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The Hero Reborn

Chapter 14: Metamorphosis

Hiccup lay motionless upon the sand, his legs still in the water. He was taller and more muscular than he used to be, and his facial features were more defined and elegantly shaped, but there was no mistaking it, it was Hiccup. He still had some black scales in thin lines on his cheek bones in a sort of sideways Y shapes with one of the arms bent on each. And fangs could clearly be seen protruding from between his lips. He still had his claws, wings and tail, but they were much smaller as if to match the proportions of his new form. The earlike flaps still adorned his head but his human ears where back, however they were now pointed instead of their original rounded shape. The tips of his fingers were a slightly grayish black color, reminiscent of his scales which had been replaced with smooth pale skin. His hair also seemed to be slightly longer and a more vivid color then Toothless remembered and it seemed to shin with a red tint in the sun light.

Just what was going on here? Toothless just couldn't wrap his head around this whole situation.

This wasn't supposed to happen!

Toothless wasn't exactly sure how the spell he'd cast at Hiccups funeral even worked so there was no way to be sure. For all he knew it had never been cast on a human before….. could Hiccups transformation be his fault? It was a definite possibility, he'd been thinking about it for weeks now. The spell, after all, had been sacred and old, not many dragon's even knew about it let alone used it. This was definitely something he was going to have to investigate further. But for now he needed to get his….. human…..back to his home for some medical attention, he had no idea how humans ( or if Hiccup could even be considered human) worked but even he, with his limited knowledge, knew that Hiccup needed help. His body had been under a lot of stress lately. What with death followed by reanimation and two separate transformations, there was likely to be some damage or trauma at the very least. Hiccup's complexion was paler than Toothless was comfortable with and his breathing appeared to be ragged and shallow, steering up a familiar anxiety in Toothless that he didn't want to think about.

Toothless walked forward and craned his head down to close his jaws gently over Hiccups arm, making sure to retract his teeth so as not to bite into the young boys flesh. He then gingerly pulled the boy's motionless, and all too light, body away from the water and hoisted him onto his back. Once Hiccup was situated neatly between Toothless' shoulder blades, the dragon folded his wings back and over Hiccups' unconscious form so as to keep him in position, and shield his nude body from the cold.

Hiccup was completely oblivious to the wind tearing past him as Toothless took off at break-neck speeds through the trees. Toothless felt his claws dig deep into the in the terrain, finding purchase in the soft ground and propelling him forward. He needed to get Hiccup to the village as soon as possible, hoping beyond all hope that the sleeping village continued to lay dormant. So as to salvage the possibility of keeping Hiccups current state under wraps until something could be done about it.

He could only hope that the village healer, or "Gothi" as he'd heard Hiccup call her, could do something for his friend.

Hiccup hadn't stirred throughout the entire journey, and when they finally reached the edge of the village Toothless was really beginning to worry. Hiccup's breathing was, if possible, even more intensely labored and his body felt uncomfortably hot against Toothless' scales.

They had been gone for almost two hours by toothless' estimate and the sun had already risen above the horizon, bathing the village in a warm light. Some of the residents were already out and about doing their daily routine. Toothless could see the loud metal worker called "Gobber" already hard at work as well as a few others.

Toothless was thankful that, for the most part, all of the villagers were still inside of their homes or the food hall. It made it a lot easier for him to sneak back to Hiccups house at the top of the hill without being seen by the villagers. Toothless was aware just how hostile and superstitious Vikings could be when something new challenged their beliefs or sense of normalcy. Hiccup's first transformation had shaken everyone, and for the most part the reactions hadn't been positive. He knew Hiccup could hear what people had said under the illusion of confidentiality. The words had been harsh, cold….condemning. It's cruel what humans said behind each other's backs when they thought you couldn't hear it. What they hadn't taken into account was Hiccup's new and improved sense of hearing courtesy of his new dragon genes .He had heard it all, but to Hiccup, toothless realized, it was normal. He felt the pain of it all, took the abuse with a maddening acceptance, and Toothless had observed it all in horror.

He had wanted to rip the Vikings apart, feel their flesh tear and bones crunch between his teeth, listen to their screams get choked as they gagged on their own blood. But he had not. He knew it would only have made the situation so much worse, so instead he railed in his animal instincts and tried to just be there to catch his friend when he fell. There was not much else he could do. He was out of his element; he knew not of the ways of the humans and could only be an outsider. He held no position in their society and they all viewed him as a threat or a liability, just waiting for some excuses to off him. He didn't need to give the villagers another reason to want Hiccup or himself dead.

Once Toothless arrived at the chief's cabin he slammed his body into the door with the full force of his run, not pausing when it smacked violently into the wall and knocking over various hanging objects unceremoniously onto the hard floor. Stoick, who had been eating breakfast at the large oak table, stood up abruptly and nearly knocking over the table in his shock, as he was greeted by the site of a fluster nightfury and the startling sound of metal clanging sharply upon the ground.

