Author's Notes:
While I stick very closely to the HTTYD movie/TV show lore, I take liberties with the LoZ elements. Please read with an open mind, as if this were a new game.
Hiccup smelled the salty breeze before he felt it rustling his hair. The moist air softened his skin in a familiar and comforting way. He breathed deeply and felt hard ground at his back. Cracking an eye open, he saw through the netting of knotted branches, thick gray fog. Then, for just a moment, the clouds parted to reveal points of light. Stars. His stars. The ones he had watched since childhood. A smile broke over his face. He was home.
As his senses came alive, his skin prickled, and he realized he wasn't alone. Someone was kneeling next to him, peering through the large bush, the leather pleats of her skirt and her golden braid as familiar as the scar on his chin.
Propping himself on one elbow, he said, "Astrid! You're he—"
"SHHHH!" she hissed, then added sweetly, "Oh, you're awake." Hiccup smiled back. In response, she shoved him. "Seriously, Hiccup! The one place we agreed not to go to."
"What, what do you mean? Where are we?" he whispered back, getting to his knees.
Her eyes were daggers. "Where do you think?"
Hiccup gasped and scanned around for confirmation: the black, naked stone, the cage-like bushes, the fog that kept the island in a perpetual state of twilight. "We're in Loki's Triangle again."
"Again?"
On the beach he recognized the low rumble of voices. Hiccup leapt into strategizing mode. "What's the situation?"
A grin twitched across Astrid's face. "The gang's all here. And by 'here', I mean there." She pointed to one of two ships anchored by the shore. The faint moonlight seeping through the fog caught the Dragon Hunters insignia on the mainsail.
"Obstacles?"
"I counted five hunters on the beach with who knows how many more on the ships. One ship is armed with grappling chains, which is how everyone got captured."
"Those chains won't be a problem once we get our dragons." His throat suddenly went dry as he looked around. It was just the two of them hiding in this bush. "Where are they?"
Astrid pointed to the second ship. "Everyone else's dragons are trapped there. Ours are over there," she said pointing to the left. Hiccup peered through the bush. There were plenty of large boulders blocking his view to the beach, and the mist still wafted threateningly along the shore, but he recognized Stormfly's screech echoing from the shoreline. He scowled as he heard a man's angry voice followed by the whack of metal. Toothless and Stormfly would be fine in a few minutes, but it made his blood boil all the same.
Astrid tugged on his leather pauldron, rocking him slightly. "With your brains and my axe, we'll make them think twice before messing with us again." She gripped the handle of her favorite weapon with a devilish smile. He loved her but was also a little scared of her when she was in this mood.
"Oh, and something for the reckless explorer," she added. From the other side of the bush, she pulled out his bola shield.
Hiccup's jaw dropped, remembering the hallway of axes that nearly cost him his foot.
"You went into that death trap for me?"
"Toothless was trying, but he couldn't fit, and he wouldn't risk blasting for fear of bringing the whole place down on you."
Hiccup strapped the shield to his arm. The clunkiness was strangely comforting after using the lighter yet unfamiliar Hylian shields. "What would I do without you?"
She stretched her arms, flexing her laced fingers outwards, as a smug smile grew across her face. "I don't know. Get stuck in a lot more trouble, that's for sure." She punched him playfully in the arm.
"Ow!" he yelped. Astrid shushed and pulled him to the ground as a hunter paced the beach.
Hiccup tried rolling his shoulder. It was as sore as the day he and Toothless arrived, fresh from the bore pit. "What? This again?"
He checked his left hand. No sign of the Triforce or the bracer, and his original prosthetic was attached to his leg. He was back in his regular outfit, too. How could that be? Unless …
"Heads up," Astrid whispered. "Looks like the hunters are about to move Toothless and Stormfly."
"Okay, here's the plan," Hiccup said. "You get everyone off the ships, and I'll get our dragons."
Hiccup clambered to his feet, hunching in the low bush. He was about to strike out for the beach when Astrid grabbed his hand. He looked back at her confused, and then was even more surprised when she pulled him in for a quick kiss. For a moment, he stood there, cheeks redder than an autumn apple.
"Go," she said with a reassuring smile. He cocked his head and grinned before taking off towards the beach.
\\\
Astrid cherished his adorable smile for one more self-indulgent moment before setting her sights on the Dragon Hunter's ships. Time to focus.
