By the time Hiccup caught up with the dragons, they were just about finished eating, Toothless and Hookfang caught in a debate about which was worse: the texture or taste of eel. Seeing that everything seemed to be normal enough, the boy heaved a sigh of relief, which attracted the attention of the dragons... Unfortunately, Sky and Toothless, who had been, for reasons unknown, standing side by side with their backs to Hiccup, turned to look at the same time. Sky turned right as Toothless turned left, and their heads collided. "Watch where you're shoving that useless head of yours!" Sky growled under his breath. He'd heard that humans were hard of hearing, and assumed that if he spoke softly enough, Hiccup wouldn't hear him.

Unfortunately for Sky, Hiccup's hearing, while not nearly as sensitive as a Night Fury's, was still good enough to hear that, and Toothless knew it. Rather than argue, though he desperately wanted to, the younger dragon recalled the conversations earlier and simply pulled away, walking to Hiccup's side and nuzzling him in greeting. "Hey, buddy," Hiccup grinned proudly and scratched the back of Toothless' head, making a mental note to reward him when they were away from Sky, who was now mimicking Toothless' greeting of Hiccup. "Hey... Sky," Hiccup fumbled awkwardly. What do you do when someone you suspect is trying, and has tried in the past, to kill your best friend is nuzzling against you affectionately?

Just as quickly as the fleeting moment of pride had come, it passed, as apparently this was too much for Toothless, who lunged for Sky's neck without hesitation. If Sky hadn't been expecting this, he may well have been killed in that instant, but he managed to hop out of the way in an almost playful fashion. "Toothless!" Hiccup complained, reaching out to rest a hand on the Night Fury's shoulder.

"Stay out of this." Toothless growled lowly, not sparing so much as a glance back at Hiccup as he and Sky began to circle one another.

"Toothless?" Stormfly ventured, taking a step closer, as did Hookfang, ready to move into action.

"All of you stay out of it! This is personal! Just... Get lost! Go be with your humans!" Toothless demanded, shocking not only the other dragons, but Hiccup as well. Still, Stormfly lowered her head in submission and lead the others away from the scene.

Hiccup, ignoring the very clear signals that Toothless was sending, took another step closer, "It's not a fair fight without-"

"It was never a fair fight!" Toothless spat, "You were always bigger and stronger. You were always the ideal Night Fury, doing your best to please my parents, to the point it was sickening to watch, but they weren't enough for you, were they?! No, you won't be satisfied until you've taken everything from me!" It was a bit unclear at first whether Toothless was addressing Sky or Hiccup, but as he continued, it became more and more apparent that Sky was the intended target. "Back then I would've rolled over and taken it, too! I would've been fine letting you walk all over me because it made my parents happy, but you know what? Not anymore! You don't have to kill Pixie, Sky, because Pixie's long been dead... But Toothless won't stand back and let you trample him!"

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder worriedly, contemplating running for help, when Koda began climbing up his leg. He bent down and scooped her into his arms as she said, "Don't waste your time calling for help. Anyone who gets between them now is only going to get caught in the crossfire. They always try to shield hatchlings from dragon fights back home... But I was always too short to be protected by mother's wings. I've seen all kinds of battles, Hiccup, this... is to the death."

"I can't let that happen," Hiccup muttered, determined, "I have to do something!"

"You'll get yourself killed!" Koda protested, "Just stay out of it!"

"It's not a fair fight!" The boy repeated, and apparently Toothless heard him, because the dragon lunged for Sky suddenly, missing the mark of the beast's neck terribly.

Sky chuckled, "You're right, you're too dumb to- AAAUGH!" He suddenly unleashed an ear-piecing screech, and it took Hiccup a moment to see why. When Toothless had landed, he landed nose-to-tail with Sky. Toothless had chomped down on Sky's right tailfin, held it down with one paw, and torn off the fin.

Holding his prize as he rolled away from Sky before getting to his feet, Toothless looked positively elated. He was having fun with this. "Toothless, stop it!" Hiccup commanded, but his words were lost on the Night Fury who was so lost in rage, bloodlust, and thirst for vengeance that he couldn't even see Hiccup. All he saw was Sky. He spat the leathery and now useless appendage out of his mouth as if it tasted most foul. "Is the fight fair enough for you now?" He growled, a hint of amusement in his tone as he stepped closer to Sky, who was petrified by this point. "That's right, just stand still and make this easy," Toothless purred, crouching low to get a good angle on his target, when suddenly, a booming roar shook him out of his bloodthirsty state. Blinking, he looked to see who had dared to interrupt. It was Thornado and Stoick, who didn't look too pleased. Toothless quickly retreated behind Hiccup, knowing full well what the man (and dragon) were capable of.

