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.

50. Chapter 50

A/N: OH MAH JEEBUS. 50TH CHAPTER. I SHOULD DO SOMETHING SPECIAL.

…LIKE WHAT? XDDD

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

Toothless and Mistyeyes shifted uneasily where they stood, looking anxiously forward at the large gathering of dragons. The Night Furies had all rushed out to head for the north side of the island even before the group of Berk could even think about getting there. While they showed excitement by even beating them all here, it left them waiting a lot longer than they were meant to in the first place. It left them a little less happy than Toothless would rather them to be, and the male let out a nervous mumble as he eyed the sky. The sun was nearly at its peak; if they were going to start, they'd have to do it soon.

Beside him, Mistyeyes seemed to share his concerns as she flashed a glance in his direction. "I don't like this." She sighed, tail thumping down on the ground and creating an allegro* tempo of agitation. Looking up at the sky with squinted eyes, the gray dragon let out an irritated huff of air. "I can't believe Nightflight." She hissed almost scornfully. "How can she be late with an event like this? This is the last step we can take to make these dragons see sense. It's the last thing we're able to do, and what does she do? She sleeps in and ruins it all."

"Calm down." Toothless consoled her as gently as he could. He touched his nose to her ear, the female loosening slightly at his touch. "You're just nervous." He said, drawing back and looking out at the other dragons. "…I guess that's what we all are." He mumbled at this, deflating as he gave a weary sigh. "I just wish that Hiccup could make us feel better instead of…being Hiccup." He deadpanned at this, turning around and looking back at his human.

The boy was upright, arms flailing and gesturing the way they always did whenever he went into elaborate speeches. Astrid was looking at him with wide eyes, looking a cross between irritated and scared as she tried to absorb everything that he shot at her. Toothless wasn't exactly sure what they were talking over, but Hiccup made it sound like it was crucially important. Perking and tilting his head to the side, Toothless leaned towards the sound, tuning out the other Night Furies around them as he tried to catch a fragment of the boy's words.

"…so I guess the only thing you need to remember is to push down like this." He made a motion with his hand, pointing at it firmly as if to illustrate the importance of the movement. Astrid blinked, looking down at her foot as she copied the boy's demonstration, craning her neck as she watched herself carefully. Her lips moved silently to herself as she committed it to memory, continuing to move her foot in the awkward way until finally going slack.

Instead, the blonde shot her friend an exasperated look. "Do we really have to do this?" Astrid asked softly, wringing her hands together as she looked at Hiccup with a desperate sort of stare. "It just seems like a lot of pressure to put on all of us, and I don't think I can remember what way to push when." She paused a moment, shifting back and forth a little restlessly. "Shouldn't we just do what we know we can? If we mess up, we're not doing much help in letting the dragons to see how 'great' flyers dragons can be with humans." She broke off, looking at the sun for a heartbeat before turning around aimlessly. Her forehead creased with sudden confusion. "And what time is it?" She demanded. "And where's Ludi?"

"It's late." Hiccup said flatly, growing angered as the blonde brought up the topic of punctuality. He didn't answer about Ludi, figuring that if the cat twisted herself into a knot, she'd know how to get out. And she deserved the knot, too. Instead, he just turned around to Toothless, grabbing Astrid's hand and pulling her along behind him as he approached the couple. "Hey." He said, voice tight as he glanced over at the waiting crowd. "Where's Nightflight and Shadowclaw?"

Toothless opened his mouth to answer, but Mistyeyes cut him off, blue eyes widened with certain panic. "We don't know where Nightflight is." She said in a rush, wing flitting nervously at her sides. "Shadowclaw is with Leafdapple somewhere, he's fine. We don't need him for this. But in order to truly show the others how much you can change with humans, we need Nightflight. What creates a better impact than a blind dragon flying?" Toothless flicked an ear at this, but Mistyeyes thumped him angrily with her tail, smacking him across the face without even turning back around to look at him. "The point is," Mistyeyes went on, tone clipped short. "we all need Nightflight here. She's letting us down by avoiding us, and the whole thing is falling apart and I dunno what I should do, and I'm pretty sure that Ludi is missing-"

"Don't worry about her!" Hiccup said, cutting through her words angrily. "Nightflight can't be avoiding us." He said reasonably, straightening unconsciously as his tone became a bit more firmer. Astrid noticed the change, eyes flashing as she gave him a warm smile. Not noticing the expression, Hiccup went on smoothly: "Alright." He sighed slowly. "Does anybody have a valid reason as to why on earth Nightflight could be avoiding us? It wouldn't make sense."

"…It might make a little sense…" Toothless said regretfully, looking down at his feet as his ears flattened. Mistyeyes turned at this, mouth setting into a firm line as she tilted her head at him. Hiccup went still at this, eyes narrowing slowly as he looked from one dragon to another. Astrid stood off to the side awkwardly, rocking on her feet as she clasped her hands tightly behind her back. Toothless winced visibly as he could see Hiccup connecting the dots, and he felt his heart drop down to his claws as Hiccup suddenly gasped sharply.

"You two…?" He demanded at once, pointing in between the pair rapidly. Mistyeyes grimaced at this, and Toothless gave a nod, albeit reluctantly. The teen, instead of brightening at the prospect, slowly seemed to lapse into a silence. But then his hand shot up to smack against his forehead, the boy staggering backwards as he let out loud groan. "No!" He wailed, Astrid stiffening at the sudden outburst. "You…can't…you can't just-" Toothless and Mistyeyes exchanged a glance. "We were building a bridge here!" Hiccup yelled, spitting out a curse underneath his breath as he dropped his arm to his side.

"I wasn't thinking!" Toothless said firmly, taking a step forward, ahead of Mistyeyes. "It was my fault."

