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.

51. Chapter 51

A/N: If I could find a way to see this straight, I'd run away

To some fortune that I should have found by now.

And so I run now to the things they say could restore me, restore life the way it should be

I'm waiting for this cough syrup to go down…

Cough Syrup - Young the Giant

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

The heavy tenseness that settled over the shoulders of the gathered people did not need to be addressed between the group. It was plain and obvious in the way that no words were spoken in the cavern. In the way that all the Night Furies had gathered in a tight knit in the center of the magnificent den. The group that had come from Berk stood by the entrance of the cave, stiff and rigid as they stared straight ahead. Hiccup didn't even need to shoot glances back at the others behind him like he usually did. He didn't have to turn around and give them a look that said: This-is-it. Because they knew. They were fully aware that this small event would either ensure their success, or smash it apart entirely. Their entire future was on a line here, and they all waited with bated breath for the deciding factor, no matter what it was going to turn out to be.

Astrid was like a shadow at Hiccup's side, blue eyes wide with fear and apprehension as her breath slowly quickened into a hyperventilation. As the silence stretched on, the girl seemed to be gripped tighter and tighter with panic, and Hiccup pulled her close in a vain effort to try and calm her down. The girl wrapped her arms tightly around the boy's waist, clinging to him like he was her connecting link to the world.

Ducking his head into the crook of her neck for a moment, Hiccup allowed himself a brief spasm of panic as well. He shut his eyes tightly, increasing his grip on her as the thought ripped its way angrily into his head for what seemed like the millionth time since he'd gotten here. Was I wrong in doing this? He glanced up at the others that were sitting around him, looking just as frazzled as he was inwardly. Toothless and Mistyeyes crouched on the cave ground together with nervous looks, the gray dragon pressed against the black for support. Shadowclaw sat anxiously beside the two, oblivious to their affection towards one another as he searched the crowd in the center of the cave fearfully. He was probably straining for a sight of Leafdapple. Nightflight endured her fear the best, it seemed. She sat taut and reserved in her own right, the only showing of her feelings coming out in the small flicking of her tail or ears. Other than that, she was completely still, an image etched into the stone of the cave wall.

Did I do right in bringing them all here? Unearthing something that we could have put behind ourselves so easily? Did I make the right choice when I objected to my father, put the village back into potential danger, and put Nightflight in this position? His shaking grasp on Astrid seemed to startle the girl into realizing that he was near his breaking point. The silence in the cave was too much, it was pushing down on him; he was staggering underneath its weight; he was going to fall. What happens if they say no? What happens if they turn on us because Nightflight is with us? What happens if they start the Raids up again? What happens if they kill everyone in Berk? What happens if everything falls apart?

What happens if my dad was right?

"Hey, hey, hey." Astrid whispered, ducking out of his embrace with a panicked look. She looked so scared and surprised, and that's when Hiccup realized that he was shaking from head to toe. Startled at himself, Hiccup raised a hand to press tenderly against the side of his head, closing his eyes and forcing himself to take in a slow breath. Astrid still looked worried despite the efforts, a sullen frown gracing her features as she searched her Viking's face. "Are you okay?" She asked gently, blue eyes softer than the sky as she realized that he was so wrecked.

Muttering through clenched teeth, Hiccup tried to convey all of his worries through his words. All of his fears, shame, and personal thoughts. But he came out tongue-tied. What could he say to her, after all? Astrid spent every Sunday with her father throwing axes and sparring together for a good half of the day. She could tell her parents anything and everything, and always had funny stories to tell about the two with their group. Hiccup spent years sitting silently on the steps of his home, waiting patiently for his father to get back from meeting with the other higher-ups in the village. He'd sat by Sunday after Sunday, watching sadly from the stairs as Astrid hopped after her father, axe in hand as she giggled alongside the man.

She didn't know what it was like to walk on glass. To watch carefully where you put your feet, and question your every step. Is this the right place to walk? Will it benefit me in the long run, or will it just make me look stupid again? Can I walk here, or would everything fall apart? Can I walk here and still look good to him? The pressure, the complications, the overall stress. Hiccup locked his jaw backwards, finally managing to spit out something through the barrier his teeth created. "It's taking too long." He hissed, trying to focus on keeping himself upright.

