I'm back! I live! And I'm still not letting this fic die, even though it's not very good and all over the place!br /
Seriously though, I'm sorry about these ridiculous update times, I had no idea what I was doing when starting this and bit off way more than I could chew, and now you guys have to suffer for it. Just please be patient with me, I promise I'll finish this, it'll just take a lot longer than I expected.

Oh, and FullOfFait, I will try to fit some future/past rider fluff in here :)

Enjoy


Stoick groaned and banged his head against the table.

Trouble. Why did Berk have to be constantly in trouble? They were finally given the briefest respite from constant dragon raids and what happens? The arena explodes, a bunch of muttonheads try to breathe fire and end up half-cooked, and to top it off, the whole village gets plagued by an unknown prankster that even the Nut tribe seems to fear.

That was the source of his current frustration - the night that just passed which many villagers were starting to call the night of Loki.

His home was mercifully spared, although he had a sneaking suspicion it had less to do with mercy and more with the prankster's fear of the chief's revenge (as if attacking his village was going to yield a lesser punishment). Still, when he opened his door in the morning to find his village more colorful than the northern lights, and the people running around sporting evidence of various pranks, it wasn't that hard to guess what happened. The shock he felt when he marched up to the Nut clan's household, only to find his main suspects plotting revenge for the pranks they themselves sustained, was indescribable, and somehow bordered on respect.

So now Stoick was left looking for a prankster above even the Nuts' level, with the wrath of the village hanging over his head, and the threat of a leftover trap behind every corner.

Strangely enough, his only relief in this chaos was what used to be his biggest headache; Hiccup. His son, who he worried would have no future, and who finally started showing true potential. Stoick thanked all his gods that he gave into Gobber's demands and let the boy join dragon training. He couldn't wait to finally see him in action. But to have the chance to do that, he first had to sort out this mess.

A dull thump followed by the sound of footsteps drew his attention towards the ceiling. It sounded like someone was walking around in Hiccup's room, but he knew for a fact the boy hadn't come home that night because of whatever mess he made at the forge. Was he only returning now and trying to be discreet by using the window? No, the footsteps were too light and precise for a barely trained fifteen-year-old.

Stoick slowly reached over to grip his axe and stood up, careful to avoid the floorboards he knew would creak. He headed for the stairs, but changed direction when he heard the footsteps make their way back towards the wall and then the muted sounds of their originator climbing out the window.

He opened the door and winced when the hinges let out a high-pitched squeak. He hated sneaking around, but charging out his usual style would likely end with the intruded fleeing. He quietly rounded the house to where Hiccup's only window was leading to and got his first look at the intruder.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Astrid who was making her way down the side of his house.

Sheathing his axe, he waited for the girl to reach the ground before approaching her. While he was relieved it wasn't an enemy making their way into his son's room, he still needed to know what she was doing scaling his house.

"And what pray tell are you doing behind my house, lass?"

Astrid froze in the middle of shaking out her arms after the climb, and turned to him with the expression of a child that was caught playing with their parent's best weapons.

"Chief! I was, uh... I was... looking for Hiccup!"

"Looking for Hiccup, eh? Well, call me old fashioned, but when I go looking for someone, I usually go through their front door, not their bedroom window."

Astrid opened her mouth, then closed it and looked away. Yes, she could have used the door, but she didn't want to explain to Stoick what she and Hiccup had been doing in the past two weeks.

Stoick watched the girl scramble for an excuse with amusement, which faded slightly when he looked her over. He could clearly see she hadn't slept that night either, just like all her peers, but she didn't look like she fell prey to one of the traps. Her clothes were crumpled and dirty, her hair disheveled, but what surprised him most was the haunted look in her eyes.

"Well you're out of luck. Gobber said Hiccup had some extra work in the forge last night, and he didn't come home at all. He's either still there, or he's gone to the Great hall to get some food."

Or he's wherever he keeps disappearing to lately, Astrid thought grimly. Or... the children couldn't have done anything to him while they lured me away, right? If Gobber told Stoick where he was then probably not... but what if he was also under their control?

