Thanks for everyone who has reviewed, followed or favorited this story! You guys are the best! It is thanks to you that I've decided to continue to write my first fanfiction. Yay! Also, this chapter was particularly fun to write. Even though I like Snotlout better as a character, writing in Fishlegs perspective just feels more natural. It must be because he and I have so much in common.
Chapter 2 takes place the night after the events of episode 9, Quake, Rattle and Roll.
Without further ado, enjoy!
Fishlegs recorded it now.
His fight with the Catastrophic Quaken awoke two things inside of him. The first one was a feeling he had never felt before: bravery. The second one was the memories of his time as Thor Bonecrusher.
Everything was so clear. The baby rescue, Stoic's axe, some fake story, his failed attempt to kill the Scauldron… And during that whole time, he didn't get a glimpse of Snotlout's crush on him, even though it was so visible.
It was so weird to know that he had done so much without ever being afraid or worrying about the consequences. He had no idea of his capability to pull half of those stunts! His physical capability anyway. The regular Fishlegs would never be psychologically able to execute any of that.
Not only that, but he managed to get the Gronkels to live on their island again. And, in a way, it was all thanks to Snotlout. Sure, fighting dirty wasn't the answer, but if not for the shorter one, Fishlegs wouldn't have returned to Dark Deep.
However, there was something tingling in the back of his mind. Why did Snotlout help him? Of all the dragon riders, Snotlout was the last one Fishlegs expected to get help from, especially because they haven't spoken much to each other ever since Snotlout made him promise not to talk about that ever again. So what was different now?
Fishlegs wanted some answers, and just like last time, he wasn't going to back away until he had them. That's why he decided to visit Snotlout's section of the Dragon's Edge that same night. The brunette was preparing himself for sleep.
"Fishlegs?" He was truly confused. "What are you doing here this late?"
The words wouldn't come to him at first, so he took a few breaths to calm himself down.
"Why did you do it?" Fishlegs cursed silently for not being able to get straight to the point, as usual.
"Do what?"
"Teach me to fight the Catastrophic Quaken."
Snotlout cringed for a brief second. He looked down at the wooden floor while swinging his arms back and forth slightly, like he usually does when he's disconcerted, before gazing back at Fishlegs again.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" Fishlegs shook his head no, annoyed. Snotloud's lame attempt to buy some time so he could think of an answer was obvious. "Because you needed assistance and nobody else seemed to be willing to offer you some. I'm sorry for being polite!" He finally said, scoffing at that last part.
Fishlegs sighed. He was really starting to get angry.
"Snotlout, we both know you're terrible liar-"
"No, I'm not!" He tried to defend himself. The blonde boy simply looked at him with a blank expression. "Sorry."
"As I was saying, we both know you're a terrible liar, so why don't you tell me the truth already? You said yourself you didn't care about Dark Deep or the Gronkels, and that hasn't changed. So what has?"
Snotlout crossed his arms in a defensive manner. He simply refused to look at Fishlegs in the eyes, staring at the corners of the room instead. The taller one realized they wouldn't get anywhere like that, so he decided to take a wild guess.
"Does it have something to do with your love for my alter ego?"
Snotlout's eyes flashed wide open. He uncrossed his arms and let his chin fall.
"You promised me you'd never talk about that again!"
"You kinda forced me into it, don't you think?!"
Hookfang's master seemed to settle down.
"You're right. It does have something to do with Thor. Let's just say that, you have your experiments, and I have mine."
"What's that even supposed to mean?!" Fishlegs responded harshly. He couldn't comprehend why he was being so impatient about it.
"You see, I was actually hoping that, if you acted like Thor, only once, maybe, just maybe, I would be able to trigger him back."
Fishlegs didn't know for sure if he had quite caught the true significance of those words. They simply sounded strange, as if Snotlout was speaking another language.
"Wait. You're trying to tell that the only reason why you helped was because you expect to revive Bonecrusher's spirit in me?"
For the first time in a long time, Fishlegs saw true shame in Snotlout's face.
"It's crazy, I know. Although my plan didn't work entirely, you have got to admit that something happened at Dark Deep, right?"
That sentence made Meatlug's owner frown.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, c'mon! I saw your face when that Whatever Quaken rolled your way. You had the exact same expression as Thor while he was fighting the Scauldron! Plus, you're not even acting like yourself right now. This impatience, those insults… I-it's not you, Fishlegs!"
Just then, Fishlegs realized he was horrified. Horrified because, deep down, he knew Snotlout was right. The worst part was, Snotlout smiled when he said that last statement. He was happy that he was able to break Fishlegs. Twice, none the less.
When he felt tears build up in his eyes, Fishlegs ran away, back to his own hut. Something from his other self was rising up inside of him, and it wasn't just his memories.
Don't forget to leave a review telling me how you felt about this chapter. Your opinion is really important to me!