Chapter 80: Darkest Night

It was the dead of night and Stoick was on night patrol with Skullcrusher. Skullcrusher was looking a bit tired and growled at Stoick to let him know.

"I know, boy. Not much out here tonight of any interest," said Stoick.

He was about to turn around back to Berk, but then he noticed something below him. Instantly he pulled out his spyglass and saw a Hunter ship hiding behind one of the sea stacks. Reluctantly, he pulled Skullcrusher towards the sea stack in order to investigate, but then he heard noises behind him.

He quickly turned around and saw that Flyers were flying down towards him. One of them didn't waste any time and fired a fireball and Stoick barely managed to move out of the way in time. The Flyers kept on his trail firing fireballs in the hopes to catch off guard and eventually one of them struck Skullcrusher as they attempted to climb.

Stoick realized there was no way they could get to high-altitude in time, and immediately turned around to face the Flyers. Then without missing a beat he fired a shot at the Flyers knocking him off his Singetail, but the second Flyer had managed to snap behind and fired a close range fireball with the Singetail's tail. That approach range attack caused Skullcrusher to fly out of control when they headed straight towards the sea stack maze.

"Skullcrusher, SOS!" Stoick ordered.

Skullcrusher then quickly fired a fireball into the air in the hopes to signal Gustav and the rest of A-Team. With that done, Stoick then attempted to fly them towards the nearest sea stack; they soon crashed on the surface, causing Stoick to be tossed into the air. He then began to skid down the slope of the sea stack, but he slammed his feet into the ground to slow his descent, but it wasn't enough. He then quickly grabbed his helmet and slammed the horned into the ground and it was able to grab hold of the ledge before he fell into the sea.

"Oh, this is really starting to chap tunic," Stoick growled with frustration.

He then noticed a Flyer heading straight down towards him and he fired a fireball directly at him. Thankfully at the last possible second, Skullcrusher pulled to safety.

Stoick then picked himself up and began to brush himself down. "What took you—" He stopped when he saw that Skullcrusher was now unable to move and immediately ran towards him. "Skullcrusher? Skullcrusher!"

He looked up and saw the fly was now bearing down on him and fired another fireball. Stoick quickly drew his ax and deflected with the blade and a second Flyer tried to attack from behind. Fortunately, he spun around in time and deflected the shot with the ax, but the previous Flyer fired another fireball and this time it landed its mark. The fireball didn't land a direct hit, but the impact was strong enough to knock him off his feet and he was now unconscious.

The Flyers were about to finish him off, but then a fiery beam of dragon fire from out of nowhere knocked one of the Flyers out of the sky.

The Flyers turned to see a large brown and orange Stormcutter flew in and on its back they saw some sort of masked Rider on its back. The Rider pointed a staff at the Flyers and the Stormcutter proceeded to take them out as the Singetails flew away.

The Stormcutter landed on the sea stack as its rider jumped down and walked over to the injured Stoick.

Stoick's vision was blurry as the masked person kneeled down and checked him over, "Wh-who are you?" He mumbled.

The Mysterious rider put a finger to his lips shaking their head, they then moved their mask up a bit, but Stoick couldn't make out their face.

But in his daze, he almost thought he saw a familiar face, "V-Valka?" He asked, reaching out to what he thought was his wife smiling down at him before he winced in pain.

Before the mysterious rider could do anything, more Flyers were starting to come their way, but before they were about to finish them off, a lava blast appeared out of nowhere knocking one of the Flyers out of the sky.

"Take that, you flying sack of flames!" Gobber yelled as he flew in on Grump.

With whom was Gustav and Spitelout and the immediately provided covering fire blasting the remaining Flyers. Together they already took out three of them and repressed their advantage on the remaining Flyers.

The mask rider looked up and saw Gobber and the A-Team coming towards them as they moved down their mask and hurried back to the Stormcutter.

"N-no. W-wait." Stoick mumbled as he reached out, but the mask rider glanced at him one last time before they and the Stormcutter flew off as Gobber and the A-Team flew to Stoick.

"Straight ahead, boy-o," said Spitelout.

"I see 'em, Spitester," said Gustav.

Spitelout groaned. "Ohh, I told you not to call me that." He complained.

Gustav laughed and dived down towards Stoick. Fanghook grabbed him and while Grump flew in and grabbed Skullcrusher, with that they immediately flew back to Berk.

On another sea stack, the Masked Rider and the Stormcutter watched them fly off. Only they had they're mask off revealing them to be a woman with auburn hair and green eyes, "Be strong, love." The woman pleaded as she watched Gobber, the A-Team and Stoick fly into the distance. She then turned back to her dragon, "Let's get back to the nest, Cloudjumper." She said as Cloudjumper nodded and flew off into the night.

(Linebreak)

The next morning, the Haddock twins and the other Riders returned back to Berk after receiving the message while on their way back to the Edge. The moment they landed Hiccup and Hicca didn't waste any time and immediately rushed into their house, and the others just waited outside knowing that this was going to be harder for them.

When the Haddock twins' entity found Gobber standing by their father's bedside and Gothi was tending to him. Their father, the most invincible Viking they ever knew, was now on the very edge of death as he laid on his bed.

Gothi moved out of the way so that the Haddock twins could approach his father. "Dad?" Hiccup asked in worried.

Hicca then looked at Gobber confused. "We, uh—we don't—we don't understand. What happened? We just left Berk and now he's like this?" She asked in concern.

"He was out on patrol," Gobber explained. "Got ambushed by Dragon Flyers. Put up one heck of a fight."

"Why was he there by himself?" Hiccup demanded.

"Why didn't he bring any backup with him?!" Hicca demanded as well.

Gobber looked at him awkwardly. "Well, we were, in the general vicinity, you two, but you two know your father. He does what he wants when he wants. We got there as soon as we could."

The Haddock twins looked at him apologetically. "Look, we're sorry we snapped, Gobber." Hicca started.