"Toothless!" he exclaimed "What's wrong, where Hiccup" worry heightening his tone, anxious at the absence of his son at the dragon's side. Hiccup had barely left the nightfury's side since the transformation, so where was he now? When he'd woken up this morning to the absence of the pair he'd just assumed that they were together doing flight lessons like they had been every morning. But now looking at the flustered and agitated state of Toothless the chief felt his heart plummet to his stomach.

No, no, no, no, not again please Stoick thought in panic

But then a strange sort of mass underneath the dragon's wings, which were bent back at an uncomfortable angle, caught his eye. Stoick could have sworn he saw another smaller pair of wings poking out from underneath Toothless' larger ones. Just what was going on? Where was Hiccup?

Toothless approached the man with apprehension and silently unfolded his wing from his back and stretching them out, fully exposing his cargo for Stoick to see.

Gasping in a quite un-Viking like way, Stoick stared down with a sort of numb fascination at the site before him. Nestled between the nightfury's strong shoulder blades, was the small form of a human boy, HIS boy! Even with the distinctly dragonish features gracing the small boy's slight frame Stoick instantly recognized the face of his child. He believed he could recognize Hiccup's face, which was startlingly similar to the boy's mother's, anywhere. Even so, he was shocked to see how different the boy looked. The more human parts of his son were toned with a lean layer of muscle and his face was more delicately shaped; He even appeared to be taller than before! Hiccup had always taken after his mother but now looked at his son, he felt as if she had been brought back from the dead. The thought of his late wife causing the old scars of his heart to ache with a deeply rooted pain of loss stronger than he'd felt in years.

However, before the feeling really took hold, Stoick was pulled from his state of emotional distress by the sound of Hiccup's labored breathing. Really getting a good look at Hiccup, Stoick noticed the sweat lining Hiccup's creased forehead and his pale white completion accompanied by the red flush of a fever on his cheeks.

Kneeling down next to the dragon he felt Hiccup's forehead with his large hands and was shocked at the blazing heat radiating beneath his palm. Even without much medical knowledge Stoick could tell that Hiccup's temperature was dangerously high and if they didn't get it down soon they could be in some big trouble.

Immediately Stoick rose to his feet and grabbed a cloth from the drying rack near the fire pit, and drenched it with the water in the pale that he had brought up to the house the night before. He grabbed Hiccup gently from his place on Toothless' back and laid him down on some furs near the fire pit. Placing the cold cloth on his son's forehead he watched as Hiccup began to shiver slightly. Stoick quickly grabbed a blanket from the drying rack and placed it over the small trembling boy. Then he turned to Toothless and ordered him to watch after Hiccup as he tore out of the house at top speed for the cabin belonging to Gothi.

Within minutes Gothi followed Stoick, hobbling with impressive speed, through the front door of the chief's house. Immediately the healer made a beeline for the shivering form lying beside Toothless, and began looking over her patient with concentrated eyes. Gothi's hands ghosted back and forth over Hiccup's body occasionally stopping to touch various places like a wrist, his neck, forehead and chest before continuing their relentless searching. Occasionally the elderly woman would disappear into the storage room gather supplies and herbs before returning back to Hiccups side with a freshly ground poultice to spread in various areas. After thirty pain staking and anxiety inducing minutes Githi finally turned to address her chief.

"How.. how is he Gothi?….just..I mean…is he gonna….." he couldn't bring himself to complete the sentence fearing the worst. Stoick had never been one for emotion he prided himself with his ability to compartmentalize but seeing his boy, weak as he was, made his armor crumble away as if it was never even there.

Resting a reassuring hand on the chief's large forearm Gothi opened her mouth to speak.

"Do not worry so much Stoick, Hiccup is going to be alright. His fever is already starting to come down slightly and I'm sure it will break soon. There is no cause for alarm; he will not be leaving us again." Gothis said with assurance, lightly patting the man's arm.

Stoick let out a breath he had not known he had been holding, in a long sigh of relief. Just how many times was Hiccup planning to give him a heart attack? It was beginning to become an extremely unpleasant trend.

"He should be waking up soon, he seems to have been through an excessive amount of stress and judging by his current form I can see why." Gothi continued. "His body is weak, but he should recover just fine with some rest and few doses of my herbal mixture, it's a relaxant with an added fever reducer. It should help him sleep as well, he's going to need it. Just brew it into a tea and have him drink it three times a day with food." Gothi concluded.

Stoick nodded as he committed her instructions to memory and grabbed said concoction out of the hand Gothi had extended to him. Now that he was sure Hiccup was in no danger of dying again he could concentrate on the other pressing matter at hand, Hiccup's new form.

