Hiccup was now in the War Room with the other commanders of the other houses, but he still had no idea what this meeting was about.
"We're all here also have telling us what's going on?" Duncan asked.
Duncan was a handsome young man and a son of Odin; both he and Hiccup had mutual respect for one another.
"Yes, I would like to know that as well," said Christina.
Christina is a pale-skinned girl, the commander of House Loki and the daughter of Hel, the goddess of the dead. She had the reputation of being rather cold to everyone, but thankfully, she was not a supporter of her grandfather.
"I thought we were meant to fortify the Academy," said Guy.
Guy was perhaps the most muscular out of all of them, not surprising considering he was the son of Magni, the God of Strength.
"In some ways, we are here to discuss it," said Mimir. "I'm here to inform you that we have spotted an encampment just over the hills."
"Loki's forces?" Hiccup gasped.
"We are working on that assumption," said Mimir.
"Who else could it be," said Christina. "We knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but I thought we had more time."
Hiccup winced; he suspected Loki's failure to retrieve the mirror might have played a part in it. It could be that he was attacking now before they could use it against him.
Mimir looked at Hiccup and narrowed his eyes, no doubt coming up with the same thought.
"It's just a small scouting party at the moment, but it does look as if they are entrenching themselves," Mimir informed them.
"So we can expect more," said Guy.
"Shouldn't we attack them now before they gain strength?" Christina suggested.
Duncan shook his head. "I don't think that would be the best idea. If we attack now with our current strength, we'll show the enemy how weak we are."
"But we can still easily overwhelm them with our forces," Guy pointed out.
"Except there may be a spy somewhere in the Academy, and if we move our forces at once, that will tip them off," said Hiccup.
"Exactly, we do not have the manpower to stage an attack," Duncan agreed. "The attacking force needs to need to have three times as many troops attacking the defender. With our current numbers, we're just about equal."
"So we just hold up and wait for them to attack us?" said Christina.
"We have the advantage here in the Academy," said Duncan.
"But that advantage won't last long if they just keep hammering us," Guy pointed out. "And let's not forget they got two heavy hitters on their side."
"At least we won't have to deal with Surt," said Hiccup.
"That is a small blessing," Mimir agreed. "The Fire Giant King is still sitting on the sidelines of this conflict. That said, if he sees the tide turning, he might rush in at the last moment to steal some glory."
"That's not entirely comforting," said Christina, folding her arms.
"How should we prepare ourselves?" Guy asked.
"I think it would be advisable to mix our houses," said Duncan.
"And why would you suggest something like that?" Christina asked suspiciously.
"There's no denying that there is a spy or spies here in the Academy, and they are not necessarily from House Loki. If we mix our houses, it'll be much harder for the spy to find out what's happening."
"And how would we mix them?" Hiccup asked. "The houses trust their own more than each other, and we spent most of my time fighting alongside one. Mixing things up might make communication and trust much more difficult when we do find."
"That may be true, but I think Duncan has the right idea," said Mimir. "And I think it is also imperative that there is as little communication between each other as possible."
"That seems rather daft," said Guy. "If we don't communicate with one another, how are we supposed to defend ourselves?"
"We will still have a central command structure, but only the commanders will be in the full picture," said Mimir.
"And how do you know the spy is not one of us?" Christina asked.
"Because I like to think that I know the four of you well enough to know that you trusted," said Mimir.
"So, how do we go about mixing our houses?" Hiccup asked.
"And where are we going to be stationed?" Guy added.
"You can leave the assignments to me," said Mimir. "As for where everyone will be stationed, I would suggest we each take a position around the Academy. Hiccup, you'll take the South, Christina the North, Duncan the West and Guy your East."
"And when we're not fighting, we come here to update the situation," Hiccup assumed.
"Unless it is a state of emergency, you each send someone you trust to ask for reinforcements."
"What are the professors going to be doing?" Christina asked.
"Gobber is on his mission, and I have Wrinkly focusing his efforts on the item we have just received. Gothi will be manning the infirmary, and Viggo will be staying with me so I can keep an eye on him."
"You still don't trust, Viggo?" Hiccup asked.
"The man's reputation speaks for itself," said Mimir.
"Then I guess the only thing left to do is to inform our houses of what's going on," said Christina.
"I'll give you the full list of the assignment short, but you can at least tell them that war is upon us," said Mimir.
"Let's hope it does not lead to the end of the world," said Hiccup.
Once the meeting was over, Hiccup immediately spoke to his house, informing them of the situation.
"It's rather sudden," said Astrid. "Loki sure didn't waste any time."
"This is only a small encampment and not the spearhead of a major offensive, but we do suspect it will happen soon," said Hiccup.
"But what's this about us mixing with other houses?" Ruffnut asked.
"It's a method to eliminate the danger the spy can do," said Hiccup.
"I don't like the idea of us being mixed," said Astrid, folding her arms. "I mean, we were expected to work with people we barely know while trying to defend the Academy."
"I'm not too thrilled about the idea either, but I'm already in hot water with Mimir, so that I couldn't make any objections."
"So we are taking command of the South, but that's the main entrance," said Fishlegs.
"Which is most likely going to see the most heavy fighting," said Hiccup.
The rest of the house had many questions and concerns, and everyone wanted their voices heard.
"How big is the enemy?"
"Is Loki going to be on the front lines?"
"How long are we supposed to fight them off?"
"Can we go to bed?" Tuffnut asked.
"Or put itching powder down Gobber's pants?" Ruffnut asked.
"Those are very good questions, most of them," said Hiccup. "And I would like to answer them all, but I'm afraid I'm just as much in the dark as you guys. However, it is safe to be certain that we are about to enter battle, so I want everyone to ensure their weapons and armour are prepared."