"We're just, uh… we ust…" Hiccup tried to explain.

Gobber placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "We know. We are too. We're doing everything we can."

The Haddock twins then made their way outside and the other Riders looked at them frantically. The Riders immediately attempted to talk to them, "Guys?" Fishlegs asked.

"How's your dad?" Valerie asked worriedly.

"How's Stoick?" Tuffnut and Snotlout asked.

"Is he okay?" Ruffnut asked.

"How's he doing?" Raeda asked next.

"How is he?" Henry asked his girlfriend.

"H-how Stoick?" Astrid asked her boyfriend in worry.

The Haddock Twins gave no answer and kept on walking.

Astrid and Henry particularly looked greatly concerned and then they turned towards Gobber, who just exited the house himself.

"Leaving them be, lassies," Gobber said, looking at Astrid and Henry. "I'll fill you all in."

Toothless and Midnight growled with the great source of concern and Gobber patted them on the head.

(Linebreak)

Later that day, the people of Berk were beginning to argue about their next course of action, attacking their chief demanded action.

Spitlout immediately spoke, "Then we must attack Johann, Krogan and these Dragon Flyers with full force." Spitelout said. "Take the offensive. With the A-Team and you Riders, we can—"

"We can barely make a dent," Astrid cut him off.

"Astrid is right," Fishlegs nodded. "These flyers outnumber us and, in many cases, can outmaneuver us."

"Not to mention we don't even know where Johann's base of operations is located," Raeda added. "Johann no doubt moved after Hicca, Henry and Viggo excursion."

"Not surprising since my dad tried to get payback on them for double crossing him." Henry added in agreement, since Johann would do well to move his base if it was ever discovered.

"But we can take them, with the right strategy." Snotlout said.

"And with the right leader or two." Gobber finished. He then looked at everybody. "Listen, we can't just attack with Stoick in his condition."

"Well, we can't very well wait either, can we?" Spitelout asked. "If Stoick cannot perform his duties as chief, someone needs to step in and do it for him."

"Well we have to do something, or else we give up everything we love to the mercy of Johann." Valerie told them as the Riders knew she was right.

Many people agreed and there was only one logical choice.

(Linebreak)

The Haddock twins had remained at their house all day tending to their father, who still hadn't woken up. The door then opened and Astrid, Henry, Raeda and Gobber entered.

Astrid placed a comforting hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "He's as strong as they come, guys. Look, if anyone can pull through, it's your dad." She said.

"And Stoick is the toughest out of all of us." Henry added while placing a hand on Hicca's shoulder. "If anyone can pull through, it's him." He assured them.

The Haddock twins weren't convinced as they were too worried about their father.

Astrid and Henry could sense his uneasiness and knew there was no point putting it off. "But while we're on the subject, we just came from the Great Hall." Astrid started.

" Everyone is looking for someone to take the lead while Stoick is…" Raeda continued as she then poured as she tried to come up with the right word, "..incapacitated."

"No, no. we can't. Not yet," said Hiccup.

"And we're not leaving Him!" Hicca stated.

"Guys—" Raeda tried to reason with her best friends.

"Look,we can't give up on him so soon, guys!" Hiccup told them, looking on in despair, "We just can't."

"He's our father. We can't just leave him." Hicca added while adjusting the rag on their father's head.

Henry looked at the Haddock twins. "We're not asking you to, but the fact of the matter is Berk needs a leader and both of you are logical choices. The size is not much you two can do while you both are at your father's, you two." He pointed out. "Hiccup, Hicca, you two are a package deal, while Hiccup you might be the future Chief of Berk and Hicca, you might be a Healer, but when you two are together, you both make great leaders." He declared.

"When you two lead together, others will follow." Raeda added.

The Haddock twins didn't look at Henry and concentrated on his father. The four of them looked at one another on the news that they wanted to be alone and so they left the house.

"I… guess it's in Thor's hands now," Gobber said.

"Which part?" Astrid asked.

"All of it." Gobber answered.

As they walked out of the Haddock hut, Henry furrowed his brow and turned to Astrid, "So it's understood that Johann and Krogan just crossed a line today?" He asked in a low tone.

Astrid mimicked Henry's expression, "Yes." She growled, and narrowed her eyes, "This ends now." She vowed that she would make sure Johann paid for putting Hiccup and Hicca through this pain.

(Linebreak)

Later that night, the Haddock twins were sleeping in their beds and they began to have the same dream about when their father gave them permission to leave Berk with the other Riders. They then woke up and knew that they couldn't sleep and so they made their way to the Great Hall with Toothless and Midnight.

Once there, they just sat at one of the tables together, moping and Toothless and Midnight attempted to cheer him up, by Toothless grabbing a mug and sticking it in his tongue.

Hiccup looked at him. "Not—not now, bud." Toothless dropped the mug and looked at them certainly.

"We appreciate the effort, but just not now, you two." Hicca said while looking at the table.

"Time is running out with these Flyers. But how can we leave our dad? He wouldn't leave our side." Hiccup pointed out uncertainty.

"And what if he were to… you know… and we weren't here? We'd never forgive ourselves." Hicca finishes as she and her brother are uncertain of their choices.

"Like I told you before, if anyone can pull through, it's him, guys," Henry's voice said. The Haddock twins turned and saw the other Riders were approaching him. "He's Stoick the Vast." He finished.

"Guy," Hicca said in surprise.

"None of us could sleep, either," Fishlegs said.

"We're all worried about him, guys," Raeda said with a sympathetic smile, "Stoick's been like a father to all of us."

Astrid and Henry then sat down next to the Haddock twins and Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You two know you can't blame yourselves for this, right?" She asked.

"Sure, they can," Ruffnut said. "If they never left for Dragon's Edge, they'd have been able to protect their dad."

"Their selfish decisions are the central cause of all their pain," Tuffnut said.