"No." Hiccup said wearily, letting his arm slip back down heavily to his side. "I'm happy for you, it's just-" He broke off, taking in the way that the two were sitting a little closer together than they normally did. His shoulders drooped with disappointment, though, and his eyes darkened with look that said: 'I thought you guys would have had more sense.' "…I'll find her." He said finally, turning his back on the two and facing Astrid. "Nightflight's gone off somewhere, and she may or may not be sad. I don't really get what's going on right now," His tone sharpened somewhat as he threw a look back at the two Night Furies. "but I think she needs someone to talk to her."

"Wait!" Astrid said quickly, blue eyes rounding out with bemusement. "W-What do I do with the dragons while you're gone?" She asked, jabbing an accusing finger out to the Night Furies gathered a few yards away. By now, the row closest to them were starting to take notice of the odd conversation, interest quickening as eyes turned their way. Hiccup followed her gesture, groaning weakly to himself as he saw the gazes trained on the quartet. "I can't just…stall." Astrid pointed out obviously. "These dragons came for a flight show that would take place at noon. It's almost noon! Let's just do it without Nightflight, please? I don't want them to get impatient."

"They won't get impatient." Hiccup said in a rush. "Look, Astrid: Nightflight feels left out. Even more, now." Mistyeyes curled her tail tighter to herself at the statement. "If we go along with this plan without her, it'll just make things worse. Nightflight is a part of our group now, and we're a family, no matter what happens. We do this together, or we don't do it at all." By now, he'd changed his gaze from one person to another, addressing the whole of the group at this. "Got it? No going off by ourselves or putting things ahead of one another. Not now, and not ever. We're trying to join one group with another. If we can't even stay intact, then there's no point."

"But-" Toothless started.

"I get the whole thing with you and Nightflight." Hiccup said, breaking into his complaint. "But you have to realize at the same time, that it doesn't mean that this whole thing has to put out to dry. It doesn't matter what kind of drama is floating around, alright? She's not going away anytime soon; not if I can help it. So you have to make up with her. I'll be the one to go get her right now, but I really would rather you all to get along instead of just forcing yourselves to be in one another's company."

"You'd better hurry, then." Mistyeyes urged, getting to her feet. "I can distract them all by going over a few more things. And…answering questions…I guess." She trailed off uncertainly, eyes flashing as she turned back to look at the crowd. "If they don't have any questions though, I don't know what much else I can do. You'll have to hurry." She tore her gaze away from the gathering, turning over and looking at the boy with a worried frown. "You sure you don't want me to come?" She asked hesitantly, tail flicking with nervousness even as she gave the offer. "You could be faster if you had one of us to take you there."

"No, I'll be fine." Hiccup said swiftly, turning around and putting his back to the female. "You need to stay here to stall and make some time for me. I'll be quick. And besides: even if I don't know the whole story between you three, even you guys can admit that she might not want to see you right now. Or talk to you."

Toothless twitched. "You don't think that she's going to go off on her own again, do you?"

Hiccup twisted his head back to look at his dragon. The look written across his face startled the Night Fury to say the least, the black dragon cocking his head with a confused expression as he looked at him human closely. It was a cross between impatience and irritation. As if he were thinking: 'You did something really stupid without thinking, and you should feel bad for it. Don't go running your mouth when you don't know what you're talking about. I love you, but seriously, come on.' The look was exactly the kind of thing that Hiccup's father threw down to him, and now Hiccup was using it on Toothless and Mistyeyes. "No." He said slowly. "I don't think she'll do anything like that. But…still…I want to make sure."

"We're sorry…" Mistyeyes offered lamely.

By now, most of the dragons were starting to look in their direction.

"Don't be." Hiccup assured her swiftly, eyeing the group behind them before giving yet another sigh. "Just stall for as long as you can. Astrid, stay behind Toothless just in case."

"Just in case of what?" Astrid asked in a panic.

"Just in case!" Hiccup repeated, giving the girl a sour look. "And remember what I told you, too." The girl deflated at this. "After making them all wait like this, we're going to need something big to make sure they go in our direction." He looked back one last time at the others, biting his lower lip nervously. "I'll be right back." He said in a certain rush, turning around and breaking into a run as he made for the cave. "Start talking!" He yelled behind him, Mistyeyes's eyes rounding out with desperation as he raced away. She sat numbly for a moment, stiff as she watched him leave. He'd gotten skilled at maneuvering with his fake leg by now; he was gone in a matter of minutes.

"We screwed this whole thing up." Toothless said softly, coming up to stand beside her.

"I hope not." She whimpered, leaning over and taking a moment to press herself against the dragon. She drew strength from his presence as best she could, taking a few steadying breathes before giving a tense nod. "Alright." She said gravely, righting herself as she made for the head of the gathered crowd. "It's now or never." She mumbled, looking back at Toothless, who had taken to standing neatly beside Astrid. The blonde was clearly put-out without knowing what was going on, frowning sullenly as he watched Hiccup leave without her.

Clearing her throat and giving a large gulp, the dragon tilted her chin upwards, narrowing her eyes and digging her claws into the ground. "Listen up!" She yowled, lifting her tail into the air as she vied for the attention of the others. At once, the mumbles and murmurs of separate conversations tapered off into an abrupt silence, dragons of all ages whirling around to look back at her. The female's eyes narrowed as she caught sight of a few Night Furies that weren't present. Like Fleetfoot, Frost, Ember, or Hutch. Others of those who had opposed humans greatly weren't attending the effort, and Mistyeyes felt a stubborn flash of frustration towards them.

Pushing aside her agitation, she smiled brightly instead, curling her tail neatly around her as she took a seat. Dipping her head to those who had come, the dragon tried her best to give off a positive aura. "Thank you for coming here today." She started off, making sure that she didn't give light to the worry coursing through her. "Before we started to show you this last thing, I was wondering if there were a few questions I could answer? Or any additional information that you guys needed?"

Silence met her words, and the dragon stilled as suspicious looks were thrown her way.

"…None?" She asked, voice coming out in a high squeak.

Toothless shifted uneasily, ears flattening slowly to his head as the quiet stretched on.

Mistyeyes's smile slowly faltered into an awkward grimace.

Still nothing.

Hiccup, you'd better hurry up.

