Second to last chapter! johneylee699 helped me write this, so props to him!

Nobody wanted to find out how long ago Who to Trust came out? Well, I guess I have to do it myself. It came out on April 12th, 2013

It's almost been a year

Wow

Chapter Twelve

History

The sky slowly grows brighter and brighter as we fly after the large Nighty Fury. Wisps of morning ocean fog weave around my wings, giving my scales a slight chill.

Glancing to my left, I see Larksong soaring with confidence, her large wings easily slicing through the mist. On my other side is Skurge, who looks more upset than usual.

Flying a bit closer to him, I ask with a low voice, "What's wrong?"

The Whispering Death pauses, and then turns his head towards me, "Why are you agreeing to follow these idiots, when they're obviously trying to change your mind?"

I blink, and to my surprise, I find myself unable to answer. Finally, I say, "I don't know."

"I thought you've always wanted revenge on your family."

"I do…" I hesitate. I do want revenge on my family, but for some reason, the desire to hurt them is… not as strong. Maybe it was something Hiccup said… maybe he does have a point. I have already hurt Raven and Irria, and I must've hurt Nate if he changed behaviors so quickly. It was probably someone he loved, or just that I almost killed Irria.

And… Hiccup is right about Toothless not having anything to do with this thing. I always thought that I would kill Raven, Nate, and Irria while Skurge went after Toothless, but….

I shake my head. What has happened to me? What changed….?

I glance around, searching for a particular dragon.

There!

Nate flies silently with Raven on the outskirts of the group. He eyes Ash, who is flying the closest to him, warily, but makes no move to flee or fight.

As I watch him, his gaze slowly meets mine. I expect myself to harden my gaze or glare at him, but I don't. Nate's eyes don't hold any hatred, but there's no warmth either. They're just… empty. Like mine.

I glance back at Skurge, who is watching me. His eyes narrow, and he growls quietly, "Just don't forget about my revenge."

With that, he flies off to Whiplash, who is a bit away. I stare after him for a moment, and then turn away. Looking around, I spot Sawyer and call him over.

The male Timberjack comes up beside me. My old friend asks, "What's up, Frostbite?"

I hesitate and quickly glance around. No one seems to be paying attention, so I ask, "What do you think about this…. War thing against the Berkers?"

Sawyer blinks and cocks his head, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," I reply, "I've just realized that I've never thought about what my clanmates thought of this. I've basically just been using you guys to help me get my revenge. I've been so caught up in all of this that… I've never considered what you wanted…" As I say this, I realize that I'm simply telling this to myself instead of Sawyer.

The Timberjack pauses, and then answers, "Well, it was a real thrill at first. I mean, fighting alongside your clanmates- dragons who would lay down their lives for you. I love it. But this whole war thing is…. I don't know." Suddenly, his shoulders sag and he looks exhausted. He gives me a long look and sighs, "Honestly, Frostbite, I'm tired. I'm willing to fight for you, but I just wish you would end this soon. I want to be able to feel safe at camp, wherever it is. I don't always want to be looking over my shoulder or going on extra patrols in case of a threat. I want to be…home."

I intake a sharp breath. My own clanmates don't even feel safe, and it's because of me. I've given them a home, and yet it isn't home to them. Not really.

I give myself a shake. I've got to stop being so selfish.

"What are you going to do?" Sawyer asks after a while.

I glance at him and reply, "Whatever it takes."

As I speak, a gray shape appears on the horizon. Leaving Sawyer, I fly up ahead of the group. Narrowing my eyes, I can barely make out an island, with a tall peak at the top.

I sense someone coming up behind me and ask without looking, "Is that the Nest?"

"Yes."

I look up at the Viking atop my father, "What's this all about?"

The man replies, "We'll begin when we land."

I sigh irritably and we continue to fly. As we do, I notice that Toothless and I are flying right next to each other. I glance at him and see him staring at me. I don't blame him.

For one thing, I barely look like a Night Fury, let alone his daughter. Two- female Night Furies aren't supposed to be bigger than males, but I'm almost twice his size. And three- I have never been this close to one of my family members without trying to kill them.

