weakly.

Stoick was not amused. He only looked at his son a little sternly.

Hiccup slowly let his guard down, closing his eyes and hanging his head. He looked down at the ground, feeling his chest constrict at the impossible situation he was in now. There wasn't anybody left outside to come to his rescue, they were all inside the Mess Hall busy eating and laughing. From the noise that was going on in there, it would probably take Astrid a while to get food. He could try and stall until she could come out and make up an excuse (which he was severely lacking in ideas for). But he had a feeling that his father wouldn't let him avoid the situation for that long.

"Uh…I gotta…talk to you…." He mumbled uncomfortably, glancing over behind Stoick towards the Hall. No sign of Astrid.

Stoick raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms over his chest. His expression of concern and awkwardness slowly hardened to the mask that he usually wore whenever he was around Hiccup. The thought made the boy scowl mentally, but he did his best to shrug it off. Instead, he wrung his hands together in front of him, desperately groping for absolutely anything to say. He hadn't expected this, and right now, he was instantly regretting not spending more time with the half-grown bush. "It's about those other Night Furies that were here." Hiccup started, taking a deep, shaky breath. Stoick's eyes narrowed at this, and Hiccup could feel his heart ramming painfully against his ribcage.

Desperately, he started to talk quicker, trying to douse out his father's anger before it could come to a blaze. "It's just that…maybe they're not as bad as we thought! Not all of them!" He pressed, sweeping on before Stoick even had a moment to interject. "I mean- think about it! The- The dragons that are on Berk now had attacked it before! They went after us just the Night Furies had! And now they're perfectly fine here! I was thinking that maybe the same could go for them." He said, ending in a small wince.

Stoick blanched a moment, looking too shocked and angry to speak. A different kind of emotion crawled over his father's face; Hiccup tried not to remember the last time he had worn that expression. "Hiccup, do you not know the number of Vikings that were killed from those monsters?" He demanded, Hiccup closing his eyes and sighing through his nose. "We only have half the number of people we did at the start of the season!"

"But the dragons here now did the same thing before-" Hiccup flashed back.

"The dragons that are on Berk now were attacking for food." Stoick corrected him, wearing a look that said You-Should-Know-This. "They came for food, and they left when you got it. Those Night Furies were not looking for any kind of food. They came here just for the point of killing Vikings! The dragons here now having nothing in common with those Night Furies, son."

"But if you would just listen!" He pleaded. "You'll be able to-"

"Hiccup, I'm done with this conversation." Stoick said flatly.

"Well I'm not!" Hiccup snapped, hands balling into fists at his sides. Astrid was still inside the Hall, probably just not getting to the food. There was nobody else in the clearing around, and Hiccup suddenly would have rather had the Elder come out and smack him with her cane. He'd take anything over this, right about now. "I've been able to see that they're not so bad! They can be changed Dad, just like the other dragons were! We can have more Night Furies here! Think of how protected we'd be! We could-"

"You've been able to see?" Stoick repeated, flaring up.

Hiccup's mouth hung open a moment, at a loss for words as he blinked rapidly. "Uh- yes?" He said. He backtracked rapidly, shaking his head. "I mean…I've been able to keep…a sorta…close eye on one." He said. "I-"

"How close?" Stoick asked coldly.

"Close enough." Hiccup retorted. "And I know that she isn't as bad as we thought she was."

"She." Stoick growled. "You mean that one Night Fury you first brought back? The one that nearly killed you? And took Toothless away from Berk? And then nearly killed you again?"

"….Yes?" Hiccup said, voice soft.

"Hiccup." Stoick pinched the bridge of his nose, willing himself patience. "You're obviously confused." He said. Hiccup could tell how much effort it took to put that much concern in his voice. Hiccup deadpanned at his father, feeling anger rise up to his face as he was pushed aside. "You should just go back to the Elder's house and just stay there. You're-"

"I'm not confused!" Hiccup yelled. "That was were I was this entire time!" Stoick blinked, dropping his arm as he looked at Hiccup with widened eyes. "I was with that Night Fury! I got to know her more, she's changed! She's not leading the other Night Furies, Dad! She wants to be apart of Berk! And if a Night Fury with her past…could- could come to terms with these things so easily, so could the others! Why don't you see that?"

"Leading the other Night Furies?" Stoick thundered, Hiccup's heart freezing over at the mistake he'd just made. His green eyes widened, and he took a small step backwards. But Stoick closed the distance easily. "You mean to tell me that the dragon that was here before was the same one controlling the Raids?" He demanded. Hiccup cursed his luck mentally. The one moment his dad can be smart and put two-and-two together, it was something like this. "And she took you?" He added as an after-thought, fuming.