"I swear he's doing this on purpose" he said with grimm humor " trying to give his old man a heart attack" Stoick said rubbing the spot between his eye's with his forefinger and thumb. A silence filled the air as he listen to the sound of Hiccup's breathing, it was starting to even out and the knot in Stoick chest was finally beginning to loosen. Then taking a deep breath and letting it out he turned to Gothi and asked the question he hoped the elderly woman and all her wisdom, could provide the answer to.

"What is happening to 'im Gothi?" Stoick could feel his heart weighting heavily in his chest. "I mean first he…and then he was a nightfury….and now this!" Stoick could feel his voice trembling slightly as he continued. "Why are the Gods doin' this to my boy?"

Gothi watched he chief struggle to control his emotion with a sad expression lined into her withered face. "I'm not certain what manner of dark magic plagues your boy, but I do not believe it hails from the Gods." She said "No, no I believe this magic comes from a different source, though I cannot be sure of where."

Stoick turned to the village elder with a feeling of hope rising in his chest. "Then can ya help him Gothi? Can ya break this, this curse?"

Turning her gaze away from the chief to stare at the boy lying by the gently burning fire pit, she slowly shook her head. "No….this curse is beyond my knowledge; no enchantment of mine can help Hiccup with this. I have never seen such powerful magic before." She said feeling horrid for dashing the chief's hopes, but knowing now was not the time for pretty lies.

"Then….then what can we do?" Stoick asked feeling defeated.

Gothi considered the question for moment before speaking, and what she said wasn't exactly what Stoick wanted to hear. "I suggest that Hiccup seek out a healer from another land, my knowledge is limited and unfortunately useless, given his current condition." Gothi said a little ashamed at her lack of ability to help. "But a healer from a foreign land may have a better knowledge of this than I can provide."

Even though Stoick didn't want to see the logic in that, he couldn't deny that the elder was right. Foreign medicine may prove to be Hiccup's best option, considering traditional Viking enchantments and medicines were no longer on the list of possibilities.

But he couldn't just let Hiccup wonder around out there on his own, he might not back it back without Stoick's help. After all Hiccup was notorious for getting into trouble. But a chief couldn't just abandon his village to scour the world for some remedy that might not even exist, for who knows how long, it could take years! NO, his village needed him now more than ever. What with the lack of defenses dues to the all the men and women that had been killed during the battled on Dragon Island, and the number of ships and weapons they'd lost. Not to mention they were still dangerously low on food. Stoick would not be surprised in the least if some of Berk's enemies decided to capitalize on the opportunity to strike them while they were still trying to recover. After all, it's what he would do. No, he had to stay and ready his village to fend off invading forces. He'd have to let Hiccup and Toothless travel without him, but that didn't mean they would be traveling alone, not if he could help it. And he had just the Viking in mind.

Toothless had listened to the two in silence, curling his body around Hiccup in an attempt to comfort the young boy with his heat. He'd stopped really listening after he was sure Hiccup wasn't in any danger, but once the two humans had begun the discussion of Hiccup's new form he found it hard to concentrate on anything else. He felt his heart sink when the healer admitted to not being able to help Hiccup, and an overwhelming sense of guilt weighed heavily in his chest. Of course she couldn't help, this was dragon magic! He had done this….it was his fault Hiccup was the way he was, he was sure of it now. He'd been trying to save his friend's life….but maybe he'd just done it for himself, to save himself from the all-consuming loneliness he'd felt at his friends absence…..He'd just been selfishly helping himself, not even thinking about the consequences. When he heard the small female mention seeking foreign help his head snapped up, pulling himself out of his one dragon pity party. That was it! Why hadn't he thought about it before! He might just have an idea to help Hiccup after all.

A/N: OMG finally! This chapter took a lot longer to write then I'd originally planned. I'd been out of town for a few weeks doing college tours and spending some time with the family that I never really got around to working on it. I'd had the bullet points of what I wanted to accomplish all mapped out but I just never got around to weaving them together, and when classes started back up at my JC I just couldn't find the time. I've made this chapter extra-long to make up for it though, hurray! A full 2,900 words Wow. That's a full thousand more than I usually write. I struggled quite a bit this chapter with writers block but I think it turned out alright considering I was still trying to hammer out my ideas for the direction of this fic as I was writing. I apologize if it's not quite up to par but I'll be updating again very soon thanks to my breakthrough in my brain storming. Now that I have a clear idea of where I'm going with this the updates will be more frequent. As always I appreciate all the support I get from you guys and I love reading your reviews. I'd really appreciate it if you leave a review telling me what you thought and maybe what ideas you'd like to see in future chapters. I might just incorporate them. No hate mail though, I will delete it.

Until next chapter

-Tsuchihana