Astrid and Henry just stared at them, because they were not helping in the slightest.

Henry then tossed a dagger at the Thorston twins, which landed between their feet as they were startled from that. "We're trying to cheer them up. Not bring them down." He said in a firm tone. "So you should be careful of what you say next." He added.

"Okay, okay! Sorry!" Tuffnut quickly said while shaking his hands.

"However, if we never went to the Edge, things would have been way worse," Ruffnut continued, trying to find a silver lining to it and to avoid Henry's wrath.

"And we would've ended up in the same place anyway," Tuffnut said.

"How's that?" Hiccup asked, looking extremely depressed.

"What would've happened if we never went to Edge in the beginning?" Hicca asked, equally depressed as his brother.

The Thorston twins smiled at one another.

"We were hoping you'd ask." Tuffnut said.

"Two words, one exclamation mark," Tuffnut said as he did a few hand gestures. "'Full Loki!'" He declared and began visualizing.

(Linebreak)

They then began to describe an alternate reality on the day they were informed about Dagur's escape from Outcast Island. It began when Snotlout was still testing weapons for Gobber, he mounted himself in a catapult and launched into the air.

Snotlout smiled victoriously as he flew past Hiccup. "It works!"

The Thorston twins then immediately position a large variety of very sharp weapons beneath Snotlout.

Snotlout panicked the moment he saw them. "Hookfang!"

Thankfully Hookfang appeared in time and saved Snotlout from being skewered. Once he checked to find that there were no holes in his body immediately glared down at the twins, who were laughing at the top of their lungs.

"Loki'd!" they cried as they high-fived one another.

The Thorston twins then continue to pour such dangerous pranks upon every single residence of Berk. The first target was Gothi, who had just managed to climb up all the steps leading to her house which was exhausting given her age.

She then smiled as she began making her way to her chair, but the moment she sat down she felt a hand clutching her arm. She immediately jumped up in surprise as Tuffnut emerged behind it roaring at her. She then went back towards the table with a hand over her heart and then Ruffnut shot out from behind the table with a fruit basket on ahead shouting as well.

Gothi Jones back in surprise and tripped over the ledge of a house, thankfully her leg caught about preventing her from falling to her death. The Thorston twins then immediately looked over the ledge and laughed.

"Gothi got Loki'd!" Tuffnut laughed as they high-fived one another.

The next target was Astrid, who exited her house to find that several of Stormfly spines were littering the porch of a house and a live chicken was hanging open in front of her door. She then carefully began walking down the steps when suddenly the twins, who were hiding behind the steps, immediately grabbed her foot causing her to topple over and she landed face first in a trough of fish.

"Loki'd!" The Thorston twins yelled.

Astrid pulled ahead out of the trough and glared at them as she spat a fish out of her mouth.

They then targeted Raeda, who had just entered the arena and then she stepped on a trip wire. She looked up and then saw several crossbows towards him and fired a barrage of arrows. Fortunately he was able to hide behind some crates and the Thorston twins laughed at him in the cage.

"Loki'd!" They yelled as Raeda growled in fury.

Hicca was studying some Healer books as she was working on mixing a potion together. But then when she turned around, Ruff put something in the potion as it began to bubble up. Once Hicca turned back around and poured in the last ingredient, the potion exploded as she was covered in soot as she coughed a bit.

"Loki'd!" The Thorston twins called out from outside as Hicca growled.

Then they targeted Stoick, who was at his house and was about to pour some soup into his bowl. He then immediately jumped back as eels jumped out, he then slammed his hand on the table in rage causing the soup bowl to launch into the air and landed on his head. Unfortunately, there were still a few good eels inside of it and he began running around like a headless chicken trying to get off.

When Stoick got outside he found the village in total chaos before he was run over by a herd of wild boars. In no time everyone had turned against one another and then appearing out of nowhere were Johann, Dagur and they're Flyers and completely surrounded them.

(Linebreak)

Everyone just stared at the twins as they just finished what they believed to be a factual alternate reality.

"And that, ladies and gents, is why you never wanna go 'Full Loki,'" Tuffnut finished, Everyone just stared at them with blank faces. "The point is, leaving Berk for the Edge was a great idea. We would've torn this place apart from the inside out and gotten slaughtered in the process." He finished.

"That is a ridiculous scenario," Fishlegs told him. "We are too refined people to stoop to such foolishness and trickery. Had we stayed on Berk things would've been the polar opposite from what the twins described. Peaceful. Civilized." He said

"Uh, what?" Henry asked with a raised eyebrow

Fishlegs then began to describe his alternate reality which apparently was more meditation than anything else.

Fishlegs was busy meditating while everyone else was just relaxing and being part of nature. "We are one. One with the earth, the sky, the moon, the dragons and… most importantly… each other." he then began visualizing what he thought would happen if they never Berk.

(Lindbreak)

Apparently his reality also involved Stoick making peace with Dagur, Viggo and even Johann. Dragons were no longer fighting each other and were just eating and all the villagers were prancing around wearing flower crowns and hugging each other.

"Wars are a distant thing of the past. Dragons have no need to even use their powers. Even our fearless leader understands the most important lesson one can teach people is the pursuit of knowledge, meditation and restraint.'

However, Johann didn't seem to agree with our philosophy and whistled.

Toothless and Midnight were laying on the ground with Midnight on top of Toothless' head as something flew over them as Midnight woke up in surprise.

And almost immediately swarming Berk were his Dragon Flyers, which Krogan and Viggo were commanding. They immediately began to torch the entire village, which was now utterly defenseless and Johann was chuckling maniacally at the devastation.

(Linebreak)

Fishlegs then immediately turned to Snotlout, who ruined his alternate reality. "Hey, hey! That's not how it ends!" He called out.

Snotlout snorted. "Oh, sure, it is. We're Vikings. We fight. We pillage. We take advantage of the weak. It's in our nature." He said it was obvious.