Toothless continues to stare at me with a sort of scrutinizing look, so I seize my advantage and try to find some similarities between us. We don't have the same markings or scale color, and my paws are wider than his, and my claws are longer. After a few moments, I notice that we have the same lean shoulders and broad heads. My wings have Raven's shape, but I have Toothless's tail shape, spare the prosthetic flap.

Glancing around, I spot Nate again in the same place. He looks more like Raven, having inherited her slender build, but I can also see a bit of Toothless in his wings. Also, to my surprise, I realize that he has the same spinal scales as I do.

I look away, faintly wondering if Irria is a bit like me too.

The island steadily grows bigger and bigger, and soon we're circling down to land. I land gracefully, as I always do, along with the rest of the Fangs that came. I subtly notice the pets landing a little sloppily.

Skurge frowns up at the large rock mountain in the center of the island. I notice Raven and Toothless looking a little uncomfortable too.

Cocking my head, I'm about to ask about it when a familiar scent reaches my nose. Eyes slitting, I bound in front of Toothless and block his path.

"There's more of you here!" I hiss to Hiccup, "I knew this was a trap!"

"Wait, wait!" The human says, hopping off of his steed, "Yes, the rest of us are here. But on the other side of the island!" he adds before I can retort.

Scowling, I whirl around and stalk away. I prowl around as all the dragons land, glaring at the pets. Once everyone is settled, Hiccup approaches me again.

"What I'm about to show is somewhat disturbing. I want you to see first before everyone else. Will you trust me?" There he goes with the same question again. I roll my eyes. It's almost as if this is my own conflict to solve, like my own future is at stake by the choices I make. Which it is, I guess.

"As I said earlier," I reply, "I will not trust you, nor will I ever will. However, I will follow you to whatever history class you intend to take me to. I warn you, though; if you-

"Yeah, yeah, I know 'Cross me and you die!' I get the message. Like I said, you have my word," he interrupts and I huff in annoyance.

Glancing around, I beckon Skurge with a flick of my tail. "Skurge comes." I say to Hiccup. The Viking looks uncertain, "I would really prefer if only you came."

"Well, I don't care about what you prefer." I snap back, "He comes, or I don't go."

Hiccup, looking slightly annoyed, replies, "Fine, then. If you get to bring someone, then so do I. Toothless comes."

I sigh in irritation, and then nod. Turning around, I call to Zylah, "Keep an eye on things while I'm gone. Also, for now, no harm must come to the Night Furies."

Zylah nods and starts checking over everyone.

Looking to Hiccup, I say, "Well?"

He jerks his head and starts towards the east. With a glance at Skurge, I follow, the Whispering Death on my tail.

We walk along the shore for a long time. As we do, I feel my heart clench in impatience. I have a clan to lead, and currently, we're all split up. My claws flex with worry as to how Dracen is doing with the rest of the clan on Berk. Hopefully Crag or some other high ranking dragon is helping him. What if something happens to Misty's eggs? What if the rest of the Vikings attack them?

My eyes widen in horror. I barely left any Fangs with them. What if this was all a plot from the start? Hiccup tricking me into splitting up my clan so the rest of his wretched kind can wipe out our Claws and Healers and Caretakers!

How could I have been so blind?!

I'm about to stop and yowl out an alarm when Hiccup stops walking.

Still lost in thought, I almost bump into him, but halt in time.

"What's wrong?" I ask in suspicion.

If this is all a trap...

The Viking turns around to face me, and then, to my surprise, sits down on the ground. I stare at him in confusion.

"Settle down," he says. I hesitate, seeing no harm in it, but still wary. Eventually, I resolve in a simple crouch.

"Have you ever heard of the Red Death?" Hiccup asks.

I sniff, pausing for a moment. Of course I have heard of the Red Death. Skurge once told me a little bit about her when I was younger. Apparently she was an evil dragon queen, but other than that, I don't know much about her.

"I've heard of her. Can't say that I'm really into history, though." I reply, and then add, "Well, at least what's happened before I hatched."

"Well, then. It's time for a long-overdue history class." Hiccup looks to his left side, staring at something. I follow his gaze a spot a large bone jutting out of the ground.

"She was a dragon," I mentally snort. Obviously. "But she was no ordinary dragon. Kind of like you, actually. There are many names that we call her, one of which I just told you, and the others are 'The Queen' or 'The Mother of all Dragons'."