"It'll be okay." Astrid encouraged him. When Hiccup didn't seem to be all that reassured, her eyes softened. She turned, reaching over and grasping his shoulders with a comforting squeeze. "Don't freak out." She coached firmly, Hiccup's green eyes flashing a little guiltily as she raised her eyebrows at him skeptically. "Freaking out is my job, okay? Don't put me out of a job." She was trying to get Hiccup's attention elsewhere, taking his focus off of his inner struggle and focusing it instead on her bad joke. The words caused the boy to crack a small smile, but he still couldn't ignore the way that his heart rammed itself painfully against his chest.

He opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly a strong voice cut him off. The whole group jumped at the call, turning in its direction to be met with Fleetfoot. The Night Fury was standing near the edge of the group, ears flattened as he surveyed first the other dragons, then the others standing separately by the exit. His tail lashed at the sight of them, and Hiccup's gaze hardened sourly at his attitude. He could at least try and look like he wanted to be here, if he was going to stand up there and talk. Glaring in the direction of the dragon, Hiccup stepped closer to Astrid, holding her close to him in a protective as he scowled. The girl didn't react badly to the notion of being sheltered like she normally would have. Oddly, being surrounded by a bunch of Night Furies in a dark cave was enough to make the girl a little less independent. Weird as it may seem.

"Alright." Fleetfoot said coldly, turning around and sweeping a sour look across the dragons that were gathered before him. "We're going to do this fast, and we're going to do this orderly." Nightflight's eyes flashed at the male's high tone of voice, as if he were better than all the others. She realized now that she probably gave the dragon too much power in the first place. He couldn't find his way out of an empty room. But the dragon didn't notice her look, turning and sweeping his tail from one end of the cave to the other. "If you want to stay here on the island, go over there." He gestured over across from the group that had come from Berk, to the darker half of the cavern where the light didn't reach. "And if you want to go to Berk, go over there." He added, tone dripping with irritation as he added the other direction. He jerked his head lamely towards Hiccup and the others, not even sending them a passing glance.

Hiccup mumbled what Fleetfoot had said out of the corner of his mouth to Astrid, who watched the scene with pursed lips. When he mimicked the creeping tone with the last instruction, Astrid let out an indignant huff. "I guess we know which side he's gonna go to." She muttered out of the corner of her mouth, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as she leaned back slightly. But then she bit her lip, watching a little more anxiously now as the dragon turned back into the crowd. One by one, Night Furies were starting to detach themselves from the others, gazes flickering from one end of the cavern to the other.

Letting her hands drop from across her stomach, Astrid reached down nervously. Her hand clasped tightly into Hiccup's own, and the boy glanced over at her with an edgy look at the touch. The blonde turned towards him, looking into his eyes with her's for a moment before cracking a rather weak smile. "This is it." She breathed out, voice shaky. Over to the side, Mistyeyes and Toothless fidgeted uncomfortably at the words. "Let's make it or break it." Astrid added as an afterthought.

Hiccup blew out his cheeks reluctantly, shifting his weight back and forth restlessly.

Talon was first to move. The brown Night Fury walked confidentially out of the throng, eyes flashing over to Mistyeyes as she ducked her head away with a ghost of a smile. The father skirted around the edge of the crowd, going over quickly and bounding over to the entrance of the cave. His eyes were soft as he took in the band of misfits, giving them a dip of his head as he seated himself neatly, exactly a yard away from them. "I stand by my word: I have much to learn from you." He said solemnly. "And I hope that by coming with you to Berk, I'll find a better life."

Hiccup tightened his hold on Astrid's hand, heart still ramming anxiously against his chest. "You will." He promised softly, voice barely escaping his clenched throat. Talon glanced over at him, and Hiccup felt a jolt of heat, as if he'd said something stupid or wrong. He opened his mouth to backtrack and correct whatever he might have said weird, but thankfully Astrid was watching him closely. At the hint of the Viking starting to babble, she leaned forward quickly, raising her foot and smashing her heel down as hard as she could on his boot.

Immediately, Hiccup snapped his mouth shut, eyes widening as he bent over in pain. He screwed his eyes closed tightly, biting his lower lip with a growl of pain. Astrid didn't even glance at him, flashing an awkward smile over in the direction of Talon, who watched the interaction with a quizzical expression. "You didn't have to do that." Hiccup hissed, voice tight and hoarse as he mumbled out of the corner of his mouth angrily.

