Dear anonymous guest: I'm not replacing Astrid. She's still Hiccup's friend. I just wanted something other than a romantic relationship. I wanted something other than "Hiccup, the main character, gets the kick butt girl." It also serves a purpose for later chapters. NOT REPLACED. If you don't like the story, don't read it. You don't have to tell me off for replacing "Hiccstrid". I actually love Hiccstrid. I just didn't want it to be the focus of this story or take away from the friendship of Richard and Hiccup.

I sat and watched my mother and father dancing. I was playing a song for them while they danced cheerfully. Toothless sat beside me, enjoying himself. But one person was still missing from the happy scene.

Richard. He still hadn't shown up, and I was getting deeply worried.

I stopped playing the flute. My parents stopped dancing and looked at me. Toothless seemed to sense my emotions and gave me a worried look. Stoick made his way over.

"Worried about Richard?"

I nodded.

"The guy can take care of himself. I'm sure he's fine."

I bit my lip. Something just didn't feel right. "Last time we saw each other, we weren't on the best of terms. I hope he comes back so we can talk it out."

Stoick's eyebrows furrowed. "What were you fighting about?"

"War." I felt frustration anew.

My father sighed. "You don't want to fight."

I shook my head. "No, I don't."

Stoick nodded. "Yeah, you have some strong standards. But what if you have to?"

I had an argument ready. "I won't, because there will never be a reason to."

"How do you know? Drago wants war, there's no way to change his mind. We have to fight to protect those who can't protect themselves." Stoick put a hand on my shoulder.

That's exactly what Richard said. Or tried to, anyway.

I bit my lip. "How do you know so much about this Drago guy, anyway?"

His face fell. Valka stiffened. I looked from one face to the other.

"We've encountered him before." Stoick said.

Not mysterious at all...

"Where? When?" I asked, prompting more. I was really curious.

My father sighed heavily. "A long time ago, me and other leaders of the underground colonies got together to discuss forming an alliance against the AI."

I nodded. Seemed simple enough.

"Well, in our midst came a scientist. Tanya Bludvist. She was brilliant. She told us we could build a machine that could reprogram the AI to be helpful instead of destructive."

My jaw fell.

"At first, we were hesitant to trust a machine. We finally agreed, but we had no idea what we were in for. She took parts, and lots of things we needed to survive. Then she disappeared. We never heard from her again. I do know she had a son."

"Drago." Valka said. "I know what happened after that. Tanya built a supercomputer. A machine capable of controlling thousands. It... killed Tanya. It then began to wreak havoc on the surface and underground alike. Drago was the one who reprogrammed the machine. And a few years ago, before you returned to the surface, it was destroyed."

I gasped. I had been the one to destroy it.

"I know that Drago is working with a scientist named Viggo to conquer again. It's possible they have a new supercomputer."

I felt a little dizzy. Toothless supported me, nuzzling my hand gently.

This was terrible. Things were going from bad to worse.

"So... now there's another one of those beasts. Well, Toothless and me can take it down. We did last time. I'll be careful about my leg this time." I laughed nervously.

Toothless seemed excited. "Yeah. Nothing controls me! We'll blow it to pieces!"

I sighed and buried my face into my hands.

Another computer.

Fate is waiting.