Oh~ I feel like a kid on Snoggletog! People reviewed! I'm thrilled! Thank you all for the supportive reviews~
BlueStar29- I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for it! I also love Toothless Family stories. Actually, reading Deception and Illusion by Sandfire Kat was what got me inspired to write this. I can't say enough about how much I love those fics.
AlexjohnD- Yes, Pixie. I know, it's really quite shocking to me that nobody seems to have thought of that before. (If you have, let me know so I can correct this and read it.)
Sairey13- Yes, I do remember that, and good idea! I actually considered calling him "Hiccup" but then it'd just get too confusing. Dragons would be talking to Toothless and Hiccup would think they meant him... It'd be weird and not fun. Also, about that accepting Hiccup and Toothless bit- might come sooner than you think. ;3
Everyone else who reviewed, again, thank you and I will continue! I didn't want to overdo the responding to reviews here thing, so I only responded to the ones that really stuck out as needing to be responded to. Hope I didn't offend anybody. I still love you! :D
Meanwhile, on Berk...
Stoick, Gobber, Spitelout, and the teens sat together in the Great Hall. It was the middle of the night, and everyone should have been in bed, but something was bothering them. Namely Hiccup and his disappearance. "I just don't get it. Where could he possibly have gone?" Stoick wondered aloud for what felt like the millionth time that day. The group and their dragons had spent the whole day scouring the island for any traces of Hiccup and Toothless to no avail, and frankly, it showed. Their once-proud faces sagged under the combined weight of exhaustion and defeat, and everyone but Astrid was sitting (or, in Snotlout's case, lying) down on benches, using as little energy as possible and doing their best to keep their eyes open.
Astrid, trying to keep everything together, paced around the room, "Let's focus on what we know. Toothless woke Hiccup up for his usual morning flight, right?"
"Aye, and then they were both gone." Stoick mumbled under his breath.
"They did fly around the island like always," Ruffnut said, drawing everyone's attention.
"Yeah, he was yelling at us this morning by the chicken coop." Tuffnut agreed.
Gobber glared at them, "Tha'- tha' was you?! I spent all mornin' trackin' down those chickens 'n their eggs!" The twins smirked and high fived one another.
In an attempt to restore order, Astrid continued, "And Toothless is gone too, so they're probably together, wherever they are, which is good. Toothless will look after him."
"Unless they get separated, or Toothless loses his tailfin." Snotlout said pointedly, "Wouldn't they be back by now if something hadn't gone horribly wrong?"
Stoick shot Snotlout a glare, and Astrid punched him in the stomach. "But where could he have gone?" Fishlegs wondered worriedly.
Astrid heaved a sigh, trying to clear her head, "Well let's think back... Usually there's always some clue he accidentally leaves us. What was the last thing Hiccup was talking about?"
"The role of Terrible Terrors is not to torment chickens." Ruffnut recited.
Her twin looked at him, shocked, "You were listening? All I heard was blah blah blah."
"Yeah, I was listening. Doesn't mean I cared what he said." Ruffnut said with a chuckle and a shrug.
Astrid smacked her hand to her forehead, rubbing her temples. Who had invited them to this meeting, anyway? "Before that!"
Fishlegs, raising his hand as if in class, recalled, "I remember! We were talking about Mildew last night." That was when the horror set in.
The girl looked to Stoick pleadingly, "He wouldn't... Would he?"
Stoick returned the look with a similar one for a fraction of a second before his emotionless "chief" face returned once more. "He's always been the sort to get into as much trouble as possible." Gobber nodded grimly in agreement as Stoick continued, "It's the only thing that makes sense. He must have gone back for Mildew."
"Why would he go back for that stubborn old man? It's his own fault he got captured!" Gobber complained, feeling somewhat responsible for this. Perhaps if he'd landed that Nadder to pull Mildew back onto the saddle...