"He's not wrong," Raeda commented with a shrug.

"Oh, yeah?" said Fishlegs dubiously. "All right. Okay. If you're such a soothsayer, what would've happened in your—"

Snotlout groaned in annoyance. "Oh, I couldn't wait for you to ask, Fishface." He then leaned back on his chair and placed his feet on top of Hookfang. "If memory serves me—and it does—before we left the Edge, I was Berk's official weapon tester, which means I probably would've been promoted to Berk's official weapon inventor." He then leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "I can see it so clearly." He then began visualizing his scenario.

(Linebreak)

In Snotlout's reality a massive explosion erupted from the forge and Snotlout stepped out, with several weapons strapped to his back, wearing warpaint and wearing a nice shiny new belt buckle.

"I'd created the greatest weapon known to man. A super weapon."

Snotlout then held out a weapon that was a mixture between an ax, a mace and a sword. It was as long as a long sword, but as thick of a battleax with several ax blades running along the handle, it also had a spike-covered mace at the very tip with an ax blade sticking out of it.

Gobber stared at the weapon in awe. "What in Thor's name is that… thing of beauty?"

Snotlout then lifted the blade and rested on his shoulder. "It's only the greatest weapon known to man. A superweapon. The Mace-Axe-Sword."

He then tossed it over to Gobber, who was completely speechless. "That is the single greatest thing I've ever seen. Some things you just can't un-experience." He said in utter amazement.

"Oh, yeah? Well, didn't you ever un-experience this experience," said Snotlout as he gestured towards Hookfang.

Hookfang then landed covered in armor and Snotlout somersaulted onto his saddle and they took off.

"They're beautiful," Gobber said with teary-eyed.

Snotlout then pulled out a bow and fired three arrows at once hitting perfect bullseyes with each shot. People immediately began to cheer as he flew by as his magnificence and eventually he approached the massive golden statue of himself. He then rubbed a smudge of dirt on it and kissed it on the cheek.

Every single girl, including Astrid, were cheering for him and swooned as he flew by. Snotlout flexed his muscles and kissed them and winked at them. Raeda squealed, Ruffnut immediately fainted and Astrid looked at him all girly.

"Oh, dreamy!" said Astrid.

He then landed on the ground striking a dramatic pose as Hookfang lowered his head. He then walked off and was immediately embraced by his father, who gave him a big hug.

"You make me proud to be a Jorgenson, boyo!" Spitelout said. He then placed him down. "I'm so proud of you."

"Ha! Of course you are, Father," Snotlout said, buffing out his chest. "We've always been able to speak to each other open-minded and have the perfect communication, and I'm your favorite son."

Astrid then immediately approached him and went down on her knees. "Oh, Snotlout. No one could ever be the Viking you are." She then pulled out a pair of boots. "Please, allow me to place these fleshly polished boots on those glorious feet."

(Linebreak)

However in reality, Astrid then immediately dragged him off his seat.

Astrid groaned in disgust. "That is the most preposterous story I've ever heard."

"Says you, naysayer." Snotlout said. "'Astrid the dream crusher.'" He added as he looked at Raeda and gave her a wink.

Raeda notices this as she knows that Snotlout is bluffing to cover up their relationship as she winked back with a small smile as she gave a chuckle to the others.

"You guys have absolutely no idea on what one change of events can create a total scenario. All this began when Hiccup and Hicca found the Dragon Eye," Raeda pointed out with. "If they hadn't, we would not have known about the Dragon Hunters and they would still be hunting dragons until they finally heard about us. We would still be completely oblivious to Johann's treachery and no doubt he would find some way to conquer Berk." She pointed out, "And even if we did find out even if we stayed on Berk we would prepare for the worst." She explained.

"The worst?" Valerie asked.

"Even if we stayed, Dagur would've rebuilt his army to attack us, Viggo would still be hunting dragons and possibly come after us one day, and Johann would probably get in on it too." Raeda explained, placing her hands on her hips, "As Vikings, we would need to prepare for invasions and train vigorously to meet this threat." She declared and began explaining how she pictured what might've happened.

(Linebreak)

On Berk, the Dragon Riders were still going on with their daily lives before they left the Edge. But then suddenly, in the horizon, ships are coming towards Berk while at the front ship, Dagur stood at the front proudly as he gave his signature laugh.

The Dragon Riders then flew into battle with Hiccup leading the charge as they began taking out the ships.

But then suddenly, they dodge some incoming fireballs as they turned and saw the Flyers flying towards them with Johann, Krogan and Viggo on Singetails as the Riders dodge as many as they can while some of the Singetails attacked the village.

On the ground, Stoick blew the warning horn as the Berk Dragons took flight and met the Singetails.

Henry saw the battle as he was hiding in the academy with his dragons, looking conflicted as to whether he would join them or not since he wanted to escape from his father, but then he saw Hicca in trouble as he mounted Wildstar and joined the battle.

Johann was then hit from behind by an acid blast and turned to see Valerie and Camo appearing, with the girl blowing a raspberry at him before flying over to the riders. Johann growled as he gave a scream as the battle raged on.

(Linebreak)

"And that would've really happened if we never left Berk." Raeda finished her point of view of what should've been.

The Riders look at Raeda in surprise at her point of view as they look at each other. "You know, Raeda's point of view really was accurate." Henry commented.

"Oh, really?" Snotlout asked him a bit skeptically.

"Well there are few other key points, the Thorston twins would still be causing a ruckus and getting on everyone's nerves, you'd still try to butt into everyone's business and take charge, Raeda would've kept my art business going, Astrid still would've join the guard, Hiccup would train to become Chief, Hicca would still be learning under Gothi about being a Healer, Valerie wouldn't have found us and join the team, Fishlegs would still be the calm and relaxed person he's always been And I would've been more afraid to face my father again to stop his operations." Henry explained, looking at all of them.