"Oh, no, I did." Astrid responded shortly.

Leafdapple came next. Her green eyes gleamed as she chased after Talon, footsteps thumping against the ground as she rushed up to Shadowclaw. The Night Fury seemed overjoyed with the girl's consent of coming back to Berk, tail curling upwards with happiness as she skidded to a step beside him. She'd come much closer to them than Talon had, and a lot more faster too. Her paws kneaded the ground as she looked at the group around her with excitement, as if she were already eager to leave. Leaning over, she bumped Shadowclaw's shoulder with her own playfully. "Told you I wouldn't leave you hanging." She purred contentedly.

"I'm glad." The adolescent replied, smiling.

Juniper, an elderly dragon, got to her feet slowly, giving a small grimace as she moved. "I'm sorry." She said clearly, sounding genuinely regretful. Mistyeyes perked at the apology, turning around and fixing her inquisitive blue eyes on the elder. "But my wings are far too tired to make a journey such as the one you're talking about." Toothless's ears flattened to his head, disappointment writing itself across his face. "I pledge you all for doing something so noble. But sadly, I can not be a part of your legacy." Hesitating a moment and shuffling a little nervously, Juniper turned around swiftly, heading slowly back to the end of the cave.

A few of the other older dragons nodded along with this statement, steady looks flashed their way as more and more dragons started to head over to the darker part of the cave. The thick crowd in the center was starting to thin out gradually as dragons chose the direction in which they wanted to go. Night Furies went back and forth among one another, tense conversations springing up between others as nervous looks were traded this way and that. Mistyeyes pricked her ears, straining to catch snatches of the conversations that were going on around her. But they were too quiet. The female gave up as she sat back, scowling with disappointment.

Toothless nudged her comfortingly. "It's okay." He whispered softly. "It'll work out."

Mistyeyes only looked away from him, down at the ground as her frown remained.

But she perked after a moment, brightening at once as two others made their way towards them. And with a jolt, she realized that she recognized the faces that came her way. It was the mother and her child that she had watched closely before they all left for Berk to start the Raids. The one who had fought with her mate and then watched him leave her in the dust so long ago. Her eyes were narrowed now; but this time with determination, not anger. Her steps were sure, and her strides went unchallenged by any moral doubt that might reside in her mind. At her side, her son stumbled after her, looking almost alarmed as they got closer and closer to the humans. He was older than he had been back then, having grown at least a few inches taller. But his scales were still soft, his face rounded with youth as he walked a little unsteadily at his mother's side.

When the two came to a stop, the mother's gaze automatically trained itself on Mistyeyes. The gray female stiffened under the weight of the stare, startled to find a hint of raw sadness in the gaze. Did she know that Mistyeyes had watched her that day? Did she know that istead of going forward in an attempt to help, she just sat by and observed like it was a form of entertainment? Reluctantly, Mistyeyes took a small step forward, opening her mouth and trying to express her guilt as best she could. "I'm-"

But the mother cut her off. "My son is able to fly, if only just." She glanced back at the elders who had retired to the other end of the cave, then she turned over to Hiccup, looking at the human with an almost respective look. "It'll be a long journey back with him, and it might be hard to keep him safe. But I think that you all will hold to your word that Nightflight gave." The female in question gave a small wince at the memory of her hasty vow. "I believe that you will keep us safe."

She paused, eyes darkening somewhat, as if thinking back to the scene that Mistyeyes had witnessed in this very cavern. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and in truth, it was. But the gray dragon remembered it just as clearly. "I never believed in second chances." The mother continued, voice much more quieter by now. "But I think this time, I will have to make an exception." She turned and looked at Nightflight carefully. "You've created a lot of trouble for me. As well as everyone else." The dragoness's ear flicked at this, frowning immediately. "But you seem ready and willing to do anything and everything to make up for it. And the place sounds safer for me and my son than here. So I will come along."

Toothless smiled assuredly at her words. "You and your youngling will be perfectly safe." He promised.