Next to me, Skurge flicks his tail in impatience. Hiccup continues, "For 300 hundred years, maybe even more, she had been living inside that mountain," he points said mountain to the right, with a gaping hole as an entrance. I narrow my eyes. It looks like there's some sort of chamber in there.

"Her size was unimaginable, her feet were just the size of our Longboat, and her teeth were the size of full-grown Monstrous Nightmares..."

His eyes stare coldly at me, as if wanting me to relive what he saw, "We saw what she could do. She could control the minds of every dragon around her. Maybe out of fear from tyranny, or literally controlling their minds. She would call them to raid the Vikings and bring our food to her."

I cock an eye. Really? Really?

Flexing my claws, I comment, "This story is a bit far-fetched, don't you think? Perhaps you were- how do you say it? Drunk?- on that rum that you humans love so much." Skurge and I laugh, and a purr rumbles in my throat, "Do you really think a dragon can be that big? And I'm also pretty sure dragons can't be telepaths!"

I chuckle and look at Skurge. My deputy still looks uncomfortable, despite laughing, and has an odd look in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless watch us, disapproval in my father's eyes. Not that I care.

"I don't expect you to believe me." Hiccup says, "I mean, I wouldn't believe it myself. However, I would believe if I noticed that I was laying right on top of it!"

I blink in confusion for a moment, and then my eyes widen. Jumping to my paws, I glance furiously around me.

What I thought were shipwrecks or rocks are actually bones. And huge ones! They're everywhere, littering the floor, shattered and half buried. If I can make it out right, based on the lining of each of the bones' pattern, it almost looks like the ribcage of…of…

"Great skies…" I whisper in astonishment. Next to me, Skurge grimaces.

"I know, I know, I was surprised too." Hiccup says, "Although, she was much uglier when she was alive,"

I blink, and then stare at the human. Slowly narrowing my eyes, I ask, "D-did you guys… kill her?"

It's a stupid question, I know. But how else could she have died, and yet they saw her?

To my amazement, the Viking replies, "Yes, yes we did."

My eyes widen, "How?"

"With the power of friendship," Hiccup answers and I blink in confusion, "It was your dad and I, both of us working together and leading the other dragon riders. All of us were united. And through our alliance, we killed the Queen," he explains, "This is why all of us live together, dragons and humans. Because together, we can accomplish anything."

I stare at him for a few moments, and then frown, "If you're so powerful, then, why could my clan beat you so easily? Even I know we wouldn't be able to beat that." I gesture to the skeletal beast.

Hiccup replies, "You didn't truly beat us." I give him a skeptical look.

"I mean, sure you took your home, but we're all still together. Although you have physically crushed us, our spirit remains untouched. You may think that the dragons rely on us, but you haven't realized that we also rely on them."

"Of course you do," I snap, "Humans are weak, fleeble-minded creatures. So much that you need dragons to keep you from falling apart, and in the process, you've softened them and made them a scourge on the name of Wild Dragons."

To my annoyance, Hiccup shakes his head, "We live in a society where all of us are equal."

I scowl and bare my teeth. Toothless tenses, but Hiccup remains calm.

"Where are you going with all of this?" I hiss.

"I want you to know that both of our societies work. If we can't live together but separated, then at least let us live apart from each other in peace and accept our differences." For the first time, after all the ruins I've brought down upon him, he smiles at me. I stare at him in confusion.

"There's one more thing I want to add," he says, "After this, do you still truly believe that killing your family is a good idea? I mean, what about your dad? He never even knew you existed."

"Of course I do!" I snarl, but its half-hearted, despite myself. He seems to notice, but before he can say anything, I add, "Why wouldn't I, after everything that was cursed upon me?! Wouldn't you have done the same-" Abruptly, I stop. Something's off. I ask, "Wait a minute...why didn't you do it? You had my father, who was one of the most powerful dragons of his time, and yet you and him saved the people who loathed you...why did you save them?"

"Oh please, there were moments when a sickening thought like that came into my head. You have no idea how much I urged myself to destroy Berk and slaughter all that denied me!" I stare at Hiccup as he continues, "But you know what? I looked past it, and even with so much doubt of what I did, the life of everyone still mattered. Of course, they treated me like a dog, but they just misunderstood because they never learned their lesson, and I never gave them a second chance, so why not start now...?"