"That sounds just about right," Tuffnut nodded.

"He knows us so well," Ruffnut said.

"And let's not forget, Defenders of the Wing Island might've lost the Great Protector, the Wing Maidens might've been attacked by the hunters and a lot of the dragons we've befriended would've killed and sold in the Northern Market." Valerie pointed out.

Snotlout looked at him as if he was crazy as he picked himself up. "You clowns just don't understand how the course of history is changed with one simple stroke of the old paintbrush."

"Nope." Fishlegs retorted. "You don't understand that the dragon cannot change his scales."

Snotlout turned on him. "What are you talking about? Hookfang's scales change every time he molts." He said, clearly not getting the expression

Fishlegs shook his head. "It's a metaphor. A figure of speech. Not literal."

Snotlout then marched up to him. "Okay, keep your witch trickery to yourself." He told him as the Haddock twins listened in irritation.

"It's not trickery! It's Norse!" Fishlegs.

"Enough!" The Haddock twins yelled furiously, which startled the others.

"All of you, enough! This is all pointless." Hiccup called out.

"It doesn't matter if we stayed or left Berk from the start." Hicca added.

Tuffnut looked at them blankly. "I thought that was the game we were playing. 'What happened if we had never left?'" He asked.

"It's not a game, Tuffnut." Hiccup said as he and Hicca then immediately looked at everyone.

"It's not a dream. It's not a way of life. It's reality. Real life." Hicca pointed out.

"It actually happened. We trained dragons, we left Berk, and our father is on his deathbed because of it… because of us." Hiccup finished.

Astrid and Henry stepped forward in order to contradict them, but the Haddock twins stopped them. "None of this would have happened—and I mean none of it—if Hicca and I had never shot down Toothless in the first place." Hiccup stated as he looked at his dragon.

Everyone just stared at him as Toothless growled softly while Midnight gave her mate a comfort nuzzle.

"He wouldn't have a crippled tailfin and Midnight wouldn't have a mate that is forced to the ground without a tail." Hicca added depressedly. "And maybe they and their cubs would've been somewhere together and much safer from this war".

"You know it. We know it. Berk knows it. Everyone knows it!" Hiccup as he and Hicca then looked at Toothless and Midnight. "Even they know it."

"We're still the village screw ups we were during the Dragon Wars." Hicca finished.

The Haddock twins then walked off, leaving everyone behind as they exited the Great Hall.

(Linebreak)

The Haddock twins soon sat down near the cliff as he looked out into the sea and then Toothless and Midnight went over to join them.

They looked at their dragons apologetically. "We're sorry, guys. We didn't mean it to come out that way." Hiccup started.

"And I didn't mean to bash your kids." Hicca added.

Toothless and Midnight then sat down and placed their heads on their laps and the Haddock twins stroked them. "You know we'll never regret shooting you down, bud."

'Excuse me?' Toothless croaked questionably at him.

"Yeah, actually, that didn't came out right either." Hiccup admitted.

"And you know we didn't mean to shoot your mate down, Midnight." Hicca started. "We just happened to hit him." She said, while holding the sides of her dragon's head.

'I know.' Midnight warbled.

"I think that much is obvious." Henry said as the Haddock Twins turned to see him and Astrid walking towards them.

Hiccup sighed and looked to his girlfriend, "Astrid, W-we need some time to think."

"We just want to be left alone." Hicca added, pulling her knees in close

"Just hear Astrid out, you two." Henry said as Astrid she sat down next to Hiccup while Henry sat down next to Hicca.

"You two, Midnight and Toothless came together for a very specific reason at a very specific time." Astrid started. "If you two hadn't shot him down, I mean think about where you both would be." She then placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Think about where we would all be."

(Linebreak)

Astrid then began to explain her version of reality which started on the day of the Dragon Raid that would change their entire lives. Hiccup and Henry were both positioned next to the Forge aiming the Mangler.

"Come on," Hiccup said pleadingly. "Give us something to shoot at."

"I think I see something bro!" Hicca called out while pointing at a direction.

Then they heard something in the air and saw a shadow moving along the night sky. The Haddock twins immediately took aim and suddenly there a plasma blast destroyed one the catapult revealing a Night Fury. The Haddock twins then immediately pulled on the trigger and he was sent flying backwards and a bola flew across the sky, but missed the dragon.

Hiccup sighed. "Typical. We missed it."

"Just our luck." Hicca said, flopping on her back.

(Linebreak)

Four years later, the war was still going on and the Haddock twins were busy making weapons. Hiccup was currently sharpening an ax made of pure gold. Hicca was at the desk busy putting some final touches on a sword.

Fishlegs then showed up to the two young men. "Hiccup. Hicca." He then pulled out a set of cards from his pouches which showed images of plants. "Did you two know the Sneeze Wart bush can grow up to 3 feet-tall with a hairy stem and serrated leaves?" He asked

"No, We did not know that, Fishlegs," Hiccup smiled trying to show a bit of interest. "But our life is now complete with that knowledge."

Hicca chuckled. "It certainly more useful than anything the Thorstons would say and Snotlout for that matter."

"Hiccup! Hicca!" The twins turned and saw Raeda rushing up with the painting of a Monstrous Nightmare on a shield, "You like it? It's my best work yet!"

Hicca chuckled, "Yeah, real nice Raeda. You should become Berk's official portrait maker." She commented

"Haddocks!" Snotlout said in a snobbish voice. They immediately looked up and saw Snotlout approaching them. "You finished making me that Golden Axe?" He demanded.

"Uh-huh, yeah." Hiccup stammered. "Almost done."

"We've been working around the clock." Hicca added while giving Snotlout an annoying look.

"Well, make the clock bigger. It's my betrothal gift for Astrid. And it has to be perfect," said Snotlout.

The Haddock twins narrowed his eyes. "I thought we agreed not to mention that name around me." Hicca told her cousin.

