A/N-Last chapter for a few days, and this one jumps between two major incidents, so sorry if it seems a little fast-paced for just one round. Reviews are welcome, flames will be ignored!

Chapter 19: Breaking Silence

"Oh, just perfect," I said, looking down at Kaia. I turned to Hiccup. "Over there, on the other side of the basement, see that white box?" I said, gesturing to the washing machine. Hiccup nodded. "There's a bottle of water on it. Bring it to me." He nodded and ran over to get it while I knelt down and tried to wake Kaia up. "Come on, I can't have you passed out in the basement right now!" I said, tapping her on the cheek. Hiccup came back with the red Nalgene in his hand. "This it?" He asked. I nodded, and he handed me the bottle, which I opened and dribbled on Kaia's face. Hiccup and Toothless both backed up next to the playhouse they were hiding in before as Kaia spluttered and spat out the water. She looked up at me.

"Hawken? What in the world just happened?" I sighed. "A lot more than I care to explain," I said. Kaia propped herself up slowly, still unable to see the two Berkians behind me. "I feel as if I just came out of a dream. I could have sworn I saw those two characters from that favorite movie of yours." She laughed. "Of course that couldn't happen." Kaia looked back at me and noticed the look on my face. "What?" she asked. "Um, that's the thing," I said, turning to look behind me. Kaia followed my eyes and leaned to look around me, then froze.

For a couple minutes, nobody said anything, then Hiccup made a tentative wave. "Yeah," I breathed. Kaia looked back at me, then Hiccup, then back at me. "So it wasn't… a dream." I shook my head. "I'm afraid not, and that's where the problem is." I said, standing up as Kaia did. "Yes, I know, it should be impossible, but they're here, and we forgot you were coming over, so no one was supposed to know." I looked her straight in the eye. "I know this is shocking, but no one else can know, at least not yet. Please tell me you won't tell-"

"Kaia? It's time to go!" I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and started to panic. I looked at Kaia, who nodded in understanding and went to slow her mother down. "Get in the playhouse!" I whispered loudly to Hiccup and Toothless, who slipped back inside as quickly as they could, and I stood in front of the doorway. Just in time, too, as Kaia's mother, Alicia, stepped into the basement. "Come on Kaia, you weren't supposed to come down-" she stopped when she noticed me guarding the playhouse. "Hi, Hawken. I thought you said no one was supposed to come down here." She looked around. "Doesn't' look like anything is different. " I smiled weakly. "Uh, yeah, we uh, just didn't want anyone messing up the basement. We just cleaned it not too long ago." Alicia frowned. "Then why-?"

Kaia stepped up and pulled on her arm. "Come on Mom, you said it was time to go. So let's go!" Alicia looked at her in mild surprise, but shrugged and turned to leave. Kaia looked over her shoulder and gave a nod of assurance: she wouldn't tell, but I could tell she was going to get the whole story out of me in return. They almost made it back to the stairwell, before….

"Whoa, WHOOOAAAAHHHHHH!" CRASSHHHH!

