When Hiccup's eyes finally cleared, he was sitting in the middle of purple fire. He yelled out, hopping up and cursing loudly before he realized the fire wasn't hurting him. Then he realized it wasn't actually a camp fire. It was originating from him.
"Is this what I think it is?" He muttered, looking himself up and down. He didn't appear any different. He felt different, that's for sure. He felt his body hum with power, and his skin tickled with energy. He realized his DSE wasn't even ignited, and this was an after effect of it igniting previously. He must've ignited it the first time before he could see. That, he understood, was the rush of heat and energy he felt before he could will himself to open his eyes.
"That's messed up. I'm 17. Kids start showing signs of their DSE's igniting at age, like, ten. What kind of sick joke was this?" He brushed some charcoal off his shoulders before freezing. Where did the charcoal come from? He heard a whimper, and gulped, turning slowly to see the great beast in his visions trying to hide behind a rock half it's size. Hiccup's breathing stuttered, as it's timid head peeked out past the rock, took one look at him, and hid behind it again.
"What are you?" Hiccup asked, taking a step forwards. The creature recoiled, hissing in a terrifying manner. Hiccup froze.
"Are… Are you… A dragon?" He asked it. It froze, looking at him confusedly. It glanced down at it's feet and yelped, springing backwards as if trying to escape itself. It rolled onto it's back, clawing wildly at it's tail before Hiccup intervened.
"Stop!" He yelled, afraid it would hurt itself. It froze and sat guiltily, avoiding his eyes and staring at it's tail. A wing fell into his vision, and it's pupils dilated even further as he stared, trying not to breath.
"That's your wing. It's all a part of you. You can't claw it off." He tried to explain. The Dragon's eyes shifted to Hiccup, and twisted it's mouth. It warbled, and shook its head.
"What? Are you trying to say something?" He asked, amazed.
It made a warble again, this one sounding more… Cat like. Hiccup froze. He stared up at the beast with newfound confusion.
"What?"
The Dragon made a meowing sound again, and Hiccup stumbled back.
"T-T-Toothless?" He asked, horrified. The Dragon nodded, and Hiccup fell onto his rear, scrambling back. He pressed his palms to his temples.
"Oh no oh no oh no oh no. What did I do? What have I done?" He muttered, his skin starting to feel feverish. He took a deep breath, and fell back into hysteria.
"What are my parents going to say and what if the kid at school find him and what if the police find him what would they do to him he'd be put on display or they'd run tests on him forever what am I going to do?" He finished with a heavy breath. He closed his eyes, and they snapped open when he heard a buildup of energy emitting from him. His eyes widened at the high-pitched whine that slowly got louder and moved up in notes. He winced as it went into a range human ear's couldn't pick up, and suddenly a column of swirling purple light shot up from the ground around him. It columned to the sky, like a beam of light only seen in movies, and Hiccup started to float off the ground. He was two feet in the air when the column disappeared, dropping him to the ground. He yelled out as he crashed on the grass, rolled onto his back. He gasped for air, and hopped up excitedly.
"I have a Dragon Spirit!' He cheered. He turned to Toothless the Dragon, who's eyes widened and he covered his face. Hiccup frowned.
"What? What is it?" He asked. He glanced down into the water, and yelped. His eyes were glowing a pure white. With no pupil or iris visible. Just white. And it was bright.
"Whoa! Is that a side effect of my Dragon Spirit igniting? Does this happen to everyone?" Hiccup asked. Toothless shook his head, still averting his eyes.
"Was this happening before? Were my eyes… glowing before?" He asked the shy dragon. Toothless nodded comically.
"Is that why you didn't want to get near me? You didn't recognize me, or you thought something was wrong?" He asked. The Dragon nodded again. Hiccup sighed.
"I'm sorry. C'mere." He gestured for his pre-cat to come to him. The Dragon lumbered forward, and Hiccup froze. He thought about the vision he had when he touched cat-Toothless' fur for the first time in here. He put his hand out, and Toothless froze, staring at it.
"C'mon. Bud, just try something, would ya?" He asked. Toothless backed up quickly, shaking his head violently and clawing at his brain. Hiccup rushed forwards.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Toothless, calm down! Wh-What's wrong bud? Speak to me here!" He said desperately. Toothless swung his tail around, knocking Hiccup over. He didn't look at the boy as he inspected his tail, looking for any sign of damage. There was none.