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

Nightflight grunted and wheezed with the effort of her spell, eyes narrowed into angered slits as she stared straight ahead. The only reason she knew she was looking in the right direction at all was the small twitching of the cat's tail against her paw. She blew out her cheeks as she fumed inwardly, feeling as if she were putting way too much effort into this than she normally did. But it didn't matter really, nothing she was doing before was working too much right now. She'd been trying for the past hour and nothing had worked. Then again, she probably could have used a more sensible partner to test it.

Finally, she blew out a huff of air, staggering on her feet as she felt her head spin. But she shook herself roughly, leaning down until she could feel the cat's whiskers brush her snout. "Do you understand me now?" She demanded tirelessly, reaching out and poking the smaller thing with one claw softly. "Poke me like that if you understand me." She ordered firmly, voice clenched with authority, as if the cat would understand her. When she did nothing in response, Nightflight stamped her right foot on the ground angrily. "Ludi! You're not helping me!" She snapped furiously. "Poke me!"

Nothing.

"It's clearly obvious that I put too much faith into you, cat." She growled, sitting down with a heavy thud on the grass. Ludi chirped out a mew in reply, and Nightflight rolled her eyes angrily. She'd just wasted an hour trying to do something that now looked impossible to do. Hunching her shoulders and silently cursing the world, Nightflight dragged her claws through the dirt, gouging out a shallow hole into the ground. Venting out her frustration, she was about to shred the entire clearing into pieces. But then a rapid set of footsteps reached her ears, the Night Fury perking at the urgent-sounding pace as she looked towards its direction. "Who's there?" She asked, ears flicking up at once.

"It's…me!" Hiccup's voice met her quizzical question, the Viking rushing up to a relieved stop at her side. The boy hunched over quickly, hands on his knees as he gasped sharply for air. "Oh gods." He huffed, reaching up and using his sleeve to wipe off his forehead. "Ran…way too fast." He inhaled and exhaled in rapid bursts. "Had…to find you. We need you to fly with us. Toothless and I, that is. Astrid needs you. Wouldn't…do it without you."

"Flying?" Nightflight repeated. "…Wait…what time is it?"

"It's past noon!" Hiccup said, finally managing to catch his breath as he straightened firmly. "The sun is right up in the sky, can't you-" He broke off, eyes widening before he could finish the thought. Nightflight looked at him sourly, obviously catching onto what he hadn't let himself say. Letting his hands swing back down loosely at his sides, Hiccup bit his lip a little guiltily. Hoping to distract the dragon from his blunder, he raised an eyebrow at her quizzically. "What're you doing here? And why do you have Ludi?"

The female sighed sadly. "I was trying to see if I could replicate the spell I put on you." She mumbled, dragging her claws much more slowly through the earth now. "She was the only person I could find to try and test on. I couldn't find anyone else in the cave. I guess that's because I didn't get the memo of the time." Hiccup blinked at this, interest quickening at her efforts. "I thought that if I could get the humans to be able to listen to me and hear my side of the story like you did, it would be much easier to join the two groups together." Her ears flattened down to her head though, and she looked away mournfully. "But I couldn't get it to work." She said, voice riddled with disappointment. "I tried for a long time, but nothing worked. No matter what I tried, I could replicate anything at all."

"Hey…that's okay…" Hiccup said comfortingly, feeling a flash of sadness as he looked at her. "I didn't even think to ask you about that; at least you thought of it yourself and tried. It only matters that you tried." He reached over, putting a hand on the female's shoulder and giving her a bright smile. "We can do it without the spell." He promised. "I'll make them all see sense, you can trust me on that one, okay? I won't let them hurt the other Night Furies, and I certainly won't let them hurt you. So there isn't anything to worry about."

"But there is." Nightflight sighed. "I feel like I haven't done much to help this cause."

"You've done plenty." Hiccup said firmly, almost offended by the words. "You fought against Frost, you told the Night Furies how much you've changed, you saved me about a million times…Nightflight, you've done just as much as anybody else has. If not even more." He paused a moment, shoulders drooping suddenly as he said a little bit more tentatively: "That isn't the problem, though." He decided, watching as Nightflight stiffened considerably. Giving a small sigh under his breath, Hiccup let a frown grace his features. "Nightflight…just because Toothless is with Mistyeyes now, that doesn't mean he thinks lesser of you. He said himself just yesterday how much he believes in you now. Just because they got together doesn't mean that you have to prove yourself all over again. They already know how much you've put into this."

"I know…" She sighed, not sounding confident at all. "It's just…I don't know."

Hiccup glanced at the sky, feeling a twinge of panic at the sight of the sun. But he shook himself, pushing away the worries as he took a few more steps towards the dragon. He draped an arm around the female's neck loosely, giving her a wide grin. "It doesn't matter what they do or think, alright?" He encouraged her. "You're doing perfectly fine so far; you don't need to worry yourself with what they think. The only thing that matters right now is going out there and showing those other Night Furies how capable you are with us now. You need to show yourself off like there's no tomorrow."

She snickered dryly. "There might not be." She said humorlessly.

"Touché." Hiccup said, taking a step backwards and bringing his arm back to himself quickly. "Which is why we should probably get back to others and do what we're supposed to instead of sitting here." He turned, stooping down and gathering Ludi quickly in his arms as he cradled the cat close to his chest. Going back over to Nightflight and hoisting himself onto the dragon's back, he situated himself neatly for a moment before saying anything else. "Alright, we gotta hurry." The boy said, casting yet another look up towards the air. "For now, the only people you worry about are me and Astrid, 'kay? We're the only people that matter at the moment."

"Don't you think that's a little self-centered?" She mused lightly, flattening herself down to the ground. Her wings unfurled at her sides, shooting out and arching gracefully as she gathered her bearings. Hiccup tightened his hold on her comfortingly, smiling at the certain ease that the dragon had adopted with flying. It showed that they were getting somewhere at least, and the teenager had to feel a flash of satisfaction at the minor detail.

"It's not being self-centered." He said easily, making sure that Ludi wouldn't fall. "Not if it's a fact, that is."