"But without Gobber, who will make all the repairs?" Jill asked.
"I can't say for certain, but I'm sure we'll get someone capable of making all the repairs we need," said Hiccup confidently.
"With Snotlout and now Ragnar and Heather gone, we are undermanned," someone said.
"All three of them are getting reinforcements for this battle," Hiccup explained.
"But we don't know when that will happen or if it will."
"If we start questioning ourselves when not going to win this," said Hiccup. "Now I suggest everyone get some shut-eye because we got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Everyone looked at one another and muttered under their breath before dispersing, though they clearly still weren't happy with this meeting.
Astrid then made her way over to Hiccup. "I can't believe that Loki would do something so hasty."
"We might have pushed him into this with our little excursion," Hiccup admitted. "He knows we have the mirror he was looking for in Gullveig's Palace. He wants to get his hands on it before we figure out how to use it and before Gullveig realises she had been burgled."
"Don't blame yourself; this was going to happen sooner or later," said Astrid.
Hiccup looked at her, surprised. "I thought you would have chewed my head off."
"I hate to admit it, but you were right. We couldn't just sit around doing nothing," Astrid admitted. "I don't know what tomorrow may bring, but I'm glad I'll be able to spend it with you."
Hiccup felt his face turning pink. "I feel the same way."
Astrid's face also turned slightly pink. "Uh, I need to go polish my axe."
"Right," Hiccup nodded. "And I think I'll take my own advice and get some sleep."
"Then sweet dreams," Astrid smiled.
Sadly, that did not come true as Hiccup suddenly found himself in yet another demigod dream.
Thankfully, this time, he was not dreaming about Loki, but the situation didn't seem any less grim. He recognised the large halls he was in. He was inside the Palace of Nidavellir, the home of the dwarfs.
Sitting there on the stone throne was Snotlout. Snotlout was a short and very muscular young man with greasy black hair. He sat there on the throne wearing a black fur cape and a golden crown on his head.
"What is the situation with these rebels?" Snotlout asked.
Hiccup saw that he was talking to a couple of elderly dwarfs, and judging from their gear, they were generals.
"We can't seem to find it," said the general with a scar across his right eye. "Every time we seem to be on the edge of catching them, they suddenly disappear into the stone itself."
"And they seem to keep on ambushing us when we least expect them," said the general with a foot-long white beard. "I don't think this is a battle we can win."
"But we must win; we need to supply them to Midgard Academy. We can't do that with the rebel running roughshod over everything," Snotlout argued.
"Sire, that is exactly why they are rebelling; they don't think we should be involved in this human conflict," said the general with the scar.
"It's not a human conflict!" Snotlout roared. "In case you didn't know, it is Loki and a horde of dark monsters wanting to annihilate them."
"Which is still not our concern," said the general with the long beard. "Loki's escape years of concern immediately, and we plan to reforge the chains that held him in place, but that is as much aid as we can offer. Many of our men don't wish to fight alongside both humans and elves."
"These grievances are centuries old," Snotlout moaned.
"And yet the elves seem to have forgotten are suffering," the scarred general pointed out. "As for the humans, they have forgotten it completely. Also, you know it is our tradition to place blame on lineage."
"Humans have shorter life spans than elves and dwarves," Snotlout reminded them. "As such, many generations have gone by, which means that the blame is now mute."
The bearded general now in his eyes. "That may be so, but we still have long memories, your Majesty."
"It's so reassuring to see everyone working together," said a voice.
They turned and saw hobbling towards them was Gobber.
"Gobber?" Snotlout gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"Mimir thought you might need some help, and it looked as if he was quite right," he said.
The scarred general scoffed. "So he decides to send a lame man to assist the king of the dwarfs. If this is the only healthy humans can offer as there is surely no hope for them."
"This lame man has seen more battles than you have hairs on your head," Gobber glared. "Besides the Academy falls, that means there are no more demigods to prevent Ragnarok from beginning."
"There is no mention of the dwarfs fade within the prophecy of Ragnarok," the bearded general reminded him. "For all we know, we survived without participating in the final battle."
"Do you honestly believe that Loki has forgiven the dwarfs?" Gobber scoffed. "You are, after all, the ones who chained him to the rock, using the testicles of his sons; I might remind you as was forging the rope that tied his son Fenris to that large rock."
"By orders of Odin," said the scarred general. "We were merely following orders from the All-Father."
"Do you honestly believe that Loki, except for that technicality?"
"Enough!" Snotlout yelled. "This infighting is not going to help. I want these rebels taken down, and that is an order!"
"As you wish, your Majesty," said the scarred general.
The two generals left, but Hiccup could tell they weren't pleased with the outcome.
"Sounds like you have your hands full, lad," Gobber noted.
"I'm fighting multiple battles at once," Snotlout groaned. "To be honest, I don't know how much I can offer to Midgard. I can't even trust my own generals."
"There is a good thing I'm here to lend you a hand," Gobber smiled. "Now, why don't you tell me everything that's been happening?"
"It looks like your friend will be able to help you," said a voice behind him.
Hiccup recognised the voice all too well and turned around and saw Loki. "Loki, what are you doing here?"
"I am merely showing you that you can't rely on your friends to help," Loki smiled. "Now, if you surrender now, you can spare a lot of pain."
"Even if I did surrender, the others worked," said Hiccup, folding his arms. "The Academy is a home to many, and we will defend our home to the end."
"Have it your way, but very soon, you're going to regret that you did not take my offer."
Then everything vanished, and Hiccup fell into darkness.