"Toothless, what's happening? Whoa!" He cried out as the tail was flicked around. "Whoa, bud. What is it? He grabbed the Dragon's tail fins, trying to pin it down. It swung back, knocking him off and sending him tumbling across the ground. Hiccup stood, and visions came rushing to him. He saw himself on who he now knew as Toothless's back, flying around a small island. He saw two men, who looked just like Gobber and his Father, just in more ancient appearing clothes, talking as they walked. He saw a girl, who looked exactly like a younger Astrid, also in ancient clothes, carrying an axe and jutting the end in his stomach.
He watched as his classmates walked away from an explosion, all in ancient Viking garb. He saw himself sharpening a sword on a metal wheel, and he saw his hands stitching up what appeared to be a leather tail fin for Toothless. He saw himself being thrown into an ancient version of the town hall, his Father yelling at him, about how he was a traitor to their kind. He watched ships sail off the horizon, and then the girl, Astrid, was back, talking to him grimly. He heard her say his name, along with the word "stupid" in the same sentence. He saw himself guide Snotlout's hand onto the snout of an orange Dragon, who watched him cautiously. He watched Toothless roll around in the grass, and he saw him throwing a yellow and black striped eel at a two headed dragon. He saw him flying on Toothless towards a mountain sized dragon, blasting it down with one mighty shot.
Hiccup covered his eyes as more and more visions came. Each as random as the next.
He glanced up to see Toothless writhing on the ground, obviously having the same type of experience Hiccup was. Hiccup willed the visions away and crawled towards his Dragon.
"You have to… you have to ignore them, Toothless." He muttered, blocking out any other sound or movement. He focused on the Dragon. "You've gotta fight it, Bud. Fight it. You have to." Hiccup placed his hand on Toothless's muzzle, and another spark connected their bodies. Hiccup was thrown backwards once more.
This time, Hiccup didn't wake up in a flaming campfire. He woke up to Toothless growling down on his face, his eyes murderous. Hiccup froze, and winced away, expecting to die for his mistake, though he didn't know what the mistake was. Toothless opened his mouth, and roared so loudly that Hiccup's ears popped.
Hiccup sat up, gasping for air. He glanced around to see his Dragon was gone, and replaced by a sleeping cat. Hiccup gasped and scrambled forwards, sliding on his knees when he reached the feline. Toothless the cat was sleeping soundly. He rolled over, and the worn notebook from earlier was underneath him. Hiccup stared, blinking it away. It didn't disappear. Hiccup picked up the notebook and flipped through it. Inside were sketches of Dragons, machines, weapons, and a map. A very large map. It was of a place he had never seen. He had taken every history class he could in the past years, and he didn't even recognize this place. He flipped the page, and gasped. A carefully drawn picture of the girl in his visions was there. Every detail was there, and they were perfect. All down to the metal ring on her ring finger. Hiccup sucked in a breath.
"She married… me? Him? Whoever that was… Whoever's life I keep reliving. They got married." He muttered as Toothless the cat rolled over and blinked open his eyes. He meowed, and froze.
"Hey, Bud. You're a cat again." He told him. Toothless sighed and fell back asleep. Hiccup rubbed behind his ear as he flipped through the pages. He saw a sketch of a woman and a man, both of them looking strikingly similar to his parents. They were dancing, and large smiles reflected across both their faces. He turned the page, and he saw a more oddly dressed version of Gobber Belch, his Trainer and boss. Gobber held a sword against the metal wheel, and his mouth was open, like he was telling the artist something. Hiccup realized he must've been teaching him forgery.
"This is… incredible. It's almost my life, except an ancient version. Also, Astrid doesn't talk to me, so that's wrong. But almost everything else…" He trailed off, skimming through the pages. He saw a sketch of four people, ancient versions of Snotlout, his cousin, Fishlegs, his friend, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, his idiotic tormentors. He shook his head in wonder, flipping to the next page. Someone else had clearly drawn this, because Hiccup couldn't imagine himself getting his likeness so right. It was a drawing of an older version of himself and the girl...kissing. Hiccup couldn't stop staring at the man. He looked exactly like Hiccup, just a few years older and wearing some odd leather outfit. Even his left lower leg was missing, and the prosthetic was expertly crafted. Hiccup turned his attention to the girl. She looked happy, and so did older Hiccup. Hiccup realized they must've been together for a while to look that happy. A name was signed in the corner.