"No!" Hiccup said quickly. "I mean…yeah. She picked me up while I was alone in the woods, she took me to this island after she crash-landed in the water! She's blind now, Dad! She can't see! She can only move and fly when somebody is there to tell her what she needs to do! She wont be able to last two minutes out there alone! She needs me! Just like Toothless did!"

Stoick suddenly jerked forward, hand flying out and clapping onto Hiccup's bad shoulder. The boy sucked in a sharp breath, staggering from the pain that rushed through him. But the Chief slid his arm down, revealing the tight bandages underneath the boy's tunic. The once-white wrappings were now dyed a light pink. Hiccup hadn't even noticed that it was bleeding again. "Did she do this?" Stoick demanded, voice low and angry.

"Yeah." Hiccup said, wincing as he remembered the claws that had buried themselves into his skin. "But she isn't like that anymore. You aren't listen-"

"Where is she now?" Stoick growled, taking his hand back and glaring sternly down to his son.

Hiccup met his father's glare for a moment before snapping his head away, glowering down at the ground. He kept his mouth clamped shut tightly, refusing to speak.

"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled, the boy jumping slightly. "Vikings have died because of this dragon! As Chief, I'm responsible for the safety of everybody here. You should learn that lesson before it's too late!" He snapped, Hiccup flaring at the accusation. He remembered when his father had said he'd make a great Chief one day. Was that just flattery, then? He gritted his teeth, still remaining silent. Stoick growled angrily. "She's a danger, Hiccup. She can't be allowed to be around Berk. What if she's just waiting for the others so she can attack again?"

"That won't happen." Hiccup growled through clenched teeth.

"Where is she?" Stoick said, ignoring him.

"I'm not telling you." He said firmly.

Stoick drew back, eyes narrowed and burning as he took in the full state of his son. "She's close, isn't she?" Stoick asked, noting how Hiccup seemed to freeze at this. "I saw you and Astrid fly away from the island. You were back within the hour. And you wouldn't look at me when you came back." Hiccup wanted to bash his head in with a rock. His dad was able to be fooled all the way up until it actually mattered. Stoick turned, looking in the direction that Hiccup had landed on the island a few hours ago. His eyes were narrowed, a plan seeming to form in their depths.

"Dad, no. Come on." Hiccup said desperately. "Haven't I shown you that I know more than you think I do?" He asked. "She's willing to be apart of Berk! We'd be unstoppable with more Night Furies! We would never have to worry about attacks from Pirates, or Alvin!"

"And at what risk?" Stoick snapped. "I'm not wasting any more lives, Hiccup!"

You wouldn't be! Hiccup thought fiercely. But he knew that if he voiced the thought, it would do him no good. "You can't kill her." He said instead. "We've gone so far to jut go back to killing dragons! You must know that at least!"

"Hiccup, I want you to go back to the house." Stoick said flatly. He turned back, going back towards the direction of the Mess Hall. "And I want you to stay there."

But Hiccup suddenly felt a flash of white-hot anger. His hands fisted tightly, nails digging themselves into his injured skin. But the sharp beat of pain only fueled his anger. He'd gone through so much, he had done so much work. He was not going to quit now. "No." He said clearly.

Stoick turned, one eyebrow raised. "What?" He asked, tone sharp as thorns.

"I said no." Hiccup spat. "I'm not letting you kill her."

Stoick bristled, puffing up to be twice his size, it looked like. His face colored red with anger as he looked at his son, and Hiccup slowly felt his heart start to sink with hopelessness. If the other Vikings were going to go after Nightflight, he would be severely outnumbered. That, coupled with the fact that he had no idea what to do from now, he was pretty much at a loss. He expected his father to just turn and leave him like he always did, pushing Hiccup out of his mind like he was an annoying kid that just needed a time-out. But his father must have realized some of what he said was true. He was going to try and stop him.

Stoick turned, grabbing Hiccup's arm and pulling the boy forward. Hiccup grunted with surprise, trying to dig his heels into the ground as his father pulled him along. "Dad, you're making a big mistake!" He yelled, trying to raise his voice as loud as he could. Come on, Astrid! What's taking you so long? Can't you hear me? "She deserves a second chance! Everyone does!" He realized with a jolt that his father wasn't taking him back to the Elder's house, he was taking him back to his own house. It was coming up fast; if he was going to change his dad's mind, it was going to have to be now. "If you don't give out second chances, I might as well just leave right now!" He twisted, bad arm bending painfully as he cringed. "Is that what you want?" He demanded.

Stoick didn't answer. They reached the door of their home, the Chief throwing it open with a loud slam as he turned swiftly, going up the stairs. Hiccup staggered as he tried to keep up, his prosthetic leg making it difficult to run after his dad. "Please, you aren't-" He broke off angrily, tripping over a step as he fell onto the second level of their home. "If you would-" Hiccup couldn't even finish a sentence. Stoick opened the door to Hiccup's room, pushing the teen inside a little too roughly.