"He did say Mildew saved his life," Astrid pointed out, "You know how he gets when he feels indebted to or responsible for someone. Just look at how many times he's saved Snotlout."
"Not that I needed saving!" Snotlout protested, looking away.
Stoick removed his helmet to rub his head, slowly drawing his meaty palm down his face and beard. All eyes were on him, and an expectant silence filled the room as they waited for the chief to speak. "We leave at dawn, for Outcast Island." He commanded, getting to his feet, "Get some rest, all of you." With this, the crowd dispersed, bowing their heads respectfully.
As the group approached Outcast Island the next morning, Stoick commanded, "Everyone, split up and try to be as flat against your dragons as you can. That way they'll think our dragons are wild. We'll meet up in the lava field where we found Toothless last time." The group nodded in agreement and split up, fanning out around the island, Stoick closed his eyes for a moment and prayed to the Gods that everyone would make it back to Berk safely.
Astrid and Stormfly were the first to land. Surveying the area, Astrid noticed that the island as a whole seemed rather... lifeless. She had hardly even seen any wild dragons hanging around. But the ships were still at port, so the Outcasts had to be around here somewhere. "Stormfly," She whispered to get the dragon's attention, "Do you see that?" She was pointing to a hole in the wall that looked rather foreboding, labelled simply, "Dragons." "I'll bet that's where they're keeping Toothless. Let's go get him, girl!" The dragon trilled proudly and carried her rider to the gates, where she had to get off in order to open them.
The pair made their way deeper into the cavern, eyes scanning empty cages in hopes of spotting Toothless. "Toothless!" She called out softly, but there was no response. "That's weird. Maybe he already escaped like last time," Astrid suggested, turning to leave when suddenly, the entrance to the cave slammed shut. "Stormfly!" She called hurriedly, but it was too late. She was pinned to the ground by one outcast while another threw a weighted net over Stormfly and tied her down. It was then that Mildew stepped forward.
"Mildew!" She hissed, "You won't get away with this!"
"But I already 'ave." The old man chuckled, "Here we were coming to see if there were any dragons left to carry 'Iccup's bola shooter, and there you are! Alvin will be quite impressed, indeed." Fungus brayed in agreement.
Astrid's eyes narrowed, "Where are Hiccup and Toothless?"
Mildew seemed caught off-guard by the question. "'Iccup? I 'avent't seen 'im since he tried to save me yesterday. But if he's here, we'd be happy to bring 'im along as well." Flashing the girl a smile, the man turned away, "I think I saw a Monstrous Nightmare near the entrance, we can use that. I don't trust that Nadder."
Astrid struggled against the man pinning her down, "What have you done with the dragons?"
Mildew smirked, "Done with them? Why, we trained them, of course. Dragon training begins and ends with trust, innt that right?" Laughing, the man walked away from her... To do what, Astrid couldn't be certain, but it couldn't be good.
Back on the Isle of Night...
Hiccup awoke from what was surely a dream with a start. Talking dragons? Night Furies other than Toothless? What a crazy dream. Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes, he found himself rather... well, blind. This was not the kind of darkness he was used to, the dark of night, or an unlit room, no this was a pure black. The ground was hard, much harder than his bed at home, and he could feel the steady rising and falling of a chest against his back. "Toothless?" He murmured hopefully. The breathing hitched and he felt a big head rub against his cheek. "Hey, bud, where are we?"
"On the Isle of Night. The real one. My father agreed to let you stay until you're well enough to fly after you fainted last night. How are you feeling?" Toothless wondered, licking the boy's cheek affectionately, "You're still too hot."
Groaning, Hiccup realized that he had not been in bed, dreaming. "I'm freezing," he complained, "My head hurts, I feel like I got run over by a stampede of yaks, and my limbs feel all limp."
Toothless whimpered, "I'm sorry, Hiccup, this is my fault."
In a sudden fit of rage, Hiccup snapped, "You're right, it is your fault. You let me walk right into what you must have known to be a trap, then kidnapped me and brought me to an island full of dragons that want to kill me!"