"V. Haddock." Hiccup read, freezing. V. Haddock? As in Valka Haddock? His mother drew that? How? She wasn't alive then, was she? That… That can't be possible. No, it wasn't possible. Maybe another V. Haddock. He remembered he had a great-great-great-great Grandmother named Valhallarama Haddock, maybe she drew that… But was she alive then? He doubted it. He flipped to the back of the book, where a picture of Hiccup holding a flaming sword and Toothless the Dragon growling angrily behind him was set neatly. The words underneath filled him with dread.
You are my best friend. I will miss you forever. Thank you for everything, Toothless. I love you.
Hiccup gulped and looked at the inside of the back cover. His throat caught.
"Toothless. Something's wrong. My-my name's in this. My name. And yours. Something is terribly wrong." He said, stuttering over his words as he gripped the notebook tightly. The name read Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. He peered closer, and gasped.
"No way." He said, staring at the III. It was one number away from his IV.
"This… this was my ancestor's. My namesakes… Oh my gods." Hiccup gripped the notebook tighter.
"This was the first Dragon trainer's notebook. Toothless. This was the notebook of the original Night Fury's owner. So that means…" Hiccup flipped to a page with a sketch of the dragon from 4,000 years ago and compared it to his sketch of Toothless the Dragon. They were almost exactly the same. He stared.
"Toothless, you can turn into a Night Fury…" He read the statistics scribbled under the ancient sketch.
Fire Type: Acetylene and Oxygen Shaped Plasma Charges
Abilities: Echolocation; can split spines for better maneuverability; Blends in with the Night Sky
Habitat: Unknown
Trainable: Yes
Features: Nubs and Tendrils Protruding from Head, Secondary Wings, Tail Fins, Retractable Teeth
Color: Jet Black with Lighter Spots
Size: Medium: 26 feet (7.9 meters) long
Attack: 15
Speed: 20
Armor: 18
Firepower 14
Shot Limit: Unknown
Venom: 0
Jaw Strength: 6
Stealth: 18
"Plasma blast…" Hiccup murmured, lighting his hand up with Dragon Spirit Energy. "This must be what he's talking about." He said. He didn't notice Toothless start to stir in his sleep, rolling around and hissing quietly. "That means I have… I have a Night Fury spirit…?" He asked. His hand shook and the Plasma went out. He buried his head in his hands. "This is all too much. I… I need to… tell…" He dozed off, but a roar shocked him out of it. His head snapped up, his eyes widening quickly. Toothless was writhing on the ground, morphing into a Dragon again. Hiccup watched, horrified, as his fur smoothed out into scales, his pupils shrank into slits, and his back sprouted wings. His tail split on the ends into two tail fins, and his ears doubled into two flaps on each side. His back grew small ridges, and he grew triple his previous size. Once fully transformed, Toothless stopped writhing, but lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Hiccup scrambled towards him.
"You okay, Bud?" He asked. Toothless warbled a small bit, his mouth empty and void of teeth. Hiccup stared.
"Toothless?" He mused, prying his mouth open farther. Toothless looked at him, annoyed. "I could've sworn you had-." Thirty sharp pearly whites shot from inside his gum and almost bit Hiccup's hand off. He yelped and scrambled backwards, seeing the blood pour from his hand. He sighed, washing it off in the pond next to him. "Teeth." He finished, annoyed. Toothless warbled from behind him, prancing around and ruffling his wings and tail fins. Hiccup watched as he tended to his wound, as Toothless jumped around the Cove.
"Well, I can't bring you home now, considering you change back into a dragon every time I change you back. And I still can't believe you're a dragon. That's messed up in every way. I thought dragon's we're supposed to be extinct… Unless they were all changed into common house pets, I don't think they're supposed to exist anymore. So, I'm gonna keep you here, unless I can find a way to change you into a cat for a longer period of time… Oh no." Hiccup's phone started to buzz, and he looked who it was. He groaned.
"Toothless, if you make so much as a sound, I'll never give you catnip again." He hissed. Toothless froze and laid down quietly. Hiccup answered his phone.
"Hey dad." He sighed.
"Hiccup! C'mon, where are ya? I'm making your favorite! Quickly, before your mother gets home!" His dad called through the phone, a sizzling sound in the background. Hiccup's mouth watered.
"Okay okay! I'll be home soon, I just need to finish up here." He said.
"Hurry son! These yak patties will be cold by the time you get here!" His dad chuckled, hanging up. Hiccup sighed.
"C'mere. I need to change you back quickly. But first…" Hiccup ignited his Energy again, and Toothless's eyes narrowed.