The mother nodded once, turning to face the remaining dragons in the crowd as she sat down beside her child. She wrapped a protective wing around his small frame, pulling him close to her side. Lowering her head, the dragoness rasped a tongue over her son's head affectionately. Off to the side, the male that had abandoned her before was now looking anxiously in their direction. His eyes were raw with a certain kind of pain as he watched the female, but if she noticed the stare, she gave no heed. Mistyeyes watched as his ears flattened to his head, the male backing up slowly as he reluctantly started for the other side of the cave. As soon as he turned, the mother cracked open one eye, watching him go with a guarded look. Mistyeyes half-hoped that she would speak out and call him back over. But the female just looked back down at her son, suddenly engrossed in the task of fixing his wings.

Suddenly, a tightly-knit group of dragons that had been talking together broke away from the crowd, making their own flock as they started over towards them. But instead of going over to Toothless, Mistyeyes, or Shadowclaw, they veered straight for Hiccup. The head of the group, looking as if she had been elected to speak, stepped forward and looking the boy up and down critically.

At her side, Toothless stiffened considerably, ears flattening to his head as he braced himself in case Hiccup found himself in danger again. Mistyeyes winced, lifting her tail and draping it over his side in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. If he flared up at others they wouldn't get anywhere, after all. Her touch seemed to distract him from the moment a little bit, the dragon ducking his head with a frustrated grumble as he turned his sharp look down to the ground. Mistyeyes rolled her eyes at him pointedly, shaking her head back and forth. There was no helping him sometimes.

The head dragon cleared her throat softly, glancing back at the others behind her before saying anything. "My name is Brightstream." She said finally, still looking closely at Hiccup. The Viking grinned back at her, actually managing to look convincingly excited as he waited for her to go on. "I've heard a lot about you." She said, eyes flashing as she leaned a little closer to him. Hiccup went rigid at this, but to his credit, he didn't move away. "First, I heard about you when Toothless came back to the cave with Nightflight in the first place. Nightflight told us that you'd been keeping him hostage." Hiccup turned and shot the female a sour look. Nightflight grimaced guiltily, mumbling out something along the lines of an apology as she turned away nonchalantly.

But Brightstream wasn't finished talking. "Then I heard you had come to this cave to get Toothless back to you again. I wasn't one of the dragons that saw what actually went on; all I knew was that you'd gotten away." She blinked, titling her head to the side with a small hint of confusion. "Then Nightflight rallied us all together, saying that you were the prime target. That you had ruined everything for the Night Furies and had been the one to attract the humans here to the cave. The humans that attacked us, that is."

Hiccup fumed silently, flashing an even sharper look in Nightflight's direction.

Shuffling her paws, Nightflight shrugged listlessly. "You had to admit, I had a point with that one." She whispered out of the corner of her mouth. Hiccup just brushed her off, pushing her shoulder with an irritated look as he tried to focus his attention back onto the dragon that was still talking.

"And now you're all back here trying to correct a bunch of mistakes that you apparently made." She flicked her ears back and forth decisively, looking thoughtful. The others around her, about five or six, glanced her way in agreement as she spoke. "I'll be honest: you make it kind of hard to realize what's right and what's wrong." Brightstream said with an absent-minded flick of her tail. Before Hiccup could speak up for himself, she suddenly cracked a sly grin. "But I'll admit, with everything you've shown us about what you can do with humans, it seems like a much better life than here. I'd like to be able to experience the life at Berk. With all of these others."

"Well….you'll be welcome." Hiccup managed.

"Are you serious?" Frost yowled indignantly where he stood. The dragon leapt to his feet, eyes blazing angrily as his wings shot out threateningly at his sides. The other dragons turned around to face him, the crowd in the center much smaller than it had been moments before. The side of Berk was a little bit bigger than the 'leave' side of the cave, but not by much. And by the way Frost was looking, Hiccup wondered nervously if the 'leave' side would start to get bigger in a minute or two. "Have you all forgotten what the humans have done to us? And now you're just going to forgive them! Just like that!"

Talon flared at the objection. "Try not to be stupider than you can help, Frost." He snarled, claws flashing in the dim light of the cave as he glared in the male's direction. Mistyeyes turned to look at her father, silent as she curled her tail tighter around herself. The Elder stepped forward swiftly, raising his tail and sweeping it back in a large arc to point out the others behind him. "Hiccup and Nightflight have already showed you how wrong you were once, do they really have to do it again?"