"I'll remember that." Nightflight said.

"Promise?" He asked. "No more thinking you're not worth it. Because we all are."

"…" The dragon ducked her head for a moment, smiling to herself warmly. "Sometimes I wonder how we got here." She said hesitantly, wings starting to search out for the breeze, wanting to catch the air so that the female could swoop out into the sky. "I feel like it was only yesterday that I wanted to tear your head off."

"That's because it probably was yesterday." Hiccup answered. "Now, let's get up into the air to give those dragons a what-for!" He cheered, not wanting the female to lapse back into her sad depression. Nightflight brightened at this thankfully, bunching her muscles and pushing of the ground with a large bound. Ludi squawked where she was curled up in Hiccup's lap, ducking away from the icy wind as she burrowed herself into his tunic.

Hiccup beamed against the glare of the sun, feeling himself warm up at once. Nightflight's words rang true in their own sense, and Hiccup had to wonder how exactly they did become so close over the past few days. Though he didn't want to question it too much, he had to think back to the days when she was the cause of all of his problems. Of Toothless leaving him, of him being so lonely, of him getting the ridiculous cat that he wanted to throw out into the ocean. Sure, there was heartache before this, that was certainly no understatement. But he realized that he was thankful that Nightflight had done what she did, even back then.

Because if she hadn't come to Berk, who knows what he would be doing right now?

He wouldn't have met Mistyeyes or Shadowclaw, or done any of these amazing feats or met his challenges like he was doing right now. Though the hard times, a good future really carved itself out for them, and he had to appreciate every little thing that he had no. Or would have. Feeling a wave of affection for the Night Fury, the boy smiled softly, green eyes softening as he looked down at her. Sure, they had a bad past. But the feelings back then were nothing compared to the ones he could have now.

"Sorry." Nightflight said suddenly, clouded eyes weighing themselves down as she looked straight ahead. "About…what I put everyone through. It took me too long to see past my own nose."

"It doesn't matter." Hiccup said warmly. "It was worth the wait."

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

"What's taking so long?" A dragon bristled, baring his teeth as he looked up at the sun, which was slowly sliding down from its high point in the sky. Night Furies never were prided on their patience, Mistyeyes thought dully. "I came here hours ago to see this thing! I've been waiting for ages, and I still have nothing to show for it!" Night Furies seated around the male shifted uneasily at his tone, some giving out nods of agreement to his complaint. But most of the dragons just seemed a little uncomfortable as they stared awkwardly at Mistyeyes. Their excitement and expectancy had slowly melted into irritation and tense features. For the umpteenth time the past hour, Mistyeyes turned back and shot a desperate look over to Toothless. The Night Fury had recently took a more protective stance in front of Astrid as he caught sight of the angered glares, returning her strained look to show that he was just as panicked.

"Listen!" Shadowclaw yelled, standing stiffly beside Leafdapple towards the center of the crowd. "Mistyeyes said that Hiccup is coming back, so that means he's coming back! Yelling and whining won't help anything! We've come here with a calm approach in showing you the effect of humans! You can't just demolish the purpose by fuming around like you're a youngling who didn't get its way!" Leafdapple blinked rapidly, stunned as she stared at Shadowclaw with round eyes. "Now calm down, sit down, and stop throwing your weight around!" He roared angrily.

The Night Fury that had spoken up first opened his jaws to bark out a retort, but he didn't get the chance. No sooner had Shadowclaw finished speaking, a black shape suddenly shot forward, coming out of nowhere and careening towards the crowd. Toothless's eyes widened with shock at the sudden arrival, and immediately gasped at the thought of it crashing into the gathered dragons below them. He could see that it was Nightflight, the dragon really pushing it as she flew at breakneck speeds. "They're going too fast!" Mistyeyes hissed, falling back to stand beside him, frozen with fright. "They're going to crash!" Her voice came out as a startled squeak.

"No." Toothless said tightly, wincing as she got lower and lower. "Hiccup wouldn't let her."

The dragons milling around the clearing caught sight of the dragon crashing down towards them, letting out shrieks of shock and surprise. Dragons stood and tried to run away, others just flattened themselves down to the ground in an attempt to brace themselves against the sure impact. Shadowclaw's eyes widened, and Leafdapple unconsciously ducked into his slender frame, closing her green eyes tightly. Toothless's eyes trained themselves firmly onto Hiccup, the boy looking frazzled and caught off-guard as his eyes widened. But then he set his jaw backwards, gripping Nightflight's neck and pulling upwards.

Inches above the tallest Night Fury's head, Nightflight pulled up into a sharp incline, swooping back up into the air like the whole thing was planned. And by the reactions on the faces of the dragons around them, Toothless could see that they did indeed think that it was perfectly executed. But it was clear by the look of absolute relief on Hiccup's face that it was anything but. The glares and mumbling that had taken control of the Night Furies immediately turned into gasps of awe and impressed looks. Cheers went up around Toothless and Mistyeyes as Hiccup and Nightflight landed neatly beside them, the Night Furies shooting to their feet as they watched with newly-bated breath.

Hiccup slipped off of Nightflight in a rush, Toothless already taking his place neatly as Hiccup changed to sit on Toothless's back. Astrid flashed by, leaning over and patting Nightflight's snout with a smile before she did the same. Mistyeyes sat in between the two waiting dragons, but when Hiccup got situated on Toothless, she immediately rounded on him. "That was too risky." She said at once, eyes narrowing with angered concern.

Hiccup only shrugged at her carelessly. "We're going to be taking risks for the next few minutes."

Astrid looked at him worriedly, moving her foot in the odd way once more. Toothless eyed the motion oddly.

"Just be careful." She tried softly, looking pained as she glanced at Toothless as well.

"We'll be fine." Hiccup pressed, turning away from her and looking down at Toothless. "You ready?"

"Aren't you going to strap yourself in?" The male asked curiously.