Stoick watched her reaction with a frown. What could have happened that scared the fearless shield-maiden to the point that she looked like she was about to run fpr the hills? Could she have gotten caught in one of the more devious traps?

Trying to change the topic, he said, "You two started spending quite a bit of time together, do I hear wedding bells in the future?"

Astrid turned red as a Changewing and her head snapped up so fast Stoick was afraid she snapped her neck.

"It's not like that! We've been investigating, looking for clues on-" she cut herself off and rubbed her arm self-consciously.

Stoick's aloof smile immediately disappeared.

"Looking for clues on what exactly?" he asked, perhaps a bit sharper than intended.

Astrid looked away. It wasn't like her to hide her intentions, but what was she supposed to tell the chief? That she was taking his only son on scouting missions to try and uncover possibly dangerous creatures that he himself proclaimed a gift from god? Sure, having the chief on their side would open up a whole new field of possibilities, but she couldn't think of any way that would convince him their cause was legitimate.

Stoick saw the conflicted feelings reflecting on the blonde's face and had to overcome a conflict of his own. In any other situation he would force the answer out of the other person, but Astrid was still a child, and also one of the best young warriors he'd ever seen. Such approach would only make her defend her secrets more.

So he chose an approach that he rarely used: sympathy.

"Astrid, you have to understand, as your chief I need to know what's going on in my village, to make sure all Berkians are safe... but as a father I also worry for Hiccup's safety. He may be doing well in dragon training, but if he's doing something dangerous outside the arena, I want to know."

Astrid looked up and saw genuine concern of a parent for their child, something she'd rarely seen vikings display. She bit her lip. Could they really trust him when he was the one to cement the demon children's standing in the village?

"It's... nothing like that. We're just doing what any warrior in training should do; making sure the village is safe from any threats. The obvious and the hidden ones."

Stoick sighed. Now he knew where the heart of the dragon was.

"Astrid, I understand that you think what you're doing is for the best. We're warriors you and I, we both fight to protect what's dear to us. I know you've given a lot of effort to upholding your family's legacy, even more so since what happened to your uncle Fin, but looking for problems where there aren't any isn't the way to go."

Astrid straightened abruptly, her face red once again, this time from barely suppressed anger.

"But there is a problem here, chief, but none of you can see it! I know what everyone's saying, what you said in the Great hall, that those kids have been sent by the gods, and that there have been no raids because of them, but I don't believe it for a second! I won't stop the others from seeing them as saints, but please, chief, don't trust them until they prove they're not our enemies, for the sake of the village and Hiccup."

With that the young shield-maiden stormed away, partial out of rage and partially because she was starting to realise she just yelled at her own chief.

Stoick watched her go and once she turned the corner, he let his neutral mask fall with a sigh.

"I know all that, lass," he said to the empty spot next to him while rubbing his eyes, "I know."

The truth was, no matter how well he convinced his people, how many times he tried to convince himself with the same speech that things were finally taking a turn for the better, doubts still found their way into his mind. Every time he almost succeeded in suppressing them, he remembered the first night, when they found the children in the killing arena, surrounded by dragons. An image he couldn't get rid of resurfaced again and again; the Deadly Nadder, the most cunning of all the dragons he'd met face to face, trying to shield the group of infants from the charging vikings, seconds before it was wrestled down by Gobber.

He tried to convince himself there were many reasons for the dragon to act that way, but none of them held up even against his own scrutiny. He knew he was missing something, and he had the sickening feeling that something would turn his world and their newfound peace upside down.

So he locked those thoughts away, and convinced himself that as long as there was no concrete proof that said otherwise, he could trust these children were good.

Despite all his doubts, there were no dragon raids ever since they arrived on Berk, and as long as that didn't change, he would keep them in the village. If it turned out they were enemies, he would dispose of them, it was as simple as that (or at least that's what he tried to convince himself of).

For now, he wanted to believe they were a miracle, a sign from the gods not to give up.

He had to believe there was hope for the future.


Hiccup groaned and buried his face in Toothless' scales.

What he saw just hours before completely flipped his world upside down. He would almost chalk it up to being a dream, if it weren't for him waking up next to Toothless in the cove, and the small cuts and scrapes from when he ran there through the forest.