Snotlout's eyes widened a bit as he gave a nervous chuckle. "Hehe. Sorry, I forgot about that rule." He said, since he saw how Hicca gets when they mention Astrid around her.

"You're still not mad at her are you?" Hiccup asked, remembering how Hicca finally put her foot down at their former friend's rotten behavior to him and herself.

"What do you think, bro? She turned her back on us when she joined the 'best vikings'." Hicca sarcastically said. "No offense you two." She quickly said to Fishlegs and Raeda.

"None taken." Fishlegs and Raeda shrugged as they cared more about being good friends than being the 'cool kids'.

Fortunately, Stoick chose that moment to walk into the Forge and he smiled down at Snotlout.

"Snotlout! How are you?" Stoick laughed. He then placed his hands on his shoulders. "Oh, I've been hearing fantastic dragon-killing stories from you." He said.

Snotlout laughed. "Stoick, you are so funny. What can I say?" He then smirked at Hiccup. "Some of us just have the knack, and some of us just don't." He then walked out of the Forge snickering. "Snotlout!"

"Sometimes I wish that a dragon would kill him," Raeda muttered.

"You and us both, Raeda." Hicca said.

Stoick then immediately turned to his children. "Speaking of dragon killing, the time has come, son. The time for you both to go out and finally get that first kill."

Fishlegs whistled and casually made his way out of the Forge while Raeda looked at them in surprise.

"Seriously, Dad?" Hicca asked in surprise.

"Yes, seriously, dear." Stoick answered. "If your brother is ever gonna be Chief or you to become his second in command/maiden, you both need to kill at least one dragon."

Hiccup raised a finger. "But—"

"Ah! I don't want to hear it," Stoick said quickly. "You've had plenty of excuses over the years. Now it's time for action. You will not return without a dragon's head under your arm."

"Dad—"

"No! Shh! Are we clear?" Stoick said firmly.

"Yes, sir." The Haddock twins sighed knowing there was no way of convincing him otherwise and Raeda just looked at them sympathetically.

(Linebreak)

The Haddock twins found himself at the Cove feeling very annoyed about his father.

Hiccup then began to imitate their father's voice. "'You both will not return without a dragon's head under either of your arms. Are we clear?"" He mocked.

"Don't know why killing a beast that is minding its own business suddenly makes you a Viking, but that's how it is, I guess." Hicca sighed.

It was at that moment they heard a dragon roaring directly above them and a strange squeaking sound. They then quickly hid behind a boulder and then to his amazement he saw a family of Night Furies landing, two adults and five cubs together. They then began to make their way to the water and began to drink from it.

One of the cubs began whining as the female turned to them and regurgitated some fish for them to eat.

"A pack of Night Furies?" Hiccup gasped in awe.

Hicca beamed, "Oh my Thor. Hiccup we hit the Jackpot!" She said, as their luck had finally turned around.

"We sure did sis." Hiccup said. "Snotlout would go crazy. So would Raeda. So would our dad. So would everyone." He said, getting excited.

"We won't be called the village screw ups anymore. We could be heroes." Hicca finished. "I bet even Astrid's never killed a single Night Fury." She said, loving to rub this kill in the Hofferson girl's face.

They then immediately grabbed a net and immediately jumped out, tossing it towards the dragons. However, their flow was a bit pathetic and the net landed inches away from the dragons.

"Oh, of course." Hicca said as she saw their blessing turned into a curse.

The Night Fury parents then began to growl at them furiously while the cubs hid behind them in fear as the male charged at them.

However, by an unfortunate stroke of luck, the male Night Fury tripped onto the net and trapped himself in it.

The Haddock twins just watched as the male Night Fury tried frantically to get the net off of itself, until eventually it knocked itself out and fell to the ground.

The female Night Fury was protecting the cubs as she backed away a bit but had wide eyes to see her mate trapped and knocked out.

"That was convenient." Hicca said in surprise as she turned to Hiccup. "You take the kill, Hiccup." She said to her brother.

"Really?" Hiccup asked in surprise. "What about you? Don't you wanna get the glory too?" He asked.

"Hiccup, all my life I wanted to be a healer. And taking one's life isn't worth it." Hicca explained while looking at the male Night Fury trap in the net. "Just kill it, and we'll bring it's head back and say we both did it."

Hiccup nodded his sister in understanding as he then immediately drew his knife and very gingerly held it towards the male Night Fury. The male Night Fury regained consciousness and found itself trapped and at Hiccup's mercy.

Hicca then turned to back the female Night Fury with her cubs huddled close under her wings, not wanting them to see this.

Hiccup raised the knife, but he couldn't bring himself to plunge it into the dragon skin. And Hicca realized that they couldn't kill a father in front of his family.

The two then turned to each other and nodded and did what any other Viking would call crazy: They freed the Male Night Fury. They removed what was left of the net from its body. It then growled at him furiously as his mate and cubs came to them and the two adults growled at them and Hiccup quickly tossed the dagger aside, with Hicca doing the same with her dagger and the two Night Furies adults began to back them towards a boulder. Hiccup and Hicca were now trapped at the two adult Night Furies' mercy.

But before either Night Fury could attack, the five cubs leapt in front of them, growling defensively while the two adults were shocked by their children's actions.

Hiccup and Hicca look at the five cubs in surprise as they can guess that they were telling their parents to not harm the two after deciding not to harm them. The Night Furies parents then looked at the Haddock twins and then roared in their faces and then began to walk off with their five cubs following.

The Haddock twins then turned towards the Night Furies, and in a split second later the ground began to shake as a Whispering Death shot out beneath the ground.

"Ahh! Whispering Death!" Hicca cried out as she and Hiccup immediately tried to make a run for it and then it dived in towards him.