"No." Hiccup said shortly, not explaining the odd answer before he turned over to Nightflight and Astrid. "You guys ready over there?" He called out loudly, green eyes shining the way they always did whenever he was about to go flying. Astrid shot the boy a rather nervous smile, reaching up with her arm and shooting them a thumb's up. Nightflight shifted on her feet, eyes narrowed into thoughtful slits, as if she were running over a few moves she used to be able to do in her head.

Ludi had long since leapt off of Nightflight's back, the little cat bouncing over to Mistyeyes and plopping down at the dragon's feet in a heap. Her eyes gleamed excitedly as she let out a few chirps, wriggling where she sat as if she couldn't sit still. Hiccup shot the little animal a look, silencing her for the most part as she quieted sourly. Turning his attention back to where it was supposed to be, Hiccup took a slow breath inwards, calming his frayed nerves before giving a self-assured nod.

"Alright, Toothless!" He said loudly, noticing as he caught the attention of the waiting dragons. "Let's fly!" Letting out a yip, Toothless gathered himself for a fraction of a second before pushing off the air with a mighty leap. His wings extended in a sharp snap, catching the wind as he did a large arc into the sky. Hiccup ran through the dragon's fake tail's motions rapidly, clicking his fake foot in accordance with the movements as Toothless arched his back, going into a long back flip before turning to gain more air. Hiccup twisted in the saddle, looking back to where Astrid and Nightflight were.

The pair had taken longer in getting off the ground, but they were gradually catching up as they shot after them. Astrid's mouth was moving a mile a minute, and Hiccup hoped fervently that she knew what she was talking about. Below, the clearing had plunged into a tense silence as the eyes of every single Night Fury bored into the four characters up in the air. And now, Hiccup was starting to feel a little nervous. This was their last chance; they had to play it perfect. "Go back to Nightflight and Astrid, Toothless." He said down to the dragon, the Night Fury's ears perking at the order.

Changing direction abruptly, Toothless shot backwards, going into a tight spin as he retraced his flying pattern. Nightflight and Astrid slowed as they saw them doubling back, and Hiccup fought to keep his head from spinning as Toothless went into a series of corkscrews. But eventually Toothless skidded to a neat hover, barely even fazed as he stopped in front of Astrid. Hiccup blinked rapidly, shooing away his dizzy spell before he was able to get Astrid's head to stop shaking around in front of him. "Hey." He said in a rush, glancing down at the crowd. "Don't feel like you have to do anything that me and Toothless do." He said firmly. "It's advanced, and you and Nightflight won't be able to do it."

Astrid and Nightflight frowned in harmony. "I take offense to that." The blonde snapped.

"I'm just saying you don't have enough practice." Hiccup amended. "Don't try anything you can't do."

"I can do anything you can." Astrid spat angrily.

"…Fine." Hiccup said, a challenging glint sparkling in the back of his eyes as he sized the girl up critically. Against his better judgment, and going against what he was supposed to be doing in the first place, the Viking leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest loosely. "You wanna put your words to the test?" He invited. Astrid screwed up her mouth, eyes narrowing into determined slits as she silently took the bet. "Fine." Hiccup repeated. "It's your funeral, though. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"May the best flier win." Astrid shot back firmly.

"We're doomed." Mistyeyes whispered where she sat.

Hiccup locked his foot backwards, Toothless turning away from the two girls as he shot up into the cloud. Hiccup clung tightly to the dragon's back, painfully aware of the fact that there was nothing holding him onto the dragon since he didn't strap himself to the saddle. Astrid and Nightflight sat back silently, waiting silently as the pair gained altitude. If Hiccup didn't know Astrid any better, he could have sworn that the girl's mouth was moving, as if coaching Nightflight through something. But he pushed the thought away quickly, stopping Toothless when he felt like they'd gotten high enough. Below, the island that the Night Furies called home was a small smudge, and Hiccup let out a slow huff of air at this. "Alright." He said. "You ready?"

"Always." Toothless answered rather smugly.

Hiccup grinned, snapping his foot back to himself and bringing it out of the lock with a sharp snap. Toothless's wings immediately quickened as he floundered slightly, always having a bit of difficulty before the two went into a free-fall. But then he angled himself correctly, Hiccup's grip on the dragon loosening slightly as the wind started to tug him off his perch. Letting go of the dragon completely, Hiccup closed his eyes as he let the wind rip him into its clutches. Gluing his arms tightly to his side, Hiccup's face broke into a smile as he made sure that he and Toothless were falling at the same rate.

Gasps and cheers rose from their audience, and as Hiccup flashed by Astrid and Nightflight, he couldn't help cut yell out at them. "Beat that!" He shouted, voice coming and going as fast as he did. Astrid cocked an eyebrow at the boy, but didn't do anything in response. She merely watched as Hiccup spun through the air, wind whipping at his hair and clothes as he let out a large laugh. Toothless shot his human wide, gummy smile, wings tucked close to his sides.

When Hiccup could start to make out the scared eyes of Mistyeyes, he figured that they'd fallen far enough. He whipped forward, Toothless catching the movement as his wings shot out firmly. Hiccup hooked his way neatly back onto the dragon's saddle, locking his prosthetic in its place firmly and sling-shooting around the watching dragons, taking pride in their startled expressions. Toothless obviously did as well, grinning slyly as he swerved to the side suddenly. Hiccup gasped sharply, trying to keep up with Toothless as the dragon started to weave through the crowd. Pushing his luck and showing off his agility, the male skirting around, over, and through the very heart of the mass, green eyes shining with triumph as he accomplished the task.

Flashing by Mistyeyes and giving out an amusing: 'Hey', the Night Fury soared back into the sky again, purring at himself as he gave another small spin. Hiccup's shoulders shook with laughter, and he relished in the fact that he hadn't felt this carefree in a long time. But Astrid and Nightflight didn't look impressed at them when they came to stop. "Think you can do better than that?" Hiccup asked, breathing heavily from the effort as he gave Astrid a wide grin.