As ridiculous as it sounded, Hiccup couldn't deny that he saw one of the strange children saddling and even sort of flying a dragon.

The first thing that came to his mind was overwhelming joy at the realisation that those kids trained dragons, just like him! He thought all of Archipelago hated dragons so the fact that there were apparently other tribes out there that even trained them gave him hope, hope that maybe one day he and Toothless wouldn't have to hide anymore.

Astrid's warnings about dangerous enemy tribes and evil spirits completely slipped his mind.

But then he remembered what he learned when he got close enough to hear what the children were saying (and there was no doubt they could talk now), and Hiccup started wondering whether someone spiced his drink at some point.

A few familiar names, notions of time travel, and the mere behavior of those children when taking into account the previous points, all of those were steadily turning this situations into one of Gobber's bizarre stories.

The first few minutes he brushed it off as the ramblings of madpeople. No matter how weird life in the Archipelago got, time travel wasn't exactly on a viking's list of everyday occurrences.

But as he watched the children, the similarities he was noticing ever since they appeared on Berk became more and more prominent. With a little bit of imagination, he could see Astrid's sky-blue eyes, Fishlegs' large frame lacking a neck, Snotlout's glossy hair and proud posture, the twins' signature head ram, and even his own scrawny body and the small scar on his cheek.

With their inexplicable understanding of Berk's structure and its inhabitants, sudden appearance, and knowledge of dragons, not to mention what one of the apparent twins said the first night in his house, as ridiculous as it sounded, time travel actually made perfect sense (apart from the fact that they were all apparently reverse-aging in this future).

And all of a sudden, Hiccup wanted it to be the truth, simply because the future these children represented, one where he wasn't hated by his peers, where dragons would be accepted by them, seemed like a beautiful dream.

And then it hit him.

How in Hel was he going to tell Astrid?

He thought he would come to her with a clear explanation, that would help them expose whatever evil plans the children had, and that after solving it together, they could maybe even get closer. Maybe eventually he would show her Toothless and together they would turn Berk around. But now?

He couldn't just walk up to her and be like 'Hey Astrid, guess what, those kids are apparently our dragon-riding versions from the future, oh and by the way, I already have a trained dragon hiding on Berk. Surprise!'

She'd think him crazy, or worse, out him to his father, he couldn't do that.

...could he?

Hiccup groaned again, making Toothless warble worriedly and nudge his shoulder. The gods really had it out for him.


Valka groaned and hid her face in her hands. It had been a long and tiring couple of days.

About two weeks ago dragons roaming around the Archipelago brought in a diverse batch of hatchlings that seemingly popped out of nowhere. No parents came looking and no vikings started chasing them either.

In the batch no two dragons were the same and among the more common types, like the Gronckle or the Monstrous Nightmare, there was also a Razorwhip and a Triple Styke. Still the most surprising of them was the tiny baby Night Fury.

That on its own wasn't so bad, Valka was used to managing young dragons that lost their parents to hunters and the overwhelming cuteness was definitely worth it. No, the problem was the tiny dragons' attitude.

First of all, the hatchlings seemed to follow the Night Fury and only the Night Fury, who in turn seemed to merely respect the Alpha. What was even more mysterious was that the Alpha didn't seem to mind this and even displayed a sort of respect back towards the small dragon.

Second, they seemed to recognize almost everyone in the Sanctuary, including Valka, and weren't afraid or lashing out like most dragons that were harmed by hunters did at first.

Third, after composing themselves a bit they started searching for something and didn't stop no matter what. Valka assumed that they were looking for their parents; they were only hatchlings after all. What confused her was that they (and the Night Fury most of all) seemed to be looking to her for their lost ones.

And fourth and final, once it became clear what they were looking for wasn't behind the icy walls, they kept trying to leave the Sanctuary. At first Valka thought they just needed some space to fly and get used to being without their parents, so she went with them and Cloudjumper on small trips in the surrounding area. She noticed the Night Fury had some trouble flying at first, as if he couldn't control his tail too well. But after a few failures he learned to fly alright. And then the real trouble began.