She cartwheeled and tumbled her way past brush and boulders, springing from each hiding place with the speed and agility of a dragon. As she neared the beach, she kept a keen eye out for hunters. They weren't the smartest crew from what she'd seen, and the success of her mission hinged on stealth and speed, both of which were her specialty.
Only a few dozen feet remained between the rocky shore and the water where she could scale the side of the ship. She dashed a few feet only to freeze as a spectral face emerged from the mist. Instantly, her legs went to jelly. It flew at her with its clawed, oversized hands ready to snatch her, the pale hollow eyes chilling her very soul.
With a stifled cry, Astrid dropped behind a boulder and buried her head in her lap. Her heart pounded even as she heard the wind pass by and a pair of hunters down the beach start screaming.
She poked her head out from behind the rock. No phantoms, but the mist still lingered. Just a few more feet to the ship. She took a breath and punched her fist into her hand.
"Come on, Astrid. Come on, Astrid!"
She dove from her hiding place, rolled onto the ground, and sprinted towards the water.
\\\
Hiccup ran across a stretch of beach and hid behind a boulder as a pair of hunters passed by. He peered over his shoulder. It was still too far to see Toothless or Stormfly, but he was getting close. One of the hunters glanced around the shoreline and stopped directly in Hiccup's path.
Hiccup rolled his eyes and tapped his leg. "Come on, move along," he mumbled.
"I don't like this, Erik," said one of the hunters in a rough-spun tunic, clutching his sword to his massive body. "This ain't natural."
His companion in an identical tunic slapped him on the back. "What are you afraid of? A wee bit o' wind?"
As if on command, the wind howled, and both hunters bolted down the beach, screaming.
Hiccup shrugged. "That works."
He stepped out from behind the rock and was instantly confronted by a wind specter. He froze for a moment, then clenched his fists and stared it down. The hollow eyes melted into an expression of terror. With a horrifying scream, it flew away. Hiccup nodded satisfactorily and continued making his way to the captive dragons.
\\\
"All I'm saying is that the legends said NOTHING about scary wind faces." Tuffnut crossed his arms and lifted his chin as if that would validate his statement.
"What did you think 'haunted' means?" Fishlegs asked derisively.
"It could have been reanimated corpses like,"—Tuffnut jumped to his feet and began walking arms stretched out in front of him, head lolled to one side— "'I'm dead, but you've trespassed on my island so now you must also dieeeee.'" Tuffnut marched around stiff-legged, bumping into the three other Vikings.
"That doesn't make any sense," Snotlout said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
"Says the guy who screamed like a little girl when he saw one," Fishlegs retorted.
"I'm not saying that it didn't … startle … me," Snotlout protested. "I'm just saying it doesn't make any sense."
"Well, if you hadn't been 'startled'," Ruffnut piped up, "we would be off with Astrid instead of being stuck in here!" she shouted, gesturing to the wooden cage they shared in the hold of the ship.
The twins crossed their arms and glared at each other.
"I hate being stuck in here with you," Tuffnut sneered.
Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Get used to it, brother."
Tuffnut glared harder, his left eye twitching for a moment, and then dropped his arms, his face lax. "Okay, I'm used to it." Ruffnut seized the careless moment and smacked him to the ground. "Oh, it's on!" Tuffnut shouted with glee. It was all a tumble of braids and dreadlocks and elbows and twisty horned-helmets.
Fishlegs stood on tiptoes, trying to flatten his round body against the side of the ship. "Really, guys? Now?"
Snotlout rolled his eyes with a "harrumph" but couldn't resist kicking Tuffnut in the behind when they got too close. A bony thumb emerged from the tussle.
"Good one! OW!" Tuffnut said as he was yanked back into the fray.
"I hate to break up the family therapy," said a voice from the shadows of the ship's stairway. "But are you going to stay here all night"—a ring of keys was lifted into the lantern light—"or are you going to fly off this Odin-forsaken rock?"
Fishlegs jumped to the bars of the cage, stepping on a golden braid in the process. "Astrid! Did you find Hiccup?"
"Yeah, he's getting Toothless and Stormfly," Astrid said as she approached and rustled a key in the heavy lock.
"You sent Hiccup against the hunters alone ?" Snotlout asked.