Ears pressed flat against his head, Toothless murmured, "I'm sorry, Hiccup, I just..."
"You just what?" Hiccup prodded, trying to calm himself. Anger wasn't going to help him get better any faster, and he knew deep down that Toothless would never intentionally do anything to hurt him... Though the evidence was stacked against him, Hiccup was one who believed in second chances, especially when it came to dragons.
"I tried to warn you," Toothless said finally, a bit defensive, "I didn't want to go to that island, and I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen! You were so excited about the possibility of meeting other Night Furies... I didn't know it was a trap, but I'd heard that Bork went crazy, and I thought maybe that was some of his insane banter. I thought it'd be a harmless island, or if it weren't, that it would be something we could handle, like dragons or wild beasts, I had no idea Mildew and the Outcasts were involved... I'm sorry, I should have been more persistent, especially when that fake Night Fury came out."
Hiccup exhaled deeply. Whatever miracle had allowed him the ability to speak with Toothless, he was grateful for it. He might never have forgiven his friend otherwise. Thinking back, Toothless had seemed pretty against going to that island at first. Pushing away the reading materials and trying to get Hiccup to just go to sleep. At the time, he'd thought the dragon was simply tired, but now it was all starting to make sense. Even the hesitation when he went to meet the fake Night Fury. "You knew it was a fake?"
"I had my suspicions," Toothless admitted, curling his tail around the two of them, "But the calls were realistic, and I thought it was possible that there was another rouge Night Fury like myself, and that might be enough to appease you."
Blinking at this, the boy wondered, "Appease me? What are you talking about, Toothless?"
The dragon hesitated, "I never wanted to bring you here. I never wanted to come back here-" He stiffened and curled tighter around Hiccup at the sound of heavy paws approaching them.
"Toothless? What's happening?" Hiccup wondered. Though he couldn't see, he could feel the dragon tense around him. Finally he, too, was able to hear the footsteps.
"Pixie." Flamewing spat as he approached the pair. It sickened him to see his son, a proud Night Fury, curled up around a human master like a guard dog.
"Father." The dragon acknowledged, ducking his head slightly.
This dragon, Hiccup had questions for. "How do you know about Alvin and the Outcasts?" He asked, sitting up.
Flamewing glared at the insolent human boy, "That is none of your concern, human."
With a dejected sigh, Hiccup gave up. It was obvious he wasn't going to get much out of this dragon until he earned their trust- if he was able to, that is. Closing his eyes, he fell back against Toothless. "You think your dad and mine would get along?" He mumbled, seeing a resemblance between the two.
"They're both too proud." Toothless grumbled, not looking at his father, who he knew could hear them, "My father is the alpha male, much like yours is chief. That's why he's offended that you're talking to him."
"Sounds familiar." Hiccup glanced in the elder dragon's general direction and asked, "So my friendship with Toothless bothers you?"
The dragon snorted, "Friendship... Night Furies do not belong with humans. It's one thing to have a Terrible Terror, or even a Nadder as a pet, but Night Furies? We're above that! Although I suppose you never were, Pixie."
Toothless looked to the ground guiltily, "I see you haven't changed, Father." He said dryly.
Hiccup's eyes narrowed. He didn't much appreciate the way this dragon was treating Toothless, and the fact that it reminded him of his own home situation before he met Toothless only made him angrier, "Could Pixie have defeated the Red Death?" This got the attention of both of the dragons. "If you don't believe me, go see for yourself. We lured her out of her mountain, took the fight to the sky, and blew her up from the inside out just as she was getting ready to give her final blow. The gasses she'd built up ignited her insides, and the one who fired the devastating blow? Pixie. You might not care about your fellow dragons, or humans, but I'm willing to bet that you can't say you've ever done anything so great."