There was a loud thud as Hiccup lost his balance and fell over Toothless into a pile of toys, as Toothless yelped in surprise. I winced as Alicia turned around, and sighed inwardly. Things just aren't going to go right for me today, are they? Alicia stepped back into the basement despite Kaia's protest. "Is someone else over there?" I quickly shook my head. "Uh, no, no one here. I, uh, just knocked something over." Alicia didn't look convinced and crossed her arms as she took another step forward. "Mom, stop, let's just go!" Kaia said, tugging at her mother's arm. "It's supposed to be a surprise he's working on!" Alicia looked down at Kaia. "So you know what it is?" She asked, and Kaia froze. "I, uh, no, I just happened to come down as he was working on it. I'm not sure what it is, but I think some sort of new toy or sculpture." Alicia smiled. Well, I'm sure it would be fine if an adult saw what it was. It won't do any harm." She looked at me. "Does your mother know? She said there wasn't anything down here, are you hiding something from her?" I sighed. Where was my mom when I needed her? Or my sister for a distraction? "Look she said that because what I have down here is a very delicate matter, I can't show anyone else what it is." I held up my hands to say not to come closer. "Kaia is already one to many people, and she doesn't even know all of what I'm doing. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Hawken, what's going on-?" I jumped in shock as another voice came from the doorway, and my mom came in through the door. She stopped and stared at me, and slowly, I noticed Kaia and Alicia were doing the same. I suddenly had a very bad feeling. "What just happened?" I asked. From behind me, Hiccup whispered, "Uh, Hawken, look behind you." I did, and jerked in surprise. My mom had scared me more than I thought, and in response I had spread out a pair of brightly colored, finlike wings. I quickly retracted them and looked sheepishly at Kaia and her mom. "Wh-what…. Was.. that?" Alicia stammered, eyes wide as dinner plates. I brought my hand to my forehead and sighed. "I guess that's that then. It's too late to hide it." By the stairs, my mom nodded, both in response and as an 'I knew it would happen' gesture. I let out another sigh. "I guess I might as well explain."

Needless to say, it was hard to get Alicia to believe my story. My family has deeply rooted beliefs, the Ranslows even deeper rooted. To try and comprehend the fact that there was another earth connected to ours now, as well as another sentient group of creatures that could comprehend what we knew and said, is a lot to swallow for the more religious types. Needless to say, when I led everyone upstairs with Hiccup and Toothless behind them, it took a long time to smooth out all the details. By the time the explaining was over with, it was getting late already, and the end results consisted of the kids being astounded and Alicia being dumbfounded, sitting on the couch with an almost empty look on her face as she tried to even listen to what I was saying, let alone believe it. The icing on that cake, however, was the proof I gave them: the portal that was constantly glowing in the back yard, as well as the obvious fact that there was a dragon in the same room as them.

I looked at Alicia. "There is one thing I have to ask of all of you, now," I said. "You know the reactions of people when they hear about things like this. Without the proof being in front of their eyes, they'd never believe you. With the proof, they'd faint." I looked between them, then at Hiccup and Toothless lounging on the floor. "I need everyone to keep this quiet, because if one family couldn't handle it, the rest of the world certainly won't. There'll come a time when it will be proper to reveal this gift God gave me, but until then, can you keep a secret?" Alicia was the first to nod in agreement, which wasn't a surprise. However, one of the boys still had a question for me. "Can we tell our friends?" I shook my head. "No, no one can know, especially other kids. They'll be more likely to spread rumors around. Yes, you can tell your father, but only him," I said, sensing the next question. Todd wasn't there, so it was obvious the kids would want to tell him when they went home

"Hawken's right," my mom added in. "Most everyone wouldn't be able to handle this. Please keep it quiet." Everyone agreed, reluctantly, and Alicia, surprisingly, gave the kids a few minutes to ask the questions they all had. I wish she hadn't. By the end, Hiccup was red in the face from having to answer so many questions about him and Astrid, and I was sick of repeating my story about saving him.

Finally they did leave, though, and Hiccup and I sighed and flopped against the couch. "I thought they would never go," Hiccup said, and looked over at me. "Warn me next time, will you?" I gave a weak laugh. "Remind me to check with my parents to make sure nothing else is going on when you come over."

We both gave a half-hearted laugh, then Hiccup looked back at me. "So if hiding us was a waste of time, why did you even try?" I groaned as I sat up. "Because had Kaia not run downstairs, none of this would have happened in the first place. I'm not that great at making up stories on the spot, in case you didn't notice." ::You don't say,:: Toothless commented, a smirk on his muzzle. I glared at him. "Well, if a certain Mr. Gassy hadn't decided to be himself at such an inopportune moment, we still might have avoided it." That wiped the smirk off Toothless' face real quick, and had he not been black, he would have probably turned red at that.

I sighed. "Well, now that all of that's over with, I hope, and you guys are staying another night, what should we do?"