"They can do it a million times over!" Frost roared, pacing forward stiffly as he broke away from the crowd. Dragons shuffled away from him, clearing the space rapidly. Their eyes were wide with surprise from the sudden outburst, and it was obvious that they weren't too keen on being around him at the moment. But Hiccup could see a few offended looks in the crowd, mumbles and glares thrown the aggressor's way. He felt his stomach drop at the sight. They seemed like possible candidates for Berk dragons! What would happen if their mind was changed by Frost? Or any of these other dragons that were standing by them now?

Frost whirled around to glare daggers at Hiccup and Astrid. The blonde was frozen at his side, blue eyes wide with fright as she clung tightly to Hiccup's hand. She nearly cut off his blood circulation, but the boy didn't try and say anything to her. His mind was racing a mile a minute; he was too preoccupied to even try and translate to her what was going on. Which might have made her fear even worse, though, so it might have been a good thing, really.

"You think that coming here and doing a bunch of fancy flying with take away everything that humans have done?" Frost screeched, still making for their group. And Hiccup had the nasty assumption that he wasn't going over there to join them. "Humans have killed dragons! In cold-blooded murder! They've stormed this very cave and tore it apart!" Hiccup slowly let go of Astrid's hand. "They interfered in our lives and caused millions of us to suffer! Humans are not our friends! They're controllers! They're rulers! They're vile, pathetic creatures!"

"You're wrong." Hiccup said tensely, all eyes going to him.

Frost stopped halfway to them, eyes smoldering as he suddenly seemed to grow to be twice his size. His face held years upon years of anger, and the hatred was enough to set Hiccup's blood boiling when the dragon set his gaze onto him. "What?" He hissed through clenched teeth. His voice was like a snake as it hissed Hiccup's way, and the boy could imagine it wrapping around his throat, cutting off his air and making him unable to speak. "What did you just say?" Frost repeated, much more harsher than before as Hiccup fought not to wince away from it.

"I said you're wrong." He said instead, clenching his hands tightly and praying to Thor that they wouldn't shake. "You obviously haven't been listening like these Night Furies have." He said, throwing one arm back and gesturing to the others behind him. He saw Astrid smile softly at him, and Toothless give an assured nod in his direction. Breathing out slowly and feeling the support of everyone behind him, Hiccup forced himself to meet Frost's glare. "On Berk, humans and dragons live together in harmony, like it should be. We don't force them to do anything they don't want, and we treat them like equals."

He paused a moment before he decided to try and push it; like he always does. "I'm glad you don't want to come." He said, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. Frost flared at this, huffing out through his nostrils as he looked down at Hiccup. "You can't see what's right in front of your nose." Hiccup snapped. "If you don't want to work with humans, we don't want to work with you. So you can just go over there instead of making a big scene like you're doing." Hiccup jabbed a finger angrily over to the other side of the cave, meeting Frost's glare with his own.

"Who do you think you are?" Frost seethed, bending down low and raising his claws threateningly as he bent over the boy.

But Hiccup didn't even budge, nose-to-nose with the furious dragon. "I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third." He growled, leaning forward sharply at this and causing Frost to jerk backwards out of surprise. "I'm the heir to the tribe on Berk, and I'm doing this to make a difference. Humans aren't perfect, but you know what, neither are you!" His arms flashed back down to tight fists at his sides, the boy taking a step forward now as he turned to be the offensive. "But if we managed to become one together, I think we'd come darn near close to being perfect!

"If you don't want to join us, that's fine! Like I said, humans don't think that they own dragons! You can make fun of me if you want, that not where I draw the line! But where I do cross the line is when you make fun of my friends! Or question these other dragons!" The Night Furies around him jerked with surprise at the implication that Hiccup was already standing up for them. The confused and angered faces slowly melted into pleasantly surprised ones. Hiccup felt assurance as mummers of conversation started up around them, and he could tell that Frost knew he was losing ground.

"If humans are so high and mighty on pedestals," Frost growled out, wings arching with anger as he spat out the last few words. Hiccup's jaw locked backwards as he bit back the harsh words he would have liked to say in reply. "then why were they so quick to cut her head off?" He asked, jerking his head quickly over to Nightflight. Hiccup blinked, guard falling somewhat at the difficult question. He turned back to look at Nightflight, and he could see that the female was at a loss just as much as he was. She looked surprised by the question, and Hiccup felt his stomach twist as Night Furies stared at him intently, waiting for the answer.