Both of the dragons were stunned to silence. Was the insolent human boy mocking the alpha Night Fury? "Are you mocking me, boy?" The elder dragon snapped, puffing out his chest self-importantly.
"Insults and yelling are the only things people- and dragons- like you ever listen to." Hiccup replied from experience, "I have no respect for anyone who banishes his own son, be they human, dragon, or Night Fury. What kind of father would banish his own son? Especially one like Toothless!"
"You don't know what he was like, what a disgrace he is!" The dragon snapped, edging closer. Toothless fidgeted uncomfortably, but Hiccup stood- or sat- his ground.
"So tell me! Tell me what he could have possibly done so wrong that you'd leave him for dead!" The boy challenged. In retrospect, it would be a rather hilarious thought. A 90-pound boy arguing with a Night Fury of high status that was the size of a small Nadder.
The dragon looked from Hiccup to Toothless before turning his back on the pair, "The deal was, as soon as you're well enough to fly, you're leaving this island and never speaking of it again. Try anything funny and you'll be dead before you can blink."
"I don't want to fight you," Hiccup mumbled at the retreating form, "I want to understand you."
Toothless nosed Hiccup gently, "You shouldn't have done that. You're not going to gain any ground by insulting him."
Hiccup eased himself back against his dragon and heaved a sigh, "It's the only way to get through thick heads like his. He's just like my dad was before... He still is, to some degree, but at least he listens some of the time now. I don't get it, Toothless, why do they treat you like that?"
"I'm the runt." Toothless mumbled, "Night Furies are so rare because they can only successfully mate once in their lives, generally laying five eggs. I came from what should have been a litter of three, but I was the only one to make it out of my egg. On some level, my parents blame me for the deaths of my siblings, and for not being three times the dragon I am... I mean, look at my father, he's huge, and my mother beautiful, you would think that there would be some miraculous amazing dragon born from them, but instead they got me."
"Toothless..." Hiccup felt a pang in his chest, remembering every time he'd done the dragon wrong and feeling absolutely horrible for it. How much must it have hurt him to be called a useless reptile? "But there's no way you could possibly have... I mean, you weren't even born yet!"
Toothless averted his gaze, "It doesn't matter. I'm the only son of the alphas, I'm supposed to be more than... Than a Pixie."
"You are more than that. So much more, Toothless, I mean, just look at how much you've done!"
"I couldn't have done anything without you!" Toothless reminded, "And not just because of my tail."
"You think I'm any different?" Hiccup asked pointedly. He watched a shadow that he could only assume was Toothless' tail swish in the darkness. "You know, there's something I've wanted to know for a long time now... Why didn't you kill me back then?"
The dragon tilted his head a bit, curiously, "I could ask you the same."
That was fair enough, Hiccup supposed. "When I looked at you..."
"I saw myself." Toothless finished for him, smiling a bit sadly. "Scared, confused, lonely, just looking for a way to prove your worth."
"I guess that was even more true than I realized." Hiccup murmured, reaching up to gently place a hand on Toothless' snout. How he managed to find it in the darkness, he couldn't be certain, but it didn't matter, because suddenly, there was noise from above, the pounding of paws against the earth, and Flamewing's booming voice.
"Fan out! They may have learned to tame dragons, but I'll be damned if I let them take one of us alive!" Hiccup froze. Tame dragons? It could be his father and the others looking for him.
"Toothless, we have to get out there," He commanded, getting to his feet. Toothless helped the boy onto his back before darting out of the cave, but nothing could have prepared either of them for what they were about to see.
There are so many things I want Hiccup and Toothless to say but the timing's all wrong! With all the action going on, hopefully I'll be able to get it all in! Please review~ I'll love you forever for it!
Any guesses on why Outcast Island is mostly deserted? Where Mildew is going with Astrid and Hiccup's bola launcher? Who's arrived at the Isle of Night and what all the Night Furies are so upset about?
You're going to come to learn... I don't like Astrid very much. Just... Get used to that fact, because there will be bashing.