However, the adult Night Furies then fired plasma blasts at the Whispering Death, knocking it back. Then to add to the Haddock twins' amazement, they then immediately lifted them onto their backs, the male with Hiccup and the female with Hicca, and they quickly grabbed hold of their tails while the five cubs followed them.

"Are these Night Furies saving us?!" Hicca asked in surprise.

"I think so!" Hiccup yelled as he turned his head and saw that the Whispering Death was directly behind him and then the Night Fury took off.

The Haddock Twins then frantically began to climb up the Night Furies, until they reached their back and cling on for dear life. The two screamed as they flew towards the sea stack maze as they frantically tried to lose the Whispering Death.

Hiccup at one point was in danger of falling off, but a quick sharp turn from the Night Fury followed by a quick spin place and back on his back. And Hicca was suffering from nausea when the Female Night Fury did a barrel roll between the rocks.

Sadly the Whispering Death was still closed behind them and unleashed its dragon fire upon them. Thankfully they were able to avoid it when the blast struck one of the sea stacks, but the Whispering Death was still close on their tail as it kept on blasting them as they swirled through the sea stacks.

The Haddock twins finally calmed down and were actually enjoying themselves. "I gotta say, this is pretty awesome!" Hiccup said.

"I agree! This is amazing!" Hicca cheered.

They then clinged on and started screaming again as the Night Furies continued to make some fancy maneuvers to avoid the Whispering Death, who was still blasting them with its rings of fire. The Haddock twins quickly had to press themselves against the Night Furies to avoid the flames and then they immediately began to fly upwards. Didn't stop the Whispering Death from trying to blast them and matter what they did they just couldn't shake it.

(Linebreak)

These blasts of flames were noticed by Stoick and he immediately pulled out a spyglass in order to investigate. He immediately saw the Whispering Death and saw that it was chasing the Night Fury pack and then to add to his amazement the Haddock twins were riding on the back of the two adults.

"Thor's hammer!" Stoick gasped. "Are those my children? On the backs of dragons?"

He handed Gobber the spyglass and he was equally amazed. "A pack of Night Furies, no less." Gobber said in awed.

"We've got to get in there!" said Stoick.

(Linebreak)

The Whispering Death was still close on their tail and it kept on blasting at them, until eventually it struck the male Night Fury's tail.

Hicca saw this as the female Night Fury looked in panic. "Uh, Hiccup!" She called out while pointing to the tail.

Hiccup immediately turned and saw the male's tail was on flames as they began crashing down back towards the Cove and struck the ground hard. Hiccup was immediately flown off the Night Fury and he looked up to see the Whispering Death bearing down on them.

Hiccup knew the Night Fury was in no condition to protect itself and immediately began to limp away from it and tried to divert the Whispering Death's attention onto him.

"Over here!" Hiccup yelled. "Come on, big guy. Come on!"

The Whispering Death then immediately fired upon him and Hiccup tried to make a run for it. However, he was still too weak and so the blast struck his leg so powerful that it knocked him unconscious.

"Hiccup!" Hicca called out to her brother as the female Night Fury and the cubs looked in shock by that and roared in panic.

(Linebreak)

Stoick and Gobber were just outside the Cove when they saw the explosion.

"Kids!" Stoick cried.

(Linebreak)

The male Night Fury regained consciousness and saw that Hiccup was now unconscious and then he immediately growled towards the Whispering Death. He then immediately jumped at it and it was headed by a close range plasma blast, but the Whispering Death struck him with its tail.

The Night Fury was now at a disadvantage as his tailfin had been blown off preventing him from flying. He also had to protect the young Viking that had freed him and then he saw the Whispering Death firing a blast towards Hiccup. The Night Fury then immediately jumped shielding Hiccup and took the full brunt of the blow, but it then fired another blast and the Night Fury was starting to get weaker.

Then suddenly they heard Stoick's battlecry and he jumped right on top of the Whispering Death slamming his hammer right on top of it. Stoick then quickly struck it once again forcing it to back away.

"You stay away from my son!" Stoick roared, striking it once again.

Hicca and the female Night Fury and the cubs started flying over them as they fired plasma blasts at them. "Stay away from my brother!" She called out in rage.

Gobber then jumped out of nowhere and grabbed one of the Whispering Death horns and pinned it into the ground. Stoick then came charging in screaming and the Whispering Death immediately freed itself and flew into the air, clearly it had had enough.

Hicca and the female Night Fury and the cubs landed as she got off the female Night Fury. "Dad!" Hicca called out.

"Hicca!" Stoick called next as he rushed to his daughter and gave her a hug. "Are you alright?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine. The Night Furies saved us." Hicca said while looking at the female Night Fury and her cubs before Hicca eyes widened. "Hiccup!" She cried out.

Stoick knows what his daughter is thinking as they then immediately rush towards the male Night Fury with the rest of its family following, which the male Night Fury had shielded Hiccup. Of course Stoick was unaware of this at the time and raised his hammer preparing to strike.

"Dad, wait!" Hicca called out as she stood in front of the dragons with arms out, protecting them from her father's strike.

"Hicca? What are you doing?!" Stoick questioned in shock.

"Trust me! They mean no harm!" Hicca pleaded as the male Night Fury lifted his wing revealing that he had indeed shielded Hiccup.

Stoick then immediately dropped his weapons and cradled his son in his arms. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup then coughed, indicating that he was still very much alive. Stoick then looked towards the male Night Fury who had saved his son for the first time in a long time, he felt conflicted about the war while looking at Hicca and the rest of the Night Fury family as they all looked at him in with concern looks as Hicca walked up to her father and place a hand on the male Night Fury while looking at her father with a plead look. Stoick then placed a gentle hand on the male Night Fury as a way of saying thank you and he cooed at him softly as the rest of the Night Fury family came to the male and nuzzled him in comfort.

(Linebreak)

The next morning everyone had heard of the incident and were crowded around the chief's house waiting with bated breath for news on Hiccup.