He found his gaze landing on Astrid. The blonde was tense where she stood in between Toothless and Nightflight, and when her blue eyes clashed with his green, she stood a little straighter. Her face was clouded with confusion; after all, she had no idea what was going on; Hiccup wasn't back there with her to walk her through it. But it was obvious that she knew something was wrong. Her hands were busy wringing together, and she was shifting from side to side like she always did when she was nervous. And she looked even more frightened with the way that more and more Night Furies were starting to stand around them in a cluster.

But when she looked at Hiccup, a little bit of the confusion seemed to melt away. She gave him a small smile, a sort of proud gleam in her eyes as they softened. She gave him a small, single nod, opening her mouth and moving it silently. 'You're doing good.' She mouthed in his direction, reaching up and clasping her hands together tightly over her chest. She still looked nervous at the sight of him, but it looked as if she'd finally come to terms with the fact that his insane ways of fixing things eventually ended out pretty okay in the end.

That, or she just didn't want to put herself in the middle of things.

Hiccup liked the first thought better.

Taking in a slow breath, he forced himself to turn back around. "I don't know." He stated plainly, trying to ignore the swell of mummers around him at the statement. "It's a wrong that I came here to right." Hiccup said firmly. "We used to be enemies with all the dragons before we learned to cooperate with them, so this is the same deal here. Except we need to make sure that this will never happen again. And it'll be easy; as long as we all learn to work together like we've been doing the past few days."

"I haven't been 'working together.'" Frost scoffed, as if the words were foolish.

"Yes, well, we're all aware of this." Hiccup flashed back hotly.

"You'd best watch your mouth before I rip it off." Frost snarled suddenly, lashing out and claws grabbing out right for Hiccup's face. The boy jumped, ducking down low and dodging the blow quickly. The narrow escape made it look as though it were planned, the Night Furies around them straightening as an impressed look overcame their faces. Frost snarled angrily, jabbing out again as he made for Hiccup's side this time. The boy responded by sweeping away a bit more dramatically this time, slower now as he raised a skeptical eyebrow at Frost.

The Night Fury yowled, throwing himself forward as he tried to tear a chunk of the boy off with his teeth.

Hiccup only jumped away once again, landing on the ground neatly as he turned back to face Frost, crossing his arms over his chest for the second time. The Night Fury whirled around, seething and fuming with rage now as he breathed out in uneven huffs. Hiccup narrowed his eyes in a sharp glare suddenly, a little of Frost's fury catching onto him as he shot the dragon a deathly look. "That's cute." He spat, glowering in the dragon's direction.

Frost screeched with anger, gathering himself for another blow. But suddenly the Night Furies found their voices. The undecided ones called out against the male, leaping to their feet from where they all sat behind Hiccup. The Viking turned to face them as they stood, eyes widening a fraction as a hopeful smile spread across his face. A mottled dragon was first to speak, eyes flashing in the dark cavern as they growled under their breath. "Lay off, Frost." He snapped. "You've already made yourself look foolish way too many times."

"Leave him alone!" A female declared, eyes burning. "His words are true!"

"You're an idiot! Just get over to the other side, already!" Another drawled.

A Night Fury stepped forward, detaching himself from the group as he came to a stop beside Hiccup. His eyes were a startlingly pale gray, scales a just-as-pale black. He lashed his tail from side to side for a moment before finally shaking his head. "It's dragons like you that make this place the way it is." He stated firmly, shooting the male a glare before starting over to where the others in Hiccup's group were waiting. "I'm going someplace better than this, and hopefully I'll be far away from you."

The dragon speaking brushed rudely by Frost, nearly knocking the aggressor right off his feet as he staggered. The male righted himself, looking over his shoulder and watching with a slightly put-out expression as more and more Night Furies murmured in assent. Slowly, Hiccup watched with a growing smile as most of the remaining dragons got to their feet, following in step with the others as they went to join Berk. They filed past, shooting supportive looks back at Hiccup as they brushed by him.

Pretty soon, it was just him, Frost, and Fleetfoot left.

Frost let out a loud curse, glaring over in the direction of the now-large group at the exit. Mistyeyes got to her feet, eyes hardening as she stepped forward. "Give it up, Frost." She said firmly, claws flashing dangerously in the dim light that managed to get inside the cave. The moon was starting to rise outside, and it didn't do well to keep the place very well-lit. "We're leaving with or without you. At least, all of us on this side of the cave. Whether you like it or not, we will leave here tomorrow at first light. There's nothing you can do now except watch us leave for a better life while you just sit here." She looked him up and down critically, lip curling as she did so. "You're not welcome with us anymore, and you certainly won't be welcome in Berk."