"Nightflight can beat you guys with one wing tied behind her back." Astrid snapped out shortly, bleu eyes flashing as she tightened her hold on the female. Hiccup waved invitingly, raising an eyebrow at the girl and sitting back more comfortably on Toothless's saddle. Astrid's gaze hardened stubbornly, the girl leaning down and patting the dragon assuredly on her head. "C'mon, Nightflight." She said stiffly. "Let's give these guys a what-for."

Nightflight was still for a few moment, shooting the two a smirking glare. When they didn't move for a few moments, Hiccup started to say something. "You guys are-" He broke off, eyes shooting open wide as Nightflight suddenly disappeared from sight. Looking down wildly, Hiccup's grip tightened on Toothless as he caught sight of them already yards away from them. Nightflight was like a streak of black against the sharp blue behind her, a mere blur as she free-fell towards the ocean. Hiccup found himself stiffening at once, biting his lower lip anxiously as they got closer and closer towards the sea. "You think they're gonna crash?" He asked softly.

"Oh yeah." Toothless said, nodding stiffly. "They're gonna hit the water."

And they did hit the water. But Nightflight tilted herself at the last minute, going on her side and extending her wing outwards stiffly. The wing stuck itself through the water, throwing up sea spray as the two went into a curve. Hiccup's breath hitched as he caught sight of the strained look on Nightflight's face as she performed the feat, having to focus intently on using her other wing and not budging the other at the same time. They spun in a tight spiral for a heartbeat before Nightflight's wing curved forward sharply, a large arc of water shooting into the air and catching the sunlight with a sharp rainbow glare. The Night Fury flew through the splash quickly, before it could fall back down. She burst through the rainbow's shine, shooting back up into the air as they flew by the crowd.

"What were you saying?" Astrid puffed when they rejoined the pair.

Hiccup smirked, eyes narrowing slyly as he took in the two in a new light. "So it's a contest you want?" He asked, Astrid throwing him a peppy smile as she shrugged. But it was obvious by the look she was giving him that she wasn't about to admit he was the better flier. "'Kay." Hiccup said slowly. "You're on. Let's see who can woo the crowd more, huh?"

"Hey, Toothless." Nightflight said suddenly, catching the dragon's attention as he looked over at her. "We never did get to finish our race properly." She said, giving him a grin. "Let's see who can go fastest, huh?" Toothless's ears flicked excitedly at the challenge. "Maybe this time Hiccup can keep up with you." She added, eyes flashing at the memory.

"Alright." Toothless purred. "Ladies first."

"Okay." Nightflight said simply. "Go ahead."

Toothless growled at this, eyes softening with amusement as he glanced up at Hiccup. The boy met his gaze and gave a nod. Shooting Nightflight one last look, Toothless turned and put distance in between the two teams before doing anything. "You ready?" He asked Hiccup, who hummed out a short reply as he tightened his hold on Toothless. The dragon abruptly tucked his wings into his sides, curling up into himself as he threw his weight forward as best he could. Hiccup ducked close to the male's back, closing his eyes as the world started to do 360's around them. Like his own fireball, Toothless ducked forward into a million summersaults, spinning rapidly as the pair fell towards the water. Mind going in circles, Hiccup watched carefully, trying to time their pull-up as best he could with what he could manage to see.

But by the time that they stopped, Hiccup realized that Astrid had already started her next trick. She didn't even wait out their own. The blonde and Nightflight were busy sweeping back and forth across the ocean. They ducked under the surface, throwing up water around them, and making the droplets shatter in intricate designs. Blowing out his cheeks, Hiccup steered Toothless forward. The boys shot for Nightflight and Astrid, Hiccup's hair flattening to his head with the speed of their flight.

Astrid brought Nightflight to stop as she caught sight of them, the girls looking at them curiously as they met towards the center of the sea. "Pretty good. Pretty good." Hiccup said, Toothless flashing forward and doing a neat flip over them so that they could be side-by-side. Once they were aligned together, Hiccup looked over at Astrid. "I'd say it's a pretty fair tie." He offered teasingly.

"Oh, no." Astrid said finally. "We can decide who wins with this last move."

Hiccup straightened, surprise flashing through his eyes as he eyed her. "You sure?" He asked.

A bit more hesitantly, Astrid nodded. "Sure." She said. "Why not? We've got them on board already." She nodded over to the crowd of Night Furies, who were looking intently at the humans, eyes lit up as they stared at the two. "Might as well end on a high note." She paused a moment before: "Well…if we get the trick right, that is."

"We've never practiced it before."

"I think we'll be fine." Astrid assured him.

Hiccup hesitated, eyeing the girl carefully. But then he grinned, giving a nod as he shifted on Toothless's back. "Alright." He said happily, a hint of excitement creeping into his tone. "Let's do it." But before Astrid could jerk Nightflight back into motion, Hiccup stopped her. "Be careful." He told her firmly, almost glaring at her as he spoke the words. "I don't want you getting hurt, okay? Don't do anything if you can't manage it."

"I'll be fine." Astrid said gently.

"…Okay." Hiccup said softly.

Holding his gaze for a few more moments, Astrid finally shook herself. The blonde turned, holding on tight to Nightflight and pushing the dragon forward. At once, Nightflight turned, going in the direction that Astrid leaned as she shot backwards. Toothless watched the girls go curiously, looking up at staring at Hiccup a little anxiously. "What're you up to up there?" He asked curiously, ears flicking back and forth as he suddenly became on-edge.

"We're going to switch up." Hiccup explained, pushing his foot backwards as Toothless immediately reacted. The dragon turned, flying in the direction opposite of Nightflight for a few yards before angling himself up to gain altitude. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder, trying to go the same distance as Astrid and Nightflight were. But there were far away; it was hard for the boy to judge their height formally. Hoping that his best guess would be enough to get them along, he brought Toothless to a hover. Astrid did the same, the girl only a splotch of yellow in Hiccup's eyesight. But he could feel her gaze boring into his own.

"Wait…what?" Toothless asked in a panic, stiffening. "Can Nightflight do that?"

"…Just catch Astrid when she jumps for you." Hiccup said, skirting the question.