Relief flooded over Hiccup, "Dad!" He ran to the man as he landed and dismounted Thornado. "How did you-"

Stoick held up a hand to silence his son, "Sky, you have overstayed your welcome. It's time for you to go home now." He demanded, then noticed that the dragon was licking his tail... where a fin should have been. "What's happened here?"

"Sky and Toothless got in a fight..." Hiccup muttered, "Things got a little out of hand."

"I can see that." Stoick grunted. By now, other spectators were flooding in, having heard Sky's shrieking.

A very confused and distraught Hiccup turned and fled the scene, not even caring where his feet carried him. He just wanted to get away. Things couldn't possibly be any worse, really, they couldn't... And it was all his fault. If only he'd listened to Toothless all those times he tried to warn him away from that island, they'd be living peacefully right now, enjoying a nice flight around Berk, but no. He'd gone and ruined everything, and now, the entire village was in danger. He was so focused on running that he'd forgotten that Koda was still in his arms until she said, "Sky can't go back home."

Hiccup was so surprised by the sudden sound of her voice that he stopped running and looked around himself. He'd apparently subconsciously decided that the cove where he'd first met Toothless was the place to be. "Yes he can. I can make him a new tail fin, an automatic one like I made Toothless, and he can-"

"That's not what I meant." Koda murmured, "Even if you did that, they still wouldn't accept him. A downed dragon is a dead dragon. That law is absolute for Night Furies. If he went back, they'd kill him to put him out of his misery."

The teen sat down, panting a bit, "Even though he could fly on his own?"

"It's not a real tail fin. It's not made of dragon hide. It can burn or break off, they wouldn't risk it." The youngling said quietly, "He can't go back."

Slamming his head back on the rock he sat against, Hiccup grumbled, "Why? Why, why, why? Why did it have to come to this? Gods, I'm so stupid! I'm so-"

"Found you!" A sobering voice announced. Raising his head, he saw Astrid and Toothless standing side by side. "I had a feeling you'd be here." Astrid said softly. "You should really go back. Stoick is doing his best to round up troops and make battle tactics, but you know dragons better than he does, so..."

There was a long, awkward silence before Hiccup mumbled, "I thought I knew dragons. I thought I could understand them, but when it mattered most, I couldn't listen, and now look where it's got us!"

Toothless stepped forward and attempted to nuzzled Hiccup, but the boy flinched away from him. "Hiccup, I'm sorry, I... I don't know what came over me." The dragon whimpered.

Hiccup, apparently ignoring Astrid, said, "I have to go back to the Isle of Night before the month is over. I have to tell Flamewing what happened."

"And if he doesn't believe you?" Astrid challenged.

The boy hesitated, "Then I'll... I'll... I don't know. He'll probably kill me." He admitted, "I'll try to figure something out." Then, with a deep sigh, he looked to Toothless and muttered, "I know, Toothless. It wasn't your fault. Sky wasn't acting right, and it's not fair of me to be mad at you, just... I don't know what to do. Ever since I found those forged notes life has just been spiraling out of control and I just want it to be over!"

"I do, too," Toothless agreed softly, seeming to understand Hiccup's frustration.

Astrid knelt down before Hiccup and placed a hand on his shoulder, "We'll get through this. We found a way to turn an island full of dragon slayers into an island full of dragon lovers, we can find a way to turn an island full of human haters into an island full of human... toleraters, at least."

"Yeah, I hope so," Hiccup muttered, not wanting to upset her by telling her that, having met said human haters, there was no way that was going to happen... But it happened on Berk. "We'll need a miracle like the Red Death. A common enemy."

"What better enemy than the one that killed the alpha's clutch?" Astrid provided.

Toothless shook his head, "There's no proof. I can prove that they were torched, but not who did it."

"Maybe you won't have to, if we're lucky," Hiccup murmured, an idea slowly beginning to form.

"Won't have to what?" Astrid wondered aloud. When she recieved no response but was instead pushed away by Hiccup, who got to his feet and started making his way back to the village, she called after him. "...Hiccup?" Still nothing. Giving up for the time being, both the girl and Toothless followed Hiccup and Koda back to the village.

This chapter is almost depressing it's so short. I'm sorry. I'm kind of going through a slump right now. Writing so much I'm almost sick of it, and I've been depressed because life just keeps getting worse and I'm lonely. But if you wanted to nag me/talk to me/give me ideas, feel free to add me on Skype (just say who you are) Skype name is bakanekofan. I'm on there quite a bit, and usually when I'm on Skype, I could be writing. Promise I won't get mad if you nag me, it's deserved and needed. xD Anyway, like I said, sorry for the short and crappiness, I'm just... Yeah. Bleah.