"Because he's not scared of the wind," Fishlegs said in a teasing falsetto.
Snotlout dropped his chin and glared. "Shut up, Fish Face."
With a click, the lock popped open. Astrid and Fishlegs braced to open the heavy door open when—
"Wait a sec," Tuffnut said. Turning to Ruffnut with the widest grin, he said, "One more ti—"
Before he even finished, she socked him in the jaw, sending him spinning three full turns before tumbling to the floor. A shaky thumb and equally shaky voice rose from the ground.
"Okay, we can go now."
\\\
Hiccup raced from the boulder he was hiding behind across the final stretch of beach towards two large cages. In the distance, he heard the distinct brogue of a Dragon Hunter.
"I don't care if you saw the ghost of yur great grandmother's yak. Get back to your post! I want those dragons on board five minutes ago!"
"Toothless!" Hiccup whispered loudly. The Night Fury perked up his massive ears and gave a happy growl through the leather muzzle.
"I know. I missed you too," Hiccup said, rubbing the dragon's head through the bars. "I'm so sorry about all this."
A quiet screech came from the second cage.
"Hey, Stormfly!" Hiccup whispered, patting the Deadly Nadder. "Okay, let's get you out of there."
He was about to unlock the cage when an axe clanged against the metal bars inches from his head. He spun around as two hunters, each at least twice his size, charged at him. Hiccup raised his shield and fired. The first hunter thudded on the ground, arms and legs pinned to his side by the bola. The dragons growled and stamped excitedly.
Hiccup felt the whoosh of the second hunter's axe as it swung over his head. This guy is fast! Hiccup thought as he did all he could not to get hit by the weapon. Every step backward took him farther from his dragon who was snarling at being unable to help.
The hunter rushed and jabbed Hiccup solidly in the stomach with the top of the axe. The boy flew backwards and slammed against a boulder.
\\\
Astrid gave one more intimidating yell as a parting gift to the last few hunters as they jumped into the sea. The rest of the crew lay unconscious on the deck of their ship thanks to the quick work of the teenagers. Sometimes, it's almost like we know what we are doing, she thought. The smile quickly vanished as she heard Dragon Hunter yells echoing down the shore.
"Hiccup," she breathed, her heart suddenly seizing. She took off across the deck and called over her shoulder, "Make sure those grappling chains are disabled! And get to your dragons!"
"Oh yeah," Snotlout mused. "And where are you going?"
"To save our future chief!" she shouted as she grabbed a rope and swung off the deck. Turning a front flip mid-air and making a perfect three-point landing, she tossed her braid back and stared down the beach. Fire burned in her eyes, and she sprinted towards the action.
\\\
Hiccup groped feebly for support from the boulder at his back. His head was swimming and his already injured ribs twinged with every breath.
The hunter stalked closer. "You must be Stoick's little runt," the hunter stated gruffly.
Hiccup gasped for air that wouldn't come. His eyes darted to his left hand. Still no Triforce.
"Not so tough without yur dragon, are ya?"
No dragon. No magic. A familiar string of excuses ran through his head like a predator circling its prey. I can't do this. I'm not strong enough. I never have been. I can't do this. I'm not strong enough. I never have been. I'm—
The words you speak over yourself are stronger than any magic. The voice whispered in his mind like the echo on a mountain side. It was … familiar … Zelda's, that's right!
Go with the strength you have.
Memories of a dusty canyon and an unforgiving stick ebbed in and out of his mind. A sword … a tree … someone was teaching him how to fight …
Zelda's voice rang out again. Go, Hiccup!
The hunter was now standing directly over him. He towered over Hiccup, a mountain of a man, his hands planted on his wide leather belt. "You're as weak as I heard," the hunter ridiculed.
Hiccup glanced up and grinned. "You heard wrong."
Faster than an arrow from a bow, Hiccup grabbed the man's wrist, turned, dropped his stance, and pulled with all his might. With a thud, it was over.
Hiccup gasped and stared in jubilant disbelief at the unconscious body lying before him. It worked! He wished Impa was here to see it.
Warning calls from Toothless and Stormfly brought him back to the present as two more hunters sprinted past their comrade, who had just freed himself from the bola, and stopped between him and his dragon. A wry smile crept across Hiccup's face as he grabbed the fallen hunter's axe and got into a defensive stance.