"Hiccup!" Toothless yelped. "What if Nightflight doesn't catch you?"

"Gee, I was trying not to think about that." The boy growled.

"Not think about it?" Toothless repeated in a rush. "Hiccup, you could-"

His words were cut off suddenly as Hiccup moved his foot backwards sharply. Toothless found himself suddenly rocketing down to the ocean, wings tilting this way and that as he tried to keep his balance. Heart pounding, Toothless looked across the sea to where Nightflight was. The female was doing the same as Toothless, starting to change position so that the two would flash by one another. With the speed that they were going at the moment, that would leave Hiccup and Astrid only a small time window to switch dragons. And there was also the more pressing matter at hand: Astrid didn't know how to use his tailfin.

But as Toothless noticed that they were nowhere close to the water yet, he finally made the connection with the girl's awkward foot movements. Hiccup had taught her only one way to control his tailfin, and that was the motion it took to land. That meant that they couldn't be too far away from the land. But it also meant that it had to go perfectly, otherwise he and Astrid would smack against the surface of the ocean like a fish did to the ground.

"This is crazy!" Toothless howled over the wind.

Hiccup only leaned forward, eyes narrowing.

Nightflight and Toothless were at the same height now. The two Night Furies shot straight for one another, a head-on-collision in the making as they got closer and closer. "I hope you know what you're doing!" Toothless yelled, heart in his throat as he could make out every scale on Nightflight by now. On Nightflight's back, Astrid was already starting to stand, azure eyes wide with fright as she stared at Hiccup. But the teenager held a look of grim concentration by now, all challenge that had previously been on his face having disappeared a long time ago. His green eyes were calculating, and finally, he barked out a short question.

"Ready?" He asked stiffly.

"No!" Toothless howled.

"Okay then!" Hiccup yelled. "Let's go!" Abruptly, he ripped his foot out of its latch, holding on tightly to Toothless as he shot rapidly up to his feet. He and Astrid were able to make eye contact now, and Hiccup gave her a sudden nod as he gathered himself. Toothless floundered as he tried to keep up the glide and not lose altitude at the same time. Suddenly, Hiccup pushed off of Toothless's back, Astrid doing the same with Nightflight as the two humans suddenly became airborne.

As the two flashed by one another, the whole island was silent. Leafdapple's green eyes grew wide with fear and amazement, Shadowclaw and Mistyeyes watching with distressed looks. The other Night Furies around them were still as they watched the scene. Time seemed to slow down as Astrid and Hiccup made their desperate leap for one another's dragon, the two sharing the same look of terrified concentration as they looked firmly down at their targets.

Hiccup was first to land on Nightflight. Grabbing desperately, the boy managed to slam into the female's back, arms locking around her neck as he hung on. For a scary heartbeat, Hiccup's legs slipped out from underneath him, the boy finding himself overshooting the leap as he hung off of Nightflight's back like a rag doll. To her credit, the female kept flying in a straight line. But exhaustion was creased over her face like a heavy curtain as she fought to keep Hiccup on her. Grunting, Hiccup looped his foot back around with a sharp tug, righting himself as his nerves slowly started to rebuild themselves. He managed to get himself back into a sitting position, relief washing over him as he let out a loose sigh. "Good job, Nightflight." He whispered fervently.

Astrid, however, landed perfectly on target. She slammed into Toothless full on, immediately straightening with a panicked gasp as she struggled to remember what Hiccup had coached her to do. Turning rapidly, the girl identified the tailfin's control system, doing her best to fit her foot down into the metal contraption. Hiccup had told her that it would be a little challenging since it was modified to hit Hiccup's fake foot and not like his old one. But he'd told her that it would work either way if she just pressed down in the right spot.

She sincerely hoped that she remembered that spot correctly.

Below, she could see Hiccup and Nightflight already coming in for a landing on the island. The rest of the Night Furies has diverted their attention to her, and Astrid felt a certain sinking feeling in her stomach at the thought of the spotlight on her. Sucking in a short breath to calm herself, Astrid studied her foot, feeling Toothless start to lose ground. Biting her lower lip and checking herself rapidly to make sure she was right, Astrid copied the movement that Hiccup had demonstrated to her, closing her eyes as she pushed back on the metal contraption.

At once, she realized that she had done something right. Toothless's flying was still a little chaotic, but it smoothed out somewhat, the dragon unfurling his wings fully as he made for the island as quickly as he could. Astrid looked down at the metal hooking, pressing back a little harder in an effort to get Toothless to smooth out. He did somewhat, but it didn't work as well as when Hiccup maneuvered the dragon. She didn't have a fake foot on her; she was just going to have to work with all she could.

Helping her out a little bit, Toothless made lunges out towards the mass of land, and eventually the two were finally able to make a landing, albeit clumsily. Toothless gasped, limbs shaking with the effort of holding himself up as his face creased with exhaustion as he tried to regain his footing. Half-falling off of her perch, Astrid made another clumsy feat as she got off of Toothless. The Night Fury was left tired after his frantic attempts to remain in the air, and Mistyeyes immediately dashed over to him worriedly. She poked and prodded him with her nose, scolding him for his risky behavior as she searched for any injuries. Toothless purred softly at the efforts, nudging her away with a kind look. "I'm fine." He said easily, pressing his forehead briefly to her own before drawing back. "We did it." He offered after a heartbeat of hesitation.

Mistyeyes let out a huge sigh, smiling with relief at him. "Yes." She said. "You both did wonderfully."

Over to the side, Nightflight was caught off-guard as Night Furies immediately swamped her, shouting out questions and praise at her surprisingly-stuffing performance. Shadowclaw and Leafdapple were among the people in the crowd, cheering along with the other as they jumped up and down excitedly. The female looked overwhelmed by such a response, looking as if she were about to break down as dragons yelled out support for her.

"Wow, Nightflight! That was amazing!"

"How can you do that without sight?"

"Is it really that easy when you're with humans?"

"Do it again! Do it again! That was awesome!"