Naturally Hiccup picked activities that were relatively slow and relaxing, like board games and movies, which was expected after the fiasco of before. What surprised me was that of all the things we could have done, Hiccup chose to watch a nature documentary. "Seriously?" I asked, giving him a raised eyebrow. "What?" he exclaimed. "I enjoy learning, something wrong with that?" I couldn't argue with him on that, though I thought he would have at least picked something more exciting. "I'm coming over again at some point, right? That can wait until then. Besides, knowledge can be entertaining too." Good to know I'm not the only nerd around. As the evening wound down, we found ourselves discussing random things and knickknacks we found around the house, and went to sleep without any other big events (unless, of course, you consider Toothless' reaction after tasting toothpaste to be an event. Apparently he doesn't like mint, heh heh).

The next morning we were all a bit lazy in getting up, but eventually my father decided we couldn't sleep any longer, and kicked us out of bed. It was about time to head back to Berk anyway, so we headed out back and into the portal. Once on the other side, I morphed into my original half-form. "Why?" was all Hiccup asked. I shrugged. "Why not? I can get around faster this way." ::You still look weird,:: Toothless commented. I cast him a sideways glance. "Well, then, it fits me, doesn't it?"

When we landed in the village, however, I noticed right away something was off. Everyone was hustling and bustling, trying to get this cart there or that stall up over here. Stoick happened to be nearby helping set up a temporary stall and noticed us land. "Hiccup, Hawken, back already?" he asked as the walked over. "Nah, we're still there, this is just a hallucination," Hiccup said nonchalantly. "Of course we're back, it's been a couple of days. What's going on?" Stoick stared down at him with a slight frown. "Ye forgot, didn' ye?" Hiccup thought for a minute, then groaned and face palmed. "Yeah, yeah, I did, sorry." Stoick sighed and looked at me. "Then I take it you don't know yet," he said. I glared at him. "Well, if I don't know whatever is going on, can you explain it to me already? I hate it when people beat around the bush, alright?" Stoick laughed. "Very well then. In about three day's time, we'll be hostin' the annual gathering of all the Viking tribes, here on this island. There's competitions, awards, a banquet, so on so forth, and ye an' Hiccup there are two of the guests o' honor."

There was silence for a second as I raised my eyebrow. "And when did I sign up for that?" I asked. Stoick shook his head. "Ye didn't. There was a vote as for who would be one of the main guests. All o' the teens are going to be recognized this year, but ye and Hiccup have done a bit more." "Okay, but still, why me? I can understand why Hiccup, since he ended the war and killed the Red Death, and so on, blah, blah, blah, but I haven't really done much worth recognizing." Stoick just laughed again and clapped a hand on my shoulder, ignoring the size difference between us (he really doesn't know his own strength). "Oh, ye've done plenty to be recognized fer. Ye saved Hiccup from certain death once and ended the ongoing feud with the Clubswingers." I nodded. "Fine, fine, when does everything start exactly?" "Three days from now, the honor ceremony is in the evening. It all lasts for about three days as well," Stoick replied. "The second day we have the trading stalls open and the annual fighting competition. The third is the rest of the competitions, including a brand new one!" He smiled mysteriously, like he was hiding something, but I brushed it off. "I'll have to check in with my parents, but I should be free," I said, "but I'll let you know tomorrow for sure." Stoick nodded and turned to Hiccup. "And you need te start rememberin' things like this. Yer goin' tae be chief someday, and a chief can't forget things like the annual gathering. Got it?" Hiccup slowly nodded, turning red. Stoick let out a huff. "Good. Now if ye don' mind, I need to return to helping set things up." He walked away, and I turned to Hiccup, who was red as a beet. "What?!" He snapped. I laughed in response. "Eh, forget about it. Everyone gets chewed out by their parents occasionally." We turned toward Hiccup's house to drop his things off, but not before he muttered, "I bet you don't have to worry about that anymore." I smiled. "More than ever, actually."