Normally Valka allowed new arrivals to pick their flying route, especially ones this young, and only made sure they steered clear of any viking-inhabited islands or hostile ships. But these dragons seemed intent on flying in one specific direction, a direction Valka vowed to never go in again.

Berk.

No matter how many times Valka tried to explain that they simply can't go in that direction, the young dragons picked it again and again. Once it became clear that she would not allow them to go there, they started to sneak out during the night. It went so far that she had to have other dragons keep watch over them while she slept.

The very early wake-up calls and near everyday (and everynight) chase around the icy pillars was quickly getting old.

Still, as she watched the little dragons seemingly innocently play around while the Night Fury watched over them like a tiny piece of night perched on a stalagmite, the whole ordeal got Valka thinking.

In all those years she was in the Sanctuary, she had frequently thought of going back, or at least checking on her family, but these ideas never got past the planning stage. There was always something she could use as an excuse for not going; injured dragons, newly hatched dragons, sick dragons, just dragons in general, but the truth was... she was scared.

Scared to go back and again see all the faces marred with hatred against the dragons, scared to see even more of it directed at her, and most of all, scared to see the same expression on the face of her husband and son.

That's why she swore to never go back, to disappear from their lives.

But if even hatchlings, who couldn't possibly remember anything about Berk, were more determined to return there than she who lived most of her life on it... did that make her a failed chieftess? An uncaring wife? A negligent mother?

She had missed so much of her son's life. Would she even recognise Hiccup if he dropped down in front of her?

She was shaken out of her musings when Cloudjumper nudged the back of her head. With a croon he alerted her to the spot where the hatchlings were playing, which was now empty.

Valka groaned again when a nearby explosion sent a wave of hot air in her face.

Mounting Cloudjumper, she took off to yet again bring the unruly dragons back, thankful for the distraction.

But even as the roaring of the wind brought her thoughts elsewhere, she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling at the back of her mind that something big was about to happen.


After a successful test run of their first harness and almost 24 hours of sleep, the future riders once again sat around the fireplace in Gothi's hut, gratefully drinking herb stew. Gothi wasn't among the best cooks on the island (not that any of them would dare say that out loud with her eating with them), but they very much preferred this meal over the awkward staring dinners at Stoick's, and it was certainly better than Astrid's offer.

"You know I really could cook something up. It's not like I have much to do around here anyways. I might even find what I need for my yaknog," the girl insisted after downing her portion.

Hiccup, who was currently finishing his the dragon harness, sensed the rapidly approaching disaster and quickly intervened.

"No no, really it's fine, Astrid. Gothi may not be a chef," the old woman glared at him, hand already reaching for her staff, and he quickly continued, "but her food is healthy and we need to keep our strength. We don't want you to get discovered or ambushed by someone while gathering ingredients."

"I can easily defend myself with a kitchen knife or sickle," Astrid replied without a hint of humor, looking him dead in the eyes.

Before Hiccup could dig himself into an even deeper hole, Fishlegs, who finished his meal first and was now back to reading Gothi's book, let out a strangled mix of a yell, laugh, and gasp. As everyone turned to him, he scrambled to stand up and promptly fell off the table he was sitting on, taking the book with him to Gothi's disdain. He seemed unscathed though, and quickly got back to his feet and hurried over to them, book pressed against his chest. He was squeaking excitedly like he did whenever he was too excited or nervous to actually use words.

When he reached them, he dropped the book on the ground, started jumping up and down and gesticulating wildly, all the while squealing at the top of his lungs.

"Fishlegs! Fishlegs, slow down and breathe, we can't understand a word you're saying," Hiccup tried to calm the boy when it became clear he wasn't about to collect himself any time soon.

With great effort, Fishlegs forced himself to take two deep breaths and calm his flailing appendages, but even then he couldn't fully stop bouncing when he spoke again.

"Sorry sorry, I know. I've been trying to do something about that, but whenever something exciting happens I just can't control myself, and this is totally-"

"Oh for the love of Thor, Fishface, just tell us what happened!" Snotlout cut off the Ingerman's starting rant.

Fishlegs stopped, blinked, and then a huge grin spread across his face.

"I found it!" he squealed, and started feverishly turning the book's pages, "I actually found it! I know what brought us back in time!"