\\\
Sweat beaded on Astrid's forehead as she sprinted down the beach. Snotlout was right. What was she thinking, letting Hiccup rescue the dragons on his own? Without any backup! The grunts of fighting and cries from Stormfly drifted through the mist. What if she was too late?
Suddenly, the misty fogbank coalesced into a face. The ethereal hands reached for her as the toothy maw opened wide. Fear seized her heart with an icy hand and threatened to stop her in her tracks. But the calls from down the shore … No! Astrid clenched her fists and yelled at the top of her lungs. Running straight through it, the figment evaporated in a wisp of cloud, and she stumbled into the clearing.
"Hiccup!"
The future chief stood facing away from her, breathing hard. She noted the two, three, four unconscious hunters strewn about. "How did you—"
"It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way," he said as he unlocked the cages. No sooner had Hiccup pulled the muzzle off of Toothless's head then the Night Fury knocked him on the ground, aggressively licking his human's face. Stormfly, likewise, raced round and round Astrid, bobbing her head happily. Just then, the other teens landed out of the fog on their own dragons.
Fishlegs shouted from his Gronkel. "Hiccup! You're alright!"
"See, he's fine," Snotlout said. "I told you he'd be fine."
"No thanks to you," Ruffnut chided. Snotlout crossed his arms and pouted, and yet he seemed relieved.
Leaning forward to survey the scene, Tuffnut said, "Whoa! Nice going, Astrid."
Fishlegs glanced back toward the ships and said, "While I am overjoyed by this reunion, perhaps we should celebrate somewhere else." The battle cries of a dozen cold, wet, and infuriated hunters echoed down the shore.
"Okay, gang, let's get out of here," Hiccup said as he gave one last scratch to Toothless's chin and jumped in the saddle. "And don't be afraid of the wind. It's just air!"
They shot into the sky, turning aerial acrobatics to avoid the arrows whizzing from hunter bows below. As they neared the edge of the fog, a dozen terrible faces appeared.
Hiccup leaned forward. "Give it everything you've got, bud!" The boy and the dragon spun in a barrel roll, Toothless firing plasma at the phantasms, and the group burst through the fog and into the night.
"So long, Loki's Triangle!" Ruffnut waved as the fog bank shrank into the distance.
"May we never meet again," mumbled Astrid.
"But, you know," Tuffnut proposed, "should we ever desire to return, we now know exactly what to do."
Ruffnut threw both fists in the air. "Leave Snotlout at home!" The teens laughed, all except Snotlout, of course.
Gliding over the crystal-clear ocean, Hiccup took a deep breath of the arctic air. He reveled in the comforting beat of Toothless' wings. Leaning back in the saddle, he stroked the scaley back, and the Night Fury cooed.
Looking around at his friends, still high on adrenaline and recounting their favorite moments of the night, he said, "Thanks for coming to look for me."
"You betcha!" Fishlegs saluted.
Astrid pulled up alongside. "So, what is the story?"
\\\
Late morning sunlight glowed on half a dozen unfinished breakfast plates in the clubhouse on Dragon's Edge where the five Viking teens stared at Hiccup, mouths agape.
Tuffnut's eye twitched before he finally broke the silence. "That is the craziest story I've ever heard."
"And that means something coming from him," Ruffnut said, jabbing a thumb at her twin.
"It's true," Hiccup pleaded.
"I buy it," Snotlout said.
"You do?" Fishlegs asked.
Snotlout propped his feet on the table and waved a half-eaten bread roll. "Yeah, magic gems, lost princess, master assassins, that all makes sense." He gestured with the roll at Hiccup. "But Mr. One-Man army on the beach last night? That's a stretch."
Astrid leaned forward and glared across the table. "You don't believe me ?"
"I never said that," Snotlout corrected.
Ruffnut glanced deviously at Hiccup. "Well, if that's true …" She nodded to her brother.
Tuffnut sprang to his feet, sending Chicken sprawling onto the floor, and exclaimed. "Who's ready for another round in the boar pit!?" Immediately, he dropped to the ground to console his pet, who was having none of it.
Snotlout turned to Hiccup. "What do you say, Future Chief?"
There was silence, even from the chicken, as all eyes fell on Hiccup.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "You know I'm kind of tired. I took out four hunters last night and my shoulder is still sore from the first bore pit."