Hiccup finally regained consciousness and felt terrible and then he looked down and saw that he looked even worse. His left leg was now gone and in its place was a prosthetic of an unusual design. He then sat up straight and put both his old and new leg onto the floorboards, he then looked up and jumped because standing right in front of him was the male Night Fury ,which was sniffing at him happily with his toothless grin.

Then to add to his already surprised work was the fact that Hicca, Stoick, Gobber and the rest of the Night Fury family were standing there with smiles. Then Hicca walked towards her brother, giving him a hug with tears in her eyes, before she immediately punched him in the shoulder.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Hicca demanded.

Hiccup gave a small chuckle. "I'll try not to." He said.

The male Night Fury then held out his tailfin which had now been replaced with a prosthetic of his own and he was wearing a saddle while the adult female Night Fury walked up while wearing a saddle as well. The two adult Night Furies then tackled them playfully and the Haddock twins laughed as they scratched their heads.

The male Night Fury then helped Hiccup out of bed and Gobber approached him. "They fit together, so four of you can fly." He said as he moved the stirrup and the tailfin flapped as he demonstrated. "Seems like you're into that sort of thing."

Hiccup looked at the male Night Fury. "Ah, I guess you and I are stuck together now." He said he hugged the dragon's head and he nuzzled back.

"Come on, bro. There's some people who are waiting outside for us." Hicca said as she hugged the female Night Fury's head as she nuzzled back.

The four of them then heard one another.

(Linebreak)

Stoick then guided them outside where a huge crowd of people were waiting. "These dragons saved my children," Stoick announced, gesturing to the Night Furies. "In doing so, he saved me. Saved us all. I declare the ongoing war against the dragons is over!" He declared.

Everyone then immediately cheered, Raeda being the loudest. Snotlout however was far from impressed and blew a raspberry. He then wrapped his arm around Astrid, who then immediately elbowed him hard in the chest earning a snicker from Raeda.

Astrid then made her way over to Hiccup and hugged him, much to his surprise.

Astrid breaks the hug as she turns to Hicca, as the two girls look at each other for a bit as the two smile and grasp each other's hands. And up on the ledge, a boy and girl with a Changewing and other five dragons watch them, with the boy looking at Hicca with interest.

(Linebreak)

Back in reality, Astrid was smiling at the Haddock twins when she finished her own little story. They then turned and found that the other Riders had been listening to the entire tale.

"Why does he have to have one leg?" Tuffnut asked, wondering why Hiccup still got the prosthetic leg in Astrid's story.

Ruffnut nodded. "Yeah, you couldn't have given old H a break? Why not let Hicca lose her leg?" She asked.

"Hey!" Hicca called out. "Even if I lose a leg, I would've ended up in Hiccup's place but everything would still turn out the same as it is now." She pointed out.

"She got a point there." Raeda nodded in agreement.

"But still, can a brother get a leg up in this place?" Tuffnut asked.

"No, Tuff, I can't." Hiccup said, as he and his sister are feeling a lot better.

"What kind of messed-up yak dung is that?" Tuffnut asked as he turned to Astrid, who had risen to her feet along with Henry. "It's a made-up story. And you can change things."

Henry shook his head. "I think you have completely missed the point of the story. It doesn't matter whether either of them lost a leg or not."

"Exactly. She's telling them that they're exactly where they're supposed to be, and so are Toothless and Midnight." Fishlegs explained.

"We all are," Hiccup said, looking at each and every single one of them. "Look even if things had started out differently, we'd still be out there fighting for dragons, and we all would have ended up right here."

"And we would still do what we always do even if we haven't met Toothless and Midnight." Hicca added with a smile. "We would've talked to you guys and tried to convince our father either way and we would've saved dragons either way if we encountered either one." She added.

"Oh, great!" Snotlout groaned. "Okay, so you're the hero no matter what, and I'm the muttonhead."

"Exactly," They all said.

"Shut up, everybody," Snotlout grumbled.

The Haddock twins laughed and then Hiccup hugged Astrid while Hicca hugged Henry. "Thank you." Hiccup said as he and Hiccathen looked at every single one of them.

"Thank all of you… for tonight. For everything." Hicca finished with a heartfelt smile.

"Like our third cousin twice removed, Sad Larry, always used to say…" said Tuffnut.

"'If you see a sheet on a hill, it's not worth the struggle.'" Ruffnut finished.

Everyone just looked at them questionably as they had actually no idea what the two of them had just set.

"Okay," Hiccup said, breaking the silence. "So, uh… what do you say we get out of here, huh? We'll meet you at the training grounds." He said.

"Yeah. We've got one last thing we need to do." Hicca added as she and Hiccup looked at each other as they nodded.

(Linebreak)

The Haddock twins soon made their way back to their house and made their way to their father's bedside with Gobber and Gothi watching.

"We're not giving up on you, Dad." said Hiccup. "But I've got to stop Johann and the Flyers, or none of this will matter." He and Hicca then grasped his father's hand.

"You keep fighting. You're not done yet. Berk needs you. We need you." Hicca said softly.

Then they felt their father clutching his hands almost as if he could hear them and Hiccup and Hicca smiled.

Then the door immediately swung open as Astrid and Henry entered with a frantic look on her face. "Hiccup! Hicca! You two have to see this." Astrid said.

The Haddock twins quickly ran back outside and found Raeda and Fishlegs tending to Heather, Ragnar. Skully and Windshear. The four of them looked as if they had just gone 10 rounds with a Monstrous Nightmare and a Catastrophic Queen.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked.

"Who did this to you?" Hicca asked as she checked their injuries.

Ragnar groaned and looked at the two, "We got a really big problem." He groaned.

"Vanaheim has been attacked by the Dragon Flyers." Heather said grimly.

Everyone then immediately looked at one another realizing how bad this was. The enemy now knew the location of the final resting place of dragons.