Hiccup managed to catch himself before he could topple over, whipping around and looking over at his dad pleadingly. He opened his mouth to say something, but his father beat him to it. "I know that you might think that this isn't the best way to do things." He said, hand on the boy's doorknob. Hiccup's gaze hardened at this, biting his lower lip as hard as he could. "But this is what has to be done. I cannot risk any more Vikings. It would just be best for the Night Fury to be gone."

"You don't know what you're doing." Hiccup said brokenly. He turned so that his back was facing his father, the boy closing his eyes and ducking his head. "Why can't you just listen to me?"

Stoick did not answer. For a moment, it was completely silent. Hiccup started to turn, feeling a small surge of hope at the thought of his father changing his mind. But finally, he broke the silence, crushing Hiccup's heart as he did so. "Stay in here until I tell you to." He said simply. Hiccup's shoulders hunched, the boy not replying. His father sighed softly, the sound barely audible to the boy. But then the door slammed, and Hiccup was alone. The scraping of a chair sounded through the door, and Hiccup figured that his exit was now blocked.

He stood there for a moment, listening as his father's footsteps went quickly down the stairs, the front door shutting with an echo that reverberated throughout the house. He waited…five seconds…ten. He was completely still, unmoving as a statue. But then he snapped into motion, falling forward and ramming his face down as hard as he could into his pillow. He sucked in a deep breath of air, screaming as loud and as long as he could into the thing. When he screamed his throat hoarse, he straightened, whirling around and throwing his pillow into the wall. It flattened itself against the wood, falling down to the ground in a heap of feathers.

"You never listen!" Hiccup yelled, voice cracking. "Why do you always wait to see that I'm right when it's too late?" He shouted. His hands shook with anger, the boy reaching up onto his bookshelf and shoving a pile of books down to the ground with multiple slams. His hands went up to his head, digging his nails deep his temples. "I just wish that for once you would actually remember that I'm not stupid!" He howled, kicking one of the books against the wall. "…don't you remember anything that happened?" He asked softly, suddenly more tired than anything as he leaned against his wall.

He sat down, knees drawn up to his chest as he rested his head down. His eyes flickered up to the hole in his roof, over where Toothless usually slept. The clouds that had scudded across the sky were now a dark mass, obscuring the light from the stars and leaving the night dark. Determination settled in the boy's eyes as he pushed himself up to his feet. "You're not going to get away that easily." He said firmly, eyes fixed on the hole. He'd find a way out.

He turned around, eyes scanning the ground. He landed on the messy pile of books on the ground. Eyes narrowed, the boy pushed forward, reaching out and grabbing as many books he could. He pushed them over, stacking them on top of Toothless's slab of rock carefully so that they formed a sort of staircase. There weren't that many to reach the window (he wished he had that many), but he'd just have to find something else, then. He didn't know how fast his dad was moving; their house was right beside the Great Hall, after all. He could already be there.

But hopefully it would take them a while to find Nightflight. After all, they only knew where she was in accordance to the spot that Hiccup had landed hours ago. Nevertheless, Hiccup wasn't going to let them lay a finger on Nightflight. The two of them had made a pact. He had promised her a million times over that she would be safe with him. And he intended to keep that promise, no matter what happened.

It didn't matter how fast they went.

Because Hiccup was going to be faster.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A/N: You didn't ask for this…nobody ever would…

Caught in the middle of this dysfunction…

It's your sad reality. It's your messed-up family tree.

And now you're left with all these questions…

Family Tree - Matthew West

That's my favorite song as of right now~! I love it so much. And it fits Hiccup and Stoick so well…

Realized a little too late that this is a bad way to leave y'all for two weeks XDDDD

I'M SO SORRY!

What with this new copy/paste chapters thing on this site, I COULD try and type out a chapter while I'm on the plane or something. But that would be SO hard. So I'll only do that if I get a butt load of reviews. Pardon my French~

So this is the last update. I'm leaving for the trip tomorrow, and in between packing for everything, buying new stuff, and running around like a crazy person, I managed to type out this last chapter :3

Tell me how you liked it~! I tried to stick by the book and movie as much as possible. I searched up a million pictures of Hiccup's room on Google images to make sure that I had it right. I put in the HTTYD movie and rewatched all the arguments between Hiccup and Stoick. All in all, this chapter swallowed a LOT of time lol

So tell me how I did~! ;D

(BTW: That little box story comes from the phrase: I'm not opening that Can of Worms. My dad says that to me all the time, so I wanted to put it in here. I tweaked it a little bit so it could fix. Hopefully that was good, too…)