"Tch." Frost fumed angrily, daring to hold Mistyeyes's gaze before spinning around in a huff. "I never wanted to be 'welcome' there." He snarled, stomps bouncing back and forth on the cave walls as he made for the other end. As he passed Hiccup, the gave the boy a mean-spirited shove, the boy stumbling slightly as he tried to right himself. Not glancing back at the others, Frost melted into the shadows of the den, with the others that refused to go.

Hiccup straightened, turning back and looking over his shoulder.

It was just him and Fleetfoot now.

The Night Fury had been silent all this time, having become quiet ever since he first gave out the order of their voting. Now, it showed that he looked quiet troubled with the prospect of this choice that lay in front of him. His eyes flashed from the left to the right, face creased over with some kind of odd emotion that Hiccup couldn't quite read. The male turned over, and Hiccup immediately offered him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. But to his surprise, Fleetfoot's gaze swept right by the Viking, going instead over to one of the other dragons.

His gaze found itself trained firmly onto Nightflight, who had taken to sitting near the edge of the growing group of dragons. His eyes were somewhat pained as they landed on her, and Hiccup felt a small connection linking together in his head as he looked from one to the other. Nightflight stiffened suddenly, as if she could feel someone watching her. She straightened, ears perking at once as she tilted her to head to the side. She hesitated a moment, as if thinking. Then: "Fleetfoot?" The quiet prompt came.

Fleetfoot's ears flicked. "How did you know it was me?" He asked, voice guarded.

"You haven't spoken up yet." Nightflight answered softly. "You usually have a few things to say on the matter."

"Not this one." He said shortly, Hiccup's smile dashing away at once.

Nightflight blinked slowly, ears flicking down, a little unsure. "…oh…" She whispered.

"I can't forgive the humans for what they've done." Fleetfoot said tightly. "Or the dragons going towards them." Nightflight winced softly at this, Mistyeyes and Toothless throwing the male angered looks. But he only flicked his tail. "This is where I've lived my whole life, and I intend to keep it that way." He said. He paused, then: "…I wish you all luck, though." He added grudgingly, looking back over at Nightflight a heartbeat more before giving a small sigh. "You'll need it." He said shortly.

He turned quickly after this, walking right past the group that had chosen to stay and diving into one of the branching tunnels. The place was left in silence with the parting words, Hiccup turning around fully and staring numbly into the darkness of the tunnel where Fleetfoot had vanished. His shoulders drooped with disappointment, feeling a stab of both pity and sadness for Nightflight. It seemed like once again, she was left in the dust.

A slight pressure on his shoulder caused him to turn. Astrid gave him a small smile as he twisted around, blue eyes shimmering as they looked into his own. "You did it." She said softly, voice tight with happiness. "You did everything you said you would; I'm so proud of you." She pulled him forward quickly, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"I didn't do everything yet." He whispered softly, not returning the embrace as his arms stayed loose at his sides.

"You've done all you could." Astrid said reproachfully, refusing to let him look at the bad side of things. She pulled back, fixing him with a sharp look. "You can't get every dragon on the bandwagon, alright? So don't beat yourself up about any of that." Hiccup gave her a weak smile at this, appreciating her ridiculously-ridiculous attempts at jokes. Catching the small crack, Astrid's smile started to show behind her stern look. "And look." She said firmly, reaching out and placing both hands tightly on each of his shoulders. "We're going to pull through this, alright? We've come too far to lose pace right now, so we won't let it happen."

Hiccup sighed heavily. "You're right." He gave in.

"I always am." Astrid said lightly, tightening her grip on his shoulders and steering him around so that he faced the joining Night Furies.

Nearly the entire Pack had decided to follow them back. There were some young ones that looked barely enough to fly, and others that looked like they might lose the ability to fly any second now. There was a range of ages, old to young, and in between. And now that the other dragons that had decided to stay were going after Fleetfoot, they were the only ones in the cave. The silence pressed down on their shoulders, and for a moment, Hiccup couldn't find the words to speak what he was thinking.