The twins and Chicken rolled their eyes with a groan and left. Snotlout grabbed an extra roll on his way out. "You can't run from it forever, Hiccup," he called over his shoulder. "Toothless and Astrid won't always be there to save you."
Astrid grabbed her axe, and Toothless growled at Snotlout's swiftly fleeing shadow. She glared and shook her head at the coward. "Don't let them get to you," she said, setting her axe on the table and taking a seat.
Hiccup closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the rising sun on his face. They didn't need to believe him. He knew what had happened, what had changed in him, and that was enough. Real or not, he wasn't the same Viking that went into that fogbank, and one day, perhaps one day soon, they would get to see it.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III—Dragon Rider, heir of the tribe of Berk, and friend of Hylians—rolled back his shoulders and smiled. "Don't worry. They didn't."
"Hiccup?" Astrid fingered the edge of her plate. "Did all that really happen?"
Hiccup scooched his chair closer. "I … I think it did. But it's weird. The harder I think about it, the fuzzier everything gets. Like, like …"
"Like a dream?"
Hiccup acquiesced with a shrug. "Do you think I'm crazy?"
"Well," she rose from the table and traced a finger along his pauldron. "I already knew that." She winked and walked out the front doors. "No flying off without me," she called over her shoulder.
His eyes fell on the axe lying on the table and blurted out before he could stop himself. "Astrid?"
She paused in the doorway. The sunlight glowed off her golden braid like a halo. How was it that she always looked so beautiful? Hiccup gulped and tried to suppress the awkward encroaching smile. It's not like he was asking her out or anything, but his heart pounded as if he'd been chased by a Speed Stinger.
"Would you …" He coughed into his fist. "Would you give me some fighting lessons?" She slowly cocked her head to the side. "Private. I'm not ready for everyone to watch yet."
Astrid stretched lazily. "I don't know. Toothless can be awfully needy in the morning." She trained an accusing eye on him and slipped a familiar folded note between her fingers.
Hiccup's cheeks flushed. "I, uh …" He swallowed then held her gaze. "It won't be a problem. You have my word."
She lifted her chin and smiled. "Dawn. In the Eastern Woods. Don't be late."
"Yes, m'lady!"
And with that she was gone.
Hiccup let out a long exhale and a smile grew without him realizing it. Toothless came up and nuzzled him. "Hey bud," Hiccup said, rubbing his wide head. The Night Fury looked at him with wide, concerned eyes. Hiccup knew what was on his mind and furrowed his brow. "It couldn't have all been a dream, could it?" Since waking up in Loki's Triangle, all trace of his time in … what was it called? … that place, had vanished. Even just one piece of evidence to prove that it wasn't all in his head would be nice.
Hiccup smiled with resignation, then jumped to his feet with a new spring in his step. "Come on, Toothless. We have a zipline to finish!"
\\\
At that moment, on a pocked-marked and cavern-raked island, a Terrible Terror was breaking the splint off its wing. Flying high above the fog that perpetually inhabited that portion of the sea, the tiny dragon glided over the slightest tear in the cloud cover revealing the shape of the black island below: a perfect triangle within a triangle.
Author's Notes:
I didn't want to post this chapter ... because I didn't want this to end. It's silly, I know. But over the past seven months (Oh my word, how has it been that long?!), I've really enjoyed putting out these weekly installments. Seeing complete strangers discover, become invested, and even engage with the work has been an expected surprise!
To soften the blow (maybe for myself more than anyone), I will be uploading ONE MORE INSTALLMENT next week, a tiny chapter that I always thought of as an MCU post-credit scene. IT WILL CONTAIN A CLIFFHANGER; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
The "making of" behind this story is pretty cool (at least, I think it is). If you'd be interested in hearing it, leave a comment!
*deep breaths* (here we go...)
Thank you for coming along on this journey with me! I hope you have enjoyed the read!
As soon as I had the idea for this story, I wanted to share it, but I had no intention of doing that online. Thanks to Philip for encouraging me to dream bigger!
And as always, thanks to Ari Lewis and Luke for offering clarity (to plot, sentences, dialogue, etc.), pushing me to go deeper, and for helping me keep going when this was still a hot mess.
Soli Deo Gloria!