He gazes at me with great connection, as if trying to send me a mental message, "If you are still going to try to kill them, then you're going to have to go through me as well. After all, your dad is like a brother to me, so that makes me your uncle." He stands up and slowly walks past me. I don't try to stop him

"And let's not forget that you're his daughter, offspring to the most powerful Night Fury in the Northern land," he warns, and now, ending the subject, "The choice is all yours, but be careful. Whatever you make, you're going to need to know who you can trust, fight, or cross in order to become whatever you are meant to be."

I blink, and the Frostbite of me comments snidely, "Geez, that's specific."

"Heh, well, it's called a 'Cross road of destiny' for a reason. Welcome to my world..."

Hiccup stops walking and turns around, "Do you need a moment to decide?"

I don't reply. Instead, I look at the ruins of the Nest. I try to imagine a colossal beast tearing its way through the rock, but when I do, I see myself. My heart clenches.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm very similar to the Red Death. I remember when I first became leader of Infernious, I promised I would never turn into her. But I did. And Sawyer confirmed my fears that my clan isn't… happy. Just like the slaves of the Red Death.

I glance at Toothless. If it had been a few weeks ago, I would've felt the urge to rake my claws across his face. But now… it's gone. The thrill of the war is gone, and now the burden of it weighs down on my shoulders.

I notice the long scar on Toothless's chest. I did that. Looking back, I remember clawing Irria, and the battle with Raven, and the quick little snippet I had with Nate in the first battle. I may not have physically harmed him much, but mentally, I have.

I have scarred all of my family members. I have gotten my revenge. Frostbite is over, and now I have a clan to lead. I have to bring them somewhere where they'll feel like it's home.

Turning to the others, I notice all of them staring at me, holding their breath. Closing my eyes, I dip my head, "I have gotten my revenge. I realize now that it's better to live in peace than in war. I have a clan to lead. I've always wanted to lead them into greatness, but I now know that greatness doesn't have to mean being the strongest fighters or most feared dragons. We can be great through ourselves, through our hearts and minds, not our teeth and claws."

Looking at Hiccup, I say so quietly I can barely hear myself, "The war is over. Infernious and the Berks can live in peace."

He and Toothless both sigh with relief. Glancing to my side, I see Skurge with a look of horror on his face. "What?!" he hisses.

Hiccup steps forward, "Thank you, Frostbite. That was the decision of a true leader. Let this be a new beginning for our people."

I jerk my head and say, "You're very wise. For a human. Thank you for that lesson. Apparently history is more important than I thought." We both laugh softly, and I suddenly feel lighter than I have in months. This is the right choice. I know it.

Taking a step back, I say, "We should go tell the others the news, I guess."

Suddenly, Skurge yowls, "NO!"

I whirl around and see him with a look of pure rage on his face. "You promised!" he snarls at me, "You promised! We had a deal! Its time for my revenge now!"

Standing my ground, I say sternly, "I know what I promised, Skurge. But you have to look past it like Hiccup did- like I've done."

"I knew you didn't have it in you!" Skurge hisses, thrusting his muzzle in my face, "You have the blood of pets in your veins, and it will keep rotting you no matter how much I try to force it out! You're still the stupid runt I found all those years ago! I thought, what with your abandonment, you could actually be great! But I was wrong- you're still soft! You're still a runt! You're still the daughter of fools!"

"Skurge-" I begin, only to be interrupted again.

"I don't care about you anymore!" Skurge hisses. His face is contorted into… madness. That's the only way to describe it. My eyes widen, I feel a hint of fear.

"I will get my revenge, with or without your help! You've been the only thing holding me back all this time! But I don't care about you anymore! I will get my revenge if it is the last thing I do! I will kill Toothless!"

He suddenly whirls around towards my father.

"Do not harm him, Skurge!" I yowl, but he doesn't listen and lunges at him. It's too late. That look I saw on his face- he's past the point of reasoning.

Before I can stop myself, I leap towards Skurge, my claws unsheathed.

Sorry, it was a bit short. The next chapter will come very soon, though. It will probably be really short too. But whatever, it'll be a good ending.

...Skurge is a really crazy character. He's so fun to write, though.

Anyway...

Read, rate, review, and tally ho!