The dragons' eyes were trained on him explicitly; they were waiting for some kind of assurance that they had made the right decision in leaving their home to travel to Berk. Had they, though? Hiccup felt the same pressing sensation on his mind like he had before the whole voting thing started, and he cursed himself over and over as a curtain was pulled over his brain. Why was this happening to him all of a sudden? It didn't used to, so what had changed? Was it just because he realized how close he was to going back to Berk and facing his father again? Or had the words finally registered in Hiccup's mind from when his father told him he would make a terrible chief one day?

A small cough came from the back of the group, in the suspicious direction to where Shadowclaw was sitting. Toothless turned over, glaring down at the smaller dragon as he lifted a paw, swiping it outwards and cuffing the youngling over the head. He caused the male to smack into the floor of the cave, giving out a small grunt as he planted himself into the ground. Leafdapple purred with amusement where she sat, shoulders shaking up and down as she snickered. Shadowclaw pried himself off the floor, whirling around and shooting the girl a fiery glare. Copying Toothless, Shadowclaw reached over and poked her harshly in the side, causing the female to let out a loud squeak as the prod tickled her.

Mistyeyes leaned over, giving the trio a large: 'Shush.' She shot them a firm look of a parent, the group immediately falling into a sulky silence as they flashed looks of irritation her way.

The sight caused Hiccup to let his guard down, a small smile playing on the edges of his lips as Shadowclaw and Toothless pushed one another back and forth bad-temperedly. Ludi squawked loudly where she sat, nervous already from the sheer amount of dragons around her now. She made her way for Hiccup, losing interest with the Night Furies as she weaved her way out of the throng. The other dragons that had recently joined let out loud gasps of shock as the little ball of fluff made her way forward. Some went rigid with surprise, others cooed over the adorable thing, and others shot to their feet, bouncing up and down as they tried not to step on her.

The cat didn't pay attention though. She bounded forward eagerly, oblivious to the chaos she left in her wake as the Night Furies fell away from one another in an attempt to keep from squishing her. She bounced right up to Hiccup, gathering herself for a heartbeat before leaping up, landing squarely in the boy's arms. Immediately, she purred loudly, vibrating with happiness as she snuggled into his chest warmly. Hiccup smiled at the cat, looking up and glancing back to Mistyeyes. The gray dragon was rolling her eyes at the nuisance that was now in Hiccup's embrace, obviously growing impatient with the lack of words going towards the group. The silence was stretching on, and it was obviously getting to her.

Hiccup grinned; nothing had changed. This was still his group of friends, the people that he had learned with and traveled with so easily. Nightflight, Toothless, Mistyeyes, Shadowclaw, Astrid, and Ludi. There was just a few more people here now than there were before; with luck, they would become old friends as well, in time. There was nothing different, and there was nothing difficult, either. Patting Ludi's head gingerly, and silently thanking her for reminding him, Hiccup took a small step forward along with Astrid. The Night Furies straightened, turning to him attentively now as they looked at him eagerly.

Yes, they would all become old friends, too. Of him, and hopefully the other Vikings on Berk.

It would just take time; time and work. Hopefully they would have enough of that here.

"Thank you." He began softly, beaming at the group assembled in front of him. "I'll make sure that you didn't make a mistake; you're going to really love Berk. And Berk is going to really love you." The dragons shifted eagerly at the promise, and Hiccup let them calm down before he dipped his head, going on. "Now, it'll be a sort of long journey to there, and we still need to work a few things. So first thing's first…"

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

A/N: Are you gonna be like your father was, and his father was?

Do you have to carry what they've handed down?

No, this is not your legacy, this is not your destiny. Yesterday does not define you.

No, this is not your legacy, this is not your meant-to-be.

I can break the chains that bind you.

Family Tree - Matthew West

Dang. Sorry for the lack of updates! I finished HALF of my summer homework though, so do I get a round of applause!? And to answer someone's question: Yes, I AM in AP English class XD ((Hence the really stupid, really boring summer homework)). Anyway! Hope you all like this chapter! Next chapter they geo to … DUN DUN DUN … BERK! Aw yezzzzzz

HEY! Any of you who live near the ILLINOIS CONVENTION CENTER should drop by July 13th and 14th! There's gonna be an anime convention, and I'll be there! ;)

Go check out mah poll ppl~!