"Don't worry Bud." His voice was layered with different pitches, making an almost demonic sound. "I won't hurt you." He promised. Toothless huffed and hobbled forwards, closing his eyes. Hiccup thought about his cat and touched Toothless's nose. A spark sounded, but Hiccup stayed where he was. He watched as his Dragon slowly transformed into a cat, this time painlessly and quietly. The cat meowed, and Hiccup turned off his Energy.
"Alright. We have to go quick. I'm not sure how long this will last." Hiccup scooped up his cat and left the cove.
~oOo~
"Hiccup! You're back so soon!" His dad called from the grill on the back porch. Hiccup gave him an awkward grin, setting his cat back down and letting him prance around.
"Yep. I'm back. That's me, Hiccup Get-Back-Quickly Haddock." He said, rubbing his neck. His father chuckled, flipping a burger and humming a tune. Hiccup shoved both notebooks deeper in his hoodie pocket and knelt down to Toothless the cat. "If you feel like you're about to change, go back to the cove and wait for me to come change you back into a cat." He whispered quietly. Toothless meowed and put a paw on Hiccup's nose. Hiccup nodded once and stood, going to help get ready for dinner.
~oOo~
The next day, Hiccup was surrounded by people talking about a column of light shooting into the sky.
"Where'd they see it?"
"Do they know who did it?'
"What was it?"
"Hiccup!" A voice called from behind him. Hiccup turned and grinned. Thuggory was jogging up to him, his jersey bright with the Berk Academy colors.
"Hey Thug. What's up?" He asked. Thuggory was a football player for the Berk Vikings. He fit the image well. Strong, tough, beefy, tall, chiseled face and muscles. But he was nice enough to be Hiccup's friend even after he was outcast by society.
"Did you hear about the column of light?" Thug asked excitedly. Hiccup sighed.
"How could I not? It's the talk of the day. No one will shut up about it." He rolled his eyes. Thuggory had a Monstrous Nightmare Energy, and a rare type at that. Most Nightmare Energies had orange, red, yellow, blue, pink or green in them. Thug's energy was completely silver and gray, which was very rare.
"But it happened near your house!" He said, his eyes lighting up. Hiccup clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Shut. Up. Thug. If anyone knew that, I'd never get any breathing room. Don't mention it again." He removed his hand, and Thug rolled his eyes.
"Did you see what it was?" He asked quietly. Hiccup shook his head.
"I didn't know about it until I walked into school today. Anyways, how's your family. It's been a while." Hiccup asked as they started walking down the hall.
"Good. Dad's insane, Mom's trying not to get too involved in my love life, Killer's still sick… I dunno, pretty normal."
"Love life, huh?" Hiccup asked slyly. Thuggory blushed, shoving Hiccup slightly.
"Shut up."
"Heather, huh?"
"What did I just say?" Thug asked exasperatedly.
"Dude, you gotta let me have some fun." Hiccup chuckled. "Killer's sick? How?"
"Ate something weird. I'm bringing him to the vet tomorrow." Thug said, thinking about his gray Tegu Lizard.
"I'm not even surprised. He's always eating something." Hiccup grinned.
"How's Toothless?" Thug asked. Hiccup's walking stuttered for a second.
"Uh, he's fine. Annoying as ever, but fine." He laughed nervously.
"You're hiding something." Thug sang.
"I hate you."
"Hate you too. This is my stop. See you when you're ready to tell me what you're hiding!" Thug called. Hiccup waved to his friend and was immediately shoved to the ground. He turned over and groaned.
"What do you want, Snotlout?" Hiccup sighed, leaning back on his palms and glaring at his cousin. Snotlout cackled with laughter.
"I heard that the beam of light came from inside your woods. Wanna tell me what it was?" He grinned rudely. Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"Uh, gee, I don't know? Maybe it was a rogue dragon trampling around my woods. Not like I'd know, I don't spend all my time in there." Hiccup snapped, trying to stand up. Snotlout's friend from the Football team, Dogsbreath, shoved him down again. Hiccup sighed.
"I've got all day. I only have to take three classes this year. You, on the other hand, Snotlout, have to get to class in about three minutes. So pick up the pace." Hiccup said, tapping his fingers on his leg. Snotlout shared a glance with his Football friends.
"Fine. Let's make this quick." Snotlout cracked his knuckles but someone from behind him grabbed his hair and tugged it backwards. He yelled out, and Hiccup sprang to his feet. A mean, grinning face greeted him.
"Hello, brother!" Dagur said with a smile. "Are these morons bothering you again?"