"You're still such a good flier! Even now!"

Even though she couldn't get a grasp on the actual words that the dragons were calling out to the female, Astrid's eyes softened gradually as her heart melted. She could do her best to guess what they said, and the thought was enough to satisfy the blonde for all the scary flying that she had just went through. Pretty soon, though, she realized that through the mass of Night Furies, she wasn't able to see Hiccup anymore. Panic closing over her throat for a moment, Astrid looked around wildly for the boy, eyes widening as she called out for him. "Hiccup?" She asked. "…Hiccup!" She yelled.

Suddenly, the boy jumped out in front of her, green eyes shining like little sun as he grabbed her wrists tightly. "We did it!" He cheered, voice cracking a little humorously as he ducked close to the girl. "We did it! We did it! We did it! I can't believe it! It went perfectly!" He paused, smile only getting wider as he looked at her. "Astrid, you were amazing! I had no idea you could have Nightflight do all of that! It was spectacular! You were spectacular! This is amazing!"

"Calm down." Astrid laughed, leaning forward and hugging her Viking tightly. "It was just flying."

"No." Hiccup mumbled, returning the hug as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "It was much more than that."

"Attention!" Hiccup sprang away from Astrid at the sudden yowl that echoed around them, eyes wide as he searched for the owner of the voice. Astrid clung tightly to his hand at the roar, looking rather apprehensive as she bit her lower lip. From across the clearing, Talon stood outlined against the sun, eyes narrowed as he took in the sight in front of him. "I think I speak for all of us here when I say this." He said firmly, turning around and looking at Mistyeyes and Toothless as he dipped his head to them respectfully. But before they could do anything else, he turned over to Nightflight, putting his back to them as he addressed the dragoness.

"Nightflight." He called out, the female jerking to attention at the sound of her name. "You were exiled from this island after you led with an iron claw. And when you came back with these others, we shunned you from the cave." Nightflight's ears flicked back to her head, kneading her claws nervously against the ground. Mistyeyes and Toothless exchanged a nervous look at the words, Shadowclaw and Leafdapple becoming confused. Hiccup's eyes hardened angrily at the comments, starting forward with an angered glare. Astrid reached forward quickly to try and stop the boy, but he wrenched himself away from her quickly, not even looking back at the girl as he rushed forward. Talon's eyes narrowed, opening his mouth to go on. But he broke off swiftly as Hiccup sprinted forward.

The dragon watched with a careful eye as the boy skidded to a stop squarely in front of the female. He threw open his arms, as if to shield her from the hateful words. His green eyes burned angrily as he looked up at Talon, jaw locked backwards firmly as he planted his feet into the ground. Talon looked down on the boy, expecting him to shrink underneath the stare. But Hiccup only narrowed his eyes further, glaring up challengingly at the elder, daring him to go on.

And he did. Talon closed his eyes, taking a small breath before saying anything else. "The Night Furies labeled you as a menace, and rightfully so back then. We were so caught up with the anger and hatred we had against you because of your past, and when you came back, we were unwilling to listen to anything you had to say." His eyes blinked themselves open at this, looking down at Hiccup with a sudden change of heart. "But these humans came for not only the reason stated: to show us more about Berk." Hiccup's guard slipped slightly at this, blinking as his arms started to droop at the ends. "But they also came here to show us how we were wrong about you. And how we were wrong in our ways of thinking in the past."

Nightflight went rigid at this, breath hitching in her throat at the words.

Talon ducked his head, genuflecting in her direction. "You've overcome many obstacles to get here." He acknowledged. "And only for the sake of showing us more about humans and Berk. I respect you for everything you've done, and I sincerely hope every other dragon here does." Mummers of agreement and appreciation rippled through the crowd like waves. "You've shown us that the past can be forgotten in order to prosper in the future, Nightflight." Talon paused a moment, turning and looking curiously down at Hiccup. "So have you, little one." He added, Hiccup straightening from his stance as he gave Talon an awkward nod. "I know I speak for myself when I say that I have much to learn from you both."

Nightflight and Hiccup both looked at one another.

Talon took a few steps backwards, raising his voice into a yowl as he addressed the group of Night Furies that were listening intently. "It is time to go back to the cave!" He yelled, the dragons brightening at once. It seemed like they knew what that meant, apparently. "We will gather in the main cavern, and we will cast the vote!"

"Cast the vote?" Hiccup whispered harshly, looking over fearfully at Astrid. The girl was taking a few steps backwards, some of the Night Furies looking over at her with odd looks. It was like they were a mix between excited and subdued. Like they were waiting for something and they could hardly contain themselves. A million situation flashed through Hiccup's mind, each more gruesome than the last as he swallowed thickly. Suddenly, he wished that he hadn't brushed Astrid off so easily. Raising his voice to a frantic tone, Hiccup whirled around to face Talon, heart throbbing in his ears. "Cast the vote?" He repeated, louder this time as he caught the male's attention. "What does that mean?"

Talon turned over to him, dipping his head once more. "We're going to go back the cave and gather in one room." He explained for the human. "We will trade knowledge one last time with one another before we finally cast in the vote on what we should do."

Hiccup's frantic mood slowly started to lift. "You mean…?"

"Yes." Talon answered, eyes softening. "We will reach a decision on whether or not to join your Berk and be one with the humans."

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

A/N: And if I have to crawl, will you crawl too?

I stumble and I fall, carry me through…

The wonder of it all…is you.

Seeing me through.

Crawl - Superchick

Past me: Wow. Thirteen Pages. Ugh. Let's make sure never to do that again.

Me now: I can't stop typing…-sob- someone….-sob-…anyone…help

FIFTEEN PAGES. NEW (unfortunate) RECORD D:

*Allegro - A sort-of fast tempo.

Happy 50th chapter, peepz! I hope you love it! Next chapter they'll finally answer ANOTHER burning question! Review tons and maybe I'll get it out sometime next week ;) BTW: Fanfiction is being a butt and lagging really bad, so I dunno if I'll get this out when I want to…