For the rest of the day, both of us, and Toothless, surprisingly, helped set up the stalls and the decorations in the Mead Hall (Toothless isn't exactly known for being the helping-hand sort).Who knew Vikings had an eye for popular décor? Anyway, the day wound down and I headed home to check my calendar for my free days. As expected, there was a break in activities for the middle of the week for me (I didn't happen to have to go to work then), so I had time to spare. "Time to go check in with mom, I guess," I muttered

I found her downstairs on the computer. "Hey mom, can I ask you about something?" I said. She looked up. "Hmm? What is it?" I thought for a minute about how to word it, then said, "There's a, uh, gathering in Berk in a couple days, sort of like an annual get-together for everyone, and I'm uh, requested to be there." She looked at me with a questioning stare. "It's not something to do with religion or anything, it is?" she asked. I sighed. "No, no, more like a tradition, a celebration of alliances, from what I gather. There are a few competitions too, but everyone's expecting me to be there. Some sort of recognition ceremony or something." She nodded. "Anything going on here? When is it?" "Three days, and no, there's nothing on the calendar." My mom sat back and thought it over for a minute. "I don't see a problem with it, but just come home in the evenings," she said. "And, before you go, you need to do a couple chores as well." I groaned, but she gave me a hard glare, and I sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll finish them up tonight." She nodded. "Good. And if there's anything you're needed for over there, just ask me, I understand how everyone seems to think you're important."

I raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure?" "You're wanted at an award's ceremony, and don't forget you told me about the incident with the other , oh, what did you call it, tribe?" I nodded, and she waved me off. "Well, if you're going to go, you'd better get started on those chores," she said, and waved me up the stairs. As I walked up, I called back down, "I'll let you know how each day goes, alright?" She nodded. "Alright. Make sure to have fun!" I rolled my eyes. "I don't think that will be much of a problem." I headed upstairs to get started on my chores so that I wouldn't get stuck disappointing Stoick.

I woke up to a clear sky outside, a crisp, bright blue. That was good, because I'd noticed that the clearer the skies were here, the more likely we'd at least have decent weather in Berk. That was a good thing, because the one day I'd gone to Berk to escape a storm in my home, it was twice as bad there. Bad idea. I gathered a few things up, like my sword, a small pack, and a couple snacks, and let my mom know I was heading off to help out. I stepped through the portal and was about to fly over to the village, when I noticed the teens and their dragons landing in the cove, with Toothless and Hiccup acting like they had been waiting there for a while. "I thought they were supposed to be helping decorate," I said under my breath, and put my gear down as I morphed into a Terrible Terror and silently crept down the wall of the cove. I came up and changed back behind a large boulder near Hiccup.

"Now, tell me again why we're supposed to be here?" I heard Snotlout ask as the group gathered in front of Hiccup. Before anyone could answer, I popped up over the boulder. "I could ask al of you the same thing," I said loudly.

Every single one of them, including Toothless, squealed and jumped into the air. Thorn threw a couple of tail spikes, which impaled the wall to my right. I burst out laughing as everyone caught their breath again. "Gee, I knew the girls were high pitched, but I didn't expect that scream coming from you two," I said, pointing to Tuffnut and Snotlout. Tuffnut crossed his arms and glared at me. "That was NOT funny, Hawken." I chuckled and pointed to the two girls, who were starting to giggle as well at them. "I believe some of us disagree." Fishlegs looked around. "You came out of nowhere. That's, like, plus 15 stealth!" he said. I sighed at his statistic antics and looked at Hiccup. "Anyway, now that I've had my fun, what are you doing here?" I asked. "I thought everyone was trying to set up." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Well, as I was about to say before you so kindly decided to pop in, the gang here has been selected to do an aerial stunt show after everyone gets here, you know, to put our tribe in the best light possible. We're the most experienced, so the village picked us, and we need to figure out the details of what we're going to do. So…"

It took a couple hours to plan that out, and by the end, we were confident that the rest of the tribes would be in awe. Everyone headed to the village, and while I informed Stoick about my conditions for attending the festival, everyone else got to work setting the last details up. I kept scarce until I was needed, because I wanted as little attention as possible on me until the festivities actually started. I knew that my introduction was going to be a fiery one, and I mean that in far more ways than one.